Thales tried hard to adjust his disordered breathing so as not to reveal any clues.
"Yes," Thales forced a smile and pushed away the plate of lettuce that was used to support the scene:
"It's just that I'm full and can't bear to eat."
Zhan En was silent for a moment and his eyes became sharp.
"So in your opinion, vassals like me are still the culprit? Are they the source of trouble for the country due to selfish desires?"
Thales neither admitted nor denied it.
He looked at the Duke, trying to forget what he had seen in his mind:
"Maybe."
"But this is not an accusation because there is nothing you can do."
Nothing can be done.
Zhan savored this sentence for a while.
He spoke expressionlessly:
"According to what you said, everything is inevitable and there will be no room between us?"
Thales looked at the Duke for a long time.
He suddenly remembered the first time they met. At that time, they both encountered the killers sent by Arlend—according to Dozi, they were the men of Shadow Shield.
If the hidden assassin jumped out at this time, wouldn't Zhan become his shield again?
Thales shook off this boring thought, remained silent for a while, and shook his head:
"Who knows."
"But now that the crisis is approaching, new demands will inevitably arise."
Thales was a little lost:
"I think that when history is tired of repeating itself, when people are tired of disputes, when countries are tired of internal fighting... when the time comes, the absolute, sole, and supreme power of the monarch may once again be called, needed, and promoted.
As the protagonist of history.”
Zhan frowned.
"Just like in the past, after the kings who said they were one and the same, they prospered and declined," Thales pointed at the other party and said with a smile:
"The vassals divided the land and opened up new territories, just like they became the protagonists of history."
Zhan pondered for a few seconds.
"In this way, the protagonist of history is first the king, then the vassal, and then back to the king again?"
He looked at King Kessel in the distance, and then looked back at the prince:
"Only these two, nothing else?"
Thales snorted.
"King or vassal, one or many, gathered or scattered, exclusive or total, central or regional, bureaucratic or squire, unified or divided, centralized or autonomous, hierarchy or absolute power, with various names and different expressions
And foot, you can call it whatever you want."
He shrugged:
"But like you just said: duality, two-way, two sides, both sides of the scale, both ends of the road."
Zhan En snorted coldly:
"It looks like it's going around in circles and back to where it started."
Thales shook his head disapprovingly:
"It's like spinning in circles... maybe it's because you're standing in the wrong place and choosing the wrong angle?"
Zhan looked at him.
"If you only stand in front of history, or fall behind it, yes, it does seem to be spinning back and forth." Thales forgot the scene he just saw in his mind, and his tone became relaxed:
"Up and down, up and down, from low to high, and then back to low."
"But if you look three-dimensionally - I mean, move your noble butt, climb to a higher place in history, and then look down."
Thales said slowly:
"Perhaps you will find: from this perspective, under countless factors, in unknown details..."
"History is always moving forward and making new choices."
"Never go around in circles."
Zhan frowned and thought for a long time.
Just when Thales sighed and was about to continue, Zhan suddenly spoke:
"Like waves on the sea?"
"When you look straight at it, it rises and falls, and when you look at it, it rises and falls, but in fact it is a wave that is always moving forward?"
wave.
Thales was surprised at first, and then laughed.
"good."
He was originally going to talk about the "spiral" of bad streets, but since the other party's consciousness is so high...
Thales leaned back on his seat and silently looked at the king and duke on the steps, as well as the various guests below.
"Whether it's a king or a good vassal, in addition to going up and down, every struggle, every alternation, and every collision between them in history may have new sparks."
Thales's words became clearer:
"From the rise of ancient chauvinism to the division of kings, from the coexistence of city-states to the conquest of empires, from the union of heroes to the final empire, from the final battle to the establishment of the stars, from the restoration of kings to the reform of virtuous kings - under the sun, every day
Everything is new.
He thought of the old crow and felt a little emotional.
Zhan thought carefully about Thales' words:
"History moves forward like waves, and we are like small boats on the waves, drifting with the current most of the time, but occasionally riding the wind and breaking the waves?"
Taylor paused.
"A boat on the waves, a very interesting saying."
"But unfortunately, I think this metaphor is both self-righteous and self-deprecating."
Faced with this contradictory answer, Zhan En cast a puzzled look at him.
Thales turned his head and smiled.
"I think we are water, but also waves."
Thales's expression was extremely serious:
"We are history itself."
Zhan En's face changed slightly.
This time, he turned back and remained silent for a long time.
Not far away, Marius, who had been busy all night, and Glover, who had returned from outside, had just met:
"Still nothing?"
Glover rubbed his hands that were red from the cold, put on his gloves, and shook his head:
"No."
"The guests were carefully searched before entering, and nothing that could be used as a weapon or poison was found in the gift warehouse."
"The guests who have approached His Majesty and several Dukes tonight - that's nearly a hundred people - have all been checked and found to be all persons of identity. There is no impostor, nothing suspicious, at least nothing particularly suspicious."
Mallos' face became more and more tense.
"Outside the hall, security officers blocked the road all night and found nothing."
"In the hall, the royal guards - both from Fuxing Palace and us - also kept a close watch for several hours, but no assassin was found."
"Also," Glover hesitated and said:
"I... I heard from my acquaintances in the Pioneer Wing that even people from the kingdom's secret department came and used some taboo methods to detect threats."
Kingdom Secrets.
Mallos' eyes flashed.
Glover continued:
"But in the entire Mindis Hall, there is neither a high-energy resonance of the crystals nor a high-concentration reaction of the refined eternal oil."
"At least, no one among the guests is hiding unknown alchemy balls or magic guns."
But Mallos suddenly reached out and put his arm around his shoulders!
Glover was startled when he saw Mallos lower his voice and look serious:
“What about other indicators?”
"Formation interference? Spell fluctuation? Law anomaly? Origin mutual exclusion? Balance phenomenon? Traces of strange drop? Are there other index magic detections? What does the secret department say?"
Glover was stunned by several unfamiliar words:
"magic?"
"I, my friend didn't say so much..."
Mallos frowned.
Unexpectedly, another voice came from behind and answered him.
"None of them." In the vigilant eyes of the two people, the deputy guard captain, Vogel Tallen, walked coldly from behind them:
"There are no long-lost wizard methods."
"At least it wasn't a magical assassination."
Glover looked at his two superiors worriedly.
But Mallos was still thinking and said nothing.
"Ha, Patterson caught a few pairs of disheveled lovebirds in the empty room in the side hall..."
d.d yawned, looking exhausted, and came from the other side to report:
"Also, Strauss caught a few naked men and women "chatting" in some carriages, Bastia caught a few guys slacking off from their posts in the servants' passage, and there were a few people stealing food in the kitchen.
…But it’s nothing serious, and the basement and fireplace are empty.”
"In addition, two men were caught in the bathroom, playing 'four-legged beast' in a single room, you know, hehe... I wanted to report it, but I stopped me... Ahem, anyway,
We have extra money this month so we can improve our food..."
Doyle smiled evilly, tutted and shook his head.
Until he saw Vogel, he was startled and tensed up like an electric shock:
"Ah! Tower, Talon-sir!"
Vogel glanced at him, covering up the contempt in his eyes.
Doyle coughed hard and became serious again:
"Report sir! Many older and important guests have already left: Count Castle is too drunk, Baron Gars and his widowed lover went home early, Duke Arend will be escorted back to his cell soon, and it is said that Prime Minister Cullen is also
Ask the palace steward if you can leave..."
He turned his head and looked at the guests in the center of the hall who were getting more and more crazy:
"These are the only young people left..."
Mallos frowned and watched as a guest snatched away the minstrel's lute, sang a love song to himself, and confessed his love to a troubled-looking girl:
"You've been eating, drinking, singing and dancing all night, aren't you tired?"
Doyle narrowed his eyes and watched as the guest was stopped by another angry young man. The two exchanged a few harsh words and then started fighting, staging a scene of jealous brothers ("Don't fight anymore!"
”——The girl with a bored face), until their sweetheart waved a handkerchief and successfully broke up the fight (“The one I really love is actually your father!”——The girl with an affectionate face):
"It depends on who you dance with."
Vogel snorted softly:
"So, we have to be prepared to stay up all night to wait for your assassin to show up?"
Glover and Doyle both glanced at Marius, but the latter showed no reaction.
"You should be lucky. Your Majesty has not many tasks tonight, and they have all been completed," Vogel said displeasedly:
"Captain Adrian is urging His Majesty to put down secondary arrangements and leave the venue early."
"Can we end this farce?"
Mallos pondered for a moment and his eyes lit up:
"Maybe, maybe the assassin is still waiting for his chance."
"Still waiting?" Vogel said disdainfully:
"After His Majesty and the Dukes have left..."
Mallos raised his head:
"That will take away a large number of guard forces and make the rest relax."
The watchman looked up at the prince's seat, where Duke Iris and Prince Thales seemed to be having a conversation, chatting animatedly as if no one was around.
He frowned:
"It also brings the goal closer."
Beside Thales, Zhan raised his wine glass again and looked at the romantic anecdotes that attracted everyone to watch in the banquet hall:
A blue-faced old baron was quarreling with an old friend he had known for many years, accusing the other party of seducing his daughter, who he had planned to marry to the other party's son, regardless of age, shame, and the friendship between the two families.
Zhan looked away:
"King, vassal, and then king."
"Earl Castle just told me with great pride that your teacher in the north is Merry Hickser."
"Is this his teaching?"
Hearing the familiar name, Thales was in a trance.
"Half of it, right," he said wistfully:
"Old Crow provided me with a lot of historical materials and details, and I have to thank him for his persistent questioning, which forced me to think about every possible or impossible answer."
Seeing the other party's confused expression, Thales smiled:
"Or this is how you understand it: king, vassal, and then new king."
Zhan understood immediately, but he still frowned.
"How to think? Who said that?"
Thales sighed:
"Hegel."
"I have no impression. Who is he?"
Thales shook his head: "You wouldn't know. If you really want to talk about it, he was a person from a long, long, long time ago..."
The prince thought for a moment and smiled:
"Mage."
Zhan En was stunned.
Mage?
He looked at Thales, his eyes even more solemn.
"That's it," Duke Iris said calmly:
“Very inspiring.”
Zhan En's eyes were condensed and he didn't know what he was thinking.
Thales suddenly smiled when he saw the other person thinking hard and wanting to gain something.
"You know, according to this logic..."
Thales felt something in his heart:
"You have an apple, and I have an apple. If we trade, each of us still gets an apple."
Zhan looked confused.
Thales raised his finger:
"But you have a thought, and I have a thought, and when we exchange..."
Zhan En had some realization and answered:
"Two minds?"
But Thales shook his head.
"No, more than that."
He was slightly lost in thought: "That way..."
"We're going to have a third kind that we've never had before..."
"New Thoughts."
Zhan En was silent for a long time.
At this moment, Thales suddenly saw: King Kessel stood up from his seat, and the accompanying Stari guard put a cloak on him.
The troops accompanying the king took action one after another.
Some guests noticed the king's behavior and came forward to say goodbye, but King Kessel seemed not to want to be high-profile. He just waved his hand casually and disappeared from the side door surrounded by the royal guards.
Queen Keya and Jinni were not here, and Kessel's back looked even more lonely and cold.
And the royal guards around him looked like they were facing a formidable enemy.
Thales felt tight in his heart: If the assassin wants to take action, now is the last chance.
He ignored Zhan's eyes as he looked at him and looked around cautiously.
However, a minute passed, and until the king's huge entourage walked out of the banquet hall, no one jumped out with weapons in hand, shouting slogans to assassinate the king.
Thales breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the last person in the king's team disappear.
Well, he didn't expect the other party to come and say hello, "Er, I'm leaving."
The prince subconsciously broke his perfect sitting posture, stretched, and quickly sat up straight before anyone corrected him.
For some reason, Thales felt much more relaxed without the presence of the king, as if a burden had been lifted off him.
Obviously, Thales was not the only one who felt this way - the biggest evidence was that after the king left the scene, the music in the banquet hall became stronger instead of weaker, and the crowd's agitation increased instead of decreasing.
but……
What if the assassin's target is not the king?
Thales touched the knife on the table, turned his eyes, and checked with Mallos.
Fortunately, the Star Lake Guards guarded the main roads around him very well.
"Your Majesty is leaving now?" Zhan frowned.
"Yes."
Thales turned around, and the absurd thought of Zhan protecting him from the knife came to his mind:
"There are other guests present, so I think it's time for you to..."
But Zhan interrupted him.
"Your opening toast today was a good one."
"Cheers for God, country, king, others, and faith," Zhan's eyes focused on Thales, obviously not wanting to leave yet:
"But few people would say: Respect yourself."
Zhan En said calmly:
"Own."
Thales frowned slightly.
He felt that Zhan En's mood had changed.
Because the king left the venue, more guests wanted to squeeze in to the Duke of Star Lake, but they were all stopped by the Star Lake Guards. The reason was ready and obvious: His Highness Thales was having a pleasant chat with Duke Zhan.
, do not disturb.
"Tell me, Thales."
Zhan once again called the prince by his name. He turned the wine glass in his hand and whispered.
"Have you ever thought about..."
Duke Iris raised his head on his seat and looked at the huge pillars in the hall with serious eyes:
"Back then, if Ms. Serena hadn't taken you by surprise and kidnapped you to Manor Manor, you and I would have become enemies from the beginning..."
"Later, if she hadn't sneaked into your convoy and attracted the pursuit of the Queen of Night..."
"Then we will be in a different situation today?"
Thales stared at Zhan with a serious expression.
"What's the meaning?"
But the Duke of Iris smiled:
"The bright star and Kevin Deere, the nine-pointed star and the iris, we don't actually need to be enemies."
"You and I, we can put aside our past grudges and stand together..."
Zhan En stared at him, emotions rolling in his eyes:
"In the future, in this shaky world..."
"Achievements."
Thales' eyes moved.
Zhan approached him slowly, raised his glass for the third time, and showed his signature smile that made people feel like they were in the spring breeze:
"As long as you are willing to accept peace - no longer be my enemy."
Thales was stunned.
Zhan raised his eyebrows, moved his wrist, and motioned to Thales's wine glass on the table.
The two looked at each other for several seconds.
At that moment, Thales seemed to go back many years ago.
At that time, in the Northlanders' military tent, another man who was much more rugged did the same thing. He pushed his wine glass to the then prince and invited him to drink with him.
Thales quickly came back to his senses. He looked at Zhan's expression and smiled.
"Put aside the past grudges and stand together..."
"These words sound very familiar," the prince said playfully:
"Six years ago, when I was on my mission to Exeter, did you say something similar?"
Zhan En's face darkened.
Thales looked at the other party's expression and remembered what Duke Falkenhausz said in the Ghost Prince Tower:
【But you must be more careful and vigilant.】
[The powerful nobles and lords will rush to find you, win over the prince who has not returned home for a long time, and use all methods to win you to their side, turning you into the vanguard of the Fuxing Palace. 】
Thales stared at Zhan's face and chuckled:
"I'm sorry, but maybe you should say: Canxing and Kevin Dill, let's simply marry and become a family. In the future, our blood will blend, we will advance and retreat as one, and we will share the throne of the stars?"
At that moment, the prince saw clearly: Zhan En's expression turned cold and his breathing became heavier.
It was like a gentle spring breeze suddenly breaking into a mass of cold air.
On the periphery, Doyle, who came back to guard, yawned and pushed the honest-looking guard Ferry next to him:
"What on earth did His Highness and the Kevin Deere family talk about? Their relationship is so good? They haven't left for so long..."
"Speaking of Feili, do you think that although many girls tried to get close to you tonight, His Highness, he, he prefers to stay with men?"
Perhaps he didn't expect d.d to answer him. Ferri, who was staring at the guests loyally, was stunned for a second:
"Um, it seems so?"
Doyle looked suspicious:
"Why do you think this is?"
Ferri replied without hesitation:
"Because His Highness is also a man."
Um?
Doyle was startled. He felt something was wrong. He thought about it for a while, but he couldn't find the flaw in this sentence.
In front of Thales, the Duke of South Bank gently put down his wine glass.
"Our past conflicts were all caused by accidents or forced by circumstances, but they were never intentional or personal grudges."
Zhan En took two deep breaths and seemed to be adjusting his mood:
"But this time, I'm serious."
"This time it's just you and me. It has nothing to do with the family behind us. There's no need to involve them."
Duke Iris' tone was very stiff, as if he was forcing himself to endure it.
It’s just you and me, it has nothing to do with the family...
This time, I'm serious...
Thales smiled in his heart:
What's going on with this scumbag script full of familiarity?