Chapter 69: It's Been a While (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: It's Been a While (5)
—The elf Sia, the rose, the pebble, the Axis of Time, Sispanian.
And Serenti.
Calian committed the words flashing through his mind to memory and took a step forward. Yan immediately moved to block his path.
"I will take a look, Your Highness. It could be dangerous, so please step back."
Calian wasn't sure where Yan had found such courage, but he simply shook his head. Then, he took one step back, and then another.
After five or six steps, the light from the pebble faded. Naturally, the light from the flower vanished with it.
He took a few steps forward again.
The flower and the stone glowed in unison.
Calian walked around the Rose Garden, scanning his surroundings, but he found nothing else that emitted the same light.
Confirming that there were no other flowers like it, Calian returned to his original spot. He approached the rose with cautious steps, holding the stone in his left hand while reaching out with his right to touch a petal.
Then—
Rustle…
In an instant, the red petal withered and fell to the ground. At the same time, the light from the pebble disappeared.
Realizing he had acted too hastily, Calian let out a frustrated sound.
"Ah…"
The fallen petal crumbled into black, burnt ash and scattered into the air.
It felt as if time, once frozen, had suddenly lurched back into motion. Calian latched onto the thought as it drifted through his mind.
Time.
There was no way to know when the rose had bloomed. But what if…
"What if it has been in bloom for a very long time?"
As Calian considered the possibility, his eyes grew still and quiet.
Sia, who had heard and answered the words of time a step ahead of everyone else.
And the flower that had remained in bloom for so long, as if time itself had stopped for it.
"Is it… correcting the distorted time?"
Calian frowned, deep in thought.
If time was being corrected, wouldn't he be the very first thing to be set right? Yet here he was, perfectly fine. That meant his conclusion was almost certainly wrong.
— She wishes for you not to act in haste.
Sispanian's voice echoed from his memory.
The sheer frustration of it all made Calian slowly close and then open his eyes, swallowing the curse that threatened to rise to his lips.
"How can she tell me not to be hasty," he muttered with a cold, cynical sneer, "when time itself just started moving right before my eyes?"
* * *
Alan did not keep a butler or servants.
Magic handled most chores easily enough, and like most mages, he simply disliked having outsiders in his home.
As a result, Alan had hired only one person in Kairisis: his carriage driver, Oscar.
"Heading home early today, Lord Manasil."
Oscar, who had been driving Alan's famous mother-of-pearl carriage for nearly half a year, spoke with a warm, friendly smile.
Even though "early" meant that darkness had already fallen, heading home to the night air instead of the dawn air was a rare treat. It would have been an unimaginable luxury had Lemain not scheduled an evening banquet with the princes.
In response to Oscar's greeting, Alan offered a similar smile. "Let's make a quick getaway."
"Pardon? A getaway?" Oscar asked in surprise.
Instead of answering, Alan climbed into the carriage. His voice, sounding somewhat excited, drifted out from the small window behind the driver's seat.
"His Majesty is at the banquet. I finished my work while he was away and am sneaking out, so we need to hurry."
Lemain had definitely told him they would finish the work regarding the magic corps after the banquet. Alan, however, had pretended not to hear, hastily wrapping up only the most urgent matters before slipping away.
Feeling a bit smug as he imagined the look on Lemain's face upon discovering his absence, Alan spoke again.
"My daughter-in-law and granddaughter arrived from Libern today. How can His Majesty be so heartless? On a day like this, you'd think he'd have the decency to send me home himself. He seems to enjoy overworking an old man."
Oscar burst into a hearty laugh. "Ah, I see. Understood. Let's make our escape quickly, then."
He immediately began to untie the horses' reins.
But just then, Alan let out a sigh.
He had sensed someone rushing toward the carriage.
Unless it was someone sent by Lemain, no one would be coming to stop him from going home. Alan grumbled under his breath.
"Honestly, did he inhale his food? How does he know already?"
"Pardon?" the driver asked, not yet having noticed anyone approaching.
Alan didn't answer, only letting out another long sigh.
Soon, a voice echoed from the distance, calling out urgently.
"Sir Manasil, please wait! His Majesty is looking for you."
Only then did Oscar understand Alan's sighs and grumbles. He spoke through the small window.
"My lord, it seems you won't be able to escape after all."
In the end, leaving behind a slightly apologetic Oscar, Alan had to trudge back to Arpia Palace.
I'll definitely give him a piece of my mind when I see him, he resolved.
However, the attendant did not lead Alan to the office.
Sensing a familiar presence sitting in the middle of Arpia Palace's rear garden, Alan furrowed his brows and muttered, "Picking up the habit his son just dropped?"
It meant Lemain wanted to drink. And on such a chilly night, of all times.
Alan shook his head. Instead of walking any further, he flicked his finger and warped directly in front of Lemain. He saw the King, who was about to pour wine into a cup, slowly raise his head.
"Arriving like that, you truly are a mage."
Alan had expected Lemain to be as surprised as Yan had been, but the King was surprisingly nonchalant. Disappointed by the lack of reaction, Alan grumbled, "If you sit out here drinking on a night like this, you'll freeze."
He then snapped his fingers, raising the temperature around Lemain slightly. Feeling the warmth envelop him, Lemain let out a soft chuckle.
"Indeed, there is no better drinking companion than a mage."
Lemain patted the ground opposite him.
Without a word, Alan plopped down where the King had indicated. He took the bottle from Lemain's hand, poured him a cup, and then filled his own.
To suddenly want a drink after ruining dinner with his three sons…
Instead of asking what had happened, Alan clinked his cup against Lemain's. "Dwelling on the past will only give you a heartache."
"Is there a magic spell that lets you read minds as well?"
"As if such a thing exists."
Alan's uncanny intuition was not reserved solely for Calian. Lemain, who had been staring blankly into the distance, turned to look at him.
"It's obvious. You just came from seeing all three of your sons, now grown men. It must have felt complicated, wondering how many more times you would all sit together like that. As you worried about the two who would fall behind in the competition, you probably thought of your brother imprisoned far away and regretted bringing Silike into the palace."
Why did he have three princes in the first place if he was going to regret it? He should have just had one.
Alan briefly entertained the thought before shaking his head, realizing Calian was the youngest. It was only because Lemain had fathered three sons that he had been able to meet such a lovely disciple.
"You read me far too well."
"Just look forward as you live."
By refusing to reveal how he had read the King's mind, Alan successfully exacted his revenge for the ruined early departure.
After that, the two silently exchanged cups.
By the time the sound of the babbling brook grew familiar and the chirping of insects felt louder, Alan spoke up again.
"To be honest, I used to think that even if you combined all three princes, they wouldn't measure up to Chase."
"The Crown Prince of Secritia?"
Instead of asking why Alan was suddenly comparing his sons to another's, Lemain quietly accepted the remark.
Alan nodded, and Lemain chuckled.
"I, too, have wondered how a man with the temperament of a snake like Devlan could produce such a son."
"Yes. At any rate, while Your Majesty's three sons may not be as extraordinary as Chase, they are certainly no fools. I've observed them. They will all find their own ways to survive, so do not worry too much."
Hearing this, Lemain's eyes lingered on Alan for a moment.
One son, in particular, seemed to have the hardest path to survival. Soon, Lemain spoke in a low voice.
"If, by some chance, Calian loses his way…"
The words hung in the air for a long moment. Lemain took another sip of his drink before continuing.
"I would like to ask a favor of you, Sir Manasil."
He was asking Alan to take Calian and flee if the boy failed to secure the position of Crown Prince. There was only one reason he would ask this of Alan: if Calian were pushed out, it was almost certain that Lemain himself would no longer be alive.
"Since you understand the circumstances well and cherish Calian deeply, I thought you might grant me this favor."
However, upon hearing Lemain's carefully considered request, Alan suddenly burst into laughter. Then, he shook his head.
"I highly doubt I will ever have to take Your Majesty's youngest son away."
"What do you mean by that?"
Thinking Alan was refusing him, Lemain's face contorted into a deep frown. Seeing this, Alan asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Do you know how dearly a baby elephant treasures Your Majesty's youngest son?"
At the words that followed, Lemain's eyes—which had remained calm even when Alan warped—widened in shock.
He realized that if Calian were pushed out, it wouldn't be Calian's survival they had to worry about, but the survival of the other two princes and the future of Kairis. Alan had shaken his head to signify that there would be no need for him to step in.
In that instant, Lemain was completely sober.
* * *
Calian did not attend breakfast for two days.
He gave an excuse that was half-truth and half-pretext: that he had not yet recovered from the fatigue of his travels.
"Your Highness, do you plan to skip breakfast tomorrow as well?"
On the night of the second day, Yan finally asked, his voice laced with concern.
He was worried that people might link Calian's absence to Silike's recent mention of the Crown Prince, or that rumors about Calian's poor health might start circulating.
"Just until tomorrow. I'll go the day after."
Instead of complaining about returning to a life where he couldn't even control his own mornings, Calian simply gave his reply.
Since Yan also knew why Calian was avoiding breakfast, he nodded without nagging further.
"Understood. I will convey the message. I shall take my leave now. Please make sure to close the window before you sleep."
"I will."
After bidding him goodnight, Yan stepped out and locked the door. Left alone, Calian let out a sigh.
"Whew."
There was only one reason Calian was skipping breakfast: Randel.
Calian's suspicion fell on Randel for one simple reason: the glowing flower was a rose. There wasn't a single shred of logical evidence. It was merely because Randel tended the garden.
He didn't suspect Randel was connected to the pebble, but he did wonder if Randel might have been the one who stopped the rose's time. After all, the blood of Tensil, the lineage of priests, ran through Randel's veins.
However, since there was no evidence to support such a baseless suspicion, Calian decided to observe Randel's movements for the time being.
He was trying to avoid Randel because he feared he might unconsciously cast a suspicious gaze his way while sorting through his thoughts. After all, Randel's ability to read people was nearly on par with Alan's.
Lying in bed and letting his thoughts drift, Calian soon fell asleep.
A long while later, in the dark dawn just before sunrise…
Rustle…
The sound of curtains fluttering in the wind reached his ears, and Calian's eyes slowly drifted open.
An intruder.
He sensed muffled footsteps.
And Yan had definitely locked the door.
If the door were opened with anything other than Yan's key, the alarm magic created by Sispanian would have been triggered. Therefore, the intruder had not come through the door.
He remembered falling asleep with the window open because he had felt stifled. The alarm magic on the window had not been triggered.
I should have listened to Yan. This is going to be troublesome.
Calian smiled faintly.
Still lying down, he waited for the intruder to draw closer.
To welcome me back so soon. I'm truly flattered.
Silike? Or Randel?
He wondered whose guest this was.
A moment later, the bedroom curtains were quietly drawn aside.
Sensing the intruder's presence, now right beside him, Calian furrowed his brows.
It was a familiar presence, yet one he had never expected to visit him in this manner.
Calian abandoned his plan to manifest a 'sword' and sat up. Staring at the intruder with sharp, piercing eyes, he spoke.
"What do you want?"
The intruder hadn't even covered his face.
He didn't seem surprised that Calian was awake, nor was he bothered by Calian's wary tone. Meeting Calian's gaze, he spoke in a low voice.
"I heard you knew a bit of magic, but to think you'd wake from the sound of the wind."
No matter who it was, there was absolutely no reason to welcome someone who had entered through the window at this hour. Calian didn't bother to hide his displeasure.
"I asked why you are here. At this hour, and in this manner."
Seeing Calian project hostility with his entire body, from his gaze to his voice, one corner of the guest's mouth curled upward.