Chapter 85 Even His Majesty, especially His Majesty
Thales walked out of the cell where Anke was interrogating with a numb expression, in a trance.
In front of Raphael and Norbu, he still instinctively maintained his dignity and bearing as the Duke of Star Lake, and his every move was elegant and steady - he still remembered everything that happened in the interrogation room, and how his every word and deed was influenced by his power.
status rather than specific content, thus having a far-reaching impact and irreversible consequences.
This is his luck, but also his curse.
But when the two men from the secret department came forward and asked the prince "what did he say to you" with undiminished respect (but doubts)...
"Nothing," Thales only remembered that his voice was calm and composed as always:
"He was just unwilling and begging for his life."
Neither Raphael nor Norbu said anything.
However, the Desolate Skeleton Man's eyes stayed on him for a little longer.
Norbu looked around him more seriously.
But that doesn't matter anymore.
[The carriage is about to disperse, what do you want to do?]
【Hold on to your sword.】
The dying Anke tried his best to tear out the words from his throat, lingering in his heart like maggots on his tarsus, echoing all the time, deafening.
"Please follow me, Your Highness, the exit is this way."
In front of Thales, who was distracted, Norbu bowed respectfully, humbly and low-key:
"According to the rules, we can't go back the way we came."
But Raphael appeared before him and Thales, and glanced at Nobu without saltiness:
"I'll just send him out."
Nobu smiled and nodded without refuting, while Gomez behind him looked back and forth between the two of them, occasionally glancing at Thales secretly.
But Thales doesn't care.
The young man only remembered that he politely and humbly thanked Nobu and Gomez, and left mechanically under their respectful or flattered eyes.
"You said you just started taking charge of the interrogation today?" Raphael stared at Norbu carefully, who looked calm.
"Indeed." Looking at the prince's leaving figure, Norbu smiled and nodded.
Raphael glanced at Anke who had passed out.
"How lucky."
The Desolate Bone Man said coldly, turned around and followed the prince:
"What a coincidence."
Norbu bowed politely and sent Raphael away.
Only at the moment when the other party's figure disappeared, his eyes became deep and strange.
"Very good, this troublesome prince is finally gone." After wiping his sweat, Gomez, the fat man who looked like he had just finished a college entrance examination, pulled on his apron, causing his fat to tremble. He turned around and looked at the naked Anke, happily
Pick up a pair of pliers:
"Now we can get back to the point, let's see if I don't squeeze him dry..."
"Gomez."
"yes?"
Nobu turned around, expressionless:
"stop."
Gomez walked towards Anke holding the vise and froze in the middle of his smile:
"Okay, I'll--eh?"
Nobu looked indifferent and walked towards the unconscious Anke with a cane:
"From now on, don't give him hard torture, don't use soft torture like sleep deprivation, and even give him pain relief if necessary."
Gomez looked puzzled:
"Then...how should I ask?"
Norbu shook his head:
"Just treat us as security officers now and keep the interrogation on language. That's enough."
After working together for a long time, Gomez read the other party's calm but determined tone and hesitated slightly:
"But we finally returned to the capital with great difficulty, and we finally encountered this big case in Guanxi Wilderness. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to make meritorious deeds..."
"We have already achieved success."
Norbu looked at the darkness outside the door, then leaned over to observe their prisoners, his eyes flickering:
"Just now."
Already made meritorious service?
Gomez blinked, unwilling to give up and wanted to fight for it again:
"But didn't you say that this guy must have some reservations or concealments? Maybe he has some big information? The previous interrogator has almost broken him. We have to ask him before he is completely broken or is sent to the gallows.
Come up with something and let Lord Hanson——"
"No," Norbu interrupted him again, holding the crutch and straightening up, "Trust me."
"He won't die."
Under Gomez's puzzled eyes, Nobu glanced at Anke, who was covered in bruises and almost no skin, and said quietly:
"not today."
Thales walked expressionlessly in the dark underground corridor of the Secret Department.
But he felt like he was standing on the Ghost Prince Tower in the Blade Tooth Camp, suffering from the cold wind, flying sand, and cold palms.
[He told me that if I had to use this bargaining chip...]
Raphael walked in front of him and led the way, with a faint shadow behind him.
[I must give it to you...]
They did not go back the way they came, but walked through checkpoints one after another and shuttled through the maze-like underground corridors.
But Thales no longer cares.
【I can only leave it to you.】
Thales clenched his fists.
Why.
His eyes passed through the darkness in the corridor and were projected to the Western Wilderness thousands of miles away, that aristocrat with a hateful appearance, maverick, and often likes to laugh maliciously.
Only a few months ago, he was talking eloquently in front of me and giving advice.
He behaved uniquely and cared about the country and the people.
but.
Why?
He is the man behind Anke.
He put into his own hands the bargaining chip that could suppress the princes of the Western Wilderness and destroy the Great Wall.
Put it into the hands of a... shining star.
Thales gritted his teeth.
He didn't understand it at first and was very anxious.
But when he woke up a little, he became even more anxious, restless and uneasy.
Why?
Cyril Falkenhauser.
This self-righteous and sophisticated old bastard.
Why should he do this?
Who does he think he is?
What power does he have?
What reason does he have!
he--
"Wow, Morat's little snake."
A male voice with a Northland accent came from behind a cell door, dragging Thales back to reality:
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Facing the other party's tone of being an old acquaintance, Raphael seemed to ignore it and quickly walked through the cell door.
Snake cub.
Hearing these words, Thales, who was in a daze, felt an inexplicable familiarity - when he was still in Exeter, Archduke Alessio of Welland often called him "the little poisonous snake of the stars".
What's more, the prisoner who said this also had a Northland accent.
It's like he's gone back in time.
Back to those days in Longxiao City when he was able to hold on despite the hardships, didn't have to worry too much, and was even able to enjoy the hardships...
Longxiao City.
Thales' pupils trembled.
He paused and stopped.
Raphael noticed something was wrong and turned around with a frown.
Thales turned around slowly and looked firmly at the iron prison door from which the sound came.
There is a small gate open on the door, and the everlasting lamp, which is rare in the corridor, faintly illuminates the blurry figure at the gate.
"What an honor to have you come to me?"
Thales' eyes slowly widened.
He took a deep breath and took a step further, trying to put his head out to see clearly the figure behind the iron gate.
Until a hand suddenly stretched out from behind.
"Qiang!"
Raphael appeared in front of him, roughly pulled the iron gate, and closed it tightly.
"You're on the wrong track, Your Highness," the Barren Skeleton Man said as if nothing had happened.
"The way out lies ahead."
Thales stood in front of the cell, staring at the closed iron gate.
"Why?"
The prince's voice unconsciously had a hint of coldness:
"Why close it?"
Raphael kept smiling and asked
"Why did you stop?"
Thales was silent for a moment, his gaze resting on the iron gate.
"Open it." He said calmly.
Raphael smiled softly, with a casual and cynical attitude:
"Just an annoying prisoner..."
Thales looked around. There were many such narrow cells in this small corridor, but obviously, only this one contained prisoners.
Confined in solitary confinement.
"Open it, Raphael." Thales repeated calmly.
The atmosphere is slightly solemn.
Raphael was silent for a second, his smile gradually disappeared, and he replied in a business-like tone:
"Your Highness, this is a key criminal and internal affairs of the secret department..."
Thales didn't let him continue. The prince spoke slowly, his voice as cold as ice:
"I order you, Raphael: open it."
Raphael frowned:
"According to the rules of the secret department, Your Highness,..."
Thales' eyes were sharp and he lost his temper and yelled angrily:
"Fuck it, just open it!"
At that moment, the depression and grievance he felt in the secret department all turned into anger and exploded in his chest.
Facing the sudden outburst of the prince, Raphael's expression remained unchanged and his eyes gradually settled.
Thales no longer wanted to endure it. He took a step forward, grabbed the handle without any explanation, and opened the iron gate!
"Keng!"
The sound of metal clashing echoed in the corridor.
Raphael didn't stop him, but his eyes were cold.
"What's wrong, La," the voice just now sounded again, mocking:
"It's been a while since we last met. Would you like to treat me to a nice meal?"
A stubble-covered face appeared at the gate, casting an indifferent look at Raphael.
The moment he saw the other person's appearance clearly, Thales opened his eyes wide.
"Gu?"
Shock and confusion filled Thales's heart at the same time, forcing him to speak in silence:
"It's you?"
Behind the gate, the face full of Far Eastern characteristics froze slightly.
The prisoner turned to Thales, slightly confused.
Raphael's expression darkened and he breathed out imperceptibly.
That's right.
In disbelief, Thales carefully looked at every inch of the Far East prisoner's face, overcoming his doubts about the prisoner's voice, and thoroughly confirmed his previous guess.
It's him.
It's indeed him.
Six years ago, the butcher shop owner in Longxiao City was the Far Easterner who gave him shelter and a meal in the desperate morning after the night of dragon blood.
"It's you, Gu."
Thales said blankly.
In an instant, Longxiao City, Xichi Avenue, the butcher shop, Little Slicker... scenes from the past came to mind one after another.
but--
"and who are you?"
Passing through the narrow gate, the slovenly-looking man from the Far East looked at Thales and nuzzled at Raphael:
"The mistress he longs for but can't get enough of?"
Raphael snorted coldly and did not answer.
"I……"
Thales looked at his old friend and saw him nestled in this narrow and claustrophobic cell. He felt that his mood was complicated and the taste was hard to describe.
He took a deep breath.
"Six and a half, remember?"
Six and a half yuan.
At that second, the prisoner's eyes slowly solidified.
He looked again at this handsome young man who was described as neat and dressed in simple clothes. He was only half a head shorter than Raphael. He gradually realized and then felt relieved.
"Oh," Gu turned around and his face disappeared at the gate. Then there was a muffled sound from the iron gate: "It's you."
"So you have escaped, little prince—and perhaps are no longer little."
His words were full of melancholy and emotion:
"You and your little maid did not fall into the hands of that cunning Camus man."
little Prince.
Camas people.
Gu's words brought back Thales' memories.
It seemed that he was sitting in the butcher shop where he had been six years ago again, getting on the table with Little Slipper, holding up bowls, and drinking broth thoughtfully.
Raphael exhaled from his nose, obviously very unhappy.
"what happens?"
Thales threw himself at the iron door and asked urgently:
"Gu, why are you..."
Thales spoke for a moment.
etc.
Gu, his impression of himself still stayed at the moment six years ago, when Marquis Slice took away the prince and the little slippery man.
Thales's pupils slowly dilated.
He didn't know what happened to him after that night.
Not to mention the story about the Second Prince of Stars that later became popular among the people.
That means……
Thales frowned and stared at the darkness behind the gate.
Gu Man's disdainful laughter came from behind the iron gate.
Thales took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and asked Raphael beside him as calmly as possible:
"He was imprisoned six years ago."
The prince spoke with difficulty:
"Why?"
Raphael crossed his arms, his expression gloomy.
"Six years?"
Gu's voice sounded, filled with surprise and self-mockery.
"Damn it, without the reference of the sun, the calculated time is indeed inaccurate."
Thales felt heavy when he heard this.
He thought of the guard prisoners in the Prison of Bones, and the sighs each of them felt after knowing how long they had been imprisoned.
"Your business has been completed, Your Highness," Raphael said coldly:
"There is absolutely no need to add extraneous ramifications."
Gu's scoff came again.
Thales suppressed his strange mood and tried his best to think calmly and rationally.
six years ago……
After parting ways with him, something must have happened to Gu.
Let him live here and be imprisoned.
The sin of the Hell River came uninvited, filling Thales' brain, washing away his memory, and washing out an old scene.
[Your Highness, do you still remember what happened in Longxiao City six years ago? 】
On the day he escaped from Longxiao City, Putilai's words in the secret passage rang in his ears.
【No, not just these.】
[On that day six years ago, in the darkness that we cannot see, outside the Palace of Heroes and the Shield Zone, other things happened. 】
Thales raised his head suddenly.
"That night, Raphael."
He looked at Raphael and stared into his dark red eyes:
"The night of dragon blood in Longxiao City," the prince gritted his teeth gently and directly asked the key:
"Except for disasters, except for Lumba, except for things in the Palace of Heroes..."
"What else did you do?"
"What does it have to do with him... and Gu?"
But Raphael remained motionless, with a deep expression on his face.
"What have you done?"
The one who answered the young man was still the Far Easterner with a Northern accent, full of sarcasm:
"What else can they do?"
"As always, adhering to the fine tradition of the secret science, we will not even let go of the leftover bones of the dog."
Thales and Raphael turned to look at the cell at the same time, the former was surprised and the latter was gloomy.
"Just like they do to everyone, including you."
Gu sneered and called out the boy's name:
"Prince Thales."
Thales' eyes changed and he was about to speak, but Raphael spoke first, with a distant tone:
"I would like to answer your questions, Your Highness, but this is not my case."
Thales's face darkened.
"It's not bullshit," Gu said coldly from behind the door, debunking Raphael's words:
"Six years ago, weren't you the one who found me first?"
Thales narrowed his eyes and looked at Raphael.
This is not the first time he has rejected himself today.
The Desolate Skeleton Man looked at the darkness behind the gate with terrifying eyes:
"Your Highness, it is an exception for you to contact key criminals privately. Don't waste any more time..."
"The reason why you and I don't get along is that we always go our own way and there is no communication between us."
Raphael said nothing.
But Thales stared deeply into his red eyes, as if he wanted to tear open the world behind his pupils:
"Now is a good opportunity for change."
The Far Eastern man behind the door laughed, half mockingly, half disdainfully.
Raphael remained calm and calm, silently enduring the prince's sharp gaze that could almost break through an iron wall.
"Not here, not now." He said calmly.
In the dim corridor, Thales and Raphael stood on both sides of the iron prison door, silently facing each other.
The ever-extinguishing lamps lengthen their shadows, like two carriage tracks, extending in parallel.
The gate on the door stood between them, creating a claustrophobic darkness with bottomless depths.
"He helped me, I owe him my life."
Thales only felt that he was extremely calm. The sins of the Hell River flowed through every vein in his body, making him feel the direction of this small corridor more and more clearly.
It's like standing outside his oil painting.
Gaze at the universe in the painting.
"If he is locked up, I must know why." Thales' tone was cold, but it contained a meaning that could not be refused.
That night.
That crucial night.
That night not only changed the future destiny of the two major countries and determined the political situation of the world, but it may also have been a night of turmoil in the dark and buried countless secrets.
That night made Putilai suspicious, and he even had to avoid the supervision of the secret department and privately warned Thales.
Obviously, Gu is a piece of the puzzle.
The aura on Raphael slowly changed, from round and casual to sharp and dangerous, causing Thales to feel a slight sting.
At that moment, the person standing in front of him was no longer the young man Raphael who had rescued him from prison six years ago and then risked his own life to go to the Palace of Heroes with him.
Instead, he is a secret agent with a mysterious identity, unpredictable intentions, and terrifying and dangerous methods, the Bone Killer.
But Thales didn't take a step back, he just met the opponent's gaze.
"If you're going to be compassionate, then maybe you need to know that, too."
Raphael's voice deepened, but it had an inexplicable harshness, and the warning was very obvious:
"He has harmed us and owes us many lives."
It has harmed us.
Thales was silent for a second.
"I don't want to let him go," the prince's face softened slightly, but his words were soft and hard, and he gradually added:
"I just want to ask about some things - secrets related to the Bright Star royal family."
Raphael narrowed his eyes.
"Be informed and keep secrets," he said calmly but surely the creed left by the former head of the Secret Service, the "wise minister" Halva Karabiyan for the Secret Service:
"The responsibility of my department."
Thales looked sharply.
"You missed the first sentence."
The prince responded tit for tat and spoke coldly:
"You are the 'Ears and Eyes of the King'."
Raphael snorted coldly.
"When you are crowned king," the Desolate Skeleton Man's answer made the atmosphere even colder and more solemn:
"It's never too late."
Crowned as king.
Thales' face was expressionless.
But within his body, the sin of the Hell River began to boil again, turning anger and coldness into dangerous weapons.
Raphael immediately frowned - his hands tensed unconsciously.
"You are wrong, Your Highness, the grown-up prince."
However, at this moment, Gu's voice sounded at the right time, interjecting into this unfriendly conversation, still full of sarcasm and disdain:
"You and the secret department don't get along, and it's not because you don't understand each other."
Thales and Raphael both turned their heads.
The face of the Far Eastern man reappeared at the gate, and he knocked gently on the iron door, full of contempt:
"It's because you are still a human being."
He looked deeply at the Barren Skeleton Man with a cold expression.
"Not...a monster."
Raphael's expression did not move, but the corners of his mouth slowly tightened.
"You know what, prince?"
Gu suddenly laughed and said to Thales seriously:
"Six years ago, in a hotel in the Spear District of Longxiao City..."
The next moment, Raphael's arm turned into an afterimage and pressed the iron gate!
Thales takes action quickly!
But the moment their skins touched, Thales's expression changed:
The majestic force and obvious stinging pain, as well as a strange crawling feeling of flesh and blood, came from the hand at the same time.
This is--
"boom!"
Rough metal clashes resounded in the corridor!
Thales looked at the scene in front of him with a livid face:
He strangled the Desolate Skeleton Man's wrist tightly, but was unable to stop him from closing the iron gate again, plunging Gu's sarcastic expression into darkness again.
He lost.
The sin of the Hell River roared and flowed rapidly, resolving the numbness and pain in Thales' hands.
Thales raised his head angrily:
"Open it."
But Raphael's arm was like copper poured into iron, pressed firmly on the handle of the iron gate.
"Your Highness, we have a good relationship and have lived and died together," the Desolate Skeleton Man said quietly:
"Please don't make it difficult for me."
The sin of the Hell River boiled again, and Thales gritted his teeth and exerted force, but Raphael's arm remained motionless, like a boundless black hole, silently withstanding all the power that Thales could unleash.
After a few seconds, Thales, who knew he was outmatched, exhaled from his nose and let go.
The sin of the Hell River faded painfully from his hands, leaving only an unwilling roar.
"I think I know," the second prince's gaze was like a sword, piercing Raphael's eyes:
"Why can't you and Miranda be together?"
The desolate bone man's eyes changed slightly.
"That's definitely not because of your status."
Thales said coldly:
"And just because of you, because of who you are."
"Raphael Lindbergh."
Raphael remained motionless, even his expression was frozen.
Looking at the other party's expression, Thales began to think silently.
Gu didn't finish his sentence.
But that's enough.
The information revealed by the people from the Far East was like a puzzle piece that had been lost for many years, entering Thales's racing mind.
Enough for him to piece together the next clue.
Next chip.
[Listen up, Your Highness, what I’m going to say next is something that sanctimonious old fox Gilbert would never say to you.]
Putilai's warning sounded in his mind with deep suspicion:
[It’s not what a mysterious and abnormal secret science would tell you.]
【Remember, Your Highness.】
【Don’t trust anyone on this matter...】
"Hotel."
Thales looked at Raphael silently:
"Gu said, that hotel in Mao District."
As expected, he saw with satisfaction that Raphael changed color slightly.
The Desolate Skeleton Man said in a deep voice: "That's because he has ulterior motives and bad intentions, trying to sow discord and disturb your mind."
Thales smiled.
"But you told me that the secret headquarters of Longxiao City, that is, the Mao District chess and card room that I evacuated from, was also a hotel six years ago."
Raphael's hand was still pressed on the iron gate, his face as cold as ice:
"I never said that."
Thales took a step forward and raised the corners of his lips contemptuously:
"Then you forgot."
Raphael's eyes flashed.
The handle of the iron gate deformed in his knuckles, making a sound of metal bending.
Thales frowned. He looked at the Desolate Skeleton Man's delicate and fair hands, and recalled the time when the other man broke into prison and took six lives with one sword.
"Impossible," Raphael said with a stiff face and slowly said:
"Where did you hear that?"
Thales ignored the power under his opponent's hands and looked at Raphael's dark red eyes again.
"Karen Booker."
The name appeared from Thales' mouth, making Raphael's eyes become colder.
Thales knew that he had taken the right step, but the problem was here.
So the prince took advantage of the victory and pursued:
"He was not only the owner of that hotel, but also a special intelligence officer of the Kingdom's secret department who had been lurking in Longxiao City for twenty years. On that chaotic day, he died during a home invasion robbery."
This time, Raphael was silent for a long time, and then he spoke softly:
"Who told you that?"
Thales thought of the secret headquarters in the Spear District of Longxiao City and the secret passage that allowed him to escape from control.
"I met Booker when I was in Longxiao City. He is a good man, but he will never die in robbery."
Raphael snorted coldly:
"You were running for your life that whole day, so it's impossible to know him."
Thales showed no sign of weakness:
"I know a lot of people."
"And you, you are just too ignorant."
This sentence he learned from Ricky made Raphael silent for a long time.
"This will not help, Your Highness," Raphael no longer dwelled on this topic, and his eyes shifted to the cell where Gu was held:
"I'm sorry for your excessive request."
Looking at the desolate skeleton man who couldn't get enough food and salt, Thales became more and more irritated.
He won't cooperate.
Just like the Secret Order, they never liked the prince, let alone obeyed him.
The prince came to this conclusion.
But at this moment, Thales remembered what the Black Prophet had just said:
【Whether you like me or not, it doesn’t matter.】
[The important thing is, whether you don’t like me can transcend the established positions of me and you and bring real effectiveness under your control.]
At that moment, Thales looked at the unfriendly Bone Man, clenched his fists, and then slowly relaxed.
"Yes, you are right."
"You can't do it."
Duke Xinghu raised his chin slightly, as if he didn't care about the other party's performance:
"Maybe I should go find Norbu."
After saying that, Thales turned around without hesitation and walked towards the way he came.
Raphael, who was left behind, stared at the boy's back, his eyebrows getting tighter and tighter.
Thales walked as before, but deliberately stepped up his pace. The sound of footsteps echoed in the dark and oppressive corridor, one step after another, like the sound of a war drum.
Raphael's eyes became more and more solidified.
One second, two seconds, the prince's figure slowly blurred in the darkness.
In fact, Thales knew that what Raphael was unwilling or unable to do for him, even Norbu, who had been away from the secret science for many years and returned to the royal capital for the first time, might not be able to do it.
but.
The prince shook off the unnecessary baggage in his mind and strode forward, remembering what he had seen on the streets when he was a beggar, the most effective way to bargain.
Finally, when Thales counted to the tenth step...
"Your Highness!"
Thales' footsteps stopped at the right time.
With his back to Raphael, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
Thales turned his head, his expression still deep.
Raphael released his hand holding the iron gate, but did not open it. Instead, he walked towards Thales step by step.
"It's useless no matter who you talk to about this matter."
The Desolate Bone Man said calmly:
"Even His Majesty."
Thales's heart sank.
His Majesty.
damn it.
[Your Highness, you must do this, and you should do this...]
[The truth about the Year of Blood and your own life experience can only be discovered, investigated, and confirmed by yourself.]
Thinking of Putilai's warning, Thales took a deep breath and tried not to think about the figure on the throne:
"Then I'd be happy to try it and see what my father says."
Thales turned around to leave again.
At this moment.
"Sarriton!"
Raphael's words floated among the four walls, successfully stopping Thales' footsteps.
Sarriton.
Sarriton?
The name that he had not heard for a long time sounded again, and Thales' expression changed slightly.
Whether it was the beautiful figure in the Sunset Bar or the terror of jumping off the cliff in the sky, they all hit my heart at this moment.
"What's the meaning?"
As if time slowed down, the second prince slowly turned around and spoke in a deep voice.
Raphael stood in front of him, took a deep breath, and seemed to have made up his mind with great perseverance.
"This Far Easterner you are interested in, Gu..."
The Desolate Skeleton Man spoke softly:
"He is a solid ally of the Sarriton family. He has been secretly working for the 'Regicide Family' for more than ten years."
Gu.
Raphael said he was...what?
Thales' expression remained the same, but his eyes slowly widened.
Of the regicide family...
ally?
"Do you understand?"
Raphael returned to calmness and looked into Thales's gray eyes:
"It's useless for you to ask anyone about this matter."
"Even His Majesty."
The desolate bone man narrowed his eyes, spoke like iron, and spoke like a knife: