Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 80 Southrest's Proposal

At dawn, on the road leading to the North Gate of Yongxing City, a group of city defense soldiers discreetly kept their distance from the people in the open space ahead and consciously prevented others from approaching.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to openly murder a prince in the capital."

Duke Gustav Nanthrist, the guardian of the Clifflands, stood tall in the middle of the road, flicked the snow off his cloak covering the giant stag emblem, and said coldly:
"I just want to see him."

He stood before the long convoy of vehicles, looking at the wary private soldiers of the Star Guardians, awaiting their master's reply.

Gilbert stepped down from the carriage, frowning as he looked at the giant stag carriage parked not far away, the guards of the Southtrist family, and another carriage in the distance marked with a tricolor iris.

“Duke of Southrest, if you wish to see the delegation off, you may wait at the North Gate... It is hardly the conduct befitting a lord of a region to intercept them on the way.”

“It’s not just me,” Kusder said, his face grim, pointing to the carriage in the distance, “but also the iris boy.”

Gilbert quickly considered the current situation.

“We all know that although he is only seven or eight years old, he is no ordinary child,” Gosd said impatiently, flicking his cloak. “Pass the message to the second prince and let him make the decision.”

A child's voice came from the third carriage:
“It’s alright, Gilbert! Let me handle it.”

Thales opened the car door and, accompanied by a tense-looking Wyatt Cassel and a terrified Midila Rolf, calmly walked up to Kosted.

Kusder looked at the child with a complicated expression and gestured toward the roadside.

Thales took a deep breath, nodded, waved to the attendant and the Wind-Walking Ghost, and followed Kosd to the side of the road.

"What kind of show is this now?" Lord Putila, the thin deputy envoy of the delegation and the prince's tutor, stepped down from the carriage impatiently, as if a beautiful morning had been disturbed.

Gilbert shook his head: "Royal infighting."

"So peaceful?" Putila squinted at the two figures of the Duke of Cliffland and the Second Prince, one tall and one short, in the distance.

“Peace?” Gilbert frowned and glanced at his old friend.

“It’s so peaceful I’m almost crying,” Putila said with a sneer. “You should go to the Eastern Continent, to the Qilin Holy City, and see the infighting between the Chen clan, the eunuchs, and the nobles in the Su Ye Dynasty—of course, you’ve never been there, so it’s normal that you’re not knowledgeable.”

Gilbert exhaled through his nose in dissatisfaction, unable to find any effective words to refute him.

Damn bard.

Thales looked at the Duke of the Giant Horned Deer with an unfriendly expression and pondered the other party's intentions.

He must have come with some purpose.

But we are already destined to be enemies.

Be vigilant.

“I didn’t expect you to be the first one to arrive,” Thales murmured.

Kusder gave a soft snort.

“I don’t want to see you in front of so many people… Falkenhausen’s sarcastic remarks are too annoying,” the one-eyed man stared at him coldly, “Kid, I know you’re smart—enough with the nonsense, listen to me…”

“I don’t like you—no one has ever dared to call me a hypocrite.”

Thales shrugged helplessly: "So what do you want me to call you? Liar? Fraudster?"

Or... a talented actor? A movie star? Master Yue?

Kushder ignored his words, his blind left eye scar grotesque:

"But I can still set aside my prejudices. In the future, Cliffland will fully support you in becoming the supreme king, suppressing those restless nobles and treacherous lords—the Giant Horned Deer will serve you as their master, and Radiant Star will remain the royal family."

Thales paused for a moment.

what?
“I thought,” Thales’s brow twitched, “that the giant antler deer was my sworn enemy.”

But Köst ignored him.

"There is only one condition," the one-eyed man said firmly.

“As expected,” Thales, who had been startled by the one-eyed man’s unusual behavior, breathed a sigh of relief: “You wouldn’t be so friendly to me for no reason.”

“War always comes in price, and victory always comes in reward.” Kusder squinted his only eye: “This is the family motto of the Southtrod family.”

The second prince looked up and met the gaze of the one-eyed dragon.

"So, what 'price' do I have to pay to receive your 'reward'?" Thales asked cautiously, extremely wary.

“It’s very simple,” Kusder said sternly.
"His Majesty Kessel abdicates, and you are crowned king ahead of schedule."

Abdication... Coronation...

Varied……

what?
It took Thales three seconds to understand the sentence.

Then his expression changed drastically!
Kostedt showed no sign of joking and looked at him seriously the whole time.

The two stared at each other for a full five seconds.

"Ha, trying to sow discord between the only pair of Radiant Stars, father and son," Thales grinned. "Don't you know that everything I have now is thanks to His Majesty... Father?"

"This isn't provocation; it's a sincere offer and invitation." The one-eyed man's expression remained unchanged, his tone earnest.
“What we fear and loathe is not the Star, nor you—our grudges are nothing compared to the kingdom—but your father.”

"The Iron-Fisted King".

Thales stared intently at the one-eyed man.

"What do you think 'New Star' was formed for? Do you think Aaron's actions were really just due to personal hatred and resentment?" Kusder asked with unprecedented seriousness:

"This is all for the lords' self-preservation! For the survival of our families since the founding of the nation..."

"enough!"

Thales interrupted him without hesitation.

"Are you kidding me? This level of provocation..." Thales said coldly, "All I see is you relentlessly pressuring the calamized royal family, pressuring my father, questioning my identity, and obstructing my rightful rights..."

But the one-eyed man's expression changed, and he interrupted him loudly with a face full of anger!
He said, “Kid! If all you hear from the royalists is the story of the tragic king and the resolute royal family—you might as well gouge your eyes out and keep only your ears!”

Thales paused for a moment.

One-Eyed Dragon took a few breaths and said to him, word by word, "You underestimate your father, you underestimate the Iron-Fisted King, you underestimate the fear he instills in the stars."

Kusder said slowly:
“Since the Bloody Year, Kessel has become increasingly domineering, almost frantically seizing power.”

"By supporting a duchess of Blade's Edge who could only survive by relying on the prestige of the royal family, we indirectly controlled the two major families in the southwest—the Piranha, who controlled the kingdom's southwestern port, and the wealthiest Sunflower."

"He made an exception and recruited three generals to establish an astonishingly large standing army for the royal family."

"Then there's the Central Tax Act that weakens the major lords, the Periodic Conscription Act, and the Frontier Expansion Act that creates a large number of new nobles."

"And his favorite National Council—using the will of thousands of people to force the lords to submit and hand over power to the royal family. This was the case in the Desert Wars and in the succession to the throne. The high council, in which the lords spoke in unison, was a mere formality. When making decisions, only the king's voice and the cheers in the square could be heard."

"He even wanted to interfere in the succession of the six powerful families and thirteen prominent clans."

"Even the internal strife within the Kevin Deer family two years ago had his shadow in it."

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

What's this?
Kusder said with a gloomy face:

"Do you really think that when war is imminent, no one is willing to send troops for the king—is it because we disregard the lives of the stars?"

"Your father and his methods are terrifying."

"Let him run rampant for twenty years, and our nineteen noble families will be completely devoured, from power and wealth to status, people, and territory... We will either submit or be destroyed—the stars will return to the imperial system! With such a king, how can we not be terrified, how can we not resist, how can we not do everything we can to protect ourselves?"

Kushde's single eye blazed with fire as he took a menacing step forward:
“You see… the North has been forced to rebel, Blade's Edge Territory has almost become the royal domain, the South Coast Territory has been severely weakened by family feuds, the East Sea Territory has become a coward, and the Western Wilderness is struggling to protect itself by taking advantage of the importance of the western front,” he said with a stern and solemn look in his eyes: “And Cliff Territory does not want to sit idly by and wait for its demise.”

"The new star is using Exter's power to curb Kessel's monarchy—this is our last resort, with no other options but to rise up in rebellion."

Kusd gritted his teeth: "We didn't succeed, but that's a small matter..."

"But if Kessel continues to go his own way..."

Thales stared in shock at the Duke of Cliffland.

This was another version of what he had heard about the current state of the stars.

It was far different from the version Gilbert had instilled in him.

“The Bloody Year changed him, and Kessel is now like a true emperor,” Gosd said in a mournful voice, “wanting to dominate everything in this country.”

"He treated every lord as an enemy, showing no mercy in suppressing and scheming against them, and regarding the stars as his personal chariot, wielding the whip and spurs without restraint..."

"Those who can be used are bargaining chips, while those who cannot be used are suppressed and eliminated. Those who comply will prosper, and those who oppose will perish."

Thales frowned, recalling the questions raised by several earls about the king's authority at the beginning of the state council.

"This is not a good thing, whether for our lord, for Brilliant Star, or for the entire planet..."

"If this ancient land continues like this, it will inevitably lead to disaster sooner or later!" Kusd gritted his teeth, his single eye flashing like lightning:

"You are about to go to Exter, which is not a good mission... but it will allow you to see another side of the world and another side of the stars—to see how the children of the North Wind and the Dragon view us."

Thales lowered his head, trying to calm his breathing.

"Why did Tormund agree to co-rule with the lords? Wasn't it precisely because of the tyrannical rule of two generations of empires that it ultimately destroyed itself?"

Thales opened his mouth, but then swallowed the word "disaster."

He had a premonition that the end of the empire would not be as simple as the "catastrophic blow" Gilbert had described.

“If your goal is simply to become a tyrant like your father, and you are willing to pay the price of the stars falling,” Gosd turned sharply, pulling up his cloak, “then pretend I never said this today.”

The one-eyed dragon looked at Thales, who was deep in thought, his expression complex: "But you said that day... if you care about the stability and security of the stars, peace and prosperity... if that is your wish, and not to become the supreme and only king..."

"Then my proposal shall remain indefinitely valid."

The Duke of Southrest left with his final words, then turned and departed:
"Have a safe journey, and don't embarrass Xingchen."

Thales stared blankly as the one-eyed man left.

this person……

This is a completely different Kuusde from the Duke of Cliffland who pressured the king to appoint an heir at the state conference.

No, he told himself: this was all a trick by the other side, meant to tarnish Kessel's image and sow discord between him and his son...

And—a very ancient voice echoed in his mind.

The transition from feudal states to centralized, absolutist states was an inevitable path for almost all European countries…

But Thales still gently clenched his fist.

He looked up at the departing Kusder and the man who passed him by—Jann Kevin Deer.

“I hope I haven’t disturbed you.” Jann bowed politely.

“Not at all,” Kusder replied coldly. “I’ll be satisfied if you don’t fall for my tricks and don’t mistake me for the mastermind behind the assassination.”

Jann's expression froze as he watched Gosd board the carriage.

Thales, feeling utterly overwhelmed, sighed deeply, looked at Jenn, and asked irritably:
"What's the matter with you?"

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(End of this chapter)