Chapter 40. I couldn’t handle it (1), but
I liked everything sweet.
I liked sweets to the point where I thought the reason I only drank bitter coffee was to better enjoy the sweet taste of the things that came with it.
So, the reason why the cake, which was made with not-too-sweet purple sweet potatoes and carrots, tasted so sweet was probably because the cook of Eline, King of Riverne, only took Alan’s taste into consideration.
“It’s delicious. Why don’t you eat it? It was sent by King Rivern.”
Euria, who has a sweet tooth of her own, although not as much as Alan, asked this as she quickly ate a piece of purple cake that was exactly the same color as her hair.
“It hasn’t even been a day or two since Eline sent a gift, so what’s the big deal?”
“It’s a gift sent to you while using a preservation spell. Why don’t you take a bite? It’s just a sweet taste that suits Count Manasil’s taste.”
“Sweet potato and carrot cake. It’s not the flavor I like.”
Even though the taste of the sweet potato cake with layers of purée made from stewed apples and purple carrots was very good, Alan, who did not take a bite, responded as if he did not understand Euria, who was good at eating cake. By Alan’s standards, sweet potatoes and carrots were not suitable for use as cake ingredients.
Thanks to this, only Euria, who had come to inform Allen of Calian and deliver Rivern’s gift to Allen, was excited.
“It’s just delicious. It would be perfect with just a glass of Marjorini, but that’s a shame.”
Alan, who had come to visit in the morning and saw Euria looking for apple liquor that boasted an alcohol content as high as Himolica, shook his head. Alan also enjoyed drinking, but not as much as Euria.
“You didn’t even touch me, so I feel like I’m stealing something from Count Manasil for no reason.”
“Aren’t you eating too well to feel that way?”
“Because it’s delicious.”
Eurya answered with a bright smile that Arsene would probably not believe if he saw it, and brought the second piece of cake forward.
“Ribern even sent me an accessory with a high-level magic stone this month.”
“It’s hard to find a magic stone, but that’s good. I’ll look into it later.”
“Sending from here doesn’t change much, and sending from Rivern costs more and more. Can we continue to receive this?”
In fact, numerous gifts, including not only food but also all kinds of magic tools, books, and accessories, were regularly delivered from Riverne through the Wizards’ Association. Not only Alan but also Euria knew very well who these gifts from Rivern, sent in the name of exchange between the wizard associations of the two countries, were actually for.
“I’m giving it to you anyway, so you can just take it all.”
“King Rivern is so amazing that he sells the name of the association and sends it to us every month, even though he can’t send it directly because he’s worried about other countries.”
It was a mixture of appropriate admiration and appropriate sarcasm.
Alan accepted all the gifts Eline sent him without even considering whether it was out of friendship or guilt over his son Ronil’s actions. I just received the expensive black mother-of-pearl carriage anyway, but I was thinking about other gifts. The magic stone was a bit unexpected.
Allen’s intention was to accept all the gifts without necessarily rejecting them, whether he knew it or not, but Eline’s intention to keep sending gifts even after receiving them was also something that Euria could not guess.
okay. It felt like I was encountering a purple sweet potato whose taste I could never imagine before tasting it. A purple sweet potato that tastes like an unripe potato, sweet like grapes, or even like eggplant.
Like a king and a great wizard who do not reveal their true intentions when giving and receiving gifts, Alan held out his hand towards Euria, who ate three pieces of the cake made by hiding the unique taste of purple sweet potatoes well with sugar and honey.
“If you’ve finished eating, give it to me now.”
“What? The price of the cake?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m talking about the results of Crown Prince Tensil’s background investigation. You’ve always sent gifts through other wizards, but today you came in person. Isn’t that why you came in person under the pretext of delivering gifts to show me the results of the investigation?”
“What does it mean to me if you say it’s a background investigation? This all started because of Count Manasil, so please wrap it up in a nice way.”
Euria, who grumbled while making a request that Alan could not possibly grant, cleared her throat with bitter coffee and opened her mouth again.
“And since this is Prince Calian’s business, I will give it to him right away. I will not show it to Count Manasil.”
“Anyway, this guy and that guy don’t listen to me.”
Alan, who had little memory of being treated as a proper archmage since leaving Rivern, narrowed his brows and responded.
This guy looks like me, but Alan spoke again to Euria, who was wondering whether or not to ask who that guy is.
“Anyway, my prince is feeling uncomfortable right now, so I’ll give it to him. Please give it to him quickly.”
So, that damn prince is Alan, who when you ask him why he always feels uncomfortable, he will tell you to take everything and throw a fireball as white as snow.
“yes.”
Therefore, Euria simply answered without saying anything, then took out a large and thick stack of documents from the palm-sized bag she always carried with her and handed it to Alan. Anyway, Alan wasn’t the kind of person who would do anything that wouldn’t help Calian.
Euria asked as if passing by Allen, who was holding up the document and looking through it.
“Is Vice Commander Hertz busy? He said he would buy me eggs, but he still hasn’t said anything.”
On the way back from the Marriage of Brisen, I had not forgotten how I stopped Euria from eating bird eggs by offering to buy her eggs. Of course, Arsene couldn’t keep up because he was busy, and Alan didn’t know.
“He must be teaching Sir Zeia right now. He is supposed to help Deputy Commander Hertz from today. But do young people these days date by buying him eggs? In our time, he used to buy her flowers.”
“Don’t say things like that with that look on your face.”
Euria stood up from her seat, looking at the wizard in his 20s who looked at her with a warm expression and said, “It’s a good time.”
“Wilhelm are you going?”
“It’s been a while since I miss Needlen and the little boy, but I have to go take care of school work.”
“I heard you were going to see the prince sometime ago.”
“I’m busy. I took the time to come here because I had to meet the prince, but the Count told me that I’m going to run away quickly to avoid the prince, who is making me uncomfortable.”
In fact, the ones that have changed the most after time has flown backwards are probably the wizards of Kairis. To be precise, I would say that it was the thing that caused me to overwork the most.
Alan smiled to himself at this thought and nodded.
“Yes. When I meet Vice Commander Hertz, I will tell him not to forget and to buy him eggs.”
“That’s okay, please say hello to Needlen. My grandmother wants to see me.”
“I understand.”
Euria’s grandmother, Cady Siren, was a 6th-circle lightning wizard and the magic teacher of Euria and Needlen.
Euria, who was smiling as she remembered her grandmother who is now retired and enjoying her old age in the Siren County, looked as if she had just remembered something and asked.
“By the way, is that Secretia really going?”
“Is it possible to go because you’re so busy?”
“I have to go. I want to see the sea for the first time in a while. I want to see the faces of those Secretia guys.”
“It hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
Alan, who was wondering whether or not to tell him not to say that in front of the prince, just shook his head and responded. It’s already a secret that’s easy to pick up, so I didn’t think there was any reason to raise suspicion.
“Prince Calian and His Highness will need to talk about it together. I will let you know when it is decided.”
“Please let me know as soon as it is confirmed. You can’t just take him away on the morning of the day you leave, like the day you took over as principal. If you do that again, the Count will hit you hard.”
“Okay, let’s go out.”
“yes.”
Euria responded immediately and went out, saying that she had enjoyed the cake. Alan, who had been sitting for a while in the room where the guests had left, began to look through the documents properly. Then, without thinking, I took a bite of the cake, put it in my mouth, and frowned.
The unique scent of the purple sweet potato, which was not hidden but subtly wafted out, did not suit my taste, but the cake was not delicious, so I thought I should send the rest back to Euria, who enjoyed it.
* * *
Even if they are of the same servant, there is a hierarchy between them.
From the beginning, even though most of them were nobles, their origins were not considered, so they were not ranked according to status or title, but there was a superior-subordinate relationship with its own standards.
The same goes for the three senior servants in Chermil. It was also divided into two types: formal hierarchy and informal hierarchy.
The official ranking was based on the order of senior servants, with Dan, Randel’s servant, being the highest, followed by Jan and Reric. The unofficial hierarchy was based on the status of the person serving, with Den at the top, followed by Reric and Jan. Although there was no difference in the order of birth of the princes, they respected each other’s ages and maintained a level of courtesy.
So, except for Den, which was at the top in any respect, the hierarchical relationship between Yan and Relic had to change depending on where they were located.
“Princes, it looks like your talk is getting longer again, so I’m going to go do some work for a while. The prince knows, so he won’t be looking for me, and Merlin will be here soon.”
“yes.”
But it didn’t change.
Although Calian’s name was most often mentioned among the nobles as the next crown prince, it was not confirmed. So, when the two of us are together, we can act as if we are equal to Yan or higher than him, but we don’t do that.
Isn’t the reason obvious?
“I’m sorry about what happened last time. My younger brother said he thought it was something everyone knew in Chermil Palace. The two of you are so similar that I thought you might still not know.”
I really didn’t know.
For those who knew that Jan was Siegfried’s eldest son, there were only a handful of them. Wasn’t it about Calian, Lemain, their respective closest associates, and Plantz?
“Most people just pass it by without even thinking about the resemblance, but I guess my younger brother didn’t think that way. Usually, I look at the position first before looking at the person.”
No matter how high-level an attendant he is, he is still an attendant.
Whether nobles or palace officials, everyone thought of Yan as just a high-ranking servant of the prince and did not think of his physical features first.
However, since Demirea never viewed anyone as a position rather than a person from the beginning, she assumed that most people would know it by now.
Jan continued as if it was no big deal.
“My younger brother is still immature, so he doesn’t know much.”
So, I’m having a hard time getting used to the fact that you just call that great little duke your younger brother and call him immature.
After swallowing these words, Relic simply once again calmly answered yes.
“So don’t worry about it, just live comfortably like before. After all, in the palace, we are both servants to the princes.”
“…… yes.”
A situation full of problems ensued, with Jan, who still had no idea what the problem was, talking with a grin on his face, and Relic, whose problem was still not resolved, still responding cautiously in a cautious manner.
And in the room across the hallway where the two were standing, talk was going on about an even bigger problem.
“I know very well that you are smart, brother.”
Calian opened his mouth as if he was in trouble, paused for a moment, tapped the table, and then opened his mouth.
“Learning magic and swordsmanship together is not as easy as you think, brother.”
Calian, who died and came back to life with all his skills in swordsmanship, and who had already reached the 4th circle in magic, said this. It meant that he couldn’t reject it outright, but that he couldn’t tell it anyway.
After taking a sip of juice made by grinding avocado and fig together, Planz asked briefly.
“why.”
Kalian knew that this guy, who was like an avocado, would try to learn everything like an avocado tree sucking up water.
Moreover, the magic that Old Calian achieved through secret self-study is a whopping 3 circles.
Briesen’s involvement in this talented lineage favored by Sispanian led to the abolition of magical education for princes in previous generations, but Plants must have been talented as well. But just because you have talent doesn’t mean there are limits.
Calian, who smiled slightly at this contradictory situation where the person who wanted to learn magic was of perfect Brisen blood, opened his mouth.
“The methods of using mana are different. It’s not like if you store up mana and use it, magic will be used in a flash, and if you store up mana, it’s not like the auror will come out on its own after you take the sword path.”
“Don’t bark. Explain properly.”
Calian made an embarrassed face as he looked at Plantz, who was annoyed that he was deliberately speaking in a childish tone.
I was wondering what else a guy who had just eaten without even knowing that the fig he had just eaten contained a fig flower was going to learn from this.
“Of course, I know that your brother also has magical talent. However, it would be difficult for both of you to do it right now.”
“Even if it’s not right away, I will learn.”
Calian ate the last piece of steak without answering. He then looked at Planz, who had already finished eating, and continued speaking.
“Lucy, just give up your fur. I’ll take it off when I’m here. Eat more. You’re not that tall.”
Plantz’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued to talk to Calian as if he was joking.
“All my brother can do is bark now.”
“I told you to practice building up your mana hard, and I decided to spar with Duke Siegfried today, so if you’re interested, come and see it. Then you suddenly ask me to teach you magic. What can I say?”
“People speak.”
“Oh really.”
Soon it will be time for Demirea to arrive.
After eating peas and rice, Kalyan, who was made to wait for his fiancé who was coming to spar, nodded as if he understood and said.
“Then I will meet you in the evening and talk to you. It would be better for you to learn from me.”
“not.”
Calian, who was glaring at the light green eyes as if he was trying to increase Callian’s patience instead of Lucy, sighed. That grass head, who agreed that setting fire to the elves’ mother tree was a good idea, didn’t know why he was doing that, other than eating well, so in the end, he just sighed.
“Don’t act like you’re in a hurry to clean up after something, as if it will disappear as soon as something happens. It’s not like you didn’t understand.”
“Isn’t that what you meant by trying to teach your mana and teach Dmirea swordsmanship?”
“It’s okay.”
Plantz, who was facing Calian with an annoyed face, pointed at Calian with his finger and said.
“You too, sleep properly. When you wake up from the nightmare, it won’t be a strange dream.”
I had a good dream and I learned it right away.
I’m telling you not to have strange dreams like revenge on Serenti. It’s obvious that he must have thought twice about coming up with that excuse. While making excuses for thinking about it like that, he says he will give Kalian something worth working hard for, but he snatches Kalyan away with his selfish hands and without even the slightest hint of consideration.
I’m going to die because of you, grass head.
I’m so annoyed that I’m dying.
Calian, who had never learned how to overcome such strange stubbornness in two lives, finally sighed deeply again and said,
“After Secretia’s work is over, I’ll let you know from then on.”
So in the end, I promised that once this matter was over, I would teach Pea the magic of removing cat fur.
