"There is no reason," Thales stood in front of the portrait of "Lone Sail" Noah Almond, gritted his teeth and raised his head:
"I want to see him."
Raphael shook his head:
"I do not think so……"
"I know he's here," Thales interrupted, trying to adjust his thoughts while insisting resolutely:
"After the banquet, he was escorted directly here."
In the corridor of the secret department, under the gazes of past intelligence chiefs on the wall, Raphael stared intently at Thales.
"What do you want to do?"
"Nothing to do."
Thales calmed down and made up his mind:
"But he was one of the messes I left behind."
"I must see him."
"immediately."
Seeing Thales' unwavering determination to win, Raphael had to frown:
"I can't decide. I need to ask the Lord for instructions first. Tomorrow..."
"You've been shirkin' in front of me all day," Thales interrupted him mercilessly:
"For the sake of the past, you must be of some use, right?"
Raphael pursed his lips.
But right now.
"If you really want to see him, Your Highness Thales, it's not impossible."
They both turned their heads.
The speaker was an acquaintance on crutches.
He stood under the portrait of Sancho Doyle, the "Pale Baron", respectfully and humbly.
"Nobu?"
Raphael looked at the visitor in surprise:
"What are you doing here?"
As the highest person in charge of the kingdom's secret department in the Western Wilderness, Nobu did not answer, but just looked at Thales quietly.
The prince glanced at Raphael and turned towards Norbu.
"Are you serious, Norbu?"
"Can you really take me to see him? Anke Bailar?"
Norbu nodded and bowed respectfully: "I have the authority."
"plz follow me."
Thales exhaled a breath and moved forward.
"Wait a minute," Raphael held Thales' shoulders and said with a gloomy expression:
"Nobu, this is none of your business."
"Don't interfere with my case."
Thales spoke dissatisfiedly:
"Hey……"
But Norbu tapped his crutch to signal the prince not to worry.
"Listen to me, Raphael."
Norbu said patiently:
"Anke Bailar is a noble of the Western Wilderness. In this case, I think my long-term experience of lurking in the Western Wilderness can help..."
"I don't need it." Raphael refused.
But this time, Norbu didn't give in.
"But my lord needs it."
The person in charge of intelligence in Xihuang said calmly:
"In fact, he has assigned me the interrogation and investigation of Anke Bailar before he is transferred to the trial hall."
Raphael was immediately startled:
"when?"
"Just now," Norbu said calmly:
"And I think that allowing His Highness to meet him may help the case progress."
At that moment, Raphael frowned and looked at Nobu, who looked back at the Bone Man calmly.
The two people in the secret department looked at each other in the air.
"Your Highness," Nobwen extended his hand to indicate:
"let's go?"
Thales looked at Raphael and moved forward decisively.
"honestly……"
Walking past the Barren Skeleton Man, Thales glanced at Raphael displeasedly and said sarcastically:
"What do I need you for, Cohen Karabyan?"
Raphael stood there, his expression as if he had sunk into an ice cellar.
Nobu smiled slightly, turned around and led the way:
"If you are worried, Raphael, you are welcome to accompany me."
He became friendly and humble again.
Raphael remained silent and expressionless.
The figures of the prince and Norbu gradually disappeared.
The Bone Man looked coldly at the "Black Messenger" Mason Zoneved in the portrait opposite. After a few seconds, he took steps and quickly followed.
Thales soon realized that where he was going was not simple.
They went around and around, and in an inconspicuous corner, they stepped onto a stone staircase sunk into the ground.
Different from the coldness on the ground, the underground corridor of the secret department is heavily guarded and locked up. The police Ludo dog sniffing has encountered several groups. Even with Raphael and Nobu clearing the way, Thales still feels that
Slow and difficult.
"Necessary security inspection," Norbu patiently explained while being inspected by a guard:
"Especially now that you're here, it's even more important."
Thales forced a smile and stared at a Ludo dog that was sniffing at him until it whimpered and backed away.
And when the guards opened a heavy iron gate and led them into another damp and smelly corridor, countless commotions came from the darkness on both sides:
"It's this point again - can you leave some room for those who want to sleep! Why, the fortress is lost, the northern border is lost, and now I have to lose my dignity as a diplomat!"
"Your Highness! Your Highness Midir! Are your legs and feet healed? That's great! I knew that those villains' plot to usurp the throne for money would not succeed... No, Your Highness, you must stop His Majesty. He cannot marry that man.
woman……"
"He came, with the devil's whispers, he came, with the conspiracy of the gods, he came, with the cruelest fate in the world..."
"They must have been lurking for a long time. They have secretly communicated with the rebels. They also want to rebel against the Duke, make him king, enter Yongxing City, and change the dynasty! Everyone, yes, all of them must have conspired to commit the murder.
Duke! Xinghui, Xinghui, long live Xinghui, someone, someone must pay the price..."
"Damn you bastard! I knew there was something wrong with that battle in the altar! Bullshit Conqueror of the Desert God Altar! Bullshit!"
"Listen to me, it's Saoirse, Princess Saoirse, it must be her! She has relatives in Vine City, and the people there specialize in herbal medicine, and they know this business best... and those profiteers from the Fragrance Chamber of Commerce,
They have always been dissatisfied with Prince Bank’s policies, and have been collaborating with the Blood Bottle Gang to stir up trouble..."
In the darkness, the figures in the cells on both sides could not be clearly seen, but the howls and cries were mixed together, making Thales uneasy.
"This is a special cell of the secret department. It's a little dark and a little complicated." Norbu turned a deaf ear and kept his expression unchanged:
"Please be patient."
Thales coughed lightly: "These people..."
"I have been convicted by the trial court a long time ago," Raphael took over:
"Should have been imprisoned for life in the Prison of Bones."
"But some people have special status, some still have some value, and some are not suitable to serve their sentences in places other than the Kingdom's Secret Service."
Norbu sighed:
"In the Blade Tooth Camp, if the driller is not dead, he should be escorted here at this moment."
Raphael glared at him:
"As you can see, many people are out of control - they have ghosts in their hearts and their will is naturally weak."
Norbu shook his head:
"They are just immersed in the past and can't extricate themselves."
Raphael looked at him more and more unkindly.
Steeped in the past.
Thales's face darkened, and what came to his mind was the magical journey called the Black Path in the mountains of Longxiao City.
Norbu lamented:
"I still remember Lord Hansen telling everyone: Being able to forget is the greatest happiness."
Raphael snorted:
"Why don't I remember when he said it?"
Nobu twitched his lips:
"Thirty years ago."
Thirty years.
Raphael fell silent for a moment.
Thales couldn't help but ask:
"So how old are you this year?"
Amid endless cries, Norbu nodded respectfully:
"Forty-two."
Thales curled his lips and said nothing.
They crossed an iron gate again, shutting out the howling behind them.
What appears in front of you are airtight cells with thick iron doors and locks. There is only a small gate on each door to communicate with the outside world.
Thales was stopped here.
"I knew you would come," a deep, deep voice came from behind a cell, and Thales seemed familiar:
"I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."
The prince frowned and turned back: a weathered face appeared at the gate.
"By the way, boy, the wine last night was really bad." This was a man with a sloppy but resolute face. He held the iron bars on the gate and stared at Thales:
"I'm still hungover."
Raphael and Norbu looked at each other, both wanting to speak but then stopping.
Thales was silent for a while, and then he hummed coldly:
"Of course it's not as good as the wine here."
"Lord Arend."
The prince moved on, leaving Val Arend behind.
Norbu followed closely.
"I said, he will be a big trouble," the imprisoned Guardian Duke of the North silently watched Thales' figure:
"He's older than you, little wild species."
Hearing this title, Raphael, who was last, stopped and looked at Val behind the iron gate with complex eyes.
"Eat more vegetables from now on, Your Majesty the Duke."
Raphael stared at him for a while, then slowly said:
"Don't just drink."
After saying this, the Barren Skeleton Man turned around and left.
"Wait a minute."
Raphael turned around.
Val pressed his elbow against the iron door and was silent for a few seconds before slowly handing a folded letter out of the gate.
Raphael frowned.
"You know she won't reply to your letter."
Val's eyes darkened.
"I know."
The Duke's eyes fell on Raphael's hands.
The latter subconsciously put his hands behind his back.
"But at least it will allow you to meet her, kid." Val said in a daze.
Raphael looked at him for a long time and finally sighed.
He walked to the gate, took the letter and put it away carefully:
"All right."
Val forced a smile.
"Thanks."
But the next second, the desolate skeleton man's expression returned to indifference:
"But we only use messenger crows."
After saying this, Raphael roughly pulled the gate open.
Shut Val's face behind the darkness.
Under the leadership of Nobu, Thales finally arrived at his destination: a spacious room.
"There was a little girl, beautiful and kind-hearted, but her fate was not good. She had no mother long ago..."
But before they entered the room, an unpleasant song came to their ears:
"An old pervert came and touched the bed while drunk. The girl rolled her eyes and there was broth on the stove..."
The song came from a man who sounded elated and interested.
"That's my subordinate," Norbu embarrassedly confessed to the prince:
"I asked him to step on the spot first."
Thales nodded, and they walked into the room with the man humming a song.
It's dark, humid and depressing here.
The first thing that comes into view is a variety of terrifying equipment:
The torture rack, the head breaker, the stretching wheel, the skinning bed, the stabbing chair, the blood cradle... these are just things that Thales could recognize - when he was a child, there was a similar place in the Black Gold Casino next to the Black Street - part of it,
As for those he couldn't name, there were even more gadgets and gadgets placed on many carts.
Thales's heart sank.
A figure of a fat man appeared in the center of the room, with his back to the door. He was bare-chested and wearing an apron, gloves and a hood. He was humming a song and shaking his shoulders while rhythmically arranging the various tools on the cart.
"Twist the eggs with the tongs, twist and turn them hard, the pervert screams in pain, the girl smiles and spins: Just treat it as a grilled skewer, wrap it around nine and a half times, press the tip of the knife with a stick, stir it in, peel it off and carve it.
Little funnel…”
Anke Bailar, the key criminal who trespassed on the royal banquet, was lying motionless on the couch in the center with his eyes closed, completely naked.
He had obviously lost consciousness, his limbs were bound and bruised, and only his lower body was covered with a thin blanket covered in blood.
Thales looked at the blood stains on the couch beneath him, and his heart tightened.
Perhaps it was the sound insulation effect of the hood, but the fat man who was humming didn't notice the movement behind him.
He held the hammer in one hand and the pliers in the other, twisted his butt and threw away his waist, danced crazily and sang selflessly:
"The pervert cried, girl, don't make trouble. You had a good temper last night, but you are so violent tonight? Girl, she smiled. You admit your mistake. I am an ogre. I didn't eat much tonight. I cooked it in the girl's pot. The broth tastes good.
?”
In the bloody, terrifying, dark and sinister torture chamber, this fat man swaying his fat and dancing passionately was so unique that Nobu had to cough heavily in embarrassment:
"Gomez."
The fat man didn't seem to hear him. He continued to swing his waist with his butt raised, and the hammer seductively lifted the buttocks facing the three of them.
Nobu had to turn up the volume:
"Gomez!"
With two clangs, the hammer and pliers both fell to the ground.
The fat man froze in place, maintaining the posture of stroking his buttocks, and the singing stopped.
The room became quiet.
The fat man named Gomez trembled and took off his hood, turned around stumblingly, and was the first to see Thales, and was startled:
"Wow!"
Gomez breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat from his face after dancing:
"Where did you come from, little brat? Do you know it's wrong to be so scary..."
Norbu emerged from the darkness:
"Gomez."
"This is His Highness Thales."
Gomez froze again.
A few seconds later.
"Ah, Nobu, you came early, you are dressed well today! I am warming up, hehe, warming up," the fat man begged for mercy at first, then his expression changed after he realized what the other party said:
"Ah? You mean your highness, your highness, your highness?"
He stared at the expressionless Thales several times.
"Ahhhh——His Royal Highness Thales!"
Gomez immediately put on a flattering look, tried hard to cover his heavy chest fat with his apron, and was so excited that he spoke incoherently:
"I'm the one from Xihuang, that one, that one! Do you still remember...that one!"
It's a pity that his appearance of being naked from the waist up and stained with sweat and blood reduced his flattering effect by half.
Thales could only smile and signal to him.
"Wake up the prisoner." Norbu felt embarrassed and covered his face helplessly.
Gomez gave a flattering smile and said "Okay", turned around, picked up a pair of bloody pliers, and walked towards Anke on the recliner with great interest.
Thales' complexion changed.
"etc,"
Nobu stopped him in time and glanced at Thales:
"Be friendly."
Gomez lowered his head, dropped the pliers, replaced it with a bucket of cold water, and poured it on Anke.
"Ahem, Tina, ahem, cough—"
Anke was poured cold water on the recliner, and he stood up from the recliner excitedly, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.
"Tina...ahem..."
He painfully coughed out the water in his mouth and turned around haggardly and weakly. It wasn't until he saw the straps on his hands and feet that he realized that he was still in a nightmare.
"Didn't you agree to rest for a quarter of an hour..."
Anke weakly fell back on the recliner, dying:
"It's so late at night, I'm not tired...Aren't you...also tired..."
Thales looked at his bloody nails, bruised and bruised joints, and his eyes that were gradually losing focus, and felt it was difficult to breathe.
"Hey, man, wake up!"
Gomez slapped Anke's face vigorously and reopened his covered eyelids:
"Someone is here to see you!"
Thales let out an unspeakable sigh and walked up to Bailar.
"Ank Bailar."
"it's me."
Anke's distracted eyes were confused for a while, and then gradually focused.
"Your Highness?"
He raised his upper body with difficulty and took a clear look at the young man in front of him.
"Prince Thales?"
Anke's breathing accelerated, his chest heaved, and he squeezed out a weak smile:
"How was your day today?"
He was trembling all over, and there was blood under the slipped blanket. He would occasionally touch his wounds, and he would moan and sweat in pain.
Thales held back his nausea, helped Anke pull the blanket, and motioned for him to lie back down.
"I want to talk to him alone." The prince said to the person behind him.
"Now."
Raphael and Norbu looked at each other.
Nobu signaled Gomez with his eyes, and the latter reluctantly took out a water bag issued by the Western Wilderness Army.
"Open your mouth, man."
Gomez put the water bag to Anke's mouth:
"This is chaka wine that I specially mixed for medical analgesia. It will make you feel better - damn, don't drink too much, it's very expensive!"
When Gomez screamed with pain on his face, Anke loosened the mouth of the bag, fell on the lounge chair, and laughed.
Rafael was about to say something, but Nobu patted him on the shoulder and pulled Gomez with an aggrieved look.
The three of them left the torture chamber.
Thales and Anke were left alone.
"It's useless, Your Highness."
Anke, whose limbs were bound, struggled to turn his head and spoke intermittently:
"This is the secret department. As soon as you leave, they will come back and force me to repeat what I told you."
Thales looked at the tortured Anke and tried not to look at the wounds on his body.
"I know," the young man's heart was filled with confusion:
"I just want you to feel at ease."
Anke stared at him quietly, showing a tired smile.
"You are a good man, Your Highness."
"But as kind and generous as you are, have you found a way to stop being a chess piece?"
Thales paused, his eyes slightly gleaming.
【Is there any difference between you and him? 】
At the royal banquet, his final words to Anke are still fresh in my mind:
【I just, just understand...the other chess pieces.】
This man...
He chose to believe me, so he let go of the sword.
And what can I do for him?
Thinking of his experience in the Ballard Room, Thales pursed his lips and hesitated to speak.
"I understand."
Seeing the prince's expression, Anke gasped and understood something: "I'm sorry for embarrassing you."
"Whether it's yesterday or now."
Thales took a deep breath and forced himself to put away his negative emotions.
"No, the case is still under trial and there is still hope for a change."
Anke leaned back in his chair and grinned while groaning.
"There is no need to comfort me, Your Highness."
"The Bailar family has been bankrupt for a long time, and the family is completely devastated."
He smiled bitterly:
"And I studied the laws of the kingdom before I came..."
"Armed with weapons to attack the royal family, there is no doubt that the death penalty will be imposed. What's more, what I have done is to drive a wedge between Xihuang and the royal family, alienate the Seven Ministers from the Fuxing Palace, alienate you and your majesty, and even involve the "Land Measurement Order". There are many unspeakable things behind the scenes.
The secret is so troublesome and a headache."
"All stakeholders would be happy to add insult to injury."
Anke looked straight at the ceiling and spread his eyes in the dim light:
"I'm hopeless."
Thales sat on his recliner or torture chair and gritted his teeth.
"uncertain."
Duke Xinghu recalled what Black Prophet had just said and forced himself to smile:
"I can think of a way to conflict with the royal family."
"As for the rest, I can go and 'communicate' with Baron Doyle and persuade him to be kind."
The prince tried to put together the words he had thought of more beautifully, at least not so feeble:
"As long as both parties agree, the debt between your families can be settled safely. As for the land dispute between Crow Cry Town and Mirror River..."
"No, Your Highness."
Anke interrupted him.
The young Western Wilderness noble smiled bitterly, looked at Thales gently but desperately, and shook his head weakly but decisively.
"We all understand that this is no longer an issue between Crowcrow Town and Mirror River."
Thales was speechless and couldn't continue.
"Your Highness, do you know what the situation is in the Western Wilderness now?"
Anke on the recliner looked at the prince silently, but his eyes were misty, as if he were looking from the other side of the prison river:
"After the Desert War, the Blade Tooth Dunes and the Royal Standing Army were like sharp knives, piercing straight into the heart of the Western Wilderness."
"They used military control on the western front to restrict the selfish, xenophobic, conservative and divided princes of the Western Wilderness, and became the best reason for the Fuxing Palace to implement royal government in the Western Wilderness: the "Land Measurement Order" and the "Border County Development Order" allowed
The lords hated it so much that they had itchy teeth and were helpless."
Thales couldn't help but frown.
He thought of the Town of Grace and the plight of the Western Wilderness that Count Delek Croma of Wing Castle told him on the way back to Yongxing City from the Western Wilderness.
"Yes, in order to save my father's mess and find the family's turnaround and the loopholes in the contract, I have read through all the official documents, decrees and approvals between Xihuang and the Central Territory in the past ten years, and I can barely recite them by heart."
Anke's face flushed and smiled at him.
His breathing became more even, his grunts and moans were no longer there, and there were fewer pauses between sentences.
It seems that Gomez's wine is taking effect.
"But ten years have passed. The cunning and realistic, passive and lazy princes of the Western Wasteland have found the most shameless way to deal with it."
The most shameless response?
Thales was startled.
Anke's spirit improved slightly. He thought hard and was no longer depressed:
"On the one hand, they kept claiming that they were being hypocritical and submissive, and made the martial law in the Blade Fang camp the norm. On the other hand, they deliberately allowed it to fan the flames, making the middle and small nobles at the lower level full of resentment."
"As time goes by, the king's orders will have no legitimacy without passing the wartime control order, the government orders will be difficult to implement without the help of the kingdom's standing army, and the Fuxing Palace will have no one to respect if it is not the Legend Wing himself."
"And local conflicts like my family's and Doyle's are getting deeper and deeper and difficult to resolve..."
Anke's eyes gradually gathered, and he insisted on speaking, as if he realized that this was the rest of his short life:
"This has turned the desert front line into a talisman for the princes of the Western Wilderness - they want to slowly get used to this sword, assimilate it, and let it become the king's clever plan and constraint at the same time, just like my father shamelessly dragging
The debt is so huge that the creditors are helpless, hahaha..."
Being hypocritical and submissive, fanning the flames, being shameless...
Thales took a deep breath.
He thought again of the "divided Western Wilderness" that Gilbert told him.
However, Anke changed the subject:
"So this sharp knife inserted into Xihuang's heart exceeded both sides' expectations and entered the most embarrassing tug of war."
Anke took a deep breath, cherishing the few moments that the drink brought him to ignore the pain:
"The people of the Western Wilderness are in pain: this sharp knife is piercing their vital points. It has always been their most hated thorn in the flesh, but they still endure the pain and try to assimilate it into their own limbs and talismans."
"The Fuxing Palace is tired: the hand holding the knife costs a lot of money, but it can neither stab nor pull it out, it cannot move, it is useless to advance or retreat: if it advances, it will cause chaos, but the gain will not be worth the loss, and if it retreats, all the previous efforts will be wasted and meaningless."
Thales' eyes changed.
At that moment, he seemed to see a black and white chessboard:
At one end is the gorgeous and noble star staff in his father's hand, and at the other end is the inconspicuous wooden crutch in Falkenhausz's hand.
"Both sides are waiting and waiting for an opportunity."
"Perhaps it is a foreign war, a crisis, or a major event. The people of Xihuang are waiting for a turning point in the situation, and the Fuxing Palace is waiting for further opportunities."
Thales nodded and wiped away the blood that covered Anke's sight:
"I know: For example, my return to my country, the ownership of the Blade Fang camp, and the invasion of wild species and hybrids. The two sides are going back and forth over it, trying to find ways to deal with it."
"for example……"
Thales did not continue speaking, but looked at Anke quietly.
Anke smiled hard and nodded weakly:
"And I realized that the only way for the Bailar family, which has been desperate, to save itself is to seize this opportunity."
"Let my family's case be brought to the forefront and ride on this much-anticipated carriage."
Thales lowered his head and sighed.
"So I must die, preferably at a banquet or in a duel, like a hero, leaving a life-saving charm for my family and keeping my family property, land and title."
Anke straightened his upper body, ignoring the bursting of the wound.
His breathing became faster and his voice became sharper, as if he had returned to the flash of swords and swords yesterday.
"until……"
"Until you..."
Anke stared at the prince blankly, helpless and confused, with some pleading that he was not even aware of.
Thales' hand on the recliner shook slightly.
"so……"
Anke realized something. He lay back on the chair and fell into silence:
"No one can save me, Your Highness."
"Even you."
"you."
Thales was stunned and speechless.
He's right.
He couldn't save him.
He couldn't even face his father's questioning in the Ballard Room.
There was silence in the execution room for a while.
"I'm sorry." Thales said with difficulty, feeling that his tone was dry and meaningless.
"No."
Anke turned his head and raised the corners of his mouth.
His eyes were dark.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Thank you for facing the injustice that others call out, facing the desperate demands, and facing the suffering of others..."
"You didn't respond with indifference. You turned around and waved your sleeves."
"Even if you can."
"Thank you for your kindness at the banquet."
kindness.
Thales couldn't help but think of Zhan's words:
[You have used force to cut off this hope: no matter whether the duel is won or lost, life or death, whether you kill the prince or never reverse the case, his family will be in ruins. 】
[You took advantage of his humanity and forced him to give up the duel, and even forced him to survive. You were so stingy that you refused to even grant the mercy of death. 】
【Now, who is the ruthless person? 】
The prince trembled slightly.
Anke said blankly:
"Thank you for still being willing to come here and listen to my voice - or my last words."
"Thank you for being as tolerant, fair, kind and wise as the rumors say."
Anke looked at the ceiling, but raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, as if seeing the beautiful scenery in a dream:
"There's no sunshine here...but it's not that dark, right?"
Thales couldn't bear to listen and slapped the cart next to him.
He took a deep breath and turned around:
"Anke, I promise you, regarding your father and the Doyle family..."
"It's not important anymore."
Anke shook his head with dull eyes.
"I know my father, Your Highness."
"He's just a damn bastard, headstrong, spendthrift, overjoyed at success, and self-righteous."
His expression was disgusted and contemptuous.
Thales looked at him blankly:
"Anke..."
"Marrying him was the greatest misfortune of my mother's life, and marrying her was the greatest luck of my father."
Anke snorted lightly.
"Yes, in order to attract attention, what I said at the banquet was neither complete nor true: my father's end was entirely his own fault," he showed an apologetic smile to Thales:
"I know, I've always known."
"Even if it wasn't Doyle's calculation that caused him to lose all his family fortune, he would have fallen into the hands of others sooner or later."
"No one is special."
"Nothing special about you."
Thales didn't speak. He just lowered his head and held Anke's hand, feeling his tighter grip, and continued to listen to his confession.
Just like in the old prison of bones.
Anke was in a daze, talking about his troubles like a child:
"In fact, growing up, what my father was best at was whipping his wife and children, like most fathers in the Western Wilderness."
"In the Tower of Ending, Teacher Kuradel said that I am very perceptive and sensitive to the enemy's attacks. I am very suitable for the Rose lineage." Ank was scornful at first, and then laughed out loud:
"I can only answer him that this is due to practice since childhood and is learned from home."
"Family origin, family education, hahahaha..."
"Whether you believe it or not," Thales whispered:
"Being good at being beaten is also part of my family background."
Anke glanced at him, and the two smiled at each other.
"Maybe we should get to know each other earlier and exchange experiences..."
But the smile of the young man in Xihuang became more and more bitter, astringent, and heavy.
Thales listened quietly.
Like it's the last thing he can do.
Bailar exhaled a breath.
"My father and I have never been close, and I don't want to foot the bill for the mess he left behind."
Anke shook his head, and the confusion in his eyes gradually turned into relief:
"But we don't have a choice, right?"
"Especially where we come from."
I have never been close to my father.
None of us have a choice.
Especially our origins.
At that moment, Thales, who was in a daze, felt the hand held by the other party tighten, and Hell River Sin jumped slightly.
"Anke..." The prince endured the pain and gently patted the back of Anke's hand to let him relax.
But Anke Bailar just stared blankly into the void:
"But my brothers and sisters, they are innocent, just like our mother."
"They shouldn't be dragged down by the shadow of their fathers like me. They should go out of the Western Wilderness and see the world outside, just like I promised them."
Anke came to his senses silently, full of disappointment:
"But I can't see it anymore."
Thales closed his eyes.
The shadow of my father’s generation…
At that moment, he seemed to see the figure at the end of the long table in the Ballard Room, and he seemed to see the throne at the end of the long corridor in the meeting hall.
"They'll be fine."
The prince opened his eyes and tried his best to comfort the other person:
"Your brothers and sisters, I swear...I will do my best."
Anke looked at him and nodded strenuously.
"It is impossible to expect Bailar to keep the title and land and provide them with adequate food and clothing..."
Anke seemed to remember something and tried his best to explain:
"But my mother deposited a sum of money in the Royal Bank during her lifetime, and the certificate is in the hands of our maid, Tina."
"After I die, that may be enough to raise my younger brothers and sisters until they grow up - not necessarily. Before I came here, I really didn't expect that the prices in the royal capital were so expensive."
Anke smiled bitterly.
"I'm just asking for your help, don't let others find out - especially my father's creditors, not just Doyle's family, especially after the land in Crowcrow Town was taken back."
Thales exhaled and tried his best to calm his voice and give people confidence.
"I'll let someone take care of me," Thales said seriously:
"In the Western Wasteland, Duke Falkenhaus will betray me, and Dele Croma of Wing Castle is also my friend."
In fact, he didn't know if they were his friends.
But he had to say it.
must.
But the next second, Thales's palms trembled.
He quickly looked at Anke and saw that the other person was excited and his chest was heaving.
"Anke, don't get excited, keep your strength..."
It took Anke several seconds to recover.
"It's okay, Your Highness."
He was sweating profusely and tried his best to smile:
"Even if I am a pawn, it is still my choice."
Thales looked at him with mixed feelings.
But something moved in his heart.
"Speaking of chess pieces," the prince said slowly:
"There's one more thing I can't figure out, Anke."
Anke slowly turned his head and looked at him doubtfully.
"Jane Kevin Deere, as the initiator of the conspiracy, he specifically told me yesterday," Thales said in a deep voice, trying not to let his emotions affect his judgment:
"Let me come and see you in prison when I have time."