Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 54 The Spokesperson of the Setting Sun

The seriously injured Thales was carried on the back of a guard. He was dizzy and disoriented from the swaying, but he kept up with the main force.

The pain in his left shoulder and left arm brought him to his senses.

Where am i?

He shook his head vigorously.

It took Thales a moment to realize that he was being escorted by an elite royal guard led by the cloaked woman, moving steadily forward at a marching pace.

Gilbert and Ginny walked with the cloaked woman, seemingly talking in hushed tones.

Thales took a deep breath, dragging his weary spirit, and looked up.

They passed through a thick, gray-black palace wall that stretched for a very long time and seemed to have no end. The wall was mottled and damaged from time to time, as if it had been there for a long and distant period of time.

The guards marched in orderly steps to a giant steel winch gate controlled by a complex system of ropes. Under the watchful eyes of a dozen or so giant crossbows atop the palace wall, the guards exchanged passwords with the heavily guarded sentries before being allowed to pass.

Thales stared blankly, mouth agape, at the starry sky and the moonlight.

The ground beneath our feet changed from muddy wasteland to rough stone ground, and then to exquisite paving stones made of some unknown material. The ever-burning lights on both sides grew larger, more refined, and brighter and more dazzling.

When a magnificent, pyramid-shaped building, resembling a giant sloping ramp, rose up before them, when members of the royal guard stood every ten steps, when patrols of soldiers came and went, and when servants came and went, nodding to them, Thales suddenly realized what was happening.

They arrived.

The tallest, largest, most magnificent, and most prestigious building in Yongxing City.

Thales relaxed and lowered his head again.

————————————————————

When he woke up again, it was already the morning of the next day.

Thales found himself lying on a cushioned stone bed, wearing a rough set of pajamas.

He paused for a moment, moved his left hand and left shoulder, which had been bandaged, and after realizing that he was alright, he nimbly jumped off the stone bed and stepped onto the ground, which was also made of cold stone.

The cold temperature and rough texture came from the soles of my feet.

Thales frowned.

He took a step forward, touching the equally cold stone wall, and looked around the place.

The ceiling wasn't high, but it was made of the same stone material as the walls, floor, and bed, giving off a subtle chill.

He walked to the windowsill, opened the wooden window, and a cold wind rushed in, making him shiver.

Fortunately, the winter sun shines luxuriously into this pure stone room from the high stone windowsill.

But unlike the warm Mindis Hall, even daytime sunlight cannot dispel the cold and damp discomfort in this room.

It's like...like an abandoned house.

Thales' heart skipped a beat as he remembered the place where he had spent four years.

He glanced out the window.

The boy gasped in shock.

The moment he peered out, he saw a crowd of people as thin as ants, carriages the size of fingernails, houses the size of a chessboard, and streets with fine, intricate patterns—undoubtedly, this room was at a very high place, overlooking the diverse landscape of the capital city below.

Just like in his past life—he told himself.

Just then, the only door in the room, made of thick wood, was pushed open.

First Lady of the Palace, Ginny Barkway, appeared at the door.

“Ms. Ginny?” Thales saw a familiar face and felt much more at ease.

"It seems you're recovering well." Ginny's face was a little pale, and she didn't seem to be in good spirits, but she still forced herself to stay upright.

It's more than just good...

Ginny thought to herself, "A dagger inflicted one day, and the next day... even orcs don't have that kind of regenerative ability."

She sighed.

“Oh, right, Ginny! Uh, Ms. Ginny!” Thales, in his haste, even forgot to use honorifics, and hurriedly stepped forward:
“Yesterday… Yodl, and Gilbert…”

Ginny reached out a hand, interrupting Thales, and said quietly:

"Don't worry, Gilbert is with His Majesty; they have important matters to attend to."

"And Yodl, he's still alive..."

Still alive? Thales was startled. That meant...

Ginny seemed to realize that she had spoken too harshly, and she quickly corrected herself, saying, "He was hit by several crossbow bolts and is currently recovering from his injuries—it was thanks to his timely notification of His Majesty's other secret guard yesterday that the Royal Guard was able to arrive in time."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief, his emotions a mixture of feelings.

fortunately.

That wasn't the last time.

The masked guard.

survived.

Thales then recalled his conversation with Yodl the previous night.

I thought of the question Yodl hadn't answered, and the many suspicious things about him.

Thales also thought of the innocent children who had died tragically in the abandoned house, and his heart sank.

why.

Why did Yodl stand by and watch someone die?

Is it...

Thales sighed: Whatever the answer to that question, after last night's harrowing experience, after Yodl's life-risking rescue...

But that incident remained like a thorn in Thales's heart, one that he could never forget.

Thales knew that he could no longer trust Yodl as completely as he had when they first met.

Thales shook his head, then turned his attention back to Ginny's words.

Wait, another secret bodyguard?
Thales remembered the young woman in the cloak.

He saved the message, but before he could process it, his mind jumped to something else.

"And also, those assassins, and that Duke Kevin Deer..."

Ginny's eyes turned stern, reminding Thales of those days of grueling training. She said, "That's not something you can worry about. Everything has been taken care of."

“Those problems will soon be no more problems...and you must trust your father.”

my father?
Thales struggled to recall the unfamiliar word—not that he didn't care, but since moving from the Red Town to Mindis Hall, he had only met his nominal "father" once, not to mention his strange attitude towards him.

Thales clenched his fist slightly, and another question arose in his mind.

"how about you?"

Gini was slightly taken aback.

"I?"

Thales looked up, took a deep breath, and looked worried. "Yes, and you, Ms. Ginny?"

"While in the carriage..."

Seeing Ginny's increasingly pale face, Thales gritted his teeth and said, "I noticed your unusual behavior..."

"Why were you acting so strangely when facing those assassins?"

Thales saw that Ginny, who was usually calm and confident, trembled slightly after hearing those words.

It was as if she had recalled some of the most terrifying memories.

Thales stared at her, stunned.

The court lady's face contorted, as if struggling with trembling and pallor.

Thales frowned.

A few seconds later, Ginny sighed, her expression softened, and she reverted to her usual aloof and indifferent demeanor.

It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

This little devil.

Ginny looked calmly at Thales, whose face was full of doubt.

So sensitive.

The female official gave a soft hum, reverting to her businesslike tone, but her face showed signs of fatigue and bitterness.

"I've had the servants prepare hot water and breakfast. Take care of yourselves first; we have important things to do."

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

She was deliberately avoiding it.

Thales frowned.

But Ginny gave him a serious look, as if in warning.

Thales could only shrug: "Okay, then... wait a minute."

"A servant?" Thales paused, then quickly turned to look around the room, which resembled more of a coffin than a bedroom. "So, we're in..." Ginny nodded wearily.

"Yes, you're in the largest and most important building in Yongxing City."

"The palace of the supreme kings of all ages."

Ginny uttered three words expressionlessly:

"Revival Palace".

Thales opened his mouth wide, remembering the large pyramid-shaped building he had seen last night—no wonder it was located so high.

He immediately frowned and looked around at everything.

The mottled walls, the gloomy colors, the dim lighting, the cold temperature, the hard stone slabs, the rough floor, the cramped rooms—compared to the Mindis Hall, this place is like a slum.

Ginny noticed the look in Thales' eyes.

"What's wrong, not used to it?" She crossed her arms and looked at Thales' expression with interest.

“No, no.” Thales quickly waved his hand and shook his head.

He wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed and lowered his head.

In fact, he wanted to say that this was the most restful night's sleep he had had in over twenty days.

The hard, cold bed and the rough, uneven floor allowed Thales to rediscover the sense of security that the soft bed and quilts of the Mindis Hall could never provide.

It turns out... Thales sadly discovered... that the times he slept best were during the four years he spent as a beggar in that harsh and dilapidated abandoned house.

But clearly, Ginny mistook his truth for stubbornness, and she gave a wry smile:
"I know what you're thinking, that's right."

"The palace of the Supreme King was not as magnificent, luxurious, exquisite and splendid as I had imagined."

Ginny walked to the window, her gaze fixed on the countless inhabitants of the kingdom below the towering Palace of Restoration.

"On the contrary...this so-called Palace of Restoration in the heart of the kingdom is not even as good as an ordinary house..."

Thales stared blankly as the proud, domineering, and strong-willed court lady, Ginny Barkley, sighed forlornly in the next moment:
"It's very narrow."

"Very high."

"It's very cold."

Ginny turned around and looked at Thales with a complicated expression.

"It's still very dark."

-----------------------

Thales followed Ginny Bakvye, stepping on the hard, rough stone floor of the Palace of Renewal, and walked through the equally narrow, cold, and dimly lit rooms.

The guards and servants she encountered on the road all bowed their heads in greeting when they saw Ginny.

Inside this semi-pyramid-shaped palace, the lighting is so poor that even during the day, artificial lights are needed to illuminate some of the more difficult corners.

Because of its height, cold winds constantly seep in through the gaps. The only advantage is that such a place is usually difficult to raise any insects.

The narrow corridors and low ceilings made the atmosphere in the palace feel oppressive and uncomfortable, sometimes even lifeless.

This place… Thales stuck out his tongue and sighed to himself: It doesn’t look like a palace at all.

It looks more like a tomb.

Weren't the Egyptian pyramids, in their previous form, the tombs of countless ancient kings buried underground?

"We've arrived." Gini suddenly stopped, her usual cold demeanor returning as she slowly spoke.

“We’re…what?” Thales, who had been lost in thought, only then noticed that he and Ginny had walked into a spacious, dimly lit stone corridor, with a double stone door in front of them.

“Go in, boy,” Ginny didn’t answer him, but nodded to Thales with a deep expression: “Be polite.”

"What kind of etiquette..." Before Thales could finish speaking, Ginny slammed her hand on the stone door and pushed it open violently!

"boom!"

Thales stared in astonishment at the scene inside the stone door: it was a pitch-black room with only a few lamps burning in the corners, and the lamp in the very center was held in the hand of a woman with her back to him.
Before Thales could even react, Ginny shoved him into the room.

"boom!"

The stone gate closed.

Thales finally managed to get a foothold, only to find himself locked in the stone house by Ginny.

"So, it's you, kid?"

At that moment, a melodious, sweet, and charming voice came from the center of the room.

Thales turned his head in confusion to look at the woman whose back was to him.

The woman, carrying the ever-burning lamp, slowly turned around.

Thales' eyes lit up.

This is a beautiful woman with bright eyes and white teeth and an oval face. She is around thirty years old. Compared with the charming and mature Jini, she lacks a bit of the dashing and neatness, but has more of a gentle and charming quality.

She wore a dark veil and a robe adorned with a half-red sun—wait, a half-red sun?
Thales was startled: "You are... a priest of the Temple of Sunset?"

"Sunset Temple? Hehehe..." The beauty chuckled, but Thales not only didn't sense any tenderness in her laughter, but also tasted a faint indifference.

“Let me take a closer look at you, lad.” The beautiful woman leaned closer to him, but Thales frowned: he could not sense any warmth or kindness from her.

He sensed something unsettling about this woman.

“As expected,” the alluring 30-year-old woman crouched down before him, squinting as she observed Thales, “you also have gray eyes…”

Just like your mother.

Thales' pupils contracted!
Mother?

Thales paused for a second.

"You know... Excuse me, ma'am, do you know my mother?" he asked in surprise, then, remembering Ginny's advice to be polite, he quickly changed his tone to honorifics.

“Of course, your mother, well, she’s a formidable character not to be trifled with…” The alluring beauty curled her lips into a cold smile: “Didn’t Kessel tell you?”

Thales' breathing quickened involuntarily.

“No, ma’am,” Thales said somewhat awkwardly. “Apart from her name, Father… Father didn’t tell me anything else.”

"I see. Alright, you can leave now." The alluring beauty sneered, brandishing the ever-burning lamp in her hand. Their figures flickered wildly in the stone house.

“Tell Kessel that I’m ready.”

Is that all? Ginny, or rather, what did that father mean by sending me to see her...?
But he needs to know.

Because… Thales took a deep breath: he was almost 100% certain that all the strange things about him were probably related to his suspicious mother.

“Madam,” Thales took a deep breath and bowed respectfully with the manners he had learned from Ginny, “I would be very grateful if you could tell me anything about my mother.”

The charming beauty covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

But her expression immediately turned cold, and she said in an icy tone:
"Since your father didn't tell you, why should we tell you?"

Thales was speechless for a moment.

But he cannot give up easily:
"But...but that's my mother, I have the right to know! And I will repay you!"

The beauty simply turned away with a cold laugh.

“But you’re not my son, I have no obligation to tell you. And I don’t need your repayment.”

Thales was speechless again. From Yodl to Gilbert, he had never encountered anyone like this except for his own "father".

This guy is even more arrogant than a king.

But a pathway seemed to connect in his mind instantly.

More arrogant than the king?
Thales's mind raced—he was thinking of something.

He took a deep breath and looked at the charming beauty.

"I see."

"I know who you are."

The charming beauty turned her head in surprise.
“I’ve heard my father and Gilbert talk about you,” Thales said, his brow furrowed as he recalled the moment he was rescued by Yodl and taken to Mindis Hall.

“I remember now,” he said slowly.

“You—you are—” Thales took a deep breath, raised his left hand, and looked at the shallow scar on it.

He hesitated for a moment, but then said decisively, "You are that bloodline lamp... the lamp used to find my father's bloodline... the one who cast that bloodline divine spell!"

"You are the High Priestess of the Sunset Temple... Li Xiya!"

The beautiful and charming Li Xiya's face immediately turned ugly.

“As expected of your mother’s son,” she said slowly, “he has inherited her cunning and memory perfectly.”

“That’s right, I am Lixia Aarond.”

"High Priest of the Temple of Sunset".

"The goddess of the setting sun, the only representative in the human world."

"And will be the one to prove your royal bloodline."

Thank you to "The Glory of Iris Pattern" for the generous donation!

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(End of this chapter)