Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 287 The Mystery of Putila
Although the inexplicable audience left Thales bewildered, and the behind-the-scenes confrontation between Risban and Cambida was shrouded in mystery, the Second Prince did not intend to dwell on it for too long—if he had learned anything from that harrowing night six years ago, it was…

"So that's why you came to find me?"

In the Bloodstained Courtyard, Putila, whose afternoon stroll had been interrupted, paced back and forth, looking at the smiling prince with displeasure.

“Yes,” Thales said casually, mimicking Putila’s steps, tapping his sword rhythmically with his right hand, with Rolf and Wyatt following behind them, “and looking forward to your satisfactory answer.”

Putila snorted coldly: "You expect a dull, stubborn, and sarcastic old man who has only been in Dragon City for two days to analyze such a complex and difficult diplomatic and domestic situation?"

The lord flicked his pipe, his expression nonchalant: "Perhaps you should ask Gilbert, but I'm truly incapable of answering such questions..."

A dull, stubborn, and sarcastic old man with a bad temper?

Thales took a deep breath.

"it is good."

The prince turned around, walked backwards in front, and raised his hands to face Putila:

"I won't go into details, but six years ago, during the most desperate moment, how that grumpy old man managed to find Secret and Nicolai, and first miraculously pulled me out of the dark room and from Rumba's clutches..."

"And then he decisively supported our intrusion into Valhalla, cleverly sent the prince into the Hall of Heroes, and finally miraculously saved Dragonsreach City..." Wyatt chimed in from behind, and even Rolf nodded and chuckled in agreement.

Thales gave them a thumbs up.

Putila gave an awkward smile: "...'Let's leave that aside for now'?"

“I’ll just say this,” Thales said, ignoring Putila’s smile, “that grumpy old man, on his first day in Dragonstreet, inexplicably, vividly, and in great detail told me what shocking secrets had taken place in the heavily guarded Hall of Heroes, in the inaccessible Dragonstreet Council meeting.”

"Do you know how angry Lisban looked when Kambida revealed the contents of the assemblies?"

"That's not information that just anyone can get their hands on!"

Putila raised her eyebrows: "I have a lot of friends, that's all."

“And most importantly…” Thales said as he backed away, raising his right index finger and pointing it at Putilai: “In the midst of the turbulent and complex situation in Dragon City, you, who had been missing for six years, suddenly reappeared?”

Thales leaned forward, squinting. "Are you going to tell me this is a coincidence, that you just came to introduce a teacher and incidentally give away a pair of glasses?"

“Ah,” Putila coughed awkwardly, “Speaking of those glasses, you know, they were made especially for the Grand Duchess, they are…”

Thales frowned.

“Waya, Midila, guard the surroundings and don’t let anyone hear our conversation.” He interrupted them, wisely thwarting Putila’s attempt to change the subject.

After the two men, slightly puzzled, accepted the order and left, Thales turned around again and looked at Putila seriously.

Putila looked at the prince, a faint unease creeping into her heart.

“You know, I didn’t press the matter that day,” Thales said, his expression shifting slightly, “but Wyatt reminded me of it more than once.”

“After I was trapped in Dragon Sky City, you disappeared without a word, and it took you more than six years to reappear before me,” Thales raised his head. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but why not sooner, why not later, more than six years later?”

Putila's face stiffened.

“Wyatt inherited his father’s sensitivity,” Putila sighed after a few seconds, “but not his magnanimity.”

Thales ignored him and continued:

"Six years ago, when I had just been recognized as a prince... you had barely returned to Dayong Star City when Gilbert entrusted you with protecting me as his deputy on my journey north."

Putila stopped in his tracks, lowered his head, and made it impossible to see his expression.

"As it turns out, Gilbert's decision was correct: not everyone can, with limited resources and in an isolated city, rely on their sense of intrigue and atmosphere to deal with the White Blade Guard, the Dark Chamber, the Black Sand Territory, the Secret Service, and the Earl of Risban, not only without being at a disadvantage, but even with ease."

Thales stopped in his tracks and shook his head: "Although you are good at hiding yourself, and no one seems to care much, I know better than anyone that a powerless prince can never save the world alone: ​​from decisively withdrawing, preserving strength, contacting all sides, rescuing the prince, hinting at my counterattack, storming Valhalla, playing the game with Black Sand Territory, and reversing the situation..."

Thales took a deep breath: "Six years ago, the person who truly saved Dragon City countless times behind the scenes was actually you."

"A former civil servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a mysterious background, and a former viscount who was demoted after the bloody years."

"And the attendant of the late king's eldest son, Midil Star."

Lord Putila Neman.

Thales stared intently at the other person's face, as if trying to grasp some detail.

Putila did not speak.

Thales suddenly remembered what Putila had said to him in Valhalla about the Red Year.

That summer, I made a decision...

But that was a mistake...

An unforgivable mistake...

The North was thus plunged into disaster... War raged, rivers of blood flowed, and corpses littered the fields...

"As far as I know, this is not something an ordinary person can do."

Thales's expression darkened slightly: "Don't you think there are too many mysteries surrounding you, Putila?"

For a split second, Putila paused slightly, her face stiffening.

It was as if her secret thoughts had been exposed.

“Be honest,” Thales observed the other’s reaction, sighed, and turned back to wait for the other to catch up: “Putire, don’t be like those Secretaries. You know I don’t like them.”

Tell me, what kind of game am I in right now?

They walked past a large tree, and Putila knocked the ashes out of his pipe, his expression somber, and remained silent.

Thales just stared at him silently.

“I understand,” Putila finally sighed softly, reverting to the tone he had used when they first met: “What would you like to know about the current situation, you troublesome little prince?”

Thales frowned slightly, recalling the many doubts in his mind.

“Connections,” after a few seconds, the young prince looked around and said cautiously and quietly, “I want to know how all the major events on the surface are connected through hidden interests behind the scenes—I think that’s your forte.”

Putila put her pipe back on her tobacco pouch, then paused slightly, "Connection?"

Thales nodded, mimicking Lisban by putting his hands behind his back, but his gaze drifted into the distance.

“Six years ago, Miranda Aarond told me in her cell that everything that seemed unrelated in Dragon City was actually connected by an important thread,” Thales narrowed his eyes. “Later we discovered that the thread behind it all was called ‘Dragon Blood’.”

In that instant, Putila unconsciously slowed her pace, falling a step behind the prince.

“In the past few months, ever since King Chaman issued the new decree of fiefdom, Qiyuan City has been rallying support from all sides to condemn the king, Lumba has been subjected to censure and is in a state of utter distress, I have been accused as a hostage, the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City is facing a forced marriage, the Free Alliance is internally unstable, and the Black Sand Territory has sent an envoy to Longxiao City under mysterious circumstances,” Thales continued, oblivious to everything around him, deep in thought.

"Although everything is fragmented, and some things are even completely unrelated..."

"But I feel that the current situation is just like that back then, and there is a clue connecting the past and the future."

“I want to seize it… rather than passively deal with troubles that come knocking on my door.” Putila’s gaze paused slightly.

They both remained silent for several seconds.

Finally, Putila let out a long sigh.

“You know, when we met the day before yesterday, I thought you were more cheerful than you were back then,” the thin man shook his head, “but now I realize that the real you is more anxious, more vigilant, and more nervous than before—can you really sleep at night?”

This time, Thales stopped in his tracks.

“Six years ago, I stumbled because of carelessness and complacency,” the prince’s eyes slowly focused, “and the price was my freedom, and an enemy who was the king.”

“That feeling, that helplessness and fear of being able to drift with the wind, not knowing where you’ll go next,” Thales stared at a cracked stone slab at his feet and said softly, “I don’t want to experience that again.”

At that moment, Putila felt for the first time that the fourteen-year-old boy beside her was a prince named Shining Star.

The lord shook his head slightly and whispered, "You've changed."

Thales snapped out of his reverie and smiled slightly: "Everyone changes."

"more or less."

Putila stared at him for a long time.

Finally, just when Thales thought centuries had passed, Putilai started walking again. This time, the lord's expression changed from its previous laziness and sarcasm to seriousness and tension.

"For many years, the Free Alliance has been dependent on Qiyuan City for survival."

coming.

Thales quickly followed, straining his ears.

“As vassals of the dragons, they channeled profits from the Golden Corridor to Exter, and Exter, in turn, maintained control over the Golden Corridor and the western part of the continent through them, thus keeping Commas at bay,” Putila scratched his chin and said earnestly.

“You know, just like our relationship with the Duchy of Sera: Starry Sky controls this vassal state of Dragon's Kiss Land, which in turn controls the southeastern end of the Golden Corridor and the Long Corridor coast, and even influences the Thornlands…”

“I know, Selma’s teachers taught us that Exter fought the Free Alliance twenty years ago,” Thales coughed and waved his hand, silencing the former bard’s urge to ramble on and perform: “Get to the point, the point…”

Putila gave him a disapproving glance, seemingly annoyed that the little prince who once adored stories had become a boy who would interrupt him, but he continued, "About what you said, a fight..."

"More than twenty years ago, the governor of the Free Alliance found a new ally. He thought that King Nuen was busy with the dangers of the glacier defense line and had a lot of disagreements with Qiyuan City, so he had no time to pay attention to the west. Therefore, he first had the idea of ​​independence."

Thales paused slightly, "A new ally?"

Putila nodded.

"Baishan," he said cautiously.

"These proud white elves have unusually intervened in human affairs: though not powerful, they are not to be underestimated, and they support the Free Alliance's pursuit of independence," the lord said as he walked. "Of course, some suspect that the Cornish are also involved behind the scenes—the marriage alliance between Exter and the Vine City to the south of Cornish has made several northern city-states of Cornish uneasy."

Thales paused slightly, recalling the always smiling Marquis Slade.

"The results of it?"

"result?"

Putila snorted, her tone somewhat sarcastic: "That overconfident Alliance Governor detained the goods that were to be paid as tribute to the Kingdom of Exter without authorization, and wrote a letter that was tactfully worded but firm in its tone, demanding that we 're-examine our friendship'."

"Despite the numerous conflicts between Qiyuan City and Longxiao City, King Nuen, as the supreme ruler of the Dragon Kingdom, did not gloat or send a reply to argue," Putila said sternly. "He did not hesitate to issue the call to arms, and the army of Longxiao City marched a long way to join the soldiers of Qiyuan City and Jieshou City, and marched towards the Free Alliance."

Thales listened quietly to the history of the Free Alliance and Exter, quickly connecting these details—details not found in classrooms or history books—with the current situation.

"As a result, more than 20,000 Exter warriors broke through every gate and barricade of Freehold, and Prince Suril's troops even marched all the way into the White Mountains, threatening the White Elf's ruling court."

“They stained the Shanliu River red with the blood of their enemies,” Putila said, a strange sense of emotion creeping into his voice, as if he had witnessed it himself. “It is said that for the next two years, the nobles of Shanliu City dared not drink the river water flowing down from the upper reaches of the Free Alliance, and the prices of the famous river delicacies in the Shanliu River basin plummeted.”

"That year, King Nunn reaffirmed the absolute dominance of the Dragon Kingdom at the end of the Golden Corridor, deterring the small countries and city-states that had become complacent in peace, and telling the Free Alliance with blood: there has never been any 'friendship' between dragons and ants."

“Nun,” Thales murmured, recalling the once-powerful old king and his tragic end: “It’s him again.”

“King Nuen’s reign of power over the Western Continent for thirty years was not without reason,” Putila sighed softly. “Not every king lives up to his oath to ‘stand at the forefront of the kingdom’. After that, the Ronnie family of Qiyuan City changed their attitude towards Longxiao City from their previous arrogance. Even the people of Cornmas became much more obedient. Shanliu City even lowered itself, with a marquis personally coming to the North to apologize with a smile.”

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

"Twenty years ago, the Grand Duke of Longxiao City, as king, sent troops to support the interests of Qiyuan City in the name of all Exter."

The prince slammed his fist into his palm: "So, when the Free Alliance is unstable again, Risban will say 'Ronnie must choose'..."

Thales recalled Regent Risban's words in the hall: "If Qiyuan City wants to receive the support of the entire nation, led by the King, as it did back then, Grand Duke Ronnie must choose to compromise with the King and abandon his plan to gather the nobles to denounce King Chaman..."

The gaunt lord gave a soft hum.

“Indeed, this is a good method: in the name of the King, using the righteous cause of Exter, the initiative to compel the Grand Dukes to fight for the country is now in the hands of the Black Sands,” Putila nodded. “One can imagine that, faced with King Chaman’s outstretched hand of assistance, Ronnie…”

But Thales shook his head firmly.

“I know Grand Duke Ronnie, and he will not choose to compromise,” Thales thought, his mind filled with images of Rumba and Ronnie with ferocious expressions, and the tense scene of them facing each other and fighting in the hall. “He would rather practice his beliefs in blood and fire and fight the king to the end.”

and.

Thales thought:
Today, the conflict between King Chaman and the Grand Dukes is far more complex than it was back then, when the conflict between King Nuen and the Grand Dukes was comparable.

Putila chuckled: "That makes it even more interesting."

They climbed the steps leading to the prince's bedroom and watched as a dilapidated tree root stretched out to their feet.

"If Ronnie refuses the King's 'help,' then he will have to face the internal strife of the Free Alliance alone, and if necessary, even lead his troops alone to reaffirm the majesty of the Dragon Kingdom."

“It is a small matter that Qiyuan City will lose a large amount of income if it sits by and watches the Free Alliance slip out of control, but the prestige of Grand Duke Ronnie will surely suffer a severe blow: it is not good for him whether it brings shame to Qiyuan City or humiliates Exter.”

Thales desperately tried to recall the geography west of Exter: "Can Qiyuan City and Ronnie handle the Free Alliance alone...?"

“This is the time to test the strength of Qiyuan City and Grand Duke Ronnie’s control over his vassals,” Putila said, seemingly recalling something. “But I think that even if it’s not as smooth as it was twenty years ago when the three grand dukes joined forces, it will still be more than enough for Qiyuan City, which is adjacent to the desert and the Golden Corridor and is on guard all year round, to deal with a small Free Alliance.”

"But the problem is, if all the energy is put into the internal strife of the alliance, Ronnie's efforts to continue contacting nobles and denouncing the king will probably be affected."

Thales frowned.

“So the Lisban Regent’s suspicions are true: the internal strife within the Free Alliance is related to Lombard, and he may even be the one behind it all,” the prince said calmly. “This will stop the pressing advance of Qiyuan City and Grand Duke Ronnie, who are facing trouble in their own backyard, and rescue Black Sand Territory from the nationwide outcry that is burning their backside.”

Putila raised an eyebrow: "Who knows?"

But Thales stopped again, looking puzzled: "But I still don't understand: if this is just a game between the King of Gongju and Grand Duke Ronnie, then why did King Chaman send Cambida to Dragon City? And why did Risban say that Dragon City was sent into the eye of the storm?"

Why Dragon Sky City?

Putila also stopped in his tracks, smiled slightly, and his eyes gleamed with a strange light:
“You’ve got the point, little prince.”

Thales' brow twitched.

(End of this chapter)