Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 277 Lesson

Six years have passed, and at some point, the prince has stopped hating his current life: far from strife and intrigue, death and bloodshed.

Classes, training, reading, playing chess, outdoor exercise, curfew...

Wyatt, Rolf, Ada...

Lisban, Nicole, Justin, Jinx...

And that girl.

But Thales knew—a small voice had been reminding him all along, and this voice had become clearer and clearer since Putila's arrival—that this wouldn't last long for someone as hard-won as he was born.

Fate doesn't show kindness for no reason; accidents always happen suddenly.

such as……

The prince sighed, opened the book he had brought, "The Light of Mankind - The Beginning and End of the Knights' Temple," and took out a familiar sky-blue invitation.

Thales looked at the beautiful cursive handwriting above; there were only three words:

Are you ready?
The prince shook his head, then raised his head again to look at Ashida, who had suddenly appeared opposite him.

The strange thing is that such an obvious living person appeared in the private room, right opposite the prince...

But everyone within sight—whether it was Wyatt, Rolf, Justin behind him, or even the soldiers on the countless streets and buildings across the street—seemed not to see him at all: their gazes occasionally swept over the mage's position, but they showed no reaction.

It's as if this person doesn't exist.

This made Thales uneasy, so he had to adjust his breathing and control his heartbeat.

This isn't the first time.

calm.

He comforted himself.

"Don't worry, they can neither hear my voice nor see my presence—the air is a very interesting thing; with a slight adjustment, miracles can happen." The air mage didn't even look up, stroking the chess piece in his hand.

"After all, there is only one Black Sword in the world."

Ashida was still as handsome as ever, his dark brown curly hair was still pleasing to the eye, and his clothes were as clean as new, as if he had suddenly stepped from six years ago to six years later, ignoring the passage of time in between.

“Yes,” Thales frowned slightly, “Impressive.”

"You've grown up."

Ashida raised his eyes and said calmly, a blue light gleaming behind his pupils: "He seems quite relaxed, showing no awareness of being a hostage of a nation."

Thales ignored the other man's expression, grabbed a pawn, and moved it forward one square: "Am I supposed to cry and whine every day, hoping for some world-shaking disaster to save me?"

Aishida ignored his sarcasm and focused her gaze on him, but on the mage's chessboard, a pawn moved forward one square by itself.

“I hope you still remember your identity, I mean your true identity,” the Qi Mage said softly. “Don’t get too involved, and don’t be too high-profile, lest you become unable to extricate yourself.”

Thales whistled and shook his head.

"You were the guy who almost destroyed Dragon Sky City in order to take me away, weren't you?" Thales took another step.

Ashida remained silent, and her expression did not change.

“As someone who disappeared for six years afterward, bringing nothing but that invitation from five years ago,” Thales took a deep breath and asked tentatively, “doesn’t seem to have the right to say that?”

Really.

I almost thought he was sealed away.

Until the invitation from five years ago, there was only one sentence: Prepare the classroom and wait patiently.

until……

Thales looked at the blue invitation that had suddenly reappeared the day before yesterday, and sighed again.

“My disappearance has a reason,” Ashida said, her gaze returning to the chessboard. The second pawn moved forward mysteriously. “The appearance of Giza is no small matter. It’s not just the Sky Queen. In the past six years, many beings have visited Dragon City, both openly and secretly—including enemies that we should all be wary of. I’m not sure I won’t be discovered.”

enemy?

Thales grasped the word.

“So I need to wait quietly until the most dangerous time has passed,” the mage glanced around, “and you did well while I was away—you found a good place.”

Thales exhaled, moved his pawn to capture one of Ashida's pieces, and turned the pawn into a swordsman: "I have been meticulously planning and preparing for this inconspicuous occasion and excuse for three whole years."

Yes.

Over the course of five years, Thales explored countless possibilities for a safe and harmless private conversation with Ashida: talking to himself in Valhalla, reading in a quiet place, or hiding in the library—but none of them were too dangerous or inconvenient, either because they would attract unwanted attention or because of the guards that were always present in Valhalla.

He needed a special occasion, an open and aboveboard setting away from the crowd that would not arouse suspicion.

For example, right now: Who would have thought that the Star Prince, who was playing chess with himself in front of everyone, was actually talking to disaster?
“This is the tragedy of worldly constraints,” Ashida moved the third pawn again, seemingly unconcerned about Thales’ swordsman: “I still stand by what I said: think about it, come with me? You won’t have to worry so much about preparing the classroom.”

Ashida raised her head and looked at Thales with a meaningful gaze.

The prince rubbed his fingers together, grabbed a shield warrior, and moved it diagonally one space, trying to block the opponent's three pawns.

“I thought we had made ourselves clear enough,” Thales sighed. “What you need is a king to do things that have never been done before.”

“But you are in a difficult situation,” Ashida said without pausing, moving the knight out from behind the three pawns while simultaneously restraining the charging swordsman and the shield warrior who was about to intercept him. “To be honest, even if you perform brilliantly, I still don’t think you can be successfully crowned.”

“If you’re still going to just spout this nonsense, then we can end this early.” Thales quickened his pace, slightly annoyed. He grabbed a slingshot, skipped over two pieces, and placed it in a position threatening the opponent’s knight.

Ashda gave a chilling smile that Thales had seen before.

"What about that weapon?"

"The weapon that sealed Giza six years ago," the mage said softly, "I thought you would at least bring it with you when you came to see me."

On the chessboard, a pawn belonging to Ashida suddenly moved forward and became a swordsman.

"For your safety."

he whispered.

That...armor.

If it were the old Thales, his heart would probably have skipped a beat at this moment. But Thales knew what kind of being he was facing—Aishida could detect the air pressure activity within a target from a great distance.

"It's where it should be," Thales said calmly, the River of Sin flowing through his lungs and blood vessels like warm water, maintaining his original breathing and expansion rhythm.

The prince moved the shield warrior into the enemy knight's attack range.

This time, Ashida stared at him for a full ten seconds.

After a long pause, the mage put away his emotionless smile and turned his gaze to the chessboard—the shield warrior's position was exactly within the range of the opponent's catapult: "Very good."

What's so good about it?
Thales stared at him silently, but didn't say those words.

fortunately.

I was able to control my body's reaction.

Using the sins of the River of Hell...

The other person suddenly said softly, "Are you ready?"

Lost in thought, Thales didn't react immediately. He shifted slightly and looked up: "Prepare what?"

The next second, Ashida suddenly sat up straight and stopped paying attention to the chessboard in front of her.

It felt like facing the most serious occasion.

“Before we begin, we must clarify some rules,” Ashida said calmly.

Thales was somewhat taken aback: "Rules?"

Ashida nodded slowly—Taylor didn't know how he read it from the mage's almost unchanged face, but he subconsciously felt that Ashida's expression was extremely serious at this moment: "On the way, you should have taken good notes, but given this situation... So, first, you must carefully consider every word I say. This is a matter of respect for me and for yourself. In return, I will take your words seriously."

Thales was touched by his attitude and nodded in response without thinking.

"Secondly, you can ask questions at any time along the way, and even raise counter-questions. There are some parts I may refuse to answer, but that is not a reason for you to remain silent—that is the worst kind of student." The Qi Mage spoke these words at an unusually even and steady pace, a departure from his usual strange rhythm and habits.

Thales unconsciously straightened up and nodded seriously.

Like the most devout student.

"Third, but before you speak, think carefully about how I would answer from my perspective—avoid meaningless remarks, get straight to the point, and save time."

"Fourth, you are not allowed to use metaphors and analogies to express your views in my class, as that is the easiest way to take shortcuts."

Thales could only keep a straight face and nod repeatedly, focusing his gaze on the other person's equally serious eyes.

“The most important thing is to be humble,” Ashida said softly, this time with a hint of something else in his steady words: “Not to me, but to the knowledge you are about to acquire—to respect what you do not agree with, then to think about it, to find the differences, and finally to question it. And questioning should not be limited to the other party, but should also involve questioning yourself, such as your own presuppositions. Use fewer absolute and affirmative words, and encourage the use of hypothetical and conditional statements.”

Thales hesitated for a moment, then pressed down on his right hand—he was afraid he would raise his hand or subconsciously reach for his pen.

Aishida noticed his reaction, her lips curved slightly, and she hummed softly.

The prince couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"Of course, when you speak, you should also be prepared to be asked questions," the Qi Mage continued unconsciously, "If any of my colleagues here raise any questions..."

Thales' expression shifted, and he felt something was off.

Peers?

Ashida sensed something was wrong almost immediately.

His words abruptly stopped, and he abruptly withdrew them.

It was like it was suddenly cut off.

The atmosphere returned to quiet.

The soldiers and guards around the private room remained calm and oblivious to the danger.

But in the small space on either side of the chessboard, Thales caught a glimpse of it in that instant—the mage's face trembled slightly, and his left hand tightened gently.

Thales gaped in surprise.

This is……

This was a reaction he had never seen from Ashida since he met her.

Ashida didn't speak; he just stared silently at his chessboard, expressionless and motionless.

It's as if it's looking into the distance.

Thales suddenly had a strange feeling: the seemingly cold and unapproachable Ashida actually had such a human side.

That word.

Peers...

Three seconds later.

Ashida closed her eyes and then opened them again, seemingly having adjusted herself.

His eyes lifted again, shining brightly: "That's all."

Thales took a deep breath, putting away his earlier doubts.

The prince focused all his attention, filled with barely suppressed anticipation and nervousness, and slowly nodded.

coming.

“Let’s begin,” Ashe said without any preamble. He blinked his clear eyes and cut straight to the point in his cool voice: “Today, as your first lesson on the path to becoming a mage, I have three things to say.”

"First, what is a magic user—note, not what magic power is."

"Secondly, our position and stance in the world as magic users."

"Third, our enemies and our allies."

Under the sky above Dragon Sky City, the words of the Qi Mage only echoed softly in the ears of the Star Prince.

It was as faint as the chirping of insects, almost as if there were no sound at all.

(End of this chapter)