Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 57 Prelude
When Thales emerged from the stone chamber with mixed feelings, he already had some guesses about the ancient bell tolling and what was about to happen.

"Today?" He looked calmly at Gilbert and Ginny, who had been waiting for a long time.

How sudden.

Gilbert's eyes were filled with sighs and sadness, while Ginny, with her indifferent expression, seemed to have some hesitation.

Shouldn't they be cheering? Why do they look like this? Thales thought helplessly—his mind was already filled with the stone chamber he had just been in and what was about to happen.

For some reason, despite his heavy heart, he was able to keep a straight face.

Is this what is meant by not showing one's emotions?

Gilbert said bitterly, "Please forgive me, this was not my intention... Exter's urgent envoy will arrive on Everstar tonight. Whether it's a declaration of war or a compromise, at this time... His Majesty..."

Gilbert frowned, hesitated, but then sighed deeply and remained silent.

“Stop wasting time. The state meeting will start at 3 p.m. His Majesty gives us time to get him into the waiting room before 1 p.m.,” Ginny interrupted Gilbert, her expression inscrutable.

The former Foreign Minister and First Lady of the Palace had both changed into dark and solemn formal attire. Behind them, eight maids with calm expressions carried eight full plates, neatly and quietly arranged on both sides of the corridor.

"Boom!"

The bell tolled a second time.

Ginny walked up with a complicated expression and led the preoccupied Thales into another room.

Eight maids followed in single file.

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Fuxing Palace, outer palace wall, first gate.

The place Thales had just passed through last night was maintaining its meager order despite the guards' stern rebukes and relentless attacks. Nobles of all ranks and people of high status from all walks of life wore different expressions as they lined up in long queues, vying for a spot to enter the Palace of Restoration.

Before the Palace of Rejuvenation, at the first heavy, weathered gate, qualified attendees were allowed to enter one by one under the strict inspection of the nervous guards.

"Me! I'm the vice president of the Iron Smelting Guild! I'm qualified to go in and listen in! What? The Iron Smelting Guild has twenty-five vice presidents? Oh, you don't understand. They're all just there to make up the numbers. I'm the only special one. Let me tell you, look at my black hair and black eyes! Do you understand? Our family's craftsmanship is inherited from the Far East, the Dawn Dynasty, you know? It was before the final war... Alright, alright! A gentleman uses words, not fists! I won't go in, okay!"

“I am Eros Kata, the royal-licensed textile merchant! I may enter! Look! This is the certificate signed by the late King Eddil, and below it is His Highness Midil’s signature!”

"I also have an invitation that King Mindis III sent to our family back then! It's a bit old, but it's only 150 years ago—hey, don't do anything, I'll go by myself! I'll go by myself!"

"Hey! Punk! Remember me? I'm Razan, the coroner from the Central Security Bureau. We were colleagues for six months! Is there any room left in the Hall of Stars?"

“I’m on duty here, so I don’t know. But my cousin, who’s a palace guard, told me that the Grand Hall is already half full! If you’re not a nobleman of viscount rank or higher, you can’t get in at all!”

"Then we can only squeeze into Xingju Square and listen to the guards relay the important figures' decisions layer by layer?"

"Come on, people of our status, even if they entered the Hall of Stars, would only sit on the bottom and outermost level, quietly listening to the important figures on the top and innermost levels speak—there's no way they could interrupt!"

"Good heavens—those are a one-winged raven and a twin-towered longsword banner! It's the caravan of the Kroma and Kalabyan families! Get out of the way! You'll regret it if you offend them!"

"So what if you're a noble? Nobles also have to abide by the basic law—no, I mean the Star Covenant!"

"What a joke! They're not ordinary nobles; they're all high-ranking vassals bestowed by the royal family, with private armies exceeding a thousand, vast territories, and countless subjects... As a coroner, you really need to improve your skills. Do you know the thirteen noble families? They're on friendly terms with the royal family and the six powerful clans..."

"How do you know so well?"

"I'm ashamed to admit that I used to teach the three sons of the Geeson family, the family estate in the DC district, the basics of martial arts..."

Despite the jostling of the surrounding crowd, Count Deleuze Croma's cavalry and Count Turamy Karabyan's carriage managed to emerge from the throng and arrive at the Palace of Renewal just half an hour after the second chime of the bell.

As two of the thirteen high-ranking vassals, known as the Thirteen Noble Families after the royal family and the six great noble families, Counts Dele Cloma and Old Karabyan, relying solely on their coats of arms and banners bearing a single-winged raven and a twin-towered sword, effortlessly traversed the crowd. Amidst the whispers and pointing fingers of the crowd and the respectful gazes of the guards and palace gatekeepers, they drove through the first palace wall and gate.

“There weren’t this many people before the National Conference,” Director Robick sighed softly in the carriage. “At the National Conference during the Desert War, only the heads of various trades, wealthy merchants, and those pretentious scholars attended. Only two of the six great families were present, and only five of the thirteen noble families were there.”

“But enough to win His Majesty the war support he wanted, the nineteen noble families had to comply with the resolution of the State Council,” Karabyan said solemnly, looking out the car window at the growing crowd. “The few noble families that refused to comply with the resolution were once besieged by the angry crowd and even suffered in various industries—although they were just vassals of the great families, this is not a good sign.”

"Gentlemen, we should hurry. Although all nineteen noble families have designated meeting seats and won't be forced to 'listen' to the meeting in the Star Gathering Square below the palace," the young Earl of Wingburg, Deler Cloma, rode his horse closer to the carriage window, his face not looking too good, "in a little while, we might have to compete with those nouveau riche nobles and commoners for the road."

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Meanwhile, the Star Gathering Plaza, located diagonally below the Hall of Stars to the northwest of Fuxing Palace, was bustling with activity at this moment!

The wise ruler's groundbreaking initiative, a so-called national conference open to all citizens, the only national conference where commoners and minor nobles can hear the power struggles of the stars, is about to convene this afternoon! Every topic, every discussion, and every decision in the conference will be relayed by a special messenger to the entire Star Gathering Square, informing all residents of the capital!

Jenard frowned as he looked at the bustling crowd in the square—he and his city defense squad had just been seconded from the DC district that morning to maintain order in Star Gathering Square alongside the Guard Bureau's personnel.

Heavens have mercy, how is this possible? Star Gathering Square, which can hold tens of thousands of people, is being maintained by just over a thousand of them—even Duke John's Star Legion back then couldn't have maintained such order.

All eyes were focused on the meeting place overhead, the open-air hall facing Xingju Square—the Hall of Stars!
The crowds jostled and pushed against each other, oblivious to the shouts of thousands of guards in the square and the massive crossbows on the walls of the Fuxing Palace, which were on standby to fire. News of the king's sudden call for a state meeting was being relayed back and forth.

"I bet it's the Red Street explosion a month ago! Hey, is it because the Blood Bottle Gang got beaten so badly by the Black Street Brotherhood that they've gone crazy?"

"A petty gang fight like this can alarm those big shots up there?"

"Where did you get this rumor from? And you even made it sound so convincing! What Blood Bottle Gang, what Black Street Brotherhood? How could there be gangs in the capital? We live in a civilized society! Life is so wonderful now! Why are you spreading these damaging rumors? Huh? You look shifty, you must be a spy for some foreign power, right?"

"Trust me, you won't go wrong. It must be the Bone People rebelling again! Behind them are those merchants from the Commas Alliance, who are even more greedy than vampires! They seized my family's caravan last month! They want to collect a 15% tax! Can you believe it? Five out of ten!"

"Damn Bone Mongol! How can the Wings of Legends be such cowards? We should capture them all and bury them alive at the Altar of the Desert God, just like we did with the orcs!"

"Don't you dare insult the legendary Winged One! He's so handsome—he could unify the Western Continent just with his looks—do you know how hard he works?"

“My aunt works as a maid in a viscount’s house in the Morningstar District. She told me that something happened to Exter, somewhere in the north—by the way, why hasn’t their delegation arrived yet?”

"How could that be? The Fortress Treaty is valid for twenty years! Besides, we have the Flower of the Fortress, fiercely guarding Dragonbreaker Fortress, the Arunds of the North, and powerful families like Zemuto and Forrest—we can't possibly be like we were twelve years ago..."

"Don't forget that the Wrath of the Kingdom is still in the capital! He alone, with that bow, could wipe out two hundred thousand Exter people!"

"The entire army of Exeter doesn't even number two hundred thousand, does it?"

"That's basically the gist of it!"

“I think it’s probably the Duchy of Sera in the southwest. I have relatives who came from afar who said that there’s an evil witch spreading a plague there recently, and the neighboring Duchies of Anrenzo and Norton have closed their borders—wait, could the plague have spread to the stars? Haven’t the nobles from the southwest come? What about the Tebak family? What about Kalabian and Lasia? Could they have all been killed by the plague?”

"So the price of herbs is going to rise? I need to hurry and stock up!"

"You're all talking nonsense—my secret sources tell me that His Majesty is going to choose one of the six great families as the next king!"

"What? What about the Shining Star Royal Family? Our family holds the royal furniture franchise!"

"What else can you do! Can you force His Majesty to have another son?"

“I think Duke Kevin Deer is quite good! He came to inspect the Grand Bazaar last year and even shook my hand! With such a kind and benevolent official and a duke who cares about the people, how can our country not prosper!”

"But I think the young lady from the Tebak family is quite nice! She should learn from the Duchy of Anrenzo. Just imagine, a beautiful young queen—if she could shake my hand, oh my god, my heart would melt, and I would never wash my hands again for the rest of my life..."

"Stop joking! That's some backwater like Anrenzo and Ellenbia! Our great Star is the heir to the empire! How can a woman be king? I'm not discriminating against women, but we have to acknowledge the objective differences!"

"Young man, stop making wild guesses!"

"I'm just concerned about politics!"

"I think you're a keyboard warrior—cough cough, no, a verbal warrior!"

"You must trust the country, trust His Majesty, and trust the Imperial Council! If you know this, how could they not know it?"

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Thales slowly stood up and looked in the mirror at the richly dressed, aloof young nobleman.

His hair was no longer a tangled mess, but neatly trimmed and combed into a simple yet pleasing style, making him look energetic and handsome.

Ginny even ignored his expression and pinned a slightly reflective crystal earring to his left ear.

The thickened black-blue shimmering long-sleeved jacket, paired with a white lining, pleated sleeves fastened with crystal buttons, and specially processed tassel shoulder pads made his originally slender figure appear taller and more upright.

He raised his hands, his pure white leather gloves tight and shiny, which seemed to make him even more convincing.

His black, slim-fitting trousers, paired with a star-shaped belt buckle and expensive leather boots that added two inches to his height, gave him an air of aristocratic elegance as he walked.

Thales' back was embroidered with the nine-pointed star emblem representing the Star Family, and he also wore a gold and silver nine-pointed star brooch on his chest, which glittered under the light.

The maids applied a tiny amount of men's cologne to him, almost imperceptible, yet it made his scent more befitting of high society.

Sigh, Thales gave a bitter laugh and exhaled: fashionable attire, elegant manners, established etiquette, and limited knowledge—these are the best tools for isolating and classifying different social classes—that's the aristocratic circle.

This damned, evil cultural capital.

Even Ginny and Gilbert, who were watching from the side, couldn't help but nod slightly. "That's about it." Ginny sighed, her tone bitter. "Kaiser—His Majesty wants you to go in as soon as possible."

Thales knew their emotions were a bit off, but since things had come to this point... he cleared his mind and followed Gilbert and Ginny as they slowly left.

"I need to confirm a few things with you one last time."

Thales looked up at Gilbert.

"Your name—I mean, His Majesty originally planned to give you a name more in line with 'Starry Sky tradition,' such as John and Midil, or Kessel and Tormund—after all, the name Thales is used by commoners, and its first appearance in the royal family's genealogy... would also allow those with ulterior motives to find out about your past..."

Thales turned his head back and walked forward step by step, saying without changing his expression, "Thales."

"what?"

"Let's call him Thales."

I will not change my name.

Those past events.

I will never forget it, and I will never give up on it.

Thales stared at the endless corridor, clenching his fists, ignoring Gilbert's hesitant gaze.

“Alas—I will obey your will.” Gilbert sighed under Ginny’s murderous gaze.

This is a very long corridor.

Thales walked forward a few dozen steps without making a sound, and then stopped.

Before him stood a large black door.

“The Hall of Stars is just ahead. You will be taken to a dark chamber at the very back. Don’t be nervous. I will open the door when the time comes. Just do as I instructed before,” Gilbert said, bowing his head. But then he looked toward the door.

The middle-aged nobleman looked puzzled.

"Ada? At this time, you should be protecting His Majesty!"

Thales looked ahead and saw a petite figure leaning against one side of the gate.

is her.

Thales recognized her as the cloaked woman who had led the royal guards to rescue him from Jann the night before. She was still covered by her cloak, and her face was unrecognizable in the dim light.

The cloaked woman, arms crossed, moved away from the wall she was leaning against.

"Hey kid, that guy with the mask asked me to deliver a gift to you."

A young, pleasant, and lively voice came from inside, and the woman in the cloak handed over something.

Thales was stunned.

He took the item, not even noticing the excessively fair, smooth, and firm skin on the other person's hands.

This is a black dagger sheath with a buckle-style leather strap.

One side of it is engraved with the words: "A king is not respected for his bloodline."

Thales resisted the urge to reach for his chest. With mixed feelings, he pulled the JC from his belt and inserted it into its sheath—the size was just right.

"Thank you—Yordel, is he alright?" Thales asked, trying to catch his breath, as he sheathed his dagger and fastened it to his waist.

"Don't worry, that kind of guy—he won't die anytime soon." The cloaked woman chuckled. "I know him very well."

Thales nodded, walked past her, and stood in front of the gate.

The boy stared at the black stone gate in front of him, clenching his teeth.

Just one more step.

Behind him, Gilbert's brow furrowed more and more, Ginny bit her lower lip tightly, while the cloaked woman twisted her neck nonchalantly.

Thales didn't turn around, but just stared at the gray ground in front of him, and said quietly:
"Gilbert, once I've taken this step, is there no turning back?"

Gilbert was taken aback.

But Thales didn't intend to get an answer from him.

The boy looked up and forced a smile:
"No, perhaps, when I first opened my eyes in this world, there was no such thing as looking back."

"We can only keep moving forward."

Upon hearing this, Ginny's gaze became obscure and hesitant. She reached out her hand, but Gilbert, who was shaking his head, pulled her back.

“Don’t worry, cheer up, this is good news, Mr. Gilbert, Ms. Ginny, and—this lady in the cloak, a kind man told me…”

With the lights on both sides still on and the sunlight streaming through the windows on both sides of the corridor, Thales turned his head.

He gave a thumbs-up and grinned broadly:
"Just treat it as another game."

Before the three could react, Thales pushed open the door and stepped inside.

A cold wind blew in through the stone door, and the dim lighting ahead made it seem like endless darkness.

Thales' figure disappeared into the darkness.

Gilbert sighed and lowered his head, while Ginny turned her head away, remaining silent.

Only the woman in the cloak snapped her fingers happily: "Aha, I like this lad."

“Yes, this kid,” Ginny looked up, gave a bitter and helpless laugh, her face full of sorrow and pity: “He’s just a child.”

"How can I bear such a heavy burden and... the future?"

There was silence.

Then a hoarse voice suddenly rang out: "He can do it."

The woman in the cloak gestured with her chin: "She recovered so quickly."

Gilbert and Ginny both looked behind them in surprise—there, the figures of the masked guards appeared in the void.

Strangely, Yodl's figure was elusive and indistinct, as if shrouded in a veil of air.

“He is capable of shouldering that responsibility,” Yodl, whose figure was blurred, said firmly.
“I know him.”

"He possesses qualities that no one in this world—no god, no demon, and not even any mage—has."

There was another moment of silence.

Gilbert shook his head, gave a soft hum, and gently raised his hat in greeting: "Excuse me, the State Council meeting is still two hours away—it's time to see His Majesty, Ms. Ginny."

Ginny nodded and left with Gilbert.

With the sound of footsteps, the two figures disappeared into the distance of the corridor.

Only the masked guards and the cloaked woman remained.

"Three crossbow bolts, each laced with the deadly poison of indigo, pierced your chest. It's only been one night; you can't possibly be standing." The cloaked woman looked at the blurry figure of Yodl and sighed deeply. "You made another deal with that masked man?"

"I've warned you many times! The collapse of the ancient elven kingdom is inextricably linked to that mask! And you..."

"What did you sacrifice this time?"

Yodl didn't reply; he simply remained silent, touching the purple mask on his face.

“No matter what I give,” Yodl’s figure gradually disappeared, leaving only a hoarse voice, “it is not even one ten-thousandth of what that child will have to give.”

To "All the good names have been taken 2": I'll update during the day when I have free time, and at night when I don't. I've been busy lately, but I'll try to maintain a consistent update schedule! Thank you for your support!

The climax is almost here (wait, right?), everyone's asking for favorites and recommendations!

For those of you who enjoyed reading this, feel free to recommend it to other fantasy readers, or join our QQ group (772161582) to chat! It's been so long since I've teased anyone or been teased myself, I'm really not used to it!
Iris Pattern said I've been padding my word count these past few days—good heavens, these four chapters have planted so many crucial plot holes and revealed so much crucial gossip, it's definitely not padding! —by Wujian with a serious expression

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(End of this chapter)