Chapter 311: Wildfire (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 311: Wildfire (1)
Ah.
I must have lost my mind again.
Though I’m not sure if I really need to say ‘again.’
When I think about it, the answer is simple.
Who else would Franz have learned such irrationality from? With that in mind, I decided to take this matter in stride.
I’ll just assume that a short-tempered, irrational bastard has lost his mind once more.
I didn’t mean to lose it this badly, though.
The last thread of reason I had left recalled what had happened just a moment ago.
— I'll be back.
— Yes. Have a safe trip.
After saying goodbye to Eila in the garden, I returned to the Main Palace and walked along the corridor. I moved silently through the beautiful, uniform shadows cast by the arched pillars.
In the Water Garden, a smaller shadow and a longer shadow walked together. Even seeing them, I managed to keep my patience in check. I merely thought to myself that I’d have more sparring to do when I returned, but I didn’t lose my temper.
As I stood there watching Hina and Franz for a moment, another shadow approached from the opposite direction.
"His Highness is approaching, Prince Calian," the chief chamberlain, who was following behind me, murmured.
I watched the chief chamberlain bow and simply lowered my eyes in a slight nod. Devlan didn’t acknowledge it and turned his head.
Devlan saw the two of them in the Water Garden.
No, he saw Hina.
From the very beginning, Devlan’s gaze was fixed solely on her. Franz saw it. The quick-witted Franz noticed something was wrong.
Devlan turned his head back, and his eyes met mine.
"Hina," Franz called out to her.
Devlan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
In that moment, I witnessed the truth my brother had warned me about.
Devlan already knew.
About Hina. About Calian.
Devlan smiled. So, I smiled back.
"…Father."
The man who was the subject of Franz’s deepest dilemma—He’s a human and my younger brother, so why does he only speak occasionally, growl often, and mostly just bark?—closed his eyes, his face calm.
And a moment later, he opened them again.
* * *
Secritia was different from Kairis.
The capital, Secreta, did not have as many nobles in residence as Kairis did. Unless they were directly involved in royal affairs, had estates nearby, or had a specific reason to work in the capital, they remained in their own territories.
They would form small gatherings based on region or faction to exchange information, but they rarely stayed in the capital for long.
It was for a reason everyone knew but never spoke aloud.
—A benevolent king, generous with praise and rewards.
When it came to rewarding merit, Devlan was never stingy. He judged fairly, bestowed appropriate titles, and granted matching estates.
Secritia’s territory was smaller than Kairis’s, and positions were limited, yet Devlan always seemed to have a suitable title and a perfect estate to give as a reward.
—How is there always a vacant title and estate?
—Nobles receiving new titles and estates keep appearing, so why is there never a shortage?
The nobles didn’t dare to wonder why. They didn’t want their own necks severed like ‘withered, diseased branches that are no longer useful.’ So they held their breath. They stayed quietly within their territories and did their utmost to keep their mouths shut, ensuring their own titles and estates would not be handed down to someone else.
That was why it was different.
Though they lived on a smaller land than Kairis, the speed at which rumors spread was slower.
Worried about this, Teilan spoke up.
"Your Royal Highness. Only three days have passed. Will that be enough time?"
Three days.
A tight window for a bird carrying so many words to arrive.
—Devlan's illness is so severe that his future is uncertain.
—Devlan attempted to summon a priest of Tensil to cure his illness and imprisoned Marquis Legian Lin, who tried to stop him. He nearly brought war to this land by bringing in assassins from Libern, severely injuring the Crown Prince and a Prince of Kairis.
—The tea Louise drank during her private audience with Devlan was poisoned, leaving her in critical condition.
Three days.
It was an insufficient amount of time for the nobles to hear the news—a clever mix of truth and lies—and choose their next course of action.
—The tyranny of Devlan Dullahan Secritia has reached its peak.
—There is another who has been bestowed the title of ‘Sacred Blood.’
—A young Crown Prince, furious at nearly losing his mother, who now holds Teilan Castrin in his hands.
Three days.
And yet.
—Chase Dullahan Secritia.
It was more than enough time for the name of another man, who now possessed a legitimate justification to seize the crown, to spread.
"It is enough."
It was enough.
Not a single moment was lacking.
"For rumors are like wildfires."
Having finished his preparations, Chase raised his head.
His violet gaze shifted silently toward the man standing before him.
"Sir Castrin."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
It was said that in the cold skies of the northern Great Desert, a mysterious light flowed like a shimmering ripple. They said that if you fixed your eyes on that ripple, you could not look away until the night passed and the sun rose. They said that if your eyes were bound by that light, your lungs would freeze, and you would be unable to leave until you gasped for breath.
"Are you my sword? Or my father's sword?"
Two eyes, which must have looked exactly like those ripples in the cold sky, pierced through Teilan. Along with them came the question that had been posed once before on the soil of Kairis.
The proud knight answered without a moment’s hesitation.
"I am still your sword, Your Royal Highness."
"I see."
The man who had merely dreamed, but had been disappointed and lost too much, nodded.
"The pruning. I will make it stop."
Under the deep blue sky, the pure white bird of prey finished preparing to spread its wings.
* * *
Another person in the same country, in the same palace, also unfolded something. He cast Silent and laid bare his neatly folded thoughts.
—What are you going to do now?
The top button of his shirt, which he had never undone since taking the name Calian—no, since he was the Royal Brother. He had unfastened it for the first time before coming here.
—What I must do.
Perhaps that part of him had already been laid bare long ago, right when he undid that button.
"Father. Is that what you are calling me?" Devlan replied, sounding pleased.
Bern merely nodded.
"Call me what you will. The fact that my suspicion seems correct is joy enough."
Come to think of it, what should I do now?
If my wonderful fiancée finds out about this, she'll break our engagement and break my neck, too. To survive and avoid having my engagement broken, I should eliminate any chance of the secret leaking before I leave.
The fraying thread of his reason latched onto a worry and found the most rational solution.
Now that I’ve found a solution, it’s fine.
"Yes. Father, you guessed right. I’ve been caught," Bern said, grinning, somewhat satisfied with having identified both a problem and its solution. "So, how should I greet you again?"
"Is there really a need for greetings? Just seeing you again makes my skin crawl."
"Even so, there are manners to uphold… Yes, indeed. Wouldn't 'it is good to see you' be a fitting first greeting to exchange?"
Since that wasn’t a difficult question either, Bern replied immediately.
"If you pretend to be glad to see me, I'll pretend to be pleased."
"Indeed. It is good to see you."
"Thank you."
While the young Crown Prince, who had somehow ended up sitting in on this meeting, tried desperately to keep his sanity while listening to the remarkably warm conversation between a father and son of the exact same temperament—
"Are you by any chance curious?"
"About what?"
"What Secritia was like on the day you finally died."
The conversation was gradually being stained by their shared darkness.
Putting aside his exasperation, Franz decided to focus all his attention on ensuring Hina never stepped inside the Silent barrier. He had a feeling that if Hina heard this, she would scold both of them.
Unaware of Franz’s desperate effort, Devlan replied with his usual expression.
"If it was the day I died, surely many people must have rejoiced."
"I just assumed that would be the case."
Since it wasn’t the answer he expected, Devlan let out a small laugh.
"My, my. It must have been just an ordinary day, then."
"Yes. It was just an ordinary day."
Devlan nodded. Then, with an expression as ordinary as the day Bern had described, he pondered for a moment before speaking.
"But isn't that strange?"
"What is?"
"Since you alone remember that day so vividly, can it truly be called an ordinary day?"
It was a sharp question. If no one had been surprised or rejoiced at Devlan's death, how could Bern remember it? It implied that, given his hostility, even a death no one else cared about must have left a deep impression on Bern alone.
"I am sorry to disappoint you," Bern said, shaking his head. "But it just so happened that the news of my fiancée's death arrived on that very day."
—Your Highness. The Blue Warbler has…
"It was the very first news I heard upon becoming the Royal Brother, which is why I remember it. We had been quite distant, and I was thinking of finally trying to get closer to her, but then I was told I couldn't. I felt a deep sense of regret."
Devlan nodded quietly.
"How tragic."
"No. What could be more delightful?"
The lips of Bern, who had been haunted by Devlan's ghost for so long, curled upward.
"I am still alive, and my fiancée is not dead yet either. Only you will vanish from this world again, while the rest of us go on to have ordinary days. Why would that be tragic?"
Bern, who was incapable of lying, added another word.
"Ah. It is a bit of a shame that my alcohol tolerance has decreased, though."
But he could always build it back up, so even that wasn’t a problem.
"Even so, is it not truly pitiful? Even I, your father, do not remember you. Has your entire life not vanished and been forgotten?"
"Don't provoke me. I'm a short-tempered man."
The one thing Devlan would want to know most.
And yet, the one thing he would least want to know.
"Because it makes me want to tell you exactly when you drew your last breath, Father."
Devlan’s mouth finally shut.
"If you are curious, ask me anytime. Ask me if I have ever saved someone who was destined to die while living backward through time, if that person is still living well without any issues, or if they ended up dying at their appointed time anyway. Ask me if my fiancée will be able to survive past that day. And if so, what will happen to you, Father. I will tell you everything, without hiding a single detail."
He spoke with a mixture of truth and lies. Melfir and Hina, who should have died, were still alive and well, but the previous Calian had died on his appointed day. In truth, Bern couldn’t be certain of the outcome. But since Devlan didn’t know that, it didn’t matter.
Hearing a soft sigh from Franz beside him, Bern glanced at him briefly before looking back at Devlan.
"Come to think of it, you have a remarkably honest nature. To reveal things that would be impossible to prove even if you hid them."
"Yes. I don't have a habit of lying."
Lest I become like you.
"Then, does the King of Kairis know of this?" Devlan asked after watching Bern in silence for a while.
Indeed, hadn’t Devlan sent a letter demanding he bring Hina to him if he didn’t want Lemain to know?
Thinking of that, a laugh burst from Bern’s lips.
"He would probably think, ‘I heard the King of Secritia was very ill, but it seems his mind is what’s sick.’ It is not for you to worry about, Father."
Soon, Bern stopped laughing and stared at Devlan. He raised his chin, looking down at the king with lowered eyes.
"But I believe I told you not to provoke me."
"So you did. I forgot for a moment."
"The coronation of the new King of Secritia will be held next February."
Since the negotiation offered with his own brand of sincerity had fallen through, he moved on to the next step. Devlan did not smile.
"Calian."
Franz, who had been watching all this time, spoke up. He spoke to the crimson eyes that were turning toward him. He knew all too well that pushing a person into a corner would inevitably cause an unexpected accident.
"Stop."
He was telling him to leave it at that for today.
The red eyes, which had been staring at Franz for a moment, regained their usual light.
"Yes."
And then, he delivered his final words to Devlan.
"Since my dear older brother, His Royal Highness, wishes to spend this winter in warmth… I shall spend midwinter here, watch the coronation, offer my congratulations, and then return to my country, Your Highness."
Having informed him that the days he had left were fewer than he thought, Calian bowed politely.
It was a farewell.