Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 456 Nothing

In the deathly silence, Thales quietly watched the bewildered, helpless guard lying on the ground with nowhere to go.

Looking at this group of men, who were in despair and on the verge of falling apart.

I have many thoughts.

"why."

Barney slumped to his knees, stiff and lifeless.

"Father?"

He stared blankly at Naki, as if he were looking at a stranger:

"why?"

Why did he do this to me?

Aside from Naki, almost everyone turned their heads away, leaving only Belletti and Nai, equally astonished and speechless.

"You really don't know?"

Naki retorted with a cold, sarcastic laugh:
"So you lived like a child in the Palace of Restoration, knowing nothing, caring about nothing, just wanting to be a loyal and foolish pawn?"

No one speaks.

Only Quickrope whispered in Thales' ear, "Things are bad... I think they've all forgotten about escaping, forgotten about finding a way to survive..."

Thales shook his head thoughtfully, a deep expression on his face.
"It's not that they forgot to escape, they just... no longer care."

Quick rope was taken aback:
"What about us?"

But Thales just shook his head seriously, ignoring him.

In a panic, Kuaisheng scratched his head, looking around anxiously.

"Why, Father?"

But Barney remained expressionless, like a puppet, as if talking to thin air.

Why would he do that?

Naki glared at Barney and snorted.

Samir looked at Barney with a heavy expression and gently clenched his fist.

“You really are an anomaly, Barney,” Naki said, looking at the distraught Barney, a look of vindictive ease on his face, but his voice still filled with sorrow.
"You, a noble being born into nobility, yet who discards family and bloodline like trash, Quill Barney."

"But in fact, if it weren't for him, if you weren't from the Barney family, one of the Seven Star Guardians, you wouldn't even have the chance to join the guard."

Naki said coldly:
"Just like all of us."

A noble existence that disregards family and bloodline like trash...

Barney's lips twitched.

Upon hearing this, everyone—Bellety, Nay, the dejected Tardin and Brie, and even the trembling Cannon—all lowered their heads.

Only Samir remained motionless, staring intently at Naki.

But Thales sensed something and instinctively took a step forward.

"why?"

The boy's sudden words drew everyone's attention:
"If you don't want to tell him, then tell me."

"Tell the last bloodline of Canxing."

Thales' words echoed through the dungeon, startling even Quick Rope.

These words startled Naki. He stared at the boy in front of him as if he were seeing him in a new light.

As if trying to discern something from the other person's solemn face.

“Hey, these lunatics are a headache enough,” Quick Rope whispered anxiously, pressing Thales’ shoulder, “We need to focus on finding a way out now…”

"What else do you want to do?"

But Thales simply took a light breath and firmly pulled his hand away from the rope:

"Just like you said, we are looking for a way to survive."

Quick rope was taken aback.

Thales looked at Naki again, his gaze sweeping over the keys in Naki's hand.

“Tell me, why did Barney’s father, you, and even Sackel do that?”

Thales frowned:
"Or rather, what did Eddie II, the King of Changzhi back then, do besides the so-called Three Calamities Alliance that Sakel mentioned?"

Naki's eyes gradually became confused.

Barney looked up blankly, but only repeated that one sentence:
"Why, Father?"

Naki looked around in a daze, only to find that many people had looked away, but Samir was staring intently at him.

Finally, he figured something out and chuckled with relief.
“You’re right, Your Highness. The tragedy of that year was far more than just the struggle between His Majesty and the treacherous officials, the contest between loyalty and betrayal, or the hostility between the stars and the world.”

"Whether it was a natural disaster or a rebellion, the chaos in the kingdom back then certainly had its reasons."

Thales' brow furrowed more and more.

"The Knight of Punishment thought that the former king was bewitched by some legendary monster and that some people were plotting to bring chaos to the kingdom, but that was all wishful thinking on his part."

Naki returned to his oblivious state, as if glimpsing the past:

"Because Sacel is just an ancient surname that has been declining for a thousand years, without even a castle or fief, he is too naive to understand."

"They can't sense our despair."

Naki shuddered as he said this.

Tardin, on the other side, let out a soft sigh.

Thales' heart skipped a beat:
"despair?"

Naki took a breath, recalling those most unbearable years, and laughed sadly:
“Back then, countless rumors circulated in the Fuxing Palace. Not everyone knew the taboos about the late king and disasters, but there was one thing that everyone was very clear about.”

Many people's breathing became disordered.

Little Barney, kneeling on the ground, slowly focused his gaze.

"What is that?" Thales listened intently.

Naki turned his head, lost in thought, and said:

“During those years, His Majesty wanted to accomplish something: he issued many orders.”

To make a difference.

Many commands.

Thales' heart clenched.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the old crow's class.

"So we... whether it's the newly noble 'Seven Stars' who are directly under the royal family and have risen for a hundred years since the era of the wise king, such as Belletti, Tardin, and Barney, or the so-called thirteen noble families who were granted titles, such as Taren and Kalabyan, or even the six founding noble families such as Aarond and Tebak, we have seen and experienced them all."

Barney Jr. snapped out of his shock and stared blankly at Naki.

Naki glanced at each of his guards and said quietly:

"With each of His Majesty's actions..."

"Life is getting harder and harder, the future is getting more and more hopeless, and our future as nobles is getting even bleaker."

Thales was taken aback.

Tardin's expression changed slightly, and he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

But before he could say anything, Thales, who had already sensed something, urged him urgently:

"what happened?"

Naki raised his lifeless eyes, shook his head with a half-smile, and said in a tone full of bitterness, "I don't know..."

"First of all, the land measurement decree has drastically reduced my family's fiefdom..."

"Farmers on arable land were forced to relocate to cities due to the household registration policy..."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his eyes glazed over.

Every word and phrase is filled with complex and chaotic emotions:

"The lord's bureaucrats lost all prestige after the decree to cleanse officials was issued..."

"Our lives have been ruined by the tax reform order, leaving us destitute and bankrupt..."

“In the territory and the castle, we had to disband the servant army to cut expenses, and my mother and sisters had to sell their jewelry to supplement the family income…” The guard prisoners’ expressions grew worse and worse.

Naki sneered:
"Ironically, these nouveau riche peasants can achieve a status comparable to ours simply by spending money, while we can't even legally collect taxes on our own fiefdoms to get by..."

"And that damned naming decree, it clearly distinguishes our titles and positions..."

"And finally, the relocation order that came with the general edict..."

Naki shook his head sarcastically and said:

"The six powerful families and the thirteen prominent clans may be large and powerful enough to withstand setbacks and losses, and even the king's punishment, but for families like ours that are neither high nor low..."

He stared blankly into the void:

"It's like the whole world changed overnight—the happiness and stability you once took for granted have all turned into disaster and turmoil."

Can you imagine?

“At this point, being born into a noble family no longer sounds so appealing.”

The happiness and stability we took for granted have turned into disaster and turmoil...

Thales was stunned.

Naki spoke slowly, but no one interrupted him.

His tone carried a sense of self-abandonment and exhaustion, and with each word he spoke, Thales's face grew increasingly somber.

Assassination, foreign enemies, war, conspiracy...

He once thought this was everything the bloody year was about to reveal, but now it seems...

Thales remembered the old raven, Hexer.

And the lesson he taught himself.

Victory or defeat.

Enemy and friend.

Do not underestimate war itself—it is far more complex than you imagine, not a game of win or lose, profit or loss, survival or death.

A blood-soaked year.

Beyond victory and defeat, from what perspective and to what extent should we evaluate this brutal year filled with war?

At that moment, the boy was suddenly moved.

The Bloody Year was not just a war, a conflict, or a contradiction; it was also more than just the feud between the two emperors and the calamities.

Everything was fused into the great furnace of the Star Kingdom back then, with no escape.

King, nation, nobles, disaster, politics—they are all intertwined, influencing and entangled in this melting pot, difficult to separate.

Thales then thought of the star "Wise King" that made Rumba so wary.

Mindis III.

A strange thought crossed Thales' mind, but he quickly shook it off.

"I used to find it strange that when people's hearts were scattered and chaos was about to break out, why did the six powerful and influential Dukes and the thirteen noble families swallow their anger and silently accept His Majesty's orders?"

“But after hearing what Sacel said, I think I understand,” Naki said, a bitter and hopeless smile curving his lips at Thales.

"When you see that what stands behind His Majesty is the terrifying calamity that has been passed down through generations of your family, you may not have much of a choice."

Naki's expression darkened, making Thales feel even more distressed.

“I dare not and cannot judge His Majesty. After all, he is the King of the Stars, and I must obey whatever he says, especially since he possesses such irresistible power…”

The more he spoke, the more depressed he became, and the more pained his tone became.

This made Thales instinctively lower his head.

"But when I returned to my dilapidated home, I saw my wife selling her dowry, my son starving, my sister, who was about to be married, looking pale and thin, and my father, the lord, lying on his sickbed, borrowing money from merchants while futilely clinging to the last vestige of the family's noble dignity..."

Naki's words were filled with sorrow, causing many of the guard prisoners to look unusually distressed.

Thales did not speak.

Naki snapped out of his daze and looked at Thales again, his eyes filled with a sense of weariness.

“From the time I was old enough to understand, my father taught me this: The Naki family received its fiefdom during the reign of a wise king. We are loyal to the Shining Star family because we know that our position comes from the power of the royal family. The fact that our offspring are selected for the royal guard is a symbol of our loyalty to the monarchy, but…”

Like a drowning person clutching at a last straw, Naki looked at Thales with fervent longing, but the color in his eyes was the gloom of someone on the verge of death.

“Tell me, Your Highness, shouldn’t a king protect the interests and dignity of his vassals, and safeguard the abundance and happiness of his subjects? Why is it that the more loyal we are to His Majesty and the kingdom, the worse our fate becomes…”

Naki paused, then slumped down, looking confused and bewildered:
"Is it that I don't love my kingdom enough, or that my kingdom doesn't love me enough?"

At that moment, Thales, feeling a pang of sorrow, opened his mouth to speak.

But he couldn't say anything.

At that moment, all the guards in the dungeon fell silent.

Naki scoffed, his entire being filled with a sense of relief at having given up everything:

"So, in the daily confusion and ever-deepening despair, when someone promises us hope, when someone tells us that all of this is just the king's momentary folly, just the courtiers' infatuation, and all we need to do is wait silently..."

He said no more.

On the other side, Cannon began to sob softly again, Bri stopped humming, Tardin was distraught, and Belletti and Nai, who were unaware of the situation, were stunned.

Only Barney and Samir remained, one muttering in a language only he could understand, the other gripping his weapon with gritted teeth.

“Tell me, Your Highness, on one side are your hopeful wife and young children, your aging fathers who uphold the past, and the family honor you are so proud of… On the other side is your gentle and benevolent King, your harsh and merciless royal decrees, and the oath of guardianship etched into your very being…”

Naki's face contorted, his eyes welling with tears:
"To whom should I be loyal, and to whom should I betray?"

Thales gently closed his eyes.

“Father,” Barney cried, pressing his head in anguish, “Father…”

"No, you...no, all of this is so unfair..."

Barney's low moans echoed in the air.

thump.

On the other side, Tardin knelt on the ground, covering his face, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Naki gave a nervous laugh and waved the key in his hand:

"To be loyal to His Majesty and the stars means to betray your family and your beloved wife and children..."

"Tell me, Your Highness, what constitutes loyalty and what does it mean to be loyal?"

Thales let out a difficult breath.

He was speechless.

Naki laughed when he saw the prince's expression.

"It's okay, because I finally understand. Look at us now..."

He scanned each person, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.

"Whether it's Jenny, Luna, or my beloved wife and children..."

"And my Majesty, my oath..."

Naki stared blankly into the empty void:

"Whether it's loyalty or betrayal..."

"We all have nothing."

At that moment, Thales felt that the air in the dungeon was more stagnant and heavy than ever before.

It carried a strong sense of death.

Just then, a hollow and monotonous voice, carrying the same pain and hesitation, suddenly rang out.

"enough."

The sound echoed in the dimly lit room.

Everyone shuddered.

In another direction, the Executioner Sacelle, leaning weakly against the wall, struggled with his unsteady steps, standing in the shadows outside the storeroom, his eyes unfocused, his voice broken:
"Naki, that's enough."

He said painfully:
"Don't... say any more."

Calm down, I went on a long trip a little over a week ago, that's all.

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(End of this chapter)