Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 670 Safety Rope

On stage, Origi finally closed his eyes in his lover's arms, the chorus began, and the play gradually came to an end.

As the curtain fell, the actors of "The Butterfly Lovers" took to the stage to receive applause and cheers from the audience.

But at that moment, Thales looked down and noticed a familiar face: the guard Caquere, who was in charge of his security (or surveillance) and who had been by the prince's side every time Thales left the palace these past few days.

At that moment, in the dimly lit theater, Caquere was hiding behind a curtain, talking to another well-dressed audience member who was gesturing wildly. Caquere would occasionally glance back cautiously, as if afraid of being discovered.

Thales frowned, stood up and leaned against the railing, pretending to watch the actors take their final bow, but actually calling upon the Sin of the River of Hell and listening for Caquere's movements.

“I don’t understand, what has to be said now, here?” Officer Caquere’s voice was somewhat displeased.

"I'd like to say this elsewhere!"

The spectator had his back to Thales, but his voice sounded very familiar to the boy: "But look at you, Officer Caquere, you've risen to prominence and are no longer what they used to be. Where would you find the time to have a drink with old friends? That's why I can only come here to find you, isn't it?"

“We haven’t been in touch for ages! And I don’t have any money to lend you for gambling,” Caquere said coldly, keeping him at arm’s length. “I’m on official business. Whatever it is, wait until I get off work—no, after my shift.”

After speaking, the guard turned and left.

Just when Thales thought this was a scene of some poor relative coming to borrow money, a cold remark from the audience made the prince's nerves jump:
"Diop's case."

Caquere paused abruptly.

In the hellish senses, Thales heard the audience member take a deep breath: "The courtroom, including the guardroom, they want me to be the dead man's lawyer."

Caquere slowly turned around, his tone cautious:

"Really? That's quite a coincidence."

Defense lawyer...

Thales suddenly remembered something and instantly recognized the audience member.

"What a load of rubbish! They want me..." The audience spat. "I've looked at the case files and checked that indebted lord's court records. Diop wasn't killed by him, nor was he killed in a burglary, right?"

"So what? We all know what you're capable of, Manny. Just convict that lord of a capital offense and that's it—isn't that what they're after?"

The man called Manny sneered:
"Stop pretending, Caquere. Others may not know, but we all know what Diop does! You must have taken money from him too, right?"

Caquere was taken aback and became nervous:

"I, I don't know what you are talking about..."

Thales' brow furrowed even more.

But Manny shook his head:
"Don't worry, I'm not here to monitor the anti-corruption campaign. But listen, the other day I went to the barber's man to buy information about a case, and it turns out the gangs are really restless lately, and things are on the verge of conflict..."

"Hey, why worry about it? Those two gangs, one red and one black, are always on the verge of fighting. As long as they behave themselves, don't get stupid enough to take to the streets, and pay their dues—"

No! Listen to me!

Manny paused for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"Two guys from the Blood Bottle Gang died 'accidentally,' around the same time as Diop..."

Officer Caquere asked in confusion:
Which two guys?

Manny took a deep breath:

"I dare not say, I suspect I'm just overthinking it, I hope so, I hope it's just my occupational habit, but, but..."

Manny gripped Caquere's arm, pulling him an inch closer to the corner, as if that would provide them with a tighter protection:
"Considering the fact that I helped you write reports to avoid trouble and exonerated your troublemakers in the past, Caquere, just tell me one thing, one straight answer: Was the person who killed Diop really...?"

The man called Manny nervously stretched out his hand and pointed upwards.

As the senses of hell perceived him, Caquere’s breathing became heavier.

A few seconds later, the guard's face hardened:
“Listen, Manny, for the sake of our past relationship: don’t ask any questions about things you shouldn’t know, and you’ll be fine.”

Manny gasped.
"So it's true? Damn it, I knew it, I knew there was something wrong with this case..."

"Manny."

"It's related to the second prince, isn't it? The Duke and he are sworn enemies..."

“Manny…”

"But why should we be dragged into their power struggle..."

“Manny!” Caquere snapped at him, his voice stern.

Manny shuddered.

“Here’s what you do. Go home, have a drink, lie down, do something fun, and then get up and go to work as usual the next day,” the guard’s tone softened as he patted Manny on the shoulder. “Think about your family, your wife back in the countryside, and your parents…”

Manny shuddered again.

His laughter was strained: "Yes, yes, yes, you're right, Caquere, old buddy, I can't panic, I have to stay calm, I still have work to do..."

Manny turned around shakily and joined the crowd of people who stood up and applauded.

Officer Caquere remained expressionless as he watched Caquere's retreating figure.

In the second-floor private box, Thales gripped the railing in front of him and withdrew the Sin of the River of Hell.

That man—Slimani, the defense attorney who had recently defended Thales and Jann in court—knew something about Diop's death.

As thoughts began to stir, the boy glanced at Slimani, who seemed lost in thought amidst the crowd, and instinctively turned to Marius:

"Thor—"

But before he could finish speaking, Thales noticed that people from the Emerald City—from the guards of the Guard Hall to the guards of the Emerald Legion—were standing around Wyatt, Nehi, Morgan, Italiano, and the Star Lake Guard.

Not to mention the guards standing guard on all sides of the theater.

It's much more secure than before.

With reservations, Thales had to keep quiet and gave Marius, who was looking at him with a questioning gaze, an apologetic smile to indicate that nothing was wrong.

A face came close to his face:
"You weren't watching the curtain call."

Thales jumped back into his seat in shock: "Ah! Damn it! Hilly!"

The prince was startled and angrily questioned Miss Cecilia, who had unknowingly moved closer to the railing:

"Where did you come from?"

But Hilly squinted and waved a palm-sized drawing board in her hand:
"Is the person you're really concerned about the one who just spoke to Caquere?"

what?
The person who spoke to Caquere...

Thales glanced at Slimani on the first floor, utterly astonished.

"you--"

"How do I know?"

Hilly looked down to the first floor: "You were staring at the stage just now, just like I was when I was in class as a child—and when you came to your senses, the first thing you looked at was Caquere and his friends."

what?
Thales blinked in surprise, still not quite understanding.

How come this guy's observation skills are so... sharp?

But before he could think of a way to defend himself, he was drawn to the drawing board in Hilly's hand:
On the drawing paper, a handsome young man leans against the railing, gazing into the distance, but he seems absent-minded and preoccupied.

"What is this?" Thales asked, bewildered.

“Your profile sketch,” Hilly shook the easel, the delicate-looking boy on it vibrating back and forth, “while you were just pretending to stare at the stage—see, understand?”

Hmm, it looks quite like the real thing.

Thales instinctively reached out to take it, but Hilly swiftly pulled the easel back, as if by magic:
"Sorry, it's not for you!"

Thales snapped out of his reverie and frowned:

How do you know this?

Hilly shrugged.

"So, the person who was just talking to Caquere? What's wrong with him?"

Damn.

Thales started to get a headache.

"He is... presumably the defense attorney in the Diop case."

Hilly's eyes darted around:
"And you called your nanny first, then stopped talking immediately because you were worried. Because no matter who you send to chase that person, you might repeat the same mistake, failing to escape Janne's notice and alerting the enemy?" Damn it, he hates smart people.

Thales sighed, but then a thought struck him:
"You, Hilla, do you have a way to distract everyone and let my men bypass Jenn's eyes and ears to follow him?"

Thales rubbed his hands awkwardly:
"You know what misdirection is?"

Hilaire looked around, taking in the guards—both from Starlake Castle and Emerald City.

"No, no way, don't even think about it."

Miss Cecilia's resolute decision dashed Thales' hopes.

But just a second later, Hillary smiled:
"But I have a better idea."

Looking at Miss Kevin Deer's smile, Thales suddenly had a bad feeling.

"do you like me?"

"What?" Thales exclaimed in surprise.

Want to go on a date with me?

"What?" Thales' eyes widened, and he repeated it.

Hilly squinted: "Wrong answer, try again."

Again?
Dating?

In that instant, Thales reacted with utter terror:

"Oh no."

Hilly nodded, her smile unchanged:

"Oh yes."

The next moment, before Thales could react, Hilly stood up and waved to Marius:
"Hey, babysitter!"

nanny?

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"Yes, I'm talking about you! The nanny! The most arrogant one!"

A few seconds later, Marius took a deep breath, maintained his calm expression, and stepped forward amidst everyone's strange gazes.

"Your Highness, Miss?"

Just as Thales was about to speak, Hilly covered his mouth with her hand:
"Oh, I'm going on a date with Prince Thales, just the two of us, um, privately."

Hilly squinted and raised her voice:
"You...you won't send anyone to disturb us, will you?"

what?
Wyman and the others all turned their heads, their expressions quite interesting.

Marius, however, looked at Thales with a strange expression and cast a questioning glance at him.

Thales' eyes widened. He gave Marius an awkward smile, pulled Hilly aside, and lowered his voice:

"Well, if we leave the group..."

“Jane won’t suspect you of doing anything underhanded, because I was the one who dragged you out,” Hilly said confidently.

"Yes, he only gets angry, very angry... Wait, that's not the point!"

"Yes, the key is that we get ahead of everyone else to find your target and ask... whatever you want to ask."

“That’s not the point!” Thales gritted his teeth. “I’m a prince, and you are…Ms. Kevin Deer. What if something happens to us if we leave the group?”

I met with an accident, and the kingdom has no heir.

If something happens to you, Janne will probably leave the kingdom without an heir.

“There are ‘accidents’ every day, and everyone will have ‘accidents’,” Hilly shook his head, seemingly unconcerned. “But often, those who are afraid of accidents are the most likely to have accidents.”

"No, you don't understand..."

"Oh, you're scared?"

Thales paused, his face hardening, and shook his finger:
"No, don't try such a low-level provocation. I won't fall for it."

"Are you so afraid of going out alone on the street?"

"No, it's not a question of whether I'm afraid or not..."

"Tsk tsk, poor little prince, he doesn't dare to leave his house without guards."

"I—I won't argue with you about this. We definitely have a better way than to go and do it ourselves..."

"But you want to avoid Jenn's surveillance and prevent a repeat of yesterday's mistake, right?"

"Yes, but..."

“Right now, we’ve lost three lives, and maybe more, and we’re still completely in the dark about the situation,” Hilly sighed. “You don’t like this, do you?”

"That's right—hey, those are my exact words!"

"My brother said you love to return the favor verbatim?"

"I don't like it—don't learn that from him!"

"Are you coming or not?"

"No, I am the heir to the kingdom, this is of utmost importance..."

"Yes, that's incredibly significant. Surely the stars didn't exist before you were born?"

"You—no, I have so many people behind me. If something happens to me..."

“Fine,” Hilla scoffed, giving up on persuading her. “You can stay with your nannies forever, Princess Thales.”

Thales' expression changed.

Hilly turned and left, shaking her head dismissively:
"I go by my own."

Thales reached out his hand but couldn't stop her, and could only watch helplessly as Hilly walked out of the box:

"No, wait..."

Thales sat back down and rubbed his head in anguish.

Damn!

A few seconds later, he made up his mind, took a deep breath, and summoned Marius.

"Thor, do you remember the five ways to get from the main hall to Jackal Tower in Starlake Keep?"

From the main hall to the Jackal Tower...

Marius glanced in the direction Hillay had left:
"Yes?"

"Do you remember the fifth way to go?"

Marius was slightly taken aback.

"You mean, climb through the window and onto the roof?"

Thales chuckled ingratiatingly, then cautiously said:

"Right now, I might, possibly, perhaps, or, well, I need just a tiny bit of... safety rope?"

"Safety rope?"

Marius understood something, and his expression instantly turned cold.

Thales looked at him with guilt and embarrassment, subconsciously rubbing his hands together, feeling as if the captain of the personal guard in front of him was a dark cloud looming over him. "Um, do you, do you have one?"

Marius turned his head again, looked in the direction Hillay had left, and then looked at Thales.

“If I had a choice, Your Highness,” the Watcher said expressionlessly, “I would say no.”

Thales smiled cautiously, a smile that was extremely unpleasant:
"So, hehe, hehe, do you have a choice?"

Marius looked at him coldly, just as he had at Starlake Castle, watching that silly puppy who always seemed to enjoy chasing birds and cats:

"No."

(End of this chapter)