Chapter 218, That Sword (4)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

It had dulled.

 

To say something has dulled means that what was once sharp has worn down and lost its edge. In other words, there was a time in the past when it was sharper than it is now.

 

[‘My little brother has dulled considerably.’]

 

That was why Plants had been curious at one point.

 

Rather than simple curiosity, it was more a feeling of absurdity that raised the question. If he had to express it in other words, it would be the same degree of absurdity he felt the first time he saw Luci’s waist stretching endlessly while her feet remained firmly on the ground.

 

So it was a natural question that arose from encountering an unexpected situation. Questions like how long Luci’s waist actually was, whether Luci really caught frogs for Kalian, why Luci suddenly made purring sounds when petted, and so on. That kind of curiosity.

 

[Just what was he like in the past?]

 

That was the question that formed.

 

If Kalian had indeed dulled as Chase said, he had once wondered what he must have been like originally. Whether at some point in the past he had been sharper than now, less patient than now.

 

[Perhaps he was even more than now…]

 

When such questions piled up one by one until there was no more room to contain them, it made that person open the window he had locked shut. And so on that rainy day, standing before Arcus Tempus, that person became that Prince for the first and last time and spilled his story.

 

And then closed it again.

 

Both Kalian and Plants knew it would never open again.

 

But now one more thing has become curious. Since that person wouldn’t tell him where he had gone or what he had done last night, while trying to fill his mind with random thoughts to avoid thinking about where that place might be, he ended up adding to his curiosity.

 

‘The sword would be fitting payment for the secret.’

 

The day he gifted the sword with those words.

 

That day when he gifted the sword knowing it was what he had originally used, yet deliberately not mentioning that fact.

 

That day when he first faced Chase again.

 

How did that person know what sword Plants had used in the past, and what must have been going through his mind to decide to give the same sword to his enemy? So, was that person Kalian that day, or was he that Prince? Plants became curious about that again.

 

Plants, who had been following this train of thought, spoke in a low voice.

 

“I’ve received such a fine sword that I won’t be able to have good dreams.”

 

Would that Evan really have led Plants onto the path of the sword? No matter how much Plants was of their Bloodline, would they really have just let Plants possess such strong abilities? Would Sillike have wanted her tool to have such power?

 

No.

 

That couldn’t be.

 

How could Plants have obtained such a fine sword? Was it a gift from Beurisen? Would Plants have meekly accepted their gift back then? Would he have received that fine sword for no reason and carried it around so preciously that a foreign Prince knew what the King of Cyries’s sword was?

 

No. That couldn’t possibly be.

 

Then what meaning did possessing such a fine sword have for Plants in the past, when he absolutely and decisively could not have walked the path of the sword? Did that person sitting across from him know that the clever Plants of now would come to understand this?

 

No. That couldn’t be.

 

If that person who grew up so obediently and now only talks about raising cats properly remembered what he himself had said long ago, he wouldn’t have mentioned that he had originally used that sword too. He would have known what Plants might realize.

 

So in the end…

 

“We’re both living in nightmares anyway.”

 

Kalian’s eyes, which had been looking at Plants with an expression asking what nonsense that grasshead was spouting now, narrowed. Then, without another word, he turned his head back toward the window.

 

The rainy sky was dark. He could not see outside the window, and red eyes were reflected in the glass.

 

[So this is all because of that damned rain again.]

 

“Isn’t it strange, older brother?”

 

Kalian, seeing a new memory emerge, quietly closed his eyes.

 

Because he realized that though he had awakened from one nightmare, he was merely in another.

 

[I see. We’re both in nightmares anyway…]

 

* * *

 

In the meantime, the many small blisters that had formed were healing.

 

Veronica, who had set down three glasses of carbonated water with lemon and strawberries and taken her seat, was still looking with fascination at the healing wounds.

 

Before long, Hina released Dmirea’s hand and said.

 

‘Don’t overdo it.’

 

She had said the same thing when she met Dmirea last time. Even though her hands were covered in blisters and must have hurt, she had a face that said she would absolutely not put down the sword, so Hina had told her to rest at least a little.

 

But looking at her hands, they were still such a mess that it seemed doubtful whether she had actually drunk the tea given to her that day.

 

“But it’s better than before. The blacksmith that Prince Kalian introduced me to has such skill. So now, I don’t get unnecessary injuries.”

 

Instead of giving Dmirea the black sword she should have used in the past to Kyrie, it was like introducing someone who could make a sufficiently good sword in compensation, though it still would not quite match.

 

“Usually new swords take time to get used to, but I was surprised at how well the one he made fit my hand.”

 

“Why did you suddenly come asking to be healed? You didn’t accept it last time.”

 

Veronica, who had been eating the strawberry chocolate cookies brought for Hina, asked this. Veronica’s concept of friendship had the premise of mutual equality, and that did not distinguish by age or status.

 

In other words, whether Dmirea was a Lesser Duchess or not, they had met several times so they could speak comfortably to each other.

 

“I’m scheduled to spar with Prince Kalian tomorrow. It’s meant to be a learning session, so I don’t want to be hindered by something like this.”

 

For Dmirea, comfortable speech meant formal speech.

 

Thanks to this, it became a strange scene where the heir to a Ducal Family spoke formally to a Count’s granddaughter while being spoken to casually, but since it was not an official setting, it did not matter. It was fine as long as both sides were comfortable.

 

‘I heard from my brother that you were supposed to do it on a different day originally. You must have changed the date.’

 

“Yes, it seems…”

 

Dmirea, who said this, closed her mouth for a moment. It was because she thought it would be difficult to say in this setting that it seemed Prince Kalian might cause trouble. It was fine if it was just Hina, but Veronica was here too.

 

“Grandfather said the Third Prince seems like he’s going to cause trouble again.”

 

But those words came out of Veronica’s mouth.

 

Dmirea slightly nodded her head in agreement with Veronica’s words, who had been coming to Wilhelm Hall instead of the Magic Academy since morning because her mother had gone out to work in another region.

 

“So grandfather’s been restless lately. According to mom, it seems like he thinks about and worries over the Prince just like he used to treat dad when he was young.”

 

Veronica, who finished speaking, laughed.

 

How could she not laugh when it felt like she had gained a little uncle, who was one year older than her?

 

‘It’s good to see them caring so much.’

 

When Hina said this with a smile, Veronica nodded her head while grinning broadly.

 

“Yeah. Grandfather looks good these days. He takes good care of mom and me too, but he used to think about dad a lot. These days he doesn’t make that old face anymore, so it’s nice.”

 

Dmirea’s head moved up and down at these words.

 

It was because she thought of Ian, one person going through the same change due to the same person. Ian too had reduced the time spent thinking of the departed.

 

‘Aren’t you sad about it?’

 

And Hina, who always knew well where it might hurt, asked. Asking if she wasn’t sad that Allan thought less about Ronil. And to Dmirea, those words sounded slightly changed to be about Ian. Whether she was not sad that Ian was burying the room at the right end of the second floor in his heart.

 

“I’m not sad. Mom said you have to forget sometimes to live. She said she lives forgetting sometimes too. You have to forget sometimes so you remember sometimes, and that’s how a person lives.”

 

“I’m not sad either,” Dmirea thought the same words.

 

Dad, or older brother, whom she barely remembers because she was too young. Dmirea, who had been thinking for a moment about one person who was filling that place, frowned slightly.

 

Hadn’t she heard from Ian at some point about how Kalian regarded Hina?

 

So now Dmirea realized that she was taking as her betrothed someone who had a daughter or granddaughter two years older than her, had a niece one year younger than her, and had created a younger brother two years older than her.

 

[Just what kind of relationship is this? Is this the very thing called a tangled family tree that I had only heard about in words?]

 

“Since the Prince is so important, we’ll have to make sure he doesn’t cause trouble.”

 

Because her worries had deepened, Dmirea failed to properly notice Hina, who smiled brightly and stood up from her seat.

 

‘The healed Lesser Duchess should go back and practice again. The younger sister who didn’t go to the Magic Academy should study quickly. I’ll go out for a bit and come back.’

 

Hina, who said this, took off her pure white robe and went outside the office wearing a white blouse and long navy blue skirt.

 

Dmirea, thinking she looked ready to roll up those long sleeves right away, put on a face as if she had seen nothing and took a sip of the delicious carbonated water before setting it down.

 

“With the rain and the quiet, it’s such a nice day.”

 

And then she said this to Veronica with a slight smile, before giving her a look that said to study quickly.

 

* * *

 

For a while, no words were exchanged.

 

They both thought of one child who was not in this place, but neither could dare to reminisce about that child. Both were people who had to forget that child to live, but for completely different reasons.

 

*Meow.*

 

Luci, who had gotten into the box that contained the gift Hina sent, meowed softly. It was a red box that had contained pretty little clothes for Luci with temperature control functionality that even Plants did not have.

 

Interestingly, Luci loved the box that contained the clothes as much as the clothes themselves that would help her avoid the heat. She would get into the box while wearing the clothes and meow as if she was pleased.

 

For that reason, Plants, who ended up unable to throw away the box, had placed it by the sunny window. When he did that, Luci would get into the box as if it were Plants’s lap, curl up her body, and purr.

 

Now too, like on some leisurely moment of any other day.

 

Plants, watching Luci who was watching the silent brothers, curled her body in the box and began to doze off cautiously.

 

Plants, thinking he couldn’t know whether the box or the clothes inside it were more important to Luci, muttered.

 

“I’m the same.”

 

Plants, who took a sip of tea that smelled of both strawberries and mint, recalled the red eyes he had been forgetting on and off, and said while facing them.

 

“My little brother keeps forgetting.”

 

Kalian smirked.

 

Thinking about how well he changed that form of address.

 

“Don’t forget. I already know how to roll in ashes too.”

 

“Yes. It seems you do know.”

 

Kalian obediently answered and nodded his head.

 

As if all his attention had gone only to the viper’s fangs, as if he had become exactly the Bern of that period. He nodded several times, recalling again what he had forgotten while being chased by Debeullan’s ghost.

 

“It would be great if we could avoid going to Secritia and delay until that day comes, but he’s not the type to wait around with his hands folded, so it seems right to go.”

 

If they could endure while hiding Hina from Debeullan’s eyes, it would be the best solution, but Debeullan would never quietly wait until then. Because unlike the past, he would know there were various exits.

 

“He deceived the Elves once, so there’s no law saying he can’t do it twice.”

 

Who knows whether the Elves’ rule of absolutely never using healing arts on Humans was truly that solid, or strong enough to resist the delicious bait Debeullan offered them?

 

“If we just leave it and he receives treatment from the Elves and happens to get better, it will certainly give us more headaches.”

 

Kalian, who said this, closed his eyes slightly and opened them.

 

Kalian, who had returned with red eyes that bore the same color but had completely erased the traces of someone shown just moments ago, paused while reaching for his teacup.

 

*Tap tap tap.*

 

After the habitual sound rang several times, he nodded his head once more. Then he opened his mouth toward Plants.

 

*Knock knock knock.*

 

After several hesitant sounds, the knocking grew louder, and Luci, who had been about to fall asleep, opened her eyes wide and scampered to the door.

 

“Come in.”

 

With Plants’s permission, the door opened and the visitor, already known to them, entered the room where the two brothers were.

 

Kalian, who had stopped what he was about to say, removed his gaze from the teacup, and Plants removed his hand that had been holding the teacup. Then, as if by agreement, they turned their heads toward Hina.

 

Seeing the Princes who had completed their preparations to obediently and meekly listen to her words, Hina first bowed in greeting.

 

Then she suddenly rolled up her sleeves.

 

“Hina?”

 

Kalian made a flustered sound and Plants closed his eyes once and opened them. Regardless, Hina began speaking.

 

‘The meddlesome Deputy Commander, my brother, and I will go together as three. If it’s still dangerous, the Archmage said he could go with us too. And even if I can’t fight, I can talk. So, Your Highnesses, don’t interfere in my business as you please.’

 

Hina’s hands moved busily, truly and sincerely thinking of giving them a beating this time without mercy.

 

‘Young children should stay home.’

 

Regardless of who was in Kalian’s box.

 

Regardless of who came to Plants’s mind.

 

Regardless of what nightmares the two were walking through.

 

Hina did not know.

 

Such things aren’t very important facts to Hina anyway.

 

‘Behave yourselves.’

 

The King of Secritia had summoned Cyries’s healer.

 

He used her friendship with the Prince and her connection with the Elves as pretexts.

 

Hina, the person directly involved in this matter, said she would go. However, she answered that she would not take any of the Princes with her.

 

One bastard born as the son of a serpent living as the son of a cow, and one bastard who was the son of a cow from the beginning looked at each other.

 

A laugh escaped.