Kingdom's Bloodline

Chapter 637 Neverwinter in the North

Miranda was silent for a long time, but his eyes remained unchanged from the Duke of Xinghu, who seemed to be still used to Thales like this.

"You said that you have no shortage of masters, even better than me?"

A few seconds later, Miranda disdainfully said:

"But as far as I know, that two-on-one duel..."

"That's just the weakest two of the Star Lake Guards."

Tels resolutely interrupted her to prevent the other party from revealing her own old bottom, and at the same time felt sorry for Neshi and Bastiya:

"Leave aside, my captain of the guard, Lord Tormund Mallos, known as the "Terrorblade", can suppress both of them with just one hand."

("Snee--the cat's hair is getting more and more, this idea of ??raising cats and restricting mice can only be figured out by idiots..." Mallos, who was checking the supplies, said unhappy.)

In the study, Thales sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"Terror, horror, blade?" Miranda muttered the word, and her face was puzzled.

Tyers looks serious:

"That's the nickname of Lord Mallos. People from the North, no, people from the stars, um, I mean, the enemies who have suffered in his hands, whether they are from the Exterians or from the stars. , Call him that secretly."

Miranda frowned.

Thales sneered:

"One tip: don't mention it to him face to face. Mallos doesn't like this nickname, he won't admit it to death."

Miranda thought about something, her expression gradually became serious:

"The Marius family used to belong to the Seven Servant of the Stars, alias "Razor", I know this. But, the blade of terror? So, Lord Marius is good at swords? Or is it a short-handed dagger?"

Tels had to increase the frequency of coughing:

"Well, you might as well ask him another day to learn from each other. But I warn you in advance that, as the captain of my most trusted guard, Lord Mallos's martial arts are hidden and more unfathomable, even the most powerful and terrifying in this world. Experts against him, the victory or defeat is only five to five."

"Why do I think you are a little exaggerated?"

"Where, I'm just emphasizing that the martial arts you are proud of are not rare here."

Hearing this, Miranda was silent for a while, but she quickly continued:

"It's not just martial arts."

"Considering the grievances between you and Duke Jen, Your Highness, no matter what your purpose is, you will be bound to hold back every effort. It is not as smooth as in King Capital and Longxiao City."

Thyls was silent.

Actually, in the Royal Capital and Longxiao City... it didn't go well either.

But she was right, his goal to go to the Emerald City, not to mention the danger, was bound to be tricky.

He needs more capable staff.

"And we used to work together in Longxiao City, you know my abilities beyond making swords."

Miranda's eyes became shrewd:

"There are some problems that I can handle. It will be safer and more effective than handing it to Wya and the dumb, than to the Doyle kid or the big zombie face."

Wyeah and Rolf.

D.D and Glover.

Thyls frowned when he remembered what happened to him at the Laiya Club on Red Square Street that day.

"Accept me, what you can get, and my surname."

Miranda sees Thales's expression slightly moving, and continues to increase:

"His Royal Highness, although you are the heir to the Supreme Throne, you have touched the interests of many people since the royal banquet and the accident of the prince's entry into the palace. You are in a whirlpool, and you are always to blame, and you are drifting away from the Fuxing Palace. "

"So far, no prince with enough weight has dared to stand up and take refuge in you with a clear-cut stand, support you, and endorse your rights."

Thales rolled his eyes:

"Maybe you don’t know, my current saber is the ancient sword of the Duke of the Western Wilds; Cohen’s cousin, Count Delekromma of Wing Castle, escorted me all the way back to the capital; and the legal heir of the Earl of Soul Castle, Paul Bozdorf of the Black Lion family is out at the moment, serving as my guard."

Duke Xinghu spread his hands indifferently:

"And their family also gave me an extra-large nine-pointed star flag, exquisite workmanship and full of materials, floating silver and gleaming, it is majestic, I like it very much."

Miranda thought for a while, and quickly found the corresponding memory:

"Paul Bozdorf? You mean the guy who was beaten into a pig with a broom on the first day he arrived in the capital?"

"It's not as serious as a pig's head, that is, it's broken--wait, how did you know?"

Miranda sneered:

"But it's a pity that Paul's father, Earl Lewis, is young and powerful. He is neither behind bars nor loses his authority. He can't leave a huge power vacuum behind him so that his heirs can become the closest to the rule and the hottest. The future earl."

"It's simple, just turn around and kill his father." Thales didn't change his face and heart--not jumping so violently.

Miranda ignored his terrible sense of humor, as serious as it should be: "As for a sword and an escort-only a fool would think this is an unbreakable sincere alliance."

Thyls curled his lips.

Miranda stared sharply:

"But unlike other families, Aarond is in a special situation. The Duke of the North is in prison and has no hope of returning. With the big position hanging in the air, my weight as his only daughter and first heir is particularly critical."

She takes a step forward:

"Having me in your camp is equivalent to having the entire northern territory of the future, and having the Aarond family, the head of the six giants. This is an unprecedentedly obvious signal. It is even more important that you are reunited after being exiled by the king's suspicion. People look to the forces for an important bargaining chip for a comeback."

A comeback?

said as if when did I "get up".

Thales was lost in thought.

"Only this one, I value you more than everyone in this castle-and I haven't mentioned the prestige and qualifications I have accumulated in Broken Dragon Fortress over the years."

Thales was silent for a while.

"I admit, you are right."

The Duke of Xinghu raised his mouth and shook his head:

"But there are big flaws, for example, you may not be able to inherit your father yet."

Miranda's expression tightened.

Thyls smiled.

"A long time ago, there was a little Luo—the same old witch was like this: we said that, she helped me ascend to the throne, and I helped her regain power."

Tyles spoke, showing a look of nostalgia.

"But the collaboration broke down-she betrayed me."

Miranda's eyes moved.

"I have been resenting her for breaking the promise for many years, but it was not until I discussed it with Lao Wu-with the teacher, that I realized that the cooperation was doomed to failure."

Miranda felt the coldness in Thales’ words and couldn’t help but sigh.

Tels sneered, holding the desk with both hands:

"Look, I must first ascend to the throne before I have the strength to help her regain the throne, but she must regain the throne first, so that she can spare no effort to help me ascend to the throne."

The prince looked cold:

"This one comes and goes, isn't it just two blank checks for mutual guarantee?"

"Look at which side you can't hold back first, credit goes bankrupt first."

Miranda tightened.

At that moment, the prince’s eyes seemed to be sharp, causing the movement of the Pegasus in her body to start running.

"Martial arts, mind, or your illusory so-called status, I have no shortage."

Tyers exhaled and narrowed his eyes:

"If you want to persuade me to accept you, then you have to have a heavier bargaining chip."

Miranda did not speak.

The rounds of negotiations made her frown.

"And if there is no..."

Then give up.

give up.

Tales stared at her, but clenched his fists with his hands on the table.

Miranda.

Please!

"Xinghu Castle does not support idlers--or would you like to recommend yourself a pillow to warm up my bed?" Thales' tone was frivolous, full of irony and disdain.

Miranda said nothing, but clenched her fists.

Please, stay away from me.

Tels looked at her silently, still sneered.

Away from Xinghu Fort.

Stay away from this quagmire, this whirlpool, this trap.

At least, avoid the eye of the wind and protect yourself in future storms.

Avoid falling victim to the “covenant”.

Please.

Dark clouds cover the ceiling, and the light in the study is very dark.

Under Thales’ eyes full of urging and inquiries, the female swordsman’s eyes moved slightly, as if thinking about something.

A moment later, she raised her head, her eyebrows seemed to be determined.

"Northern Border."

Miranda firmly said:

"If you help me to return to the cold fort and ascend to the throne of duke in a fair way, boy, I promise, I will bring you to the north."

Northern?

It was too late to care about the address of the other party, Thales was taken aback first, and then laughed out of voice:

"What are you talking about? The northern border is originally the territory of the kingdom."

But Miranda shook her head resolutely.

"You do not understand."

The female eagle from the Allende family has sharp eyes.

"I promise that I will bring you back a different northern border-not geographically, not traditionally, not now, let alone what it used to be."

"It's the future, which your father has dreamed of for years-the northern part of the kingdom."

Tyles' eyes moved, and he subconsciously retracted his arm and straightened up.

What?

I saw Miranda step forward, decisively:

"I promise that it will no longer be a special case in the north outside the kingdom system, from inheritance to jurisprudence, from land to population, from culture to system, from finance to management, from agriculture and animal husbandry to defense, from conscription to tariffs, From personnel to logistics, from the big needle forest to the miserable land, from the cold temple to the Neverwinter Palace, from the birch forest to the Broken Dragon Fortress, the Fuxing Palace will rule the northern border like an ambassador, just as it said it will rule indefinitely. Central collar."

As an arm makes a finger...

Say one and the same...

Tyles' eyes changed completely.

The prince looked at Miranda in disbelief:

"Madam, you are here, what are you talking about?"

Miranda gave a cold snort, without hesitation:

"Yes, there are no backward traditions, no annoying customs, no old-fashioned families, no annoying lords, no embarrassing compromises, and the Northern Territory—the kingdom’s best source of troops and bridgehead—will be as your father expected. That way, completely and thoroughly integrated into the system and rule of the Star Kingdom."

Miranda clenched her teeth:

"Under the kingship, there is no more lingering sound."

Completely...

Thoroughly integrated into...

Tyles could not sit still anymore, he jumped off his desk, even refusing to maintain his previous utilitarian and cold appearance.

"Let me clarify, you said that after you become a duke, you have to give up not only the Northern Territory, but also the power in your hands..."

Tyles swallowed hard and asked:

"Even if that means that the Northern Territory will no longer be the former territory, the lord no longer has the former rule, and the duke no longer has the former status?"

How, how could...

Miranda looked at him silently.

A few seconds later, she bends her mouth, revealing a confident but cold smile, and swings her head upward, as if provoking:

Yes, little kid.

How is ???

Tyles’ expression is still shocked: "I, I don’t understand, why, why do you want to..."

"You also said that bad checks are worse than nothing."

Miranda exhaled and chuckled.

"As long as I am not the Duke of the North, to be precise, the Duke of the North, the power represented by this title, whether it is large or small, or far or near, is meaningless to me."

Miranda smiled coldly:

"In this case, I can only put out a heavier chip."

"For example, the future tax promised by the ‘Xianjun’ when borrowing debts, or the popular saying that came from Comus recently: options."

The female swordsman of Allende's family raised her head, imposingly:

"How do you say, Your Highness, Falkenhauser, Croma and Bozdorf, they are willing to give you such a bargaining chip-in the future?"

Tels blinked desperately.

"If what you say is true, if you really want to be in the future..."

Tels is unbelievable:

"It will be you, no, it is the Aarond family to its vassals, to the historical legal system, to the dignity of the North, and even to itself unprecedentedly——"

"betray?"

Miranda dug her ears, not caring:

"Why, is it as serious as my father's treason?"

Talston was speechless.

But at that moment, he thought of what he had said before the king.

【If people know that I am the king’s internal response, then I will be regarded by thousands of vassals as a traitor to the aristocratic camp. 】

Tales stared at Miranda at the moment.

As if to see another self.

but……

Why, why can she be so free and unruly, so careless?

This is obviously...

But he immediately thought of something and his face sank.

"No, this is still a bad check. It is something you can do only when you become a duke," he forced himself to shake his head and refuse, "It depends on your empty promises--"

"But no one else dared to give it, even if it was just verbal."

Miranda interrupted him beyond doubt:

"And this is not something I can only achieve after becoming a duke. In fact, your father has already started to do it."

Tales stared at her closely, and found that he could not understand the thoughts of the person in front of him.

"So, do you dare to pick it up?"

Miranda’s eyes are like two long swords, nailing him hard to move:

"Or, Thales Canxing, are you qualified to pick it up?"

Tyles' breathing accelerated, and he had to mobilize the crime of the prison river to help him calm down.

As the power of the end surged, the senses of **** could more clearly detect the power in the opponent's body: the movement of the heavenly horses flowed endlessly, wandering endlessly, without flaws.

"but why?"

"I don't understand," Thales said subconsciously, "After I returned to my country, from Falkenhauser to Bozdorf, many people came to my banner to show my favor."

"But I know that they came because they didn't want to give up the way they used to live, they didn't want to let go of the power they were used to, they didn't want to bow their heads under my father's iron fist, but you, you, you... "

"I am not them."

Miranda answered his question softly.

"The "Eagle Flying" from Aaronde's history was once a priceless ancient sword of the empire. However, it has been broken many times and recast several times. It has long been lost and lost its old name."

She looked at her saber:

"Just as history is advancing and times are developing, there are always people who will get old."

Tales stared at the long sword that had experienced dragon blood with him seven years ago.

And the female swordsman stood in front of him, as cold as before, and hot:

"But there are always people who are young."

"Just like the recast Yingxiang, the shape is newer and the sword blade is better."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

Tyles exhaled and tried to adjust his thoughts.

"But I still can't believe it, the lady whose surname is Aaron, are you really so dignified?"

"To pay such a big price, I really don’t want anything, just for the illusory title? For the name of the lord but no real power, just like a rich man-the guardian duke of the North?"

"It's the Duchess." Miranda corrected.

Thales sighed and nodded in agreement:

"The Duchess."

He asked:

"But if you succeed, you have become a nameless duchess, who depends on my face even to reclaim and collect taxes on her own land. What's the point?"

She is from the Arund family, isn’t she?

They are the descendants of Nolan Nur of the ‘Sorrowful Eagle’, and they are the oldest and most conservative family in the Star Kingdom.

The voice in Thales’ heart is also asking: So, how is it possible?

How could she give up the power that has been passed down from the empire to the present day, and that she was born with her ancestors from generation to generation?

How could she surpass the greatest limitations and weaknesses of all vassals and vassals in this era?

unless.

unless……

Miranda was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

She walked slowly to the window, looking at the vast star lake under the dark clouds.

"Tell me, Your Highness, you once felt this way: From that moment on, everything in your life seems to have stagnated."

Tels shivered slightly.

Just listen to the faint way of the female swordsman:

“What you see and feel are all set, and everything you do is fate. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, you will not be able to break through the immediate restrictions, bring new things, and see no new way out.”

Miranda looked out the window dreamily, at the sky covered by dark clouds and the bottomless star lake.

"As for the seemingly good life, in fact, the end can be seen at a glance, and only the self-repeat that remains unchanged day after day, waiting for the final end."

Can't bring new things, can't see a new way out...

Thales did not speak.

At that moment, he seemed to have returned to Longxiao City, with the heads of Alex and King Nunn who had been poisoned in front of him.

But he seemed to return to the royal family banquet, watching DD look gloomy, ready to sacrifice voluntarily, or went to the Kingdom Secret Department, watching a person in the interrogation room back and forth, watching the light in Anke Bailar's eyes gradually disappear .

【As for sitting on that uncomfortable throne, calculating day and night, trying to figure out people’s hearts, and forcing yourself to become the coldest and saddest tool? That's not power, Thales, it's a chain called power. 】

The words of the fast rope once made Thales unconsciously squeeze his nails tightly.

"Seven years ago, when my father was imprisoned as a traitor, I was so desperate that I could only use countless military affairs and work, including the upcoming war, to numb myself and escape the outside world."

"In the end, the war did not start, so I did not hesitate to take risks and rushed to Longxiao City, so that everything happened afterwards."

Miranda hummed.

"But from that time on, my fellow clan and kind-eyed relatives began to make noise: gossip, rumors, yin and yang, and even through blood surnames, they began to directly intervene in the affairs of the cold castle, between the lines, they pointed directly to the duke’s position. My inheritance rights-it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous that Allende is known for his unity. They didn’t dare to do this when my father was there. If I were a son, they might not dare to do it."

Thyls frowned and couldn't help saying:

"As far as I know, after the self-conquest of Arija from the North, the Star Kingdom already has a precedent for a queen, and the inheritance law is no longer limited to gender, they can't..."

"Yeah, compared to the barbaric Exter, who worked hard to support the Grand Duke, the Star Kingdom is civilized and advanced enough to take care of people like me, right?" Miranda interrupted him with sarcasm.

Thales did not speak, but the female swordsman snorted and shook her head.

"But gender always precedes the order of teeth. Even the eldest sister and younger brother are passed on from the child to the daughter. Therefore, only the only daughter has the right to inherit the father's seat. There is also competition from cousins ??and future husbands. Of course, You don't need to care about these things, because you have a handle, so it's your shit."

Miranda is unrelenting and authentic:

"You only need to know that the stars are very civilized and advanced in the matter of inheritance. If someone questions this, you can be confident, ‘then why don’t you go to Exeter?"

Thales wanted to say something, but after all, he closed his mouth.

Miranda coldly hummed and shook her head:

"So, of course, you don’t care much. In the Northern Territory, which is very different from the mainstream inheritance system of the stars, until now, in the seven hundred years, there has not been even a Duchess of Arende."

Thyls’s expression changed:

"real?"

Miranda looked out the window dreamily and nodded:

"The closest one, more than a hundred years ago-the ‘Arithmetic’ Rosanna Allende, as the eldest daughter and only daughter of the Duke’s knee, she almost became the first Northern Duchess."

The female swordsman quietly said:

"Until her stepmother gave birth to a young child, Rosanna was squeezed out of succession."

Thales frowned.

Rosanna Allende.

He searched for the name in his memory. Gilbert seemed to mention it in his class, but...

"I am the second child of my father. I originally had an older brother, but he died early before he learned to walk."

"And my mother, when she died in the **** year," Miranda looked blurred, "I was pregnant."

Thyls was surprised when he heard this.

The year of blood.

"After that catastrophe, even my father looked at me differently, as if he was always asking why, why did my mother play hide-and-seek with you at that time? Why did you escape from the carriage? Why not you Mother and your unborn brother? Why didn't you disappear into the vast snow and countless refugees with them?"

Tels clenched his fists, but couldn't say a word.

Miranda shook her head in a daze:

“I sometimes think, if the mother had no accident, if the fetus in her womb was born safely, if it was a boy, it was my brother, then I today...”

Miranda's words stagnated, she raised her head, her eyes firm.

"No, then I won't have today."

"It should not be anymore."

She glanced at the letter beside Thales, curled her lips and said:

"Even if there is, I would probably sit in the cold fort happily, pressing your greeting letter and portrait on your chest, intoxicated, thinking about what kind of dress to wear for the portrait of the painter, and then trembling to give Please reply."

Tyles listened to her quietly, looked at the ridiculous "Match No", but found that he couldn't laugh anyway.

"When I realized this, when I realized that I can stand here, it’s all because of my own luck that there are enough dead people in the **** years... It feels like a cage is falling from the sky, covering it. It covers my surroundings, blocks my upper limit, and is isolated between me and the outside world. No matter where I go, all I see is the cage wall, and the world beyond the wall that I will never touch."

Miranda clenched her teeth unconsciously.

【I can stand here, it's all my luck...】

Tyers listened to these words quietly, but his thoughts seemed to pass through time and saw the star tomb in the Fuxing Palace, the stone pots and stone urns one by one.

Quiet in the room.

"Or like a net," Thales took her words after a long silence, with a deep loss in her words, "And no matter how hard you are, you are in it, you can't extricate yourself?"

Miranda turned her head and glanced at him, seeming a little surprised.

But she nodded slowly:

" Teacher Chatier of the Tower of End said that this is probably the feeling that the Heart of Sword has encountered a bottleneck and is stagnant."

"It's not that the world has stagnated, or life has deteriorated. In fact, the world is like this, and life is the same. It's that your experience has been different, your realm has improved, your horizons have opened up, and you have seen more, broader, and higher , Something more complicated."

Miranda stared in awe:

“It’s just that some people met early, some people met late, some people, lucky and unfortunately, never met, or they chose to pretend to be deaf and dumb after encountering them, turning a blind eye.”

Thales sighed:

"Heart of the Sword-I heard Cohen say something similar, the theory of the End Tower?"

Speaking of the friends they know together, Miranda chuckled and shook her head.

"So I want to see, but I want to try, I have to take a step forward and see if the world is really as she said."

Thyls was puzzled:

"Who?"

Miranda smiled, but did not answer.

But she turned around, her back to the shadow outside the window.

"I’m not Cohen. He can only hold the torch tightly in the wind and snow, shivering and running his nose, and repeating vaguely everything he doesn’t know if it makes sense."

"I’m not Raphael either. He deliberately ignores the doubts in his heart, self-persuades and self-brainwashes himself, believing that “heaven will come down to the task must be paralyzed first,” and he takes hardship and austerity as the way out."

Thyls frowned upon hearing this.

"In the face of the extreme cold, I am not stupid enough to shake the wind and snow, but I am not willing to become a slave of frost."

Miranda squinted her eyes, faded away the sadness that had just come, and became firm again.

"I will find a way out."

"This is me, this is me, this is the **** Miranda Allende."

The female swordsman looked at Duke Xinghu firmly, who couldn't help but face up.

"This is the meaning of this matter."

"I am my own master, from Broken Dragon Fortress-"Neverwinter Sword"."

The next second, Miranda reached out and picked up the saber leaning against the window edge, and hung it back on his belt.

"Eagle Flying Fortress."

Miranda's voice is cold, with a spirit in her eyes:

"Neverwinter in the North."

(End of this chapter)