Chapter 125: If Such a Day Comes (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: If Such a Day Comes (3)
Forty-nine Royal Guards and one Royal Brother.
Fifty men stood before the castle gates.
– Forty-nine.
– Forty-eight.
At first, he resented those who had whittled down their numbers.
Then, he resented his own eyes for so faithfully tracking their fall.
Because in doing so, he knew exactly who was truly to blame.
– Fifteen.
He prayed, If you are out there somewhere, please tell me this is enough. Please make it stop.
– Five.
For the first time in his life, and the last time before his death, he called out to Serenti.
– Two.
…Kyrie.
The sleeping god did not answer.
One…
man.
He wanted to close his eyes, unable to bear it, but he could not. He had to witness it all.
…Ah…
The final duty of a king of a fallen nation was to watch those who died protecting him until he was left utterly alone.
* * *
Water sprayed from the fountain in the annex garden. Sunlight caught the droplets as they shot upward, only to fall back down, their ascent meaningless. The sound of this endless, futile motion felt exceptionally desolate.
Chase sat quietly, as if appreciating the lonely, pointless sound of the water. His calm eyes closed for a moment.
“…Prince Franz.”
Franz stared at Chase’s face. Words spilled from his lips, sounding as if he were spitting out pain he could no longer swallow.
“How much… do you know?”
Hearing this, Franz replied in a low voice, “Nothing.”
He had only been guessing. He wasn’t certain of anything. It was true, then, that Franz knew absolutely nothing about the past.
Chase, barely shaking off the memories of a past he had not yet experienced in this lifetime, opened his dry mouth.
“Did you figure it out just from what I said?”
“Something like that.”
Words spoken out of fear that the same tragedy might repeat itself.
With just that, Franz had followed him all the way here. And now, he was urging him to prepare.
“It seems my worries were misplaced, and my words, unnecessary.”
“No.”
It wasn't something Chase needed to apologize for, nor was it something Franz needed to receive an apology for.
Besides, the starting point had been Calian.
Hadn’t the doubt started because Calian—who was terrible at hiding things—had looked at Franz with eyes full of a thousand uncontained emotions when they first met?
Therefore, whose words or whose mistake had brought Franz here was not important.
“I suspect you did nothing but watch back then, too.”
“Are you sure you know nothing?”
“Do you plan on just watching this time as well?”
Chase laughed. After a long silence, he answered in a quiet voice.
“Next February.”
Whether he meant he would begin preparing then, finish preparing by then, or something else entirely was unclear.
After uttering those enigmatic words, Chase stared deeply at Franz for a moment before pointing a finger at him. He was indicating the way Franz sat, leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed.
“When that time comes, Prince Franz, you will no longer be able to sit like that in my presence. Nor will you be able to speak to me so casually.”
Prince Franz and Crown Prince Chase.
Even now, Franz was failing to show proper etiquette to Chase. But if an even greater gap were to open between them, Franz would not be able to treat him as he did now.
Not in front of King Chase Dullahan Secritia.
“Your father doesn’t strike me as the sort of man to quietly hand over his crown.”
“Yes. You’ve read him correctly.”
“…Ha.”
Chase was speaking of his father Devlan’s death and his own coronation with such a calm expression. Franz let out a short, sharp sigh.
“Lest you think I am speaking callously of my own father’s death, let me add that it cannot be prevented. I hope you do not misunderstand.”
Devlan’s cause of death was, without a doubt, illness. His health had been poor for a very long time.
“I see.”
“I will begin preparing for the things that can be prevented from that point on. Though I cannot implement your suggestion right now, Prince Franz, I will be able to prepare once I ascend the throne myself.”
No matter when it happened, it meant he would no longer remain a mere bystander. That was enough.
“Fine.”
“Let me ask you one thing.”
Franz gave a brief reply and was about to stand, but Chase’s words held him in his seat.
“I do not live in the same country as you, Prince Franz. Are you not anxious about how my actions might affect your nation? You seem to have no concern at all for what will happen to Secritia once I resolve to build up its strength, or whether Secritia might one day harm Kairis.”
“Whether you build up your strength or not has nothing to do with me.” Franz corrected Chase’s misunderstanding. “If my little brother’s former older brother changes his mind, the one who should be anxious is my little brother, not me.”
“Don’t tell me… Prince Calian intends to take the throne himself? Not you?”
Franz affirmed with his silence, and a hint of surprise crossed Chase’s face.
He had not known that Calian intended to ascend the throne, nor that Franz had no interest in it. The information delivered by the birds did not include the innermost thoughts of princes.
“…How unexpected. I assumed he would help you ascend the throne and support you from the side this time as well. I never expected him to take that seat himself. He never once showed any interest in the throne in my presence.”
“I have no interest. Not even now.”
Chase, who had been staring at Franz for a while, spoke in a voice that seemed as if it might vanish at any moment, like the droplets from the fountain.
“Is that so?”
“…So don’t put your burdens on me, too,” Franz said quietly. “He is already carrying what should have been mine.”
With those final words, Franz rose from his seat. He had said everything he needed to, and Chase had given his answer. There was nothing left to discuss.
* * *
Alan stared at Calian for a long time, waiting for him to elaborate.
But Calian couldn’t just invent a story he’d never even considered. He simply smiled again.
“…Please do not do that,” Alan said, seeing the smile.
Not knowing how to respond, Calian just nodded. “Do not worry.”
A bitter taste filled his mouth. He seemed to be saying those words more than any other lately. He took another sip of the sweet milk tea before speaking again.
“There is something I asked of President Seiren.”
It was both something he had intended to tell Alan anyway and a convenient way to change the subject. Calian continued, speaking to Alan, who looked as if he were willingly letting himself be deceived.
“I asked her to look into the black pebble. But since I cannot go myself, I would like you to occasionally ask her if she has found anything.”
Since he couldn’t keep summoning the busy Euria to the royal palace, he decided to ask Alan, who was even busier but far more capable.
Now that the subject had changed, there was no point in dwelling on the last one. Putting aside his bitter feelings for a moment, Alan nodded.
“Yes, I will. But why are you suddenly investigating that stone?”
“Actually, there are quite a few things I haven’t been able to tell you, Master. Especially concerning Brother Randel.”
“Did something happen?”
“Quite a lot, actually.”
Alan was already worried sick about him, so Calian abandoned his earlier desire to avoid causing him more stress. Deciding that if Alan was going to worry anyway, he might as well have the full story, Calian spent a long time recounting everything that had happened.
He told him how the warriors of the Great Desert used a red-colored power, and how the pebble glowed red whenever they did. He explained how the pebble reacted to the roses Randel had grown, and about the power Randel had used in front of him in the Rose Garden.
“You mustn’t, Master.”
With that, he stopped Alan, who looked ready to warp to the fifth floor that very instant.
Why on earth were mages so universally combative? He truly couldn’t understand it.
Alan, ignoring the 4th Circle wind mage chuckling to himself at these thoughts, asked, “And you just let Prince Randel get away with such a stunt?”
His scolding sounded exactly like a grandfather speaking to a grandson who had come home injured after a fight.
“I was curious,” Calian answered, trying to shake off the nagging suspicion that he was somehow bearing the brunt of Lemain’s past deeds. “I wanted to know why Brother Randel acts that way. I thought that if I learned the reason, I might be able to understand him.”
“So, once I’m allowed to leave this room, I plan to meet with him. We’re in the same building, yet we never cross paths. I should pay him a visit myself.”
“Will it be all right for you to meet him again?”
“I can’t just leave things as they are. Whether it becomes a foundation for understanding or just a continuation of our discord, I have to try.”
“Very well. Given the generosity of your meddlesome nature, how could I possibly object?” Alan said, his expression incredibly gentle and his voice warm. “Instead, whatever you do, do it when that time comes.”
He snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Calian’s eyes slowly fluttered shut.
Since his precious disciple insisted on working himself to the bone with that pale, sickly face, was it not a master’s duty to put him to sleep?
Whether Arsen made a wasted trip or not was none of his concern.
* * *
The attendant, Relic, quickly opened the door.
Franz walked in with heavy steps and closed it behind him without a word. Taking the hint that he wanted to be alone, Relic stared at the closed door for a moment before turning around.
His face filled with surprise.
Someone was standing right behind him. Looking down, he saw a crown of silver hair.
It was Hina.
“Are you here to pick up the cat?”
At Relic’s question, Hina nodded. She had come because it was time to feed Sia after her meeting. Relic’s expression turned troubled again. Franz had clearly expressed his desire to be left alone.
Click.
Just then, the door opened with a small sound. A moment later, Franz’s voice came from inside.
“Take him.”
It was the same sequence of events as before.
Hearing Franz’s words, Relic nodded, and Hina gave a polite bow before entering the room.
As she stood near the entrance, Franz pointed to where the cat was, gesturing for her to go in and get him.
Smiling brightly, Hina moved her hands as she looked at Franz.
– Thank you. Good… Prince.
He wondered what she was always so grateful for, and what on earth that word between ‘Thank you’ and ‘Prince’ was.
Instead of asking, Franz simply nodded.
– Prince, did you eat? Hina asked.
Since Calian’s maids had looked after Franz before Relic arrived, Hina also knew that he frequently skipped meals.
“I’m not hungry.”
Hina’s expression turned stern.
– Please eat. If you keep skipping meals…
And she said the exact same thing to Franz that Calian hadn’t understood and had memorized word-for-word.
– I’ll spank you.
Of course, Franz didn’t understand it either.