In the curfew of the Bladetooth camp, there is only the sound of wind on the streets.

The two people in the hut faced each other silently, each thinking about it.

"After seeing the tragedy of the Black Sand Collar, and after returning from Fengzhao City, in the most depressed, decadent, frustrated, bored, and conflicting days with my father, I went back to my old fiefdom and locked myself up. ”

The fast rope looked faintly at the flickering lights.

"In the wilderness in the backwoods, I met Dana. ”

Hearing the unfamiliar name, Tails couldn't help frowning:

"Dana?"

The fast rope is still in a trance.

On the surface, she's just an ordinary shepherdess. ”

"When, that afternoon, I was impatient to say that I was a relative of the magistrate of the neighborhood, and that it was an accident to break into the sheepfold which she guarded, and that it was impossible to steal her sheep, she immediately demanded twenty silver coins from me with a twinkle in her eyes, and frightened one of her sheep. ”

Fast Rope was immersed in the memories of the past, and laughed: "I lost a milk ewe, and turned around to knock a rich fat sheep, why not?"

"That's how we met – the domineering shepherdess and the self-defeating sheep thief. ”

Tails looked at the other party's expressions and found that the eyes of the fast rope were extremely gentle.

"Is there anything special about her?" he asked.

Fastrope raised his head and cocked the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, Dana is the most special," like an ordinary person who shows off his virtuous wife to his neighbors, Fastrope has a funny expression and a smug tone, "Especially after being raised by a dwarven old man with a rough temper." ”

"She was always smiling, lively and unrestrained, even after the tragic death of her adoptive father. Even by the standards of the Northlanders, she was very unreserved - her dwarven adoptive father taught her how to drive sheep with a hammer, and god, it hurt to be whipped on her shepherd's cane. ”

Moral, who had changed his name, was still smiling, and Tails read in his whining the ease that belonged to the fastrope.

Apparently, he didn't hate Dana's cane as much as he said he did.

"Dana works two jobs, one shepherding and milking cows, and the other helping in the tavern, but she's a shrewd girl. ”

Speaking of the girl, the eyebrows of the fast rope danced: "She once waved her cane, drove five or six sheep thieves to the desert, beat the village chief who hid her lustful heart to the ground, and used clever words to coax the drinkers who were looking for an opportunity to rub oil into empty money bags, she knew how to use clever tricks to trick the tavern owner who deducted her wages, and she also had the strength to fight back against the boss's daughter who bullied her." ”

Following the other party's story, Tails lowered his head and painted in his mind this unusual shepherd girl: spicy, cheerful, waving a cane like a fierce and cute little wolf cub, protecting its food with its forelimbs, and waving its teeth and claws around it.

She would often count the coins hidden under the bed with sparkling eyes, not just to save a dowry, like the other girls in the village, and then live on a man who would marry her, or dress up in fancy fashion in the hope of becoming the mistress of a great man. ”

Because she always believed that her life would not be bound by anything. ”

Fast Rope's eyes dimmed: "It's the opposite of me. ”

He looked obsessively at the lights: "She believed that one day, she would save enough money to board the carriage that would sail out of the village, reach the harbor of Elk City, buy a ship, and become an adventurous navigator who would travel the world and spend her life in stormy seas and mirages." ”

Female navigator.

Tails remembered something and subconsciously looked at the fast rope.

"But she didn't know that except for the passengers, the seafaring ships did not accept women, and they thought that women at sea were ominous," Kuairope lowered his eyes, and the corners of his mouth were still raised: "An old sailor told me that it is said that the girl who is herding the sea does not like the same sex. ”

Tails didn't speak.

"I don't know if it's love or just youthful affection, but at least when I'm lying next to Dana, smelling the smell of goat's milk, watching her cheerful and lively smile, and even tasting the softness of her lips, I can forget a lot of unsatisfactory things. ”

"In front of her, I am the Moral, not the heir of the walking dead, and I can speak out loud my truest desires and thoughts, and I don't need to say that my desire to travel the world is a dream of being a mercenary, to show that I am a tough Northland warrior." ”

The fast rope stopped, as if savoring the mood of the moment.

The moonlight was shrouded in clouds, the inferior lamp oil was slowly running out, and the humble clay houses were getting darker and darker.

But no one wants to turn the lights back on.

"And then?" said Tails, in the darkness.

The fast rope took a breath and changed positions.

As if he had just come back to his senses, he continued his story: "In this way, I went back and forth between Longxiao City and the fiefdom, witnessing the darkness and distortion of power while feeling Dana's happiness and tenderness. ”

"For the sake of Dana, for the sake of her ideal of traveling the world, I tried to cater to my father's request against my will, but I only resisted his urging to marry, and I racked my brains again and again to convince him that the future Grand Duke of Longxiao City must have a wife who is in line with political interests, so I can't rush it. ”

"Father was actually very pleased, he thought that I had enlightened and knew how to weigh the pros and cons for Longxiao City, although he didn't know the reason why I suddenly cheered up, but he didn't care so much, he probably thought that disciplining me was the same as disciplining Suril. ”

Fast Rope sneered, and there was a faint sadness in the laughter.

"But, of course, it won't last long. ”

"My father found me a good wife, and asked me to try it in the name of revising the Peace of the Fortress, even though she and her family were in enemy countries. ”

Peace of Fortress.

Enemy.

At that moment, Tails looked up suddenly, unable to hide the surprise on his face.

"So, your envoy six years ago ......"

Kuaisheng nodded and sighed silently: "Yes, six years ago, according to the plan, after revising the Peace Treaty, Long Xiao City was going to ask for the only daughter of Duke Alunde, the feud of the Lomba family, the nobleman of the empire, for their heir. ”

He shook his head in disgust: "Although more than ten years ago, Exeter just hanged the old Duke of Aarend in the Cold Castle. ”

Tails frowned: "Miranda?

Fast Rope sighed.

"Whether it is courtship or the "Peace Treaty", my father does not want to let the Kingdom of Stars slowly recover after the war, nor does he want to use the fortress as an excuse for the Black Sand Collar to support his own army, he wants to test King Kessel and the Aarend family, and knock on the Black Sand Collar by the way, the reaction of these three will tell us what to do next. ”

"So that's the purpose of your mission," Tails said, stunned.

"Prepare for the next war or negotiation, whether it's the stars, or the Black Sand Collars. ”

Nova, as well as Dragon's Blood.

He tensed his arms.

Kuairope snorted lightly, and his tone was full of sarcasm: "Yes, whether it is to win over your northern territory, divide the stars, or modify the "Peace Treaty" to obtain benefits and suppress the Black Sand Collar, by the way, accumulate the prestige of the future king for me...... Father, he is always so well-planned, with multiple birds in one stone, a simple thing, which can be played by him in a variety of ways, and it is of far-reaching significance. ”

Speaking of King Nunn, Fast Rope's mood was down a lot.

"Don't play against him on the same board, Tails, because you don't know how deep his tactics are in this game, how many hole cards there are," Fast Rope said with an indifferent expression, "and those who are played with by their father and clapped without knowing it are extremely sad." ”

Don't play against him on the same board......

Someone who plays with the applause and doesn't know it......

Tails' breath quickened.

He remembered the conversation he had with King Chaman in the carriage.

When talking about King Nunn, both he and Chaman could feel a trace of awe and chill in each other's eyes.

Who would have thought that a person who had been dead for many years could make them so embarrassed?

Fastrope's tone was filled with mixed melancholy: "I guess, Charman and Conkley, after countless defeats against the King, have finally learned this: don't play games with King Nunn. ”

The two were silent for a moment.

"What happened later is probably a model for many knights and bards," said Kuairope reluctantly laughing, "My father finally discovered that his son and heir were actually infatuated with a country shepherdess, and resisted his mission for this. ”

Tails raised his eyebrows: "I guess the Born King is not too happy. ”

"Not so happy?"

Fast Rope sneered, with a hint of resentment in his tone: "Your words are too polite, Tails. ”

"And then?" Tails asked.

Fastrope paused.

From this moment on, his silhouette in the darkness became bleak and desolate.

"Father sent someone to my fiefdom privately, Tails. ”

Fast Rope said in disbelief: "He found Dana." ”

"He found her. ”

There was a long silence.

It was a long time before Tails asked with difficulty:

"What's going on?"

Fast Rope didn't seem to have the motivation or desire to continue, but he spoke again, and this time, his voice was hoarse.

"Dana is dead. ”

The person who spoke was like a walking corpse, motionless and lifeless: "On the day I heard the news and rushed back to the fiefdom. ”

Tails held his breath.

Fast Rope said dryly, as if telling someone else's story: "I pushed away the White-Bladed Guards like crazy, only to find her body in the sheepfold for a long time, still with a smile on her face. ”

"She was poisoned. ”

The voice of the fast rope trembled, with a shallow cry of fear and remorse.

"They told me that she had committed suicide by poisoning herself, but ...... Tails ......"

Poisoned.

At that moment, Tails remembered that night at Valhalla.

I remembered King Nunn's delicate ring.

Triumph.

Reminds me of the girl I used to be, Alex.

Tails shuddered.

The Prince of the Stars held back and did not speak.

All that was left in the room was the painful gasps of the fast rope.

Eventually, Fast Rope's emotions calmed down.

"Chains. ”

Tails came back to his senses: "What?"

"The chains of power, Tails," I don't know where to start, and the voice of the fast rope carried a faint determination:

"That night, I stared blankly at Dana's body as I had at Surir's body. ”

"It dawned on me that I had never broken free from it. ”

Tails listened quietly, but what came to his mind was the catacombs of the Fuxing Palace, the large and small stone jars and urns.

Lyman Pass in the Black Sand Collar.

The Ghost Prince's Tower in Camp Bladefang.

Boom.

The fast rope leaned back, the back of his head slamming against the wall.

"From the very beginning of my birth, I have been under such chains, whether it has allowed me to restrain myself, to be content with the status quo, to be an obedient and harmless viscount, or to urge me to turn my way and become an ambitious king who intimidates all, I have never escaped. ”

He gritted his teeth and said: "I am deceiving myself in the pull of it as soon as it is loosened and tightened, and one after the other. ”

"I finally got it. ”

Fastrope reached the edge of the bed, and he lowered his legs to the ground, elbows resting on his knees, leaning forward, staring straight at Tails.

"I'm either obedient, give in, and let it lock my body and mind tighter and tighter," Tails' tone made Tails tense in his heart, "or abandon it completely." ”

"Be who you really are. ”

Tails was silent.

"Moral is already dead, Tails, not when he was assassinated by the Starmen, or when he fled Valhalla," said Fastrope coldly, "but when he began his life as the son of Nunn, as the Walton bloodline, he was already dead." ”

"And it wasn't until the night I climbed the Black Path with great difficulty and climbed out of Dragon's Sky City, where the man named Moral came to life for the first time. ”

"On that day, I saw that I was really saving myself with my own hands, after reversing fate, after shattering all illusions and luck," in the dark, Fast Rope's eyes sparkled:

"To utterly spurn this chain of power, which is in fact imprisoned, and to say 'no' to it and to everything it stands for—including the coercive bondage of 'duty,' the hypocrisy of being hailed as 'virtue,' and the self-deception of being called 'righteousness.'" ”

The voice of the fast rope disappeared, leaving in vain determination and determination.

After a long time, Tails, who was very emotional, struggled to speak.

"So you chose to leave. ”

Tails sighed, "It doesn't matter what kind of infamy you might be carrying: cowardly, cowardly, or evasive. ”

Fast Rope laughed disappreciatively: "Whatever you want, but I ......"

But Tails's next sentence made the fast rope stunned slightly:

Perhaps sometimes it takes more courage to follow the path of others than to follow the eyes of the world. ”

Tails sighed slightly.

"Maybe. Fast rope's eyes slowly changed when he looked at him, no longer the kind of banter that seemed to be nothing, but serious and serious.

The moonlight resurfaced the clouds, shedding a silver glow.

The two princes looked at each other silently.

Tails felt the firmness, determination, and vague hesitation and confusion in the other party's eyes.

"But how did you do that, Mo-Fastrope," Tails couldn't help but ask, "never look back?"

"Those...... Can you really let it go easily?"

"In the days you left, you never regretted it?"

This time it was the turn of the fast rope to stagnate.

He pondered.

For a moment, Tails found a struggling in his brow.

But the fast rope finally stretched his brow.

"Six years ago, when I was alive from the sea, I heard the news of the upheaval in Exeter and the death of my father...... I've been shocked, I've been desperate, I've regretted. ”

"But like I said," Fastrope let out a deep sigh:

"Father's end is predestined, whether I am here or not. ”

"And Longxiao City and Exter ...... I'm there, and they can get better or worse, but I don't think they're going to get better or worse just because of me. ”

At that moment, the fast rope was like an old sailor who had experienced too many storms and waves, telling everyone a story around the stove at dusk on the return of the last voyage:

"I don't want to, I can't be too greedy, trying to control things that are beyond my scope - if history has two outcomes, should I weep bitterly because Longxiao City withered away without me, or should I cheer for Longxiao City surviving without me?"

Tails froze.

"All I can do is save myself. ”

"That's all. ”

He said quietly: "That's enough. ”

"And here I am, in the desert, on the sea, I do my best to keep a small fleet running, a small shop to survive, a small team to survive, helping these little people who can be counted on one hand......"

Fast rope looked through the window and looked at the same mottled wall and bleak alley outside: "In fact, I don't think what I do here, and I don't think the value I can find here, is smaller or more humble than moving chips like an immobile elder in the secret room of Longxiao City, talking and laughing with the princes, and often involving any historical mission, national economy and people's livelihood." ”

"I just...... I chose my own life. ”

Tails listened quietly, his eyes hard to hide his surprise.

Eventually, the Prince of Stars looked away and let out a sigh of relief.

It was as if he had just fought a big battle, and he was a little tired.

"I'm sorry, fast rope," Tails leaned against the wall, his whole body relaxed, and smiled slightly, "Just now, I said something inappropriate and self-righteous to accuse you - you know, when you suddenly ran into the culprit who held you hostage in a foreign country for six years......"

Tails spread his hands.

Fast Rope raised his eyes with a smile in his eyes: "I understand." ”

"So you've calmed down?

The two looked at each other and smiled, and the once unfamiliar hostility slowly dissipated.

"Yes. ”

"I see, that's your choice," Tails said softly, letting go of the guilt in his heart, "and I don't have the right to put my beak in it." ”

"I respect your choice. ”

Fast Rope took a deep breath.

He spoke softly, just two words, but there was some emotion in his words: "Thank you." ”

"Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with you entirely," Tails twisted his back, soothing his bleeding back, "especially with regard to the workings of history, or your opinion on responsibility." ”

Fast Rope blinked: "But you said it, you respect my choice." ”

This is far more valuable than outright approval. ”

Fastrope watched Tails' silhouette in the dark night.

He smiled.

"Thank you. ”

Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I accept. He snorted.

But the fast rope shook his head.

"Nope. ”

"Thank you, for Alex. ”

At that moment, Tails' whole body froze.

I saw that Fast Rope looked at Tails seriously: "In your story of Longxiao City, you have told so many secret things, duels, disasters, rumba, coronation, as if you witnessed it with your own eyes, but you didn't mention yourself." ”

"Either you're pure bragging, like a hearsay street vendor. ”

He narrowed his eyes, "Or, you were in it at the time, Tails Bright Star." ”

"So, thank you for helping her on that night that sounded so terrible, and now the Grand Duchess of Longxiao City. ”

Tails exhaled heavily.

"You just said," Tails frowned, "that you did poorly in your politics class?"

Fast Rope shrugged his shoulders and smiled again: "Of course, it's not as good as someone who killed all sides at the national meeting......

"Nope. Tails shook his head, and before he could speak, he asked himself an answer.

"I was thinking, fast rope, you might be smart. ”

"Smarter than most of the nobles who seem to be old and wise. ”

Tails lamented:

"It's just that your teacher didn't find out. ”

Fast Rope's smile froze slightly.

He scoffed and continued the conversation.

"I know what kind of character that girl is. ”

Fast Rope said lightly: "Although Alex is very annoying - in addition to her mother's appearance, she has inherited her father's pride and pride - but she is not a bad girl, but her unruly childhood has made her a little arrogant. ”

Tails' heart seemed to be clenched all at once.

Alex.

Listening to the fast rope talk about the girl in his memory, his heart was empty.

What appeared in her eyes was her painful convulsions before dying.

No.

Tails thought as if his soul had left his body.

No, Moral.

He doesn't know yet.

He didn't know......

"I'm glad to have you to watch over her. ”

Fastrope snorted, "So, thank you, Tails. ”

"Thank you for doing so much for her, whether I know it or I don't. ”

But.

But she ...... But he had the impression that the girl he was talking about was already ......

Tails gritted his teeth.

"Be careful, Tails," Quickrope squinted at him, and the conversation shifted, "though I just said that no matter who is concerned and who is concerned......"

"But the love between you may be more bumpy than Dana and me. ”

At this moment, Tails froze in place.

Love?

"Quickrope, you're misleading...... Tails sighed.

But the fast rope interrupted him.

"Don't think this is far away from you, Tails, in this day and age, blood and family are a curse. ”

Holding his knees, he pointed at Tails with a serious expression: "In your capacity, one day, someone will come to you—a relative, a friend, a person of prestige, someone you trust—and they will come to you and tell you in a righteous and solemn manner: for some higher good, for some more people, for some greater purpose......"

"You must surrender yourself, including your love, your life, your freedom, to give in to them, to be their captive, to join their game. ”

Tails froze.

"And your choices will determine what kind of person you are. ”

Fastrope stared at Tails, much to the latter's unease.

"But no matter how you choose, no matter what you have to sacrifice or what you leave behind," Fast Rope said, "you have to make sure it's your choice, Tails." ”

"Don't let anyone else decide for you. ”

The former prince of Exeter looked at him tightly: "Never." ”

Tails looked at him in a daze.

He had mixed feelings at the moment, and his whole brain was crowded at the same time with pity for Alex, apologies for deceiving Moral, worry about the future of the little slippery head, emotion for the chains of power, and crying and laughing at the misunderstanding.

It's incredibly complex.

Speechless.

"As for me, don't worry," Fast Rope raised his eyebrows, his smile sincere and simple: "Solve Dean, I will go far, neither go back to Longxiao City, nor show up." ”

"Don't block my niece, and of course, don't block you. ”

"This is my promise, the promise of the Northlanders. ”

The light was too dim, he didn't notice Tails's face that wasn't quite right, and said seriously: "If you really love her, Tails, you and Alex ......"

"Then you have my blessing, though not to be told, the blessing of Moral Walton. ”

"The separation is only temporary, may you see each other again as soon as possible, and finally become a family. ”

Wish me ...... Me and Alex ......

See you sooner?

Where will you see you again?

The young man's face twitched slightly, not knowing whether to poke or refuse.

Eventually, he sighed and said nothing.

Facing the fast rope full of hope, the Prince of Stars squeezed out an ugly and embarrassed smile.

"Thank you...... Thank you. ”

Okay, this straight road has finally been passed smoothly.

Get ready for it.

It's time to overtake in a corner.

(End of chapter)