Kingdom's Bloodline, page 284
The next second, Archduke Lecco opened his eyes, which were initially murky, but bright and clear now. He looked at Thales. "But, why are you so afraid of him?
"Is it because of Constellation backing him, or his inborn intelligence?"
Lampard was slightly startled.
"We are not blind, Chapman," the old archduke sighed and said.
"Since this boy arrived in this place, everything you have said, regardless of your stance, aims to silence him."
Lampard turned to look at the old archduke in disbelief, then shifted his gaze to the others.
But they were all gazing at Lampard coldly and silently.
In that instant, Thales' pounding heart, which felt as though it was about to hop out of his chest, calmed down and returned to its original position.
"Is the presence of this child really that horrifying?" Archduke Lecco's voice was faint, but loud enough to echo throughout the hall.
"Can he squash all five of us to death with just one sentence?"
Thales raised an eyebrow.
Thales took a deep breath, recalling the options given to him by Asda, and internally said, 'As a matter of fact, you're indeed right about that.'
"Or..." Like a wise elderly man in a village, Archduke Lecco's lips curved up. A smile resembling a grimace emerged on his wrinkly face. What he said next was shocking.
"Will he really say something that will spark our interest?"
Lampard's face darkened.
Never had he felt so strongly about how the other archdukes before him were morons.
"If you want to hear him out, you may take your time interrogating him when he is in prison," the Archduke of Black Sand Region replied coldly. "We however, have an urgent matter to attend to. Do not forget that Dragon Clouds City is still in turmoil! Do not forget about Prime Minister Lisban—"
Archduke Lecco interrupted him loudly. "Prime Minister Lisban will understand!"
The old archduke's gaze was stern and sharp. "The question is, Chapman, as our ally, why can't you understand our concern?"
Lampard gritted his teeth. He glanced at Thales who appeared composed, then back at Lecco.
"What about you?" The Archduke of Black Sand Region turned his head to face the others. "Do you wish to allow this madness to continue as well?"
The person who replied was Olsius.
"For the past six hundred years, the Olsius Family has been warning its descendants to never underestimate a Jadestar, despite how pitiable, meek, or weak he is." The Archduke of Prestige Orchid peered at Thales with a strange gaze.
Thales gave him a helpless, innocent expression.
"So"—Olsius changed the topic of the conversation—"I would rather listen to what he has to say before hanging him."
"I am very supportive of you, Chapman." Standing behind Olsius, Trentida sighed. "But, instead of having disagreement, I believe we need to be united and agree on the same thing at this time."
In that moment, the expressionless Lampard tightened his grip on his saber.
He turned his head, noticing that Archduke Roknee was eyeing him closely and flashing him a malicious smile.
"Keep talking, child..." Archduke Lecco ignored Lampard's reaction, and decided on the next subject of their discussion in an authoritative manner. "Particularly the part about sacrificing allies."
Thales smiled.
He knew from that moment onwards, the person in charge of the game had changed.
The balance tilted once again.
As he softly patted the back of Saroma's hand to comfort her, Thales turned around and nodded slightly at Archduke Lecco.
"First of all, we need to know a fact.
"The assassin hired by Chapman Lampard, Bannette Charleton, has been hiding on the Cliff of the Sky." Thales took a deep breath, recalling the conversation he overheard on the carriage, and describing it, word by word.
"He planned to infiltrate Heroic Spirit Palace to assassinate King Nuven while the White Blade Guards were sent away."
Lampard closed his eyes.
For first three seconds, the archdukes did not react.
But soon enough, the four archdukes looked at each other.
They exchanged astonished glances.
"Yes, in Lampard's original plan, King Nuven would mysteriously die here, in this heavily guarded Heroic Spirit Palace," Thales' voice was calm but filled with solemnity and grief.
"He would have died by your sides."
256 Counter-Attack |
Two braziers had been extinguished in the Hall of Heroes.
But no one was paying attention to the temperature in the stone hall any longer.
"Lampard doesn't just want to kill King Nuven..."
Thales finally managed to calm his breathing after a long while had passed. The Prince of Constellation whispered, "He also wants to make the most of King Nuven's death and achieve his goals."
The prince raised his head and looked at the archdukes who had strange expressions on their faces. "You can all already imagine it. King Nuven executed one of the five archdukes in the name of revenge, and in the blink of an eye, the other four murdered him.
"How would things be like then?"
Archduke Lecco clasped his hands together, his gaze was frozen.
'How would… things be like?'
The old archduke looked at Lampard with deep thoughts raging in his mind.
In contrast, Lampard's gaze on Thales had returned to dead stillness, causing the latter's heart to heart tremble in trepidation.
But Thales looked extremely calm as he continued, "I do not know about Lampard's specific plans, but in his plans, you are probably prime suspects, and it will be hard for you to wash your hands of this suspicion. You will be wrecking your minds, thinking of ways to clear your name. However, you are in the unfamiliar Dragon Clouds City, and the savvy Prime Minister Lisban probably is not easy to deal with."
The prince recalled bits of information and pieces of the truth he gained while he was fleeing in fear. He had constantly been surrounded by danger since the assassination happened. He sighed slightly, "Next, with Secret Room's 'help', Prime Minister Lisban and the four 'king slayers' will inevitably clash in conflict, thereby forcing all of you to stand against Dragon Clouds City!"
There was a strange silence in the hall.
The archdukes looked at Lampard as they thought of Thales' words with varying expressions on their faces.
Meanwhile, Thales walked over to the rectangular table. Under Archduke Roknee's gaze, he jumped onto a chair and looked at Archduke Lecco, who was just on the opposite. "I heard earlier that Prime Minister Lisban is besieging the gatehouse?"
Lampard silently turned his head to the side, as though he was not the protagonist of this conversation.
"Initially, I did not understand why Lampard brought the army while he assassinated the king." Thales took a deep breath and recalled the soldiers who were disguised as patrols, and the assumptions he formed in the prison cell. "I now believe that Lampard's forces were supposed to intervene with the conflict between the archdukes and the prime minister when things escalated to the point of no return. He was supposed to rescue all of you."
Trentida lifted his head.
"Why?" the Archduke of Reformation Tower asked solemnly, "Assuming you are telling the truth, why did Lampard do this?"
Thales' expression froze a little.
"In order to convince you," he said with an indifferent expression.
"Why?" Archduke Trentida instinctively asked in surprise.
"With the suspicion of committing regicide and being unable to reconcile with the prime minister, all of you will willingly accept Lampard's proposal. You will very willingly and eagerly push the blame of the king's death on Constellation and me."
Thales' expression dimmed once he said these words.
"You will voluntarily become Lampard's accomplice, deploying your soldiers with Lampard, and invade Constellation. You will have put an end to King Nuven's threat on all of you and fulfilled his wish." Getting a strange look from Saroma, Thales exhaled and sighed softly.
"This is Lampard's real original plan. Using schemes and making me the scapegoat, he can force his allies to be bound to his cause."
The archdukes' gazes constantly shifted back and forth between Lampard and Thales.
The Archduke of Black Sand Region still stood motionless, his eyes became increasingly calmer.
Thales exhaled and leaned back listlessly against the chair. With a strange look, he watched as Archduke Roknee's expression turned sourer with each passing moment.
'Did I provoke him somehow?'
Archduke Olsius tapped on the square table with a solemn face, and his sonorous voice sounded, "If this is Chapman's original plan, why did he change his mind?"
Thales clenched his fist and remembered Putray's words.
"To Lampard's surprise, an accident happened during the assassination," Thales calmly replied. "King Nuven was not in Heroic Spirit Palace as he was expected to be.
"Lampard had to expose himself, enter the city in advance, and witness the death of Nuven in Shield District."
The prince raised his eyes, and he glanced at each one of the archdukes with his gray eyes.
"He lost his dominance and control over the situation. He could no longer blame you. He could not use the situation and the danger you were supposed to face to force you to form an alliance with him.
"That is why this scene is happening right now.
"Lampard had to take the risk of taking down the gatehouse as well as personally entering Heroic Spirit Palace to convince all of you to let go of Nuven's death and work with him."
Thales slowly sighed. "It's different from his plan of using the situation to force you to agree to his plans. This time, he's using a reason you can't refute to convince you to join his plan."
He finished speaking.
The only thing left in the hall was silence.
The archdukes had interesting expressions painted on their faces.
"This is what you wanted to say?"
Archduke Lecco was immersed in his thoughts for a while. "Chapman's original plan was to use a dirty tactic to get us roped into his plan?"
Lampard snorted.
"Words spoken without any prior thought," the Archduke of Black Sand Region spoke in disdain and indifference. "Plus, there're plenty of loopholes."
Thales clenched his teeth.
But Trentida interrupted his rebuttal.
"Our Archduke of Black Sand Region is a very conniving person," the Archduke of Reformation Tower said with a smile, "But what about it?
"Even if he was really prepared to scheme against us and turn us into scapegoats, things have already progressed to this point." Archduke Trentida turned to the others and spread his hands slightly. "It's too late."
The archduke turned his head around slightly and looked at Thales.
At that moment, Trentida's eyes shone with a cold glare. "For Eckstedtians, what needs to be done still has to be done.
"There is nothing you can change."
Lampard still had a look that said he had no intention to be involved in this. Nonetheless, the Archduke of Black Sand Region turned and nodded at Trentida.
Thales was stunned.
He observed the archdukes' expressions and found that they seemed to be indifferent.
With a worried look, Saroma stepped forward and tugged on his torn sleeve.
But Thales smiled.
The prince revealed a smile in front of the archdukes. It was a smile that was free of burden,
"My dear archdukes, how did Chapman Lampard convince all of you to work with him?" Thales glanced at the suzerains, each with great power in their hands. He then licked his lips. "What reason did he give that would make you unable to refuse his offer and be willing to work with him so obediently?"
The archdukes' expression became slightly dark.
"It's okay." Thales closed his eyes and sighed. "In fact, I've guessed this when I was on my way here."
Lampard's gaze froze a little.
Thales straightened his back. With a stern expression, he faced the archdukes. "Did Lampard tell all of you that compared to his insubordinate act, there is a more terrifying threat rising to power in the country to the south? So strong that even Eckstedt would not be able to fend against it?"
At that moment, the archdukes' expressions became slightly unnatural, though the degree of it varied from person to person.
It seemed that they were not used to the Prince of Constellation saying such words.
Lampard snorted softly.
But Thales ignored the Archduke of Black Sand.
It was his turn.
Thales clenched his fist.
"Did he tell you that the country born after the Empire is changing like never before?" Thales' gaze grew sharper and his voice slowly became louder, "That the power of their nation is integrating into one in an unprecedented fashion, becoming more efficient? Thus, the king can command as he wishes?"
Saroma was surprised.
"Did he tell all of you it's only by striking the enemy first using war and violence that you can destroy this threat before it grows regardless of the cost Eckstedt bears to find a path of survival?"
Archduke Olsius and Trentida glanced at each other with a startled look.
"Did he also tell you that if you do not do this, one day, your territory will be taken away, your family will be killed entirely, your bloodline will be cut off, and everything you have will be wiped out so they no longer exist?"
Archduke Lecco raised his eyebrows. His veins were visible beneath his skin once again.
Thales sighed and said the final sentence, "And did he tell you this as well? 'Everything that I, Chapman Lampard, did, whether it was a coup or instigating war, was because I was forced to do it. I had no choice but to do it. I am willing to sully my name as a sacrifice. I am determined to stand tall in this world with the ambition of a fierce and ambitious person. I am doing this righteous cause for the country'?"
After he finished speaking, Thales could feel that the gaze Lampard had on him becoming even colder with time.
"Alright." Archduke Trentida sighed slightly. "For these few words alone, you've shown that you really deserve your reputation, boy."
Archduke Roknee furrowed his eyebrows.
"Who told you?"
"That's not important, but that is how he convinced all of you, right?" Thales clenched his teeth without giving any attention to the strange looks from the archdukes. "You have approved his reason. You agreed to cover up the truth of the king's death. You are willing to work with him to march down south to Constellation, and you accepted the condition of his gift of a masterless Dragon Clouds City.
"All this just for the sake of Eckstedt?"
Just when the archdukes were struck by bewilderment and surprise, Thales lifted his head and clenched his teeth as he said, "But, don't you find something strange?"
Thales stood up from his chair and slammed his hands onto the square table. His expression was solemn.
"If he could convince you on his own just as he did just now, why did he have to waste so much time originally, scheming to shift the blame of the king's assassination on you, then forcing all of you to stand against Dragon Clouds City?"
The prince clenched his fist. "Why didn't he barge straight in here and tell you, 'For Eckstedt, for everything that you have to not be destroyed by the future Constellation, please understand my hardships and cooperate with me in my selfless, magnificent feat.'?"
Trentida looked up and glanced at Lampard, who was no longer talking. His lips quirked into a smile. "He's doing it now, isn't it?"
Thales looked at Lampard and watched him press his hand on the saber by his waist.
"I just said it. The thing he is forced to do right now is his backup plan," the prince whispered.
"Otherwise, Lampard would never give this reason to convince you. He neither intends to tell you about the threat of Constellation, nor tell you about the drastic changes in that country. And he was definitely not going to tell you his true purpose."
Archduke Lecco frowned. 'His true purpose?'
Thales' fist was on the table, recalling what Shiles said, "Lampard would rather that you joined him because you were opposing Dragon Clouds City, not cooperate with him because you were aware of the threat in Constellation."
"Why?" Archduke Roknee opened his mouth impatiently, "Speak directly, Northlanders hate all this talk where you just go about in circles."
Thales turned to face him.
"Why?" The Prince of Constellation narrowed his eyes. "Because these are his genuine words.
"Because he's afraid."
At that moment, Thales finally saw the cold Lampard slowly raise his head.
The Archduke of Black Sand Region looked at him, and his chilly gaze turned to a still gaze.
Thales clenched his teeth as he looked back at him without hesitation.
'This is the battle between us.
'It is also the fairest battlefield.
'Lampard, get ready.
'Now, this is my counter-attack.'
"Afraid?" Trentida questioned, feeling puzzled.
Thales nodded slowly and firmly.
"He is afraid that you will find something wrong with his words."
Thales Jadestar took a deep breath, "He is afraid that once you start thinking about it, you will find that behind the 'threat of Constellation'... is the cruel truth."
"The truth?" Archduke Roknee muttered again.
The next second...
"My dear archdukes!" Thales stood up straight and stepped on a chair with a serious look. "Once you accepted Lampard's proposal today to take Dragon Clouds City as your own and send your soldiers down south and invade Constellation..."
Archduke Lecco unknowingly straightened up in his chair.
Roknee raised his chin.
There was a solemn expression on both Trentida and Olsius' faces.
As for Lampard, his still gaze had not changed for a really long time.
But Thales no longer had any time to care about his opponents' feelings.
Thales clenched his teeth as he glanced through each archduke solemnly, and found that their expressions became more complex as well as subtle. "In the future, each of you as well as every region you have will face great disasters and be eternally doomed in a storm you cannot fend against!"
