Chapter 359: A True Wish (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 359: A True Wish (4)
A gentle light filled Alan’s eyes.
They were always like that when he looked at Calian. Whether he was worrying, praising, or even steeling himself to scold the prince, his gaze remained soft—despite possessing the sharpest eyes of anyone Calian knew.
“I expected you to clash when you met Adelia.”
Of course, Alan knew that Calian’s bracelet, which was connected to his own ring, had been broken. But who would have both the ability and the sheer audacity to break something on Calian’s wrist? Only two people came to mind: Calian himself and Adelia. Alan had therefore assumed Adelia was the one who broke it, and that the two had fought to see who would come out on top. He had anticipated at least that much.
He had only expected it; he hadn't actually worried.
“There is no one more incompatible with that old woman than you, Your Highness. I wasn’t too concerned about the two of you fighting.”
“Am I really that incompatible with Adelia?”
“Unlike a certain someone, that old woman knows her own value and takes good care of herself. She could never win against a prince as fiercely stubborn as you. You are completely incompatible.”
“That ‘certain someone’… surely you don’t mean me?”
“Think what you will. It seems Kairis has more than a few people like that.”
Whether it was one, two, or even four, Calian knew he was definitely on that list. In absolutely no position to chide Franz for not taking care of his own body, Calian laughed in amusement.
In any case, Calian wasn’t the type to back down just because he was facing Adelia. This third prince, with his complex personality, possessed a relentless nature—he would give up his own bones if it meant tearing a chunk of flesh from that sheltered archmage.
But Adelia was different. She would never neglect herself enough to offer her own flesh just to take Calian’s bones. That was why Alan considered them incompatible. He believed that even if they met, Adelia would know when to back down on her own, which was why he had left Calian in Secritia and returned to Kairis without a second thought.
“Anyway, that much was expected… But I never imagined that our prince—who is second to none on the continent when it comes to being disobedient—would actually draw his sword on Danu.”
The problem, however, wasn’t Adelia.
Apparently, he had met the Mother Tree.
Not only that, but he had unleashed that notorious temper of his right in front of her.
“Well, I do have a reputation for picking fights regardless of the opponent.”
“The problem is that your reputation is more than justified. No wonder you refused to answer when I asked what you were doing or how badly you were hurt. Was that the reason?”
“I thought if you found out while I was still in Secritia, you’d head straight for Danu. And I figured I’d get scolded like this, too.”
“You deserve to be scolded.”
“I’ve already been scolded plenty by Hina and Yan.”
“This isn’t something to brush off so lightly. You should know how to look after yourself by now. You need to learn when to hide things, when to hold back, and when to bide your time for the future.”
“I do know. Who looks after themselves better than I do?”
“If you know, then why did you get so angry? Your relationship is one where you can never understand each other anyway. Getting angry changes nothing; it only leaves you with more scars.”
“The situation wasn't one where I could just swallow my anger.”
“And you have no intention of telling me what that situation was?”
Calian poured the special Basilica—a gift from Chase, and the last remaining bottle on the continent—into Alan’s glass, offering a charming smile. It was a clear sign that he had no intention of revealing why he had gotten angry enough to tear himself apart.
If Alan found out that Danu had shown Franz the same terrible things she had shown Calian, and that Calian had nearly died after losing his mind over it, his master would never let it slide. Since they couldn't afford to have Kairis’s entire harvest ruined as a result, Calian had no choice but to hide the truth.
“It wasn’t anything to worry about. Please, just let the matter with the Mother Tree go, Master.”
Alan sighed, wondering what to do with this boy who was already terrible at hiding things but was now trying so desperately to conceal this one.
“Do you think I’ll just let it go without another word if you smile like that?”
“Yes. I think you will.”
Looking at that face, smiling like starlight with the most innocent expression in the world, Alan simply didn’t have the heart to remain stern. If someone like Demirea existed—someone who would never be swayed by Calian’s smile—then to maintain the balance of the vast continent, there also had to be someone like Alan, who would unconditionally surrender to it.
So, in the end, Alan was the first to raise the white flag this time as well.
With a face that looked as if he had lost all energy to scold or pry, Alan raised the glass of Basilica to his lips.
“Very well. Since you must have handled it on your own, I won’t interfere.”
Of course, agreeing to let it go didn’t mean he wasn’t a little hurt. Thanks to having a son with so many secrets, words that were a mix of a sigh and a lament escaped his lips. Seeing this, a soft smile played on Calian’s lips.
Soon, Calian reached into his robe, pulled something out, and set it on the table.
Something that seemed like it might go well with Basilica, yet at the same time didn’t fit at all, was placed next to the wine glass.
“What is this?”
“I visited the Duke’s estate, and that child gave it to me. I was going to eat it all myself, but I thought of you, Master, so I saved one. I thought it would be nice to have with the wine.”
Had he not recently learned that a gift was the best way to soothe someone’s feelings?
“Since you like sweet things, Master.”
It was a half-moon-shaped cookie.
A very sweet cookie, saved with Alan in mind.
Alan looked at it quietly, a strange smile on his face.
—Because Father detests sweet things.
One son had taken them away, saying he detested them.
The other had brought them, saying he liked them.
Should he call this feeling sweet, or bittersweet?
Unsure of the answer, Alan stared down at the cookie as Calian spoke softly.
“Whenever something is sent from Secritia, you bring it to me. Whenever you find fragrant tea, you generously bring it to me. Whenever there are useful magic items, you bring all of those to me, too. That’s what you do.”
“Why bring up such trivial things?”
“They aren’t trivial to me.”
A sweet cookie whose taste he couldn’t even fathom.
Watching Alan, who couldn’t bring himself to touch it as memories flooded back, Calian continued.
“And every time I receive something sweet, I’ll bring it to you. Every single time. Whether you hated them in the past or not, Father, you like sweet things now.”
Calian smiled beautifully once more.
“Just as there are things you can’t tell me because you’re worried I’ll be upset, it’s the same for me. It’s not that I dislike your concern or find it burdensome, nor do I see it as interference. I just don’t tell you because I’m afraid you’ll be too upset. So please don’t think I’m keeping my distance, and don’t stop worrying about me. When the day comes that you no longer have to worry, I’ll tell you everything. And then, I’ll ask you everything, too.”
“I wonder if a day will ever come when I stop worrying about you, Your Highness.”
“Well, then I’ll just have to lose my patience and ask you about every single thing, like a spoiled child.”
Calian, who could play the role of a younger brother quite well but was still clumsy at being a son, spoke. Alan, who was great at taking care of other people’s sons but slightly clumsy at taking care of his new one, nodded.
“Then do so.”
“Yes, Father.”
On the day he would tell everything to this son, who might one day grow much taller than him and look older than him, he would pretend not to know and speak to him casually. Thinking this, Alan chuckled softly.
And so, sitting face-to-face with his one and only son, he shared every last drop of the one-of-a-kind Basilica. Along with it, they ate the cookie—which, though he didn’t know who made it, was so sweet that it made all his worries and anxieties vanish.
*
He had disappeared overnight.
Why on earth had he set out for distant Secritia, taking the 3rd Prince with him? And then, he just didn’t return.
By the time enough time had passed to make people suspect he intended to settle in Secritia for good, news that made the nobles doubt their own ears arrived.
Lemain had bestowed the title of Crown Prince upon Franz, who was still in that distant land. The nobles of Kairis gathered at the royal palace to demand an explanation, but Lemain gave no answer.
“—I suspect someone in Secritia tried to harm the princes. Prince Calian already has more than enough power to protect himself, doesn’t he? So, if they give power to Crown Prince Franz, who lacks military strength or backing, no one will dare touch either of them.”
Although the source was unknown, this rather plausible speculation circulated through Astrisha Street.
“—Why go that far? Devlan wouldn’t send assassins after the Kairis royal family. Isn’t it more likely that Prince Calian took Crown Prince Franz hostage to demand the title, and His Majesty bestowed it on Franz to protect him?”
“—If that were the case, Crown Prince Franz would have crossed the Senyu River the moment the title was granted.”
“—Ah, indeed. That’s true.”
“—Or did Prince Randel yield?”
“—There’s no way that’s the case, is there?”
Unfortunately, the theories closest to the truth are often easily buried. Soon, baseless and unreliable rumors began to circulate one after another. Then, they took it a step further.
“—Could it be that His Majesty has fallen gravely ill?”
“—Have you forgotten he’s hosting a hunting competition next week? Besides, the royal healer confirmed just yesterday that he’s perfectly capable of hosting it.”
Another groundless claim was manufactured.
However, the speculation regarding Lemain’s health vanished completely when he participated in the competition without a hitch, bagging more game than his escort knight, Ren, and far outperforming any of the nobles.
“—Or perhaps… perhaps Prince Franz—no, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—took Prince Calian hostage and demanded the title from His Majesty.”
Since nothing else made sense, a rumor that had completely abandoned all reason began to circulate.
Whether Calian, who had a master highly skilled in magic, was also exceptionally good with a sword—and thus whether it was impossible for Franz to take him hostage—who cared? If it was the most entertaining thing to hear and talk about, then that was all the basis and truth they needed.
“Even Lucy and Anne know to avoid things with salt in them.”
In the end, this was what drove Franz to such harsh words. Even Lucy and Anne knew how to apply what they had learned. Yet, these two-legged creatures seemed to have learned absolutely nothing from everything they had seen and experienced.
It was his way of asking if they couldn't tell he was still alive even after taking Hina Bern—indisputably one of Calian’s people—as his fiancée. It was also a complaint about why such rumors were still circulating even after he had explicitly stated during a meeting with the nobles, “I have no intention of betraying my younger brother.”
“You can just call them stupid. Don’t compare them to Lucy and Anne.”
“It seems my younger brother’s mouth has become quite harsh.”
Red-eyes, brother.
Do you not remember that word?
Even in my past life, I never used such vulgar words.
“I remember almost everything now, you know,” Calian said aloud.
“So? What of it?”
Red-eyes, brother.
That word, which you now call harsh, used to slip from your noble mouth almost every single day, Your Royal Highness. You hated the sight of my red eyes and treated me like I didn’t exist. You had plenty of insults, but that one was reserved just for me. And since I can now use it to chide you to my heart’s content, did I mention that even if I forget everything else, I will never forget that word until the day I die?
But what was the point of glaring with eyes that practically screamed all of that?
“It’s nothing.”
It didn’t matter if the other person simply refused to look.
Letting out a short sigh, Calian stood before a set of massive doors and nodded to the knight guarding them.
“Announce us.”
“Yes, Prince.”
In any case, that was how things had turned out.
The rumors had spun so far out of control that people were saying Franz had taken Calian hostage to threaten Lemain for the crown prince title. Although Lemain had suppressed them, and they had seemed to die down after Franz’s declaration in the meeting hall, the talk flared up again the moment news of their return to the palace spread.
If Franz hadn’t taken Calian hostage, then what weakness had he exploited to receive the title? Now that Calian had returned, wouldn’t the tables turn once more?
Thanks to that…
“His Royal Highness Crown Prince Franz Rune Kairis and Prince Calian Rain Kairis are entering!”
As soon as they returned, they had to enter the noble council together. This was to show that there was no hostage situation, no bad blood, that they had simply enjoyed a pleasant trip to Secritia, and that Calian had absolutely no complaints about Franz receiving the title.
At least, for now.
He could see the nobles rising from their seats. While they bowed to show their respect, Franz walked forward, looking straight ahead.
Step, step.
The sound of boot heels striking the floor filled the council chamber. After the Crown Prince and the Prince passed, the nobles slowly raised their heads. They wore peculiar expressions as they watched Calian, who seemed to walk alongside Franz but was actually a single step behind him, behaving so quietly.
After all, if Calian had any complaints, he wasn’t the type to hide them here.
A single step behind.
While the nobles exchanged glances, noticing this subtle difference and confirming that the rumors were indeed just rumors, Calian’s gaze remained fixed on one spot.
At the very front of the nobles.
The person who must have desperately manufactured and spread those malicious rumors.
It’s been long enough for him to forget his aching back.
Step, step.
One step, two steps.
Deliberately heavy footsteps veered away from Franz. He approached the head of hair that resembled water moss thickly covering a lake on a hot summer day.
“Marquis… Gray Brissen.”
Calian paused slightly before the title, as if he had almost called him “Margrave,” and tilted his head. Seeing this, Gray bowed his head slightly.
Lemain had not yet arrived.
Randel was not coming today either.
Calian’s palm came to rest on the back of Gray’s slightly bowed head.
“Why is everyone from Brissen… so weak in the back?”
Calian applied force to his palm.
He pressed down hard.
“Shouldn’t you show proper respect?”
Forced down by Calian’s grip, Gray’s head bowed low—very low. Calian stepped to the side, positioning himself in front of Gray, and spoke in a low voice.
“To my older brother, His Royal Highness.”
Looking down at the back of Gray’s head, Calian’s lips curved into a long, wide arc for the first time in a while.
Calian’s notoriously petty political maneuvering had begun once again.