Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 570 What Use Are You?
Inside the swaying carriage, Thales and Raphael sat facing each other in silence.

Thales sized up the secret agent who had shared life and death with him in Dragonfall City, recalling their last parting in the tunnel.

Raphael remained calm, his dark red eyes holding a half-smile.

Just like when we first met, he was confident and had everything under control.

Why is he always so confident?

Then they do all sorts of shady, shameful things, mess things up and leave others to clean up their messes.

Thinking of this, the boy, who had only recently escaped Ballard's Chamber, felt even more gloomy.

"Weren't you supposed to stay in the north playing hide-and-seek with the Meteorites? When did you come back?"

Unable to bear the other person's enigmatic smile, Thales broke the silence first.

Raphael smiled and looked out the window:

"recent."

Look at that, what a recent development.

Is there a more detailed answer than this?
Thales coughed:
"Those who remained in Dragonsreach, Wyatt and Rolf, and Putila..."

"Safety."

Raphael's answer was concise and his words were tight-lipped.

Thales frowned.

“Gilbert said he hasn’t been able to find you in the Secret Service for the past few years…”

"Secret."

"You were disguised and wearing makeup during the imperial council just now..."

"hide."

"So why did you take me to the Kingdom's Secret Service?"

"Important."

After several rounds of back and forth, Thales, feeling like he was talking to a Yordles, laughed in exasperation and said irritably:

"Can't you say a few more words?"

Finally, Raphael turned around, his red eyes filled with profound meaning:

"But as you said, if I say another word..."

"Are you going to propose to Miss Miranda?"

Thales choked, and after several seconds he sighed, utterly exhausted.

How stingy.

Thales waved his hand helplessly and exited the game.
"Just kidding, okay?"

Raphael smiled and leaned back into the carriage with ease.

“I know,” he said with a smug look.
"Me too."

Thales gave a forced, insincere smile.

Is there any point in being so sarcastic?

“It’s pointless,” Raphael said, observing the prince’s speechless and deflated face.
"It's just quite interesting."

Thales was at a loss for words and could only sigh in silence.

A few minutes later.

"Raphael, in those six years, did you see Miranda?"

Raphael raised an eyebrow:
"You want to hear the truth?"

"of course."

"Then I'll have to lie."

It took Thales a few seconds to process this information:

"Oh."

The prince nodded:
"Then...how about seeing Cohen?"

"Who is he?"

"..."

The carriage swayed for a few more minutes before Thales sighed.

“Raphael, if you never plan to leave the Secret Service for the rest of your life…”

The prince looked intently at the skeleton:

"So what does she mean to you?"

"How are you going to face her then?"

Raphael raised his red eyes: "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Pay attention to the emotional lives of your subordinates."

Raphael gave a sarcastic smile.

"how about you?"

He asked rhetorically:

"What does she mean to you, Your Highness?"

Thales leaned back in the carriage and sighed:
"I've already told you I won't marry Miranda..."

Raphael's next words made Thales stop talking:

“But I wasn’t talking about Miranda.”

The air was quiet for a moment.

The scenery outside the window changes inch by inch, from city streets to country lanes.

Thales remained silent.

"When you were in Dragon Sky City, you had a deep and close relationship."

Raphael looked north, his voice light and cheerful:

"Can you really let go of this relationship?"

"To become strangers from now on?"

Thales clenched his teeth.

"Don't bring up anything else, Raphael," the prince said unhappily.

"I have nothing to do with her."

Raphael chuckled lightly, completely unconcerned.

"If you are destined to become the King of the Stars, Your Highness, then strategize in the Balad Chamber..."

To Thales, the Bone Man's words had become incredibly sharp:
"And how are you going to face... her?"

"Facing what one truly desires?"

Thales felt a surge of irritation.

“I will only say this once, Raphael,” the prince said coldly, turning his head away.
"I absolutely don't have that kind of relationship with her. No! It's not!"

"What kind of relationship?"

"What's it to you which one I am?"

"but……"

"No buts!"

"All I want to say is..."

"Don't say it!"

After going back and forth, Raphael could only sigh and admit defeat.
"Ok."

Thales snorted and hugged his arms tightly.

The Bone Man sighed:

"It's just a pity that you don't like her..."

Thales turned his head even further to the side.

"You know, we went through so much trouble to select the finest grains and cereals for her, preparing to welcome her back to China..."

Thales paused for a moment, then turned around.

"Fine grains and cereals to welcome you home? Wait, who are you talking about?"

"Who else could it be?"

Raphael turned around:

"Of course, it was carefully selected for you by the secret department from hundreds of candidates..."

Raphael flashed a bright smile, revealing his white teeth.
“Good horse Jenny.”

Thales remained silent for a full ten seconds, pressed against the carriage, swaying in the wind.

Only then did he give the middle finger with a blank expression.

Fuck you.

Seeing his expression, Raphael burst into laughter.

Thales swore with a dark face that if the other party told that joke again, the first order he would give when he became king would be to make Miranda marry Cohen.

Ah, at that moment, God knows how much he missed Cohen.

Raphael sat back down in his original position:
Are you feeling better?

“Not at all,” Thales said listlessly.

"But thank you for livening up the atmosphere anyway."

"You're welcome," Raphael replied, completely unconcerned by the resentment in the prince's words.
"Anyway, you'll only feel worse later."

Thales's spirits, which had just begun to improve, collapsed again.

"Is this about what happened last night?"

A shadow crossed Raphael's face.

"What else could it be?"

When it came to serious matters, the previous ease seemed to vanish completely.

The Bone Man sighed:
"Fourteen hours ago, I was busy organizing the battle reports of the Freedom Alliance, and then I received news of the unexpected incident at the royal banquet—no matter where you are, you always manage to cause some trouble."

Raphael clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Thales snorted irritably:

"Then strip me of my identity, let me change my appearance and disappear without a trace. Do you believe I can be a law-abiding citizen for the rest of my life?"

Raphael glanced at him.

"You? A law-abiding citizen?"

"Do you believe it yourself?"

Thales was speechless for a moment.

“So about last night,” Thales tried to steer the conversation back to what he was concerned about:
"What's the truth behind the feud between Ravenclaw Town and Mirror River, that is, between Bailar and Doyle?"

Raphael remained silent for a few seconds.

"His Majesty has ordered the court and the council of nobles to take charge of the case."

"Out of a principle of neutrality, I suggest you do not intervene..."

Thales yawned widely.

"Seriously, Raphael, why do you think I didn't dance with the young ladies at the banquet until dawn, but instead ended up smelling your sweat in this shabby carriage?"

Raphael shifted his position and subtly sniffed his collar.

"Or do you think I'm as easy to fool as Cohen, or as tolerant of you as Miranda?"

Thales winked at him:

"Just consider it a little...inside information?"

Raphael frowned.

Thales raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting intentionally or unintentionally to Raphael's sleeve.

The latter's forearm was as fair and perfect as ever.

It's hard to imagine that this place was once...

The skeleton man was silent for a moment, then instinctively pulled up his sleeves.

“You shouldn’t involve personal relationships,” his red eyes flickered.
“You are a prince, and I am a servant. We should conduct ourselves in an official capacity.”

Hey, who was it that was trying to establish a personal relationship with him all this time?

"Perhaps it would be true for someone else."

“But you are still different, Raphael,” Thales said, half sincerely and half jokingly.
"That night in Dragon Sky City was different."

Raphael tilted his head and glanced at him.

“By the way,” Thales added:
"If we are really going to cooperate in the next fifty or sixty years and meet at the Royal Conference, then we should start now and learn how to get along."

Perhaps persuaded by the last sentence, Raphael took a deep breath and sat up straight in the carriage.

He said seriously:

"According to the intelligence gathered by the Secret Service, this is an unfortunate tragedy."

"Yes, tell me something I don't know"—Thales nodded earnestly and humbly, swallowing the words back down.

Raphael continued, "Baron Doyle of Mirror River is a complete idiot; his greatest virtue is his shamelessness."

"But he was lucky; his second wife was a business whiz who managed the household well for years, accumulating wealth skillfully—or rather, through speculation and scheming, she made money at every turn—and so the Doyle family grew richer and bolder, their reach becoming longer and longer, becoming increasingly unscrupulous..."

Thales nodded with lingering fear as he recalled Baron Doyle and his wife.

Raphael gave a soft snort:
"On the other hand, the ruler of Crow's Cry Town is no better; he had no good intentions when he asked to borrow money."

"Old Bailar is ignorant of financial management and has no business acumen, but he is a master at the traditional aristocratic skills of coercion, intimidation, and extortion. Over the years, the number of victims who have been blackmailed, extorted, and threatened by him, and who have had to swallow their pride and blood, could be enough to form a guard, and perhaps even have reserves."

Thales frowned as he listened.

"Only one day has passed, and the Secret Service has already investigated so thoroughly?"

Raphael chuckled and shook his head:
"Of course not possible."

"But we discovered that one of the parties in this case had already been on the radar of the tax bureau: Lord Joker Mann has been keeping an eye on the Doyle family for a long time, targeting their illicit income, waiting for them to fatten up before he could make his move."

Treasurer Joker Mann had his eye on the Doyle family for a long time?

Thales seemed to understand something.

Raphael scoffed:

"Therefore, there's no need for an investigation. Our people simply moved over the tracking files and investigation documents that had been piling up for several years overnight—of course, the people at the Finance and Taxation Bureau might not be too happy about being outmaneuvered."

The Finance and Taxation Bureau, overnight, intercepted the deal...

Upon hearing this, Thales' expression turned strange.

He recalled Lord Joko Mann's outburst this morning at the meeting where he forcefully rejected the budget.

Thinking about it now, it's clear that the other person didn't lose their composure at all...

That's basically "Brother Chen lost several thousand dollars tonight"!

He's already quite well-mannered for not flipping the table.

"So, in this way, the wealthy and greedy Doyle and the domineering and shameless Bailar came to blows..."

Thales let out a sigh and said helplessly:

"It really is a match made in heaven, a meeting of equals."

Raphael nodded
"It wasn't really a big deal. After the infighting among nobles caused some serious damage, the two sides that couldn't reach an agreement would usually return to the negotiating table as is customary..."

Raphael glanced at Thales.

"But at that moment, because the Wing of Legend left the camp, the Blade Fang camp was attacked by orcs and skeletons. Old Bailar, who was stationed there, was unfortunately hit and died of fright."

"The scales have now been tipped."

Thales pressed his hand to his forehead in frustration.

Why me again?
But Raphael continued:

"In addition, recently, the sycophantic Baron Doyle of Mirror River has climbed up to a newly returned royal figure through his son, and now he has a lot of prestige in the capital and has become more assertive."

Thales's expression grew increasingly grim.

But Raphael deliberately dragged out the words, repeating: "A—big—person—in—the—royalties. You know?"

Thales sighed:

Why is it still me?
"If that's the case, then so be it. It's just a win-lose situation, one side benefits while the other falls."

“Until old Bailar’s ​​eldest son returned from the Tower of the End—as you can see, he was a hothead.”

"His mind was filled with radical ideas that traditional nobles in the country did not have, and he decided to make a big splash at a banquet."

Thales huddled in the corner of the carriage, numbly smacking his lips.

Why is it always me?
Raphael said helplessly:
"So Your Highness, you'll have to stay here and smell my body odor."

As soon as they finished speaking, they both sighed and hugged each other tightly.

"So, how is Anker Bailar now?"

“We are still conducting the interrogation according to procedure, from the motives and process to the mastermind behind it,” Raphael said calmly.
"If you ask me, among the 'guests' that the secret service has received, that child is quite strong."

Interrogation...

Thales felt a pang of sadness.

“What’s there to ask?” the prince said indignantly. “The mastermind is Jann Kevin Deer, and that guy admitted it to me right last night.”

"He's the one who should be here smelling your sweat."

Raphael's expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing the name.

“I think you should know, Your Highness…”

"Duke of the South Bank, Jann Kevindeer, left the capital this morning to return to the Emerald City due to urgent family matters."

Thales was initially startled, but then he understood.

It slipped so fast.

“Of course, as the mastermind, he has to keep his own life,” Thales said with his arms crossed and a cold laugh.
"Isn't this an urgent matter?"

If the Duke of Fengzhao City had possessed Jann's ability to slip away unnoticed, perhaps he wouldn't have had his neck broken by King Nuen.

But Raphael's tone turned somber.

"Before leaving, Duke Kevin Deer presented His Majesty with the 'Petition for the Replacement of Emerald City'."

Thales didn't react for a moment:

"what?"

Raphael glanced at Thales:
"He petitioned His Majesty that the vassals under the Iris could voluntarily be exempted from military service and corvée labor by paying new taxes every quarter, as needed—the Emerald City's thriving market meant there were quite a few lords willing to do so—and the resulting loss of conscripted soldiers would be compensated by the Kevindir family, who would also pay taxes to the royal family in lieu of service, in the form of subsidies for the royal standing army."

It took Thales a few seconds to understand the meaning of the sentence.

what?
The Kevin Deer family will set an example...

Paying taxes...

Substitute service...

Subsidizing the Royal Guard...

The next second, a startled Thales struggled to sit up from the back of the chair.

"This matter was just discussed at the imperial council meeting... but this is too fast, isn't it?"

Moreover, it is a major event concerning the rule of the lords throughout the entire South Coast.

Unless it was done in advance...

Raphael shrugged:

"The official announcement should arrive around this afternoon."

in the afternoon.

Thales suddenly remembered his father's exact words in Ballard's Room:

The meeting will resume this afternoon to discuss how to help Qiu Ke resolve the budget issue...

in the afternoon.

budget.

In that instant, some joints connected.

“Jane, he and my father actually…” Thales said incredulously, “Damn it.”

He cursed in annoyance.

The prince then looked at the skeleton, not without disappointment.

"So our Duke of the South Bank won't be held responsible, right?"

"At least not on the grounds of instigating assassins to harm Duke Starlake?"

Raphael patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
"Not only that, the Secret Service will also assign more people to 'debunk the rumors'," Raphael said, looking displeased.

“There are always people spreading ignorant and absurd rumors such as ‘The Duke of Starlake publicly accused Kevin Deer last night.’”

Ignorant and reckless...

It took Thales a while to recover from his incredulous expression.

Not really.

It's one thing to gain both fame and fortune...

Do they still need to control the narrative?

"So... I messed up your plans again?" Thales said blankly.

“It’s alright,” Raphael said, adopting a “what’s the use” attitude.

"Anyway, the secret service is used to it."

"Over the past six years, I've had a dedicated emergency response team, and you're their favorite—you've greatly increased their presence and budget."

"By the way, their nickname is 'The Prince's Little Butt'..."

Thales, still feeling depressed, frowned:

"The prince's what?"

The Bone Man raised his cheek helplessly.

“You know, every time after I poop,” Raphael gave me a particularly smug look:

"They all need to be wiped."

Thales was speechless, dumbfounded.

Raphael gave him a wicked smile in return.

“Okay, Kevin Deer…”

Having figured something out, the prince let out a frustrated sigh and buried his face in his hands, rubbing it up and down.

"I should have killed him last night..."

"What did you say?"

“It’s nothing.” Thales pulled his face away from his hand, his expression serious.

"Anke Bailar, what will happen to him?"

Raphael suppressed his suspicion:

“If His Majesty has no other objection, the court will convict him…”

"But based on the existing facts, he stormed a royal banquet with a weapon, injured his noble peers, threatened the Duke of Starlake, attempted to assassinate a member of the royal family, and showed contempt for the dignity of the royal family..."

As he listened to Raphael list the crimes, Thales recalled Anker's desperate eyes and their last conversation, and his heart sank.

What should I do if I let go?

I don't know, but I will try my best.

I've done my best.

No, you didn't. You didn't see me.

Thales clenched his fists instinctively.

"What about his family? What about his relatives?"

Raphael glanced at him but said nothing.

Thales sighed.

But his eyes immediately sharpened:
“Listen, Raphael.”

"If I were to say that, with your help, the Duke of Starlake wants to do something to influence certain outcomes, is that possible?"

A glint also flashed in Raphael's red eyes.

“It depends on what you’re going to do,” the Bone Man said cautiously.

Different options, different results.

Thales remained silent for a moment.

"Alright then, let's start with the hardest and go to the easiest."

The prince considered it carefully for a moment, then tentatively asked three questions:

"Prison robbery?"

"release?"

"At least—avoid death?"

Raphael silently considered the three options, then smiled kindly.

Without hesitation, he thoughtfully provided three corresponding answers:
"impossible."

"impossible."

"And—it's impossible."

There was a minute of silence inside the carriage, followed only by the sound of wheels.

"Raphael Lindbergh".

"Your Highness?"

"What use do I have for you?"

"Okay, there's one last way."

"what?"

"You are crowned king."

"This isn't funny."

"I know."

I will continue writing. I will continue fighting.

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(End of this chapter)