Chapter 35, Nice To Meet You (2)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

Rmain’s head turned toward the Kaela Knights standing outside the door. It was to instruct them to follow Kalian.

 

However, Allan shook his head and said.

 

“Just leave it be. It would be troublesome for the Prince.”

 

“Being troubled is better than being in danger.”

 

Rmain spoke with a stern face toward the instigator of this situation, while a peculiar smile appeared on Allan’s lips.

 

“Rest assured, for there is no one in this Cyries who would dare attack the carriage of Allan Manasil.”

 

It was true that when it came to safety, Allan Manasil’s carriage was second only to the Arpia Palace.

 

However, Allan, who could not reveal the fact that such safety was not at all necessary for Kalian, only said this much.

 

“Besides, there’s a hidden sword following along, so there’s no danger.”

 

Rmain’s eyebrows moved. It meant Kalian had a guard with him.

 

However, if he were to inquire about it in more detail, he would have to follow up with criticism about the Prince breaking the law, so Rmain pretended not to hear and replied.

 

“Fine. Let’s wait and see for now.”

 

Only after settling that matter did Rmain’s arm point to the opposite sofa. He had just realized that he had kept Allan standing at the doorway until now.

 

Allan, who would have sat down even without being urged, went and sat at the designation.

 

After watching Allan for a moment, Rmain let out a deep sigh and spoke.

 

“Having already been through one big incident, I can’t help but worry about that child.”

 

[How did this worrywart manage to be so indifferent all this time?] Allan picked up an almond cookie and swallowed it while chewing, along with this thought that suddenly occurred to him.

 

Rmain, who had been watching Allan’s munching mouth for a moment, asked. “Do you know why he went out?”

 

Allan nodded moderately. It was because he had a guess.

 

“He was asking about Liberen’s Magic Academy before fluttering away.”

 

“Magic Academy? Has that child decided to build a Magic Academy as well?”

 

“He might have decided, or he might not have.”

 

After giving an ambiguous answer, Allan thought about something for a moment. Then he brought up a question without bothering to hide its thorns.

 

“Even if a Magic Academy is established here, it won’t be of help to Your Highness. Since talented individuals cannot be created in a short time. I wonder if that might be your concern?”

 

Rmain shook his head with a composed face and answered.

 

“It seems you’re asking if I would keep Kalian’s growing power in check. I already know he’s not the type to rashly covet my position, so I don’t have any reason to do such things to him. But, even without me doing so, I’m just worried that there are too many who are sharpening their blades right now. I think it’s fortunate that you are by Kalian’s side. There is no need to look at me that way.”

 

Rmain was not unaware of why Allan was on his side. Had this Archmage not made it clear from the first day he arrived? That he would only ‘help create an environment the cat would like’ so Kalian could safely ascend to the throne.

 

“Speaking of which. How about you going along with him to take part in the Roselita?”

 

Although Sillike was being quiet for now, it was a concern about what might happen on that long journey to the Siegfried Territory. Of course, Allan was not unable to understand Rmain’s concerns.

 

Therefore, Allan reassured Rmain with a gentle smile.

 

“The neck of Your Highness in this Palace is far more precarious than the Prince when he is outside. Put aside your unnecessary worries.”

 

Rmain quietly clutched his forehead.

 

There, he thought it would be nice if Kalian would quickly come back and remove this person from his office.

 

…

 

Melpir Pollun, who had been running mindlessly thinking only of waiting for Kalian, briefly came to his senses and asked.

 

“Did the Prince come alone?”

 

“Yes. He came with only two attendants.”

 

Alone, and moreover, riding in Allan Manasil’s carriage.

 

Clearly, this had been a secret visit.

 

Melpir opened his mouth again with a tense face.

 

“Have any of the servants seen the Prince?”

 

“He actually asked to clear the surroundings first, so we escorted him without any watchful eyes.”

 

“Yes. Well done.”

 

Melpir said this while hurriedly running. The exhausted butler could not follow any further and stood in place catching his breath before running again toward where Melpir had gone.

 

After entering the mansion, Melpir quickly washed his hands and dusted off his clothes before heading to the reception room. Though he wanted to change into a more proper attire, he could not keep the Prince waiting for too long.

 

Ian and Kyrie were visible standing outside the reception room.

 

Seeing that the surroundings had been cleared in advance, Melpir also left his butler outside and entered the reception room alone. There, Kalian, who had been sitting with his back to the window, held a teacup and raised his head.

 

Melpir, whose eyes met Kalian’s, bowed to his waist and greeted him.

 

“Baron Melpir Pollun greets the Third Prince.”

 

“It’s been a while.”

 

Kalian, who put down his teacup and answered with a smiling face.

 

Since their first meeting had been nothing more than whispering words while passing by, Melpir, who was facing Kalian’s proper voice, lowered his waist a bit more.

 

Kalian silently laughed, noticing the reason for such an overly courteous greeting.

 

The Pollun Trader’s Guild had recently begun diamond trade with Tansyll in earnest. With this boon, Melpir’s worries must be mounting about what would be demanded as the price for his life.

 

“I’m sorry for visiting without notice. I think it would be difficult for you if the public knew of this.”

 

In fact, Kalian would not have minded whether he openly visited Melpir or summoned him to the palace. Who would interfere with a Prince wanting to meet a Baron?

 

“When I know this is for my consideration, how can I accept your apology? It should be me showing my gratitude instead. It is simply an infinite honor that you have come to personally see me.”

 

Seeking out Melpir in this inconspicuous manner was not for Kalian but for Melpir’s sake. After all, Kalian had not joined hands with any noble except for the Arcane Enclave. Therefore, if it became known that he met separately with Melpir, attention would inevitably be focused on that fact.

 

Kalian, who nodded in response, pointed to the chair across the table and said.

 

“Please sit. I have something to briefly discuss with you.”

 

Melpir, whose face had become a bit more tense, walked over carefully and sat down with quiet movements, then Kalian’s mouth opened.

 

“You must have had many thoughts during this time.”

 

It was Kalian who had sent back Raven’s necklace when Melpir tried to probe his intentions. Since there had been no word after that, the Baron did not know whether Kalian was angry or planning to demand something bigger. Naturally, he could not be at ease.

 

To Kalian’s words, Melpir answered without particularly denying.

 

“Yes, Your Highness. Being a merchant by nature, I’ve never just received something, so I was worried.”

 

“I like how honest you are.”

 

Kalian smiled and took a sip of tea, then looked at Melpir for a while. Around when Melpir swallowed dry saliva while meeting that gaze, Kalian opened his mouth.

 

“What does the Pollun Trader’s Guild trade in?”

 

Melpir’s shoulders briefly stiffened.

 

[If I answered horses and diamonds, the Third Prince would immediately stand up and return to the Royal Palace. With a personality like his, it is obvious he would even pay for the tea he is currently drinking. Once that happens, there would be no ties between us in the future.]

 

Thinking this, Melpir’s head began to rapidly spin.

 

Kalian leisurely enjoyed the tea’s aroma again. When he took another sip of tea, Melpir answered in a careful voice.

 

“We don’t trade in anything yet, Your Highness.”

 

A smile appeared on Kalian’s face.

 

It meant that while the Pollun Trader’s Guild traded in horses and diamonds, Melpir Pollun had not yet joined hands with anyone.

 

It was the answer Kalian had hoped for, and the answer he had expected.

 

“You say ‘yet.'”

 

*Clank.*

 

Kalian, who put down his teacup, gazed at Melpir.

 

“Could I have a conversation with Baron Pollun?”

 

Rather than the capable head of a Trader’s Guild, the Guild Master, Melpir Pollun, he wanted to deal with the capable Baron Melpir Pollun.

 

Kalian had not come to find Melpir Pollun for resources. Bern, who had been a Knight, diid not know anything about managing a guild’s affairs. He had no intention of making money by predicting trivial future events. So, there was no need to talk with the Guild Master Melpir.

 

Melpir swallowed dry saliva again.

 

“Haa……” Melpir, who unconsciously let out a habitual sigh, looked at Kalian without answering.

 

Kalian tilted his head slightly and took another sip of tea.

 

*Clank.*

 

The teacup made a small sound once more, and Melpir’s mouth opened.

 

“He was here from the beginning, Your Highness.”

 

“Since there’s no need to wait, that is convenient.”

 

A satisfied light entered Kalian’s eyes.

 

Thinking it was good that the Baron had been spared from his fate, Kalian spoke slowly.

 

Melpir straightened his posture to sit, and Kalian’s words continued. However, rather than specific details, it was a somewhat vague question.

 

“I came wondering if the Baron could manage something other than his Trader’s Guild.”

 

While Allan now allied with Kalian, so he would tell him what he wanted done without hiding anything and then use him, Melpir was not. Not yet. Kalian wanted to judge his intentions first.

 

Melpir thought for a moment before answering.

 

“If there are people and money, nothing is difficult.”

 

“There are people, and there is money.”

 

Kalian paused briefly before speaking again.

 

“But there might also be Beurisen.”

 

As Allan had guessed, Kalian was thinking of establishing a Magic Academy. Of course, while that would not be as dangerous as creating a Mage Order, troublesome matters might arise from getting entangled with Beurisen.

 

Melpir pressed his lips together before parting them to ask.

 

“If there is Beurisen, isn’t there also Your Highness?”

 

Kalian softly chuckled.

 

“I asked a foolish question. You’re right. I am also there.”

 

“If there are people and money, and Your Highness stands before Beurisen, then the problem is not too difficult.”

 

Kalian nodded.

 

Since there seemed to be no need to continue speaking in riddles about why he had come, Kalian brought up the main point without hiding anymore.

 

“I’m thinking of establishing a Magic Academy in Cyries. I already have enough money to build an academy, and there are plenty of people to use for education, whether from the Enclave’s Mages or Allan. The operation is the problem.”

 

There was no way carefree Mages would properly operate the Magic Academy.

 

While pondering this, he thought of this capable Guild Master, and the unpaid life debt came to mind. That was how Kalian came to find Melpir like this.

 

Melpir silently lowered his head and began to contemplate. Knowing there was much to think about, Kalian waited without rushing. Beyond simply operating a Magic Academy, this was also about Baron Melpir Pollun taking his side.

 

As if having made a decision, Melpir raised his head and opened his mouth. However, different words came out first before answering Kalian’s proposal.

 

“Is this the price of my life, Your Highness?”

 

Was this a task being assigned as payment for saving his life? Thus, something that must be done regardless of his will? That was what he was asking.

 

A smile appeared on Kalian’s face.

 

“I’ve already received the price of life.”

 

*Clank.*

 

Kalian, who put down the empty cup after the last sip, answered.

 

Melpir’s gaze lingered on the empty teacup for a while.

 

Soon, a refreshing laugh filled the reception room. It was relief from shaking off the burden that had been weighing on a corner of Melpir’s heart for three months.

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

Melpir bowed his head once more.

 

…

 

Two days later, in the morning.

 

In the dining hall of Cermil Palace, bread baked with red dye, cherry-filled pie, and all kinds of red fruits and vegetables were being prepared.

 

The corridor surrounding Cermil Palace was decorated with red thread, and red Raphtania Flowers were placed abundantly around the artificial lake. Flower petals scattered by the wind swirled above the lake.

 

The people of Cyries made no distinction between celebrating birth and mourning death. Just as they placed red flowers before the dead, they also gave red flowers to those celebrating birthdays.

 

To them, red was a color that encompassed both death and birth.

 

[What a unique custom.] Kalian thought. [To give the same color to both the living and the dead.]

 

In any case, the tradition could not be changed just because it did not suit Kalian’s taste alone. Thus, as soon as Kalian woke up, he drank pomegranate juice and then received fifteen Raphtania Flowers that Merlin handed over, as he stated his thanks.

 

Today was Kalian’s birthday.

 

It was the momentous day when Cyries’s much-talked-about and troublesome Third Prince had finally come of age.

 

“Congratulations on reaching your fifteenth birthday.”

 

He heard those words, not a syllable different, all morning long. In fact, it took over two hours just to receive congratulatory greetings and birthday presents from the nobles gathered in Senu Hall.

 

At the luncheon with those who would join the Roselita journey, he made a brief toast with words of gratitude and spent a long time eating and having tea together.

 

Without a break, he changed into evening formal wear for the banquet and headed to Siegfried Hall.

 

The black cloak decorated very splendidly with red thread somehow reminded one of Kalian’s appearance. Merlin had clearly chosen such colors on purpose. Though there were no particular decorations on the black jacket and pants, thanks to his eye-catching cloak that drew attention everywhere, the jacket and pants did not even register.

 

If anything, even his thin frame had filled out, so it was perhaps natural that the nobles’ gazes returned to Kalian. Moreover, he was today’s protagonist.

 

“Nice to meet you.”

 

Kalian greeted like this, yet again.

 

After hearing that the nobles had struggled greatly because he had said ‘nice to meet you’ during the King’s birthday, he had continued greeting that way to let them know there had been no particular meaning behind it. He said it so much It had become a habit by now.

 

Kalian, who had drawn all the nobles’ admiring gazes, went to his seat with his usual graceful steps.

 

“Stop.”

 

And, really just for a moment, he halted his feet.

 

Plants, who had not shown his face for three months, was present.