Chapter 187: Not Just Yet (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187: Not Just Yet (4)
"I don't know why I'm going this far."
And I understand even less why he's going to such lengths.
He was the first madman Franz had ever encountered, one who only made his doubts multiply and his irritation flare the more he thought about him. But because that bastard happened to be his younger brother, Franz ultimately decided to throw his hands up and let things run their course.
Then again, if there were even one more person like Calian in this world, it would either be completely at peace or already in ruins. Thus, while it was deeply regrettable that the one such bastard in the world was his brother, it was also a profound relief.
"Sigh."
Franz let out another sigh, one that carried a mixture of irritation, worry, guilt, and frustration—emotions he couldn't quite untangle.
He wasn't blind to Calian's desire to wrap up their incredibly delicate conversation on a reasonably good note. That was why Franz, whose anger had already dissipated, had intended to take a step back at an opportune moment.
"He's smiling. Again."
If only the boy hadn't smiled.
He had already been thinking that they needed a hawk, not a dove, and that he would have to clean up after a brother who would surely sneak out of the royal palace every day. If Calian hadn't smiled again, Franz would have certainly ended the conversation amicably.
But that madman grinned.
Calian said he knew how Chase was doing, and Franz briefly regretted speaking out of turn. But the madman grinned. Calian said there was nothing to worry about, and Franz felt a strange discomfort at those words. But the madman grinned.
The madman couldn't lie, Franz was smart, and Calian grinned. A moment ago, he had smiled as if he didn't want to live; now, he smiled as if he were already dead.
— I was that person's younger brother, and now I am your younger brother. That is what I think, but acting like it isn't easy.
The day Chase had stormed into Kairisis. When Calian had returned after facing Chase for the first time, he had barked those words with the exact same expression he wore now.
That was how Franz knew.
Something must have happened that Franz wasn't supposed to know. And Calian, out of concern for the olive branch Franz had extended, must have cast Chase aside.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to wear a smile that was a carbon copy of the one he’d had on the day he paced the path of Senyu Hall.
Thus, Franz recognized that the bracelet was a rotten rope offered to Chase, the one Calian had cast aside in his place. It wasn't an invitation to live, but a pit to help him endure.
"Right. It wouldn't be easy," Franz muttered, uttering words that not even Calian would understand. He closed his eyes for a moment and counted.
When Calian had handed over everything to him. When Franz had told him to resent him, only for Calian to swear instead. And today.
Even counting only the major instances, he had held back three times.
…Madman.
He might have twisted and turned so much that he ended up right back where he started, fooling everyone, but if you looked closely, he was the most profoundly insane bastard in the world.
A madman who knew he was crazy but pretended he wasn't.
And yet, a real lunatic who dared to call Franz crazy.
— I'm not the kind of younger brother who only causes trouble, you know.
He could guarantee that even if you searched the entire Great Desert, you wouldn't find another little brother who caused trouble in such a colorful variety of ways.
Having reached this extremely rational conclusion and highly objective assessment, Franz quietly opened his eyes.
His light green eyes swept over the table before landing on the teacup Calian had pushed aside. Staring at it silently, Franz smiled. He smiled as brightly and innocently as a young child.
After flashing that deeply unsettling smile, Franz's expression suddenly hardened, and he spat out, "I see what my dear brother was thinking."
Then, he pulled the black tea that had been deliberately set aside toward him and drank it without hesitation.
As the saying goes, to bring a madman to his senses, you have to be slightly crazier than him. Hadn't Calian taught him that on the day he grabbed the knife?
So, Franz drank every last drop of the fragrant tea that was sure to be poison to him. He shuddered at the thick, heavy aroma but was briefly surprised to find it wasn't as terrible as he had expected.
"What are you doing?" Calian asked, taken aback by Franz's sudden shift.
Staring back at him, Franz curled one corner of his mouth and spoke in a languid voice.
"Playing the troublesome older brother."
Putting what he had learned from Calian to excellent use, Franz slammed his teacup down. He then snatched up the bracelet Calian had handed him and walked out.
Slam!
And so, Calian was left utterly bewildered.
Because he didn't know what Franz had figured out.
And because he had no idea how to deal with an adolescent older brother who had openly declared his intention to cause him grief.
*
Alan was also bewildered.
The frail-looking 2nd Prince had suddenly shown up and made an unprecedented demand.
"You've opened a window. You've cast a warming spell. So I think you can do this, Mage."
Franz had brought the bracelet Calian had given him.
Then, he made an unreasonable demand as if it were a simple favor. Or rather, he threw a tantrum, demanding that his favor-like request be granted.
Amused by this side of Franz, which he was seeing for the first time, Alan smiled faintly and asked, "What brings you to say such things?"
Just as Franz said, Alan had previously bypassed Sispanian's security magic to open the window of Franz's room. He had also cast various spells on Hina's robe.
But what Franz was asking for now went far beyond that.
"It is impossible to use communication magic for private matters within the reach of Lord Sispanian's power. If you are asking me to bypass that…"
"I…" Franz cut in with a crooked smirk. "I was just going to stay quiet and do nothing. It's annoying how everything I do seems to get in his way."
Pointing out the window of Alan's office toward the grounds of Heisia Palace, Franz continued, "If that bastard hadn't done those things in the first place, I would have lived as if I were dead. If you save someone's life, you should let them live. What's the point of saving them only to suffocate them?"
Hearing this, Alan's eyes curved into a warm smile.
Smart, sensitive, picky, and fierce-tempered, yet obedient only to Calian. Yes, Alan perfectly understood the disjointed words of the 2nd Prince, who was just like Raven.
"It seems Prince Calian has committed another mischievous deed."
Franz merely furrowed his brow without answering. Smiling softly at the sight, Alan stood up.
"Please wait a moment. I only have coffee and mint, so I will have someone prepare another tea."
He said this because he hadn't even been able to serve tea yet, thanks to Franz pouring out his thoughts in such an uncharacteristic torrent the moment he arrived.
"…Mint."
In truth, coffee would have been better, but the thick, sweet scent of apple still lingered in his mouth, so Franz chose otherwise. He then scowled at Alan, who was once again looking at him with the expression of someone dealing with the only friend of their troublesome child.
Smiling at Franz, Alan prepared the tea in a corner of his office. The bright sunlight streaming through the window reached the sofa, resting on Franz's hair. The clinking sound of the teacups was not unpleasant.
"Devlan is a snake-like man."
After some time, those words broke the silence. Devlan—it was a name Franz knew well. He was known for being a cold, ruthless, and daring man who never made mistakes.
"I do not know if you are aware, but the moment he ascended to the position of Crown Prince, he executed his own brothers and sisters with his own hands."
With a soft clink, a warm cup of tea was placed in front of Franz. A very faint scent of mint drifted past.
"There are all kinds of people in this world. Some don't even know what a purple flower represents, while others can only find peace by tearing out the very roots of their distrust."
Birds constantly observing the movements of other nations. Endless suspicion.
"Because he has only ever known how to protect his sibling from a father who hurt others to protect himself, he only knows how to protect someone by hurting himself. So, please, don't think him too cold-hearted."
Staring at Alan as he spoke, Franz replied quietly, "I don't. I know."
Even if he didn't know what the bastard had grown up watching or how he had lived, he knew why he acted that way. So how could he think of him as cold-hearted? It was just frustrating and annoying.
"The bracelet. I'm going to send it to the Crown Prince of Secritia."
At those words, Alan wore a slightly surprised expression. Seeing him swallow the thought of whether that was truly a good idea, Franz spoke again.
"Instead of the cat."
Only Calian would understand the meaning behind sending a bracelet instead of a cat. Alan, at least, could be spoken to like a normal person.
Realizing that Alan hadn't fully understood, Franz added an explanation.
"Mage. Save your son yourself. You have the ability, don't you?"
Alan, who had never expected to hear the word "son" in this place, let alone from Franz's mouth, looked startled. Then, he soon replied in a gentle voice, "I shall do so."
Looking at the pale mint tea, Franz scowled as he thought of a certain bastard.
Whether I get in his way again or not, I'm going to do what I need to do. My dear brother can deal with his own headaches.
Because I won't live my life just quietly accepting whatever is given to me.
Because I am different from Chase.
*
After that, time flowed as if nothing had happened.
Calian and Franz still ate together occasionally, and almost every day they sat facing each other, racking their brains over stacks of paper. They thoroughly searched the structure of the walls in the basement of Heisia Palace. The ever-busy Arsen, who had been dragged into the affair, also came by once or twice to pull an all-nighter with them.
There was no letter from Chase. Franz had definitely sent his own letter through a spy, so Calian had begun to think that either someone had intercepted the hawk or Chase was taking time to recall the Axis of Time. It was around then that the ring on Calian's index finger began to glow.
On the third floor of Chermil Palace, Franz, who had been wondering more about why Lucy kept kneading his thigh than about the origin of the characters on the paper, curled one corner of his mouth. Then, holding Lucy, he stood up without a word and walked out.
— Prince Calian.
At a time when the blue stars and silver moon shone like a dream in the sky, a dreamlike voice he had never expected to hear so soon echoed in his mind.
Calian quietly stood up and stepped out onto the terrace.
It didn't take long for him to realize whose doing this was, but it took a bit longer to understand why that bastard had done it.
— A messenger hawk arrived from Prince Franz. He said that Prince Calian had something he wished to ask me and that I should contact you directly. Since I do not know how to manipulate mana, I was delayed because I needed Sir Castrin's help.
…That damn bastard.
He hadn't passed on the message that they needed memories of the Axis of Time.
He was telling Calian to do it himself.
He was saying, I'm not doing it, so you handle it.
He was challenging him: If you can still do it after hearing that voice, go right ahead.
— Ah…
Calian raised both hands and covered his face.
For a moment, it felt like he was dreaming.
The voice was the same one he had heard in a dream, and it reached him so suddenly, without any preparation, that the moment felt utterly unreal. He forgot what he had to say, what he could say, and simply covered his face.
He covered his face because the image of Bern's long hair, shimmering like starlight under the silver moon, kept flashing before his eyes.
Did you think those memories would stay locked away just because you tried to shut them out?
It felt as though he could hear the madman asking that very question, and he forgot all his words.
— I…
— Speak. Anything. It is alright.
Because Chase replied so readily, without even knowing what Calian had intended to say, Calian's shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
— Not just yet, but…
Like that dawn when the birds with folded wings wept softly, Calian held his breath once more.
— Later…
When everything is alright. When it is truly alright, then.
— I wanted to ask if… Crown Prince Chase, myself, and Kyrie… if we could all drink together at the royal palace spire. That is what I wanted to ask.
Later.
Later.
— Come when you have grown a bit more. Anytime.
The readily given answer drifted down like a gentle stream.