Chapter 46. It’s a prince (3)
There was no need to hear a knock.
As I passed through the hallway and approached the front office, there was someone who opened the door and greeted me warmly.
“Welcome, Lord Bern.”
The person who visited was Hina, and the person who greeted was Alan. Hina, holding something in her arms and sticking out her eyes, bowed her head and said hello. Because the unexpected object seemed very heavy, Allen quickly took it from Hina’s hand and placed it on the table.
Meanwhile, Aila, who followed Hina, showed courtesy and closed the door from the outside. Alan, who caught a glimpse of that figure, looked at what Hina was carrying and asked.
“Isn’t it Kabania? It must be quite expensive.”
– yes that’s right.
The red flowers had a sweet scent, not a floral scent.
At first glance, it resembles a peony, but it is much smaller and the shape of its petals is unique. Hina spoke to Alan, who was looking down at a flower pot full of mysterious flowers.
– I had a hard time finding it because I thought it was medicinal, but Veronica said it wasn’t what she was looking for, so I tried to grow it in my office. Then, when I saw the flower blooming, I thought the corps commander would like it, so I brought it.
Red petals as transparent as jewels.
As he was looking at it, Alan suddenly remembered his student’s pretty eyes and made an expression as pleasant as the sweet scent. It had already been a while since I had seen Calian, so he was quite dazzling before my eyes.
“Thank you for your consideration. I will raise it well with all my heart.”
Hina nodded with a smile and stood up.
I didn’t have any special business to do, but I came to deliver a flower pot, so I was just about to get up. But Alan got up quickly and prepared tea.
It seemed like she had something else she wanted to say, so Hina just waited for a while without saying anything else or asking if Aila could come in with her.
Before long, two cups of refreshing-smelling mint tea were placed on the table. After that, Alan, who sat across from Hina again, glanced towards the door and opened his mouth.
“I heard about Wilhelm Kwan’s affair. I heard that the guy standing outside the door has stronger hands than I expected. Is it worth staying with him? Are there any awkward spots?”
– Are you an escort? Yes, I’m doing well. We became a lot closer.
“If you have any inconveniences during your stay, please tell me. The prince is so angry that he will take good care of you, so much so that my ears prick up.”
Hina nodded and took a sip of the tea just handed to her. Then he put down the teacup and said.
– cool. It’s the same leaf, but it tastes different and smells different.
The mint tea that Alan gave her tasted better than any tea that Hina had ever drunk. The scent was cool, but it tasted warm.
“Still, I always find it difficult to make this. Coffee always needs to be made strong, and strawberry tea only needs to be made light, so isn’t this guy always the problem?”
The coffee that Alan and Arsene drink is always strong, and the strawberry tea for Plants is always light. And the mint tea that Kalyan drinks is absolutely delicious. Therefore, car for Kalyan is the most difficult.
Knowing full well that that was what Hina was saying, she nodded again and then asked.
– By the way, Eila is from Secretia?
Alan had already sat Hina down to ask if Aila was getting along, but when these words came out of Hina’s fingertips, he looked surprised.
Actually, what Hina noticed wasn’t that big of a deal.
Although I had never met Aela in person when I accompanied Rosellita to Calian, I knew that Aila was from the ‘Whitlin’ territory.
“Not now. Does that bother you at all?”
– no. Howie’s last name. I know where it is. So I was curious whether the person really came from there or if it was a castle that the prince named.
“I understand that it was built by the prince. Is there a place like that in Secretia?”
– yes. there is. I heard it was a small forest.
Alan made a bewildered expression without Hina knowing.
Oh my, our pretty student has created something to get caught about again. I guess I should contact Chase sometime and ask him to change the name of the place called Bridget. My flower-like student accidentally used the place name Secretia when naming herself. What should I do? I guess we should change that place name.
While Alan was making plans to create something big for himself, Hina continued speaking.
– It was written in a letter left by my deceased mother. He said it was where he first met his mom and dad.
Hina’s mother.
Was he an elf who did something wrong and was exiled? Is that why he lived in hiding in the forest of Secretia instead of Kairis?
– I thought if I gave birth to my brother in this country, we would all be able to return to the elf forest together, but we couldn’t. So my mom, dad, brother, and I all wanted to go back to that forest and live there, but we said we couldn’t do that. He said he was sick, my mom. If I had waited a little longer, I could have fixed it.
Hina looked into the teacup for a moment and then moved her hand again.
– I couldn’t remember my mom or dad, so I always told my brother that. Let’s go live there instead later. I no longer think about going to that forest, but before I met the kind prince, I said that almost every day. I imagined that it would definitely be a happy place even if I didn’t know where it was. So I was happy when I heard your name.
‘I guess there’s no need to contact Chase.’
Alan shook his head, vaguely understanding why Calian used that name. At this point, even if Chase decides to change his name first, he has to step in and stop him. So, after hearing Aila’s name, I changed my mind to get rid of anyone who was suspicious.
We learned why Kirie, who lost Hina in the past, went to Secretia. That’s how Kirie went to visit Secretia, so Bern met Kirie. Otherwise, Calian would have been living without even knowing who Kyrie was.
If Alan had not arbitrarily given Hina and Kirie the last name ‘Bern’, their last name would have definitely been ‘Brigitte’. There may be another reason why that last name was given to Aela, which only Calian knows, but it is fortunate that it was not given without thought.
Alan, who found out about his son’s true intentions again, looked at Hina and asked.
“Okay. So now you think it would be better for you to live here than there?”
Hina raised her head and looked at Alan.
And he answered, nodding his head with a worry-free expression.
– Corps commander. This is a really strange place.
Two cats with long, long names written on the strings of their necklaces live in Jeon Seo-gu, who eats chicken without salt from anyone and boasts to his flocking colleagues about what the golden light of a healer felt like, and the deputy commander who brings sparkling water to Jeon Seo-gu is Ori. Such a strange place to gather food. What a strange place.
Hina, who lives in such a place, smiled warmly and nodded.
– I guess it’s because the kind prince who created this place is the strangest person. I like this place with so many strange things better than the happy place I had only imagined.
“Seeing you say things like that, I guess you’re a strange person too.”
I guess it’s because it’s a place where a prince who went back in time to an enemy country goes to reveal all the secrets he feels he must keep until his death. Or maybe it’s because it’s a place where people try to save everyone instead of taking revenge like they absolutely have to.
Alan, who was thinking this, smiled.
* * *
My feet dig into the sand carved by the waves.
Little by little I was buried like that without even knowing it. Before you know it, the tops of your feet are wet from the waves that touch your toes.
“Do you know what you just said?”
The waves were crashing, but only a pitchless voice came out from between my clenched lips. Even though it had been a long time since he had seen Calian’s face like that, Plantz answered in a low voice that was no different from his usual voice.
“He told me to be greedy and live my life, but it seems like you don’t do that.”
“You don’t know why I’m doing that, right?”
“I couldn’t choose either side, so I ended up just washing the starch off my clothes. As if I believed that if I did that, it would be like it was never my fault. I thought that all your faults would have already been erased, so if I made it like it was never my fault. “I thought it would be seen at the same level. That’s why I wanted to ask.”
Without paying the slightest attention to the tightly held collar, Plantz continued speaking while glaring straight into Calian’s eyes.
“It seems like all your mistakes have been erased along with the king. If you go back to wearing white clothes with not a single stain on them, force yourself to be at eye level like that, and try to bury it all without forgiving or reprimanding. I guess that’s what will happen.”
Strength went into the tips of the hands holding the collar.
“You can’t do that.”
– How many people are there.
– What are you talking about all of a sudden?
– The life that the prince secretly erased. I’m asking how many people there are.
wrong. Irreducible.
It’s like tea that has already been spilled. It causes burns and bursts of blisters, leaving scars.
– …… How did you know that?
– Yesterday, I happened to see the prince entering Count Tion’s house. But this morning I heard that that very family has disappeared. When I thought about it, the same thing happened every day the prince smelled blood.
– Forget it.
– I think there must be some reason why so many people had to be killed and eliminated. Don’t tell me to forget, just tell me. I will try to understand.
– Nothing changes if you talk about it. It will continue to be the same in the future. So just stop there. It’s none of your business.
regret. To no avail.
Like rain pouring in through a broken window. Even if you try to block it, it ends up rushing in and freezing your whole body.
– Not long ago, His Majesty called me. When he asked if I wanted to do something other than being an engineer, I said I didn’t want to live as a nameless bird. I said I would live with pride and die with honor. He said he would live and die as a knight like a prince. however.
– Ayla.
– I don’t think you need to do that.
Forgiveness. Unobtainable.
It’s like a river flowing with many words. No matter what I do, I can’t show and hear anymore, so I just stay silent.
– King. The blue warbler… folded its wings.
-……The body.
– We will try to resolve the matter through the birds that went to Tensil.
– Come find me. Bring it here.
So, in the end, he was driven into the deep, dark water and sank alone.
The whale’s cry.
“Go back to the past. Because you forgot all the people you need to ask for forgiveness and survived. Whether you die at the hands of someone else or not, you won’t have blood on your hands. So now that you have no one to atone for, you’ll feel at ease. If the baby knife is that color. Like that. “I’m not going to live like a brat just because I’m the older brother.”
There was a fishy smell full of salt.
I feel like the fishy smell of the sea is somehow familiar. I feel like I’m standing in the sea.
“The bastard who went crazy because he was buried in the smell of blood that no one knows about, doesn’t care whether the person who spilled the blood is alive or dead, and lives his life in atonement. That’s your responsibility. Don’t get out of that water and die, just suffocate in there and continue. live.”
Life as Bern.
“You… Don’t think that you don’t deserve it just because you weren’t the Calian you used to be. Even if you can’t forgive me for what I did to Calian, you can forgive me. It’s okay. “Don’t force yourself to ignore him because you think he’s fake even though he has all the memories. What happens to Chase if you do that? Don’t make your former brother into someone who has disappeared.”
And life as an old Calian.
“If you decide to take on everything, take both responsibility and rights. Don’t take only what you are responsible for, take everything. If it seems natural, take it for granted. If it seems greedy, be greedy. You can do that.”
– Brother, here is the kaleidoscope. You left it in the garden yesterday. Ah, red… I didn’t know you hated it. Then can I have this? I’ll consider it a birthday present.
– Brother, have you ever seen what’s in here? It looks like a red star is twinkling.
– Brother, do you know what? Just like us, Secretia has a funeral with flowers… I hope the flowers for me turn into red stars and fly away.
– It’s not my brother. I just said it out loud. There’s nothing wrong. Because of the jewels in the kaleidoscope. That’s what I thought because it looked like it had stars in it. Nothing happened. no. He didn’t come. yes. Nothing really happened. It’s really just something I said.
– Brother…
My head drops as I am flooded with memories.
Through the fishy smell of salt, there was another fishy smell.
“Don’t do that…”
I complained.
I let out a breath I couldn’t hold any longer. I took a breath.
“Don’t do that all of a sudden just because of my words.”
The white hand that was clinging to it trembled slightly.
A new scar appeared on top of the long scar on the palm of my hand. Blood spreads on the pure white collar that I held tightly.
“How can I know if you don’t tell me? How can I understand… If you don’t talk, how can I understand? I should have explained it… I should have explained it to you!”
Because he was an old Calian, he could not forgive, but because he was Bern, who could not ask for forgiveness from anyone because he could not save anyone. Because I was unable to finally rebuke my brother who would never be forgiven.
“Why do you look so similar? Why do you look so similar to me? Why do you look so much like me?”
I finally understood.
Because that is what Kalyan is now. In the end, I had no choice but to understand.
“Brother…”
I got greedy.
Before I knew it, the transparent emotions that I could no longer hide, which had been piled up on top of my feet submerged in the sea, fell one by one. They dripped into the water filled with the same salty smell.
The waves came quietly and then quietly moved away.
