Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 304 The Storm Is Coming
Selma recovered from her initial shock and confusion.

"You're going to take me away? Take me back to the stars?"

The lights in the dining room swayed gently in the wind, as if echoing the girl's words.

She looked up, her voice trembling slightly: "Is this what you truly feel?"

Faced with the girl's emerald eyes, Thales was speechless for a moment.

A mix of slight embarrassment and a sense of relief washed over him.

I.

I just said...

Thales had a splitting headache, but the words were already out, and he could only keep thinking about the sudden idea and the possibility of putting it into practice.

The prince kept rubbing his hands together, observing the Grand Duchess's expression:

“I mean, I think...you right now…”

But Thales immediately shut his mouth: at that moment, the Grand Duchess was staring at him silently through the pince-nez glasses the prince had given her, with a look that Thales could not understand.

At that moment, Thales felt like he didn't recognize the girl in front of him anymore.

“But why should I go with you?” Selma asked softly, her voice sounding as if it came from dozens of meters away, hazy and ethereal.

"And under what identity, and for what reason, should I go with you?"

Selma turned her head slightly, her voice steady but her words hesitant, as if carrying an unparalleled weight: "Could it be, like the promise His Majesty Nunn made back then... as your fiancée?"

At that moment, the girl's eyes seemed to possess some terrifying power, forcing Thales to turn his gaze elsewhere, as if the other person's expression were the most terrible poison in the world.

The second prince had never been in such a predicament.

Perhaps only the occasion of his first meeting with King Kessel could compare to this moment.

Especially after he realized that he might have said something that could be easily misunderstood.

Thales gasped for breath and hurriedly shook his head: "Hey, no, Selma, what I meant wasn't that I wanted you to elope with me... at least not 'that kind' of elopement..."

At that moment, it was as if someone had frozen the air in the room.

The Grand Duchess lowered her head.

"What was it for?" Selma asked slowly, her voice turning cold.

Feeling increasingly embarrassed, Thales let out a painful sigh and spent several seconds trying to compose himself.

“The Free Alliance, the marriage, the vassalage, the Black Sand Territory, the City of Qiyuan,” he squeezed out these words stiffly, his sentences not quite coherent, “all of these, these are just the beginning.”

"In the future, you will face even more terrible things, such as having to make cruel choices, or a conspiracy that the enemy has been brewing for years..."

For example, you may eventually lose your position as a grand duke, and the tragic fate that follows.

"You will see even more terrible things, and you will be in the weakest position, with very few chips at your disposal, and even the people around you..."

Thinking of Nicolai's evasive manner and Risban's serious and solemn demeanor, Thales subconsciously stopped talking.

“I can’t protect you forever, Selma, and no one else can,” Thales gasped, his voice growing heavier with each word.

"For your safety, to stay away from these dangers..."

The Grand Duchess gently raised her head, interrupting the prince.

"I see."

Selma's expression changed.

“Take me away for my safety,” Selma looked away and gave a half-smile. “I understand, that’s the reason.”

"I understand."

"There can't be any other reason, can there—you just can't say that word."

That word?
Looking at her like this, Thales felt a strange mix of emotions welling up inside him.

No.

No, Selma, you...

“Just like before,” the girl sighed softly, her eyes filled with a slight melancholy, “you worry about me, love me, pity me—only because I am weak and need protection, like a little puppy.”

"So you have to take me with you."

"Just like before, this is the reason—the only reason."

Thales took a deep breath: "Selma..."

But Selma seemed lost in her own world and ignored him.

"Yes, that's me, the weak and helpless me, who closed my eyes and waited for death, who could only ever wait for others to lend a hand."

Thales was slightly taken aback.

The girl's gaze froze in mid-air, her voice trembling slightly:
"Do you remember, six years ago, when I was captured by that monster—the Blood Calamity… It was full of people, or parts of people: eyeballs, lips, ears, internal organs, hands and feet, soaked in blood, all trembling before your eyes… Dark, slippery, bloody."

Thales' memories were transported back into the body of the multi-headed serpent Kirica—Giza's pet—and he felt a pang of unease as he recalled the severed limbs.

He lowered his head, remaining silent and speechless.

“I remember trembling uncontrollably and crying uncontrollably,” Selma said, clutching the tablecloth in her hands and looking at the food on the table with a pale face. “Because all I could do was cry, all I could do was cry, all I could do was cry and wait to die.”

"Can you imagine how I felt at that time?"

The lights in the dining room flickered slightly, and the shadows of the two people trembled accordingly.

Thales felt a heaviness in his mouth.

“I’m sorry, that was…” he began with difficulty.

That's my fault.

The prince whispered to himself.

It's my fault, I've ruined you...

Selma suddenly looked up, staring intently at Thales, her gaze softening considerably.

“Until you, Thales, you appeared before me, clutching that strange dagger, covered in blood and utterly exhausted,” the Grand Duchess said calmly, though her voice trembled with emotion, “just like how you, on the same night, defied His Majesty Nunn’s authority and pulled me away from him without hesitation.”

Thales paused slightly.

“You came to save me when I was at my most desperate,” she said softly.

“You are the only bright spot in that nightmare, Thales.”

Can you imagine that feeling?

Thales stared blankly at Selma, whose performance was unusual, and felt quite uneasy.

“Just like now, once again,” the Grand Duchess sighed softly, looking at the knife and fork beside her with a complicated expression, “Are you going to come and save me again?”

"Save the girl you've always cared for and protected, save that timid, cowardly, trembling little rascal?"

"Because this is the only image I have in your heart, isn't it?"

"Therefore, I will never be able to be looked at directly by you, or be seen as an equal by you."

Thales frowned deeply, feeling an increasing sense of unfamiliarity with the girl in front of him.

she……

“Selma,” Thales’ voice unconsciously carried a hint of doubt and unease, “What happened? Why…why would you ask that?”

Selma gave a cold laugh.

“You know, for more than a month, Charles has been trying to convince me that getting too close to you is not a good thing.”

The Grand Duchess shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake something dirty off her mind: "But I told him: From that nightmarish night six years ago, I knew that even Charles, even Lord Nicolai, even Justin, even the entire Dragonstreet had betrayed me."

“You, Thales Star, will also stand in front of me without hesitation to protect me—just like you did six years ago when we faced disaster.”

Thales shuddered violently.

“If I can’t even trust someone like this,” Selma lowered her head, a bitter smile curving her lips. “Who else can I trust?”

The girl turned her gaze away, trying to use the reflection from her glasses to hide the tears welling up in her eyes, but Thales still managed to capture that moment.

“I know you have many secrets, Thales,” Selma said wearily and disappointedly, her voice hoarse. “Whether it’s your obsession with finding records of the final war and the dragons, your monthly request to go out and play chess, the Blood Calamity of yesteryear, the Blue-Clad Calamity, and why they’re looking for you…”

At that moment, Thales did not speak.

But when he looked into the girl's eyes, he couldn't help but tremble slightly.

original……

“But I didn’t tell Charles or the others any of them,” the Grand Duchess said, taking a deep breath. “I know you must cherish these secrets very much, and I also know that since they are your secrets, they will never be of any harm to me.”

“Yes, Thales, I believe you,” Selma said hoarsely, her head bowed. “I believe you with my life.”

silence.

A complex and indescribable feeling welled up in Thales' heart, leaving him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Yes, Selma is not a little girl without any special characteristics.

On the contrary, she is very sensitive and sharp, but most of the time she hides herself behind her glasses.

No one knows, and probably no one cares.

including me.

"But, Thales Star, what am I to you?"

Selma struggled to lift her head.

Once again, the girl gritted her teeth and said, "Is it your burden? Your inescapable responsibility? Your bargaining chip? Is that what makes you want to save me time and time again? Or are you just a fiancée you were forced to agree to be with?"

Thales swore he had never seen such an expression on Selma's face before.

It was a complex mix of emotions—melancholy, hesitation, pain, resentment, anger, and grievance—all gathered in the glistening eyes behind the Grand Duchess's glasses.

It was as if the sly little devil he had known for the past six years was just a false shell, as if the Selma in front of him was the true face that Thales had never discovered.

"No, neither."

She fought back tears that were welling up in her eyes and choked out:
"Now I understand."

The second prince was speechless. He just stared blankly at the little rascal he didn't know, or rather, didn't care about.

Selma twisted her stiff neck, forcing herself to look at Thales.

Her barely concealed sobs carried an unconscious hint of irony:
“You, Prince Thales, are different from most noble people. You have a unique and warm heart, and you have your own principles. You cannot bear to see those around you suffer and remain indifferent…”

"So you always lend a helping hand to the weak, is that right?"

"like me."

Thales looked at her sadly, feeling a heavy weight in his chest.

Disappointment and pain flickered deep within Selma's crystal-clear eyes, radiating an indescribable light behind her glasses. "You couldn't bear to see me being forced into a marriage, you couldn't bear to see me in danger, you couldn't bear to see me facing the Grand Dukes alone, so you came to save me without hesitation—just like you returned to Valhalla without hesitation to face the Grand Dukes back then."

"Of course, you still feel guilty, that you should be responsible for putting me on the throne of Grand Duke, right?"

“So you pity me, sympathize with me, help me, and protect me,” Selma tried to make her sobs sound like a sneer, but she was clearly not very successful. “But to you, I am at best just one of the countless weaklings you have pitied and helped—whether I want to or not, there are no more.”

The next second, the girl clenched her fists, her arms trembling slightly, as if she were enduring some great pain.

An unsettling silence returned to the dining room.

Only two breaths remained: one trembling and unsteady, the other long and heavy.

Selma clenched her teeth, her eyes behind her pince-nez glasses filled with tears, and her chin trembled slightly.

Finally, a glistening tear slid down her left eye.

Thales closed his eyes, sighed, and lowered his head.

Selma gritted her teeth, reaching out with a trembling but resolute hand to wipe away the tears on her left cheek, but tears still streamed down her right eye: "So, you'll never put me in the same world as you, you'll never treat me as, as your, your..."

She couldn't speak anymore.

Selma turned her head to the other side so that Thales wouldn't see her tears.

“That’s the whole point of ‘take me away’—taking away a vulnerable person in dire need of rescue is no more meaningful than rescuing any stray dog ​​on the street, because that’s where I am in your eyes.”

“Selma…” Thales sighed, forcing himself to speak with all his might, while deliberately avoiding the topic he least wanted to discuss: “Perhaps you shouldn’t think so much. We’ve always been partners who fought side by side…”

"partner?"

"Do not."

“You said that Lyanna Tebak was like a dazzling diamond, shining brightly in the sun, and that you could never forget her,” Selma said with a tearful, cold laugh, her expression both sorrowful and resolute. “In comparison, Selma of Dragonstreet City, no, the little rascal of Dragonstreet City, is probably just an annoying and incompetent weakling, waiting for your charity and protection.”

Thales clenched his fist.

“Of course not,” he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: “You…you are different to me.”

"different?"

The girl took a deep breath, took off her glasses, and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face.

Selma shook her head, and with a choked voice, coldly snorted:

“No, Thales, it’s been six years, I know you too well.”

"You may not even realize it yourself: the women you truly admire and praise are only those who are strong, independent, self-assured, and radiate a dazzling light. Your gaze will always only shine for them."

Thales frowned.

"For example, the Duchess, even though she is thousands of miles away, can still make you admire her sincerely; for example, Lady Ginny, as a teacher, even if you haven't seen her for six years, she has never faded from your heart; for example, the flower of the fortress, she is a warrior who stands like an iron wall in the face of storms."

The second prince took a deep breath and felt his mouth and tongue stiffen.

"Even that female vampire you mentioned, that ugly monster who betrayed you and drove you to the brink of despair, named Salina or something like Tarina."

"At least she is powerful and terrifying, making you extremely wary and suspicious every time you mention her, thus placing her in the most crucial position in your eyes."

Selma put her pince-nez glasses back on, her eyes slightly red and swollen.

“Only people like them can attract your attention, make you unforgettable, stand before you, look you straight in the eye, and speak to you as equals and independently,” her tone returned to calm, but the emotion in her words was tinged with coldness: “And that girl who only cowers in the library, obedient to her vassals, terrified of politics, and trembling in the face of difficulties, she is no match for her…”

"She can only forever hide in the corner of your eyes, forever be protected, guided, pitied, and forever only be helped, favored, and rescued by you."

"I can never stand in the same world as you."

“Even if you are as noble, as kind, and as compassionate as you are, you are no different from my vassals: only strength can make them submit. Similarly, only independent and self-reliant women can make you take notice—like that female warrior from Black Sand Territory not long ago.”

“If I were just a weak and helpless girl, I would receive contempt and disdain from my vassals, but from you, I receive pity and sympathy from a superior position.”

Thales had nothing to say.

He wanted to tell her no, to tell her that it was all unnecessary speculation.

but……

Thales recalled what Lady Jinx had told him earlier:
[Many times, it is precisely because of Your Highness's constant care, consideration, and companionship that the lady feels safe, thus allowing her to let down her guard and worries.]

But the problem is, she's not safe.

She shouldn't think that way.

Yes, little rascal, Selma, what exactly is she to me? A responsibility born of guilt? A hope held back out of pity?

It's still because of her...

Thales looked up at the girl's pretty face, which was slightly flushed against her platinum blonde hair, and felt a sense of oppression in his heart.

The little girl who looked up in a daze in the library seemed to reappear before my eyes.

Six years have passed. When I brought her out of that hall, I probably never imagined things would turn out this way.

But after six years, I thought I knew her very well.

I thought I was helping her, protecting her, and unilaterally planning for her benefit...

Thales sighed: But actually, I never understood her, nor did I ever try to understand her.

I just treated her as...

“Have you forgotten, Thales?” Selma chuckled, seemingly unconsciously, as she looked at the now-cold broth on her plate. “You told me before that you didn’t want me to be forced to become what others wanted me to be.”

"You want me to become the person I want to be."

This time, the Grand Duchess of Dragon Sky City raised her eyes without hesitation.

"so……"

“I refuse, Thales.”

The girl didn't turn her head or look elsewhere; she looked directly into Thales' eyes, her tone firm:
"I will not go with you."

“If I had listened to you and left obediently, retreated, or left with relief, then I would forever remain the little girl you helped.”

“I’m fed up with being a little girl, Thales,” Selma exhaled, her face pale as she pressed her hand to her stomach. She gritted her teeth, her eyes resolute. “I’m fed up with being ‘your’ little girl, fed up with being taken away from danger by you, living in a greenhouse.”

Selma's eyes flashed with a cold light, releasing an indescribable ruthlessness behind her glasses: "Moreover, as the Grand Duchess of Dragonsky City, I will not and cannot leave with a Star Prince—no matter what difficulties and dangers we face, no matter how fierce the battles, this is my home. I was born here, and I will die here."

Until one day, I can stand face to face with you.

Thales.

She said quietly.

Silence returned to the dining room.

The Grand Duchess and the Prince sat on opposite sides of the table, facing each other silently, as if the food on the table were merely decorations.

It felt like an eternity before Thales finally managed to speak.

“Selma…”

With a sense of disappointment, whether for himself or for the other person, he said softly, "Okay."

The second prince let out a long sigh, his eyes dimming: "I understand."

Selma chuckled softly, released her hand from pressing on her abdomen, and her expression softened slightly.

"fine."

The Grand Duchess seemed quite downcast; she shook her head.

“I know,” she said calmly, “I know it’s just an occasional impulse of yours.”

Thales frowned slightly.

she……

“You are not alone, Thales.” Selma looked out the window with a complicated expression, as if she were looking at a painting veiled in mist, indistinct and hard to discern.

"You have your country and your people behind you."

"Have you considered the consequences of kidnapping the Grand Duchess of Dragon Sky City?" The Grand Duchess shook her head with a smile, as if trying to make light of the situation, but to Thales, that smile seemed rather strained. "You took me away from troubles, but you will bring even more terrible disasters to many more people."

“If you come to your senses,” Selma sighed, “if you reconsider this choice, you won’t say that anymore, because the reason you want to save me is the same reason you can’t bear to see them suffer.”

"There's probably no girl in this world worth paying such a high price for."

Thales clenched his fist.

No.

You are different after all.

Who are you……

Who are you……

Just then, the door to the dining room rang.

“Madam, Your Highness, excuse me for disturbing you,” the Earl of Lisbon’s deep voice rang out steadily, “may I come in?”

The eerie atmosphere inside seemed to be shattered instantly.

Thales and Selma quickly composed themselves and welcomed the Regent in.

The Earl of Lisbon remained in his solemn attire, his expression indifferent. He seemed oblivious to the Grand Duchess's red-rimmed eyes and the Prince's dejected look.

However, the moment Risban opened his mouth, Thales had a bad feeling from his unusual tone.

really.

"Your Grace, Prince Thales, the raven from Qiyuan City has just arrived."

Lisban's words made the two of them suddenly become serious.

"The council of elders of the Freedom Alliance has concluded: the first tentative letter has been sent to Qiyuan City, proposing a reduction in tariffs."

Selma gasped: "So..."

Risban nodded, his eyes grave: "Grand Duke of Qiyuan City, Kulikun Ronnie has issued an order to fully mobilize all the troops and supplies of his direct territories and vassals, and at the same time recall the Yougang troops stationed in the Great Desert to do everything possible to block the border leading to the west."

Thales' pupils narrowed slightly.

In the Hall of Heroes, the image of the fiery-tempered, long-haired Grand Duke reappeared in his mind.

At that moment, Risban's expression was extremely solemn: "At the same time, he dispatched a large official delegation, which will arrive in Dragon City soon."

Thales and Selma exchanged a glance, their minds in turmoil.

The prince looked up: "Ronnie sent a formal delegation, surely not just to make a brief announcement—I suspect he already knows that the Black Sand Territory has sent people?"

Lisban raised an eyebrow slightly and gave a soft snort, as if blaming Thales for his actions the day before.

"Be prepared, gentlemen, whoever is behind this game," the Regent's gaze swept over the two, his words carrying the force of a brewing storm, enveloping the small dining room.
"It has already begun."

"A storm is coming."

(End of this chapter)