Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 158 Betrayal
Silence fell over the Hall of Heroes.

“You know, Thales, when Suriel died…”

Thales regulated his breathing and heartbeat, looking at King Nunn.

“Anger, madness, hatred… drive me to spread the fury of Walton and Dragonsreach by any means necessary,” the old king said, his eyes vacant, as if he were looking at another world through Thales. “Compared to that, the pursuit of profit and even the conquest of the stars seem secondary.”

Thales remained silent; it would be inappropriate for him to say anything at this moment.

King Nuen slowly raised his eyes and looked at the sorrowful-looking Michael.

“Mairk, why didn’t you protect him, protect Suriel?” The king’s face was very ugly: “You are a member of the White Blade Guard, you should be by his side, protecting his safety.”

Michael lowered his head deeply.

His expression became even more pained.

Alex seemed very interested in the topic. She glanced at King Nunn, whose face was filled with sorrow, and then at Michael, whose expression was contorted. Her breathing became rapid, which made the little rascal behind her seem less nervous.

“Michael…” the king’s granddaughter whispered, her voice filled with grievance, “I…”

“Not now, Miss!” Myrk interrupted Alex with his eyes closed and his breathing rapid.

Alex recoiled, her face turning pale. She pouted, her lips trembling slightly. She grabbed the hand of the little rascal behind her, whose face showed fear.

“I am largely to blame for Prince Suliel’s death,” Lord Mailke said through gritted teeth, his expression sorrowful. “Your Majesty, you spared my punishment out of leniency, only symbolically confining me for a few days with Nicolai, but for twelve years, that guilt…”

"That guilt tormented me day and night, every moment..."

King Nuen gazed at him silently for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.

“Yes,” the old king said, twirling his wine glass, “I have no reason to blame you.”

"Not only that, I trust you even more and promote you to be an official in the King's office."

“Because I know,” King Nuen said, his expression somber and his tone dejected, “that you are the person Sulir trusts most. He has entrusted his life, safety, and family to you without reservation.”

Michael, the official in charge, was suddenly startled.

He pressed his right fist to his chest, bowed deeply, and said tremblingly, "I will dedicate the rest of my life to you, to Miss Alex, to the Walton family, and to Dragonsky City."

Thales sighed softly.

In that instant, many faces appeared before my eyes: from King Kessel, Queen Koya, Duke Arend, King Nunn, Grand Duke Peffert, Gilbert and Melk, to Lady Ginny, the Wrath of the Kingdom, the Flower of the Fortress, veteran Jenard, recruit Willow, and so on.

It seems that what happened twelve years ago changed the fate of many people.

Whether it be stars or dragons, whether it be nobles or commoners.

King Nunn sighed softly: "Suriel, you've been by his side for many years, since the White Blade Guard..."

“Michael,” Alex said, her lips trembling, as she gently tugged at Michael’s sleeve, “I feel…”

Michael tried his best to compose himself, and turned to reassure Alex, "Please don't worry, Miss Alex, it will be soon..."

Alex shuddered again.

Thales frowned.

The next second, Alex's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground!
"Boom!"

The little rascal behind her was startled and exclaimed in surprise.

Myrk's expression changed drastically. He suddenly knelt down beside Alex and helped her up: "Miss Alex! Miss Alex, what's wrong!"

But Alex just stared blankly at the ceiling, his limbs twitching unconsciously, and his whole body began to convulse!
Thales jumped down the steps, staring in shock at Alex's strange behavior.

what happened?

Does this young lady have a medical condition?

Epilepsy or something else?
The little rascal was so scared he was trembling.

Myrk's face turned deathly pale. He held Alex in his arms, looked up at the king, and said urgently, "Your Majesty! Miss... we have to hurry..."

“Yes,” King Nunn seemed lost in the past, his gaze unfocused, continuing as if he hadn’t heard him, “I remember you as the closest of friends and brothers, whether on the battlefield or at banquets…”

"Your Majesty!" Myrc, seeing Alex's strange behavior, was extremely anxious and couldn't help but raise his voice to remind him.

Alex, whose face was deathly pale, opened his eyes and looked at Michael with endless terror in his eyes.

She held up her trembling hands and painfully clutched at Michael's clothes, like a drowning person grasping at a straw.

Thales stared at all in disbelief, only realizing what was happening a few seconds later.

King Nuen, however, simply stared unfocusedly into the distance.

Alex's mouth twitched, his face was covered in cold sweat, and his expression was one of extreme pain.

Alex opened his mouth wide, gasping for air, but seemed to be suffocating, only managing to utter an unintelligible, choked sound: "Haa..."

The little rascal watching all this covered his mouth with both hands, backing away in terror.

“No, no…” Myrk frantically held Alex, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at her as if she were suffering terribly: “Miss Alex…”

Ignoring King Nunn's reaction, the official scooped up Alex, turned sharply, and roared at the little rascal, "Don't just stand there! Go and call the doctor!"

The little rascal was startled and, still shaken, instinctively turned around.

But Thales reacted faster than her.

The Prince of Stars gritted his teeth, took off running towards the hall, shouting as he ran:

"Is anyone there?! Help! I need a doctor..."

But a colder, more terrifying voice abruptly cut off Thales's plea for help:
"Don't bother."

"A highly toxic substance extracted from indigo plants, with a violent and rapid onset."

"It takes effect in minutes—from the 'beautiful Grand Duchess' of the Anlenzo Kingdom three hundred years ago to the Crown Prince of your Star Kingdom twelve years ago, they all died from this poison."

Thales was jolted awake!
He stopped in his tracks and turned around in disbelief.

Lord Milek also looked up in horror, his eyes filled with utter disbelief as he gazed up the steps.

There, King Nuen opened his cold eyes.

He stared at Michael and his convulsing granddaughter, as if uttering the most vicious curse, and said in a low voice:

"She's dead."

As if to prove the old king's words, the next second, Alex in Michael's arms suddenly leaned back, almost breaking his neck!
She stared at Michael with terrified eyes, seemingly not understanding why this was happening.

Then, Alex Walton, the last direct descendant of the Walton family, slowly closed his eyes, his body gradually softening and ceasing its convulsions.

Her hand hung limply in mid-air, swinging back and forth, her head tilted to one side, facing the little rascal.

Seeing Alex's expression, the little rascal screamed in fright and fell to the ground with a thud.

Thales unconsciously took a step back, his breathing quickening.

why.

impossible.

how come.

Thales was completely unable to accept the current situation. He opened his eyes wide and stared intently at Alex. After several seconds, he turned his gaze to King Nunn, whose face was ashen and pale.

Especially... the ring that King Nuen was stroking on the little finger of his right hand.

"Triumphal" belongs to the Poison Emperor, to Kessel Carlos VI.

And the wine glass next to King Nunn.

“It was you,” Thales gasped for breath, looking at King Nunn in horror. “You poisoned him?”

“Hmph, of course,” King Nuen snorted dejectedly, “And don’t forget, you were the one who handed her the wine glass.”

Lord Milek was jolted, trembling uncontrollably as he looked at the little girl in his arms.

Thales almost clenched his fist.

Should I hand her a wine glass?
He gritted his teeth, staring intently at King Nuen, feeling a strange emotion brewing in his chest.

"Bastard!" Thales gritted his teeth and glared at King Nunn.

But the king merely shrugged indifferently and looked back at Milek.

A few seconds later, with a stiff expression and his mind seemingly blank, Michael finally extended his violently trembling right hand and placed it under Alex's nose.

Then, as if he had encountered the hottest flame, Michael flinched and abruptly pulled his right hand back.

"Boom!"

Michael, who was holding Alex, suddenly knelt down.

The official raised his head and looked at King Nuen, his eyes filled with despair and pleading.

“No, no, no…” Michael shook his head violently, his face contorted in disbelief as he looked at the motionless girl in his arms.

He looked up at His Majesty the King in a panic and fear, then at Miss Alex, who seemed to be asleep in his arms.

In that instant, Michael's fearful face was filled with helplessness and bewilderment.

Thales stared blankly at the motionless Alex.

The little rascal sitting at Thales' feet seemed to be terrified; she just stared blankly at Alex's body, occasionally flinching.

Michael's face gradually began to contort.

"Please, Your Majesty..." He knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he spoke, his words coming out of his throat like an asthma patient, a mixture of gasps and pauses.

Tears streamed down Myrc's cheeks, dripping onto Alex's face, followed by his desperate pleading voice: "Why...why..."

Thales clenched his fists, lowered his head, and exhaled sharply.

With a sob in his voice, Milek cried out to the king in a heart-wrenching voice, "Why!"

"why?"

King Nunn seemed to have just emerged from a state of silent contemplation. He looked quietly at the trembling, tearful Milek and gritted out a sentence through his teeth:

"Byrne Mailer".

"Shouldn't you be fully aware of this?"

Michael was jolted.

“If it weren’t for Moral’s death, I wouldn’t have bothered to re-examine Walton’s bloodline,” King Nunn said painfully, closing his eyes. “The high priest of the Moon Temple would never have discovered that she wasn’t actually of Walton’s bloodline.”

Myrk stared at King Nunn with disbelief in his eyes, trembling.

Thales stared wide-eyed at Michael and the little girl in his arms. Bloodline?
Not of Walton's bloodline?
Doesn't that mean the Walton family, with its 600-year-old lineage...

“And this reminds me of many things,” King Nunn said coldly. “Suriel likes to hunt, but he never takes women with him—not even his wife.”

“Speak,” the old king said in a low voice, “what exactly happened during that assassination attempt twelve years ago?”

Michael listened to the king's words as if he hadn't heard them. He instinctively hugged the little girl in his arms tightly, and tears kept falling as he sobbed.

King Nunn seemed to have exhausted all his patience; his face contorted in a grotesque grimace, he roared like a terrifying lion: "Speak!"

The nervous little rascal was so frightened by the roar that he shrank back with a "whoa".

Thales tried to sort out the situation, took a deep breath, walked over to the little rascal, and helped her up.

As if he had found a powerful backer, the little rascal clung tightly to Thales' arm, staring in terror at the horrific scene before him through his glasses.

As Michael wept, his eyes filled with despair and desolation. He looked at the girl in his arms and let out a soft, ambiguous groan.

"Twelve years ago... Sullir, the reason he took Madame Adele out of the city... was because..."

He spoke through his panting breaths, like a dying man leaving his last words.

"Why?" King Nuen stared intently at him.

“Because,” Myrc painfully ran his hand over Alex’s hair, “because Suril discovered…”

"What have you discovered?" The king's voice was icy cold.

Michael's face was filled with painful turmoil, as if he were being tormented by the greatest nightmare of his life:

"He discovered...us..."

"My relationship with...Adele."

Thales stared in shock at the buzz-cut warrior.

The little rascal tugged at Thales's arm, hiding behind the Star Prince, gritting his teeth and watching this scene in disbelief.

“Yes…” Myrk cried out in despair, “Alex…she is…”

"my daughter……"

"Clang!" King Nuen could no longer bear it. With a force filled with hatred, he angrily threw the wine cup to the ground. The iron wine cup clattered on the ground, accompanied by the sobs of the official.

Thales took a deep breath, trying to understand the situation before him.

Only Michael's sobs and the old king's heavy breathing filled the hall.

"Ha ha hmph..." A suppressed, muffled laugh escaped from King Nuen's throat, tinged with sorrow: "You? Sulier's most capable subordinate? Best friend? Most trusted brother?"

"And so, I repaid his trust with betrayal and deception!"

The king's voice reverberated throughout the hall.

Michael, kneeling on the ground, sobbed and suddenly raised his head.

"No!" he roared, tears streaming down his face, as if his greatest dignity had been violated. "I didn't betray him! I didn't betray Sulier!"

Thales watched the scene before him with a grim expression, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I…” Michael looked at the girl in his arms and sobbed softly:

“His Highness Sulir… Sulir is a good brother, and I’m willing to give my life for him!” he growled. “We’ve been through the wringer in the White Blade Guard, forging ourselves into the toughest warriors under Kaslan’s command!”

"At the Thirty-Eighth Watch Post, he crawled with one hand broken to shield me from a fatal blow!"

"When my mother was seriously ill, my sister came to Longxiao City to find me. He personally dispatched a doctor who saved my mother's life!"

"When we were surrounded in the White Mountain, he and I were back to back. Those sharp-eared arrows pierced my left shoulder and his right shoulder. We cursed each other's luck, fighting and retreating back to back, until Dominic came to our aid..."

“I still remember the day I went back to my hometown to get married. That bastard,” Myrk laughed through his tears, “Suriel, with his White Blade Guard brothers, without a word, came to our village with loads of rye beer and roast meat, carrying a black banner with a red dragon and a dragon spear banner in the clouds…”

"The local earls and knights all came. The village chief's expression was even more exaggerated than when his son became the tax collector. The mother was very happy; she finally felt that her son had made something of himself..."

“Suriel…”

"I have always regarded him as my closest brother, comrade-in-arms, and Your Highness!"

With tears streaming down his face, Michael roared, "I will never betray him!"

King Nuen suddenly stood up, his beard and hair bristling with anger!

"Shit!"

Thales felt a tightening in his hand, and the little rascal behind him started trembling again.

He could only try his best to hold the little rascal's hand and comfort her.

"You betrayed my son, the one you should have served," King Nuen shouted, his eyes blazing with fury, "and had an affair with his wife, even fathering your child!"

"You have tarnished Walton's dignity and bloodline... You don't think this is betrayal?"

“You never considered him a brother in your guard, someone you should be loyal to with your life and honor!”

"traitor!"

Kneeling on the ground, Myrk listened to the king's words, looked at Alex—his daughter—in his arms, and roared in grief and indignation through tears: "Ah!"

"No!" He closed his eyes in anguish.

Thales gritted his teeth and frowned as he watched the confrontation between the monarch and his minister, feeling a pang of sorrow in his heart.

"not like this!"

“Adele, she was so good…so gentle, so…” Michael collapsed to the ground, clenching his right fist and pounding the ground in anguish: “She should never have married into Dragon City…she should never have met Sulier!”

"Was it just a matter of time before I met you?" King Nunn's words were filled with a terrifying emotion: "Shameless traitor?"

“Adele…Adele…That was, that was a mistake!” Myrk’s teeth chattered as he stroked his daughter’s face, his expression shifting several times, as if he saw another person through her: “Whether it was me and her, or Sullir and her…it was all a mistake!”

"She should never have left Corns, left the city of vines, left the flowers and blue sky she cherished; she belonged there!"

“As for Suliel, he was a good brother, a good soldier, but he never really valued women… from prostitutes to women captured after the war, or maids in the castle and noblewomen, it made no difference to him…” Mylke pressed his face against Alex’s, weeping as he spoke:
"In Sulir's world, there is only wine and battle, politics and victory; the only people he cares about are his warriors, his friends, and his enemies..."

"On their wedding night, Sullir got completely drunk, and I stood guard outside their bedroom..."

“That sound, that sound was like gunfire… Adele’s resistance and sobbing… I guess Sullir mistook it for a celebration after another battle…”

“The next morning, Sulir went hunting… leaving me to watch over Adele. Her expression… it wasn’t the expression a newlywed wife should have…” Thales listened with a grim expression to Myrke’s sorrowful and painful confession: “Finally, one day, I saw Adele trying to cut her wrists with scissors…”

“I told Suliel, trying to persuade him to be nicer to his wife… but Suliel thought she had insulted the Dragonlance family… He angrily picked up a whip, wanting to teach her a ‘lesson’…”

“I was standing at the door, clenching my fists, listening to Sulier’s roars and Adele’s screams… I was angrier than Sulier, and more tormented than Adele, every single time…”

Michael held Alex tightly, his eyes closed, tears streaming down his cheeks like an unstoppable flood.

“Since then, Adele has attempted suicide more than once, and I have stopped her more than once, but I have kept it from Sullir because I didn’t want Adele to be hurt by him again…”

"Adele, she was like a flower that had been trampled and then cruelly abandoned. Sullir's attitude towards women was more terrible than that of the most rigid Northman. When he was in the mood, he would force himself on her; when he wasn't, he would ignore her completely..."

Thales closed his eyes tightly and sighed heavily.

“Adele…she’s so lonely, so pitiful,” Mylke stroked his daughter’s hair, his eyes filled with sorrow. “She traveled thousands of miles to get here, and Sulier…Sulier didn’t appreciate her. He only treated her as a puppet and a pawn, a bargaining chip in his marriage to Cornmus…”

“I just… I tried everything… I just tried to cheer her up, tried to stop her from committing suicide again…” Agitated, Michael murmured incoherently, “From magic tricks, to flowers, to finding girls from Corns to amuse her, to trying my best to get Sullir drunk on nights she didn’t want to…”

“Adele is very grateful to me and happy about what I did for her. She stopped trying to commit suicide and started smiling, although only to me… And when my wife back home passed away, and I didn’t know how to raise five-year-old Chloe, it was Adele who took care of her… This made Sullir’s attitude towards her much better…”

“We started talking more; she was teasing Chloe in the room, and I was grinning like an idiot outside… She was asking her questions in the room, and I was answering her from outside…”

King Nuen's face was cold, but he remained silent.

“Finally… that day, we won the war against the White Elves and the Free Alliance,” Myrk sobbed softly, “and on our triumphant return to Dragonsreach, Suliel and we drank all night long…”

“But that day all I could think about was her… Adele…” Michael pressed his face tightly against his daughter’s, tears streaming down his face, his right fist clenched so tightly it almost broke: “They were all drunk, and I went to Adele’s room, wanting to hear her voice as usual… but my wound reopened then, and Adele told me to come in and bandage it…”

Thales's eyes darkened as a memory surged from an unknown place in his mind:

[Hey! You're reading a romance novel, you genius!]

[What the heck is this romance novel? — It's a bestselling book written by an American sociologist...]

[This book title—strange, why would you read something like this? What are you thinking? Hehe…]

"Don't overthink it, it was just a classmate asking..."

[Wait, could it be... Hehehe, why are you blushing...]

It's hot...

[Hahaha! Why are you touching my face? I was just kidding! Hahaha, so funny... Okay, don't be angry, here's a kiss to cheer you up... Hahaha! Still so funny! Oh, don't be stingy, come on, let me explain!]

[Um... how do I explain this? Okay, here's an interesting point mentioned above: in the Western world, love originated from adultery...]

[Holy crap? Cheating? I'm so excited...]

For example, in Celtic mythology, the story of Lancelot and Guinevere is like this: the union of King Arthur and the Queen was merely a functional political necessity; there was never any love involved. True love was the forbidden romance between the knight and the queen—that was the emotional, impulsive, and pure love. Similarly, in *Don Quixote*, one of the protagonist's dreams is, as a knight, to have a true love affair with the wife of his lord, his mistress—a concept originating from the Middle Ages, especially the Crusades…

[Alright, alright, you can shut up now! I still ship Saber and Ran, get out of here! Yuri Queen, get out of here! Hmm, I need to watch it again... Oh right, so, does that mean we're having an affair?]

[Different social contexts cannot be compared like this, sister!]

The fragment of memory slowly faded away, and Thales looked at Miles in front of him and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Michael continued to sob on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "God knows how much I regret it... but, but Adele..."

“Shortly after Alex was born, Suliel began to have suspicions…and soon, he found out the truth…” The clerk gently brushed aside his daughter’s hair, his voice hoarse: “I could see the pain and hesitation in his eyes. I really wanted him to kill me with his sword…”

“That night, Sullir told me that he was willing to let Adele and me go, and that he would clean up and cover it up…” Michael said, pounding the ground in grief and anger.

Nunn listened quietly.

"The next day, Suliel took us out together to finally resolve this matter... It was on that day that the assassin..."

Thales felt the little rascal behind him start trembling again.

"The assassin's first strike wasn't fatal. The assassin saw Alex and didn't strike a second time..."

“But, but Adele…” Myrc opened his mouth, roaring in anguish, “Adele didn’t know Sullir’s purpose. She thought His Highness was going to execute us… so when she saw Sullir fall, she…”

"Then she picked up the dagger..."

Upon hearing this, King Nuen felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he collapsed weakly onto the steps.

In the Hall of Heroes, only Michael remained, weeping sadly.

At that moment, seeing Thales in this indescribable scene before him, he felt a chill in his heart.

In the next chapter, or the chapter after that, a familiar face will be returning.

(Damn, this feels like something out of an American TV show where "XXX will be returning this season"...)
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(End of this chapter)