Chapter 260: Lest I Forget (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 260: Lest I Forget (7)
The briny scent of the sea.
It was a dry, salty smell, utterly devoid of elegance—not fragrant like flowers, nor sweet like cake.
There are days when you want to see the sea for no reason at all. Not because Bern comes to mind, not out of a desire to return to Secritia, and not because you are in pain or exhausted.
Though the exact meaning of "a yearning that reaches the bones" remains elusive, there are times when it feels like only filling your very marrow with that salty air will bring relief.
Like today. Right now.
There are moments when that sea, which does not exist here, is missed with a terrible ache.
"What do you mean by ‘real master’?"
"You asked me to tell you who I really am."
"I have only seen you three times, including today."
In the tavern on that rainy night, when they had pointed their swords at each other, and now.
Calian, briefly counting the encounters in his head, nodded and replied, "That's right. And I have also seen you for the third time."
Eila's eyelashes, which seemed even longer than Calian's, fluttered down and then rose again. She always made that exact expression whenever her thoughts became tangled.
"The more I try to learn about you, the more I don't understand. My undisguised face, my name—how did you know? How did you find my new shop? How did you know the codes we use? Why did you use the name Red Swan? Why was the Crown Prince so desperate to find you, and why did he help you and cast aside the White Eagle after you came here? And where did you learn that swordsmanship? What is your true identity? A real master… why would you say such a thing?"
That day.
—You shouldn't have done something that would get you killed in front of me!
Why, and how, had he looked at her with those eyes?
"...I don't understand."
"You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean you don't know."
His pale fingers, clasped and resting on his lap, traced a gentle arc over the back of his other hand.
Though he had been smiling openly just moments ago and could have easily let a broad grin fill his face now, Calian erased all traces of amusement from his expression.
"When you realized I was calling for you, you came here believing I would help. You came believing I would protect you from the other agents of Secritia chasing you, and from the King of Secritia himself. You came, even though you knew very well that I had already sent you to the gallows once before."
Before today, they had only met twice.
They had fought, and he had arrested her, refusing to turn a blind eye to her crimes. He had sent her to her execution.
"I want to ask how you could trust someone like me enough to seek me out at the royal palace, Eila. Why did you come to someone who would obviously arrest you again without a second thought?"
"That's…"
"If it were me, I never would have come. Not unless I was absolutely certain of who I was dealing with."
Her coming here had been a gamble.
"I figured that if you suspected a great deal about me, you would come. If not, you would never show your face. And if you hadn't come, I would have devised another way to hunt you down. I would have captured you again by any means necessary, extracted the information I needed, and sent you to the gallows for good this time."
No one in their right mind would have set foot inside the Kairis Royal Palace.
"And yet, you came. You came immediately, as if you had been waiting. No matter how cornered you were, I doubt you came here just to end your life on a Lenisita leaf. If you came despite everything, it can only mean one thing: you already have a good idea of who I am."
The moment Eila appeared on the terrace, he knew. She hadn't come because she didn't know who Calian was; she had come because she was already certain.
"Eila. Did you really come here knowing nothing about me?"
Eila’s eyes locked onto Calian.
Calian met her gaze.
After a long silence, without breaking eye contact, Eila finally spoke.
"Who… are you, really?"
Calian smiled.
His blue hair, his water-colored eyes. He smiled because the reflection of himself that only he remembered looked so much like the sea.
"Stop forgetting."
Everyone was so good at forgetting.
It was a pain to have to explain it every single time.
"I told you. I'm your master."
Eila.
* * *
Needlen bowed his head. His hair, the color of Adinia petals, swayed as it fell forward.
"I am sorry, Your Highness."
Gazing down at the back of Needlen's head, Franz asked in a flat, monotone voice, "Why are you apologizing?"
"For keeping you from your rest at this hour, and… for asking such a favor of you, Your Highness."
"It's fine."
After his brief reply, Franz took a large sheet of paper from Needlen's hand. Needlen had done nothing wrong. In fact, if one were to look closely, no one had.
—I believed you two should be the first to know. If this makes you even slightly uncomfortable, please speak up without reservation. I will cancel it immediately.
That morning, Lemain had called Randel and Franz in separately to say those words.
—I wish to ask if it would be acceptable to expand the Wilhelm Pavilion to where the Heisia Palace currently stands, and to relocate the Heisia Palace next to the Camellia Palace.
He was asking the two princes for their thoughts on rebuilding the Heisia Palace—whose reconstruction had been delayed by the discovery of Sispanian's cavern—right next to the Camellia Palace, where the King resided.
The suggestion had come about because the entrance to Sispanian's cavern at the ruins of the Heisia Palace—the empty space closest to the Wilhelm Pavilion—needed to be sealed off so that only authorized personnel could enter. It had been proposed that an additional building for the Valkan be constructed there.
Naturally, it was Calian's idea. In all of Kairis, Calian was the only one who would dare to suggest such a thing.
—I understand.
Randel had shown no particular reaction. Instead of saying whether he liked it or not, he simply said he understood, which meant he didn't care where the Heisia Palace was built.
In truth, Lemain had been more worried about Franz than Randel. After all, Lemain and Franz were the only ones who remembered visiting and meeting the ‘mother’ who had actually lived in the Heisia Palace.
—I have no objections.
Franz had also replied without expressing any personal feelings on the matter.
—Very well, then.
Lemain had simply said that and approved the expansion of the Wilhelm Pavilion, adding no unnecessary words.
"I originally planned to speak with Vice-Commander Hertz, but he hasn't returned yet," Needlen explained.
"I know."
Consequently, a rough plan had to be drawn up for what to build and where on the former grounds of the Heisia Palace. Needlen, who was put in charge of the task, had hoped to get Arsen's advice. No matter how eccentric a mage might be, they still possessed common sense; how could he possibly ask Franz for his opinion on such a matter?
"It's fine, so stop apologizing."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Thus, unable to bear the sight of Needlen anxiously waiting for Arsen's return, Franz had stepped in to help. Since Needlen was insisting on doing today what could easily be done tomorrow, Franz figured he might as well help him finish quickly and send him home.
And so, from the evening after everyone else had left until late into the night, they planned what to build on the ruins of the Heisia Palace. Afterward, they had come to the site to make a final check on whether their plan was feasible.
"By the way, Your Highness. You do know who I am, right?" Needlen asked, hearing Franz continuously refer to him as ‘mage.’ He knew how impolite such a question could be to a royal who had lived his entire life without needing to memorize anyone's name, but he felt they had grown somewhat closer and asked anyway.
"The mage commander who got his chicken stolen by Lucy and ate salt-sprinkled food."
"…Yes."
He had only been curious if Franz knew his name, but since the prince remembered such an unexpected incident, he didn't know whether to be grateful or bitter.
Glancing at Needlen's awkward expression, Franz added, "Needlen Jeia."
"Ah. That's right. Thank you, Your Highness." Needlen nodded with a smile. He realized that this prince—who was ill-tempered, sensitive, blunt, and excelled at picking out the most grueling training sessions, yet was only kind to cats—was surprisingly not that difficult to deal with.
Franz turned his gaze toward the empty lot without replying. Noticing his gaze lingering on a single spot, Needlen watched him quietly before speaking softly.
"That's where the flower garden used to be."
More than a garden, it had been a greenhouse. Right in the center of the Heisia Palace grounds. It was where Silike's greenhouse had stood. Since it had been dismantled immediately after Silike's execution, Needlen, who joined the Valkan afterward, would have never seen it.
Thinking of the greenhouse for a moment, Franz turned around. There was nothing left to do here; it was time to head back.
"The scent was truly lovely."
He paused.
"I heard they were called Renieri, a rare flower. They were planted there, but when the palace collapsed, they were heavily damaged and had to be uprooted when the debris was cleared. Even so, one flower managed to bloom."
"…Planted, you say?"
"Yes. Quite a lot of them were planted there. The scent was so beautiful that I still remember it."
The site where Silike's greenhouse had stood.
Silike had never planted Renieri in the ground. She had grown them in countless pots. Furthermore, the last time he had visited that greenhouse, it had been empty. There were no Renieri.
His feet remained rooted to the spot for a long time.
Staring down at the ground, Franz merely nodded before finally taking a step forward.
Back then, Franz knew that no one had floated an Annerusia for Silike. He had never once felt regret over it, because he knew Silike would not have wanted an Annerusia.
"…Crazy bastard."
Realizing only now that there had been someone who, in his own way, had properly sent off the life he had taken with his own hands, Franz let out a short sigh.
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing."
He had planted Renieri and left.
Even though he still smelled Renieri in his coffee.
* * *
A black mother-of-pearl carriage.
As he helped the black-clad figure into the carriage—the safest place outside the royal palace—Calian spoke.
"Anyway, the only people who know your face are the King of Secritia, the Crown Prince, and me. Using magic recklessly in that house will cause a major uproar, so don't disguise yourself for the time being. Don't go outside, either. Just stay quietly inside until I call for you again."
As Calian prepared to close the carriage door, his instructions seemingly complete, Eila asked, "Whose house is it?"
"You'll know when you get there. The one singing at the door will tell you," Calian replied, shutting the door.
Soon, the carriage began to move with a steady clatter of hooves.
"Just don't be startled," Calian added playfully as the carriage neared the palace gates, a soft chuckle escaping him.
—Welcome to the home of the Great Mage, Alan Manasil!
He was remembering that delightfully cheerful, flower-shaped stone statue.
As the carriage left the palace grounds, a surge of mana wrapped around the entire royal palace. The security magic, which no longer needed to be suspended, had been reactivated.
Calian, who had personally seen Eila off to ensure she wouldn't be caught by the palace knights on her way out, smiled as he thought of Alan, who must have worked quite hard to suppress the security magic.
As he strolled back toward the Chermil Palace, he paused at the entrance. Then, changing direction, he walked toward the lakeside.
"What are you doing out here instead of inside? It's late."
He had spotted a tuft of familiar hair, its owner staring melancholically at the lake bathed in white moonlight.
"You."
"Why were you waiting for me?"
Standing a short distance from Franz, Calian watched the rippling water, but there was no reply for a long time. Knowing that once Franz was lost in thought, he would retreat into his own world regardless of who was beside him, Calian quietly waited.
"The cat's name," Franz finally said.
"Yes?"
He must have finally decided on a name for the kitten. Feeling a bit disappointed that he would no longer be able to call it Navia or Apple, Calian smiled faintly.
Franz turned his head to look at Calian. "How do you say ‘to remember’?"
"Do you mean in the ancient tongue of Secritia?"
"Since Lucy is taking care of it."
It meant that since Lucy's name came from the ancient tongue of Secritia, he would name the kitten in the same manner. Calian replied with a subtle smile.
"It is ‘Anne’."
Annerusia. The flower that comforts the departed with a promise never to forget.
Perhaps recalling that, Franz looked back at the lake. "Let's go with that."
Not Navia, not Apple.
Whether he knew it or not, the name was chosen to show he wouldn't forget what he was being taught about how to live well, and that he would take good care of the cat.
Calian nodded.
"When are you going to tell me what my name means?"
"When you grow a bit taller, Brother."
Replying with a bright, beaming smile, Calian pointed toward the Chermil Palace. It was a gesture urging his fragile older brother to go inside quickly, as the night air was cold.
He remained entirely unaware that Franz was suddenly struck by the horrifying suspicion that his name might actually mean ‘pea’.