Kingdom's Bloodline, page 587
‘Vanguard Division.’
Thales remembered the stubborn Barney Junior and the neurotic Canon in the underground prison. He raised his eyebrows even further.
“So, why is the Vanguard Division the antagonist?”
Doyle cleared his throat and began to rearrange the soup bowl and cup.
“Let me put it this way. The Defense Division has great responsibilities and is not to easily leave the royalty’ side. We also many chances where we show our faces. Hah, because of it, there are plenty of things that are not suitable for us to do.”
Doyle suddenly stopped speaking, when he resumed, his tone gradually turned cold. “Hence, sometimes, when you find someone an eyesore and when you want their heads, or when you take a fancy on some girl but she is unwilling to be with you, or minor things like this…” Doyle stopped doing whatever he was doing, and his expression turned cold. “At this time, you can have the lackeys in the Vanguard Division to do your bidding.”
‘Find someone an eyesore, when you take a fancy on some girl and minor things like this?
‘Do my bidding? What?’
Thales looked at him with a strange expression and asked, “Really?”
Doyle continued staring at him with a stern expression.
Two seconds later, Doyle suddenly snickered, waved his hand, and shook his head. “I am joking, of course! Even though the bardic poems always exaggerate things and say that the royalty’ personal guards are like the thugs of the parvenu, usually, the Vanguard Division would not do something as ridiculous as this.”
When he said this, Doyle’s expression froze for a moment.
“But, you know, emphasis on usually,” he said coldly and drew closer to the prince before he put on a profound and mysterious smile.
Thales did not know whether he wanted to laugh or cry because of Doyle’s expression.
“But you said that they have the right to make decisions during battle—”
Doyle waved his hand. “Oh, that is not important.”
Doyle cleared his throat again and picked up the knife. He began rearranging the pumpkin pie, which had been tested for poison until it was a mess, and which only half of it remained.
“Next, we have the Discipline Division, which has the fewest number of people, but whose position transcends the rest.”
‘Discipline Division.’
Thales remembered the former Royal Guard who was also the chief penal officer—Luton Beldin. He nodded.
“For example, if you wanted us to do the things I just mentioned for you and we were unfortunate enough to be captured and have evidence of our deeds discovered as well, then the penal officer comes into play.” Doyle’s gaze focused. “Hence… no one in the guards likes them.”
Doyle turned toward Thales with a warning look on his face.
“I believe that it is the same for you. I heard that they are also the ones in charge of handing out the punishments to the members of the royal family.”
Doyle put down the cutleries. At some unknown point of time, the remaining half of the pumpkin pie was divided into six pieces, and it surrounded the plate in a circle. It looked exquisite and pleasing to the eye, orderly and symmetrical.
Thales was incredibly astonished to see it.
Doyle shook his head. Then, as if he was performing magic, the solemn look on his face was gone.
“Then we have the Logistics Division. They are as their name implies, and they are the most boring of the six divisions. There are even a few non-staff workers among them.”
Doyle smiled. He pushed all the unnecessary and disorderly leftovers in his plate for his main dish into an empty plate before he threw all of them into the depths of an unlit fireplace. A clear sound rang.
“In truth, I have no idea why they want to stay in that division. I mean, if you work for His Majesty, who would care if your room costs six bronze coins or six silver coins per night?”
‘Logistics Division…? Just so you know, His Majesty cares a lot about this.’ Thales thought in his heart.
Doyle exhaled. “Last is the worst of all. Their rank is completely different from ours, and they are dissociated from the five other divisions—the Flag Bearer Division.”
‘Flag Bearer Division.’
He remembered Samel, who was formerly a flag bearer before he switched sides to the Disaster Swords and whom Thales met in the underground prison. Thales asked curiously, “The worst?”
Doyle snorted coldly, “I heard that each flag bearer has a small notebook, and their daily duty is to keep an eye on us so that they can inform on us to the higher-ups.”
Thales widened his eyes.
“Higher-ups?”
Doyle flipped his hand, and there was a dinner napkin that he got from somewhere.
Thales felt his vision blur for a moment. Then, that dinner napkin was already tied around his chest.
“Higher-ups.”
Doyle moved to the prince’s side and smoothed out the spots where the dinner napkin overlapped with Thales’ collar.
“They are like the Secret Intelligence Department in the Royal Guards. They are cunning and treacherous. They have bad intentions…” Doyle said in a half-serious, half-joking tone.
‘The Secret Intelligence Department in the Royal Guards, huh?’
Thales remembered that group of different Royal Guards in the underground prison.
“And this is the Six Praetorian Divisions.”
Doyle moved in front of Thales, and he swung his arm outwards in a smooth motion as if he was welcoming a guest.
The prince discovered to his surprise that at some point of time, the food and cutlery on the table had been arranged in an orderly fashion, and the dishes on his plate were arranged to be incredibly pleasant to the eyes. He could absolutely not tell that someone had tested them for poison earlier. The dinner napkin on him and his collar had also been arranged neatly. The angle was perfect.
In fact, if he moved even an inch, he would destroy this aesthetic sight.
“And His Majesty cares a lot about your guards. Basically speaking, there are people from all six of the Praetorian Divisions among the twenty-five people by your side.”
Doyle ignored the troubled expression on Thales’ face, which was born from him wondering what food he should start with, and he began listing the people with his fingers.
“There is Lord Gray Paxton. Aside from Mallos, his rank is the highest among the guards by your side. He is the vice penal officer in the Discipline Division. Just like his commanding officer, he is basically the type that scares everyone when they saw him.
“Dreider Stone. He is the boss of the Logistics Division. He might be all smiles, but he is full of evil ideas. If he wants to toy with you through your food…” Doyle sighed before he chuckled and shrugged.
“You have seen Caleb Glover yesterday. He is the brunet behind Mallos. He usually does not speak, but when he does, he would even dare to argue against the Count of Wing Fort.”
‘Aren’t you the same?’ Thales thought in his heart.
Doyle did not notice Thales’ expression.
“Glover is one of the vanguards. I might as well tell you since we are talking about him right now. He has a poker face. He does not cry, nor does he laugh. We call him Zombie behind his back.
“I heard that Zombie’s grandfather once served in the Royal Guards, and his rank was quite high.” Doyle winked at him. “He has been influenced by what he saw since he was young, and he knows many of the ways in the Royal Guards. In fact, he knows a lot of the secrets of the former Royal Guards many years ago.”
That phrase attracted Thales’ attention.
“Former Royal Guards?” the prince asked.
“Yes.” Doyle swept his gaze across the table. When he noticed that there was no longer anything for him to rearrange, he averted his gaze in disappointment. “The Royal Guards eighteen years ago during the Bloody Year.”
Thales tensed up.
“The seniors in the palace are unwilling to mention what happened in the past, and even if we ask, they will not tell us. It is practically a taboo…”
Thales’ expression darkened. “Is it?”
However, Doyle looked up with sentimentality in his voice when he spoke next. “But I heard that during the decades of the late King Aydi’s rule, regardless of the number or quality, those former Royal Guards were a legendary existence. They reached the pinnacle of power and prosperity in the history of Royal Guards.”
He caught Thales’ attention.
“Forget anything else, just their individual power alone is legendary. They have more supreme class experts than any other generation of Royal Guards.”
When he said that, Doyle’s eyes sparkled, and he started speaking as if he was reciting a bardic poem.
“One person would be unassuming when he remains still, but when he attacks, he moves like lightning, and he does need to attack twice to subjugate his enemy.
“One person could move like a wolf for thousands of miles, and his schemes are unpredictable. When he kills in the morning, he leaves no traces behind.
“One person could have heads rolling on the ground with just one blade in hand. Even when he is engaged in a bloody battle, he will not take more than three steps.
“One person could draw the bow while he was one thousand steps away from the enemy, and when he fires his arrow, he will not miss.”
Doyle exhaled, and there was a yearning look on his face.
“The greatest of all is that there was one person in that team at that time who could fight against many alone. He could subjugate a multitude of people alone, and he fights like he is an army of thousands and tens of thousands of horses. No one could do anything about him.”
Doyle’s tone calmed down.
‘Could fight against many alone. Could subjugate a multitude of people alone. Fights like he is an army of thousands and tens of thousands of horses…’
Thales remembered the powerful but lonesome figure who stood on unsteady, and his mind wandered for a moment.
“Is it?” A thought struck Thales’ mind. “What about the guards now?”
“Now?” Doyle blinked before the corners of his lips curled up.
“Now, most of the people in the guards are formed after the Bloody Year. You know how it is, the people lived in destitute, and the royalty, as well as the commoners, did not live easy lives. The superbly talented youngsters trained during the war and in the army had been taken a long time ago by the Three Commanders who recently rose to power.
“I did hear that the current Chief Vanguard Stanley is in supreme class, but he doesn’t have any battle achievements that are famous, because the thing about supreme class is that unless you defeated another supreme class warrior in a head-on fight, other people will not admit that you are in supreme class, or else…”
Doyle shrugged, and the aspiring look in his eyes turned into regret.
“It is a pity. I truly wish I was born during that era so that I can see the powerful group, whose strength is unprecedented, performing their grand deeds. If I could fight against those legendary experts who are now lost to us, that would be great.”
But Doyle immediately shook his head.
“No, it’s actually not that much of a pity. After all, they are a shameful group.”
A thought rose in Thales’ mind.
“Shameful? How so?”
Doyle sighed softly. “Did you not know? That same group was incompetent in protecting the palace during the Bloody Year. They could not mobilize their forces well, and they had equal difficult advancing and retreating. In the end, they lost Renaissance Palace. And with their own hands, they buried the best era of the Royal Guards.”
‘As incompetent in protecting the palace, could not mobilize their forces well…’
Thales instinctively clenched his fists.
Doyle’s expression was complicated. Thales could not tell whether that expression was disdainful or resigned. “I heard… This is just hearsay, but there was even someone who established an illicit relationship with the enemy.”
‘Established an illicit relationship with the enemy.’
Thales clenched his fist even tighter.
“Watchman.”
Doyle was stunned. “What?”
Thales raised his head and asked seriously, “You mentioned that Mallos was promoted to be the watchman from the Command Division a year ago.
“Which division does this post belong to? What exactly are the person’s duties?”
When he was faced with this question, even Doyle was stunned for a moment.
“Watchman?”
He frowned.
“In truth, during my first eight years in the guards, I never knew that this position existed until Mallos was promoted.
“But we have our speculations in the group. You know, he is a watchman, and since it is a position that watches over something, we believe that he is someone who is supposed to hide in the dark and secret protects and watches over something.”
When he said this, Doyle thought of something, and a teasing tone appeared in his voice. “Such as the royalty going to Red Street Market in private, but it is not convenient for them to bring their guards, the watchman will follow them in secret and wait by their beds…”
Thales originally listened very attentively, until he discovered that something was off.
When he saw Thales’ expression, Doyle quirked an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah, Your Grace, you are still young. Do you know Red Street Market, though?”
‘Red Street Market?’
Before Thales could answer, Doyle raised his index finger and chuckled.
“Oh, ho… I know from the first glance that you have never gone there before!
“It is fine, when we are free in the future, I will bring you there for some fun!”
At that moment…
“Doyle.”
A clear and loud voice sounded.
During that second, Doyle perfectly stopped speaking, turned around, smiled, and bowed. All of it was done in a stretch.
“Oh, look who is here! Lord Mallos! Hey, and you, Zombie—I mean, Vanguard Glover!”
Doyle spread open his arms with a passionate expression. There was not a single hint of awkwardness on his face when he looked toward the third person. “Welcome, Count Caso!”
As expected, Watchman Mallos and Vanguard Glover appeared at the entrance, and Gilbert followed behind them. He watched Thales and Doyle with a smile.
Thales could only give him an awkward smile.
Mallos put on a perfect and faint smile.
“Doyle, I heard that you are very interested in Red Street Market?”
“Oh, about that…”
Doyle put on an expression as if he just remembered what he said and uttered some words with a look of realization, “Of course, I was just spreading some general knowledge to Duke Thales, it is all information that he should know by his age.”
‘General knowledge?’
Thales sighed and quietly turned his head away.
“General knowledge?” As expected, Lord Mallos narrowed his eyes, and beside him, Glover snorted rudely.
“Indeed.” Doyle turned to Thales without any regret on his face. “It is all geographical knowledge.
“I told him about the administrative districts in Eternal Star City. Your Grace, we just talked about how Red Street Market is next to Linhe Street, and it separates Western District from Lower City District…”
Mallos and Glover cast each other a glance. One of them smiled faintly, and the other appeared to be disdainful.
Thales could only marvel at Doyle, and endless admiration rose in his heart.
A few minutes later, Thales finally picked up his cutlery and was able to eat. Mallos and the rest left quietly. Only Gilbert left behind to look at the prince with gratification in his eyes.
“I am very happy that you struck up an accord with Danny, Your Grace.”
Thales could only smile in resignation. He cut the meat without hesitation and destroyed his main dish, which was rearranged so perfectly that it could be called a piece of art.
“I do not have any other choice, do I?”
Gilbert gave a hearty laugh.
“Relax, Your Highness. Be it Mallos, Glover, or Doyle, all of them come from the Seven Jadestar Attendant families. They are not your usual local nobles. Your father trusts in them.”
Thales stabbed one piece of meat and brought it to his mouth. He hummed.
“Seven Jadestar Attendants?”
Gilbert nodded.
“During the Battle of Eradication, the Renaissance King had seven retinues by his side. The bards call them the Seven Jadestar Attendants.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister spoke with the tone as if he was narrating a story again. Even though it was not as bewitching as Putray’s stories, because his tone rose and fell freely, Gilbert’s stories were straightforward and simple.
“Once he created the kingdom, they stayed in Central Territory and received titles from viscounts to barons. They became direct vassals within the territory of the king, and their families also became reliable assistants of the Jadestar Royal Family.
“It has been six hundred years, even though times have changed and the members have also changed, every generation, the vassals whom the Jadestars trust the most will be known as the Seven Jadestar Attendants based on habit. But sometimes, the numbers will be more, and sometimes, it will be less.
“Besides the Six Great Clans and the Thirteen Distinguished Families, the Seven Jadestar Attendants are the common guests of the Royal Family. It has been that way for nearly one hundred years.”
‘Nearly one hundred years…’
Thales mulled over those words.
“If we talk about their status and their effect, they might not be as great as the nineteen nobles, but if we talk about the aid and meaning they provide to your family’s rule, the seven attendants definitely live up to their name, sometimes even more.” Gilbert said seriously, “Hence, you must maintain the relationship with your direct—”
But the prince interrupted him.
