Chapter 77: I Will Ask You Just One Thing (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: I Will Ask You Just One Thing (7)
Should he enter Chermil Palace?
Should he turn around and head for Heisia Palace?
Or should he simply return to the Brissen Mansion?
Evan stood frozen for a long time, a man who had lost his way.
It wasn't because his subordinate had lost to Alan's, nor was it because he had been utterly overwhelmed by Alan himself in both words and presence. Of course, those two setbacks were deeply humiliating and infuriating, but what truly shattered his peace of mind were Alan’s parting words.
—Have you ever considered who Margrave Gray Brissen trusted, and what he hoped to achieve by coming here?
Alan's question echoed endlessly in his head.
Why on earth had Gray, the Margrave, come to the capital?
There was only one answer; it required no second thought.
Silike.
Just as Lennon had abandoned the Brissen family to choose Randel, Silike was trying to abandon Evan to join hands with Gray.
To think I was so distracted by those sudden rumors that I forgot what was truly important.
The fact that he had to be reminded of this by Alan of all people made the humiliation unbearable. Evan gritted his teeth, trying to erase the voice and face of the mage who had dared to lecture him.
His gaze naturally drifted toward Heisia Palace.
How dare she do this to me?
Evan’s clenched fists trembled violently. It was the raw fury of realizing one of his own was trying to cast him aside. He forced his feet to stay planted, resisting the urge to storm into Heisia Palace that very instant.
Barely swallowing his rage, he turned his head back toward Chermil Palace. He stared in the direction where Franz would be, then shook his head.
I must not meet him rashly.
In truth, he had come to gauge the relationship between Franz and Silike. He wanted to know if Franz would be affected if, by some chance, he had to expel Silike from the palace. If Franz was going to turn his back on the Brissen family just because his mother was cast out, then there was no point in making him king. In that case, Evan had thought he could simply break Lennon out of prison and throw the entire weight of the Brissen family behind Randel.
But now, the situation had changed.
If Silike had truly betrayed him, he needed to fully grasp whose side Franz was on before their meeting. Thus, Evan decided to postpone the unprepared encounter.
Ultimately, Evan turned back.
Without meeting anyone, he returned to the massive Brissen Mansion, which loomed like a small fortress. All the while, he seriously pondered what to do with Silike.
Shhhhhhh…
And then, the rain finally began to pour.
*
Watching Evan turn back through the rain-streaked windowpane, Calian spoke.
“From the looks of it, he’s heading out of the palace.”
“He made the wisest choice available to him,” Alan remarked. “Since he picked the exact same fight again, I thought he was utterly brainless, but it seems he is capable of thought after all.”
Calian didn’t join in mocking Evan. Instead, he recalled Alan’s Fear, which had sent a shiver down even his own spine.
“You were magnificent earlier, Master. I’ve never experienced such overwhelming pressure before. Excluding Sispanian, of course.”
Alan replied with a face so gentle it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just confronted Evan. “I apologize for startling you.”
Calian smiled and nodded. “Yes, I was startled. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one standing opposite you. Kyrie could barely breathe.”
He kept his other thoughts on that clash of wills to himself. He didn’t mention that he had been unable to sense Evan’s Aura, meaning Evan was currently stronger than him. There was no need to cause unnecessary worry.
After all, wasn’t Calian exceptionally good at breaking things? If a wall blocked his path, he just had to grow strong enough to smash through it.
“Should I have backed down?” Alan asked, perhaps misinterpreting Calian’s smile, which looked as if he were anticipating something amusing.
If Lemain had heard the question, he would have surely thought it sly and snake-like. Alan was asking a question to which he already knew the answer.
To his master, whose face clearly betrayed his anticipation of praise, Calian shook his head.
“Not at all, Master. You did wonderfully. It was information we wanted to leak anyway.”
No one would ever know just how delighted the Archmage, who feared nothing in the world, was to receive his disciple’s praise.
“I don’t know about magic,” Calian added sincerely, “but when it comes to verbal sparring, I doubt anyone on this earth could defeat you.”
At this, Alan nodded with the proudest expression in the world.
Magic could be taught.
A sharp tongue, however, was a talent one was born with.
“My tongue is indeed unrivaled.”
Calian burst into laughter and laughed for quite a while. After waiting a moment for it to subside, Alan changed the subject.
“At any rate, their relationship will now fall apart spectacularly.”
Calian had dropped a hint to Gray that Silike would join hands with Lennon.
And Alan had just informed Evan that Silike and Gray were conspiring to seize the title of Marquis.
“On the surface, it will look like the three of them are doubting and keeping each other in check,” Calian replied with a slight smile. “But if you dig deeper, that’s not the case.”
It might look like a three-way power struggle, but in reality, Gray and Evan now shared a common enemy.
Silike.
“I wonder how she will react,” Alan mused, nodding in agreement before a new question crossed his mind. “So, what do you intend to do now, Your Highness?”
“I’m going to pay a visit. To satisfy my curiosity.”
“A visit…?” Alan raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you intend to have a private audience with Silike?”
“Yes. I’m thinking of meeting her tomorrow. The news from the people I sent to Gray should arrive by then, so I can also feel her out on what he might have said.”
Alan stuck a finger in his ear and gave it a scratch. “I hear someone talking as if they have a death wish again.”
Calian grinned. Alan wasn’t worried that Silike would offer Calian poisoned tea again; he knew his disciple wouldn’t fall for such a simple trick anymore. He was simply worried that Calian might lose his temper upon meeting Silike and cause another scene.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to cause trouble this time. Since Gray and Evan are starting to guard against Silike, I need to make her focus on me instead of them. That way, she’ll forget her own situation and act recklessly.”
Making Silike focus on him was not a difficult task. It was a method Alan knew all too well.
At the words of the prince—who had a knack for getting under people’s skin—his master, an expert in sarcasm, let out a soft sigh.
*
Neither the host nor the visitor had made an appointment, but they both knew. They knew they would meet again tonight to talk.
Thus, Calian, who had been waiting for his guest with the window open on this cold night, was not surprised by the soft thud from the terrace. He merely pointed to the sofa opposite him with a calm expression.
“Please, sit.”
He’d only visited twice, yet Calian was already growing accustomed to it. He shook his head slightly.
Franz, too, likely hadn’t expected to return to Calian’s room like this. At least, not until he had looked out the window earlier that morning, having sensed a thick, suffocating wave of killing intent.
Sinking into the seat opposite Calian, Franz spoke. “I saw a mage chasing away a knight this morning.”
“So you recognized the clash of wills between my master and Marquis Brissen. His Majesty praised your swordsmanship, and though I only half-believed him, it seems he wasn’t exaggerating.”
Franz offered no response, simply waiting for an answer to his unspoken question. Unable to speak with Calian where others might see, he had clearly spent the entire day agonizing over it.
What had Alan and Evan discussed? Why had they fought? And why had Evan turned back?
“Do you meet with the Marquis often?” Calian asked, ignoring Franz’s silent inquiry to pose one of his own. He knew very well that he held the reins of this conversation.
Franz, equally aware of this, had no choice but to answer. “I have never met with him privately.”
Calian nodded. The fact that Evan had never sought out Franz directly made the Marquis’s mindset perfectly clear.
Even before he knew of Silike’s betrayal, he was already planning to abandon her first.
Having grasped the situation a bit more, Calian spoke. “Your family was so harmonious that a slight nudge has already created a rift.”
Franz’s eyes grew sharp. Calian, who had mostly seen those eyes devoid of any light, felt a strange sensation. He continued without letting it show.
“It seems the Marquis came to find you for that very reason. To confirm your intentions. But then he ran into my master, had a petty clash of pride, and went back. So, if you only wish for your mother to step down, you don’t need to take my side any further. If you leave things be, the Marquis will drag her down on his own and prepare to send you to Camillon.”
Franz offered no particular response. Knowing Calian wasn’t finished, he merely gave a slight nod, prompting him to continue.
“So, if you intend to cast your mother aside and become king, go meet Evan. But if you have no intention of going to Camillon Palace, regardless of whether your mother is there or not… well, I intend to go, so I will help you.”
A dry chuckle escaped Franz. “I thought I had already given you my answer.”
It was his own clear way of saying his intention to join hands with Calian remained unchanged. He had absolutely no interest in the throne, with or without Silike.
Calian smiled bitterly.
To have died in a war against Kairis, only to be reborn in Kairis… and now to find himself in a position to lead Arsen and join hands with Franz.
How could he not laugh?
Calian spoke in a low voice, looking at the brother who had taken his life, now sitting in the place of the brother for whom he had sacrificed his own.
“Then… I will ask you just one last thing.”
Franz nodded once more.
Calian fell silent, catching his breath before finally asking, “Silike. This time, she might truly make the worst possible choice. Because I intend to make her do so.”
He discarded the lengthy title of ‘your mother,’ his voice firm and resolute.
The worst possible choice.
Franz’s eyes sank, becoming a deep, dark pool.
Calian stared straight into them.
“And I have no intention of saving her. If you are going to take my hand, do so with the proper resolve.”
Even if Lenisita leaves are scattered for Silike in the public square, can you still take my hand? That was what Calian was asking.
A deep, mocking sneer played on Franz’s lips. Even he himself did not know who that mockery was directed at. Through the open window, the heavy sound of rain echoed, muffled and deep.
“On the path my mother walked with such desperate effort…”
Whether she dies by Lemain’s sword, by Evan Brissen’s hand, or as a sinner standing in the plaza…
“…could there truly be any other end?”
Franz concluded, his voice clearly striving for composure, yet trembling uncontrollably despite his efforts.
And with that, Calian joined hands with Franz completely.