“No.”

After Vogel suggested his idea, Mallos flatly refused, “It’s too risky to assassinate him now.”

Vogel frowned. “You suggested it first. Now you’ve changed your mind?”

Mallos shook his head. “Now he has a very justifiable reason—asking His Highness to witness his duel in the name of revenge.”

Vogel scoffed in disdain. “Justifiable my foot.”

In front of them, Thales was still staring at hostage-taker Anker, his thoughts in a flurry.

‘What should I do?

‘Reject him, permit him, kill him, persuade him…’

So confused.

“Byrael!”

Inside the hall, Count Godwin, who had stepped forth as negotiator, was livid as he rebuked, “You are out of line! You’re playing to the crowd while coercing His Highness. Are such actions befitting of a gentleman, of a subject?”

But Anker was clearly prepared. He did not cower, but instead replied with his head held high, “As subjects of Constellation, are we not all entitled to appeal to our supreme king?”

His tight grip made the old baron who had been taken hostage groan in pain.

“Is it not the duty of every king to listen to the sincere voices of their subjects?”

Anker’s words echoed throughout the hall. Not only did it deepen Thales’ frown, it agitated the restless guests even more.

Count Godwin was speechless for a moment and could not find a rebuttal—whether it was ‘appeal’ or ‘king’, the traps formed by these words were too obvious and too dangerous.

Mallos ignored the situation in the hall, kept his calm, and continued to communicate with the vice-captain in hushed tones, “If we act first, His Highness will be in the wrong. It will be a cowardly, incompetent and despicable act—at his Mindis Hall, at his banquet.”

Vogel pondered for a moment then said decisively, “The guards can bear the responsibility. You and me.

“We can resign if necessary, no qualms about it.”

But Mallos shook his head. “Do you think people will care?”

His continued profoundly, “The royal guards, the emphasis will forever be on ‘royal’, not ‘guards.”

Listening to the conversation between these two guard commanders behind him, the weight in Thales’ heart grew heavier.

What should I do?

“Your Highness!”

Anker turned around and looked at the person currently in the highest position. “The upholding of justice is upon us, awaiting only for your order.”

“How dare you!”

His aggressiveness again attracted Count Godwin’s rebuke, but Anker could not care less as he continued to stare at Thales.

Like staring at his prey.

“Reject him, Your Highness.”

Behind Thales, Vogel seemed irate as he whispered, “The master of Constellation and royal dignity should never be threatened.”

Thales was about to speak when Mallos’ whisper came from the other side, “So we force him to kill the baron?

“Allow His Highness to be regarded as a cold-blooded spectator, one who condones murder?

“Don’t forget, that’s a Seven Jadestar Attendant who serves the royal family.”

Thales felt a ton weigh on his teeth, preventing him from speaking.

Vogel immediately rebutted, “Still, barbarous vulgarities such as ‘duel to the death’ should not be promoted! It would be one thing if people gossiped about His Highness being polluted by Northlanders, but the more serious matter is the risk that there will be emulators in the kingdom in future…”

Count Godwin and Anker loudly exchanging words, Mallos and Vogel arguing in hushed tones, the guests’ bickering—an assortment of voices entered Thales’ range of perception through hell’s senses, stirring his consciousness, striking at his mind.

After being tortured the entire night at the banquet, this made him even more exhausted.

Calm and indifferent, Mallos continued to refute Vogel, “No matter how terrible or backward this custom is, it was how His Highness resisted against King Nuven. This has now become a well-known anecdote, a symbol. To deny it now…”

That’s a misunderstanding.

Thales had a blank expression on his face; he was mentally and physically drained.

He just, just wanted to scare those Northland barbarians, and Nuven never—why did they make it seem like he really did duel the Born King?

Thales sighed deep inside.

Why did he challenge King Nuven to a duel then?

God knows how much he regrets it now.

Also, who spread news of this incident in the first place?

In the Hall of Heroes then, the Eckstedtian archdukes present, were their tongues so loose?

There was a minor commotion among the guards: Doyle, with a distorted expression, dragged his restraint, Glover, and forced his way towards the two commanders.

“Let me fight him, Your Highness, Sir.”

Doyle held Glover down, suppressed his emotions, and glared at the enemy that was taking his father hostage. “I can kill him openly and fairly—this is just a grievance between two families.”

Doyle looked anxious, eager yet nervous.

Vogel snorted with utmost disdain.

Thales’ expression was grim.

“Then we’ll be falling right into his trap.”

Mallos shook his head. “If Byrael dies in a glorious duel to avenge his father, his ordeal will be memorialized and sympathized to the greatest extent. No one will remember his transgressions and ulterior motives.

“His Highness and the royal family will be forced into the eye of the storm, and be criticized for bullying the weak and disregarding the life of their subjects.”

In the hall, Anker was calmly and clearly rebutting Count Godwin’s reprimands. Baron Doyle was shuddering under his sword. The audience’s discussions persisted as they became increasingly restless.

Doyle clenched his teeth.

Mallos’ words became more and more grave. “And he’s just someone’s tool, a chess piece on the table.”

Chess piece.

“Child, be strong.

“Do not turn into a chess piece that is easily manipulated and can be casually sacrificed.”

Unexpectedly, Fakenhaz’s words came to mind. Thales tautened the muscles on his arms.

“As for those under the stage, the hands behind the veil…”

Mallos kept these last words to himself: might take advantage of Byrael’s death to embellish this incident, which was originally a contractual dispute, and escalate it to an unprecedented level—such as kingdom governance.

Doyle and Byrael.

In the entire kingdom, how many cases would be similar to theirs?

How many different situations would be left?

Of those cases that share similarities as well as differences, how many would use this incident as reference?

Mallos’ gaze froze.

No, it will be prescribed a different meaning and become the fuse that ignites a series of political storms in the future…

“But, Mallos,” Thales made an effort not to pay attention to the countless gazes that were on him, turn his head and whispered wearily, “He’s just someone who has been driven by the circumstances to take a risk and go all out.”

Mallos looked at Anker, whose eyes were blazing, and narrowed his eyes.

“That’s why he’s stubborn and dangerous.

“More so the schemer behind him.”

The watchman ended somberly, “A good chess piece.

“A good sword.”

Good chess piece.

Thales did not reply. He merely shut his eyes and let fatigue wash over him.

“Your Highness!”

Anker became more impatient, his urging muffled Count Godwin’s admonitions. “What makes you hesitate to such an extent?”

The criminal of family Byrael stepped forward and, while unnerving the surrounding guards, raised his short sword and pointed it towards the Duke of Star Lake on the upper tier!

“Is it an uncertainty about justice and fairness, or a confusion about Empire traditions?”

Anker glared fiercely at the Doyle beside Thales. “Or is it preferential treatment, where you would rather condone your vassal, and your personal guard?”

Doyle’s expression changed; anger surged to the surface.

“Is there no other way?”

Doyle’s fist was shaking, forcing Glover to hold on to him tightly. “We’re just gonna let this bastard continue to spout nonsense, harm my father and damage His Highness’ reputation…”

“Originally, the best way was to carry out strict inspections beforehand and suppress the disturbance,” Mallos replied solemnly, “Devoid him of the opportunity to speak.

“Let the guards keep the matter outside the hall, make it non-existent—whether it’s this case, the assassination or the hostage situation.”

Vogel’s expression turned unpleasant, while Doyle became even more anxious.

“Your Highness…”

There was another wave of climax in the guests’ discussions, including some heated arguments.

Many were lambasting Anker’s disrespectful acts, but the son of Byrael family showed no signs of fear, whether in standing upright and still, or in retorting loudly.

Thales kept breathing distractedly as he felt the pain from his nails digging into his palms.

At that moment.

“I’ve got it.”

Mallos said softly, and attracted the attention of the guards, “There’s another way.

“We’ll be able to save the baron, and also solve the dilemma.”

Vogel and Thales both cast a sideway glance at him.

But Mallos merely turned to Doyle.

“Fight him, Doyle.”

Doyle instinctively agreed, but was startled after he realized what he had just agreed to. “Yes—Sir?”

Mallos’ expression was indifferent as ever, only his tone grew somber. “But, Vanguard Danny Doyle…”

He rarely called Doyle by his full name, which made the latter nervous.

“Listen carefully.”

Everyone’s complexion turned white as sheet at the watchman’s next words.

“You have to die.”

Thales froze.

Along with Vogel and the other guards.

What?

“This duel,” Mallos said calmly, his gaze fixed on Doyle, “You have to…

“Die in his hands.”

The words finally hit Thales and stunned him.

He wasn’t the only one.

“What?” Vogel looked at the watchman incredulously.

“Our opponent plans to take advantage of the public outcry. Let’s return like for like.”

Mallos turned his head around calmly and avoided looking at the Doyle who was rooted to the spot and lost in thought.

“Doyle accepts the challenge, but ends up getting killed—this way, regardless of what the circumstances were, Byrael family will be in the wrong for causing havoc at the banquet and killing a compatriot based on a terrible foreign custom. Everyone will only remember that your family suffered in silence, and High Highness had no other choice.

“After the fact, the royal family can uphold justice, take the moral highground and smooth over the aftermath,”

Under everyone’s astonished gaze, Mallos continued to nonchalantly narrate his terrifying suggestion, “His Highness was unaware and impartial.

“Doyle did not avoid responsibility and played his part.

“End of story.”

There was silence among the guards.

“Die…” Doyle was still rooted to the spot and stunned.

Only Vogel managed to overcome the initial shock and queried with a frown, “But if that’s the case, the Doyle family…”

“The son dies gloriously in a duel on behalf of his father and the dignity of the royal family is preserved.” Mallos stared at the old baron who had collapsed in a heap on the floor. “Or the father cowardly evades responsibility and dies of murder, causing chaos in the kingdom.

“The implications of this matter are immense. They know what to choose.”

Thales saw Doyle tremble a little and looking despondent.

As if the Doyle from before had vanished.

“No,” Thales said subconsciously, “There must be a better way…”

But in that moment, neither Vogel nor Mallos seemed to take note of his words.

“But after that,” Vogel crossed his arms, seemingly giving this solution a serious thought and considering its pros and cons, “the Seven Jadestar Attendants, their attitude towards the royal family…”

Doyle looked up in a daze.

“There are pros and cons, but those are matters beyond our pay grade. Such matters will be for His Majesty and the lords of the Imperial Conference to consider,” Mallos said calmly, akin to how on the day Thales returned to Eternal Star City, he ‘suggested’ that Thales stay in the carriage, “On this chessboard, Byrael is just a chess piece, the Seven Jadestar Attendants are chess pieces, and you and I are just chess pieces too.

“We can only choose the move that results in minimal loss.”

Thales was lost in thought.

Chess pieces.

Chess pieces again.

A chess piece controlled by others.

“Is this worth it?” Thales asked softly.

But Mallos was still discussing with Vogel, and did not notice him.

“So, Vanguard Doyle, how much do you want to save your father’s life, save your family, and rescue His Highness from this dilemma?” Vogel gently asked Doyle, who had been rendered speechless—this was the first time he had faced Doyle squarely and called him by his title and family name.

Doyle shuddered again!

But Vogel pressed on, “Are you willing to die for it?”

Doyle looked up. His breathing was uneasy and he sounded terrified, “I, I…”

No one knew what he wanted to say.

“That guy has relaxed his stance,” Glover suddenly spoke, “Sir, allow me to go around him. I am confident I can kill him in one strike from behind…”

Doyle looked at his partner, color returning to his eyes.

Mallos interrupted them composedly, “This is the only way.

“Someone has set up an unsolvable chess puzzle, and we can only make the most rational and incisive choice,” the watchman looked towards the distracted Doyle, “Sacrifice a pawn,” he turned to look at the incredulous Thales, “to save the king.”

There was another bout of silence amongst the guards.

Thales closed his eyes and unclenched his fists.

Sacrifice a pawn.

To save the king.

Who was the pawn.

Who was the king?

But in the hall, Anker was noticeably tired of the pestering from Count Godwin and others, and did not want to drag on, “Your Highness—”

“Is it worth it?!” Thales opened his eyes suddenly and yelled to interrupt him!

The Duke of Star Lake speaking angrily shifted the attention of the entire hall onto him again.

“Is it worth it?

The Duke of Star Lake took a step forward and looked at the person who disrupted his banquet with mixed emotions, and said in a voice filled with both anger and indignation, “Anker Byrael!

“Whoever instructed you, them and their conspiracies and schemes, are they worth you being a chess piece and sacrificing your life for?”

Anker was stunned for a split second.

Not just him, but the guards as well.

After a few seconds, the hostage-taker chuckled.

“Instructed?”

Anker cast a sharp glance at the miserable old baron, then continued coldly, “You don’t believe me, do you?

“When you encounter a similar situation, you think it’s a political conspiracy, you think there is an ulterior motive.” Anker sneered and pointed his short sword at the crowd around him, causing a slight commotion. “Just like what most idiots—idiots who are arrogant, apathetic, cold-blooded and ignorant, who brag about morals but are actually selfish and hypocritic—think when they play curious spectator.”

Thales frowned.

“‘Why bother, there must be another way’ is what they all say. ‘Harboring dubious motives, attention-seeking’ is another thing they say. ‘This is not that simple. It must be a conspiracy’, they say that too.

“Just like what you’re doing now,”

Anker continued bleakly, “You don’t believe that everything I have done—me, someone with flesh and blood—that it’s my last and most desperate choice.”

For a brief second, Thales felt that he understood the meaning hidden behind Anker’s eyes.

But that feeling disappeared in a flash, and Anker’s gaze became alien again.

Thales was silent for a moment.

“So where did you obtain your weapon then?”

The prince spoke solemnly, “Banquet security is strict. You couldn’t have brought it in on your own.”

Anker was taken aback.

He looked at the short sword in his hand and sneered. Then his gaze turned cold.

“For someone who has faced injustice with their back to the wall, Your Highness,” Anker Byrael looked at Thales again, his tone sorrowful but determined, “Weapons of resistance can be found everywhere.

“And are right at their fingertips.”

He ignored Count Godwin’s maniacal roar, and placed his blade against the baron’s neck again.

“Your Highness, make my choice for me—murder, or duel?”

Thales gulped.

Doyle’s expression was tense. There was a renewed focal distance in his distracted gaze that refracted his inner struggle.

From one side, Mallos’ gaze was cast on Thales.

But it was more lethal than any other gazes in the hall at that moment.

Sacrifice a pawn.

To save the king?

Anker, Doyle, Mallos—all three of their gazes focused on him.

And all Thales could feel was parched.

But in the next second, a high-pitched female voice cut through the atmosphere.

“Bullshit choice!

“Bullshit Byrael!”

This took everyone by surprise. They turned around to discover Lady Doyle who had broken free from the crowd, looking flustered but fierce.

She breathed shakily, her heavy makeup long ruined by tears and her splendid clothing disheveled. But she still managed to point a finger at the hostage-taker and say through gritted teeth, “You immature brat! What do you know apart from playing with swords and gallivanting about in some rotten tower thousands of miles away?!

“What kind of scum your father was—don’t you even know?!”

Anker was stunned, and immediately frowned.

Like someone who had rebounded from extreme fear, Lady Doyle’s expression had become distorted.

“Before marrying into the Doyle family, my ex-husband was a businessman from Crow Caw City. I know it better than anyone—what a filthy piece of work your father was!

“Byrael! Hah, that son of a bitch! He was a first-rate scoundrel of a knight when he was young. Frivolous and vain, even employing trickery in Cavaliers’ Tourney!”

The baroness’ expression was full of contempt and disgust.

“He always goes for the flashy and grandiose, and is mulish and domineering. He’s short-sighted yet avaricious and insatiable!

“If not for the kind of bullshit luck that saw four of his cousins and two of his brothers die in the Bloody Year, what right did he have to become the Baron of Crow Caw City?!

Anker did not expect this; he did not know how to react. “You…”

“As a suzerain, all your father knew was extort taxes and levies, making endless demands on the people! Under his governance, labor terms were extended by additional labor terms and fees were levied on top of taxes in Crow Caw City, but he was never lenient with punishments and penalties! As a result, industries declined, the public was outraged, and corruption and bribery was rampant!”

Anker was offended. “No, he…”

But the baroness was clearly in a towering rage and did not give him a chance to speak. “That aside, just look at how he’s unrepentant even when in financial difficulty. He insisted on engaging in wanton military activities and took out a loan for the expedition, but squandered countless lives… All to make a fortune in a desert expedition, gain credit, and win face?

“Is it not clear enough?”

Lady Doyle was panting and her hair was all over the place.

But her sharp voice was fluent. Thales could even hear a trace of rural Western Desert accent that must have been there since her youth and stuck like an old habit.

“In Crow Caw City, from officials to farmers, from traders to craftsmen, everyone hated your father. Hated his guts!

“Every year, every month, those overwhelmed by their dire situation gathered in the mountains and robbed passersby. This implicated the surrounding areas, from local residents to those in Mirror River which is a river across. That’s how my ex-husband died!

“Not to mention the countless exiles that abandon their uncultivated lands every year and sneak across Mirror River to other lands—including the Doyle family territory, just to be able to afford a satiating meal and new clothes!”

Inside the hall, the baroness’ words drew everyone’s attention as shock and chatter swept through the crowd.

“After I remarried, your father actually shamelessly asked the suzerains of the areas around Mirror River for ‘remuneration fees’ for these exiles! All the baron—my current husband could do was pay him to satiate his appetite, and occasionally placating the exiles and allowing them to return to work on a farm to avoid an increase in mountain bandits, which would implicate the surrounding areas. And this was the bullshit that you called ‘leasing their land’!”

Anker was as shocked as he was furious, which rendered him speechless for a moment.

“Mortgage land in the contract? Fuck you. In this entire country, what noble with personal integrity would, without blinking, mortgage their inherited feudal land and people for money? Do you think the Doyles are the only ones your father got loans from?!

“Whether it was traders or nobles, knights or officials, once the debt was due, he would hide behind nobility regulations and refuse to acknowledge the debts, threatening to sue his creditors for ‘harming a noble and privately transferring land’—he’s much more skilled than you in this kind of bullying, underhanded, and shameless rotten tactics!”

Anker held on to his sword, trembling. He turned pale as the crowd’s buzzing continued.

The baroness shouted indignantly, “In the face of such a scoundrel suzerain, the Byrael family vassals felt alienated but did not dare to speak up—how much of a saint and how generous did you think the Baron of Mirror River had to be, to have them crying in anguish and desperately seeking asylum under him?

“To escape your father, to survive, and for the sake of the next generation, the people of Crow Caw City adapted their mindset and found a way out by joining forces in private to overcome difficult times. What’s wrong with that?”

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, the baroness continued through gritted teeth, “And us Doyles acted generously. On account of being neighbors and relatives for generations, we rented their uncultivated lands; collected a regular rate of tax; placated them; employed the exiles to allow them to lead normal lives, instead of turning to banditry; and even cleared routes and chased away the bandits to safeguard peace in both regions…

“We merely got some profit and convenience out of it, what’s wrong with that?”

Under Anker’s restraint, the old baron burst into tears. His face was swollen as he nodded in concurrence, looking innocent.

The baroness grew more adamant as she went on, her hands on her hips, “Towards your scoundrel father, who was insatiable and ambitious yet inept, in order to prevent him from acting rabidly, we graciously loaned him funds to tackle emergencies. We wrote it off as a necessary expense to keep peace. What’s wrong with that?

“Yet you turn around and try to find fault with us? And you dare challenge us to a duel?”

Anker faced these accusations with an unpleasant expression. His breathing quickened.

“Lord Talon,” Thales turned around and whispered to Vogel, “Can you let me have a brief look at the report that the Flag Bearer Division guards gathered on the Byrael family?”

The vice-captain was startled, clearly not expecting the duke’s request.

But he merely hesitated for a moment. Under Mallos’ contemplative gaze, he summoned his subordinate and handed Thales a stack of paper.

“As far as the truth in these regions are concerned, such a brat like you who’s not home for ten months in a year, a young master provided for in all aspects by your blood-sucking father…”

The baroness looked ferocious. “Do you think after two days of swordfighting practice abroad, after reading two books, after fucking some foreign lasses, you have the right to yell at us?!”

“I, this…” Anker’s lips moved but he was unable to retort.

Well well. Thales thumbed through the report while secretly admitting to himself that he got it wrong.

In this hall, the woman who could still remain calm in the face of Iron Spike…

Might not just be Lady Elainor.

But as Thales browsed the papers, he furrowed his brows.

This wouldn’t do. On these papers, there’s only the Byrael family origin, how far back they go, their family tree, how big their territory is, how many times they’ve moved, the other members of their family…

No details about territorial governance and the dispute between the two families.

No evidence to refute him.

“You say you want to inherit your father’s territory, property, and title?”

The baroness scoffed. “Then why don’t you inherit your father’s crimes, accumulated debt, sins, harms left behind, lives owed and blood spilled towards his vassals, subjects, neighbors, kingdom and everyone else for all these years, goddamnit!

“You Byrael family brat!

After the baroness was done yelling, she fell to the ground in sweat, and had to be supported by a few court ladies.

Thales furrowed his brows deeply.

The entire hall fell silent.

As if everyone was dumbstruck by the baroness’ wave of venting.

Even Doyle himself was stunned motionless.

“D.D, was it?” Vogel called Doyle by his nickname as he looked towards the baroness in the hall with a mixed expression, “Your father…married a good wife.”

Doyle stared blankly at his stepmother.

Glover was expressionless as usual, but put a hand on his shoulder.

“You know,” Doyle was in a daze, as if muttering to himself, “When Father decided to remarry…

“My attitude towards her for all these years has been poor.”

Mallos did not say anything, but merely sighed.

Thales was somber as always.

He knew, this was not the end of it.

After a few seconds, the hall was again flooded by a surge of chatter. Everyone was heatedly discussing the new information that had been revealed by the baroness.

Anker turned around laboriously and discovered that the guests’ gazes had changed.

They began to stare more at him.

At the son of the Byrael family.

No.

No!

Apart from panic, he felt anger from being embarrassed.

“Listen up, brat!”

Lady Doyle got her breath back and, at the sight of the guests chattering, became more confident and smug.

Unbothered about her own sloppy appearance, she sneered. “I don’t care what power you’ve affiliated yourself with, or whose instructions you’re under, that made you decide to harm our family! Harm the reputation of His Highness!”

The baroness pointed squarely at the person taking her husband hostage and snarled, “But finish what you came here to do, if you dare!”

Anker shuddered!

Instead, it was the hostage, old Baron Doyle, that turned pale and said in a panic, “Uhm, dear…”

The baroness who was on a roll lowered her gaze and commanded, “Shut up you!”

The old baron trembled and obediently shut his mouth.

The baroness glared at the embarrassed-looking Anker and said through gritted teeth, “But I swear, brat of Byrael family!

“I swear to Sunset, to Bright Moon, to Dark Night, to Desert God, to my great-grandaunt, to everything!

“If tonight, my husband suffers even the slightest of harm!”

She looked vicious. “For the rest of my days, I will do everything in my power to torture your siblings, friends, and relatives in the most painful, cruel and terrifying ways!

“By the end of it, I will have them crying and begging for me to end them quickly!”

At these words, there was a shift in everyone’s expressions!

Including Anker’s.

But the baroness failed to notice it. She ignored the old baron who was anxiously signaling to her with his eyes and arms, and roared on, “I will end your family line!

“Just like what your initial fate was supposed to be!”

The crowd clamored.

Thales, Mallos, Vogel and the others frowned.

Shit.

“Sure enough, you guys are skilled in lying and chicanery.”

The hesitation and resentment on Anker’s face receded as he regained his calm. “Very well, since it is so, let us have the gods decide our fate!”

He tightened his grip in fury, forcing the old baron to howl, “No no no—”

“Come on, coward son of Doyle!”

Anker stared at Doyle on the higher tier and bellowed, “Come down here and fight me. Let’s end this!

“All of it!”

The baroness saw the situation deteriorate before her eyes, and was stunned motionless as if she had just realized something.

Doyle clasped the weapon at his waist, shocked and furious.

“I spoke too soon,” Vogel observed the public sentiment around him then looked towards the enraged Anker who was clearly prepared to go all out, and sighed. “She ruined it.”