Chapter 147, Where One Belongs (6)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

The same bronze-colored curly hair.

 

The same round eyes with bluish gray pupils.

 

Their appearance was such that anyone would think they were siblings, yet no one could harbor such suspicions. One was the Third Prince’s attendant, and the other was the Lesser Duchess, who would come to lead the one and only Ducal Family in Cyries.

 

Originally the second son of the Siegfried Ducal Family but now the eldest son, Siroian was known to not step a single foot outside the mansion, having been traumatized by the death of Sleiman’s first son. Of course, since Ian had indeed acted that way at one time, it was difficult to say that these rumors were entirely wrong.

 

However, the fact that this very Siroian was now following around the ‘flower-like Prince’ with a puppy-like face was unknown. So, who could think that those two were siblings?

 

“This place is nice.”

 

It was Dmirea’s words as she walked on the gravel path, making crunching sounds.

 

After Plants and Dmirea’s sparring ended, Kalian had suggested that the two of them, along with Arsene, have dinner together. There were stories about Valkan and the Knight Order that they needed to share with each other, and more importantly, Kalian had become very hungry after throwing more of a tantrum than expected.

 

However, since there were stories that the two Princes and Arsene needed to share first before dinner at Senu Hall, the Elephant siblings were taking a brief walk like this. It was the very same walking path that Kalian and Allan had once visited, and that Chase and Plants had also found.

 

“Right. His Highness said he likes this place.”

 

“You mean it’s good because Prince Kalian likes it?”

 

Ian answered with a face that said he did not understand why Dmirea had asked such a question.

 

“If His Highness likes it, then it’s good.”

 

Ian truly seemed like someone truly born to serve Kalian. He put Kalian first in everything.

 

Of course, Dmirea did not think Ian’s way of thinking was wrong. Everyone has something they prioritize in life. For Dmirea, it was the sword and Family, and for Ian, it was Kalian.

 

If Kalian did not know this, Dmirea might have had concerns, but Kalian knew this fact better than anyone. Therefore, Dmirea nodded and spoke without any other judgement of Ian’s words.

 

“Right. What matters is that this place is good.”

 

With those words, the conversation ceased until they reached the midpoint of the walking path. It was difficult to have casual conversation because there were several people passing by.

 

“Shall I hold your jacket?”

 

Ian only asked this after no people could be seen nearby.

 

Dmirea, who had come to the Royal Palace alone on horseback without bringing even a single Escort Knight or servant, was still carrying her black jacket herself.

 

“You don’t need to do that for me, older brother.”

 

Dmirea answered with quite a serious face and shook her head.

 

She said this because she did not want Ian, who was servant-like enough to find the walking path good for servant-like reasons, to act like a servant even in front of her, his sister. Understanding this, Ian smiled and said:

 

“I’m not of such low rank, you know. I said it because you looked uncomfortable.”

 

It was not the job of Ian, a senior attendant, to carry luggage for Kalian’s guests. So Ian had been treating Dmirea as his younger sister from the beginning.

 

“Please hold it, then.”

 

Only then did Dmirea smile slightly and nod. She handed over the jacket in her hand to Ian. There would not really be any discomfort from just one jacket, but she played along since he seemed to want to act like an older brother even in this small way.

 

*Clank.*

 

When she raised her arm to hand over the jacket, a sound came from near Dmirea’s leg. It was the sound of her sword, which she was allowed to bring into the Royal Palace even though she was not a Knight because she was the Lesser Duchess of Siegfried, and which had been used earlier to send Plants’ sword flying far away.

 

If Ian had not refused his position, it would be something he should have had by now.

 

For a moment, Ian’s gaze lingered on Dmirea’s sword. Dmirea, who was wondering whether to pretend she did not notice Ian’s expression, opened her mouth in a calm voice.

 

“Whatever I do, I was better at it than older brother.”

 

Having deeper thoughts, being quicker at calculations, dealing more composedly with Nobles, playing violin better and handling the sword better, Dmirea did these all better.

 

“It was work I was better at anyway, work I wanted to do, and work I would end up doing eventually. So, I’d like you to stop feeling sorry for me.”

 

Dmirea was right.

 

Therefore, bearing the weight of the ‘Shield’ that had been passed down for 500 years would have been Dmirea’s share from the beginning.

 

[Wouldn’t it be good for you if I died?]

 

Ian could not even bear the weight of that single sentence.

 

What was in Ian’s eyes as he looked at the sword was not envy or regret for what he had lost. It was guilt for not being able to overcome just one sentence and running away, thus dumping the heavy name of the country’s only Ducal Family entirely on his younger sister.

 

However, as Dmirea said, Dmirea receiving the position of Lesser Duchess was because she was better than Ian, not because she sacrificed herself for Ian. So, it would be perfectly fine for Dmirea to remain comfortably in her role as the Lesser Duchess of Siegfried, and for Ian to continue serving as Kalian’s attendant, each in their respective place.

 

“Our Rea has grown up.”

 

So, Ian showed the same smile he had once shown when he saw Kalian had suddenly grown tall, and said this. Dmirea responded with a gentle smile.

 

[‘Has grown up’? Is that a praise or an insult?]

 

In any case, she did not bother to point out that he was more of a short-sighted brother than a puppy-like older brother.

 

* * *

 

Kalian quietly held his forehead.

 

“I said I would follow Your Highness, not that I would follow Prince Plants, who is Your Highness’s older brother.”

 

This was all thanks to the blue haired Mage, who fell silent after making his remark, and the grass-eating older brother, seated cross-legged with his irritation still etched across his face.

 

It had all started with a request to avoid internal discord within Valkan, especially since the Knight Orders would be joining them. Upon hearing Kalian’s words, Plants responded with a tone that implied, ‘He just needs to do his part’, which Arsene refused to quietly let pass. Thus, began another argument between the two.

 

Plants looked at Kalian with calm eyes.

 

‘Did I really go to war bringing this guy along?’

 

Since those calm eyes seemed to contain exactly this question, Kalian just shrugged his shoulders once. As if to say, ‘How would I know?’

 

Anyway, Kalian let out a deep sigh facing the two who had seemed close, yet acted horribly towards each other. It seemed like he needed another cup of Ian’s honey tea, but it was regrettable that Ian was not there.

 

*Haa…*

 

Had Kalian not already been simmering with restlessness and pent-up anger from the day’s string of events? So, when his sigh finally spilled out, it carried with it a subtle yet unmistakable trace of killing intent. The two, sensing this, looked at Kalian with mildly startled expressions.

 

“End of August.”

 

And Kalian opened his mouth like this with eyes that said ‘If you keep chattering, I’ll kill you both.’

 

“By the end of August, Valkan will become an army equipped with both a Mage Order and Knight Order, and before that, I plan to more than double the number of Mages. So Deputy Commander Hertz, quickly clear away all that debris and consult with Count Manasil to bring in additional personnel.”

 

It sounded nice to say ‘by the end of August’, but to double the personnel in just three months… At the sudden notification, Arsene shut his mouth momentarily. Kalian continued without caring.

 

“And by February, the Mage Order must have at least 300 or more people.”

 

By then, Chase would ascend the throne.

 

And once Chase ascended the throne, he would swiftly forge Secritia’s formidable army. Though it would be a Secritia without Bern, their new King would still be strong and wise. Under his leadership, their army might grow into a force so powerful that even Kalian could not foresee its true might.

 

“I plan to keep increasing the number of Mages after that too, so don’t let your guard down.”

 

Therefore, Kalian also planned to put all his effort into fostering Valkan.

 

“Why so sudden?”

 

Plants asked this.

 

Kalian showed a quiet smile and answered.

 

“I didn’t initially plan for it to grow this big either, but didn’t something happen to make Cyries covet the power of a ‘small nation’?”

 

Since Arsene was present, he could not give a detailed explanation, but it was sufficient explanation for Plants to understand.

 

It meant it was because Rmain and the other Nobles would attempt to keep Chase’s powerful army in check. For Cyries not to be wary of Secritia, Valkan’s power had to be clearly superior to theirs.

 

Kalian’s thought was that they needed to maximize Valkan’s scale for that purpose.

 

“But when that many Mages gather, there’s bound to be internal noise. Some will argue that the Knight Order alone won’t be enough to keep them in check.”

 

If the number of Mages suddenly increased, Marquis Evan Beurisen would inevitably be wary. He might have thought the balance of power was evenly matched until now, but he would have noticed the true power advantage to some degree from the explosion of Heisia Palace.

 

In such a state, if the number of Mages increased several-fold in less than a year, Evan would naturally not be pleased with the Mages’ power growing.

 

Plants, who had the same thought as Kalian, quietly nodded. Seeing this, Kalian closed his mouth and tapped his knee with his fingertips while mentally reviewing what he had thought about and decided during this time.

 

After some time had passed, Kalian continued.

 

“Around that time, I’ll send Count Aprin’s Knight Order to Valkan.”

 

At those words, Plants’ eyes narrowed.

 

Wasn’t Aizen Aprin’s Knight Order clearly meant to be under Kalian’s command? Plants knew well that Kalian was thinking of calling them to the Capital soon to personally foster them. It was Plants who had helped make that possible.

 

But Kalian was now saying he would bring them into Valkan rather than keeping them directly under him. It was no different from saying he would hand over the Knight Order to Plants rather than keeping it himself.

 

“Why?”

 

“It’s not for the same reason as last time. As the Mage Order grows, the Knight Order must also grow, so that older brother won’t die.”

 

Kalian’s hand lightly touched his own chest as he said this.

 

“I figured that simply watching the number of Mages in Valkan grow could be seen as ‘betraying Beurisen’. Even setting that aside, you don’t have much of a power base, older brother. Even if I end up holding the Knight Order, it could very well lead to your downfall.”

 

Plants quietly closed his eyes.

 

Seeing this, Kalian spoke while nicely hiding his intention to someday cut off Marquis Evan Beurisen’s breath without Plants knowing.

 

“It’s more important not to cross the line of ‘betrayal’ that Marquis Beurisen has set. Since the scope is vast, we should be careful about our actions.”

 

“Still, after all the circling around, it ends up right back at square one.”

 

Plants was right. After all the circling around, they were back to square one in the end.

 

Plants had tried to get the Royal Knight Order Caera and Roan in order to let Kalian have Aizen’s Knight Order. And for that, he had shared the Seal of Oath with Evan. But Kalian was saying he would give Aizen’s Knight Order to Plants, saying he should be careful about the Seal of Oath. It was a decision made from worry that the growing scale of the Mage Order might affect the Seal of Oath.

 

But expanding the scale of the Mage Order was to prevent Cyries from being wary of Secritia’s new power. And Secritia’s power grew because Plants had told Chase to make ‘preparations.’

 

In the end, Kalian was once again letting go of what he had claimed due to Plants.

 

“It’s just going where it should be, so it’s fine.”

 

Kalian, who was clearly aware of this, said.

 

[It is fine this time too.]