Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 669 Butterfly
"Ah, it's Prince Thales and Miss Hilla..."

In the famous old theater "Sea Tide Theater" in the Iris District, a well-dressed theatergoer excitedly entered a box on the second floor, only to be stopped by both Wyatt and Caquere, the guards. He could only raise his voice as much as possible to attract the attention of the two distinguished guests in the box.

"I was too far away just now, so please forgive my poor eyesight for not being able to see it, but from a distance, ah, they really are a perfect couple!"

It would be strange if he hadn't noticed—Thales, whose conversation had been interrupted, responded politely on the surface, but sighed listlessly in his heart—couldn't he see the layers upon layers of security personnel throughout the theater?

Soon, the audacious guest was politely ushered out of the box by Marius. He returned to his ordinary seat on the ground floor, where he watched the play and, amidst admiring and envious glances, recounted his extraordinary experience of "the prince and I chatting and laughing."

In contrast, Hillay was completely undisturbed, enjoying the play immensely, occasionally clapping or laughing in response, giving the theater owner plenty of face.

On the third day of the Jade Festival, one of the traditional activities of Kongming Palace is the "Royal Procession":
It is said that after the wedding of 'Southern Man' Hyman and Miss Regina, King Eight Fingers and Duke Cork stayed in the palace to entertain guests from all directions, but the bride and groom went out to tour the country, inspect the people's conditions, and reward the good and punish the evil wherever they went, and help the poor and needy.

So every year on this day, the Duke of Iris would, as was customary, reenact the glorious deeds of the two ancient nobles, tour the entire Emerald City, and enjoy himself with the people, keeping busy all day long—which is why Thales had the opportunity to go out and watch plays with Hilly.

“Of course, whether they are nobles, lords, officials, or commoners, people will fight tooth and nail for a spot in the procession next to the Duke of the South Bank,” Hillay said dismissively.

"Wow, you really know a lot." Thales looked at him with newfound respect.

Hilaire, completely absorbed in the performance on stage, casually picked up a piece of paper:

"Here, the cheat sheet Ashford gave me."

"A cheat sheet?" Thales was taken aback.

"In order to be worthy of 'Lady Kevindale's intelligence and knowledge'."

Oh.

“Is it inappropriate for only Jenn to go on the tour?” Thales frowned. “Shouldn’t we go with him?”

"why?"

“You know, Prince Hyman and Miss Regina, Starlight and Kevin Deer…”

"you and me?"

Thales's expression changed: "Oh, sorry, I, I swear I didn't, I really wasn't implying anything to you..."

Hilly glanced at him:
"Yes, it wasn't originally there."

Thales had no choice but to shut up.

Soon, the leading lady on stage disappeared backstage, this segment ended, and the play transitioned to another scene.

"So Jenn really said that? That wool merchant is in charge of shady accounts?"

While clapping, Hilly returned to the topic that had been interrupted by the guest.

“Yes,” Thales nodded, “so Jenn ‘dealt with’ him in advance to prevent the Royal Secret Service from uncovering his irregular accounts and damaging the foundation of his rule.”

Hilly frowned.

“Something’s not right. He admitted it way too readily.”

“That’s not quite right,” Thales sighed, “but we’ll find out the truth.”

Miss Kevin Deer pondered for a moment, her expression changing slightly:
"Wait, so you're saying that instead of giving up, you've sent even more people to investigate Diop's background?"

Thales, having been seen through, forced a smile:
"In a more discreet and covert way."

Recalling Marius's report, Thales hoped that the zombies and Rolf might find something.

"How? Are you sure Jenn won't find out?"

Thales frowned as he looked at Hilly.

Hilly raised an eyebrow and raised her gloved hands:
"Okay, I won't ask."

Thales breathed a sigh of relief:

"Thank you for your understanding."

"But if you continue to investigate, aren't you afraid of making things worse like last time, getting caught red-handed by Jann at the crime scene, and being kicked out of Emerald City?"

Thales fell silent for a moment.

“I know, but thanks to you, Jann and I haven’t completely fallen out yet; at least we’re still maintaining some understanding.”

Hilly's eyes flickered: "Titled understanding?"

“Next time something similar happens, he will inform me in advance to prevent my men from being caught ‘breaking and killing’.”

"And you believe him?"

Thales sighed:
"At least it's a gesture."

Hilly seemed to be deep in thought.

The curtain on the stage was drawn back open, and the next act began. The male lead, wearing ill-fitting and ridiculous clothes, swaggered onto the stage. The supporting actors forced smiles and tried their best to praise him, which drew laughter from the audience ("What did you say? These are your mistress's clothes?").

Hilaire spoke again:
“When I was a child, I broke a vase left by Queen Bella and tried to frame a cousin who looked down on me. But just as my mother was getting angry, Janine stepped forward and admitted that he did it, but secretly played tricks to let everyone know that I broke the vase.”

The girl from the Kevin Deer family gave a cold laugh:
“After this incident, I was blamed, while Jenn received praise from his parents, a reputation as a ‘responsible and good older brother’ in the family, and gratitude from a cousin.”

Thales' attention was drawn, and he turned to look at Hilly.

"What do you want to say?"

Hilly shook his head:
“Jane learned to put on airs from a young age, using a presentable demeanor to seize the greatest benefits.”

She admired the performance on stage, her gaze slowly focusing:

“Even his sister, I’ve known since I was little that you can’t trust Jenn, at least not completely.”

“The sun is setting,” Thales said, frowning amidst laughter. “Living in your house must be exhausting.”

"People from the Shining Star family also said that?"

Thales paused for a moment:
Let's get back to the main topic.

The prince sighed:

“I know very well that Jenn’s assurance is just a show of force: just like with Diop’s murder, by the time he ‘informs’ me, he will have already cleaned up the mess, leaving me with no clues or loopholes. But I am certain of at least one thing: Jenn has already clashed with the Kingdom’s Secret Service. He doesn’t have the time to deal with me now, and in some ways, keeping me in Emerald City is even beneficial to him.”

"benefit?"

Thales nodded.

“From Morse to Diop, the Kingdom’s secret service tried every means to bring them into my sight, hoping that the impulsive Prince Thales would dig up the secrets and expose the inside story,” Thales said in a deep voice. “Jane, on the other hand, acted according to my actions, and killed them before I could, burying them deep and suppressing the conspiracy before it could even begin.”

Hilly pouted.

"It sounds like you're just a pawn in their game, someone anyone can pick up and manipulate?"

Thales looked at her with displeasure.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have been more tactful,” Hilly turned her head expressionlessly. “After all, the truth is the most hurtful.”

That's quite a subtle way to put it.

“No, I am at most a chessboard, a battlefield,” Thales said after a moment of silence, then sighed absently. “Those in Emerald City who were caught up in it, and even lost their lives, are the real pawns, drifting with the tide and unable to control their own fate.” Hilly didn’t speak, but just stared at him silently.

“Right now, three lives have been lost, and there may be more, while we are still kept in the dark about the situation,” Thales said quietly. “I don’t like this.”

"But what if that's what the Secret Service wants?"

Hilly spoke softly:
"Keeping you in the dark, letting you instinctively and haphazardly throw punches? Is that what they're planning?"

Thales frowned.

Then let them go eat shit.

He said quietly.

As they were talking, another guest who had inexplicably wandered to the second floor and was pleasantly surprised to 'bump into' the prince and lady left awkwardly after being politely asked to do so by Marius and the others. Thales and Hillay could only remain silent for a while longer before turning their attention back to the stage.

The theater is staging this year's highly popular new play, "The Butterfly Lovers," which tells the story of Origi, an illiterate but kind-hearted simpleton during the tyrannical reign of the Red King.

Origi accidentally saves the prime minister's niece, but misspoke when the prime minister rewards him ("I want a good job that doesn't involve being in the sun/in the shadows"), leading to his wrongful assignment to the Kingdom's Secret Service. In the Secret Service, this naive and straightforward new detective gets into all sorts of hilarious situations, but also, through a series of coincidences, solves countless problems by sheer luck, bravely confronts hidden chambers, outwits Quintana, cleverly captures rebels, traverses the three kingdoms of the Mysterious Sea, saves the kingdom from peril, gains the king's trust, and incidentally wins the heart of the prime minister's niece.

During a mission, Origi inadvertently discovers that he has been handling countless wrongful convictions in the king's name, which will lead to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. However, under the influence of the chief secretary, and in order to be worthy of his beloved and stay with her forever, Origi ignores the torment of pain and guilt, choosing numbness and escape. Gradually, Origi matures, learning vanity, understanding hypocrisy, and becoming adept at human relationships. He rises through the ranks, always seeking advantage and avoiding harm. He is no longer the naive boy he once was, but, as the title suggests, he transforms from an ugly but simple caterpillar into a numb and struggling pupa, and then into a beautiful but poisonous butterfly.

In the end, on the eve of the coronation of a wise ruler and the end of tyranny, the powerful Origi is caught up in a political conspiracy to frame the prime minister. He dies by the desperate knife of his beloved, and finally realizes his mistakes in her arms, dying with tears in his eyes.

To be honest, both the script and the actors are of much higher quality than those in "The Capital".

Thales scratched his head. Well, if this were in the capital, such a play that smears and satirizes the Kingdom's Secret Service and promotes "incorrect values" probably wouldn't be able to be staged. But no, it depends on how each generation of kings evaluates and positions the Red King's history. Is it a strong critique and deep reflection, or an "objective, rational, and diverse perspective"? Is it that "historical conclusions cannot be distorted," or that "sensitive topics" are avoided?
In short, he didn't know if it would even be possible to stage it.

Can I offer some advice?

Thales snapped out of his daze and realized it was Hilly who had spoken.

"Of course, I'm all ears."

Hilly's eyes gleamed: "If you're going to start from the streets, like tracing clues from the Blood Bottle Gang, be very careful."

Blood Bottle Gang?

Thales's expression changed slightly:
"you--"

How did I know you were going to target the Blood Bottle Gang?

Hilly turned her head and smiled slightly: "Same as you."

Under Thales's astonished gaze, Hilly nonchalantly picked up her teacup:

“If Diop is indeed a shady accountant, then when Jenn ‘deales’ with him, he must not use any official resources that are publicly available, such as the Guard Bureau and the Emerald Legion.”

Thales remembered the killer that DD and Golov had mentioned.

“My brother has to use another set of people, through channels that can’t be documented or made public. And Diop, when he’s running his shady accounts, also inevitably needs similar people. Coincidentally, in Emerald City, those who do this kind of work, through various twists and turns, can all get involved with a large gang to some extent…”

“The Blood Bottle Gang,” Thales sighed.

Hillary nodded happily.

“Your direction and ideas are correct. Most powerful and influential families have gloves to do the dirty work for them,” Miss Kevin Deer said, looking at the final confrontation between the male protagonist Origi and his lover on the stage. “And compared to the impenetrable Kongming Palace, these gloves are of course easier to break through.”

Thales sighed.

“Except for one thing.” Hilly changed the subject, causing Thales’s gaze to flicker.

Hillary curled the corners of her lips into a smile:

"It is said that long ago, there were dozens of street gangs and groups in Emerald City, from shoemakers to street sweepers, from latrine cleaners to bricklayers, and they were independent of each other—just like most cities in the world, which was perfectly normal."

Thales asked, somewhat puzzled, "Until?"

Hilly's expression gradually became serious:
"Until a few decades ago, a duke of the Kevin Deer family, 'The Goat Horn' Kirk, had a sudden inspiration. He changed the old aristocratic style and extended his noble hands, which were not tainted by the soil, out of the prosperous palace and down to the bottom, into the common people, to recruit and even invest in non-traditional forces 'outside the chessboard', which brought about a turning point in the streets of Emerald City."

Non-traditional forces outside the chessboard.

Ram's Horn Coke.

Thales raised an eyebrow.

"Turning point, you mean..."

Hilly looked at Thales seriously:
“A gang from out of town, composed of demobilized roughnecks from the Western Wilderness, who started by smuggling prohibited liquor, entered Emerald City at that time. With tacit approval and even support, it quickly disrupted the balance and swept through the streets and underworld of Emerald City in just a few decades.”

What Thales understood:
"The Kevin Deer family, that's when they colluded with the Blood Bottle Gang?"

"not only that."

Hilla said, "Arms, prostitution, drugs, people, street intelligence, rural power, market monopolies... Starting from the streets of Emerald City, with the support of the Kevin Deer family, the Blood Bottle Gang's 'business' was no longer limited to smuggling Prohibited liquor. They changed their strategy, transformed, grew, and expanded into unfamiliar territories, extending their tentacles to towns and countryside across the country, to corners unreachable by the army and guards, and establishing relationships with many officials and even local lords, cooperating to provide 'services' and help with 'governance'."

“Service,” Thales frowned, “governance?”

Hilly ignored him:
"And so, the power and money of the Iris Flower, the violence and organization of the Blood Bottle Gang, and the forces of both the official and unofficial factions complemented and merged into one."

To merge into one.

Thales recalled the Blade Fang Dune camp in the Western Wilderness, and the tacit understanding—perhaps tinged with a little threat—and cooperation between the Wings of Legend and the mercenary leaders.

"You mean, the Kevin Deer family is the Blood Bottle Gang's backer, subordinate to them?"

Hilly shook his head:
“I wouldn’t say that. After all, the Blood Bottle Gang is neither an army nor a loyal dog. Duke Iris can’t use them as he pleases, and the huge gap cannot be ignored. There are definitely differences between the two.”

But then she changed her tone:
"But it is true that the Kevin Deer family and the Blood Bottle Gang have a closer relationship than ordinary lords and gangs. Mutual benefit has long been a tradition, and mutual tolerance is a habit. The relationship is more complicated than you can imagine. Each generation of Duke Iris is also accustomed to using such unconventional pawns to monitor and even control the streets and the underworld."

Thales exhaled:

"No wonder, no wonder Janne was able to so easily spread rumors about me in Emerald City, just as he wanted."

“So, if you put your breakthrough point in a place like this,” Hilly concluded, “you’d better be very careful.”

Thales remained silent for a long time, watching Origi on the stage weep bitterly as he poured out his heart under the moonlight.

He then realized that, as the plot of "The Butterfly Lovers" progressed, the audience hadn't laughed for a long time.

"These things, street gangs, the underworld and all that," Thales said in a deep voice, "how do you, as a noble lady, know about them?"

“Ha, I knew you’d say that,” Hilly said, his face darkening with sarcasm. “Excuse me for reminding you, Duke Thales, the young lady before you is named Kevin Deer.”

Thales' expression changed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re right, you are Kevin Deer,” he sighed, “I would rather die for a friend than for an enemy.”

Hilly remained silent for a moment.

“When I was little, I was once the subject of a rumor, and there was a lot of talk about it on the street.”

Thales raised his eyes.

Hilay spoke of the past with a somber tone: "My father didn't resort to the Duke's authority to quell the rumors; he knew that would only backfire. Instead, he used the Blood Bottle Gang to fight rumors with rumors, ultimately salvaging my reputation."

Thales frowned: "Your reputation?"

“Yes, my reputation,” Hilly said sarcastically, “it concerns my reputation as someone who can get married.”