A monster.

Monsters that feed on power.

Tails' mind involuntarily appeared the figure he hadn't seen in a long time.

The man with a scepter and a crown on his head, named Father, was majestic and unapproachable.

The prince muttered for a few seconds.

"You don't like the status quo of the Western Wilderness, and you don't want to forget the Western Wilderness of the past, the Western Wilderness that only belonged to Falkenhause?"

"So you're pinning your hopes on me to 'do something.'" ”

The prince looked up at Cyril and his tone became wary:

"You know. ”

"Six years ago, when I left Eternal Star City, someone said something similar to me. ”

The Duke of the Western Wilderness stared at Tails for a few seconds, then smiled.

"No, Your Highness. ”

Falkenhause let out a slow breath and turned to face out the window:

"Don't think of me as an old-fashioned person clinging to the old rules of tradition, or a fool who is obsessed with the glory of the past and refuses to open his eyes to the future—even though there are many of my peers. ”

Tails snorted softly:

"What sets you apart from them?"

This time, Cyril was silent for a long time.

He just stood still, condescendingly watching the bustling and scattered camp under the window.

"Why, Tails?"

Finally, the Duke of Xihuang sighed with emotion:

"Why are we able to rule this land?"

The vigilant Prince of the Stars frowned.

Just listen to the ruler of the Falkenhauges family whispering:

"Will I rule the Western Wilderness as a duke now, or will you be crowned king in the future to rule the whole realm of the stars?"

"Enjoy everything above man?"

Cyril's theme jumps too fast, and the subtle wit, coupled with the snarky meanness, makes Tails, who is used to the Northlanders talking about things, extremely uncomfortable.

"Is it because we, as rulers, are wise enough and resourceful?"

"Or are you like the Northlanders who are bold and dare to be the first?"

The Duke stood in front of the window, his thin and withered figure reflected in the silhouette, firmly rooted in the ground.

"Or is it because you are kind-hearted and care about the people?"

"Or is it the glory of the ancestors, passed down from generation to generation?"

Cyril's words took a turn to reveal his favorite sarcastic tone:

"Could it be that it is indeed the destiny of heaven and the expectation of all......"

"And the stuff that runs in your veins can really—glitter?"

The duke, as always, stared at him with a playful look, as if waiting for something.

The boy was silent for several seconds.

Finally, Tails sighed deeply.

"From the beginning to the present...... Who taught you to speak like that, Duke Falkenhause?

What the?

Cyril's smile froze.

I saw Tails, who had finished sighing, shrugged helplessly:

"You know, I didn't realize until today: I hate rhetorical questions so much. ”

Rhetorical questions?

The Duke's expression became more and more confused.

But the prince no longer followed Cyril's words, but looked at him indifferently:

"A little hint, unwelcome Lord Duke. ”

Whether it's a discussion or a negotiation, a rhetorical question that may seem like a rhetorical question that heightens your tone can only make you look like a head-scratching, sensationalist clown: it does nothing to convey a valid message other than to highlight your self-righteousness in tone. ”

Listening to Tails' expressionless answer, Falkenhause's face slowly stiffened.

"If you have an answer, say it in the affirmative, and if you don't, finish it with a 'no' – because no one is interested in knowing what you're saying with rhetorical rhetorical questions other than stirring up emotion. ”

Tails finished speaking, and stabbed the dagger at the head of the bed.

The room was quiet for a long time.

For a moment, I could only hear the cold wind blowing.

Cyril glared at Tails as if he had known him for the first time.

The corners of the duke's lips were raised and lowered several times, and he wanted to speak and stopped, quite at a loss.

Tails folded his arms as if nothing happened, looking innocent, tilting his head and flattening his mouth, waiting for an answer.

Finally, Cyril closed his eyes and bowed his head, and let out a long sigh:

"That's why I don't like Northlanders. ”

"No," Tails raised his eyebrows, and took his words:

"It's just why you're not popular. ”

Cyril was stunned again, speechless for a moment.

"Go on, why do we rule?"

Tails, who had finally spoken comfortably, exhaled, sat down on the bed, leaned against the wall, and said contentedly:

"Don't let me interrupt you. ”

Cyril sighed slightly in his heart.

Didn't you interrupt a long time ago?

The duke was silent for a while, and then spoke again:

"Actually, I don't think we're able to rule for any of these reasons, Tails. Not at all. ”

Tails' heavy words rang out again:

"Good!"

Cyril was once again stagnant.

"I'm glad that we're finally talking. ”

I saw Tails raise his index finger to him with a comfortable face: "It's not difficult to talk well, is it?"

"Keep it up. ”

Cyril, who had just brewed his emotions, was choked up again.

The duke sighed slowly: he began to realize that the young man in front of him was no longer the bastard son who clenched his fists, blushed, forced himself to be a prince, and sold his cleverness in front of all the lords six years ago.

He's Tails Bright Star.

The stars beyond the firmament.

Thinking of this, the Duke leaned over slightly, a cold glimmer refracted on his ugly face.

"Prince Tails. ”

"It seems to me that it is custom that really rules this land, this kingdom, and the whole world, and what makes countless people willingly obey us. ”

"Habit, habit......" Tails chewed on Cyril's words, suddenly understanding something.

After unexpectedly taking back the right to speak, he began to slowly grasp the erratic axis of the other party's seemingly casual conversation.

At this time, however, Cyril was pacing the room with his cane.

"Men are used to going out to support their families, women are used to taking care of their babies at home, merchants are used to dumping goods back and forth, farmers are used to paying taxes and serving, nobles are used to governing, and sacrifices are used to being ...... gods."

"The army is accustomed to violence, the officials are accustomed to orders, the author is accustomed to procrastination, the lords are accustomed to command, and the king is accustomed to being on the throne......"

"People are used to paying for things, getting used to being punished for doing bad things, bowing their heads in the face of death, and bowing their heads in the face ......of vitality."

The Duke spoke quickly, as if he were climbing a mountain with no summit in sight:

Cyril seemed to be in a trance, his left hand brushing the old wall, but the expression on his face became serious.

This made Tails sit up straight unconsciously.

"Habit, that's what they, every living creature we rule, have seen with their own eyes since they were born from their mother's womb, and the world is what it looks like;"

"That's what they've repeated and practiced in their limited years and lives, the way the world is;"

That's when they subconsciously respect, imitate, and believe after witnessing the actions and reactions of countless others again and again. ”

At this time, the Duke of the Western Wilderness, who was pressing on the wall with one hand, suddenly raised his head!

"Tails!"

The boy was startled.

Cyril stared at him coldly.

"People submit to our rule, respect our status, and be loyal to our identity, not because of how great we are, not because we are born noble, not because of how much grace we exert and coercion, not because we govern in a way that benefits all people, and not because your blood shines like a gift from God!"

"It's because they're used to it!"

The cold wind that seeped into the room from the window blew the Duke's leather robe and hair fluttering, and it seemed that the image of Cyril Falkenhause at the moment was strange and chilling.

Tails swallowed his throat subconsciously, he didn't have time to pay attention to the instinctive sarcasm in the duke's tone.

Cyril's eyes narrowed, but the sharp gaze that shot out of his eyes did not diminish for a minute.

"Because from the first day they opened their eyes to the world, their grandparents did it, their parents did it, their peers did it, so they themselves are used to doing it, and they have to convince their next generation to do the same. ”

Tails slowly frowned.

And this group of people shows the habits they are accustomed to to others, and another group of people—whether it be children, elders, relatives, neighbors, strangers, masters, servants, peers, superiors and subordinates—day after day, year after year. ”

Cyril froze in place, his tone becoming heavier and deeper, as if telling a most terrifying, chilling ghost story.

"Until everyone, including you and me, is disgusted with strangeness, disgusted with abnormality, and develops inertia, so that they realize that what violates habit is abnormal and needs to be eliminated. ”

Tails' expression tightened.

"And so these habits spread more and more, and became more and more serious, and more and more common, until we called them ......"

Cyril's tone revealed an unprecedented solemnity and gloom:

"Order. ”

A cold wind blew, causing Tails to wince, but the light outside the window could not give him any warmth.

Tails suddenly felt that this room at the top of the tower was so cold.

It's like......

Fuxing Palace in memory.

"Do you understand what I mean, Your Highness the Prince. ”

Cyril's words rang out again, pulling him back from somewhere else.

"It seems to me that this is the only, the fragile, the pitiful, but also the eternal, the powerful, the deep, that sustains our rule. ”

"And those who want to shake these habits, those who want to shake these orders......"

Cyril sneered faintly:

"It's all scary. ”

Actions that want to shake these habits and shake these orders......

Tails couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and snorted softly:

"Like this time, what the Legendary Wings did to the Bladefang camp?"

The Duke's voice paused for a second.

"Nope. ”

"It's not just so small, it's not so close, it's not just so light. ”

Hear Falkenhause's voice low, as if it contains centuries of sighs:

"For example, we all know that from a long, long time ago, a certain superior of the stars, nay, perhaps several superiors in successive generations, sprinkled the bait of royal power, and turned thousands of subordinates into enemies of the lords. ”

The words tugged at Tails' nerves.

The bait of kingship.

At that moment, Tails suddenly had the feeling that Cyril Falkenhause, this strange and outrageous persona non grata, had come here today for more than just to win over the second prince.

The prince became more and more serious.

"Through the ladder of royal power, they slowly climbed up, fighting back and forth with us feudal lords. ”

Cyril slowly paced back to the window, looking back at the desert camp under the window:

As a result, hundreds of years of rise and fall of families, the rotation of nobles, the ups and downs of countless people's fates, and the impermanence of life and death, finally created the kingdom today. ”

The Duke's voice was low and indistinct, but unmistakable.

"For hundreds of years, from the succession of families, the succession of titles, the adjudication of tax laws, the appointment and dismissal of officials, the judgment of laws, to the mobilization of the army, the Fuxing Palace has been snatched from the lords in a step-by-step but unstoppable manner, gently, slowly, but resolutely. ”

Hearing this, Tails couldn't help but think of the scene six years ago on the night of dragon's blood, when he spoke generously in front of five archdukes—and one female archduchess—about the current state of the stars.

He also remembered the story he had heard not long ago, which was told by the old people of the royal guard.

Hundreds of years of family ups and downs, nobles alternate......

The fate of countless people is ups and downs, and life and death are impermanent......

Tails pondered, not speaking.

"You know, while every move on both sides is clearly visible," Cyril leaned forward, as if to take a closer look at the view from the window, "but what really makes the game interesting...... It's in the number of steps that can be seen clearly, but there are countless possibilities. ”

It's like looking at his chessboard.

"Take one step and look at ten moves – every piece you move is not just associated with the board at the moment, but with a game of several moves, dozens of moves, or even hundreds of moves in the future. ”

As a result, the opponent after a hundred steps will not be able to parry, and the thrower will admit defeat - this is far more interesting than face-to-face, fist-to-fist battles. ”

For some reason, hearing this, Tails suddenly remembered the black sword.

The boy remembered the man's battle with Giza, and the black sword led him into the flesh and blood of the hydra Quilica.

From the location of the initial breakthrough to the choice of the breakthrough route, from the first step, Black Sword calculates and considers all the factors of the battle, so as to move towards victory step by step.

He's like a ...... who treats the battle as a chess game Chess player.

Cyril's voice was steady, his thinning hair shaking with his robe in the cold wind:

"Quietly but quietly, the spring breeze turns into rain and the autumn harvest of 10,000 seeds - this is the clever way of the 'virtuous monarch', isn't it. ”

Virtuous Gentleman.

Tails was slightly stunned.

"Xianjun?" he subconsciously repeated.

Cyril turned abruptly, revealing a frowning "witty" smile, and his tone returned to his usual "cordial":

"Why, do you think, after so many years, from that ridiculous state is meeting to the damn royal bank, especially those of us who are in it, no matter how stupid and dull it is, no one really can see it?"

Tails' heart sank.

The Duke raised his head and narrowed his eyes:

"Just like me, many of us know that. ”

"There's just nothing you can do. ”

I know it.

Powerless.

Tails took a deep breath.

He couldn't help but think of the look on Rumba's heartfelt face when he mentioned Xianjun in the carriage.

Once it falls, a century-old chess game.

Tails' eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Why, why this expression?"

The duke looked at the scenery under the window, rather carelessly:

"The old crow said in the letter, you're quite interested in Xianjun, aren't you?"

Tails shook his head:

"I'm just ......"

The prince's words came to an abrupt end.

Wait a minute.

Tails realized something, and his eyes widened!

"Old crow?"

The prince looked up sharply and lost his voice:

"You know him?"

"Know him, hmph, Prince Tails......"

Cyril's laughter followed the wind.

"When Merry Hipser set out from the Land of Dragon's Kiss, passed through the Three Kingdoms of the Lost Sea into the Realm of Stars, and then traveled thousands of miles north to Exeter, who do you think he sent to escort him through the desert?"

Tails froze.

Merry Hipser, crossing the desert and heading north to Exeter......

However, how did the Duke of the Western Wilderness of the Stars and the Elderly Bachelor of the Duchy of Anrenzo meet?

Cyril seemed to sense his doubts.

The Duke let out a long breath, and a hint of nostalgia appeared in his ugly voice:

"When I was young and stubborn, I had a special bachelor teacher from the Dragon's Kiss. ”

Tails' ears moved.

Speaking of this, the Duke shook his head and laughed:

"Until his uncle found out that his bachelor's qualifications were forged, and in his rage he stripped Sixer of the essence and threw him into the desert—ah, the youth that one misses. ”

Tails blinked, and it took a few seconds to sort out the cause and effect.

That is to say.

The Duke of the Western Wilderness, and the old crow Hipser......

The surprise on Tails' face became more and more apparent.

Putirai said that the old man had been a teacher to many big people.

It doesn't seem to be ......

Brag?

"Me and you, Your Highness the Prince, we are connected to each other in many places that we cannot see. ”

The Duke of the Western Wilderness's laughter grew louder and louder until he turned from the window.

I only heard Cyril speak as if inadvertently:

"As for the question you just asked, who taught me to speak like that, and whether he specializes in teaching stupid people......

Duke Falkenhause's eyes narrowed slowly.

At that moment, Tails suddenly felt a little stiff on his face.

Boom!

Cyril's crutches thumped heavily on the ground.

"Of course Hipser taught stupidity, I think...... What do you say?"

The Duke narrowed his eyes and stared straight at Tails, revealing a malicious intent that could not be concealed:

"Your Highness?"

At that moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Faced with this unanswerable question, it took a long time for Tails to pull his fly-eaten expression and barely show an embarrassed smile.

What a.

With the Duke of the Western Wilderness's vengeful gaze, Tails changed the topic with difficulty:

"I kind of know what you want to do. ”

Tails looked up.

He began to slowly get used to the other party's seemingly nonchalant, but in fact, witty and hidden characteristics of conversation.

"There is nothing you can do in the face of the Fuxing Palace, so you are counting on me, counting on a new king, to change the kingdom from the throne?"

But to his surprise, Falkenhause shook his head again.

"First of all, it's not 'we', it's just me. ”

Tails was slightly stunned.

"And secondly, to change the kingdom?" said the duke, in a low voice.

"With or without you, the kingdom is always changing. ”

Cyril walked around the wall again, pacing with a limp and a pause, his right hand tapping the furnishings of the room from time to time, as if remembering something:

"Exactly, the whole world is changing, not just at this moment, not just a hundred years ago, not just six hundred years ago. ”

The Duke of the West Wilderness's eyes flashed with **:

"From the forced mobilization of the lords of the whole country by John the 'Black Eye' with the power of the king, to the promulgation of the 'Succession Bill' by Sume II the 'Broken Pulse', the crown priest of the setting sun by Tormund IV the 'Cutter', and the passage of the King's tax law by the 'creditor' Elam III. ”

"Until the unprecedented reform of the 'Virtuous King' Middleis III, and the initiative of the 'Poet' Eddy I to summon the nobles to reside in the city of Eternal Star. ”

The owner of the Falkenhauges family put down his right hand, turned back to face Tails, and looked at Tails with a deep gaze:

"Even today, your father's iron-fisted rule has almost provoked public outrage. ”

"The world is changing every minute, not just the virtuous generation. ”

Tails was uncomfortable with him, and involuntarily hugged his arms tighter and tighter.

From the second king of the stars, Blackeye John, to Cather, he suddenly discovered that the historical span mentioned by Cyril was far beyond what Lombard mentioned in Valhalla in Longxiao City.

It's not just a virtuous gentleman.

More than that...... Kessel.

"Every minute is changing...... This sounds familiar. ”

The prince sighed:

"You're probably a student of Old Crow. ”

Cyril snorted softly:

"Hipser, he opened my eyes, and my mind, my heart. ”

But then his gaze changed:

"But what about you, His Highness Tyres, heir to the kingdom?"

"Did you open them?"

The two were silent for a moment.

"If I opened them too, what would you like me to see?"

Tails lowered his expression and said slowly.

Cyril didn't laugh.

He just looked at Tails earnestly.

It seemed that this was the moment he was waiting for.

"Six years ago the state was a council, Prince," Falkenhause whispered:

"Tell me, what do you see?"

Six years ago.

The state is the meeting.

Tails thought about the fateful meeting again, and he couldn't help but lower his arms.

But the boy did not read much, but replied briefly and carefully:

"My father won. ”

Cyril snorted coldly.

"Yes, your father won. ”

"He triumphed, not just at a conference, but throughout the kingdom, in the eighteen years after his desperate coronation as king. ”

Tails clenched his fists.

"But ......"

Sure enough, the Duke of the Western Wilderness changed his words, and his words became short and fast, with ups and downs.

"The conspiracy has been revealed, the backbone has been lost, and the north is at rest, but do you think those people in the north who are from the same source as Exeter will be convinced and relieved?"

Northland.

Tails remembered Miranda Arronde, with whom he had a "fellow bond".

"The Blade Lords may be dependent on royal power, but don't forget, it's the Blade Province, which has been known for its bandit since the Empire, and the rebellion of the Scarlet Year was the cause of it. ”

Blade Collar.

The Duchess of Blade, Lyanna Therbuck's vague face flashed through Tails's mind.

"And the cliffs have long been unstoppable, and they are ready to move—you must know that Cost-Namtoper is not a fuel-efficient lamp. ”

Cliffs.

Tails' eyes floated in front of him with an aggressive face that had only one eye left.

"As for us in the West," Falkenhause paid attention to Tails' expression, a deep fear on his withered and ugly face:

"Look at what the Blade Fang Camp has been going through in the past few days, Prince, and tell me: What will the Fuxing Palace gain from the Western Wilderness Lords below me?"

"Those vassals in my name, will they tremble in front of the Wings of Legends, or will they grit their teeth and hide hatred?"

Thinking of Roman's arrogance in the face of almost everyone, Tails couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"You mean these actions of my father," the prince said after a long absence, seriously considering the duke's words:

"Will it end up being a mess that will be hard to clean up?"

"Even with his wrist?"

Cyril shook his head, and at this moment, the Duke of the Western Wilderness rarely faded his witty and humorous (ignorant of current affairs?) attitude, and his tone was gloomy:

"What do you have to understand that the height of your father's wrists has nothing to do with the outcome of his obstinateness?"

And not only him, but countless others, whether on the king's side like the pro-kings or opposite him like Cousin, their growing contradictions would have unforeseen consequences. ”

Tails gritted his teeth.

He had long remembered that his father, Kessel V, was the one who had the upper hand in the political struggles of the kingdom and firmly suppressed his opponents.

However, what Falkenhause said......

Does it really make sense?

Cyril let out a long breath, put down his inconvenient left foot, and pressed his cane with both hands.

"Perhaps it is a trend and an inevitability that the era of lords dominating one side and many princes of the kingdom is slowly passing away," the duke thoughtfully:

"Maybe this is the raging trend of the stars, which never stops. ”

"And any attempt to stop it without self-restraint is futile and foolish. ”

But Falkenhause finally raised his head and looked at the same pensive prince:

But in the same way, it would be just as foolish for anyone to be impatient and want to take advantage of the general situation to push the tide, compress the time, and speed up the progress so that they can see the end in their hearts as soon as possible. ”

Impatient.

Just as stupid.

Tails didn't speak.

I don't know if he listened to Tails' advice, Cyril kept his seriousness at the moment:

"Governing the country has never been immediate, even if you are wise and wise as a 'virtuous king', you must be careful to settle the situation, and you must observe the results for a hundred years: you cannot hold the mind of 'finish the work in one battle', rudely, arbitrarily and eagerly short-sightedly decide the fate of thousands of people. ”

He sighed:

"Like Tormond II, Cather, and John II, the Talon, their biographies seem to be great, but in fact they are deeply buried. ”

"It's only going to get worse. ”

Falkenhause closed his mouth in deep thought, and he stood still, letting the cold wind blow through his leather robe.

It seems that the war is great, but in fact, the root cause of the disaster is deeply buried.

For some reason, Tails suddenly remembered King Nunn.

and after the death of this born king, Longxiao City, where many people rebelled and were attacked on all sides, and Valhalla, which had an unstable foundation and was in turmoil.

And the poor girl who sat tremblingly in the Grand Duke's seat, and couldn't even put the 'Triumph' ring on her thumb.

Tails was silent for a long time before he snorted softly:

"My father wouldn't like to hear that. ”

Cyril raised his eyes:

"So you don't have to be in front of him. ”

"Unless you reach the day when you can mention it. ”

Tails tried his best to ignore the hidden meaning of the other man's words, and spoke:

"But as you said, the tide never stops, and any attempt to stand in its way is futile and foolish. ”

"If, if all this is just an obstacle that will be overcome......"

"Is it just the way to get to the top?"

After hearing this, Cyril was silent at first, and then sneered in response.

"Just?"

The Duke re-pulled up his crutches and limped closer to Tails.

But Tails felt that the terrifying face of the Duke of the Western Wilderness was no longer so difficult to accept.

"Be careful with your words, Tails, I'm sure the old ravens warned us. ”

I saw Cyril Falkenhause's expression solemn:

"Don't let the arrogance of the high ruin you - whether that pride comes from the comfort of sitting on the throne or the contemptuous self-esteem of looking down on the history books. ”

Feeling the resoluteness in the other party's tone, Tails couldn't help but tense his body.

"As for the obstacles that must be crossed and the way to the top, you need to know ......"

In the cold wind, the sharp gaze and sharp voice of the Duke of the Western Wilderness were pressed by both two-way tails:

"The darkness is especially terrifying when dawn is approaching. ”

"Before the storm left, the destruction was intense. ”

This chapter has been changed by about seven or eight drafts.

(End of chapter)