Chapter 25. Where to be (8)
I hated strong scents.
It reminded me of Renieri and I suddenly started hating it. It’s been like that for so long that I can’t even remember how many years ago it was.
The terrible feeling of covering everything around me with my own scent made me shudder, so I hated anything that had too much scent. Plantz did not bother to distinguish whether it was truly hatred or a repulsion to cover up the opposite feeling. I just hated it.
Whether he guessed the reason or just ignorantly watched it one by one, his younger brother found out about it. Of course, Plantz just wanted to do it.
And today, Hina, who was as quiet as Plants, asked me something unfamiliar. So, after much thought, I gave an answer.
okay. He said he likes strawberries.
I answered like that.
I said I liked strawberries, but I didn’t say I was crazy about strawberries.
“By any chance. Is there any strawberry farm in the palace?”
Demirea, who was sitting expressionless, finally said this at the end of the meal. The last dessert was strawberry ice cream.
At Demirea’s words, only Hina saw that Planz’s arm stopped for a moment and then moved again. Because of this, Hina’s head lowered incessantly.
If Calian had known this backstory, he would have probably caused another uproar. Fortunately, Calian did not notice why this happened.
– Do you like strawberries, bro?
This was because, while I was eating food that made my mouth smell like strawberries for a good few days, I had to swallow an unfamiliar memory that suddenly came to my mind.
A memory from a long time ago that the current Calian should never touch.
“…Strawberries are good.”
Because of this, Calian reacted a little late to Demirea’s words. After some time had passed, Calian recognized the words and raised his head. Instead of correcting the menu, it was clear that it was a crazy menu, and he laughed a little.
“Now that I think about it, Hina’s favorite is strawberry ice cream.”
He then turned the topic to Hina and told Jan to make sure to bring ice cream to Hina as well. This also ensured that no more comments were made about this bizarre dinner menu. Kalyan, the owner of this place, has no complaints, so who can say anything?
After a while, Kalian spoke again.
“older brother.”
Plantz, who finished his meal diligently as he knew that he was the cause of this sad month, looked at Calian. That was the answer, so Calian opened his mouth again.
“Did you tell Your Highness when you would bring in Count Eifrin’s knights?”
It was Kalian who brought back memories as difficult to approach as the scent of strawberries. Because I hesitated for a while, I couldn’t say anything else during the meal, so I was just finally getting the word out.
Plantz, who looked for a moment at the pink bubbles of carbonated water slowly subsiding, answered.
“Before mid-June.”
Calian nodded once without another answer. Then he looked at Demirea and said.
“Please prepare to take charge of the knights until then, Demirea. There will probably be about 200 at first.”
“Yes, my prince.”
Although it was not a small number, Demirea answered with a face that seemed to be no problem.
“I don’t know what to say. No matter how Siegfried you are, if the number of knights suddenly increases to 200, it’s bound to attract the attention of those around you.”
“I will assume that my maternal family’s knights have come back to visit.”
Not long ago, Slayman’s wife, Serie, Serie’s younger brother, and their husband, Gasol, and their knights stayed at Siegfried’s mansion. This was because Slayman was too worried to leave Serie alone to guard the large mansion. Then, at the end of last year, the couple had a child and returned to their territory.
Therefore, Demirea thought that the most problematic thing would be if the knights decided to come to the mansion again and stay. This was because it was clear that Marquis Evan Briesen’s light hips would start shaking again if 200 knights of Duke Siegfried, led by Sleiman, came to the capital.
“Yes. I will cover the cost, so please let me know. It’s difficult for me to calculate that.”
“All right.”
Kalian, who had said that much, took a sip of pink soda water and organized his thoughts once again. Then he looked at Jan and opened his mouth.
“Jan. I’m sorry, but can you take my seat?”
The restaurant’s attendants, including the chef, had already left the table after serving dessert. So now, Calian had told Plantz’s servant Reric, the guards, and Hina and Yan himself to leave the place.
Yan just bowed his head without another answer and then walked out with the others. Calian, who was watching this, turned his head and looked at Plantz again.
Now it was time to talk about Evan Briesen.
Of course, it was a story that Plantz should not know, so the look in his eyes meant that he should leave the room.
“okay.”
Plantz stood up silently and responded to Calian’s words that had not yet been said. No matter what the intention, isn’t a ban on guests a ban on guests? So, I stopped Calian before he could say anything, which was clearly going to start with an apology, saying, ‘I’m sorry.’
“yes.”
Calian, who had shown some consideration for the prince’s position by sending out the attendant and knight first and then speaking to Plantz, instead apologized with a short answer. One corner of Planz’s mouth, who knew this well, went up slightly.
Soon, Plants went out and Calian opened his mouth in the restaurant where only the three of them, including Dmirea and Arsene, were left. The first was towards Arsene.
“Lord Hertz. I would like you to come and meet Margrave Briesen for me. As you know, I am grounded.”
Calian, who spoke like this, looked like an ordinary fifteen-year-old boy who had committed an ordinary accident and received an ordinary punishment.
“Yes, my prince. What may I tell you?”
“Don’t say I sent you, as if the Lord will change his mind. Ask the Margrave if he still intends to come to the capital. It would be better if you could check if he is still in contact with Brother Randel.”
“Are you telling me to make up my mind by acting as if I will betray the prince and side with Prince Planz or Prince Randel and join hands with Margrave Gray Briesen?”
“Exactly.”
“all right.”
Arsene answered without hesitation.
As if I had received a truly ordinary request.
“Lord Siren is planning to build a movement magic circle towards the Marriage Spirit of Briseen, so you can leave the palace unattended to do related work.”
After completing his instructions to Arsene, Calian turned his gaze towards Demirea.
“And Demirea. Can you find out if there are people among your brothers or those who are not on my side who could become the new margrave? I think I should make a recommendation to your majesty.”
A new margrave who adheres to complete neutrality.
A person who can take Gray’s vacancy when he comes to the capital.
There was a reason for not trusting Lemain’s personnel evaluation, but a greater reason was that he was concerned that if Lemain tried to find out about it, the information would reach the ears of Evan, who might be around Lemain. That’s why I wanted to borrow Demirea’s eyes.
Demirea, who watched for a moment as the bubbles in the carbonated water burst and disappeared, just as Plants did, answered.
“Is it okay for the duke to know?”
It was a question asking whether it was okay to ask Sleiman for advice or whether it was something that should be handled on Demirea’s behalf. Calian shook his head and smiled slightly.
“Yan went out.”
The answer was that it had to be kept a secret even from Jan, so he did not want Slayman to know either.
Finding a candidate for margrave was not that difficult. Therefore, Demirea simply answered that she understood without saying anything else.
At this point, Demirea and Arsene figured out what Calian was thinking. So Demirea kept quiet, pretending not to know anything. This is because there was no desire to directly get involved in the fight for Calian’s position. Instead, Arsene spoke with a somewhat worried expression.
“Isn’t it too early? The prince’s base forces are not that large yet, so I think we can move after Balkan is established.”
Purge of Marquess Evan Briesen. Or assassination.
It was unclear which direction the two would take, but it was clear that Calian was trying to prepare for the situation after Evan disappeared.
If Evan was removed, Brisen’s supporters would come out here and there. It was difficult to predict whether they would still support Brisen or fall away to Calian or Randel.
“Besides, didn’t the prince say that he would increase Balkan’s size by February next year? Can’t we start then?”
“Even if the Balkan wizards establish themselves, it is their power, not their power.”
If something happens, you will be able to fight directly for Calian like Arsene said.
However, the Balkans themselves do not occupy a single slice of aristocratic society. As Calian said, the Balkan wizards are a force, not a force. Of course, it could be a reason for the nobles to take Calian’s side.
“I will move at the right time so that I can have the support for me. It won’t take long, so Deputy Commander Hertz, please confirm the intentions of Margrave Briesen first.”
Kalian’s words ended there.
How do you plan to create a force, how do you plan to get rid of Evan, and how do you plan to organize things after that? These things were still hidden in Calian’s mind and had not yet come out.
“Yes, I will.”
Fortunately, no one who wanted to know Calian’s inner thoughts was present, so Arsene easily agreed and answered this time.
With that, Kalian ended the dinner without further explanation. The scent of strawberries, which I had forced myself to eat as if I liked them, was still lingering in my mouth.
* * *
– Look straight ahead.
suddenly.
Really suddenly.
– Don’t avoid me, look at me properly. Don’t ignore the fact that you’re dying.
Something that was quietly buried deep in my memory.
The image of that day came to mind.
– okay. If you look at it that way, you should now know it properly. you also.
For Jan it is.
– what’s the matter. Aren’t you happy if I die?
It was a silent dagger made by small, bloodless fingers.
* * *
The words that said to look at me properly instead of avoiding it.
That’s what came to mind when I saw Calian’s face.
It was probably because of a memory that came to mind briefly while talking to Demirea. The memory that I didn’t bother to bring out was rushing through my head like a wind blowing with no place to escape.
Jan came out of the restaurant and stopped in front of the door.
“I’ll go first, Hina.”
Then he spoke to Hina while keeping his gaze towards the floor. I needed to look at Hina’s hand to see if she was answering, but I couldn’t.
I caught a glimpse of Hina, who was standing next to me, turning and walking away. He probably answered that he knew.
“Whew.”
Yan exhaled for a moment and shook his head. And at that time, I heard the restaurant door open once more and someone walking out.
Aren’t the people coming out from inside now the ones Kalyan left behind, saying he would have an important conversation? So, as Jan turned his head back to check who was coming, he heard a low voice.
“you.”
Of course, it was Plantz who opened the restaurant door himself and came out, as he had even left the knights guarding the door.
ah.
Why is that bastard now?
Because of this thought, an answer that was not at all good came out.
“why.”
Plantz laughed.
Now, Plantz did not call Jan ‘Siegfried’. Nevertheless, Jan gave this kind of answer.
“… My brother’s servant doesn’t know the subject.”
So, Plantz dared to say the word ‘servant.’
Of course, Jan didn’t show a very good attitude toward Plantz recently, but it wasn’t like this.
So, it seemed like Jan’s mind was a mess right now, so Plantz used his own method to sort it out.
“ah.”
Only then did Yan look at his actions and look disappointed. The 3rd prince’s attendant answers the 2nd prince, ‘Why?’ Isn’t this a big mistake enough to get kicked out of the palace right away?
“I’ll take a moment…”
“That’s enough.”
And Plantz cut off Jan’s words like this:
Of course, it meant there was no need to say sorry. And of course.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s an apology. Let’s pretend that neither of us exist.”
For a moment, even in the midst of this, Jan sympathized with Relic for a moment. If Calian had said something like that, Jan would have run out of the palace on her own before being kicked out.
What on earth does that mean? I can’t understand.
These words were clearly visible on Jan’s face. Because what Yan was thinking was always revealed on his face. Because of this, Plantz, who is very patient, looked annoyed but opened his mouth again.
“knife.”
The words were short again, but fortunately this time I understood.
Calian once said this. He said he would tell Jan to apologize for throwing the knife at him. So now, Plantz may be saying that we should exchange what happened then and Jan’s mistakes now.
Jan nodded slightly.
“thank you.”
He said he would bury me for something I couldn’t even remember and my current mistake, so I felt like I should have been grateful.
Plantz, who was staring at Yan blankly, opened his mouth before passing by. That’s because that wasn’t the only thing that appeared on Jan’s face.
“… I originally didn’t like it. My younger brother.”
There’s a lot of talk about Planz these days.
Still, since he had made a mistake a little while ago, Jan put aside his complicated thoughts for a moment and looked at Planz.
It was clear that I didn’t understand again. That’s why Plantz opened his mouth again.
“No matter how much I like it, anyone would get sick of it if it was served that way. I used to hate it too.”
Plantz did not miss the fact that Jan paused while looking at Calian’s expression in the restaurant a little while ago. Wasn’t Jan the only one who could tell whether Calian was smiling because he was angry or happy?
It was not difficult for Plantz to guess what Jan was thinking and why he made an unbecoming mistake.
It was also very easy for the smart Planz to figure out where the thoughts would go if the current yarn was left as is.
Jan said, shaking his head.
“No. The prince definitely liked it. But suddenly today…”
“He originally hated it.”
Plantz, who interrupted Jan, said this.
It was annoying and annoying to argue with Calian’s attendant over just one strawberry, but for now, he continued talking.
“Force I pretended to like you. That’s what I said. Before you came to the palace.”
… Trying to talk to me.
Calian was not good at lying.
Currently, only Kalian was not good at lying.
It was not the old Kalyan.
So, in Yan’s eyes, it would not have been possible to see whether it was unreasonable or not.
“And everyone changes, right? So don’t be so upset about missing my brother’s taste.”
Just with one strawberry, don’t be suspicious of anything else, and if the same thing happens again in the future, don’t think too much about it. Plantz said:
Plantz, who has changed more than anyone else, says this.
Thanks to you, Yan nodded quietly and then asked.
“But…why do you say that?”
Why did you meddle like this?
Not fitting in.
At those words, Plantz closed his eyes for a moment.
Not all truths have to be revealed.
Plantz knows that sometimes there are truths that must be hidden forever.
Even if it’s something that will eventually be revealed sometime later.
I know it shouldn’t be, at least not now.
“My younger brother, who has put down everything he was holding, should have a corner to lean on for the last time.”
Plantz also knows that that one thing has not changed for Kalian, past or present.
So, Yan is just being Yan.
Just like Yan is Yan.
It was something I said because I hoped so.
