Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 677 Long-Term Leave of Absence

Finally, after what seemed like the umpteenth wave of vomiting, Hilly finally stopped feeling nauseous, and the young lady of the Kevin Deer family leaned shakily against the wall.

Thales also suppressed his nausea and tried to stay away from the large pool of filth.

Hmm, it's a half-digested steak—damn it, why did he even think of that!
And so, amidst the mess, filth, and pungent odor, Thales and Hilly, both weak, sat back to back against the wall on the ground, trembling.

"Don't worry, I'll give the homeowner some extra money for cleaning."

"Is this the key? Oh, my clothes..."

"They're not yours; you took them from the theater."

Thales didn't have time to argue with her; his body ached to the extreme, and he felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to faint on the spot.

"What's wrong with you—hmm?"

"What, what, happened to you again?" Hillary wiped her lips in a disheveled manner, her voice broken and weak, like a terminally ill patient.

Thales tried his best to come up with a reason:
"My nose is bleeding too much..."

"My menstrual flow is too heavy..."

Both of them scoffed at the same time.

They turned around with difficulty, and through their shoulders, they caught a glimpse of each other's profiles out of the corner of their eyes.

"You think—hmm—I'd believe that?"

Despite their individual hardships and suffering, their eyes were filled with contempt and disdain, clearly indicating that neither believed the other's story.

"Me... same."

But then they both remembered something and were startled at the same time!
"Turn left after leaving the shop, go straight to the third intersection, then turn right, go straight to the second intersection, then turn left into the alleyway with the stone wall on the left..."

"The third alleyway on Regina Street, near the fork in the road next to Milton's Pawnshop!"

Thales said painfully:

"Slimani! He's running off again!"

Hilly gritted her teeth weakly and resentfully:

"Not yet! There's still time!"

Before Thales could retort, the extreme discomfort and exhaustion caused him to feel dizzy again.

No, they stumbled and struggled all the way here, finally managing to catch up...

Are we just going to give up like this?
If I had known, I would have preferred to have Marius send someone...

Just then, Hilly shakily reached out and placed a small glass medicine bottle, about the size of a finger, into Thales's hand.

"Drink this, immediately, quickly."

Thales opened his eyes a crack: the liquid in the glass bottle was dark and murky, with a lot of sediment.

"What is this color—damn, this smell is stronger than your breakfast! What the hell is this stuff, cooked in shit?" Thales had just uncorked the plug when he turned his head away in pain.

"you--"

Already feeling weak and unwell, Hilly was annoyed by his words and retorted irritably, "It's an aphrodisiac!"

Thales was stunned, then speechless with anger:

Why didn't you just say it was a birth control pill?

Hilly was amused and annoyed. She snorted, shook her head, and without a word, grabbed the bottle.
"Yes, it's an aphrodisiac and a contraceptive. Do you want to drink it?"

The girl held up the medicine bottle, her expression grim, as if she was struggling to suppress the urge to vomit.

The boy stared at the indignant Hillary for several seconds, then finally seemed to understand something and gave a helpless smile.

Grass.

The next second, Thales took a deep breath, grabbed the medicine bottle, and poured it directly into his mouth!
"Ah! No, wait a minute!"

Hilly was horrified and snatched the bottle away before Thales could finish the potion:
"Half is enough! It's too expensive!"

As soon as Thales' mouth left the bottle, he was overwhelmed by the pungent smell—he didn't know if it was Hilly's breakfast or the medicine, but they were probably comparable—making him feel nauseous and gasp for breath.

Damn it, he should have gotten a glass of water first!

"You, you drank it already?" Hilly coughed weakly.

Thales gasped for breath, savoring the unpleasant taste in his mouth:
"Yes! Aphrodisiacs, contraception, or letting Slimani run away—do I have a choice?"

The medicine already had an unpleasant smell, and it became even more colorful in the mouth.

Holy crap, what the hell is that smell?!

A wave of nausea washed over him, and Thales couldn't help but spit out a few mouthfuls of air.

Hilly frowned as she looked at him.

A few seconds later, the young lady seemed to understand something. She turned around, leaned against Thales, and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?"

But before Thales could finish speaking, the pale-faced Hilly tilted her head back and drank the remaining half bottle of potion in one gulp.

Thales squinted at her.

"Aphrodisiacs?"

“Yes,” Hilly put away the empty bottle, gagged a few times, and said weakly with a sarcastic tone, “It’s specifically designed to cure your bad habits.”

Thales was speechless with anger.

But before he could react, Hilly struggled to get up.

“Stand up, no matter how uncomfortable it is,” Hilly said through gritted teeth. “The main effect of this medicine is to numb the pain and relieve aches and pains, while also replenishing a lot of energy. It requires us to move around to work its magic.”

Numbness, pain, and relief from aches and pains...

Thales sighed, enduring the aches and pains all over his body, and used one hand to support himself against the wall while holding Hilly's hand with the other.

Hilly glanced at him but said nothing.

The two supported each other, leaning against the wall for support, and managed to stand up.

But the moment he stood up, Thales seemed to have a strange feeling:
The aches and burning sensations in his body lessened, and breathing became less difficult.

Huh?
"This is……"

“An aphrodisiac, and a contraceptive at the same time,” Hilly said coldly, her voice much more forceful.

Ok.

Thales curled his lip.

Although her complexion had become a bit rosier, she was still very vengeful.

A few seconds later, after they cleaned themselves of the filth (as for the filth on the ground, Hilly believed she had given the homeowner ample compensation), walked out of the room, down the stairs, and onto the street again, Thales felt as lively as ever.

Without a doubt, they were—Thales was amazed at the state of their bodies—recovering at an incredible speed.

"Where did that bottle of medicine come from? Do you have any more?"

Hilai coldly replied, "No, it was made through special channels, and the materials were precious."

And disgusting.

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"...As for you, don't even think about it," the girl from the Kevin Deer family shook her head. "All drugs that seem highly effective but actually violate the laws of nature are harmful and represent an overdraft of bodily functions."

“Believe me, with its taste, nobody wants to drink it again,” Thales retorted.

Overdrawing on bodily functions?

Thales suddenly remembered the River of Hell's ability to accelerate self-healing—in Black Sword terms, that would shorten one's lifespan.

But sometimes...

Thales touched the bone in his left arm that had been broken by the Meteorite and was now growing crooked.

Sometimes, he has no choice.

“This way,” Thales said through gritted teeth, “Slimani is panicking and has stumbled, which will affect his speed. Maybe we can still catch up.”

“I know the alley he went into,” Hilly said in a low voice. “It’s difficult to navigate in there, but there’s a shortcut here that we can use to intercept him if we’re lucky.”

As soon as pedestrians approached the two, their expressions changed, and they all covered their noses and walked away, which annoyed Thales, but it also saved him a lot of trouble.

Thales remembered the route drawn in Hell's Senses, while Hilly knew it almost like the back of her hand. As they got closer to their destination, both of them felt healthier and quickened their pace.

"How did you pinpoint Slimani's location? What were you doing in the storeroom just now?" Thales asked suspiciously.

"Then what were you doing outside just now?" Hilly glared at him.

The two were silent for a while.

“Magic, medicine bottles, breaking into houses, and this ability to find your way around,” Thales muttered. “Tell me, Wyana sisters, how many more mysteries are there surrounding you?”

“Not many, at least not as many as your mysteries—eavesdropping, magic, nosebleeds, and the same methods of finding your way around—Brother Wyatt,” Hilla retorted.

Thales and Hilly exchanged annoyed glances as they walked.

It seems that both of them have their own secrets that they don't want others to know.

But a few seconds later, they seemed to understand something and both smiled with relief.

"Fuck you, Huaiana," Thales said helplessly, shaking his head.

Hilly didn't bother to respond and simply gave him the middle finger.

"Hey, that's mine—wait, how do you know that gesture?"

“I’ve seen it, I’ve seen that mute guy next to you do it to Wyman—'some' Wyman.”

"Ha, I knew it, you imitated it wrong."

"Impossible, I remember it very clearly: the middle finger was sticking out."

"That's true for us, but you have six fingers!"

boom!
Hilay gave him a hard elbow, making the self-righteous Thales wince in pain.

“No one has ever dared to joke about this with me!” Hilly gritted her teeth.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Thales apologized quickly. “I just thought, I thought it would be better than… better than deliberately avoiding it or not mentioning it.”

His voice trailed off:

"Feel sorry."

Hilly gave him a deep look and continued on her way.

The two hurried on their way in silence.

"Don't you have any questions?"

Thales snapped back to reality:
"What? What are you asking?"

“Ask, ask,” Hillary paused, touching her gloves, and began with difficulty, “My hands?”

There was another moment of silence between them.

Finally, before Thales could tear his hair out in his mind, he racked his brains and figured out how to respond.

“Oh, that?” the prince laughed heartily, seemingly unconcerned. “What’s so special about that? One of my ancestors was a king whose nickname was ‘Eight Fingers’…”

Hillary rolled her eyes at him.

“I know the Eight-Fingered King, but you know: my situation is different from his! He was a healthy, normal person who lost his life while hunting…”

"Hey!"

Thales quickened his pace to catch up with Hilly:
"So what? You're only one finger more than me, more than a 'normal person'..."

“There are four,” Hilly said sullenly, looking at her hands. “Both my hands are affected, and so are my feet—when I was little, almost every doctor I saw said they were connected to bones and nerves, and that cutting them off directly might damage the whole hand…”

"very good!"

Thales interrupted her, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, trying to lighten the mood: "What I need to do with one hand, you can do with five-sixths of your hand. That's an advantage!"

Hilaire snorted and curled her lip in disdain: "Stiff and hypocritical."

Okay, maybe a little.

Thales realized he had used too much force and had no choice but to shut up.

They turned into a side alley that Thales found familiar: it was one of the places his Hellish Senses had described to him earlier.

“I heard that when I was born, a Sunset Priest said that it was an ominous sign or a bad omen, a punishment from the Sunset for the entire family, or at least a warning,” Hillay said absentmindedly.

A bad omen, a disastrous consequence.

I paused for a moment.

His memory drifted back to the prison of bones, to the dark, sunless depths where Saxeel's words to Yodl echoed in his ears once more:

[Does King Kessel know... that the evil flower of many years ago has borne bitter fruit?]

Thales took a deep breath, forced a smile, and raised his hands to Hilly:

"Look, my hand is intact—well, at least it looks normal."

“Yes, I know, ‘normal people,’” Hilly sneered. “So what?”

Thales forced a smile.

"I mean, I was born with my hands and feet intact, but that didn't seem to stop the Sunset Goddess from punishing the Starry Royal Family."

Hilly's eyes flickered.

"So, whatever bad omens, ominous signs, or terrible consequences, just let them die," Thales said with a smile.

Hilly stared at him for a long time, then walked past a closed "Milton Honesty Pawnshop" and turned into a quiet side street. "But a lot of people don't think that way," she whispered. "You saw the reactions of those people on the street, didn't you?"

Thales' smile narrowed slightly.

"Is that why you've always lived a secluded life since you were a child?"

“This is a stain on the family,” Miss Kevin Deer said with a hint of sarcasm. “My parents, they have to be… very careful, from my coming-of-age ceremony to my engagement, to every occasion where I appear in public, well, maybe even my funeral—you know, from childhood, the purchase of women’s gloves has been a major expense that my father entrusted to Ashford to manage, a top secret.”

A stain on the family.

Thales remained silent for a moment.

"this is not your fault."

Hilly shrugged: "I know, I figured it out a long time ago, this, this isn't my fault..."

The girl raised her hands and waved them, her gaze fixed on the finger guard on her little finger.

"But what they brought, what they gave me, what they transformed me into..."

Hilly's gaze drifted away, then slowly refocused.

What they brought, what they gave me, what they transformed me into…

As Thales listened to her words, he unconsciously gripped his left hand: in the middle of his palm, the scar left by repeated cuts became even more prominent.

It cannot be eliminated.

"Do you know why, why I don't get along with the Karabyan twins at all?"

The second prince snapped out of his reverie: "Yes, I've heard something: you frightened them when you were a child?"

Hilaire gave a cold laugh.

"When I was little, they discovered... my hand."

Thales did not speak.

“Of course, they laughed at me, despised me, and tried to control me,” Hilly waved her hands, her eyes flashing with a fierce look, “and I fought back, fought back hard.”

fight back……

“So they isolated me, ostracized me, formed cliques, and spoke ill of me at the ball…” Hilla continued, “and I continued to fight back.”

Continue to retaliate...

Thales frowned.

"In the end, things got really bad, all the way to my father's generation, until my father and Count Kassa and Qina reached an agreement. Kassa and Qina were ordered to reflect on their actions and be disciplined strictly. They were also ordered to secretly swear before the Sunset Statue that they would never reveal Kevin Deer's scandal, my... situation, well, to anyone else."

Thales understood.

Therefore, your relationship will never be good again.

"As a price for 'retaliating,' I was sent to the Temple of Sunset."

“It’s nominally etiquette and religious education, but it’s not,” Hilla said sarcastically. “It’s exorcism.”

Thales looked up in surprise:
"Exorcism?"

“Yes, to drive away the ‘demons’ within me,” Hilla sneered, “whether it’s the extra four fingers and toes, or the manic, vicious, dark, and narrow-minded personality that I had when I was eight years old, screaming and beating my twin sisters until they bled.”

Drive away the demons.

“I…” Thales hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.

But Hilla simply shook her head and continued with a cold laugh:
"And one of the methods of exorcism... you know, priests believe that fire is the embers of the setting sun, one of the blessings of the goddess of the setting sun on earth, so it has a miraculous effect on demons and sorcery, and on unclean things, right?"

“I know a little, ‘Appearance in fire, disillusionment before the gods,’” Thales thought of something, his expression suddenly changing, “Wait, fire? Exorcism? You?”

Hilly gave a bitter laugh.

“Yes,” she said, gently pulling down the glove that reached her forearm to reveal the skin on her wrist, “a flame, and a blessed silver flame.”

Thales stared blankly at the skin on Hilly's wrist: uneven, with varying shades, and an unsightly reddish hue.

“After a period of education, they, well, the priests of the Temple of Sunset, have finally determined,” Hilly pulled up his gloves, his tone eerily calm, “that perhaps, perhaps it wasn’t the work of a demon, or perhaps the demon was simply too well hidden.”

The round-faced girl gave a soft hum, then turned to Thales, her bright eyes sparkling with a smile:
"It's so bad that I can't cure it."

flame.

Exorcising evil spirits.

It's incurable...

As Thales listened to each word, he felt a silence settle in his chest.

"How old were you when you were sent there?"

“Eight years old,” Hilla said without changing her expression, as if she were telling someone else’s story, “just learning to tie her skirt.”

Eight years old.

Thales felt a sharp pain in his heart.

“But, but your father is the Duke of the South Bank…”

“So he has to win over the people,” Hillay said, his expression somber, “for the sake of the family, for the sake of Emerald City.”

For the family, for Emerald City.

Even if it's...my own daughter.

Thales felt his chest getting heavier and heavier, so heavy that he couldn't breathe.

Several seconds later, Thales let out a sigh of relief.

“You know, when my uncle was alive, he could only use a wheelchair,” he said calmly, no longer feigning ease. “Someone tried to cure him, but he said…”

Thales's eyes focused:
"Even without legs, he can stand up and be a complete person."

Hilly was silent for a moment: "Your uncle sounds like a very capable person."

"I don't know, I've never seen him."

“But you, Cecilia Kevindeer,” Thales said softly, “even with a few more fingers, you can still get up and continue 'Wyana's' charlatan pranks, right?”

Hilly remained silent.

Thales took a deep breath:

"Hey, listen, they can't cure you because—"

The girl suddenly interrupted him, her tone cold and indignant:
"Because I'm not sick at all, so I don't need treatment?"

She sneered, "Please, I've heard those kinds of comforting platitudes hundreds of times since I was a child—"

“No, they can’t cure you,” Thales denied. “It’s because of ‘they,’ ‘they’ can’t cure you.”

"And you can? Great Physician Thales?" Hilly sneered.

Thales looked at her silently and gently shook his head.

"Under normal circumstances, I might say some comforting platitudes: whatever fate gives us, it is a gift from it."

Thales looked up at the bustling streets of Emerald City.

“But then I realized,” he said absentmindedly, his expression blank, “maybe, maybe they weren’t all gifts.”

Hilly was somewhat surprised.

“That’s right,” she said, coming to her senses and looking at her hands with a sorrowful expression. “It’s not all gifts.”

Thales took a deep breath.

“But they belong to us, and only to us,” “and have nothing to do with ‘them’ or anyone else.”

At that moment, Thales's gaze was resolute:
"It belongs only to us."

Hillary gazed at him silently.

The next second, Thales followed the road he remembered, turned a corner, and stopped.

They arrived.

In the alley ahead of them, their target—Slimani—left them with an awkward silhouette.

The defense attorney was now leaning against the wall, limping forward.

The timing is perfect.

Thales smirked, exchanged a glance with Hilly, and nodded.

But just before Thales could speak, another voice rang out from the other side—in front of Slimani:

“Slimani, the great lawyer, right? We’ve been looking for you for ages.”

Thales's expression changed, and he quickly grabbed Hilly and hid in a pile of junk nearby.

"You, you guys..."

Slimani's tone was initially fearful, but he quickly calmed down:
"You want money, right? Ah, I know. According to the laws of Emerald City, you're not robbing or extorting. You're just, well, just collecting a little 'toll.' I know this area is under Sangare's control, and I know the rules, so I'll give it to you..."

“This has nothing to do with money, and nothing to do with the Blood Bottle Gang,” but the person blocking his way disappointed him. “It only has to do with you, Mr. Slimani.”

Thales frowned, instantly entering a state of hellish sensory perception:

There were three people in front of Slimani, each armed, and... possessing the power of termination.

Perhaps he is the final swordsman.

“Unregistered military swords are not allowed in Emerald City… Who are you working for?” Slimani tried his best to remain calm.

Military swords.

Thales and Hilly exchanged a glance.

Oops.

It seems the visitor has ill intentions.

“I heard you went to a barbershop to ask about things you shouldn’t have,” the swordsman blocking the way sneered. “Now, lawyer, would you please come with me?”

"I, I, I..."

Slimani realized something and quickly pulled out his talisman: "Actually, I have another case to handle, the guard room and the courtroom, uh, especially since Grand Inquisitor Brennan is waiting for my reply today..."

"About that dead wool merchant, right?" another swordsman interrupted him coldly.

Diop, a wool merchant.

Thales frowned.

It seems... we've found the right person.

“Don’t worry, sir,” the first swordsman chuckled, “they can wait, whether it’s the guard room or the courtroom.”

Slimani snapped back to his senses, and pointed tremblingly at the swordsmen before him:

"You, you guys..."

"As for Judge Brennan, well, don't worry, we can pass on your message to him."

The leading swordsman was very confident:
"Whether it's your reply letter or a long-term leave request."

Long-term leave request form...

Slimani's face turned pale instantly.

"He, he can't, he can't... I didn't, I didn't!"

The leading swordsman sneered:

"there is nothing?"

Slimani turned around to run away, but he forgot that he had just injured his leg and fell to the ground with a thud.

“I didn’t do it,” the defense attorney cried, tears streaming down his face, crawling on the ground in terror. “I wouldn’t dare do anything to betray the Iris family! Your Grace, you can’t do this to me!”

The swordsmen exchanged smiles and slowly approached Slimani.

"Of course, Attorney, you wouldn't dare betray the iris."

Slimani's eyes widened:
"No, please, please, I didn't know on purpose, I just found out by accident..."

The leading swordsman's gaze was cold as he revealed the hilt of his sword:
"Unfortunately, we don't dare to either."

In the dark alley, Hilly gave Thales an inquiring look.

"They want to silence us, what should we do?" the young lady whispered in his ear.

Thales nodded.

"Those are your brother's men. Hide well, and when the opportunity arises, take him and escape. The rest..."

Hilly raised an eyebrow.

The swordsmen were getting closer and closer to Slimani.

Damn.

The prince sighed.

Why are the Xinghu Guards never around when something like this happens?
Thales reached for the JC dagger behind him, feeling its cold, hard material, and a familiar yet strange feeling welled up inside him.

The dagger was drawn, its blade icy cold.

Long time no see, old friend.

Do you miss me?

The next moment, the Sin of the River of Hell blazed forth, bringing endless heat and pain.

(End of this chapter)