Skeleton King

On the night when the mission arrived at the imperial capital of the Finger Empire, a grand dinner was held in the palace.

Princess Fenfur opened with Prince Bartholomew, and Sykes invited Princess Muse, who were the second couple on the dance floor.The king of the Finger Empire was not very interested in the ball, and he only appeared once before the ball began.

The King of the Finger Empire welcomed the arrival of the mission, praised the purity and beauty of Princess Fenfur, announced the engagement of Princess Fenfur and Prince Bartholomew in public, and left the ball in a hurry.

The members of the mission didn't feel neglected either. Unlike His Majesty Ludwig IV who was diligent in government, it was already an open secret that the kings of the Finger Empire were more interested in enjoying themselves than in politics.

At the ball, Ace looked at the obese figure of the King of the Finger Empire slowly leaving, with an inexplicable meaning in his eyes, "I heard that most of the current political affairs of the Finger Empire are handled by Princess Muse."

Sykes' dance partner was Princess Muse, a brunette with an elegant smile and a fine figure.When Sykes shows up on the dance floor, it's hard to tell who's smitten with whom, she or Sykes.

Nor did Nou enter the dance floor.Unlike Ace, when there are not enough men, Ace will consciously invite the ladies to dance, so as not to embarrass them being left alone.Nuo Ou is like a block of ice, he will not take the initiative to invite ladies, he has a distant and somewhat arrogant attitude, and the ladies are too sensible to disturb him.

Nuo Ou held a goblet made of crystal in his hand, and the wine glass contained bright red liquid. Under the illumination of the magic lamp, Nuo Ou's fingers looked particularly slender and beautiful, "Yes, the special morning meeting, the old king has I haven't participated in the morning meeting, it was all hosted by Princess Muse."

Ace frowned slightly, and he had a bad guess, "Will Princess Muse be right..." Ace pointed vaguely at the chair in the middle of the ball, where the old king was sitting just now, Ace Si Yin removed the key words in the middle, and just said: "I have an idea."

Nou rejected Ace's guess, "No, it's impossible. Unlike us, the Finger Empire does not allow women to inherit the title, let alone the throne. This princess will definitely marry."

However, Princess Muse is 24 years old, and there is no news of engagement or marriage yet.

It was Princess Fenful, who originally had the right to inherit the throne of the Pansy Empire.

Princess Fenfur and Prince Aachen entered the training camp of the Knights of the Imperial Capital together, at the same age as Ace and Nou, but it is different from the local area. The assessment of the Knights of the Imperial Capital is before the pansy month this year, later than the local ones. half a year.But in order to elope with Prince Bartholomew, Princess Fenfur happened to miss the assessment of the Knights——Princess Fenfur entered the training camp of the Knights as a bright mage, and the 18-year-old third-level mage is still very likely to pass the assessment -According to the rules of the Pansy Empire, those who have not passed the examination of the Knights will naturally not be able to inherit the throne.

The current Prime Minister of the Pansy Empire doesn't have to worry about the bad news that the throne of the Pansy Empire will fall to the Finger Empire when the tragedy of the Murphy family happens again.It is precisely because of this that Princess Fenfur's marriage to the Finger Empire was only an act of the royal family, and it did not attract huge opposition from the government and the opposition.

On the other hand, Queen Celia's other child, Prince Aachen, whom Ace and Nou have never met in the imperial capital, will take part in the assessment of the Knights in the near future, and when he passes the assessment, he will be the second heir to the throne .If he can break through the fourth level before the assessment and awaken the Pansy Dou Qi, he can also clear up the outside world's doubts about his bloodline.

Ace still feels that there are many unreasonable things in the arrangements of the Finger Empire, but he can only say that each of them has his own fate, and the matter of Princess Fenfur has not yet required his intervention.

In the middle of the dance floor, there is a huge shell-shaped magic lamp. Under the white light, Princess Fenfur and Prince Bartholomew are like a legendary love story told by a bard.In the melodious music, in the smell of food, in the middle of this extravagant ball, they embraced and spun.In addition to the bright lights in their eyes, there is only each other.

Nou said: "At least she got what she wanted."

This has been luckier than most people.

Noel thought about the appearance of the king of the Finger Empire again, and he joked to Ace: "The Green family still has a portrait of the old king when he was young, but he is no less handsome than Prince Bartholomew, and I don't know how he became what he is now. This way."

Extravagant and decadent empires are always difficult to respect, especially the relatively powerful Pansy Empire.

"I probably saw the future of Prince Bartholomew, and I hope Princess Fenfur will not regret today's choice." Nou said.

……

Ace saw Prince Bartholomew and Princess Fenfur again the next morning. Ace was sitting on the second floor of the tavern by the window. Prince Bartholomew and Princess Fenfur held hands from the sidewalk the street goes by.

Both of them had joyful smiles on their faces, full of hope for a better life in the future.Prince Bartholomew plucked the roses on the side of the road and pinned them on Princess Fenfur's bun, his eyes were full of tenderness.He took Princess Fenfur through the place where he was born and raised, and wanted his beloved girl to know everything about him.Princess Fenfur looked at him adoringly, she thought, no one could be luckier than her.

That's what Sikes saw as he walked up the tavern—Estor tucked his chin, looking thoughtfully at the street.

Ace and Sykes made an appointment to meet at this tavern, not far from the embassy, ​​and it also had snacks with the specialties of the Finger Empire.The hustle and bustle of the street is enough to cover up all the secrets.

Sykes walked to the seat opposite Ace and sat down. He asked for a glass of sake to sober up, as well as the special bread of the Finger Empire.Ace noticed that Sykes was coming, but he just looked up at him, knocked on the table again, thinking about something, Sykes should take the initiative to ask him: "What are you thinking?"

Ace didn't intend to hide from Sykes. He thought they were still on the same side when it came to the Pansy Empire and the Finger Empire. "Prince Bartholomew's soul fire is a bit strange."

Sykes raised his eyebrows and listened carefully to what Ace said.

Ace thought about the old king and Princess Muse that he saw at the banquet, and said, "Princess Muse didn't see anything special. The soul fires of the old king and Prince Bartholomew are burning more vigorously."

Sykes asked: "Isn't this a good thing?" Generally speaking, the fire of the soul of the strong burns bigger and brighter than that of ordinary people.

Ace rebutted him subconsciously, "No. If they are holy ranks, it's not surprising."

The soul fire that exists in each holy rank has its uniqueness.But the old king did not say that Prince Bartholomew had been with them day and night for so long, and Ace was sure that he was an ordinary swordsman.Does his soul fire make sense to be different?

There is no reason.

Sykes stared at Ace intently, "You attach great importance to Princess Fenfur." ​​And it's not because you like her.

Ace took it for granted, "She's our princess, isn't she?"

Sykes was still staring at Ace intently, his lips twitched, but he just said, "I know a lot more than you think."

Sykes didn't finish his sentence, because the waiter in the tavern brought the sake and bread that Sykes wanted.The hollowed-out wooden bowl is covered with sky-blue paper towels. The fluffy and soft bread is cut into slices, and the tiny bread crumbs fall on the paper towels, making the bread more attractive.

Ace looked back at Sykes, their eye colors were different, but their eyes were equally charming, making people dizzy and intoxicated.Not only that, even the smiles on the corners of their mouths carried the same uninhibitedness.

Sykes, as the head of the Royal Guards and the confidant of His Majesty Ludwig IV, would not be surprised if he knew about Ace's life experience.Ace was more curious about His Majesty Ludwig IV's thoughts.

Ace made a gesture of listening attentively.

The waiter in the tavern had already gone down the stairs. Although there were still some people on the second floor, they were far away from Sykes and Ace.The hustle and bustle of the city in the morning can hide all the secrets.

Sykes opened the topic in a different way than Ace thought, "Do you know how I got back to the Pansy Empire?"

About ten years ago, the captain of the Royal Knights Guards passed away unexpectedly. At that time, the Royal Knights Guards had several sixth- and seventh-level knights with good qualifications, and they all met the conditions to take over as captains.His Majesty Ludwig IV held a public contest in the palace, and the final winner was Queen Celia's younger brother, who will succeed the Grand Knight Commander of the Royal Knights Guards.

However, this appointment was opposed by the Prime Minister and many ministers including the Foreign Secretary.

The Royal Knights of the Guards are directly responsible for the safety of His Majesty Ludwig IV, and the ministers loyal to His Majesty Ludwig IV hope that this Knights will be more pure and loyal.Queen Celia's youngest brother obviously does not meet this requirement. Disciples from big families are excellent, but they often put family first, not to mention he is from the Jowett family.

At that time, Prince Aachen was still young, and Prince Nishimoto was also a minor. However, many things had already been foreshadowed. Under the calm water, the dark tide was raging.

The eldest prince who conforms to the etiquette, is old, lacks support and is not favored by His Majesty Ludwig IV, and the little prince who is late in the line of succession, young, has a strong mother family and is relatively favored by His Majesty Ludwig IV .The chances of them being siblings are slim to none.

At that time, the Jowett family was already very powerful, and Queen Celia's youngest brother was also talented and good at dancing. It was not wise to put him in the Royal Knights of the Guards and give him the position of Grand Knight Commander. s Choice.

Ace also knows a thing or two about this past, "Jowett wants to take over as the Grand Knight Commander of the Royal Guards, but the Prime Minister disagrees. He thinks that Jowett has no mercy for the weak and lacks chivalry, and he is worried about him. Dishonor to the Knights of the Royal Guards."

Jowett's reputation was neither bad nor bad, otherwise he would not have stayed in the Royal Knights of the Guards before, but the identity of the captain was already the core of the Knights.This touched the prime minister's bottom line.

At this time, even the smallest flaws will be picked out.

But you are not joking.Seeing that the prime minister couldn't bear the pressure and was about to compromise with His Majesty Ludwig IV, people from Magic Island came to the palace and brought Sykes.

Ace continued: "During the stalemate with the prime minister, His Majesty Ludwig IV took a step back, and he agreed with you to compete with Jowett, and choose the winner to become the captain of the Royal Knights Guard."

On one side was the well-known Sir Jowett, and on the other side was a teenage boy from Magic Island. Apart from his exquisite appearance, Sykes did not leave any other impression on the dignitaries in the palace at first.No one likes him.

Sikes smiled, and the result was obvious.It was Sykes who was sitting with Ace in the tavern of the Finger Empire now, and no one else.

Sykes still remembers Jowett's incredulous look as he knocked him to the ground and held the spear to Jowett's throat.Sykes' strength is also one of the miracles of Magic Island in the eyes of many people.

Ace said: "But now that you think about it, you have long been a game played by His Majesty Ludwig IV, and you are loyal to His Majesty."

If there is no matter about Jowett, the Prime Minister and the nobles will not allow people from Magic Island to enter the Royal Guards.The former head of the Royal Knights Guards is old, and the only ones who can compete for this position are the deputy head and the six captains.It was also because of Sykes' sudden prominence that a few years later, His Majesty Ludwig IV firmly took the position of head of the Knights of the Royal Guards, and did not need to be subject to the great nobles.

Sikes shook his head slowly, but what he said was earth-shattering.

"I never pledged my allegiance to Ludwig IV."

"Ace, the reason why I came to the Pansy Empire is because of my father's deal with Ludwig IV, and also because of a promise."