Chapter 712: Through Fire and Water

"Hilley, you..."

Thales let out a long sigh. "Do you truly know what you are saying?"

"Of course I know!"

Hilley pressed her moist eyes, her expression returning to seriousness and her tone allowing no doubt.

"I am talking about marriage alliance, power, interests, the situation, politics, the kingdom's balance, Jade City's future, even His Majesty's ambition!"

Marriage alliance, power, interests, the situation, politics...

Thales only felt his heart sink.

"Then what about yourself?"

"Myself?"

Hilley froze.

"I am of the right age, healthy, not ugly, and most importantly, capable of bearing children. Is that not enough? People's requirements for a woman as a wife... oh, I understand."

The girl stared at Thales, whose gaze was dim, and came to a realization.

Her expression stiffened for several seconds, but it was soon replaced by a smile.

"What time is this, Thales? Are we still going to talk about old-fashioned things like love and liking, understanding and companionship, flowers beneath the moon and oaths upon mountains and seas? This is not some clichéd love story about Emperor Komora and Princess Elanna turning enemies into friends and eventually becoming lovers!"

Thales did not speak.

Hilley waved and snorted, as if discussing the most absurd thing.

"By the Deadly Iris above, how old are you, Thales? Have you taken politics lessons? Have you memorized the histories and outlines of the great families of Stars?"

She emphasized her words like a mature politician educating a child with no worldly experience.

"You are the king's son, and I am the duke's sister. We live in reality. We should be more advanced than those terms that only appear in romantic bard songs and adventure novels!"

But Thales only looked at her quietly and remained silent for a long while.

"Really?" The prince's face was calm, his eyes deep. "Does this kind of choice truly make us more... 'advanced'?"

He looked sincerely at Hilley. There was little questioning or correction in his eyes, and more confusion and inquiry.

Hilley widened her eyes as though seeing the person before her for the first time.

Several seconds later, deeply frustrated, she let out a long sigh and buried her face in her gloves.

The council hall fell silent. Thales looked at her and felt equally complicated.

"Is it because of this?"

The young lady still had her head lowered, but she gently raised her left hand and pulled off her glove.

"No, no, of course not," Thales said. Looking at the extra little finger on her hand, it took him several seconds to recover from the unfamiliar visual impact and turn back. "This has nothing to do with your hand. Your hand is fine. There is no problem. Truly, I like it very much, uh, not that kind of like..."

"Then why?" Hilley raised her head and interrupted him.

"Because..."

"Is it because of Jacque?" Hilley gripped her glove and pressed step by step. "Did that perverted monster who manipulates people's hearts truly scare the shit out of you?"

Thales paused.

Compared to the most terrible, most evil, most terrifying existence in this world, compared to the great magic it spent thousands of years inventing, establishing, and perfecting... I wish you victory over it, Your Highness, and that you become the evil beyond evil, the wickedness above wickedness!

Thales remembered Srimanny's foolish smile. He remembered that this cold-blooded and cunning defense lawyer might once have been a gentle and kind ordinary person. He remembered what fate, or soul bone, had done to him, and felt heavy, with sorrow beyond words.

"I truly do not like that 'friend' of yours, nor do I particularly want to see it again," Thales put away the memory and shook his head. "But no. It is not that either."

"Then you have someone else in your heart? That northern woman from Dragon Clouds City known as 'blood boiling'? Or that so-called duchess from the Tebark family who spends all day putting on airs and pretending to be a tough man? Oh, or do you actually not like women and cannot lie in the same bed as me? That is fine. There are plenty of marriages like that in the kingdom. As long as it is not announced outwardly, it can still..."

"No!" Thales, immersed in terrible memories, denied without thinking. "None of that. It is only, only because..."

"Because..." He remembered something, sighed, and wanted to speak but stopped.

Sunset above.

"Because this is not you," Hilley said softly in the next second.

Thales was startled and looked at her in surprise.

Hilley stared blankly at the glove with only five finger sleeves, her expression sorrowful.

"I understand now. No matter what I say, you will not agree, right? Because this simply is not something you would do, just like Zayen would not selflessly step back on his own."

Thales froze.

"Do you know? My brother said you are sentimental, inconsistent inside and out, changeable from front to back, indecisive..."

Hilley slowly, carefully, and seriously put the glove back on.

This was the first time Thales had observed her hand up close. The girl went finger by finger: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger... At the end, with the help of her other hand, she took a deep breath and pinched her little finger together with that slightly trembling, seemingly unwilling extra finger, then forced them with difficulty into the same finger sleeve.

Her voice was full of feeling as her left hand became five-fingered again.

"But if you ask me, you are simply the most stubborn, obstinate, closed-minded fool and idiot in this world. Stinking and hard, ignorant of flexibility, and utterly unreasonable."

Thales fell silent.

"Yes. Perhaps you are both right."

"You will not live long like that, do you know?" Hilley smiled. She looked at the great doors of the council hall, where the relief of Duke Kosa Questioning the People was carved, and spoke in a daze. "You will not live long."

Thales did not answer immediately. Only after a while did he say quietly:

"Is that so?"

The two were silent for a long while.

"Say, if..."

Hilley turned her head. Her smile was bleak.

"If none of the things before us existed, none of my brother's matter, none of your father's matter, no Renaissance Palace, no Emerald Palace, no arbitration, no regency, none of all these annoying things, only me, and you..." She stared at Thales, her gaze burning. "Would you agree?"

Thales froze.

Several seconds later, he turned his head with difficulty, avoiding Hilley's gaze, and forced out a smile.

"Agree to what?"

Hilley did not answer. She merely glanced at him deeply.

The girl seemed to understand something. She snorted softly and shook her head, her expression mocking.

Thales took a deep breath and only felt the atmosphere in the hall grow oppressive.

"My father told me personally," he spoke before she could, not knowing whether he truly wanted to explain or only wanted to escape the oppression and heaviness of this moment, "that exchanging marriage contracts for allies and loyalty is already outdated. The gains are limited and cannot satisfy his appetite."

The dim lamplight of the Ballard Room appeared before Thales' eyes.

"What he wants is absolute rule. Do you understand?"

Absolute.

The prince's thoughts drifted slightly.

And Thales, you must open a path through his absolute rule, full of merciless karmic fire.

Before he burns the entire kingdom to ash.

"Good."

Hilley's gaze sharpened when she heard this.

"You finally said something human."

She propped herself up on her arm and sighed softly.

"Instead of useless bullshit like 'walk your own road, do not walk someone else's road'..."

"Your brother will be fine," Thales said with certainty. "The reason is the same as why I helped Federico."

He looked seriously at the startled Hilley.

"If Zayen falls, then my father wins, a complete victory, irreversible."

Thales took a deep breath, his gaze firm.

"And believe me, I will not let it come true."

I will not.

Hilley looked at his calm yet resolute expression. At first she was somewhat surprised, but she soon understood something.

"You cannot do it alone," the girl said softly. "You need allies. Reliable allies."

Allies.

Allies?

If you perform too well... the people deceived into supporting you will gather into a rolling wave. With reputation, stance, faction, interest, connection, circumstance, and everything else, they will sweep you forward. They will not allow you to argue, will not allow you control, and will not allow you to regret.

Looking at the girl's attitude, Thales frowned.

"Hilley, frankly speaking, that idea of yours just now, marriage and such..."

"I know," Hilley said, rubbing her forehead, rather tired. "Please, it is not that bad, is it?"

Thales looked at her and smiled slightly.

"In fact, you are not the first person to propose an engagement to me."

"Oh, what a pity," Hilley first froze, then mocked aloud. "I came too late and cannot have your pure and flawless... first time?"

Thales laughed too.

"Not a pity at all." The prince recalled the past and shook his head in a daze. "That kind of experience is enough once."

"That bad?"

"Worse than that."

"Miranda Arunde is not that bad, is she?"

Thales was startled and turned his head with a frown.

"Do not be surprised how I know," Hilley said with a mysterious and solemn face, but in the end she could not help sighing and revealing the truth. "All right, Zayen's present fate is what her father suffered in the past, so I can understand very well why she would ask you for help, even with an engagement. Understand?"

Thales was silent and sank into thought.

Mira...

Since that is the case, Miranda Arunde, are you willing to be my knight?

I am willing, Your Highness.

"I must admit that the way she swings a sword is rather handsome. If it were me, I would want such a sword too. But as dowry, Cold Castle's circumstances and status are far from what they once were, and..."

"Not her," Thales interrupted in a daze. "The first time I was proposed to was by an ugly old woman who liked sucking people's blood."

Hilley froze.

"Someone who liked sucking... ugly old... sorry, what kind of person?"

Betrayal is the true meaning of alliance.

Thales sighed and touched the side of his neck.

"Even now, she remains full of hatred, dreaming of draining me dry, tearing me apart, eating me clean, chewing me to pieces, then swallowing me into her stomach to digest."

Hilley was startled by this string of words. She turned her eyes and chose her words carefully.

"Uh, was she unable to accept breaking up with you, or was your way of rejecting people simply too excessive and heartless?"

Thales shook his head and did not answer her question.

"Because of her, I made a terrible choice, a wrong choice, a self-righteous choice. Many people sacrificed themselves for it and died in the birch forest of the North Territory," Thales remembered the past, his mood low. "Because of my choice."

And if he had not corrected the disorder in time, if he had not rushed to Broken Dragon Fortress in time, even more people would have died at the border, died in the war between the two countries afterward.

Hilley sensed the prince's emotions and smiled slightly.

"Then from now on... choose your partner more wisely?"

Hilley fulfilled her word and set an example, wisely not asking more about the ugly old woman.

But when Thales heard this, he froze.

More wisely...

"Yes. So I must choose more wisely," Thales stared at Hilley's face, gradually distracted. "More carefully, more attentively, more cautiously, more responsibly, especially when facing... someone like my father."

Hilley blushed slightly under his stare and grew a little awkward.

"Right. Then we work together and deceive him," Hilley tried to change the subject and return to the earlier context. "You and I. We cooperate, connect, communicate, conspire, then keep a low profile and be obedient. Perhaps we create a little friction to dispel suspicion. We hide well, conceal ourselves well, confuse him, mislead him, make your father think he has complete control over you, and then one day, we..."

Hilley's words paused.

Thales came back to himself and raised an eyebrow.

"We?"

The young lady of Covendier took a deep breath and shrugged.

"We act."

Act?

Thales listened to her light answer and was silent for a long time.

"What is it?"

Thales lowered his head and closed his eyes, not letting the other party see his expression.

You had better understand. This is not some chess game or play. This is a true war.

The king's voice sounded by his ear.

And anyone, no matter his surname or name, no matter his status or power, whether wise or brave, enterprising or gentle, if he is self-righteous and dares stand in the middle of the battlefield...

"Hilley, you just said you and I cooperate and deceive him?" Thales opened his eyes and spoke faintly.

Will be smashed to pieces.

"Yes, deceive him, just like we perform magic together." Hilley's tone was matter-of-fact, as if the hope of saving her brother had been lit again. "Listen, I know this sounds childish, and I know His Majesty is not that easy to deceive. One can tell from how scared you and Zayen are..."

"Just like you deceived me before?"

Hilley froze when she heard this.

"What?"

Thales stared at her, his gaze sorrowful.

When Hilley met his eyes, she trembled slightly and instinctively avoided them.

But in the end, the prince said nothing. He merely shook his head sadly.

"Oh, you mean before," Hilley lowered her eyes and looked at her hand, forcing out a smile. "All right, I apologize. I should not have done that to you. But did I not say? I will not pretend to be a ghost to trick and scare you again..."

"I already know, Hilley, about the identity you claimed."

Thales spoke softly.

"I know you lied to me."

Hilley trembled at his voice.

"What are you... what lie..."

She raised her head with a puzzled face.

Until Thales gently raised a hand and stopped what she was about to say.

"I know that from the beginning, from the first day we met, you were lying to me," he looked at Hilley with sorrow. "You pretended to be the king's spy, pretended to be someone from the kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department to approach me and deceive my trust, so you could cooperate with your brother from inside and outside to deal with me..."

At that moment, Hilley's eyes widened.

She suddenly became anxious and tried to explain.

"No, I did not. I truly..."

"When we met at the banquet, you tried every way to prove to me that you were the king's person," Thales shook his head. "But the next day, you knew nothing about the Secret Intelligence Department's actions. When I began to suspect you, you immediately emphasized that you were in single-line contact only, telling me not to contact the Secret Intelligence Department and not to verify..."

"But, but I proved my identity! I really knew..."

Hilley tried hard to explain.

"Yes. 'On-the-spot decisions and discretionary judgment.' You knew the code phrase the king had spoken to me," Thales looked at her. His tone was calm, yet carried deep disappointment. "But since even Federico could know it, I suppose this was not much of a secret. You likely discovered it from some poorly confidential channel and took advantage of the situation to impersonate a spy."

Hilley's eyes widened, and she wanted to speak but stopped.

"As for just now, you even said that from looking at how scared Zayen and I are, one can tell the king is not that easy to deceive..."

Hilley's expression changed.

Thales laughed softly and no longer looked at the girl.

"For you to say something like that, needing to judge the king from my and Zayen's reactions... you have never seen the king, correct? At least, you have never spoken with him face to face."

Hilley looked incredulous.

"As for deceiving him... believe me, those who have truly faced my father," Thales looked at the great doors and gradually drifted into thought, "cannot possibly have that kind of confidence."

Hilley completely understood. She looked at Thales, speechless, her face pale.

"I..."

"I do not blame you. After all, you are Covendier's daughter," Thales sighed softly, only feeling physically and mentally exhausted. "Limited by your position. That is all."

Hilley stared at him blankly.

And Thales stared faintly at the council hall doors, expressionless, letting her look at him.

"I am sorry."

Several seconds later, Hilley's voice sounded, hollow and lost.

"I am sorry, Thales. I deceived you." Hilley took a deep breath and tried to suppress the tremor in her voice. "I truly am not the king's person. I did that only to win your trust. And your attention."

Thales nodded woodenly.

"Good. Thank you for your honesty, though it came a little late."

"But I..."

"You may be the girl with the greatest marriage value and benefits in the entire Kingdom of Stars, but forgive me, I cannot cooperate with, form an alliance with, let alone take by the hand in marriage and spend a lifetime with, a liar whose mouth is full of lies, who is habitually deceitful, who intends to control me, mislead me, and will sooner or later betray me," Thales interrupted her without changing expression. His tone was calm, but also cold.

Hilley trembled at his voice.

"I..."

"Good day, Cecilia." Thales turned his head and did not look at her even once. He merely pointed casually toward the door. "You may leave. Give my regards to Soul Bone Jacque."

Hilley did not speak.

The entire hall fell into deathly silence, leaving only Miss Covendier's rapid breathing.

But Thales did not turn back.

Not even a little.

Finally, after a very long time, Thales heard Hilley abruptly stand.

He still did not turn back.

"Believe it or not, brat," Cecilia's voice trembled, her breathing unstable, yet it carried her usual toughness and stubbornness. "But I, I did not cooperate with Zayen from inside and outside. He knew nothing of this. It has nothing to do with him. I acted on my own..."

"Enough."

Thales mercilessly interrupted her, indicating that he had no interest in this.

"It is no longer important."

He shook his head.

"As for your brother, there is no need to worry. I have my own arrangements for him, unless you can persuade him to bow his head, surrender, and hand over Jade City."

His final tone was hard and beyond doubt. The intent to send her away could not have been clearer.

Hilley's breathing began to quicken, accompanied by faint sobs.

But he still did not turn back.

"Very well."

The young lady's voice sounded by his ear, carrying a few traces of grievance and stubbornness through gritted teeth.

"Then let it be so."

The next second, Hilley's footsteps hurriedly sounded, heading toward the great doors.

Thales ultimately did not turn back.

Until the doors opened, then closed.

The footsteps went farther and farther, growing smaller, weaker, and finally vanishing into silence.

Thales exhaled deeply, only then turning his head in the empty hall to look at the closed doors.

"Good."

He spoke faintly.

At least...

At least she had left.