"I beg you!"

Samir turned his back to Thales, with an unclear expression and a rather gritty tone.

But Sak'el remained silent, just staring at him.

"Please, answer me, Your Majesty the Punisher," Once again, Samir's words already had a hint of pleading:

"This is so important."

His hand holding the fence began to tremble.

Finally, Sak'el snorted lightly, and his eyes that had just become distracted returned to clarity.

"Too important?"

"Why are they—Barney Jr. questioning you, Samuel?"

He curled up the corners of his mouth and shook his head silently:

"Asking whether you are a traitor or not?"

Samir's face turned pale. He didn't know whether it was because he couldn't bear the pain or for some other reason. He subconsciously let go of the fence and took a step back.

His palms trembled slightly.

"And you, do you hope that I am a traitor," the punishment knight smiled: "Or do you hope that I am not?"

There was silence in the air for a long time.

Samir lowered his head deeply.

However, not long after, a silent sigh came from the darkness.

Unexpectedly, Sak'el's voice gradually sounded, from low to high, from light to heavy.

"I swear," he said calmly:

"Imanu Sak'el, hereby solemnly swear by my honor, my dignity, my sword, my ancestors, and in the name of the Sak'el family that has been loyal to the throne since the time of the empire.

"

Samir seemed to be inspired by something and raised his head with a complicated expression.

"I'll spend my whole life, forever." As the words progressed, Sak'el's tone became more and more solemn:

"I have never betrayed the Royal Family of Bright Star, nor have I betrayed the oath of the Imperial Guard."

Thales' eyebrows jumped.

He seemed to have missed something.

Sure enough, Sak'el's sigh came again:

"The only person I'm sorry for is you."

Samir's breath seemed to have been cut off.

Just listen to the decadent and sad voice of the punishment knight continue to sound:

"It's Captain Cullen, it's Tony, it's Morian, it's Belletti, it's Chimera, it's Rogo, it's Tardin, it's Bree, it's Nye, and you, Samir..."

"Brothers of all the Royal Guards."

He sounded like a waning old man regretting the sins of his youth.

Samir remained motionless.

"As a person with high hopes, in such a storm, I am neither capable nor capable of protecting you, helping you, leading you, and going through difficulties and dangers with you," Sak'el looked at Samir,

Looking at the mark on his face, he said blankly:

"I can only sit here, day after day, year after year, watching you sink to this point and suffer so much."

Thales turned his head and thought of the thirty-seven emperor's guards who died in the Bone Prison above, and thought of their dull, desolate, relieved, or crazy eyes, and then looked at the unshaven Sacé.

Well, it was quite unpleasant for a while.

Sak'el closed his eyes gently and squeezed out a word that had been on his heart for who knows how many years:

"sorry."

There was silence again.

Samir's expression remained unchanged for a long time, but he slowly turned his head away.

"So, the traitor is not you," the flag officer trembled slightly: "Or, the traitor has died in prison."

"Or is there no traitor at all? No one betrayed His Majesty's family?"

Samir turned his head suddenly, with a hint of pleading in his tone:

"Everything, everything is just the imagination of that conspirator Barney Jr.?"

Sak'el did not answer him immediately, but walked silently and sat back down in his original position filled with a desolate atmosphere.

After a while, a faint sigh came from the air.

"Maybe there is."

Samir was slightly startled: "What?"

I saw Sak'el leaning his head back against the wall, and his eyes seemed to have lost focus again:

"I think there are some traitors."

As soon as these words came out, both Samir, Thales, and even Ricky's expressions changed.

Until his words continue.

"But they're not just a person, or a face, or a name."

Samir frowned:

"What's the meaning?"

Sak'el shook his head with a helpless and hollow smile.

"Brothers of the royal guard are all from the major noble families in the royal capital," he looked above his head, seeming to see the past there, and the rhythm of his tone also became ups and downs, with a regular rhythm:

"Barney, Belletti, Samuel, Tardin, Sak'el...the old captain is the Sun Sword Shield from one of the six wealthy families, and is the youngest brother of the Duke of the East China Sea."

"They all have a very high sense of honor, responsibility, and even mission. They are proud to be Star People, proud to be descendants of the Empire, and regard the Kingdom as their eternal home and belonging."

Listening to the punishment knight's words, Samir was silently lost in thought.

"but……"

Sak'el changed the topic.

"You just heard what that man said, about the secret of Dragon Breaker," his expression became sad and painful: "About...that year."

The other three people were all startled.

Sak'el's breathing was disordered for a moment, a bitter look flashed across his face, and then turned into a convulsive chuckle:

"Hahahahaha..."

No one spoke.

"Actually, there were signs of everything a long time ago. I knew it. I should have known it a long time ago."

"Starting from the restriction order issued to the great nobles, from the trade decree, from His Majesty's wedding, from the advisors who frequently come in and out of the palace, from the meetings convened from time to time, and from the increasingly heated interviews of the subjects, I should

I saw that whether it was the brothers or others, the doubts in their eyes had already been planted and slowly sprouted."

Samir said nothing.

"Look at what His Majesty has done, look at the path His Majesty has embarked on, look at the battlefield he has set foot on, and look at the enemies he has chosen," the prisoner still looked at the ceiling with a complicated expression, his laughter full of bitterness and regret:

"Look at the future he has chosen for the millions of people in the stars."

Thales listened to his words silently, imagining everything that Eddie II had to face in that era.

Thacker breathed out hoarsely.

Thinking of the Purifying Edge and the secret he just learned, Thales couldn't help but frown.

Samir turned his head sharply, as if he couldn't bear to listen anymore.

"You and Barney, you are so eager to find the betrayer, but..."

"I'm thinking... if the so-called traitors you call, if those who have expectations and longings for the future of the Star Kingdom, if they really know something - such as the Dragon Breaker, that's why they act for this and are willing to endure it

The condemnation of conscience, even if it goes against the king's will..."

Sak'el stared blankly into the void, immersed in his own world, becoming more and more incoherent:

"If they can no longer distinguish between betrayal and loyalty...it's not impossible, right?"

Samir was stunned.

However, Sak'el continued in a daze:

"The question is, Samuel, what position should we stand on before we can criticize them without hesitation? Is it the contempt of loyal people for betrayers? Is it the condemnation of those who are single-minded towards those who are single-minded?"
To be continued...