Kingdom's Bloodline, page 586
“But on this day six years later, the army of the Kingdom’s Wrath rode to all places in the land according to His Majesty’s orders. They spread the influence of the royal power to Eastern Sea, South Coast, Blade Edge, and Western Desert. Wherever they went in the four regions, the people would submit to them. Wherever they pointed their swords, the vassals would bow their heads and obey. We once lost control over the territories in the country, but now, they are placed before His Majesty’s long meeting table, and all are under his control.
“Since the decline of the Great Dragon was a rare chance, we could let loose and carry out our goals, be it unifying the nobles in the country, restating royal power, fighting against Camus, hammering down on Dragon-Kissed Land, warning Alumbia, intimidating the Three Kingdoms of the Mystery Sea by deploying troops to the borders, and seizing back supremacy in Western Peninsula… The things we did not dare to do in the past have been placed in our schedules one by one.”
When he listened to the news of the current political situation in the country, Thales frowned deeply.
‘So many things have happened in Constellation over the past few years?’
“Your Highness, the heavy blow dealt by the Bloody Year caused the kingdom to be in decay for years. We were dispirited, and could not pick ourselves back on our feet.” Gilbert sounded like he was in great grief. “It has been nearly twenty years. That time is enough to mark the time for one generation. We, who have the blood of the Empire flowing in our veins and once dominated over Western Peninsula had to be meek and subservient. We had to conceal our talents, and we lived while trembling in fear as if we were walking on thin ice.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister’s gray hair reflected the setting sun outside the window. His voice rose and fell, making it clear that it was difficult for him to compose himself.
Gilbert sucked in a deep breath. His expression changed as his tone became spirited. He now looked as if he was radiating life.
“However, almost twenty years have passed. Look at us now, the Great Dragon has folded its wings. Our great enemy has been beheaded. The galaxy shines, and Constellation has regained its luster.”
Gilbert’s gaze seemed to contain light. It made Thales feel like he could not breathe.
“We can finally regain our breaths and free ourselves to restore our vitality and manage our country. The days until the kingdom returns to standing at the top of the world are no longer far away.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister held Thales’ shoulder gently.
“And all of this, from saving Constellation, unifying the kingdom, extinguishing the flames of war, and recasting the might of Renaissance Palace are related to you, my young Sir…” Gilbert inhaled deeply and looked at him with complicated emotions. His eyes shone with unshed tears. “My Duke Thales.”
Thales only stared at him in a daze. He could not say anything for a long period of time.
Gilbert blinked away his tears and also composed himself.
“That is right. It is indeed not easy to be this ‘useless’ duke.”
The middle-aged noble put on an anguished but gratified smile.
“But it is precisely because of all your efforts and struggles in the past that you have become the most suitable person to inherit this title from among the millions of lives in this great kingdom,” Gilbert said softly.
At that moment…
“Your Grace.”
A familiar sound traveled into their ears from outside the carriage.
Thales snapped back to attention.
He recognized that it was one of the Royal Guards. He was the blond knight who previously remained behind Mallos. He was Derek’s distant relative, as well as the one who mocked the Kroma Family and said that they harbored ill-intentions when they escorted Thales—Doyle.
“We have reached Rorun Fortress. It is the place where we will rest today. We will set out tomorrow.”
Thales was still immersed in strange emotions and before he could react, Gilbert had already composed himself. He stood up with a smile.
“Thank you, Doyle. I will go over now.” Gilbert pushed open the carriage door and walked out. His voice continued to travel into Thales’ ears from outside the carriage. He sounded polite, and the signs of him losing his composure earlier were nowhere to be found. “And we are very thankful for the Royal Guards’ service.”
Doyle’s laughter also rose. Clearly, he was very familiar with the Foreign Affairs Minister.
“We have our mission, Your Grace. Also, since we are assigned as the Duke of Star Lake’s personal guards, perhaps you can call us the duke’s personal guards, or Star Lake Guards.” Doyle’s voice was very cheery, as though he never experienced worries.
Thales was stunned again.
‘Star Lake Guards.’
The Royal Guards as well as Gilbert’s chatter and laughter could still be heard outside the carriage.
However, Thales only sat in the carriage quietly. He did not say a word or move.
No one knew how much time had passed, but when Doyle urged him out of the carriage again, the teenage prince sighed and leaned back against the carriage. He said in a barely audible tone, “Are you there?”
A few seconds, a very faint and hoarse voice rose out of the blue from the air. “Yes.”
Thales shook his head in a daze before he snorted. “Did you hear what I’ve done from what Gilbert said just earlier?”
“‘From saving Constellation, unifying the kingdom, extinguishing the flames of war, and recasting the might of Renaissance Palace…
“‘It is precisely because of all your efforts and struggles in the past that you have become the most suitable person to inherit this title from among the millions of lives in this great kingdom.”‘
Thales was absentminded.
“Yes.” The answer in the air was still short and crisp. The speaker still treated his words like gold, just as usual.
Thales gave a casual response to Doyle as the man urged him to get out of the carriage again, but then he looked up with a dull expression and stared at the top of the carriage. His gaze was unfocused.
“Yodel, have you ever had a moment in your life where you felt that everything in your life does not feel real, and you cannot get used to it?”
A few seconds later, the Masked Protector’s voice traveled into his ears faintly. “Yes.”
The ghost of a smile appeared at Thales’ lips.
“Very good. Then it means I am not insane.” His voice was dejected.
“Thales…” His name rose in the air, followed by some hesitant but comforting words. “Everything will become better.”
When Thales heard that, he smiled again.
‘Everything will become better.’
“Yes,” Thales said dazedly in the carriage, “Every single time when things go south, I tell myself that as well.”
Yodel no longer spoke.
Chapter 502: Six Divisions and Seven Attendants |
Rorun Fortress was a little known place in Western Desert. It seemed to be a place that had been chosen after much thought as a place to stay.
Gilbert left earlier on to go to the regular soldiers to handle some matters, and Thales left the carriage while he was attended by the Royal Guards, who were led by Mallos. What entered his sight was a simple fortress that was about the same size as a small house in Shield District.
He did not run into the local noble who would usually come forward to greet him. Only servants came over from the distance, trembling, cowering, and holding their heads down. They handed them torches, water as well as food, and the Royal Guards, who strictly isolated the prince from all insignificant people, brought those items to Thales.
Even the sentry duties outside the fortress had been taken over by the regular soldiers of the Royal Family. They were standing at the periphery of the fortress.
When Thales instinctively smiled at a servant girl, who appeared to only be around eleven or twelve years old, and who had hurriedly come over with a tray of food on her head, Mallos appeared right on time and blocked his sight in a polite, gentle, but irrefutable manner.
He remained there until the young servant girl fled the hall with a pale face under the fierce gazes of all the Royal Guards who filled the hall.
Thales could not help but feel unhappy.
However, since it was his first time in that place and he was unfamiliar with the people there, Thales told himself that he should not interfere with the Royal Guards’ actions.
And when Thales walked into the hall of the fortress, which was so simple that it could even be described as a little crude and which could be said to only be used for military functions, he sat down by the long table under Mallos’ signal, and that unhappiness reached its peak.
“Same old rules. Get two people out and test the food.” Mallos did not unequip his armor nor remove his sword. He stood beside Thales, and his calm and flat voice traveled in the hall. “We will let His Grace eat half an hour later. During this period of time, all those in the Vanguard Division will survey the fortress. Those in the Defense Division will set up defenses just as we usually do. Those in the Logistics Division, check the scullery. The others, go back to your positions.”
Mallos narrowed his eyes and stared at the direction where the young servant girl left. “And I do not want to see anyone walk into this hall without permission again, even if she is a young, plump girl.
“Also, no matter where His Grace wants to go, regardless of whether he wants to eat, bathe, go to the toilet, rest, or take a stroll around, make sure that there are at least two attendants beside him, and you must make sure that you can see His Grace at all times. If anything happens, the three layers of defense outside can react in time.”
As he listened to this, Thales could not help but frown.
Mallos seemed to have a lot of prestige. Twenty-two of the twenty-four people who stood beside the long table obeyed his orders and left the hall.
Mallos himself cast a glance at Thales. His gaze was calm and natural, but it seemed to contain some sort of power, making Thales, who was so hungry that he slumped, to instinctively sit up a little straighter.
“Take care of His Grace.” The brunet watchman left these words behind lightly and walked out of the hall.
At the instant Mallos went out of the door, Thales felt that the air in the hall became gentler.
However, pleasant things never lasted. The two people who were left behind walked forward without hesitation and took away Thales’ tray from the table in a straightforward manner.
Under Thales’ alarmed gaze, they began carefully dissecting each of his food. They even opened up a pie made of unknown ingredients. Then, they took a bite from each.
Thales stared at his food, which was now trampled on until it was completely destroyed, and he even had the misconception that he had returned to Northland, back to Dragon Clouds City, and back to Blood Court.
No, it was worse than that.
At the very least, the Northlanders would not eat his food.
One of them only tasted a bit of everything before he stopped and immediately got up to stand guard at the entrance. As for the other…
“Oh, no, this pie is made of pumpkin. It tastes horrible.”
The guard who stood the closest to him grumbled in agony while he took another piece of pumpkin pie. He gave Thales a relaxed and bright smile.
“No, Your Grace, you will not like this one. I have to help you get rid of some of it. No need to thank me…”
Thales stared at the rapidly reducing pumpkin pie and smiled awkwardly.
The knight who ate the pumpkin pie made a seizing motion, as if he held a cup. He smiled and nodded.
“Do not worry, Your Grace. This is just a routine check. The regular army will set up camp around the fortress, there is nothing that can threaten your safety,” the knight before him said. He smiled even more brilliantly than before.
‘If you say it that way, I’m even more uneasy, you know…’
“No, Your Grace, you cannot eat yet. You must wait for half an hour. If I had not started foaming and dying on the spot, you can start eating.” The knight gently held Thales’ wrist and pushed him back forcefully, gently, and also in a manner that bode no argument.
Thales could only resentfully withdraw the hand that went for the water cup.
He recognized the blond knight before him. It was Derek’s distant relative—Doyle.
“So, um… Mallos is your leader. Is his rank the highest?”
While he waited for them to test for poison in boredom, Thales could only engage in small talk. “Do you have to listen to him?”
Doyle patted away the bread crumbs in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and nodded.
“Yes.” Doyle cast a glance at the entrance. When he found that Mallos was completely gone, he began to smile and moved to Thales’ side to position his cutlery nicely.
“The Royal Guards have a strict and clear division of labor and system, along with a hierarchical structure. We cannot go against it.”
While Doyle spoke, his hands never stopped moving. The knife, fork, spoon, and the different food for his meal were arranged in an orderly manner. It fulfilled the standards of the dining etiquette Thales learned when he was younger.
‘Strict and clear…’
Thales stared at the blond knight before him with some degree of interest.
“And what rank are you in that hierarchy?”
Doyle rearranged a plate of vegetables until they were more evenly distributed on the plate. He smiled. “Be more careful with your words, Your Highness, it’s not that simple. We are different from the ludicrous guards who change every generation in the north. Those Northland barbarians are truly savage and primitive in the way they do things. The Royal Guards of Constellation have a long and glorious history that is passed down through generations. Its system also follows the system of the Emperor’s Praetorian Guards.”
Doyle raised his index finger at the fourteen-year-old prince. His smile was bright, and he had a friendly look that said he was about to tell Thales a story.
“As the sacred group that protects His Majesty, the Emperor’s Praetorian Guards have different positions. We are divided into six divisions, and each division has two people in charge, one of them is the chief, and the other the vice chief.”
‘Six divisions.’
Thales’ spirits raised. He remembered the former Royal Guards he met in the underground prison.
“First is the supreme Command Division.”
Doyle’s smile was warm. He used the knife and fork to cut the meat on the plate in half.
“They are the entire group’s brain. The chief and vice chief and the captain and vice captain. They are in charge of managing and leading the entire group. They have absolute authority, and they only answer to His Majesty. Before we were sent to your side, Mallos was part of the Command Division. He delivered orders and information between Captain Adrian and the other people in charge of the other divisions. Hmm… his rank was very high, but his responsibilities were great. And once he was promoted as the watchman…”
Doyle shrugged helplessly.
“So, as you can tell, be it from before or in the future, we have to listen to him.”
‘Command Division. Captain and vice captain.’
Thales remembered Barney Junior’s father, and he sank into deep thought.
“Next is the Defense Division.”
Doyle sucked in a deep hair and flung his hair before he straightened his body. His brilliance instantly shone even brighter than before.
“This is the main division in the Royal Guards. The outside world also sees this division the most. They are in charge of protecting royalty.” With awe-inspiring righteousness, he took out two leaves from a vegetable and brought them to the meat. “They are common heroes and great protectors who will use their physical bodies to ensure your safety. With passion, they will lay out a path for your glory.”
Doyle’s words made Thales be slightly puzzled.
When he saw the solemn and aspiring expression on Doyle’s face, as if he was spreading a religion, Thales narrowed his eyes. “You are in the Defense Division, yes?”
Doyle raised his eyebrows before he gave a theatrical bow.
“Indeed, I am!”
When he saw how honored Doyle appeared to be, Thales nodded as he came to a realization.
‘Got it.’
“I am Danny Doyle.” Doyle pushed a palm against his chest with a smile. “Your Grace, I am the one you can rely on the most among the six guards.”
Thales blinked.
Doyle winked at him with his left eye, and he looked very carefree, like a man whose actions could not be restrained.
“Or we can make it simpler. Everyone likes calling me D.D..”
Thales froze for a moment.
“D.D.?” The prince repeated with a strange expression on his face. “Do you have a sister called C.C., by any chance?”
‘Or maybe a brother called V.V.?’
Doyle was stunned.
“C.C.?”
Doyle looked at him with a puzzled expression while he pondered over the prince’s words.
“Ahem. It is nothing…” Thales coughed violently before he said seriously, “It is just a Northland joke…”
“Oh…” Doyle had a look of understanding, and his intonation at the end of that one syllable rose as an indication.
“So, Doyle, did they call you Young D.D. [1] when you were young?” Thales was shocked to find that his food had been swiftly turned into a piece of art.
Doyle was stunned again. “What?”
Thales raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “It is nothing. I will often say some boring jokes from those Northland barbarians. You will be fine once you get used to it. Please, continue.”
Doyle blinked as if he did not quite understand what the prince meant.
“So where was I? Oh, yes, the other part of the Royal Guards, the image of the Royal Guards who will often appear in bardic poems. They are the adorable and fascinating antagonists, but they have the right to make decisions during battles—the Vanguard Division.”
