Chapter 10: Nice to Meet You (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10: Nice to Meet You (3)
From the platform, he smiled and waved to the crowd.
That was the extent of a prince's role, and Calian had no desire to do any more. Soon, Lemain delivered a lengthy address, thanking those who had gathered. The ceremony proceeded with the bestowing of knighthoods upon several commoner soldiers, the elevation of a few nobles’ titles, and the granting of estates.
Once the event in the plaza concluded, Calian gave one last wave before returning to the royal palace.
Of course, he was well aware that the crowd had been whispering and staring at him throughout the ceremony. Since he had chosen to make an appearance, he had expected the attention.
– Black hair, red eyes.
However, he had no idea that the people, captivated by his flawless appearance, were seeing a ghost of the past in his features and whispering a certain name.
Returning to his room, Calian ate every last bite of the lunch Yan brought him. He hadn't broken his promise to Yan once. Afterward, he changed into a new set of clothes.
Since the attire was for a tea gathering rather than a formal banquet, he had stubbornly insisted on a simple design. He only relented on one point, agreeing to add a single decorative pin at Melfir’s suggestion.
‘But make it the smallest one.’
With those words, Calian had chosen a pin with three thin chains connecting the two sides of his shirt collar. A pendant, no larger than a fingernail, hung from the center of the shortest chain.
All the other accessories had been far too flashy for his taste, so he decided this would be the only pin he would wear, even with other formal attire.
Calian had no inkling of the ripples this simple collar pin would soon cause.
Having finished his preparations just in time, Calian stepped out of Chermil Palace and boarded the carriage once more. His face was pale with fatigue as he spoke.
"I can barely think straight."
"I know what you mean. This year seems exceptionally busy."
Yan nodded, his own face drawn with exhaustion. Assisting Calian meant Yan was fighting a battle of his own today. It was a small relief that the luncheon had been canceled.
Their destination was Senyu Hall, where Calian had recently dined with Viscount Brissen. There, he was scheduled to have tea with various nobles. Of course, the role of the princes was simply to exchange greetings and sit quietly. As long as he didn't fall asleep, he would be fine.
Thinking of the nobles he was about to meet, Calian suddenly asked, "Yan, you said your family is in Kairisis too, right?"
While most of Secritia’s nobles resided in their own territories, a significant number of Kairis nobles left estate managers in charge of their lands and spent most of the year in the capital. It seemed Yan’s family was one of them.
Yan had once mentioned that his family lived in Kairisis. At the sudden question, his eyes widened.
"You remembered, Your Highness. My younger sister and father are back in our hometown, but the rest of my family lives in Kairisis."
"Then will they be coming to the palace today?"
The memory belonged to the original Calian, not him, so he offered an awkward smile as he asked. This time, Yan returned an awkward smile of his own.
"Yes… If they received an invitation, they will."
It was a vague answer. He seemed reluctant to say more on the matter.
Servants in the Kairis royal palace did not reveal their family names. Some even used childhood names or aliases. When they first entered service, the internal affairs office verified their real names and conducted thorough background checks, but after that, their given names were rarely used. This was because many of the nobles working as servants or maids were illegitimate children or from obscure families and preferred not to speak of their origins.
Assuming Yan had similar circumstances, Calian nodded and didn't press further.
Before long, the carriage pulled up in front of Senyu Hall.
Calian composed the relaxed expression he wore when alone with Yan and stepped out of the carriage. Straightening his posture, he walked toward the hall where the nobles were gathered and gave a brief nod to the knight at the door.
The knight saluted, threw open the doors, and announced his arrival.
"Announcing His Highness, Prince Calian Rain Kairis!"
The eyes of everyone in the hall—those who had no need to squeeze into a crowded plaza to see the king and had instead been waiting for the two o'clock tea—all converged on a single point.
At that exact moment, the same thought flashed through every mind.
‘So the rumors were true.’
These were the central nobles of the kingdom. Every one of them was an influential, high-ranking figure, which meant they were exceptionally quick to gather information.
They had already received two reports.
First, that Prince Franz had arrived at the ceremony intoxicated. Second, that almost no one had noticed, because everyone, as if by unspoken agreement, had been staring at a single person.
– Black hair, red eyes.
– The third prince who resembles Sispanian.
When word of these whispers reached them after the event, the nobles had simply laughed. They assumed his eye color had become visible because he’d cut his hair, and that the gossips had spun a tale for their own amusement. They had not imagined for a moment that Calian could have transformed so completely.
Thus, the sight of Calian walking in struck them like a physical blow. With astonished eyes, they scrutinized his every movement.
Though he had not yet shed his boyish features, his strikingly handsome face and brilliantly shining red eyes left a powerful impression that made it difficult to look away. He already wore a smile that exuded royal dignity. His bearing was so graceful that murmurs of genuine admiration escaped their lips. They, of all people, knew that such elegance could not be achieved through mere practice.
‘When did he become like that…?’
By his presence alone, Calian was proving himself every bit a royal of Kairis. It was no wonder people had been reminded of Sispanian, who had possessed the exact same hair and eye color.
But that wasn't all.
The clothes Calian wore were also peculiar.
Underneath a fitted, navy jacket that fell below his knees, he wore matching trousers and a white shirt. The long jacket was unadorned, save for its buttons. As a result, the small accessory fastening his collar stood out all the more.
The pendant on the collar pin.
It was a ruby that gleamed with the exact same hue as the eyes Calian had hidden for so long. It was a color the old Calian would have never chosen.
‘It’s a declaration. That he will no longer live in hiding.’
‘Indeed.’
They had no way of knowing that Calian, finding Franz’s description of “bloodshot eyes” memorable, remained completely oblivious to the fact that his eyes and the ruby were the exact same color.
Having jumped to their own conclusions, the nobles felt a chill run down their spines. Realizing they had not yet paid their respects, they hurriedly bowed. Their attitude was a stark contrast to the half-hearted nods they would have given him before.
Whatever their reasons, Calian met the eyes of each noble bowing to him. Then, he offered a slight smile.
"Pleased to meet you."
After that brief greeting, he immediately took his seat.
There was no grand flourish. The simple words were delivered with an effortless composure.
That single phrase. This time, it was those words that caused a misunderstanding.
‘Pleased to meet us? Isn’t that something you say when meeting someone for the first time? What could he possibly mean by that?’
Soon, the nobles began exchanging silent glances, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind Calian's greeting.
‘Oops.’
Calian inwardly cursed himself. He had expected their attention, but the sheer intensity of their gazes had made him momentarily forget that he had met these nobles before.
‘It’s alright, Your Highness. It’s just a casual greeting. They probably won’t think anything of it!’ Yan whispered reassuringly from behind him.
If either of them had properly grasped the situation, they might have prevented the absurd events that followed—namely, the skyrocketing price of rubies in Kairis and the sudden, frantic surge of people setting off to find Sispanian’s empty nest, which had lain vacant for five hundred years.
Furthermore, it might have prevented someone watching Calian from growing increasingly anxious.
*
Siegfried's Summer Night.
It was widely considered the greatest masterpiece by Olive Wrench, a famous violinist and composer from the Libern Kingdom. The piece expressed the emotions Wrench felt upon first seeing Siegfried Hall after being invited to the Kairis royal palace.
Renowned as the most beautiful building in the palace, Siegfried Hall was a massive, amber-shaped banquet hall constructed with platinum-plated pillars and crystal walls. When the magic lamps were lit at night, the entire building glowed like a brilliant gemstone, exuding a fantastical aura. The violin melody captured both the ecstasy of that sight and the underlying solitude of the royal palace, often moving listeners to tears of both joy and sorrow.
‘A true musician must visit Siegfried Hall’ had become a common saying.
The hall was named for the House of Duke Siegfried, which, along with the House of Marquis Brissen, was one of the two great knightly families of Kairis. It was named after Duke Quetros Hon Siegfried, the first head of the family and one of the eight heroes of the War of the Two Gods. However, because Quetros had fallen in battle on a midsummer night, it was said that the House of Siegfried held the musical piece in even higher, more poignant regard than the royal family did.
And now, that very piece was flowing through the beautiful hall. The people gathered inside quieted their conversations to appreciate the music.
"To think this piece would be played at this very moment! How could one not love this place!" a man who had just arrived at the entrance exclaimed with a hearty laugh.
His voice was booming. Recognizing him, several nobles approached with warm welcomes.
"Duke Siegfried, you’ve arrived."
The head of the House of Duke Siegfried—the sole ducal house in Kairis—and one of the continent's five Sword Masters, this formidable man hummed along to the melody while mimicking the motion of playing a violin. The crowd around him burst into laughter.
"With gestures like those, I find myself even more curious about your violin skills, Duke."
"Why don't you come to my estate for a vacation sometime? I would gladly play for you."
"Very well. I shall look forward to it with great anticipation."
"Of course. As they say, there may be a Siegfried who cannot wield a sword, but there is no Siegfried who cannot play the violin."
"Is that so? That’s quite an amusing saying."
Because they were conversing near the entrance, their voices carried clearly to Calian, who was approaching Siegfried Hall on Raven's back.
"He seems quite cheerful. His name was…" Calian murmured with a pleasant smile.
Yan, who was staring at the same man with a look of utter distaste, answered as the prince searched his memory.
"He is Duke Suleiman Hon Siegfried, the head of the House of Duke Siegfried, Your Highness."
Sispanian's empty nest lay in the south of Kairis, and the Siegfried territory encompassed a vast area centered around it. As the sole ducal house, the Siegfried family could have easily harbored ambitions for the throne, yet for over five hundred years, they had devoted themselves to protecting Sispanian's territory.
Back when he was Bern, Calian had heard reports about them from his spies and had been deeply impressed by the steadfast ducal house.
"Right. That's who he was."
He was exactly the type of person Calian liked. Their actions couldn't be equated to loyalty to the king, but it was their long-held conviction, not their fealty, that moved him.
"I find myself wanting to hear that violin as well."
Calian watched the duke with warm eyes.