A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

In the morning, the sky was clear and bright, with patches of snow-white clouds floating in the blue sky.

The sun was not as scorching as it was at noon, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was the most comfortable time.

Led by Kamos, Garlan came to a golden palace.

A circular bluestone arch stands in front of this golden palace, and two huge lion statues stand on both sides of the arch.

Lifelike lions guard the arch, with their heads held high, their postures majestic and majestic.

Garlan raised his head and stared at the golden palace in front of him.

The layout of this palace is completely different from other palaces. There is only one spacious hall in the whole palace, and there are no other side halls.

On the way here, Kamos had already told him that this palace was the place where the stone statues of Aaron Landis kings were placed.

Except for some special circumstances, every year, the current Emperor Aaron Landis must come here to offer sacrifices to the former kings.

Except for the Royal Guards guarding the place, only the direct royal blood is eligible to step into this palace.

This year's sacrifice has passed, but this time it happened to be a special situation.

The exiled royal blood returned to Aaron Landis, and of course they had to come here to sacrifice to the former kings.

This is also to announce to everyone that Garlan has been recognized by the previous kings, and his status as a prince is unshakable.

After bringing Garlan here, Kamos was silent for a while.

"Garlan."

"Ok?"

"About you, for the sake of safety, only the royal father at that time, me, Kaihos who was sent to protect you, and Tapti, who was in charge of secretly communicating with Kaihos, knew."

"Other than that, no one else knows you exist," Kamos said.

When he said this, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"That is to say, except for Kejos and Taputi, no one else is very familiar with you."

"Yes? I know this, it's for my safety."

Seeing that Kamos suddenly brought up this matter, Garlan felt a little strange.

Camos hesitated to speak.

In the end, he still didn't say anything, but just walked inside with big strides.

The guards at the back stood there quietly with their heads down, and did not follow.

Without the permission of the emperor, no one except the royal blood is allowed to set foot in this palace.

When Kamos entered the arch, the royal guards standing on both sides of the arch bowed their heads and saluted Kamos and Garlan.

They were wearing the armor of the Royal Guards. The Royal Guards armor made of special metal had a faint golden luster in the sun.

There is only a bright red pattern on the shoulder armor, which seems to be stained with blood, symbolizing the blood oath of the Royal Guards.

Walking into it, you can see countless stone pillars propping up this huge hall.

The roof is like a dome, and the interlaced colorful glass depicts gorgeous murals, reflecting the sun and shining brightly.

And in front of the curved wall where the end could not be seen at a glance, countless stone busts stood.

All of them are busts of Aaron Landis kings.

Garlan looked around, trying very hard to find something.

Kamos, who fully understood Garlan's mind and had done similar things the first time he came in, took him to a certain place.

More than 2000 years ago, the busts of the Lion King, the Wise King, and Heimos the Great stood in front of the wall.

The walls behind the stone statues are engraved with their respective achievements.

With a certain delicate mood, Garlan looked over curiously.

However, after only one glance, the boy fell into a long silence.

These three stone busts...seem...as if...almost...there is no difference between them?

Except for the hairstyle and clothing, it looks like a person at first glance.

...Well, just like those famous historical figures in the history books he studied before, except for their hairstyles and clothes...

Kamos laughed out loud as he looked at his younger brother who was subtly silent.

At last, he was not the only one who experienced the feeling of wanting to vomit blood but being unable to vomit when he saw the three busts for the first time when he was young.

While laughing, he patted Garlan's head.

Guessing that Brother Kamos must be deliberately making fun of him, Garlan glanced at Kamos angrily.

He was about to say something when suddenly a familiar voice came from behind him.

"His Majesty."

That all-too-familiar voice made Garlan's mind pause for a moment.

As soon as he turned around and raised his eyes, he saw the person who had spoken just now.

A tall man stood in front of him, wearing a light golden armor of the royal guard style.

Short, slightly curly tan hair is neatly combed behind the side cheeks.

The sharp-edged lips were slightly pursed, coupled with the cold and stern eyes, making his face look more serious and rigid.

People can tell at a glance that this is a man who has no emotional intelligence and is unreasonable like a rock.

He glanced at Garlan.

"Meet you for the first time, Your Royal Highness."

He looked at the prince he had met for the first time with strange eyes, without any fluctuation in his eyes.

Leaning over and kneeling on the ground, he reported his identity expressionlessly.

"I am Captain of the Royal Guards, Shemur."

he said, in a tone as foreign as his gaze.

The heart that had been beating violently in the previous moment fell for no reason, and fell heavily.

Garlan's lips parted, but he didn't know what to say.

He lowered his eyes, the shadows of his slender eyelashes covered his pupils, and the hand hanging by his side clenched unconsciously.

Kamos glanced at the silent Garlan out of the corner of his eye, and sighed silently from the bottom of his heart.

Kaihors and Tapti are fine. Although they have no memories of the past, they are still very close to Garlan because one guarded Garlan and the other watched Garlan grow up.

But Shemur...

He also only met Shemuer who became the royal guard a few years ago, so Shemuer didn't know about Garlan.

Therefore, to Ximuer in this life, if Garlan did not have the status of a prince, he would be a complete stranger to him.

As the head of the Royal Guards, he only had the obligation and responsibility to protect the prince, but he didn't have any feelings for Garlan.

One can imagine how Garlan would feel about Shemuer's strange attitude.

It was precisely because of this that Kamos never allowed Garlan and Shemul to meet.

However, it is impossible not to meet each other all the time.

Therefore, after Kamos hesitated for a long time, he took the opportunity of offering sacrifices to the former kings and let the two meet.

Under Kamos' complicated eyes, the boy who was silent for a while raised his eyes, with a slight smile on his face.

Garlan stared at Ximuer who was kneeling in front of him, and said with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Captain Ximuer."

……

………………

Just after taking a shower, Heymos wiped his wet black hair with a towel.

Drops of water dripped from the tips of his hair to his cheeks, leaving a water mark on his brown skin.

A gaze has been falling on him.

Heymos turned to look.

Garlan sat on the stone railing outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, with one knee raised, his arms folded on his left knee, his chin resting on his arms, and his eyes were always looking at Heymos.

He just stared at Heymos blankly for a long time without moving.

Heymos walked over and touched Garlan's forehead with his hand.

"what happened?"

he asks.

Garlan looked up at him, his figure reflected in his golden pupils.

"I'm thinking……"

The boy raised his hand, held his hand, and pressed his palm to his face.

The brown palm full of scars was pressed against the soft white skin.

"If you didn't make a contract with the gods, but reincarnated..."

Garlan said softly.

He closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his cheek against the other's rough palm.

"I will definitely find you, no matter how long it takes, I will find you too."

"I thought so."

"I also know that even if you find the reincarnated you, you won't remember me."

"But, if you look at me with strange eyes when I find you..."

When Garlan said this, he suddenly paused.

He squeezed Heymos' hand even tighter.

He closed his eyes and moved the ends of his eyelashes slightly.

"I'm going to be very... very sad..."

Even if you understand it in your heart, even if you know that this kind of thing is inevitable, even if you are ready to face people you used to know who no longer remember you.

However, it still feels uncomfortable.

Garlan stretched out his hand, hugged the man standing in front of him tightly, and buried his face deeply in his arms.

He rubbed his face against Heymos' abdomen, and that action revealed a deep attachment, as if he was acting like a baby.

Heymos didn't speak, he just looked down at the boy in his arms, his eyes were deep, as if he was thinking about something, but his eyes were still gentle.

His hand gently stroked the boy's golden hair.