Indeed, Tails hasn't remembered the name for a long, long time.

Serena Corleone.

He even had to admit that many times, he deliberately sealed it in the depths of his memory.

I don't want to think about it, and I hate to think about it.

But when it sounded again, he still felt the discomfort from his heart.

[Betrayal is the true meaning of the alliance. 】

As the memory grew clearer, just as the face was about to reappear in his mind, Tails jerked his head up, focusing his attention on what was in front of him.

"What do you want to do?"

The prince looked at Jenn suspiciously:

"Why did you mention her?"

In the center of the hall, the canonization ceremony was still going on, and from time to time nobles walked up the steps and knelt before the king's seat.

Duke Iris smiled slightly, raised his glass and signaled to the young man:

"This, Your Highness, you might as well take it as my part...... Banquet gifts. ”

Tails didn't move, his eyes cold.

Jenn waited for a long time, but the boy had no intention of raising a glass in response.

He didn't think it was wrong, and put down his glass with a smile.

But Jenn then frowned and looked around:

"Is this my delusion, or are your guards really much more nervous than usual?"

"What, do you suspect that I will murder His Royal Highness?"

Tails' heart tightened, but his face did not change:

"My captain of the guard is serious and demanding. ”

Tails smiled at Marles and Gloover, and repeatedly signaled to their men not to be nervous:

Duke Xinghu turned his head and his eyes burned:

"As for doubting you...... Well, they can't really be blamed for that. ”

"You know, I still haven't digested the gift you gave me six years ago. ”

Jenn curled the corners of his mouth:

"Then you need this gift even more—to help you digest the previous one. ”

"How?"

Tails snorted sarcastically.

With indescribable feelings from outsiders, they looked at each other silently for a few seconds.

Finally, Tails said lightly:

"So, Serena, where is she?"

Jenn smiled.

He raised his hand gracefully, beckoned a waiter, and asked for a piece of beef under Tails' displeased gaze, and then spoke unhurriedly at the light sound of cutlery and plates:

"Since six years ago, after inflicting great losses on you and me, that ruthless careerist from the Night Realm has been recuperating in the realm of the stars for some time. ”

As if it were just ordinary small talk.

Tails thought for a moment.

"It's kind of. ”

"I've caused so many troubles, I've provoked so many people," Tails snorted coldly, remembering the threats and injuries she had brought to herself:

"How dare she stay in the stars?"

But Tails was stunned.

He looked up and stared at Jenn in disbelief.

Jenn picked up a piece of beef and looked back at him with a smile.

Tails understood something.

"You. ”

With a slight surprise, Tails frowned:

"I guess, when you broke with the Corleone family once and for all, the ugly-faced woman, I mean, Selina Corleone, who came out of the clan, became your natural ally?"

Jenn tasted only two pieces and didn't continue, smiling and wiping the corners of his lips with a cloth.

"After Lady Serena was chased away by you, I did, um, offer her some shelter. ”

Really.

The surprise on Tails' face slowly receded.

"I remember someone telling me," the boy looked at him with disdain:

"If you are in the same boat with a jackal, you will be in danger of capsizing. ”

For a moment, Jenn's expression froze for a moment.

"Especially before you and Serena Corleone were in love with each other. ”

Half sincere, half sarcastic, Tails snorted softly:

"Believe me, it's a matter of experience. ”

Jenn was silent for a moment.

But in just a few tenths of a second, Duke Iris raised his head and returned to a decent smile.

"Well, it's true," he bowed politely, "and I found out about it myself. ”

There was a slight chill in Jenn's eyes:

"Especially after she broke free from the shackles, sucked a few of my men dry, and said goodbye. ”

Break free from the shackles......

Tails looked clear:

"It seems that the shelter you have given her is too good to be good. ”

But, since it's Serena, why don't you shackle her......

Well, little Jenn.

The prince silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart:

Well done.

In the hall, the canonization ceremony finally came to an end.

The music resumes, the performers return to the stage, and the bustle and noise become the main tone of the banquet again, perhaps due to the passage of time, the alcohol attacks, and the guests are calling friends or groups of three or five, and they are becoming more and more unrestrained and free.

Tails also saw many male and female guests disappear into the same place one after the other, never to return for a long time.

King Kessel returned to his seat, but the queen was long gone, and he was a little alone.

The King's eyes glanced at Tails and then turned away.

The royal guards around him were as serious as ever, but Tails, who knew the inside story, could clearly feel it, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

The Assassin did not appear.

It's a good thing.

It's also a bad thing.

Jenn raised his glass, his eyes subtle, and pulled Tails back to the conversation.

"The sea routes of the Eastern Continent are very profitable," Duke Iris sniffed lightly of the wine:

"Since the tragedy of six years ago, the Cavendier family has been looking for an opportunity to repair and reconcile with the Corleone family. ”

"So I think the family criminals they are chasing may be a breakthrough. ”

Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Reconciled, after you tried to kill the Star Prince at the hands of the Queen of Night?"

The prince told the truth without any psychological burden, and said sarcastically:

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. ”

"Gotta try," Jenn smiled again, perfectly elegant:

"It is better to die because of friendship than to die as an enemy. ”

Tails shook his head disappreciatively.

But there was a small voice in his heart:

No.

If the Cavendier family really tied up that ugly-faced old witch and sent it to her sister as a gift......

Tails withdrew his gaze from Jenn and frowned.

It's not good, it's really possible for them to reconcile.

Thankfully, Serena broke free from the shackles and wasn't caught by Jenn.

Well, ugly face.

Tails secretly nodded for the enemy of life and death:

Well done.

The prince thought as he put a piece of lettuce into his mouth:

"But you said you had the latest news from her. ”

Jenn nodded:

"Anyway, after that, we kept an eye on Lady Serena's whereabouts. ”

"For the past six years, the exiled dignitary of the Night Nation has been elusive, from Levor City to Sanraste. Until a few days ago, she was seen in the Freedom League. ”

Self......

Tails was stunned for a moment, then looked up.

"Where?"

Jenn smiled.

"That's right, the desperate Freedom League is doing everything possible to survive, at any cost of dignity, regardless of origin, and desperately asking people with lofty ideals from all sides to join the just struggle. ”

"From criminals to mercenaries, from gangsters to thugs, they take everything and everything to resist the unjust invasion from Exeter. ”

And Lady Serena was one of them, and she was also treated as a guest of honor. ”

Ugly face woman in ...... Liberal League?

Help defend against Exeter?

The news that Gilbert had brought, that Exeter had been defeated, and that the manager's whereabouts were unknown, flashed through his mind.

Selma's patient, resolute and unyielding face also appeared in front of his eyes.

But what followed was the image of Serena Corleone, who was becoming clearer and clearer, and who had two faces, serious and cute, glamorous and vicious, one big and one small.

Tails' mood sank, and his chest was in turmoil.

No way?

Old witch, are you again?

There was a strange sensation on his neck, his wrists, and the parts that had been bitten by the Bloodclan again.

"Of course, when it comes to Exeter, maybe you know more than I do, what do you think?" said Jenn, taking a sip of his wine.

Tails stared at the other's glasses and shook his head disdainfully.

"Drink to quench your thirst. ”

"But if the old witch has participated, no matter what, it will not be a good thing. ”

Jenn raised an eyebrow and didn't deny it.

Tails fell into deep thought, Jenn was silent, and the two sat silently opposite each other for a moment.

Until Tails came to his senses:

"That's all? Nothing else?"

Jenn looked up at him:

"That's all. ”

Tails pursed his lips and nodded, meaning to send off the guest:

"So ......"

At this moment, Jenn raised his arm and pointed to a nobleman in the crowd who was drinking and his nose was red, but he was in high spirits and accepted everyone's congratulations:

"Look, that's the Losantes family, two generations in business, and they've finally become hereditary vassals. ”

Jenn's tone was a little long:

"I just don't know, how long can it last?"

Tails frowned slightly, pondering the other party's intentions.

But the next moment, Duke Iris's words surprised him.

"Tails," saw Jenn look at Lord Lonnant in the crowd, his eyes deep, and his tone dark:

"Do you know how the relationship between the feudal lord and the vassal came about?"

Tails was taken aback.

This is the first time the other party has called Tails by name tonight, without any title.

The prince looked at each other suspiciously.

The Duke of the Southbank seemed to be lost in thought, and said to himself:

"When mankind has just come out of the age of ignorance, when kings stand side by side, and empires are not born, the world is not peaceful. ”

"In times of war, the weak and the weak attached themselves to the powerful and landed kings for protection. ”

In exchange, the people who were protected had to go to the land belonging to the king, and lead their families and friends to plow the cattle and work for the sake of security. ”

Jenn turned his gaze to the group of guests who had come up to meet the king:

"Chauvin, Northland, Rocky, Ludol, Far Mountains, Thornland...... All ancient human kingdoms were established in this way, with few exceptions. ”

Jenn narrowed his eyes and looked at King Kessel in the distance:

"Security is the duty of the king, and the right of the vassals. ”

Safe.

Tails suddenly remembered the vows he had made at Valhalla when King Charman was crowned:

As a Northlander, I will take on this heavy responsibility, and as the king of the whole realm, I will rely on my heart and wisdom to stand at the forefront of the kingdom. 】

As the king of the whole land.

At the forefront of the kingdom......

Yes.

Tails remembered the day when Chaman put on the bloody crown and looked down in the crowd chanting long live.

"Labor is the duty of the vassal, and the right of the king. ”

Jenn smiled lightly, as if disdainful:

"See, the essence of the order of the monarch and the minister is actually just a transaction. ”

"I work for you, and you protect me. ”

He stared closely at the drunken guests below the ballroom.

"If the vassals were no longer able to work, serve, and pay taxes, the king had the right to expel the vassals and recover the land. ”

He turned his head again to look at Kessel V, who was looking down indifferently at the top of the banquet.

"If the king is no longer able to defend himself against foreign enemies and ensure safety, then the vassal has the right to abandon the king and find another master. ”

Tails frowned fiercely.

He knew what the other party was going to say.

Jenn turned his head and stared silently at the prince.

"This right is a matter of course and convention. ”

Tails had the illusion that the Duke of Southbank, who had been friendly and approachable, was at this moment.

"The same is true of the vassals and their vassals, the lords and their people, and this is the cornerstone of our rule, the covenant, and the covenant. ”

Jenn said softly:

"Binary, two-way, two-sided, both sides of the scale, both ends of the road. ”

"It can be tilted horizontally. ”

"You've got to add weight on one side of the side and get back into balance. ”

Jenn stared at Tails tightly, his tone was calm and his gaze was indifferent, but for some reason, Tails still had a feeling of being locked in.

The prince looked at the lively banquet hall, listened to the sound in his ears, and inhaled slowly.

"I can't say you're wrong. ”

Tails looked back at Jenn and said seriously:

"At least, not all wrong. ”

Jenn looked at him for a few seconds before chuckling, not knowing if he was joking at the sentence or at Tails himself.

The Duke of Cavendier, who had a good demeanor and a good reputation, turned his head, raised his glass, and his attitude slowly became casual and casual:

"Interestingly, in many parts of the East, from Hampur to Suye, from Lygur Pradesh to the Great Cheng Khanate, the rulers there are truly monopolistic powers, one monarch, one sovereign, supreme. ”

"Almost a god. ”

He took a sip of wine and said quietly:

"Better than the Empire. ”

Tails let out a breath:

"I remember, you said that you used to travel to the Eastern Continent. ”

Well, it's a returnee.

Jenn snorted and shook his glass.

Tails looked at Jenn's uncommon casual appearance and raised an eyebrow:

"So what?"

Jenn's eyes sparkled, and he continued:

"From what I have seen and heard, the subjects there are simple and kind, but they are numb and forbearing, and from top to bottom they tremble and are full of awe, even worship and appreciation for the supreme power. ”

"From their lifetime to their death, they believed in the sanctity of the kings who ruled over them, in the importance of obedience to the traditions of their ancestors, and that they had only the duty of obedience – or glory – throughout their lives as servants?"

Jenn's fingers clenched tightly on the glass:

Among them, the widely admired morality is the hope of the high monarch for virtue and righteousness, and the hope that the bureaucrats who rule all directions will see what is going on. If they are not benevolent, their subordinates will at most admonish each other with death, which will move the heavens and the earth and make them change their minds - their books are full of such stories, and they think they are exemplary. ”

"I've been told that it's dictated by their history and traditions, their nature and their habits, and it makes sense. Although I think most of the time, that's just self-deception of incompetence. ”

Tails didn't speak.

Jenn turned his head.

This time, he left his long memories and looked seriously at Prince Tails in front of him:

"In the days of my travels, I could not help thinking, in that kind of place, once the king has gone perverse to the extreme, once the government is dark and dirty, then the dissatisfaction of the people and servants is due to tradition and unjustification, and thus becomes moderate and weak, and there is no threat?"

His tone cooled:

"Or is it because there is nowhere to happen for a long time, and it has become more violent and bloody, leaving no room for it?"

Tails a rin.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the Ghost Prince's Tower, and the person in front of him was the hateful-looking Falkenhaus.

[Fierce horses will not succumb to the iron whip, and the rider will not give up the whip.] 】

"Is it better than us?"

"Or worse?"

Jenn stared at him firmly, as if he had to give the prince an answer:

"We, and them. ”

"Which is more in line with the future of the world?"

Tails was silent for a long time.

In the meantime, he had forgotten that he was still at the banquet, that the king was still at the table, that his loyal subordinates were still trying to find a possible Assassin, and that the girl he had lived and died with could be imprisoned thousands of miles away.

Jenn just waited for him quietly, his eyes deep and his intentions unclear.

Finally, Tails took a deep breath and spoke slowly:

"I don't think we have the qualifications, let alone the need, to judge and compare. ”

"Not to mention the future. ”

Jenn frowned, seeming a little disappointed.

But Tails raised his head, looked at the banquet hall in front of him, which was full of shadows and shadows, and said seriously:

"But I believe that everything comes from a new place. ”

"I also believe that everything is fluid. ”

"I also believe that everything has different shapes. ”

Jenn's eyebrows furrowed and tightened.

"I believe more, anytime, where, whatever," Tails looked at him, his gaze resolute:

"History itself chooses the future that suits you best. ”

Jenn thought for a moment, then smiled.

"History?"

"You speak as if it's a human being and can decide for yourself. ”

Tails raised an eyebrow:

"Isn't it?"

Jenn seemed puzzled.

But Tails just gently picked up a lettuce and looked at it intently:

"The era of ignorance is in the past, and the kings and the imperial calendar have long been a thing of the past. ”

He seemed to say casually:

"When there are more and more vassals to follow, the land he rules is more and more extensive, and the basic government affairs are more and more complicated, no matter how powerful the king is, he will not be able to do everything. ”

Tails suddenly remembered King Nunn.

But it's not the domineering, old and ruthless natural king.

But after the duel, the old man who sat on the steps with him, holding a glass of old wine, his family was ruined, and he was lonely and frustrated.

"So many things in the land had to be done by the vassals to put down their hoes and make their own decisions. ”

Tails said silently:

And after the vassal died, the king did not have the energy to take back every piece of land, large and small, and seal it again. ”

The prince raised his head and gradually became serious:

As a result, the land that was originally entrusted to the vassals gradually became the succession of the father to the son, and it was passed down from generation to generation. It became a tradition for them to decide on their own affairs in the fiefdom. ”

"The property of the fief becomes the private property of the lord, and cannot be easily stripped by the monarch or taken by others. ”

Tails looked at Duke Iris:

"A vassal lord like you has stepped onto the stage and become the protagonist of history, competitive and enterprising. ”

So the kingdom developed, cascading and subordinate, civilization expanded, and rule increased. ”

Tails Orthodox:

"And there are the stars of today. ”

Jenn's expression became serious.

But the Duke of Southbank didn't know that at this moment, Tails was not thinking of the Star Kingdom.

He remembered Exeter.

If the hero Nekajou did not divide the power to rule the kingdom to the other nine knights who were both heroic and ambitious, and let them raise their banners and go out on their own expeditions in different directions......

Then the kingdom of Exeter, will it still have the vast land it has today, and it will be famous?

Will there even be a kingdom?

Jenn snorted.

"Interesting, so you think that the autonomy and self-reliance of our vassals is natural and reasonable?"

He looked at Tails with interest.

Tails came back to his senses and smiled.

"I'm not done yet. ”

"When the private ownership of the fiefs becomes a consensus, the rights of the vassals reach their peak," Tails said slowly:

"Among them, they are even more worthy of competing with the king of a country. ”

Before his eyes he was at the coronation of King Chaman was again, the king of the murder of his relatives stood with his head held high, his eyes like ice, but there was fire burning inside.

The crown of dragon scales stood firmly on his head.

But......

Tails looked up and pursed his lips.

In that picture, standing quietly in front of Charman Rumba was not the former King of Nunn.

It is the ...... that towers on the top of Longxiao Mountain, has survived thousands of years of wind and rain without falling, deep and dark, magnificent and magnificent

Valhalla.

Tails only felt that his breath was sluggish.

In front of it, King Chaman, who had been incomparably terrifying, turned out to be lonely and thin, insignificant.

Tails gritted his teeth:

But it is precisely because of this tendency that the authority gradually disintegrates, and the tradition gradually becomes easier, that the fief is no longer a rigid commission in the hands of the king, but is liberated and becomes a piece of land deeds, which can circulate and change in the hands of different people, can affect the livelihood of countless people who have taken root in it, and can arouse endless disputes over the interests of power. ”

"So the vassals kept their own interests, the people attached themselves to their lords, the lords fought against each other, and the borders of the territories were easier to go back and forth, all from here. ”

His eyes flashed before him, including the Grand Duke of Pefit, whose neck had been twisted in the duel, and the head of King Nunn that had fallen in a pool of blood.

And Charman Lombard's cold eyes.

"When land disputes in the kingdom intensify, when the boundaries between kings and vassals are blurred, when the contract of security and work is broken, when the last vestiges of traditional dignity are lost, the kingdom of the land is on the brink of peril. ”

He took a deep breath and continued:

"In this way, the traditions and systems that you are talking about, which were originally born for the sake of security, go too far and harm ...... themselves."

“...... The end of security. ”

In his mind's imagination, Tails watched silently at the terrible king who was alone in Valhalla.

He walked with perseverance and never wavered, let alone weak.

But, Charman Rumba.

You're going to face ......

But the next moment, Tails was shocked!

For a moment, it was as if the scene in front of him had changed.

The figure standing in front of him was no longer King Chaman.

It was another young man he had never seen before, but he was extremely familiar.

The young man was tall, but he was alone.

Tails froze.

He saw that the other party was wearing a silver crown on his head, dotted with nine stars.

And the youth ahead......

Tails struggled to turn his gaze.

He saw the ...... that pressed like a dome in front of the young man

It is a black pyramid that rises from the ground, stops in the sky, is quiet but dead, vast but heavy, magnificent but cumbersome.

Tails' breathing stopped for a moment.

It is the one that lies dormant under the starry sky, takes root in the sunset, and is tough and firm under the storm......

Fuxing Palace.