That night, under Jine's knife-like gaze and merciless scolding, Thales struggled through a dinner with many rules and a boring etiquette class that he had to take—after all, as a code of conduct Etiquette is also one of the criteria for classifying social classes-at least one can control the table knife and fork with trembling hands in accordance with the rules.
But Thales could feel the anger and dissatisfaction hidden under Jine's beautiful eyes, and he vaguely knew that it was related to the history of the stars that Gilbert told in the afternoon.
If the stars are there, the empire will last forever.
Even if someone like Thales, who is not familiar with the founding legend of Tormund I, hears this heavy oath, his heart beats faster and his blood boils.
Gilbert and the guards in the hall—it was only later that Thales learned that they were all descendants of the final imperial army—are such representatives.
However, Thales was keenly aware of Jine's distaste for this sentence, and even the meaning behind this sentence.
But he didn't dare to ask.
He didn't know what attitude this female officer, who claimed to be his father's lover, had towards him.
In the way Ji Ni looked at him, Thales saw the fleeting disgust in the other party's eyes, the reluctance she endured, and the repeated hesitation when she approached him, but only saw a sincere smile .
Therefore, the entire etiquette class was extremely dull.
Until the staring-eyed Jine, unexpectedly, Thales broke the silence first:
"You don't like these rules and etiquette, do you?" Seeing Thales trying to bend his wrist to avoid exceeding the standard line of arm swing during meals, Jinny suddenly said coldly: "Your expression is more than just now." A horse with a bridle is ugly."
Thales was taken aback by the sudden question, and in a hurry, he tried his best to reply gracefully: "Uh, Ms. Jinny, I know these are necessary, and I'm still trying my best to adapt..."
But his words were interrupted by Ji Ni.
"Of course you have to learn these etiquettes." She said coldly, but full of mocking disdain.
"But it's best not to become their captive... Walking, sitting, or lying in a so-called noble posture doesn't mean you're really noble."
"Similarly, bearing those glorious and proud histories doesn't mean you really..."
Jine didn't continue speaking, she subconsciously bit the second half of the sentence.
Thales' heart trembled.
It seems that this lady has a different opinion about Gilbert's teaching method?
"Ms. Ginny," he tentatively tentatively said, "Gilbert's history class in the afternoon...you...you don't seem to...not..."
"Hmph, what are you kidding, that's their great and long-standing kingdom... How dare I have any opinion." Jine sniffed and denied Thales' words, but the latter clearly read the mockery in the female officer's eyes and irony.
Thales stared fixedly at Jini, at the father's lover.
"Ms. Jine," Thales said cautiously and softly, "You didn't belong to your father from the very beginning—a court lady, did you?"
Ji Ni raised her eyebrows, and the beauty mark on her mouth trembled slightly.
"And you -- you don't like these etiquettes, these rules, you don't even like them," Thales hesitated for a moment, but looked at the knife and fork in his hand, and asked, "Don't you like this country?"
The voice fell.
Jini stared blankly at Thales.
This child.
It's really sensitive.
Ji Ni turned her head, looked at the gold and silver nine-pointed star symbol above the fireplace in the study, and said nothing for a long time.
Just when Thales stuck out his tongue, thinking that he had asked the wrong question, and was about to lower his head and continue fighting with his knife and fork as if nothing had happened, Jinie sighed and looked at the knife and fork in Thales's hand in a daze , opening softly:
"I was born in Buckwell City, Xiude County,
It was a small city near the sea in the eastern part of the kingdom. It was not a prosperous trading port, but it could be self-sufficient by fishing. It was considered a good place among the stars. "
"The lord of the city is my father, who is well-known in the eastern counties. All along, he has strictly trained us to abide by the rules, comply with etiquette, and become ladies. He hopes that our family will one day become a famous family with a long history."
Thales looked serious, and quickly took advantage of Jine's inattention to secretly move his already stiff wrist.
"But I am a disobedient and rebellious daughter. I have hated these rules and etiquette since I was a child."
"To the extent that I am sixteen years old, I am about to become an adult, but I am a wild girl who can't even dance court ballroom dances, eats rudely, and speaks recklessly." Under the lamp, Jinie smiled wryly, looking at the moon outside the window, her tone was Full of nostalgia:
"Of course my father won't let me do whatever I want—in short, those memories were not very pleasant, and things got a little tense. The family wanted to deprive me of my identity and inheritance rights, and sent me to the temple to be sacrificed."
Thales stuck out his tongue out of sight. He knew that the priests in the temple generally vowed not to get married and to serve the gods for life.
It's probably not as simple as "somewhat stiff" when it gets to this point.
Ji Ni lowered her head slightly, her eyes dimmed, but then she raised her head, showing a happy smile.
"But at this moment, a prince, His Royal Highness, came to our castle as a guest."
What?
Hearing this, Thales, who was flexing his wrist, stopped.
prince?
It won't be the bloody plot I thought, right?
Jini continued:
"He heard my story, but he just laughed."
"His Royal Highness pardoned my crimes in public and promised me that I don't have to follow the rules and etiquette that ordinary noble girls must abide by. But the premise is that when I become an adult, I must find a way to make a living on my own besides being a noble daughter."
This - is it really bloody?
But Thales also had some doubts in his heart - didn't he dislike the prince's approach and concept, how should I say, um, is it too advanced?
But Jine seemed to be talking to herself, the corners of her mouth raised slightly unconsciously, and she didn't pay any attention to Thales' reaction.
"So I walked out of the family's castle and followed that prince to the capital."
"From reading the court newspaper for His Highness every day, to being a clerk in the hard-working warehouse, to being a copyist who made a copper coin per page, to the secretary of the police department, to being admitted to the fifth-level security officer...my life was changed because of him. Totally changed."
Thales was stunned for a moment. In his impression, Jine was a standard court nobleman, but he never thought that she had such a colorful past.
"However, after years of tossing and turning, I finally became a court lady." Ji Ni shook her head mockingly.
"Look at me—a disgraced noble who hates etiquette and rules—now here, teaching the heir of the kingdom, teaching him the etiquette I hated the most back then."
After Jine finished speaking, her eyes returned directly to the dining table, staring at Thales——his table knife dropped again.
Thales chuckled awkwardly.
Asked a question that even made me feel bloody:
"That kind prince, is Kai——my father?"
Your father?
Ji Ni's eyes blurred for a moment.
But Thales didn't get the answer he expected.
I saw the court lady turned her head slightly, her face was complex and indistinguishable.
"No, it's not him." Jinny said softly:
"I still remember the smile on his face when His Highness pardoned me, a girl in shackles, covered in dirt, crying and fussing."
"That kind of warm, tolerant, sunny smile. It seems that he is feeling all the beauty of this world every moment. No matter what kind of ugliness or filth it is, it won't move him."
"Your father, Kessel, he was just a dandy prince who was famous for his arrogance in the capital back then. His face was full of smirks that made ladies panic - but he didn't have such a reassuring smile."
Thales looked at Ji Ni in surprise.
King Kessel - insolent, presumptuous, a dandy prince?
He saw Ji Ni's eyes flicker, as if they contained infinite gratitude and sighs, and then slowly spit out every word:
"The one who came to our castle that day was the eldest son of the previous king."
"His Majesty Kessel's eldest brother, Midil Canxing, was once His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
————————————————
"So, we thought it was the Corleone family who came to help as promised, the so-called three masters," Duke Jann frowned, put down a letter with a claw emblem made of wax, and crossed his hands under the tricolor iris:
"It's just the loser in the clan's infighting."
"In the name of the Corleone family, they used our invitations, borrowed our voyage ships, and relied on our customs clearance concessions to use our Kevin Dill family as fools to sail across the Sea of End, escape from the Hill of Pain, hide After arriving in Eternal Star City and living in our manor for so long, I also took a lot of blood..."
"Is that so?"
In front of his desk, the extreme knights standing, Lord Cassian and Lord Seychelles did not speak, but looked at the middle-aged bald man kneeling on the ground with a complicated look on their faces. .
Cassian remembered that the balding middle-aged man was at the same time as the Tower of the End who came to the Old Duke with him and worked for Kevin Dill's Tricolor Iris.
It's a pity that the middle-aged man lacked skills and was seriously injured in a battle. From then on, he could only handle civilian affairs. But even so, the old duke sympathized with his situation and trusted him to take care of the voyage affairs.
What's his name? Cassian tried his best to search his memory, but couldn't remember anything.
"Yes...yes...they showed the Holy Blood Emblem, which is only available to the blood of Corleone, and the blond one threatened us with a bad attitude..." The middle-aged man was kneeling, his head was almost touching the ground, Stutteringly explaining.
"They still have your...your handwritten letter..."
"Okay," Duke Jann sighed and rubbed the space between his brows. The butler next to him, Ashford, immediately poured a glass of craft wine from the Duchy of Sera.
Zhan En tried his best to show a helpless smile: "This matter is not your fault, go down, remember to be more careful next time."
The middle-aged bald man kept nodding his head to plead guilty as if he had received an amnesty. Under the urging of Seychelles, he left the study tremblingly.
"He used to be a talent, but he is useless now." Zhan En said with a look of regret, holding up his glass: "Send him to the Eastern Continent again immediately. Let's deal with him on the high seas."
"Don't do anything within the border and territorial waters. I don't want to commit homicide."
When Cassian heard these words, his heart moved.
"My lord duke," he couldn't bear to say, "If you keep him, he will definitely devote himself even more..."
Cassian didn't notice Seychelles' signal to him from the side.
"Normal affairs are fine, but I don't want to make mistakes in such key secret affairs." Duke Jann sighed, "He made a mistake once, and he already has grudges and shadows in his heart, especially, his concern for the future Doubts will only deepen with time."
"And he knows about our contact with Corleone, which involves that plan."
"You all know how important that plan is."
Cassian finally noticed Seychelles' signal, so he lowered his head and kept silent.
"Next time you go on a voyage, get someone new." Duke Jann took a sip of his wine in disappointment. "When my father was still there, they were far from being so lax in their work."
Ashford replied calmly: "Both loyalty and prudence need time to settle."
Zhan En shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that what we lack the most is time - that matter is within a month, and our people can't participate in it, it's best not to have any accidents."
Seychelles nodded slightly: "My lord, please rest assured that the mercenaries hired at such a high price have enough chances to assassinate His Majesty."
Lord Cassian shuddered slightly, not knowing why his colleagues spoke so boldly.
Jen paused for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Seychelles after a while.
"Don't talk nonsense." The little duke said coldly.
Seychelles bowed his head to apologize, but secretly sneered:
It seems that the Duke has no dissatisfaction.
"It's time for you to set off. Both the Cullen family and the Nantorist family will send people there. At this point, don't conflict with them."
Zhan En's eyes were cold, and he cautiously said to Cassian and Seychelles: "When those mercenaries succeed, you will deal with those who did it."
Cassian was shocked, and he raised his head in disbelief: "My lord! Get rid of those people? Didn't we hire them under another name? They, some of them are from the Tower of Terminator—"
Zhan En suddenly looked at him!
His gaze is like a sword.
Cassian's throat trembled, and this extreme knight couldn't say anything else.
"Then persuade your friend to go back," Jen said calmly, but Ashford knew that this was his dissatisfaction: "Change someone who is not your friend."
Seychelles yanked the back of Cassian's clothes and stuck the latter's words back into his throat.
"As you wish, my lord." The shrewd Seychelles nodded, pulled the ashen-faced Cassian, and led away.
Zhan En let out a breath slowly, calmed down, and looked into the distance, the portrait of the old Duke.
"Cassien is old."
He said calmly.
"After this incident, send him back to Emerald City, or his own territory."
Ashford looked calm and nodded slightly.
"As for the matter of those Corleone refugees, Ashford, you should handle it yourself, starting from the cavalry who suddenly broke into the Vinegrass Manor that night." Jann spilled the red wine at the bottom of the glass, his eyes were cold: "Contact the Corleone family— —Write directly to the Queen of Night herself—tell Katerina what happened here, and raise our stakes when the opportunity arises."
Ashford nodded: "As you wish."
"I remember that the trial in Mendis Hall was handed over to the Blood Bottle Gang. Still haven't found Nekla?" Jann narrowed his eyes and looked at Ashford.
"No, my lord," Ashford bowed slightly. "The Blood Vial Gang is leaderless and in chaos. There are rumors that he went abroad to find the Blood Magician."
Blood magician?
Jen En closed his eyes tightly, and let out a breath through his nose.
The upbringing he had received forced him to try his best to swallow the words that he wanted to say, but he had no manners, into his stomach.
"There is no other way, then send our people directly to control the Blood Bottle Gang." Duke Jann opened his eyes, and there was no emotion in his pupils. He put down his wine glass and said:
"In these two months, I will control all the rumors and news on the territory of the Blood Bottle Gang, from civilians to soldiers, nobles to businessmen."
Ashford nodded slightly.
"It's time for the messenger sent to Exeter to return. Let's see if Grand Duke Heisha is willing to seize this opportunity." Zhan En leaned back into the comfortable recliner, narrowing his eyes.
Just wait, father.
The tricolor iris will go one step further soon.
If it goes well.