Chapter 48: Having Come Too Far (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: Having Come Too Far (6)
With his work finished, Calian sat down and quietly closed his eyes.
He began circulating the mana within his body, slowly drawing in and refining the ambient mana from the outside.
Soon, he felt a warm energy gathering within him. Calian carefully began to guide the accumulated mana toward his heart.
He was trying to form his 4th Circle.
At first, the mana formed a band and flowed toward his heart without any trouble. Ever since mastering the 3rd Circle, Calian had always succeeded up to this point, but he had never been able to clear the next step. Focusing harder, Calian carefully guided the band of mana.
Suddenly, the nature of the smoothly flowing mana changed drastically. Its warmth transformed into a powerful, sharp edge.
The altered mana rapidly surged into his dantian. As the tail of the mana band vanished into his dantian, the rest of it reversed course, pulling away from his heart to be sucked in and absorbed. The mana that was supposed to form a circle had instead become a source of aura, accumulating in his dantian.
Having failed to form a circle once again, Calian let out a short sigh.
“Again.”
Today was no different.
Calian sighed deeply. In his mind, he could feel Alan laughing. Alan sent a message, not bothering to hide his amusement.
– Congratulations on obtaining an even stronger aura.
How could that possibly be a compliment? Calian felt it would be more refreshing if Alan just cursed him out—called him worse than dog shit, even—instead of being so sarcastic.
– It is no easy task to unlearn the habits of a swordsman. I understand, so just keep in mind that you won’t be setting foot in Kairisis until you succeed.
Calian laughed awkwardly at Alan’s threat, which was disguised as encouragement.
The principles behind manipulating aura and magic weren’t fundamentally different. Thanks to the power of his blessing, Calian had accumulated more than enough mana to use both. Thus, he had no great difficulty manifesting the power he had already stored.
The problem was that whenever he tried to form a circle, the damned mana would head straight for his dantian. He was unconsciously repeating the process of accumulating aura. Since he couldn’t even form his 4th Circle, he couldn’t very well ask Arsen to teach him magic, even with the mage right beside him.
This was exactly why Alan had told Lemain that Sispanian would weep. For a mage like Alan, watching all that overflowing mana turn into nothing but aura was incredibly frustrating.
Still, he was lasting longer each time before the mana was diverted to his dantian. Both Alan and Calian expected that he would succeed before reaching the Siegfried Territory, no matter how long it took.
– At any rate, I understand. Also, thanks to your father, I am stuck in the palace for the next fortnight. It might be difficult for me to respond, so do not worry if you do not hear back from me.
Calian tilted his head.
Until now, if anyone had caused trouble, it was either Calian or Alan, never Lemain. Calian asked, puzzled.
– What did His Majesty do?
Alan did not reply for a moment. He was slightly surprised.
Whenever Calian spoke with him, he had always referred to Lemain by name. Now, his way of addressing the king had changed. Alan wondered if this was due to the recent capture of the Blue Warbler, but he chose not to comment on it.
– It is nothing major. It is simply my karma.
Hearing the vague evasion, Calian let out an involuntary chuckle. It was hardly the kind of thing one would expect to hear from a mage. In any case, if it were important enough for Calian to know, Alan would have no reason to hide it. Calian simply assumed the two of them had gotten into another one of their squabbles and let it go.
Instead, he asked about something else he had been curious about.
– So, has a decision been made about Lennon Brissen?
Alan’s reply was slow to come.
During the interrogation of Hale Latran, the fact that Hale had sold the sacred artifact to the Brissen Trading Company was bound to come to light. The implications were clear; if that fact were made public, it was blindingly obvious that everyone, including Marquis Brissen, would immediately realize Lennon had had a change of heart.
Thus, Lemain had to decide whether to keep that fact hidden or to make it public to gain an advantage. Calian was now asking for the outcome of that deliberation.
Alan’s message arrived, carrying a heavy, solemn feeling.
– A decision has not been made yet. He seems to be gauging how far the fire might spread, so let us wait and see for now.
If it were merely a fight between father and son, it wouldn’t matter who had a change of heart. The problem, however, was that the Brissen family, the stage for this conflict, was far too powerful.
Even if their clash didn’t escalate into a full-blown civil war, it could easily ignite a power struggle between the 1st and 2nd Princes.
– His Majesty must be deeply troubled, worrying about a conflict between the princes already.
Hearing this from Calian of all people—the very catalyst for this mess—Alan laughed.
– Since Lemain himself was not the eldest son, how could he not understand? You do not need to worry so much. Your Highness only needs to focus on your own path.
Respecting that Lemain would be carefully weighing the many consequences of Lennon’s betrayal, Calian offered no further opinions and simply replied that he understood.
Since Alan had said he had to enter the royal palace soon, Calian thought their conversation would end there, but Alan sent another message.
– A maid named Merlin came to see me. She said that profits from the Whitrin Territory have arrived, but since Your Highness is away, she asked what to do with them. How should I handle this for you?
– Ah. It’s that time already.
This meant his safe had to be opened. Calian temporarily entrusted the management of his safe to Alan, explaining its location and how to release the magic seal. With those final words, he cut off the mana he had been channeling into the ring.
*
A large suitcase was clutched in Alan’s hand.
Alan possessed a magic bag that neither grew in size nor weight, no matter what he put inside. Despite this, he had personally lugged a suitcase as large as himself, struggling with it instead of ordering a servant to carry it or simply using magic.
Lemain, easily guessing his intention, asked in a flat tone, “Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”
“I’m glad you realize it.”
Alan nodded, having gone out of his way to drag the heavy bag to the side of Lemain’s desk before dropping it. He then held out his palm to Lemain, showing off the deep red marks left by the handle.
“Because Your Majesty decided to dote on your son for a moment, this old man is suffering. What are you going to do about it?”
Lemain shifted his gaze back to the documents he was reviewing and replied, “How can I trust anyone but my own sword?”
“Even so, how could you send Kaera of all knight orders?” Alan’s eyes flared with indignation.
Lemain had clearly agreed to send Knight Order Karen. However, upon learning that Brissen was deeply involved, he had immediately dispatched Kaera. What was worse, he had done so in the brief window when Alan had gone to find the royal messenger bird handler for Calian. It was a rushed, slapdash deployment.
Thanks to that, Alan had to pack his bags and come to the royal palace. He was now tasked with guarding Lemain in place of the Kaera knights, with only a measly ten left behind—as if they were some secret weapon.
“Showing Prince Calian such special treatment will do him no good at this stage, Your Majesty. Every moment he’s perceived as the favorite shortens his lifespan. Weren’t you the one who feigned indifference to everyone precisely to prevent this?”
Lemain nodded, a silent indication that he had already considered the matter. “That is why I have decided to have lunch with the other two princes tomorrow.”
“Are you saying you intend to balance sending Kaera with a mere meal?”
“And to see how the other two get along.”
He meant he wanted to see if there were any signs of a power struggle brewing between the princes.
“There is nothing to see. It would be a miracle if a bloodbath doesn’t break out right this instant.”
Having said his piece, Alan walked over to the sofa and slumped down. Watching him, Lemain adjusted his glasses and asked, “Do you truly think their relationship is that bad, Sir Manasil?”
Lemain had managed to observe them individually, but he hadn’t had the peace of mind to evaluate all three together. Alan, now an unwilling bodyguard, curled a corner of his lip. Seeing this, Lemain quickly cut him off.
“No, don’t say it. I get the picture.”
Alan, who had been about to say that even dogs in a fighting pit got along better than the princes, simply nodded and offered a bright smile.
What on earth was Calian thinking when he picked up a fellow like this?
Lemain, who was now the one spending the most time with Alan, stared briefly in the direction of Latran.
*
Later that evening, Arsen came to visit Calian. The prince was resting, drinking a cold mint tea across from Yan.
Arsen set down the sacred artifacts confiscated from Hale. After Calian praised him for his hard work, the mage spoke.
“Having observed him, Count Latran’s words and actions were highly improper. If I may, I believe he deserves punishment as well.”
Calian asked, his expression showing he’d expected as much. “What did he say?”
At that, Arsen asked back with a troubled expression, “Would it truly be alright for me to relay such insolent remarks to Your Highness?”
Mages generally possessed excellent memories. They had to memorize countless things, including complex spell formulas, magic circle structures, and mana arrangements.
Arsen, chosen as Calian’s sole mage guard, possessed an exceptional memory even for a mage. Therefore, memorizing Hale’s short tirade perfectly, down to the exact intonation, would have been no difficult task.
Forgetting this, Calian nodded without much thought.
And so, he ended up listening to a stream of insults.
Calian quickly repented his previously stern attitude toward Arsen. Instead of confining Hale to a regular room as planned, he had him thrown into a cell right next to the torture chamber.
It was the dampest, darkest cell in the dungeon—a punishment meant to let Hale learn firsthand what kind of creatures scuttled beneath the straw on the floor. After all, lèse-majesté was a crime that a prince could easily punish on his own authority.
In the following days, Calian spent his time discussing magic with Arsen, sparring with Kyrie to point out areas for improvement, and chatting with Yan, all while waiting for the knight order from Kairisis.
And not long after.
“It looks like… Kaera.”
Calian’s jaw dropped as he watched the majestic knights of Kaera make their grand entrance into Latran. It took him less than a second to understand why Alan was stuck in the palace—and why he’d called it his karma.
Kaera rested for exactly one day after arriving in Latran.
Then, they immediately set off for Kairisis with the two prisoners, Eila and Hale—excluding Norton, who had “died” of a sudden heart attack.
Of course, Norton, who had safely woken up after his body was carried out of the castle following his “death,” would be heading toward the Whitrin Territory with his wife. His new identification documents were to be delivered to the territory by a messenger sent by Alan.
“I wish you a safe journey. Thank you so much.”
Thus, Calian departed from Latran, receiving the gratitude of Malcolm, who had taken on the role of acting lord until a new one arrived.
More time passed.
Hale was stripped of his title and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
And news arrived that Eila’s sentence had been carried out.
Gazing at the Hirisca Forest, which was just beginning to come into view, Calian simply nodded as he listened to the news relayed from Alan.