Filming looked around, and there was a large and two small carved oak tables, various chairs, a rotating shelf, and a broken shelf piled with various items.

Spread out on the table was a map of the kingdom of Chas, its four corners pressed with a dagger and three stones. Hermes's hands covered the sheets of parchment on the table, which were sketches covered with annotations. The thing covering the two small tables looked intimate, and the many chairs were familiar.

It took him a moment to recognize that it was from Hermes's room.

Hermes got up after adding firewood and smiled helplessly at Filin's raised eyebrows.

"My princess has little patience for this mess. She would ask, 'How can you draw a straight line accurately in this mess?' and her own bedroom was as neat and strict as a barracks, and Filin had to hide herself here because Filin found herself unable to work in a spotless room.

In addition, it gives Filmin a space to have a quiet conversation, and not everyone can find Film. ”

Before he could finish speaking, he opened the door and let in Charin, who was holding the tray.

Filin nodded to Hermes's servant, and he was not only surprised to see me, but brought with him the spiced bread that Filin had always loved.

He moved quickly around the room, making perfunctory clean-up motions, moving a few books and scrolls out of a chair for Filin to sit down, and then vanished again.

Hermes was so accustomed to him that he almost ignored him, exchanging only a brief smile as Charin left.

"So," he said as the door was about to close, "a full report, starting with your departure from Fort Stag. "It's not about taking my trip and what happened with me.

Etro trained Filin to become a spy and an Assassin, and Borges had asked Filin in his early years to detail the events that had taken place while he was not in the stables.

So, while the people were eating and drinking, he told Hermes what he had seen and heard since he left Fort Stag.

He then summarizes his own experience and tells him about the doubts he has detected from what he has learned.

Then, Charin came in with another meal. Hermes confined the conversation to his warship during the meal, and he couldn't hide his love for it.

"When Fei Lin personally visited Gaoling Land to find a fish to supervise the work here, I heard that he was an old man.

This cold weather will freeze my bones, and he will no longer be able to build ships in the winter. That's what he asked someone to pass on to me.

So, he gave the apprentice a job and went out to find him personally, because he couldn't refuse Filin in person.

When he came, he took him to the dockyard to see the heating shed, which was large enough to hold a battleship, so that he could work without the cold, but that was not what persuaded him to come, it was the white oak that Floya had given me.

When he saw the wood, he couldn't wait to pick up the planer and start working.

Its texture is straight and pure, and the plates are of the highest grade, which is just right for building warships.

These ships have the arc of a swan's neck and sail the seas with the agility of a snake. ”

He exuded such enthusiasm that I could already imagine the oars taking off and landing, and the look of the sails as they set sail.

Then, pushing aside the plate and leftovers, he began to test Film's events about Berkeley, forcing Filmin to rethink each individual event from all possible angles.

When he finished the questioning, it was as if he had relived the whole incident, and the anger of betrayal was still vivid.

Hermes can see it clearly. He leaned back in his chair to pick up another piece of wood and send it into the fire to burn, sparks rising from the chimney.

"You have some questions. "You can ask now," he observed. He put his hands back on his lap and waited.

Filmin tried to keep his emotions in check. "Your Royal Highness, your brother," said Film, cautiously, "has committed the most serious treason.

He arranged for the assassination of your wife's brother, Prince Rox, and attempted to put you to death, in order to usurp your throne and wife.

There is also a small episode in which he twice tries to kill Firin, and Borges. Filin paused to steady his breathing, forcing his mood and tone to return to calm.

"You believe these are facts, but it's hard for people to prove it. Hermes said mildly.

"That's why he's so fearless!" said Film, looking away until he controlled his anger. Filin was frightened by the thick anger, and Filin had suppressed it until this moment.

A few months ago, when Fihrin had tried his best to survive, he didn't think about it to keep his mind clear, and the next few months were wasted recovering from His Majesty's clumsy poisonous schemes.

Filin didn't even tell Borges all this, because Hermes made it clear that he wouldn't let anyone know too much about it.

Now he stood before the prince, trembling with intense anger.

My face twitched violently with a violent twist, much to Film's embarrassment, and he forced himself to compose.

"Your Majesty has nothing to fear. Filin said in a calmer tone, and my emotional outburst did not make Hermes change his opinion, nor did he express it in a different way.

He sat solemnly at the other end of the table, his scarred hands calmly in front of him, and his dark eyes staring at Filin at the same time. Filmin looked down at the tabletop and used his fingertips to outline the swirling carved decoration of the corner.

"He doesn't appreciate you and the way you uphold the laws of the Kingdom. He sees this as a weakness so that he can play with justice.

He might try to kill you again, and Filin is sure he won't let Filin go. ”

"Then people have to be careful, people, aren't they?" said Hermes gently.

Raise your eyes to look at his face. "Is that what you're going to tell me?" asked Firin, swallowing his indignation.

"Kaz Silverlight, he's a prince and your crown prince. You swear an oath to Filmin the same way you swear to Film's father. And, to be more precise, you also swear an oath to my brother. Hermes suddenly got up and walked around the room.

"Justice. It's something that people want to do all their lives, and they should do everything they can to pursue it.

No, people are content with the law, especially in this matter, and the higher the power, the more inclined they are to do so.

Justice will make you the heir to the throne, Kaz, because Silverglow is my brother, but according to the law you are born out of wedlock, so you can never inherit the throne. Some might say that Filin took the throne from his nephew.

So should he be shocked by his brother's attempt to usurp the throne?"

Filin had never heard Hermes speak like this, and his voice was steady but full of mixed feelings.

Filmin remained silent. "You think Filin should punish him.

Filmin can do it, and he doesn't need to prove whether he has done anything wrong to make his life worse.

Filin could send him to Cold Bay like a secret envoy, deliberately send him some errands to do, and then leave him there, far away from the court in extreme discomfort.

Filin could simply banish him, or he could leave him in the court, and assign him a bunch of unpleasant duties that would leave him free to plan plots with interest. He would understand that he was being punished, even by the not-so-clever nobles.

Those who sympathized with him would indeed be on his side, and the Inland Grand Duchy would plot some kind of emergency on his mother's territory so that he could be there.

He would then be able to extend his support for himself, and then instigate the civil strife he had always dreamed of, and establish an inland kingdom that would be loyal only to him.

Even if he can't achieve that result, he can cause unrest and destroy the unity and harmony of the five principalities, which Filin needs to defend the people's kingdom. ”

He stopped speaking, then looked up and scanned the room, his gaze as he did.

The walls are covered with his maps, including Velotru, Clausius, and Violet.

On the opposite wall are the stag, the falo and the tirth, all drawn by Hermes' precise hand, each river marked in blue ink, and the name of each town is indicated.

These are his five principalities, and His Majesty will never know as much as he does. He rode through these roads and helped draw borders.

He followed the example of Yinhui in his treatment of his neighbors, wielding a sword to defend his homeland, but he also knew when it was time to lay down his arms and negotiate peace.

What qualifications does Filin have to tell him how to rule his homeland?

"What would you do?" asked Filin calmly.

"Leave him behind. He's Film's younger brother, and the son of Film's father," he poured himself more wine, "Film's father's favorite son." Filin suggested to his father that he would be happier if His Majesty was given more attention to the affairs of state, and King Crick agreed.

Fei Lin thought that if Fei Lin would be busy defending the country from the Red Ships, His Majesty would have to be responsible for increasing taxes to strengthen the defense, and also dealing with other internal crises that might arise.

Of course, there will be a group of nobles to assist him, and he will have to deal with quarrels and discord between them. ”

"Is Your Majesty happy about this?"

Hermes smiled. "He can't say he's unhappy. He is not trying to maintain the illusion of a capable youth, but waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. He raised his glass and turned his head to stare at the firewood flames.

The only sound in the room was the crackling of flames burning up the wood. "When you come to see me tomorrow......" he began.

"I've got to do my business tomorrow. Filin told him.

He put down his glass and looked back at Filin. "Do you have to do this?" he said in a strange tone.

He raised his head and met his eyes, but he had nothing to say, so he had to stand firm in front of him. "Your Royal Highness. ”

Filin's expression looked serious, and that's how he did it when he got serious.