A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The sky had already brightened, but the light in the dungeon was still dim, only a ray of light came in from the narrow iron window above the dungeon, reflecting a bright spot of light on the ground.

The light refracted on the cold stone ground moved slowly over time, and finally reflected on the face of the black-haired young man sitting against the wall.

He lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes, and his fine black hair fell on his forehead, looking like he was in a light sleep.

When the refracted light reflected on his face, the slender eyelashes moved, and then slowly opened.

Heymos, who woke up from a light sleep, quickly woke up. He turned his head, saw the position of the sun in the sky through the small skylight, and judged the time from this.

Then, he turned his head and looked in a certain direction.

He thought that the discussion of his guilt had almost begun, presumably, the person who intended to blame him was among them.

Thinking of this, Heymos recalled what his subordinate persuaded him not long ago when he decisively decided to steal the soldier talisman.

At that time, as the priest of the God of the Night, Suo Jia, who had always been cunning, strongly opposed him to steal the soldier talisman.But he didn't listen to his subordinate's words, and stubbornly led his troops to the city of Tozes.

Before he was imprisoned by the Royal Knights, Suo Jia rushed to see him, frowning and sighing.

"His Royal Highness Heymos, have you ever thought about who will ultimately benefit if you are deprived of the right to inherit the throne?"

Suo Jia's face looked quite heavy.

"Prince Garlan doesn't need to do anything, as long as he keeps silent, he can become the final victor."

"Your Highness, I know that you and Prince Garlan have a very good relationship, but if such a good opportunity is in front of you, no one will let it go."

He said coldly,

"Your Highness, what you have experienced should make you see more clearly than anyone else—the most vulnerable thing in this world is human nature."

"When it comes to their own interests, all people are selfish. This is human instinct, and no one is exempt."

…………

Waking up from the memory, Heymos looked ahead.

His eyes seemed to penetrate through the walls, looking at the place he couldn't see at the moment.

That invisible battlefield.

He could imagine Garlan's figure standing on the battlefield without swords.

'Nobody's going to be an exception'...?

A trace was drawn on the corner of Heymos' lips.

Whether it was Suo Jia who was on the scene at the moment, or the person who secretly framed him, they must have been shocked by Garlan's behavior.

…………

........................

"As Prince Aaron Landis, I veto the Chief Secretary's proposal."

Garlan's voice echoed in the courtroom.

One sentence made Suo Jia, who had almost taken that step to get in front of the crowd, stop, and choked on the words in his throat.

One sentence froze the gentle smile on the face of the old chief director for a second.

But it was only a second, and it converged in an instant, so fast that people had no time to see it.

The Chief Secretary was still smiling, with kindness written all over his wrinkled face.

He looked at Garlan with benevolent eyes, and there was no trace of anger on his face. He looked at Garlan as if he was looking at an ignorant junior.

"Prince Garlan."

He shook his head slightly and sighed.

"You are too impulsive."

Although his face was kind, the expression on the Chief Secretary's heart was completely different from the expression on his face.

He, and the huge family behind him, have a pivotal position in the political center of Aaron Landis.

And over the years, his status has become more and more prestigious with the growth of time and position.

Therefore, it has been a long time since anyone would refute him in public so simply, which embarrasses him.

— This made him extremely unhappy.

Even if it was the prince of Aaron Landis who embarrassed him.

Prince, Dauphin.

A word difference, but a world of difference.

The former is only distinguished, but in terms of real power, he is not as good as the Chief Secretary.

Moreover, even a prince should know how to respect the elderly.

The Chief Secretary thought so unhappily in his heart.

However, no matter how dissatisfied he was with Prince Garlan's attitude, his face did not reveal the slightest bit, and he was still amiable.

He said: "Prince Garlan, I know you have a deep friendship with Prince Heymos, but Prince Heymos made a mistake and should be punished so that he will understand where he is wrong. You treat him Covering up is not helping him, but harming him."

He spoke every word with sincerity, like a simple and honest old man teaching his beloved younger generation earnestly.

Garlan, who was standing in front of the obsidian seat, looked at the Chief Director, and a portion of the light blue cloak hanging from his shoulders was draped over the armrest of the seat.

"I don't agree with what you say, Chief Secretary."

As if he didn't hear Garlan's words, the Chief Secretary shook his head and sighed while speaking.

"I know, you are still young, you will inevitably make mistakes, and because you are all princes and have noble status, everyone will follow you..." He sighed, "But, even if you are a prince, it doesn't mean that you won't be punished if you make mistakes. .”

"If so, what is the majesty of Aaron Landis' law?"

Letting the Chief Secretary say those high-sounding words, Garlan looked sideways at the Chief Secretary with bright eyes.

"If you make a mistake, you will be punished, that's true."

He said, "However, Chief Secretary, to convict people without any investigation, and to make innocent people bear what he never did, is this what you mean by showing the majesty of the law?"

"Prince Garlan, you're making too much of an argument. You've already taken the soldier talisman from Prince Heymos, and he admitted that he stole it..."

Garlan abruptly interrupted the Chief Director's words.

"He admitted to stealing the soldier talisman and mobilizing the army selfishly, but do you have any evidence to prove that he personally killed the two royal knights?"

The old man gave a low cough, and secretly winked at the people behind him.

Immediately, people understood and took a step forward to speak.

"The facts are already clear. Only Prince Heymos had been there at that time."

"The two royal knights are responsible for guarding the soldier talisman. Since the soldier talisman is in the hands of Prince Heymos, according to common sense, he didn't kill it. Who else could it be?"

"That's right, in order to capture the soldier talisman, the two knights guarding the soldier talisman must be killed, isn't that obvious enough?"

Garlan frowned.

"So, your reason for convicting Heymos was 'common sense'?"

His voice suddenly became harsh.

"Even convicting civilians requires solid evidence, but now facing the prince, you don't have any evidence or witnesses, so you convict him on the grounds of 'taking it for granted'?!"

Garlan's tough attitude froze the atmosphere of the entire chamber for a moment. Some people wanted to say something, but found that Garlan's words made them unable to refute.

Before that, everyone took it for granted that killing and seizing the talisman were connected, thinking that it was one thing. Since the soldier talisman as physical evidence was found from Prince Heymos, then the person must have been killed by him.

That is a kind of inertial thinking.

Even so, none of the people present were stupid. Naturally, many people thought that Prince Heymos didn't need to kill people.

However, even if many people are well aware of it, the key point now is that Heymos did steal the soldier talisman and mobilize the army.

This incident offended the royal authority, and it might make King Kamos furious, and Prince Heymos didn't know what would happen to him.

So, even though they knew something was wrong in their hearts, everyone couldn't wait to get rid of their relationship with Heymos in order to protect themselves and avoid involving themselves.

In this way, it is of course impossible for them to speak up for Heymos at this time, and it is already considered good if they don't make trouble.

And the black hand behind the scenes naturally took advantage of everyone's mentality, and wanted to settle the charges in one fell swoop before King Kamos returned.

It's just that many people didn't expect that the person who stood up to speak for Heymos without avoiding suspicion was actually Garlan.

Prince Garlan couldn't be stupid enough not to know what Heymos' disinheritance meant to him.

Many people present were thinking in confusion from the bottom of their hearts.

Why would he do such a thankless thing?

……

Could it be that there are other plans?Another greater benefit?

These dignitaries who have stayed in the political center for too long and have become accustomed to intrigue and intrigue almost subconsciously think this way.

Seeing that the matter of convicting Prince Heymos had once again become a stalemate, the chief director no longer kept the kind smile on his face, but sank a little.

"Prince Garlan, you are sophistry."

He scowled.

"It's fine for you to mess around in Tozes City, how can you let your temper go here?"

The old chief director sat on the seat near the front, and his high position all the year round made him naturally powerful.

As soon as he lowered his face and looked serious, the atmosphere around him seemed to be oppressed.

"You know, prince, what you did in Tozes City is already very undeserved."

He said solemnly,

"You freed the slaves who were the private property of the people of Tozes City without authorization, which is equivalent to seizing the people's property for no reason! As a prince of a country, how can you do such an act of oppressing the people?"

The sudden mention of this topic by the chief director made Kaihuos on the side tremble.

Sure enough.

Keyhos thought.

When Prince Garlan made the decision to release the slaves in Tozes City, he knew that this behavior would definitely cause dissatisfaction among the dignitaries in the royal city.

Because what the prince has done has shaken their interests.

However, Keyhos felt that this matter should not be serious.

Because even if they are dissatisfied, these dignitaries will not show it in the short time when the prince returns to the royal city.

And as long as they wait until King Kamos returns to the royal city, and let King Kamos open his mouth to characterize the prince's act of freeing the slaves as a special case in a special war, the dissatisfaction of those powerful and powerful can be alleviated a lot.

But, caught off guard, the chief director suddenly chose to launch an attack at this time, which made Keyhos nervous.

Obviously, the Chief Secretary was using this to warn Prince Garlan.

Garlan understood what Kehoes understood.

The subtext of the chief director's mention of this matter was to warn him not to meddle in other people's business, otherwise he would fall into the ditch.

At the same time, the words of the Chief Secretary resonated with all the nobles present.

After all, almost all nobles were extremely dissatisfied with his behavior of freeing slaves on such a large scale.

It was only because of concerns about Garlan's status as a prince that no one wanted to be the first to show up, so the dissatisfaction was suppressed for the time being.

Now, as long as the chief secretary insists on this point, these dignitaries will hit the snake with the stick and express their dissatisfaction.

Garlan pursed his lips tightly.

There was some anger in his eyes.

At this moment, it seemed that there was a puff of air stuck in his chest, which made him terribly oppressed.

These guys who talk here, they don't know how tragic the so-called war is, and what a sad end the people will end up after the city is broken.

They will only accuse you so arrogantly and condescendingly in a safe place.

They just tell you that you shouldn't do this, you can't do that.

If it doesn't suit their wishes, they will firmly grasp any mistakes and omissions and drive you into a dead corner-after success, they will feel complacent and think that they have become the ultimate winner.

The boy's face was sullen, and the hand hanging by his side clenched into a fist little by little.

It's just that his arms were covered by the light-colored cloak hanging down from his shoulders, and no one saw his clenched hands.

Seeing that Prince Garlan was quiet, the Chief Secretary smiled slightly.

Even if he is a prince, he is just a young man, how could he be his opponent who has been immersed in the political center for many years.

"Prince Garlan."

He continued to speak to Garlan in a teaching tone.

"'Wise Prince', that's what the people in Wangcheng call you."

"It took you eight years to get such praise from the people, who called you 'the wise man of Shamash'."

he said with warning.

"Don't ruin your reputation by being angry for a while."

"Even if it's for your reputation, you should make a decision carefully." The Chief Director looked at Garlan and said, "So, Prince, please come to a conclusion now."

The courtroom fell silent again.

All eyes fell on Garlan who lowered his head slightly.

In the side hall, the priest of the God of the Night also stared at Garlan without blinking. At this moment, his eyes were extremely complicated.

'If people do not do it for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy it. '

Suo Jia has always thought so.

But at this moment, he was a little confused about his mood. What kind of answer did he hope to get from that Prince Garlan at this moment?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Garlan raised his head.

He said calmly: "I am opposed to convicting Heymos for this. I will personally investigate and find out the real murderer who killed the two knights."

The muscles on the chief's face, who thought he was sure of victory, suddenly twitched.

Why is this prince so stupid and ignorant?

He stared at Garlan dissatisfied and thought.

"Because of your personal relationship with Prince Heymos, you favor the erring Prince Heymos and want to exonerate him. This is not something you should do as a 'wise man'."

"Since the people say that you are 'given justice and wisdom by Shamash', you should not treat this matter favoritically."

The Chief Secretary's words hinted at both inside and outside.

"Prince Garlan, please be sure to clarify your position."

"Convicting Prince Heymos without favoritism and status, this is a truly wise move—"

The boy raised his eyes, and his golden eyes looked straight at the Chief Secretary.

"Chief, did you make a mistake?"

he asks.

"what?"

"You said it yourself, I am the one who is praised by the people as wise, and I am also the one who is dubbed the title of 'sage'."

Garlan stared at the Chief Secretary.

At this moment, there seemed to be a cluster of golden flames burning in his pupils.

"It only took me eight years to get people to praise me, but Chief Secretary, you have been in power for decades, but you have not won the praise of the people. This shows that you are not a 'wise person'."

"But now, you who are not a 'wise person' are teaching me what to do to be a 'wise move'. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

"you--"

Garlan's words made the chief's breath stuck in his throat.

"Chief Secretary, as you said, I am a 'wise man' recognized by the world."

Looking across the crowd, Garlan said in a deep voice.

"That is to say..."

Standing in front of everyone, the boy waved his hand violently.

The light-colored cloak hanging from his right shoulder was lifted high when he waved his hand, flying behind him.

"As long as it is what I do, it is a wise move!"

He says,

"I veto the conviction of Heymos!"