On the day of the old king's death, the whole palace was immersed in the sound of weeping in the dark. Among them, it is not excluded that some people sincerely mourn the departure of the king, but these people definitely do not include the three princes who fought most fiercely for the succession to the throne and cried the hardest: the second, the fourth, and the seventh.

Of course, these princes have not forgotten, in fact, the right to inherit the throne has long been famous: 9 years ago, the old king listed the then 8-year-old Prince Marne as the first succession order, which really scared many people at the time, but then the king gradually became cold to Marn, and no longer mentioned the matter of inheritance, and made him think that this was just the old king's drunken casual nonsense;

In fact, the day before the old king's death, Marne had been summoned alone, and no one knew the content of the conversation between the father and son, so that it was suspicious. Marn's brother even planned to deal with the "dark horse" on the day of the old king's funeral three days later, but who would have thought that Marn would suddenly disappear and not even attend the memorial service before the funeral. No one knows where Marn has gone, not even the "First Knight of the Kingdom" who swore permanent allegiance to Marn after losing to him.

This overwhelmed the second prince, who had been prepared. Subsequently, because the second prince secretly placed troops in the mourning hall was exposed, the other two princes took the opportunity to besiege the second prince, and the three princes tore apart on the spot in the mourning hall, and the solemn funeral was ruined into a farce......

Fortunately, it was precisely because of the three princes that little Marn was given the best cover and had the opportunity to step on the ship and sail to the Rocard Empire. Prince Marn has not established his own power in the political situation of the kingdom, and it is difficult for him to establish his power in the political ecology where political resources have been divided by others, but it does not mean that Marn is alone. The group of little beggars who have been following Marn since the time of civil distress, over the years, after the survival of the fittest in the political struggle and the baptism of war in the military career, only 5 people survived, they were loyal and capable, and became the only henchmen that Marn could trust and rely on. When Marn proposed to leave the royal capital, these five diehards did not hesitate to give up the wealth and military positions they had gained through their hard work, and resolutely followed Marn on a new journey of uncertain fortune.

Time goes back to the night before the king died.

"You are not my own son. The old king, who was dying, finally told a shocking secret that had been hidden in his heart for seventeen years, "As for the queen, the mother you know well is not your biological mother. After the tragic miscarriage of her first child, the queen was diagnosed with the possibility of never becoming pregnant again. Although she has been haunted by this for many years, she can only accept this sad truth and be depressed all day long. ”

"No wonder, it turns out that I don't have royal blood in my body. Hearing this, little Marne couldn't help but smile.

For the old king's one-sided words, Marn believed it without questioning - because he didn't bother to question it, for the many years when his father was hot and cold to him, and nine years ago he connived at the second royal brother to do something to him, Marn always wanted to know the reason why his father did this, but he didn't expect that the reason of "not his own son" was the easiest for little Marn to accept.

"I don't know who your real parents are. The old king returned to his bed and looked out the window on the left, "I can't find your biological parents either, but your arrival has melted the Queen's frozen heart, and the queen thinks that you are a gift from heaven to her, and treats you as her own son, and regains her smile because of you." In order to balance the concubines who are becoming more and more arrogant by the strength of the family, I declare that you are born to the queen. Unexpectedly, over time, the queen took the lie seriously, she forgot that you were just an adopted son, and instead thought that you were her biological flesh and blood. She also forced me to make you crown prince and asked me to pass on the throne to you. But how can those brothers of yours give up if they do this?"

"So you think that I am the initiator of this protracted court struggle, so you connived at the second royal brother to harm me, who was only 8 years old at the time?"

"Yes. There was a time when I thought so. I even think that as long as you don't exist, the queen will be able to return to normal. It's just that I never thought that the queen would be desperate to protect you, even with her own life and dignity. I was wrong, I was ridiculously wrong...... "When a man is about to die, his words are good." The old king readily confessed his sins of the past.

"Alas......" Marn sighed, and he returned to the old king's bed and sat down.

"I don't ask for your forgiveness, nor do I expect to get your mother's forgiveness when I am about to meet her. In retrospect, if you hadn't fallen from heaven there that day, how could I have continued to sit on the throne until now?"

Following the king's finger, through a window, Marne saw the only place in the palace that could still sparkle at night without the lights—the top of the gold-clad spire that the king had ordered.

"On that night seventeen years ago, a beautiful fairy, stepping on a golden rainbow, landed on the minaret. Her body emitted a dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire royal palace and exposing the assassins of the Shumiro Empire who were hiding in the shadows in an attempt to assassinate me. As you know, the Assassins were wiped out, and my life, along with the existence of the country, was protected, and in return, the fairy entrusted me with a baby she was carrying, asking me to raise it to adulthood. ”

"This baby is me, isn't it?"

The king nodded.

"The fairy who handed me over to you is a dragon who has transformed into a human form?"

"Yes. Years later, through the mouth of another dragon, I learned that her name was 'Grace'. The dragon partner of the 'dragon knight' Augustine Latto, who died in the 'Demon War' more than thirty years ago, is also named 'Grace'. I don't know if there is any connection between these two 'Graces', but Auguston was born into a prominent family in our kingdom of Agulema, and his comrade-in-arms with Auguston, Prince Kuns, is my uncle. I think that's why Grace has entrusted you to our royal family of Agulema. Marn, it can be seen that you have a deep connection with the dragons before you were born. ”

"Is the 'other dragon' you speak of Shatarikis?" said Marn, who was very reluctant to mention the name he both respected and hated.

"'Grace was injured in the battle against the demon remnants and will take more than ten years to recover, and I will teach the human children she has brought with her. These were the first and last words you said to me when you were seven years old, when the male dragon who called himself Shatarikis came uninvited. I'm sure you're already aware of what happened next. I think that Shatarikis didn't kill you back then, not against you, but for Grace. ”

"I have my own opinion about Shatarikis's ways, and you don't have to excuse him. You told me this secret tonight, so that I can find out the truth about my relationship with the dragons, and I must stay away from this country and the court, so that I will not compete with those royal brothers, and the inheritance of the throne can only return to your blood. Marn's eyes flashed with a depth that didn't match his age, "Okay. Then as you wish, I'll leave tonight overnight. Take care, my father. It's just that I'm curious if your unsuccessful princes will make it to me back. ”