Chapter 153: Where One Belongs (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 153: Where One Belongs (9)
The sun set, and dark clouds rolled in.
Sensing that rain was on its way, Calian, who had just finished dinner, arranged for carriages to be prepared for Demirea and Arsen.
This was the hour when Calian, having left Senyu Hall, met up with Yan to return to Chermil Palace; when Relic wandered about in distress upon realizing Franz had gone back to Chermil alone; and while the pale-faced mages, instead of going home, gathered at a tavern to sip sparkling water and debate how to design Calian's statue in a way that would earn them the least scolding.
It was during this time that Hina headed to the training ground, holding two pink ice creams.
She hadn't had a proper chance to make up with Kyrie since she had snapped at him, asking if he thought there was something cool about dying without regrets.
In truth, there wasn't much to make up for. Kyrie had simply been walking on eggshells around her, unable to bring himself to speak. Hina seeking him out was, in itself, a reconciliation.
For the first time in a long while, Kyrie stroked Hina's silver hair and spoke.
"You must have been upset."
She had just finished explaining what had happened at dinner—how the chef, having misunderstood her sign language, prepared a menu overflowing with strawberries without double-checking the absurd order with Yan or Relic.
To an outsider, it might have sounded like a funny mishap, but Kyrie didn't laugh.
Kyrie, who had once argued with Hina over blueberries, remembered how heartbroken she had been that day. He knew all too well that because she could not speak, she had to endure far too many inconveniences and injustices.
– The people here are all strange.
Instead of answering whether she had been upset, Hina signed this in response.
"How are they strange?"
– No one gets angry. No one says a word.
They had offered to learn sign language as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Rather than being annoyed by the trouble caused by the mix-up, they simply brushed it off, saying it couldn't be helped since they just communicated differently.
"It's because they cherish you."
Saying this, Kyrie took a bite of the strawberry ice cream Hina had handed him.
While Franz learning sign language had come as a surprise even to Kyrie, he had expected the Valkan mages would be taught. Even if Calian hadn't ordered it, Alan would have stepped forward to suggest lessons. And if not Alan, then Arsen would have said the same.
Furthermore, the fact that several people in Chermil Palace had learned sign language was not by Calian's command either. Kyrie believed that, too, was because everyone cherished Hina. Even setting aside his subjective bias as her only living relative, Hina was simply someone everyone couldn't help but adore.
– I love this place so much. I love it so much, it's wonderful.
How could Hina not know that?
Hina, who had never once been called "mute" or "disabled" since coming here, smiled as she signed. She was thinking of Calian, who had brought her strawberry ice cream instead of scolding her for the bizarre dinner menu, and Franz, who had simply laughed it off even though he knew it was all her fault.
– Starting next week, I'm going over there to work. I'm going to work really hard.
Her work with Valkan.
Hearing this, Kyrie's eyes filled with a touch of worry. It was concern over her starting a new job.
While the people of Chermil Palace were all kind, there was no telling what the Valkan mages would be like. Of course, Arsen would surely look after her, but as her older brother, he couldn't help but worry.
– And Lady Ve-ro-ni-ca said she is coming. She said she would help me. So don't worry.
The less-than-attentive Calian had forgotten to pass this news along to Kyrie. Thus, Kyrie looked slightly surprised as he spoke.
"Lady Veronica?"
Perhaps because she had grown up in Libern, where status-based discrimination was relatively minor, or perhaps due to Alan's influence, Veronica had always treated Hina quite casually. Moreover, during the month-long journey back from Roselita, they were the only two girls of similar age in the group, so Hina and Veronica had grown quite close. Recalling this, Kyrie's expression softened with relief as he continued.
"That's a relief. Still, make sure you don't act too familiar."
Hina nodded, her hands moving once more.
– She is nice, and the mages are all nice too. The kind prince is nice, and the good prince is nice too. The scary prince is a bit scary, but he was still okay. I can get along well here, and in Val-kan too. So don't worry so much.
Having signed this, Hina picked up the ice cream she had set down, a look of pure happiness on her face.
She failed to notice the look on Kyrie's face as he completed the simple subtraction, eliminating the kind Calian and the scary Randel from the three princes.
"…I see, Hina."
To think the word "good" would come from Hina's hands to describe him.
Kyrie—who, by Hina's standards, was just her 'kind and reliable' older brother—nodded silently.
Had he heard those words from Hina just a little sooner, he would never have lowered his sword so easily during his spar with Franz. While it was a relief that he wouldn't have to spar directly with that rogue of a prince for the time being, it was also deeply regrettable.
– Oh, right. The good prince likes strawberries too. I like them too.
Kyrie, who had been bringing the strawberry ice cream to his mouth while trying to maintain a calm facade, froze. Then, he set the ice cream right back down.
The moment strawberries vanished forever from Kyrie's list of preferred fruits arrived with utter suddenness.
* * *
"Meow, mrow!"
Returning to Chermil Palace, Calian quietly stepped out onto the terrace and took a seat.
'I am Prince Calian's cat, who likes Prince Franz more.'
The cat trotted over and hopped onto his lap. It then rubbed its head against Calian's hand, acting as if receiving attention was its birthright.
Calian stroked the cat, scratching it under the chin and behind the ears. In response, the cat showed off its pink paws—resembling strawberry ice cream—and playfully tried to grab Calian's fingers. Watching the creature, which didn't seem to have a single care in the world, Calian let out a soft chuckle.
"Do cats usually like people this much?"
The cats Calian knew were always wary, their claws bared. No matter what happened or who it was, they were haughty hunters who never fully let down their guard.
But this one was different.
It always slept, ate, and played by someone's side. It behaved as though it couldn't survive without a human nearby.
Knock, knock.
Two quiet knocks sounded.
"Come in."
Calian gave permission without even needing to check who it was. That knock, neither too soft nor too loud, undoubtedly belonged to Yan.
Soon, the faint sound of a door opening and closing was heard, and Yan stepped out onto the terrace. A refreshing scent of mint drifted to Calian's nose.
Placing two glasses of cold tea on the table, Yan sat down beside Calian. Though he hadn't asked for permission, Calian, as always, said nothing.
"I apologize, Your Highness. There was a miscommunication, which led to a mistake today."
Yan spoke without explicitly mentioning Hina.
Calian turned his head, looking first at Yan and then at the tea he had brought. He chuckled softly, just as he had when watching the cat's antics.
It was sparkling water infused with far more mint leaves than usual, along with cinnamon. Yan had clearly prepared this in case Calian was suffering from indigestion.
"It must have been difficult for you to eat. I didn't know you disliked strawberries… I wanted to apologize."
Calian recalled a time when Yan had handed him tea with dried strawberries and mint. He had managed to gloss over it back then, but this time, his reluctance must have been too obvious.
'Though it would be more accurate to say I wasn't used to them.'
He had only learned the original Calian's true tastes during today's meal. The memory had surfaced as he grasped at the edges of his newly acquired recollections. Before that, Calian had assumed he simply liked them. Since he hadn't particularly enjoyed them back when he was Bern, he had forced a smile at the abundance of strawberry dishes, and Yan seemed to have noticed.
"I enjoyed it. It's nothing to apologize for. It's not like I hate them."
As he replied, Calian felt something slightly unusual in Yan's apologetic demeanor and turned his gaze toward him.
His apology for failing to cater to a simple preference was strictly that of an attendant. Yet, sitting beside him without permission was not the act of an attendant. Yan was likely offering this apology from both perspectives: as Yan the attendant, and as Shiroian, the guardian who had watched over Calian for a very long time.
"Did you come all this way just to say that? It's dinner time."
It was rare for Calian to sit and dine with Yan. Usually, the attendants and maids ate separately after Calian finished his meal. On any other day, Yan would be having his dinner by now, so Calian was asking why he had sought him out at this hour.
"I just… had a lot on my mind. Prince Franz said something earlier…"
Having started, Yan trailed off. Calian sat quietly, watching the sky turn increasingly dark.
"I just thought… maybe I don't know everything about you, Your Highness. I wondered if I'm failing to see clearly again, or if I'm failing to properly recognize how much you've changed."
Calian didn't ask what Franz had said to make Yan's worries spiral over a mere strawberry, nor did he say, 'When you called me flower-like, everyone already knew that.' He simply waited in silence for Yan to finish.
"You also said you had laid down everything in your hands. I didn't even understand what that meant."
Because the subsequent words—which sounded like an older brother worrying about his sworn enemy of a younger brother—had been omitted, Calian frowned slightly. He wondered what on earth that sworn enemy of an older brother had said to the kid. Then, realizing that Franz was actually younger, he quickly smoothed his expression.
In any case, Yan had believed he knew Calian inside and out, but now that slight discrepancies were coming to light, he seemed confused. Calian didn't know exactly what "failing to see clearly again" meant, but it was likely along those lines. It seemed Franz had noticed this and said something to Yan.
Having grasped the general situation, Calian spoke.
"I thought my cat liked my brother more, but I guess not."
He then brought up a seemingly random topic.
"I had a brief thought earlier. Maybe my brother likes cats, and that's why this fellow tried so hard to climb onto him."
Both the mint and the cinnamon had strong scents.
Had they been added in moderation, they would have paired well, but the sparkling water—packed to the brim with ingredients out of Yan's sheer worry for him—tasted terrible.
Swallowing the drink, which tasted even worse than strawberries, as if it were delicious, Calian spoke.
"I didn't even know what kind of creature my own cat was, so how could you know everything about me? It's only natural that you don't."
If Yan were to learn his secrets and feel sad, Calian was more than willing to share that sorrow and comfort him. Even if Yan grew to dislike the current Calian, he was confident he could keep him by his side by any means necessary.
"Whether you discover more things you didn't know about me, or however much I change… you're going to stay by my side anyway, aren't you?"
On the day he had first opened his eyes in this place.
It was Yan who had smoothed the wrinkles of his clothes with hands covered in scratch marks.
Calian knew that no matter how neglected a prince he had been, he was the entirety of Yan's life. Thus, a step behind Calian, or right by his side—that spot had always belonged to Yan.
That was why Calian had never once felt anxious or worried about him.
"It doesn't matter if I lay down everything in my hands. It's not important. You don't have to blame yourself for not knowing. You don't have to see me perfectly. You can just see what you want to see. My little elephant has always been that way. It's alright."
Raindrops began to fall from the sky, one by one, with a soft pitter-patter.
The scent of rain.
A pleasant memory from sometime in the past brushed against his nose.
The scent of rain and the heavy, rich aroma of mint and cinnamon blended surprisingly well. He didn't know if the previous Calian had liked it, but what did it matter?
He could just start liking it from now on.
"Yan. Want to make a bet with me? On whether I'll grow taller than you or not."
Let's wager one gold coin.