Chapter 70: It's Been a While (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: It's Been a While (6)
Seriously.
Was barging into places uninvited a trait inherited from Silike?
Instead of taking the long, winding path through the palace corridors, the intruder had opted for a much more direct route—out his own window and into the one directly below.
It was Franz, who lived in the room right above him.
No matter how close they were as brothers, how could a prince of the kingdom even consider breaking into someone’s room while they were sleeping? What if Calian had called the guards?
But then it dawned on Calian that the knights of Chermil Palace were, after all, members of the Brissen family. He let out a small, irritated sigh and asked the same question for the third time, his voice sharp.
“Are you here to talk, or are you here to fight?”
Franz’s reply was brief.
“Talk.”
What on earth could they possibly have to discuss in the dead of night, when the entire palace was asleep? Especially Calian and Franz, of all people.
Calian stared intently at Franz. With a short nod, he got out of bed, lit a lamp, and threw on a robe. He decided he might as well hear what Franz had to say.
“I can’t offer you tea, and there’s no alcohol.”
Franz let out a dry chuckle at Calian’s words. Calian opened the terrace door and stepped outside. The dawn air was chilly, but the temperature had no effect on him anyway.
As for whether Franz caught a cold, that was none of his concern.
When Franz followed him out and sat in a terrace chair, Calian chanted a brief spell and channeled his mana.
Silent.
Casting the spell in front of Franz served two purposes. The first was to prevent their conversation from being overheard in the quiet dawn. The second, more important reason was to put Franz’s suspicions about his identity to rest.
Franz said nothing, even after the translucent barrier of the spell shimmered into existence. Calian studied his face for a moment before speaking.
“I’m listening. What do you want to say?”
Franz began speaking almost before Calian had finished.
“The rose is gone. It must have been you.”
Calian smiled faintly.
So that flower really was special.
Just as he had suspected, the rose had remained in bloom without withering—and for long enough to catch Franz’s attention.
Since Calian hadn’t been the one keeping it alive, he had no reason to deny destroying it. He gave a slight nod.
“I found it fascinating that a single flower was blooming in this weather, so I took a closer look. That’s when it happened.”
Then, with a look that turned the question back on Franz, he continued, “That flower must have been quite precious to you, for you to come barging in here so rudely over its disappearance.”
At that, Franz gazed toward the distant rose garden and replied, “I don’t know how you figured it out after seeing it just once. But seeing you hide away like this after destroying a single flower, it seems my younger brother has also realized it wasn’t just an ordinary rose.”
It seemed Franz only found it strange because the flower had bloomed for so long. His reasoning was slightly different from Calian’s.
Furthermore, Franz seemed to have guessed why Calian was skipping breakfast. Of course, Calian had no intention of explaining the details or confirming his speculation.
He replied as if correcting Franz’s assumption.
“My attendant should have delivered the message. I couldn’t go because I haven’t recovered from the fatigue of the journey. It had nothing to do with the flower.”
Franz gave a half-hearted nod, his gaze still fixed on the rose garden. “I asked Brother Randel if he knew a rose in the garden hadn't withered for over a month. He said he didn’t.”
“A month…”
Calian’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Franz finished his thought without waiting for a reply.
“Only the power of a priest could sustain a flower for that long. What I don’t understand is why Brother Randel would hide being one.”
Hiding something that could be so easily revealed made it seem like there was more to the story. Because of this, Franz couldn’t shake his suspicion of Randel.
Calian also believed Randel was the one who had kept the rose alive.
The difference was that Franz had confronted Randel directly with his suspicion, whereas Calian had tried to hide the fact that he was suspicious at all.
“So you went and asked him directly?”
When Franz nodded, Calian let out a dry laugh.
“And you expected him to just admit it? To say, ‘Yes, that was me’?”
“Insolent.”
Franz smirked at Calian’s sarcasm.
Honestly, who would confess to something when asked so bluntly? One had to wonder if this reckless behavior was typical of Franz, or if he was just a fool.
Brushing back his hair, which had been ruffled by the dawn wind, Franz spoke again, changing the subject.
“I told Brother Randel that I burned it. I came to let you know.”
“You came all this way just for that?” Calian furrowed his brow.
He understood what Franz was doing—giving him an alibi by taking the blame for the rose’s destruction.
What Calian couldn’t comprehend was why. Why would Franz step in to keep Randel from realizing that Calian was also suspicious?
“Why?”
“Didn’t you skip breakfast to keep him from finding out you suspect him?”
“That’s not what I mean.” Calian glared at Franz, his eyes sharp. “I’m asking why you covered for me. Wouldn’t it be better for you if I was on his radar, too? Besides, you were suspicious of me, weren’t you?”
It made no sense.
Franz was not someone who would help him. Knowing how cruelly Franz had treated the original Calian, he was certain of it. Franz was definitely not the type to do him any favors.
“You and I… I don’t recall our relationship being one where you’d do this for me.”
“So you do remember.”
Franz let out a short, humorless laugh.
As expected, his attitude suggested he still suspected Calian’s identity. Perhaps it was no longer suspicion, but certainty.
Instead of answering, Calian pressed his question again.
“I asked why you went out of your way to hide this for me.”
Franz didn’t answer for a moment. Calian waited, staring at him. Franz’s gaze drifted toward Heisia Palace.
Toward Silike.
“No matter what power he has, Brother Randel can’t win. Just like me.”
“It sounds like you’re helping me because Brother Randel can’t defeat your mother,” Calian said, his eyes narrowing.
It was a clear declaration: he wanted Calian to oust Silike.
“Do you understand the implications of what you’re saying?”
At Calian’s question, Franz turned to look at him.
His younger brother was assassinated, his older brother fled to another country, and his father died under mysterious circumstances. After ascending to the vacant throne, he was called the Mad King.
Remembering this, Calian gazed quietly into Franz’s eyes. And he saw what lay within them.
After a long silence, Calian spoke in a low voice.
“You… you never had any intention of going to Camillon Palace, did you?”
Franz answered with his silence.
*
The war Franz had started was the very reason Calian was now living this unwanted second life.
And Franz’s contempt and harassment had played a significant role in why the original Calian had lived and died the way he did.
Therefore, Calian couldn’t completely let go of his hatred for Franz after just one conversation. Nor was he kind enough to feel pity for a man who had been treated as nothing more than a tool for Silike’s ambition.
However, just as he had with Arsen Hertz, he resolved not to let the shadows of their past taint their present. That was the greatest extent of understanding the current Calian could offer.
As a result of this decision, Calian changed his mind and decided to attend the breakfast he had planned to skip.
After all, Franz’s message was clear: he had covered for him so Randel wouldn’t suspect anything, so Calian shouldn’t act overly cautious and arouse suspicion. He should just show up and eat.
Though he attached far too many conditions to a simple invitation to a meal.
Yan was delighted when Calian announced he would attend breakfast and hurried to get him ready. They finished their preparations a bit earlier than usual, partly because Calian hadn’t gone back to sleep after Franz slipped back out the window.
With time to spare, Calian gestured to the pile of gift boxes still stacked in a corner.
“Let’s look at the gifts. I think we have time before we head to breakfast.”
He was finally going to open the gifts he had put off for two days. However, his conversation with Franz had given him an idea, so he added two conditions.
“Only gifts from knightly families, and only those who are reasonably trustworthy.”
“Knightly families, not mages?”
Calian nodded and explained, “Any capable mages right now already belong to Master’s mage corps. Any mages who will become capable in the future will fall into my hands through the magic academy. Once that happens, their families will naturally side with me, so there’s no need to court them separately.”
If he had already secured the mages, were knights unnecessary?
Of course not.
“Mages are powerful, but they are few. If the Brissens suddenly disappeared and nobles from all over Kairis or even other countries decided to cause trouble, the mage corps alone might not be enough to handle it.”
It was the truth.
The Brissen Knights threatened the royal family, but they also protected Kairis. If they vanished overnight, the threat and the protection would disappear together. It was a true irony.
That was precisely why Calian couldn’t just draw his sword and assassinate Silike and Marquis Brissen. Unlike with Gray, they were a necessary evil.
“To eliminate the need for this necessary evil, we need a knightly force to replace the Brissen Knights. But I can’t drag the Siegfrieds into my fight for the throne, so I must join hands with knightly families who are favorable to me.”
As Suleiman had once told his daughter, Demirea, the Siegfrieds were not kingmakers. They could not be summoned to Kairisis.
At Calian’s explanation, Yan nodded, selected a few boxes from the large pile, and laid them out. They were gifts from small and medium-sized knightly families. Seeing more than he expected, Calian stared at them for a moment.
“It will be difficult to meet them all one by one.”
He first memorized their family names before standing up. As he walked to the dining hall, he began to ponder how he could meet them without attracting the Brissens’ attention.
*
Rye cookies.
Count Aprin, the head of a knightly family whose power had been greatly diminished by the Brissens, had sent rye cookies baked by the countess herself. It was a stark contrast to the other gifts of jewels and precious leathers, which was precisely why Calian liked it the most.
Alan picked up one of those cookies and popped it into his mouth. “Are you planning to investigate Prince Randel? I can summon the Association President if you need.”
Calian, who had returned from a peaceful breakfast and was now sitting across from Alan, laughed. He pictured Euria—the President of the Kairis Mage Association, Principal of the Polun Magic Academy, and head of Calian’s private intelligence organization.
“There’s no need for the Association President. You know it would be useless. Randel is in a similar situation to me. Unless he confesses to the power he’s hiding, there’s no way to find out. Digging into his past will yield nothing.”
For anyone to discover that Calian was actually Bern, he would have to admit it himself. Otherwise, his secret was perfectly safe.
It was the same for Randel. Unless he announced, “I can use the power of a sacred artifact,” no one would ever know.
“The only thing I’m curious about is why he made that rose bloom in a garden where everyone could see it. Thanks to him, everyone now suspects him.”
Alan smiled gently. “If it’s a secret that can’t be revealed anyway, perhaps he thought it was fine to show off just once. After all, even our thoughtful prince once acted as if there were no tomorrow just to save Kyrie, didn’t he?”
He was referring to the day Calian had stormed the gambling den and gotten into a sword fight. Hearing Alan’s sharp tongue for the first time in a while, Calian blushed slightly.
In truth, Alan was right.
Randel, having heard that Calian had ousted Lennon, had gone to the garden and simply made the rose bloom because it reminded him of the prince. Calian, with no way of knowing this, felt as though he had been handed an unsolvable riddle.
Soon, Calian took a black pebble from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said, “In any case, to find out why this and Randel’s power reacted to each other, we have to make him move. If we do that, he’ll reveal why he made the flower bloom and what he’s been hiding. And there’s only one way to make Randel move, isn’t there?”
Looking at Calian, Alan wore a meaningful smile. He had once told Lemain that if Calian ousted Silike, Randel would be forced to make a move.
“Ousting Silike. Once only Randel and I are left, he’ll have no choice but to reveal what he’s hiding.” Calian echoed the same words Alan had said before, then added, “Of course, the same goes for me.”
Whose secret was greater? The priest who wielded the divine power of a sleeping god, or the mage who held the memories of a Sword Master?
They would only know once both were laid bare.
“That brings me to a favor I’d like to ask of you.”
“Speak.”
Calian offered a gentle smile that resembled Alan’s.
“I want a private audience with His Majesty. Without anyone knowing.”
At the words of a son wishing to meet his father in secret, Alan nodded with an amused expression. Then, he picked up another rye cookie—a simple treat that would never suit a nobleman’s palate—and ate it.