Thank you, I will remember your kindness, and thank you for your concern for your daughter, and wish her a happy eleventh birthday, Baron Bourbon. ”

Tails politely raised his glass from his seat and sent off a guest who had come up to toast him, returning his attention to the hustle and bustle of the banquet.

As it turned out, after successfully surviving the awkwardness of the beginning, the Saint Day feast was easier than Tails had expected.

In the melodious music, not only the guests enjoyed the feast and chatted eagerly, but the servants of the Mindis Hall also served the food back and forth all the time, and the attendants of many guests shuttled between different long tables, or helped to serve wine, or passed the word on behalf of the host, completing service and social tasks again and again.

In the center of the ballroom, like Exeter, there is an open space, which serves as both a stage and a dance floor, where bards, clowns, acrobats, performers, dancers, and different performers take turns to show their abilities.

For example, at this time, a bard is pacing with a piano in his arms and has already begun his performance:

"This song is a new work inspired by years of visiting the Western Wilderness, which tells the story of eleven years ago, King Kessel led his army deep into the desert and killed the enemy chieftain in the Battle of the Altar......"

It was familiar to Tails, who were often the bards in the Sunset Bar when he was a beggar, but their clothes were by no means so neat, and their singing and piano skills were uneven.

In the midst of the melodious and atmospheric singing of the bards, the dishes are still being updated, and they are served to the long table in order:

There are no less than five kinds of cheese soup, vegetables and fruits, roasted bird's eggs of strange size, sturgeon soup, oatmeal, poor pork blood sausage, pastrami, roast chicken in sauce, venison stew, all kinds of unnamed poultry and game, raw and cooked seashells, meatballs of terrible size, more than a dozen different styles of bread, pancakes, pies, and all kinds of magical dishes that you can't even see the ingredients......

Of course, this includes a variety of essential drinks.

What should I say, his dad is really rich?

Tails sighed.

Well, the Xingchen people do have a set of food, at least compared to the Northland people in Longxiao City who can only roast and roast and stew......

Longxiao City.

As soon as he thought of this, Tails' mood sank.

"What, can't you get used to it?"

Aunt Elise next to him noticed him.

"No, it's just too many choices......" Tails looked at a plate of beans, absent-mindedly:

"I don't know where to start. ”

Princess Elise elegantly divided the vegetables on her plate, as if she sighed:

"You should go to the Dragon's Kiss Basin and talk about how delicate and demanding the dishes are of the nobles of Alenzo...... Of course, I can't get used to their tastes...... Once you get used to one place, it's hard to get used to the delicious ...... of another place."

Tails smiled reluctantly, but finally followed his aunt's example and extended his claws to a plate of lettuce that looked very small and fresh.

Someone poked him.

Tails turned around and saw that it was Doyle at the side table behind him, his cheeks bulging to the brim.

"Your Highness, you can take it," Doyle swallowed hard, and despite the contemptuous look of Colover beside him, he pointed to Tails' table and whispered:

"Can you hand me the seasoned salt, by the way, including the plate of beef on your left......"

Tails frowned:

"Don't you have it on your desk?"

"Yes, yes, but I always feel that the food served from your table is very pleasant......

Tails sighed.

He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he quietly leaned forward, pushed the plate of beef behind his armpit, and stuffed it to Doyle:

"You're really not polite......"

Doyle tacitly and skillfully took the food brought to him by the prince, and smiled flatteringly:

"Because the Lord is not there...... Ahem, I mean, because you're the best and gentlest Your Highness in the world......"

Tails rolled his eyes and continued to deal with his lettuce.

D.D sends the beef in the direction of Glovor, but the zombie just turns his head disdainfully and continues to drink his beer.

Doyle shrugged indifferently and ate himself:

"Your loss. ”

As time passed, the music played round after round, the performers changed again and again, the interest of the guests increased, the atmosphere in the banquet became more and more enthusiastic, and more and more guests left their seats to toast and actively talk.

Thankfully, Tails' burden wasn't too heavy, as most of the people were shunted to the highest table, his father.

A royal banquet that has been rare for more than a decade, there are many guests who want to take advantage of this informal occasion to make a pilgrimage to the king.

King Kessel's expression was still calm, but he could dine for no more than a minute—every time guests of different backgrounds and classes came up to meet the king with their friends or alone, they came up to meet the king respectfully and expectantly, interrupting his pitiful rest time, and even the captain of Adrian's guard and the chief of Quentin, including Gilbert and Juke Mann and other important royal officials, had to come frequently to help toast and divert the rescue.

Although the iron-fisted king has a cold temperament, on this occasion, he also had to raise his glass frequently, respond with his head bowed, and post two warm words from time to time.

In just half an hour, there were twenty or thirty guests who came to the king to pay homage.

Tails was amazed.

"Don't laugh," Aunt Elise said indifferently, ruining his mood with one sentence:

"You will be the same in the future. ”

Tails sighed.

He couldn't enjoy his meal with peace of mind, so he abused his lettuce dishes without a match, and at the same time called on the sins of the river to strengthen his senses and pay attention to his surroundings.

Compared to the banquets of the Northland aristocracy, where only male guests were present, except for eating, drinking, and exercising, the occasion of the stars was much more open, not only was it not limited to men and women (and therefore it was much more elegant), and when it was drunk, restless and eager men were often seen leaving their seats to toast the girls who were dressed up and dressed in glamour.

Even many young, beautiful, lively and active young women will take the initiative to leave their seats, ignoring the white eyes and hostility of the men in their families, leaving their surveillance, chatting and laughing with their favorite objects, exchanging glasses, and even entering the dance floor when the dance music is playing.

It is happy, and the guests and hosts are happy.

But is that really the case?

Tails' heart moved, and the sounds of conversation in all directions filtered and intensified through the senses of hell and entered his ears.

"Oh, yes?" 'Convince my father to come and propose'? Hmph, that's what you said last time, and you think that after you say that, I'll sneak out at night and let you you for nothing, by the way, I'm engaged, and it's not yours in my belly!"

Yes, the other party's family background is noble, but I will only marry my daughter there if I am blind. I visited them once the year before last, and I still can't forget a small village in the mountains, which is comparable to the campfire mating custom of primitive people...... "This is a local nobleman of the Central Domain."

Tails kept smiling, and the hellish senses fed back to him in his hearing, mostly a variety of royal gossip and social conversations, but the content of the guests' conversations was quite different in different directions and at different long tables.

"After the year of blood, everyone found that the 20,000 farmers brought from the farmland for 1,000 gold coins are not as effective as the 200 professional soldiers raised by 1,000 gold coins, do you remember the scene when the 2,000 legions of the Duke of Star Lake, oh, the last Duke of Star Lake, drove tens of thousands of rebels all over the mountains......

This is the long table of the Honored Soldiers, and their theme is sharp:

"I was thinking, since the prince is also back, then should we go north to take revenge? If there is a war, with your qualifications, how can you be a deputy general of the guard, right? You must know that after the retirement of the 'horse slayer' Dilla, he climbed the high branches, and he became the head of the guard hall......

"My son is studying grammar and theology, as well as mathematics," said a political bureaucrat at the next table, anxiously chatting with his colleagues about his nephew's way out.

"He has a high spirit, he wants to stay in Yongxing City, maybe he wants to be a civil official in the government department, and maybe he wants to earn a knighthood. But I hope he will go back to his hometown to find a job, after all, the South Bank is far away from the war, and the governance is good, and the Emerald City is even more prosperous and comfortable, and it is better than the royal capital......"

"I'm so envious, my nephew is my heir, he is determined to learn martial arts, and dreams of becoming an orthodox knight. But you also know that unless you were born with a good surname, the current knighthood is a joke, and there is no orthodoxy at all? Look at the three handsomes, they are all knights in name, but a northerner, a man's wife, and a disgusting male prostitute who eats with his face......"

Tails sighed, his real name sympathizing with the legendary wings who were said to be able to unify the Western Continent with their faces.

"Yes, Exeter has no hostages, which has only increased the risk of war between the two countries, and with their endless infighting, believe me, the northern trade route has come to an end. Potential business in the future is concentrated in the west and south, so if you are interested, we may wish to discuss it in detail......"

This is a long table between the head of the bank and the merchants, and the conversation is biased towards business and business:

"Twenty years later, a new round of concession sales should be on the agenda, maybe we should find a replacement ...... for the dead"

“...... He had to do this, and his family's loan at the royal bank was almost due. If you don't bet on this voyage fleet, you can only transfer the fiefdom and make up for the shortfall......"

Tails didn't know much about these business scriptures, so he turned his attention to the tables of the central dignitaries:

"No, the riots on the border of the Western Wilderness in the past few months are only local incidents and will not affect the policy of the kingdom, the reaction of the local nobles is only their private behavior, and the relationship between the royal family and the Western Wilderness is very good...... No, no, no, this is certainly not an official statement from the Foreign Affairs Division, but just my personal opinion, although I do work in the Foreign Affairs Division...... "This is Gilbert.

"A lord ordered the removal of the servants, and demanded that the people pay for their money, otherwise they had to give up their land...... No, no, no, in fact, His Majesty didn't say anything...... "This is Chancellor of the Exchequer Jucoe Man."

"Of course, the so-called 'abstinence is pure, it is God's will', that is already an outdated old view. On the contrary, if your fiefdom has a prosperous market and abundant goods, you can attract more money, and you will be able to do more favors, which must be in line with the will of the sunset...... "This is the Vice-Bishop of Stylianides.

"Yes, one of the barons of the Blade Lords died in the plague, but he had only one illegitimate child under his knees...... The bastard promised a large sum of money for the duchess to recognize his inheritance...... The baron's subordinate vassals obviously disagreed, so they approached Eternal Star City and asked His Majesty to decide. At this point, the doorway is complicated, and no one dares to take this case......"

The Sins of the River roared, bringing more and more table conversations into his ears.

Tails listened absentmindedly, trying to find out the focus of the guests and the royal circle, and trying to find out the current situation of the kingdom from these words, but suddenly he had a strange feeling.

In Longxiao City, whether it is a banquet, a political day, a grand duke, or an earl, the private chats of the nobles of Exeter are always straightforward and angular:

Fiefdoms, feuds, power, marriage, the way of the Northland......

It is often heavy and cold, like dark clouds pressing down.

But here, in the stars......

"In what era, there are really people who believe that a marriage contract and two surnames can be combined to build a family alliance? Now it will only bring huge maintenance costs and sky-high land and title recognition fees, as well as the division struggle within the family......"

"Your Excellency, you are still thinking about exploiting the peasants and collecting taxes to get rich? Sunset, you should really open your eyes, learn from your peers in the South Coast and the East China Sea Territory, from the trade guild to the chamber of commerce, from the business franchise to the market monopoly, and make good use of our identity and power, in this era, we have too many ways to gain both profit and fame......"

"Talk to him less...... This guy used to be rough and stupid, and he didn't change his mind when he became a lord, and his way of ruling was all the most primitive and unsolvable, and I tell you, it will decline in less than two generations......"

Tails listened silently and began to realize.

In Yongxing City, the socialization and conversation of the nobles of the stars are so ......

Restlessness.

Disturbed.

Fiery.

Constant change.

Tails took a deep breath and suddenly had a more intuitive understanding of the Star Kingdom.

Mindis Room.

Tails looked at this royal manor and sighed in his heart:

Mindis.

Look at the good things you've done.

But before he could finish his emotion, Jorge's voice entered his ears:

"Lie down, let me tell you, when the clouds were thick, and the lightning and thunder roared, I saw the dying king of heaven grasping your North Star and our little dragon chicks on the other, and put their little hands together, and asked Gu on his deathbed: 'Only true love that is heart-to-heart can summon the true dragon to come to the world and save this city!'"

Tails' expression darkened, and he looked around.

I saw that in the side table of foreign guests, Jorge of Elk City was drunk and frank, and said spittle:

"When the king passed away suddenly, the little dragon chick trembled with anger and was furious, and saw her face the calamity, and raised her head to the sky and shouted: 'The dragon is immortal, Walton will avenge this!' North Star stood arm in hand with her, looking at death as if it were home: 'If you are determined to fight, the bright star will live and die!' The next moment, only to hear a bang, guess what? Wow, they called a real dragon! It was too late, it was too fast, and I saw the real dragon fall from the sky, and the calamity was killed on the spot......

Damn it.

Tails listened for a while with a gloomy face, only to feel that his mood was worse, so he simply turned in a different direction to listen.

But he quickly reacted that in many dialogues, he himself was the protagonist.

"I think that we should choose a prince and princess who are not so high-born, just like Queen Koya, it is better to have a little affinity with the commoners, after all, it is not as good as before, and Prince Tails is not the Midil of the past......"

"I heard from the merchants who went north that Prince Tails was a man who dared to fight the Yankees, and he dared to duel with the five Grand Dukes at a young age......"

"So he lived through the catastrophe and survived?"

"No, it's not a disaster, I have gossip, in fact, back then, it was a secret conspiracy of a secret cult group trying to manipulate the political situation and subvert Exeter......"

"Don't believe these gossip! I have an inside line in Longxiao City, and I know a lot about it, so let's put the conclusion out first: it was a big earthquake, and after the disaster, the upper echelons of the Yankees wanted to divert their focus and escape from the public, so they made up an excuse for the invasion of the disaster. ”

"What did the dragon say?"

"It's also made up! Boost morale and win people's hearts. Think about it, the timing of the dragon's birth, the timing of King Exeter's death, the timing of Rumba's claim to be king, and their seizure of the prince, eh, such a product, the truth is about to come out, right? What is the truth? Hehe, I can't go any further, I can taste it myself, and I understand it naturally. In a word, we should not look at the problem in isolation and one-sidedly, but look at the forced, you know, the, the overall situation! In the forced of the national strategy, everything is linked together......

"I see, you are still far-sighted, you know how to force, and you deserve to be a professional ......"

"Where, where...... Thank you for the invitation, I was in Exeter before, and I just got off the carriage, no, I was asked by you as soon as I came......"

Tails could only snort softly in his heart.

"But why do I think the prince and the rumba are like a gang? You see, they sow discord among the Northlanders, first kill the Grand Duke of Fengzhao, and then join forces to get rid ......of King Nunn?

Tails' face changed.

"Shhh......h If you think about it, you know, what kind of existence is our Star Kingdom, how many things are too busy every day, will we do this kind of thing? ”

"I heard that the prince hooked the female grand duke of Longxiao City into a puzzle, and wanted to die or live for him...... Ha, think about it, that mother-in-law knows all the stinky rough men in the north, as soon as she sees us handsome, dashing and graceful, and knowledgeable and graceful star men, hehehe, then don't you immediately be shocked, can't extricate yourself, he won't marry?"

Well.

Hearing this, Tails' cheeks twitched.

Perhaps the Kingdom of the Stars and Exeter, what they have in common......

More than you think.

However, Thelma ......

Tails clenched his fists.

"You don't drink?"

Tails came back to his senses and found that it was Princess Elise next to him, and he saw that the aunt with a beautiful face was shaking the wine glass in her hand, tilting her head, and looking at him playfully.

Drink.

He looked at the new wine glass in his hand, and remembered a certain grand duke who had invited him to drink, and his heart was blocked.

The Duke of Star Lake was slightly distracted:

"Children don't ...... I mean, I don't like to drink. ”

Elise looked at it.

"Drink a little bit, and take a few sips. ”

There was a slight flush on the princess's face, and she clearly enjoyed the contents of the cup:

"According to the rules, members of the royal family, it is best not to let people see the pattern of eating......"

"yes, I heard that. ”

Tails sighed with a headache and looked around the lively banquet hall:

"Luckily, we sat high and no one was looking at me. ”

Elise chuckled and stared at the wine in her glass.

"Yes, no one is looking," said the princess, shaking her glass, her voice a little out of tune, and her gaze looked deep:

"But I bet that by tomorrow, you'll feel like everybody is watching you. ”

Tails saw that his aunt was a little drunk, smiled, and did not answer.

"Are you still used to it?"

Elise looked at him:

"The first banquet after you returned home, well, it is probably the first one held by the royal family in more than ten years, and everyone has to thank you. ”

Telston paused.

He looked at the increasingly lively banquet scene and hooked the corners of his mouth.

"I think it's good. ”

"It's peaceful, it's peaceful. ”

Tails let out a sigh of relief.

"Dozens of nobles have not unanimously identified you as an illegitimate bastard. ”

"No damned king will force you to go to the murderer of his son. ”

"Or a group of vicious northern men clamoring to dismantle you. ”

Tails was a little distracted:

"If you omit the part of meeting and greetings......"

"I have not encountered such a peaceful and festive gathering of nobles in a long time. ”

Tails was silent.

He suddenly felt a heat in his wrist.

"It's all right, Tails," Tails came back to his senses, and realized that it was Aunt Elise who was holding his wrist under the table, and said softly:

"It's fine. ”

The princess stared at him quietly, the tenderness in her eyes that Tails couldn't bear it.

At this moment, Marhos appeared next to them.

"Your Highness Princess," the watchman leaned down and whispered:

"It's time for you to go. ”

Elise let go of Tails' hand and frowned:

"Your Excellency?"

I saw Marlos lower his voice:

"The queen needs to go back to the palace, now. ”

"She's ......" Elise turned in the direction of the queen, and immediately reacted:

"Oh. ”

Tails narrowed his eyes: at the king's side, Queen Koya's face was pale and muttering, she was tightly grasped by one wrist by Genie, and the maids beside her were methodically geared.

Tails then heard a voice from his senses in Hell: "What about my kids? Luthor is still young, he's going to change his diaper......

His heart darkened.

Some of the guests noticed the queen, but most looked away and ignored it.

Marlos nodded:

"The Queen needs your help. ”

Princess Elise sighed slowly, gave Tails a helpless smile, and got up.

Marios thoughtfully put a cloak on her.

Tails could only say goodbye to her.

But just as she was turning to leave, the princess suddenly spoke.

"Tormond. ”

Hearing his name, Mallorston froze.

Elise looked at the queen, tightened her cloak, but said quietly:

"Do you regret it?"

Hearing this, Tails frowned, and his hand that was pulling the lettuce stiffened.

Marlos frowned, he paused, and repeated:

"The Queen needs you, Your Highness. ”

"I know. ”

Elise smiled, and glanced at the watchman, her eyes hazy and bleak:

"I regret it. ”

Marlos was stunned.

In the next second, Elise drifted away and joined the queen's team.

One second.

Two seconds.

In the extremely embarrassing silence, Tails cleared his throat, looked at the back of the captain of the guard who was standing extremely stiff, and said tentatively: "That, you and your aunt ...... her"

"Don't ask. ”

Without looking back, Marios sat down gently beside the prince:

"You're still my favorite Duke. ”

His tone was respectful and expressionless.

But Tails felt a chill in his heart for no reason.

Luckily, someone showed up just in time.

"That's bad luck. ”

Behind him, Doyle, who had returned from going to the toilet, patted Glovo on the shoulder and sat down with a grin:

"As the prince's bodyguard, we must cushion our stomachs in advance, we must not go to the banquet, we must not dance with the girls, we must not ...... God, it's so boring, I miss the old days. ”

Doyle yawned.

"You can," the watchman said, turning his head from his seat and glancing faintly at D.D.

"You can do exactly the same as before. ”

"Go down and join your father's table, join the feast, and dance and laugh with the girls. ”

Doyle shuddered!

Under the sympathetic eyes of both Glover and Tails, he stiffened to realize that it was his boss who was sitting in the seat of Princess Elise.

"Honor...... Lord?"

Doyle realized that the catastrophe was coming, and squeezed out an ugly smile.

Marlos snorted coldly:

"You know, I can get Vlatten to come up and take your place, so that you can enjoy, receive, feast, and meet. ”

Doyle said tremblingly:

"Substitute—substitute?"

"Yes, don't you know?" said Marlos looked at him expressionlessly, "In the Mindis Hall, no matter when and where, I can always find someone to take your place." ”

"Neither today. ”

"It's still the rest of your life. ”

Marios said in a gloomy voice:

"Always. ”

"Do you still want to go to a banquet?"

Doyle looked at Glouover and Tails in horror, but they both shook their heads at him pityingly:

It's not your fault, kid.

D.D swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then reacted, he shook his head and shook out a serious expression:

"No, no, sir, you're not right. ”

Marlos raised an eyebrow:

"What?"

I saw Doyle holding his head and arms high, awe-inspiring and generous:

"This body is either buried in the resting place of the throne, or buried in the bones of the emperor's life halfway, and there is no other end. ”

Doyle said with a righteous face:

"Banquet or something...... As royal guards, we should do our duty, how can we be selfish?"

Glove looked at him with disdain.

Tails sneered:

"Really, but there are a lot of ladies and ladies tonight, and a lot of nice unmarried girls......

"Oh, I don't have to mention this again," Doyle waved his hand, his expression resolute and unmoved: "Since you have His Royal Highness Tails by my side......"

“...... What more girl do I want?"

Tails had just elegantly pulled a piece of lettuce from his plate and shook it involuntarily.

The corners of his mouth were hooked, and he was about to say something, but he trembled slightly.

In the next second, Marlos turned his head sharply and looked at the hall!

At that moment, Tails shuddered.

He suddenly had the illusion that the watchman in front of him had turned into a sharp blade.

I saw Marlos staring at the entire banquet hall and said coldly:

"Doyle, you go to the banquet at once, blend in with the guests, and be careful, especially those with stiff expressions and stiff movements......"

Doyle still had a straight face:

"No, I'm here to protect Your Highness......"

But Marlos turned around with a grim expression:

"I'm serious!"

His appearance startled all three:

"Gloover, you go and inform Captain Adrian, let him quietly escort His Majesty away, and then gather his men. ”

"Sir," Glafo looked at him suspiciously:

"What's wrong?"

In the melodious and light music, Marios looked back at the lively banquet below, his eyes wary:

"Just now, someone glanced up from below. ”

Glanced?

Tails frowned:

"Who?"

"I don't know," Marlos shook his head:

"But I recognize that look, it's the resentment and despair of seeing death as home......"

Tails was stunned.

Death is like home.

Resentment and ...... Despair?

What do you mean?

"At tonight's banquet. ”

Under the suspicious gaze of the three, Marios slowly pressed the long sword at his waist and said with an expressionless face:

"There are assassins. ”

No matter how I write, I feel wrong, and I am so desperate to write.

(End of chapter)