Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 18 The Bloodline of the Kingdom at the End of the Volume

Unexpected—Thales lowered his head, a deep sense of helplessness rising in his heart—unexpected events always come suddenly.

In that instant, Thales seemed to see the indistinguishable smile of the Air Mage appear in his mind, saying to him, "Look, this is just a coincidence."

Yodel silently retrieved the flame.

The middle-aged nobleman calmed down, looked at Thales, and gently patted his head.

"It's alright, child."

“I am Gilbert Cassel, and you can trust me just as your father trusted me.”

"Come, child, I'll take you home."

"Go see your father."

Thales took a full minute to recover.

During this time, both Yodl and Gilbert waited patiently for him.

“Let’s go.” Thales looked up, his eyes now calm.

Gilbert nodded, his eyes showing approval. He stood up and gestured towards the carriage.

Thales turned his head and looked at Yodl:

"Yordle, you'll come with me too, won't you?"

“Of course,” Yodel’s hoarse voice rang out, but it sounded extremely reassuring to Thales at that moment: “Please go first, I’ll be right beside you.”

Thales took a deep breath and strode toward the carriage.

“Mr. Gilbert”.

"Yes, young master, what are your orders?"

"What did you do before?"

"Foreign affairs, my little sir."

Foreign affairs?

Thales turned his head slightly and, from an angle where Gilbert couldn't see, rolled his eyes at Yodl behind him.

Thales turned his head.

For some reason, he had a vague feeling that Yodl seemed to smile behind the mask.

Thales arrived at the carriage, a simple yet obviously expensive one, with glass on the black carriage doors decorated with crystal.

Two tall, pure black horses were quietly biting their bridles, one of them nudging Gilbert affectionately.

Looking at the tall footboard, Thales measured the height of his seven-year-old child and was a little worried.

But before he could turn his head, Gilbert opened the car door, carried him inside, and placed him on the dark red sofa inside the cabin.

"I'm so sorry, there are no boarding benches." Gilbert smiled apologetically and closed the carriage door.

"But I promise this is the last time."

Thales sat alone on a wide sofa. He didn't know what material the sofa was made of, but although it was very comfortable, he felt somewhat uneasy.

The four corners of the carriage were illuminated by glow-in-the-dark paint, which allowed him to make out the interior decorations. At the rear of the carriage, a star pattern framed in a circle was firmly embedded in the background.

One, two, three, four, five, nine—a star with nine points.

Thales thought to himself: This is a nine-pointed star.

Before he could even react, the carriage started moving.

Thales climbed to the car window. It was just getting light, and the scenery outside the window was still not clear.

So Thales sat back down on the sofa, bored.

"Yordl, are you there?" he asked tentatively.

A reply immediately came from beside my ear:

"Yes."

Thales was startled and sat up, looking around, but there was no one in the carriage except for Gilbert, who was driving.

Oh well, I'm used to it anyway.

Thales sat back on the sofa and continued, "Where are we?"

"The Mindis Hall is just ahead," the hoarse voice came again.

Min—Min—Min Di—Min Fourth?

Never mind, I don't know them anyway.

Who could have imagined that just a few hours ago, they were bleeding in an abandoned house trying to survive, and injured while trying to escape on Red Street, and now...?
Thales patted the sofa under his bottom, wondering who his father was in this life.

Who cares? I'll deal with whatever comes my way. I've even encountered a freak like a magic master who can't die, so what else can scare me?

The boy exhaled, feeling a bit hot, and tugged at his tattered clothes.

I accidentally aggravated the wound on my chest.

Thales hissed as he looked at the burns on his chest.

At the edge of the wound branded by Quaid, one could vaguely see a ring of ancient-style characters printed in reverse.

This is—a king is not defined by bloodline—Tales recalled the words on the silver coin.

He suddenly slapped his forehead.

Mindis – Mindis Silver Coin?
Isn't that... isn't that the wise king of the Star Kingdom?

Wait, Mindis Hall?

The carriage suddenly stopped.

While Thales was still in a daze and confused, Gilbert respectfully asked him to get out of the car.

Beneath the car lay a charming little garden, paved with hard, indistinct tiles. In the center of the garden stood a delicate fountain, water spouting from the mouth of a stone dragon roaring towards the sky. Thales turned his head, stunned, to look at the garden's large black iron gate. The gate seemed to be engraved with reliefs, depicting scenes Thales didn't recognize at all, but two large flags stood on either side of the gate, fluttering in the wind.

The flag features a white border and a blue background with two silver crosses: one large and one small silver crosses stacked together, with the smaller cross slightly to the right and below the larger cross.

Thales recognized it; the highest-flying flag on the west gate bore the same design.

White border, blue background, silver cross and double stars.

The national flag of the Star Kingdom.

The two flags in the garden have an additional small nine-pointed star, alternating between gold and silver, embroidered in the lower left corner of the large silver cross. The star has four gold points and five silver points.

That's the pattern engraved on the back of the carriage.

Thales snapped out of his daze and saw before him a magnificent three-story building. Eight exquisitely carved columns supported a large balcony on the second floor, and a light shone from a window in the center of the top floor.

The main gate of the house was made of cedar wood—Tales had once seen a furniture merchant selling a large cedar wood table for fifty gold coins at the great market next to the west gate.

Of course, he later "voluntarily" sold the square table to the Black Street Brotherhood for a discounted price of one gold coin.

Thales followed Gilbert in a daze, refusing Yodl's gesture of opening his arms, and stubbornly endured his wounds and exhaustion as he struggled to walk through the giant cedar wood gate.

At the entrance and in the hall, including the corridor leading up the spiral staircase, stood fully equipped, unwavering guards, illuminated by the magnificent, eternal lamps burning with eternal oil. Each guard seemed to have been carefully selected, of similar height, armed with swords, shields, and crossbows, their metal shields adorned with gold and silver nine-pointed stars.

Thales held onto the handrail on the side of the stairs and slowly walked up to the second floor.

On the second floor, facing the main entrance of the building, hang three portrait paintings.

In the very center stands a dashing young knight, charging forward with a long lance. The knight's features are handsome and his expression is heroic. He wears a silver crown with seven stars on his head and fearlessly moves forward against the backdrop of a tragic battlefield.

On the left is a robust sword and shield warrior with a nine-pointed star made entirely of silver horns on his shield. He wears a nine-star crown, has a resolute face, and is exceptionally heroic. In the background is a lush and towering tree.

On the right is a seated statue of a kind and amiable middle-aged man, behind which is a room with a rich interior. In his left hand he holds a precious scepter inlaid with a bright blue crystal, and in his right hand he holds a thick book with five different patterns of suns, stars and moons.

The three noblemen had different temperaments, but the painter seemed to have captured their individual charms very well. Thales stared at the portrait in a daze, as if the real people were there.

It seems to be a long-established noble family.

Unfortunately, Thales didn't recognize any of them.

Wait, why does that middle-aged handsome guy look so familiar?

Just as Thales was about to lift his clothes to see the image branded on his chest, a steady, deliberate footstep sounded.

"That was Tormund I, the last prince of the final empire, the founder of the Star Kingdom, the 'King of Renaissance,' whose bravery in the final battle is still celebrated today."

"On the left is Midil IV, a comrade-in-arms of the hero Sara and the prophet Keppen, the protector of the sacred tree, the 'Oath_Keeper,' and from him and his Elf Queen, the royal family of Starfall has the blood of the elves."

"Finally, there was Mindis III, the Wise King, whose wise rule was praised by everyone from nobles to priests, merchants to beggars."

The voice was deep and majestic, coming in a low voice, yet it resonated like thunder hidden behind dark clouds.

Gilbert and Yodl behind him both knelt down on one knee.

Thales swallowed hard and gently raised his head.

A robust figure slowly walked up to him, his imposing and resolute face always reminding him of the sword and shield warrior on the left side of the wall.

This was a robust, middle-aged nobleman with black hair, a high nose, deep-set eyes, and a broad face. His sky-blue pupils were sharp as swords. The nobleman leaned on a scepter in his left hand and stood in front of Thales, scrutinizing him carefully.

Thales stared blankly back at the nobleman in front of him.

He couldn't help but feel nervous.

Having lived two lives, no one had ever taught him what to do in this situation.

The robust nobleman stared at him for a long time, so long that even Thales felt a little embarrassed.

However, his gaze did not make Thales feel any sense of warmth or reassurance; on the contrary, it made him feel pressured and somewhat suffocated.

To put it bluntly, even Ashida Sahn's crazed gaze was better than this.

But Thales suddenly noticed that the robust nobleman in front of him was wearing a crown that looked somewhat like the nine-star crown worn by the sword and shield warrior in the painting, and the scepter in his left hand looked exactly like the crystal-encrusted scepter in the hand of the middle-aged man in the painting on the right.

Gilbert whispered a reminder from the side: "Child, this is your father."

"Father?"

Thales lowered his eyes, looking at the star-blue cloak behind the other person, and murmured to himself.

The face of his father from his previous life slowly appeared in his mind, but it was somewhat blurry.

Thales took a deep breath and refocused his gaze.

"who are you?"

He heard his own voice come out flatly.

The robust nobleman did not answer, but merely frowned slightly.

Just then, Gilbert raised his head and spoke solemnly in an authoritative, solemn, and unquestionable tone:
"This is Kessel Mindis Eddie Star, the fifth Kessel King in the family."

Ultimately, he is the legitimate heir of the imperial family of the empire and the successor of King Tormund, the restorer of the dynasty.

The overlord of the Ludor people of the western continent and the northern people, the conqueror of the Dragonbone Throne and the Desert God Altar.

Protector of the Sacred Tree and the Duchy of Sera, guardian of the Steel City and the Free Alliance.

The Iron Hand, the thirty-ninth High King of the Star Kingdom, the Southern Islands, and the Western Desert.

Thales felt a chill run through him, and his breathing quickened.

A suffocating pressure pressed down as if it were a physical force.

Kessel looked at Thales with a deep gaze.

After a while, he turned his head and looked at Gilbert and Yodl on either side.

The robust King, Catherine V, spoke slowly and deliberately in his deep, resonant voice:
"He is my descendant, the bloodline of the kingdom?"

"The last and only bloodline in the entire Star Kingdom?"

Volume One has ended, and Thales will enter his true stage. The hardships, tears, and pain of the past will all become nourishment and capital for his future growth, for a true king is not defined by bloodline. Of course, the past is far from over. Rick, Lyok, Yara, Cohen, Ashida, and others also have their own unique futures, their destinies inextricably intertwined with Thales's. Thank you to all the readers on the Genesis website for your continued support! Please look forward to Volume Two: The Heir to the Kingdom.

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(End of this chapter)