Chapter 32, The Roses Will Bloom Soon (5)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

Like examining a single painting, Randel’s blue eyes moved quietly.

 

[‘The roses will bloom soon, they say.’] It did not take long to understand why those words were spoken every morning. The moment he met Kalian’s gaze, he understood his intention.

 

He also learned why Kalian had prepared this situation. More accurately, he learned what Sillike had been doing to Kalian all this time.

 

Understanding the situation, Randel was now thinking about what he should do.

 

Whether to take Kalian’s side.

 

Or to step back as he always had.

 

Randel’s gaze landed on Kalian. And slowly drifted away.

 

Instead, his feet lifted from the floor. He had decided to be Kalian’s horse first, as Kalian had wanted.

 

He was curious to see how those ‘roses’ would bloom.

 

However, Plants, who had been sitting alone in a chair, stood up. After causing a great ripple in the banquet hall, he emptied the wine that had been set aside for Randel into his own mouth and left.

 

Honestly, Randel was more surprised that Plants knew how to speak in complete sentences than by the fact that Plants had directly cornered Sillike. Therefore, he watched Plants’ figure walking out without hesitation for a long while.

 

In any case, since Plants had already done what Randel had intended to do, he had no choice but to put his lifted feet back down.

 

After Plants left, Sillike departed the banquet hall with a face that suggested she had suffered a great insult. Since there were no other orders from Rmain, the Kaela Knights did not stop the Second Prince and Queen from leaving.

 

“Quickly, heal him.”

 

Rmain urged the healer.

 

The necklace made from Serenty’s Divine Artifacts began to shine little by little, and soon, a dazzling white light started to swell. The healer reached out toward Kalian’s body.

 

At the same time, a translucent shield with a reddish glow wrapped around Kalian protectively. Because of this, the healer’s Divine Power heading toward Kalian was blocked by the shield and they collided.

 

*Pang!*

 

It was not a simple shield.

 

Everyone saw the red light swirling around the shield engulf the white light, causing Serenty’s Divine Power to futilely disappear without even reaching near Kalian.

 

What had blocked the power of the Divine Artifact was a Sixth Circle Great Shield.

 

“What you are doing is no different from telling him to die.”

 

And then, a Mage appeared.

 

Rmain’s eyes turned fierce.

 

It was obvious what Allan would say as he hurriedly sent the shield to protect Kalian’s body first. He walked into the banquet hall with steady steps and quickly stated.

 

“There’s already a Circle in his heart. If Divine Power enters in his current state, the situation will only worsen.”

 

The healer, who had not properly examined Kalian’s body due to the urgency of the treatment, pulled back their hand in shock.

 

Instead of reprimanding the healer, Allan channeled his Mana toward Kalian once more. This time, he was not doing Chantless Magic. A few short incantations flowed from Allan’s mouth.

 

“Abundant”

 

It was a magic that made one unable to feel pain, which he had only used once before. Soon, it became visible that Kalian’s face grew peaceful. Allan, who had been silently looking down at his Disciple’s change in appearance, opened his mouth toward Rmain.

 

“Since this is partly my fault as well, I’ll let you hit me once later.”

 

It was Allan’s own way of apologizing for allowing Kalian to do such a thing after speaking so boldly to Rmain earlier.

 

…

 

During a leisurely evening.

 

White papers fell like rain from the sky over Astrisha Street, where chatty nobles gathered in small groups. The papers contained clearly organized information about numerous people who were ‘presumed’ to have been killed by Sillike and the Beurisen Family.

 

And moments later, more shocking news was delivered.

 

Someone had tried to poison the Third Prince, and King Rmain had pointed to Queen Sillike!

 

The nobles’ gazes dropped to the papers in their hands.

 

 

“’If the Queen would extend her evil hand even to the Prince, then surely all those people before were killed by the Queen as well!”

 

“A Queen who has murdered so many people would certainly not leave the Third Prince alone, since he threatens her the Second Prince’s inheritance of the throne.”

 

The attempted murder of Kalian and the evil deeds committed by the Beurisen Family became intertwined, seeming to serve as evidence for each other.

 

In the days that followed, the capital faced a proper typhoon.

 

The chaos that erupted was incomparable to what had been brought about by Freya Hwiteurin’s death alone, even beyond what Kalian had anticipated.

 

Those connected to the alleged victims gathered to demand verification of the documents’ authenticity.

 

People refused to trade with the Beurisen Trader’s Guild, and students attending the Beurisen Knight Training School withdrew in succession. The line of nobles who used to pay their respects to the Beurisen Marquis Family every morning had also noticeably shortened.

 

If even a thread of evidence were to be found, it was clear that Harts-ara Plaza would be dyed in blood. So, they did not want to contribute to staining the plaza by being entangled with the Beurisen Family in any way.

 

Finally, when papers requesting Sillike’s expulsion began to be secretly posted everywhere, the Beurisen Marquis Family temporarily closed their gates.

 

Moreover, gift boxes piled up again in Kalian’s room.

 

They were sent by nobles wishing for Kalian’s swift recovery. Of course, that was just pretexts.

 

“You must have been in quite a hurry.” Kalian, who had been blankly staring at the piled gifts and the uninvited guest, said this toward the curtain. Though his voice was somewhat hoarse, he had not lost his composure.

 

When Sillike came to visit, Kalian lowered the bedroom curtains. The reason was that he was ill in bed, and unable to face guests directly.

 

Before long, the scent of Reunieri Flowers filled the room, and Kalian spoke to Ian who was standing beside him.

 

“The windows, please. My head hurts.”

 

[Ah, the Prince’s head is hurting!]

 

Ian panicked a little while opening all the windows in the room and terrace wide. After all, the flower-like Prince was in pain!

 

The Reunieri fragrance escaped through the windows, and Sillike bit her lower lip hard.

 

“So…”

 

After all the windows were opened, Kalian’s voice flowed out.

 

“What brings you here, Sillike.”

 

Kalian had left the conclusion of this matter to Allan and Rmain. However, Rmain had entirely entrusted this ‘gift exchange’ to Kalian. In other words, his Father was telling him that since he had risked his life, he should collect his own price as he saw fit.

 

Sillike, who had been standing silently for a while, sat down on Kalian’s sofa. Though Kalian frowned at such presumptuous behavior, he was not rude enough to tell her to stand up again.

 

Soon, Sillike opened her mouth.

 

“It seems the Arcane Enclave has been quite busy lately.”

 

Kalian silently chuckled. It was closer to laughter born of incredulity rather than amusement.

 

He knew everything that had happened during the time he was unconscious, having heard it from Ian. He naturally knew that Sillike was now completely vulnerable.

 

Of course, he had not expected her to kneel and apologize right away, but he still had not thought she would act so brazen.

 

Kalian erased his smile and answered.

 

“You speak of words I simply cannot comprehend.”

 

Those were exactly the words Sillike had said to Kalian a week ago.

 

Sillike remained silent for a while. Kalian, who had been waiting for her next words, let out a short sigh. After all, he had received a briefing on the situation right after waking up after a week. Yet not even 30 minutes had passed before he had to entertain an uninvited guest.

 

Therefore, Kalian, who was not in the condition to deal with this, spoke in a somewhat tired tone.

 

“Thanks to your decision, I had quite a long rest.”

 

Perhaps remembering Kalian from that day, Sillike’s gaze briefly fell to the hem of her dress.

 

“However, I almost ended up resting in the afterlife, so I’m afraid I can’t face you for long. How about we take things slow, just one step at a time?”

 

At last, Sillike opened her mouth. Her voice trembled slightly, as she had never imagined, even in her dreams, that she would have to discuss such matters with none other than Kalian.

 

“How about we make a deal?”

 

“If you had said that a week ago, it would have been better for the both of us.”

 

Kalian slowly shook his head. Of course, since Sillike would not be able to see beyond the curtain, so he added words to that effect.

 

“From what I hear, you seem to be more cornered than I had expected, so I wonder what am I to do.”

 

After taking a moment, Kalian leaned against the bed’s headboard and continued speaking.

 

“First, let me hear what you’ve prepared to offer.”

 

Sillike made a face as if barely holding back and swallowing something. Without bothering to hide any signs of forced speech, she stated what she wanted.

 

“If you declare that the documents are not true, I will not oppose what Your Highness is preparing.”

 

A small laugh came from behind the curtain. With laughter still lingering in his voice, Kalian prodded at Sillike’s weakness somemore.

 

“I heard that a list of Royal Consort candidates has been submitted to His Majesty, the King. But I wonder whether they’ll really be consorts. Or perhaps a new Queen? I’m not quite sure yet. Do you know?”

 

Sillike gnawed on her lower lip.

 

The typhoon that hit Cyriesus was bigger than expected.

 

Sillike was trapped in a much deeper prison than Kalian had anticipated. So deep that it would be difficult to get her out with just the creation of a Mage Order.

 

Therefore, Kalian’s options had also changed.

 

“Besides, the Queen’s permission was never needed for establishing an Order in the first place. Please speak of something else.”

 

Sillike did not answer. Because she had not thought of anything other than the Mage Order. Moreover, since the path of the discussion had already been determined, Sillike spoke through gritted teeth.

 

“Tell me what you want.”

 

Kalian nodded without needing to delay further and said.

 

“In lands ruled by Syspanian’s descendants, should the sound of clashing swords be heard so loudly?”

 

It was impossible to gauge what words would follow. Sillike showed signs of discomfort as she looked toward Kalian’s bedroom. From inside came a voice that was still relaxed and still peaceful.

 

“The Pavel Knight Order, dissolve it.”

 

[The Pavel Knight Order!?] Sillike jumped up from her seat.

 

The Cyries Royal Knight Orders originally consisted of only ‘Raon’ and ‘Karen’.

 

Pavel was a Knight Order that Marquis Beurisen had gifted to Sillike, to check against the Kaela Knight Order – the King’s personal guards also known as the ‘King’s Sword’.

 

Basically, Kalian was telling Sillike to hand over her sword. It was as if to say, ‘since I wagered my life, it’s only fair that I take your weapon away.’

 

“Dissolve the Pavel Knight Order. Establish the Mage Order.”

 

Kalian, who had no interest in how surprised Sillike was, spoke again as if driving in a wedge. It was a very firm voice that suggested he would not give any room for compromise.

 

A crackling sound came from her tightly gripped fan, and Kalian added in a slightly lighter tone.

 

“And take back your lady-in-waiting that you placed with me.”

 

The blood drained from Sillike’s face. Kalian gave her plenty of time to think. And at the end of his infinite patience, Sillike slowly sat down and answered.

 

“…I shall do so.”

 

Kalian’s lips drew a long arc.

 

Instead of reconfirming Sillike’s decision, Kalian immediately spoke to Ian.

 

“Bring it to her.”

 

“Yes, Prince.”

 

As if he had been waiting, Ian took what was placed on the side table and went out of the bedroom. Then he handed what he had brought out to Sillike.

 

It was a covenant containing the Seal of Oath.

 

It was spell that would engrave the promised contents in both their hearts and would constrict their heart if broken.

 

Sillike’s face could be seen frowning upon seeing the covenant. Whether it was surprise at having such a thing prepared already, or irritation at disliking the terms of the deal, or perhaps both, was not worth distinguishing. Whatever it was, it was not Kalian’s concern.

 

Kalian simply spoke as if it were a natural procedure.

 

“Naturally, this is needed because the trust between us is far from concrete.”

 

Sillike briefly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and signed the covenant. Then, the words written as things Sillike ‘pledged to do’ began to glow and rise, forming what looked like a long band as they traveled up Sillike’s arm before disappearing.

 

They had headed toward her heart. Of course, the same restriction was placed on Kalian as well.

 

Having finished what she came to do, Sillike rose from her seat with a face notably more gaunt than a week ago. Kalian spoke while watching her.

 

“Ah. In case you might have a misunderstands, our Brotherly relationship is not as rosy as you might have imagined after that incident.”

 

Sillike paused for a moment.

 

But she did not turn her head toward the bedroom.

 

“Plants did not say those words for my sake.”

 

The words from the banquet hall, that became the beginning of driving Sillike to this state.

 

Sillike’s eyes gleamed coldly as she recalled the feeling of betrayal from her own Son.

 

Seeming able to see through this even when there was a curtain between them, Kalian clicked his tongue.

 

“You’re telling me something I have no interest in.”

 

“Are you really not aware? If you had said just one more word there.”

 

Since Rmain had lost his reason more than expected. It meant that his rage could no longer be contained.

 

“The King’s Sword would have cut off the Queen’s head right there.”

 

Sillike, who had been standing still, walked out one step at a time.