Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 64 Voting
"Beep——"

Thales heard that strange tinnitus again!

This time, Thales lowered his head in pain, his face contorted in agony.

Compared to before, this tinnitus is especially loud, almost as loud as the demonic sound of that supernatural assassin yesterday!
What exactly is this?
Thales endured the pain, but knew he couldn't afford to make a mistake at this crucial moment!

The entire capital city was witnessing this moment!
Li Xiya looked at him with her bright eyes filled with doubt.

The light shines ever brighter!

The thorns caused everyone on the terrace to raise their hands or turn their heads, and even the five dukes standing closest to them could neither see nor hear what was happening in the center.

Under the bright light, Thales gradually lost sight of what was happening outside.

Amidst the agonizing tinnitus, Thales could barely make out the figures of Lixia and Kessel.

He had already begun to grit his teeth and endure the torment of the tinnitus.

The boy's unusual behavior was subsequently discovered.

Li Xiya's eyes, which were gleaming in the bright light, blinked and then she spoke up in confusion:

"you?"

"How could you..."

what happened?

Thales felt inexplicably nervous.

At that moment, Thales clearly saw King Kessel's robust figure suddenly turn his head in the light.

"Li Xiya..." the king began softly, audible only to Li Xiya and Thales, who were closest to him.

For some reason, King Catherine V lacked his usual majesty and indifference; this time, his tone was pleading and powerless!
"Please," the supreme king of the Star Kingdom pleaded in a humble voice.

"This is the future of the stars, and it is also Midil's long-cherished wish."

Li Xiya held their hands, and for some reason, her hands trembled slightly.

But then she turned to look at the king:

Li Xiya asked incredulously, "She...it's her?"

But the king did not answer her.

next second.

The light disappeared.

The tinnitus also disappeared.

With his ears free, Thales breathed a sigh of relief and gasped for air.

What exactly happened?

Tinnitus, the high priest's suspicion, the king's pleas...

He came to his senses, and the people on the terrace came back into view.

Only a red beam of light remained in the air, connecting Thales and Kessel's wounds.

The red light finally disappeared after being scrutinized by everyone's gazes, which were a mixture of surprise, joy, disappointment, and complex emotions, for more than ten seconds.

Li Xiya looked extremely tired. She raised her head and gave Kessel a deep look.

King Catherine V remained silent, simply accepting her gaze with equanimity.

Li Xiya glanced at Thales again. This time, Thales could clearly read surprise, disgust, and...fear in her eyes.
The surrounding nobles watched all of this with bated breath.

Thales knew the situation was inappropriate, so he could only grit his teeth and bury the doubts and the pain of tinnitus deep in his heart.

Just like countless other puzzles.

The high priest of the Sunset Temple announced weakly:
"The goddess has issued a decree."

She turned her head and gave Kessel a complicated and painful look.

These two are father and son.

"We are connected by blood and fate."

As soon as the high priest finished speaking, he decisively left to the side of the hall.

As the people knelt in devout worship, she stepped down from the terrace, not even glancing at anyone or anything in the hall.

Without any regrets.

Only the silent Kessel and the shocked Thales remained.

The little girl priestess glanced nervously at the two of them, then hurriedly followed with the plate.

The Hall of Stars, which had fallen silent due to the bloodline ritual, erupted in cheers the next moment!

Urged on by Gilbert, the guards relayed the message down to the square.

After twelve years, the Starry Sky Royal Family has finally had a new bloodline.

The commotion on the terrace quickly turned into a celebration involving tens of thousands of people in the entire square!
"Brilliant Star—Brilliant Star—"

The cheers almost echoed through the sky!
Kusder and the counts looked ashamed.

Gilbert and the royalists exchanged excited glances, but Ginny, watching Li Xia's retreating figure, had a more obscure and complex emotion in her eyes besides joy.

“Alright,” the obese duke exhaled, his face full of joy. “Now that the Sunset Temple has acknowledged the child’s bloodline, I think he is indeed His Majesty’s descendant.”

Kusder watched him coldly from the side. A cunning old fox.

They turned against us so quickly.

“According to the Sacred Star Covenant, after the Royal Family and the Sunset Temple have recognized his identity, the next step is for the Star High Council, which is an institution composed of our nineteen nobles, to recognize his identity and acknowledge that this child is a prince of the stars.” On the terrace, amidst the cheers of the square, Duke Cullen said with a smile.

"Wait!" Kosd gritted his teeth and said the next sentence: "I remember, whoever this child's mother is, it's not Queen Koya?"

The expressions of many nobles present immediately changed.

Gilbert's face also turned ugly instantly.

Kaiser V turned his head and looked at Gosd.

Lord of Junlin City, Duke of Cliffland, Kusder Nanthurst, exhaled:

"This child is His Majesty's illegitimate son!"

Thales clenched his fists tightly.

Sure enough, his identity...

“Yes,” Count Dastan was the first to react: “According to the Star Covenant, children born out of wedlock cannot have the right of inheritance!”

The conversation on the terrace was not very clear in the hall, but after it was passed around by word of mouth among the nobles in the front row, the entire Hall of Stars was in an uproar!
"Tormond I was also born out of wedlock!" Gilbert's eyes blazed with fury. "And he is the restored king to whom all your ancestors swore allegiance!"

“Tormond I’s greatness was not inherited from him, nor from the imperial bloodline of the final empire. His Star Kingdom was earned through personal struggle, countless conquests, and bloodshed. Our ancestors were the same—don’t forget that six hundred years ago, many of them were illegitimate children, collateral branches, or unsuccessful knights. Their status was earned with their own hands,” Earl Sorel, whose territory lay in the Clifflands, echoed the Duke of the Clifflands.
"Is this illegitimate child five or six years old? What did he do to be free from the constraints of his illegitimate status and have the right to inherit the great nation left by Tormund I, just like a legitimate child?"

“Your Majesty, of course we should acknowledge him as your son, a descendant of the Star God—it is the will of the gods.” The one-eyed dragon’s eyes turned cold: “But if you insist on confirming that he is a prince with a right of succession—a bastard becoming our next king? I will certainly not kneel before him and swear an oath!”

“You just won’t give up, will you, Kusder?” The Duke of the North looked at the one-eyed man, his eyes filled with sorrow and sighs. “Even for the sake of the stars, for the sake of the impending war?”

Kusder deliberately avoided Val's gaze, focusing instead on Kessel V.

“Of course he won’t give up,” Duke Falkenhaus chuckled coldly. “He’s already become mortal enemies with this child, hasn’t he?”

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly understood what Gilbert had just told him—that it was "not a clever political tactic."

He had just angrily denounced Southrest, drawing out the clandestine group, and then turned to Kevin Deer. Although this removed Iris from the ranks of enemies and sowed the seeds of doubt, it also turned the Southrest family of Cliffland, and the Giant Horned Deer, into his mortal enemies.

If the initial goal of Kusd Nanthurst was merely to maximize the interests of the noble group in the face of a royal family destined to have no heir, then now, the goal of the Giant Horned Deer has become "not allowing Thales to inherit the kingdom"—this is for the future survival of the Giant Horned Deer.

Was he too impulsive just now?

Thales clenched his fist.

"You've all seen it. This child is dark-hearted and petty. He's resentful about the assassination attempt and has become suspicious of all of us," the one-eyed man stepped forward on the terrace, his voice low and chilling. "That's why he fabricated this so-called conspiracy to seize the throne. Do you think that when he ascends the throne, he'll easily let you go, let go of the group of people he once suspected of being the masterminds behind it all?"

The dozen or so nobles of the territory all frowned, and several of them began to look at Thales thoughtfully.

Kushner continued with his scathing remarks:
"There has only been one 'wise ruler' in the history of the stars! And there has only been one Prince Midil, whom you have all met, who is kind, upright, tolerant and magnanimous!"

Kessel frowned deeply.

"Whether you participated in that group he made up or not, you're already on his list! Years later, when he ascends the throne, are you sure he won't remember this day, remember you?"

"Hmph, the destruction of the stars? When that time comes, and every noble lives in fear, that will be the true day of destruction!"

Gilbert gritted his teeth—Göstad had grasped the nobles’ greatest fear.

King Catherine V lowered his head and glanced at Thales, whose face was ashen.

"Even for the sake of the future and stability of the stars, Your Majesty, are you sure that choosing such a successor will not push the stars into an abyss of division and destruction?"

The other counts looked at each other in silence, pondering Kuusde's words, until one of them broke the silence.

“Yes, back to the point, I now also feel that,” Count Dastan coughed and frowned:
"It's not quite appropriate for a lowly illegitimate child to become the supreme king of the Star Kingdom... Even though the royal family and the temple have made their decision, our High Council still needs to be cautious..."

He looked at Thales, who was still recovering from the aftermath of the bloodline ritual, but his gaze was no longer one of impolite scrutiny, but rather one of caution and care.

King Catherine V tapped his scepter and said calmly, "It seems that it is indeed not easy for the lords to reach a consensus, is it?"

"Then let's take the final step and have the members of the High Council vote on how to treat this child."

Thales took a deep breath.

In the end, is it true that one's own destiny is still not in one's own hands?

The Supreme King looked at Duke Cullen, who was being supported by someone.

Duke Cullen sighed and nodded slightly: "The vassals of Blade's Edge are not present, which is three votes less, but the remaining five Guardian Dukes and eleven Conferred Earls, a total of sixteen high vassals, still have the right to make a decision on this matter."

The portly duke slightly opened his eyes: "Gentlemen, should this child be the Star Prince with the right of succession?"

Standing behind the king, Ginny finally couldn't hold back any longer and angrily exclaimed, "Hey! Why do royal princes need the recognition of the High Council!"

The dukes and counts ignored her, only Kusder gave a soft snort.

"This is a man's business," the one-eyed man said disdainfully. "Ladies, please be quiet."

“Because this child is involved in the succession to the throne, which is a vow made on the day the Star Kingdom was founded,” Earl Karabyan spoke up at this moment, relieving Ginny’s embarrassment. He sighed slightly and said, “The king and the lord govern the country together. May the tyrants of the imperial era never appear again.”

“According to the rules established by King Mindis III 150 years ago, more than half is sufficient for validity,” Duke Cullen glanced at Thales with his cloudy eyes. “If there is no half or it is exactly equal to half, then this child is an illegitimate child with only the right to inherit property.”

"Voting begins."

There will be another update later.

Yes! I added an extra chapter! I added an extra chapter! I added an extra chapter!

Tremble, for the sun has risen in the west!

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(End of this chapter)