Chapter 295, Please Endure, Older Brother (6)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

  

A black butterfly.

 

It had looked as though black stars had been gathered together, or perhaps as though the black night sky had been fragmented. Kalian remembered such a butterfly.

 

When he recalled it, Syspanian came to mind, and the strange comfort he had received from her rose to the surface. Thanks to that, Kalian briefly let out a rueful laugh.

 

A black butterfly that wished for death. It was not easy to deal with someone who could not accept that one thing when he himself had lived using that one thing as comfort. Especially because that person happened to be the one who had raised him in this manner.

 

If he had not grown up poisonously as the snake’s child, he would have already met his end in the very year he had awakened as a Prince of Cyries. If it could be said that surviving until now and coming to this place was thanks to Debeullan, then it was indeed thanks to Debeullan. Yet here he was, caught in a trap while trying to deal with Debeullan, so what more could he say?

 

“It seems my younger brother is quite unwell.”

 

The voice of Plants, who had been silently watching Kalian with his mouth closed. Plants continued speaking while crossing his legs for the first time in quite a while.

 

“Seeing that you cannot bark with your mouth but are barking inside your head.”

 

“I was not thinking of much.”

 

“I would rather wait for bananas to grow from Renisita’s down than believe that.”

 

If you are going to lie, at least make it believable.

 

Seeing the response with exactly such an expression, Kalian let out a small sigh.

 

“I will not do so.”

 

After that, Kalian silently gazed at the distant sea visible beyond the wide window, then turned his gaze back into the room. Arsene and Arianneu were visible.

 

He had not been able to say a word of thanks and appreciation to Arsene, who had rushed over to help. He had not been able to offer even a word of greeting to Arianneu, whom he was meeting again after such a long time. As soon as he had opened his eyes, he had to hear what Plants was conveying first.

 

So Kalian was about to say something to the two of them but soon closed his mouth. There was a translucent barrier spread between them and Kalian. Arsene, who did not fully trust Arianneu, had cast Silent around Kalian and Plants. He was worried that if Arianneu happened to hear the conversation that would take place about how to respond to Debeullan’s schemes, she might cause other trouble.

 

“Marquis Manasil.”

 

“I asked him to come, so he will arrive today.”

 

“After that.”

 

“When he arrives, it will be pleasant.”

 

“Besides that.”

 

“Well. What will Master do when he comes… Shall I send Master straight to Debeullan’s bedchamber? I was planning to inform Kyrie soon anyway, so even if Master knows about it together, I do not think it will make much difference.”

 

“Now you are barking with your mouth again.”

 

Kalian, who had smiled faintly, was about to lean his back against the headboard but stopped his breath very briefly. Then he gave up on pressing his back, which had been deeply cut by the sword containing fake Aura, against the hard wood and looked at Plants.

 

“Are you good at hunting, older brother?”

 

“With a bow.”

 

“Have you ever seen traps being set?”

 

“No.”

 

A small sound flowed from the mouth of Kalian, who sat up a little straighter.

 

“Traps are rather interesting. To catch a deer, you set a trap on the deer’s path, and to catch a fox, you set a trap on the fox’s path. However, you cannot actually know what will be caught in that trap. Something will be caught in the spread trap, but sometimes a fox gets caught in a trap set on the deer’s path, and on really lucky days, both a deer and a fox are caught together.”

 

Just as Lannen had been caught in the trap made to catch the person who was secretly selling Divine Artifacts and also selling Cyries intelligence.

 

“It is a trap that Debeullan set to catch older brother Chase. Both you and I got caught in it together. I thought both you and I had drawn Debeullan’s attention sufficiently, but apparently not yet.”

 

Debeullan was still trying to bring Chase down.

 

Not Kalian or Plants, who immediately aroused his curiosity, but Chase first, who was thoroughly blocking his method of extending his lifeline. He had not yet changed his mind about capturing him. And then he had made up his mind to kill Kalian and deceived everyone by pretending to be curious about Plants.

 

He was trying to fabricate it so that Chase, who had colluded with the Nobles, had killed Kalian and the two Mages and then tried to pin the blame on Debeullan.

 

“If it is fabricated that older brother Chase joined hands with you and attacked me, he could use that as leverage to threaten older brother Chase. If he pins this incident on Marquis Lyn or whatever noble he did not like and has all their heads cut off and shows sincere apology, His Majesty would not be able to make up his mind about war. Because you have Valkan in your hands.”

 

Chase, backed by the power of the Nobles, joins forces with Plants to drive out Kalian. Even if that were to happen, Rmain could not start a war. One of the accomplices was his second son, and that son held Valkan. In a situation where it was unclear whether Plants, who had gone to war, would attack Secritia or his own father, Rmain would have no choice but to quietly let it pass.

 

If war broke out, those who would gain power were the Nobles with private soldiers and those with military authority. So, if war was started in the current situation, the influence of Beurisen, which had barely diminished, would grow, and the power of Plants, who had an army, would only increase. Debeullan knew this. Knowing this, he must have calculated that even after eliminating Kalian, he could preserve both the country and his own life.

 

Because Debeullan did not know how far Allan, who was not acting as Kalian’s Master but sitting in the position of Valkan’s Commander, could go for Kalian. Because Debeullan could never understand what Plants’s true nature was like. Therefore, Debeullan had made a good trap to eliminate Kalian, get Chase under his control, and extend his own life. Kalian and Plants had fallen right into it.

 

“…Or so I thought. But it does not seem to be the case.”

 

That was what he had thought at first.

 

However, there were some questionable points.

 

Unlike before finding the villa, a proper conversation between the two brothers continued, slightly different from before.

 

“If only one dies.”

 

“That is correct. If it had been a trap where you could survive without dying, that would have been the right way of thinking for causing this incident.”

 

Having said this, Kalian briefly lowered his eyes.

 

Kalian, who was tapping the black blanket covering his legs with his fingertips while organising his thoughts, opened his mouth again.

 

“Actually, I found it a bit puzzling. Why did he bother to send Zeon’s Warriors and swordsmen separately? The fact that he even used poison on me meant he definitely wanted me dead, so why did he send them separately? Why did Zeon’s Warriors not intervene even as the swordsmen were dying? I wondered.”

 

Because his throat was dry from the long speech, Kalian poured water from the cup placed beside the bed and drank it all. He did not know if it was alright to drink water, nor did he suspect what might be in that cup, drinking it without hesitation. Plants frowned at this. Kalian, without paying much attention to that appearance, just stopped breathing for a moment and then breathed again.

 

“No matter how much you attacked first, I thought it was strange that the swordsmen immediately tried to kill you. If things had gone as expected, they should have kept rushing at me until the end, but it was strange that they so easily abandoned the Second Prince, who was trying to join hands with them, as a discarded card. I should have noticed even then. Both you and I were short-sighted.”

 

Because he had barely managed to complain about pea colours and then fainted immediately, there had been no time to think of other things, but Kalian blamed their carelessness nonetheless.

 

After looking alternately at the chandelier on the ceiling and outside the window for a while, Kalian opened his mouth.

 

“Zeon. What do you think?”

 

“It seems Debeullan was also deceived about something.”

 

“Zeon’s actions seem to be a variable.”

 

“Probably.”

 

Kalian, who had nodded his head and was about to open his mouth but paused his breathing briefly again, spoke.

 

“Since you said that the Knight who spoke to you when the Warriors appeared at the beach showed no particular reaction, what Debeullan prepared was probably… the four Zeon Warriors encountered first. And those sent to Brigit Forest were likely all of them.”

 

“Debeullan did not know how well my younger brother ignores things. So it would be.”

 

At the continued puppy treatment, Kalian chuckled.

 

“If I were to die and eliminate troublesome matters in advance, it would be right to properly deal with Lady Seiren’s side, so he would have sent Zeon’s members to Brigit Forest as well. It would be good if both sides died, and even if they did not die, they would be a means to bind Brother Chase, so he probably thought it did not matter.”

 

“…The second time.”

 

“Yes. The swordsmen and two other Zeon members targeted not only me but also you. They were not sent by Debeullan. Seeing that the Warriors waited until all the swordsmen died, they were not entirely on the same side either.”

 

Debeullan had set a trap to catch Chase.

 

Incidentally, he had also set a trap to catch Kalian.

 

But someone had interfered.

 

“If the two Princes die side by side in this land, the one who loses the most would be Debeullan.”

 

It did not matter much to Debeullan if Kalian died, but Plants must not die.

 

The fact that both died while the two brothers were fighting would, of course, provide an excuse. However, if that happened, would not the force that could hold Valkan and bind Rmain’s movements disappear? If Plants died as well, Rmain would get his hands on Valkan, and he would have to start a war to guard against Beurisen if nothing else. The situation would be completely reversed.

 

Plants’s eyes darkened as he recalled again his worries about war that had occurred when the sword flew towards him.

 

“Because war would truly break out.”

 

*Tap tap tap.*

 

Kalian’s fingertips made small sounds.

 

“There is no trust.”

 

“Indeed. Even though I do not know how he used Zeon, Debeullan was also stabbed in the back.”

 

Then who would benefit from a war between Cyries and Secritia?

 

“If war breaks out, the Nobles’ power grows stronger.”

 

Plants nodded his head.

 

“If war breaks out between Cyries and Secritia, those who benefit would be the remaining countries.”

 

Internally, Secritia Nobles, and externally, the two countries excluding both nations wanted this war. It meant someone wanted that war.

 

“Even if it is Zeon, which is spread throughout the entire continent, there must be a leader, and that person wanted war and persuaded the Nobles here to orchestrate this incident. On one hand, pretending to join hands with Debeullan. On the other hand, drawing in Nobles who fell for the persuasion. But since the plan seems to have failed… what should be done…?”

 

It was true that they had been caught in Debeullan’s trap.

 

Debeullan had nearly been caught in Zeon and the Nobles’ trap as well. The reason Debeullan was not caught in the trap was purely because Kalian had survived.

 

So Kalian was caught in Debeullan’s trap, and Debeullan was caught in Zeon’s trap.

 

“Interesting.”

 

*Tap tap tap.*

 

“Are Kyrie and the Knights still at the Royal Palace?”

 

“I told them to monitor Marquis Lyn’s side.”

 

Having said that, Plants’s gaze turned towards the outside of the Silent barrier for a moment.

 

“That is why I had your new subordinate bring her secretly from Debeullan.”

 

Kalian had left the Royal Palace expecting to be attacked. Although not precise, he had also expected that there were those among the Nobles with different intentions.

 

He had not thought about moving Zeon, but if the Nobles gathered, who would be at the centre? Thinking about that, he had first assigned surveillance of Marquis Lyn’s side. Because Marquis Lyn was closest to Chase and therefore the person who could best grasp Chase’s situation. Even though imprisoned, her ears and mouth were not closed.

 

And he had sent Eila in preparation for the slim chance that Marquis Lyn was causing trouble.

 

“Excuse me, you two Princes there. If you have captured someone, you should treat them properly. Why is the conversation so long?”

 

Arianneu, who had noticed that Kalian and Plants had each glanced at her, asked loudly. Seeing this, Kalian burst into laughter but then held his breath again.

 

“You sure are the most carefree hostage in the world.”

 

If Kalian could not return to the Royal Palace, Eila had carried out the first order to capture Arianneu and bring her before him without difficulty. The daughter of Marquis Lyn, brought in this way, pointed to her stomach.

 

Rather than greetings with a long-forgotten old friend, rather than the situation where her mother was suspected of being behind this incident, she meant to resolve the matter of being hungry first.

 

“Please have a meal. After I contact older brother Chase…”

 

Kalian, who had been speaking thus, closed his mouth.

 

Plants saw the same thing as well.

 

—Prince Kalian. Are you there by any chance?

0

A ring that shone as if it had been waiting.

 

What flowed through it was not Chase’s voice.

 

—…Please speak. Lord Kastrin.

 

Kalian held his breath again.

 

* * *

 

The outside is sweet and the inside is savoury.

 

One repeatedly coats well-roasted almonds with thin chocolate and hardens them. A fingernail-sized almond piece is coated with chocolate many times until it becomes the size of one joint of a small finger. Doing so creates sweet and savoury chocolate that is crisp yet soft and does not damage the firmness of the almond.

 

“The cook’s skill has improved.”

 

Even though it would be good to coat it with several layers of bitter chocolate, Allan chewed slowly on the almond chocolate made by coating it with soft chocolate full of milk and sugar. Then, having swallowed all the almond pieces in his mouth with coffee full of milk foam and cinnamon fragrance, Allan made quite a pleased face.

 

Rmain, who still did not understand why he ate such sweet things unless perhaps he ate jelly with grapefruit, put down a bundle of documents in front of Allan. After that, instead of the cook who had been diligently mastering the art of making sweet things since Allan’s arrival, he praised something else.

 

“Valkan is normalising faster than expected. I thought there might be confusion from suddenly expanding its size.”

 

“You worried needlessly.”

 

“I thought it would be difficult for the relationship between the Mage order and the Knight order to improve.”

 

“The person who thought of gathering Mages to create an army had such prejudice?”

 

“Because I heard their personalities are so different.”

 

Allan’s fingers reached towards the almond chocolate he had been eating just before.

 

“When you put together something that melts and disappears at the slightest touch and something impossibly hard, it produces such a good taste. Why would people be any different?”

 

Having said this, Allan took another sip of coffee before opening his mouth.

 

“Even if they are fellows who live thinking about raising ducklings in Royal Carriages, their nature is not completely rotten. There is no reason why such Mages and Knights raised by someone who thinks of himself as a rye cookie cannot harmonise with each other.”

 

Valkan’s Mages were those skilled in combat.

 

They were not foolish fellows who would stand as if nailed to one spot, trying to recite some incantation only to be futilely cut down by a Knight’s sword.

 

If one paired one such Mage with one Knight, nine times out of ten the Mage would have the advantage. Count Aizen Aprin never envied that difference. While there was naturally a difference in individual fighting power, he properly understood the fact that Knights were by no means inferior in mobility and numbers. The Knights who had come to Valkan had been raised with a proper understanding of the differences between Mages and Knights. The existing Beurisen Knights had had their minds corrected under Plants’s hand.

 

So there was no reason they could not harmonise with each other.

 

“You may continue to watch without worry. Since it has become quite a respectable army, it will continue to grow well and look good.”

 

Valkan had grown well, and yet he worried needlessly without even knowing whose merit it was. It seemed His Majesty lacked even the ability to worry, so he should just sit quietly and watch. That was the kind of talk he had expected, but having come early in the morning and eaten a few chocolates, he was responding without a single bitter word.

 

Because that too was strange, Rmain, who had been glancing at Allan, removed his glasses and set them down as he spoke.

 

“It seems something has happened again.”

 

“Does it appear so?”

 

“You are a person who treats me differently every time something happens to the Third Prince. There must be a reason for making such sweet sounds.”

 

Allan smiled brightly and continued.

 

“Fortunately, you do not seem to be the sort of insensitive person who would act like an ox even after sending his two sons to another country.”

 

“…What do you need?”

 

“Your Majesty’s neck.”

 

“I thought that was always on the line. Is it suddenly needed now?”

 

“Something has suddenly arisen that requires it.”

 

“Speak.”

 

“Please grant all authority over Valkan to Prince Plants. Your Majesty, please hold the authority to command Prince Plants.”

 

The authority to move Valkan’s Mages and Knights, and the authority to command the two Deputy Commanders, had originally been held by Allan. He was now saying he would transfer this to the Second Prince in Secritia and the King of Cyries.

 

“The Lesser Duchess will soon come to have a brief conversation with her fiancé’s father. She said she would introduce the honoured guest staying at the estate, so please do not refuse and have her stay at the Royal Palace for a few days, asking her to observe Valkan’s Knight’s swordsmanship.”

 

He was not unaware of who was staying at the Siegfried estate. So naturally he also knew that the honoured guest staying at the Ducal Family Residence did not refer to Ririe Beurisen.

 

Shiona Hill.

 

A situation where that Sword Master, said to be at a similar level to Kalian, should be kept inside the Royal Palace, the position of Valkan’s Commander should be transferred to Plants, and Rmain should directly hold the authority to move Plants.

 

Rmain, who had been lost in thought while pressing between his brows, asked a question instead of answering.

 

“You removed Deputy Commander Hertz from his position. Are you asking me to do the same for you?”

 

“I speak of dismissal. Those fellows there will fulfil their roles even if the Commander is temporarily absent, so it would not be bad to trust them.”

 

“Is it a temporary dismissal or a permanent dismissal?”

 

“If Secritia’s map must change, it will be a permanent dismissal. Though it is not what I wish for.”

 

“…Has there been a problem with the Princes’ safety?”

 

“That is correct.”

 

“Then what is needed is war, not your dismissal.”

 

“If Your Majesty starts a war with Secritia, you will forever lose the chance to see your sons. Just be satisfied with not seeing them for one winter.”

 

Having answered thus, Allan checked the time and then opened his mouth again.

 

“And I have one request.”

 

“Speak.”

 

“What about lowering the position of Crown Prince now?”

 

Rmain took a deep breath.

 

* * *

 

He wore a white shirt.

 

He wore a black jacket with a neck collar that half-covered his neck and black trousers. He gazed for a moment at the Cyries emblem embroidered with gold thread, then put on a long coat with gold buttons. And he draped a red cloak with black fur decoration.

 

“Will you be alright?”

 

What greeted Kalian inside the Royal Palace were the Cyries Knights who had been staying continuously at the Royal Palace and Kyrie.

 

Kalian with a pallid complexion, and Plants no less so, had returned to Secritia’s Royal Palace. He had abandoned the thought of observing the situation and taking time to recover, and had come first.

 

“I am alright.”

 

Euria and Rachel were still staying inside the Arcane Enclave, and Arsene had remained at the villa with Arianneu for now. It was a request from Chase to protect Arianneu, who had been held as a hostage for the time being.

 

“…Older brother Chase is.”

 

“He is inside.”

 

“Mother is…”

 

There was no answer to the continued question.

 

Kalian, who had quietly nodded his head, stepped inside the Royal Palace.

 

At the same time, Secritia’s Knights came rushing over and surrounded Kalian and Plants, Kyrie, and the Cyries Knights who stood beside them as if escorting them.

 

“As the movement of insurrectionary forces has been confirmed inside the Royal Palace, this is His Majesty’s order to escort the Cyries Prince’s party to a safer location.”

 

“…That does not seem like an action to escort safely.”

 

“We apologise, but Prince Kalian. We will escort you directly to the annex.”

 

Kalian’s eyes narrowed.

 

Just as such a Kalian was opening his mouth to say something.

 

*Wooong!*

 

A tremendous movement of Magic Power was felt in front of the Royal Palace.

 

Delight crossed Kalian’s eyes and Plants took one step back.

 

Following that, red light gathered in the empty air and created the form of a person.

 

“Master.”

 

“It has been a long time, Prince Kalian.”

 

Allan, wrapped in a red robe, quietly moved closer.

 

“And…”

 

Allan’s eyes, which had greeted him with a gentle smile, turned towards Plants.

 

“The Crown Prince.”