Kingdom's Bloodline, page 225
The carriage continued moving forward, and Thales had no idea how far they were from Heroic Spirit Palace, neither did he know how long it would be until his life would come to an end.
There was no other way, he had to deal an even more powerful attack on Lampard now.
Thales sucked in a deep breath and enunciated these words faintly. "If there aren't any accidents, then, once the news of Nuven's death has spread and the King Selection Congress is held, do you think you will still stand a chance?"
As expected, Lampard's gaze moved and he looked at Thales. The boy suppressed his anxiety and used his calmest expression as a response to Lampard's stare.
"Don't forget that you are originally Nuven's enemy and you also have the terrifying reputation of killing your own brother." Thales enunciated his words. "The archdukes won't let you become king."
Lampard's gaze was fixed on his own sword.
"King?" The archduke's voice rose in a querying tone as he said this one word. Then he snorted lightly and repeated that one word with contempt. "King!
"You were born into the Jadestar Royal Family, you are the descendant of the king, a member of the natural, legitimate ruling family in all of Constellation," Lampard said airily. "Of course you don't have that kind of worry, right?"
A thought formed in Thales' heart. During that moment, he felt as if he had caught on to something.
Naturally, he pressed on, "Worry?"
Lampard ignored him. His sharp gaze still lingered on his old sword. "Since the time of Nuven's grandfather, they have treated Black Sand Region as a thorn in their side. At that time, the Waltons had already begun their plans to monopolize and secure the throne in Dragon Clouds City."
Little Rascal blinked.
Lampard continued speaking. His gaze was a little unfocused. "When it came to the era of Nuven's father, the Waltons tried to control Black Sand Region by way of ordering the youngest son of the Archduke of Black Sand Region to join the White Blade Guards, or using the name of the king to have his own daughter, the noble Princess of Ecsktedt, marry my father, the heir to the Archduke of Black Sand."
Thales frowned slightly. In King Nuven and Poffret's duel, Thales seemed to have heard a similar story.
"My parents were married this way." Lampard sighed, then put on a smile that was rarely seen on the Archduke of Black Sand's face. "Unexpectedly, this marriage, formed purely on the king's will, went pretty well. I heard from the old servants that my mother plotted to make my father fall in love with her and gave birth to two sons and three daughters for him. This love lasted even until father became the archduke."
The carriage continued into a narrow alley. Were they going to take a shortcut or go the long way?
Lampard was still speaking.
"Just like that, father guarded against Dragon Clouds City's invasion with his own power, even if that invasion came from the woman he loved most. He had always dwelled on the balance between his family and power his whole life."
Thales and Little Rascal listened to him quietly, the Archduke of Black Sand rarely acted this way.
"When I was very young, Harold and I were constantly brought back and forth between Dragon Clouds City and Black Sand Region, courtesy of our mother." Archduke Lampard sighed. His gaze was filled with reminiscence. "It lasted until we became adults, until Harold began taking over the administration in Black Sand Region."
"Harold?" A thought formed in Thales' heart. He was somewhat unfamiliar with this name. "He is…?"
Lampard paused for a moment.
"Harold Lampard, my older brother." A dark, scornful look appeared in the archduke's eyes.
"A ludicrous fool. There is no one else more foolish than him in the world," he said airily.
Little Rascal seemed to have remembered something. She stared at Lampard's face and she paled slightly. Thales sensed a different sort of emotion from Lampard's tone.
"You don't have brothers, right?" Lampard's gaze still lingered on the sword. Several seconds later, he said in a lonely way, "How fortunate."
Thales raised his eyebrow. He remembered his older sister and older brother in name, resting in the two stone jars in the Jadestar family tomb—Lydia and Luther Jadestar.
Lampard gently drew out his sword. The archduke's expression was complicated. He gently trailed his finger across the sharp blade.
Lampard raised his head slightly and looked at Thales. His voice turned cold. "Twelve years ago, everything changed."
His action caused the prince's heart to grow cold.
'Wait.' Thales's mind started turning again. 'Twelve years ago… Twelve years ago again? That means…?'
"A civil war, the likes of which Constellation had never seen before, erupted. It was complete chaos." Lampard's voice echoed in the coach, talking about the history that Thales was now incredibly familiar with. "Since the Fourth Peninsula War, an extremely rare chance fell upon Eckstedt—a chance to have Northland united once more and completely eliminate the threat from Broken Dragon Fortress."
Thales stared blankly at the sword in Lampard's hand.
"Nuven was already prepared to have his army march south. He contacted almost every archduke, and as a response, Harold was sent to attend the meeting of all suzerains in Dragon Clouds City as the heir of Black Sand Region." Lampard sucked in a lungful of cold air slowly and continued.
"And then, an accident happened."
A thought came to Thales.
"An attendant in Harold's team suddenly attacked and assassinated Nuven's eldest son." Lampard's boorish voice was low and filled with imposing might, as if it contained a hidden power. He said with a cold snort, "That self-righteous, brutal, bloodthirsty Prince Soria, who was practically built from the same mold as his father, died just like that in Harold's team."
In that instant, Thales' heart jumped. The second prince digested Lampard's story without moving. His hand was held tightly by Little Rascal, and her grip was getting tighter.
He had heard this story before, just last night.
"News traveled to Black Sand Region—Harold's follower assassinated the prince." Lampard pushed down on his sword hilt and his face turned chilly." Nuven would not let us go just like that. Because of that, father had even become prepared to wage war against Dragon Clouds City.
"But unexpectedly, Harold, who was originally supposed to be responsible for this did not suffer even the slightest condemnation. He was not imprisoned or detained.
"Nuven comforted him with gentle words and personally absolved him from guilt. In fact, he continued to let him join the meeting and even courteously sent him back to Black Sand Region." Lampard smiled coldly. "Even if Nuven lost his most important eldest son, Harold did not cause any trouble to him. Father already sensed there was something off at the time."
Lampard stared at his sword, and his gaze started to become even more unfocused. It was as if he was looking at something else. "I still remember Harold reporting Nuven's opinions on the day he returned and tried to persuade father to support Dragon Clouds City. In fact, he wanted father to receive the king's officials to be stationed in Black Sand Region to prepare for war.
"Father got into an intense argument with him. I was forced in between them so that they would not draw their swords at each other's throats," the archduke said slowly.
"It was also during that day when father suddenly realized that Harold Lampard, the eldest son and heir whom he had placed his hopes on, had become Dragon Clouds City and the common-elected king's strongest supporter and subject, just like his youngest brother Kaslan thirty years ago."
Thales furrowed his brow deeply. "Just like Beacon Illumination City?"
Poffret's despair-filled face surfaced before his eyes.
Lampard turned towards him expressionlessly. Thales' heart tightened.
He verified Thales' words faintly. "Just like Beacon Illumination City. Father could not accept this. He thought that if this continued, then when Harold inherited Black Sand Region, it would only be a matter of time before we became the king's affiliates." Lampard's facial expression was cold and aggressive. "Even the position as the Archduke of Black Sand would soon become a vassal where Dragon Clouds City can decide his fate with just one word.
"Sincere talks, threats, scoldings, lessons... He even asked me to council him in a roundabout manner. Father used every single method to try and change Harold's mind, but it was useless."
Little Rascal's pale face shrank further behind Thales.
The terrifying Archduke of Black Sand lowered his head. His expression was somewhat dreary. "In the end, father made his decision to rescind Harold's right of inheritance.
"Things became chaotic from that point on." Lampard shook his head slowly. "When father mildly brought this up in front of the vassals, he was immediately met with strong objection and advice for him to change his mind.
"And when father insisted on stripping off Harold's right of inheritance, the harvest reduced, troubles in finances appeared, and the merchant paths were blocked off. The difficulties in Black Sand Region also strangely increased in number. At that moment, the matters that once occurred in Beacon Illumination City happened to Black Sand Region."
Lampard snorted coldly, and there was great scorn in his voice.
"Only when all of Black Sand Region was rife with burdens did father realize that during the past thirty years, Dragon Clouds City had not only infiltrated the blood of the Lampard Family, but Nuven had also brought Harold to his side.
"Harold refused to yield, and father refused to compromise. The situation in the territory was getting worse. The forces of power supporting Harold had already surpassed what father could control. He was driven deeper into despair and became increasingly haggard." Lampard's voice became lower, and the emotions in his words turned his face paler. "Black Sand Region was just not Dragon Clouds City's opponent.
"Eventually, on the day the king's messenger was about to come to the city again, my mentally and physically exhausted father summoned me to his room."
Thales felt a chill crawl up his back. He could not help but remember Chapman Lampard's famous—or perhaps infamous—deed that gave him a terrible reputation that spread far and wide.
Lampard raised his head and stared at Dragon Clouds City's streets beyond the windows. "I still remember how my father's eyes were filled with resolution and dreariness."
Thales could not help but tighten his grip over Little Rascal behind him.
"He spoke to me for a long, long time." The Archduke of Black Sand's eyes grew colder, and his voice became calmer. "I hugged his legs and cried, using all the words I could think of to plead with him.
"I even pulled up my sleeve and let him see the scar left behind on my arm when I went hunting at fourteen years old. It was left on me when Harold yanked me out of a snow leopard's mouth."
The archduke's words grew more indifferent. However, Thales' heart clenched tighter. He heard Archduke Lampard continue to talk as if this had nothing to do with him.
"My father told me this: 'My son, we are Lampards. The blood of the Revolutionary King flows in us. Our family motto is to "never yield", be it to those beyond or within our territory, be it the emperor or the king.'"
The archduke sighed. The darkness in his eyes was incredibly profound, and his words were resolute and firm. "'We will never yield.'"
Thales listened to Lampard, dumbfounded. Little Rascal widened her eyes.
Lampard snorted lightly. He lowered his head and stared at the weapon in his hand. "In the end, he gave me this sword."
The sword's sheath was so worn down that it was completely bare, and the hilt was so eroded that it was like an ancient weapon. It was as if it was his most precious treasure.
"A week later, I challenged Harold to a public duel, and father approved it."
Thales held his breath, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Mother knelt before the study and cried the whole night, while father sat in the study and the light burned." Lampard twirled his sword slowly and touched the emblem of the iron fist on the sword hilt. "When mother fainted, she was taken away by the servants."
It was silent for a moment in the carriage. Only the sound of the wheels rubbing against the ground as the carriage moved forward was heard for a time.
"So this is—" Thales spoke with much difficulty, but he was interrupted by Lampard.
"On the day of the duel, Harold had at least three chances to end my life, end his younger brother's life," the archduke said in a deep voice, but it sounded slightly hollow and trembled a little. "At least three times..."
Lampard stopped moving his hand across the sword hilt. His voice became airy, as if he spoke from a place far away.
"In the end, when I pierced his heart, I saw his face clearly," the archduke said faintly, "He was smiling."
Lampard sucked in a deep breath. It was difficult to discern his expression with his head lowered. "He was smiling in the exact same manner as when he dragged me out of that snow leopard's mouth that day."
Thales sighed.
'This is just…'
"Harold pulled my collar and said his final words beside my ear." Lampard hummed softly, as if he was talking about a story that happened to some other family while he drank tea after a meal. "'Remember this, Chapman, we will never yield.'"
Lampard chuckled softly, his emotions were indecipherable.
Thales raised his head and stared blankly at Lampard's sword. The sword which belonged to the Archduke of Black Sand; the sword he used to kill his older brother.
Lampard's voice traveled slowly into his ears. "On the second day, mother jumped off from the tallest observation tower in the castle."
Thales and Little Rascal did not move. A quiet sadness filled the carriage. The Lampard Family's story caused Thales to have mixed feelings.
Lampard sucked in a deep breath. "On the third day, with the king's power, Nuven ordered me to go to Eternal Star City and declare war on Constellation."
The carriage ran over a hole, the coach jolted slightly.
"A month later, when the Kingdom's Wrath brought the remaining brave warriors and broke through the encirclement to reach my father in Rayman Pass, father did not avoid it, did not raise his sword. He simply allowed Murkh to break his neck." Lampard laughed lowly. "I only realized later that my father was perhaps looking for death. Maybe he could reunite with mother and Harold in hell's river."
Lampard stopped speaking. Thales exhaled slowly.
Thales raised his eyebrows and asked with great difficulty, "So you did all this out of hate? You want Nuven to pay, or perhaps you want Dragon Clouds City to be destroyed?"
Lampard snorted, as if he was laughing with contempt. He slowly leaned back, exposing his face once again under the sunlight. "Hate? That laughable thing? Don't compare me to a weakling like Poffret."
Thales frowned.
"Then why did you tell me this story?" the prince asked in surprise and bewilderment. "Don't tell me that you're just in the mood to talk about your feelings to a person who is about to die."
The Archduke of Black Sand's gaze slowly turned dark. Lampard stared at him from the viewpoint of someone superior and slowly shook his head. His voice was low and freezing cold. His words were chilling and aggressive.
"You are indeed special, boy, but your point of view is forever on the level of mediocre people." Lampard breathed out slowly and said firmly, "As for what I truly want, it's a little more than trying to protect myself, take revenge, cause a king's death, and bring destruction to a region."
Thales scrutinized Lampard's face. In his mind, he swiftly began to trying figure out his thoughts.
"Of course." Lampard snorted lightly. "You were born into the Jadestar Royal Family, in the era after the Virtuous King. You won't understand this sort of sadness."
When the archduke talked up to that point, Lampard put his sword back into its sheath and went quiet.
Thales was slightly taken aback.
The Virtuous King. This was not the first time he heard of this name from a Northlander. The last time he heard it, it was from King Nuven's mouth. At that time, Thales did not understand what he meant.
But this time, Thales remembered. He instinctively touched his chest.
The Virtuous King, Mindis Jadestar the Third. One of the Three Kings of Constellation. A King does not gain respect by virtue of his bloodline. The bloodline's glory rests on the deeds of the King.
Why? Why did King Nuven and Archduke Lampard mention this Supreme King of Constellation from over a hundred years ago? What did he do? And just what did Lampard want to do?
Thales lowered his head deeply.
"I don't understand." Thales panted rapidly, trying his best to straighten this whirling mess. "I thought that you were just trying to protect yourself with everything that you did last night. It was a desperate counter which you were forced to make, a move you made to deliver a counterattack after swearing upon death if you failed… If Black Sand Region did not do this, then Dragon Clouds City would…"
Lampard turned his gaze to Thales and stared at him with a thought-provoking expression.
Thales bit his bottom lip. The second prince lifted his head and spoke swiftly, "Drawing an outside force like Shiles to your side, mobilizing such a large army to the city, having them replace the soldiers in the city right under the Secret Room's nose, and even hiring an assassin to murder the king. Your plan is not careful and thorough at all.
"If it was not because of the coincidence of the calamities invading the city, causing the king to be far away from the protection of the White Blade Guards, you would have absolutely not succeeded—"
At that moment, Lampard snorted coldly and Thales' words off.
"Coincidence?" The Archduke of Black Sand's gaze became sharp again. "Indeed, when this is any other usual time, this plan of mine, filled with loopholes, would have absolutely no chance of success," Lampard said with a steady voice.
"The common-elected king, protected tightly by the White Blade Guards, sitting in Heroic Spirit Palace, the tallest building in the city, governing the impenetrable Dragon Clouds City, controlling the largest and strongest soldiers, enjoying the richest and most excellent military replenishments and weaponry, and also being in control of spies like the Secret Room.
