A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

In the spacious room, the floor-to-ceiling windows are open, and the bright sunlight shines in from the outside.

Garlan sat on the olive wood chair above, with his hands resting on the smooth yellow-brown armrests. Because the weather was relatively hot today, his clothes were mainly loose and simple, and a short, thin cloak just below his waist hung down behind him.

Ximuer and Kehuos stood under his seat, one on the left and one on the right, and a middle-aged man with a strong figure in a sacrificial robe knelt under him on one knee.

The rune of Shamash on the shoulder of the sacrificial robe symbolizes the identity of the priest.

"You mean, because of the damage to his body when he was a child, it is very likely that Xin Yas' brain was also damaged?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness, Your Excellency Xinyas suffered from severe physical loss when he was young, which led to severe malnutrition, which lasted until he was more than ten years old."

Priest Raya was also very emotional and helpless about this.

"You sent us to protect Your Excellency Xin Yas, we should do our best, but the loss of the body can be made up slowly, but..."

He stopped in the middle of his speech, apparently unable to continue talking.

"After examination, the doctor said that it was not only due to malnutrition, but also because His Excellency Xinyasi had taken decoctions for a long time since he was a baby, which damaged his brain. Fortunately, Your Highness, you extended a helping hand in time to protect His Excellency Xinyas. , or his condition will be even worse."

"Did you have a brain injury when you were young? But I think Xinyas is normal?"

Although it seems a little silly...

"Yes, Your Highness, His Excellency Xinyas's condition is very mild, but he may be a little slow in thinking, it is difficult to think about complicated things, his thinking is growing slowly, and he is very stubborn about what he believes, and everything else is normal. .”

"According to what you said, in fact, Xinyas is a little brainless, a little childish, and has a very stubborn temper. Everything else is normal, right?"

"..." Priest Laya choked for a moment before continuing to answer, "You can say so."

"I see."

Garlan nodded.

"In the past few years, you have worked hard."

He said, "Sinyas probably matured later than the average person in terms of thinking, and he still has the temper of a child, but he shoulders the heavy responsibility of a city. I am very worried that he will be deceived or used by those who want to. "

"Therefore, I can rest assured only if you, the righteous priests of Shamash, stand by his side."

He smiled at Priest Laya, "Laya, my younger brother will also entrust you to you in the future. He may not be smart, but I believe that under your teaching, he will grow into a man like Shamashna. a man of integrity and strength."

Priest Raya bowed deeply.

"We will definitely not disappoint Your Highness, your trust."

He replied with a slightly excited tone.

To the priests of Shamash, praise for their integrity is the greatest compliment.

Especially since His Highness the Crown Prince personally said this praise, it made him both happy and excited.

"By the way, is Xinyas' mother still coming back to look for him?"

"No, Your Highness, since the wife of the former city lord remarried more than three years ago, she has never returned to Irmia City, nor has she come to look for Your Excellency Xinyas."

Mentioning this, Priest Raya frowned.

"........."

Garlan lowered his eyes, his gaze was slightly cold.

At the beginning, the old female officer had passed the news to him. That woman couldn't wait to marry another rich man in another city just over a year after the death of her doting husband, leaving Xinyas who was only 11 years old.

Garlan didn't think she couldn't remarry, but it would be too cruel to abandon her young son who was still sick at the time, and to ignore him in the following years.

In the past, that woman regarded Xinyas very seriously, and she looked like a loving mother who loved him very much. In fact, it was only because Xinyas could guarantee her status. When the people she sent over suppressed her, she found that she could not After continuing to be her superior wife of the castellan, she immediately abandoned Xinyas.

She only loves himself.

That woman is like a dodder flower, she can only cling to and absorb the nutrients of others, so that she can bloom beautiful flowers.

That's fine, just let that woman go far away.

Otherwise, with that woman's character, Xin Yas might be parasitized by her dodder flower for the rest of her life.

"Raya, what if..."

If that woman comes back, don't let her see Xinyas.

Garlan, who wanted to say that, paused for a moment.

Although Garlan didn't take that woman seriously, to Xin Yas, she was his biological mother after all, and he should also remember that his mother loved him very much.

I have no right to make decisions for Xin Yas and restrict who Xin Yas meets with.

"Nothing, you go down."

"Yes, Your Highness."

…………

After Garlan finished meeting the officials and others in the morning, not long after he returned to the palace at noon and finished eating, his big brother ran over happily.

When Garlan told him that he had other things to do and didn't have time to play with him, he sat obediently on the side, looked at Garlan with his eyes open, and said, "I will be very obedient and won't disturb you". expression.

That look of looking at him eagerly like a big dog made Garlan just let him go.

Although he is now the crown prince, it doesn't mean that Garlan can handle government affairs independently. Shemuer will choose some less important affairs and hand them over to him, and let him make comments and write down his own handling opinions.

Of course, what he wrote will ultimately be judged by Ximuer or Si and other people, find out what is unreasonable, and then teach him.

After Garlan finally finished reading all the stack of parchments that Ximuer had given him in the morning, and wrote down his opinions on how to deal with it, when he looked up, most of the afternoon had already passed.

He thought, oh well, Xinyas is still here, he was so busy with these headache documents that he forgot about Xinyas' existence.

Just thinking about this, when Garlan raised his head, he saw Xin Yas sitting on the chair, his body was crooked, his head was tilted to one side, and he didn't know when he fell asleep.

The mouth was still wide open, which made him laugh.

Garlan walked over and patted Xinyas lightly.

Xinyasi opened his eyes, looked up at him, his eyes were sleepy, and his whole body looked sleepy.

Rubbing his eyes in a daze, when he regained consciousness and saw clearly that it was him, the young man smiled at him with a big grin, that smiling face looked silly no matter how you looked at it.

"Brother~"

Xinyas shouted happily to Garlan.

The boy's eyes were bright and clean, like a newborn baby, full of Garlan's shadow.

"Are you done?"

With that look of anticipation in his eyes, it was clear that the next sentence he didn't say was - can you play with me?

Gallan smiled.

He thought for a while and asked, "Xinyas, do you still remember your mother?"

"remember."

Xin Yasi answered very straightforwardly, which surprised Garlan a little.

He thought Xin Yas would show a sad expression when he mentioned that woman, but he didn't expect that the child didn't seem to care much.

"Then do you want to see her?"

Xinyas thought about it seriously, then shook his head.

"No need." He said, "I just want to see you, brother."

"You don't want her?"

Garlan asked curiously.

Shinyas shook his head.

"I want to see my brother because the way my brother looks at me is very gentle. I like to be looked at like this, and I like the way my brother looks at me. That's why I will work hard to complete the agreement with you and come to see you."

The boy said seriously,

"But my mother is different. The way she looks at me is completely different from your brother. The way she looks at me is the same as looking at her dog. I don't like it, I don't like it very much, so I don't care if I see her or not."

"I used to listen to my mother because she said that I was a child and I had to listen to my mother, but now that I have grown up, I don't have to listen to her anymore."

As Xinyas said, he suddenly smiled at Garlan.

"But I will definitely listen to what my brother said."

He acted like a baby at Garlan, and there seemed to be a big black and fluffy tail behind him, shaking it vigorously at Garlan.

He looked at Garlan with sparkling eyes, and he knew what he was looking forward to.

Garlan laughed.

He stretched out his hand and stroked the head of Xinyas who was sitting.

The big boy squinted his eyes, happily enjoying the feeling of being touched on the head by his favorite brother, and grinned all over his mouth.

Xinyas is not stupid, nor is he out of his mind.

While stroking Xinyas' head, Garlan was thinking.

He simply thinks like a child, straightforward, simple, black and white.

But because he is a child, he can clearly feel who is kind to him and who is malicious to him.

Children are never bound by the so-called moral concepts and codes of conduct of adults.

Whoever treats him well, he treats him well.

Children's thinking is so simple and clear.

And that was the case with Xinyas.

Garland thought.

After coming to this world, he has never had any good feelings for the original relatives of 'Garlan', and he doesn't want to get involved in any connection.

But now he felt that it would be nice to have another well-behaved and obedient brother.

…………

After handing the pile of parchment papers with written handling opinions to Shemuer who came to the door, seeing Shemuer finish checking, nodded and took those scrolls away, Garlan breathed a sigh of relief.

He suddenly felt as if he had returned to the time when he handed in homework to Ximuer when he was a child.

Ah, today's task is finally completed.

He thought as he stretched his waist in the bright sunshine.

Come for afternoon tea.

Xin Yas had no objection to Garlan's suggestion.For him, as long as he can stay with his brother, he is very happy to do anything.

Soon, the maids brought up delicious biscuit desserts and fresh fruits.

Sitting cross-legged, Xin Yasi held a yellow-orange tangerine in his hand, and excitedly wanted to peel it for his brother to eat, but just halfway through peeling it, he saw a maid serving a glass of something to Garlan. come over.

In the transparent glass cup, the light green liquid reflects the sunlight, refracting a little shimmer, which is very beautiful.

He watched his elder brother sitting with his knees bent while holding a glass cup, his body leaning back lazily on the soft backrest and soft pillow.

My brother's fingers are completely different from his, slender and fair.

He saw his elder brother sitting there, with long golden hair hanging from his shoulders, and the way his eyelashes were drooping slightly, drinking something, it was really beautiful.

When he was a child, he always heard people say that his mother was beautiful, but Xinyas now thinks that his brother is more beautiful, prettier than anyone else.

He didn't know why his parents didn't like his elder brother, obviously his elder brother looked so good-looking as white as snow.

"elder brother."

Looking at his brother, he couldn't help but want to act like a baby.

"I want to drink yours too."

He has a very keen sense of smell and smells the wine. He has always been curious about what the wine tastes like, but the priest of Raya said that he is still young and forbids him to touch the wine.

Gallan was lazily drinking fruit wine, enjoying the peaceful time of afternoon tea comfortably. When Xin Yas said this, he looked at the light green fruit wine in his hand and hesitated for a moment.

Although Xin Yasi looks tall and strong, but he is only a 15-year-old boy, it is not good to let children drink alcohol?

He was thinking like this, and just about to refuse, when he looked up, he saw Xin Yas impatiently approaching him, looking at him with sparkling eyes, as if a pair of ears were moving vigorously on his head, that look like big The appearance of dogs begging for food is really overwhelming.

Hmm...it's just fruit wine, the alcohol content is very low, he can drink it when he is about fifteen or sixteen years old, Xinyas should be able to drink it too, right?

With a second thought, Garlan turned his head to look at the maid standing aside holding a glazed jug, and motioned for her to pour a glass for Xinyas.

"You are still young, you can only drink one cup."

He said to Xin Yas.

"Okay~~"

Happily taking the fruit wine, Xin Yas licked it with his tongue first.

Well, it's sweet, and it also has a very strange taste.

However, it's delicious, and he likes what my brother likes.

Thinking of this, the boy gulped down the fruit wine in a few sips.

After drinking, he licked his lips, still a little greedy, and wanted to continue drinking, but his brother said that he could only have one drink, and he had to be obedient.

If he is obedient, his brother will like him.

……

Ok……

Strange...how did my brother become two?

Ah, it became three again... Why does he feel dizzy, he just fell asleep, and now he seems to want to sleep again...

Uh... so dizzy...

Watching Xin Yas gulp down a glass of fruit wine in one go, before Garlan could react, he saw Xin Yas grinning silly at him, his face as red as a red apple.

Then, the swaying young man smiled and suddenly closed his eyes, tilted his head, fell on the table, and fell asleep with his body tilted like this.

Gallan: "..."

This is commonly known as, a cup?

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stared at his younger brother, speechless.

Such a big man, such a big man, was actually drunk by a glass of low-concentration fruit wine just like that.

Forget it, just wake up.

Garlan shook his head, but asked the maid to cover Xinyas with a thin blanket, and let Xinyas continue to sleep.

And he continued to lazily nestle in the soft backrest soft pillow, squinting his eyes, drinking light green fruit wine contentedly.

The sun was just right, falling from the skylight, just shining on his body, and it was very warm.

The room was quiet, except for the rhythmic sound of Xinyasi's rough breathing.

Feeling tired, Garlan yawned, handed the little fruit wine left in his hand to the maid at the side, told her to step down and not to disturb himself, and then nestled in the soft pillow Doze off.

…………

The crown prince was taking a nap in the room, and the maids had retreated to the door according to his instructions, closed the door, and guarded the door, waiting for the crown prince to wake up and call her in.

A long time passed, and before the call was received, someone came here.

When the leading maid saw the person coming, she quickly bowed her head and saluted.

"His Royal Highness Heymos."

"Garlan is inside?"

"Yes, Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is taking a nap inside, please let us not disturb you."

Hearing that Garlan was taking a nap, Heymos paused for a moment with the hand that was about to push the door, hesitating whether to come back after dinner.

And just when he was hesitating, the maid said another sentence.

"Your Excellency Xin Yas also fell asleep inside, because he drank some wine and seemed to be drunk."

"........."

Pushing the hand that stopped in front of the door, Heymos pushed the door open and walked in.

He said, "You guys continue to stay outside."

After entering, he immediately saw the big boy lying on the counter with his body crooked, fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Heymos' gaze turned slightly cold.

But Xinyas was sound asleep, and he couldn't see Heymos's cold eyes that made it difficult for ordinary people to look at each other.

When he moved his eyes away from Xin Yas and landed on the person opposite, Heymos' eyes softened instantly.

In the fluffy and soft velvet pillow, Garlan nestled in it.

The long golden hair fell down the snow-white pillow, and the boy's fair cheeks and most of his body were sunk into the soft pillow, and his whole body was nestled into a small ball.

The pale pink lips parted slightly, exhaling a light breath.

Perhaps because of drinking fruit wine, there is a little pink on the cheeks.

With just one glance, Heymos felt the softest part of his heart move.

He walked over, bent down, stretched out his hands, and hugged Garlan who was nestled in the pillow.

Passing over Xinyas who was still soundly asleep, he quickly walked into the bedroom with the person in his arms, and then gently placed Garlan on the bed.

Garlan who was put down seemed to feel a more comfortable place, and the corners of his eyes were slightly bent, as if he was satisfied.

Turning his head slightly, the young man hummed his nose lightly, adjusted to the most comfortable position, and continued to fall into a deep sleep.

The corners of Heymos' lips couldn't help but twitch upwards.

He reached out and touched Garlan's head.

Just looking at this sleeping face, his chest seemed to be kneaded into a soft ball.

He had just touched Garlan's head, and Garlan in his dream seemed to feel it, and moved his head closer, rubbing his forehead against his hand.

It looked like a coquettish little white cat.

After rubbing, the lips were still pursed.

His eyes fell uncontrollably on the slightly pursed pale pink lips, Heymos took a deep breath, and took another deep breath.

He wants to endure.

But the boy's lips moved slightly again, pink and tender, a little white was exposed from the slightly parted lips.

So, I couldn't hold back.

Putting one hand on Garlan's forehead, Heymos, who was sitting on the side of the bed, bent deeply, and the kiss with indescribable love and affection fell gently on Garlan's lips.

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

Xinyas was sleeping soundly, suddenly something seemed to pass over his forehead, waking him up.

He got up in a daze, rubbed his eyes, and saw that annoying guy who dragged him away from his brother yesterday appeared again, and took his brother away from him.

What woke him up just now seemed to be the cloak that floated up behind him and swept across his forehead when this man walked past him.

Xin Yas was stunned for a while, and the person he didn't like had already carried his brother into the inner room.

He got up quickly, and he didn't have time to put on his shoes, so he ran after him barefoot.

As soon as he chased to the door, he looked inside, and his eyes suddenly opened round.

That guy... what is he doing to his brother? ! !