Chapter 221: Never, or Just Once (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 221: Never, or Just Once (6)
"...This is driving me crazy."
I was losing my mind before I could even begin to guess what he hated more: the fact that I was teaching him something, that I was making assumptions, that I was calling him by name, or all of the above.
I thought I would be the only one going completely, utterly mad. But to open my eyes and find a single boiled pea spinning right alongside me—there are simply no words to describe this feeling.
"I wasn't going to say this, but..."
I had no idea what he stood to gain by insisting on going mad with me, but his constant spinning was about to drive me over the edge.
It felt like receiving a gift of Lucy's poop, beautifully wrapped in the most expensive silk in Kairis.
"Brother, why on earth are you doing this to me?"
Did we meet somewhere before?
Did I hit you at some point?
Did you hate getting that bell pepper that much?
Why are you doing this to me?
"Seriously... why are you doing this?"
Franz stared blankly at Calian, who had bowed his head and covered his forehead with a hand, as if to hide his expression.
He's holding back again.
With no one around to watch and nothing to lose, Franz had expected Calian to finally seize the opportunity to kill his sworn enemy, this "broomstick" of a brother.
Yet he was holding back. He wasn't even suppressing his anger; he just asked quietly, his voice rustling like falling leaves, why Franz was doing this to him.
Staring down at the crown of Calian's head, Franz replied just as quietly.
"Because I'm curious."
"Curious about what?"
"Your name."
"It's Calian."
"Not that one."
"It is... Calian."
After their rapid-fire exchange, Franz let out a smirk and spoke in a languid voice.
"And yet you, who knows that..."
And yet you, who already knows, asked me to confirm your name?
You reek of sour tangerines and spout the stupidest nonsense, claiming you'll accept, understand, and shoulder everything on your own. Did you really think I'd listen to you? Facing the red-eyed bastard whose age and name he no longer cared to know, Franz swore for the first time in a long while.
Calian raised his head and looked at him.
Perhaps because tomorrow would be cloudy, the thin moonlight cast a reddish glow.
Perhaps because his heart was clouded, Calian's eyes were also red.
"...Ha."
Franz frowned, recognizing that every curse word in the world was packed into that single, short sigh.
"We need to talk."
Having delivered his one-sided demand, Calian trudged ahead. He had too much to say and needed to organize his thoughts, so despite being in the middle of a conversation, he headed for a better place to talk.
He walked over to a small stream and plopped down on a low rock. Franz, who had been standing with a disgruntled look, eventually chose a rock of his own and sat down. Calian saw him but remained silent, listening only to the sound of the flowing water.
After a long while.
Sitting across from the older brother who had been driven mad by his equally mad younger brother, the younger brother—who had learned patience thanks to his infuriatingly stubborn older brother—finally spoke.
"I don't know if you're aware, but I am quite good with a sword."
Franz frowned slightly, his perfectly fine neck throbbing with a phantom ache as he looked at Calian. Calian's voice, still rustling like dry leaves, drifted into the cold forest air.
"I have cut down more people than can be easily counted."
Even before the war between Secritia and Kairis, Bern's life had been a war in itself. The official conflict had changed nothing; the number of people he'd killed remained the same.
"Ah, of course. I've taken many lives, but I've also protected many."
He had protected Chase's life above all others, but he had saved many more besides. Even as Calian, he had protected Kyrie, Hina, Alan, and Yan. His "protection" of Alan and Yan was unconventional, but they were living proper lives because of him, so it still counted.
"But I have only ever saved someone once."
Someone he saved by throwing away all reason and calculation.
"I came up with various reasons to justify it later, but at the time, I just saved him. Because it felt like I had to."
And that person, of all people, was Franz.
Yes.
Of all people, it was Franz.
Facing that very man, Calian spoke in a voice that flowed like water toward the Senyu River.
"But do you know that ever since that day—the day I did something I'd never done before—my life has been a complete mess? Everything is so tangled that I can't unravel a single thread, even now."
His voice was like the calm waters of the Senyu River, but his words were a torrential downpour.
The Valkan he was building, his step-by-step plan for the Brissen family, even the Aura he'd kept hidden—all of it. Everything went wrong the moment he saved Franz. Every single thing.
"My Aura was exposed, my strength was revealed. I gave you the Valkan I'd meant for myself just to keep you from dying, and what did you do? You bound your heart to give me a knight order. To fix that mess, I had to hand the order right back to you."
Then, trying to get things back on track, he had poked at Gray, only for Evan to mess things up even more. Still, he had to worry about that watermelon-rind-looking bastard first, so he had even done something terrible to Chase, only for that same bastard to meddle with the bracelet on his own and send it to Chase.
"Thanks to that, I can't even stand the smell of bell peppers anymore."
Not only had he grown to hate bell peppers, but he was also now unable to look away from Secritia's affairs.
In the end, Franz had made it impossible for Calian to let go of Secritia.
If Franz's meddling had fixed even one thing, Calian wouldn't be complaining. But the ripple effects had put him in a position where he now had to risk his life to capture Evan. Could there be a greater enemy under the sun? The thought of having saved such a bastard with his own hands made his stomach burn with frustration.
"Lately, I feel like I'm looking at Lucy bringing me frogs to eat."
The cute and adorable Lucy kept bringing him things lately, meowing for him to eat them quickly. Things like a six-legged black bug he had no desire to identify, or half a field mouse whose other half he didn't care to locate.
Right now, Calian felt exactly like he was receiving Lucy's "repayment." It was the same word, but it was entirely different from Kyrie's heartbreaking repayment.
Pausing for a moment, Calian pointedly added, "And a very lively, fresh frog at that," before continuing.
"Anyway, what I'm saying is... I've never resented a human being before—only Serenti—but today, I resent you, Brother."
He had never saved anyone, but now he had, once.
He had never resented a person, but now he did, once.
"Why on earth is my brother, whom I saved so he could live after saying he wanted to, being so incredibly disobedient?"
He was asking why, but because he already knew the answer, Calian felt even more driven to madness as he looked at Franz.
"Is it because you're still young?"
"...As I listen, it sounds like my little brother is starting to bark."
"It's a real shame. I didn't expect you to be this disobedient. Maybe it's a growth spurt... and I don't understand why you're being so stubborn. Is puberty always like this?"
"At this rate, people will start asking if we're raising a dog in Chermil."
"You're speaking in long sentences today. Did you grow up a bit? Learning to consider your listener. If that's the case, instead of bringing me frogs, why don't you just listen to me?"
"Stop it."
At the end of their conversation, which was less a back-and-forth than each of them saying whatever they wanted, Calian let out a short laugh.
"Anyway, before you said you wanted to live, you should have warned me that you're terribly disobedient. I could have at least thought it over."
In the end, Franz smirked too.
It seemed Calian's patience had run out, but since he still had to treat Franz like an older brother, he couldn't draw a sword or pick up a club. He had resorted to barking instead.
"If you want someone obedient, go to the fifth floor. I believe I told you I'm not that person."
"I told you, he's scary. Is he the type to listen to me? Every time I go up there, I'm too busy checking for hidden traps."
Hearing his younger brother—who was definitely his brother, though he sometimes had his doubts—badmouth their older brother, Franz scoffed and looked around.
In his entire life, he had sat in an unclean place only three times. The first was on the grass the day he told Calian he wanted to live. The second was by the lake at Chermil Palace. And the third was today.
Ultimately, it was all because of Calian.
"Don't act like you're the only victim here."
Calian had plenty to endure from Franz's "help," but Franz, for his part, had ended up with dirt all over his clothes just from meeting Calian.
So, Calian wasn't the only one who had a right to feel wronged.
"Spill it. Your real motive."
They were deep in the forest, near a stream so wild it was hard to tell if it was a brook or a torrent. Franz, who had been leaning forward to peer into the dark water, gave up, raised his head, and looked at the sky. As he gazed up at the red moon, Calian asked in a quiet voice, "Aren't you curious about what I'm trying to teach you today?"
"...How to live, probably."
As expected, he knew.
"Since you already know, why are you being so stubborn about my motive?"
Hearing Calian's dumbfounded question, Franz replied nonchalantly.
"My little brother will keep me alive anyway."
He was saying that no matter what Calian tried to teach him, he wouldn't learn it this time, so Calian should just keep him alive. Where else in the world could one find such a shameless attitude?
"Your brother, who is supposed to keep you alive, might not be around, so just learn it for now."
At those words, Franz lowered his gaze from the sky to look at Calian.
"You."
Seeing the suspicion in his narrowed eyes, Calian shook his head.
"I'm not going to die. Just learn it."
What a joke.
If he wasn't going to die, it made no sense to insist on teaching him now. It was no different from saying he was teaching him beforehand just in case whatever he was planning went wrong.
"Don't make assumptions. Just this once..."
Calian, seeing right through his thoughts, cut him off.
"Can't you just listen to me? Just this once?"
Franz, who had been glaring at Calian, closed his eyes. He briefly thought about the other things Calian had said today, particularly his resentment.
With his eyes still closed, he spoke quietly.
"......Fine."
Having finally been on the receiving end of Calian's resentment, he decided to swallow his pride for once and learn.
"But in return. Not a frog, a snake."
In other words, instead of being Lucy bringing back frogs, he would be the broomstick that catches snakes.
"Yes. Please help me with that, Brother."
At the reply, which showed Calian had perfectly understood words that even Relic wouldn't have grasped, Franz nodded.
Seeing this, Calian beamed. He felt proud of himself for finally cracking the stubbornness of this "pea," which had seemed so perfectly round and unyielding.
Ah, that was exhausting.
Now that I can handle even this pea, I must really be an adult.
Once this is over, I should have a drink with Father.
I heard Kairis Himolica is incredibly delicious.
* * *
Perhaps because tomorrow would be cloudy, his back had been aching all day.
Even though he had received proper treatment and fully recovered, his back never failed to ache on days like this. He had been trying to sleep for a long time, but it eluded him, and the pain eventually drove him to call his butler. He desperately wanted to go to the Schrintz region and soak in the hot springs, but he couldn't leave this backwater place as he pleased, which only fueled his anger.
"Are you alright, Margrave?"
The butler—whom Gray had kept alive because he was useful, despite knowing he had broken more than just Gray's back—placed a hot compress infused with warming magic on his back. "Please keep this on for now. If there is anything else you need..."
"That's enough. Get out."
Whether the concern stemmed from genuine care or the size of his salary, it was concern nonetheless, but Gray just spat back an irritated reply, as if he'd forgotten he was the one who had called for the butler in the first place.
Thanks to the butler, he could walk properly and had even managed to hide the fact that he was no longer a Sword Master. There could hardly be a greater benefactor, but those of Brissen blood lacked the capacity to remember such favors.
The pea who brought back frogs was the exception; the Brissens had always been like this.
"Yes. Then please rest, Margrave."
Thus, the butler simply gave a polite bow and stepped outside.
Hearing the soft click of the door, Gray let out a groan as he lay on his stomach.
"Damn healer."
This was all because of that wretched healer, Malcolm or whatever his name was. If the bastard had treated him properly from the start, his back wouldn't feel so stiff every time storm clouds gathered.
Groaning once more, Gray spat out a vulgar curse and turned over.
"Why blame an innocent healer? It was my doing."
He froze mid-turn. He couldn't even think of reaching for the dagger under his pillow, let alone summon the courage to call for help. His eyes stretched wide in terror.
"I told you to live quietly, as if you were dead. Yet you summoned one of my people to plot something cute, Margrave."
Yes.
His entire body froze, paralyzed by a terror that penetrated to his very bones, like a frog staring into the eyes of a snake.
"How dare you."
Calian leaned down slightly to meet Gray's eyes, smiling like a flower in full bloom.