'Thales. You have let your guard down; you slack; you have become lazy.'
As he stared at King Chapman's calm and cold expression, Thales, with a weary look on himself and while feeling grief in his heart, suddenly realized this about himself.
Even if he believed that he was quite vigilant in the past six years, and remained in fear under the scrutiny of the Northlanders and their gossip, compared to the hazardous days when he was forced to fight for his life, the prince's still lived a far too satisfactorily and relaxing life at the present.
It was uncertain when this began. Not even Thales himself had realized that he had grown accustomed to this slow, unhurried pace. As a result, when faced with a formidable foe like Chapman Lampard in comparison to the nerve-wrecking game of wits six years ago, he seemed powerless and perplexed after having been away from the battle zone for too long.
