Chapter 117: I Told You Not to Touch (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: I Told You Not to Touch (6)
He might not feel so wronged if he had caught even a glimpse of Calian’s shadow, let alone the prince himself.
“What kind of absurd nonsense is this?”
It hadn’t even been a day since Calian disappeared. To be honest, Marquis Brissen had only just learned of it. Yet Siegfried was already refusing to release Franz unless Calian was handed over.
And what on earth was Franz thinking, trusting the Siegfried knights enough to just follow them? If they called him out in the dead of night, he should have been suspicious. Why did he walk right into the Siegfried mansion and let things get to this point? It was utterly incomprehensible.
The misunderstanding that they had injured Gray was already infuriating enough. Then they had ransacked his estate, claiming he had imprisoned Arsen. Now they were accusing him of holding Calian captive.
“King Lemain himself is staying quiet, so why do these lumbering oafs from Siegfried keep sticking their noses where they don't belong?” Marquis Evan Brissen, who was entirely innocent aside from locking up Lennon Brissen and running a gambling den, fumed with rage.
“His Majesty must be assessing the situation,” the butler said calmly. “With the third prince missing and the second prince detained, he cannot simply attack Siegfried as he pleases.”
“…Yes. He can’t move rashly. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to Franz, nor would he risk Siegfried becoming the first house to drag a king from his throne.”
Agreeing with his butler, Evan organized his thoughts and let out an irritated sigh. The fact that he had to resolve this himself when even the king wasn't intervening was enough to drive him mad.
“What will you do?”
At the butler’s question, Evan was about to order him to prepare the knights, but he held his tongue. A moment later, barely suppressing his anger, he replied, “……I wish to be alone for a moment.”
He needed to think.
In his heart, he wanted to lead his knights to Siegfried’s gates right this instant.
—You act like a mere jackal.
But those words had been spoken to him by a boy young enough to be his grandson—no, by his actual grandson. He never wanted to be seen that way again.
“Who stands to gain the most if the third prince disappears and Siegfried and Brissen clash?”
Without a doubt, it was Randel.
It seemed those brainless fools at Siegfried hadn’t even considered that possibility and were simply cornering Brissen out of sheer stupidity.
“But isn’t the third prince a Sword Master?”
Even Evan himself couldn’t guarantee victory against Calian. Although he didn’t know what trick Calian had used, no aura could be felt from him. Therefore, unless one possessed martial prowess on par with Suleiman…
“Is this Suleiman’s own doing?”
As his thoughts reached that point, Evan’s face stiffened.
“No. Suleiman was reportedly out of the capital from yesterday afternoon until just a moment ago. It couldn’t be him.”
He briefly considered Sir Teilan, the knight who had accompanied the Crown Prince of Secritia, but shook his head again. Teilan had no reason to do such a thing, and with Chase inside the royal palace, the risk was far too high.
That left only one possibility.
“Gray… Yes. Gray, who already had one foot in Randel’s camp, might have intervened. Since his strength should be comparable to or greater than the third prince’s, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to capture, kill, or imprison him.”
Evan was still unaware that Gray could no longer use his aura.
“Did Randel and Gray work together to pull this off?”
Having arrived at this completely false conclusion, Evan sat at his desk and pulled out a sheet of stationery. He decided to send a letter first rather than marching on Siegfried.
If Randel had indeed joined hands with Gray, he couldn’t afford to make an enemy of Siegfried right now.
* * *
The moment insight met the abyss, they recognized one another.
Instantly. Unequivocally.
It had happened the previous day, when Chase, who had gone to Chermil Palace to find Franz, took a brief stroll through the Rose Garden.
“It seems there is nothing left to prune,” Chase said, watching Randel’s hands as he tended to the roses.
Turning his head at the unfamiliar voice, Randel slowly stood up. He dismissed his attendants and quietly replied to the stranger who had ventured so deep into the garden.
“Even if you leave them for a short while, they grow back.”
And so, they faced each other.
Without even exchanging greetings, the two stood still and simply observed one another.
The abyss sought to swallow insight, while insight pierced through the abyss.
“Wouldn’t it be fine to just let them grow?”
Randel quietly gazed into Chase’s deep violet eyes before replying, “I do not like things that step out of bounds.”
“Lest you hurt your hand?”
A breeze blew.
Just as the scent of roses lingering on the wind began to fade, Chase smiled faintly and spoke again.
“……I say this out of concern. They have thorns, after all.”
His voice followed, as soft as the fading scent of roses.
Once more, the wind blew.
* * *
The annex of Rubia Hall was built for distinguished guests among the envoys visiting Kairis. In truth, very few received the kind of treatment that warranted its use. Because of this, the annex was rarely opened, and seeing people enter or leave was an uncommon sight.
Except, of course, for recently.
Since Chase, the Crown Prince of Secritia, had taken up residence there, the annex of Rubia Hall had been quite bustling. And starting yesterday, a few individuals moving busily between the palace grounds and the hall had become particularly noticeable.
One of them was none other than Sir Teilan.
Knock, knock.
Striding quickly into the annex, Teilan knocked on the door of Chase’s room on the highest floor.
“It is Castrin, Your Royal Highness.”
Then, without waiting for permission, he opened the door and stepped inside—a privilege granted only to him as Chase’s personal escort.
Chase stood with his back to the door, looking out the window. Watching Teilan’s reflection in the glass, he spoke.
“Still nothing from Siegfried?”
“No, Your Highness. No other news yet.”
“I see.”
A soft sigh escaped Chase’s lips.
Teilan didn’t understand why Chase cared so much about the third prince of Kairis, but he knew better than to ask. Instead, he delivered the information he had gathered.
“The mages of the Association have begun to investigate. Should we send in the birds?”
“Let them move as they are. They won’t clash.”
“Understood.”
“Any other news?”
“There is no unusual movement within the capital. By order of King Lemain, inspections at the capital gates have been tightened, but they report no suspicious individuals among those entering or leaving.”
Even the information brought back by the birds operating in Kairis showed no trace of their movements.
“They are either keeping a low profile and watching the situation, have retreated to wait for the next opportunity, or they are already all dead.”
“Yes. However, it would be best to rule out the possibility of them all being dead.”
“Indeed. The birds reported no bodies were left at the scene of the battle, so we must assume someone cleaned up.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
Nodding, Chase shifted his gaze away from Teilan’s reflection. Looking out at the fountain in the courtyard, he spoke again.
“And the House of Marquis Brissen?”
“They have shown no significant reaction yet.”
“Slower than I thought.”
Falling back into thought for a moment, Chase nodded. “I see.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Teilan bowed to Chase’s back and left the room. Hearing the door close, Chase recalled his meeting with Randel the previous day and murmured quietly, “It doesn’t seem to be Prince Randel just yet…”
Chase did not know exactly what Randel had said to Calian. However, he knew slightly more than Bern did about Randel’s disposition when he had become the King of Tensil. Guessing how Randel viewed his other two brothers was not a difficult task.
Randel was not yet backed into a corner enough to send a blade after Calian. He was not the type to act so foolishly. He likely knew nothing about this incident.
“Then who could it be?”
Chase’s face, reflected in the window, was frozen cold.
* * *
“I’d like to start a rumor,” Calian said, leaning against the bed with a deathly pale face.
“A rumor about this incident?” asked Demirea, who had lived her life completely indifferent to such things.
“Yes. That I’ve disappeared.”
Calian replied with a mischievous expression that didn’t match his complexion at all—one so pale he looked as if he could lose consciousness again at any moment. He knew better than anyone how much nobles cared about rumors, as they were directly tied to their honor. He had used the power of false rumors multiple times before.
“Marquis Brissen won’t be able to move rashly anymore.” Calian glanced at Franz, who sat beside the bed with his eyes quietly closed. Just moments ago, Franz had filled him in on everything that had happened since they last met, including what he had said to Evan at the ball.
Judging that Evan would want to sweep this under the rug, Calian decided to borrow the power of rumors once again.
“It would be too quiet if the Marquis just sits back and sends letters.”
“Are you telling me to fabricate and spread a story that puts Brissen at a disadvantage?”
“Yes. That way, the news of this incident will spread along with it,” Calian said casually as he peeled a banana.
“Understood. A mage from the Association should be nearby. I will pass on the message.”
“Did I say the Association would step in?”
“You did not.”
“Yet you know so well.”
“Aren’t they the type to take action on their own when it comes to anything involving Prince Calian?”
Calian chuckled, seeing how different Demirea was from Yan, who seemed to have used up a lifetime’s worth of intelligence not too long ago. “True. Anyway, that baby elephant must be crying for his master again. Tell them to let him know I’ve woken up as well.”
Demirea smiled briefly. “Understood.”
“Thank you, Demirea.” He was truly indebted to her in many ways. The matter of the shield was merely a pretext; for her to lock her gates and step forward like this was less a decision based on their alliance and more Demirea unilaterally helping him.
“I will collect the price for this later. And it will be expensive,” she added, pointing to the pile of banana peels. “Including the cost of the bananas.”
“Ah, I should have paced myself.”
“They aren’t free, so eat as much as you like.”
Calian nodded with a smile, and Demirea left after a brief farewell. She was heading out to meet Euria’s mage, who would be hiding somewhere around the mansion.
After she left, Calian turned to speak to Franz, but Franz spoke first. “I don’t need it.”
“Right.” Giving up on saying thank you yet again, Calian held up the last remaining banana. “Want some, Brother?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Since Calian never said the same thing twice, he didn’t offer twice either. He simply nodded and ate the banana, then looked at Franz and said, “……They were the warriors of the Great Desert.”
What followed was information he couldn’t share with Demirea just yet. He couldn’t speak to others about that power, which felt similar to the one Randel had used.
“I felt a sensation similar to the power Brother Randel used. There was one with an ability like aura, and four with abilities like magic. The strongest was the swordsman, and all five possessed healing powers.”
“Which means the warriors of the Great Desert used divine power,” Franz concluded, his eyes opening slightly.
“If we can call it divine power, yes. I actually thought Tensil might be behind this. I wondered if they had acted independently of Brother Randel.”
The known information clearly pointed to Tensil, and they had a plausible motive. Calian was the greatest obstacle in Randel’s path. If Randel became King of Kairis, what greater benefit could there be for Tensil? It was highly plausible for them to target Calian’s life, independent of Randel.
“It’s because my little brother is so exceptionally outstanding,” Franz remarked dryly.
Calian chuckled. “But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem feasible, so I’ve set that suspicion aside. Even if they joined hands with the Great Desert, would Tensil really commit an act that could instantly escalate into war if things went wrong?”
“Indeed.”
“Then who could it be… No one else comes to mind. Unlike you, Brother, I don’t think I’ve lived a life bad enough to get attacked in the capital.”
“Stop talking nonsense,” Franz grumbled.
Seeing his reaction, Calian grinned. He was deep in thought, weighing various possibilities, when Franz spoke again.
“Stop thinking.”
Despite stuffing himself with bananas and speaking so casually, Calian still looked like he was on the verge of death.
“Okay.”
Nodding without a second thought, Calian lay down. Soon, he drifted back to sleep.
He only opened his eyes again after a full day had passed. In the meantime, the rumors Euria had faithfully spread eventually brought Marquis Brissen to their doorstep. He left after making a round of threats.
As five more days passed, Kairis was completely consumed with talk of Calian’s disappearance. The nobles who supported Calian visited the royal palace daily, but King Lemain remained silent.
And then, their targets finally made their move.
Hearing the news, Calian smiled.
“Call my Master.”
I nearly died fighting five of them. There’s no way in hell I’m going alone.
The time had come to witness the skills of Alan Manasil, a man overflowing with love for his disciple.