Chapter 68, It’s Been a While (5)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

[Elf Sia, a rose, a pebble, Arcus Tempus, Syspanian… And Serenty.]

 

Kalian, who engraved the various words that instantly came to mind, took a step. Then Ian stepped forward and said.

 

“I’ll take a look. Please step back, it’s dangerous.”

 

Ian said such words with great courage and Kalian just shook his head. He walked backward one step at a time.

 

After retreating five or six steps, the light from the pebble disappeared. Of course, the light from the flower disappeared as well.

 

A few steps forward again.

 

The flower and stone shine together.

 

Kalian soon circled the rose garden and looked around. But he could not find anything else emitting the same light.

 

After confirming there were no more flowers like it, Kalian returned to where he had originally stood. And with careful steps, he walked toward the flower, holding the stone in his left hand while extending his right hand to touch the petals.

 

Then

 

*Rustle*

 

The red petals withered instantly and fell to the ground. Along with that, the light from the pebble disappeared.

 

Realizing he had hastily touched it at this unexpected sight, Kalian made a dismayed sound.

 

“No…”

 

The fallen petals soon crumbled like blackened ash and scattered into the air.

 

Kalian thought it was as if time that had been stopped suddenly flowed in an instant. Then, he caught the tail of that unconsciously arising thought.

 

[Time?] He could not know when the rose had bloomed. But what if. [What if it had been blooming since long ago?]

 

With that assumption, Kalian’s eyes settled calmly.

 

[Sia, who listened to and answered a step ahead of others, as though looking forward in time… And the flower that had been blooming for a long time as if time had stopped… That must be it. This pebble must have something to do with correcting twisted time.]

 

While thinking this, Kalian frowned.

 

[But if time were to be corrected, shouldn’t I be the first to be fixed? Since I am still standing here intact, the conclusion I have just reached is not likely not the right answer.]

 

[‘She wishes for you not to act hastily.’]

 

Syspanian’s voice rose up from his memories, like a sacred warning.

 

Due to the frustration it gave him, Kalian closed and opened his eyes for a very long time, trying to push back those words that were welling up and about to engulf his mind.

 

“The distortion of time is flowing right before my eyes, and you tell me not to act hastily.” He muttered this with a sneer.

 

* * *

 

Allan did not employ another butler or servant.

 

He could handle most things with magic, and like most mages, he did not like having outsiders in his own home. As a result, the only person Allan employed in Cyriesus was just one: Oscar the coachman.

 

“Lord Manasil, you’re returning home early today.”

 

Oscar, who had been driving Allan’s famous mother-of-pearl carriage for nearly half a year now, said this with a seemingly friendly smile.

 

Even though it was early, it was already after darkness had fallen, but still it was a rare opportunity to breathe in the night air rather than dawn air on the way home. Even this would not have been possible if Rmain had not decided to have dinner with the Princes.

 

Allan responded to Oscar’s greeting with a similar smile and said.

 

“Let’s escape quickly.”

 

“What? Escape?”

 

Oscar asked in surprise, and Allan, instead of answering, got into the carriage first. From behind the small window behind the coachman’s seat, Allan’s voice, somehow excited, was conveyed.

 

“His Highness has gone to dinner. So, I’m sneaking out after roughly organizing things in between. We need to hurry.”

 

Rmain had clearly said he wanted to continue with business related to the Mage Order after dinner. And Allan, pretending not to have heard him, had finished only the urgent matters and was slipping away like this.

 

Allan’s mouth opened again, feeling unreasonably elated at the thought of what expression Rmain would make when he discovered Allan was gone.

 

“Today, my daughter-in-law and granddaughter who lived in Liberen have arrived. How can His Highness be so indifferent? Shouldn’t he, as a matter of course, tell me to go home on a day like this? He has really developed a taste for working an old man to death.”

 

Oscar burst into laughter and replied.

 

“I see. Very well. I’ll make sure we quickly escape.”

 

Oscar soon began to untie the strap that secured the horse’s reins.

 

But suddenly Allan sighed.

 

He had noticed someone rushing toward the carriage.

 

If it was not someone sent by Rmain, there would be no one to come and detain Allan, who was trying to go home. So, Allan opened his mouth and grumbled.

 

“Come on. Where on earth does he eat his meal and how did he already know?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

The coachman, who had yet to notice someone coming toward Allan, asked back, and Allan sighed again without answering.

 

Soon, from a distance, a voice urgently calling for Allan was heard.

 

“Lord Manasil, please wait. His Highness is looking for you.”

 

Oscar, who now understood Allan’s sighs and complaints, passed on the message through the small window.

 

“Lord Manasil. It seems you won’t be able to escape after all.”

 

In the end, Allan had to trudge back to Arpia Palace, leaving behind Oscar who was slightly apologetic for not having departed quickly enough.

 

[When I meet Rmain, I must give him a piece of my mind.] With such a resolution, Allan moved.

 

However, the attendant guided Allan not to the office.

 

Since Allan felt a familiar presence awkwardly standing in the middle of Arpia Palace’s garden, he frowned and muttered.

 

“Is he drinking while his son has quit?”

 

He wants to drink again. And on this chilly night, at that.

 

Allan shook his head repeatedly. And without walking any further, he moved one finger and warped right in front of Rmain. Rmain, who was about to pour wine into a glass, was seen slightly raising his head.

 

“Seeing you arrive like this confirms you are indeed a Mage.”

 

He had thought Rmain would be quite surprised like Ian was, but he was unexpectedly calm. Allan, whose fun was gone, grumbled and said.

 

“If you drink outdoors on a day like this, your mouth will freeze.”

 

He flicked his hand to raise the temperature around Rmain. A chuckling sound came from Rmain’s mouth as he felt his body warm up.

 

“Indeed, there’s no better drinking companion than a Mage.”

 

Rmain tapped the ground across from him.

 

Without further words, Allan sat down with a *thud* where Rmain’s hand had touched and received the wine bottle from Rmain’s hand to pour him a drink. Then, he poured his own into the empty glass in front of him.

 

After the dinner with the three Princes to suddenly drinking now.

 

Instead of asking what was wrong, Allan clinked his glass against Rmain’s and said.

 

“Thinking about the past only hurts the heart.”

 

“Is there Magic that can read people’s minds?”

 

“How could there be such a thing?”

 

Where would Allan’s keen perception be used if not with Kalian? Rmain, who had been blankly staring into the distance, turned his head to look at Allan.

 

“It’s obvious. Having seen all three Princes who have now become adults at once, you must feel mixed emotions wondering how many more such occasions there will be available for everyone to gather. Worrying about the two who will lose in the competition makes you think of your brother, who got imprisoned far away, and your regret in bringing in Sillike.”

 

[But why regret after you’ve created three Princes instead of having just one?] After briefly thinking this, Allan realised that Kalian was the youngest and shook his head. It was only because Rmain had three children, Allan had met such a lovely Disciple.

 

“How do you read me so well?”

 

“Just look ahead at the path before you.”

 

Having completed his revenge against Rmain, who had prevented his early return home, by not revealing how he knew Rmain’s feelings, Allan said this.

 

Afterward, the two exchanged glasses of wine without words.

 

Around the time the sound of the stream became familiar, and the insect sounds seemed louder, Allan opened his mouth again.

 

“Actually, I believe all three Princes combined couldn’t match up to Chase.”

 

“You mean the Crown Prince of Secritia.”

 

Instead of asking why Allan was suddenly comparing other people’s children, Rmain quietly received the words.

 

Allan nodded his head, and Rmain chuckled.

 

“I too had wondered how such a son could be born under Debeullan of all people with his snake-like nature.”

 

“Yes. Anyway, although Your Highness’s three sons aren’t as great as Chase, I’ve observed they aren’t complete fools either. They’ll all manage to find their own way to survive, so don’t worry.”

 

Hearing those words, Rmain’s eyes momentarily stared at Allan.

 

There was one who seemed to have trouble finding his own way to survive. Soon Rmain opened his mouth in a low voice.

 

“If by chance Kalian loses his way…”

 

Those words did not continue for a while. Rmain took one more sip of wine before continuing.

 

“I would like to make a request of you.”

 

It was a request to save Kalian and escape with him if Kalian could not secure the Crown Prince position. The reason for entrusting this specifically to Allan was simple. If Kalian were pushed out, the likelihood of Rmain himself being alive at that time was almost none.

 

“Since you know such circumstances well and also care deeply for Kalian, I thought you might grant this request.”

 

But Allan, who heard Rmain’s words given after serious contemplation, suddenly burst into laughter. He soon shook his head.

 

“Would there be an occasion for me to take care of Your Highness’s youngest son?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Rmain’s face frowned deeply, thinking Allan had expressed an intention to refuse. Seeing this, Allan asked with mischievous eyes.

 

“Do you know how dearly one Baby Elephant cherishes Your Highness’s youngest son?”

 

And at the words that followed, Rmain’s eyes, which had been calm even at Allan’s warp, widened.

 

The reason was that he realised Allan had shaken his head to mean that if Kalian were pushed out, one should worry about the survival of the other two Princes and the future of Cyries rather than Kalian, so Allan would not even need to step in.

 

In the end, Rmain completely sobered up.

 

* * *

 

Kalian did not attend breakfast for two days.

 

He gave a reason that was half sincere and half an excuse, saying his travel fatigue had not yet been relieved.

 

“Prince, are you perhaps thinking of skipping breakfast tomorrow as well?” Eventually, on the night of the second day, Ian asked with a concerned voice.

 

It was a worry about rumors connecting it to Sillike’s mention of the Crown Prince, or concerns about Kalian’s health.

 

“Just until tomorrow. I’ll go from the day after tomorrow.”

 

Instead of realizing or complaining about returning to a life where he could not even freely decide on breakfast, Kalian just answered like this.

 

Since Ian also knew why Kalian was not attending breakfast, he nodded without further nagging.

 

“Yes. I’ll relay that. Then I’ll be leaving now. Make sure to close the window before you sleep.”

 

“Got it.”

 

After Ian delivered this final greeting and went out, locking the door behind him, a sigh escaped from Kalian’s mouth as he was left alone. *Haaa…*

 

The reason Kalian was not attending breakfast was just one.

 

Because of Randel.

 

Kalian had thought of Randel simply because that rose was the thing that had glowed. There was not a single logical basis behind why that rose would be under such influence, and there was a fact that it was the garden that Randel tended.

 

His suspicion was not deep enough to conclude that Randel was related to the pebble. His thoughts had merely wondered if perhaps Randel was the one who had stopped time for the rose. After all, the Blood of Tansyll, where Priests were born, also flowed in Randel.

 

But since there was no evidence to support such vague suspicions, Kalian had decided to first observe Randel’s movements.

 

During the process of thinking that far, Kalian had been avoiding meeting Randel, lest he unconsciously give Randel suspicious glances. [After all, isn’t his ability to pierce through people’s hearts at a similar level to that of Master?]

 

Thus, lying in bed and continuing various thoughts, Kalian soon fell asleep.

 

And after quite some time, in the dark dawn just before day broke.

 

*Rustle…*

 

The sound of curtains swaying in the wind, and Kalian’s closed eyes slowly opened.

 

[An intruder.] He felt someone’s muffled footsteps. And Ian had definitely locked the door.

 

If it were opened with something other than Ian’s key, the alarm magic created by Syspanian would be activated. So, no one had entered through the door.

 

Then, he remembered falling asleep with the window open due to a stuffy feeling. The window’s alarm magic had not been activated.

 

[I should have listened to Ian. This will be troublesome.] Kalian smiled slightly.

 

And still lying down, he waited for the intruder to come closer.

 

[To welcome me like this. I don’t know how I should present myself.]

 

He was wondering which guest it might be.

 

Sillike. Or Randel.

 

Shortly after, there was a sound of quietly parting the bedroom curtains.

 

Kalian, who had been gauging the presence of the now distinctly closer intruder, frowned.

 

It was because it was a familiar aura, but one he had not expected to visit like this.

 

In the end, Kalian postponed creating a ‘sword’ and sat up. And with sharply gleaming eyes, he looked at the intruder and asked.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

The intruder had not even covered his face.

 

And he was not surprised that Kalian had awoken. He did not seem to care much about Kalian’s wary words either. He met Kalian’s eyes and uttered in a low voice.

 

“I heard you use Magic, yet you wake at the wind’s touch.”

 

There was absolutely no reason to welcome someone who had entered through the window at this hour, regardless of who they were. Therefore, Kalian did not bother hiding his displeased expression as he opened his mouth.

 

“I asked why you came. At this hour, in this manner.”

 

Looking at Kalian, who was exhibiting hostility with his entire body from his gaze to his voice, the corner of the visitor’s mouth twisted upward.