Chapter 31: The Roses Will Bloom Soon (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: The Roses Will Bloom Soon (3)
Calian coughed lightly as he headed to the dining hall.
At the sound, Yan, who was following close behind, narrowed his eyes. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't so dense that he couldn't tell that persistent cough wasn't from a common cold.
"I've waited until today, just as I promised. If that poisoned tea arrives again tomorrow, I am quitting my post as your attendant."
"Are you planning to step in and handle it yourself?"
"Yes."
On that day, Duke Siegfried would have to trade his violin bow for a sword, but that was of no concern to Yan. He knew his master, Suleiman, was more than capable of handling such a trifle.
"I see. How reassuring."
"I am not joking, Your Highness."
"I know. And I'm not lying, either."
With those words, Calian entered the dining hall.
Randel, who had already arrived and was eating, kept his gaze fixed on Calian’s face for a long moment. Calian looked even paler than he had yesterday. Though Calian knew exactly why Randel was staring, he began his meal without a word.
By the time Calian put down his fork after picking at a few pieces of salad, Randel rose from his seat.
Calian spoke up. "I will see you at dinner."
Lately, Calian had made a point of saying at least one thing to Randel every day. He had started with a sudden comment about roses, then mentioned he couldn't sleep because of the wind and rain. The day after that, he’d said he missed the sound of birds. To all of this, Randel had never offered more than a simple, "I see." Calian had even thought that if he taught his horse, Raven, to speak, the animal would probably be more fluent than Randel.
But today was different.
"Take care of your health."
Finally, you're looking at me.
Calian bowed his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
The others in the dining hall who overheard Randel’s words—including Randel's own attendant, Yan, and even the servants and maids—doubted their own ears.
Only Calian offered a natural smile as he replied, "I am perfectly fine."
Without another word, Randel walked out. Calian also left to begin his daily routine.
And then, afternoon arrived.
Staring at Calian's face, which had grown even paler, Yan asked in a low voice, "The Noble Council is currently in session, so you must attend dinner in an hour."
"Right. I understand."
"You look even worse than before. Do you really intend to go?"
Though he asked, Yan’s expression suggested he already knew the answer. When he’d heard that everything would be resolved on Tuesday, he realized that this very moment was what Calian had been waiting for.
"Of course I must go."
Looking at Calian with conflicted eyes, Yan spoke slowly. "Please rest. I will call the maids."
"No, wait a moment."
Stopping Yan, Calian rolled up his sleeve and unfastened the knife from his arm. He handed it to Yan and pointed toward the safe.
"Take this knife, the antidote, and the investigation files on Silike. Pack them all up."
"Pack them up? What do you mean?"
"There might be a reason for someone to search my room soon, so leave them with my Master beforehand. It would be troublesome if they were discovered."
"Search your room?"
Who would dare search a prince's safe? Just what was he planning to do?
Instead of answering, Calian handed Yan two sealed letters. As Yan took them in a daze, Calian spoke again.
"Deliver one to the Mage Association and the other to my Master. Make sure to stop by the Association first."
Sealing the letters, even though Yan was the one delivering them, was a clear and explicit message: Do not look inside.
Anxiety washed over Yan. "You're not going to tell me what you're planning, are you?"
"Nope. I'm not," Calian nodded with a smile.
How much of that nonchalant smile could he actually trust? Yan silently clenched his fists.
"Since you won't be drinking that tea anymore, and you're not taking the knife to the banquet hall, I will do as you say for now, but…"
"Right. I'll handle everything, so don't worry about a thing."
"The last time you smiled exactly like that and said you'd handle it, you ended up getting cut by Franz's sword."
"It's nothing like that."
Calian's smile deepened slightly.
It wasn't like that at all. It was far worse.
For now, Yan did as Calian instructed.
Watching Yan close the safe door, Calian spoke again. "I can go to the banquet hall alone. So, as soon as you're done, please go."
"…Understood."
With that, Yan gathered the items Calian had mentioned. He stared at Calian for a long moment, then silently walked out to call the maids.
After they helped Calian prepare for dinner, Yan left to run his errand. Once he was gone, Calian reopened the safe and pulled out a small object hidden deep inside.
It was a small, sugar-like object he had bought from the bird shop.
Calian stared at the fragment he had received from the spy named White Eagle, then slipped it into his pocket. He raised a hand, brushed it over his heart, and walked out.
It was Calian's poison, prepared specifically for Silike.
* * *
The knight guarding the entrance of the banquet hall spoke to Calian.
"Your Highness. The Noble Council meeting has been slightly delayed, so dinner has been pushed back. As a result, the nobles have not yet arrived."
It seemed Lemain had granted his request to delay the Noble Council meeting by just ten minutes.
"It's fine. I'll go in and wait."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The knight bowed formally and opened the doors.
Even before the interior of the hall came into view, the scent of Renieri drifted out. The corners of Calian's lips curled upward.
Silike.
Silike sat alone in the spacious banquet hall. The only dinner attendees not at the council meeting were Calian and Silike. Since dinner was scheduled to begin immediately after, any delay meant everyone else would naturally be late.
He had requested this of Lemain for this very reason. It was all to secure some time alone with Silike.
Calian walked over with steady steps and sat across from her.
An attendant approached and set down a cup of coffee for the waiting prince. Calian looked at him and said, "Please leave us until the others arrive."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Bowing, the attendant left the room along with the other servants. Not knowing why he had dismissed everyone, Silike stared at Calian and picked up her fan out of habit.
Seeing this, Calian held up a hand and shook his head. "Let's not wear masks. Neither of us."
Silike's face stiffened for a moment. But soon, she nodded and set her fan down on the table. "Very well."
Calian kept his eyes on Silike, and she did not avert her gaze. Both appeared relaxed on the outside, but their minds were racing. A heavy silence stretched on, making the ticking of the grand clock on the wall sound like thunder.
Finally, Silike spoke first. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Just like last time.
Calian frowned slightly as he picked up his coffee cup. "I said let's not wear masks." Pausing, he shifted his red eyes away from Silike, looking down at the black liquid in his cup. "I didn't say we should abandon basic manners."
In an instant, Silike's eyes turned sharp. Calian carried the blood of the king; even as Queen, she should not speak to him so dismissively.
"…You really have grown up."
"It's not a difficult concept to grasp, is it?"
Silike, who surely knew this, continued to speak informally. Calian took a leisurely sip of his coffee, smiled brightly, and spoke. Then, he added in a low voice, "Silike."
Venom seeped into Silike's beautiful face. Calian merely looked on as if he were finally seeing the true face she had been hiding behind her fan.
"How utterly insolent. As expected of lowly blood—"
"I believe I just said you lack manners," Calian cut her off. "If we're going to talk about bloodlines, where does that leave Marquis Brissen?"
Silike’s eyes narrowed. She gritted her teeth, visibly reminded that she could not strike Calian down right here and now.
"Anyway, I have something I want to say, Silike."
"It would be better to do so next time. I have no desire to remain in your presence any longer."
Silike rose from her seat. Or rather, she attempted to.
—Clack!
Calian set his coffee cup down with a sharp noise. "…That tea."
His eyes sank as he stared at Silike. Just as Randel had done, he looked straight into the depths of her soul.
"I wanted to ask you to stop sending it. Forcing myself to drink it is getting difficult, as the scent grows stronger each day."
Just like the scent of Renieri.
Silike slowly sat back down.
According to her sources, Calian had drunk his morning tea even today. She hadn't thought he knew it was poisoned. Yet, he seemed to know that the dosage had been increased.
He drank it knowing what it was.
If it were revealed that the tea was poisoned, Silike had planned to hold Calian’s attendants and maids responsible and execute them all. Whether they had personally put the poison in or not, the mere act of serving poison to a prince was a capital offense.
So he was worried about them, the lowly fool. Not even realizing he was about to die.
Realizing why Calian had pretended not to know and kept drinking, a smile played on Silike's lips. Her voice was completely steady as she spoke. "You are speaking in riddles."
Calian smiled back. "So you don't know."
"Indeed, I do not."
Tapping his coffee cup for a moment, Calian pulled out the fragment he had brought. The sugar bowl on the table was filled with pieces that looked identical to it. Of course, though they looked the same, what Calian held was not sugar.
Pushing the ticking of the clock to the back of his mind, Calian spoke with stark honesty. After all, they had agreed not to wear masks.
"Actually, I considered several options. Should I use the evidence I extracted from Lennon? Just kidnap him and threaten him? Hide under my Master's protection? Tell His Majesty? Or should I, too, feed snake's blood to my brother?"
Silike narrowed her eyes. Calian ignored her and continued.
"I was never fond of using poison. And as for the other options, it seemed you would just slip away from them all. So I concluded that I should simply force your hand and take away the cards you hold. So that you can never use them again. So that you will never, ever think of using poison again."
Calian showed Silike what was in his hand.
"To do that, I have to wager something of my own. Right now, all I have is a sturdy heart, so I decided to wager that."
Silike's light green eyes stared at the object in Calian's hand.
"It's a poison. It doesn't react to silver, and since it's not meant to kill, it won't be detected by magic reagents either. Ah, then perhaps I should call it a medicine. One could say it's used to save lives, after all."
Silike’s fingers, resting on her lap, lightly gripped the fabric of her dress. She couldn't fathom his true intentions.
As if it didn't matter if she knew his entire plan, Calian spoke again. "I heard that some time after ingesting this, it temporarily stops the heart, making a living person look exactly like a corpse."
In truth, it was a poison carried by Secritian spies for escape. Of course, it wasn't used exclusively in Secritia, so even if Silike knew the nature of the poison, there was no way she could link Calian to them.
Calian stared at the substance—unsure whether to call it poison or medicine—as if it were a truly fascinating object. "Of course, it won't work that way on me. Even if I ingest this, I have the power of blessing, so my heart won't stop."
"Then why bring a medicine that has no effect on you?"
"Instead," Calian answered Silike's question in a slow voice, "it will halt the detoxification."
Just like how the wound on his palm, deemed less critical than the poison, had failed to heal. The power of blessing would ignore the poison in his system, which was less critical than his heart stopping.
Even if he were talking about a neighbor's roses withering away, he wouldn't look as serene as he did now. Calian's demeanor as he spoke of his own heart stopping was just that calm.
"While the power of blessing is busy neutralizing this new poison, the poison I've been diligently consuming will finally spread. Of course, even so, my heart is quite sturdy, so… I won't die. I'll suffer a bit, but in return, things will get rather troublesome for you."
A poison meant to slowly sicken him wouldn't kill him just because it spread for a short while. Once the blessing ensured his heart didn't stop, it would resume detoxifying him.
A soft plop echoed from Calian's coffee cup.
"So, here is my offer. If you promise not to send the tea starting tomorrow, I won't drink this. I'm sick and tired of being in pain."
Only then did Silike grasp Calian's true intention.
Even if he didn't die, the symptoms of poisoning would manifest. If he coughed up blood and collapsed in front of everyone, they would be forced to suspect poison. Furthermore, since the symptoms alone wouldn't reveal the true dosage, it would look as though someone had attempted to assassinate him with a poison so lethal that even the power of blessing couldn't stop it.
And currently, Silike was alone in the banquet hall with him.
Realizing that all eyes would inevitably fall upon her, Silike scoffed. "How audacious. You think you can frame me by claiming I gave you poison."
"I'm not sure 'framing' is the right word. But do I really need to say anything? After all, there is no one who wishes for my disappearance as desperately as you do."
A relaxed smile returned to Silike's lips. It felt like stepping on a sandcastle a child had spent all day building. In her pleasant mood, having shed her mask, she spoke in a gentle, soft voice.
"Have you prepared any evidence?"
Calian's eyes widened like a child's. His voice carried an exaggerated, mocking tone. "Evidence! Do I need such a thing?"
He picked up his spoon and slowly stirred his coffee. As he did, he corrected her assumption. "I'm not trying to drive you out right this instant. Even with my Master by my side, how could I win if Marquis Brissen brought all his knights?"
"At least you are aware of that."
As Silike replied with a smile, Calian smiled along with her.
"What I want is to stop you from ever playing with poison again. So, I don't need evidence. This time, I only intend to make people constantly suspect and watch you on my behalf. Because some prisons are more suffocating for being invisible."
One cannot punish a person based on suspicion alone. Silike knew this better than anyone.
"Such a prison cannot hold me. An invisible prison? I have never experienced such a thing. You know very well that it has always been this way, don't you?" Had she not committed countless sins and yet sat here so leisurely, sipping her coffee?
Silike leaned forward, bringing her face closer to Calian's. She wore a smile as bright as a child's.
"Who in this world doesn't know that I was the one who sent your mother to her grave?"
Like the chirping of a bird announcing the morning, Silike whispered.