Chapter 106, The Other Side of the Abyss (2)

Translator: Lizzz

Editor: Hedge

 

That evening, the representative of the Tansyll envoy visited Rmain.

 

It was shortly before dinner. Since Rmain had no particular schedule at that time, it was not that sudden of a visit that he could not meet with them at all.

 

“Please return.”

 

However, Grand Chamberlain Raul said this to the representative.

 

Rmain had refused to meet with the representative. The reason was that he was busy with official duties.

 

On Raul’s face as he conveyed the refusal was clearly written the meaning: Did you think this was someone who could be visited by just anyone at any time?

 

At this moment, Raul stood as the spokesperson for Rmain, the King of Cyries. In other words, Raul currently represents the King of the strongest nation on the continent. He was far more than a mere attendant at this moment, even if Tansyll was an ally of Cyries.

 

The representative of the Tansyll envoy had his face turned bright red, but he had to withdraw without making any rebuttal.

 

Due to sudden circumstances in our homeland, it has become difficult for the Priests to remain in Cyries.

 

Thus they left, without even seeing Rmain’s face, leaving only words to convey their apology, and hurriedly exited the Royal Palace.

 

It was still before dinner had begun.

 

They had withdrew that quickly.

 

Rmain walked to the window and watched the Tansyll carriage leaving the Royal Palace with an expressionless face.

 

The atmosphere around Rmain now was reminiscent of him at this time last year, as though this office alone had gone back in time. Cold and expressionless. In that state, he was thinking about Randel, whom he had met just three hours ago.

 

“I haven’t heard anything special.”

 

Randel, who had visited Rmain’s office in the afternoon, had answered thus when Rmain asked about the Priests. He had also said so with a composed face.

 

After Kalian met with Randel, the Priests left the Royal Palace. If Rmain did not even understand what this all implied, he should seriously immediately abdicate from the throne.

 

This drastic change meant that Randel knew fully well what the identity of those Priests were. In fact, he must have played a great hand in this whole ploy.

 

“I cannot forget Randel’s expression…”

 

At those words, Allan, who had been sitting idly on the sofa, looked at Rmain.

 

“How did Randel become like that?”

 

“It’s because of Your Majesty.”

 

At Allan’s straightforward answer, which was consistent in its directness, Rmain gave a nod of acknowledgment. Rmain also knew this. Because of this, Rmain was currently very angry with himself.

 

After meeting Randel, Kalian had come straight to Arpia Palace.

 

And he revealed the Priests’ true identity: they were Holy Knights. Kalian had only one reason for first bringing this matter to Allan. He wanted to ask him to protect Rmain should any unforeseen events arise.

 

For that reason, Allan, who was sitting again in Rmain’s office, quietly opened his mouth.

 

“Have you ever met Etienne’s son, Your Majesty?”

 

“You mean the Queen of Liberen?”

 

“Yes. That’s right.”

 

The Queen of Liberen, who had gifted a carriage to Allan when he left the country. It was an abrupt statement, but Allan’s words were always worth listening to, so Rmain simply answered politely.

 

“I have met the Queen of Liberen, but I have never met the Prince.”

 

“He is quite the character, and there is no one like him.”

 

Those were words full of sarcasm. not an ounce of sincerity, nor was it even a compliment.

 

However, Rmain, who still could not understand why Allan would bring this up, just waited for his next words to continue.

 

“I don’t know if you know, but Etienne’s husband, Teigan, was executed.”

 

“I know.”

 

Teigan’s execution was more than the demise of the Queen’s husband; it was an event entwined with Archmage Allan Manasil himself. Rumors of the incident inevitably spread throughout the continent.

 

To summarize, it was like this.

 

Teigan, misunderstanding Etienne’s favor toward Allan as something born of romantic intent, attempted to poison Allan, as he could not kill him with force. However, by coincidence, Allan’s son died instead of Allan himself. Knowing that Teigan was behind the incident, Etienne immediately had him executed.

 

“Since that episode, Etienne’s son had gone astray.”

 

Reflecting on that time, he recalled a son he had forgotten about. Because of this, Allan paused for a moment. And after a while, he continued.

 

“Anyway, do you know what Etienne did to him?”

 

“That is something even I do not know.”

 

“She made him clean Rachel’s house for a month. The house of my daughter-in-law, you know?”

 

“Clean, you say.”

 

There were no other Princes or Princesses in Liberen.

 

It meant that she made her only Prince do the work of servants for a whole month.

 

“She had him directly go to the house of the one who died because of his father, to make him realize what wrong Teigan had committed. After understanding that his father’s execution was not unjust, he has been behaving properly.”

 

“Such a thing happene?.”

 

“No matter how harsh Debeullan was, he still cared for his children. That is why it is Your Majesty’s responsibility that Prince Randel has grown into such a dark-hearted man. It is only right that Your Majesty should reflect on it.

 

He knew that Rmain was blaming himself. He had already noticed that Rmain believed it was his own fault, and thus could not place the blame on Randel.

 

Having once again seen through Rmain’s inner thoughts, Allan continued.

 

“But a wrong is a wrong, so you must deliver punishment for it. You can’t punish him because there’s no evidence, but as a parent, can’t you discipline your child?”

 

Rmain still had much to learn from Allan.

 

Looking at the Mage, whose role had become blurred, [Maybe rather than the Third Prince’s Master, he is my Master now?] Rmain smiled wryly.

 

Rmain called Grand Chamberlain Raul and had him convey a few words to Randel. The content was to take time to reflect on threatening the safety of the Royal Palace by recklessly bringing in Knights from another country.

 

* * *

 

There was a deficiency. Something lacking, something that was never there from the beginning. Or something that was lost and had disappeared from this world at some point.

 

“Raven has a mark on his ankle. Meanwhile, my cat has no name…”

 

Kalian was sitting on the grass outside the training ground.

 

A voice like autumn wind, not fitting for this season when red roses bloom beautifully, drifted in the air

 

“Kyrie has different colored eyes, and Hina cannot speak.”

 

It was such an out-of-nowhere statement that Plants had a face that said he did not understand what his little brother was talking about. But Kalian just continued speaking.

 

“Ian is… well, Ian.”

 

While mentioning Ian’s name, whom it would be too difficult to count all the things that were lacking, Kalian chuckled.

 

Plants’s expression became mixed with irritation. Because he was listening to Kalian’s lament right after hearing Chase’s lament.

 

Kalian had not yet said what had happened with Randel. They did not meet to talk about anything in the first place.

 

Kalian, who had stopped by Arpia Palace after meeting Randel.

 

Plants, who had met Chase and very amicably circled Senu Hall about five times with him.

 

Kalian had come to the training ground for his reasons, and Plants for his own, and they just happened to meet.

 

“You shouldn’t go in. Kyrie is there.”

 

The training ground was spacious, and Kyrie was always there anyway. So when Plants looked at him with eyes asking why he was acting like this today, Kalian explained again.

 

“Today, it seems to be a situation where we shouldn’t interfere in.”

 

Kalian only said that much. He did not even say what they should not interfere with. Then, he suddenly sat down in front of the training ground and started to unfold a story without any context or direction.

 

Anyway, he was told not to go in, and there was no need to insist on entering, and Kalian’s mouth had already started running. So what else could he do? Plants was forced to listen.

 

“My Master lost his son, and His Majesty has lost much more.”

 

The King did not even know that he had already lost his youngest son…

 

*Shake, shake.* Swallowing his words and slowly shaking his head side to side, Kalian looked for a moment at his enemy-like older brother sitting opposite him.

 

“And… my older brother, who has never had anything to lose because he never had anything to begin with… is probably still unhappy.”

 

“… Seems like my little brother has gone mad.”

 

A bruise from yesterday hurts more than a fresh wound.

 

Kalian’s words were exactly that.

 

With words that hurt stabbed into him, his next words suppressed whatever Plants wanted to add.

 

“And I have lost my entire life.”

 

After pressing on someone else’s wound, he now tore at his own. He had made it impossible to say anything else. It was as unfair as it could be.

 

[What poison has this poison addict taken this time to say such things?] Plants had a face full of irritation. Kalian laughed quietly and spoke again.

 

“Isn’t that right? There isn’t a single intact person anywhere in the Royal Palace.”

 

Then he pointed with his finger at the Chermil Palace behind him.

 

“What could have been so unfair in his life that he became like that?”

 

Since there was only Chermil Palace behind, Plants understood who Kalian was trying to talk about without even having to turn his head.

 

“I don’t know why, and it makes me curious. It’s also pitiful, and it makes me angry. So, I’m just speaking my mind.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Ah. Have I not explained it to you yet?”

 

“You haven’t.”

 

Since Plants knew that Kalian had met Randel, he was just assuming that something unpleasant had happened.

 

Kalian opened his mouth again to explain what had happened just before.

 

As Kalian elaborated, Plants’s expression hardened, and after hearing that Randel had made roses to wither and die with an unknown power, his eyes had become completely sharp.

 

After recounting everything about Randel, Kalian smiled wryly and said,

 

“Would you like to go to Camilon, older brother? It’s a bit frightening.”

 

Words that were impossible to determine whether they were a joke or serious.

 

Plants, who brushed up his hair, which had fallen down, answered:

 

“No.”

 

“Why not? It will be different now.”

 

Why did Plants still not want to be King even though Sillike was no longer here to manipulate him anymore?

 

Plants quietly raised his head and looked around the Royal Palace.

 

It was quiet and desolate. Suffocating, even.

 

He turned his head toward Kalian and answered in a low voice:

 

“… I want to live.”

 

After silently staring at such a Plants for a moment, Kalian laughed softly.

 

Plants said he wanted to live.

 

What more joyful words could there be?

 

* * *

 

‘Prince Randel was punished for arbitrarily leaving his seat at the banquet with the Nobles, and will not be allowed to leave Chermil for three months.’

 

News, accompanied by a fitting rationale, made its way beyond the palace walls.

 

In fact, the reason he was confined to Chermil was because of the Holy Knights of Tansyll incident, but that could not be made known publicly.

 

Therefore, there was some murmuring among the Nobles for a while about whether the punishment was a bit excessive for simply leaving one’s seat at a banquet. But it did no’t receive attention for long.

 

This was because Kalian caused trouble again at the ball, the last event on the last day of the festival.

 

People focused on whether Kalian would enter with Plants this time as well. They wanted to confirm once more if the two really had held hands.

 

The wait was not long.

 

As the door opened, the Knight’s voice announcing Kalian’s entrance rang out. Along with that, the Nobles’ gazes turned to Kalian. And everyone’s mouths fell open.

 

As if to meet everyone’s expectations, Kalian did not enter alone.

 

“Prince Kalian Rain Cyries and…”

 

But the one beside him was not Plants.

 

Naturally, it was not Allan Manasil either.

 

It was a heavyweight among heavyweights, someone that no one had expected.

 

“Lesser Duchess, Dmirea Siegfried.”

 

Dmirea, her curly bronze hair neatly braided up and dressed in an ash-colored dress without decorations, was beside Kalian.

 

It was not a mere implication of engagement or anything of the sort.

 

Because Dmirea was a figure that signified something far greater.

 

Kalian, Third Prince, had now declared that he had the Siegfried Family backing him!