Chapter 131: If Such a Day Comes (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: If Such a Day Comes (8)
Calian ate.
He offered no explanation for what he’d done to Heisia Palace, no hint of his latest scheme, no mention of any plans he was drawing up. He simply ate. He tore off pieces of bread and put them in his mouth, chewed and swallowed bacon, picked at the salad, and drank water.
Despite having come here under the pretext of eating together, he seemed to have forgotten the “together” part entirely, eating as if it were the grandest feast in the world.
He was, with quiet elegance, stuffing his face.
Franz stared at the absurd sight for a long moment before one corner of his mouth curled upward.
‘How vulgar.’
He remembered having said those words once before.
“Aren't you going to eat?” Calian asked, setting down his water cup and looking at Franz.
It wasn’t that Franz hadn’t eaten—he was simply finished. Unlike Calian, who ate as if there were no tomorrow, Franz had already had his meal.
“I’m done.”
“Alright.”
Calian’s response was so prompt it was as if he’d been waiting for it.
After his dry reply, Calian picked up a neatly folded napkin, wiped his mouth, and stood. He walked toward the terrace, looking for all the world like he was ready to head back down now that the meal was over.
A sound that was half sigh, half laugh escaped Franz’s lips.
“Calian.”
“Yes?”
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
Calian answered immediately, walking back to his original seat. Seeing this, another dry chuckle escaped Franz.
Was this kid obedient or not?
Outside the window, it was quiet. Inside, it was still.
Maids moved with quiet efficiency, clearing the tableware while Calian stared blankly at Franz.
“Thank you. You may leave.”
Once the maids placed tea and dessert on the table and stepped back, Calian dismissed them.
With the click of the closing door, Franz’s voice cut through the silence.
“Why are you doing this?”
It was the same question he had asked before the meal, but the meaning was different. Now, he was asking why Calian was going to such lengths to keep him alive.
Calian, who seemed to grasp Franz’s unspoken question with baffling accuracy, tilted his head slightly.
“Do I have to tell you?”
Time and time again, Calian had kept him alive.
Franz knew how desperately Calian had fought during their very first breakfast just to avoid killing him. He’d revealed his hidden Aura to block Silike's dagger, lent Franz his strength, and then there was what happened yesterday.
Franz quietly closed his eyes. Then he asked, “I don’t understand.”
He knew Calian wasn’t the type to pull such stunts out of mere pity. Calian wasn’t someone who would pity him in the first place, and Franz wasn't so dense as to mistake it for such an unfitting emotion.
So, wasn’t it time for an answer? At least the reason why Calian was keeping him alive, even at the cost of destroying a palace.
Calian’s gaze drifted downward.
A cool yet sweet aroma wafted from the pale green mint tea. The mint leaf floating in the cup swirled slowly.
Staring at it, Calian spoke quietly.
“Just… because I’m scared.”
It was neither a plan for the future nor an explanation of his thoughts.
Franz’s brow furrowed at the unexpected answer.
* * *
Whether blueberries were purple or blue.
They had once argued over this, an argument that eventually turned into a full-blown fight. Of course, this was when they were very young.
It was around the time Hina had just learned sign language.
Hina, trying to explain with clumsy gestures that they were “blue,” couldn’t refute Kyrie’s words. Her hands were slower than his speech, and she didn’t know many words yet. Overwhelmed with frustration, the young Hina burst into tears.
And so, Hina won.
From that day forward, blueberries were unconditionally blue in Kyrie's mind, and by extension, blueberry ice cream was sky-blue.
“Hina.”
Kyrie, carrying two scoops of sky-blue ice cream made by the Chermil Palace chef, called out to Hina. She was waving a carrot in front of Raven as the magnificent horse exercised.
Hearing Kyrie’s voice, Hina ran over with a bright, welcoming smile. She took a bite of the ice cream in his hand and moved her hands.
It’s delicious.
None of the three princes cared for ice cream, but the palace chef made various flavors from time to time anyway. Calian himself had requested it after learning how much Hina loved it. Of course, the chef would have gladly made it for Hina regardless, but the prince’s request had made it official.
Did you come just to give me this?
Kyrie nodded and smiled. It was a remarkably bright smile, the kind he only showed Hina.
Perfect. I have something to tell you, Brother.
With that, Hina walked toward the path in the rear garden of Chermil Palace, where Kyrie and Yan had once talked. Sitting on a bench, Kyrie set both ice creams down next to her, unbuckled his sword, and placed it on his lap.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Hina didn’t answer right away. Instead, she pulled his hand toward her and traced the word ‘Valkan’ on his palm.
The kind Prince told me to let him know if I wanted to work there.
It was an unexpected name.
Staring down at his palm, Kyrie thought for a moment before asking, “Valkan? Did he want you to work as a healer?”
At his words, Hina’s face filled with surprise. She was shocked that her bear-like brother had immediately grasped Calian’s intention, which she herself hadn’t understood right away.
How did you know?
Kyrie smiled. It was a slightly different smile from the bright one he’d shown earlier. He looked down at the dark sword resting on his lap.
‘It’s meteoric iron.’
That was all Calian had said when handing him the sword, and Kyrie had understood the meaning behind the gift.
Kyrie knew very well what meteoric iron was—one of the few precious materials capable of channeling Aura. Giving him a meteoric iron sword meant Calian wanted him to quickly become the ‘Seventh Sword.’
So he had practiced even harder and crossed a threshold. And he had defeated Calian.
Calian’s body wasn’t in its normal condition and he hadn’t used his Aura, just as he’d said, but it didn’t change the fact that Kyrie had defeated him in pure swordsmanship.
That must have been why Calian thought of showing Hina a different path. Kyrie defeating Calian meant he had taken a step closer to becoming Calian’s ‘sword’—a sword that could meet its end at any moment.
“If you’re fine with it, I think it would be good to try.”
Calian knew Kyrie well. He knew Kyrie was the type to lay down his life for someone who had trusted him and given him a chance.
Why do you think it would be good?
Calian had never told him about his past life with Bern, but Kyrie was certain he had died before him. He would have died protecting Bern, no matter what.
Kyrie thought this time would be no different. And Calian surely thought the same.
“It’s better than remaining a palace maid forever, especially since we don’t know how long the Prince will be able to help us. You need to find a way to live without relying on others.”
Kyrie understood. Calian was paving a path for Hina so she could survive on her own, even if Calian and Kyrie were no longer around.
Staring at Kyrie for a moment, Hina signed, What is wrong with both of you?
One ice cream was untouched; the other, barely eaten, was melting into a sky-blue puddle. Hina didn’t spare it a glance as she signed.
You and the kind Prince are both strange.
“The Prince and I are strange?”
When Kyrie asked, Hina nodded. Then, she vented the anger she had tried so hard to hide in front of Calian.
Why do you live constantly thinking about dying?
Hina’s hand gestures grew rapid.
The kind Prince tries to possess nothing. He even told me to erase his name from the cat’s collar. He tries to leave nothing behind. And you’re the same, Brother. Why?
“Hina. It’s not like that.”
They were a strange pair: a prince who lived in the safest palace in Kairis yet always had his life on the line, and his guard who did the same. They were simply preparing for the unexpected, not living with the intention to die.
Kyrie didn't know Calian's exact thoughts, but he tried to explain it that way. Hina cut him off.
I’ll go there. I’ll go and work as a healer. I’ll live helping you and the Prince until I grow old and die.
Kyrie stared at Hina’s hands, saying nothing. The words he had prepared to comfort her just moments ago had vanished completely.
When he didn’t respond, Hina signed again.
You idiots. You think dying without regrets is so incredibly cool, don’t you?
Then she stood up and walked back toward Chermil Palace.
The ice cream, now a puddle of sky-blue liquid, rippled slightly.
* * *
If someone said flowers bloomed and butterflies fluttered in the perpetually frozen Northern Great Desert, Franz would sooner believe that.
Yet Calian was saying he was scared.
He had said it out of nowhere, offering nothing else as he tapped the mint leaf floating in his teacup with a teaspoon.
Quietly chewing over the words of his younger brother—whose true age was a mystery—sixteen-year-old Franz spoke bluntly.
“My oh-so-fearful little brother certainly did a number on my mother’s palace yesterday.”
“It wasn’t where my mother resided,” Calian replied with a soft chuckle. “There were other reasons, too, so I just took care of it all at once.”
It was a clear admission that he hadn’t destroyed it solely for Franz’s sake.
Having spent the night guessing at Calian’s intentions, Franz didn't press the point and instead returned to the original topic.
“How many times are you going to make me ask?”
This was the first time Franz had been so persistent. Calian was about to brush him off with a vague answer when—
“Meow!”
‘I am Prince Calian’s cat, who likes Prince Franz more.’
The cat padded into Franz’s room and, for once, bypassed Franz to climb onto Calian’s lap and settle down.
Scooping up the cat and looking at its collar, Calian chuckled. The inscription hadn’t changed.
“You said you hated it, but you didn’t erase it.”
“……You’re annoying.”
Calian understood Franz’s brief remarks incredibly well, and Franz read Calian’s inner thoughts just as clearly. He had once again caught on to what Calian was thinking.
Calian looked up at Franz, grinned, and spoke.
“You’re so smart, Brother. I can’t even get a word out in front of you.”
“Stop barking.”
Franz realized that this younger brother of his—the one who had gone all the way to Chase to meddle and warn him—had no attachment to his own life.
And that was why Calian was trying to keep Franz alive. So that, if the day came when Calian was gone, Franz could take the throne in his stead.
Franz leaned back in his chair.
Staring into those red eyes, he spoke.
“I believe I told you I don’t want it.”
“I know you have no interest in the throne. It’s just… I keep having these thoughts.”
“What thoughts?”
“Thanks to Serenti’s curse—or perhaps it was a prank, or even a mercy—I’m moving around in a borrowed body that should be a corpse…”
Calian smiled.
“If a day comes when my purpose is fulfilled… no, when that day comes, I don’t know if my life will continue. I just can’t tell.”
That was what he was scared of.
He wasn’t afraid of dying. He was afraid of the void his absence would leave behind.
Ever since he’d felt the void left by Bern’s absence, after meeting the Blue Warbler, Sispanian, and Chase, after the incident with the White Eagle—Calian had harbored these thoughts. And now, he was laying them bare before his enemy, his older brother who was physically so much younger.
“I am already living more desperately than anyone. I have no intention of easily disappearing or dying. But still, if…”
But still, if such a day were to come. If a day came when there was no other choice.
“I hoped that my smart brother, just like when you came to the Siegfried mansion, would somehow figure something out.”
Calian smiled.
Franz did not.
Silently, Franz lifted his teacup. Calian’s annoying attendant had brought tea tailored perfectly to Calian’s taste. The highly unfamiliar scent of mint lingered in his mouth.
“Stop barking,” Franz said, setting down his cup after taking a sip.
“……Since I will live as my little brother wishes.”
I’ll eat as you wish, so you can suffer alone in Arpia Palace for the rest of your life.
That was what he meant. Though he didn’t know if Calian would understand.