Chapter 215: Be Patient, Master (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 215: Be Patient, Master (5)
Calian was stubborn, a trait he undoubtedly inherited from Chase. In fact, they were about equally obstinate.
"We talked about what would happen next February. Do you remember?"
It was no surprise, then, that Chase couldn't overcome Franz's stubbornness when even Calian had failed to do so. It was a mystery how a prince who had never needed to be stubborn had become so unyielding, but Franz's will was truly formidable.
"There is no way I would forget."
Knowing his own intelligence better than anyone, Franz replied, prompting a brief chuckle from Chase.
"Right. Back then, I told you that I had no involvement in that matter."
Chase had suggested a couple of times that if Franz would first explain what had happened to Calian and what Devlan had done, he would share his side of the story. The truth of Devlan's past death contained details inappropriate for Franz, so Chase had wanted to hear Calian's perspective before relaying the events.
In the end, Chase had lost to Franz.
Franz was utterly unyielding, refusing to listen to a single word. He simply repeated the same demand to the very end: "You speak first, and then I'll tell you."
Realizing this was just wasting time, Chase let out a sigh of resignation and revealed how his past self had been involved in Devlan's death.
Franz did not reply.
He offered no thoughts on the fact that Chase's past, after all, had not been pure white either.
Chase's calm voice continued.
"However, many circumstances have changed this time, and there are people here who weren't there back then. So I began to think that simply banning Tensil's healers wouldn't lead to the same future."
Marquis Lin was now banning the entry of not just Tensil's healers, but all citizens of Tensil. Because she was taking such a hardline stance, Devlan had made his next move.
"Does the King of Secritia know about Hina?"
Franz, whom Calian had once described as 'truly intelligent,' immediately pinpointed the connection between Devlan and Calian. He did this despite only having observed how Calian treated Hina, without ever being told anything specific about her.
"Wouldn't it be stranger if he didn't know? He's an incredibly suspicious man, after all."
Chase wasn't particularly surprised by Franz's mention of Hina and answered immediately. Having experienced Franz's train of thought several times now, there was no reason to be shocked.
"If he had called for Brother Randel, I would have gladly sent him. What a shame."
But this remark did surprise Chase.
He was surprised first that Randel could use healing powers, surprised again that Franz casually mentioned another piece of highly classified information after the details about Valkan, and surprised by Franz's generous attitude, speaking as if he would readily send Randel away.
"You are truly extraordinary in many ways, Prince Franz."
"Somehow, it turned out that way."
It meant that somehow, he had acquired an intelligence and intuition difficult to describe; somehow, he had come to care little for Kairis's secrets; and somehow, his relationship with Randel had grown incredibly distant.
Suddenly wondering how he had ended up in such a friendly conversation with this very same Franz, Chase let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"If Hina were involved, my little brother would have absolutely refused to go. I don't know why you had to stir things up."
Another rebuke followed. The meaning was clear: He would have handled it on his own, so why did you have to interfere and make my brother return looking half-dead?
To this, Chase, having learned a fitting response from Franz, replied:
"Somehow, it turned out that way."
"Are you saying it wasn't by your own will?"
Perhaps because he didn't need to actually open his mouth, Franz was quite talkative—and precise.
Having grasped the situation, Franz took a sip of his cold strawberry tea. A faint aroma drifted up from the brew, which was so weak that its color was a stark contrast to the one Calian had drunk, which had been set aside for Alan.
Without swallowing, Franz explained Devlan's letter, now that he had heard everything from Chase.
"So, after handing the ring to me, my little brother went to catch the mage. And I am currently confirming the situation with my little brother's former older brother."
After casually foretelling an event that could become the scandal of the century—an Archmage assassinating a king—he finally swallowed the tea he had been holding in his mouth.
"Though I doubt the mage will actually go there."
He finished by saying that while he didn't know where Alan had gone, the Archmage wouldn't have rushed straight to Secritia without thinking.
Unsure whether to feel disappointed or relieved that Alan wasn't coming, Chase frowned slightly. Then, Franz's voice echoed in his mind once more.
"If you absolutely need the same future, do what you have to do. Before the mage or my little brother gets there."
Franz had said something similar at Rubia Hall, telling Chase to act himself instead of dumping everything on Calian. Feeling a familiar sensation from that day, Chase replied.
"Fortunately, I now have a legitimate justification, so I intend to do just that."
Devlan had laid a trap for Calian.
That was reason enough. It was all the justification Chase needed to do what he wanted.
It was a truly fortunate thing. He had once again gained a reason to hate with a clear conscience.
And right now, there was only one thing Chase had to do. As he hesitated, wondering if he should—or could—tell Franz, Franz spoke again.
"I think you just need to confirm that."
Something only Chase, and no one else, could do.
Go to Devlan in person and probe his true intentions.
"Whether that man knows my little brother's previous 'name'."
Franz had insisted on speaking directly with Chase for this very reason: he needed Chase to carry out the one method that was certain to work.
Chase was surprised for the third time today.
First, when the bracelet glowed. Second, when Franz spoke of Randel.
And now.
"Did you know?"
"Somehow, it turned out that way."
Wasn't Franz's brilliant mind the one thing Calian trusted, even as he worried about disappearing from the world? Calian believed that Franz was smart enough to notice the discrepancy left by a forced erasure, that even if he were to be wiped away again, Franz alone would notice.
Calian's assumption was correct.
Franz knew better than anyone that he was not someone who easily forgot things. Yet, he could not remember the name Chase had once told him, and he hadn't felt even a shred of doubt about it. He felt no curiosity whatsoever.
"When I wondered why I wasn't curious, the answer came to me."
Thinking about that matter was not easy.
So, he stubbornly forced himself to think.
The more he contemplated it, the more he realized just how cruel a thing someone—undoubtedly more powerful than even Sispanian—was doing to Calian.
"I understand what you mean. I was thinking the same thing."
What better way could there be to expose Devlan's true thoughts? Having reached the same conclusion, Chase replied.
In the end, it was as if Arianne had delivered to Calian the words Chase could never bring himself to say, and Franz had delivered to Chase the request Calian could never bring himself to ask.
Amused that a reality so steeped in irony could still find a way to be funny, Chase let out a soft chuckle.
"I thought I would never think it was a good thing that I left him behind."
It only broke his heart to see Calian looking down at a vast royal palace instead of the wide sea, receiving red flowers instead of the blessing of the blue star, walking a razor's edge day after day instead of making foolish bets, and living away from the embrace of the brother who cherished him more than anyone. He was only ever anxious and distressed that he had let him go.
Perhaps…
"Don't do it. Ever."
Franz cut him off.
Telling him to never think it was a good thing that he had let him go.
To keep hating it, to keep worrying about him. To live always ready to rush to his side if anything happened.
That was the role of the older brother Chase had to play in this life. Franz was telling him not to give up on it, not to let go.
It was a short remark carrying an incredibly deep meaning.
* * *
The slender moon set, and the stars drowned in the predawn darkness.
Through a gloom so thick the wind might lose its way, a black horse that seemed carved from the night itself galloped without rest.
Raven, who never forgot a path once traveled, moved his legs tirelessly, carrying a master who, by the look on his face, had no idea where they were.
The teleportation magic circle had been set up a day's ride from the Siegfried territory.
The moment the light of the circle faded, Calian set off, not even taking a moment to register the stiflingly hot air. After resting once along the way, he galloped on.
He had no way of knowing how far Alan, who had no need for a horse, had already gone.
Clack-clack, clack-clack!
Running freely along a forest path for the first time in a long while, Raven seemed more excited than exhausted. Of course, the longer Raven galloped so joyfully, the more Calian’s anxiety mounted.
No matter how much he rode, through evening, night, and into the dawn, he found no trace of Alan. Just as he began to think it might be better if the warriors of Zeon attacked again just to make Alan stop and turn back, he sensed a familiar presence—one that was always welcome, no matter when or where.
"Ah, found you…"
Muttering with relief, Calian rode toward Alan and dismounted from Raven.
Alan stood on the same hill where Calian, Franz, Randel, and Lemain had once gathered—the one overlooking the land of the stubborn knights. He was silent, unmoving.
Step.
At the soft sound of footsteps, Alan, who must have known of Calian's arrival long before, spoke quietly.
"You have come, Your Highness."
Alan's long silver hair, which grew redder toward the tips, fluttered in the wind. Watching him, Calian replied.
"Yes, Master."
Instead of asking why he had stopped here, Calian simply nodded.
"I was worried. I feared I might not be able to find you."
Calian now knew everything: what had happened to Alan's son, how King Elinne of Libern had handled the matter, and the feelings Alan must have carried with him during his time there. He also knew that Alan had met him only after enduring all of that.
That was why he had worried.
He worried that Alan, remembering his deceased son, Ronil, would be tormented by the thought of Calian falling prey to Devlan's venom—of losing another son to that same poison.
And he had regretted it.
If he had known sooner, he would never have drunk the poisoned tea in front of Silike.
"I felt as though I had lost my destination, so I stopped for a moment to contemplate the path ahead."
Alan's quiet voice drifted out like the morning mist. Calian simply nodded without answering.
From this hill, a straight path led to the Siegfried territory where Suleiman would be. A slight turn would lead to Secritia.
Had he been agonizing over which way to go, or had he been waiting for Calian to find him?
"Normally, Master, you wouldn't have acted so abruptly."
Was Alan really the kind of person to act so impulsively? To move without consulting Calian, without verifying the situation, and without a thought for Lemain's safety?
Alan did not answer.
In the distant sky, shades of red, yellow, and blue began to bleed into the dawn. Quietly watching the sky, which offered a different view each morning, Calian spoke.
"When I was young, I received a kaleidoscope. I was exceptionally fond of it, so the memory is still vivid."
Recalling the toy filled with pieces of glass, gems, and other colorful things, Calian continued.
"At one point, I spent whole days peering into it. It was fascinating because even though it always seemed the same, it constantly showed me something new."
Having said that, Calian looked up at Alan.
"I, too… even if I seem the same, will be different this time. I have no intention of blindly following along. I won't step into traps recklessly. I won't try to solve everything on my own anymore. I will ask for help when I need it. So please, Master, be patient for now."
Devlan was surely monitoring their every move. Calian was asking Alan to refrain from grabbing Suleiman by the collar or invading Secritia and causing a scene.
Alan, who had stopped because he had been unable to make that very decision, asked, "Must I simply stand by and watch Your Highness walk a path of thorns?"
"It is not a path of thorns. I know now that he is not my father."
Just as he had let go of Chase, he would let go of Devlan.
Therefore, he needed no justification. He needed no absolution. He didn't even need a reason to convince himself.
Having said that, Calian looked up at Alan and smiled.
"Let's go back together, Father."
On the night the slender moon set and the stars drowned in the dawn, the beloved disciple smiled and became Alan's true son.