In the Palace of Heroes, after parting with Putilai who had a strange expression, Thales walked out of the narrow and desolate Blood Courtyard with a book under his arm, following his habit of the past three years, and walked directly to the stables accompanied by his entourage.

Huaiya followed behind him with a look of helplessness. Rolf seemed to have been used to this scene for a long time, and just followed the prince's footsteps quietly.

Behind them are a handful of Star Soldiers. Most of them are the dozen or so old guys who were recruited from the Broken Dragon Fortress and went through many difficulties with the prince along the way. They include the veteran Genard and the new recruit Willow who is no longer a new recruit.

.

Further out, the personal guards and palace guards of the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City were passing news back and forth as if facing a powerful enemy. From time to time, groups of soldiers set off to clear the way. The leader, Lord Justin, had a dark face and a tense expression.

, but still meticulously performed his obligation to protect the safety of this special guest.

After all, this is the order of the Grand Duchess.

"For the sake of safety, I sincerely suggest that you delay leaving the palace for a few days, at least until the Grand Duchess's hearing is over." Huaiya seemed to be unable to stand the leisurely pace of the second prince: "At that time, the White Blade Guards...

What I mean is that the Grand Duke’s personal guard has enough manpower to protect you during your trip, instead of focusing most of your energy on the Hall of Heroes like now.”

Attendant Huaiya glanced at the surrounding Northland soldiers. There were at least half fewer men than usual when the prince traveled: many vassals from Longxiao City were visiting around the political day, and most of the Grand Duke's personal guards in Longxiao City, whether they were

The remaining former White Blade Guards and the elite soldiers newly trained by the Fallen Stars in recent years were all transferred to the Grand Duchess.

Thales took out the brown book under his arm, played with the words "The Beginning and End of the Knights Temple of Human Light" on the cover, and nonchalantly whistled the whistle Rolf taught him.

Wyatt Castle, during the six years that Exeter served the prince, he only returned to the country twice. Each time he came back, he seemed to have matured a lot, but he was as serious and "overexerted" as ever.

, the string that is always tight in my body never relaxes.

This won't work.

Especially... facing an opponent like that.

Thales kept smiling and said silently in his heart.

The prince said easily: "Northlanders are not idiots when it comes to security issues such as assassins. Even children who have been burned are afraid of fire, let alone a country where the king has died."

Lord Justin, a former White Blade Guard who was walking beside him, gave a loud "hum" without concealing it and muttered something. To Thales, who had a good hearing, it seemed that "the Star People have the nerve to say that".

Thales pretended not to hear and shrugged: "Besides, being under house arrest in an enemy city like a prison is already a very miserable thing, but don't deprive me of the little fun I have left."

"Misery? I see that you are enjoying your current 'prison' life," Huaiya rolled his eyes, and as he was familiar with the prince, he rarely retorted: "Besides, no prisoner has ever had a good relationship with the 'warden'

To such an extent that she can promise you the freedom to choose your "free time" every month."

"Don't make it so simple, just go out and play chess..." Thales smiled, and waved his hand to Huaiya without looking back: "That's because I endured the humiliation and went through all kinds of hardships to show my respect to the master and the master of Longxiao City.

What a pitiful right the Earl of Risban has fought for."

Enduring humiliation and hardships?

Huaiya's face suddenly turned as dark as Lord Justin next to him.

Are you referring to the countless times you dragged the Grand Duchess to skip classes, causing uproar in the Palace of Heroes?

"Do you really want today?" Huaiya's innate character allowed him to hold back his continued complaints. The attendant said with a straight face: "If it doesn't work, just stay in the palace and play chess. Anyway, you are on your own."

Down."

Under the surveillance of King Charman, in the treacherous atmosphere of Longxiao City, and in front of His Highness the Prince's status as a very important task, except for those who are specifically looking for trouble and have ulterior motives, which Exeter noble would dare to fight with the Star Kingdom's

The sole heir sits at the opposite table and plays chess?

"The focus is not on playing chess, but on 'having fun,' Huaiya," Thales kept walking and slowly slapped the book on his left palm: "I don't expect people like you to be able to freely enter and leave Longxiao City.

, can understand the mood of the prisoner himself.”

Huaiya shook his head helplessly, waiting to speak again.

"Okay, okay, Huaiya, please do it and say less." Thales waved his index finger back and ended the conversation lightly: "Learn from Medila next to you, he never

Talk too much."

Huaiya frowned and looked suspiciously at the ghost of Sui Feng, Medila Rolf.

Sure enough, Rolf, who was mute, said nothing and extended a provocative middle finger to Wyatt with an expressionless face.

"I can't deny this," Huaiya sighed painfully, lowered his head and rubbed his forehead: "He really doesn't talk much."

Thales whistled.

At this moment, a young and exaggerated female voice sounded from above the head:

"Oh! Little Thales, are you leaving the palace again?"

A few of the newly arrived Grand Duke's guards nervously raised their crossbows upwards, but the others seemed to be calm and accustomed to it. Wyatt and Rolf almost rolled their eyes at the same time.

With a splash, a short figure wrapped tightly in a cloak jumped down from the tree on one side. He kept up with one hand on his hips and extended a thumb with the other hand: "Don't worry, as long as I am here, he will never

There will be safety issues!”

"Why do you always like to lie on the branches, Miss Ada?" Wyatt dissatisfiedly asked Miss Cloak, who was supposed to be the prince's first guard.

"With such a strong sun, of course you need to find shade!"

Huaiya raised his head suspiciously, wondering what "shade" and "branches" had in common.

"Sorry, Ada, I just want to go to the Spear Zone to play chess." Thales sighed and replied angrily: "I'm not going to hunt rabbit meat in the suburbs."

"Eh?"

Ada rested her hands on her hands and walked backwards in front of him. The cloak covering the upper half of her face could not hide the disappointment in her voice: "Can't you take two more steps?"

"Take the extra two steps from the Spear District to the outskirts of the city. Are you talking about the dragon's 'two steps'?"

Ada said pitifully: "The food in the Palace of Heroes is always cold when served. Don't you think...boy, think about it, the rabbit meat is hot!"

"The cold meals in the Palace of Heroes are for your safety. Check the food..."

"Speaking of safety," Ada clenched her fists and sighed bitterly: "As your bodyguard in front of and behind the horse, I fought bloody and bruised to save you from the hands of the enemy, and finally saved the entire dragon.

Xiaocheng... I just want to eat some hot meat now, but you can't even make such a small request..."

"Are you talking about a certain lady who came to the Palace of Heroes six years ago with a foul mouth, only to find that everything was over, so she happily asked me for money to pay off the debt to prove that she was not a burglar?"

The prince answered without any hesitation.

The next second, Thales turned his steps and tilted his head skillfully, just in time to avoid the angry elf lady and avoid the finger that she poked at him while standing on tiptoe.

"Hey, hey, hey, you actually dodged it again! The third time!" The lady in the cloak froze on the spot, raising her right index finger and saying tremblingly:

"Why are you so skilled!"

Thales exhaled, shook his head, and continued to walk forward, leaving behind a helpless Ada ("Where did the cute little Thales go before, who could never avoid my finger of death?"

), and countless soldiers and guards who ignored her and walked forward.

Over the past six years, everyone has long been accustomed to the strangeness of this guard: Wyatt responded with a sympathetic look, and Rolf simply blew a low-pitched whistle with a trembling sound to set off her mood at this time.

Thales felt the special wave that gathered on the soles of his feet and the side of his neck slowly disappear, felt the faint fatigue in his tendons, and frowned.

Just now, it was this familiar wave that helped him avoid Ada's fingers.

Thales, with a solemn expression, recalled what the man holding a black sword said on a bloody night long ago.

[This is a cursed power... You can only improve it through special methods...]

Sure enough, six years have passed...

The effects and costs of this thing... Thales clenched his fists and felt the soreness and numbness in his legs and neck.

No progress at all.

Thales walked into the stable next to the Palace of Heroes and kicked his boots on a horse stool to conceal his purpose of relaxing his tendons.

The prince came to the familiar stable, surrounded by people on both sides. A strong black horse stuck its head out of the fence and stretched out its nose to him affectionately.

"Have you treated her well?" Thales smiled and scratched the black horse's chin, looked at her teeth, and said to the groom beside him:

"You know, Jenny likes to be clean."

The full-time groom of the Palace of Heroes patted his chest proudly and promised the prince that his horse had never been so healthy.

Dark Horse Prince Jenny's exclusive mount was brought to Longxiao City by the Star Kingdom's mission three years ago. She is a good girl carefully selected from thousands of mounts. She is a hybrid of a northern war horse and a plain horse.

, she inherited both her mother's violent temper and her father's strong footwork, and she was not shy about many riders who tried to subdue her.

What was surprising and rare was that Thales, who had never been talented in horseback riding, got along very well with Jenny. Even Viscount Connie, who was leading the mission at the time, was amazed.

Thales smiled softly, stuffed the book in his hand into the bag on the saddle, and untied Jenny's reins. At the same time, Wyatt and the other soldiers also began to look for their mounts.

At this moment.

"Dear Prince Thales, good day."

A melancholy and peaceful female voice came from outside the stable: "As a fifty-six-year-old elder, I need to remind you to pay attention to the safety of this trip."

The soldiers and guards all moved out of the way and bowed to the visitor, while the people in the stars frowned in unison.

Thales closed his mouth that was open with a smile, turned his back to the new lady, and sighed.

"Good day, Ms. Jinx," he said without looking back, still making preparations before departure, "I thought you should stay by the side of the Grand Duchess at this moment, help her behave appropriately, and show her grace to the vassals and nobles.

What a graceful look."

Jinx, one of the personal ladies of the Grand Duchess: an aristocratic woman in her fifties who looks like she is in her thirties. She wears simple clothes, has simple hair accessories, behaves well, and always has a straighter face than Wyatt.
To be continued...