Kingdom’s Bloodline

Miranda was silent for a long time, but her eyes never left the Duke of Xinghu in front of her, as if she was still getting used to Thales in this way.

"You said that you have no shortage of masters, even better than me?"

A few seconds later, Miranda said disdainfully:

"But as far as I know, that two-on-one duel..."

"Those are just the two weakest members of the Star Lake Guard."

Thales resolutely interrupted her to prevent the other party from revealing his old self, and at the same time felt sorry for Nexi and Bastia:

"Among other things, my personal guard captain, Lord Tormund Mallorce, who is known as the 'Terror Blade', can suppress both of them with just one hand."

In the study, Thales sneezed slightly and rubbed his nose.

"Terror, horror, sharp blade?" Miranda muttered the word with doubts on her face.

Thales is serious:

"That's the nickname of Lord Mallos, the people of the Northland, no, the people of the stars, um, I mean, the enemies who have suffered from him, whether they are the people of Exeter or the people of the stars , I call him that behind my back."

Miranda frowned.

Thales sneered:

"A little reminder: don't mention it to him face to face. Mallos doesn't like this nickname, and he won't admit it to death."

Miranda was thinking about something, her expression gradually became serious:

"The Mallos family used to belong to the Seven Stars, nicknamed 'Razor', I know that. But, the horror blade? So, Lord Mallos is good at swords? Or is it a short soldier dagger?"

Thales had to increase the frequency of coughing:

"Well, you might as well find him to discuss with him another day. But I warn you in advance, as the captain of my most trusted personal guard, Lord Mallos's martial arts are hidden and unfathomable, even the most powerful and terrifying in this world When a master fights against him, the outcome is only five or five."

"Why do I feel that you are exaggerating?"

"Where, I'm just emphasizing that the martial arts you are proud of are not uncommon here."

After hearing this, Miranda was silent for a while, but she quickly continued:

"It's not just martial arts."

"Considering the grievances and grievances between you and Duke Zhan En, Your Highness, no matter what your purpose is when you go to Emerald City, you will definitely be hindered everywhere, and it will not be smoother than in King's Capital and Dragon Clouds City."

Thales remained silent.

Actually, in Wangdu and Longxiao City... it didn't go very well.

But she was right, his goal in Emerald City, not to mention dangerous, was bound to be tricky.

He needs stronger hands.

"And we worked together in Dragon Clouds City, you know my abilities other than using swords."

Miranda's eyes became shrewd:

"For some difficult problems, entrusting them to me will be safer and more effective than entrusting them to Wyah and the mute, the kid from the Doyle family, or that big guy with a zombie face."

Wyatt and Rolf.

D.D and Glover.

Thales frowned when he remembered what happened that day at the Laiya Club on Red Square Street.

"Accept me, what you can get, and my identity and surname."

Seeing Thales's expression move slightly, Miranda continued to increase the size:

"Your Highness Thales, although you are the heir to the supreme throne, since the royal banquet and the accident of the prince breaking into the palace, you have touched the interests of many people. You are in a vortex, you are easily blamed, and you are drifting away from the Fuxing Palace. "

"So up to now, none of the princes with enough weight has dared to stand up and express their stance, categorically take refuge in you, support you, and endorse your due rights."

Thales turned his eyes:

"Perhaps you don't know, my current saber is the ancient family sword of the Duke of Xihuang; Cohen's cousin, Count Delecromar of Wing Castle, escorted me all the way back to the royal capital; Paul Bozdorf of the Lion Family is out there at the moment, on duty for my guard."

The Duke of Xinghu spread his hands indifferently:

"And their family gave me an extra-large nine-pointed star flag,

The workmanship is exquisite and the materials are full, and it floats with silver light, but it is majestic, I like it very much. "

Miranda thought for a while, and quickly found the corresponding memory:

"Paul Bozdorf? You mean the guy who was beaten into a pig's head with a broom on the first day he arrived in the capital?"

"It's not as serious as a pig's head, that is, a broken skin—wait, how do you know?"

Miranda sneered:

"But it is a pity that Paul's father, the Earl of Lewis, was in the prime of his life, neither imprisoned nor lost, and could not leave a huge power vacuum behind him, so that his heir would become the closest to the ruling, the hottest future earl."

"It's simple, just kill his father later." Thales didn't change his face and his heart didn't - he didn't jump so violently.

Miranda brushed off his bad sense of humor and was as serious as ever: "As for a sword and an escort—only a fool would think it was an unbreakable alliance of good faith."

Thales pouted.

Miranda stared sharply:

"But unlike other families, Arend's situation is special. The Duke of the North is in deep prison and has no hope of returning. With the throne vacant, my weight as his only daughter and first heir is extremely critical."

She steps forward:

"Having me in your camp is equivalent to having the entire northern border in the future, and having the Arend family, the head of the six giants, is an unprecedented and obvious signal. It is also the re-gathering after you were exiled by the king's suspicion. People rely on power, and it is an important bargaining chip in order to make a comeback."

Comeback?

It's like when I "get up" before.

Thales was lost in thought.

"For this alone, I am worth more to you than everyone in this castle—and I haven't mentioned the prestige and qualifications I have accumulated in Broken Dragon Fortress over the years."

Thales was silent for a while.

"I admit that what you said is not unreasonable."

The Duke of Xinghu raised the corners of his mouth and shook his head:

"But there are quite a few flaws. For example, you may not be able to inherit your father."

Miranda's face tightened.

Thales smiled.

"A long time ago, there was a little girl—the old hag was like this: we agreed, she will help me ascend to the throne, and I will help her regain the throne."

Thales spoke with a look of nostalgia.

"But the partnership fell apart—she betrayed me."

Miranda's eyes moved.

"For many years, I have resented her for breaking the contract, but it was not until I discussed it with Lao Wu——with the teacher, that I realized that the cooperation was doomed to failure."

Miranda felt the coldness in Thales' words, and couldn't help but shudder.

Thales sneered, supporting the desk with both hands:

"You see, I have to ascend to the throne first before I have the strength to help her regain the throne, but she has to regain the throne first before she has the strength to help me ascend to the throne."

The prince's eyes turned cold:

"Aren't these two empty checks that guarantee each other?"

"It depends on which side can't hold back first, the credit will go bankrupt first."

Miranda tensed up.

At that moment, the prince's gaze seemed to be sharp, and the celestial horse movement in her body started to run.

"Martial arts, brains, or your illusory so-called status, I don't lack any of them."

Thales exhaled and narrowed his eyes:

"If you want to convince me to accept you, then you have to have a heavier bargaining chip."

Miranda didn't speak.

The back-and-forth negotiations made her frown.

"And if not..."

Then give up.

give up.

Thales stared at her intently, but clenched his hands on the table tightly.

Miranda.

please!

"Xinghu Castle doesn't support idlers—or would you recommend yourself a pillow mat to warm my bed?" Thales' tone was frivolous and exaggerated, full of sarcasm and disdain.

Miranda said nothing, but clenched her fists.

Please, stay away from me.

Thales looked at her silently, with a sneer still on his face.

Stay away from Fort Star Lake.

Stay away from this quagmire, this vortex, this trap.

At least, avoid the eye of the storm in the future and protect yourself.

Avoid falling prey to the Covenant.

please.

Dark clouds cover the top, and the light in the study is very dark.

Under Thales' eyes full of urging and questioning, the female swordsman's eyes moved slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

After a while, she raised her head, and there seemed to be a decision between her brows.

"North."

Miranda firmly said:

"If you help me return to Coldhold to become the duke in a legitimate way, little boy, I promise, I will bring you the northern border."

North?

It was too late to care about the address of the other party, Thales was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed uncontrollably:

"What are you talking about? The northern border is the kingdom's territory."

But Miranda shook her head resolutely.

"You do not understand."

The female eagle of the Allend family has sharp eyes.

"I promise, I will bring you back a different Northland—not geographically, not traditionally, not now, and not in the past."

"It's the future, which your father has dreamed of for many years - the northern border of the kingdom."

Thales' eyes moved, and he subconsciously retracted his arms and straightened up.

What?

Miranda took a step forward and said decisively:

"I promise that it will no longer be a special case in the north outside the kingdom system, from inheritance to jurisprudence, from land to population, from culture to system, from finance to management, from agriculture and animal husbandry to defense, from conscription to customs, From personnel to logistics, from the Forest of Needles to Desolation, from the Temple of Desolation to the Neverwinter Palace, from the Birch Grove to the Dragon Fortress, the Palace of Resurrection will rule the North like it says it will. Central leader."

Like the arms and fingers...

Let's be honest...

Thales' eyes changed completely.

The prince looked at Miranda in disbelief:

"Ma'am, what are you talking about?"

Miranda snorted coldly, without hesitation:

"That's right, there are no backward traditions, no annoying customs, no old-fashioned families, no annoying lords, no awkward compromises, and the northern border - the kingdom's best source of troops and bridgehead - will be as your father expected In that way, completely and thoroughly integrate into the system and rule of Star Kingdom."

Miranda gritted her teeth:

"Under the kingship, there is no lingering sound."

completely...

fully integrated into the...

Thales couldn't sit still anymore, he jumped off the desk, not even caring about maintaining the utilitarian and cold look he had before.

"Let me clarify, you said that after you become the duke, what you have to give up is not only the northern border, but also the power in your hands..."

Thales swallowed hard, and asked:

"Even if that means that the northern border will no longer be the former territory, the lord will no longer have the previous rule, and the duke will no longer have the former status?"

What, how come...

Miranda watched him silently.

A few seconds later, she curled the corners of her mouth, showing a confident but cold smile, and tilted her head upwards, as if to be provocative:

Yes, little brat.

how?

Thales' expression was still astonished: "I, I don't understand, why, why do you want to..."

"You also said that a bad check is worse than nothing."

Miranda exhaled and smiled lightly.

"As long as I am not the Duke of the North, to be precise, the Duchess, the power represented by this title, whether it is greater or lesser, or whether it is far or near, is meaningless to me."

Miranda smiled coldly:

"Since this is the case, I can only take out a heavier bargaining chip."

"For example, the future tax promised by the "Xianjun" when he borrowed money, or the recently popular saying from Commus: options."

The female swordsman of the Arund family raised her head, with an imposing manner:

"How should I put it, Your Highness, whether it is Falkenhauser, Cromar or Bozdorf, they are willing to give you such a bargaining chip—the future?"

Thales blinked desperately.

"If what you said is true, if you really want to in the future..."

Thales couldn't believe it:

"That will be you, no, it will be you, no, it will be the Arend family's unprecedented respect for their vassals, for the historical legal system, for the dignity of the northern border, and even for themselves—"

"betray?"

Miranda dug her ears and didn't care:

"Why, is it as serious as my father's treason?"

Thales was speechless for a moment.

But at that moment, he thought of what he had said before the king.

[If people know that I am the king's internal agent, then I will be regarded as a traitor to the noble camp by thousands of vassals. 】

Thales stared blankly at Miranda at this moment.

It's like seeing another self.

but……

Why, why can she be so free and unrestrained, so careless?

This is obviously...

But then he thought of something, and his face sank.

"No, this is still a blank check, something you can only do when you become a duke," he forced himself to shake his head and refuse, "it's because of your empty promise—"

"But no one else dared to give it, even if it was just verbally."

Miranda interrupted him indisputably:

"And this is not something that can only be achieved after I become a duke. In fact, your father has already started to do it."

Thales stared at her closely, realizing that he couldn't understand what the person in front of him was thinking.

"So, do you dare to take it?"

Miranda's eyes were like two long swords, nailing him so hard that he couldn't move:

"Or, Thales Canxing, are you qualified?"

Thales' breathing accelerated, and he had to mobilize the crime of prison river to help him calm down.

And as the power of ending surged up, the senses of hell allowed him to detect the power in the other party's body more clearly: the movement of Tianma flows endlessly, without any flaws.

"but why?"

"I don't understand," Thales said subconsciously, "After I returned to China, from Falkenhauser to Bozdorf, many people have come to my banner to show their kindness to me."

"But I know that the reason why they came here is because they don't want to give up their old way of life, they don't want to let go of the power they're used to, and they don't want to bow their heads under my father's iron fist, but you, you, you... "

"I'm not them."

Miranda answered his question softly.

"The "Eagle Flying" handed down by Aaron De was once a priceless ancient sword of the empire, but it was broken many times and recast several times. It has long lost its old appearance and lost its old name."

She looked at her saber:

"Just as history is advancing and the times are developing, there will always be people who are going to grow old."

Thales stared at the long sword that experienced dragon blood with him seven years ago.

And the female swordsman stood in front of him, as cold as ever, but also extremely hot:

"But there are always people who are young."

"Just like the eagle flying after recasting, the shape is newer and the blade is sharper."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

Thales exhaled, trying to adjust his thoughts.

"But I still can't believe it, lady surnamed Arend, are you really so virtuous?"

"Paying such a high price, do you really want nothing, just for that ostentatious title? For that lord who has no real power and is no different from a rich man—the Guardian Duke of the North?"

"It's the Duchess," Miranda corrected.

Thales sighed, nodded in agreement:

"Duchess."

He asked:

"But if you succeed, but become a duchess in name only, who even depends on my face to cultivate and collect taxes on your own land, what's the point?"

She's from the Arend family, isn't she?

They are the descendants of Nolan Nur, the 'Desolate Eagle', and they are the oldest and most conservative family in the Kingdom of Stars.

The voice in Thales' heart was also asking: So, how is it possible?

How could she give up the powers that have been passed down from the imperial era to the present, and her ancestors have been born with her for generations?

How could she transcend the greatest limitations and weaknesses of all the lords and vassals of this era?

unless.

unless……

Miranda was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

She walked slowly to the window, looking at the vast Star Lake under the shadow of dark clouds.

"Tell me, Your Highness, have you ever had such a feeling: From that moment on, everything in your life seems to have come to a standstill."

Thales trembled slightly.

Only the female swordsman said quietly:

"What you see and feel is predetermined, and what you do is fate. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't break through the limitations in front of you, you can't bring new things, and you can't see a new way out."

Miranda looked out of the window in ecstasy, at the sky covered by dark clouds and the bottomless lake of stars.

"As for the seemingly good life, in fact, the end can be seen at a glance, and only the unchanging self-repetition day after day is left, waiting for the final end."

Can't bring new things, can't see a new way out...

Thales didn't speak.

At that moment, he seemed to have returned to Dragon Clouds City, and in front of him were the heads of Alex and King Nun who had been poisoned to death.

But he seemed to be back at the royal banquet, watching D.D's gray face, ready to sacrifice voluntarily, or he went to the secret department of the kingdom, watching a person going back and forth in the interrogation room, and watching the light in Anke Bailar's eyes gradually disappear.

[As for sitting on that uncomfortable throne, scheming day and night, figuring out people's hearts, and forcing yourself to become the coldest and most pathetic tool? That's not power, Thales, it's a chain called power. 】

What Quick Rope said made Thales unknowingly tighten his nails.

"Seven years ago, when my father was imprisoned as a traitor, I had lost all hope and could only use countless military affairs and jobs, including the upcoming war, to anesthetize myself and escape from the outside world."

"In the end, the war didn't start, so I didn't hesitate to take risks and went to Dragon Clouds City, so that I could have everything that happened after that."

Miranda snorted softly.

"But since then, my kind-hearted relatives of the same family and the same family have started to make troubles: gossip, rumors, eccentricity, and even use their blood surnames to directly intervene in the affairs of Cold Castle. My right to inherit—it’s ridiculous, obviously Aaronde is known for his solidarity, obviously they didn’t dare to do this when my father was around, and obviously if I were a son, they might not dare to be presumptuous like this.”

Thales frowned and couldn't help saying:

"As far as I know, since Alicia the Conqueror of the North, the Kingdom of the Stars has had a precedent for a queen, and the law of succession is no longer limited to gender. They can't..."

"That's right, compared to the savage Exeter who took so much effort to raise the Grand Duchess, Star Kingdom is already civilized and advanced enough to take care of people like me, isn't it?" Miranda interrupts him with sarcasm.

Thales didn't speak, but the female swordsman sneered and shook her head.

"But gender is always before the sequence of teeth. Even the elder sister and the younger brother are passed on to their sons first and then to their daughters. Therefore, only the only daughter has the right to inherit the father's throne, and she also faces competition from cousins ​​and even future husbands—of course, You don't need to care about these things, because you have a handle, so it's none of your business."

Miranda said angrily:

"You just need to know that Xingchen is very civilized and advanced in the matter of inheritance rights. If someone doubts this, you can confidently say, 'Then why don't you go to Exeter'?"

Thales wanted to say something, but finally closed his mouth.

Miranda snorted coldly and shook her head:

"So, you naturally don't care. In the northern region, which is very different from the mainstream inheritance of the stars, so far, there has not been a single Duchess of Arend in the past seven hundred years."

Thales' expression changed:

"real?"

Miranda looked out of the window in a daze, and nodded:

"The closest one was more than a hundred years ago—"Arithmetic" Roseanne Arend, as the eldest and only daughter of the duke, she almost became the first duchess of the North."

The female swordsman said quietly:

"Until her stepmother gave birth to a young child and knocked Roseanne out of the line of succession."

Thales frowned.

Roseanne Arend.

He searched for the name in his memory, it seemed to have been mentioned in Gilbert's class, but...

"I was my father's second child. I had an older brother who died before he could walk."

"And my mother, when she died during the Bloody Year," Miranda said with a blurred gaze, "was already pregnant."

Thales was surprised when he heard this.

The Year of Blood.

"After that catastrophe, even my father looked at me differently, as if he was always asking why, why did my mother play hide-and-seek with you at that time? Why was you the one who escaped from the carriage? Why not you Mother and your unborn brother? Why didn't you disappear with them into the vast snow and countless refugees?"

Thales clenched his fists, but couldn't say a word.

Miranda shook her head in a daze:

"I sometimes think, if nothing happened to the mother, if the fetus in her womb was born safely, if it was a boy and my brother, then today I..."

Miranda's words froze, she raised her head with firm eyes.

"No, then I wouldn't be here today."

"Probably not."

She glanced at the letter in Taylor's hand, curled her lips and said:

"Even if there is, you are probably sitting happily in the cold castle, pressing your greeting letter and portrait on your chest, intoxicated, thinking about what kind of dress to wear for the painter's portrait, and then trembling to give You write back."

Thales listened to her words quietly, looked at the ironic "breeding no", but found that he couldn't laugh no matter what.

"When I realized this, when I realized that I was able to stand here, it was all due to enough people dying in the Bloody Year, and it was purely my own good luck... It felt like a cage fell from the sky, covering It covers my surroundings, blocks my upper limit, and isolates me from the outside world, and no matter where I go, all I see is the cage wall, and the world outside the wall that I will never be able to touch."

Miranda gritted her teeth unconsciously.

【I can stand here because there are enough dead people in the Bloody Year. It's purely my luck...】

Thales listened to these words quietly, but his thoughts seemed to pass through time, and he saw the Canxing tomb in the Fuxing Palace, those stone pots and urns one by one.

The room fell silent.

"Or like a trap," Thales took her words after a long silence, with deep loss in his words, "and no matter how hard you go through, you're stuck in it and can't extricate yourself?"

Miranda glanced at him over her shoulder, seemingly surprised.

But she nodded slowly:

"Ms. Shatil from the Tower of Ending said that this is probably the feeling that 'Heart of the Sword' has encountered a bottleneck and stagnated."

"It's not that the world has stagnated, or life has become worse. In fact, the world is like this, and so is life. It's that your experience is different, your realm has improved, your horizons have been opened, and you have seen more, wider, and higher. , something more complicated."

Miranda's eyes were fascinated:

"It's just that some people met early, some people met late, and some people, fortunately or unfortunately, never met, or chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb after encountering them, turning a blind eye."

Thales sighed:

"Heart of the Sword—I heard Cohen say something similar, the theory of ending the Tower?"

Speaking of their mutual friends, Miranda smiled lightly and shook her head.

"So I want to see, I want to try, I want to take a step forward, to see if this world is really as she said."

Thales was puzzled for a while:

"who?"

Miranda smiled, but did not answer.

But she turned her back to the shadows outside the window.

"I'm not Cohen. He could only hold the torch tightly in the wind and snow, shivering and running nose, while repeating everything that he didn't know if it made sense."

"I'm not Raphael either. He deliberately ignored his inner doubts, convinced himself and brainwashed himself, and believed in the flickering of 'Heaven will send you a big mission, you must be paralyzed first', and he regarded suffering and asceticism as the way out."

Thales frowned upon hearing this.

"In the face of the extreme cold, I am not stupid enough to fight the wind and snow, but I am not willing to become a slave to the frost."

Miranda narrowed her eyes, shed the sadness just now, and became resolute again.

"I will find my own way."

"This is me, this is me, this is fucking Miranda Arend."

The female swordsman looked at the Duke of Xinghu firmly, and the latter couldn't help but take it seriously.

"That's what this thing is about."

"I am my own master, the owner of Broken Dragon Fortress - the 'Sword of Neverwinter'."

In the next second, Miranda reached out to pick up the saber leaning against the window sill, and put it back on the belt.

"Eagle Flying Fortress."

Miranda's voice was cold and her eyes were bright:

"Neverwinter in the North."

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