Chapter 263, I Am a Prince (5)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

[Hmm… So then…]

 

“It seems I’ve heard something about a secret birth.”

 

Kalian murmured as if talking to himself and glanced at Plants for a moment.

 

Seeing the look on his face that seemed to ask ‘older brother, do you know anything about this?’, Plants shook his head. Well, if Plants had known something to that degree, Kalian should have known too, but even searching through his memories, the only thing that came to mind was when he had briefly visited the forest while recalling Kyrie’s words during his time as Bern. He only remembered returning without seeing even a shadow of an Elf, let alone the Elf Village in a forest.

 

“I’ve never heard such a story. Was my mother a Half Elf?”

 

“Not a Half Elf. Queen Freya Hwiteurin was born between an Elf and an Elf.”

 

“That’s a rather strange way to put it. If she was born between an Elf and an Elf, then she would be an Elf, so why would you explain it that way…”

 

*Tap tap tap…*

 

Kalian’s fingertips, having stopped speaking, drummed on the table. It was because he noticed that Narjan was looking at Kalian with meaningful eyes. More precisely, he was looking at the red eyes that resembled Freya so closely.

 

Kalian, who had been recalling Freya’s portrait for a moment, looked at Narjan again.

 

No matter how much Rmain was Rmain, he was not so blind as to fail to notice severed ears. Even if Rmain had tried to hide them, it would be difficult to conceal severed ears within that small Royal Palace. Impossible, even. Which meant.

 

“Surely not…”

 

“She possessed none of the physical characteristics that Elves have, and her growth rate was the same as that of a Human, or so they said.”

 

Freya, born between an Elf and an Elf but without pointed ears, growing at the same rate as Humans. Freya, born with red eyes that no one but Syspanian possessed. And so.

 

“So, my mother was exiled. Because she was a mutant Elf born with a Human’s body and Dragon Eyes.”

 

“How wretched.”

 

Plants’ voice was heard, and the sound of drumming on the table stopped.

 

Kalian glanced at Plants once with a look that said ‘older brother, you also said the same thing about my eyes, and I won’t forget that until I die, so why are you cursing at them for doing the same thing as you did?’, then looked at Narjan.

 

“If I may offer one excuse, it was the problem of my predecessor, the Great Elder before me. Neither before that time nor now do we cast out our kin for such reasons.”

 

“Where is that Elf who is your predecessor?”

 

“For that incident and various other problems he caused, he received the strongest punishment.”

 

There were rules amongst the Elves as well.

 

The strongest punishment they speak of was, of course, execution. An executed Elf could not return to the Mother Tree. Therefore, Kalian knew that for them, whose lives were rooted in the Mother Tree, execution was the strongest punishment on a completely different scale from what Humans did with their capital punishment.

 

“Is there anything else you know about my mother?”

 

“That is all I know.”

 

Kalian organised his thoughts, idly stirring the mulberry jam he had not touched at all, then put down his utensils and looked at Narjan.

 

“Right. I understand.”

 

When Kalian accepted it so meekly, Narjan instead looked at Kalian as if finding it strange. Plants calmly took another sip of tea as if he had expected such a reaction.

 

“I thought you would become angry again or at least say something bitter.”

 

“Resenting someone who has already been punished would only tire me out. I don’t think my mother was necessarily unhappy just because she was exiled from here.”

 

[Had not Sillike said so? That Freya was happy after giving birth to Kalian. Whether it was maternal affection, a desire for power like Sillike’s, affection for Rmain though that was difficult to imagine, or something else entirely, Freya was happy, or so she had said.]

 

“Imagining what it might have been like if she had continued living here is honestly a meaningless delusion. So, it’s fine.”

 

What happened afterwards was not the Elves’ problem. Those who had wronged Freya had all already died by Kalian’s hand.

 

“Let’s continue with what we were originally discussing.”

 

Having thus concluded the discussion about Freya, Kalian took a sip of grape juice and put it down as he spoke.

 

“So Secritia found out that exiles were living in Brigit Forest and demanded a healer as compensation. But I’m curious about something. Why didn’t you pay a ‘price’ to Secritia?”

 

While Narjan was thinking of what to answer, Kalian’s questions continued.

 

“Elves absolutely never accept help without compensation. Yet I don’t understand why you didn’t pay anything to the Secritia side for living in Secritia’s forest. It is not Cyries’. If you knew my mother was from there, it doesn’t seem like you were unaware of that place’s existence.”

 

“Are they not those who are not recognised as kin? The reason they were exiled is different from Queen Freya.”

 

“So, because they’re Elves or Half Elves who were exiled for committing crimes, you’ve kept track of where they gather to live but haven’t managed or helped them?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

*Tap tap tap…* Kalian drummed on the table briefly with his finger. It was an expression of discomfort rather than having something to think about.

 

“I don’t think I’m particularly fond of treating even Half Elves that way.”

 

“It is for the preservation of a continuously dwindling race. Even as the Great Elder, I cannot always do only what pleases me.”

 

“If they were people you’ve been ignoring anyway, there’s no need for you as the Great Elder to pay compensation.”

 

“They said they would execute all the Elves in that place if things went wrong. I want to prevent them from being executed.”

 

“So, because they aren’t complete kin, you’ve ignored them until now regardless of where or how they lived, but you do not wish for them to be executed.”

 

Narjan nodded his head.

 

In any case, the way Elves think was truly difficult to empathise with. What on earth was this sort of talk, which only Rmain from two years ago might have said?

 

He turned his head to see one corner of Plants’s mouth raised. Most likely, he was thinking something similar to Kalian right now.

 

Suddenly, he remembered the time Plants had made a scoffing sound during a Noble Council meeting long ago. While Kalian was briefly thinking about whether or not he had told him not to do that, he heard Narjan’s voice again.

 

“As the Great Elder, I am preventing them from living in this place, but as the Elf Narjan, I cannot allow them to be executed.”

 

Kalian let out a small laugh.

 

“Finally, you’re saying something I like.”

 

“So, I went directly to find their King and said I would pay by another method, but it did not work.”

 

[Of course it wouldn’t. This was a pretext they had barely managed to find in order to summon a healer, so there was no way it would have worked no matter what you offered.]

 

*Tap tap tap…* The sound of drumming on the table to think. Kalian’s fingertips, which had been closed in silence for a while, stopped. He had finished thinking.

 

“This place, you said, it’s land without an owner.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“I understand for now. Let me think about it and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

 

However, instead of making a decision, Kalian only said this much. Plants, who had been sitting quietly without saying anything unnecessary and was being really well-behaved, looked at Kalian and then turned his head.

 

* * *

 

Arianneu, who had opened the door to her office, halted her steps.

 

“…What a surprise.”

 

It was because there was someone who should not be there at this hour.

 

After putting down the documents she had been carrying in both arms onto the desk, Arianneu sat on the sofa and removed the glasses she was wearing as she asked.

 

“What brings Your Highness all the way here? You’ve been staying at the Palace continuously.”

 

“Just, I was bored.”

 

“That’s strange. You shouldn’t be bored, my fiancé.”

 

“Really. I had time after a long while, so I came. Not for work, just. Because I wanted to rest.”

 

Arianneu, unable to hide her pleasure at seeing those violet eyes after such a long time, smiled.

 

“Right. Rest before you go.”

 

Soon, with a few coconut biscuits, a cup of cool mint tea, and a cup of cream-laden coffee in front of her, Arianneu stirred the cream on top of the coffee as she asked.

 

“The death of the Marquis of Cyries, it wasn’t your doing, was it?”

 

Then she asked, “Is this still considered talking about work?” which made Chase laugh.

 

“I’ll consider it not as that. It wasn’t my doing.”

 

The incident where Secritia’s agents who had tried to assassinate Cyries’s Second Prince were caught, the incident where Marquis Evan Beurisen was killed by agents and the Third Prince was seriously injured. In Cyries, they had explained it that way. They had demanded an explanation, apology, to resolve the matter from Debeullan.

 

It had been quite a long time ago, but Arianneu and Chase had been unable to meet continuously during that time. They had to avoid Debeullan’s eyes and each had been busy with many things, so she was only asking now.

 

“It’s Prince Kalian. He’s not weak enough to be hurt by birds.”

 

“Was he badly hurt?”

 

“Yes. They said he was badly hurt, but he must be all better now.”

 

Chase, who did not know that not only had that Kalian now fully recovered but had also run away, unable to bear that bird and was currently inside the Mother Tree, answered thus.

 

“You must have worried a great deal.”

 

“I was worried, but it was also reassuring because it was the first time he said he was in pain. That’s how I felt, Arianneu.”

 

Arianneu, who had been looking at Chase for a while, nodded her head. Then she pointed to the mint tea placed in front of Chase and said.

 

“Your younger brother is taking steps forward like that, so you should do the same. You’re the older brother. So don’t beat around the bush and speak honestly. Why did you really come here?”

 

Chase smiled without answering.

 

Because that smile seemed suspicious, when Arianneu was about to ask again, Chase opened his mouth.

 

“Your mother, Marquis Lyn.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“She’ll be arrested today.”

 

Arianneu’s hand, which had been reaching for the coffee, paused for a moment. Soon Arianneu reached out again, picked up the coffee, and spoke.

 

“Did you fail to stop it, or did you not stop it?”

 

“I didn’t stop it.”

 

“I see.”

 

Arianneu, who had taken a sip of coffee with an unaffected face, put down the cup. Then she looked at Chase and opened her mouth.

 

“Tell me. What should the acting Marquis do starting tomorrow?”

 

Because he knew this attitude stemmed from her belief that Chase would somehow save her mother’s life at least, even if she was arrested, Chase simply nodded once without saying anything else and began to explain.

 

* * *

 

It was difficult to gauge the height of the Elves’ Mother Tree.

 

It was both fascinating and, if one thought about it another way, quite bizarre that Elves lived in layers inside the transparent hollow tree. For Humans, it would be no different from living inside Serenty’s body, would it not?

 

A garden prepared on the middle level of the Mother Tree, which seemed to be made of crystal walls on all sides. All kinds of plants were planted on one side, and beyond what should be called windows or perhaps should be called the Mother Tree’s outer bark, the sea could be seen below.

 

*Plop…!*

 

Kalian, sitting on a bench next to the fountain in the garden, threw a small lump of Aura towards the mermaid statue in the fountain.

 

“It doesn’t matter, does it? Even if she’s half.”

 

Plants, who had been standing next to the bench, opened his mouth.

 

He thought such behaviour was because his feelings were complicated.

 

“Ah, yes. Since she was the same as an ordinary person, I’ve decided not to worry about it too much. But something else bothers me. How did someone who was in Secritia end up coming all the way to Cyries and why did she happen to meet someone like His Majesty?”

 

Plants, who heard these words, turned his head to look at Kalian.

 

It was the same expression Kalian had when he heard what Arsene said after revealing the secret he had been hiding. The one that said ‘Is it harder to believe that I travelled back in time than that you worked under older brother?’

 

“…Right.”

 

However, regrettably, because Kalian understood very well why he had doubts about that, Plants nodded his head, feeling a strange sense of kinship between brothers.

 

Soon Plants handed what he was holding to Kalian.

 

Kalian, who had been looking at what was suddenly thrust before his eyes without a word, reached out and took it. Then, after seeing what was inside, he burst into laughter.

 

It was jerky.

 

“I’m not Luci, you know.”

 

“But you bark instead.”

 

Dried jerky from the dried goods provided by Siegfried Territory. As he had thought, it remained exactly as the mayor had prepared it, seemingly untouched.

 

“Do as you think. Don’t worry.”

 

Kalian raised his head to look up at Plants, who was still standing.

 

“The matter with Secritia. Don’t worry about dealing with the aftermath, just do as you’ve planned to.”

 

“Do you know what I’m thinking?”

 

“You’re going to call the snake here, aren’t you? With the lie that you’ll treat him if he comes. Since this is land without an owner, whatever you hunt here won’t be connected to Cyries.”

 

“…How remarkably perceptive my older brother is.”

 

Plants, having appropriately dismissed Kalian’s barking, pointed to the jerky in Kalian’s hand.

 

“My little brother should eat the meat he likes. I’ll take care of it.”

 

Kalian, who had been looking at the jerky, laughed softly.

 

It was because he truly felt like he was being treated like Luci.