Chapter 116: Don't Touch Him (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116: Don't Touch Him (5)
Ssshhh...
The gentle rustle of leaves lingered in the wind before fading.
Behind Chermil Palace lay a small path lined with birch trees and other nameless varieties. It wasn't original to the grounds; it had been landscaped from a wide lawn after Calian and Franz began using the nearby training ground more frequently.
Franz visited this spot often, but Calian preferred the lakeside path and rarely strolled among these trees. Randel, who favored the rose garden, never set foot here either.
Therefore, on a dark night when neither Calian nor Franz was in the palace, no prince should have been walking this path.
"Sigh..."
Instead, a young man built like a baby elephant sat with an uncharacteristically serious expression, letting out a deep sigh.
"If I'd known it would come to this, I shouldn't have put down my sword."
Is he badly hurt?
Has he woken up by now?
What if he still hasn't opened his eyes?
What if, by some chance, he never... No.
The thoughts churned in his head, keeping him from sleep. Ultimately, Yan had come outside to wallow in his worries.
Crunch, crunch.
He had been sitting there for a long while when the crunch of footsteps on gravel reached his ears. Yan turned his head in surprise, his eyes widening.
"Kyrie."
Kyrie was drenched in sweat, as if he had been training until this late hour. On his way back, he must have spotted Yan sitting miserably on a bench in the middle of the path.
"Why are you out here?"
It was long past the hour Calian would normally be asleep, making it highly unusual for Yan to be outside. Yan looked at Kyrie and hesitated.
He wondered if he should tell Kyrie that Calian wasn't in the palace. Then he remembered that Calian wasn't the only one who had left. Hina was gone, too.
"I have something to tell you."
"Yes."
Yan had Kyrie sit beside him and explained what had happened in his absence. After listening to the whole story, Kyrie simply nodded.
"I see."
Just like that.
No surprise, no worry—just a simple acknowledgment.
"Aren't you worried?"
"About what?"
"His Highness is injured, and Hina went to him."
"Hina went, and we haven't heard anything. That means there's no news that he's fine, but also no news that he isn't. She must be treating him right now, so there's no need for useless worry."
He had a point.
Still, wasn't he being far too calm?
"Even if the worst were to happen—which it won't—neither those bastards nor I would be left alive, so that would be fine, too."
Kyrie concluded, his single blue eye vivid in the darkness.
"You're saying you'll hunt them down, kill them all, and die with them?"
"Yes."
An enemy capable of harming Calian would be far too formidable for Kyrie to handle alone, yet he spoke with absolute certainty. Yan stared at him, his expression clearly saying, You're reckless, but you're also incredibly cool. Kyrie let out a soft chuckle and asked,
"Were you sitting here because you hate feeling helpless?"
He'd hit the nail on the head.
Everyone had their role. Even tiny Hina was indispensable to Calian.
"All I can do is worry. It's pathetic."
"His Highness isn't the type to keep useless people around. He keeps you by his side because he needs someone to worry for him, doesn't he?"
These words came from Kyrie, who hadn't felt a single moment of helplessness since Calian asked him to become his sword.
"So, keep worrying. When His Highness returns, just tell him you were worried. He's the type of person who leans on those words to find his rest."
Whether they helped with swordsmanship or magic, with family ties or knightly loyalty, with a clever mind, or by doting on him and treating him like a delicate flower, no matter which side of himself he showed.
The dense baby elephant—who was, in fact, one of the most indispensable people to Calian—nodded as if he understood completely. Then, his face paling, he threw himself back into worrying about Calian with all his might.
* * *
Calian had left the palace that morning and not returned.
In the middle of the night, Franz had left with a maid and also not returned. However, Franz had left under Siegfried's protection. And now, the Siegfried estate had shut its gates and was offering no response.
Lemain, who had been up all night in his office, spoke with a glacial expression.
"How am I supposed to interpret this?"
Lemain, who usually followed Alan's advice, had managed to endure for exactly one night after being told it was likely nothing and that he should wait. He had trusted that with Calian and Siegfried involved, nothing could truly go wrong.
But then he discovered that the maid who had vanished with Franz was Hina. Lemain's composure lasted only long enough for him to issue a single, sharp order: that fact was not to leave the room.
"Should I view this as treason?"
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty."
He had summoned Yan with this very question, and Yan had immediately denied the absurd accusation.
Unable to hold back any longer, Lemain pressed him.
"The Second Prince would not take a healer from the palace without reason. This means something has happened to the Third Prince, and Siegfried is involved."
Yan briefly closed his eyes. The situation was bound to arouse the king's suspicion. Worse, with no further contact from Demirea, Yan himself didn't know the details.
"...And you claim that is not treason?"
"It is absolutely not treason."
Lemain spoke in a chilling voice, his gaze fixed on Yan. Yan met it without flinching.
"Then give me one reason to wait. Before I send Valkan and Kaera to storm the Siegfried Mansion this very instant."
Calian definitely had a plan.
There had to be a reason he'd summoned Franz instead of returning to the palace. Therefore, Valkan and Kaera could not be allowed to attack the Siegfried estate. It had to be prevented at all costs.
Yan clenched his fists and opened his mouth.
"Last night, Prince Calian..."
He was about to say that Calian had been ambushed. That he was injured, and Hina had gone to heal him. He wanted to plead with Lemain to wait just a little longer, that there was a reason for all this.
Slam!
"My apologies, Your Majesty. Please forgive my intrusion."
Just then, a mage intervened.
Alan strode into the office, offering a brief apology for his rude entrance.
Alan's expression was also grim. Calian had never gone missing like this before, and Alan had never imagined Calian could get hurt. His worry for the prince was easily equal to, if not greater than, the king's.
Entering without permission and taking a seat next to Yan without being invited, Alan spoke freely.
"It appears Prince Calian was ambushed last night."
Alan had once predicted that Lemain's cause of death in this lifetime would be heart failure. Looking at the king, whose face suggested that day might be today, Alan continued.
"It seems the Prince took refuge at the Siegfried estate of his own accord. If the situation were worse, Siegfried's gates wouldn't be shut. They would have sent word."
The information Alan was relaying had come from Chase.
Although they weren't tailing Calian directly, Secritia's spies had spotted the aftermath of the battle before Demirea could erase the traces. They had received a report confirming that bloodstains led to the Siegfried Mansion, along with news of Calian and Franz's disappearance.
The discovery was made by the very spies Chase had assigned to gather information on Calian.
"He went there himself? Instead of the palace?" Lemain sounded incredulous.
Chase had given him permission to reveal that the information came from Secritia's spies. Though it would cause a major diplomatic incident, Chase was willing to bear the fallout to ensure Calian's plans were not ruined.
Fortunately, Lemain didn't ask about the source. He had a more reliable person to verify the story with, after all.
Lemain's eyes turned back to Yan.
His expression asked if this was what Yan had been about to say. With a heavy look, Yan confirmed it.
"That is correct."
"I will bring him back."
The moment Yan finished, Lemain declared.
"I will not leave an injured prince in a mere mansion, especially when it is not even their official territory."
Alan spoke up once more.
Having learned that Franz had visited after the traces of battle were erased and that the gates had been shut afterward, Chase had roughly deduced what the two princes were planning and relayed his theory to Alan.
"Your Majesty's sword must not be pointed at Siegfried. Within a few days, Siegfried will clash with Brissen. You must keep your eyes on that conflict."
After delivering the full message, Alan added, "Since Duke Siegfried is with them, you need not worry about the Prince's safety. For now, watch the situation. Once a clear direction emerges, then you can dispatch Valkan."
After those words, Lemain fell into deep thought for nearly an hour. Following Alan's advice, he decided to observe how things unfolded for the time being.
Having barely managed to calm Lemain, Alan was forced to intervene again a few hours later when the king shot to his feet, ready to take action.
This was because Duke Suleiman had arrived at the palace, practically babbling:
"My kid won't open the door to my own house. Anyone know what the hell is going on?"
* * *
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
He had listened to nothing but that sound all night.
Calian's wounds had healed significantly.
The only reason they weren't completely healed was that Franz, judging that pushing further would harm Hina, had sent her away to rest.
"I have sent a letter to the Marquis Brissen's mansion," Demirea said, approaching Franz, who had sat motionless in his chair all night. She didn't bother mentioning that Suleiman had dropped by, only to be turned away at the gates.
She hadn't let Suleiman in because, on the off chance the palace deemed this treason, she couldn't allow him to be implicated. So, Demirea had simply told him through the gates that it was nothing major and that he should stay away for a few more days.
"I see," Franz replied.
He could easily picture Evan Brissen's face, burning with rage as he read a letter filled with absurd accusations. Whether Evan came alone or led his knights, a confrontation between the two families would soon begin.
Though Demirea didn't know it, Franz wasn't worried about royal intervention. He was confident they would realize Calian was here once they learned Hina had come, and that someone—be it Alan or Chase—would stop Lemain from acting rashly.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Time flowed once more.
Who?
He had thought about it all night.
The Warrior of the Great Desert. Tensil. Their connection to Randel. Calian's wounds, which appeared to have been inflicted by an Aura user. Recalling everything he knew, Franz turned it all over in his mind, trying to deduce who was behind the attack.
For what reason?
Franz's sharp, light-green eyes turned toward Calian.
The bleeding had stopped, but Calian was still unconscious.
He'd been told Raven's fur was drenched in blood.
"...How dare they."
A low murmur escaped Franz's lips.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Time passed.
He didn't know how much. He just sat there.
"Are you here?"
And then.
"Brother."
Calian was finally awake.
A corner of Franz's mouth curled upward.
Ha.
What a truly beloved, yet infuriating, little brother.