Chapter 143: The Foundation of Understanding (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: The Foundation of Understanding (10)
For Calian, it was either zero or one.
For Franz, it was probably about three.
That was the number of times each of them could muster their patience in a single confrontation. It wasn't a hard and fast rule, of course, but it was a reliable estimate.
"Why are you suddenly telling me not to come?"
A sharp, frustrated sigh escaped Franz's lips. It was all because of this man, who never once said "yes" on the first try.
He desperately wanted to do something about this mad mage who never listened to a damn word, but he held back. That was one.
"You. Mage."
"It's Vice-Commander."
Franz squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. That was two.
While they were closed, he tried to approach this with common sense and reason.
Right. The mad mage isn't wrong. He was a Vice-Commander of Valkan, and Franz was also a Vice-Commander of Valkan. But Franz was also, as everyone knew, a prince.
He quietly did the math in his head.
That bastard Arsen was just a Vice-Commander. Franz was a Vice-Commander and a prince. Therefore, Franz's title was longer.
Next, he tried subtraction.
Take away "Vice-Commander" and Arsen was left with absolutely nothing. Take away "Vice-Commander" from Franz, and he was still a prince—a noble royal carrying the bloodline of Sispanian.
"Is this Wilhelm Hall?"
Franz was walking down the stairs of Arpia Palace after leaving Lemain's office. Arsen was walking up them, on his way to see Alan. That's where they had run into each other.
Therefore, this place was most definitely Arpia Palace.
By pointing out that they weren't in Wilhelm Hall, Franz was implying that here, he was a prince first and a Vice-Commander second.
"When you told me not to attend a meeting regarding Valkan's affairs, weren't you speaking as a Vice-Commander?" Arsen retorted.
Calian was not a member of Valkan. He was simply a prince who gave Arsen orders. Whether the summons was related to Valkan or not, Calian had ‘simply’ summoned Arsen.
And now, just because Franz told him not to go, Arsen was spouting this nonsense. That damn mage!
Anyway.
Franz took another deep breath. That was three.
A low voice leaked through his clenched teeth. "I am telling you not to come because my dear little brother had an unpleasant experience today. I said I would personally escort him to Wilhelm Hall when he has time. So why on earth are you…"
"It's Vice-Commander."
To point out a quick detail, Franz was sixteen years old.
Arsen was thirteen years his senior. The only reason they could bicker like this was because one of them had a mental age far too high for his body, the other far too low, or perhaps both.
In any case, Franz's three strikes of patience had now run out. A boyishly beautiful smile spread across his face as he slowly ran a hand through his hair.
"Vice-Commander. If you keep barking like there's no tomorrow, you might just disappear for good…"
That was enough.
Arsen, who had an uncanny talent for pinpointing anyone's breaking point, immediately switched to an impeccably polite tone.
"I understand for now. As I am currently on field duty, I may not be at my desk. Please call for me when you arrive at Wilhelm Hall, and I will come at once. May I be excused?"
"Field duty," he called it. A rather elegant way to describe his punishment of cleaning the ruins of Heisia Palace. Arsen bowed politely.
Watching him, Franz closed his eyes once more, took a deep breath, and tilted his head slightly. It was a silent command to get lost before he opened them again. Grinning at the gesture, Arsen turned and continued toward Alan's office.
"…Ha."
Calian either held back once or not at all.
Franz held back up to three times.
When their patience ran out, Calian drew a sword or a club. Franz, on the other hand, closed his eyes.
Franz was well aware that this was one of the reasons those two beasts, Raven and Arsen, followed Calian so unconditionally.
Still, as the older brother, he couldn't just start snarling and biting like his younger sibling, could he? And so, mustering his patience for what he swore was the last time, Franz continued down the stairs.
That was when he saw Chase walking toward Arpia Palace. Their eyes met, and both of them stopped in their tracks.
Of all times.
Another short sigh escaped Franz's lips.
Calian was nowhere to be seen, likely having already returned to Chermil Palace.
He had stopped Arsen from coming for Calian's sake. Calian was already meeting with Chase, who was leaving tomorrow. If he had to sit down with both Franz and Arsen right after that and still keep his composure, he'd have to be a literal madman.
So, Franz had stubbornly blocked Arsen.
Calian had fed him and even destroyed a palace for him; Franz had to repay that debt somehow. That was his reasoning, at least. Whether it was sound logic was another matter.
But now he had run into Chase, of all people.
Franz didn't know that Chase had already met Arsen. He did, however, have a rough idea of the ill-fated history between them. His first instinct was to tell Chase to turn back, as someone was already in Alan's office.
Because of that, Franz shut the mouth he had just started to open.
Chase, too, had not expected to see Franz here. And because of that, something he had failed to conceal was laid bare right before the prince's eyes.
It was what Franz saw that made him snap his mouth shut.
Confirming the reflection in those purple eyes, Franz’s own eyes narrowed.
*
Not a single thing was forgotten.
The figure striding forward, stepping squarely into pools of blood. The arrogant face that seemed to look down on the entire world. The low, cold voice that felt like a hand gripping his throat.
He remembered it all with the phantom pain of shattered bones, of flesh carved away by despair, until his very blood felt like it was rotting in his veins.
The moment Chase saw him, he understood.
—The Mad King.
He immediately understood why everyone had called him that.
Those eyes.
They were like a glass marble, cracked in every direction. A pale green marble that looked as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
How could eyes the color of fresh grass hold absolutely no light?
Even in the depths of his bitter grief, that thought had crossed his mind.
Laughably enough.
*
A fleeting glance.
The final memory, which ended with Arsen's spear piercing his heart. The eyes of the Franz he had faced just before that. The memory tore through his mind before he could stop it.
Looking into the eyes of the boy watching him now, Chase was suddenly overwhelmed. He covered his face with one hand.
"Just a moment," he said.
He had been perfectly calm with Franz until now, but suddenly he was shaken. The specter of the past superimposed itself onto the Franz standing before him.
It was because he had just finished a long conversation with Calian.
His mind was filled with worry for the path Calian would walk, with memories of what Bern had tried to protect, and with the aftermath of Bern's failure.
Ordinarily, meeting Chase meant Franz would be dragged into a long walk or a lengthy conversation. Seeing him like this, however, Franz merely nodded in silence. Of course, with his face covered, Chase couldn't see it.
After a moment, Chase lowered his hand and offered a greeting, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"We meet again, Prince Franz."
"…You weren't looking at a prince."
It wasn't a response to the greeting.
At the astute observation, Chase, having regained his composure, offered a gentle smile and a nod. He already knew Franz was quick-witted and thoughtful, so the words didn't surprise him.
"It's been a rather eventful day. I am fine."
Franz let out a low sigh.
He had no way of knowing if Chase was truly fine, but since the man said he was, Franz could only accept it at face value.
"I thought you were meeting my younger brother."
"I was. And he has returned."
To Chermil Palace.
And to Calian.
Whether Franz understood what—or who—had returned, he merely nodded again. Then, turning toward Chermil Palace, he said, "It would probably be better to see Count Manasil later."
He knew Chase was leaving tomorrow.
There was a breakfast with Lemain, but Lemain wouldn't bother summoning the princes. Weren't all three hot-blooded sons of this formidable family under house arrest?
Franz also knew that after today, he would have no reason to speak with Chase for some time. Still, he tried to leave after just delivering the message about Alan because he was afraid he might start asking questions.
If Calian was cursed with an incredibly meddlesome capacity for understanding, then Franz was cursed with an equally meddlesome sense of guilt.
"I found it unexpected."
The words, tinged with either teasing or genuine surprise, stopped Franz in his tracks. He turned his head and stared blankly at Chase.
"Prince Calian did not know that Prince Franz had come to find me."
Damn it.
The form of address had changed again. Franz frowned at the title, as fickle as Kairis's midsummer weather.
"It was unexpected that Prince Franz would go to such lengths for Prince Calian, and it was also unexpected that Prince Calian was unaware of it."
"…It wasn't anything special."
It wasn't important enough to announce. They were ignorant of plenty of things about each other, so there was no reason for it to be unexpected.
Having given a curt reply that conveyed all this, Franz spoke again. He figured that since Chase wasn't Calian, he probably hadn't understood.
"It was no big deal."
He added that just in case. Don't worry about it. It was nothing.
Seeing Chase nod, it seemed he had understood. Franz turned back toward Chermil without another word.
"However."
Chase's voice caught him once more.
In Chase's memory, those emotionless steps, which had seemed impossible to halt, turned back so easily.
"What now?" Franz asked, his voice full of annoyance, yet still attentive.
With a slight smile, Chase spoke slowly. "It is strange for me to say this, but since this part is… something Prince Calian doesn't know anyway."
He paused, his gaze distant as if lost in thought. Then he continued, "When you told me to prepare, last time. It seemed you believed there had to be a reason for your actions."
Chase turned his gaze to meet Franz's eyes.
"You were probably right. Because that is how it seemed to me as well."
That is how it seemed to me as well.
He wasn't talking about the present. Franz understood that Chase was speaking of the Franz he had met in Bern's time.
Franz tilted his head up slightly.
Even if Franz showed no interest, even if he acted like he didn't want to hear it, Chase had no right to be disappointed. And yet, Franz did the opposite, staring at Chase with the most focused expression he had shown all day.
"I felt there had to be a reason. I wanted to know that reason so badly that it felt unfair."
Regrettably, his thoughts could go no further than that.
A single shake of the head as those pale green eyes closed.
The Commander of Valkan walking out beside him.
The quietly offered apology.
Because that was the end.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I don't know if your actions are meant to help or to repay."
Whether he was moving to help Calian or to settle a debt.
"I am asking you to help, not to repay."
Franz closed his eyes for a moment. "Did it look like I was repaying him?"
"Perhaps. I don't know if you've decided to help or to repay, but it seems you're already brewing your own poison. It also appears that a vague faith in yourself is proving to be a poor lifeline."
Chase didn't know if speaking of the past Franz would be medicine or poison. He said it anyway, judging that even if this story became poison, it wouldn't make things much different from how they were now.
"No matter the reason, the Franz of that day cannot be forgiven by Bern. But I am telling you this because I thought it might give the Franz of today a reason to understand himself."
That was the end of Chase's story.
Franz only listened, and Chase said no more.
After a long moment, Franz quietly opened his eyes.
"Right… I'll keep that in mind."
Franz was not unaware of why Chase had brought this up.
And so, he said only that, his face having already returned to its usual expression. Chase simply nodded once and walked toward Rubia Hall. He had arranged to meet Alan there in a little while.
There were no words of farewell, no promises to meet again.
They were not in a relationship where they could share such things.
Perhaps such greetings could be exchanged someday, in the distant future.