Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 267 What a pity (Part 2)

“But none of you interrupted him, did you?” Trudida sheathed his dagger, crossed his arms, and sighed. “You see, sometimes you may be stubborn, but your body will always betray your true thoughts.”

He raised his eyes: "How is it?"

Aurelius frowned, his gaze shifting between Rumba and Thales.

Ronnie observed Aurelius's expression.

Rumba simply held up his sword expressionlessly, leaving everyone guessing his thoughts.

Just as Thales was getting anxious, Grand Duke Lyco broke the silence once again.

“You know,” the eldest duke’s voice was hoarse, “that the election of kings requires the testimony of the temple high priest…”

Thales jolted awake and, almost instinctively, spoke:
"High Priestess Holm of the Temple of Bright Moon is currently outside the city gate, within a five-minute walk, awaiting your summons."

"She is of extraordinary status, and even the Prime Minister of Lisbon cannot stop her."

The dukes all frowned.

"You planned this all in advance?" Grand Duke Leco asked in surprise.

Thales shrugged, sweating profusely.

silence.

Grand Duke Leco and Trudida exchanged a glance.

Two seconds later, the eldest son closed his eyes and let out a desolate laugh.

Trudida glanced at Thales and chuckled as well.

Thales was completely baffled.

Ronnie and Aurelius exchanged a glance, seemingly shocked by their companion's decision.

Rumba sighed.

"That's impossible!"

Grand Duke Ronnie gritted his teeth and shook his head fiercely:
"There are only five of us here. It is against custom to hold a king election meeting when there are not enough people."

He looked at Aurelius, seemingly trying to seek his support.

However, that familiar female voice rang out again:
"In fact..."

"The election of a king... can be held even if the number of attendees is insufficient."

The dukes all stirred, their attention returning to Selma.

The disheveled girl carefully said, "In the year 346 of the End Era, the King of Wrath died in the army of the Nightwing King, and Dragonfall City fell into enemy hands."

"The Kingdom of Exter, leaderless and plagued by constant warfare, is utterly incapable of rallying the dukes to elect a new king..." Selma's words flowed more smoothly, her voice clear and pleasant:
"Therefore, the three dukes from the northernmost outpost, the Glacier Sea, and the Guardian City gathered together to cast their votes and at the same time notified the remaining six territories to send their choices via ravens."

Selma lowered her head and secretly glanced at Archduke Ronnie.

“That’s how LS Ronnie got four votes and ascended the throne amidst the war,” the girl said softly. “And he was one of your ancestors, Grand Duke Ronnie.”

Ronnie was speechless, momentarily at a loss for words.

Listening to Selma's timid explanation, Thales felt as if he had met a savior.

However, some people still raised objections.

“That was just an exception, and we didn’t have time to wait for the other dukes’ votes,” Duke Aurelius shook his head. “Once Lisbon takes the city gate, the illusion of peace you’ve created will be shattered—in the end, it will still be a bloody battle.”

Rumba raised his eyes: "My men are stronger than you think, and they can hold out long enough—for example, after my army has wiped you all out."

Aurelius and Rumba's eyes met in mid-air, and sparks of hatred and anger were about to fly again.

Thales quickly raised his hand:

"We don't need to notify the other grand dukes!"

He said hurriedly:
"As long as you have an overwhelming number of votes and ensure that the choices of the other dukes will not affect the outcome, then the choice of the king can be decided!"

“Overwhelming?” The bearded Aurelius shook his head dismissively, pointing at Rumba: “Including him, there are only five of us grand dukes here. Even if all five of us chose Rumba as king, we would still be lacking…”

At this point, he suddenly froze.

The grand dukes, including Rumba, were also stunned.

The next second, they all turned their heads in unison.

They were both looking at the same person.

“That’s right, gentlemen,” Thales said, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders. His arms trembled as he said, “Ten Grand Dukes—we need six votes to decide the next co-elected king without any objections, in the absence of the other Grand Dukes.”

His pupils contracted slightly: "Only six votes."

Under the incredulous gazes of all the dukes, Thales took a few steps forward and walked to the girl who was staring at him by the dukes, not knowing where to put her hands.

“Let me introduce you again,” Thales said, taking the girl’s hand and solemnly raising the 'triumph' on her finger:
“Selma Alex Suril Walton”.

The dukes looked at each other in bewilderment.

"The true bloodline of the Dragonlance family, the next leader of Dragon Sky City..."

Thales gritted his teeth, paused for a second, and then slowly opened his mouth:

"Grand Duchess!"

A silence, longer than ever before, filled the hall.

Selma stared in disbelief at the dukes' astonished and bewildered gazes.

how……

how so……

The girl felt a sense of dread, and instinctively turned to the prince beside her:

"But……"

Thales grabbed her hand abruptly, silencing Selma.

The second-to-last brazier slowly died down in the stillness.

“No, no,” Aurelius stared in shock at Selma, who was on the verge of tears, shaking his head in disbelief. “She’s a girl, Exter, no, there’s never been a precedent like this in the entire North…”

"Haven't you broken enough precedents today?"

Thales exhaled: "Assassinating the king, covering up the truth, dividing up territories, the dukes drawing their swords against each other in the Hall of Heroes... If these things were to happen..."

"In comparison, the appearance of just one Grand Duchess can make up for the above losses, which is simply too good to pass up!"

Rumba looked at Selma with a strange expression, and as if he had remembered something, he gave a bitter smile that seemed to be hard to understand.

Grand Duke Leco looked at Selma with difficulty, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

“A woman,” Grand Duke Ronnie narrowed his eyes, “The Kingdom of Exeter—whether commoners or nobles—would never recognize a grand duke…”

Thales said earnestly, "So she needs your support."

"She needs the recognition and affirmation of the five Dukes of Exeter within the kingdom to secure her position and suppress opposition and dissent!"

“And her status as Grand Duchess will ensure that we…” Thales stopped abruptly, changing his pronoun: “Ensuring your election of king will resolve the current dilemma we are facing: whether you die in the chaos of war or Rumba dies at the Prime Minister’s hands—we can avoid it.”

"At the same time, we will compensate for the losses of Dragon Sky City and fill the vacancy left by King Nuen after his death."

Trudida looked at Selma with interest, stroking his beard and clicking his tongue.

“I have laid out the choice and its consequences before you, gentlemen,” Thales said solemnly, wiping the sweat from his brow and a handful of charcoal ash, though he seemed oblivious to it. “I only implore you: maintain the utmost rationality.” No one spoke.

Leko looked as if he had aged several years, and the wrinkles on his face were becoming increasingly frightening.

Aurelius pursed his lips.

Ronnie kept staring at Rumba, even though the other man remained completely unmoved.

Thales gripped Selma's hand tighter and tighter: he knew the grand dukes were struggling, were hesitating.

"King Nunn's death," Aurelius looked at Selma with a bitter expression, "can she accept it?"

Thales quickly nudged Selma.

"Ah, ah!" The girl seemed to wake up with a start.

“I…I can compromise,” Selma said, biting her lip as she looked at Thales’ encouraging gaze. “But…but this is a blood debt from Dragon City…I will not forget it.”

Rumba gave a sarcastic snort.

Aurelius closed his eyes: "Very well... What reason should we give to explain Nunn's death to Risban?"

“Disaster,” Trudida interjected.

A rare sadness flickered in the eyes of the Grand Duke of Rebuilding the Tower: "Just say the king died in the attack of the Blood Calamity: they're evil enough anyway, one more infamy won't matter."

Thales thought of the sealed Giza and remained silent.

Silence fell over the hall once again.

"Your Excellencies, what do you say?" Thales asked softly.

"How to say?"

Time seemed to have passed for a very long time.

No one spoke.

But someone did make a move.

It's a rumba.

Under the gaze of others, Chaman Lumba raised his sword with a cold expression.

Thales' heart skipped a beat!
But the next second, Rumba slightly bent his wrist and turned the sword.

He sheathed the sword.

The Grand Duke of Black Sands raised his gaze, scanning the dukes with an aggressive look.

At that moment, Thales held his breath.

He has already given the answer.

Grand Duke Rebian Aurelius sighed deeply, walked to the square table, slammed his greatsword on the surface, and then sat down angrily.

One.

Thales counted silently.

Trudida chuckled, shrugged, and pulled out his own chair to sit down.

two.

“Do you really know what you’re doing?” Ronnie asked incredulously, watching their actions.

"No," came the reply from Grand Duke Lecco.

The old man sounded tired. He shook his head, put away the dagger in his hand, pulled out a chair and sat down: "Nobody knows."

three.

Just now.

“Hahahaha,” Rumba let out a desolate laugh.

The dukes looked at him with displeasure.

“I’ve dreamed of destroying the co-rule oath,” the Black Sand Grand Duke said sadly as he looked back at the others. “But now I have to rely on this oath for protection as a king.”

Thales sighed.

“And you have worked so hard to uphold the oath of shared rule,” Rumba swept across the faces of each of the grand dukes, “yet now you want to elect me as king and trample on that oath.”

He spread his hands and said sarcastically, "Isn't this the greatest irony?"

The dukes' expressions turned grim.

"brush……"

The sound of metal rubbing against leather could be heard.

“What’s even more ironic is that you’re using the co-governance oath to ultimately break it.” Ronnie sheathed his sword and said coldly, “We broke the oath in order to better maintain it.”

Ronnie gritted his teeth and glared at Rumba.

“This isn’t over, Rumba.”

Rumba looked back at him coldly, without saying a word.

Ronnie walked to the square table and stared sharply at Thales.

The prince felt a tremor in his heart.

what happened?
“Listen, kid!” Ronnie grabbed the back of the chair next to Thales.

"This chair in this order has been the exclusive seat of the Ronnie family for six hundred years," he said coldly. "If you dare to jump up there again..."

Thales quickly pulled Selma back about ten steps, revealing an innocent and ingratiating smile.

Oh shit……

No wonder he looked so pale before...

Ronnie sat down heavily.

Four.

Thales let out a long sigh of relief, his mind instantly relaxing, and cold sweat broke out in his brow.

He felt a blur before his eyes, his legs went weak, and he was about to collapse to the ground.

To Selma's startled cry, Thales felt a sudden stiffness in his back—someone grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him up.

They avoided the fate of falling.

Thales calmed the dizziness brought on by his weakness and looked at the person behind him with suspicion.

"child."

Charman Lumba loosened his collar, looked at the prince with a complicated expression and a subtle look in his eyes: "You didn't drink that glass of wine back then."

"what a shame."

I'm a little tired, so I'm going to sleep now. I'll correct the typos and grammar when I get back.

Suddenly realized I've updated twice?

I need to look in the mirror; I suspect I'm a fake Wujian.

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(End of this chapter)