Gilbert gave Tails a deep look.

"I can't make assumptions. ”

Even when only two people are facing each other, the foreign secretary is still rigorous and restrained in his choice of words:

"Maybe they do have old grudges, maybe they don't obey each other, maybe it's just an ......accident that the king's order has been implemented in the Western Wilderness for many years, and it has been greatly discounted."

But Gilbert narrowed his eyes:

"However, from the perspective of your father and your rule, Your Highness, are they colluding, or is it a coincidence, or both, just a tacit understanding......"

"Does it still matter?"

Tails was stunned.

Gilbert took a deep breath and was extremely serious:

"The Western Wilderness, it is like a rough uneven, soft and hard cake, sometimes slippery, sometimes stubborn, both easy to knock the teeth of the hard stubble, but also cut constantly sticky, no matter chewing slowly or feasting, from which angle it is difficult to put down the mouth, let alone digest. ”

"Compared to this, whether it is the desperate Arrond in the north, the fragile Nan Top, and the young and vigorous Cavendier on the south bank......"

Gilbert shook his head, the fear and worry in his eyes growing unabated.

"So, do you understand what Baron Williams is all about? ”

Tails, who hadn't yet reacted, looked at him in a daze.

Just hear Gilbert laugh softly:

"Yes, compared to his great name in the desert, those who have really come into contact with the inside story know that the Wings of Legend is arrogant, arrogant, difficult to get along with, making countless enemies, and disdainful of friendship. ”

His diction is precise and direct.

"Even the Fuxing Palace can't look down on him, he has no respect for the nobility in his eyes, he lacks care about tradition, he can be angry and prosperous, and he is enough to break the city, and he insists on going his own way, and the monarch's life is difficult to control......"

"Naturally, I don't care more about the political tricks of the wilderness. ”

Tails froze.

In his mind, Roman coldly pulled Nobu, openly threatening to enter the Fuxing Palace.

Gilbert's tone was tinged with disdain:

And with the support of the royal family and the army, he was even more unscrupulous: no matter the toughness of the black lion, the old spiciness of the crow, the unpredictability of the four-eyed skull, and the night after the desert war, they were all overshadowed by the uncontrollable madness and ferocity of the Wings of Legends. ”

Gilbert's eyes showed the excitement of a fox catching its prey:

"So, when a fierce god who doesn't even buy the king's account takes root in the Western Wilderness, where the situation is complicated and chaotic......

He didn't say any more, just looked at Tails with a smile.

Tails, on the other hand, looked at him in amazement:

"So what you need is not a Western Wilderness that is not in harmony with each other and entangled, but a Western Wilderness that is forced to twist into a rope under the weight of outside the rules?"

"So that you can hold the rope and hold the key, so that you can be trapped in the cage once and for all?"

"And Williams, is that the pressure?"

In front of him, Gilbert was still smiling.

Williams, Falkenhause, Croma, Bozdorf......

And now, it's Gilbert, and ......

Kessel V.

Tails leaned limply in his chair, rubbing his brow in distress, only to feel his brain explode.

After a while, he lowered his palm.

"But does it work?"

"The nobles of the Western Wilderness, even the most radical ones, will not surrender obediently just because there is a troublemaker at the door of their home, on the contrary, they will only be angered and ...... even more"

Tails couldn't find any good words, so he simply gave an example:

"Just like this time, Gilbert, the arrogant Williams burned through almost half of the Bladetooth camp and pit all the supplies that the Lord of the Western Wilderness had put here, but they ......"

But at this moment, a terrible thought flashed through Tails's mind.

His words continued, but the speed of his speech slowed down imperceptibly:

"They...... They...... He ......"

The prince's words paused.

He stared blankly at Gilbert.

"Gilbert, if the Wings of Legend are part of your plans......"

Tails looked at his old teacher in disbelief:

"Then how do you expect Xihuang to react?"

Gilbert realized something, and his smile faded.

"Your Highness, it's not too early......" he cleared his throat.

But Tails seemed to be immersed in his own world, and thought to himself:

"I always thought that Camp Bladefang wasn't your target, but a decoy. ”

"And the nobles of the Western Wilderness suffered heavy losses and had to vomit out of the camp, and that is your achievement. ”

"But what if I'm wrong?"

Tails stared at the fragmented meal on his plate.

Gilbert didn't speak, just looked at him worriedly.

"What if, if the Blade Fang Camp isn't even a bait at all, if it's just a table with rules written on it, so that the nobles of the Western Wilderness, who think they know the rules, carefully place their chips?"

Tails slowly smoothed out his thoughts, reasoning and narrating at the same time, and the more he spoke, the more frightened he became:

"Until their chips are eaten by Williams who ignores the rules – what if that's the real bait?"

"If you want more than just the Lords of the Western Wilderness spitting out the Bladetooth Camp?"

"What you want is precisely the counterattack that they are being fooled and battered, forced to tear off their reserve and have no way out under the pressure?"

Gilbert frowned and shook his head:

"That's how much you care, Your Highness, why do we have to ......"

But Tails interrupted him again.

"Gilbert. ”

Tails stared blankly at the plate:

"Follow you and Marlos with the thousands of royal standing armies that have been brought in from the interior, from the north, and from the center......"

"They're not there to change the Blade Fang camp, and they're not here to greet me, are they?"

Gilbert pulled his face and smiled a little reluctantly:

"I don't understand what you mean, of course they're here to greet the heir of the kingdom. ”

Tails was still staring blankly at the plate, and subconsciously shook his head:

"Or maybe they're here to fight—the nobles of the Western Wilderness who are trying to fight back after a night of despair. ”

This time, the silence at the table lasted a little longer.

Tails, on the other hand, just froze in his seat, motionless.

Looking at the appearance of the second prince, Gilbert sighed heavily:

"You think about it, Your Highness, the nobles are not so stupid and not so impulsive, even the most radical Bozdorf. ”

Gilbert coughed violently:

"They are not sure to defeat the Legendary Wings on the battlefield, nor do they have the bargaining chips to force the Fuxing Palace to give in, and then spit out the Blade Fang Camp, why do they do such an unwise thing?"

As the words fell, Gilbert looked at the prince worriedly.

This time, Tails looked back at him in a daze.

Six years ago, in the Mindice Hall, the polite and kind Foreign Secretary was one of the few people he trusted and admired wholeheartedly, compared to the inconspicuous Yodel and the unpretentious Geni, and in the six years in the Northland, whenever he thought of the years in the Mindice Hall, he would have a clearer sense of belonging to the gradually blurred hometown and homecoming.

But I don't know why......

After six years in the Northlands, after the aura of goodbye has faded......

For some reason, he felt that Gilbert's gaze suddenly became a little strange.

"Yes, you're right. ”

Tails stared blankly at the edge of the table, and spoke mechanically, as if repeating Gilbert's words:

"Even if they have suffered such a big loss, but the people of the Western Wilderness have no bargaining chips, they will not be so unwise and give the royal family a reason to punish them and completely seize power from them. ”

The people of the Western Wilderness have no leverage.

Chip.

A bargaining chip to lure the nobles of the Western Wilderness to fight back.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

Tails raised his gaze and looked directly at Gilbert, barely pulling the corners of his mouth:

"It's that I'm thinking too much. ”

Gilbert avoided Tails' gaze, which was almost about to see him through, and said stiffly:

"My little sir, your dinner is going to be cold, and we're on our way tomorrow......"

Tails' heart beat slowly.

At that moment, he only felt that his heart was beating so slowly, so slowly.

It's slow.

"Your Highness?"

Tails woke up.

He forced himself to squeeze out a smile, took a deep breath, and resumed eating.

The Foreign Secretary seemed to sense something, but he only opened his mouth hesitantly, but did not speak.

"Why, Gilbert. ”

Gilbert looked up.

I saw Tails cutting the meal unconsciously and depressed:

"Why, the Duke of the Western Wilderness wants to give me a sword, his family heirloom. ”

"Why, when the Wings of Legend saw it, he was so furious. ”

"Why, the Count of the One-Winged Raven himself came and sent me on my way home with great courtesy. ”

It's obviously a question, but there is no tone of question.

Looking at Gilbert's dumb hesitation, Tails understood something.

"About this ......," Gilbert paused and explained patiently and gently.

But Tails couldn't hear what he was saying.

He remembered the story the watchman had told Delos the first time he met Marhos yesterday.

Originally......

It's not just a story.

Tails lowered his head, frozen in place.

The ugly old thing is right.

His father was indeed a genius.

Isn't it?

It's just that.

It's just that......

Tails clenched the knife in his hand.

“...... Therefore, this is a common method among the aristocracy, to curry favor and win over. ”

Gilbert finished speaking kindly, pulling Tails out of his silent thoughts.

The prince looked up like a rusty doll and smiled reluctantly.

"Yes. ”

"So soon, the whole kingdom will know that the Duke of the Western Wilderness and the returning Prince of the Stars are chatting and laughing in the Bladetooth camp and exchanging gifts. ”

Tails said bitterly:

"And what happened the night before, the little unpleasantness between Baron Bladetooth and the lords of the Western Wilderness has disappeared. ”

"Their goal...... And that's it. ”

He didn't ask any further.

Gilbert looked at Tails' bitter expression, and finally didn't say anything, just exhaled and didn't look away.

"So you get it?"

The Foreign Secretary bowed his head, his expression was indistinct, and his voice was low:

"It's better to return that sword. ”

Tails' hand holding the knife paused.

He took a deep breath.

The lights in the main hall dimmed.

"Nope. ”

"Six years ago at the National Congress, you said it, Gilbert. ”

Tails stared at his plate, his mind mixed with mixed feelings.

"Politically, in the face of opponents, to kill everything, to leave no room for mercy, this is not a clever way to do politics. ”

"In the past six years, I have come to a deeper understanding of this truth. ”

Gilbert frowned.

Tails took a deep breath.

When the prince raised his head, his smile had returned to calm and natural:

"I thought, I'd better keep it. ”

"If there is a day, I want to leave room for both sides who have no way out. ”

Gilbert was slightly surprised.

"And this sword, regardless of the intentions behind it," Tails' eyes darkened slightly, but immediately returned to normal:

"At the very least, it has the potential to be that space. ”

Tails was distracted:

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I don't want to give up. ”

The voice fell.

The silence in the main hall lasted for a long time.

After a long moment, Gilbert let out a long sigh.

"Your Highness," the cunning fox of the stars looked at Tails with satisfaction:

"You've grown up. ”

Tails curled the corners of his mouth and punched his spirit:

"You've said that once. ”

Gilbert smiled, but could tell that he was smiling a little forcefully.

"Yes, Your Highness, but ......"

Gilbert looked straight into Tails' eyes and sighed again:

"You've really grown up. ”

This time, Tails didn't retort, he just smiled again, and then moved his gaze back to his plate.

Just when the two were silent and silently faced each other.

"Gilbert. ”

"Did my father ever think about it?"

The prince slowly chewed on a piece of food that he didn't notice what it was:

"Along the way, what if I die. ”

Gilbert's face tensed.

"Your Highness, the whole of our kingdom will do everything in our power to protect your safety......"

Tails snorted, raising the corners of his lips bitterly.

"Yes, that's what you said. ”

"Six years ago. ”

The Foreign Secretary was speechless.

A few seconds later, Gilbert took over very unnaturally:

"This, that's why yodel was there for you along the way. ”

He reluctantly said:

"Your Majesty cares about your well-being, so he sent his most trusted secret guard......"

"He trusts yodel to protect you, just as he trusts him to protect His Majesty himself. ”

With that, Gilbert turned his head and scanned the air beside him, as if to confirm something:

"Is that right, old friend?"

But there were only two people at the table in the main hall.

The only sound in the air was the sound of knives and forks colliding with the plates.

No response.

Gilbert's smile slowly stiffened.

Tails raised his eyes and looked at his old teacher with uncertain emotion.

Gilbert exhaled.

"Perhaps Yodel is not here at this time," the Foreign Secretary smiled wryly.

"Or maybe he's just ......"

Gilbert glanced around, and finally lowered his head in embarrassment, and sighed helplessly:

“...... Don't want to talk to me. ”

Right now.

"The latter. A hoarse voice suddenly sounded.

The Foreign Secretary was taken aback.

Gilbert subconsciously looked back, and all he saw was the void.

Tails curled the corners of his mouth.

"Okay. ”

Gilbert has a kinship:

"By the way, the mission is complete, old friend. ”

"You have lived up to the trust of Your Majesty and protected the safe return of his heir. ”

Still no response.

Gilbert could only sigh and look back.

Instead, Tails suddenly put down his knife and fork and stared into the air.

"What's wrong?" Gilbert asked with concern.

Tails didn't look at him, just grabbed the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of beans.

"It's nothing, it's just ......"

Tails looked at the beans intently and subconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I miss the Northlands a little. ”

Especially......

When eating.

Gilbert raised his eyebrows.

"You know, after eighteen years ago, quite a long time......"

The Foreign Secretary nodded, his tone welling up with endless nostalgia.

"That's what I thought, too. ”

At the dining table, the old and the young were immersed in their own memories.

After a few seconds, Tails came to his senses and gently put down the spoonful of beans.

Grab a difficult knife and fork.

The second prince smiled decently at Gilbert and ate a piece of meat stained with sauce with flawless etiquette.

Gilbert gave him a reassuring smile in return.

But only Tails knows.

That piece of meat had been sitting out for too long.

Bitter.

Stiff.

————

In the dim light, the Count of Bozdorf stepped through the door.

A guard with a four-eyed skull insignia on his armor rushed forward, only to be unceremoniously pushed away.

The guard was furious and was about to draw his sword.

"It's okay," a sharp, cold voice sounded in the room, causing the guard's arm to stop abruptly:

"He can come in. ”

The Count of Bozdorf did not look at the guard, who had to be ordered to retreat, and strode directly to the master with a sharp voice, staring at the other party who was eating.

"You came in without notice," Cyril Falkenhause, swallowing a mouthful of fruit, before lifting his terrifying face and squinting at the visitor:

"If Gao He were here, he would have beaten you to death. ”

"With a fist. ”

But his threats don't seem to work against the guests.

"My father honors you, Cyril," said Lewis Bozdorf, the owner of the Black Lion, in a cold voice:

"I don't. ”

The Duke of the Western Wilderness sneered.

"Coincidentally, I respect your father too," he said, taking his attention away from the plate in front of him, and his tone was grim:

"But not you. ”

Bozdorf snorted.

"You sent the crow to the camp day and night to pick him up?"

Count Lewis gritted his teeth, and the anger in his eyes almost overflowed:

"You?"

The Duke of the Western Wilderness chuckled again and did not answer.

But Bozdorf was not prepared to just let him go.

Boom!

Iron-gloved fists slammed into Falkenhaus's table, knocking a plate of fish over and splattering juice.

The Duke of the Western Wilderness was not in a hurry, nor was he angry.

He just silently pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his splashed face.

The Black Lion Count bent his elbows and slowly pressed his upper body towards the Duke.

"I've even got that kid's family flag ready, so big," Lewis looked at like a knife and bit the word fiercely:

"Just waiting to 'meet' him. ”

The Duke of the Western Wilderness snorted:

"Really?"

The Count of Bozdorf stared at the seemingly indifferent duke, and then curled the corners of his mouth.

It was like being laughed at.

"In Grace Town, that kid is right in front of me, as close as I am to you right now. ”

"You can cut your throat with a single knife. ”

Bozdorf tilted his head, his eyes showing a fierce light, and his eyes were sometimes cloudy and numb, sometimes clear and sharp.

And he was as self-righteous as he had been six years ago, proudly showing me his ridiculous eloquence, unaware that he was only a foot away from the end of the catastrophe. ”

Falkenhause did not realize that he was threatened at all, but laughed:

"You have to admit it, that kid is a bit eloquent, isn't he? ”

As if he hadn't heard, Bozdorf gritted his teeth:

"And the damned raven, and the same damned raven cubs as he were, were there, standing between me and him, within the reach of my army, smiling at me, like a goddamn bodyguard. ”

Bozdorf's voice was cold, and the words were suppressed:

"Because, for, you. ”

Falkenhause's smile slowly retracted, thoughtfully.

"Well, Nadler is doing a pretty good job. ”

"Thanks to Sunset, he's a crow, isn't he?"

Bang!

Lewis's fists slammed the table again!

"I could have taken him!"

This time, the Count of Bozdorf could no longer suppress his anger.

"You know that my army, the Black Lion Infantry Regiment that is best at breaking through the cards and destroying the city, has arrived in Grace Town, and you know that I am ...... away from the Blade Fang camp."

Bozdorf was furious, and he gasped a few times before he finished speaking in full:

“...... There is only one day left. ”

"One, God. ”

He snapped.

Falkenhause, too, seemed to be serious, and he snorted disdainfully:

"And then?"

Bozdorf stared at the Duke of the Western Wilderness.

"That is the lifeblood of Fuxing Palace, the foundation of their rule, and our best bargaining chip for more than ten years. ”

The Black Lion Count was aggressive, and the anger in his eyes was simply palpable:

"We can take back Bladefang's camp and even get rid of that sissy. ”

"At the very least, tell them our attitude ......"

But the tepid Duke of the Western Wilderness suddenly raised his head and was categorical:

"Then the Bozdorf family in Castle of Heroic Souls is only one day away from extinction!"

His words were cold and unceremonious.

The conversation between the two stalled for a few seconds.

This time, it was Bozdorf's turn to sneer.

"Do you know what's going on at Camp Bladefang? ”

"Pampered Lord Duke?"

The Black Lion Count straightened up and distanced himself from the other party, but the sharpness in his eyes continued unabated.

Al Bhalal lost the year's income, much of it in debt, Emery lost their family heirs, and the new land lost its autumn harvest for the season. ”

"And Toth said he would never go on our military expedition again. ”

"Lugo even pressed everything in the whole clan. ”

Falkenhause turned his head, avoiding the Count's gaze.

Bozdorf's questioning seemed to grind out:

"That's who we are. ”

"Is there a difference between perishing today and perishing tomorrow?"

Falkenhause looked up slowly.

"Absolutely. ”

At this moment, Duke Xihuang's eyes deepened.

"Perish today, and you have nothing. ”

Falkenhause's eyes narrowed.

"Tomorrow perishes, and you at least have hope for tomorrow. ”

Lewis Bozdorf grinned widely.

Two seconds later, his laughter came to an abrupt end.

"Hope for tomorrow?"

"All these ...... you do"

His smile turned to ice:

"For the so-called hope?"

Cyril Falkenhause paused.

"Nope. ”

He reached for his crutch, his gaze fixed on the hook on which the sword had been hung but was now empty.

"For ......"

With the most complex and indescribable emotions, the duke said lightly:

"Tomorrow. ”

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