The next morning, on the flat and wide Gift Avenue, the prince's escort team was more than doubled in length due to the addition of soldiers from the Bozdov family.

"Don't pay attention to Count Bozdorf's attitude," Dele rode beside Thales:

"He was one of the leaders in taking back the Blade Tooth Camp. He was very unhappy with what happened in the past few days, so he showed his dissatisfaction on his face."

Not happy?

Thales thought silently.

Showed on face?

Dude, you probably haven't gotten along with the Northlanders. When they are unhappy, it usually shows on their swords.

He could only laugh at himself in this way.

"Please don't anger Paul," Earl of Wingburg turned to look at the taciturn Paul Bozdov, who was a few steps behind them. "Having such a strong and aggressive father, he is having a hard time."

Thales smiled and nodded, but sighed in his heart.

Speaking of which, such a strong and aggressive father...

Well, he felt this very deeply.

"At least," Dele turned around and looked at the fluttering nine-pointed star flag on a horse behind him that was rolled up and tightly packed as soon as Earl Black Lion disappeared, and sighed:

"At least Paul is easier to talk to than his father."

The two were silent for a while.

But the next second, Thales suddenly spoke:

"So, what Count Bozdorf said, about the Duke of Xihuang 'treating everyone like this'..."

"is that true?"

As if someone blew out the lights, the color between the prince and the count suddenly dimmed.

Amid the sounds of horseshoes and orders, Dele was silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Let me put it this way, Your Highness."

"In the Kingdom of Stars, compared with the Northern Territory, where everyone was united, the monolithic cliff land, and the Blade Territory, which shared weal and woe, the local politics of the Western Wilderness... are a bit complicated."

complex.

Thales pondered silently.

A few seconds later, the prince thought of something and said quietly:

"Number of votes."

Dele, who was waiting to explain, was stunned:

"What?"

Thales was in a daze and said:

"Although it was just a joke yesterday, I think about it now."

The prince spoke slowly:

"In the national meeting six years ago, when the six powerful families and the thirteen noble families voted to decide whether to recognize my identity, whether it was the Northern Territory, the Cliff Land or the Blade Territory, every earl's vote in these territories was theirs.

The Duke is looking forward to it."

"But only Xihuang, only your three votes..."

"Both you and Count Bozdorf voted no."

"And Duke Falkenhauser voted in favor."

After listening to his words, Dele Croma's expression changed.

The young Earl of Wing Castle coughed awkwardly.

"It was forced by the situation at that time. I hope you don't have any grudges."

Thales looked at his expression and smiled:

"of course not."

"I just...understood something."

The prince stared straight at the Earl of Wingburg.

"In the High Noble Council back then, on the Nineteen Stone Seat, the decisions of the three families of Xihuang... were not consistent."

Dele's face became increasingly ugly.

Their team turned a corner, and Thales' thoughts returned to the past.

At the national conference that year, the final vote on whether Thales could become the official second prince was ten in favor, eight against, and one abstention.

The pro-royal party turned the tide of the battle with a slight advantage of one vote.

The three major families in the Eastern Sea Territory, headed by the fat Duke Cullen, all voted in favor at the last moment.

But now that I think about it...

Cliff Land, Northern Territory, South Coast, Western Wasteland, Blade, East China Sea... Thales thought of the voting situation of the nineteen nobles back then, and suddenly understood many things.

The prince frowned.

According to the order of voting and the results of the votes...

Back then, the man who really held the key vote and turned the situation around with a single move made Thales finally become the second prince...

Not Duke Cullen.

After passing an intersection with different gradients, their progress on the gallop began to gradually speed up.

"Please don't misunderstand," Dele adjusted his sitting posture and took a deep breath before the wind in front of him increased:

"The lords of the Western Wilderness still respect the four-eyed skull emblem."

His expression was a little heavy:

"It's just that in recent years, my noble peers, especially people like Count Bozdorf, feel that the Duke is more or less... content with the status quo."

Dele's eyes became sharp:

"This is especially true after the Desert War when it concerns the royal family."

"For example, this time's Blade Tooth Camp."

Count Chroma chooses his words carefully:

"The vassals were quite critical of his negative decision of not paying attention beforehand and his conservative attitude of cleaning up the mess afterwards."

Thales was silent.

Be content with the status quo.

Negative decision-making.

Conservative attitude.

The second prince couldn't help but think of Cyril's words again:

You know, when your vassals and subordinates are excited and their opinions are high, standing in front of the wave, you don't have much choice but to follow the trend.

Did he also say these words to others?

"No."

As the Mercedes-Benz accelerated, Thales tightened his grip on the horse's belly.

He stared intently at the smooth and solid road surface of the Gift Avenue, watching them fly backwards one foot at a time, and said firmly:

"Perhaps this is the Duke's unique way of defending the Western Wilderness."

When these words came out, Dele beside him was silent for a long time.

The two men, each thinking deeply, followed the team in a tacit understanding, letting the horses gallop without making a sound.

It wasn't until a minute later that the mount began to slow down along with the team that Dele sighed with emotion and looked at the distant wilderness:

"It seems Cohen wasn't bragging."

"If I don't come to see you, I will definitely regret it."

Thales smiled. He was about to say thank you, but he didn't react immediately.

But after a few seconds...

"Cohen?"

Thales raised his head subconsciously, slightly surprised:

"You, you know Cohen?"

"Cohen Big Fool Karabyan?"

Count Chroma turned back to look at the prince, his expression warming up.
To be continued...