In the empty banquet hall, Tails and Jenn were far away from each other.

In the distance, there were sparse figures, and the guards and servants were still sending their restless guests away, looking cautiously but in awe from time to time.

"Now?"

Jenn's surprised look lasted only a second, and his good cultivation made him restrain his expression.

Duke Iris didn't say a word, and he didn't pay attention to the nervous eyes of the few people in the distance, he just walked slowly, stepped over the mess, and walked towards Tails.

Tails stared at each other coldly.

Until Jenn stopped and stood in front of the dagger.

"So you're just a blind cat running into a dead mouse, casually deceiving, trying your luck?"

Kevendil's master looked at the short sword on the ground, unhurried, and seemed to smile.

He was leisurely, without the slightest gaffe and self-consciousness when the conspiracy was exposed and the strategy was exposed—just like when Tails punctured the plan of the "new star" at the National Congress six years ago.

This made Tails doubly uneasy.

"I got it out of his mouth," Tails said, without changing his face.

"This sword was indeed given to him by a guest, not some unknown source. ”

The prince glanced at several exits:

"Unfortunately, security is strict at tonight's banquet. ”

"There are not many guests who can enter without a personal search. ”

Jenn was unhurried and happily spoke:

"Then why do you think it's me?"

He seemed interested, and if he didn't know, he probably thought that the two dukes were talking about some interesting after-dinner story.

And not a thrilling political conspiracy.

Tails frowned slightly.

The young man suddenly found that compared to the young and promising Duke of South Shore who stayed in his impression six years ago, Jenn's momentum was much more restrained now, and his body was much stronger.

The other party is different.

Tails silently told himself.

He was a little less light and bright, and a little more calm and steady.

A thought crossed Tails' mind: the experience in the Northland might have made him tougher, sharper, and more comfortable.

Those six years in the stars.

What has become of Jenn again?

"We fell apart. ”

Tails said lightly, maintaining Duke Xinghu's city and dignity:

"Before the banquet began. ”

Jenn's eyes moved.

"But in the middle of the banquet, you came up to talk and talked about political gains and losses. ”

Tails looked straight into the other's eyes:

"Or to put it bluntly......"

"I don't have anything to say. ”

There was a brief silence.

Tails looked at the pillars in the distance, watching the shadowy servants go back and forth to clean up the mess of the banquet:

"I know you're well-groomed, Jenn, and I know you're thick-skinned. ”

"But it's not as good as this after all. ”

Jenn nodded slowly, the corners of his mouth raised, as if he was savoring a glass of wine:

"It can't be that I really want to talk to you......"

Tails interrupted him coldly:

"You noticed. ”

Jenn's eyes froze.

"You notice that the royal guard is moving around frequently, and you are more guarded: you realize that someone unexpectedly discovered Anker's presence in advance. ”

The young man looked at the short sword lying alone on the ground, and stepped forward:

"You can't sit still. ”

"You need to hold me down to make sure the plan goes smoothly and that Anker's target is still there even after the king leaves. ”

"That's your biggest flaw. ”

Jenn didn't speak.

"And in my experience, every time you come in a strange and hypocritical way, bad things come. ”

Tails stopped in front of the dagger and looked directly at Duke Iris opposite, calling the other man's name:

"Jenn Cavendier. ”

Friends.

Tails said silently.

Jenn smiled, unconcerned.

"Your suspicions are serious, Your Highness. ”

"Maybe when you were still in the north, you were harmed by all kinds of calculations?"

Calculating, inflicting harm.

Tails shook the image of Nunn and Charman from his mind, and even the image of the Black Prophet, and also chuckled:

"And maybe you didn't realize it, Jenn, tonight, when you didn't have anything to talk about......"

"Kings and vassals, land and security, domination and rebellion?"

Tails is sarcastic:

"What you say reflects what you think. ”

Jenn smiled slightly.

"I suppose you've been troubled for a long time by the matter between Raven and the Mirror River, the feud between Baylar and Doyle, and how to take advantage of the opportunity. ”

Tails didn't look at Jenn's expression, he looked around, looked at the countless tables, chairs, cups and plates that had been shattered by Anker's big banquet, and snorted:

"And all of this endangers the prestige of the Fuxing Palace, divides the seven servants of the bright stars, provokes conflicts among the nobles, and exposes the contradictions of the ruling ......"

"Just to get me in trouble?"

In the far hall, Glover and Piloga, who had seen off the last of the guests, were about to enter, but were stopped by Marios.

The watchman shook his head as he looked at the two men facing each other in the hall.

The lights are still bright, and the Mindith Hall is still quaint, but compared with the previous lively city, the banquet hall at this time is silent, cold and empty.

Only Tails and Jenn in the center of the hall stood across from each other, quietly staring at each other.

Between them was the sharp dagger on the ground.

After a long time, Jenn walked to the long table beside him, picked up the glass that the butler had left for him, and poured a glass of the famous wine of the Duchy of Thera:

Like most people in the West, Anker Al Al is both realistic and pragmatic, not a man who will be easily swayed by words. ”

Tails watched his actions and frowned.

Jenn raised his glass and leaned back against the long table.

"How can you be sure that he will give up?"

He looked at Tails carefully, as if to fit the boy in front of him with the boy from six years ago:

"Won't you give up everything in a fit of rage, and the jade will be burned and blood will be splashed on the spot?"

Anker Al Baylar.

Tails tilted his head, a shadow flashing across his face.

"Just like you. He said in a deep voice.

Jenn shook the wine glass in his hand and sniffed the wine:

"Oh?

Tails looked at the wine glass in the other's hand, and only felt that he was thirsty too.

"Before he became a pawn, he was human. ”

"He's a human being, a very complex, very simple person. ”

Duke Xinghu walked over to another long table, swept away the clutter that was in the way, and grabbed a wine glass.

He didn't care who had drunk it before, he threw it directly behind him, spilling the remaining liquid inside.

The wine fell to the ground, and a few drops splashed on Jenn's boots, causing the owner of the iris to frown as he was savoring the aroma of the fruit wine.

Tails lifted a pot of water, leaned back on the long table, and turned around.

"No matter who instigates him, influences him, or coerces him, all his thoughts and deeds, in the final analysis, come from himself. ”

Jenn quietly left the place:

"You knew him before?"

"No," Tails poured his cup to the brim, "but the intelligence says that Anker has a younger brother and three younger sisters, all of whom are young and live in Ravencry. ”

Tails' eyes fixed on the glass in his hand.

"I was thinking, what would they do if he died to avenge his father's death?"

Jenn looked at him, the corners of his mouth curled.

Boom.

Tails put the kettle down heavily.

"Single-handedly, breaking into the palace to express his feelings, stabbing the enemy, and hating his father. ”

"This sounds very proud, and it is very fast. ”

Tails said in a deep voice, looking at his own reflection in the wine glass:

But in reality, this will not solve anything: the royal family will not tolerate assassination, and his actions will only be regarded as a crime of contempt for order, and as an example of destabilization, it will be severely punished. ”

"As the family of Al al-Baylar, they are already in a state of despair, and they will only usher in a catastrophe. ”

Jenn's smile grew more subtle.

And Tails' eyes gradually condensed into ice:

"But when I think about the time he was going to duel Doyle, I understood. ”

"Anker didn't want to kill, not even justice, and revenge was just a starting point. ”

Tails jerked his head up.

Under the weight of his father's huge debts, the betrayal of his vassals, and Doyle's calculations, he was inexperienced and had nothing to do, and he only wanted to fight for the last guarantee for his family: to win the sympathy of the public, and to force the royal family to come forward to ensure that his family survived this catastrophe safely, and would not go bankrupt and lose his land, and his family would be ruined. ”

Jenn still calmly tastes the wine with his sense of smell, but he doesn't eat it.

The prince's tone tensed:

"He took risks, not for revenge, not even for justice, but for the future. ”

"And in order to leave no trouble, to accomplish this goal perfectly and completely......"

Tails gritted his teeth.

"He must die. Jenn looked up and took the conversation coldly.

Tails was in a trance, and suddenly remembered the expression on D.D.'s face when he made a decisive statement to him and ended the duel.

The voice of the Duke of Iris wafted through the hall, ethereal but mysterious:

"He can only use the justifiable revenge and justice as an excuse to bear it with all his might, and use his death to take away all the blame and disgust. ”

"It's better to die openly, amazingly, dramatically and legendarily. ”

"Like a hero. ”

"To be a perfect victim who is not harsh and perfect, leaving only nostalgia and sympathy behind him. ”

Jenn observed Tails' expression and played with taste:

Only in this way can the mean, vicious, selfish and hypocritical onlookers be relieved and their pathetic empathy can be released. ”

In order for the royal family and the kingdom to be under pressure, after this sad story, there is no choice but to help and take care of his troubled family from decay and decay. ”

The water in Tails' glass tumbled slightly.

It's like the surface of the sea.

"Anker Al Bilal. ”

Tails was expressionless:

"He is not one of those legendary stories that everyone likes, who commits suicide in anger and cries without regard for the loneliness and widowhood behind him. ”

"It's not a scum hero who can't think about it for a while, and for the sake of bullshit, he is hot-headed and burning. ”

Jenn watched him silently, the glass in his hand calm.

The prince slowly raised his head, his eyes dead and silent:

"He was just a run-down squire in the middle of nowhere, with a family and a younger sibling. ”

"Shouldering responsibilities and enduring humiliation in a difficult life. ”

"A ...... who is under power, struggling to support his family, and seeking a glimmer of life for his relatives"

Tails' breath became short:

"Ordinary people. ”

That's why Anker backed down.

Tails thought bitterly.

He had to back down.

Because he's not alone.

Don't just live for yourself.

Thinking of this, Tails couldn't help the indignation in his heart and raised his voice:

"And you, Keven Diel, you take advantage of that, you take advantage of his humanity, you take advantage of what he was born to be human, the most fundamental, the most concerned. ”

"Turn him into your pawn. ”

Tails' words are chilling:

"Come on with me. ”

Jenn looked at him quietly, and only a long time ago did he smile.

Like spring breeze and rain.

"Aren't you?"

Tails shuddered slightly.

Jenn shook the glass slightly, watching the liquid in the glass turn in an orderly and steady direction:

"Didn't you also take advantage of this, seemingly 'convincing' him, but actually persecuting him?"

Jenn's smile turned grim.

Tails' glass trembled.

"Not long ago, when Al Bailal came to me," Jenn said in a casual tone:

"What I saw was a poor, scarred, desperate man who wanted to turn to the notoriously approachable Iris family. ”

Duke Iris's eyes flashed:

"He needs hope. ”

So I gave him hope. ”

Jenn paused and raised his eyebrows:

"Perhaps, there is also relief from the pressure. ”

"I told him that there was only one person to turn around his family's fortunes. ”

"A 'newcomer' who returns with a heaven-sent halo and is completely different from the king on the throne and the kings of the court. ”

Tails gritted his teeth and stared at the water in his cup churning back and forth, rippling one after another.

Jenn left the long table and walked forward, closing in on Tails, his tone smug in his tone:

"Until you end up in a duel. ”

"Until you cut off this hope with your might: whether the duel is won or lost, whether it is life or death, whether it kills the prince or never overturns, his family will be doomed. ”

Tails shuddered and closed his eyes.

Kevin Diel's master snorted coldly:

"You took advantage of his humanity to force him to give up the duel, and even forced him to survive, and where he was stingy, he refused to give him even the mercy of death. ”

"Only more cruel than me. ”

Tails was speechless.

The Duke of the South Shore walked leisurely and stepped over the short sword on the ground.

"Do you know what kind of future he will face when he walks out alive tonight?"

Tails' breathing stalled.

Cavendier came to Tails, smiled mysteriously, and shook his glass:

"Now, who is the ruthless one, Your Highness the Prince?"

Tails was silent for a long, long time.

He just looked at his glass.

Looking at the water surface in the cup, from tumbling endlessly to turning over the river and the sea, and then returning to silence.

Just as Jenn lost his smile and was about to turn around.

"Aren't you going to drink it?"

Jenn frowned.

I saw Tails raise his head with an indifferent expression, looking at the wine glass in the other party's hand.

Perhaps a little stunned, but the Duke of Southbank looked at the wine in his hand and still responded happily:

"In terms of aroma, it's worse than what Emerald City imports," Jenn shook his head, shaking his glass with a look of regret, "But if you want to drink it......"

"No, not my favorite flavor. ”

Tails didn't say a word, just snorted.

But the next moment, he suddenly raised his glass and poured the water into his mouth.

Drink it all.

After the Duke of Xinghu drank the water, he relieved his dry tongue, and he did not shy away from his poor image and indecent manners, wiped off the water stains on his mouth, and shook it casually.

The water splashed, and Jenn silently retreated.

Tails, on the other hand, stood up and left the table!

"Why?"

Tails strode forward and asked coldly:

"Just because I didn't agree to your conditions just now?

Jenn stood still, but he frowned at the fact that Tails was coming forward, pressing on him.

"Or did you make up your mind to tear your face with me and never die?"

Tails pressed his way in front of Jenn until they were less than a foot apart, leaving the dagger that glowed coldly on the ground.

The two met their eyes like sparks.

Jenn stared at Tails tightly, his leisurely expression slowly disappearing.

"It's a warning. ”

Tails snorted:

"Warning?"

Jenn curled the corners of his mouth and called him by his first name:

"At the banquet, I came to you on purpose. ”

"Tails. ”

"To be honest, I'm not afraid that you will find out that it is me, no, it is better to say that I want to be discovered by you,"

Tails frowned.

"It's not just about creating opportunities for Al Baylar," Jenn sneered:

"Tails, it's your last chance. ”

Jenn lowered his glass and approached the depressed Tails unconcernedly:

"Al Biral's actions are all spontaneous, and all I do is point the way, push lightly, and make the next move. ”

"But just like that, you're already overwhelmed and embarrassed. ”

He was close to Tails' ear, whispering like a lover, but his tone was cold:

"Can you imagine what it would be like to get a chess game in earnest?"

Tails didn't answer, just clenched his glass.

"I want you to know, Tails, I want to teach you to know: that's my response. ”

The Duke of the South Shore said in a rare and cruel voice:

"In response to you offending me, rejecting me, and even threatening me six years later. ”

Tails stiffened.

The other's breath left Tails' ear.

The person in front of him has changed back to the kind and kind young Iris Duke who makes people feel like a spring breeze.

But after only a few seconds, Tails took a deep breath.

He chuckled.

"Shall I refuse you?"

Tails' expression changed, and he looked at Jenn from head to toe.

Let the latter be displeased.

Until the prince said frivolously and sarcastically:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you liked men. ”

"Dear Jenn. ”

At that moment, Jenn's eyes froze.

But Tails didn't care, he even raised his left hand, gently put it on Jenn's right shoulder, also close to the other person's ear, and shook his head:

"Otherwise, maybe I could have been a little more gentle and gentleman when I rejected you just now?"

Jenn stopped laughing.

He didn't move, he didn't look at the hand on his shoulder, he just stared at Tails coldly.

"If you choose war, Tails, you will be determined to be my enemy. ”

"Then this move is just the beginning. ”

Jenn looked at Tails as if he were looking at a corpse:

"Prince of the Stars, Duke of the Star Lake, the blessing of the royal power, good prestige, the allegiance of the courtiers, the resume of the Northland, and the position of the high and clear?"

He asked coldly, his tone undulating.

The next moment, Jenn suddenly raised his left hand and pressed Tails's left hand!

"I can destroy them," Duke Iris's every word contained a vicious meaning:

"One after the other. ”

Sensing the straining of the other's wrist, Tails pursed his lips.

"Here, on my familiar chessboard, I can make you feel painful. ”

At that moment, Jenn's eyes were so sharp that they could cut through flesh and blood, piercing his heart:

"When it's really time to tear your face, even if I sacrifice everything, I can make you, and I will definitely make you pay the worst price. ”

The Duke of Southbank snorted softly and removed Tails' palm.

But to his surprise, instead of letting go, the silent prince quickly grabbed back and grabbed Jenn's wrist!

Jenn's eyes froze.

But what makes him dissatisfied and even disgusted is not the act itself.

"Is it because of that conversation?"

Tails' words rang softly.

"Six years ago, when I was leaving Yongxing City and heading north, we had that parting conversation. ”

Six years ago.

Leaving Eternal Star City......

Talk.

One second, two seconds.

Jenn's gaze was bewildered at first, then fell into the deep cold, and fainted into anger.

"Because I asked your family, your family?"

Tails's words rang out faintly, like poison flowing into the veins, into Jenn's ears:

"The secret of their misfortune?"

Any expression disappeared from Jenn's face in an instant.

At that moment, the sin of the Prison River in Tails' body erupted into a burst of restlessness for no reason!

It almost made him lose his temper.

It was at that moment that Tails knew he was on the right track.

That's it.

Tyers stubbornly resisted the urge to finish the force, looked back at the Duke of the South Bank, and bit the words out between his teeth:

"See?"

"In a way, there's not much difference between you and Anker. ”

There was a counter-force in Tails' hand trying to break free, but he still grabbed Jenn's wrist and never let go—at least not to let the elegant and decent other party break free gracefully.

"And who's the ruthless one, you ask?"

Tails stared at Jenn, staring at his expressionless, blood-like gray face:

"It's up to you. ”

"Jenn Cavendier. ”

Silent.

The dead silence emanated in the staring of the two as if nothing had happened.

In the hall, the atmosphere between the two finally dropped to freezing.

Outside, the royal guards waiting for the dukes to negotiate seemed to feel something, and wanted to step forward, but were stopped by Marios.

Finally, Jenn turned his head, avoiding Tails' gaze and no longer trying to break away from the prince.

But he laughed.

"You know what. ”

"From 'Black-Eyed' John, to 'Southerner' Heyman, 'Ascending King' Elan, 'Oath Keeper' Middil, 'Northern' Eliga......" Jenn became laid-back and comfortable again, but the cold light in his eyes revealed the truth:

"Historically, there have been many star kings who taught Exter a lesson. ”

"And you know what I've learned about how to deal with the Northlanders?"

Tails frowned.

Jenn no longer pushed Tails out, but pulled him closer, and whispered indifferently:

"Before they are going to you......"

"You're going to fuck them. ”

Tails' eyes froze.

"Don't learn from me. ”

But Jenn smiled.

"Do you think that if you survive the birth king, you will be qualified to be complacent and do your own thing?"

"Polar......is?"

The owner of the iris said softly:

"Believe me, if you want to imitate the gameplay of Nune VII in the Kingdom of Stars, you will only die faster and more miserably, and even more inexplicably. ”

Tails felt a chill in his heart.

This kind of Jenn is often more disturbing than the gloomy Duke of the South Coast.

The next moment, Tails shook his wrist and was vigorously shaken off by Jenn!

"Take care of your hands, Your Highness. ”

The Duke of Iris smiled brightly, if the spring is full of flowers, the grass is green:

"As I said, times have changed. ”

"Not as much as before. ”

Tails was silent.

His threats......

It doesn't work.

Or......

How effective it is?

Jenn took a step back and swept his shoulder nonchalantly, as if it had been defiled:

"You don't want to be fucked to death by me, Your Highness. ”

"Before you meet the real enemy. ”

Tails' face changed.

He looked up slowly.

"You're the only enemy I can see so far. ”

Jenn laughed as if he had heard some joke.

"How to choose friend or foe is a matter of knowledge, Your Highness. ”

"The Kingdom of Stars is prosperous and peaceful, and the future is very good," his smile was still the same, but his words gradually became more subtle: "All you can see are friends." ”

"What you can't see is the enemy. ”

Jenn held the glass in his hand, the wine in the glass was still there, and its color was as good as new.

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

He smiled softly, and quickly let go of his fingers.

Tails' pupils condensed.

Syllable!

The wine glass fell to the ground, shattered, and sparkled everywhere.

Each piece of fragment reflects a different kind of light and shadow in the lights in the hall.

Jenn didn't hold back anymore and turned around.

"That's my property. ”

Behind him, Tails looked at the debris on the ground and spoke coldly.

"That's right," Jenn didn't reply:

"So you feel heartache. ”

Tails frowned.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Watching the other party go farther and farther, Tails couldn't help but raise his voice:

"In Yongxing City, he openly provoked the authority of the royal family, separated the bright star and its vassals, destroyed the relationship between the Fuxing Palace and the Western Wilderness, and endangered the heir of the kingdom. ”

"Or are you still dying, the idea of your coronation on the throne?"

Tails stared at the other party's back and lowered his voice:

"My father won't be happy. ”

Jenn sneered.

"If something like this happens, you're probably going to be busy tomorrow. ”

He still didn't look back, but left his back to Tails, and replied in a loud voice:

"But if you have time, you might as well visit Al Bhalal in prison. ”

Tails was stunned.

"Trust me, Your Majesty will be pleased. ”

Jenn's voice grew farther and farther away, echoing:

"You're not happy, maybe you're alone. ”

Tails' heart moved:

"Why?"

"Because I said, it's just a warning. ”

Jenn's steps are as elegant as ever, and his posture is calm and noble:

"So I left you with a windfall. ”

Tails was puzzled.

"Be smart, Your Highness, and be at ease. ”

The Duke of Southbank's voice faded into emotion:

"I said, there will be a next time, it will be a declaration of war. ”

What the?

Declare war?

Tails looked at each other in disbelief, unhappy, angry, and disgusted, all in one place.

What the hell is this superiority ** doing?

Will there be a next time?

Does he still think that Tails has offended him tonight?

Tails was furious, and for a moment he didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.

Jenn's figure faded away, leaving the hall to join his butler.

"It's over?"

Marlors' steps came from behind him.

Tails sighed.

No.

It's just getting started.

When I think about the tribulations I have experienced today and the things I will have to face tomorrow......

This is only the first day, the first banquet.

Tyres, who had forced himself to pretend to be a human all night, let out a breath and sat down in his chair tiredly, feeling resentful:

"I still don't understand why he hates me so much. ”

Tails snorted coldly, looking at the broken glass slag on the ground, becoming more and more unhappy, and wanted to smash the empty cup in his hand to vent his anger.

But halfway through his arm, Duke Xinghu, who had a big family and a lot of money, still took a few deep breaths and ...... sensibly Return the cup to the table.

"It's like I've done evil to his whole family. Tails sulked.

Marlos came behind him and nodded silently:

"Are you a scourge then?"

The prince turned his head and gave him a blank look.

"I let Doyle change his shift early, and he'll have to go back and settle his family," said Marlos, apparently accustomed to the death penalty in the duke's eyes, and reported indifferently:

"Of course, tomorrow ......"

Tomorrow.

Oh, no.

Tails covered his face and let out a groan of pain interrupted the captain of the guard.

"That's right, Marlos. ”

The watchman listened.

"Your makeshift sniper squad," Tails looked up feebly:

"They haven't changed shifts yet, have they?"

Marhros glanced at the periphery:

"Nope. How?"

Since there is no shift change......

Tails snorted coldly and glanced in the direction of the Duke of Southbank's departure.

His face was gloomy, and his words were cold:

"Then what if I order them to sneak up and kill Jenn Cavendier......"

"No, I can't. Marlos replied quickly.

Tails frowned:

"Why?"

"Because," said Marhros, looking back, the clouds were light and breeze, and he was not ashamed:

"They've changed shifts. ”