Chapter 138, Foundation of Understanding (8)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

  

Barely acknowledging the greetings of the surrounding attendants and maids.

 

Kalian entered the Rubia Hall annex with unhurried yet swift steps, then paused for a moment.

 

With each step he took, his thoughts grew larger, causing Kalian to stop in place and briefly press his forehead. It was fortunate that he had left Ian waiting in the main Rubia Hall.

 

When he tried to move his feet, his head spun, and when he tried to move his head, his feet would not budge.

 

He set down all the luggage he had been carrying in front of the spruce tree.

 

He was as breathless as the weight of the luggage he had set down that day.

 

Because he felt apologetic.

 

[Pull yourself together.]

 

Just the day before, he had told the old Kalian, ‘I want to live too.’ Then, as if conveying the response of ‘Let’s see you try living,’ another assignment had piled up.

 

Randel’s red-tinged power. He had to find out what it was. He had to get Randel to open his mouth and obtain the puzzle pieces. To get that mouth to open, he had to break the seal. His mind was tangled and twisted, refusing to unravel. That was why he came here. To Chase.

 

“Ha.”

 

He had to meet him.

 

[If they are telling me to try living, shouldn’t I try my best to live?]

 

He removed the hand that had been on his forehead and moved his feet again. Without stopping further, he went straight to where Chase was said to be staying.

 

There was no one in front of the door. Taillan was probably either inside the room or absent. Kalian, who had taken another deep breath, raised his hand that had turned white. It was to do something called ‘knocking’ that he had never done once since obtaining Kalian’s body.

 

“Please come in.”

 

But before Kalian’s fingertips could touch the door, a voice came from inside.

 

“Prince Kalian.”

 

He must have been waiting again, this time as well.

 

Kalian, who chuckled softly at not needing to ask permission, opened the door with a short breath.

 

The door opened and closed with a small sound.

 

Knight Taillan was not inside. Only Chase was there. Realizing this, Kalian unconsciously opened his mouth.

 

“How can you dismiss your own guard?”

 

During his journey here, he had only encountered people from the Royal Palace of Cyries. Although there was supposed to be no one staying in this annex besides Chase, wasn’t it too dangerous to be alone without even a single guard?

 

Chase, who had been standing by the window, smiled calmly. He seemed to have seen Kalian coming here through that window.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Chase, who answered this way, gestured toward a chair with his hand. Only then did Kalian realize he had spoken first without observing proper etiquette toward the Crown Prince. So, he hesitated briefly. As if he knew exactly what Kalian was thinking, Chase smiled again and said.

 

“That’s fine too, so please sit.”

 

Instead of saying he was sorry, Kalian only bowed his head slightly before going to sit down. Chase, who had been watching his retreating figure for a moment, brought two cups of coffee he had personally prepared and set them on the table.

 

Coffee.

 

A smile lingered at the corners of Kalian’s mouth.

 

Bern had enjoyed coffee. Chase did not particularly like its taste, while Kalian had been reluctant about it.

 

That was why he smiled.

 

“Thank you.”

 

However, Kalian, who only said this without any other words, took a sip of the fragrant coffee that no one here enjoyed. Chase, who had been quietly watching him, opened his mouth.

 

“Your body probably hasn’t fully recovered yet, so I’m not sure if it’s okay to drink coffee, but I couldn’t think of anything else.”

 

He does not hide what he remembers of Bern. Rather, he knows that would be more comfortable for Kalian too.

 

Kalian slowly nodded and answered.

 

“There was nothing seriously wrong, and I’m all better now. You don’t need to worry.”

 

He set down the teacup he had been holding, looked at it for a while, and opened his mouth.

 

“The tangerine, I enjoyed it.”

 

He did not express gratitude for the help given when he was attacked. Using Secritia spies freely in Cyries and sending Taillan to Kalian, he was afraid that if he thanked such help, Chase might act recklessly again next time.

 

So, he only expressed gratitude for those sour tangerines that most people would not even put in their mouths.

 

Chase nodded.

 

It meant he understood everything, whether spoken aloud or not.

 

[Come to think of it… he hates sour things.]

 

Only now did he remember.

 

That Plants had eaten the tangerine that day.

 

Kalian, who smiled inwardly for a moment, looked at Chase and opened his mouth.

 

“I came because I have something I’m curious about.”

 

“Yes. Please tell me.”

 

Soon Kalian brought up the story related to Randel. He laid out everything in front of Chase, including the conversation he had just had in the garden.

 

“I don’t know that much about Tansyll. So I wanted to ask if the Crown Prince remembers anything.”

 

Chase, who had quietly listened to all of Kalian’s words, nodded and answered.

 

“I don’t have any information about what that organization is. I haven’t been able to find out whether it existed in the past or if the future has changed.”

 

That was what Kalian had expected as well.

 

Unless Plants’ or Arsene’s memories were revived, even Chase could not know such things. If it was something that could be known through the birds, he should have known it in the past.

 

“However, regarding Tansyll.”

 

Chase, who said this, briefly retraced his memories.

 

Since it was not something he had experienced directly, he needed time to recall the related details.

 

“I know about how Prince Randel became King of that place, and what happened to him.”

 

“You mean the accident where the carriage axle broke.”

 

At those words, Chase smiled briefly.

 

He had asked Allan to relay the story, but it seemed Kalian probably had not heard it yet.

 

However, Chase did not mention that Allan had withheld some information in between. He assumed that Allan either had not been able to meet Kalian yet or had other reasons for not conveying the message.

 

Soon Chase began his explanation.

 

“I don’t think it was an accident.”

 

*Clatter.*

 

Kalian, who had been about to pick up the coffee on the table again, set the cup back down. Then he lowered his eyes without saying anything else. When his habitual behavior emerged, Chase smiled only with his eyes and closed his mouth. He was giving him time to think.

 

The reason Chase wanted to convey this was simple.

 

It was to warn him to be careful since Randel had not just been living quietly before he fled to Tansyll.

 

After quite some time had passed, Kalian opened his mouth.

 

“Do you happen to know when that incident occurred?”

 

Chase nodded.

 

However, this time too, the answer came out a bit slowly.

 

“Next September. I don’t know the exact date though.”

 

Plants would ascend to the Crown Prince position next November, after celebrating his 18th birthday. And six years later, Rmain would die under mysterious circumstances and Plants would become King of this country.

 

Kalian, who had been gauging the series of events, said.

 

“Even if older brother Randel had been there, the Crown Prince position would naturally have gone to older brother Plants. Sillike held the military forces inside the Royal Palace, Marquis Beurisen held the forces outside the Royal Palace, the commercial rights were firmly grasped by Lannen, and the forces around the border were united around Gray.”

 

Especially the place Gray was currently defending, which was the border area to Tansyll. That meant that even if something happened to Randel, Tansyll could not immediately send troops, because Gray would block them.

 

So, Randel could never have become Crown Prince of Cyries.

 

“Older brother Randel either wanted to become King of Tansyll, or some individual who shared the Seal of Oath with him wanted him to. Or…”

 

“Or he simply did not want to die.”

 

Kalian nodded and opened his mouth.

 

“Older brother Randel has shown his intention of becoming King in front of me.”

 

He had shown that intention with steps of stairs above him. So, he would not have been completely without thoughts of becoming King.

 

“But that is a choice given to the current Brother Randel, who has ‘obtaining me’ in mind. The older brother Randel of the past probably gave up thoughts of becoming King long ago. He could never have achieved it as long as Beurisen existed.”

 

“Yes. I believe Prince Kalian’s thinking is correct.”

 

“I remember that the relationship between Cyries and Tansyll was not too bad after older brother Randel’s enthronement. Because of that, I thought he wouldn’t know how the former Queen Aisha died. But contrary to my expectations, he knew how she died. He probably knew that in the past as well.”

 

Randel already knew the details, and Kalian’s changes had no influence on that matter. So, the past Randel would also have known that Sillike had killed Aisha.

 

“He is emotional enough to share a Seal of Oath to get what he wants. But on the other hand, he’s also terribly rational. It does not seem simple that such a person maintained good relations with Cyries, while knowing the cause of the former Queen Aisha’s death.”

 

Kalian, who said this, looked at Chase briefly as if seeking his opinion. But Chase did not say anything else, and Kalian opened his mouth once more.

 

“Even if he became King of Tansyll, would older brother Randel, who knew he could not take revenge on Cyries, really want to go all the way there to inherit the throne? Would he think it was enough to become a ‘King’ regardless of what country it was? After thinking about it, my answer was ‘no.’ He is not the type of person who would directly plan such things for the throne. It’s also realistically impossible.”

 

Of course, his prediction about Randel had been wrong once, but he thought he would not be wrong this time either.

 

Rather, he would stay in Cyries until the very end, watching for opportunities and targeting Plants’ heart, but he was not someone who would covet the throne of a powerless country and plan ways to harm Tansyll’s King. Even if he did plan it, would there be someone who would go to Tansyll and directly carry out such work for him? Kalian thought that unlikely.

 

Kalian, who had been thinking that far, looked at Chase with a face that suggested he had missed something.

 

“But then why did you say it probably wasn’t an accident?”

 

“All the birds that were investigating that incident at the time died.”

 

Naturally, Bern did not know about this.

 

Information about Tansyll was managed by Chase.

 

Kalian, who had been sitting quietly for a while, opened his mouth.

 

“To break the Seal of Oath, the contracting party must disappear.”

 

“Yes. I know that too.”

 

The moment Sillike died, he felt the bonds tied to his heart loosen. That was the only way to escape from the Seal of Oath. So, there were two methods Kalian had to choose from.

 

“I’ll have to either find and kill all the bastards related to the Seal of Oath, or give up on hearing the secret from older brother Randel. In the end, I’ll have to do one of the two.”

 

“There will be forces opposing the current King leading Tansyll. There will be someone who lured Randel by saying they would help him take revenge on Cyries, then tried to use King Randel as their puppet after he became King of Tansyll. Like the Beurisen of Cyries.”

 

Chase, who said this, opened the drawer of the side table next to the sofa. Then he took out a thick bundle of papers from inside and handed it to Kalian.

 

Handwriting that was not fancy but had a very soft feel to it.

 

Chase had written it himself.

 

“Unlike Cyries, Tansyll has power divided into quite a few branches. Use it for reference if you need it.”

 

Kalian, who was briefly flipping through the papers, frowned.

 

It was information about Noble factions that had disappeared one by one after Randel’s enthronement.

 

Kalian muttered quietly.

 

“…Pruning.”

 

Randel had fled to Tansyll alone and immediately ascended to the throne. Such a Randel had purged the Noble factions.

 

“Someone must have helped him.”

 

“Either the one who shared the Seal of Oath helped him, or Randel joined hands with new forces to kill the one who shared the Seal of Oath. It’s probably one of the two.”

 

Kalian, with the face of someone who had received new puzzle pieces to fit together, said.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Chase, who had been quietly watching such a Kalian, quietly opened his mouth.

 

“I’ll return tomorrow.”

 

He had learned what he wanted to confirm and helped with what he could help with. There was no reason to stay here any longer.

 

Of course, what was left were things he could not do.

 

At Chase’s words, which were brought up suddenly whether naturally or not, Kalian quietly closed his mouth. Looking at such a Kalian, Chase spoke again.

 

“I’m thinking of gathering Mages early next year.

 

The sudden statement about leaving Cyries tomorrow was surprising, but the current words were even more unexpected. Because if it was the Chase that Kalian knew, he thought he would not do such a thing.

 

Chase smiled gently and said.

 

“Someone came and nagged me for quite a while, telling me not to pile on another burden. Prince Kalian did not seem to know about it.”

 

Kalian made an *ah* sound.

 

Who else could it be but Plants?

 

Kalian chuckled softly because he could not quite imagine Plants nagging ‘for quite a while.’ To such a Kalian, Chase spoke in a low voice.

 

“Prince Kalian. If the same thing were to happen again, you don’t need to protect Secritia.”

 

Kalian did not answer.

 

“You have already done enough.”

 

That was absolution for Bern, granted by one who had been both brother and King.