Chapter 191: My Sword (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 191: My Sword (3)
A subtle floral scent drifted from the clear green tea.
The fragrance lingered, a delicate counterpoint to the tea’s simple aroma. It was as if a single flower had bloomed on a stone cliff, yet it also evoked a field of tiny wildflowers blanketing a snowy landscape. It was a scent that suited Hina perfectly.
– Have you been well?
Hina asked once Demirea had set down her teacup. As she spoke, Lucy padded over with a soft meow and rubbed against Demirea’s ankles. Demirea smiled, glad she’d chosen to wear light ivory trousers.
“It is always peaceful here.”
Demirea replied, gently stroking Lucy’s back.
It wasn’t a direct answer to the question, but rather an expression of the tranquility she always felt in Hina’s presence. Believing it served as an answer all the same, she said nothing more.
In truth, Demirea was visiting Hina because the knights arranged by Count Aizen Aprin had arrived at her residence the day before.
Originally, they were a knight order created to replace the Royal Knights—a force Franz had intended to hand over to Calian. In the end, however, wouldn't they become Franz's sword?
Demirea had visited the royal palace to inform Calian of their safe arrival under Siegfried’s shield, reporting that there had been no trouble so far. While there, she had also made a request she had been putting off for some time.
‘A spar?’
There was no need for Demirea to come to the palace just for a brief update on the knights. She had made the trip herself partly to quell any talk about the ‘fiancés’ meeting too rarely, and partly to request a spar with Calian.
But Calian, staring at her, had simply shaken his head.
‘With those hands, you won’t be able to parry my sword.’
Just as he’d said, Demirea’s hands were a mess. She had been pushing herself lately, trying to grow accustomed to a sword that was a level heavier.
Thanks to that, her request for a spar was once again denied.
Seeing Demirea’s crestfallen expression, as if she’d just been rejected for a date, Calian had chuckled.
‘I don’t want you to end up like me. Read books, play the violin, call Yan over for a chat. Just enjoy your life.’
He’d offered the words of concern with the doting expression of someone looking after a much younger sibling, then added with a shameless grin:
‘Though I do like my fiancée looking out for me… I think you could stand to live a bit more like a Siegfried, you know.’
Of course, Demirea held no romantic feelings for Calian. If she had, she would have challenged him to a duel, not a spar. She also knew he was only saying this because he’d noticed she had been overexerting herself, likely still conscious of the killing intent he had directed at the mages during her last visit. But still.
They were the same age. He was a prince with hardly any time to train, yet he was already a Sword Master.
For Demirea, who didn't know Calian’s secret, looking at him could only evoke a mixture of awe and wounded pride. That was why she had been swinging her sword a little harder, only for him to make such a sly remark.
Then, out of nowhere, he had handed her a few pieces of dried chicken jerky and asked if she could deliver them to Hina on her way back. And that was how she found herself here, drinking tea with Hina.
– It’s a snack for Lucy.
Hina unwrapped the paper, which had been meticulously folded by Yan, and smiled faintly at Demirea. She asked again:
– Has anything else happened?
Although Demirea had said it was peaceful, Hina figured there must be another reason Calian had bothered to send Lucy’s snacks—already piled high in her office—through his fiancée.
“Yes. It’s been the same as always. Nothing major has happened.”
There was the minor issue of Suleiman sending about ten letters asking, ‘So when is the 3rd Prince planning to visit the Siegfried territory?’ after hearing his precious daughter was engaged. But that wasn't a particularly big deal.
He had stopped sending them last week, which meant he had either finally realized it was a fake engagement, started sending the same letters to Lemain, or been caught and scolded by Serie. Whichever it was, it wasn't a big deal.
“More importantly, I should be congratulating you, Sir Bern.”
Putting aside such trivial matters, Demirea offered her congratulations.
After all, far more good things had happened to Hina. She had been promoted to a position befitting her abilities, and Kyrie had apparently received his knighthood.
– My brother is happier about it than I am. I’ve just become a little bored.
Hina was, indeed, a bit bored.
Since Euria and Arsen had returned, Veronica was no longer allowed to skip her academy classes, which left Hina with even less to do in the mornings.
“Is there any better news than a healer being idle?”
It was a good thing when no one was getting hurt. Besides, once Aizen’s knight order joined Valkan in August, Hina would likely get busy. It wouldn’t hurt for her to enjoy this leisure while she could.
With that reply, Demirea took another sip of tea, set the cup down, and said, “The fragrance is truly wonderful.”
Hina nodded.
– The Corps Commander gave it to me. It’s a gift from Libern. They said it has orchid flowers in it.
To be precise, Alan had given it to Calian, who had then passed it to Hina. When Calian had visited Alan and taken a liking to the tea, Alan had given him a box. Then, when Hina had stopped by Calian’s room and loved the scent, he had sent her off with it.
What wouldn’t Alan give, if it was for his precious Calian and, by extension, Hina?
Demirea took another sip of the green tea, which had reached Hina through this strange trickle-down of affection. Hina smiled warmly at the sight, then pointed to the hand holding the teacup.
– Shall I heal you?
Hina had finally noticed the large and small blisters scattered across Demirea’s palms. Demirea shook her head.
“It’s better to leave them.”
Her sword was not yet as heavy as Suleiman’s. She had been gradually increasing its weight, but this time she had gotten greedy and pushed herself too far, resulting in the blisters.
– Still, if it hurts, tell me.
Looking at Hina, Demirea let out a soft smile. She finally understood why Calian had sent her here. He would have known these were wounds that shouldn't be healed with magic. His intention must have been for her to take a breather with someone her own age.
“It hurts even now. But the blisters have to pop and heal for calluses to form. Thank you for your concern.”
On the surface, Demirea’s hands looked small and delicate. But if one looked closely, they were covered in calluses and blisters. It was said that Kyrie’s hands were softer than hers, which said it all.
– My brother said something like that too. That there are wounds that don’t need healing.
Hina paused, then stood and walked over to her desk. She returned with a small wooden box and handed it to Demirea. It contained the very same green tea they were drinking.
A gift from Libern sent to Alan must be quite precious, yet Hina was handing over the entire box. Just as Demirea was about to protest, Hina gestured with her hands.
– Even if you don’t heal them, rest once in a while. Drink this when you do.
Instead of saying that Demirea, who was younger than her, seemed to carry a sword that was too heavy, Hina simply told her to rest.
“Yes. I will.”
Though unsure if she had fully grasped Hina’s meaning, Demirea accepted the unexpected gift with gratitude. Hina smiled brightly and nodded.
*
Franz was smart.
He rarely forgot anything he saw, was quick to shift his perspective, and was highly perceptive. Thanks to this, he was learning, mastering, and applying many of the things Calian taught him.
“My older brother is such a fast learner…”
Roasted green bell peppers stuffed with diced sweet bell peppers. Stir-fried green bell peppers tossed with sweet bell peppers. A green and sweet bell pepper salad. And sweet bell pepper juice blended with green bell peppers.
“It is all thanks to my younger brother’s excellent teaching.”
Because Calian had been meeting with Demirea, he had been late in sending word to the kitchen. He’d assumed everything would be fine after hearing the meal was already being prepared, but he hadn’t expected Franz to pull something like this.
“I didn’t expect you to apply what you learned in this manner, though.”
There was no meat.
Not only was there no meat, but the table was filled exclusively with green and sweet bell peppers. Staring at the extreme spread, Calian offered his thoughts with a smirk.
The trailing edge of his voice suggested he was not in a good mood, which made a corner of Franz’s mouth curl up.
“Ah. I had no idea.”
Franz was still faithfully putting into practice his new philosophy: to deal with a crazy bastard, one simply had to be slightly crazier. He had meticulously devised a menu that anyone would find repulsive, regardless of their particular food preferences.
Watching the two, Yan simply shook his head.
He then led Relic, whose eyes were still swollen from weeping tears of joy after yesterday’s meal with Franz, out of the room. Yan decided that to end this childish feud, he would either have to replace the chef or drag Hina over to witness this ridiculous sight.
Once the utterly fed-up servants had departed, Franz spoke.
“Eat. Don’t hold back.”
“You too, brother. Plenty of it.”
And so, the war began.
Silently, Franz took a roasted green pepper and cut it in half, causing finely chopped pieces of colorful sweet peppers to spill out. Without a single change in his expression, he took a bite of the mysteriously vibrant dish.
Clatter.
With a sound he would normally never make, Calian set down his fork and knife. He quickly lowered his head, his shoulders beginning to tremble.
He burst out laughing.
He’d warned Calian he would cause trouble, but Calian had no idea how to handle this turbulent, adolescent phase of stuffing sweet peppers inside green peppers. The sheer absurdity of it only made him laugh harder.
“Ah… what am I going to do with you…”
Even as he witnessed this disrespectful, impolite behavior, Franz said nothing. He simply continued to eat the nauseating green peppers, his face a stoic mask. Whether he had adapted to them or was simply forcing them down, he ate with grim resolve.
With Calian laughing too hard to eat properly, their war-like dinner came to an end.
Even the black tea he drank afterward tasted like green peppers. The banana-topped pancakes Yan had prepared, anticipating a poor meal, tasted like green peppers. Even the dessert of finely sliced strawberries in a light sugar syrup tasted like green peppers.
Calian lowered his head again, laughing so hard he was practically crying.
Leaning back in his chair, Franz quietly watched his brother’s antics before speaking in a low voice.
“Say you won’t do it again.”
Whether he meant playing around with green peppers, treating him like a child, or something else entirely, Calian couldn’t quite tell.
After a long while, Calian finally stopped laughing and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Feeling sorry because of Renieri.”
Hearing those words, Calian replied with a quiet smile.
“…You knew.”
The current Calian did not meddle in the past affairs between the original Calian and Franz. He had no intention of knowing the reasons, nor would he curse or forgive Franz on the original’s behalf.
So, setting that aside, he looked purely at the relationship between the current Franz, Calian, and Silike.
Was it Silike who made Franz hate fragrances, or was it Calian who pushed Silike away before Franz could even attempt to rebuild his relationship with her?
Even if Franz had consented, and even if it had been a matter of life and death for Calian, was removing Silike—who was both the greatest shadow and the only light in Franz’s life—truly an act of goodness? Or was it hypocrisy?
Franz was telling him to stop being overprotective out of such guilt. This was not a matter where one side could simply understand, forgive, and resolve things with simple addition and subtraction.
Calian stared at Franz for a moment, then quietly replied, “Yes.”
Franz nodded. Then, he pointed to Calian’s hand—specifically, to the ring on his finger.
“I don’t need to be treated the same way.”
He was telling Calian not to treat him the way he treated Chase.
Tearing Chase apart under the guise of protecting Franz, hiding it from him, and making it so Franz couldn't even get properly angry when he found out. He was telling him to stop.
Alan had said it was because that was the only way Calian knew. That Calian had only ever learned how to protect Chase by taking everything upon himself.
Franz did not know why Calian only knew how to do that. He did not know why Calian always took everything upon himself.
– There are things you can do precisely because you don’t know.
Just as Hina had once said, there were things one could do because they didn’t know. There was no need to understand everything, to heal every single wound before moving on.
“I know how to roll in the ashes myself.”
Calian lowered his gaze for a moment.
His red eyes slowly drifted down and came to a stop.
“…Yes.”
Calian stared down at the ring on his hand for a long while before giving a short, murmured reply.
Franz spoke again.
“And.”
Looking at Calian, who was still staring at the ring, Franz finally uttered the one sentence he had been holding back.
“I hate green bell peppers.”
Lifting his head to look blankly at Franz, Calian burst into laughter once more.
Thanks to the meal Franz had so meticulously prepared, Calian had come to hate them just as much.