The night is getting dark and the temperature is getting colder.
In the corridor outside Ballard, the royal guards arranged as few (for confidentiality) and as many (for abundance) manpower as possible, forming the most efficient and strictest defense and siege formation, filling everything within sight.
Every corner.
The innermost guards maintained absolute silence and concentration, and stood ready.
They are all elites drawn from the Six Wings, with both experience and ability. They press their weapons while keeping an eye on the door of the imperial meeting room.
It seems that what is locked behind the door is nothing else, but the most mysterious, cruel and terrifying beast in Fuxing Palace. It is grinding its teeth and licking its claws, roaring lowly, and may break out of the door at any time to choose and devour anyone.
But they cannot be timid, let alone retreat.
They are the emperor's guards, passed down through the ages, and they have their own oath. They will guard this door until the emperor's order returns.
Or the throne is about to rest.
Lights flicker and the corridor is eerie.
Time passed by minute by minute, anxiety spread in the air, and the fingers pressing on the hilt of the sword became tighter and tighter.
But the heavy stone door remained motionless and silent.
Facing countless pairs of increasingly sharp gazes, it remained unfazed and fulfilled its duties, keeping all the ferocious beasts firmly behind it.
Just as it has been for the past six hundred years.
Six doctors specializing in trauma first aid, toxicology and pharmacology were urgently summoned by the palace baron and ordered to wait outside. They were confused and anxious but did not dare to ask more questions. They could only wait in the suffocating atmosphere.
I kept my spirits up and trembled amidst endless speculations and prayers.
Similarly waiting, several dignitaries behind the third row of guards were calm and calm, and could even pace leisurely and chat in low voices.
But as time passed, their expressions remained the same, but the pace became faster and faster, and the intervals between conversations became shorter and shorter.
The air is dead and the palace is deep.
The messengers and trusted servants lowered their heads. They kept appearing from corners, infiltrating into the crowd and disappearing in a hurry. They came and went without warning, leaving ghostly traces in the ears of a few people and on the walls illuminated by the dim light.
Ramblings and glimpses.
Time is probably still moving forward, but it seems to be moving slower and slower. It stops moving forward, admiring the changes it has brought to the surroundings:
In the silence, the guards had never felt that their breathing was so heavy that it could even raise dust two inches in front of their noses.
They have never realized that their hearing is so sensitive. Just the sound of the friction of muscles and joints can make the muscles of the soldiers two feet away tense.
And their eyelids are so afraid of being alone that every once in a while, they touch each other to say hello, lest they be alone.
As for their hearts, they are so strong.
So much so that in the palace, when the heartbeats of hundreds of people gathered together, getting faster and heavier, it felt like a giant monster named Fuxing Palace had just escaped from a long-lasting slumber.
, slowly wake up.
And that stone gate that everyone is staring attentively is the fierce eye that is about to open.
This scares everyone.
what happens?
what happens?
What should they do if...?
Should I swing my sword?
Or should we back off?
The political insights gained from guarding the palace all year round made the royal guards feel uneasy while trying to maintain their composure.
They want to turn their heads, look at each other, and exchange emotions.
At least get some comfort from the same doubts, and eliminate confusion and loneliness among similar people who are led by others.
The orders of the Guards are clear and clear.
【This sword is only wielded by the emperor's order, only broken by the emperor's order, and has no other use.】
Habits engraved in their bones and developed through countless training repetitions allow them to restrain themselves and maintain vigilance.
This allowed them to force themselves to get rid of distracting thoughts, refocus their eyes that were slightly distracted by waiting, and put them on the heavy stone door that they had guarded countless times, but never once made them so anxious and nervous...
“Boom!”
Everyone was shocked!
I saw that the dark stone door, which seemed to never be opened again, suddenly opened a gap in the center.
“Boom…”
The giant beast opened its eyes.
This is everyone’s first thought.
With the mechanical and unpleasant friction sound, the stone door slowly opened to both sides like dark eyelids.
A golden-red brilliance radiated from the crack in the door, which was both like the brilliance of lamps and the bright red of blood.
In just a few seconds, the stone door stopped.
It only opened a gap that only allowed a single person to pass through, and it glowed with golden-red brilliance, just like a half-open animal eye.
It seems like sleeping but not sleeping, like waking up but not waking up.
It seems like this giant beast is immersed in a nightmare.
A cold wind blew from behind the door. The royal guards in the first row were extremely vigilant and all took a step back!
“This door of Fuxing Palace...well, it’s quite heavy.”
I saw the dark giant beast in front of me opening its deep and ominous mouth, teasing deeply:
“But it’s not motionless.”
Peering out from the narrow beast eyes is a darker black figure. He is leaning against the stone doors on both sides, panting and sneering in a low voice:
“What do you think?”
The royal guards instinctively stretched out their hands and moved, their swords unsheathed, forming an array!
Looking at this scene, the black figure in the center of the door was silent for a while and sighed.
"Okay," the shadow turned sideways and squeezed out of the narrow door gap, "I'll forget it if I don't help."
"I will do it myself."
The shadow gritted its teeth, twisted its cheeks, and squeezed out of the door of Ballard's room. Only then did the light illuminate its face. Prince Thales came to the corridor with a pale face and looked at the crowds of people in front of him.
The enemies all looked at him in formation.
Wow.
In this scene, I believe you even if you say they are here to hunt dragons.
The tired young man looked back at the Ballard Room and then at the crowded royal guards in front of him, feeling a little helpless.
Stepping out of the strange and sinister hall...
Walking into a heavily guarded siege...
This scene seems familiar?
After looking over the prince's whole body, the guards in the first row were silent for only a moment, then they all pressed their swords and came forward!
“Hold on!”
The voice of Lord Adrian, captain of the general guard, rang out. He pushed aside the crowd and patted his overly nervous subordinates from time to time to let them relax one by one.
“It’s okay, relax, relax, it’s over.”
Adrian's voice seemed to have the power to soothe people's hearts. Wherever he went, the sword blades drooped.
“Your Highness, a quarter of an hour has just passed!”
The captain greeted Thales in a relaxed and relaxed manner. While he was talking, he looked at the Ballard Room through the crack in the door: "I was just about to go in to serve dessert..."
“No need, Lord Adrian, meal time is over.”
Thales exhaled, put his arm around Adrian's shoulders without hesitation, stepped forward sideways, squeezed forward amidst the stiff postures of the people around him, and squeezed into the blocking formation of the royal guards.
Adrian saw clearly the situation in the crack of the door, he frowned and turned back:
"That you……"
“Don’t worry,” Thales waved his hand indifferently:
“Just in case you’re curious…”
Facing the vigilant and suspicious guards, he took a deep breath, extended his palms to his mouth, and shouted at the ceiling:
“The king of the country is still dead!”
Thales used the Sin of the Hell River, and the sound was like a thunderous sound, and the whole corridor was clear up and down.
Lights flashed rapidly and crowds of people roared.
Thales patted the two surprised royal guards in front of him, pushed them away tiredly, and did not forget to add a sentence that made the people around him change their minds again:
“Not dead yet.”
Adrian frowned. He glanced at Thales's back, then turned around and motioned to his men to open the stone door and enter the Ballard Room to ask for instructions from the king:
“Your Majesty…”
On the other side, Thales squeezed through everyone who was surprised or nervous, regardless of whether he was a servant doctor or a guard, and he spoke out without any scruples:
“If you are waiting for the king to issue an order to arrest or release me, forget it!”
“He dared not arrest me because I was holding his hand!”
The crowd's surprise and commotion grew louder and louder.
“He can’t let me go, because he is the king after all.”
Thales squeezed through the third row of guards and was pleased to see that they began to consciously give way to both sides:
“So please do your best and be considerate of the king’s difficulties!”
“Just pretend... you didn’t see me?”
The guards were in disbelief, exchanged glances, or asked their superiors for help, but the captain of the guard was still in the Ballard room, so their efforts were of course in vain.
“Borrow light, borrow light!”
Thales stepped forward amidst the surprised and fearful eyes of countless people, looking listlessly as he cleared the clouds and saw the sun:
“The event is over, let’s catch the subway to go home. We still have to go to school and go to work tomorrow…”
But when he was lamenting why this group of sweaty men didn't know how to give way, Adrian walked out of the Ballard Room and solemnly ordered:
“Royal Guards, everyone present today, report to your immediate superiors, go back to work, and stay overnight to work overtime!”
The guards were stunned and became restless again.
Adrian glanced at Thales from a distance, with a complicated expression:
“We still have…paperwork.”
Thales saw with satisfaction that the guards who had crowded the corridor finally dispersed. Many people couldn't help but look at Thales before leaving. Their eyes were like looking at a monster, full of surprise, fear and suspicion.
.
“Your Highness, I’m glad you’re safe.”
Thales stopped and looked at the nobles in fine clothes in front of him.
"Lord Cullen, Prime Minister," the prince sighed, looking at the old Duke with a big belly and a big smile in front of him, as well as the royal ministers around him who had complicated expressions and hesitated to speak:
Prime Minister Cullen looked in high spirits. He happily patted his bulging belly:
“I came here after eating!”
("I wanted to sneak here, but this group...won't let me go..." Qiu Ke muttered in annoyance)
"after all……"
The Prime Minister rolled his eyes and motioned to the Ballard Room:
“The meeting isn’t over yet.”
Thales nodded, looking past the Prime Minister and towards the other imperial ministers behind him.
He noticed that Gilbert was not among them.
“Well, it’s over now.” The young man said calmly.
But Consultant Sodol, who had been looking at him, had an illusion:
The prince said these words with an air of indubitability.
"Your Highness," Conney, the Minister of Commerce and Trade, hesitated again and again, and had been paying attention to the Ballard Room, but finally spoke: "You and your Majesty..."
“It’s okay, I’m bored, so I’ll have a quarrel with him,” Thales said without caring, with a smile on his face:
“That’s all.”
I feel bored and pick a fight with him...
The ministers looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.
“What’s the point?”
Viscount Coney, the Secretary of State for Commerce and Trade, asked:
“Your marriage?”
Taylors snorted softly.
“Yeah, I guess he won’t force me to marry someone I don’t like anymore.”
As soon as these words came out, military advisor Soduo became more and more confused. Compared with the morning, the young man who had just walked out of Ballard's room felt strange to him.
Except for those who stayed on duty, the surrounding royal guards gradually dispersed, casting glances at this group of central officials from time to time.
“That’s it,” Viscount Conney said reluctantly:
“Let me take the liberty of asking, whose girl is the candidate you rejected?”
Thales let out a breath, feeling inexplicably irritated.
“It doesn’t matter whose family he belongs to,” but fortunately, the smiling Duke Cullen intervened in time and personally took over this topic that made the already tired Thales extremely bored:
“Then you wouldn’t mind considering some of my granddaughters?”
Thales gave a perfunctory smile and saw that everyone around him had almost dispersed, so he didn’t intend to waste any more time:
“Your Majesty said that today’s imperial meeting ends here, and it should be dismissed as it should be.”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was surprised.
"Very good!"
The drowsy Qiu Ke suddenly opened his eyes. He happily snapped his fingers and burst into tears of gratitude: "I knew it!"
Counselor Sodol frowned:
“But we still have business...”
“I know,” Thales interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said impatiently:
“There’s still something to talk about, right?”
Thales looked towards the Ballard Room, looked at the looming figure, and sneered:
“About replacement service, tax payment, Western Wilderness, expansion of the standing army, reduction of conscripts, etc…”
He was carefree and did not hide his voice, which made the expressions of the imperial ministers, including Soduo, change greatly!
“Your Highness, be careful what you say!”
The military adviser interrupted Thales and looked around nervously:
"This is, this is..."
Tales slapped his forehead, as if he suddenly woke up.
“Oh, yes, this is a kingdom secret,” the prince lazily turned his head and said loudly to the few royal guards still present:
“What, the kingdom’s secret, everyone, you didn’t hear anything! You didn’t hear anything! Did you hear it? You didn’t hear it!”
Several guards turned around in confusion, not knowing why.
The imperial ministers, who knew the stakes, had earth-colored faces and looked at each other in confusion.
Sodor was even more astonished.
“Oh, you may not believe it,” Prime Minister Cullen interrupted the conversation at the right time. He said with great interest:
“This time the chef of Fuxing Palace unexpectedly made a new dish!”
Thales, who had been tired for a long time and now just wanted to find a flat ground to lie down on, did not want to make excuses with him anymore, so he said with a fake smile:
“Very good, good night.”
He no longer looked at Duke Donghai's face, turned around and left.
"No, the meeting is not over." Behind him, Advisor Sodo tried his best to stop several ministers who were leaving:
“Everyone, with all due respect, today’s royal meeting is crucial. The kingdom is at a critical moment now. The enemy has taken action, and we have to respond..."
Tales paused in his steps.
“Oh, he also wants me to bring you a message, my lords.”
Thales turned around, pointed his thumb in the direction of the Ballard Room, and smiled:
“The Kingdom Secret Service acted in a timely manner.”
“The letter...is safe.”
As soon as these words came out, several adults were stunned at the same time.
“Letter?” Viscount Conney recalled and asked suspiciously:
“Oh, you mean the letter that just arrived today”
Advisor Soduo was surprised and said: "An, is it safe?"
"What's the meaning?"
Chief Financial Controller Qiu Ke rolled his eyes without any scruples:
“You’re saying that the person who deliberately leaked Kevin Deere’s letters was caught?”
All the ministers in front of the imperial family stood in awe:
“Qiu Ke!”
“Sorry, I was too quick to talk,” Qiu Ke said nonchalantly, turning back: “But just now the secret expert said they couldn’t do anything…”
The face of the steward changed, and he turned around and looked around:
“That’s weird, where is that scarred face? I remember he was here just now! Where is that person?”
“The letter has been recovered, that is to say,” Viscount Conney said seriously:
“We still have some room for change, as long as we pretend that the letter doesn’t exist?”
Thales watched the ministers go back and forth with cold eyes.
Very strange.
This morning, when he was listening to the briefing in the royal conference room, he had never felt this way before.
This kind of strange, indifferent, indifferent, boring, as if separated by a thick curtain...
The feeling of playing chess.
pair, sense of playing chess.
Like...the feeling of him using magical energy.
Taylors felt heavy in his heart.
In the bustling debate among the ministers, only Duke Cullen stayed out of the matter. He only saw a narrowed smile:
“Ah, that’s good.”
“With the power of the kingdom’s secret science, it is natural that there is no room for mischief.”
Advisor Sodol gritted his teeth in disbelief and was about to walk to the Ballard Room:
“No, this is impossible, I want to see your Majesty...”
But Thales gently raised his arm and blocked his way.
“Please do not do this, Lord Sodor.”
“I tore up the letter in front of him just ten minutes ago,” the prince wrote lightly:
“Your Majesty is very angry at the moment.”
Thales’s words, as light as a mosquito’s fly, made all the ministers remain silent.
They looked at the young man in surprise.
"What?"
Suoduo looked back in shock, in disbelief:
“Xin, you, you?”
Thales put down his arms and nodded expressionlessly:
"Believe me, you don't want to see him now, let alone mention this to him."
Thodoro breathed rapidly and his face turned red. He was silent for a second, and then rushed towards Thales:
"you"
"Soldier! Take it easy! Take it easy!" Qiu Ke, who had already had a premonition, grabbed Soduo's waist from the side and tried his best to prevent him from moving forward: "Calm down, that's the prince, the prince! Oh, can you believe it?
It's gone. I'm not going to use it anyway. Besides, it hasn't been leaked, so we don't have to worry. Why are you so anxious..."
The other ministers reacted and quickly gathered around to dissuade Soduo.
Tales looked at this scene with cold eyes.
The Prime Minister hummed a tune with a smile.
But Advisor Thordo struggled with himself and was extremely angry:
“No, you don’t understand, you don’t understand! Do you know that is, that is”
“Yes,” Thales responded calmly:
“That’s Kevin Deere’s letter of surrender in exchange for my life.”
Soduo was stunned and paused.
"Oh, by the way, next time you want to send out the standing army, or check other people's accounts, or do something like that," Thales slowly turned around and looked at the military adviser and financial advisor who were hugging each other with a smile.
General manager:
“Tell me first, okay?”
He spread his hands helplessly:
“Otherwise, I’ll have to do it again.”
The military adviser choked, closed his eyes and took a long breath.
All the ministers looked at each other.
“Oh, please pay more attention. Look, at this age, you will easily get upset after eating new dishes.” The Duke of Donghai stretched out his hand to comfort him.
"Duke Thales, His Highness Thales," Sodo finally calmed down, with a look of confusion and pain on his face:
"what happens?"
Tales shrugged:
“Nothing, His Majesty has changed his mind, that’s all.”
“But it shouldn’t be like this,” Sodor gritted his teeth:
“What exactly did you do in the middle?”
What have you done?
Tiles’ eyes froze.
“I just saved your lives.”
He looked at each of the imperial ministers in front of him, his face calm and unperturbed:
“You’re welcome, my lords.”
Sodo looked at him in disbelief, while Qiu Ke frowned deeply. Some people were confused and some were thoughtful.
Prime Minister Cullen, on the other hand, laughed, paused with his fat belly, and bowed:
“Thank you very much for saving me.”
Tales ignored him.
“And the correct question should be, Lord Sodol,” the prince looked at the trembling military advisor indifferently:
“You and your Majesty, and maybe Scarface.”
“What did you do?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Thales stopped lingering and walked away.
Behind him, Sodo looked solemnly at Thales's back, his eyes becoming more and more serious.
But as Thales walked in the brightly lit corridor, his thoughts drifted back to just now.
“I know what you want to do.”
The king's voice rang out in the Ballard Room. It was less sharp than before, but a little more hoarse and deep.
“You want to be the bridle of the kingdom.”
King Kessel said calmly:
"Not only holding the galloping horse, but also fastening the heavy chariot."
War horse, chariot.
Standing in front of the discussion table, Thales was in a daze for a moment.
【The fierce horse will not yield to the iron whip, nor will the driver give up the whip.】
“You think you are protecting the carriage,” the king shook his head:
"But if you do this, you are slowing down the horse and interfering with the driving."
So, he knows.
Tales told himself.
Of course, he knows.
He always knew.
He just... doesn't care.
"As you said, Your Majesty," Thales calmed down his emotions and sat down slowly:
“I wandered to the top of the cliff, but I dreamed of the view of the sky.”
The Iron Fist King snorted, half smiling but not smiling.
"This road is extremely dangerous. If you make a mistake..."
"I see."
Tales responded to him very quickly:
“If people know that I am the king’s internal agent, then I will be regarded by thousands of vassals as a great traitor to the noble camp, criticized by thousands of people, and despised by thousands of people.”
The king nodded with a solemn expression:
“They will hate you more than they hate me.”
Thales rubbed his spoon and was silent for a moment:
“Then we’d better not screw up.”
The king slowly shook his head.
“A bad performance is just the best outcome.”
“But what if you act too well, hide your secrets, convince everyone, and successfully transform into the savior of the princes, the vassals hope..."
King Kessel looked at Thales with a cold tone:
"Those who have been deceived by you and support you will form a rolling wave, using their reputation, position, camp, interests, relationships, situations, and everything to coerce you forward. You will not be allowed to defend, you will not be able to control, and you will not be allowed to regret it."
“They will love you more than they hate me.”
Tales' smile slowly disappeared.
The king’s words fell flat:
“By that time, you can’t help yourself. Even if you want to get off the bus halfway, it will be too late.”
Falkenhausz’s words rang in his ears again.
【You must know that when your vassals and subordinates are angry and the public's opinions are high, standing in front of the wave, you don't have much choice but to follow the tide.】
Thales was about to speak but stopped.
“As opposed to this…”
King Kessel looked at the door with a complicated expression:
“When you raise the flag of rebellion against the royal power, the people who will be united by it are far more than just the feudal lord.”
"Under the Fuxing Palace, there are prosperous pro-royal parties, ambitious emerging aristocrats, and speculators who take advantage of the changing circumstances. People who have shown you kindness and kindness will treat you like a political enemy and treat you like a rebellious son.
He even hesitates to embarrass you in order to invite you to join the ranks."
Even for a few seconds, the purple mask flashed past.
"From that moment on, the honor of the heir will no longer protect you. On the contrary, it will amplify the fear and scrutiny you face, and increase the price and pain you pay. In the eyes of many people, the day when the new king is crowned is
When disaster strikes."
King Kessel narrowed his eyes:
“They will hate you more than they love me.”
Tales did not speak.
He looked around and exhaled heavily.
The evening breeze caressed the window sill, and the two figures intertwined with the lights.
The Ballard Room is cold and quiet at night, with portraits of several famous officials from the past on the wall: "Wise Prime Minister" Halva, "Oracle" Longdon, "Hyena" Amber Teback, "Lumberjack" Palama
Ta silently watched the father-son conversation, flickering in and out of light.
This made Thales couldn't help but wonder: In history, are the ancestors who guided the country in this conference room and the decisions they made as cold and cruel as this heavy palace?
“Then I have no choice but to pray.” Thales said in a daze.
King Kessel said nothing, but stared at the prince quietly.
A few seconds later, Thales looked back at the king with a calm smile: "Pray that they will treat us..."