Chapter 317: Into the Abyss, with You (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 317: Into the Abyss, with You (1)
Appearances and reality were two entirely different things.
Music, dancing, and amicable conversations filled the air. The King watched the nobles, his senses sharp for any hint of betrayal. The Crown Prince watched the King, searching for an opening to strike. Outside the palace walls, the swords of the King and the Marquis were already drawn against each other.
In the very center of this clamor, where appearances and reality clashed so violently, Calian had been speaking at length with Franz. After sitting quietly as if asleep, Calian surfaced from his old memories, shaking off the effects of the alcohol.
"It's strange."
"What is?"
What Calian had told him—about wildfires, about the common people, and so on—was indeed useful advice for Franz Rune Kairis, a man who was a Grand Duke, a Marquis, the head of the Brissen family, the Vice-Commander of Valkan, and a good cat owner. But more than that, it was a message meant for the day he became simply ‘Franz Lu Rune Kairis,’ stripped of all other titles.
Franz had long since decided to view this in the same light as Lemain revising his will once a month, or the princes, Demirea, and most nobles occasionally rewriting theirs. He knew Calian wasn't speaking with any specific intent but was merely preparing for his own absence out of some unconscious habit.
"And fascinating, too."
And so, Franz, who had been filtering and absorbing the lessons without reading too much into them, asked back with his usual languid expression. He had long since grown accustomed to Calian's sudden, out-of-the-blue remarks.
"I asked, what is?"
"That her name is still Blue Warbler."
"…Has my younger brother had too much to drink?"
Of course, being accustomed to it didn't mean he understood everything.
His younger brother had emptied a bottle of strong liquor, rambled about wildfires, and drifted off into thought or sleep, only to wake up and muse about the unchanging name of his new subordinate. To anyone watching, he looked completely drunk.
"Stop drinking."
"Your poor younger brother suffered so much because of your arrangements, and you can't even let him have this?"
It hadn't been long since they’d set foot on Secritian soil. The adolescent Crown Prince had set out on a birthday trip to see the sea and eat grilled cod, only to end up wielding a sword, getting promoted, and gaining a fiancée. And the prince he had practically kidnapped had been dragged along for the ride. And yet.
You, the rogue Crown Prince, were the one who stepped in to wake me from my nightmares, but in that short time, I was the one who got my waist slashed, got poisoned, and ended up with scars on my perfectly fine back from all that grueling suffering.
Suddenly feeling a surge of unfairness, Calian stared at Franz for a moment before tapping the empty glass he had just finished.
"And besides,"
He had already finished it anyway.
"Are you worried rumors will spread that the real liquor-loving rascal wasn't the Crown Prince, but the Third Prince?"
"I think it's already too late for that."
"It's fine. It's not too late. Sir Hertz told me that the display you put on in front of the nobles' estates that day was quite impressive, brother. Thanks to your hard work, a single bottle of Serenus emptied by me won't even register in their eyes."
It was a tragedy he hadn't been able to witness it with his own eyes.
He had missed a lifetime's worth of teasing material because he was asleep.
"Since my truly gentle older brother, Your Highness, took such meticulous care of his younger brother, I can only be grateful. Thanks to you, I even got to drink such fine liquor."
"…I wonder which makes my younger brother more vicious—poison or alcohol."
In truth, it hadn't been long since Calian had first tasted alcohol. A glass of Himolica with Alan, a few glasses of Sizlinu with Franz, and today, a bottle of Serenus—that was all.
He’d drunk the Serenus in particular because his insides were burning.
That is to say, the person sitting here, so draped in mint and white that talking to him felt like facing a freshly sliced cucumber—so overwhelmingly crisp—had walked in arm-in-arm with our Hina. That was why Calian drank.
And since the alcohol happened to be Serenus, and Eila was sitting across from him, he had simply drunk a little more.
"Unlike you, brother, my public persona is absolutely flawless. I'm telling you that drinking this much won't interfere with raising dogs in Camillon. Isn't that what you're worried about, playing the older brother?"
"No."
Calian grinned and was about to say something when a servant approached, cleared away the empty glass and bottle, and asked in a cautious voice, "What kind of drink shall I prepare for you?"
Calian lifted the Silent magic and opened his mouth to reply.
"Sparkling water."
The answer came from Franz instead.
It was extremely rare for Franz to respond to anyone so quickly. Calian, blankly watching the bowing servant walk away, burst into laughter.
"I told you I'm not drunk, yet you keep doubting me."
"Watch your tone."
"You don't need to worry."
"I'm not."
"Yes, yes."
Calian nodded with a face that clearly showed he didn't believe him. Then, pointing to the seat where Eila had been sitting until moments ago, he said, "And I'm not saying this because I'm drunk; I really find it fascinating. That she is still the Blue Warbler."
"If you're not drunk, then you must be confusing the Crown Prince sitting next to you with someone else."
After all, Calian was spouting things that only someone like Chase would understand, and he was saying them directly to Franz.
Condensation formed on the glass of sparkling water the servant had brought. Calian traced the droplets with his fingertip, wearing an enigmatic smile as he spoke.
"Perhaps 'strange' is a better word than 'fascinating.' When I—that is, the past me—first met Eila, she threw a mana bullet at me, screaming that she would kill me."
"The name isn't the thing that should strike you as strange."
A person, and a prince at that.
Just what on earth had he done in his life for someone to throw a mana bullet at him upon their very first meeting? And what in the world was he thinking, taking in the person who tried to kill him and making her his fiancée? Surely, that was what should be considered strange.
Shouldn't I be learning the path of a true rascal or the proper posture of a genuine drunkard from my younger brother, rather than the righteous mindset a king ought to possess?
While the Crown Prince—who had been labeled a rascal merely for unbuttoning a few extra buttons and carefully spritzing alcohol from a perfume bottle—was lost in a mix of contemplation and indignation, Calian continued.
"But the mana bullet she threw back then killed a blue bird instead of me. That's why I gave her that name: Blue Warbler. After that, Eila stopped using mana bullets. She uses them quite well now, but back then, she didn't. Anyway, because of what happened that day, I chose that as her spy name. But this time, even without me, she is still the Blue Warbler. Exactly the same."
"…Did she kill a bird this time too?"
"Yes. I heard that's what happened. It wasn't a mana bullet, but she accidentally killed a bird."
Hearing this, Franz's eyes narrowed.
"Baron Polun is alive. So is Hina."
"Yes, I know. Just because they were meant to die doesn't mean they absolutely had to. Nor did those who were meant to live die and then come back to life. I'm not trying to construct some bizarre fatalism over a single blue bird."
"Then what is it?"
"I wondered if things don't change much unless I'm directly connected to them. Eila was someone who changed because of me, so with my absence, some things about her changed. It's the same for most of the people here—like Baron Melfir Polun, and Hina. But that blue bird wasn't connected to me. So, in the end, didn't it simply die on the day it was destined to die?"
Franz understood that Calian wasn't merely discussing the predetermined fate of a single blue bird. He also knew Calian wasn't talking about the younger brother who had surrendered his body to Calian and departed.
"Zeon."
"Yes."
"They existed from the beginning."
"Yes. I had vaguely assumed so, but having it proven like this… Is it selfish of me to feel relieved?"
So many things had been broken by Bern's absence, and he had feared that Zeon might have also been affected by it. He had worried that the sudden prevalence of those he had never noticed in the past was because Bern had traveled back in time, throwing everything into chaos. He was relieved to have shed that anxiety.
Ultimately, the fact that the blue bird, which had no direct connection to Calian, lived and died as destined served as proof. It proved that Zeon, too, had existed in the past independently of Calian, and he had simply failed to notice them. He sought comfort in this realization, brought about by Eila's sudden arrival and her blue bird.
"So my younger brother has been harboring those thoughts the entire time he's been here."
"Isn't it similar? Just as you, brother, couldn't shake off your worries about the war."
"The guilt I told you to carry wasn't about that. Why?"
What Franz had said in the city of the elves.
His warning not to wither away trying to shake off the guilt of the lives Bern had cut short.
"Indeed. It wasn't about that."
"Watch your tone."
"Anyway, since you don't listen to me, brother, I have no choice but to ignore your words as well."
"What did I do now?"
"The poisoned tea."
My younger brother keeps dropping his honorifics.
Calian, clearly cutting off his sentences on purpose, smiled brightly. His eyes, filled with a murderous glint that said I know exactly why you drank that tea in front of Devlan, brother, remained cold, but his lips curled into a cheerful grin.
Annoyed by this, Franz slammed down his glass of sparkling water.
Splash!
A drop of sparkling water from Franz's glass splashed and landed perfectly inside Calian's. Recalling Arianne's words from the memory he had been retracing moments ago, Calian let out a soft chuckle.
"Since you had them bring this instead of alcohol, let's pretend it is alcohol and make a wish, brother."
My younger brother is spouting nonsense again.
As Franz knitted his brows in deep irritation, Calian explained when Secritian drunkards made their wishes, then pointed toward Franz's heart.
"Don't just exist. Take care of yourself and live well. Did I not tell you that before?"
"I don't remember."
"Then let's pretend I'm telling you now. On that note… make a wish. To Serenti."
Having abruptly dumped a task Franz had never once done in his life onto him, his younger brother stood up. Franz, staring silently into his glass, spoke.
"What wish?"
"A wish for yourself, brother."
"Why?"
Instead of answering, Calian looked down at the glass of sparkling water. It was a silent prompt to stop asking questions and start thinking of a wish, knowing it wouldn't be an easy choice for someone who had never done it before.
Calian turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
Calian's arm moved again. He tapped Franz's glass of sparkling water with his long, pale finger.
"To where Serenti is."
Serenti must be out there somewhere.
If she wants to grant the Pea's wish.
Answering in a light tone, Calian walked toward where Chase and Devlan were, entirely unaware that he had spoken informally yet again.
The bracelet hidden beneath his sleeve.
Calian's bracelet, connected to Alan, was glowing with a faint light.
*
On that deeply dark night.
The private soldiers gathered at the massive estate of Marquis Legian Lin began to move. Their sheer numbers made it impossible to move completely unseen, but they all wore black clothes and masks, preparing to blend into the darkness as much as possible.
Drawing the curtains shut, Legian put on an unfamiliar suit of thin chainmail. Over it, she threw a black robe. She was not going out to fight directly; this was merely a final line of defense against any potential assassination attempts.
"Be careful, Mother."
Arianne, who had been eating and drinking tea with a calm face, finally spoke in a tight voice, as if the reality of the situation had only just sunk in.
"We plan to gather in front of the royal palace to protest and then disperse. There will be no clash of arms, so do not look at me with such worry."
"Still… we don't know what His Highness might be planning."
"I told you not to worry. Just make sure the doors are locked tight."
"Yes, I understand."
Even after Legian led the soldiers out, Arianne had no intention of fleeing. She planned to lock the gates of the Marquis's mansion and guard the place with the remaining soldiers.
This was partly because she had to act as the proxy for the Marquis in Legian's absence, and partly because it was safer inside the mansion than outside. But there was another, far more important reason than those two.
Knock, knock.
Just as Legian, fully prepared, was about to take her leave, a low knock echoed through the quiet room.
"Bring them in."
Without even asking who it was, Legian answered immediately. With a soft click, the door opened.
The head butler of the Marquis's mansion stood at the front. Behind him were several others, including the very person who was the most important reason Arianne had to remain at the estate.
With eyes reflecting a mix of tension and delight, Arianne bowed.
"It has been a long time, Lady Louise."
"Yes, it has been a while, Arianne."
It was Louise.
She had not been awake from the poison for very long, and the toxic effects of the accumulated sleep incense had not yet been fully cured. Consequently, her face still bore the pale cast of illness, but Louise stood tall, looking at Arianne with unwavering eyes.
Behind Louise stood Teilan Castrin.
Having escorted Louise inside and exchanged brief greetings with Arianne, Teilan turned his gaze toward Legian. A voice of unwavering resolve flowed from his lips.
"I shall escort you."
"Very well. Let us depart."
Offering a slight nod to the guests who had arrived at the mansion, Legian stepped toward Arianne and gave her a brief hug.
"I will be back."
"Yes. Please return safely."
Legian patted Arianne's shoulders a few times before heading outside. Teilan, who was now escorting Legian instead of Louise, followed close behind.
After listening to their retreating footsteps for a brief moment, Arianne supported Louise, guiding her to a comfortable chair. Then, she turned back and smiled brightly.
"I won't ask you to apologize, so please take good care of this mansion. Make sure no one can get in."
Her face was still tense, but her voice carried no fear.
The person watching her let out a soft chuckle.
"What I am protecting is Lady Louise and you, Lady Arianne, not the mansion."
Wearing her most comfortable black leather suit instead of her beautiful turquoise dress, and with her long, sea-colored hair pinned up with the hairpin she always kept close, Eila continued, "The mansion will be guarded by these two."
She pointed toward Coco's Dad and Coco's Mom, who had also changed into their most comfortable robes before anyone knew it.
‘Wouldn't it be perfectly natural for the two of them to leave the banquet hall together to buy flowers? They are at the age for romance, after all.’
If my older brother can get engaged, what's stopping them from dating?
They had followed Calian's instructions—though they couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Lacking Eila's skill to vanish without a trace, the two had instead moved together as if performing a charming dance, making a very natural exit from the banquet hall. Now, they simply offered Arianne a light nod.
"Well then, please make yourselves comfortable. I must head back out."
And finally.
The mage who had safely transported everyone from the royal palace to the Marquis's mansion spoke.
He was a baron of a small territory whose rising anger at the King of Secritia's tyranny had been potent enough to help him gain another circle. And so, the now 8th Circle Archmage, who once again possessed the appearance of a twenty-three-year-old, offered a gentle smile.
Alan Manasil.
—Congratulations, Master.
—I will express my gratitude in person when we meet later.
—Yes, let us do that. For now…
On that deeply dark night.
Those who had gathered lit what they held in their hands. They turned on their magic lamps. Countless lights illuminated the darkness.
Because everyone wore black clothes and covered their faces with black masks, only the magic lamps were visible. Ironically, it looked just like the Annerusia flowers floating on the Senyu River in Kairis. It looked like flames lit for the countless souls who had died at Devlan's hands.
On that night filled with deep darkness.
The flames of countless people began to flow toward the royal palace.
—After pushing my ghost into the abyss.
A wildfire flared up.