Chapter 249, So You Won’t Forget (4)

Translator: Lizzz

Editor: Hedge

 

An interesting story.

 

A very thrilling one.

 

He had come up to Plants’ room to get revenge on the person who had eaten meat deliciously in front of his pitiful younger brother, whose stomach had a hole in it and couldn’t even eat rice, leaving his heart feeling very empty, and also to check whether the pea inside had been boiled or not. But he ended up hearing something he had never expected to hear.

 

An executed criminal.

 

Lannen Beurisen. No, just Lannen now that his Family name was gone. The person who had sold a Divine Artifact to a Count named Hale Latran, who was connected to Lannen, and bought information about Cyries. The person who had passed information about Cyries to Secritia and used the Divine Artifact to make money.

 

Above all, the person who had attacked Kalian.

 

For that reason, the person who had stood on the Renisita leaves in the plaza under the charge of attacking Royalty.

 

‘A man.’

 

Kalian didn’t ask again whether the person Plants had seen was really a man.

 

Because Plants’s memory couldn’t be wrong.

 

Instead, Kalian briefly retraced the memories from that time.

 

After the fight with Kalian ended, the person was arrested by Siegfried’s Knights and imprisoned. They didn’t put the person in the same prison as Hale Latran. Siegfried’s Knights, including Yuran, guarded the prison.

 

After that.

 

[Caera.]

 

Rmain sent the Caera Knights as a warning to the nobles about Kalian being attacked outside the Royal Palace. And they transported the criminals to the Capital.

 

[The spy was a Knight of Caera.]

 

Right. It was Caera.

 

The spy who had died in front of Plants had been hiding in Caera.

 

The Royal Palace Knights who came to Latran Territory, where they had been staying at the time, remained in the territory for exactly one day before transporting the criminals to the Capital. After people from the Royal Palace arrived, Siegfried’s Knights no longer monitored the prison. And Kalian.

 

[Didn’t reveal the name.]

 

He did not inform the Royal Palace of the criminal’s identity.

 

He told the Royal Palace it was an assassin of unknown identity.

 

At that time, Kalian needed information about Hale Latran’s transactions. So he said that if the information was handed over, he would keep the fact that the person was a spy a secret. He said he would ensure the execution would be carried out immediately without any interrogation, investigation, or anything else. That’s why he didn’t inform the Royal Palace of the identity and name. In fact, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t explain how Kalian knew that identity in the first place.

 

[Skilled at disguise.]

 

The person frequently used a magical disguise item issued to a very small number of spies in Secritia. The person had disguised as a man.

 

Hale Latran, who had been captured together, had only seen the male disguise. They never encountered each other in prison and wouldn’t have been together during transport either. Until his title was stripped in the Capital, Hale Latran was a Noble, after all.

 

However, the person couldn’t have maintained the male disguise even after arriving in the Capital. Because all belongings would be confiscated. So, the one who died in the plaza was not someone in male disguise but an actual man.

 

[Which means… it got switched….]

 

The person could have disguised as a man and switched with someone else at the very moment Siegfried’s Knights handed over the criminals to Caera’s Knights in Latran Territory. No, Kalian had left immediately after the fight ended, and Yuran and the Knights came in right after to make the arrest, so the person might have already disguised as a man in that instant.

 

Since the appearance was so outstanding, if the person wanted to switch during the process, it would have been better to disguise as a man again.

 

As a result, if the criminal who stood in the plaza was a real man,

 

Then,

 

In that case,

 

[Then, in that case]

 

Luci, who had been on Kalian’s lap for a while, hopped up and ran into Plants’s bedroom.

 

‘I am Prince Plants’s cat who likes Prince Plants.’

 

The other cat ran along too.

 

Kalian, who had been following the two cats with his eyes and shifting his gaze, quietly raised his hand to cover his face. The lips visible below his palm held quite a delighted smile.

 

“Ah.”

 

[Blue Warbler. Eila… It’s you. Finally, I’ve found you.]

 

* * *

 

The number of personnel in Valkan’s Knight Order had decreased.

 

This was because they had selected and removed, without exception, all those among the existing Knights who hadn’t fully come under Plants’s control.

 

Right after that, the number of personnel in Valkan’s Knight Order exploded.

 

This was due to the Knight Order that Count Aprin had gathered and sent from Siegfried officially joined Valkan.

 

Although the personnel decreased and then increased again, the number of newly arrived Knights was far greater, so as a result, Valkan’s Knight Order had grown considerably in size.

 

“The Knights who left the Royal Palace will return to Marquis Gray Beurisen’s residence or Beurisen Marquis Territory, but will it be all right for them to replenish their forces like that?”

 

Arsene, holding documents recording the training process and achievements of the newly increased Knights up until just before they came to the Royal Palace, nodded as if it were no big deal and answered.

 

“Didn’t His Highness reduce the number of the Marquis Family’s Knights by quite a lot? Besides, the new Marquis is someone who knows most painfully what kind of person His Highness is, so even if the numbers increase somewhat, he won’t be able to act rashly.”

 

“Isn’t he someone whose character and conduct are no less than Evan’s? Since his future actions will never be transparent either, I think we need to be careful and vigilant so as not to suffer harm.”

 

Arsene looked down at the teacup steeped with hibiscus petals and smiled brightly. This was because he was reminded of the light in the eyes that had quite a similar color to that of the tea.

 

“Valkan is behind His Highness, Lesser Duchess.”

 

Arsene, raising eyes of a color completely opposite to the tea water, looked at Dmirea sitting across from him and said this.

 

“And I think His Highness doesn’t wish for Marquis Beurisen to stay quiet forever. The reason His Majesty and Commander Manasil maintained all the Knights’ titles when they sent the Knights away is probably for that reason too. They need to grow their size back properly, and at an appropriate time, covet His Highness’s position once……”

 

Arsene, who had been speaking while raising his index finger, raised his other hand and made a motion of sharply breaking the raised finger before continuing.

 

“So that we can break that back properly again, can’t we?”

 

Within Kalian’s plan, Gray was only a temporary Marquis at most. Arsene, who had heard through Allan why Kalian had kept Gray alive, lifted the teacup and took a sip.

 

*Knock knock knock…*

 

At that moment, a small knocking sound was heard.

 

It was somewhat late in the evening.

 

There were no more guests to visit, and the head butler had gone out to personally return the sudden gifts being sent from various Noble Families and hadn’t returned yet.

 

Since that knocking sound came from somewhat below, Dmirea stood up with a slightly smiling face and opened the door. Arsene made a somewhat complicated expression upon seeing the person standing outside the door.

 

A young child with turquoise hair and eyes.

 

“Ririe.”

 

“I can’t sleep.”

 

The child who saw Dmirea said this while stretching out both arms.

 

“I see. Come here.”

 

Instead of calling servants to take the child away to sleep, Dmirea nodded and lifted the child into her arms, then spoke to Arsene.

 

“Could you wait just a moment?”

 

“Ah… Sure, alright.”

 

After Dmirea went outside, Arsene stared at the closed door for a moment and let out a small sigh. This was because there was no need to ask who the child was.

 

The child resembled Evan. Resembled Gray, Lannen, and Sillike. Resembled Plants.

 

When the red water in the teacup had disappeared by half, Dmirea returned.

 

“Is that the child? The one who was found next to Evan’s corpse?”

 

“Yes. That’s right.”

 

“What is her personality like?”

 

Although Arsene cherished small and cute things, he found it difficult to view the small and cute Bloodline of Beurisen without prejudice. So, he actually wanted to ask ‘Is the child smart?’, but since it wasn’t something to say about a young child, he just asked about personality.

 

“She is very clever.”

 

And Dmirea gave an answer to the hidden question before continuing.

 

“She said that after waking up, she heard noise outside and went out. Prince Kalian hesitated, Evan was stabbed, and then Prince Kalian told her it had only been a dream. She believed him and went back to sleep.”

 

“If the child knows the real situation was different from what the Royal Family publicly announced about the reason for Evan’s death, wouldn’t it be better to send her to the Siegfried Duchy?”

 

“She said the death of her grandfather was a ‘just result.'”

 

The words meant that the child named Ririe held no grudge about Evan’s death. It meant there would be no chance of the full account of Evan’s death getting out through her mouth.

 

“But Lesser Duchess, the child resembles them too much to let her stay in the Capital. It won’t have a good influence on His Highness and Prince Plants.”

 

“She’s six.”

 

Dmirea looked at Arsene.

 

“Yet she knows how and for what purpose she was sent to that house. She said she has been pretending not to know. Deputy Commander Hertz,”

 

And asked with a small smile.

 

“Are you someone who can send such a child to another place? Even while knowing that although it’s my family home, for the child it would be just another unfamiliar place.”

 

Arsene let out a deep sigh.

 

“…I understand. I won’t worry about that anymore, or say anything else.”

 

Because the child’s arms reaching out toward Dmirea came to mind, he couldn’t interfere further about leaving it be, neither Kalian nor Plants.

 

Then suddenly, Arsene’s face turned pale.

 

Thinking about the child reminded him of Plants.

 

Then he remembered the day Plants had been bedridden. Naturally, he also thought of Hina who had treated Plants, and suddenly remembered Randel who had come, healed Plants, and left nonchalantly.

 

‘I will convey Prince Randel’s words to Your Highness myself.’

 

And he remembered himself saying this.

 

Thanks to that, Arsene set aside his concerns about the child and began to deeply contemplate his own future.

 

Not because he had forgotten to convey the words of Randel, who was a Prince.

 

It was because he now realized that to convey Randel’s words to Kalian, he would have to explain where he had met Randel, and to do that, he would also have to say what he had let Randel do to Plants.

 

* * *

 

He did not know if liking birds was also hereditary, but,

 

The father raised birds, and the son also raised birds.

 

They said they were raising those birds together, but it turned out each of them secretly had several of their own. The birds fought, and the father and son ended up competing with their separate flocks. It was a rather unusual household, yet his own household wasn’t without its own quirks, so he couldn’t really call that one strange. Still, he found one of their birds hiding in his house. But…

 

“…Eila.”

 

He did not know exactly what he had done in his past life, but it was clear his work had been dangerous. That sort of person turned out to be the second son of that bird-loving household. And that was why his younger brother, who so often unsettled those who watched him, was now calling out someone’s name, looking thoroughly pleased.

 

Plants, who had been watching his younger brother, who until just moments ago had been acting crazy saying things like ‘Butterfly, apologize’ to his cat then suddenly became gloomy while eating meat, quietly spoke.

 

“Kalian.”

 

Kalian’s gaze turned toward Plants.

 

Toward Plants, who was looking at him without saying anything else, Kalian quietly opened his mouth.

 

“I haven’t forgotten.”

 

After that, he picked up his fork and knife again.

 

Plants, watching Kalian who had brought up talk of someone’s death and killed the appetite, then fell into old memories with a face that seemed to say he had forgotten his current name, and then heartily continued eating again, made a face full of irritation.

 

“What is it now?”

 

“I’m thinking how fortunate it is that you are smart, older brother.”

 

Kalian, who had picked up the largest piece of pork on the plate and eaten it, answered.

 

“I think I now understand how Secritia’s King knows about my affairs.”

 

From Kalian’s mouth, which let out a short sigh, an explanation about what happened during the Roselita period continued.

 

“I revealed in front of that person that I know the birds’ base, said that I know their real names, and also showed that I’m a Sword Master, so if the person got out alive, it’s a big problem.”

 

“My dear little brother was so kind to inform them of all that.”

 

“I didn’t expect an escapee. Anyway, since the person seems to be alive, I’m somewhat worried about who else besides Secritia’s King that person told those words to.”

 

Plants, who had been silently staring at beef entering the mouth of someone worrying about that, opened his mouth while making quite an effort to speak words instead of curses.

 

“What will you do?”

 

“I’ll have to find where that person is.”

 

“How?”

 

The Divine Artifact Eila had been trying to find,

 

The black pebble,

 

Also, Zeon.

 

Kalian quietly raised his hand and pointed upstairs.

 

“I’ll need to go get some grapefruit.”

 

“When?”

 

“Now.”

 

Although the person residing there had already told him to come visit, Kalian, who hadn’t yet received that message, grinned.

 

“…Go down. I’ll go up.”

 

Kalian, with an unreadable expression, stared at Plants without answering.

 

“Rest. A bit.”

 

Plants spoke again because he felt that if he interpreted that expression, he would get irritated again.

 

“I’ll catch the snake for you.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Kalian smiled.

 

He just smiled because he didn’t know what else to do.

 

Plants, who had been watching that sight, brought up another topic.

 

“Come to think of it, I heard older brother Randel healed my heart and left.”

 

And,

 

“When people first manifest Magic, do they usually speak the opening words? The blue-haired Mage flipped through a book, and I heard him say ‘Abundant Sleep’.”

 

Like this,

 

The point was to forget about snake hunting and focus instead on the blue-haired Mage.