Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 289 The Dragon Slayer (Part 1)
As Thales forced himself past the heavy guards, enduring pairs of eyes even more ferocious than usual—especially the warning gaze from Nikolai—and passed through the old, heavy arched doorway into the familiar Nekaru Library, the Prince of the Stars was fretting over what should have been a casual and relaxed meeting.

Does Selma realize the political turmoil she's in?

Unbeknownst to her, the girl was already in an inescapable game of chess, facing seasoned players like Rumba, Ronnie, and the vassals of Dragon City.

Thales didn't know how much Risban had told her, nor did he know what state the Grand Duchess was in, and he was even more unsure of what attitude and stance he should take towards Selma.

Facing that girl from the past, now a lady.

The library remained unchanged, with its arc-shaped corridor filled with rows of tall bookshelves, its light and shadow intertwining as it swept across his vision: the passageway beside the bookshelves was bright and clear, illuminated by braziers and reflective gemstones from the ceiling, while the space between the bookshelves, where the light was blocked, was dim and hazy.

Thales walked nervously and anxiously between the light and shadow, past rows of bookshelves, until he arrived at the place where he had first met the two girls six years ago—the glass case containing the first treaty between the two countries.

"you are late."

The Duchess of Longxiao City sat quietly in a chair, a thick book lying open on her knees.

Thales looked around hesitantly, and unsurprisingly saw Lady Jinx and two maids at the far ends of the corridor. Lady Jinx stood like a statue, her hands clasped, looking straight ahead with elegance and nobility.

The prince took a deep breath, walked up to Selma, and lowered his voice.

“Selma, listen, I…”

The Grand Duchess interrupted him without looking up. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was calm: "This batch of books was recently collected by merchants from Dragon's Kiss Land. I heard that many of them are ancient books and handwritten copies."

Thales raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Selma had interrupted him.

He hesitated for only a moment before pulling over a wooden chair, turning the back of the chair towards Selma, and sitting down with a heavy expression, his arms resting on the back of the chair.

At that moment, the prince felt his mouth go dry.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly to his friend of more than six years, “I…I heard about what happened on the day of the hearing.”

The girl did not answer, but her hand did not turn the page again.

“I wanted to say, uh,” Thales said stiffly after actually meeting Selma, feeling tongue-tied and unable to find the words to say. “Thank you for protecting me.”

The Grand Duchess still didn't look up, but she let out a small snort from her nose. If Thales hadn't had exceptional hearing, he would have thought she was daydreaming.

“But,” Thales sighed, “I’ve heard about it too…”

“I just glanced at the table of contents of these new books,” the Grand Duchess interrupted him again, “but much of the content is of interest to you, such as the final war.”

"And dragons..."

Selma's face remained deeply drooping, almost parallel to the book.

Thales's expression tightened.

She's not in a good mood.

“Selma”.

“Regarding the day of court hearings,” Thales gritted his teeth, recalling his two conversations with Putilai, “you…I…”

"Yes, the marriage."

Thales was taken aback: "Huh?"

Selma slowly raised her head, revealing a smile tinged with bitterness.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about during training today?" the Grand Duchess chuckled softly. "Isn't that right?"

Thales couldn't help but notice that there were some red veins in the girl's eyes.

He nodded subconsciously.

"Ah."

Selma closed the book on her lap and sighed softly.

"So, what do you want to say?"

She placed the books on the table beside her and asked bluntly, "Would you recommend a husband to me?"

Selma raised her eyebrows as she said this, looking quite aggressive.

Thales's words were somewhat hesitant; his mouth opened and closed, but he could only utter a few words in the end: "I..."

"I want to ask..."

Selma tilted her head slightly, her turquoise eyes behind her pince-nez glasses fixed on him.

For the first time, Thales realized that this little girl's gaze could be so irresistible.

A few seconds later, still unable to find the words, the prince could only exhale and say in a seemingly casual tone, "So, about your marriage... what did they say?"

"Are there any candidates?"

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

This made Thales uneasy.

Finally, Selma exhaled through her nose, shook her head, and looked away.

“Those are the people, the earls who are directly subordinate to their vassals, such as—the Earl of Hearst,” she said casually.

“Hurst?” Thales frowned. “The Earl of Ironshire? That golden-bearded one?”

"Yes."

Selma added expressionlessly, "Among the direct vassals of Dragonsreach, he is the closest in age to me."

The prince gripped the back of the chair and straightened up.

"Similar age?"

Thales' eyes widened, and he subconsciously exhaled. After his initial surprise, he said dismissively, "Yeah, he's only twenty years older than you."

Selma gave him a meaningful look:
"Or the offspring of nobles. Count Nazel has a son in his early twenties who is the heir to the family business."

“Little Nazel?” Thales frowned again:

"Ha, I've heard his reputation for womanizing is known from the city maids to the sows in the suburbs..."

The Grand Duchess narrowed her eyes in confusion: "How did you know that?"

Thales snorted and shook his head: "Rumors from the kitchen: During the banquet, the maids all have to... never mind, it's not important."

Selma pursed her lips, seemingly dissatisfied: "If all else fails, there's always Charles..."

This time, Thales interrupted her.

"The Earl of Lisbon? The Regent?"

The prince exclaimed as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing: "My God, that old man even has a grandson!"

"Thales".

Selma seemed to have finally had enough of Thales' tone, and she said coldly:

"The person I'm referring to is Charles's grandson."

Thales: "..."

Selma stared at the ground with displeasure, while an embarrassed Thales rested his chin on his arm, speechless for a moment.

Finally, the silence between the two was broken by the Grand Duchess: "Thales."

In a weary voice, she asked softly, "Don't you want to see me get married?"

Thales did not speak immediately.

“Selma,” Thales finally spoke after a few seconds, his voice low and deep, “tell me the truth.”

Do you really want to get married?

Selma suddenly raised her head, her face tense.

"Does it matter?"

The prince heard the girl's words as if she were sulking: "You know, I have to get married."

Thales frowned slightly, straightened up, and moved the chair closer.

"We've known each other for six years, you know..."

The prince said seriously, "I don't want to see you unhappy, and I don't want to see you forced to do things you don't want to do."

"because……"

Selma stared at him blankly.

Because I'm the one who made you like this.

Thales shut his mouth, his heart heavy with sadness.

The image of six years ago flashed before his eyes: the moment when the little rascal agreed to help him, and the moment when the little rascal was proclaimed Grand Duchess of Dragonsky City. Thales sighed and leaned his chin back in his chair.

A few seconds later, the Grand Duchess turned her head and looked in the other direction.

"Even if I don't want to, so what?" Selma's voice suddenly rang out:
What can you do?

"Can you stop them from marrying me?"

The Grand Duchess still tilted her head, her expression unreadable, but her shoulders were trembling slightly: "Can you still... forbid me from marrying them?"

Thales raised his eyes, a sense of melancholy in his heart.

She didn't like it—he told himself.

Thales sighed. "If you don't want to, then don't marry them."

Selma suddenly turned around and stared at him coldly.

"Hmph." She scoffed.

"If I don't marry them," the girl's gaze was strange at that moment, "then who should I marry?"

Thales felt his eyelids twitch.

Before the Grand Duchess could say anything strange, he suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Um, what I mean is..."

“You are a Grand Duchess,” Thales coughed, scratching his head as if imitating a burly guard from his memory. “As long as you stick to your own will, no one can force you to do something you don’t want to do—if you don’t want a husband, then you don’t have to force yourself to get married.”

After saying this, Thales felt extremely uncomfortable. He shrugged and gave an awkward laugh.

Selma stared at him intently, without saying a word.

After a long pause, the Grand Duchess spoke softly, "You also met the Black Sand Territory envoy today... Charles told me that the Free Alliance is not as simple as it seems..."

“Charles also said that Dragonsreach City has no choice. If I want to win the support of my vassals and uphold the Grand Duchess’s authority…”

"Then you absolutely cannot marry just anyone!"

Thales interrupted her, then quickly added, "You can't expect to win support through marriage."

“Think about it, you’re all alone,” the prince took a deep breath, meeting Selma’s unwavering gaze, “while Dragon City alone has six earls, no matter who you marry…”

"Perhaps you can temporarily calm the storm and get through this crisis."

“But the price is: you will soon be drawn into a deeper layer of internal strife within Dragonsky City,” Thales sighed.

"Because your new husband is one of them, you will no longer be able to remain uninvolved in the relations between vassals, no longer be able to act as the supreme and impartial arbitrator, no longer be able to rule this land as their lord."

"Moreover, a grand duchess who compromises with nobles through marriage will not gain loyalty in return."

This time, Selma kept an eye on him for a long time.

Thales was getting a little embarrassed by their stares.

“You know,” the girl’s voice was slightly unsteady:
"That's what Charles said too."

“Lisban?” Thales jumped to his senses. “He’s against your marriage too?”

Selma didn't answer him directly; instead, she chuckled and said, "But the vassals will be very unhappy."

She said listlessly, "What should I do? What should I do about Longxiao City?"

“They were already very dissatisfied with me, saying that I was unsteady in my posture, lacked grace, and that my appearance and speech were immature…”

"If I still refuse to marry them, and have no children..."

The Grand Duchess sighed softly, looking somewhat dejected and weary: "I know that in the future, whether it's sending troops or enacting laws, they won't cooperate obediently."

Thales let out a breath.

For some reason, after learning that Lisban also opposed the lord's marriage, he felt inexplicably relieved.

But when he turned his head, he saw the Grand Duchess's dejected and bitter expression.

Thales gently clenched his fist.

He sat back down in his chair.

“No, Selma,” the prince said earnestly, “it has nothing to do with your demeanor or bearing, nor with your attire or speech.”

"Whether or not he marries you, or whether or not he has children, is irrelevant."

“Your vassals will have this kind of attitude…”

Selma looked up and stared at him blankly.

Thales clenched his fists tighter and tighter, and took a deep breath.

"It's because, because..."

But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted again by the Grand Duchess.

“Because I am a Grand Duchess,” Selma chuckled, tilting her head back in her chair and glancing sideways at a row of bookshelves in the distance: “I am a woman.”

"The woman they look down on."

Thales was stunned.

“Yes, I know,” Selma’s voice was low and seemingly devoid of emotion. “I’ve always known.”

“They are not used to, and even less fond of, a woman’s rule. Both they and their enemies feel that Dragon City is unstable under such circumstances. They think I am both weak and ignorant…”

"So they urged me to get married: the Grand Duchess to marry a local nobleman from Dragonstreet, leave a child in my womb, give him the name Walton, and one day hand over the power to him. Only then will Dragonstreet be able to settle down."

Thales didn't speak, but he gripped the back of the chair even tighter.

“On the day of the court hearing, no matter what I say, everyone’s eyes will only be on Charles,” Selma said, as if she were talking in her sleep. “If I say something right, they will give Charles approving looks, and if I say something wrong, they will give him blaming looks.”

“This isn’t the first time; it’s been the same before.”

"And it will be the same in the future."

Selma shrugged slightly and let out a numb, silent laugh.

“None of my so-called vassals care about me,” the Grand Duchess said weakly, leaning her entire weight against the back of her chair as if she had lost all the strength to support herself. “All they care about is the title of Grand Duchess and the Walton bloodline.”

"And I myself am not important at all—except for my belly, because that's where Walton's seed can be born."

Thales gritted his teeth slightly.

Selma took a deep breath and looked at Thales with bloodshot eyes.

She suddenly chuckled.

“Maybe they’re right, Thales.”

Selma bit her lower lip, her face expressionless: "Grand Duchess or something, maybe I can't do it at all."

"Perhaps I am inherently weak and should rely on others."

The Grand Duchess's voice grew increasingly faint.

In the heavy and ancient library, she leaned back in her chair and said softly, "When I was little, I leaned on Alex and was an unknown little maid."

“Now that I’m older, I rely on you and Her Majesty Nuen, and with your strength, I have become a Grand Duchess.”

"Now, I rely on Charles to rule Dragon City for me and handle those things that I cannot think of."

"In the future, I will also have to rely on my husband and the blood in my womb to stabilize Longxiao City and live out the rest of my life."

"Besides, I don't even have Walton's bloodline..."

"boom!"

The prince slapped the back of the chair.

“Selma!” Thales said sternly, silencing the stunned girl.

“Selma, you little rascal,” the prince took a deep breath and put on the most serious expression he could think of, “do you know why I dragged you to skip class?”

"Especially Ms. Jinx's etiquette class."

Before the other party could answer, Thales spoke up.

“Because you are a Grand Duchess,” the boy clenched his fist, “but they teach us weaving, sewing, embroidery, playing instruments, singing, dancing, and managing a household.”

"They treated you like a duchess."

“Grand Duchess and Grand Duchess, they are the same word,” Thales gritted his teeth, “but they are worlds apart, absolutely not the same!”

(End of this chapter)