Chapter 113: Don't Touch (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 113: Don't Touch (2)
"The Warriors of the Great Desert and Tensil have met."
At those words, Franz's eyes flickered, and the smile on Chase's face deepened. Without letting that smile fade, he spoke.
"Since my younger brother has grown quite soft—"
"Ha."
Before Chase could finish, a short, sharp laugh escaped Franz's lips. It was a sound somewhere between a scoff and a sneer.
Grown soft, he says.
If anyone else heard that, they would mistakenly think Calian was nothing more than a pretty, pampered prince.
Anyone who sparred with Calian ended up with a slit throat.
He was the same bastard who had broken Gray's back just to keep him out of Kairisis. When he’d stirred up trouble to ease Marquis Evan Brissen's suspicions, nearly fifty people had died. When Kyrie returned from that mission and reported what had happened, his younger brother had simply nodded, completely unfazed.
There was a reason Raven obeyed only Calian.
There was a reason that mad dog Arsen, who even bared his teeth at Alan, wagged his tail only for Calian.
"Soft, you say."
"He really has grown very soft."
Chase couldn't be saying this out of ignorance. If anything, he likely knew far more about Calian's movements than Franz did.
That was why Franz laughed.
It was a laugh that asked: Just how terrifying was he in the 'past,' then?
"I wondered if that was why. But it seems I was wrong."
Chase, paying no mind to Franz's complicated feelings, spoke cryptically. Much like Franz's own manner of speaking, his words had no clear beginning or end.
"I found it quite intriguing that three princes still live in Chermil Palace."
"I suppose you expected your brother to have slaughtered us by now."
Franz understood the meaning behind those words—and the thorn hidden within them—perfectly.
"You must find it incredibly shocking that my younger brother spared my life."
"Yes. I did."
"So you thought my younger brother spared me because he grew soft-hearted, but there was another reason?"
"Exactly. You're quick-witted, Prince Franz. I suppose that's why you're still alive."
Realizing Chase meant he was just smart enough for Calian to bother keeping alive, Franz leaned back against the sofa and spoke in a languid voice.
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"It is a compliment."
It was up to Franz to decide which parts of that were actually complimentary.
"At any rate, I believe that is all I need to convey. That Tensil and the Great Desert have joined hands."
"I'm starting to get curious."
As Chase silently rose from his seat, having nothing more to say, Franz spoke up.
"My younger brother is moving so busily. Why are you, his former older brother, staying so still?"
"Should I not be?"
Calian had used his very life as collateral to establish Valkan.
After that, he gathered mages and knights, trained himself in swordsmanship and magic, and prepared for something with the utmost diligence.
"What my younger brother is preparing for seems to be about more than just the position of Crown Prince. I don't understand why you're doing nothing, unlike him."
Calian was clearly preparing for something.
It was obvious he was trying to grow his own power while minimizing any damage to Kairis.
If he only wanted the throne, he wouldn't need to sit around playing mind games. What could be easier for Calian than snapping the necks of Franz and Randel?
That was why Franz was curious. If Chase knew the same things Calian did, he should have at least created an organization similar to Valkan. Yet, Secritia's movements were entirely ordinary. They had merely rooted out some spies, but nothing more.
"Well. How should I explain it?"
Chase spoke.
His eyes were a deep violet. However, unlike Randel's suffocating gaze, his shone with profound insight.
"That is not for me to interfere with."
Chase would change nothing.
"I intend to make the exact same decisions and build the exact same country as I did in the past. Only then can my brother be the one to hold that power in his hands. Isn't that so?"
Franz merely nodded without a word.
Deeming the conversation over, Chase turned to leave. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned back to Franz.
"Sir Manasil also seems to know my brother's secret. Is there anyone else who knows?"
"...It might be faster to ask who doesn't know."
For the first time, a look of bewilderment crossed Chase's face.
Seeing that, one corner of Franz's mouth curled upward.
* * *
Alan peeled a tangerine from the plate in front of him and popped a segment into his mouth.
Lemain, who had briefly looked up from his documents to watch, adjusted his glasses with a tap of his finger.
"It's sour."
Alan's face instantly crumpled.
Lemain had deliberately waited until Alan had it in his mouth and was chewing before telling him. He had definitely done it on purpose.
Barely managing to swallow the fruit, which was so sour he could neither spit it out nor swallow it easily, Alan grumbled.
"Don't laugh."
Lemain, hiding his face behind his documents, let out a fake cough.
It was obvious. He was laughing.
Soon, Lemain lowered the documents, took off his glasses, and stood up. He walked over to sit across from Alan, speaking with an innocent expression as if nothing had happened.
"I heard he plans to gather knights, which is why I held the hunting competition for him. However, I didn't hear anything about keeping them in the capital."
"Which is why I'm here delivering the news now, isn't it?"
Alan had come to obtain Lemain's permission on Calian's behalf for the request Calian had made to Suleiman.
"A knight order gathered from eleven different families is cause for concern. Knights are different from mages. They won't follow Calian as blindly. They could easily turn on him."
"The prince is well aware of that. He knows full well that if things go wrong, the struggle for the throne could escalate into an actual civil war."
"And he's proposing this, knowing the risks?"
Hearing this, Alan pointed at the tangerine and said, "Whether you eat one segment or the whole thing, it's still sour."
Lemain took this to mean the risk was the same regardless and nodded slightly.
But then, Alan smirked.
"I mean that whether it's just the Brissens or a dozen other families, Your Majesty's life is on the line either way."
"Ah."
"So you were talking about my neck."
Lemain let out a soft sigh.
Of course, Alan paid no mind to his reaction and continued. He peeled off another segment of the sour tangerine and popped it into his mouth. Grimacing just as he had before, he spoke.
"If the day ever comes when they draw their swords on the palace, Your Majesty's third son will be standing in their way, so don't worry. He always protects his own, doesn't he?"
Besides, it wasn't as if Calian hadn't considered the possibility of their betrayal. He had surely thought all of this through already.
"In any case, nobles are driven by self-interest. As long as following the prince remains profitable for them, it won't be a problem."
"Even so, I can't simply ignore it. I'll think it over and give you an answer by tomorrow."
"Understood. Please do."
Alan, who had expected as much, nodded readily.
"By the way, I have never seen a tangerine this sour."
He wasn't speaking in metaphors; he was talking about the actual tangerine. The fruit, still tinged with green, was so sour that it was hard to find any sweetness in it.
"I heard the Crown Prince of Secritia brought them."
"Then are these tangerines from Secritia?"
"The Crown Prince of Secritia would hardly bring fruit from another country, would he?"
Tangerines from Secritia.
And they were brought by Chase himself.
The moment Lemain finished his explanation, the entire basket of tangerines on the table vanished.
To Lemain, who stared at him as if asking why he was taking something he couldn't even eat, Alan softened his sharp eyes into a gentle curve.
"Your Majesty should eat something else."
Would Chase have cast preservation magic on tangerines just to bring them for Lemain to eat? Of course not. Smiling warmly, Alan thought of bringing all of these precious tangerines to his beloved disciple.
* * *
Euria was truly a mage at heart.
She showed immense curiosity about the stone Calian presented.
"Are you saying it has the power to correct time?"
"I'm not certain. It's just speculation."
It had, after all, corrected the order of Sia's answers and allowed time, once frozen for the unfading rose, to flow again.
Although it had no effect on Calian, who had traveled back in time, Sia and the rose alone suggested it was related to 'time.'
Calian had only shared the details of this matter with Alan.
This was because Serenti was involved. It was completely different from the power struggle in the palace; in a way, it could be seen as Calian's personal matter. He hadn't wanted to involve the mages or borrow Euria's strength for this.
"Time... What an intriguing power. Though I don't know what these characters mean."
He had also assumed Euria wouldn't know, which turned out to be correct. Just as Calian expected, Euria shook her head after examining the characters engraved on the stone.
"I heard that Secritia also has a forgotten script. Could it be that?"
"No. I've already checked that."
It was, after all, a language Calian himself knew very well. Recalling the unremarkable script that had been passed down, Calian shook his head.
Soon, Euria brought out all kinds of theological books from her study. Picking one of them up, Calian spoke with a hint of amusement.
"This is unexpected. A chronicle of the War of the Two Gods in a mage's study. I thought mages didn't believe in Serenti."
"Not believing is different from denying, isn't it? We mages are different from the priests of Tensil. We don't deny Serenti's existence. Above all, Sispanian was present there. Therefore, all mages learn about Serenti in detail, Your Highness."
The original Calian's memories contained no detailed knowledge about the War of the Two Gods or the Chief God Serenti. His knowledge was limited to what he’d learned in his royal lessons, since he had taught himself magic.
Taking up a pen and paper, Euria copied the shape of the stone and the characters engraved on it, then asked, "During the Roselita festival, in the Sting and Nerika territories, right? And it was being held by an elf boy named Luca."
"Yes. That's correct."
"Understood. From here on, this is my job, Your Highness. Please return to the palace for now. I'll let you know if I find anything."
Calian let out a soft chuckle. Euria looked at him, her eyes asking what was so funny.
"It's just... I feel like I'm not doing anything myself these days. Everyone just tells me to leave it to them."
"It's no different from you moving yourself," Euria replied with a smile. "After all, Your Highness is not the one who moves, but the one who commands."
"Is that so? I don't know."
Realizing there was nothing more he could do to help, Calian nodded. He then added a word of caution.
"When I first obtained that stone, the scent of blood on it was very strong. It's an object that cost someone their life, so it would be best to be careful."
"Yes, I understand. Don't worry."
Euria knew well what the scent of blood meant to knights. She nodded in understanding.
* * *
In the morning, he had met with Suleiman, and then he had come to the Mage Association.
On his way back after meeting Euria and Melfir, he had run into Sia and returned to the association. Then, he had spoken with Euria for quite a long time.
Before he knew it, night had fallen.
"Ah."
Only after stepping outside did Calian realize how much time had passed, letting out a troubled sigh.
"Yan will be worried."
He had intended to return quickly, so he’d left alone without telling anyone—not even Kyrie—where he was going. Yan was surely beside himself with worry, probably sending people out in every direction to find him.
At the distressed look on Calian's face, Raven, who had been walking at a leisurely pace, quickened his steps of his own accord. Sensing this, Calian stroked Raven's mane, ruffling it gently. As Raven made his way toward the royal capital on his own, Calian kept his hood pulled down low. Some time passed.
"Hold on, Raven."
This time, Calian stopped Raven.
He lifted his head, an amused expression on his face. He had sensed a presence so well-hidden that even Raven hadn't stopped for it.
Kairisis was vast.
There were quiet, secluded spots everywhere.
In one of those spots, several figures were slowly approaching the prince's black horse—the very horse Sia had recognized. Since Kairisis was in its festival season, it seemed they were getting all sorts of guests. During the day it was Sia, and at night...
"What brings you all the way out here?"
A gleam of delight, as if he had spotted a welcome sight, lit up his red eyes.
"...Warriors of the Great Desert."
Sensing their distinct battle spirit directed squarely at him, Calian's smile deepened.