Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 193 Choose Who You Want to Be
"Boom!"

Two large bowls of steaming hot meat soup were slammed heavily onto the table by Gu.

Thales and Little Sly, who were washing their faces in the cold water, looked up blankly at Gu, who had no expression.

The hunger that had been suppressed by panic and fear suddenly returned to the second prince's stomach.

“I used eternal oil to heat it up—the smoke will dissipate indoors, and no one will notice us,” Gu said calmly. He sat down opposite the two men, his thick right eyebrow slightly raised, as if with a hidden meaning: “Of course, it’s not cheap, and I’ll keep track of it.”

The little rascal's stomach rumbled at just the right moment.

The girl glanced timidly at the boy beside her—Thales swallowed hard.

"what happened?"

Looking at the two dazed children, Gu frowned and said impatiently, "Are you still waiting for me to respectfully serve you napkins and wine, my esteemed young master and young lady?"

The words fell.

Thales and the little rascal exchanged a glance and winked at each other.

The next second, the two of them, like horses released from their reins, pounced on their chairs, picked up their respective bowls of soup, and gulped it down.

"Don't rush," Gu sighed, watching them wolf down their food.

"We'll get down to business after you've filled your stomachs."

In just a few minutes, the two extremely hungry children finished their meat soup, leaned against the stools, rubbed their bulging bellies, and panted heavily.

The little rascal even let out a burp and timidly lowered his head.

Thales let out a satisfied sigh.

“So…” Gu placed his right hand on the back of his left hand, his fingers tapping slowly like waves.

"I...we need help!" Before Gu could finish speaking, Thales, having caught his breath, looked up and said urgently.

“Yes, I can tell that…” Gu looked him up and down, his eyes showing disdain: “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Under Thales's gaze, Gu said nonchalantly:

"For example, this chaotic night—it's past midnight now, why are two children wandering around in the Armored District, which should have been evacuated long ago?"

"More pathetic than a stray dog?"

Thales paused slightly, then instinctively said, "We..."

But his words came to an abrupt halt; the prince hesitated, opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

His experience and intuition since becoming a prince have taught him that revealing all the information you know doesn't always guarantee sincerity and understanding: just look at Serena and the Black Sword.

“We’re in trouble,” Thales said earnestly, taking a deep breath. “We need to get to Valhalla discreetly. Can you help us?”

"We will pay you!"

Gu's fingers stopped moving. He clenched his hands and stared at Thales without moving.

The man's eyes were calm, like a still lake, yet they inexplicably made Thales feel uneasy.

He had no choice but to sit up straight.

This man from the Far East...

Why do you feel so weird?

Just when Thales felt he was about to give up, Gu finally spoke slowly:
"Valhalla?"

"Is this yet another drama of nobles killing each other and fighting for power?"

Gu curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a meaningful, cold smile.

The Far Eastern man's dark eyes were extremely deep, making it impossible for Thales to see his pupils.

"Do you know how difficult it is to secretly travel from the Armor District to Valhalla? The distance, the slope, the city gates, the road closures, and the martial law blockade that's been in place since yesterday..."

Gu looked at Thales in the dim light:
"I can make room for you, but what if I send you to Valhalla without your knowledge, and drag you into the political struggles of the upper nobility?"

The man from the Far East shook his head, the coldness in his eyes sending a chill down Thales' spine: "Sorry, Kaslan's favor isn't that great."

He refused.

Thales turned his head and gave the little rascal a worried look.

They can't just stay here and wait to die.

Lumba's actions, Nunn's assassination attempt, the unexpected events they encountered—all of these things require…

"What about communication?"

Thales looked up, his voice trembling with anxiety, and said, "You can't take us there, but could you help us contact someone?"

Gu smiled under Thales' worried gaze.

"It's not easy, but it's not impossible," Gu said, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you sending the message to?"

Thales' eyes lit up.

However, before he could finish speaking, Gu interrupted him.

“Choose carefully, child. Don’t choose those people I have to shout at the gates of Valhalla to contact. Also,” Gu Wei lowered his head, his eyes shrouded in darkness due to the light, and said with a hint of deeper meaning:

"If your situation is really dangerous, it's best to find a trustworthy and inconspicuous person, after all, I don't want to get into trouble either."

Hearing Gu's words, Thales was stunned.

The first person he thought of was Putila.

Ada said that the deputy envoy had mobilized people to search for her, so perhaps he could send someone...

No.

The prince shook his head inwardly.

Thales didn't know how tight Lumba's control was in Dragon City, but if the situation was really as bad as expected, then the Star Envoy led by Putila would definitely become Lumba's main focus.

Especially now, after the devastation and with martial law in place in various districts, they will be very conspicuous, and even if they find this place, there is a high chance they will be intercepted by the enemy on the way.

Similarly, those loyal to King Núnn—such as Nikolai—are the same.

He needs another candidate.

Thales frowned: a man he trusted, a suitable candidate who had a secret agreement with both him and King Nunn, yet remained outwardly neutral and thus inconspicuous.

Ideally, one should also have some means and connections, so that one is not powerless even after receiving the news.

Thales' pupils gradually focused.

“In fact,” Thales took a deep breath and looked at Gu, “I happen to have someone like that, and he has a wide network of information—you can definitely get in touch with him.”

Gu's gaze lingered on him.

After a full five seconds, the Far Easterner slowly nodded.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

A few minutes later, Gu changed into a cloak and stood at the door.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, after all, finding a way takes time—maybe a few tens of minutes, maybe longer,” the Far Eastern man said seriously. “Until then, stay put and don’t touch anything in my shop.”

Thales could only nod to indicate that he understood.

Gu observed the situation for a few minutes by the wooden window, and after confirming the situation, he grasped the doorknob.

“Mr. Gu,” Thales suddenly said as the light streamed into the butcher shop and he was about to leave, “thank you.”

Gu showed a strange expression and glanced back at him.

The man from the Far East nodded with a half-smile.

But the last words of greeting before leaving the house startled Thales.

"Please wait patiently," came the soft voice as Gu turned around.
"Your Highness."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu closed the small door, leaving the butcher shop back in the dim light.

Only Thales remained, standing there dumbfounded.

His Highness turned his head and looked at the sly little devil next to the table.

So, he already knew my identity?

That's why I haven't asked.

Looking at the small door behind Gu who had disappeared, Thales covered his forehead and sighed painfully.

Is a scruffy kid running around in the street very noticeable?

Aishida, Black Sword, Gu... Why does it feel like everyone recognizes him at first glance?
Thales looked around at the cutting board and boning knife, then shrugged helplessly and frustratedly.

He struggled to climb onto the chair next to the dining table, picked up his wooden cup, and took a sip of water.

He caught a glimpse of the sly little guy next to him out of the corner of his eye.

The girl stared blankly at the table, her face expressionless.

Thales sighed silently in his heart.

"Take a nap," Thales said, putting down his water glass. "You must be very tired."

"what?"

The little rascal seemed to suddenly wake up from his reverie, staring blankly at Thales.

Thales pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly.

"You need to rest; we may have to travel again soon," Thales said, trying to use the gentlest tone possible, looking at the distracted girl.

However, the little rascal just stared at him blankly.

“Taylor,” the little girl said sadly, “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

The little rascal lowered his head: "A nightmare, a nightmare that never ends."

Thales's breath hitched.

The little rascal's voice was a little hesitant: "First it was Miss Alex, then the monsters in Dragonsky City, and now His Majesty Nunn..."

The girl's eyes behind her glasses suddenly filled with tears.

"When will all of this end?"

Thales closed his eyes, feeling an indescribable heaviness and sadness in his heart.

She was just a child.

Bicolia, Bilain, and Bisinty are not much older.

She was forced to witness all of this.

"almost."

Thales heard himself say faintly, "Soon, all of this will be over... everything will be alright..."

However, in his own heart, a somber voice spoke another word for him.

No.

From the moment you become Walton, all of this...

It will never end.

He heard himself say against his will, "Once we return to the Walton family and those loyal to Walton, we'll be safe. Whatever their motives, they will protect the Dragonlance bloodline..."

The little rascal trembled slightly upon hearing this.

Her sobs grew louder and louder: "Tales, I, I don't want to be, to be Selma, I'm not Walton... I, I can't do what His Majesty Nunn said..."

Thales didn't speak, he just clenched his fists and looked at the ground.

“Really,” the little rascal sniffed, his eyes red, “I’m just a little maid I picked up from an orphanage, not… not Miss Walton.”

Thales remained silent.

"And besides, I'm a girl."

“This is the North, and historically... neither nobles nor commoners would allow me, would allow a girl to become a Grand Duchess,” the sly boy said, taking off his glasses and shaking his head in anguish.
"Let me go! I can't do as His Majesty said, with you... I'll mess it up, I don't know anything!" Looking at the sobbing little rascal, Thales slowly raised his head:
"can."

The little rascal's sobs suddenly stopped.

"What?" she asked, looking up, her voice still trembling with sobs.

Thales said calmly, "You can leave."

The little rascal was stunned.

“King Nunn is dead, Nikolai’s fate is unknown, and as for Michael…” Thales looked at her calmly, jumped off his chair, and stepped forward: “Now, no one will force you to become Selma Walton anymore.”

Thales slowly approached.

The little rascal shrank back in his chair, somewhat surprised.

“You still have a chance to get away from all this: Dragonsreach is in chaos, a missing maid won’t attract attention,” Thales continued, taking in the sly look of the little imp’s suspicion. “Not to mention all that’s happened in Valhalla…”

The little rascal sniffed sharply.

"really?"

The girl's voice held a hint of surprise, but that surprise quickly turned into panic and fear: "But...why did you..."

Thales stopped and stood a few steps away from her chair.

He loosened his clenched fist, looked directly into the girl's bright green eyes, and curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.

"Because you are you."

"Perhaps there is very little room for maneuver at times, but everyone can and should choose who they truly are..."

Thales gently closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again.

You will become the person you choose to be.

In that instant, his mind flashed back to Ashida's questioning, the story Lady Ginny had told him, Yordle's confession in the Shadowlands, Gilbert's excited expression as he stood before the portraits of the Three Kings, and Kessel's lonely figure in the Chamber of Stars.

Lost in thought, he continued somewhat unconsciously:
"Although we are always forced by life, by others, by society, and by the omnipresent power to become...the person they want you to be."

The little rascal stared blankly at Thales, watching the strange boy give a bitter smile.

The girl, who had just finished wiping herself clean, blinked and asked instinctively, "Like... becoming a prince?"

Thales's gaze sharpened.

He looked at the little rascal quietly and sighed silently: "Yes."

"For example, a prince."

"Therefore, if you want to escape, want to give up, want to get away, I will not stop you—I will even help you."

The little rascal seemed to be completely terrified, staring motionlessly at Thales.

The second prince sighed.

Kessel's words echoed in his ears:

From the moment they were given the name of the Stars, they fought for the stars, died for the stars, and... were born for the stars.

His gaze refocused, shooting straight into the little rascal's eyes.

"But before that, have you figured out who you really are and who you want to become?"

The little rascal's eyes widened slightly: "What?"

Thales shook his head, ignoring her question, and continued on his own:
"Are you a little rascal? A maid who does homework for you? A bookworm in the library? Selma Walton? An innocent unlucky guy who got caught up in all this?"

The little rascal froze on the spot, his breathing gradually becoming erratic.

“In Alex’s eyes, you are her lowly maid; in King Nunn’s eyes, you are the last pawn of House Walton; in the Sky Queen’s eyes, you are an interesting girl who wears her glasses without realizing it,” Thales said calmly. “But what about in your own eyes?”

"Who are you?" he asked the same question he had asked when they first met.

The little rascal's eyes grew increasingly confused.

"Choosing to revert to being a sly little girl because of momentary fear or past habits, choosing to become a Walton lady because of momentary vanity, or choosing to escape all of this because of momentary pressure—in my opinion, there is no difference in essence. None of these are what you really want. You are forced to become someone you are not prepared to be."

In an instant, silence enveloped the small butcher shop.

The little rascal sat blankly in the chair, staring at Thales standing in front of him.

His eyes were filled with confusion and fear.

"And what about you?" A few seconds later, the little rascal looked up blankly, as if struggling to emerge from the water, trying to find a lifeline: "Who do you think I am? Shouldn't I be a little maid?"

"you?"

Thales smiled.

He shook his head: "You're just unlucky, an unfortunate soul who got caught up in all this trouble with me."

The little rascal's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head and pouted.

Thales looked into her eyes and let out a soft breath:

"But you are also a brave and strong girl, a girl who went through nightmares and hell with me and still persevered all the way to now."

Thales gave a smile that was a mixture of bitterness and relief.

“If you were to become the Grand Duchess—in my opinion, you would be far better than either King Nunn or Grand Duchess Lombard.”

The little rascal raised her head again, her eyes flashing with surprise and astonishment.

"In my opinion, you are not unprepared to become Walton."

Under the sly little boy's gaze, Thales continued:
“You’ve spent years reading in Nekaru’s library, you know the books inside by heart, you’re intimately familiar with historical anecdotes, you’re probably even better at doing Alex’s homework than she is, and…”

Thales drifted into thought about yesterday's events, as if it were several years ago, the images in his memory now faded and yellowed.

“Even in the most desperate times, when I was in the most danger, you never abandoned me—even if the final outcome might be a painful death.”

The prince looked into the little rascal's eyes.

The little rascal pursed his lips and wiped away the tears on his face.

“Let me tell you another secret,” Thales said.

The little rascal blinked.

Before Thales' eyes appeared a strong and robust figure, and a pair of piercing sky-blue eyes.

“When I became a prince, my…father asked me a similar question,” Thales’s eyes darted around, his thoughts no longer on the butcher shop, but drifting towards the distant city of Everstar.
"'Are you ready?'—that's what he asked."

He chuckled softly, almost unconsciously.

"How will you answer?" the little rascal asked expectantly.

Thales turned and looked back at her. "I said, 'No.'"

"And then?" the girl's eyes lit up. "What was your father's reaction?"

Thales stared silently into the little rascal's eyes, without moving.

Until the latter turned his head away somewhat embarrassedly.

A few seconds later.

Thales sighed:

He said, 'It's alright.'

Because, 'Fate will prepare you for it.'

That's what he told me.

The little rascal was stunned.

Thales exhaled through his nose as if he had just removed the greatest shackle.

The prince flashed what he considered to be the most confident smile.

“So don’t rush, don’t panic, you have many choices,” Thales gently held the little rascal’s hand and said sincerely, “After we escape from here, we can wisely choose who you are and who you want to become—whether you stay or leave, I will not stop you.”

The little rascal stared blankly at him.

“Until now, you don’t need to think about anything. You are simply my loyal partner in this desperate struggle for survival,” Thales stared intently at her.
"This is enough."

The little rascal looked at him in surprise.

It felt like I was meeting him for the first time.

The little rascal sniffed, and said, seemingly understanding but not quite, "Okay."

Thales raised an eyebrow: "Now, go get some sleep. We need physical and mental strength."

The little rascal nodded obediently.

Thales sighed.

Finally, I managed to calm her down.

Thales turned around and climbed into his chair.

Gu's chair was a bit soft—I wondered what kind of wood it was made of.

“Thales,” the little rascal said in a low voice from behind, “thank you.”

I paused for a moment.

“No,” he lowered his head, looking rather disappointed, “I was the one who dragged you into this.”

Otherwise, she would still be a little maid who stays in the library reading books, only needing to worry about Alex.

Is not it.

The two children lay back in their chairs and closed their eyes in temporary comfort.

“Thales,” the little rascal’s timid voice came again from the darkness where his eyes were closed, “Are you really only seven years old?”

"Why do you know so much?"

Thales, who was adjusting his lying position, chuckled upon hearing this.

He opened his eyes and saw the little rascal lying on his side in the chair with his eyes closed.

This reminded Thales of the latter sleeping soundly beside his bed in his room.

“Who knows,” he said, sliding lightly off his chair and walking to the corner. “Maybe I’m already thirty-seven.”

As usual, Thales lay down against the wall in the corner, his hands behind his head, feeling the double protection of the ground and the wall, and felt much more at ease: "I just don't look old."

A sly laugh came from beside me.

Thales smiled too.

"Choose for yourself, choose who you want to become"—he repeated this to himself in his heart, while recalling the words he had spoken to the magician before Ashida left.

Correct.

I will get through this disaster.

I will Survive.

Then choose who I want to be.

No one can force you.

No one can stop it.

He closed his eyes gently.

Fatigue and exhaustion inevitably overwhelmed me.

I watched a movie yesterday, "Arrival".

I'm so excited!

As everyone knows, I'm a science fiction fan. In college, I read the novel that inspired this movie, a Nebula Award-winning work, Jiang Fengnan's "The Story of Your Life." At the time, I was studying Heidegger, and when I read the line "Language is the house of Being," the contrast between the two really resonated with me!

"Story of Your Life" and "Speaker for the Dead," hmm, awesome!
The design inspiration for one of the magic users in the article came from this.

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(End of this chapter)