Starborn Zero II: Tales of the Dragonmen

Before Kleedrich could explain, an old voice sounded from behind the guard, "What happened?"

Kleedrich looked up, and a group of people came out of the castle.Accompanied by a number of retinues are the Imperial Emperor Rudolf Mühlhausen, his third son Frederick, and Crown Prince Rhine.Rudolph is 75 years old now, and His Royal Highness Frederick is also in his early 50s. Rhine, who walks with them, seems to be a generation or two younger.At the moment when he met Rhine's eyes, Kleedrich saw his surprise.

"See Your Majesty!" Kleedrich immediately knelt down on one knee and saluted the royal family, "See His Royal Highness, Third Highness."

"So it's Kleedrich, long time no see." Of course Rudolf recognized Kleedrich.Because he came from the von Manstein family, a famous military family in the empire, and some members of the family were married to the royal family.

Friedrich looked at Kleedrich, and seemed to smell something wrong, "Why did the general come to Rhineburg with luggage?"

"Recently, there are few things in the military department. I invited Kleidrich to come to the castle for a short vacation." Rhine laughed. "Today is a family gathering. I told him not to dress too formally, which made my father and brother laugh."

Kleedrich stood up with a smile on his face, listening to the message in Rhine's voice.The only thing he was lucky about at this time was his innate pheromone smell defect.Even if you feel unwell during the estrus period, outsiders cannot judge it through pheromones.

"Little Clyde is not an outsider, so you don't need to be too cautious." Rudolph nodded.Talented, he has always had a crush on Kleedrich, and then stretched out his hand and pulled him, "I heard that your speech at the Military Academy was packed last time, come and tell me about your theory."

"Yes."

Kleedrich handed the luggage to the waiter, then turned to Rhine and said with a smile, "Your Highness, I asked His Highness to prepare a rose corsage for me to decorate my chest to show my respect to His Majesty. I wonder if Your Highness prepared it?" No?"

Rhine immediately understood what he meant, "I left it with the waiter, and I'll ask someone to pick it up."

"Little Clyde is still so gentlemanly and polite." Rudolph smiled with satisfaction, and walked into the castle side by side with Clyderich's hand.

Rhineburg

The atmosphere of the party in the castle was intense, and all the attendants were relatives of the royal family, and those with the lowest status were also relatives of the faction.Kleedrich walked through the banquet hall on the first floor, and saw the words on the gifts placed in the hall, and he already understood the purpose of this banquet.Rudolph recently recovered from a serious illness, and this is a celebration prepared by Rhine for his recovery.People outside the royal family were not invited, probably to avoid suspicion of his illness from the outside world.

Rudolf dragged Kledrich through the banquet hall and came to the large lounge in the middle.At this time, the party has not yet started, and the guests are resting here.Rudolf's 11 princes, their spouses and children, and faction relatives, there are more than forty people resting in this place alone.Looking at this scene, Kleedrich could imagine that if he lost his composure here, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Your flowers, Kleedrich."

At this time Rhine came over and handed him a corsage.It was a stately white rose with a thin needle pinned to the stem.The boutonniere can be carried in a coat pocket or pinned to the chest with a thin pin.Kleedrich thanked Rhine, put the flowers directly into his jacket pocket, and held the needle in his right hand.

"Everyone, Admiral Manstein came to the party today, let's listen to his military theory." Rudolph said, and everyone immediately fell silent, focusing on Kleedrich.

Kleedrich smiled calmly and glanced at the nobles present one by one.

Who set the trap?

"Everyone, what is the ultimate power that the empire relies on to achieve its glory today? Behind the powerful fleet, advanced technology, and careful strategy, the most fundamental power is people. The empire wins because of people. The enemy loses also because of people. Therefore, in the face of any enemy, analyzing human weaknesses is the most fundamental starting point for determining military strategy.”

While Kleedrich was giving a speech, Rhine retreated to the preparation room next to the lounge, where refreshments were prepared for the guests in the lounge.In the preparation room, the butler saw him enter, and immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Your Highness."

"Prepare a guest room next to my bedroom, and have Dr. Denz wait there."

Hearing his serious tone, the butler didn't dare to neglect and led the order out immediately.Rhine saw that there was no one inside and outside the door, and took out a communicator to contact Schmidt, the Minister of Intelligence of the Military Ministry.

"Your Highness." Schmidt's voice sounded through the communicator.

"The instructions I gave Claudia last night were tampered with by others." Rhine's voice was as cold as an iceberg.

There was silence in the communicator for two seconds, and then a terrified voice sounded, "I have neglected my duty! Please let me find out the truth, and then confess to Your Highness!"

"Come to me with the truth within 24 hours, and you will end it yourself after that." Rhine cut off the contact after finishing speaking.

He stood in the preparation room waiting for the steward, thinking about it.He remembered Kledrich's estrus, and he did instruct Claudia to teleport him, but the destination was not here.Obviously, someone not only knew about the situation, but also tampered with Claudia's contact records overnight.

On top of that, Claudia is the military's artificial intelligence.This means that someone has sneaked into the military system, which is an unprecedented situation.

When the butler came back, Rhine whispered a few words in his ear, and the butler nodded to express his understanding.Then Rhine exited the preparation room and returned to the large lounge.

big lounge

"No matter how great a strategic decision is, it comes from the hands of one or two people. Controlling them is equivalent to controlling the army of a country. Everyone has weaknesses, and the greatest weakness is emotion. People who tend to remain rational all day long and seem ruthless have the greatest weakness It happens to be love, because that is the most missing thing in their lives."

Rhine stood by the door, looking coldly at everyone in the room.Three people focused their eyes on Kledrich, five people showed disinterested expressions, and two people were watching themselves.

who is it?

"This is an extended theory of military psychology, and it was also the content of my last speech at the military academy. Thank you for listening." Kleedrich gave a deep salute after speaking, and a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

Everyone applauded.Rudolph motioned to the waiter for two glasses of wine.He took a glass himself, and the waiter handed another glass to Kleedrich.Kleedrich smiled, with his right hand always behind his back, and took the wine glass with his left.While taking the wine glass, he circled the people around him out of the corner of his eye.

He drank the wine down and put the glass back on the waiter's tray.

At this time, the butler knocked on the door and walked into the room, "Your Highness, the banquet hall is ready."

Rhine smiled and faced Rudolph, "Father, you can sit down now."

Rudolph hummed in satisfaction and stood up.

The butler came to Kleedrich again, "General, the military has an emergency contact, please reply personally."

Kleedrich turned to Rudolph, "Your Majesty, I may have to excuse myself first."

Rudolph nodded and agreed, "Military affairs are important, there is no need to be formal. Go and do your business."

Kleedrich saluted the emperor and watched him leave respectfully before leaving the large lounge with the butler.The butler led him hurriedly to the second floor of the castle. While walking, the butler noticed that there were big drops of sweat streaming down his forehead, and he was frowning as he endured something.The butler didn't dare to ask any more questions. The moment he led him into the bedroom, Kleedrich's legs suddenly softened and he knelt down on the ground.

"Admiral!"

The doctor who was waiting in the room hurried over, picked him up with the housekeeper, and helped him onto the bed.As Dr. Denz approached his body, his professional instincts made him notice that his body was limp but limp, and that his breathing was deep but erratic.

"Is the general in heat?"

Kledrich nodded, then stretched out his right hand.His palm was close to his wrist, and a slender silver needle had completely submerged under the skin.Although the wound was so small that there was almost no bleeding, even the slightest touch would cause him to frown in pain.Only then did the housekeeper understand why Rhine specifically asked him to disinfect the silver needles when he asked him to prepare corsages and silver needles.Just now he relied entirely on the pain to maintain his sanity, and he didn't let the traces of the estrus show at all.

"Get the anesthetic, and get ready to get the needle first."

Ballroom

Rudolph sat on the throne at the front of the banquet hall and was greeted by all members of the royal family.Although he recovered from the serious illness this time, his physical strength was not as good as before, which made him start to think about his death.In the emperor's house, the most important thing is the inheritance of the throne.At this point, he is [-]% satisfied with Crown Prince Rhine.Although he is young, he is rational, wise, and decisive in dealing with things. He is the most talented emperor among the princes.The only remaining problem now is that he has no fixed partner until now.

After everyone finished worshiping, Rudolph announced the start of the meeting.As everyone began to taste wine and greet each other, he called the Tenth Prince Clause and Rhine to the front.Clause Muirhausen is in his early thirties and holds a high position in the Imperial Trade Department.He and Rhine are the only two remaining unmarried princes.

Rudolph asked the two to sit next to him, "I've been sick for half a year, and I can't care about your personal affairs. You two are not young, especially Krause. It's time to start a family."

Krause smiled, his handsome face is worthy of the title of the No.1 Alpha of the empire, "Father, my spouse is a trivial matter. But His Royal Highness, the choice of a spouse is related to the interests of half the empire. The most important thing."

Rhine smiled and said nothing.

Rudolph nodded in agreement, and turned his gaze to Rhine, "I remember that you will start your visit to the United Kingdom of Angola tomorrow. I spoke with King Camia VI a few days ago, and this time he will arrange for Prince Samuel to entertain you."

"Yes."

Rhine's smile didn't change, he understood what Rudolph meant.The United Kingdom of Angola is an economic and resource-rich country in the Steller galaxy, and it is also one of the few countries that can compete with the strength of the Hayes Empire.A strong marriage has always been the long-cherished wish of the two countries.The Prince Samuel that Rudolph said was the only Omega among the many princes of King Camia VI.