Kingdom’s Bloodline

After seeing off his guest ("You're going to let him die miserably, right?" - Belicia's intriguing attitude before leaving), Thales returned to the dungeon and faced a situation that was obviously different from before. Lausanne II.

“I heard that you finally relented and wanted to see me again?”

Lausanne II raised his head with difficulty, looking through his messy hair, and first looked at the people around him:

 “You are the only one I see.”

Beside Thales, Miss Cecilia Kevin Deere, who looked unhappy because she had lost face ("Well, your method is more effective than the soul bone Jacques, are you satisfied?") crossed her arms. , frowned, and said threateningly:

 “Oh? Are you sure?”

 Thales looked around and quickly smoothed things over:

　　"Well, in this case, Heeley, if you are present, he will not be very willing. Does that mean..."

"I stayed."

Hilai was decisive and blocked all possibilities.

Tales raised his eyebrows and quickly changed his words:

"OK."

 The prince looked at the killer with an undiminished smile:

 “Look, I tried my best.”

Lausanne II said disdainfully:

 “Try harder.”

"Are you sure?" Heeley pulled his gloves coldly, "You want me to work harder?"

Just when Thales put on a smile and prepared for a new round of persuasion, the vampire killer smiled sadly.

　　“You put away this red-and-white-faced trick,” he turned his head to the side, his attitude indifferent, showing no reaction to Hilley’s threats, “I’m tired of it.”

His attitude of giving up everything made Thales and Hilley both frown and look at each other.

“It seems like you had a good chat with your old friend?” Thales asked tentatively.

 Lausanne II was silent for a while:

 “How did you come up with the idea of ​​finding her?”

Very good, if you are willing to talk, then you don’t have to think of ways to send the eldest lady away.

“Because I can’t catch you—in every sense of the word.” Thales sighed.

 Either physically or mentally.

 Lausanne II looked at him again.

"But fortunately, I began to understand that in my position, there are many things that you don't have to do yourself," Thales shrugged. "If I want to catch you, I just need to find those, well, people who have caught you." .”

 It’s just...

 He pursed his lips.

 The second prince’s face is probably not big enough.

 At least...Black Sword refuses to come?

"As for Belicia, well," Thales speculated, "rather than intimidation, sometimes letting you chat with your old friends and letting things take their own course might lead to better results?"

Ms. Heeley on the other side took her seat and glared at him angrily.

 Lausanne II sneered.

“Then she acted so well. I can’t even tell how much of it was genuine and how much was intentional.”

  Thales’s expression changed slightly:

 “You know she’s acting?”

 “I wish I didn’t know.”

 “Then you are still willing to see me?”

The Vampire Killer raised his eyes, expressionless:

 “I am not willing to see you because of her.”

Tales’ eyebrows jumped.

 But after all, you were only willing to let go after seeing her.

But Thales thought so, nodded to himself, and brought the topic back to the key point:

"I understand that you were involved in the change of power in the Emerald City that year. You were betrayed in the battle between the Blood Bottle Gang and the Brotherhood. You were completely defeated before you returned to the Emerald City for revenge many years later. Now I still have the last piece of the puzzle, and I need you... "

 “Have you ever lost?”

Thales was startled:

"What?"

 Seeing the bruised and heavily shackled Lausanne II, he took a breath and spoke in a daze:

“I mean, Your Highness Thales, have you ever lost in your short life?”

What?

lose?

This topic was too far away from the topic. Thales couldn't react in time and didn't know how to bring the conversation back.

　　　“I told you, my method should be used.”

 Hilai who was listening in the audience sighed, with an expression on his face that he had known this for a long time, and shook his head in disdain.

But Thales raised his hand and asked Hilley to wait a moment.

 He put himself into the other party's situation and tried to understand Lausanne II's thoughts:

 “Have I ever lost...Why do you ask?”

 Losanne II raised his head and looked at him carefully under the dim light.

“I could see it in your eyes from the first moment we met, Your Highness.”

 The killer narrowed his eyes:

“You are a stubborn and stubborn person, and you may have been called stupid and naive.”

Hilai couldn't help but glance at the prince, while Thales remained silent.

"You must have experienced trials, pains, tribulations, and setbacks...perhaps unimaginable to ordinary people, but you gritted your teeth, relied on your will to convince yourself, and persisted in overcoming. Every time, every time you became stronger, more tenacious, and more Unshakable—like all the great heroes of all time.”

 Lausanne II smiled with difficulty:

“Like a high-quality ancient imperial sword, it becomes sharper as it is sharpened, and becomes stronger as it fights. Everyone is in awe, envy, and covet it.”

 But his smile disappeared immediately, and his words changed accordingly:

 “Except for one thing.”

The killer said coldly:

 “You have never experienced failure.”

Tales listened to his words carefully and smiled involuntarily.

"Then you are wrong."

Thales looked at the bottomless darkness around him and felt in a trance:

“On the contrary, I have experienced countless failures, as well as many seemingly successful failures, including too many helpless and compromising choices...”

 Abandoned House, Mindis Hall, Manor Manor, Fuxing Palace, Palace of Heroes, Dragon Sky City, Blade Tooth Camp, Prison of Bones... and the Kongming Palace in front of you.

 “The fault is yours, Your Highness.”

As a prisoner, Lausanne II mercilessly criticized the temporary warden in front of him:

“As long as your will has not been broken, it is not a failure.”

Tiles’ eyes moved.

"As long as you still have a glimmer of hope that you can't give up or start all over again," the killer shook his head, "then what you encounter is far from failure."

 At that moment, endless gloomy despair appeared in Lausanne II’s eyes:

“The kind of complete failure that makes you deny everything that belongs to you, your faith is shattered and you are so disheartened that you just want to give up everything, numbly escape, or even end it all.”

Lausanne II’s words seemed to spread ink in the air, making everything around him blurry:

“In the face of that kind of devastating failure, any thoughts of revenge, unwillingness, resentment and regret all disappeared, or at least became insignificant.”

Tiles frowned when he heard this, thinking deeply.

"Because you have never experienced such a failure, Your Highness," the vampire killer said quietly, "so even now you still don't understand. You are still like those common people, and you still think why I came back...ha, revenge?"

 Thales could sense the deep despair and pain in the other party's words, but he didn't want to go around in circles with the other party:

 “Then why are you coming back? To stop failing?”

 Lausanne II smiled sadly.

"If a sword has never been broken, shattered, or damaged," he said coldly, "then it will never be able to see its own material in its fragments and fractures."

 The killer glanced at Thales coldly:

"Your Highness, just like the protagonists of those chivalry novels that succeed to the end, you have never truly lost, so naturally you cannot understand that a broken sword that is completely broken and has lost its edge will struggle out of its sheath after being recast. meaning."

Tales frowned, but was still confused.

“A sword that has been reforged and swung again, for what purpose?”

Lausanne II sneered:

“Just for revenge—to break the sword that broke me?”

He gritted his teeth and stared, as if he was crazy:

“Then what? To be broken again one day, to be recast again, to be recast again?”

Tales was silent for a long time.

 He is going crazy.

 The voice in the prince’s heart quietly told him:

No matter in the past or now, this hateful, pitiful and pathetic killer has been worn down by life and power.

 The reunion with Belicia was the last straw, crushing his last line of defense.

 What you can ask out of his mouth...maybe not what you think.

"If it's not for revenge," thinking of this, Thales' question became cautious, "then when you come back with a sword, you are willing to be a pawn, killing people and disrupting the situation. What is it for? Profit? Ambition? Justice? Or just for the sake of it? Tone?"

 It can’t be for the purpose of ending the cycle like Rumba, and innovate and become old, right?

Seeing that he still didn't understand, Lausanne II didn't answer, but just laughed again.

 “Hahahahahaha…”

 The laughter is sad, sad and chilling.

 Looking at the other party's indifferent expression, even a patient person like Thales couldn't help but feel discouraged.

"Perhaps you are right, Shilai," the prince's face darkened, "Maybe I should try your method."

 Find the soul bone Jacques...

 “Find the craftsman.” Hilley suddenly said.

Thales turned around in a daze:

"What?"

 Lausanne II’s expression also changed slightly.

 In the sight of the two of them, Xi Lai was in a daze, muttering what the killer had just said:

“If a sword is broken, its material can only be seen...”

Seeing the state of his companion, Thales couldn't help but become worried.

“If the reforged sword is not for revenge, or to find the enemy sword to crush the opponent, distinguish the superiority, and regain the edge..."

 Fortunately, Heilai just took a deep breath, came back to his senses, and looked back at the two of them:

“Then this sword must be to find the source.”

 Source?

Tiles looked confused, but Lausanne II looked surprised.

"For example, the craftsman who made the sword at the beginning," Heeley said solemnly, "ask him about the material of the sword, why he made the sword like this, and why... he made the sword."

The eldest lady closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and seemed to have something in her heart:

“Ask him why the fate of the sword was destined to be repeatedly collided, broken and…recast from the beginning.”

Hilai’s voice fell.

 She and Lausanne II both looked gloomy and silent.

Only Thales was confused and had to cough to remind:

"All right?"

“Maybe, Your Highness,” Lausanne II came back to his senses and smiled helplessly, “Maybe it’s this lady I should see.”

"Okay," Thales said even more confused, he said honestly, "I really can't understand."

Hilai took a deep breath and returned to his eyes:

 “He doesn’t come for revenge, prince, but for answers.”

"Answer?"

 Thales became more and more confused:

 But isn’t the answer already on the page?

 The reason why Lausanne II ended up where he is today...

"Brotherhood? Black Sword? Blood Bottle Gang? Turnbull? People like Belicia who betrayed you? Emerald City? Old Duke? Viscount Sonar? Struggle of interests? Political strife? Even the Kingdom's Secret Service and even...our Can Star Royal Family?”

Hearing the last name, Lausanne II revealed a cold look under his messy hair.

Thales’s eyes lit up when he saw this:

"All the things and factors that brought you to this situation? Is this the answer you want to ask? All these... people who were involved?"

 But Lausanne II looked at him and still sneered lightly.

 “It’s not the people that matter, because ‘people’ are insignificant.”

This time, the person who spoke was actually Heeley again, and the eldest lady of Kevin Deere murmured in a deep voice:

“What really matters is: why is ‘human’ a human being? Why is ‘human being’ a human being?”

　Why are people human? Why are people...

Thales listened thoughtfully and tentatively said:

 “Why…why…these two sentences seem to sound the same.”

"They are the same in common language, but in the language of..., they have different parts of speech," Hilley sighed and shook his head, "The former is asking why people are human, and the latter is asking people What you do makes you a human being.”

 Why...

do what…

Tales narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

Hilai whispered:

 “Like the great apologist who was...”

 Thales reacted:

 “Slimani?”

Hilai nodded, with a rare expression of compassion:

"Tell me, is he more like a human being when he is suffering and struggling, or is he more like a human being when he is well-off and well-off? Is he more like a human being when he is self-reliant, or is he more like a human being when he acts with a black heart and benefits himself at the expense of others? Is he more like a human being? Are you more human when you surrender to reality and sacrifice your conscience, or are you more human when you wake up to your end?"

These words made Lausanne II's lips twitch and he looked confused.

　　It also made Thales confused.

 He had to pat the back of the other person's hand and asked cautiously:

 “Hilai? Wyana? Good girl, are you still... okay?”

Hilai came back to his senses and shook his head.

"This is not what I said, but... someone said it," the eldest lady said vaguely, which made Thales puzzled. "It is also someone's... principle of 'behaving'."

Someone?

  【Not just what I said...】

Taylors is a stimulating spirit.

Just now, he was sure that he heard something vague, as if coming from underwater:

  【Little six fingers, this is me and you, it is our common criterion...】

Hilai trembled slightly, turned pale, and bit his lower lip.

  【My partner...】

 The next second, the vague voice disappeared.

But Lausanne II was still deep in thought, seemingly unaware of anything.

Thales knew that this was not the time to ask questions. He could only swallow his throat, pick at his ears that were ringing slightly, and bury his doubts deep in his heart.

 “Okay, so what are you doing?”

 The prince turned to the killer and asked:

"If you want to know how you ended up like this, Belicia should have figured it all out..."

 But this time, Lausanne II no longer told riddles. He spoke happily:

 “I have lived three lives.”

Tales and Hilley exchanged glances.

I saw the vampire killer looking at the flickering lights and speaking in a daze:

“In the first part of my life, I was a squire of Knight Joaquin, a reserve knight who came from the bottom.”

 High-spirited, naive and frivolous.

“In my second life, I was a terrifying killer of the Blood Bottle Gang who killed people without blinking an eye and showed no mercy with their swords.”

 Going through ups and downs, being cynical.

"The third life...I am a monster returned from hell, cursed with immortality, to curse the damned."

 Cold, numb, and extremely twisted.

"Years ago, because of Joaquin, I followed the king to the Emerald City, but because of conflicts with other attendants, I was falsely accused of oppressing the people. Thanks to the mediation of Crown Prince Midir, and...a certain local judge Because of my integrity and the king’s magnanimity, he personally apologized, so I was absolved.”

 Lausanne II spoke clearly, without any rush or slowness, and his expression did not change at all, as if he was retelling someone else's story.

 Thales and Hilley looked at each other, and both resisted the desire to interrupt and ask questions.

"However, the royal family suffered a loss of face, and I felt guilty and guilty about it, so I decided to do something to compensate for it: at the subsequent election, I put on the armor of a classmate's squire and took his place. "

 All disasters begin from this point.

 The vampire killer raised his head, and in the darkness and turbidity, he found the clear but tough attendant of the past again.

“Wait a minute, your classmate doesn’t have any objections?” After all, Heeley couldn’t hold back and was the first to ask.

“In that unjust case in which I was framed, Aknet was injured in the hand and unable to fight because of me,” Lausanne II sneered, “I think I am also obliged to do something for him.”

 He said in a trance:

“Just like that, I held my breath and gritted my teeth, fighting and winning all the way until the finals.”

Thales’ expression changed:

 “The opponent is, Prince Horace?”

 Lausanne II nodded in a daze:

 “The sword of tracing light.”

As a knight master and teacher, Joaquin originally knew his own strength, but before setting off to the Emerald City, he repeatedly told him not to participate in the competition or to be in the limelight...

 Looking at it now, many years later…

 Lausanne II shook his head and pushed away the unnecessary memories from his mind:

 “But just one day before the game, some caring people found me.”

 Hearing this, Thales and Shilai both moved.

“They promised me: As long as I lose the game beautifully after a fierce duel, let the second prince win smoothly, so as to complete the royal story of Horace returning from the Terminator Tower and winning the championship..."

Lausanne II said in a deep voice:

"After that is accomplished, not only will I be rewarded by the tournament, but they will also help me settle the aftermath of that unjust case, including conflicts with other attendants, including impersonation while wearing other people's armor. Neither Aknett nor I will be affected. Punishment, if one day... they will not forget my achievements."

Hilai showed a disgusted expression and spoke out Thales's heart:

 “No surprise—don’t tell me, you agreed?”

 Lausanne II’s eyes were fascinated and he shook his head:

 “After that, other people also found me.”

 He continued:

“Compared with the previous group of people, they are better spoken, more confident, and more... upright.”

Lausanne II said numbly:

"They told me that the crown prince has been established and the throne has been determined long ago. For the sake of the overall situation of the palace and the stability of the kingdom, it is not appropriate for the second prince to win the championship at this time, let alone enjoy the cheers of the crowd and win boundless popularity at this time."

 The overall situation of the palace…

 The kingdom is stable…

“Besides, the Crown Prince has worked hard to clear up my grievances, and I should repay his kindness and repay his kindness in a timely manner...or something like that..."

 He took a deep breath:

"So...if possible, they can help me, so that I can be more aggressive and play the game more intensely, so that I can openly 'lose my grip' and cause Horace to be seriously injured and disabled - they even packed it in my luggage for this I stuffed a bottle of poison into it and asked me to 'act according to the circumstances'."

Tales and Shilai both frowned.

 The prince was seriously injured and disabled.

 This is not as simple as losing the game on purpose.

"And these two groups of people... put you in a dilemma?" Thales said in a deep voice.

 Lausanne II snorted coldly.

 Two groups of people?

 Or…from beginning to end, these are the same type of people?

"Then why don't you just go to the king directly?" Thales couldn't help but said, "Confess to him and ask him to make the decision?" Lausanne II smiled disdainfully.

"When both Zhan and Federico have their own agendas and try to persuade you to do what they want, Your Highness," he did not answer directly, but asked the prince, "why don't you go to the wise and wise King? Beg him. Call the shots?"

 “I…” Thales hesitated to speak.

"Placing undue expectations on greater power or higher strength, hoping that they can solve the problem," Healy said quietly from the side, "This is the first step of the fallacy."

Tales couldn’t help but ask:

 “Did ‘it’ say it again?”

Hilai looked up with trembling.

"That was the first difficult duel in my life." Fortunately, the killer interrupted their conversation in time. "The difficulty is not the skill, but the psychology."

He hummed softly:

“Yes, the Sword of Light has returned from the Tower of the End, and he is very strong.”

 Lausanne II’s eyes were bright:

 “But it’s not that strong.”

Especially among the team of accomplices around him who are all scheming and flattering, and forcibly praise him as "the best master in the history of the Bright Star Royal Family".

 “In five rounds, I found his inevitable flaw.”

 Speaking of this, Lausanne II sighed:

 “But at that moment, my heart was confused.”

His tone was calm, but his sentences kept coming, and the struggle in the past could be vaguely seen:

"Should I really start? How should I start? Where should I start? What should I do? Win hard or lose beautifully? What will be the consequences after I do it? What about the favor of the crown prince? What about the prince's face? And the king's What about the attitude? What about the teacher's position? As a knight's squire, what should I consider? Justice or integrity? The overall situation or self? Adhere to etiquette or obey instinct?"

　　Listening to this series of hesitations, Thales suddenly thought of what Hilley said about the soul bone Jacques:

　What is a human being?

 Why are people human?

Hilai was silent for a while: "In the end, you gave in and deliberately lost?"

"No."

 Lausanne II raised the corners of his lips, sneered and shook his head.

"Horace saw my hesitation. Instead of pursuing the victory, he even offered some explanations... But I, I..."

 Speaking of this, Lausanne II's breathing quickened.

　　　【Come, put aside your worries, use all your strength to defeat me, defeat me, surpass me, in order to win the crown of this election...】

In front of him, amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of people, Horace's low and cold words, as if he was indifferent to everything around him, flowed out from the gaps in his mask:

　　【Even, it doesn't even matter whether you win or lose, squire...because you are not here to compete, but to prove...】

Horace walked at a slow and dangerous pace, the nine-pointed star pattern on his armor shining brightly.

　　【Whether you win or lose, you are just proving that you can be the sword of our family and the chess piece of our kingdom...my sword, my chess piece...】

 The nine-pointed star flag at the venue was extremely heavy.

　　　【Only in this way can you embark on the journey, to prove yourself, to earn a title, to become a noble, to become a servant, to become qualified to loyal to me, to us, to the kingdom...】

 The Light-Retracing Sword turned his wrist and flashed a cold sword light:

  【…Knight. 】

 So, this is the meaning and value of knights in the eyes of the prince.

 Lausanne II fell into deep thought.

No one knows that on that day, the power of these words will far exceed all the exquisite sword moves.

They, coupled with what those thoughtful people said to him before the game, and his own chaotic and numb thoughts, they were connected together and turned into an invisible but extremely heavy chain...

 In that arena where the mountains roared and the tsunami roared, and the atmosphere was lively...

 Crush him alive.

 “Later I gradually understood…”

 Lausanne II sneered:

"Where is the jousting? What kind of jousting? What kind of jousting? I'm not jousting with anyone at all. It's not even a joust."

  But comparing it with other things... comparing... who knows what.

  “Choose a general.”

Hilai on the side suddenly spoke, and both of them turned to Miss Kevin Dill.

“From the very beginning, the name of this tournament has been ‘The Chosen One’,” Heeley said quietly, “not a tournament.”

Her words made Thales think deeply.

Hundreds of years ago, the Duke of Cork held a knight's tournament in the Emerald City in order to use power and wealth as bait to select soldiers to deal with the war threat of the "Eight-fingered" Horace I.

 In other words, preparing to select people to die on the battlefield.

"I lost."

 Lausanne II smiled sarcastically and continued:

 “Before I knew it, I lost.”

When he came back to his senses, all he could feel was the overwhelming and deafening cheers in his ears.

And above the head, the roaring cross and double-star flag.

Hilai came back to his senses and sighed.

"That's all right," Miss Kevin Dill said gently, "runner-up, second place is pretty good too."

 Second place...is also pretty good?

 Lausanne II’s eyes were blank.

 The next second, he hummed disdainfully.

Of course.

When the two parties in the duel are the nine-pointed star and... no, the kingdom and everything else, the chess players and the chess pieces...

runner up…

 It is the destined destination.

 Lausanne II took a deep breath and returned to reality:

“After that, my identity was discovered, but I was eventually pardoned for being an impostor, and was even selected into the bodyguard of Crown Prince Midir—just like the idiot guards you have around you now.”

 Foolish Guardian…

 Taylor's mind flashed to D.D's giggling face holding the little stuffed bear.

 Lausanne II closed his eyes:

“And not long after that, the crown prince had an accident.”

"I know."

Thales took over his words with a heavy tone:

“The eldest son of the king fell from a horse and was seriously injured while traveling. He was in bed and comatose. When he woke up, his legs were disabled. This also caused the queen to give birth prematurely and unfortunately died.”

Hilai raised his eyebrows with a look of surprise.

 Lausanne II sneered.

“Oh, so the blame for the crown prince’s fall from the horse is on you, a newcomer who just joined the team?”

Hilai curled his lips:

“Did you tie his bootlaces off or something?”

The frivolity in the eldest lady's tone made Thales frown, and he gave the other party a reproachful look.

 But this time, Lausanne II was silent for a long, long time.

It wasn't until Heeley began to wave his hands impatiently that the current prisoner, the former knight's attendant, snorted softly:

 “It’s not a horse fall.”

 As soon as these words came out, Thales and Hillai were both stunned.

I saw Lausanne II saying quietly:

“Similar to being seriously injured and comatose, falling off a horse is just an excuse to cover up the worse truth.”

 The worse truth?

 Thales and Hilley looked at each other in surprise.

 And that’s…

 “Midir is missing.”

 Lausanne II’s tone was understatement:

 “For more than three years, there was no news from him.”

Taylors and Hilley both widened their eyes.

“You can’t see people alive, you can’t see corpses even if you are dead.”

 Just listen to Lausanne II faintly divulge the secrets of the royal family:

"For the sake of the dignity of the royal family and the stability of the kingdom, and for the safety of Midir's life abroad, the Fuxing Palace has strictly sealed the news. It only said to the outside world that he fell from a horse and fell into a coma. He was seriously injured and was recuperating and was unable to see guests. In fact, he was acting secretly, all the time. The search for his whereabouts continues - even those with knowledge of the matter feel there is little hope."

What?

 After receiving this news, both Thales and Hilley were stunned for several seconds.

 Until Thales was the first to react.

"And he fell from his horse, no, the reason for his disappearance was..."

“Assassination,” Lausanne II said with an indifferent expression, “a well-planned assassination—for the order of succession to the throne.”

His tone was sarcastic:

“It’s boring, cliche, and unoriginal, isn’t it?”

 The killer's expression changed:

"But this set of dramas that everyone is tired of watching has to pay the price of countless people's misfortune."

Hilai’s eyes moved:

 “Like you?”

 Lausanne II was silent for a moment.

 “I cannot absolve myself from the blame.”

 He said slowly:

“The loophole in security...does come from me, the newcomer.”

By the time Joaquin heard the news and rushed back from the military camp... it was already too late.

Thales came back to his senses. He and Shilai looked at each other and asked in unison:

 “Who? Who did it?”

 Lausanne II’s eyes narrowed.

 The next second, he seemed to have remembered something unpleasant, and reacted extremely. He trembled under the shackles and laughed coldly:

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so to so so so so so so so so so...

Tales and Hilley were both confused.

 A few seconds later, Lausanne II, who had had enough laughter, took a deep breath, his eyes dim and unclear:

"Do you know, this question is just this question. Back then, I was chained to various instruments of torture, and the thugs from the kingdom's secret department used various methods. Day and night, the cold and heat continued, every minute and every hour, the relay continued. How long have you been asking for?"

 Two years?

 Or three years?

 Be informed by reason, be moved by emotion, be nudged and persuaded, coerced and lured, tortured to extract confessions, whispered softly, stimulated by drugs, induced hypnosis...

 Thales and Hilley looked at each other in surprise and embarrassment.

 “Then you...don’t know who it is?”

 “Is it important?”

 Lausanne II suddenly opened his eyes and raised his voice:

“You harm me, I harm him, he harms you, you pretend that he harms me, I pretend that you harm him, he pretends that I harm you...”

He shouted angrily:

"What kind of power struggle, throne conspiracy, come and go, isn't it just these children fighting with each other? There is no new trick!"

The roar of Lausanne II echoed in the dungeon, causing the lights in the distance to sway and the shadows to flutter.

 The killer who had vented his anger was trembling, his eyes were blurred, and his emotions could not calm down for a long time.

Tiles and Hilley were careful to remain silent.

 Until the prince took a deep breath and turned to another topic:

"I heard Thor say that in the end, you, you were imprisoned in the Prison of Bones?"

 Lausanne II’s eyes gradually focused.

 The prison of bones.

  Yes, the prison of bones.

 Originally, he should have had a worse ending.

But Joaquín…

Joaquin he…

 Lausanne II gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

 This damn, self-righteous high knight, grand master, smelly old man...

 “I don’t know, I don’t know who is behind this.”

 He took a deep breath:

"But I know...after that, the dazzling second prince Horace, who had returned from the Tower of End, was permanently excluded from the Fuxing Palace and exiled to the northern fortress, far away from the center of the kingdom, enduring the wind and frost, guarding National borders are like being imprisoned in military camps..."

　　When mentioning this former opponent who influenced his life, the vampire killer had mixed emotions:

“Throughout his life, he has been rejected, rejected, wary, monitored, hated and even betrayed by his father...”

Thales was frightened and amazed when he heard this.

“In the end, I can only go north alone and die to prove my ambition. Only then can I earn back a sad reputation for someone who sacrificed his life for his country and was loyal to his father.”

 “Prince Horace…” Heeley said in surprise, “Because…the late king doubted him?”

 Tiles went further and expressed his suspicion:

“Because he is the biggest beneficiary of the crown prince’s disappearance?”

 Lausanne II nodded, then shook his head.

 “Yes, but more than that.”

His eyes were misty and he was in a trance.

“During the unremitting pursuit of the Kingdom’s secret department, several people with serious suspicions were uncovered. Those people confessed under torture and had secretly wooed me before the election.”

 Thales and Shilai were both startled and raised their heads.

·Which one will be chosen?

“They said that the reason why I took the initiative to hide my strength, entered the competition under my own name, and deliberately lost to the second prince in the final election was in exchange for the opportunity to surrender to Horace, and…”

Lausanne II sneered:

 “Opportunity to join the Crown Prince’s Guard.”

Taylors understood.

"Witnesses, physical evidence, motives, and even countless details, what they said are all facts, they all really happened," Lausanne II said in a sarcastic tone, "And I am really inexplicable, because of reasons other than strength, I lost to He Lars, who had achieved his good reputation, was a blessing in disguise, he was exempted from the crime of impersonation, and he was able to join the service of the eldest son of the king."

 Even, Mi Ke even found a bottle of poison in his luggage - it looked like he was preparing to commit suicide.

 Hahaha, poison, poison!

 Lausanne II held back his laughter hard.

"So, when people - whether they are kings or beggars, when they look at everything, they will find that I, I look like the... key executor of the murder of the crown prince."

 Lausanne II’s eyes were cloudy.

 As a powerless and ungrateful civilian servant, apart from shouting about injustice as he did in the past...

 He was at a loss.

 Hundred people cannot argue.

 Tiles felt heavy when he heard this.

 An ordinary person—no, he has already stood taller and more extraordinary than most ordinary people—unfortunately stepped onto the stage of power and stood at a key node at a loss.

 What awaits us is only the mockery of fate.

　　Power that has been mercilessly run over is on the verge of death.

"So, Midiel disappeared and Horace fell out of favor." However, Hilley's expression was normal and he still had the energy to count on his fingers. "Because of you alone, there are suddenly fewer people in the line of succession to the throne of the stars." Two names?”

She couldn't help but tutted:

 “Tsk, tsk, tsk, the late king actually only sent you to jail. He was really generous.”

  Lausanne II couldn't help but clenched his fists - including the lost one.

 “Hilai.” Thales had to whisper to remind her to pay attention to the other person’s emotions.

"Don't forget, his wife also died in childbirth because of this." However, Lausanne II didn't care. Instead, he added with a sneer, "Even giving birth to a princess is still a fool."

From the outside, he appears to be a serious sinner.

From this point of view, isn’t the king just magnanimous?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

 Lausanne II laughed heartily in his heart.

 According to the bard: What are you waiting for? Why don't you hurry up and shout long live the mountains and praise the saints?

 “No wonder the election will erase your name as runner-up...”

Hilai couldn’t help but sigh:

"And it has declined since then. No one goes there anymore or no one dares to go. It must be because of you..."

 “Hilai!” Thales had to remind her loudly.

Hilai reacted and curled his lips:

“Okay. Then if the election was up for grabs, you listened to another group of people and won the championship or even seriously injured the second prince..."

 Lausanne II smiled, very openly and relieved.

“The result may be slightly different,” Thales sighed, “but I’m sure there will be another conspiracy behind it that will continue to revolve around him.”

 Many things were doomed from the beginning.

The three of them looked at each other in silence for a long time, and then Hilley broke the silence:

"after that…"

"He is back."

 The quiet path of Lausanne II.

“Crown Prince Midir, who had been missing for nearly three years, finally miraculously survived and returned to Mindis Hall.”

 He seemed to be smiling but not laughing, and seemed to be crying but not crying. His tone was full of sarcasm:

“Other than the obvious loss of his legs, no one knows what he went through. Well, except the king, I guess no one dares to ask.”

The killer shook his head:

“After returning, he did many things, such as forgiving a large number of people’s sins, including me—although by that time, I no longer needed his forgiveness.”

 His words are sarcastic.

 Thales and Hilley looked at each other.

"As for that **** source of blood, that elixir that can revive human flesh and bones," Lausanne II said with bitterness, "it was after he returned to Mindis Hall that he found my whereabouts and handed it to me with his own hands. of."

 “You?” Heeley asked doubtfully.

Lausanne II shook his head and became lost in thought:

“It’s not just me, he wants to make up for my teacher and Joaquín’s loss.”

 “What loss?”

Hilai wanted to ask, but Thales stopped him and shook his head.

“But Joaquín refused,” Lausanne II looked dazed, as if he was immersed in his own world and couldn’t get out, “so it stayed in my hands until...”

He moved his eyes and looked at his body that was covered in blood and the fleshy buds in the wounds were squirming.

 Lausanne II sneered, not sure whether it was despair or relief.

Hearing this, Thales was filled with emotion and took up the topic:

 “Until your second life.”

 The life of Lausanne II.

 The life of a killer.

 Lausanne II was silent.

 “Well, I don’t blame you, at least not entirely.”

On the other side, Hilley ignored Thales’s angry reminder and spread his hands in response to the situation and sighed:

“After this experience, I couldn’t help but want to kill someone!” (End of chapter)