Chapter 76

Saving a person who has given up on life, whether intentionally or unintentionally, was not important to Xalan. He did not care about Tilrand's future, but now, he needed the value and benefits of saving him.

"Who are they?" Xalan asked again.

"The detained nobles of the kingdom." After a long silence, Tilrand glanced at Xalan beside him and said.

The two contrasting terms, ingratitude and gratitude, seemed hard to apply to Tilrand. His willingness to speak did not necessarily mean his gratitude.

"Why?"

If the purpose of detaining those noble ministers was to use them as a crucial bargaining chip to coerce the king, then what was the purpose of the black-robed people mentioned by Tilrand?

"Do you want to know?"

"Are you willing to tell?"

"Who are you?"

"Norvid Silandorf Arai."

This was the second time Xalan had used his pseudonym.

"Oh?" The familiar name circled in Tilrand's mind a few times before he suddenly remembered the escape of the nobles that Angiro had reported to him. Among them was the name Norvid Silandorf Arai.

"Are you the one who escaped with the Earl of Amanta when we were guarding you in the Comprehensive Building?"

"Do you know me?" Xalan frowned slightly.

"Of course, my deputy once reported to me about your escape. The nobles who conspired with you had to reveal your identities to save their lives," Tilrand said.

So that's how it is. Although this unexpected turn of events was somewhat surprising to Xalan, it was ultimately a good thing.

"What puzzles me is, since you escaped our custody, why didn't you leave? Instead, you risked your life to save me. What is your purpose?"

He was very puzzled.

"If I say it's just out of curiosity, would you believe me?" Seeing Tilrand's smiling but silent face, Xalan slowly said, "I was excited to participate in the grand and rare school festival, but then I was inexplicably kidnapped. I think anyone would be angry and want to understand the cause and effect."

"Your lies can deceive others, but not me," Tilrand said, looking into his eyes.

"But this lie can prove that I am innocent," Xalan said with a calm smile.

...

"If Vason is correct, this road leads to the back gate that was sealed off years ago."

Rachy and Maggie stopped at a fork in the road in front of the school. The dim streetlights elongated the shadows of the young girls. In the quiet night, the cold wind blew, making them feel a chill.

Occasionally, the wind would howl through the dark forest, causing Maggie to huddle closer to Rachy's hand. In the vast school, the two lonely figures felt a无形的恐惧影响着心灵。

沿着拉琪指向的道路，玛姬远远看去，仿佛无尽的黑暗吞噬而来。

不是所有女生都像拉琪这般胆大，冷静的娇俏面容看不出任何表情，仿佛丝毫未被外界影响着她的情绪。

“拉琪，如果他们已经离开了学院怎么办？”想到心中挂念的夏兰哥哥，玛姬开口关心问道。

“玛姬——”

拉琪轻叹口气，转身面对玛姬正视道：“你喜欢他吗？不，或许我应该说，你爱他吗？”

看着拉琪一副郑重的模样，玛姬鼓起勇气抬头道：“是的！玛姬很喜欢夏兰哥哥。”

“能告诉我你喜欢他的理由吗？”拉琪紧接着问道。“千万不要说因为他曾经救了你而喜欢，因为那不是爱。”

“不是的。”玛姬连忙在胸前摆着小手，白皙小巧的脸蛋上难得露出认真的模样，道：“我喜欢夏兰哥哥并不是因为他曾经救了我，虽然我心中一直对他存在着感激，但是我却从没有因为感激而喜欢，你没有看见过夏兰哥哥的真正模样，冰冷，无情。很多时候你会很害怕，可是当你忘记害怕的时候，你会发现他很孤独，痛苦。”

“我一直都不了解夏兰哥哥，他的来历，他的过往……但是这都不重要，因为我喜欢他，心疼他，时时刻刻都想在他的身边照顾他，不愿让他痛苦，不愿让他难过。每次看见他的笑脸都会感到高兴，仿佛全身洋溢着暖意……喜欢一个人没有理由，因为你的心会告诉自己，你喜欢的就是这一个人。”

安静地听完玛姬一口气说完的自我表白，拉琪伸出手，在她急促话语下造成咳喘的背后轻轻拍打着。

“如果真正喜欢一个人，在他生死未卜的情况下怎么能够轻言放弃？内心的徘徊退缩只会让你的感情得不到真正的回报。”

玛姬终于理解拉琪最初话里的用意，这份单方向的感情里，她在一往无前的坚持中犹豫了。

没有回报，没有结果，在那未知的感情前方仿佛陷入了迷宫迷茫。

她伸手握住了拉琪的手向前踏出了一步。

“拉琪，我们走吧。”

即使没有结果，但至少曾经自己努力过，付出过，不留遗憾。

...

“现在能否告诉我，他们的目的是什么吗？”

“自始至终，他们的目的都是在削弱陛下的权柄。”

石椅上的两人，夏兰与提尔兰特，阻碍在他们间的交涉终于破冰。

“那些勋贵大臣们是陛下最忠实的拥护者，如果他们死了，权利的突然真空会让许多人得到机会，而陛下不可能独揽这份权利盛宴；如此一来，陛下的权势遭受限制，此消彼长之下，心有所图之人便能更多介入控制权利当中。”提尔兰特冷冷解释道。“当初的合作，他们的实际目的恐怕便是利用我来达到光明正大的谋杀！没想到……”

“没想到他们连王国近卫都敢刺杀，对吗？”夏兰插口道。

提尔兰特冷哼道：“王都的两支精锐军团虽然明面上在陛下的控制当中，但是这么些年来，难保其中的士官将领没有遭受反间叛离，而王国近卫不同，它从陛下登位开始便一直牢牢掌控其中，只要近卫不乱，陛下就拥有足够的军事力量保护着他的王位！哼，或许他也没有料到这次王国近卫三支大队之一的覆没……”

政治权势，军事权势，针对国王陛下的暗流似乎远远仍未结束，或许，这仅仅只是一个开端。

“他们的幕后人是谁？”夏兰问出最关心的话题。

“沃兰斯！”

奥古伯丁·路克尼·沃兰斯，当今国王加雷七世第四王子。

翻页上AD开始

翻页上AD结束

---

If Vason is correct, this road leads to the back gate that was sealed off years ago.

Rachy and Maggie stopped at a fork in the road in front of the school. The dim streetlights elongated the shadows of the young girls. In the quiet night, the cold wind blew, making them feel a chill.

Occasionally, the wind would howl through the dark forest, causing Maggie to huddle closer to Rachy's hand. In the vast school, the two lonely figures felt a无形的恐惧影响着心灵。

Following the road Rachy pointed to, Maggie looked far ahead, as if endless darkness was swallowing everything.

Not all girls were as brave as Rachy, whose calm and delicate face showed no emotion, seemingly unaffected by the outside world.

"Rachy, what if they have already left the school?" Maggie asked, thinking of her beloved Xalan.

"Maggie—"

Rachy sighed lightly, turned to face Maggie, and said seriously, "Do you like him? No, perhaps I should say, do you love him?"

Seeing Rachy's solemn expression, Maggie mustered the courage to look up and say, "Yes! Maggie really likes Xalan."

"Can you tell me why you like him?" Rachy asked immediately. "Don't say it's because he saved you, because that's not love."

"No, it's not." Maggie quickly waved her small hands in front of her chest, her fair and delicate face showing a rare serious expression. "I like Xalan not because he saved me, although I have always been grateful to him, I have never liked him because of that gratitude. You haven't seen Xalan's true self, cold and heartless. Many times, you would be very afraid, but when you forget your fear, you realize he is lonely and in pain."

"I have never really understood Xalan, his background, his past... but that doesn't matter, because I like him, I care for him, and I always want to be by his side to take care of him, not wanting him to suffer or be sad. Every time I see his smile, I feel happy, as if warmth fills my whole body... Liking someone has no reason, because your heart tells you that you like this person."

After listening quietly to Maggie's heartfelt confession, Rachy reached out and gently patted her back, which was heaving from her rapid speech.

"If you truly like someone, how can you give up so easily when their life is in danger? Hesitation and retreat will only prevent your feelings from being truly rewarded."

Maggie finally understood the meaning behind Rachy's initial words. In this one-sided love, she had hesitated in her unwavering commitment.

Without any return, without any result, it felt like she was lost in a maze of unknown emotions.

She reached out and held Rachy's hand, taking a step forward.

"Rachy, let's go."

Even if there is no result, at least she had tried and given her all, leaving no regrets.

...

"Can you now tell me what their purpose is?"

"From the beginning, their goal has always been to weaken the king's power."

The two on the stone seats, Xalan and Tilrand, finally broke the ice in their negotiations.

"Those noble ministers are the king's most loyal supporters. If they die, the sudden power vacuum will create opportunities for many, and the king cannot monopolize this power feast. As a result, the king's authority will be limited, and those with ulterior motives will gain more control over the power." Tilrand explained coldly. "Their initial cooperation was likely to use me to carry out a legitimate murder! I didn't expect..."

"You didn't expect them to dare to assassinate the royal guards, did you?" Xalan interjected.

Tilrand snorted, "The two elite regiments in the capital are nominally under the king's control, but over the years, it's hard to ensure that the officers and commanders haven't been subverted. The royal guards are different; they have been firmly controlled since the king's ascension. As long as the guards remain loyal, the king has sufficient military power to protect his throne! Perhaps he didn't expect the destruction of one of the three battalions of the royal guards..."

Political power, military power, the undercurrents against the king seem far from over, perhaps this is just the beginning.

"Who is behind them?" Xalan asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Volans!"

Augustus Ludovicus Volans, the fourth prince of the current king, Gare VII.

Page AD begins

Page AD ends