Chapter 15, Until a Proper Hand is Formed (3)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

Ian was truly shocked, his eyes nearly popping out.

 

In truth, anyone would be startled if someone suddenly appeared before their eyes with a swooshing sound.

 

It was purely thanks to his diligently cultivated habits as a servant that he did not cry out. Otherwise, he would have screamed and immediately ran away.

 

Moreover, because he immediately recognized who this man was who had appeared out of nowhere, he maintained enough composure not to spill the washing water he was carrying in place of a maid who had sprained her wrist yesterday.

 

Consequently, Ian felt extremely proud as he positioned himself in front of the curtains of the bedroom where Kalian lay sleeping. Then, he exclaimed in a whisper.

 

“Lord Manasil, what are you doing!?”

 

The one who had teleported in front of Ian was, of course, Allan.

 

However, Allan’s expression was somewhat flushed. Looking as if he had just finished arguing with someone, Allan pointed toward the bedroom and asked.

 

“Is the Third Prince still asleep?”

 

“The Prince’s condition is… No. That’s not the issue!”

 

Mid-sentence, maids coming out from behind the bedroom curtains stopped in their tracks. They seemed startled, not recognizing who Allan was.

 

Ian quickly sent the maids out without time for explanation, locked the door, and dragged Allan into the bathroom opposite the bedroom. Throughout all this, he still held the small basin of washing water in his hands. He had not had the presence of mind to put it down.

 

“Please come this way first.”

 

The Third Prince’s room was fully equipped with a bedroom, shower room, study, living room, bathroom, and toilet. However, there was one thing missing, and that was doors. It was designed that way to guard against assassin intrusions and various accidents. Therefore, Ian was troubled. After all, lowering the bathroom curtains alone would not provide adequate soundproofing.

 

Remembered who Allan was, he stated.

 

“Please use that thing that makes things quieter.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Allan, who had been staring blankly at Ian, appeared to understand something and snapped his fingers. Then, he cast ‘that thing that makes things quieter.’ Soon, a translucent barrier, cast from Chantless Magic, appeared around them.

 

Ian immediately asked, “What kind of discourteous behavior is this?”

 

Ian was not surprised that Allan had manifested magic with just a snap of his fingers. To Ian, Allan was nothing more than a scoundrel who had invaded the room of his flower-like Prince.

 

So, whether Allan’s attire signified a Seventh Circle Mage or not, whether what he just used was Chantless Magic or whatever else, it did not matter!

 

Because such thoughts were clearly visible on Ian’s face, Allan gave a hollow laugh and asked.

 

“Did you ask me to use magic just to scold me?”

 

“Because the Prince shouldn’t wake up.”

 

What a situation – after delivering a stern rebuke to King Rmain, he was now being scolded for impropriety by the Prince’s servant. Though Allan’s attitude was not exactly excellent, he generously understood this was the result of a servant being dutiful to his responsibilities and answered.

 

“I heard that no outsiders are allowed enter Cermil Palace without permission. Since it seems I haven’t received permission from Rmain yet, I had no choice.”

 

“You’re saying you casted teleport or whatever because you couldn’t get permission?”

 

Allan smiled as if proud of himself and shook his head.

 

“It’s called Warp. It’s quite difficult to pull off but I happen to be quite good at magic.”

 

Ian smiled along and said, whether it was Warp or whatever.

 

“Please leave.”

 

“Weren’t you going to wake him anyway? I’ll wait.”

 

Ian firmly shook his head.

 

“That won’t do. He needs to rest a bit more.”

 

Allan looked around as if he had not heard anything.

 

The place was surrounded on all sides, by black tiles mixed with gold dust. A massive black bathtub made of onyx stone was placed there. Allan expressed genuine admiration and said.

 

“What an extravagant place. I understand why he is still sleeping when his Old Master had been told to come to the Royal Palace by 9:30 AM.”

 

“Old? You must be jesting.” Ian muttered in a disgruntled voice.

 

Then Ian, realizing that the place they had entered thoughtlessly was Kalian’s extremely private space. He stared in shock and tried to say something. But Allan, reading his expression, spoke more quickly.

 

“If we leave this place, we’ll be outside the range of my spell. Is it alright if we get noisy?”

 

Ian wore an unsatisfied expression but stopped trying to push Allan out. Instead, he spoke firmly once more.

 

“If you have a message to deliver, I will convey it after he wakes up. But waiting is not allowed.”

 

“I came to check on the Prince’s condition. So how could I have a message to deliver? And I can’t exactly discuss the Prince’s condition with you, can I?”

 

At those words, Ian closed his mouth. He had of course heard that Kalian had met Allan. He had also heard that they had formed a Master-Disciple bond.

 

However, he had not heard whether Allan knew about Kalian’s physical condition. Though Kalian had said he would seek help from a Mage, Ian could not be certain if he had already spoken to Allan about it. So, he decided to pretend ignorance for now.

 

“Condition? What do you mean?”

 

Looking at Ian who kept refusing to cooperate, Allan finally decided to play a card he had wanted to save for later.

 

“You. Do you know who I am?”

 

“… Of course I know. Because the Prince told me.”

 

Allan smiled fiercely. Then he brought his face close to Ian and spoke in a low voice. “’Baby Elephant’, stop being cheeky. I asked if you know me or not.”

 

Ian’s eyes flew wide open.

 

He was not the type to not know that people called the Siegfried Family: Elephants. Thus, even more surprised than when he saw Allan appear with a swoosh, he finally dropped the basin containing the washing water.

 

*Clang!*

 

Water splashed everywhere. Simultaneously, Allan snapped his fingers.

 

A translucent shield appeared in front of Allan, blocking the water from splashing on his clothes. Of course, he had not the slightest intention of extending the shield’s range to include Ian. So, Ian alone ended up looking like a drowned rat.

 

Though there somehow seemed to be too much water for mere washing water, and Allan’s lips twitched as if suppressing his laughter, Ian was too shocked to notice.

 

“How…?”

 

“Didn’t you come to Liberen with your Daddy Elephant a few years ago? Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because you’ve grown a bit?”

 

For a moment, Sleiman’s words flashed through Ian’s mind.

 

[‘Since my Son looks to be really lacking as a noble, it’s no wonder no one suspects you’]

 

Ian’s eyes wavered greatly.

 

[Crap! I got caught! Even though I’ve grown so much, I got caught right away!]

 

Whether it was due to an unmistakable noble air, Allan’s ghostly memory and intuition, or Ian’s distinctive bronze curly hair and gray-blue eyes…

 

Or perhaps, due to the drunken ramblings of a certain Sword Master who had gotten thoroughly intoxicated meeting his Mage friend late two nights ago… This was currently someone only Allan would know of.

 

Though Allan could not understand why Ian was hiding it, he, who now held Ian’s great weakness, showed his white teeth as he smiled.

 

“Wake him up. This isn’t something that will get better with sleep, so stop wasting time.”

 

Finally, after about 5 minutes, Kalian woke up to the sound of Ian’s bell. Then, seeing Ian’s thoroughly drenched state, he asked in surprise.

 

“Is this a festival surprise?”

 

“… I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

 

“You’re not crying, are you?”

 

“I’m not crying.”

 

Kalian could not hold back his laughter anymore. Seeing this, Ian seemed somewhat relieved and had even forgotten to mention that Allan was waiting for the Prince outside.

 

“You seem to be feeling better now, Your Highness.”

 

When Kalian returned after meeting Allan on the first day of the festival, he looked absolutely terrible. It was largely due to receiving Allan’s attack-like check, after forcing himself through a grueling schedule.

 

If Ian had known about such details, he might have given Allan a water baptism the moment he saw him.

 

“Well, I’ve been sleeping all day.”

 

“I’m not sure if we should thank Prince Plants, but he had certainly blessed us this time.”

 

According to the original schedule, he should have met with the congratulatory envoys.

 

However, Rmain learned that Plants had gone to the plaza after drinking. While the Cyries nobles knew this was not the first or second time for Plants, the envoys, which included the Elves, did not.

 

Therefore, worried that Plants might make mistakes in front of them, Rmain did not summon the Princes to meet with the envoys.

 

“Yes. It’s good that yesterday’s schedule was completely cleared.”

 

Thanks to this, Kalian had the fortune of getting a long rest with deep sleep. Ian, thinking of Plants, who inadvertently ended up helping Kalian, shared a piece of news.

 

“I heard His Majesty issued a drinking ban on Prince Plants.”

 

“A drinking ban?”

 

“He ordered that Prince Plants should not be served alcohol, and that only non-alcoholic beverages should be served at drinking occasions.”

 

[For that Rmain to have said such a thing, he must have had some concern in his voice.] Kalian laughed dryly and said, “As if he will ever stop drinking. He is getting drunk enough despite having the Boon of Syspanian.”

 

“That’s why Prince Plants’ servants seem to be very worried.”

 

As Kalian nodded, his gaze turned to the curtain blocking the bedroom. Ian, finally remembering Allan, said in a small voice.

 

“Ah, Lord Manasil is waiting right now.”

 

“Master?”

 

Kalian was startled. [Right, the curtains had not been drawn yet.]

 

Even though it was hard to see in this darkness, Allan waved his hand while looking directly at Kalian’s face. Kalian also hurriedly bowed his head in greeting to Allan.

 

As for Ian, he watched this with a disapproving expression as he stated.

 

“He said he urgently needed to check something with Your Highness, so this was unavoidable. I’m sorry.”

 

“En. You did well.”

 

Kalian, briefly pondered over the correlation between Ian’s appearance and his Master’s visit. However, he quickly gave up finding the answer as he just gave a nod. Afterward, he first put on simple clothes. This was because he would need to change into formal attire for the afternoon events after lunch.

 

After all the preparations were complete, the curtain was drawn.

 

“I will have them prepare for the two of you to dine together.”

 

“Ah. That won’t be necessary. I must leave right away.”

 

After Ian and the maids went outside, Kalian could finally talk with Allan.

 

Kalian bowed his head once more to Allan, who had waited for quite a while. Allan waved his hand and said.

 

“Don’t do that anymore. That’s enough.”

 

“Yes, Master.”

 

Kalian sat down across from Allan and asked, “What brings you here?”

 

Though it was true that he had told him an appropriate time to meet Rmain in the morning, he had not expected Allan to come see him as well.

 

Allan took out a pouch from his chest and handed it to Kalian.

 

“Don’t forget to take one every day.”

 

It was a red pouch without any decorations. When opened, it was full of something akin to translucent pearls, which gave off a pearly light.

 

“What is this?”

 

“You currently have two problems, Your Highness. The first being you can’t use Mana properly.”

 

Instead of answering, Allan held up two fingers as he said this.

 

Kalian flinched and moved his body backward. It was an instinctive avoidance. Allan smiled slightly and said.

 

“That one check was enough. Don’t worry, I won’t pour in any more Mana into you.”

 

[Did he know that had caused a full day of suffering?] Kalian smiled bitterly.

 

“And the other is that your body is withering away right now.”

 

“It’s amazing how you know so well about both my Mana and physical condition, even though I haven’t said a single word.”

 

Allan, who only nodded in response, asked.

 

“You possess the power of the Boon of Syspanian, don’t you?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a power that grants me the ability to naturally recover quickly and increases my affinity with magic.”

 

“Have you ever thought it might be a somewhat strange combination? The power to heal and magic.”

 

He knew something about that.

 

Kalian, recalling his old memories that had come to mind when he had similar thoughts, answered.

 

“I thought that the power of the blessing might be a power that strengthens the heart. Because both Mana and life are from the same source, which is the heart.”

 

“Yes, that’s right. Syspanian bestowed a blessing that strengthens the power of the heart. Then your power to heal should have disappeared as well, correct? Come to think of it, there are three problems.”

 

Kalian remembered the day he was wounded by the knife Plants had thrown. In the end, it took a full two weeks for the wounds to completely heal.

 

Kalian, recalling how he had worked hard to hide the wound for fear of strange rumors, as he opened his mouth.

 

“Yes, that disappeared too. Then is there indeed a problem with my heart?”

 

Kalian looked at the medicine pouch in his hand.

 

Since he appeared to be wondering if it was medicine to fix his heart, Allan shook his head.

 

“It’s not medicine for treatment.”

 

“Then what is this?”

 

Allan clicked his tongue and said.

 

“Your heart isn’t broken, and your Mana isn’t blocked, so don’t worry about that. Instead, when you eat something, you should check properly whether it’s the right thing.”

 

Kalian’s eyes grew cold.

 

“… Poison?”