Gilbert was slightly startled.

Thales breathed out

"If necessary, I can write a handwritten letter directly to Grand Duchess Walton. I have some relationship with her..."

Gilbert stared at him quietly, and then smiled, the wrinkles on his face clearly visible.

"Your Highness."

The foreign secretary looked at him with a smile

"They'll be fine."

"As long as you're good."

"And my son definitely knows that."

Thales raised his head, returned the smile and nodded.

Gilbert seemed to realize something. He took a few deep breaths, calmed down his emotions, and returned to his profession, the solemn Foreign Minister, Count Gilbert Cassel, the cunning fox in the stars.

"I have many things to say to you, Your Highness, but..."

The polite smile returned to Gilbert's face

"Now that you have come back, there are too many things to arrange in front of you... The welcome banquet for the prince's return, your complete teaching and advisory team, of course, must take into account the needs of the prince, and must also be in line with the status of the duke.

...Oh, by the way, the dignity of the Duke of Star Lake..."

Thales' face darkened when he heard the last sentence.

"In fact, I was just about to ask about it."

Thales's expression became serious, and even Gilbert subconsciously put away his smile.

"Duke of Star Lake."

The prince chewed on the meaning of this sentence word by word, and looked at his teacher with suspicion.

"Gilbert, what does this mean?"

Gilbert paused for a moment, as if thinking about something. After a few seconds, he smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, this is a good thing."

Gilbert sighed with emotion

"Duke of Star Lake."

He looked out the car window at the wilderness retreating all the way

"In the history of Xingchen, this is an honorary title that belongs exclusively to the Canxing family and is specifically awarded to members of the royal family. Although it is not as sonorous and powerful as the six guardian dukes granted by Fuxing Wang Qin, and has far-reaching influence, the actual power under it is similar to

The fiefdom is also insignificant..."

Gilbert turned around and looked at Thales seriously

"But the meaning it represents is extraordinary."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

At that moment, it was as if the familiar feeling came back.

He does not seem to be sitting in a carriage, driving down the Avenue of Grace.

Instead, he returned to the study in Mindis Hall.

Just listen to Gilbert's iconic steady voice slowly ringing out

"Five hundred years ago, Su Mei II of 'Broken Pulse' named his eldest son Elan the Duke of Star Lake and asked him to start managing the territory and participate in government affairs, and legitimately assist him in handling state affairs."

"Until the death of Sumer II, Prince Elam inherited the throne as a duke and became the 'Ascend King' Elam I."

Broken veins.

Thales listened to the other party's words and searched for what he had learned during his six years in the North. It was a starry history lesson in the eyes of the people in the North.

If I remember correctly, Sumer II was in a fierce confrontation between two stars, and the fisherman finally benefited. The person who ascended the throne, in order for the kingdom not to repeat the mistakes of blood relatives fighting for the throne and fratricide, the inheritance bill he promulgated was truly

The power inheritance system of inheritance by the eldest son and enfeoffment by changing the surname of the youngest son was established.

("Sure enough, we are more advanced. Let's choose the king. Of course we choose the most powerful one. A fight won't solve the problem." The Fallen Starman was doing nothing, folding his arms and listening)

Under his act, many lateral bloodlines with great surnames were forced to leave their homes and change their surnames (it also drove away a large number of cousins ​​​​who stayed under the complicated branches and leaves of the genealogy for many noble families), and many vassals who were not the eldest son

She hated him so much that she gnashed her teeth, and Su Mei Canxing II also got the nickname "Broken Pulse".

As for the Ascendant King... Thales felt it sounded familiar inexplicably, as if he had just heard it not long ago.

Gilbert's cadence continued

"Since then, half of the bright stars who have been awarded the title of Duke of Star Lake in the past five hundred years have been public or undisclosed crown princes. After the death of the previous king, they wore the nine-star crown and inherited the supreme throne of the stars."

Therefore, the Duke of Xinghu is considered the prerequisite title of the Crown Prince, etc...

Thales, who was still wondering who the Climbing King was, frowned.

"You said, half?"

Gilbert's smile remained the same, as if he had anticipated what he was going to ask.

"The other half, such as the ancestors of the Talon family in Glacier City, and your grandfather's brother, Star War God John Brightstar, serve as the king's closest family members and most trusted assistants, holding great power and assisting in national affairs."

John Shining Star.

Starry God of War.

Thales' heart sank.

He remembered many things, such as in the former Northland, veteran Gennard told him interesting stories about the Duke in the Star Legion, such as in the Prison of Bones, Samir's evaluation of the Duke of Star Lake, such as the Ghost Prince Tower, Xi

Duke Huang told him about John's life experience.

Gilbert seemed to be getting more and more excited as he talked.

"Therefore, Your Highness, as far as the stars are concerned, the Duke of Star Lake will either only grant it to the king's successor as an honorary title before the crown prince inherits the throne..."

"Or grant it to the king's closest family members to show favor and trust, thereby consolidating the rule of the Bright Star family with blood support."

The closest family.

Favor and trust.

Thales coughed slightly and narrowed his eyes.

"But I remember that although in the time of my grandfather Eddie II, the Duke of Star Lake was his brother John, the crown prince he chose was..."

Unexpectedly, Gilbert quickly interrupted him, and his tone was firm and decisive.

"That only proves one thing that your grandfather is willing to believe in John with his life. He believes in his brother as much as he believes in his own heir. He even believes that John can continue to loyally assist the successor king after his death, in the name of Duke of Star Lake.

."

Believe in John with your life.

Believe his brother.

Like trusting your own heir.

For some reason, Samuel's indignant words in prison kept circulating in Thales' mind.

Is it the son who kills his father, or the brother who kills his brother?

Gilbert took a deep breath and still stared at Thales seriously, as if there was no doubt about it.

"And John did not disappoint your grandfather. As the greatest hero in the Year of Blood, the former Duke of Star Lake and his Legion of Stars rebelled in the south and resisted the dragon in the north. In the end, they turned the tide and saved the entire star."

John Shining Star.

The greatest contributor in the Year of Blood.

Conquer rebellion in the south, fight against the dragon in the north.

Turn the tide and save the stars.

Thales recited these words silently, trying hard to suppress the inexplicable chill rising from the bottom of his heart.

"yes."

The prince looked calm and spoke calmly

"Then he died."

Gilbert was startled for a moment.

But the foreign minister was obviously very experienced. He frowned and quickly took over Thales' words.

"...thereby making this title even more noble. During the eighteen years when Star Lake Castle was vacant, people talked about the bloody Duke of Star Lake, and only remembered his tragic loyalty and glorious past."

Listening to the other party's words being perfectly rounded, Thales did not respond this time, but looked at Gilbert for a long time.

At that moment, Thales suddenly remembered the words of Marina, the Sword of Disaster.

Please investigate this matter and find out the truth.
To be continued...