'An accident…' Thales lowered his head. A deep, helpless feeling rose in his heart. 'Disaster strikes unexpectedly.'
During that instant, the Air Mystic's smile—Thales had never been able to tell whether it was real or fake—appeared in Thales' head as he spoke to him, "Look, this is what it means to be a 'coincidence'."
Yodel quietly put away the kindling.
The middle-aged noble calmed his excitement, then gently patted Thales' head as he looked at him.
"It will be alright, child, I am Gilbert Caso. You can trust me, just like how your father trusts me. Come, child, I will take you home… to see your father."
Thales took a full minute to recover from of his daze.
It did not matter whether it was Yodel or Gilbert. Both of them waited patiently while he was in his absent-minded state.
"Let's go." When Thales lifted his head, his gaze had already calmed.
Gilbert nodded his head with praise in his eyes. He stood and gestured in the direction of the carriage.
Thales turned his head and looked at Yodel. "Yodel, you'll come with me as well, right?"
"Of course." Yodel's hoarse voice rang in the air, yet it was incredibly soothing when it fell onto Thales' ears. "Please head on first, I'll be right beside you."
Thales sucked in a deep breath and took large strides to the carriage, "Mr. Gilbert."
"Yes, Young Sir, what is it?
"What did you do previously?"
"I was working in the Foreign Affairs Department, my young Sir Thales."
'Foreign Affairs Department?' Thales turned his head a little and rolled his eyes at Yodel, at an angle Gilbert could not see.
Thales turned his head back forwards. For some unknown reason, he had a vague feeling that Yodel had smiled behind his mask.
Thales moved to stand before the carriage. The carriage was simple but obviously expensive. The glass on the black coach was adorned with Crystal Drops.
The two large horses that were pure black in color were quietly chewing at their bridles. One of them affectionately leaned towards Gilbert.
As he looked at the high footboard, Thales began comparing his seven-year-old body to it and felt a little glum.
Before he turned his head, Gilbert, who was beside him, pulled open the carriage door and carried him inside, placing him on the dark red carriage sofa.
"I deeply apologize, we do not have a boarding stool." Gilbert smiled apologetically and closed the carriage door. "But I guarantee that this would be the last time."
Thales sat alone on the wide sofa. He did not know what material it was made of, and although it was very comfortable, he felt a little restless.
The coach's four corners were illuminated with luminous paint, allowing him to somewhat see the decorations in the coach. At the back of the coach was a picture of a star framed in a circular picture frame, and it was set firmly there.
'One, two, three, four, five… nine.' The star has nine points. Thales quietly thought to himself, 'This is a nine-pointed star.'
Before he recovered from his absent-minded state, the carriage had moved.
Thales crawled to the carriage window. It was daybreak, and the scenery outside the carriage window could not be seen clearly yet.
So, Thales sat back down on the sofa in boredom.
"Yodel, are you there?" He probingly asked.
A reply immediately voiced beside his ears. "Yes."
Thales was taken aback. He sat up and looked around. However, apart from Gilbert who was driving the carriage, there was no one else both in and outside the coach.
'Nevermind, I'm used to it anyway.'
Thales sat back down on the sofa and continued asking, "Where are we now?"
"Mindis Hall is straight ahead." The hoarse voice sounded again.
'Min- min- mindy- mindisy? Whatever, I wouldn't know it anyway. Who would've thought that a few hours ago, I was still in the Abandoned House, bleeding for the sake of survival, and getting injured for the sake of escape in Red Street Market? And now?'
Thales tapped the sofa beneath him, wondering who his father in this life was.
'Who cares? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I've even run into that bizarre, immortal existence known as a Mystic, what else can possibly scare me?'
The transmigrator exhaled. He suddenly felt a little warm and tore down the tattered clothes on his chest.
He accidentally tore at the wound on his chest.
Thales hissed and looked at the burn wound on his chest.
On the edge of the wound Quide burned, he could vaguely see a circle of flourished ancient words printed in an inverted manner.
'This is… A King does not gain respect by virtue of his bloodline.' Thales recalled the words on that silver coin.
He tapped his forehead suddenly.
'Mindis...Mindis Silver Coin? Isn't that... isn't that Constellation's great king of the generation? Wait, Mindis Hall?'
The carriage stopped suddenly.
Gilbert respectfully invited him to exit the carriage when Thales was still at a loss for what to do due to his head being in a muddled mess.
Outside the carriage, there was an intricate little garden. It was paved with solid bricks made of a material Thales did not recognize. In the middle of the garden, there was an intricate fountain, and water was gushing out of a stone dragon's mouth, which had its mouth open to roar at the sky.
Thales turned his head in a daze and looked towards the big, black, iron doors in the garden. The black iron doors seemed to be embossed with reliefs. Thales did not recognize any of the depictions on it. However, two large flags were erected on either side of the iron door and fluttered along to the wind.
The flags were blue with white outlines at the edges. There were two silver cross-shaped stars overlapping with each other on both flags. One of the stars was larger than the other, and the smaller star was located at the bottom right of the larger star.
Thales recognized the flag. On the Western City Gate, the flag that fluttered at the highest height had that pattern on it.
Blue with a white outline, two silnver cross-shaped stars—Constellation's flag.
The two flags in the garden had an additional tiny nine-pointed star that had silver alternating with gold sewn to the bottom left corner of the big silver cross-shaped star. There were four golden points and five silver points in the star. That was the same pattern engraved on the back of the carriage.
Thales snapped out of his daze. Before him stood a magnificent three-story building. Eight intricately carved pillars supported the large balcony on the first floor. Light shone from one of the windows in the middle of the second floor.
The house's main door was made of cedar wood. Thales once saw a furniture merchant selling a large cedar wood square table for the price of fifty gold coins at the grand bazaar beside the Western City Gate.
Of course, in the end, he "voluntarily" sold the square table at the discounted price of one gold coin to Black Street Brotherhood.
Thales followed Gilbert while his head was still in a mess. Yodel had offered to carry him when he spread his arms wide open, but Thales declined. He persevered and endured the pain from the wounds all over his body along with his fatigue while walking through the large cedar wood door with great difficulty.
The entrance and the hall, including the corridor leading to a spiral stairway, were illuminated by large, gorgeous Everlasting Lamp stands that burned with Eternal Oil. Fully armed guards stood in the corridor while keeping watch with utmost concentration. It was as though every single guard was meticulously chosen because their heights were uniform. They were all fully equipped with swords, shields, and bows, and all their metal shields had the gold-and-silver-colored nine-pointed star on them.
Thales held the rails beside the stairs and slowly walked up to the first floor.
On the first floor, three painted portraits hung on the wall facing the house's main entrance.
In the middle was a young knight who had a valiant and powerful posture. He held a long spear and was in a charging position. His face was handsome, and his expression was heroic. The silver crown on his head had seven stars on it. Against the backdrop of the horrifying battlefield, he charged forward fearlessly.
The left portrait was of a warrior with a powerful physique wielding a sword and shield—the shield had a silver nine-pointed star. The crown on his head had nine stars on it. His face was determined and extraordinarily valiant. The background was a lush, green tree that towered into the sky.
The right portrait was of a kind and benevolent middle-aged man. He was sitting in the portrait. Behind him was a brightly lit city. His left hand held a valuable scepter that was mounted with bright blue crystals. In his right hand was a thick book, and there were five different pictures showing things such as the sun, stars, and the moon.
The three nobles had different temperaments, but it looked like the artist managed to capture their individual charm. Thales looked at the portraits in a daze. It was as though they were there in person.
It seemed like they were truly a great noble family with an extensive legacy. Unfortunately, Thales did not recognize any of them
'Wait, why is that handsome middle-aged man so familiar?'
Thales was about to lift his clothes to take a look at the head portrait burned into his chest when the sound of steady footsteps appeared.
"This is Tormond the First, the last prince of the Final Empire, and the founder of Constellation. Known as the 'King of Renaissance, his bravery in the Battle of Eradication is still being eulogized even now.
"The one on the left is Midier the Fourth, the battle companion of Chara the Hero, and Kaplan the Prophet, the protector of the Sacred Tree. Known as the 'Oath Keeper'. He married the Elf Queen, and from then onwards, the Jadestar royal family possessed elf blood.
"Last but not least is Mindis the Third. Known as 'The Wise King', every single person, from nobles to priests, and even from merchants to beggars, praised him for his wise governance."
The voice was steady and authoritative. It traveled forward in a low tone, but it sounded like thunder hidden within clouds. That voice shook in the air faintly.
Gilbert and Yodel, who were behind Thales, kneeled down on a single knee in unison. Thales gulped and raised his head gently.
A robust figure walked slowly towards him. His mighty and resolute face reminded the transmigrator of the sword-and-shield warrior on the left portrait on the wall.
He was a muscular noble with black hair, a tall nose, deep-set eyes, a broad face, and was in the prime of his life. The gaze in his sky-blue irises was as piercing as swords. The noble held a scepter in his left hand. He stood before Thales and scrutinized him.
A little dumbfounded, Thales stared back at the noble in front of him. He began feeling uncontrollably anxious.
Even if he had lived twice, no one had ever taught him how to act during these moments.
The robust noble scrutinized him for a long time, so long that Thales started feeling embarrassed. However, to Thales, his gaze did not feel cordial or calming at all. In contrast, it made him feel heavily pressured and slightly out of breath.
To put it unpleasantly, even Asda Sakern's crazed gaze felt better than this.
However, the transmigrator suddenly noticed that the robust noble in front of him wore a crown that looked similar to the crown with nine stars worn by the sword-and-shield-wielding warrior. Whereas, no matter how Thales looked at it, the scepter in his left hand was the exact replica of the blue crystal-studded scepter held by the middle-aged man in the right-hand portrait.
Beside him, Gilbert reminded in a low voice, "Child, this is your father."
"Father?" he could not help but mutter. Thales lowered his eyes and looked at the astral blue cloak worn on the man's back.
His father's face from his past life slowly appeared in his mind, but it was a little blurry.
Thales sucked in a deep breath and refocused his gaze.
"Who are you?" He heard his own voice ringing in the air in a flat tone.
The robust noble did not speak, he only frowned.
At that moment, Gilbert lifted his head. With a voice that allowed no room for doubt, filled with authority and respect, he spoke with a solemn tone.
"This is Kessel Mindis Aydi Jadestar, King Kessel the Fifth in the family. He is the legitimate descendant of the royal family in the Final Empire, and he is the heir who will resurrect King Tormund.
"He is the suzerain of the Western Peninsula's Rudollians and Northlanders, the conqueror of the Dragon Skeleton Throne and the Desert God's Altar.
"He is the guardian of the sacred tree and Sera Dukedom, the guard of Steel City and the Alliance of Freedom.
"He is the Iron Hand, the thirty-ninth Supreme King of Constellation, the Southern Islands, and the Western Deserts."
Thales felt as a chill rise within his heart, and his breathing quickened. A suffocating pressure that seemed to possess corporeal form pressed down on him.
Kessel looked at Thales with a profound gaze. After some time, he turned his head and looked at Gilbert and Yodel, who were beside Thales.
The robust King Kessel the Fifth spoke clearly and slowly with his deep and sonorous voice, "So he is my descendant, the kingdom's bloodline? The last and only remaining kin of our bloodline in all of Constellation?"