Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 460 The Place Where the Light Doesn't Reach (Part 1)

Six years earlier, before Thales became a prince, he was told by Gilbert in the Mindis Hall:
The history of stars has never been without bloodshed.

color.

Is this the true color of blood?
Thales stared intently at the emotionally charged Samir.

The other person reminded him of a long time ago, when the former Duke of the North roared in despair in the Palace of Restoration.

The same hatred.

The same pain.

The same desolation.

And the same... a desperate gamble.

The atmosphere in the storage room reached a stifling peak, and even Belletti, who was standing in front of Thales, absentmindedly lowered her weapon.

Samir's panting was filled with lingering resentment. Naki bit his lower lip tightly, and Barney looked up blankly, like a lost traveler lost in the fog.

As for Sackel, he simply covered his forehead and lowered his head deeply.

Silently.

Even Quick Rope, who tried his best to appear indifferent, unintentionally revealed a deep thought and surprise that was not typical of a low-level mercenary, as he looked at Thales.

what you up to?
But Thales ignored him, keeping his eyes fixed on the focal point of the arena.

Finally, after extreme noise and extreme silence, the sound that had once disappeared reappeared, trembling:

“What are they saying, Sacelle?”

With mixed feelings and unable to describe his emotions, Thales turned his gaze away.

Little Barney, kneeling on the ground, stared blankly with eyes that looked as if they had been ravaged by a storm, and asked:
"Father? Canxing? They..."

Sacel did not speak.

The knight trembled and turned his head slightly.

In that instant, he concealed his expression, making sure his colleagues didn't catch a glimpse.

This is not what he wants.

No.

Never.

But from Sakel's silence, Barney had already sensed something.

"They are loyal to... another Radiant Star? Another... His Highness?"

Barney repeated himself absentmindedly, ignoring the disappointment on Naki's face and the resentment in Samir's eyes.

"answer me!"

The other person's unusual silence provoked Barney, and his tone became increasingly urgent.

Naki chuckled.

Little Barney turned to him as if seeking help.

“Ask your father, ask our respected deputy captain of the guard,” Naki said softly, his tone still laced with sarcasm and reproach: “He is the one who secretly acts as the instigator, following orders to his superiors and making promises to his subordinates.”

"It's a shame he didn't tell you."

Barney's unfocused gaze sharpened.

On the other side, Nai sighed resignedly.

"enough."

Finally, Sacel's dry, mechanical voice rang out hollowly. He released his clenched forehead, allowing his face to be exposed to the firelight again. His pupils were dull and lifeless, reflecting the burning torches on the ground.

insensitive.

Like a dead person.

“Why can’t you just let go?” the Knight of Punishment said absently, “Let go of everything from the past.”

"Keep everything as it is, neither adding nor subtracting, neither too much nor too little."

Finally, a slight fluctuation appeared in his usually calm and hollow tone: "Let them end here."

"why not."

These words caused many of his colleagues to change their expressions slightly.

Naki's shoulders trembled. He glanced at Barney and gave a bitter, sarcastic smile.

"Yes, why not?"

Wow!

Little Barney suddenly jumped up from the ground!
His senses, ravaged by the alchemical orb, made him stagger for a second before he managed to regain his balance.

“Because…Sakel, because if that were true…”

In that instant, a rare excitement flickered in Barney's previously numb eyes:
"If the Bloody Year truly was... then it means... it means..."

He looked eagerly and longingly at his other colleagues: the sobbing Cannon, the whimpering Brie, the desolate Tardin, and the exchanging glances between Belletti and Nai.

It seems they want to gain some support.

But none of his colleagues responded; only Samir gave a disdainful sneer.

Thales sighed softly.

He cleared his throat and spoke in the unbearable silence and darkness:
"That means, Barney, those who swore allegiance to the Starry Sky royal family back then, including your father, may not have betrayed their country."

The prince's words echoed in the dungeon, making the light in little Barney's eyes grow brighter and brighter.

Thales, feeling utterly exhausted and wounded, tried his best to make his voice sound calm and gentle, hoping to offer some comfort to the pitiful, wounded man before him:

"At least it's not that absolute or thorough."

The prince's voice elicited varying reactions from the guards; some lowered their heads and remained silent, some opened their mouths as if to speak, and some closed their eyes and sighed.

But Thales ignored them; he simply spoke slowly, with a desolation and sorrow unlike anything the boy had ever shown before:

"They remain loyal to Starry Sky, but simply follow orders..."

"Choosing sides in the internal power struggles within the royal family."

"Each chooses his own master."

Then they fought to the death.

Thales buried those words in his heart.

Barney's expression relaxed slightly, as if he had been relieved of some kind of burden.

The guards fell silent, regardless of whether they knew the truth or not, and regardless of their rank.

The dungeon fell silent again, but Quick Rope, who was watching from the sidelines, felt that this silence was no longer so unpleasant.

“Is that so, is that so,” Little Barney nodded listlessly, repeating blindly:

"They are just...they are just..."

On the other side, Sacel let out a long sigh.

“Don’t blame them, Barney,” the Knight of Punishment said, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“Especially your father.”

"In that chaotic era, family, oaths, righteousness, loyalty, tradition, monarchy, relatives, kingdom, His Majesty, Your Highness... they were just, they just didn't know that among so many objects..."

Sack paused for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts:

"What should one be loyal to?"

After saying this, the Knight of Punishment closed his eyes dejectedly and loosened his clenched fist.

Little Barney stared blankly at the floor tiles, overwhelmed by contradictions and sudden realization, seemingly unable to utter a word.

But at that moment, Naki let out another disdainful sneer.

"Hmph hmph hmph ha..."

Everyone looked up.

“You’re too optimistic, Saxeel.”

Naki shook his head, a shadow of gloom in his eyes:

"You've missed mentioning a part."

"The worst part for us."

Barney was taken aback.

Thales' expression tightened.

what?
Naki's voice was filled with suffocating pain:
"If this is the truth behind the bloody year, then it means..."

"It means we..."

Naki stopped, as if he could no longer speak.

Sacel didn't speak, but his numb facial muscles began to tremble.

Samir seemed to understand, and he took over the conversation.

"I understand."

Samir's resentment vanished without a trace, replaced by melancholy:
"If the Bloody Year was a bloody internal strife within a family, a killing of blood relatives..."

"Barney, even if I manage to escape my captivity by any means necessary, and tirelessly seek help and revenge, even if you painstakingly redeem yourself by sending this prince named Canxing back to the capital..."

A few seconds later, Barney realized something.

His face, which had regained some color, froze again.

The relaxation on his face disappeared, replaced by a lingering fear.

The guards reacted in different ways; some looked relieved, some shook their heads numbly, and some frowned.

"Even if we find out who the mastermind and inside man behind the coup..."

"Even if we prove our innocence and loyalty, and that of our other colleagues..."

Even if we…

At this point, Samir choked up, lowered his head, and spoke with a heavy heart:
“It’s pointless now.” Barney’s body shook violently as if struck by a heavy hammer.

"For the sake of the stability of the rule, for the reputation of the royal family, and even more so for the authority of the Palace of Restoration, neither King Kessel nor his successor, nor the entire Star Kingdom, will ever allow the ugly truth of the Bloody Year to be revealed, let alone made public and brought to light."

Samir glanced at Thales from a distance.

That single glance contained so much: hatred, resentment, desolation, despair...

This made Thales feel even heavier.

"On the contrary, those to whom we once swore allegiance will do everything in their power to bury the truth, cover up the facts, and distort justice."

"Because in people's minds, the noble and wise Star Family cannot be the ones responsible for the bloody year."

"The real culprit from back then will always be, and can only be, that mysterious 'mortal enemy' of the legendary Star Royal Family. It will remain hidden behind the scenes and never show itself."

Barney listened to Samir's words in a daze, like a walking corpse.

"And we... our fallen comrades will never see justice, the thirty-seven who died in prison will never be exonerated, and the survivors will only have to bear the injustice for the rest of their lives."

"As the royal guard of the Star Kingdom, we can only be, and must be, traitors who collude with the enemy!"

Sacel jolted violently, as if struck by lightning.

His colleagues were all pale-faced and had bitter eyes, as if they were undergoing their final judgment.

Samir's words grew increasingly urgent, increasingly cold and ruthless:

"We can only be guilty sinners, incompetent cowards!"

"Never overturn the verdict, until death do us part."

Apart from Samir's voice, the dungeon was eerily silent.

Samir caught his breath for a moment, slowly regaining his composure, but the desolation and despair in his voice were beyond measure:

"No matter how innocent and pitiful those who are unaware may be, no matter how pure and loyal a loyal minister like Barney may be, no matter how wronged and unable to seek redress a disgruntled person like myself may be."

"No matter how miserable and helpless your father was, he was just a pawn."

"No matter how unfair this is to us."

Barney's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"because……"

Samir stared intently:
"Because as the royal guard, we are destined to be the victims... and scapegoats under the nine-pointed star emblem."

Thales listened silently.

He recalled the numb and frozen expression on King Kessel V's face as he stood before the stone urns of the Star Family in the Star Chamber.

I don't know how much you know about us, nor do I know what your perception of the name "Radiant Star" is.

Thales took a deep breath.

He only felt that the air in his lungs was getting colder and thicker.

Sacel turned his head away, as if he couldn't bear to listen anymore.

No one could see his expression.

Samir raised his head:

"That's why Sakel preferred to remain silent and take the blame, why Naki didn't want to seek justice and just wanted to leave quietly, and why everyone is turning a deaf ear and remaining numb now that the prison has been breached and things are at their worst."

Samir said sadly:
"Because they know it makes no sense at all."

Barney looked at his colleagues in disbelief, and many of them lowered their heads in shame in the face of his gaze.

Sacel remained silent.

“Barney, for eighteen years, what kept us alive—whether it was clearing our names, restoring justice, or even the ridiculous idea of ​​revenge—was all a lie.”

"All our struggles, all our hopes, all our aspirations, all the answers we sought: justice, fairness, truth, innocence, freedom..."

Samir's words were broken and gasped for breath, filled with an unbearable pain:
"It's all in vain."

Barney turned his head mechanically, his expression growing increasingly stiff and numb.

Samir took a deep breath, stared into the bottomless, dark corridor, and ended his speech with a bitter laugh:
"In the corner of history, we, the former royal guards, are destined to be buried and forgotten, never to see the light of day again."

thump!
The few words, seemingly light and airy, carried an unprecedented force, knocking Barney, who had just stood up, back to the ground.

Nai let out a soft breath, while Belletti remained motionless.

Tardin, along with Brie and Cannon, seemed to be trapped in an eternal stagnation and silence.

Silence returned to the dungeon.

Naki stared at a torch beside him with a half-smile, his cheek turned away uncomfortably in its light, and he let out a muffled groan.

"Do you know what I envy most about you, Barney?"

Naki's low-lying tunnels.

"For eighteen years, you have foolishly lived in lies."

"But at least, you are still living in the hope you have woven for yourself."

"In this dark and bottomless dungeon, you live in the only place... where the light shines."

With a soft thud, the torches on the ground went out.

Naki's figure was once again swallowed by the terrifying darkness.

Thales gently closed his eyes, avoiding looking at Barney's bloodless expression.

The history of the stars is never without bloodshed.

Previously, Thales' understanding of "blood" was still superficial. The scene that best matched the word in his mind was the beggar ecology in the abandoned houses of the downtown area and the gang struggles in the underworld.

As his identity changed, his journeys lengthened, and his experiences broadened (whether he wanted it or not), Thales gradually felt the pulse of the bloody years from different perspectives:

The profound silence in the Starry Night Chamber, the desperate roar of the Duke of the North in the Palace of Restoration, the silent mourning at Lyman Pass, the nostalgia for bygone days in the eyes of veteran Jenard, the bright yet somber gaze of the Fortress Flower, the distraught state of soldier Willow as he speaks of his deceased sister, the lonely figure of the Wrath of the Kingdom under the setting sun, the desolate and serene atmosphere of the Ghost Prince's Tower, and the pale trembling of Marina as she pleads.

Too many people are trapped in it and cannot extricate themselves.

Thales thought he was beginning to understand the cruel side of the Bloody Year.

Until now.

Until the royal guard members, who are now reunited in the prison of bones, face a cruel and ruthless confrontation and suspicion among them.

This is truly a year of bloodshed.

An eternal, all-encompassing nightmare from which we seem never to awaken.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Barney's mournful laughter broke Thales's heavy thoughts.

Surprisingly, the gloom and sadness on Barney's face had disappeared.

All that remained was a smile.

"Hahahahahaha..."

A numb, stagnant, fake, and indifferent smile.

Like a clown in a circus.

Just like the smiley faces they painted on with paint.

A smile that makes one feel uneasy.

No one knows what lies hidden beneath that smile.

Thales felt a sharp pain in his heart upon seeing this.

"I see!"

Little Barney laughed, then said loudly and desolately.

"Allen, Walker, Bobby, Morian, Larry, King, 'Skull,' Rogo..."

He muttered a name that sounded unfamiliar to Thales in a neurotic manner, not even glancing at the people around him, but stretching his arms out to the dark ceiling and laughing maniacally:

"Eighteen years of imprisonment, so much bloodshed, so much perseverance... In the end, it all meant nothing."

Barney's smile made the brand mark on his face curl up a bit:
"What are we fighting for? What are we living for? What are we dying for?"

No one could answer him.

Naki stared at him coldly, while Samir snorted softly.

Sakel remained silent, as if he had become a statue, amidst Naki's accusations, Samir's confession, and Barney's questioning.

Tardin and the others looked dejected, having lost all hope.

Thales shook his head, giving a negative answer to Quick Rope's questioning look.

Barney's laughter gradually became strained and difficult to hear, and he collapsed back down.

"for what?"

Belletti stared blankly at the former chief vanguard officer.

“Barney…”

He hesitated, seemingly wanting to comfort the completely distraught Barney, but the words caught in his throat.

But the next moment, Barney's actions shocked him to his core!
Ta la!

After laughing enough, Barney stopped laughing and grabbed the longsword that had fallen to the ground!

Everyone was startled.

Even Sakel looked up.

Little Barney's eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was trembling.

He placed the blade in his palm.

He stared intently at the blade, worn and chipped, which had witnessed numerous battles.

Then the blade was turned...

My own neck.

At that moment, Thales, realizing what he was about to do, turned pale!
(End of this chapter)