Chapter 82: That Step (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: That Step (1)
Silike.
And Evan Brissen.
Who would make the first move?
As if she had been waiting for this very moment, the instant Lemain left the palace for a hunt—taking the Kaera Knights and even Alan with him—Silike summoned the commanders of the Knights of Raon and the Knights of Karen.
Naturally, the two commanders knew all too well what had recently befallen the Knights of Pavel. For that reason, they had been keeping a low profile, trying their best to avoid Silike's gaze. Yet, Silike had sought them out directly.
Unable to refuse her summons, the two commanders made their way to Silike's greenhouse. There, they heard exactly what they had feared.
She spoke of the founding ceremony for the Valkan Mage Corps, scheduled for the coming Monday.
She promised them an ample reward if they did as she instructed on that day. She did not reveal what she would have them do, nor what the reward would be.
The two commanders asked for time to think before leaving Heisia Palace, their faces clouded with deep anxiety.
"This is incredibly troublesome."
"My thoughts exactly."
She hadn't even told them what she wanted, merely assuring them it wouldn't be anything too difficult.
A heavy sigh escaped the lips of the commander of the Knights of Karen.
"She asked for an answer by tomorrow morning. What do you plan to do?"
The commander of the Knights of Raon was in the same predicament.
Shaking his head, he replied, "By right, we should only follow the Marquis's orders..."
"But this is the royal palace. How can we defy the Queen's command?"
They were the royal knights. Thus, they should have been obeying Lemain's orders. Yet, Lemain's name was nowhere to be found in their conversation.
Would they listen to Silike, or would they follow Evan?
That was their only dilemma.
Ultimately, unable to reach a decision, the two parted ways and headed to their respective offices.
And there, both of them found a letter resting on their desks. The sender was the same.
A letter delivered from Marquis Evan Brissen.
As they sat in their separate offices, reading the letters from the very same man, their expressions hardened into identical masks of gravity.
*
It was something he absolutely should not have forgotten.
Therefore, it was undeniably Calian's mistake.
He should have told her who the rose garden belonged to.
No matter how distracted he had been preparing for the hunting competition, he should have made sure to mention at least that much before leaving.
He should have told her that, for whatever reason, the cat must never go there.
And so…
They had met back when Calian was still shedding his old identity as Bern. Because of that, he'd always felt protective of Hina, seeing her more as a younger sister than an older one. And now, she had gotten tangled up with Franz—a man Calian considered nothing short of a scoundrel.
It was entirely Calian's fault.
*
It all began with a conversation over breakfast on the day of the hunting competition.
Calian, who had arrived first and was sitting alone in the dining hall, asked Franz the moment he walked through the door, "I heard you have a severe cold. Are you alright?"
In truth, Franz felt better than ever.
Far from having a cold, he hadn't sneezed even once.
But instead of asking Calian why he was spouting nonsense first thing in the morning, Franz simply nodded and replied, "I'm in no condition to go hunting."
When the other was so blatantly telling him not to show up at the hunt, what else was he supposed to say?
Franz already had a good idea why Calian was pushing for this hunting competition, which meant he also understood why he needed to stay away.
The hunting competition was a political stage, designed to divide the nobles into pro- and anti-Brissen factions. It was an opportunity for Calian to win supporters while Lemain intimidated the rest.
Franz, however, was closely tied to the Brissen family. If he witnessed the political maneuvering, he would be forced to report it to Silike. He couldn't withhold information from the Brissens, but he didn't want to hand it over, either. Calian was giving him an out—a way to stay comfortably in his room instead of getting caught in the crossfire.
"I will explain the situation to His Majesty, so please get some rest."
With the servants watching, they didn't exchange any further details. Franz returned straight to his room.
As a result, the hunting competition Lemain had organized specifically for Franz proceeded without its guest of honor, who had canceled at the last minute that morning.
And that afternoon.
Franz, who had stayed cooped up in his room all morning, finally stirred. After changing into simple clothes, he stepped out of Chermil Palace, intending to visit the training ground in the rear garden. Enough time had passed, he figured, for his miraculous recovery to seem plausible.
"Meow!"
Just then, he spotted a silver-white furball—one he had glimpsed through his window earlier—scurrying off somewhere. Had that been all, he wouldn't have paid it any mind, but a moment later, he saw a maid with hair of the exact same color heading in that direction.
And it just so happened to be the hour Randel usually spent in the garden.
"...Ha."
Franz started walking.
He had to clean up the mess Calian's cat was about to make.
Regardless of the reason, a confrontation between Calian and Randel was the absolute last thing that should happen at a critical juncture like this.
*
Since the path was reserved for the princes' walks, servants and maids were not allowed to enter alone. Consequently, Hina had never been to the garden, nor had she heard much about what kind of place it was.
When the kitten slipped from her arms and ran away, Hina's first instinct wasn't to go straight into the garden, but to find Merlin. Then she remembered that Merlin was currently attending a meeting in Yan's stead.
She couldn't afford to lose the cat the prince had gifted her less than a day ago, so Hina had no choice but to head into the garden. Believing all the princes were away at the hunt, she planned to slip in quickly, grab the cat, and leave.
"Meow!"
Passing the artificial lake, she heard a cat's cry.
As she followed the sound, she ran right into them.
'Ah...'
In a corner of the garden sat the First Prince, kneeling as he tended to the roses. Beside him was the kitten, looking as though it had just been playing in the dirt. And clutching the kitten in a rough grip was the First Prince's escort servant, glaring at Hina with a face full of hostility.
"Who are you?"
Startled, Hina quickly bowed.
'Oh no.'
Randel's senior attendant must have been attending the meeting as well.
In his stead, the escort servant accompanying Randel demanded an answer. Though they must have crossed paths a few times, he didn't seem to recognize Hina.
"I asked who you are."
Randel's escort servant was very different from Kyrie. He was large, intimidating, and spoke in a threatening tone. He pressed Hina for an answer, giving her no time to decide whether to use sign language or pull out the notebook in her pocket to write.
"This mess must be your doing. How dare you bring such a creature into a place like this?"
Holding up the cat as he spoke, the servant took a step toward Hina. Left with no choice, Hina reached for her notebook to explain the situation.
But the sound of approaching footsteps stopped her in her tracks.
Step.
Franz walked up and stood between the servant and Hina.
Startled by her view suddenly being blocked, Hina looked up. Seeing the pale emerald hair, she quickly bowed her head again.
'This is a disaster...!'
Not only had she run straight into Randel, but now Franz had appeared as well. A wave of regret washed over her; she should have just waited for Merlin to return.
"We meet again."
As if determined to rewrite royal etiquette, Franz, who had come to the garden alone without any attendants, gave Randel a curt, informal nod. Then, after staring at Randel's servant for a moment, he spoke.
"I wonder why you keep an escort who can't even recognize a prince's personal maid. I can't tell if his eyes are bad or his head is."
He spoke without hesitation, his words a sharp rebuke for failing to recognize a prince's personal maid, who was distinct from the regular maids working in Chermil Palace. His gaze made it perfectly clear that he couldn't comprehend how such a person could act as an escort.
The servant bowed deeply to Franz.
"My apologies, Your Highness."
Franz didn't bother to reply. Instead, he glanced back at Hina standing behind him and said, "Take it."
He was, of course, referring to the cat.
Hina bowed in gratitude, snatched the cat from the servant's hands, and quickly hurried out of the garden. The clueless kitten let out a series of soft meows in her arms.
Once the cat's cries faded into the distance, Randel slowly stood up and spoke to Franz.
"You urged me to go to the hunt, yet you did not go yourself?"
Since Franz's rudeness was nothing new, Randel didn't bother addressing the way Franz had just scolded his servant. If Franz's personality could be improved by talking, it would have been fixed long ago.
"That is how it turned out," Franz replied briefly.
Randel didn't even nod.
"I didn't realize it was the hour you would be here, brother. I shall take my leave."
With that, Franz turned around. He knew that exchanging too many words with Randel would only risk exposing his inner thoughts. As Randel quietly watched Franz's retreating back, he spoke.
"It seems the two of you have grown quite close."
Franz froze in his tracks.
Even if his escort servant hadn't recognized her, Randel remembered Hina. He understood why Franz had bothered to come to the garden at this hour—why he had helped Calian's maid.
He was wondering if Calian and Franz had joined hands.
Franz closed his eyes tightly, then opened them. Once Randel began to suspect something, there was no fooling him. Besides, Randel was not the type to report this to the Brissens.
Therefore, instead of asking what Randel was referring to, Franz simply replied with a scoff.
"Does this disappoint you as well?"
At those words, Randel turned back to his roses and answered in a quiet voice, "How could it?"
To Franz, those words sounded as though Randel was actually pleased to see one less competitor. Without another word, Franz walked out of the garden.
And there, standing in front of Chermil Palace, he saw Hina again.
She looked as though she had been waiting for him, so Franz turned his gaze toward her for a moment.
"What is it?"
Hina held out the notebook she was holding. Looking at it, he saw a short sentence written inside.
—Thank you for your help.
Franz had known Hina was Calian's maid, but only now did he realize she was mute. Having no intention of saying anything more about it, he simply nodded and returned to his room.
That night, Calian, who had returned from the hunting competition, was told of the incident. However, he did not show any particular reaction.
And so, days that seemed quiet yet were anything but passed by.
Then came Monday.
The day of the Valkan's founding ceremony.
The day so many had been waiting for, each for their own reasons, had finally arrived.