Chapter 19  : Ancient Saying!

“By using your own mirror, you would be able to tidy up your own appearance.

“By using others as your mirror, you would be able to see your gains and losses each day.

“By using the past as your mirror, you would be able to see the rise and fall of history.”

The phrase that Lorne mentioned was spoken in a leisurely manner.

However, when Kyle heard it, his body trembled from the words. His originally probing gaze instantly turned pale with shock.

This sentence… felt so philosophical!

Kyle felt his scalp go numb as he repeated these three sentences again and again. Every time he repeated it, he felt that the meaning was profound enough to have an endless aftertaste.

This young man in front of him, who looked to not even be twenty years old, was actually able to say something as profound as this!

If he had not witnessed it coming out of Lorne’s mouth, Kyle would have really thought that this sentence was from an old grandmaster that resided in the mountains.

At the very least, he should have had decades of experience in life and have witnessed great storms to be able to produce such a profound sentence.

Once again, Kyle wondered if this man was an incarnation of God. However, Lorne’s young appearance confused him to a great degree. Who would have thought that under this delicate and handsome appearance, there was so much wisdom!

He was well-versed in the Arts of War, had outstanding wisdom, had the foresight, and had a unique vision!

Kyle could not help but stare at him in awe.

“By using others as your mirror, you would be able to see your gains and losses each day. Gosh, this sentence is really good! Old friend, I really have to hand it to you, just based on today’s talk, you deserve my highest praise!”

As he spoke, Kyle stood up, crossed his arm, and bowed. This was the first time he has treated a person with such a serious attitude after becoming the King of Lolan.

This was enough to prove how important Lorne was in his heart.

Lorne did not know Kyle’s true identity at all. So, he felt that it was reasonable for a merchant like him to be convinced by his words. After all, this sentence was something that King Kyle had summed up after half a lifetime of hard work. Knowing this, Lorne still casually walked up to Kyle and patted him on the back.

“Hey, old friend, you’re too much. Why’re you being like this? This is just something I casually said. It’s not worth this grand gesture at all.”

Kyle could not help but laugh when he saw the tavern boss’s attitude. After interacting with him for this long, he could now roughly understand Lorne’s temperament.

“Boss, I shall etch these three sentences in my heart forever, it truly means a lot to me. But what does this have to do with the frustration I just mentioned?”

Lorne pulled Kyle back to his seat before he spoke again.

“Think carefully about the second sentence. With this old butler by your side, wouldn’t it be the same as using others as a mirror? Since you say that he is a person with a good character and is honest and upright, then won’t he be of considerable use to you?

“I think it’s important to have such a person by your side. Although you are a merchant, at the very least, someone around you needs to tell you the truth. If everyone around you only knows how to suck up to you, they won’t be able to point out your mistakes.

“As time goes by, the only thing you’ll hear would be colorful words, and you’ll end up blindly ignoring your own flaws and mistakes.

“If there’s a fatal flaw or loophole, no one will dare tell you, and you won’t know it yourself either. I’m afraid that you will suffer a great loss from this, my friend.”

After Lorne said this in a serious manner, Kyle immediately fell into deep thought. He had to admit that what Lorne said made sense.

He as the king should have sycophants around him. Otherwise, over time, he would not be able to hear the truth and get clouded from the praises. He would become blind were that to happen.

If he was really just a simple merchant, he might be able to ignore this drawback. However, his real identity was being the King of Lolan. Could the king only have people around who flattered him?

Were that to happen, would he still be considered wise?

After much consideration, Kyle still pressed on with this matter, “Then why must this old butler speak so directly to me and be so merciless? Even if he tries to persuade me, he should be more tactful. This way, when I hear it, I’ll be more accepting of his behavior.”

Lorne shook his head hearing what the other man said.

“Obviously, it won’t work. If he really tries to be tactful, will you still be willing to listen to him? I’m sure that you would just be more annoyed. So much so that you will turn a blind eye towards his opinions.

“I see that you still don’t quite understand. I’ll give you an example, but you just have to listen. You really can’t share this with others, okay?”

Kyle hurriedly nodded like a little kid promising he would stay good once he got his candy. His eyes widened with curiosity, waiting for Lorne to continue.

Lorne pointed upwards.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but the current king has a subject by his side. His name is Andrew.”

Kyle could not help but feel his heart skip a beat.

How the f*ck did he know about Andrew? Naturally, Kyle was shocked. He almost thought that his true identity had been discovered. However, seeing that Lorne did not show any other unusual behavior, he tried to calm himself down.

“Andrew? I seem to have heard of him before. Why don’t you tell me in detail?”

Lorne nodded.

“This Andrew is just like the old butler you mentioned just now. He’s a person with a stubborn temper and has a very straightforward personality. He was an old subject that worked for a certain person in the past.”

This person referred to the First Prince, but Lorne did not say it out loud and continued on speaking. He believed that his old friend would be able to fill in the gaps himself.

“The relationship between that person and the king evolved to a point where they would bicker all the time, they seemed as though they were enemies. However, not only did the current king not do anything to him, he even re-appointed Andrew and placed him by his side.”

“What does this mean? Was it because Andrew was one of the few people around him who dared to speak the truth?”

Lorne nodded to what Kyle said before he continued to speak.

“Not only did the king not punish him, but he even placed him in an important position.. This showed that the king was magnanimous and benevolent. This showed the brilliancy of the king!”