Chapter 119: I Told You Not to Touch (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: I Told You Not to Touch (8)
The White Eagle.
He was the manager of Secritia's spy base and the same man who had sold Calian poison and a map a year ago.
"The existence of a spy is quite ironic, isn't it?" Alan mused, as if speaking to himself. "They infiltrate another country to deceive and gather information, all in the name of loyalty. If such a person changes their allegiance, is it betrayal? Or are they simply doing what they've always done? It’s hard to say."
He let out a soft chuckle.
"In any case, it's clear you're no longer a spy for Secritia. You've turned your back on your master and escaped the cage on your own."
'I can't remember his real name.'
Calian had once said as much to Alan over tea, a long time ago. Unlike the Blue Warbler, with whom he'd had a few private conversations, Calian had never been close to the White Eagle.
His memory of the man was faint: a gentle-looking, middle-aged man who favored a monocle, yet concealed a cruelty second to none. That was the extent of it.
Calian had said he simply couldn't recall who the White Eagle was before he became a spy.
And why would he?
Until the very moment Bern died, the man had remained the loyal White Eagle.
"Stop."
Staring at the third Flame Sphere hovering over Alan’s hand, the White Eagle finally spoke. He spat out the poison he’d been hiding in his mouth.
Seeing this, Alan snapped his fingers.
Click.
The shop door, which he had locked, clicked open. He had judged it safe to let someone else inside.
With a soft jingle, the bell on the door chimed as another person entered.
Step, step.
Quiet but unhesitating footsteps echoed through the room, their cadence a perfect reflection of their owner's personality.
Step.
When they stopped, a heavy silence fell.
Neither the White Eagle nor Alan spoke.
"Nered."
A voice finally broke the silence.
A calm, violet gaze settled on the man who was once the White Eagle.
*
This was the culmination of Calian's thoughts, a conclusion he had reached only a short while ago.
Just as they were about to leave the Siegfried mansion, Calian brought Raven to an abrupt halt. Seeing this, Alan reined in his own horse.
“Wait,” Calian said quietly, a sudden doubt crossing his mind. “Something isn’t right.”
"What do you find strange, Your Highness?"
“The information about suspicious individuals scouting the Siegfried and Brissen estates… it’s too precise. And it came too suddenly.”
The moment the report had come in, Calian had summoned Alan, ready to ride straight to the location.
"Infiltrators avoid sparsely populated areas because they stand out. Yet the supposed hideout has very little foot traffic."
"Are you worried it’s a trap?"
"I think it might be a trap. But I don't care if it is. Even if it's false information designed to lure me out, it wouldn't matter as long as I could deal with them and find out who's pulling the strings."
"If you aren't concerned about the information being false, then what is it you find strange?"
Calian’s gaze was fixed on Raven's saddle. "Master, has the information from the birds always matched the information from the mages?"
Though it was a question, his voice carried the conviction of someone who had already found the answer. Alan nodded.
"Yes. They matched perfectly."
"Then it's definitely strange. It makes no sense for them to align so perfectly."
"Why is that?"
"You may not know much about Secritia's spies, Master, but I do."
Alan watched Calian in silence.
Organizing his thoughts, Calian continued quietly, "The Association President is helping me gather information, but the Association's mages aren't professional informants. The birds, however, are a different story."
Calian knew all too well how many of Secritia's spies were active in Kairis and just how effective they were.
"It makes no sense for the reports to be identical. Secritia should have uncovered far more. Isn't it strange that they were exactly the same?"
His words flowed rapidly, as if he were speaking his thoughts aloud as they formed.
"To catch wind of rumors in Kairis from that remote location and devise a countermeasure, people must have been traveling back and forth. There's no way the birds would have missed that movement. So, in all likelihood…"
Even as the Third Prince of Kairis explained the true capabilities of Secritia's spies, Alan did not smile. He had already guessed what Calian was about to say.
"Crown Prince… Chase."
Calian barely managed to swallow the word 'brother' that had risen to his lips. He tightened his grip on the reins.
"I believe there is something he didn't tell you, Master."
"Are you saying Chase discovered something but chose not to pass it on to me?"
"Yes. Or rather, he couldn't pass it on."
"So, he learned something he couldn't disclose to me, to you, or to Kairis?"
"Yes. Given the situation, it's highly likely he confirmed that someone from Secritia is involved in the attacks. And if someone from Secritia is connected to my attackers in Kairis…"
Calian murmured softly.
"A bird."
The most likely candidate was a spy.
"I've already met the Blue Warbler, who turned her back on Secritia. There's no reason to believe there aren't others like her. There must be another bird that escaped the cage, and that person is likely involved in this. It seems the Crown Prince of Secritia has found out."
Alan’s eyes narrowed slightly. "So you're saying Chase hid the fact that there's a defector among his spies, filtered the intelligence to only include what matched the Association President's report, and passed that to me? Why would he go to such lengths?"
"Did you meet with Crown Prince Chase before you came here?"
"No, I did not."
Chase had always sought Alan out in person. Today was the only time Alan had received a message through an intermediary. He had simply assumed Chase couldn't leave his post while monitoring the situation. Since Alan had rushed to meet Calian the moment the location was confirmed, he hadn't had time to realize how strange it was.
Upon hearing Alan's answer, Calian let out a hollow laugh. "He must have realized that Secritia's birds were involved in the attack on me and decided to meet them himself. It wasn't that he couldn't leave his post; he sent a messenger because he had to leave it."
Chase wasn't trying to deceive him. He simply knew that, as the Crown Prince of Secritia, he couldn't officially report this matter to Kairis.
Instead, he had decided to act independently. For Calian's sake.
As Bern's older brother.
Chase was just like Bern. Fearless. He acted recklessly, preferred to go alone, and always took the direct path. When Devlan had thrown Bern into the sea, Chase had plunged into those deep waters without a shred of fear. He was a man who roamed the royal palace so willfully that even Franz had expressed concern.
So, he took matters into his own hands this time, too. To investigate the defected spies.
"He must have gone to the defected bird's real location," Calian deduced. "The location we were given is undoubtedly a trap for me. The attackers will be waiting there."
There had to be another hideout, one that only Chase knew about, and he had likely gone there alone. While the enemy focused on ambushing Calian, he intended to confront the defectors who were staying behind.
The spies themselves lacked the strength to face Calian directly, so the ones lying in wait would be the Warriors of the Great Desert, while the defectors watched from their base. Seeing Calian's face go pale with dread, Alan spoke in a soothing tone.
"Even if Chase is acting separately, Sir Castrin will be with him, so you need not worry—"
"Count Manasil."
Calian's firm voice cut him off.
"Go to the palace. The mages must have tracked his movements. Follow his path."
He was not a disciple asking his master.
The Third Prince of Kairis was commanding Count Alan Manasil.
Alan had warped from the palace entrance to the Siegfried mansion to avoid detection. Not much time had passed. If he moved quickly, he could easily catch up to Chase, who was traveling on horseback. For Alan, it was entirely possible.
"He must have taken only his other escort knights with him."
Calian’s mind flashed back to an image. Standing atop the highest spire of the Secritia Royal Palace, looking down at the walls of the inner castle.
That day.
Bern had survived until the very end, standing alone to guard the castle gate. With his back to the inner castle, he was the only one left. It wouldn't have been hard for Chase, watching from afar, to recognize him. He must have watched Bern die.
Watched it all, from beginning to end.
"Because Sir Castrin will be coming to where I am going."
Chase would never let himself experience that again.
*
Chase, having called out the White Eagle's true name, Nered, said nothing more. He simply stood in silence, his gaze asking the questions his voice did not: Why did you defect? Why are you helping the warriors? Who is behind them? And why are they after Calian?
"You've come all this way, yet I have nothing to offer you," Nered replied to the countless unvoiced questions.
He was the one who had offered Calian water when the prince came to buy information; he always gave something to his visitors. But for the man who had once been his master, he had nothing.
Not a cup of water.
Not a scrap of information.
"I am sorry, Your Royal Highness."
Nered had expected Chase to come. He had already received word that the Crown Prince and his escort were heading this way.
The only person he hadn't anticipated was Alan, who had warped directly to the shop's front door.
Nered didn't smile, nor did he show anger or resolve. His only thought was to buy time, just enough for the others to escape through the secret passage.
"I see," Chase replied simply, showing no anger. He was not a man who gave in to rage easily.
Chase’s gaze shifted to Alan. He took a quiet step back. Since Alan was here, he would let the mage handle things first. Once Alan had extracted the information in his own way, Chase would deal with Nered in his.
"I'm not as soft as my disciple, nor am I as calm as the Crown Prince here." As Chase stepped back, Alan stepped forward, a smile playing on his lips as he offered this self-assessment.
Seeing it, Nered smiled back. "I know so little, you're bound to be disappointed. Can you live with that?"
"That's not for you to worry about."
The third Flame Sphere dropped from Alan's hand.
"You son of a bitch!" A curse finally burst from Nered's lips, a reaction he hadn't shown Chase.
"Six fledglings who escaped the cage are left."
Another scream echoed from below, but this time it was cut short. It seemed the victim's companions had silenced them permanently.
Six Flame Spheres materialized above Alan's hand.
"I'll ask you one thing. Is Tensil behind the warriors you helped?"
Nered remained silent.
Alan lowered his hand without hesitation. As the red orbs drifted downward, Nered squeezed his eyes shut.
"They don't belong to any nation," he finally forced out.