Chapter 75, Let Me Ask Just One Thing (6)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

Marquess Gray Beurisen raised himself from his seat and sat up with difficulty.

 

Then he unfolded the letter that was said to have been sent via a messenger bird.

 

The butler who witnessed Gray sitting up on his own had a face full of emotion. It was due to the satisfaction of having accomplished something truly significant.

 

The butler did deserve much credit for Gray being able to sit like this after having his back broken by Kalian’s beating. Thanks to his swift action, the butler was able to receive a substantial sum from Gray.

 

About a week ago.

 

After loading the dying Gray into a carriage, the butler first checked if there was a healer nearby. He barely managed to hear that a healer from Tansyll was staying at Reddington Castle.

 

The butler then traveled for two full days to reach Reddington Castle. Afterward, he met Priest Malcom Chetish, who was serving as the proxy Lord for the Reddington Territory.

 

“This is Marquess Gray Beurisen, the eldest son of the Beurisen Marquis Family. We can pay any amount, so please heal him.”

 

At that time, Malcom was in the middle of handing over his duties to the new Territory Lord who would replace Count Hale Latran, who had been arrested after being caught by Kalian. He had been postponing his return to Tansyll because of this matter.

 

The name ‘Kalian’ kept coming out of the unconscious Gray’s mouth. Thanks to this, Malcom was able to grasp the situation.

 

[So Prince Kalian is the one who reduced this man to this state!]

 

When Gray regained a bit of his consciousness after hearing about the healer, he said this to Malcom, who was looking at him with a strange expression.

 

“Fix my Dantian first, no matter what! No matter what!”

 

Upon hearing Gray’s words, Malcom briefly contemplated.

 

Whether he should grant the request of someone from the Beurisen Family, whom Hale had been so fond of that he would sell his kidney at the mere thought of them.

 

Or whether he should side with Kalian, who had freed him from Hale and even written a long letter that allowed him to keep his life in Tansyll.

 

The time for contemplation was not long, and Malcom soon began healing.

 

He let the damaged tissues of the Dantian heal without reconnecting them.

 

So that no healer Gray might meet in the future could ever fix it.

 

Instead, he fixed his back just enough for him to get up and walk. Of course, he did not heal it cleanly enough for Gray to wield a sword again.

 

Thus, Gray returned to his Marquess estate half-healed but unable to hold a sword again. And Malcom, who had repaid his debt to Kalian without Kalian knowing, quickly completed the handover and departed for Tansyll.

 

Anyway, after going through such a process, Gray, who was now able to sit up on his own and unfold the letter, suddenly began to tremble all over.

 

It was because the letter was from Kalian.

 

[Is he threatening me so I won’t forget!?]

 

His body reacted before his reason could.

 

The healed wounds started to ache again.

 

What he held in his hand was just a few short sentences sent via a messenger bird. But Gray could not even look at it properly. Only after a considerable amount of time had passed was he barely able to read the contents of the letter.

 

Soon, Gray’s expression began to change little by little.

 

It was because Kalian’s letter was not a simple threat.

 

Lannen is neither dead nor missing. He is imprisoned, intact in the basement of the Marquis’s mansion. If the Marquis dies and Lannen is recovered, who do you think Sillike would rather give the title to, you or Lannen?

 

Gray was well aware that he had been called upon because Lannen, whom Sillike had used like her limbs, had disappeared.

 

Soon, Sillike’s person will come to you. Behave yourself.

 

Even if by some chance his body recovered and he could dream of revenge against Kalian, that would be a matter for the distant future. Therefore, what was more important right now was not to die at the hands of Sillike, Lannen, or his father.

 

In the end, Gray gritted his teeth and called for his butler.

 

It was to verify if Kalian’s words were true.

 

* * *

 

The fights between grown adults, when examined closely, was not really much.

 

One side provokes, and if the other side could not tolerate it, a fight would break out.

 

In other words, it was a fight that happened because Allan provoked and Evan could not endure.

 

“What did you just mutter, Mage?”

 

Just like this…

 

Of course, Allan did not provoke Evan from the very beginning. After all, Allan was not ill-mannered to that extent.

 

So to explain how it came to this.

 

That morning, after getting up, Allan first had a cup of coffee. Then, after roughly checking if Arsene, who showed no signs of getting up, was alive, he left the house with Rauchel while receiving Veronica’s send-off.

 

Currently, renovations were in full swing at the Palace to modify Wilhelm Hall, a building that had been used by the Pavel Knight Order, to suit the Mages. Therefore, Rauchel went straight to Wilhelm Hall as soon as she arrived at the Royal Palace. And Allan stopped by Arpia Palace to have breakfast with Rmain.

 

‘Prince Kalian said that it might be good to put more pressure on Marquis Beurisen on this occasion.’

 

‘Yes. I was planning to search the Marquis’s mansion today. By the way, is Lord Hertz alright?’

 

‘He’s living well as if he’s dead, so you don’t need to worry.’

 

More or less, such a conversation took place.

 

Afterward, Allan went to Chermil Palace to meet Kalian.

 

And right at the entrance, he came face to face with Evan, who had come to see Plants.

 

Of course, this was their second meeting. However, since their first meeting had been held in secret, Allan offered his greeting again.

 

“I am Allan Manasil.”

 

After glaring at Allan for a moment, Evan made a face as if he was chewing and spitting something out. It was only then that he uttered his name.

 

“Evan Beurisen.”

 

In response, Allan smiled and nodded.

 

After that, Evan spoke to Allan, who had modestly stepped aside, suggesting they should each go their own way.

 

“For someone who’s lost a subordinate, your face looks quite carefree.”

 

He was irritated because while he was having a headache over the disappearance of Allan’s subordinate, Allan himself did not seem particularly worried.

 

But Allan, hearing those words, was not feeling at ease either. Regardless of who ordered it, it was Evan’s Knights who had attacked Arsene, was it not?

 

It was a clear fact that they had been pre-emptively attacked by the Beurisen, even though Arsene had returned unharmed and was now ruining Allan’s duck eggs.

 

“You also seem rather composed for someone who lost ten subordinates, Marquis.”

 

Hence, such an unpleasant retort popped out of Allan’s mouth.

 

Evan was silent for a moment.

 

Allan glanced at Evan clenching his fist and then continued his words with satisfaction.

 

“If my subordinate had died like that, I would be attending their funeral rather than easily visiting the palace like this. That’s the duty of a superior, isn’t it? To care about why they died.”

 

Evan, who had suddenly become ‘someone who could not fulfill his duty as a superior’, hissed at Allan.

 

“Who are you trying to teach? Don’t tell me you act this impudently even in front of His Majesty?”

 

Of course, he acts even more impudent in front of Rmain. But, that need not be shared.

 

“That’s not an area for a Marquis to interfere with. Please mind your boundaries.”

 

In Cyries, Allan was no different from a Commoner. Nevertheless, Allan was receiving treatment above the Central Nobles because of his abilities. The fact that such an Allan did not yield even a single word to Evan’s remarks kept disrupting Evan’s thoughts.

 

Evan fully displayed his mood at this moment.

 

“Having such a person beside him, who had gained his favor, I guess His Majesty’s judgment cannot be trusted at all.”

 

Then, Evan conspicuously looked towards where Chermil Palace was and continued.

 

“Like Master, like Disciple. I can guess the character of the Third Prince as well.”

 

Allan let out a short laugh.

 

Since not only Rmain but also Kalian had been mentioned by that mouth, Allan’s lips, which had been somewhat restrained until now, completely loosened.

 

“At least more trustworthy than a Knight Family that lost ten Elite Knights while trying to capture just one Mage.”

 

What Allan just mentioned was the most humiliating part for the current Evan. After stabbing at sore point, Allan continued to speak.

 

“I heard that the way the bodies were positioned, they looked like they died while running away in all directions.”

 

Allan’s gaze slowly scanned Evan from head to toe and back up.

 

“You said ‘like Master, like Disciple.’ I think I now understand the level of the Marquis’s swordsmanship as well.”

 

At that moment, killing intent flared up and then subsided in Evan’s eyes.

 

Evan spoke in a voice that was barely containing his patience.

 

“You should be very careful with that mouth, Mage.”

 

“You should be careful with your sword, Marquis. Even the thugs in Naeransha Street don’t take money to kill others. They’d be too ashamed to.”

 

Now, Allan was calling him a thug.

 

“Silence!”

 

Kalian had said, may the glory of Serenty be upon Allan Manasil’s mouth. If it were a mouth that would close when told to shut up, would he have said such a thing?

 

Allan displayed a clear sneer and opened his mouth again.

 

“So how much did you receive this time?”

 

Allan, who asked that, added one more thing.

 

In a very small voice, but clearly.

 

“Of course, it couldn’t have been more than that day.”

 

‘That you sold your own child.’

 

This was what Allan’s eyes were saying.

 

Evan’s eyes twitched after hearing what was contained in those eyes.

 

A voice mixed with a metallic tone flowed from Evan’s mouth.

 

“What did you just utter, Mage?”

 

Along with that, killing intent rose from Evan’s entire body.

 

It was a much thicker killing intent compared to what he had shown in Evan’s study before. It seemed as if he had not shown all his strength then, so he was displaying his killing intent once more.

 

Although it was not intended, Allan clicked his tongue at having to engage in another contest like this. It was because Evan did not seem to have learned anything from their previous bout at the mansion, even though Evan might not have properly experienced the full might of a Seventh-Circle Mage before.

 

It was clear that Evan thought was belittling him, thinking that the Seventh-Circle was just adding one more Circle to the Sixth-Circle. If only he could remember the fact that there were only three Seventh-Circle Mages on the entire continent.

 

“I told you ‘I’m not that soft’, but you seem to have forgotten already.”

 

Evan’s killing intent was certainly strong.

 

It was strong enough for Kalian, who was inside Chermil Palace, to feel it, so it was not something mediocre at all.

 

However, his opponent was.

 

Allan Manasil.

 

“You are so unaware of your place… how will you ever manage?”

 

With those words, an extremely primal fear came and constricted the whole body.

 

*Saaaa…*

 

Evan was overcome by a feeling as if he were kneeling before an indescribably great being.

 

It was not just that Evan’s killing intent had intensified. His fear of Allan was the same. Evan was feeling a terror of sinking alone into a deep, deep abyss.

 

Allan’s voice echoed in his ears. It was a calm voice that seemed completely unaffected by Evan’s killing intent. There was fear in the resonance of that voice.

 

“You should think about it a bit.”

 

As if trying to overcome that, Evan’s killing intent intensified. Then, as if he had been waiting for this, Allan’s sense of fear multiplied.

 

Soon, Allan slightly lowered his head to look directly into Evan’s eyes.

 

He slowly opened his mouth.

 

“Who. I. Am.”

 

With that, the pressure pressed down on Evan once more.

 

A long time passed like that, and Evan could not endure it anymore.

 

In the end, Evan gritted his teeth and dispersed his killing intent. Feeling this, Allan also stopped.

 

Soon, Evan opened his mouth in a low voice.

 

“Those who are strong alone never last long, Mage.”

 

At that moment, the image of Kalian flashed in Allan’s mind.

 

Because of that, Allan was able to respond with ease.

 

“Since I am not strong alone, it doesn’t matter to me. But have you ever thought about who Marquess Gray Beurisen trusted and what he had hoped for when he tried to come here?”

 

Evan did not answer.

 

This time, Allan’s gaze moved conspicuously. It was toward Heisia Palace, where Sillike was.

 

“There are too many in your Beurisen Family who want to be strong alone. I’ll see how long they will last.”

 

In the end, Evan’s expression contorted.

 

It seemed that Evan had a lot to think about, so Allan left him there and departed.

 

* * *

 

Upon hearing Kalian’s request for tea, Ian immediately moved.

 

Since they had just come from the dining hall, Ian quickly went to the refreshment preparation room next to the dining hall. There, he prepared hot cocoa and corn cookies that would go well with the cocoa, and went to Kalian’s room.

 

As Ian had been informed, Kalian was out on the terrace. Since it had become quite cold now, Ian placed the tea on the terrace table and went back to the room to fetch a cardigan.

 

“You’ll catch a cold.”

 

Ian said this as he handed over the cardigan, and Kalian, instead of saying that it was not necessary, accepted the cardigan with a word of thanks and put it on.

 

Soon, Ian, standing next to Kalian, asked.

 

“What are you looking at so intently?”

 

After taking a bite of the corn cookie with its appealingly rough texture, Kalian pointed to the entrance of Chermil Palace which was visible in the distance. Then, after chewing and swallowing the cookie, he opened his mouth.

 

“Over there.”

 

Since one had to go around the artificial lake and the rose garden to reach the entrance of Chermil Palace, Ian could only make out that there were two people standing there. Seeing Ian straining his eyes to try to confirm who it was, Kalian made an unintelligible sound.

 

“It gave me the chills, really.”

 

Ian still tilted his head as if he did not understand.

 

“I have no idea what’s going on.”

 

“One pleasant thing. And one interesting thing.”

 

Allan won, so it was pleasant

 

And it was interesting because Evan’s Aura could not be felt by him at all.

 

“I thought he was a dying lion. But his teeth are still extremely sharp.”

 

After saying that, Kalian laughed for a long time.