Chapter 21: This Is Too Blatant (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: This Is Too Blatant (4)
Calian scratched his cheek.
“This is too blatant.”
Piled high beside him was a mountain of gift boxes.
They were gifts of consolation, meant to soothe the heartbreak Calian must have felt when King Lemain, far from punishing Franz at yesterday’s ball, had entered the venue with the boy at his side. Of course, that was merely the official pretext.
Calian pointed his fork playfully at the pile—he wasn't sure whether to call them gifts or bribes—and said, “Are they already trying to hedge their bets?”
The rumor that Franz had insulted Freya had spread like wildfire. Attendants, maids, and knights had all been present, and they all had mouths.
However, by entering the ballroom with Franz, Lemain had made it clear that he had generously forgiven his son.
The problem lay in what Lemain did immediately afterward: he summoned Melfir to commend his achievements.
“Today’s performance was most impressive. As a reward, I shall grant the Polun Trading Company exclusive rights to supply all horses and riding gear to the royal palace and the knightly orders of Kairisis.”
Normally, knights provided their own horses and armaments. The knights of the royal palace and the capital, however, were different. To standardize and elevate their combat capabilities, the royal family provided everything.
The number of horses required for Kairisis’s military forces—which included the Royal Knights, the Kairisis Knight Orders, the Outer Castle Guard, and the Capital Guard—was immense. Naturally, the value of such a contract was astronomical.
Lemain had handed that massive contract to the Polun Trading Company. Yet, despite losing such a lucrative interest, Silike and Lennon Brissen showed no reaction whatsoever. It could only mean that a deal had already been struck behind the scenes.
Melfir Polun was the only one whose heart had nearly stopped from the shock.
“They used Prince Franz as a bargaining chip.”
The nobles were not so foolish as to miss the implication. The fact that the Brissen family, who usually remained passive no matter what Franz did, had accepted such a loss sent a clear message.
“Calian’s power has grown enough for Silike to be on guard.”
A few quick-witted nobles quietly distanced themselves from Franz. The number was small, certainly smaller than if Franz hadn’t been forgiven, but it wasn’t insignificant. It was these very nobles who had sent gifts to console Calian.
“What should we do with them, Your Highness?” Yan asked.
“Send them all back, except for two. For the ones we return, make a list of the senders.”
Calian had skipped today’s breakfast banquet for the same reason he had missed the ball. He replied while enjoying his first truly leisurely breakfast since his life as a prince of Kairis had begun.
Those whose names were on that list would never earn his favor. He had no need for people who swayed so easily with the slightest shift in the political winds.
“Yes, Your Highness. Which two should we keep?”
“The Mage Association and Melfir Polun.”
Calian answered immediately, though he hadn't yet seen the list of senders. His tone made it clear he expected them to have sent something. Yan glanced at the list, his eyes widening slightly before he nodded.
The Mage Association and Melfir Polun. Both were indeed on the list. Yan looked curious as to how Calian had known, but the prince was not finished speaking.
“Just accept the Association’s gift, and let me see what Baron Polun sent.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
There was only one reason to accept the Mage Association’s gift: to publicly announce that he had forged an alliance with them through Alan Manasil.
Soon, the sorting of the gift boxes began. With the rejected gifts set aside, only two boxes remained on the table. Yan picked up the wider, flatter one and opened the lid.
“Here is the gift from Baron Polun.”
Calian, who had been slicing his ham with elegant movements, froze. Wondering what was wrong, Yan peered inside the box. His eyes went wide, and Calian burst into a hearty laugh.
After laughing for a good while, Calian took a sip of water to compose himself. “I doubt he came up with this on his own. What did you say to the trading company yesterday?”
“Well… I did mention that Your Highness particularly cherishes Raven.”
Calian laughed again.
It was a necklace with an incredibly long chain. It was far too long for a human to wear—it was, in fact, the perfect length to fit around a horse’s neck.
Yesterday, worried that the people at the performance venue might upset Raven, Yan had stressed that the horse was highly cherished by the prince and should be handled with the utmost care. It seemed Melfir had taken the message to heart.
“A horse necklace. I never would have imagined. Raven gets a necklace before I do.”
A thin platinum chain, which would look splendid against Raven’s black coat, held a ruby pendant at its center. With a final chuckle, Calian shook his head.
“I can’t even reject it. It would suit Raven perfectly.”
Calian resumed slicing his ham. “Appraise its value and send the payment to the Polun Trading Company. Tell them I like it, so I’m purchasing it.”
“You’re not just accepting it as a gift?”
“No. I’m buying it, not accepting it.”
Of course, Melfir wouldn’t have sent a mere horse necklace as payment for his life. He was likely trying to gauge Calian’s intentions, to see what the prince wanted in exchange for being saved.
As if this could be settled with a jewel.
Calian knew that if he accepted this, the real gift—one worthy of Melfir’s life—would follow.
That’s why he sent a necklace for Raven. It’s a signal that the real gift for me is separate.
But what Calian wanted was not material wealth. That was why he could not simply accept it.
“For the time being, the only gifts I will accept outright are from the Mage Association. Let me know if anything else arrives from the Polun Trading Company. As for the other nobles, handle the returns yourself.”
He felt a little sorry for Yan, but he couldn’t explain what had happened with Melfir. There was no way to explain how he had known to warn the man. Fortunately, Yan didn’t press for details.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will see to it.”
Calian looked at the necklace and laughed again. No matter how he looked at it, the situation was simply too amusing.
*
Sitting at his desk, Alan was massaging his temples. When someone approached, he cracked his eyes open, looked up, and spoke.
“Put it there.”
A woman with dark circles under her eyes placed a new stack of documents in front of him. Pulling her arm back with a weary motion, Euria said, “This is yesterday’s information. There’s really nothing left now, Lord Manasil. They said they’ve scraped up everything.”
She was Euria Seiren: head of the Kairis Mage Association, eldest daughter of the prestigious House of Count Seiren—a family that had produced countless magic engineers—and a powerful mage who had mastered the 5th Circle.
Normally, Euria trusted the Ancient Dragon Sispanian and Alan Manasil more than the Chief God Serenti. To her, Alan Manasil was an absolute existence—a trait truly befitting a mage.
So, one could easily imagine how moved Euria had been when the red-and-silver-haired mage walked through the doors of the Association on the morning of the second day of the King’s Birthday Festival.
The very first words Alan had spoken to the emotional Euria were these:
—Do the mages here happen to think it’s fine for a sword-wielding lion cub to wear the crown?
Of course not, Euria had answered without a moment’s hesitation.
—What would you have us do?
And then, two days of hell unfolded. It was a grueling period, so harsh that her fanatical faith in Alan Manasil had nearly cooled.
The only thing that kept the mages going—all of whom looked ready to drop dead—was that the information they were digging up from all over Kairisis related to Silike’s conspiracies. Otherwise, they never would have stepped outside the building to gather more.
“We’ve gathered a massive amount of information at this point,” Euria said.
“I know. I was just thinking that mages are surprisingly good at this.”
“Yes. It’s an unexpected talent. I’ve seriously considered starting an information guild because of it.”
Nodding with a wry chuckle, Alan pulled out the major documents and began sorting through them.
“Four suspected poisonings or assassinations in the royal palace since Silike’s arrival, six mages similarly suspected, and thirteen nobles… Truly remarkable. And Lemain just stood by through it all.”
These were all cases with only circumstantial evidence. However, every single one of the deceased was connected to either Silike or the House of Marquis Brissen.
The only concrete evidence they had gathered was a mage’s testimony that Lennon had brought Tacrimosa—which had been hidden in his residence—into the royal palace, along with proof that a large quantity of Crimosa had been imported to manufacture it.
What if we had gathered evidence of those suspicious deaths from the very beginning?
A sense of regret washed over him. As of now, the cases were nothing more than rumors. However, knowing that even with evidence, it would have been useless without a central figure like himself to rally around, Alan chose not to dwell on it.
“You’ve worked hard. Go and get some rest.”
“Yes. You should rest too, Lord Manasil.”
Euria bowed and left, looking as if she might collapse at any moment. Alan, who looked twenty years younger than her, clicked his tongue.
“To think a youngster’s stamina is so poor.”
Alan soon picked up the document Euria had brought. Excluding the cover, it was a short, single-page report.
A Mystery Hidden Behind Franz’s Insult to Freya!
Alan chuckled at the title, which was highly characteristic of a mage. In fact, every report he had seen so far had been written in this manner. Their philosophy was that a report must first be intriguing. Honestly, mages.
“They wrote a title like that, yet they placed a secrecy spell on it.”
It seemed that, contrary to the playful title, it contained highly important information. A warning caught his eye, advising him that the paper would automatically incinerate once he finished reading. Thus, only the author and Alan would ever know its contents; even Euria must have delivered it without knowing what was written inside.
“Well then, let’s see how important this is,” Alan muttered lightheartedly as he turned the page.
—By a stroke of luck, I was invited to the equestrian match attended by the King! With a fluttering heart, I visited the Polun performance venue, but lo and behold, I found myself assigned to the absolute corner seat on the eighth floor. Thanks to this, I was in the tragic situation of being unable to see the arena or hear the announcer. However, refusing to succumb to reality, I cast ‘Eagle Eye’ and ‘Magic Ear’.
The spells magnified distant sights and sounds.
“To think someone would simultaneously use two active-maintenance spells just to watch a single match, even if they are low-level. What a waste of mana,” Alan scoffed.
Alan, who just the day before had doused Yan with water purely for his own amusement, shook his head and chuckled.
—Finally, the royal family entered, and Prince Calian, the hot topic of conversation, came into view. Upon receiving Melfir Polun’s greeting, Prince Calian said this:
“It looks unstable above your head. You should check it.”
—And a moment later, I witnessed an even more shocking scene!
Alan, who had been reading with an indifferent expression, gradually grew serious.
The report concluded by raising the suspicion that Prince Calian had prevented a planned accident and that the culprit was likely the Brissen Trading Company. The author, aware of the gravity of his discovery, requested that Alan keep it a secret, promising he would never speak of what he saw to anyone else. Since Prince Calian was involved, he was likely worried the prince's position would be compromised if the truth were revealed.
Mages loved mischief, but they were certainly no fools.
Soon, the letters on the report in Alan’s hand began to glow, vanishing word by word as if consumed by fire. The flame spread to the paper itself, but it emitted no heat. Alan held the report until it had burned away completely.
“Hmm.”
He recalled what Calian had said when they first met.
—When I heard the conversation with the guard, I was riding nearby.
Of course, those words weren’t a lie. However, Alan knew that Calian had started moving the very instant he heard the name ‘Alan Manasil.’ The range at which Alan could perceive nearby movements was far wider than Calian could have possibly anticipated.
“First with me, and now with this accident… Our prince. How on earth did he know beforehand?”
Alan muttered, massaging his temples once more.