In the hall of the mansion of Secret Manor, Thales stopped in front of a portrait facing the porch.
"This is Leinster Kevin Deal."
Raphael's voice came from behind.
The man in the painting is handsome and well-dressed. He is sitting on a red leather chair, playing with a slightly unsheathed dagger in his hand - the exposed dagger blade transmits cold light, and the tip of the dagger is inlaid with gems.
"One of the Six Knights of the Revival King—Deadly Iris."
Hearing this surname and nickname, Thales realized something. He looked at the tapestry under the frame:
[Leinster P.T. Kevin Dill, former 27-20]
"Seven hundred years ago, he funded Prince Tormund, who had not yet become king, and recruited and trained the first batch of professional spies and spies. He made great contributions to the end of the war and the founding of the Star Nation. He was the kingdom's first intelligence officer.
Manager."
Raphael stared at the portrait as if he were staring at a real person:
"Recognized as the founder of the kingdom's secret science."
The fatal iris depicted by the artist is only thirty or forty years old. His expression is focused but his brows are slightly furrowed. He has a melancholy and misty temperament, and there seems to be endless sorrow in his chest that cannot be resolved.
Make the viewer feel pity.
Leinster Kevin Deere.
The founder of Secret Science.
The prince was thoughtful:
"He is also the ancestor of the Kevin Deere family and the first Duke of South Bank?"
"Exactly."
Thales nodded, said nothing, and followed Raphael's footsteps.
Stepping indoors and stepping on the star-blue carpet common in the kingdom, the mansion hall that appeared in front of Thales was open and bright, completely different from the old and desolate outside the manor.
Thales looked around:
"It seems bigger than it looks from the outside."
The sunlight shines through the window, making the silver double cross stars on the wall carpet and hanging flag shine brightly, which is unexpectedly deep and dark.
"That's thanks to the original owner of this manor. The architectural layout is unique and has a lot of hidden things inside."
Raphael didn't look away and kept walking.
"It's a pity that the manor suffered bad luck during the Year of Blood and was almost burned to rubble."
"Otherwise it wouldn't have become our headquarters."
Several people in casual clothes were sitting in the hall busy, some were dealing with documents, some were talking in low voices, and they turned a blind eye.
There is little difference from an ordinary municipal department.
almost.
Raphael led the boy into a side hall.
Whether it was the corners, columns, stair handrails or even the shape of the ceiling, Thales could see the past luxury and splendor of this place and its historical deposits. However, Raphael walked very fast and was obviously used to such a rhythm. The young man was in vain.
To appreciate it, you can only take a quick look at it.
Until he saw another classical bust in a corridor.
[Halva C.M. Karabyan, 14-65 BC]
The man in the painting is nearly middle-aged, but there is no trace of twilight between his eyebrows. He even has a slight smile at the corner of his mouth with a mustache, looking simple and sincere.
It is in perfect contrast to Leinster, which has a city in its chest.
"That's Steward Halva."
Noticing that Thales' pace had slowed down, Raphael only took a glance and revealed the identity of the person in the painting:
"Deputy and Successor to Leinster."
Thales's heart moved.
Raphael nodded slowly:
"Thanks to his talent and persistence, the intelligence network that was originally privately managed by Leinster did not become a short-lived accident due to poor reputation after the death of 'Deadly Iris', but was officially named 'Kingdom Secret Service'.
Recruiting talented people and customizing the rules have been passed down to this day."
Thales' eyes moved to the wall carpet under the picture frame. There was a sentence embroidered with gold thread on it. The font was simple, half text and half white, somewhere between modern imperial language and contemporary common language:
[The king’s ears and eyes are the sentinels of the country, and it is my duty to keep the secrets in the know.]
Raphael continued:
"Of course, Halva eventually rose from the position of intelligence chief, was promoted to a higher position, and became the prime minister of the kingdom with one person under his command and more than ten thousand people. He was known as the 'wise prime minister' in history."
"Zhi Xiang," Thales repeated this nickname while recalling Gilbert's history class:
"'Wise Prime Minister' Karabyan?"
His face looked strange.
"I know what you're thinking."
Raphael thought of something and sighed:
"Whenever this nickname and this last name are put together..."
"It's quite a contrast, isn't it?"
Thales snorted, then suppressed the desire to curl up his lips, looked solemn, and continued to move forward.
They walked smoothly and quietly along the way, passing through countless corridors and ending in the foyer. Occasionally, someone passed by holding a stack of scrolls, appeared from one door, and disappeared from another. The pace was urgent and the state was busy. When they met the two people, they just nodded.
"It seems there aren't many people on duty?" the prince asked curiously.
"Whether it's because of a certain prince's accident in the Western Wilderness or a certain prince's accident at the banquet, many people have stayed up for days and nights without taking shifts," Raphael said without caring about Thales's face:
"Have mercy on them."
Thales could only shrug awkwardly.
"But what are we doing here? Since Kevin Deere can't be punished and there's nothing you can do about the case."
Raphael glanced at him and was about to answer, but a door behind him suddenly opened and a man stopped them:
"Raphael, you guys have finished preparing the white gloves. Do you want to come and take a look?"
When the man said this, he kept glancing at Thales, wanting to salute but hesitating.
Raphael was thoughtful, but Thales frowned.
"He said, butts?"
Thales approached Raphael suspiciously and asked in a low voice:
"Butt?"
Raphael turned around and spread his hands indifferently, as if he didn't see the prince's face:
"It's a special team under me that told you its full name."
"Need to repeat?"
Thales forced himself to smile.
Raphael raised his eyebrows understandingly, turned back and walked towards the man: "Very good, Dani, let's check the procedures. It won't take long."
"By the way, keep your eyes in a normal position."
The man at the door immediately retracted his furtive glance at Thales.
Thales was about to follow, but the Bone Man blocked the door with his hand:
"No, I'll come out soon. Just wait for me here and don't move around."
Raphael gave him a pleasant smile and closed the door.
Thales, who stayed in the corridor, rolled his eyes.
Hum, wipe your ass.
The corridor was still quiet, and Thales was bored. He simply took a few more steps and looked at the portraits hanging on both sides of the corridor: most of them were men in their prime to middle age, either calm and serious or aggressive.
In contrast, one particular painting caught his eye first:
It was a full-length portrait of a woman.
She lay stretched out on her side on the dark sofa. Her complexion was fair and beautiful, her facial features were deep and impressive, and her clothes were full of exotic style. She even did not hesitate to reveal her slender thighs, showing off her sexy and sultry figure. Under the artist's wonderful brushwork, she became
Even the curled toes look green, delicate and lovable.
But unlike the figure that makes the man's blood rush, the expression on this lady's face is cold and mysterious, not caring about everything around her.
Comparing the two, Thales looked at her, sometimes seeming to be charming, sometimes feeling noble and inviolable.
Thales moved his eyes to the bottom of the picture frame:
【Alf Cerdu Ka Mimo Hamble, 39-77】
"This is Alf."
A slightly thick voice came from behind, with Tails' familiar Western Wilderness accent:
"People call her the 'Pornographic Shadow of the East.' This is one of the few portraits of her that has not been burned."
Thales turned around and was slightly surprised when he saw the person clearly.
"Wait, I recognize you, you are..."
Behind him was a well-groomed man with a slightly darker complexion. He bowed respectfully to Thales, just like he did at the Blade Tooth Camp:
"I, Norbu."
"It's an honor to see you again, and I'm glad that you are now healthy and at ease, His Highness Thales - or should I say, Duke of Star Lake?"
Thales looked at him with surprise, and finally confirmed the other party's identity:
The secret cadre who dared to confront the Legend Wings in front of thousands of troops in the Blade Tooth Camp.
Nob.
only……
"Why are you here?"
Thales' eyes subconsciously moved to Nobu's right leg.
There was nothing unusual on the surface, but the prince noticed that Norbu's right hand was holding a cane, supporting half of his body.
Norbu smiled lightly, as humbly as before:
"I came back to report on my duties...for the matter of Xihuang."
Thales knew it all.
"Really?" Thales hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but ask:
"How are you, your legs?"
Norbu hesitated.
He slowly turned back, looked at his right leg, and then at his crutch, with a look of loneliness on his face.
"Thank you for your concern."
"The secret department has good wound medicine, but..."
Nobu forced out a self-deprecating smile and tapped the cane on his right hand:
"I have to learn to get used to this thing."
Thales was silent for a while.
He thought of the scene when Roman brutally broke Norbu's right leg in the desert in order to help him cover up the news, and he suddenly felt guilty.
"I'm very sorry."
Nobu shook his head and put away his depressed mood:
"It's not your fault."
"Besides, if it weren't for this leg," he said with a smile:
"I guess they won't let me come back so easily. It may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."
Seeing his self-deprecation and open-mindedness, Thales didn't know what to say.
Nobu obviously noticed the awkwardness of the atmosphere. He quickly turned back to look at the woman in the painting and used the topic to drive away the momentary depression:
"In short, Alf comes from the Humble Dynasty in the Eastern Continent, and is said to be the exiled descendant of the 'Great Kadir' Amma Mimo Humble."
Alf.
Thales was confused:
"So, Alf? She is a foreigner, a woman...and a member of the occult?"
Strangely, Nobu shook his head first, and then nodded.
"After John I the Black Eye failed in his Northern Expedition and deposed Halva, the Wise Prime Minister, the secret science of the kingdom was not trusted, and its future was once uncertain and shaky."
Norbu looked at the foreign women in the painting with deep eyes:
"Until Kurome decided to give this worthless little toy to his favorite pillow lover - like a remunerative position, or simply, a gift - as a reason to convince the ministers to keep her by their side.
"
The king's lover?
Thales turned back subconsciously, wanting to take a closer look at Ms. Alf.
In the painting, she still has an indifferent expression and a calm posture, not caring about the eyes of others outside the painting.
"With contempt and hostility from the inside out, Alf withstood the pressure to fight for the budget, reorganize and save this moribund department with low morale and no development."
Norbu seemed to be sighing:
"That's right, in those years, Dongfang Yanying controlled the circulation of intelligence and spread the news network widely. He was the nameless but actual head of the secret service and the general manager of intelligence."
He was silently lost in thought:
"And she did a great job."
"Even too good."
"So after Heimu died, she was sent to the guillotine for murdering the late king, and was despised by thousands of people."
Thales came back to his senses and was surprised:
"What?"
Conspiracy to kill the late king?
Nobu smiled, shook his head and said:
"It's not her who can force the ten major families of Exeter to put aside their past grudges and unite together, and even have to ask for help from the dragon to avoid the destruction of the country and the species. How could 'Black Eyes' mistakenly trust Xiao Xiao Yi and his generation.
"
Norbu leaned on crutches, took a few steps forward, and pointed to the sentence embroidered in gold thread below Alf's name:
[The plan is a bitch, don’t believe it—even if you give enough money.]
"But after Kurome's death, his three sons inherited his ambition, but none of them had the talent and strategy of their father."
"I know this part, the end of the first century of the End Calendar," Thales took over his words:
"The three stars are divided, brothers are fighting against each other, tearing apart the earth and fighting for the king, and the war is raging."
Nobu nodded, his eyes far-reaching:
"So, when you don't have corresponding achievements and are popular, but you want to surpass the other two, and wear the nine-star crown left by your father in an orthodox manner..."
He looked at Alf and said quietly:
"The fastest way is to avenge the late king, and if you want revenge..."
The prince reacted. He raised his eyes blankly and took over the conversation:
"You have to have a murderer first."
Thales looked at the charming beauty on the wall.
"I've seen this scenario before."
"At the same time, she was favored by the late king and feared by everyone, but she was a foreign female spy and a slut who was extremely beautiful and skillful." The young man understood something and said in a low voice:
"When it comes to plotting to kill the late king, there is no better scapegoat than this one."
Norbu nodded.
The prince stared at Alf's beautiful figure, imagining that this former alien beauty was disheveled, naked, bruised and shackled, limping under the cold eyes of conspirators, with thousands of people pointing and cursing at her.
, the scene of walking to the guillotine alone.
At that moment, her head was probably held high.
As if he guessed what Thales was thinking, Nobu took a deep breath and smiled.
"Don't worry, when the 'Peace King' Kessel I was crowned, the separation of the three stars was ended, and the kingdom was reunited, the 'Eastern Porn Shadow' was rehabilitated."
Thales felt relieved.
He looked at Alf at her most beautiful appearance and felt the sadness in his heart became lighter.
"So I can still see her portrait here."
But Norbu shook his head in denial.
"Redraw."
Thales turned back in surprise.
"When this painting was completed, Dongfang Yanying had passed away," Nobu sighed:
"Painting craftsmen can only rely on some memories to restore her past style of walking on the top of power as a woman and ruling the underground world."
"But you can see how they exhaust their talents and imagination..."
Looking at Alf who had been drawn with sultry curves, Norbu shook his head in disappointment.
Both Thales and Nobu were silent for a while.
After a while, Norbu reacted:
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yes." Thales said resentfully.
Butts.
The prince looked at the room where Raphael entered and shrugged:
"He... won't be able to come out for a while."
"In that case," Nobu reached out friendlyly towards the next painting on the corridor:
"You don't mind?"
Thales nodded and followed him forward.
This is much more interesting than the grammar lessons of Maester Bonnet and the satires of Raphael.
Nobu raised his hand and stretched it to the other side:
"Gamble Turbuck, known as Dark Moon."
Thales turned his head.
【Gamper·w·b·Terbach,137-215】
"Tebak? The ruling family of the Blade Territory, the Blood Moon of Blade Ridge City?"
Thales thought of Duchess Lyanna, whom he had not seen for many years.
In the painting, Manager Gamble is middle-aged, stout and noble-looking. Poor, he puts all his weight on the cane in front of him and exerts all his strength to push out his chest and abdomen, which makes his smile look a bit stiff and funny.
, coupled with the hairline of his lost city gate...
In another world, it would probably be "unphotogenic".
"He was the intelligence chief who served three generations of kings at the end of the second century and the beginning of the third century."
Norbu nodded:
"From King Sumei I of the Broken Veins to Elam I of the Ascending King, and even Tormund III of the Thorns, all three kings relied on him as their arm and had great trust."
Ascending King.
Hearing the familiar name, Thales couldn't help but compare it with Gilbert's history class, and his expression turned slightly cold when he thought of something.
Norbu’s words of remembrance:
"Despite his appearance, people born in our era would have a hard time imagining how great, how significant, and how profound the impact of Controller Gamble's contribution to the kingdom was."
"Why?"
Norbu exhaled:
"Because in history books, everyone only sees kings and prime ministers, generals and dukes, and laments their foresight and great achievements, but they are unaware of, or turn a blind eye to, the filth and filth in the dark night."
"Because it is also difficult for us to imagine how terrible the Sunset Church once had in the Kingdom in the era before Gambo Teback - ranging from enfeoffing borders and defending territories, ruling succession, and as small as weddings and funerals.
Marry, firewood, rice, oil and salt."
"One order can be changed, one word can be decided."
Thales was thoughtful, while Norbu nodded and shook his head:
"At that time, the king's scepter was lighter than the bishop's robe, the loyalty of the people came from the piety of prayer, and the gaze of the gods was the fate of the world."
The next moment, Nobu raised his head and looked back seriously:
"But half a century has passed since Gan Bo took charge of the Secret Service and assisted the king until he died gloriously and died in Lingcheng, with swords and swords flashing..."
"The followers of Sunset split into two major factions, the church and the temple. They were in constant disputes and internal strife and decline."
"They can no longer get involved in the royal family's genealogy, let alone interfere with the kingdom's major policies, let alone dominate the daily lives of the people."
Thales frowned, and Priest Megan, who was talking about the "battle between elders and younger ones" in theology class, appeared in front of him - well, there was also the nervous little nun.
"In the end, the gods became high and illusory again, and their believers had to bow their heads in prayer to the nine-star crown, and gradually withdrew from the center of power in the stars."
Norbu looked at the plain-looking Gamber with shining eyes:
"During this period, Manager Gan Bo kept his reputation hidden, but he made great contributions."
really.
Thales stood in front of Gamble's portrait: You can't tell a person by his appearance.
But it was still too early for him to say this.
Because the next painting Nobu pointed out to him was of a hunchbacked little old man with a vicissitudes of life.
【William,226-306】
【It is better to be underestimated than to be feared.】
"'Hunchbacked William.'" Nob introduced.
William in the painting is ordinary and regular. Not only does he have no outstanding features, he even looks deformed and ugly because of his hunchback.
"The first general intelligence officer who was born as a commoner - as you can see, he has no surname -. Starting from the middle of the third century, he was in charge of the secret service for fifty years, working diligently and conscientiously."
Nob's crutch tapped the ground gently. He looked at William's hunchback and seemed to have the same feeling:
"When people talk about the legendary regency of the Iron Thorn Queen Mother who endured seven dynasties, they always ignore this low-key minister who was her contemporary."
Norbu was talking to himself, even ignoring Thales' existence for a moment.
"But it was William, the intelligence chief who had neither great achievements nor a noble reputation. Together with the Queen Mother Iron Thorn, he managed to support the weakest, darkest, and most dangerous half in the history of the Star Kingdom.
century."
Thales lowered his head and remembered the origin of the Ballard Room.
"Have I bored you?"
"Of course not," Thales came back to his senses and said in a standard manner:
"please continue."
Nobu's eyes lit up.
"Ah, I have thought that you must be more interested in this secret ancestor."
He led Thales forward a few steps, passed several secret department managers, and stopped next to the most outstanding portrait.
Thales was stunned: unlike other portraits, this painting was framed in silver, which was particularly different.
What caught his eye even more was the young woman in the painting.
She is riding a horse, her armor is ready to lift her reins and sword, and she looks confident and calm, as if she is about to rush out of the frame at the next moment and pierce the heart of the viewer with the sword in her hand.
Besides Alf, this is the second woman in the painting that Thales has seen in the secret room.
More importantly - Thales squinted his eyes to take a closer look at the patterns engraved on the lady's armor, and was amazed: