Chapter 330: Please (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 330: Please (1)
He stepped out of the King's office.
Descending the stairs, he emerged from the main palace. For a long while, he stared at the Begonia Garden, where red flowers bloomed, before turning away. He did not pass through the garden, nor did he walk past the beautiful fountain, the neat maze, or the grand corridors. Those belonged to the King, and one who had not been granted passage could not leave the palace by that path.
Palace knights stood guard here and there.
As he drew near, every knight turned their back on him in unison. When a new king ascended the throne by means other than death or abdication, this was the knights' protocol—a sign that they would no longer look upon their former lord.
He passed behind the main palace, in front of the first annex.
All the curtains of the annex were drawn. Noticing they were entirely black, a long, hollow smile stretched across Devlan's lips.
In this manner, in absolute silence, he stepped through the rear gate of the palace.
"Your Majesty, the former King."
Only one person approached Devlan while everyone else turned their backs. A woman in a black leather suit, her sea-colored hair swept up. It was Eila.
Devlan turned his head at the title—not his name, yet a title that felt entirely unfamiliar. Eila stared quietly into his sunken eyes for a moment before walking forward without so much as a bow. Teilan did not stop her.
"Do you intend to offer me a farewell we never shared?"
"I intend to return what I could not give you."
With those words, Eila slowly raised a hand to her sea-colored hair. After softly brushing through the long, swept-up locks, she touched the beautiful hairpin holding it in place.
Teilan still did not stop her, merely watching in silence as Eila pulled out the pin and took a step closer to Devlan.
Speaking calmly, Eila took another step and offered him the hairpin, which was filled with a deadly poison.
"Is that what you failed to give me?"
"Yes."
"If your new master learns that you came to me of your own accord to deliver such a thing, he will not be pleased."
"You needn't worry. He is the one who sent me."
Devlan accepted it without hesitation.
After staring at the hairpin for a long moment, a drowsy, half-awake laugh escaped his lips.
"Your new master is thoughtful indeed."
In the Abyss, one could not harm oneself.
One could not strangle oneself, nor plunge a blunt blade, fashioned by scraping it against stone walls, into one's own heart. One could not even swallow the deadly poison hidden inside a dewdrop-shaped hair ornament.
To refuse the food sent down and wither away to death, or to slowly waste away as time passed—those were the only options permitted in that place.
"Calian."
So, was this an opportunity?
Or was it a terrible curse?
Devlan could not bring himself to plunge the pin into his own neck right then and there. He merely stared down at it before slipping it into his jacket pocket.
"It is a curse."
A curse to look back on this very moment until his final breath—he, who had so easily snuffed out the lives of others, yet clung so desperately to his own. A curse to die drowned in that terrible contradiction, lamenting only the fact that he could not end his own life, when he had never once regretted anything else.
It was Calian's gift, delivered by the hands of Eila, who had begged to bid Devlan a final farewell.
Having delivered a gift that was neither opportunity nor curse, Eila turned around as if she had no lingering attachments and walked away from Devlan. She headed back to where her true master was—the one who would give her a new hairpin, one she could wear with pride.
Watching her go for a moment, Devlan resumed his steps.
Because a sinner's journey could only be made on their own two feet, Devlan could not board a carriage, let alone mount a horse. He simply walked. He walked without thinking about why the knights had turned their backs, why the curtains of the annex were black, or why the nobles had spat his name like a curse.
—Should you really look so disheveled? On the day your world ends.
Step by step, he walked, stopping several times. He walked, desperately trying not to recall Calian's words—that this was a grave he had dug with his own hands. The wind rising at the end of his path was incredibly fierce, and battered by the violent gale, his steps began to falter.
He finally arrived at his destination.
Stopping once more, Devlan smiled. No. He did not smile. He could not.
He took a step forward.
Leaving behind Teilan, who offered no farewell, and leaving behind the barren land where no one would ever visit again.
Clang!
Into the darkness from which he would never escape.
Into the Abyss.
* * *
He put on a pure white shirt.
He wore a long, navy-blue jacket embroidered with white thread and a pair of black trousers. A thick white cloak, embroidered with black thread and lined with black fabric, was draped over his shoulders. In place of a tie, a black cravat was secured with a platinum ornament set with a pale amethyst. At the ends of the chain fastening his cloak, two light purple amethysts swayed. He neatly combed his hair, which had grown slightly longer in the months since it was last cut.
He stepped out of the desolate room furnished with black bedding and simple furniture, then paused for a moment.
"Mother."
They had never spoken different words.
Who was he thinking of? Louise, standing in a beautiful light purple dress, gave a small nod, conveying a multitude of words in that single gesture.
Just as he had on any other day in the past, Chase offered his arm. Louise placed her hand upon it, and they walked together.
Descending the stairs, they emerged from the main palace. After helping Louise into a small, white carriage adorned with platinum, Chase mounted a silver-gray horse—one that had once been Bern's most faithful mount.
Palace knights stood guard here and there.
Lined up from the main palace to the front gate, the knights faced the path Chase would take. The moment his horse took its first step, the knights, who had been standing with their heels together, bowed in unison. Dropping to one knee and placing their right hands over their hearts, they paid their respects to their King.
He passed between them.
He rode past the Begonia Garden where red flowers bloomed, past the beautiful fountain, the neat maze, and the grand corridors.
Leaving the front gate of the palace, he headed toward the plaza.
Stepping onto a low platform, he closed his eyes for a moment.
The sound of flags fluttering in the wind, the cry of birds, the quiet shifting of a stance, the rustling of branches in the breeze, a muffled sneeze, the clinking of light armor.
He heard the living breath of so many people.
"The former King, Devlan… forget him now."
He opened his eyes.
He took in everyone and everything in this place that had brought him those countless sounds. He engraved the image of the plaza on this day, which he would never forget, deep into his memory.
Looking at each and every face in the crowd, he spoke.
"Reflecting on the past and remaining vigilant shall be my duty alone. For I, and I alone, will never forget. I will always remember."
He did not make a grand speech.
He simply made a promise.
He promised to punish those who held what they should not and to return what had been stolen. To those whose losses were irreversible, he promised to apologize on behalf of the sinner. He promised that even if they raised birds again, he would never force their choices.
He promised never to treat anyone as if they were dead. He promised never to erase anyone.
"So, all of you, forget. Forget everything and live your lives once more. Just like any other day, at any other time."
Thus, he told them to return to their lives and live an ordinary day.
The hushed breathing grew louder.
Tightly closed mouths opened.
The roar of the people welcoming their new King echoed through Secreta.
It continued until Chase stepped down from the platform, until he met the sunset-colored eyes of the one who had run to the front of the crowd, until he gently took her small hand, which had turned pale from how tightly she had been clenching it.
"Why did you worry so much, Arianne? I told you I would return safely."
Until a small smile finally graced the lips of the King who had kept his promise.
Cheers erupted.
* * *
That winter.
On a day the rain stopped and a cold wind blew.
Chase Dullahan Secritia reclaimed his throne.
Since remembering the former King was solely the duty of the current King, everyone else diligently erased all traces of Devlan. The remnants of his people—his knights and servants—were sent out of Secreta. The office, stripped of every vestige of Devlan, was filled with Chase's belongings.
—Leave the former King's bedroom empty. I will continue to use my original quarters for the time being.
Calian did not meet with Chase.
It would be more accurate to say he could not. It was not a good time for an outsider from Kairis to be staying in the Secritian palace again. However, Calian ensured that everyone except Alan remained in Secritia, just in case any unforeseen problems arose.
The nobles who had gathered in Secreta to pressure Devlan returned to their respective territories. Alan, of course, took the trouble of ensuring their safe return after they had played their parts. Calian wondered if Adelia might return, but she did not.
The garden where Devlan had made Chase stand for so long on the day Calian first visited was also changed. The garden was not destroyed, but Chase had a large spruce tree planted right in the middle of it—a tree that closely resembled one planted somewhere in the Kairis palace.
After many things found their proper places, were emptied, or were replaced, Chase notified the royal families of other nations that the master of the throne had changed. Then, he began preparations for his coronation.
Time flowed on.
The slender crescent moon waxed full and waned thin once more, and a few more days passed.
—He's sick. Your brother.
—Sick? What do you mean, all of a sudden?
It had been many days since he returned after being caught in the chilly rain.
On a perfectly ordinary day—when he was smiling and eating well, training with Kyrie, carefully checking if Hina was cold, joking with Euria while wondering if he should snap Arsen's neck for asking him to break just one more spoon, thinking of Lucy and Anne as he watched Coco swim so well, and having casual conversations with Eila.
—Because he got caught in the rain that day.
Calian suddenly came down with a cold.
He was running a high fever.
Chase did not reply immediately to Franz, who had taken Calian's communication ring. It wasn't because of Franz's habit of refusing to use formal language until the coronation, but because of the message itself.
—…Is that so?
—I think you should check on him.
It took quite a while for the response to follow.
When it did, the reply was brief.
—Understood.
Franz sighed after finishing his short conversation with Chase.
As he stood guarding the door, Chase's voice came through again.
—I have checked.
—How is he?
—I have told them… to take care of it.
That damn younger brother of his—where had all his usual meticulousness gone? How had he even known that the shadow clinging to his ankles had departed from this world? He ran a fever. He had finally fallen ill.
—Thank you for letting me know, Crown Prince Franz.
—It wasn't for you.
—Whoever it was for, you still delivered the message.
—Forget it.
Franz knew all too well how Chase and Calian must be feeling. He knew that neither of them needed comfort right now. They simply needed time to quietly empty their hearts.
Thus, Franz spoke no further to Chase. After cutting off the mana to the communication ring, he simply told everyone not to enter Calian's room.
"He'll get better if you just leave him be."
He said this to Hina as well.
After that, Franz spent his days leaning against Calian's door. He stood guard so that Calian could let his guard down and be sick, if only for the brief moment it took for the remnants of the one dragged from the Abyss—a place from which no one, dead or alive, was said to escape—to finally vanish like sparks.
Just as Calian had done for him when he was suffering.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Just as he was growing accustomed to the sound of the clock, which seemed louder at this hour, the door opened.
"Why are you here? Aren't you sleeping?"
Calian, who had been sick for a whole night, had opened his eyes.
"Just because."
"You can stop worrying now."
"I wasn't."
"Right."
After telling the pale Crown Prince, who was standing blankly by the door, that he was all better, Calian made a request.
"Could you… call Eila for me?"
Franz simply nodded and stepped outside.
When Eila arrived shortly after, Calian did nothing but stare at her for a long time. He gazed at her endlessly without saying a word.
"I'm glad, Eila."
And then, he smiled again.
* * *
All the begonias in the vast garden withered away.
Sometimes it rained, and very rarely, it snowed. Days of sitting idly before the fireplace continued.
A long time had passed since his injured shoulder had completely healed.
A long time had passed since he had emptied his aching heart.
"Meow."
"Mew."
Franz, who had long been forbidden from crossing his legs again, stroked the two cats with practiced hands.
—If Anne gets any bigger, they're going to fight.
Anne, who had grown up with Lucy's exact personality, also loved Franz's lap.
Since Anne was still smaller than Lucy, it wasn't too difficult to keep both of them there. However, Calian had once remarked that they would surely fight once Anne grew bigger.
Why would they fight?
He could just put both of them on his lap.
—The cats sure do love you, brother. It would be quite amusing if the people outside the palace found out about this.
The bastard who had done the most to cement his reputation as a scoundrel had been ‘barking’ again that day. Because his sharp mind could never forget his younger brother's taunts, Franz frowned slightly as he recalled Calian's words.
"…My younger brother certainly knows how to bark."
Hearing his complaint, which was clearly a monologue, the two cats stared at Franz with round eyes before lying back down. Leaving his lap to the warmth of the cats, which was toastier than the fireplace, Franz turned his head. Outside the window, countless stars were visible over the distant, dark sea.
So, they were still in Secritia.
Since they planned to stay until winter passed, Alan had simply brought over the two cats, who grew depressed whenever they couldn't hear Franz's voice. Thus, Franz spent the entire winter watching Anne grow.
And then.
"Where did our Prince go again?"
"Outside."
"Where outside?"
"The sea."
"Did he go alone?"
"The one having his coronation tomorrow went too."
Yan had followed the cats.
Since Yan tended to forget his duties as a servant whenever they left the palace, he had recently been using Franz as little more than a Calian tracker.
Staring for a moment at the scoundrel of a Crown Prince, who couldn't care less either way, Yan spoke.
"Everyone is outside right now. Would you like to come out?"
"Why?"
"They said they're going to watch. All together."
At those words, Franz looked out the window once more. He was about to say, "No, it's too cold," but held his tongue. Instead, he gave a shorter reply.
"Fine."
Yan, whose face briefly registered surprise, nodded.
"Yes. Then I will prepare another cup of tea."
"Sure."
After Yan left—with a gesture that was hard to distinguish between a bow and a neck stretch—Franz gently picked up Anne. Remembering that even her waist had begun to lengthen, he supported her rear and laid her down beside the sofa. Then, with the same careful touch, he moved Lucy.
Only then did he rise from his seat and drape the deep purple cloak Alan had sent him over his shoulders.
As he stood up, his gaze naturally drifted out the window.
Thinking for a moment that the white stars over the distant sea seemed to sparkle brighter than ever, he stepped outside.
Meanwhile, another person was looking up at that very sky.
Whoosh…
Calian took a deep breath.
"I wonder if we came too early, or if we came too late. That's how I feel."
At the voice, thick with the scent of the sea, Chase smiled gently and looked around.
"It is just the same."
"Yes. It is."
A place of pure white sand.
A wooden house, slightly larger than the one in his memory. A place with a single small rock.
They had finally come to this sea. Only now.
"Brother, shouldn't you rest early tonight? You'll be tired tomorrow."
"I am still young."
Calian laughed softly at the lighthearted reply.
"My master wanted to come tomorrow as well, but he thought it would be too chaotic, so he decided to stay in Kairis. I was worried you might feel left out."
"With so many people coming from Kairis, why would I feel left out?"
"Still."
"Even so, it will be livelier than before. That is enough."
"Yes. I suppose so."
Chase's coronation.
They had only visited this place the day before.
It was not because they lacked time, nor because they were indifferent, but simply because they had resolved to visit this place on this day, as if by a silent promise.
Pulling the watch from his pocket to check the time, Chase tilted his head.
"Strange. Is it not today?"
"I wonder. I rarely come here, so my memory is a bit hazy as well."
"Even if it is not today, let us celebrate anyway."
With a lingering smile, Calian nodded.
As the two brothers continued to exchange idle chatter…
Rustle…
A single blue light began to fall from the sky.
Soon, another light followed, and then another.
A blue light, lighter than a feather, drifted down softly.
It fell like snowflakes.
Watching it, Calian lifted his head toward the sky. He quietly gazed at the cascading blue light before closing his eyes for a moment.
"Happy birthday."
A night when the blue light fell endlessly.
Serenti's time.
"…My younger brother."
Watching his older brother offer his congratulations—after struggling with what name to use, yet ultimately choosing the one title that would never change—Bern smiled.
"Thank you."
Quietly opening his eyes, Bern looked at Chase.
"I will say it again tomorrow, but congratulations on your coronation, brother."
"Thank you."
Chase nodded.
Bern looked at Chase, then at the surging sea, and once more at the falling blue light. Then, he turned to face his brother.
He bowed.
As if bringing forth everything he had kept buried deep, infinitely deep, within his heart.
"Please. Remain a good king for a long time."
He offered the words he had spoken long ago, once more.
On the night the blue light fell.
To Chase.
From Bern.