Chapter 29: The Roses Will Bloom Soon (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: The Roses Will Bloom Soon (1)
Calian didn't return to the palace until morning. After a brief nap, he awoke to find Yan sitting beside his bed, staring at him with bloodshot eyes. Startled, Calian bolted upright and scrambled backward.
"Whoa, you scared me."
With dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, Yan looked as if he hadn't slept a wink.
"I told you to get some sleep since you were waiting up all night…"
"Your Highness."
Yan cut Calian off, his expression dead serious.
"Why do you drink the morning tea?"
Suspecting Yan had figured out it was poisoned, Calian put on a deliberately sullen face.
"Because you bring it to me."
His words carried a hint of mild reproach. Of course, he had no intention of blaming Yan, who couldn't have known the tea was poisoned. Calian himself hadn't suspected it at first. He was just being a little mischievous, teasing Yan for his oblivious yet unwavering diligence in bringing that same tea every single morning.
Whether Yan caught on to his playfulness or not, he didn't get the answer he wanted. Instead, he reached for the nightstand.
There sat today's morning tea, still untouched.
Yan picked it up and, without a moment's hesitation, brought it to his lips.
Calian's eyes flashed.
Clack!
He snatched the teacup away just as it was about to touch Yan's mouth. The tea spilled onto the floor, and as Yan watched the brown liquid seep into the carpet, his fists clenched unconsciously.
Seeing this, Calian felt a surge of anger.
First, someone tries to kill him to make him talk, and now, someone else is trying to kill themselves over it.
Why did everyone have to be so extreme instead of just asking nicely?
"What do you think you're doing?!" Calian yelled, quickly reaching out to examine Yan's face. "Did you swallow any?"
Yan brushed his hand away. It was highly unusual behavior for him, but Calian was too frantic to care. Frustrated by Yan's silence, he raised his voice again.
"I asked if you drank it!"
"I didn't!" Yan shouted back.
Calian didn't scold him for raising his voice. After a brief silence, Yan spoke, his voice strained.
"I… I served Your Highness poison with my own hands."
He stared at Calian, his expression laying bare everything he couldn't say. A storm of curses, rage, and regret flickered across his face—all of it aimed squarely at himself.
"You can't even use a sword, yet you went out of your way to get a knife. I kept wondering why."
That damn knife. I shouldn't have bought it! Calian thought with a flash of regret.
"Then I started connecting it to your condition. When I thought of the medicine Sir Manasil gave you, it reminded me of his son, who was poisoned to death in Libern."
Calian looked at Yan in surprise. He had known nothing about Alan's past. Only now did he understand why the mage had examined him so thoroughly when they first met and how he had known the exact state of his body.
"That led me to suspect poison," Yan continued. "One thought led to another… until I realized it might be the morning tea."
The way Calian had snatched the cup was as good as a confession. He had worried Yan's personality would drive him to self-destruction, but fortunately, his aide was handling this with more composure than expected.
"…Is it Silike?"
Normally, Yan would never refer to the queen so disrespectfully. He looked ready to storm Heisia Palace that very second if Calian confirmed it.
Calian watched him for a moment before replying quietly, "Why? Want to get revenge for me?"
"I wouldn't put it past myself," Yan said, his voice ice-cold. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists so hard.
Calian shook his head. "You elephants stay out of this. It'll start a war."
Yan, who had been about to say something, snapped his mouth shut. He was processing what Calian had just said. For a long while, he simply stared, utterly speechless.
Finally, a stunned gasp escaped his lips.
"…No way."
From the beginning, Yan had shared too many similarities with Suleiman. Spending all day with him, there was no way Calian wouldn't notice. He had harbored doubts, but when Lemain—who surely knew Calian had left the palace to recruit Alan—remained completely silent for days, his suspicions were confirmed. Of course, he only knew to call them "elephants" thanks to Alan.
Calian spoke firmly to the baby elephant blinking in front of him. "We can't start a war between Siegfried and Brissen just to get rid of a cup of poisoned tea. So, you must not get involved. This is my fight."
Herbivores should act like herbivores. That way, their convictions wouldn't be compromised.
"It'll all be resolved on Tuesday anyway," Calian said in a relaxed tone, then drank the rest of the tea remaining in his own cup.
*
Calian sent a carriage to summon Alan to the palace. Just as Yan had predicted, the delegation's farewell ceremony and luncheon proceeded without the princes' attendance, leaving Calian with some free time.
The moment Alan arrived, he handed over a document. It was a file compiled by mages—circumstantial evidence of Queen Silike's misdeeds. Calian accepted it with a pleased expression.
"Thank you. Please convey my gratitude to the Association for their hard work."
"I brought it because you asked, but as you can see, it might not be of much help."
Calian smiled meaningfully. "That depends on how it's used. This is more than enough."
After having the document stored in a safe to review later, Calian turned back to Alan. It was time to discuss the tasks he needed his master to carry out.
"Let's take a walk."
The sky remained overcast and a strong wind blew, making it less than ideal weather for a stroll. However, worried their conversation might be overheard, Calian stepped out of the room, and Alan silently followed.
"Naturally…" Calian began as they passed the very spot where, on his first day here, he had swallowed his anger while staring at the statue of Sispanian.
The moment he spoke, a thin barrier of silence formed around them, moving in tandem with their footsteps. Had the barrier been visible, Yan would have had a few words for Alan.
"Since you have magic, we didn't really need to come outside," Calian laughed sheepishly. "It's wonderful having a mage as a master."
"Please, speak freely," Alan said, leaning slightly toward Calian.
Nodding, Calian continued, "Once I begin practicing magic in earnest, both Queen Silike and Marquis Brissen will want to keep me in check. They'll rack their brains to find any excuse to interfere, and it will only get worse. Of course, we could use your name or the Association to counter them, but I believe it would be better for you to establish a proper force of your own."
Alan smiled faintly, seeing right through Calian's intentions. "Are you planning to use me as a shield this time?"
"As you know, you are far too useful. However, rather than a shield…" Calian paused, organizing his thoughts. "…a weapon. One powerful enough to keep the Brissen Knights in check."
Alan chuckled softly. He realized things were about to get very interesting. "I look forward to it."
"Yes. I'm sure you will like it, Master."
"Then, what kind of weapon should I become for you?"
By the time their steps led them into the rose garden, Calian's answer came.
"A Mage Corps."
Hearing the unfamiliar term, Alan tilted his head. Not a knight order, but a Mage Corps?
"Literally, an army composed entirely of mages."
Kairis's Mage Corps, Valkan.
As memories of it resurfaced, Calian's heart began to pound. How could he ever forget? The sheer power of that army of pure mages, which had claimed Bern's life and destroyed Secritia.
The White Devils.
That's what the people of Secritia called them. Clad in white armor, white cloaks, and white masks that concealed their faces, disaster inevitably followed wherever they appeared. A force that demolished castle walls, filled valleys to forge paths, burned down cities, and froze knights solid. They had left Secritia utterly helpless. They were truly devils.
Yet, in this era, they did not exist. Not yet.
"We are going to build a Mage Corps," Calian said, emphasizing his words once more before resuming his walk.
Surprisingly, Alan followed in silence. It wasn't because he didn't understand, nor was it out of reluctance.
"Is that even possible?" Alan finally asked. "You know what mages are like. They aren't accustomed to collective action, nor can they be trained and raised together like knights."
He simply couldn't see the feasibility. It was a perfectly understandable reaction. Everyone had reacted that way. Calian had heard that when Lemain first announced his plan to form an army of mages, not a single person had taken him seriously. Alan was thinking the exact same thing now. How could one build an army out of mages? Would such a military force even function?
"It was possible," Calian's answer carried more conviction than any argument, for it was a testimony of a past that was also the future. "And it was achieved right here in Kairis. It was a feat accomplished entirely by Lemain's own hands."
"Ha," Alan let out a dry chuckle.
Calian continued, "When Lemain suddenly reversed his stance of neglecting mages and announced the creation of a Mage Corps, I heard the Brissen family deemed it not even worth opposing. They assumed it would naturally fall apart. Thanks to their negligence, it was successfully established. Since it was possible once, there is no reason we can't do it again, even if we are moving up the timeline."
Alan didn't reply. He was already beginning to ponder how to build and operate such a force. But Calian interrupted his train of thought, needing to share a more crucial fact first.
"It took a very long time for them to become a proper army. But right after the Mage Corps reached its complete form, Lemain died. A mysterious death."
The cause was never revealed. The fully realized Mage Corps was handed over entirely to Franz, who succeeded the throne. Consequently, it was Franz, not Lemain, who wielded its true power, and Secritia was the one that suffered its devastating effects.
"So, it won't be easy this time either. It will be dangerous. This is on a completely different level from simply gathering mages using your reputation, Master."
"So, you're not asking me if I can do it because it's dangerous," Alan surmised. "You're telling me it must be done, and to be mindful of that danger."
"Yes, that's correct. It is necessary, but I am worried."
Staring at the calm face of his disciple, who was assigning him such a novel and perilous task, Alan leaned in slightly. He spoke in a low voice, as if sharing a deep secret.
"To tell you the truth, I'm rather good at magic."
It was his way of telling Calian not to worry. Calian smiled and nodded.
"But the beginning won't be easy," Alan added. If he stepped forward to establish a Mage Corps, the Brissen family wouldn't just ignore it as they had with Lemain. They would undoubtedly interfere.
"Yes. That is why I am telling you this now," Calian replied, gazing at the trees swaying in the wind for a moment before bringing up the most crucial part of his plan. "Soon, Lemain will have another opportunity to exchange 'gifts' with Queen Silike. Similar to how he overlooked Franz's mistake in exchange for cutting the Brissen Trading Company's profits. Only this time, it will be in exchange for overlooking Queen Silike's mistake."
"Are you finally planning to get rid of the poisoned tea?"
Calian shook his head in amazement at how quickly Alan grasped his meaning. What was I thinking, trying to hide things from a man like him?
"You really are quick-witted. Yes, I intend to get rid of the tea now. However, as I mentioned before, we won't be able to punish Queen Silike with this. So, I plan to take a slightly different approach."
A mage's testimony and the import records for the poisonous Crimosa alone were not enough to prove Silike had served him poisoned tea. Furthermore, if it were revealed that he had been drinking it, those around him would suffer collateral damage. Thus, Calian had completely abandoned the idea of using this to punish her directly.
"May I ask what method you plan to use?"
Instead of answering, Calian merely offered a faint smile, indicating he wasn't ready to share the details. "I will set things up so we can use Queen Silike's poisoning attempt as leverage in negotiations. Since this will mean the queen has caused trouble right after Franz's slip-up, the Brissen family won't be in a position to object. When that time comes, you can demand that Marquis Brissen and Queen Silike not interfere with the creation of the Mage Corps."
Alan nodded.
"Also, I will need some assistance from the Mage Association regarding the removal of the tea. I will make the request once I have organized my thoughts."
"Understood. Let me know whenever you are ready," Alan answered readily, then recalled something. "By the way, once the issue of your poisoned tea is resolved, Lemain will also be able to breathe a sigh of relief."
"Lemain? What do you mean?"
"To be honest, on the day I arrived, I lost my temper with Lemain's behavior. In the process, I ended up telling him what kind of 'gift' Queen Silike had been giving you."
Alan explained what had transpired. After expressing his gratitude to Alan for so fiercely taking his side, Calian fell into thought for a moment before nodding.
"Thanks to you, Master, we stand to gain even more from this. Though we will need a bit of luck." Returning to their original topic, he continued, "At any rate, we don't know when they'll make another blunder as massive as attempting to assassinate a prince, so we must negotiate this time. To do that, we need at least a rough blueprint of the Mage Corps. Please begin immediately. Discuss it with Lemain as well; I am sure he has many ideas of his own."
"You work your old master too hard."
"Yan told me you're still full of energy. So I intend to put you to work without a single shred of guilt."
Alan's soft laughter echoed quietly within the silent barrier.
"As you wish."