Chapter 158, If It Were Now (3)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

The appearances in the portraits were captured completely intact.

 

Furthermore, these sculptures looked even more lifelike than the portraits.

 

“Magnificent.”

 

Rmain spoke words that were brief but filled with sincerity.

 

It had been exactly two weeks since Syspanian’s room was discovered, and they were now examining the interior.

 

‘There may be dangerous elements here, so we are currently checking in advance. Would it not be better if you visited a little later?’

 

Allan, who had been reluctant to show Rmain the Arcus Tempus, had delayed Rmain’s visit with such an excuse. It was to devise a way to extract the fragment of Arcus Tempus through the invisible wall. Of course, he had not succeeded in extracting the fragment.

 

The stone walls were carved with an image from the War of the Two Gods.

 

The gathering of the Eight Heroes to seal the Evil God, what kind of battles they fought, who met death in what process, and descriptions of the Main Goddess, Serenty, who sealed the Evil God in the final battle and fell into eternal slumber. Such were the carvings, listed in order.

 

And now, Rmain stood before the final scene. It was the moment right after the Evil God was sealed.

 

The four who survived to the end were visible: the first King Harts-ara, the Ancient Dragon Syspanian, Kythros Hone Siegfried, and the Great Queen of Secritia.

 

‘We certainly achieved and protected, yet we lost.’

 

While other sculptures had no particular inscriptions, this final scene had such content written on it. Whether it was Syspanian’s words or someone else’s was unknown.

 

The Great Queen of Secritia in the sculpture was kneeling on the ground, embracing the corpse of Knight Neriad, who was known to have died in the final battle among the Heroes.

 

Perhaps Syspanian had also respected the Great Queen of Secritia’s wishes, as the Great Queen’s face could not be seen in this sculpture either, except for the record that ‘she asked to erase everything about herself before dying.’ However, the sense of loss and despair was fully conveyed. Since Syspanian, who never forgets, had directly transferred memories of what she saw and experienced as it had been.

 

After looking at that empty face with nothing left for a moment, Rmain turned to Allan and asked.

 

“Is that ring the only other thing discovered besides these?”

 

He asked while looking at the fragment of Arcus Tempus placed in the center of this dome-shaped room. Allan, standing beside him, quietly answered.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty. Nothing else was found.”

 

“It is unfortunate that the ring cannot be moved. Because of it, even the records that Syspanian personally left behind remain hidden.”

 

After all, was this not literally a magnificent discovery that could make a mark in Cyries’ history? Just revealing this place would have been an opportunity to solidify trust in the Royal Family, but that was impossible with that golden ring in place.

 

It was because of the golden ring placed in the center of this room, Allan had told him that this place itself should not be revealed since the object seemed related to those who attacked Kalian. Since moving the ring was impossible, this whole place had to be sealed

 

Naturally, Allan quietly answered, hiding what part of what the ring was and the fact that it was an object so important that it could hardly be compared to the wall carvings.

 

“It can be revealed in the future once we find a way. So please do not regret it too much.”

 

“Ever since I permitted Kalian’s request, I have been worried and anxious. What can I do?”

 

Right now, Rmain was saying this because of the matter of Freya’s elevation to Queen. If Rmain’s position became even slightly more solid, there would be fewer troubles for Kalian, so it was regrettable that this discovery that could help even a little could not be announced.

 

“Future matters are for Prince Kalian to handle. He will manage and deal with them well.”

 

Would Allan’s worries be any different?

 

Rather, unlike Rmain, Allan roughly anticipated what kind of plan Kalian had devised.

 

But as he had just said, that was something Kalian had to resolve. He knew that rashly stepping forward to help could actually cause harm. So, he continued speaking while deliberately suppressing his worries, which were about a hundred times greater than Rmain’s, about Kalian’s intention to confront Beurisen.

 

“Besides, it’s the Royal Authority that you couldn’t find even if you washed your eyes and looked for it. Even if it became a tiny bit stronger now, nothing would change, so please do not regret it so much.”

 

Rmain simply nodded once more.

 

The words of the Archmage who was extending his lifeline had reached the point where they sounded like ordinary greetings. He had transcended even the stage of just accepting it as it was.

 

When even the rain outside could be blamed on Rmain, this much was nothing.

 

With his heart growing inexplicably empty, he thought he should visit Randel in the evening. Randel probably would not meet him properly this time either, but still…

 

* * *

 

*Whoooosh…*

 

A sudden downpour struck the terrace’s glass windows.

 

Sudden rain that refreshingly poured down blurred the view, which was sometimes welcome. Naturally, this meant that more often than not, one would not welcome such rain and look at such rainfall with very troubled eyes.

 

The fact that this was one of those moments which could be said to be quite fortunate for Kalian meant a lot.

 

First of all, Kalian was indoors and had no particular schedule for today. Of course, he was not the type to despise getting wet in the rain. Still, he would not feel pleased to go outside when it was pouring.

 

So, Kalian put the last piece of steak remaining on his plate into his mouth while enjoying the sound of rain with a very peaceful mind. The moderately cooked steak tasted excellent.

 

*Meow!*

 

Perhaps fascinated by the rainwater rolling down the long windows that stretched from ceiling to floor,

 

‘I am Prince Kalian’s cat, who likes Prince Plants more.”

 

A cat was placing its paws here and there on the window.

 

Since it seemed like the cat was trying to catch the rainwater, Kalian smiled softly upon seeing it.

 

“Even if you can see it, you can’t catch it.”

 

And he spoke to the cat like this.

 

*Meow, meow!*

 

Perhaps quite frustrated, the cat looked back and forth at the window while meowing. Then it soon made a pattering sound as it ran over and climbed onto Plants’ lap, who was sitting across from Kalian.

 

Then, it curled up and lay down in the now-familiar dark space between the table and Plants’ knees.

 

Plants, who had finished chewing and swallowing his steak that was slightly different from Kalian’s steak. His was marinated in wine to remove the gamey smell, seasoned with just a little pepper and salt, then cooked completely through so not a drop of blood seeped out. Such a Plants adjusted his posture slightly. To make it comfortable for the cat to lie down.

 

Before long, the meal was finished and tea and dessert were placed on the table instead of dishes. It was tea brewed with dried apples and oranges together, perfect for a rainy day.

 

“Ailan, Berian, Yorn, Trifield, Beli.”

 

Plants opened his mouth like this after silently taking a sip of tea.

 

While it was not rare for Plants to speak first, this was probably the first time he said words that had no context, no coherence, and were not even ordinary words.

 

Nevertheless, Kalian simply nodded quietly and took a sip of water.

 

“Carion, Ped, Seltic, Chapman, Meyer, Ligal.”

 

Plants made strange sounds once more.

 

“Quite numerous.”

 

Of course, Kalian was not flustered.

 

Far from being flustered, he even answered in a calm voice.

 

“Is it many?”

 

“About thirty houses disappeared after the new King ascended to the throne, so one in three is quite a lot.”

 

And thus continued a conversation that no one else in the world could understand.

 

To explain:

 

The day he faced the Arcus Tempus, Kalian stayed up for two straight nights from that very day. Not content with staying awake, he canceled all his schedules for two full days and struggled with the paper and pen.

 

He rewrote Tansyll’s materials that he had memorized completely and then burned. He even experienced wrapping Aura around his fingers just to hold the pen, and barely succeeded in passing the materials to Plants before more days had passed.

 

Then, he forgot about that matter.

 

He completely left the task of finding forces that might be related to the Seal of Oath that Randel possessed to Plants. Since he had many other concerns, there was no reason for Kalian to worry about so many things at once.

 

Plants memorized in four days the materials that Kalian had recalled over five days. Another week passed, and Plants had narrowed down the houses from the materials that needed to be checked with focus. Houses corresponding to the main branches, excluding the side branches that were cut off while being bundled together.

 

He had conveyed the narrowed down names to Kalian.

 

“To do such things right after ascending the throne and still live well, older brother Randel certainly managed to execute it well.”

 

Thirty-odd houses that disappeared after Randel ascended the throne.

 

Was this not absolutely impossible under normal circumstances? What Noble would leave their neck exposed to a King who wielded his sword as soon as he ascended the throne, especially a King without any particular foundation?

 

So, Plants was wondering how Randel had purged so many Nobles without causing a rebellion.

 

“He most likely did not lay hands on them directly.”

 

A sword wielded without being revealed.

 

It would have been a purge conducted without ever revealing himself or using direct methods, making each target the other’s throat. While ensuring that even those being targeted could not know whose arrangement it was.

 

“It’s unexpected.”

 

Like Kalian said, Plants had not spoken out of ignorance either.

 

He was simply newly surprised that Randel, who had lived as if present yet absent, had shown such brutality, or that he had successfully completed a plan that required borrowing others’ hands.

 

“Would it be difficult to narrow it down further from those ten houses?”

 

It was an event that had not even occurred yet, and information passed down based on what the current Chase, not the ‘past’ Chase, had remembered. So, there would be much missing content and many circumstances that the bird of that time had not managed to grasp.

 

Among these, narrowing it down to one in three was commendable, but it was still burdensome to check all ten houses individually.

 

Therefore, in response to Kalian’s question, Plants leaned back in his chair and answered.

 

“I think we’ll need information from the Tansyll Crown Prince’s side too. Since the Crown Prince is said to be involved in Tansyll and the Great Dunes joining hands.”

 

Naturally, they could not use Rmain’s agents. So Kalian smiled slightly while thinking of his very capable ‘private information gathering organization’ boss, Euria.

 

“When Lord Seiren returns, I’ll ask the Arcane Enclave for a favor. Older brother will have many other matters until then anyway.”

 

Given the nature of the matter, it was not something he could ask anyone other than Euria, and with Arsene’s absence, Plants would be quite busy too. After all, was he not a Deputy Commander, holding the same position as Arsene?

 

Plants quietly nodded. Then he spoke in a low voice toward Kalian, who was about to reach for his teacup.

 

“Those Mages keep blocking my path. Could it be my little brother’s doing?”

 

Right now, the only place where Valkan’s Mages would block Plants’ path was Heisia Palace. Therefore, Kalian lifted his teacup with an unconcerned face and said.

 

“Yes.”

 

The person who knew best that Kalian could not lie would be Allan, and the next best would be Plants. So, Kalian just answered honestly with peace of mind.

 

“Why.”

 

“If I could tell you that, I would have let you in.”

 

Plants knew very well what Kalian meant.

 

“If the debris is all cleared and the path is blocked, something must have come out.”

 

At the accurate guess, Kalian frowned.

 

Even Valkan’s Mages did not know what was hidden beneath those stairs. Moreover, he had no desire whatsoever to inform Plants, of all people, about it.

 

“It’s not related to Beurisen or older brother’s mother.”

 

“Then it must be Syspanian.”

 

Plants spoke as if it were nothing, having thought about more than just Tansyll matters for the past two weeks.

 

Then he raised one corner of his mouth toward Kalian, who had an expression asking how Syspanian could immediately come to mind.

 

“Tell me.”