In the swaying carriage, Thales and Raphael sat opposite each other, speechless.
Thales looked at the secret envoy with whom he had experienced life and death in Longxiao City, recalling the last time they parted in the tunnel.
Raphael looked calm, with a smile in his dark red eyes.
Just like when we met for the first time, I was as confident as ever.
Why is he always so confident?
Then he did some messy and shameful things, and if he broke the pot, he had to have someone else wipe his ass.
Thinking of this, the young man who had just escaped from the Ballard Room felt even darker.
"Shouldn't you stay in the north and play hide-and-seek with the Fallen Stars? When did you come back?"
Unable to stand the other party's charming smile, Thales took the lead in breaking the silence.
Raphael curled his lips and looked out the window:
"recent."
Look, it's so recent.
Is there a more mysterious answer than this?
Thales coughed:
"Those who stayed in Longxiao City, Huaiya, Rolf, and Putilai..."
"Safety."
Raphael's answer was concise and his tone was tight.
Thales frowned.
"Gilbert said that he couldn't find you in the secret department in the past few years..."
"Confidentiality."
"Then you just disguised yourself and put on makeup at the imperial meeting..."
"hide."
"So why did you take me to the Kingdom's Secret Department?"
"Important matters."
After a few rounds of back and forth, Thales, who felt like he was talking to Yodel, laughed angrily and said angrily:
"Can't you say a few more words?"
Finally, Raphael turned around, with profound meaning in his red eyes:
"But it's what you said, if I say nonsense again..."
"Are you going to ask to marry Miss Miranda?"
Thales choked and sighed after a few seconds, exhausted both mentally and physically.
So stingy.
Thales waved his hand helplessly and quit the game:
"Just kidding, okay?"
Raphael smiled and leaned into the carriage easily.
"I know," he said with a satisfied look on his face.
"Me too."
Talspi curled his lips with a smile.
"Does it make sense to be so talkative?"
"It's meaningless," Raphael looked at the prince's speechless and depressed face:
"It's just fun."
Thales didn't know how to reply for a moment, so he could only sigh silently.
A few minutes later.
"Raphael, have you ever seen Miranda in the past six years?"
Raphael raised his eyebrows:
"You want to hear the truth?"
"certainly."
"Then I have to lie."
Thales took a few seconds to digest this information:
"oh."
The prince nodded:
"Then...how about meeting Cohen?"
"who is he?"
"..."
The carriage rocked for a few more minutes, and Thales sighed.
"Raphael, if you never plan to leave the secret department for the rest of your life."
The prince looked at the Bone Man seriously:
"Then what does she mean to you?"
"How are you going to face her?"
Raphael raised his red eyes: "Why do you ask so suddenly?"
"Care about the emotional life of your subordinates."
Raphael gave a sarcastic smile.
"how about you?"
He asked rhetorically:
"What does she mean to you, Your Highness?"
Thales leaned on the carriage and sighed:
"I already said I will not marry Miranda..."
But Raphael's next words made Thales stop talking:
"But I'm not talking about Miranda."
The air was quiet for a moment.
The scenery outside the window changes every inch, from city streets to country roads.
Thales remained silent.
"When you were in Longxiao City, you had a deep relationship and a close relationship."
Raphael looked towards the north and said in a brisk voice:
"Can you really let go of this feeling?"
"We'll never be strangers again?"
Thales' teeth clenched.
"Don't talk about anything else, Raphael," the prince said displeasedly:
"I have nothing to do with her."
Raphael chuckled lightly and didn't care.
"If you are destined to be the King of the Stars, Your Highness, strategizing in the Ballard Room..."
To Thales' ears, the Bone Man's words became extremely sharp:
"How are you going to face...her?"
"Facing what you like in your heart?"
Thales felt a little irritated.
"I'll only say it once, Raphael," the prince turned his head and said coldly:
"I definitely don't have that kind of relationship with her. No! Yes!"
"What kind of relationship?"
"What do you care about me?"
"but……"
“No buts!”
"I just want to say……"
"Don't say it!"
After going back and forth, Raphael could only sigh and surrender:
"All right."
Thales snorted and crossed his arms.
The Desolate Skeleton Man sighed:
"It's just a pity that you don't like her..."
Thales turned his head further to the side.
"You know, we finally picked out refined grains for her and are ready to welcome her back to China..."
Thales was stunned for a moment and turned around.
"Grains and grains, welcome back home? Wait, who are you talking about?"
"Who else could it be?"
Raphael looked back:
"Of course, the secret department carefully selected it for you from hundreds of candidates..."
Raphael showed his white teeth and smiled brightly:
"What a lovely horse Jenny."
Thales was silent for ten seconds, leaning against the carriage and swaying in the wind.
Then he showed his middle finger expressionlessly.
Fuck you.
Looking at his face, Raphael laughed heartily.
Thales swore with a dark face: If the other party told this joke again, the first order he would give when he became king would be for Miranda to marry Cohen.
Ah, at that moment, God knows how much he missed Cohen.
Raphael sat back:
"Feeling better?"
"Not at all," Thales said listlessly:
"But thank you for livening up the atmosphere."
"You're welcome," Raphael didn't care at all about the resentment in the prince's words:
"Anyway, you will only feel more uncomfortable later."
Thales's slightly improved mood collapsed again.
"This time is it about what happened last night?"
A shadow passed over Raphael's face.
"What else could it be?"
When it comes to getting down to business, it seems like the relaxation just now is gone.
The Desolate Skeleton Man sighed:
"Fourteen hours ago, I was busy sorting out the battle reports of the Freedom Alliance, and then I received news of an accident at the royal banquet - anyway, no matter where you are, you can always cause something to happen."
Raphael clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Thales also hummed angrily:
"Then depose me and let me change my identity and disappear. Do you believe that I can be a law-abiding citizen for the rest of my life?"
Raphael glanced at him.
"You? A law-abiding citizen?"
"Do you believe it yourself?"
Thales was speechless for a moment.
"So what happened last night," Thales tried to bring back the topic of concern:
"What is the truth about the feud between Crowcrow Town and Mirror River, that is, between Bailar and Doyle?"
Raphael was silent for a few seconds.
"His Majesty has ordered the Trial Hall and the Noble Affairs Council to be responsible for hearing the case."
"Out of the principle of neutrality, I suggest you not to intervene..."
Thales yawned greatly.
"Seriously, Raphael, why do you think I didn't dance until dawn with the young girls at the party, but instead smelled your sweat in this old carriage?"
Raphael changed his posture and sniffed his collar calmly.
"Or do you think I'm as easy to deceive as Cohen, or as tolerant of you as Miranda?"
Thales winked at him:
"Just give me some...private inside information?"
Raphael frowned.
Thales raised his eyebrows and his eyes fell on Raphael's sleeves intentionally or unintentionally.
The latter's forearms are as fair and perfect as ever.
It's hard to imagine that there was once...
The Desolate Skeleton Man was silent for a moment and instinctively pulled up his cuffs.
"You shouldn't get involved in personal relationships," his red eyes flashed:
"You are a prince and I am a servant. We should handle official business."
Hey, who was it that started a personal relationship with him just now?
"If it had been someone else, maybe it would have been."
"But you are still different, Raphael," Thales said, half sincerely and half conventionally:
"That night in Longxiao City was different."
Raphael tilted his head and glanced at him.
"By the way," Thales added:
"If we really want to cooperate and meet at the Imperial Council in the next fifty or sixty years, it's best to start learning how to get along now."
Perhaps convinced by the last sentence, Raphael took a deep breath and sat upright in the carriage.
He said seriously:
"Judging from the information the secret department has, this matter is an unfortunate tragedy."
Yes, tell me something I don’t know - Thales nodded seriously and humbly while swallowing these words.
Raphael continued:
"Baron Doyle of Mirror River is a complete idiot. His greatest advantage is his shamelessness."
"He just happened to be lucky. The wife he remarried is a business master. She has managed the family for several years and amassed money well - or in other words, she speculated and made money everywhere - so the Doyle family became richer and bolder.
, his hands stretched longer and longer, unscrupulously..."
Thales thought of Baron and Mrs. Doyle and nodded with lingering fear.
Raphael snorted:
"On the other hand, the ruler of Crow Cry Town is also not a good person. He has no good intentions when he reaches out to borrow money."
"Old Bailar didn't know how to manage money, but he was a master at coercion, intimidation, and extortion, the traditional aristocratic arts. All these years, he had his front teeth knocked out and his blood swallowed by his default, blackmail, and threats.
The bitter masters, together they can form a guard force, and maybe there is still a reserve left."
Thales frowned upon hearing this.
"It's only been one day, but the secret department has investigated so clearly?"
Raphael laughed and shook his head:
"Of course it's impossible."
"But we discovered that one of the parties to this case has long been registered with the Department of Finance and Taxation: Mr. Juke Man has been staring at the Doyle family for a long time, staring at their gray income, waiting for the pigs to be fattened.
It’s easy to kill him.”
Financial Controller Juke Mann has long been eyeing the Doyle family?
Thales had some realization.
Raphael said disdainfully:
"So where there is no need for investigation, our people can just move the tracking files and investigation files that have been backlogged for several years overnight - of course, the people at the Department of Finance and Taxation may not be happy if they are intercepted."
The Department of Finance and Taxation, overnight, intercepted Hu...
Hearing this, Thales looked strange.
He recalled the gaffe of Mr. Juke Man's rejection of the budget bill at the meeting this morning.
Now think about it again, where did the other party lose his composure...
That's basically "Brother Chen lost several thousand yuan tonight"!
If he didn't lift the table, he would be considered well behaved.
"So, the two families, Doyle, who is suddenly rich and greedy, and Bailar, who is arrogant and rogue, are facing each other..."
Thales exhaled and said helplessly:
"It's true that when you meet your opponent in chess, you will meet a good talent."
Raphael nodded
"It's not a big deal at first. After a lot of quarrels among the nobles and a lot of trouble, the two deadlocked families will probably return to the negotiation table as usual..."
Raphael glanced at Thales.
"But at this moment, because the Legend Wings left the camp, the Blade Fang camp was attacked by the orcs and the Bone Man. Old Bailar who was stationed there was unfortunately attacked and died of fear."
"The balance is just out of balance."
Thales slapped his forehead in frustration.
Why is it me again?
But Raphael’s words continued:
"In addition, recently, the swaying Baron Doyle of Mirror River has relied on his son to get acquainted with a newly returned royal figure. He is particularly famous in the royal capital and his back has become stiff."
Thales's face became increasingly ugly.
But Raphael deliberately lengthened the words and repeated: "The royal family's big people and things. Do you understand?"
Thales sighed:
Why is it still me?
"If that's the case, that's fine. It's just a win and a loss. One family will benefit and the other will lose."
"Until old Bailar's eldest son returns from the Tower of the End - as you can see, he is a fool."
"My mind was filled with radical ideas that traditional nobles in the country did not have, and I decided to go to a banquet to make big news."
Thales huddled in the corner of the carriage, numbly smacking his mouth.
Why is it always me?
Raphael said helplessly:
"So Your Highness, you have to smell my sweat here."
After the words fell, the two sighed at the same time and hugged their arms at the same time.
"So, Anke Bailar, how is he doing now?"
"We are still interrogating according to the process, from the motivation process to the mastermind behind it," Raphael said calmly:
"If you ask me, among the 'guests' the secret department has received, that child is considered to be very strong."
interrogation...
Thales felt depressed.
"What's there to ask," the prince said angrily: "The mastermind is Jann Kelvindill, and that guy admitted it directly in front of me last night."
"He's the one who should be here smelling your sweat."
Hearing this name, Raphael looked a little strange.
"I think you should probably know, Your Highness..."
"The Guardian Duke of the South Coast, Zhane Kelvindir, left the royal capital this morning and returned to the Emerald City due to urgent family matters."
Thales was surprised at first, and then understood.
It went so fast.
"Of course, as the mastermind behind the scenes, he has to save his own life," Thales sneered, crossing his arms:
"Isn't it an urgent matter?"
If the Grand Duke of Fengzhao City had Zhan En's ability to grease the soles of his feet, maybe he wouldn't have had his neck broken by King Nuen.
But Raphael's tone darkened.
"Before leaving, Duke Kevin Deere sent the "Emerald City Replacement Petition" to His Majesty."
Thales didn't react for a moment:
"What?"
Raphael glanced at Thales:
"He applied to His Majesty that the vassals of Iris can voluntarily be exempted from military service and labor according to their needs by paying new taxes every quarter - the Emerald City's business is prosperous, and there are quite a few lords who are willing to do this.
——For the Kingdom’s levied soldiers lost due to this, the Kevin Deere family will set an example and also pay taxes and services to the royal family to make up for it in the form of subsidizing the royal standing army.”
It took Thales a few seconds to understand the meaning of this sentence.
What?
The Kevin Deere family will lead by example...
Pay taxes…
Substitute...
Subsidizing the royal standing army…
The next second, Thales, who was startled, stood up from the backrest.
"We just had an argument about this at the Imperial Council...but is this too soon?"
And it is a major matter related to the rule of the lords of the entire South Bank.
Unless it was done beforehand...
Raphael shrugged:
"The official announcement will come around this afternoon."
afternoon.
Thales suddenly remembered his father's exact words in the Ballard Room:
[The meeting will be held again in the afternoon to discuss how to help Qiu Ke solve the budget problem...]
afternoon.
Budget.
At that moment, some joints were connected at that moment.
"Zhan, he and my father actually..." Thales couldn't believe it: "Fuck."
He cursed unhappily.
The prince then looked at the Barren Skeleton Man, feeling disappointed.
"So our Duke of South Shore, he won't be held accountable, right?"
"At least it's not the reason for instigating assassins and hindering the Duke of Star Lake?"
Raphael patted him on the shoulder sympathetically
"Not only that, the secret department has to allocate additional personnel to 'refute the rumors,'" Raphael said with an unhappy look on his face:
"There are always people spreading ignorant lies like 'The Duke of Star Lake accused Kevin Deere in public last night.'"
Ignorant nonsense...
It took Thales a while to put away his disbelieving expression.
Nope.
Forget about fame and fortune...
Still want to control the review?
"So...I messed up your affairs again?" Thales said dumbly.
"It doesn't matter," Raphael said with a broken look:
"Anyway, the secret department is used to it."
"Over the past six years, I have established a special accident response team, and you are their favorite - greatly increasing their presence and budget."
"By the way, their nickname is 'Prince's Little Butt'..."
Thales, who was immersed in depression, frowned:
"Prince's what?"
The Desolate Skeleton Man raised his cheeks helplessly.
"You know, every time after pooping," Raphael said with a particularly unbeatable look:
"They all have to be wiped."
Thales was stunned and speechless.
Raphael gave him an evil smile.
"Okay, Kevin Deere..."
After thinking about something, the prince let out an annoyed breath, buried his face in his hands and rubbed it up and down:
"I should have killed him last night..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." Thales pulled his face out of his palm and said solemnly:
"Ank Bailar, what will happen to him?"
Raphael put away his doubtful expression:
"If Your Majesty has no other opinions, the trial hall will convict him..."
"But judging from the existing facts, he attacked the royal banquet with weapons, injured his noble peers, threatened the Duke of Star Lake, assassinated members of the royal family, and despised the majesty of the royal family..."
Listening to Raphael's list of crimes, Thales thought of Anke's desperate eyes and his last conversation with him, and felt heavy in his heart.
【What should I do if I let go?】
【I don’t know, but I will try my best.】
【I have already done my best.】
【No, you didn't. You didn't see me.】
Thales clenched his fists subconsciously.
"What about his family? Where are his relatives?"
Raphael glanced at him and said nothing.
Thales sighed.
But his eyes immediately became sharp:
"Listen, Raphael."
"If I say that with your help, the Duke of Star Lake will do something from it and affect certain results, is it possible?"
Raphael's red eyes also flashed with light.
"It depends on what you want to do," the Boneless Man said cautiously:
"Different options, different results."
Thales was silent for a while.
"Okay then, from hard to easy."
The prince thought about it carefully and asked three questions tentatively:
"Prison robbery?"
"freed?"
"At least - avoid death?"
Raphael recited these three options silently, and then smiled kindly.
He answered the corresponding three answers without any delay and understanding:
"impossible."
"impossible."
"And--impossible."
There was silence in the carriage for a minute, and for a while the only sound was the sound of the wheels.