Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 56 Born for the Stars
This stone chamber is so large that even with more than twenty huge stone pillars inside, it still feels spacious.

There were no windows, only a few large black holes in the ceiling, which served as ventilation openings.

It was terribly cold and damp.

Thales stared blankly at what was in front of him.

A robust figure, draped in a star-blue cloak, stood with his back to him in front of a stone pillar.

A cave has been dug into the side of the stone pillar facing the burly figure.

Inside were two large stone jars placed side by side, and six small stone urns.

"Your grandfather, Eddie Star, is buried here." A heavy, authoritative voice came from the figure.

"To be honest, I don't like being in the same room with him. The way he looks at me is always full of disappointment and blame. After my mother passed away, I avoided him as much as possible."

Thales was neither completely unfamiliar with the voice, nor could he say he was familiar with it.

Come here.

Thales took a deep breath and composed himself.

He walked toward his nominal father, the Supreme King of the Stars, His Majesty Kasel Starlight.

The Iron-Fisted King, Kessel V, wore a nine-star crown, held an inextinguishable lamp in his right hand, and tightly gripped a crystal-inlaid scepter with a gleaming tip in his left.

He turned his head and glanced at Thales.

That sharp glance made Thales feel a little breathless.

“Starting with the second king, John I, every supreme king and queen of the stars has been buried in this stone chamber after their death and cremation.” Kessel’s voice was extremely low.

It was as if they were afraid of waking something.

Kaiser reached out and placed his hand on the large stone jar on the left, on which was engraved a name:
[King of Changzhi, King Eddie L.K. Shining Star, 595-660]

Kessel looked at the second large stone jar on the right, which had another name on it.

“This is my mother—she passed away when I was fifteen.”

[Queen, Natalie J.F. Shinseong, 604-642]

He, His Majesty the Supreme King, touched those small stone urns again, his expression complex and unreadable.

"And the kings' children who did not inherit the throne, nor were granted fiefs or changed their surnames, were in these small stone urns."

Thales was taken aback. He turned his head slightly and, unsurprisingly, saw that each of the four sides of each stone pillar had a cave containing two large stone jars, with a few small stone urns appearing occasionally beside them.

Is this the royal cemetery?
Kessel lowered his head and looked at a small stone urn, and Thales followed suit.

[Star God of War, Liberator of Sodala, Duke of Star Lake, John L.K. Starlight, 613-660]

"This is Uncle John, the only one in the family who has ever traveled the world."

“He was my father’s youngest brother and was practically raised by my mother—that’s why I insisted on keeping him in my father’s grotto.”

Kessel touched the stone urn, and a smile appeared on his face—Thales was astonished to see it.
"He is knowledgeable, skilled, humorous, and his jokes are unmatched."

“When we were little, my twin brother and I loved to cling to him whenever he came back, listening to him tell us his love story with Princess Su Ye—until our mother exposed him with a cold face. At that time, I thought he was the most powerful person in the world.”

"John's marriage almost drove his father to his death—good heavens, he actually married a female knight from the Extreme Realm! I think John must have lifted his feet off the ground during the wedding kiss."

“After John was knighted, he would often return to the capital to visit us, and would occasionally bring little Constantine a small gift. But since his wife passed away, I have rarely seen John smile.”

Thales sensed the atmosphere in the stone chamber and didn't dare to breathe.

Kessel was lost in his memories and didn't turn around until a minute later.

“This is Midil’s elder brother.” Kessel looked at another stone urn, his brows furrowing slightly. “The one who should have inherited the throne.”

Upon hearing the familiar name, Thales immediately looked towards the stone urn:
[Wang Changzi, Crown Prince, Midil T.E. Chansing, 622-660]

"He had the best relationship with my father, and was the only one who could match him in chess. He didn't talk much, and always watched us brothers play around with a smile. He was very smart and popular. Everyone said he was the best crown prince and also my best brother."

"But when I was sixteen, I returned from the maid's room late one night and inadvertently saw him sitting dejectedly in the courtyard, drinking alone with a sorrowful expression. At the time, I just found it strange that he also had times of distress?"

"Now I finally understand him."

Thales looked at the stone urn, thinking about the rumors surrounding Midil Star.

This is the man who rescued Ginny, the man Gilbert revered, the man Yodl wanted me to be, “better than him”?
The next stone urn.

[The Sword of Light, Second Prince, Horace M.E. Starlight, 623-660]

"This is Horace. The Tower of the End still preserves his highest sword speed record from his student days—as far as I last heard, no one has been able to break it to this day."

Kessel flicked the stone urn and snorted, "He is the only Extreme Realm expert in the family, and even has a prestigious nickname. Father often sighed that since 'Oathkeeper' Midil IV and 'Wolf Enemy' Prince Keira, the Starry Sky royal family finally has a third Extreme Realm expert."

"He had a very bad relationship with his brother Midil. When playing chess with Midil, he would always secretly use his finishing move to knock away the opponent's pieces—but even so, he could not beat the smiling Midil. He often told us that if he hadn't been born a year later than Midil, he would have been the one to become the crown prince."

“A month before his death, he received an invitation to become a successor of the Tower of the End. If he accepted, he could become one of the eight ultimate successors of the Tower of the End.”

“These are Bancroft and Hyman, my twin brothers.” Kessel looked at the two stone urns placed side by side, his gaze complicated. “It is said that a careless maid mixed up the birth order, and Father couldn’t bear to see the two doctors arguing about which baby’s head was bigger, so Mother simply tossed a gold coin with the image of Tormund I on it, deciding that Bancroft was the third prince and Hyman was the fourth.”

"That gold coin, now, sits in my mother's stone jar along with Midil's first perfect score political assignment, Horace's first swordsman's trophy, and the swaddling cloths from when Constance and I were born."

Thales took a step closer and saw the two small stone urns clearly.

[Third Prince, Bancroft N.E. Starlight, 624-660]

[Fourth Prince, Hyman N.E. Shining Star, 624-660]

"Their endless, boundless arguments at the dinner table when we were kids were a nightmare for our whole family—Midi joked that Horace was probably scared by the two of them so much that he went to the Tower of the End to learn martial arts."

"Bancroft loved painting and sculpture, and he donated half of the funds for the Arts Department of the National Research Society. But he was also quite vain, probably second only to his love of money—when we were kids we often said he should marry into the Schukadell family, the dowry alone would be enough for him to live on for a lifetime—but when he went to the Southern Islands, he proposed with a sketch and actually brought back a Miss Schukadell."

"Hyman was the most handsome of the five brothers, and he was skilled in music and poetry. He was loved by both commoners and noblewomen, and every time he went out, he would be greeted with screams and flowers. For this reason, Father appointed him as the first leader of the Starry Sky delegation to the Kingdom of the Sacred Tree—it's a pity he didn't manage to marry an elf—otherwise Father might have passed the throne to him to strengthen our elven bloodline since Midil IV."

Kessel gripped his scepter, gazing at the flame within the inextinguishable lamp.

“We five brothers used to be so close—I still remember when we were kids, we fought a group of three princes from the Su Ye Dynasty in the palace. Horace was in charge of the attack, Midil was in charge of the defense, mainly protecting me, while the twins flanked us.”

"But everything changed when I grew up."

“Midiel still had a smile on his face. I was closest to him, but I always felt he was getting uglier and uglier. Horace has been murderous ever since he came back from the Tower of the End. He always wants to show off in front of Father. I still remember him scolding me for five minutes at the Imperial Council over the matter of me going to Red Street. Bank doesn’t really care about the brothers’ affairs, but he always avoids the four of us whenever he sees us. Hyman sticks to Horace like a little follower, but that smile of his really disgusts me.”

But Kessel's smile froze for a moment.

"But none of that matters anymore."

"Now, they are reunited here."

Kessel walked toward the last small urn.

Thales lowered his head and gently clenched his fist.

[Wang's eldest daughter, Constance N.E. Canxing, 642-660]

“This is Constance, our little sister.” Kessel lowered his head, his voice heavy, as if he didn’t want to say more: “She is the only consensus among the five of us brothers—we are willing to sacrifice everything to protect her happiness and smile.”

Thales sighed, gently closed his eyes, and imagined his aunt, the eldest princess, who had withered away at the age of 18.

"The Star Family is born with the destiny of the stars on their shoulders," Kessel said calmly.

Thales opened his eyes, listening to Kessel's heavy breathing, pondering the king's purpose in doing this today. The two remained silent for a long time in the empty stone chamber.

"Boom"!
The king suddenly slammed his scepter down on the ground!

This startled Thales.

"I don't know how much you know about us, nor do I know what your perception of the name 'Radiant Star' is." King Kessel V's voice was deep and stern, but devoid of any fatherly affection.

"But that is by no means an easy title."

"It represents glory, history, power, and most importantly, sacrifice."

Thales was speechless; he didn't know what to say.

It seems like nothing I say is quite right.

"Are you ready?" Kessel finally turned around, his sky-blue pupils sharp and imposing, staring straight at him.

"From the moment we were given the name of the Star, we fought for the stars, we died for the stars, and..."

Kessel looked at the six small stone urns, his eyes dimming:
"Born for the stars."

Thales's breath hitched, then quickened.

Fight for the stars.

To die for the stars.

Born for the stars?

This order...

Thales thought anxiously: So, to become a shining star, to live is far more difficult than to fight and die?
His Majesty the King stared intently at him.

"I am waiting for your answer," the king said slowly, emphasizing each word.

It is beyond question and cannot be defied.

Thales swallowed hard.

He couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore. The boy forced a smile and said:

"Shouting to die for a country sounds just like a war."

But Kessel continued to stare intently at him.

Ok.

Thales took three deep breaths, opened his eyes, and said dejectedly:
"No."

Kessel's brow furrowed slightly.

“Before leaving Red Town Street, everything I did was to struggle, to survive in this damn world,” the boy said disappointedly.

“I never thought about any of this, the royal family, the conspiracy, the heir, everything.” He said sincerely, “I was never prepared to play this game, a game where people die all the time, yet I can still laugh and joke about it.”

"I am more accustomed to dilapidated houses, hard beds, and huddled in a corner, cold and hungry, struggling for my own and my friends' survival, than to be in luxurious rooms, drinking and eating while calmly weaving conspiracies, taking lives, and... starting or responding to wars."

“I wasn’t ready to become Thales Star either.” The boy exhaled and lowered his head. “It was all by chance. I wasn’t prepared for anything.”

Before his eyes, Ashida's figure seemed to reappear, smiling at him and saying, "Yes, this is just a coincidence."

long silence.

Kessel looked at Thales, but the usually dignified and aloof king suddenly revealed a complex and profound expression that the latter had never seen before.

"Striving for the survival of oneself and one's friends—that is probably the entire mission of Shining Star."

"It doesn't matter."

An emotion flickered in the king's eyes as he slowly said, "I wasn't ready back then either."

Thales looked up in surprise and saw King Catherine V speaking in a powerful, resounding voice, his voice filled with mockery and hatred:
"And fate will prepare you for it."

He tossed his cloak aside and strode off.

Thales followed Kessel to the side of the pillar.

It was also a grotto, but it was empty, with no large stone jars placed inside.

There were only two small stone urns.

“This will be my burial place,” Kaiser said calmly, bending down and stroking the two stone urns.
"But there were already two stone urns."

Thales's brain stopped for a fraction of a second.

He recalled Gilbert's words about the Bloody Year, and looked at the two small stone urns:

[Wang's eldest daughter, Lydia G.K. Canxing, 656-660]

"I remember when Lydia was just born, I held her in my arms and was even more helpless than she was. As she grew older, she ran around everywhere and never stayed still."

[Wang Changzi, Luther K.K. Starshine, 659-660]

Kessel put down the ever-burning lamp, hiding his eyes and expression in the shadows, with only his lips moving and the corners of his mouth slightly upturned: "Luther is very well-behaved and quiet. He never cries or makes a fuss—which is bad because we don't know when he'll get hungry."

“These two children have always been a source of worry for Koya and Gini—while I’ve always been happy to have some peace and quiet.”

The Supreme King of the Stars put his arm around Thales' shoulder.

Thales was startled.

"Fortunately," Kessel's words chilled to the bone, "they no longer have to worry about their children."

Thales listened with a chill down his spine as he finished speaking:
"Because they will always be here."

"It doesn't cry or run around."

"Always."

The king suddenly tightened his grip on Thales's shoulder.

His left shoulder, which had not yet healed, was still painful, but Thales endured the pain without saying a word.

"Look, this is what fate has prepared for me."

Looking at the two small stone urns, Thales gritted his teeth and gently clenched his fists.

These are—my sister and brother?

Just then, outside the stone chamber where the Star Kings were buried, a long and heavy bell suddenly rang out.

"Go." His Majesty Kingsel Star released Thales.

“Gilbert and Ginny are waiting for you outside,” the king said, rising to his feet, his imposing presence restored, his face icy. “They will prepare everything for you.”

"Just like fate, everything has already been prepared for you."

Thank you "My dear minister, don't go" for the 588 reward!

Thank you to "1BookOut1" for the 100 Qidian Coins reward!
Thank you to "Glory of Iris Pattern" for the 100 Qidian Coins reward—wait, it's you again?
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(End of this chapter)