Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 675 is too much of a loss.

A few seconds later, Thales reacted quickly and instinctively tried to shield Hilly behind him, but she was faster—Ms. Kevin Deer pulled her left arm away from Thales's grasp and then tightly tucked her hand under her right armpit so that no one could see.

It's like hiding your ugliest secret.

Or perhaps they bury their most precious treasures.

Her movements were so swift and powerful, it was as if Thales had a red-hot branding iron in his hand.

But it's not over yet.

"Do you think her right hand is the same? I heard the doctor say that they usually grow in pairs!"

The murmurs among the crowd grew louder and more unrestrained:
"What about her feet? Could she also have six toes?"

"There might be a tail..."

"Alas!"

"Hehe, she doesn't have three breasts, does she? Like that weirdo circus we saw in Vine City back in the day..."

"The priest was right after all. Thieves have three hands, but magicians have six fingers!"

"The parents must have done something wrong, and the sunset is punishing them."

"It must be a grave mistake made by our ancestors or family!"

"I know, I know! They say only people who have committed the heinous crime of incest can give birth to such deformed children!"

Hearing the growing chatter in the crowd, Hilly looked fearfully at her left hand buried under her right armpit, then at the fearful yet curious looks on everyone's faces. Listening to the whispers among them, she began to tremble uncontrollably.

"No, no, no..."

In that instant, Hillary seemed to suddenly struggle to breathe; she gasped for air in fear, as if she were drowning.

And the gloves—the gray gloves that Hilly never parted with—one of them was lying on the ground at this moment.

Shriveled and dirty.

Powerless and alone.

There is also a fifth finger cot, which is slightly larger than the other four.

"Pah, so he's a deformed person."

Lagno said dismissively:
"Six fingers, no wonder they're so dexterous."

“Shut up!” Thales interrupted him angrily, pulling off his coat and wrapping it around Hilly’s waist, covering her arms.

But he discovered, with a sense of helplessness and pain, that he only had one coat.

There is only one.

"Is this what a sinner is?"

"I've seen people like that before; they'll be locked up in jail and forced to chant scriptures day and night to atone for their sins!"

"I heard from the elders back home that only people who were kissed by a demon in the womb will have fingers like that; it's a bad omen..."

"How could someone like that be born? They should be smothered to death as soon as they're born to avoid disaster!"

"I've heard that in the ten Far Eastern countries, such deformed cadavers can be eaten as medicine!"

"Holy crap, are people from the Far East really this wild?"

"No wonder her brother is so poor..."

"That girl is so pitiful, she must have had a very hard life..."

"We have to help her! We have to get the priest of sunset to exorcise the evil spirits from her!"

"Deserve it!"

"Get away from her, you'll be in trouble!"

Amid the murmurs, the middle-aged woman who had just been helping Hillary perform her magic trick and couldn't help but speak up for her was startled. Her face turned pale, and she hurriedly pushed through the crowd, leaving without looking back.

Lagno, who had just pulled off Hilly's glove, was taken aback. He rubbed his hands together in disgust, as if they were filthy.

Thales sensed he had to do something, so he turned around:

"Xi-Wyana? Are you... are you alright?"

Hilly slowly raised her head and glanced at him.

Those eyes were calm and expressionless, dull and numb.

This girl was completely devoid of her usual liveliness, domineering nature, and vitality.

But that lifeless glance was like a nail, forcibly burying all the words Thales wanted to say into his throat.

Nailed between flesh and blood.

"Hurry up, get away from them..."

"But I want to see it one more time..."

"What are you looking at? Aren't you disgusted?!"

"Just one look, it's a rare sight, not something you see often..."

"She won't let you see it..."

"She's a street performer, we can just give her some more money..."

Amidst the disgusted, curious, and even gossipy pointing and whispering of a crowd, Hilly lowered her head deeply. She slowly squatted down, her left hand tightly wrapped around Thales' coat, while her right hand—firmly gloved—slowly, laboriously, and little by little reached down.

Pick up the glove from the ground.

It's like picking up one's last shred of dignity.

Thales stared blankly at all of this.

Say something, Thales.

Don't just stand there.

Say something!

Say anything that will make her feel better!
talk!

Damn it! Thales, how come you can't say a single word!

Where is your eloquence? The eloquence that can confuse a cunning vampire, stop a fighting Exterans, and turn an angry king into an ally!

They're all fucking liars!

Speak up, speak up!
Are you fucking an idiot?!

At that moment, Thales was trembling; he realized how clumsy and tongue-tied he was.

Everyone's eyes remained fixed on Hillay, as if it were the rarest and most precious foreign exhibition in the world.

Even in the distance, Slimani sat in the barber's chair in the shop.

why.

Why are they all staring at her?

why?
Is it really that good-looking?

Really!
Those bastards.

Fuck!
In that instant, seeing Hilly struggling to her feet, Thales finally understood: he couldn't bring himself to speak to her.

But there's at least one thing he can still do.

The next second, Thales, having made up his mind, took a deep breath and forced himself to put on a smile.

"That's right, everyone!"

Thales spun forward, blocking Hilly's path while spreading his arms to draw everyone's attention.

"There's a hidden mechanism in Wyanna's gloves!"

His lips maintained a wide curve, like a circus clown:
"That would allow her to perform amazing magic tricks!"

After many people dispersed, a chorus of boos and jeers erupted from the sparse crowd.

Hilly flinched, and she looked up at Thales' performance with fear and confusion.

"But it does not matter!"

Thales laughed loudly:

"I am Wyatt, the true heir of a family of magicians! I am far more powerful than my sisters!"

The boy, dressed in only a thin shirt, turned around and raised his hands to show everyone:
"These hands of mine aren't wearing gloves! But I can still perform amazing magic tricks!"

The barber, Lagno, was taken aback:
"Hey, you fucking dare to stay here—"

But Thales pointed at him:
"This is Mr. Lagno!"

The boy was radiant, as if he were standing not on a street, but on the most magnificent theater stage in the world.
"Your money pouch is red, isn't it? And there's an 'R' on it? Inside there's a bunch of copper coins, over twenty silver coins, even two gold coins and a bunch of large-denomination banknotes. Wow, you're really rich! Are you managing the books for the boss?"

“How did you know—hey, don’t try anything funny,” Lagno frowned, reaching for his clothes. “I’m telling you—”

But his expression immediately changed drastically!

"Damn it! You stole my purse!"

Thales forced a smile and looked at him with a grin: "Nothing of the sort!"

Lagno gritted his teeth and beckoned his companions to roll up their sleeves and charge forward:

"It was you! I knew you were thieves the moment we were scuffing each other—"

But Thales raised his hand at the opportune moment:

No! I know the color of your purse, because I saw it!

"Look at you, you bastard..."

Thales pointed to the top of Lagno's head:
"There it is!"

In that instant, everyone turned their heads and froze.

"Stop talking nonsense! Give me back my purse, or I'll beat you up like your sisters—"

Lagno threatened him, but then froze when he turned around.

Across the street, a red, heavy money bag hung conspicuously on a clothesline extending from the roof, swaying in the wind.

what?
Lagno rubbed his eyes hard, looked at the distance from here to the clothesline, and couldn't believe it.

And he wasn't the only one.

"Wow!"

"Mommy, he's amazing!"

A gasp of amazement erupted from the crowd, no less than that during Hilla's performance earlier.

"Holy crap, is it real? It's that far?"

When did he hang it up?

"Did they throw it over there? While we weren't looking?"

"You can throw that accurately?"

"I know that experts at the Extreme Realm can do it!"

"So, this Wyman Magician is at the pinnacle?" Some even began to doubt Lagno:

"Hey buddy, you're not a shill, are you? How much for one time?"

"As expected of the older brother, he's truly inherited the skills; his magic is a bit better than his sister's..."

"Aren't you the barber across the street? Are you working as a shill on the side?"

Hilly had just put on her gloves when she saw this scene and couldn't help but frown.

"You, when did you... how did you do that?" Lagno asked in astonishment.

“I told you!” Thales shrugged. “I’m not a thief. My sister and I are from a family of magicians! Our magic skills have been passed down through generations!”

Lagno felt he had been fooled:
"Damn it! Tell me! What did you do? Superpowers? Throwing it over there? Or were you in cahoots with the rest of the group?"

“Ah, the secret of magic,” Thales said with a grin, holding up a finger to his lips, “is threefold: first, do not delve too deeply; second, do not reveal it; and third, do not divulge it to anyone…”

“Four,” Thales blinked, “well, it’s about to fall.”

what?
Lagno was taken aback, but the next second, the money bag suddenly shattered into pieces, the coins inside tumbled out, and the vouchers scattered in the wind.

Lagno realized what was happening: "Damn it!"

Amidst the coins rolling on the ground, the crowd suddenly erupted, with many people unable to resist scattering to pick up the money—especially the dozen or so gold and silver coins that were rolling around.

"Don't pick it up! Don't! Don't! Who dares to steal money from Balta's Barber Shop?! Don't they want to die?"

Lagno roared furiously, warning the others while directing his companions to pick up the money: "Go get it! That's... the boss's!"

Thales stood aside, watching all of this calmly and innocently.

"you!"

Lagno turned around, gritted his teeth, pointed at Thales, and clenched his fist:

"Wyatt and Wyana, right? Okay, you're finished today. Wait for the boss to come back—"

“Okay, but when your boss comes back,” Thales replied calmly, pointing to the sky, “will he settle this score with me first, or that score?”

That debt...

Lagno paused, hesitated for a moment, snorted angrily at Thales, and finally pointed to the redemption ticket floating away in the sky, then ran to join the line of people looking for change:
"Forget about the money! You guys, go get the redemption tickets back first! That's the real deal!"

Seeing that the crowd and the barbers' attention had been diverted, Thales breathed a sigh of relief and turned back.

All right.

The hardest part is coming.

Facing Hillary, facing that hand... what should he say?
What should I say to make her...?

But he was overthinking it, because he wasn't the one who spoke first.

"Are you alright?" Hilly frowned, her eyes slightly red, but the gloom from before had vanished.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

"Me? Of course I'm fine!" He grinned, revealing his front teeth.

Hilly stared at him intently, as if she were seeing Thales for the first time.

After a long pause, Hilly sighed and handed the coat and hat—which she had taken from backstage at the theater—back to Thales.

"But you have a nosebleed."

Thales was startled and quickly covered his mouth and nose!
Oops.

I really have a nosebleed!
He... he just did a tiny little trick—what Ashida called a "magic trick"!

Not so!

No, no, the most important thing now is not to arouse suspicion!
"Oh, this," Thales said hastily, wiping away the blood from his nose, making his face even more of a mess, while trying to find an excuse, "Oh, I took some medicine that makes my nose bleed a lot these past few days..."

Hilly squinted, her face full of disbelief.

“Well,” Thales sighed, “you know, I just saw a pretty girl, and I couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times. I got all excited and started to get aroused.”

Hilly was silent for a moment:

"The youngest girl in the crowd was a little girl who was only three feet tall, and the second youngest was the middle-aged woman who was holding her hand."

Thales' eyelids twitched.

"I, I'm telling the truth!"

Thales felt that the more he wiped the blood from his nose, the worse it got, just as the loopholes in his excuse kept widening: "You're a girl too, so you didn't notice, but I really saw it! Right in front of me, wow, that girl was really pretty..."

But before he could finish speaking, Hilly pulled out a handkerchief and slapped it hard across his face.

"what!"

Thales hissed in pain and ripped the handkerchief off his face, revealing, unsurprisingly, a bloodstain shaped like a human face.

"Next time you're going to say something sweet, please find something less corny, otherwise it'll sound like harassment."

Hilly turned away coldly:

"Especially knowing that I'm not that pretty."

Now it was Thales' turn to be taken aback.

what?
"I……"

What do you mean? She's not that pretty?
"Also, you can say this in private. Don't let my brother hear it, or he'll go crazy."

The next second, Thales reacted instantly, waving his handkerchief in alarm.

"no……"

I wasn't talking about you!
I was really just making excuses, not saying sweet nothings!

But just as Thales was racking his brains to explain, Hilly suddenly took a deep breath.

“Hey,” the Kevin Deer girl spoke, her voice tinged with melancholy, “thank you for earlier.”

Thales, who was wiping his nosebleed, was taken aback by what he heard.

The two remained silent for a long time.

"You're welcome."

A few seconds later, Thales exhaled and smiled:
"Wyana, my dear sister, it's all for magic, isn't it?"

Hilly glanced at him sideways, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Thales wiped away most of the blood from his nose, hesitated about whether to return the soiled handkerchief to her, and finally, faced with Hilly's disgusted look, he had to change the subject to avoid embarrassment:

"Very good. Although the commotion was a bit loud, at least it dispelled the target's suspicions about us—"

Ok?
In that instant, Thales sensed something was wrong.

He turned his head suddenly!
Inside the barbershop, Slimani was still sitting in the same spot.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the target is still there...

"wrong."

Hilly frowned:

"The aura is off; that's not him."

Thales paused.

Something's not right?

What do you mean?
But the next second, he knew why: "Slimani" in the shop turned around from his chair, took off his scarf, and shrugged at Thales.

That's not him.

He was another employee at the barbershop.

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

Oops!

He turned his head left and right, searching the streets for any trace of his target.

What about people?

What about Slimani?
Where has he gone?
"Aaaaaah! Damn it, he got away!"

All his previous efforts were in vain, and Thales couldn't help but curse.

“Yes, and he didn’t just run away,” Hilly said with a grim face. “Suspicious as he is, he probably ran away when he had even the slightest suspicion about us.”

Damn it, Slimani, this defense attorney, why is he so vigilant?

And when exactly did he run away?
“Wait a minute,” Thales suddenly realized something and came to his senses, “those barbers, they weren’t there to cause trouble, kidnap anyone, or do anything about ‘underworld rules’.”

“That Lagno, his money bag,” Hilly said, looking at the shop across the street, his expression equally serious, “should contain his own coins, and the shopkeeper’s vouchers…”

“But there shouldn’t be so many gold and silver coins—it’s inconvenient to trade and useless on the streets,” Thales thought incredulously, “They were given to him by Slimani as payment for helping him escape.”

Thinking of this, the prince turned his head:

In the distance, the barber from the Blood Bottle Gang, who had just found a ticket, turned around and gave him a triumphant smile from afar.

That expression seemed to say, "Kid, you're still too green to fool me."

Fuck!
“They’re coming for us. It’s a diversionary tactic, a misdirection,” Hilla sighed, concluding, “to create an opportunity for Slimani to escape secretly and shake off our pursuit.”

"Ahhh! Damn it!"

After facing reality, Thales angrily clenched his fist.

Slimani, a hard-won clue, their closest lead to the wool merchant's death, their closest lead to Jann's weakness, just like that, just like that, slipped from their hands...

Lost.

Thales sighed, somewhat frustrated:
"There's no other way, we can only go back first and then think of a solution later..."

"He can't go far!"

Hilly suddenly spoke:
"Come with me, let's keep chasing."

"How do we chase after them? We only have—"

"Find a way to catch up!" Hilly shouted, interrupting him.

After saying that, the young lady of the Iris family grabbed Thales and headed towards another street corner without stopping.

Cecilia Kevindir's resolute and unwavering gaze surprised Thales, who was accepting reality.

"You mean, seriously?"

"Of course! No matter where that defense attorney runs, even if he runs into the Palace of Restoration, out of the Sea of ​​Ending, up to the Kingdom of God and down to the River of Hell, you must catch him!"

Hilly gritted her teeth, touching her gray gloves, her gaze cold and sharp:
"Otherwise, I'd be fucking ripped off today!"

Thales stared at her with a mixture of surprise and disbelief; this was the first time he had seen Hilly like this.

"These disgusting thugs."

Hilaire stared intently at the barbershop across the street, at the men inside:

"I curse them all, may every single one of them go to hell!"

(End of this chapter)