Chapter 5. This is so blatant (2),
it couldn’t be more arrogant.
This was Calian’s impression of his horse Raven.
Now Raven was walking with her head held high between the people who were separated like waves. It was clear that he was enjoying the attention as he made louder hoof beats in crowded places.
‘I’ve seen a lot of horses, but I think this is my first time seeing one like this.’
Calian, who was looking at Raven’s black mane shaking with every step, turned his head. Come to think of it, isn’t it the first time I’ve seen the outside of the palace since I woke up in Kairis?
There was a time when I went out to the square to meet Alan, but it was nighttime and I had trouble thinking about anything other than Alan, so I didn’t have time to look around.
‘Certainly Kairisis is well organized. It’s amazing that this road connects to cities all over Kairis.’
It was difficult not to be amazed at the royal road I was currently walking on.
In fact, it cannot be anything other than the guts of a great power.
I felt completely confident that I didn’t have to worry that an enemy might come along this road.
‘They must have come to Secretia through this road.’
The last memory inevitably comes to mind.
Thanks to this, Calian’s eyes naturally turned to Plantz.
Planz was sitting on the horse with his eyes closed.
‘…and temperament.’
Cut-like wounds were visible on the back of the hand holding the handle of the saddle.
‘I just thought he was the son of that mother, but I didn’t know they had a bad relationship.’
That morning, Calian unintentionally heard shouting coming from Plantz’s room. Because the weather was nice, the window was open, and Plantz’s room was right above Kalian’s room.
Calian was quite surprised when he heard Jan say that he thought Silike had come. This was because I found out that, unexpectedly, the relationship between Planz and Sillike was not good.
“Prince, I think we’re almost there.”
I heard Jan’s small voice.
Calian, who was struggling to think, turned his gaze away from Plantz and looked at his surroundings.
Although it was not as big as the mansions on Einansha Street, the residences of nobles, it was located in a place where there were many buildings with quite luxurious exteriors. It was a street named Astrisha, and it was a place where high-end shops and cultural facilities for nobles were gathered. The performance hall owned by the Polun Merchants Company at the end of this street was today’s destination.
Kalian noticed the children watching the king’s procession from afar.
‘Looking at his clothes, he doesn’t seem like he’s a noble… Did he come all the way here just to have a look?’
When I smiled slightly at the group of children who appeared to be commoners, I could see them looking quite surprised. Calian, who thought that his appearance was quite pure, said something without realizing it.
“The kids are so cute.”
“You look older than the prince.”
Calian laughed awkwardly at Yan’s response, which looked like he was saying this was some kind of nonsense. It was because it still didn’t seem natural to me to be young.
However, there was another child standing a little away from the group and staring at the procession.
The child, whose appearance was so shabby that he was clearly compared to the commoners around him, was looking at Caera’s knights wearing livery and guarding Lemaine.
While everyone was looking at the King and Queen and the princes, Calian’s eyes were looking somewhere else, so he looked in that direction without realizing it.
The smile was wiped from Kalian’s face.
“……Kiri?”
Light-colored hair that stands out even from afar.
Slightly dark skin and already tall.
It had a very similar appearance to the child that Calian had come to visit and wanted to keep as a guard, but it was difficult to accurately identify the child due to the distance. As I felt like I wanted to get closer and check, I heard Yan panicking next to me.
“Why is he suddenly…!”
I was startled and looked at Yan, who was holding Raven’s reins and had a confused look on his face.
This time, Raven, having read what Calian wanted, tried to turn to the side. Calian hurriedly stroked the back of Raven’s neck and whispered.
“No, Raven. You can’t do that now. You can’t go.”
Raven, who had been stubborn, finally walked forward again. Yan, who was surprised by the sudden action, sighed in relief and spoke to Calian.
“I’m sorry, prince.”
“It’s because of me. It’s okay.”
After answering that, Calian looked to the side again, but before he knew it, the light blue-haired child had disappeared. Calian looked around as if he was looking for something he missed.
‘Kyrie.’
An orphan who lost a lot in Kairis and came to Secretia. And a genius prosecutor.
Bern, who recognized Kyrie’s talent, took him in and personally taught him how to use the sword, and Kyrie sacrificed his life in return.
On Bern’s last day, he used his body to block the rain of arrows flying at Bern.
‘wait. I’ll find it somehow.’
Calian had to postpone his meeting with Kyrie as he tried to calm his racing heart.
“Prince. We have arrived.”
After that, when Yan’s voice was heard again, the knights began to move busily and defend the surrounding area.
I can see the concert hall.
The outer wall was made of stone, and its shape, made of black and white granite, reminded me of the coffin carried in the royal palace.
Soon Calian got off Raven’s back and Jan gave Raven’s reins to a servant at the venue.
“The prince is a special horse, so please treat it with care. Absolutely. Very, very carefully.”
Jan knew Raven’s temperament well, so she didn’t forget to tell her with a face that said, ‘It’s so bad when the prince isn’t around.’
As I turned my head, I noticed that the red carpet that had been laid out for the King’s family extended all the way to the front gate of the concert hall.
“Welcome. It is truly an honor to serve you like this.”
And Melfir Fallun also caught my eye.
* * *
Melphyr Fallun.
He was a round-faced man with short, gray hair.
The first impressions of Lennon Briesen, the owner of the Brissen upper class, and Melfir Fallun, the owner of the Fallun upper class, were clearly different. In that brief moment of greeting, Melphyr made eye contact with all of the king’s family and smiled.
It is an act of observing the other person and trying to leave an impression. There was a difference in weight from Lennon, who opened his mouth without thinking.
“I’ll take you inside.”
Melfir, who said this, personally led the way.
While he followed, Kalyan looked around to determine where the accident occurred. Before long, Calian’s eyes lit up slightly when he saw a certain point.
‘That’s it.’
It wasn’t difficult to find problematic factors.
It was a large basket that seemed to contain flower petals to decorate the finale of the performance. It was the only temporary structure tied with rope.
The performance hall had an oval-shaped stadium in the center, with eight levels of audience seating surrounding it. There was a special seat in the center of the audience, where the king’s family would sit. There was a basket hanging far above it.
‘They say that thing is falling. Does this mean the drivers didn’t check in advance?’
There were definitely knights who accompanied us here.
The knights of Kaera, the king’s personal guard, closely guarded only Lemain, and the knights of Pavel, the royal knights, were in charge of escorting the royal family other than Lemain and watching the people and objects around them. So that rope must have been inspected by Pavel.
‘If an accident occurred even after inspection, it would mean that Pavel knew but pretended not to know or did not check at all.’
Of course, Pavel was a knight in Brysen’s hands.
Calian grunted quietly.
‘There is no one in the world I can trust.’
Soon, as the king’s family stepped up to the special seating area, all the audience members who had already filled the seats stood up and applauded in welcome. LeMaine responded by raising his hand toward them. After that, Melfir raised his arm and pointed to the seat.
“Please come this way.”
Lemain and Silique sat down in their respective seats, and Randel and Planz walked to the seats provided behind them. As always, Calian made the last move.
Calian slowed down his pace.
He passed by Melfir at an unusually slow pace and opened his mouth in a very low voice.
“There’s something uneasy about the top of your head. Take a look.”
For a brief moment, Melfir’s gaze landed on Calian.
But Calian walked to his seat and sat down with his eyes downcast, as if he hadn’t said anything.
Melfir also showed no reaction and straightened his slightly bent back.
‘I can’t explain it in more detail because I’m not in a situation where I can help by revealing it. Still, if you’re a merchant, you’ll probably be aware of that.’
If an accident occurred because Melfir did not understand what he was saying, he planned to pull Randel in and protect him from getting hurt. As long as it isn’t revealed that Randel was the target, Melfir’s life will be saved.
Melfir’s gaze rested on his seat next to Lemaine. It was a place where I could talk to Lemain without being interrupted by other nobles throughout the performance. Naturally, it was not easy for Baron Melphyr to have the opportunity to sit next to Lemain for such a long time.
The worries didn’t last long.
Melfir turned around. Calian came into view with a face that didn’t seem to even care about him.
Melfir closed his mouth once and then spoke to Lemain.
“Your Highness. While the performance is in progress, I will be supervising from below. Therefore, I will have to leave the room. I am sorry.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Calian laughed slightly.
‘You’re smart.’
With one word from Calian, I immediately threw away the opportunity to talk next to Lemain. This means that you are prudent enough to consider contingencies more important than immediate gains.
After receiving Lemain’s permission, Melphyr left the scene.
– It is an infinite honor to meet you.
Soon after, the host of the performance walked out to the middle of the playground.
The host placed one hand over his belly button and bowed towards the special seating area, then looked at the audience and greeted them again.
– And welcome to all the audience gathered here.
The audience responded with loud applause. The host continued.
– The Astrisha Polun concert hall where you are sitting is located in a very historic place. This is the place where I stand, where His Highness King Hatsuara stopped the words of the late Queen Sispanian, who was about to return after the War of the Two Gods!
The audience laughed all at once.
This is because they say the same thing at all of Kairis’ horseback riding venues.
The host, who drew the audience’s attention, joked with a serious face and heightened the mood.
– Then, so that you don’t have to wait any longer, let’s start the performance.
After saying hello, the host went inside and the actual performance began.
Riders leading several horses showed various tricks, such as standing on their heads on their heads and passing under the legs of running horses.
Calian was looking at that with slightly bored eyes. Most of them were things he had easily done himself. Of course, most of the audience, who would not have such abilities, exclaimed and loved it.
Silike was still holding a fan, but whenever a dangerous stunt was performed, he covered his face with it and made a gesture as if he could not look at it properly.
Silike was sitting diagonally in front of Calian, and the performance was taking place in that direction, so Calian had to watch what Silike was doing.
‘Where’s that Silike who said he would kill me as if to listen?’
Calian, who found it more difficult to tolerate that abominable sight, turned his head. Then this time, his eyes met with Plantz, who was glaring fiercely at Calian.
Still, Kirie’s death came to mind on the way back, and my feelings for Plantz were revived. Therefore, Calian glared at Plantz without hiding his expression full of hatred.
At that time, the rider on the running horse jumped out of the saddle and landed perfectly on the saddle of another horse running behind him.
The audience applauded loudly and cheered, and Plantz opened his mouth through the noise.
An eerie, eerie and ominous sound came out, but small enough for only Calian to hear.
“Unpleasant, sneaky and cunning.”
It was said to Calian.
I don’t know what else he didn’t like, but Planz looked at Calian and started talking like this.
“I don’t even know my subject.”
Calian’s eyes turned fierce at this absurd situation, where Silike sent poison and Plantz sent curses.
‘Has a crazy person run away!’
Calian, who almost rushed at Planz for a moment, barely remembered that there was a lot of attention around him. I told myself that there was no need to deal with him here.
Calian closed his eyes and opened them.
The sharp eyes and facial expressions were erased as if they were lies, and the expressionless face that was used to face Plants returned. Plantz’s mouth twisted when he saw that.
“It’s disgusting. I’m gagging.”
It wasn’t Planz.
I didn’t know how to control my anger by paying attention to those around me. Plantz spoke as if chewing and spitting out.
“… That vulgar, dirty blood flowing through you.”
Randel raised his eyes and looked at Plantz.
The gazes of the knights and servants standing behind were no different. Everyone looked at Planz.
And Lemain.
His sunken eyes also turned to Planz.
This is because the first part of the performance ended and Plantz’s voice rang out clearly in a place where the audience’s noise had disappeared, and everyone in the special box heard Plantz’s words.
‘Planz.’
Silike’s eyes were miserably distorted.
There was silence where not a single breath could be heard.
Calian, who had no confidence in hiding his expression, raised his hands and covered his face.
Calian’s mouth, hidden by his white hand, drew a long line.
