“Control?”

Gilbert’s eyes changed several times, but he maintained a gentle and steady tone because of his experience:

 “Forgive me for being dull, I can’t understand what you mean.”

Tales looked at him deeply.

 “No, Gilbert,” Thales smiled:

"You are the smartest person in this court. You are so smart that you know when to be dull."

 The dim lights in the corridor made Gilbert's face sink like water.

"You know very well, everything I have and achieved since I was brought into Mindis Hall by you: whether it is using the name of the prince to make the Grand Duke of the North listen to me patiently, or using interests to make Longxiao City surrender, or whether it is... Relying on status, a small number of people are willing to be manipulated by me, including me who have worked hard to prevent conflicts, eliminate war disasters, and aid friends..."

Thales’s smile gradually solidified:

 “All of these, in the final analysis, originate from him.”

Gilbert was startled and stopped talking.

 Thales continued:

 “It is more derived from what he represents: kingdom, system, tradition...everything.”

“This is why, facing Nuln, Charmaine and Shadowshield, I am not afraid of them, but I am only afraid of him and afraid of him.”

 Thales took a deep breath:

 “For without him, without these things he has given me...”

“I can only go back to my original form and become the lonely and weak beggar in the abandoned house in the lower city.”

 Tales clenched his fists.

 He recalled that one night in Dragon Blood, in the room of the Palace of Heroes, Asheida asked him to the point.

"I will..." the prince said with difficulty:

 “It’s nothing.”

 It’s nothing.

"I know that His Majesty Kessel has always been strong," Gilbert tried his best to find a place to interrupt and comforted: "He is too strict with you, which makes you alienate him and even fear him..."

 “Severe?” Thales repeated the word, snorted coldly, and shook his head.

“King Nun forced me, King Charmaine used me, and the Shadow Shield hurt me, but they all had to raise their swords first and resort to the most direct and brutal means.”

“But he is the only one, only him, what he uses to control me is not a certain knife, not a certain order, not a certain threat, or even a direct and clear hierarchy, interest relationship, and power chain.”

Thales turned around slowly, facing the shadows in the corridor that could not even be illuminated by the lights, and spoke bitterly:

 “But a towering snare.”

 “It’s called the ‘Kingdom of the Stars’ or ‘This Damn World’.”

Gilbert was shocked and blurted out:

 “Your Highness!”

But Thales suddenly raised his hand to stop what the teacher was about to say.

"And he is at the top of this net. He doesn't need to say anything, do anything, or even show up. Just the existence and weight of the net itself, and its airtight shape on all sides, are enough to make me bow my head. He bent his neck and staggered."

Thales looked in a daze:

 “Until I am bound by countless threads in the net to be what he, or it, wants.”

"I see!"

 Gilbert could no longer bear it and rushed to speak anxiously:

"I understand, Your Highness! But after all, you are father and son, related by blood, and you are his heir. We have the same position. As long as you resolve the conflicts and misunderstandings."

 “Untie?”

 Tales raised his voice and turned around.

 He looked at the Foreign Minister with a sneer on his lips.

"Gilbert, you are a diplomat. You can untie a knot, a misunderstanding, the hatred between two people, the contradiction between two groups, and you can even untie the war dilemma between two big countries. "

 “But how do you unravel a snare?”

 Gilbert's eyes narrowed.

“That drug store owner, if he has a good relationship with the gang, he may be able to pay less protection money,” Thales took a step toward Gilbert and said rather aggressively:

"But Gilbert, answer me: How is he going to get out of that trap? That cruel trap that he has long been accustomed to and has become insensitive to, that cruel trap that rationalizes violence, exploitation and oppression by one-sidedly emphasizing that one cannot have both freedom and security, one must give up one or the other. ?”

 The cold wind penetrated through the cracks, and it was biting.

 Gilbert didn't react. He looked at Thales blankly, in disbelief.

“That good girl, maybe she can find a so-called good man like me, and live happily ever after,” Thales stared at his teacher, asking for the answer at all costs:

"But Count Castle, answer me: How is she going to escape from this trap? She has already seen through it but is helpless. That woman is designed and trained to only rely on and surrender to another kind of person. She can only trade her skirt for bread, otherwise

Will you be punished and be trapped in a snare of injustice that is difficult to move through?"

 Lights flickered in the corridor, and there were ghosts and shadows.

Looking at the prince in front of him, Gilbert shook his right hand and unconsciously leaned on his cane, breathing rapidly.

“As for the disabled ruthless guy, maybe the old friends in the gang can help support his life,” Thales gritted his teeth and said in an angry tone:

"But Foreign Minister, please answer me: How can he escape from this trap? He has lived in it for a long time without smelling its stench. He keeps repeating that strength determines income, and if he falls behind, he will be beaten. The logic is full of loopholes.

, a twisted web that is rarely questioned?”

 The stone walls in the palace listened to Thales' questions quietly, as silently as ever.

 Gilbert's chest was rising and falling, and he looked back at Thales blankly.

 “Answer me, respected teacher, answer me,” Thales raised his voice:

“Use all your knowledge and literacy in history, politics, grammar, and philosophy to answer me: How are you going to untie these snares?”

 The echo spread in the empty and dark corridor, like a tiny pebble dropped into the bottomless dark stream.

 “Your Highness,” Gilbert said worriedly and anxiously:

 “I don’t understand what you are talking about and us”

 But Thales interrupted him.

"last night."

The prince stared closely at the Foreign Minister:

"I, Duke of Star Lake, Prince Thales, I am standing at the highest point of Mindis Hall, but I still feel helpless and crumbling, but I am not even allowed to retreat, turn around and give up. Because the one who belongs to me

The snare has already tied me up tightly, making it airtight."

 Hearing these words, Gilbert's expression darkened.

"In that trap, I could only watch two living people fighting to death for ridiculous reasons in front of me, helplessly sitting back and watching my subordinates sacrifice their lives, just because this is in line with 'my' position and the interests of the kingdom.

, in line with the best ending.”

 The scene at the banquet flashed before Thales’ eyes:

"And as long as I resist a little bit and tear with all my strength, just like last night, resorting to my humanity instead of interests, and testing on the edge of deviance, I will immediately attract this snare's merciless punishment and counterattack from top to bottom, or

Force me to bow my head and become a good prince, or wipe me out completely and turn me into a historical legend."

 Legends and Thrones.

 Legend, or throne.

 That was all his choice.

 “Gilbert, can you feel it?”

 Thales felt bitter in his heart:

“Can you feel this, invisible but everywhere in our lives, a trap of despair so oppressive that one cannot breathe?”

“It is so irresistible and imperceptible that even the strongest, smartest and most transparent people I have ever met will unconsciously and subtly become its most loyal and obedient slaves.”

 Gilbert remained silent and fell into bitter contemplation.

“This, Gilbert, is what has always frightened me.”

 Thales took a deep breath, took two steps back, and rubbed his forehead vigorously.

"As Zhan En said: I returned to the stars, but what I got was more than just the shadow of the kingdom."

 “More than the shadow of the throne.”

 The two fell into silence.

As if a century had passed, Gilbert let out a long sigh, with obvious wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
To be continued...