Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 48 Human Heart
Fuxing Palace is the most important, central, and tallest large building in Yongxing City.

In the late reign of King Tormund I, in the 34th year of the End of the Reign, he commissioned the construction of this towering, hexagonal, semi-pyramid-shaped palace, modeled after the imperial palaces of ancient empires' triumphant capitals. At least six subsequent High Kings expanded or repaired it. Through the hands of countless skilled craftsmen, the palace and walls acquired a classical yet weathered appearance, and the interior layout is grand and imposing. Over six centuries of weathering have imbued the Palace of Revival with a profound sense of history.

Above the 225 steps lies the Hall of Stars, supported by 24 massive columns. It is grand and spacious, used exclusively for holding state meetings. The open-air northern section of the hall overlooks the Stars Square outside the palace walls—the largest commercial square in the central district. To the south is the meeting room for the imperial council, and in the middle is the spacious council hall, which can accommodate a large number of nobles.

Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Conference Room, two people sat on either side of the conference table, under two ever-burning lamps, the atmosphere quiet and heavy.

The thirty-ninth Supreme King of the Stars—the robust King Kessel V—put down the letters and reports in his hand and looked up at the travel-worn nobleman opposite him.

Lord of the Kingdom's Coldhold, Duke Warden of the North, 49-year-old Val Arend squinted as he looked back at his lord.

As one of the heads of the kingdom's six great noble families, Val did not appear particularly "noble," largely due to the scar that ran from his chest to his chin. He had a neat buzz cut, making it almost impossible to see his dark brown hair.

Val's appearance was different from that of the common Star People. He had deep black eyes with a sharp gaze, a high nose bridge, protruding lips, and a thick stubble on his chin. His whole appearance was angular, and the chainmail armor he wore still carried the chill of the north, with melting frost dripping from it from time to time.

On his chest and shoulders, the white eagle emblem of the Aarond family, the head of the six great families that have guarded the northern lands since the ancient empire, was lifelike, with a snow branch in its beak, its sharp claws outstretched majestically toward Kessel.

Duke Val Arend, known as "Iron Eagle," was more like a warrior fighting on the front lines than a pampered nobleman.

“A truly impressive forty-eighth birthday gift, Duke Aarond,” Kessel said coldly.

“So what?” Val raised his head defiantly, glaring at his king. “Are you going to kill me here to settle the score?”

"His Majesty Kessel has no heir?"

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Mind reading?
Incredibly, Thales could even hear his own heart beating irregularly.

Looking into Morat's sinister eyes, he thought bitterly: What else can I hide?
“Young sir, there’s no need to be too surprised,” Morat gently stroked the unremarkable black wooden cane in his hand, just like his appearance. “You know, I’ve seen this kind of expression on your face far too often.”

“From criminals,” Morat grinned menacingly, revealing his broken teeth, “to the king.”

"Hahahaha..." Morat laughed sinisterly.

Faced with such a person... such a terrifying person...

Haha ...

Thales' mind was completely in turmoil.

I simply...

Just at this time!
"calm."

A voice drifted softly from beside my ear.

"He's been lying all along."

Thales was terribly startled!
He slammed his hand on the banquet table—the sudden, childish voice sent a jolt through him.

Morat paused in his laughter and looked at him strangely.

"Don't make any rash moves. Right now, only Li can hear my voice."

Thales gripped the corner of the banquet table tightly, staring intently at Morat, and timely transformed his astonishment at the voice into fear of Morat's mind-reading ability.

“He doesn’t need to read minds!” the tender, childlike voice whispered in my ear.

Can't read minds?
“But he can detect the existence of lies,” the mysterious voice said.

Thales forced himself to calm his turbulent emotions and closed his eyes tightly.

A memory comes flooding back.

“Qi Ren, psychology focuses on individual behavior and psychology, while our research focuses on group behavior and psychology; the two are vastly different.” An elderly professor, puffing on his pipe and exhaling smoke, smiled at Wu Qi Ren, who was frantically flipping through the first draft of his paper, and slowly said:
"But one thing is common. Human behavior and psychology have always been unpredictable and elusive, let alone governed by any miracle. In the face of such a miracle, researchers must be humble."

"As you know, attempts to encompass all human social phenomena with one or a few macro theories have long been criticized as riddled with flaws."

"Because there has never been a possibility of completely understanding the human heart."

Memories of his past life faded away like the tide, returning to his already sizable sea of ​​memories.

Thales suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the Black Prophet, who stood calmly ahead, waiting for his answer.

"It's almost done," Morat Hansen thought to himself, squinting at the little boy in front of him with amusement.

But judging from his appearance, could it be that there really is something extraordinary that the Yordles are hiding from him?
Morat gripped his cane tightly—very good, let's see how many more lies he can tell.

My purpose in coming here today is not simply to verify Yordle's words or to find clues about that new mage.

Morat took a breath of the sweet, cloying air; it was a luxurious and decadent smell.

More importantly... to meet the future King of the Stars and cultivate in him respect and awe for the Kingdom's secrets.

And dependence and...compliance.

One king like Kessel, who is "opinionated," is enough.

Stars shine brightest in the darkness.

Morat thought with satisfaction. "Now, listen carefully to what I have to say," a little girl's voice whispered in Thales' ear.

"He didn't know they had spoken."

"He only knows what he says."

"I can't transmit my voice anymore, he'll find out."

"Take care of yourselves, allies."

The familiar voice that had been leaking air in his ear, yet which had brought him some peace of mind, was no longer heard.

Thales took another breath. Although he still looked terrified on the surface, he had mentally regrouped.

It's just another game, he told himself.

His grey eyes widened and narrowed, finally focusing on Morat in front of him.

The brain, which had been frozen by shock and fear, began to function again.

First, clarify the existing intelligence.

Morat was lying—he calmly made this judgment after being reminded by the mysterious loli voice.

First, I encountered a magic master.

Second, the magic master spoke to me.

Third, the magic users have discovered that I am the next magic user.

The secret Thales needs to hide consists of these three progressively deeper layers of information, but the problem is—Yordle knows all three layers!
If Yordles told Morat everything... then the "Black Prophet" wouldn't be here at all, and what awaits me might be the "legendary anti-magic weapon" that Ashida spoke of.

I shouldn't have doubted Yodl; from Red Street to Manor of Wrigley, he did everything he could to keep me safe—Thales told himself with a guilty conscience.

[He didn’t know they had spoken]—that voice told him: Morat didn’t know the magician and Thales had spoken.

So—from the very beginning, Morat only knew about the first level. As for the rest, he was lying and trying to trick Thales into revealing information!
And yet I foolishly took the bait. My panicked reaction probably led him to the second layer of his trap.

[He only knows what he says]—The voice also said: Morat only knows what Morat himself has said.

The only thing that Morat was absolutely certain about was that Ashida had discovered a new mage!

But that's all. Yordle probably only told him half of the third level. He didn't know who the new mage was!
[He doesn't need mind-reading magic] - Since Morat can't read minds, his act of pinching his nose while using his superpower was just an act to fool me!
The reason he was able to confidently find the image of the Air Mage in my "mind" was because I was so stupid. Looking at Ashida's clothes that haven't changed for hundreds of years, how could the Secret Service not know what he looks like?

As for the energy ball in Ashida's hand—the same logic applies; the invisible wall must be Ashida's famous signature skill!
His habit of squeezing human flesh into balls—after the battle of Red Street, the corpses that had been squeezed into balls must have been discovered!
And the complete darkness of Red Town Street that night—isn't that obvious? Even a Level 5 security officer could point that out during the post-incident investigation!
So this guy's so-called mind-reading ability—Thales thought bitterly, frowning—was all a facade created by Morat using known information to intimidate me and force me to submit!
Let's now verify this.

“Lord Hansen,” Thales looked up in horror, his voice trembling slightly, “Since—since you can read minds, why are you asking me?”

"You can just read my thoughts directly..."

“How dare I,” Morat smiled slightly, bowing slightly as he gripped his cane. “The brain of the person whose mind is being read will suffer some degree of damage.”

"And you are, after all, my future lord."

"How dare you do that just now?!" Thales roared inwardly.

“However, if you wish to avoid trouble, I can only comply with your wishes and go directly into your brain. I will try my best not to cause any harm…” Morat’s smile remained unchanged as he extended his left hand to Thales.

"No, no, no! No need!" Thales waved his hand in alarm. "I'll just tell you directly."

Looking at Thales' expression, Morat shook his head inwardly with a self-deprecating smile.

After all, he's just a seven-year-old child.

"Yes, sir." The Black Prophet lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.

At this point, Thales was completely certain.

You're kidding me!

You're trying to fool me again!
Call_a_bluff!

With such great acting skills, why don't you go to the Temple of the Underworld!

but……

But he could detect the existence of lies—this was the only thing that Thales cared about.

A black technology with an unclear mechanism: a human lie detector?
In other words, I cannot fabricate anything out of thin air in the face of the Black Prophet; I can only use "partial truth" to cover up and conceal the truly deadly key.

Part of it is true.

Thales sighed inwardly: Why didn't I study journalism back then?
I'm a little happy to have received a small cover recommendation on the fantasy category page.

Please add this to your favorites, vote for it, and recommend it!
By Wujian, who looked completely serious.

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(End of this chapter)