Chapter 56. Serpent’s Grave (1)
The sky was clear.
The night was dark and the stars were bright.
Arianne went out of the building to check on Marquis Lei Jian Lin’s soldiers and deliver instructions. Aila came out as Arianne’s escort. There was a reason that it would be the least of a problem if it were known that he was involved in Secretia’s affairs as a person of Kairis, but the reason was that among those here, the one who knew Secretia’s troops best and could handle them properly was Aela. It was bigger.
And Euria was on the highest roof in the mansion, checking the surroundings. Euria’s magic is more effective than Arsene’s in protecting the entire mansion in an emergency.
“If you feel uncomfortable, please don’t hold back and tell me. I will swap places with another wizard.”
Thanks to this, the personal security of Louise, who could not be left alone until Arianne returned with Eila, fell to Arsene for a while.
For Louise, who had seen everything Arsene did in her dreams, this would never have been pleasant. Doesn’t the tea, which has cooled down without even a single bite, represent his feelings?
Arsene, who felt this, spoke up while looking at the teacup from a little distance away. I used my voice as carefully and quietly as possible so as not to startle people with sudden remarks or make them feel like my words were threatening. If I had the chance, I was a crazy person who kept the intact spoon in front of Calian with the intention of asking him to create a perfect set, but I wasn’t the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate even in a situation like this.
Fortunately, Louise, who had been silently looking at the distant sky outside the window, was not surprised. Louise’s answer, with her eyes fixed on the outside of the window, echoed in the quiet room.
“Is there anything that would make me uncomfortable?”
“There can be no inconvenience, right?”
“Why should I let out unnecessary resentment after having a few nightmares? It’s okay.”
Is it because Calian and Chase are similar to Louise in not blaming others?
“The crown prince said there must be a good reason for what happened, and Prince Calian said he would not repeat it. Crown Prince Planz wants to take responsibility for the incident, and you are wary of it. Now is the reason for me to avoid it and avoid it. Would you like to go?”
Even if it was just a dream. Would I really be able to say something like that to the person who personally took the lives of my two sons? Should I call that very rational or very foolish?
Arsene, who thought for a moment about the teacher’s words about how no one is foolish enough to take care of his wounds, quietly closed his mouth. Instead, Louise’s peaceful story continued.
“Actually, Your Highness is not only a good king, but also a very good husband. Of course, not to me.”
“… I was almost surprised to know that you really meant what you said.”
“What you are truly saying is true. Your Majesty never once treated me lowly just because I was your concubine. After the queen left, she treated me with the queen’s courtesy and accompanied me wherever I went. Not only in front of the same people, but also when I met the elves and their elders. “He never changed. Even I was almost deceived by his appearance more than once, so other people would think that there is no one as great as your Majesty.”
I almost made a shocked expression.
It was fortunate that I quickly realized that this was the Devlan seen in the eyes of others.
“Even if your wife drinks poison right in front of your eyes, you have lived your whole life with the person who created the criminal. Would you feel the urge to blame those who have embraced a crime they did not commit?”
Arsene, unable to find anything to say about him, remained silent.
Louise, who was looking at the night sky, turned her head.
And then he stared at Arsene with eyes that seemed to capture the sky of a clear summer day.
“They say a wizard’s faith never changes. Is that true?”
“Wizards are those who find it difficult to believe in someone and make up their mind to follow them wholeheartedly, and who rarely change once they make their decision.”
“Then do you trust and follow Prince Calian?”
“That’s right.”
Actually, I’m a bit scared, but I trust and follow him. Unable to trust and follow him, he takes it upon himself to act as Kalyan’s follower. As I was remembering that fact and unconsciously making a proud face, Louise, who had been quietly watching Arsene, nodded and opened her mouth.
“I don’t know if you know, but it’s my fault that Your Highness is so sick right now.”
“…… Is that so.”
“I almost quit halfway through.”
Neither Calian nor Planz even informed Arsene about it. There was no reason to explain in detail that it was because of Louise’s poison.
“Before I had a dream and a little before your Majesty became suspicious of me and the crown prince. Out of revenge, I poisoned your sleeping scent and found out that I too had been poisoned. As a result, I passed away before your Majesty. I wonder if I will end up dying alone, leaving the Crown Prince alone by His Majesty’s side. At a time when I was hesitating to do what I had been doing due to such concerns, I met the elder of the elves. “To negotiate.”
“Yes. I heard about it.”
Arsene shook his head without another word, and Louise continued.
“I saw something in my dream that day. It was a nightmare. As if I was looking into the end of myself, something I had never experienced, through the eyes of someone other than myself… I watched the world fall apart. I just saw it and heard nothing. “I have never experienced anything more terrifying and terrifying than that.”
Louise paused for a moment as if to catch her breath, then continued.
“After that, in another dream that began, I encountered things that had not yet happened and things from the past that had been erased, so I continued to add poison to the sleeping scent. To prevent the nightmare of that day, the king of this country must “I think it needs to change.”
Louise turned her eyes towards the distant sky again.
And he made a voice that seemed to bring back old memories.
“The only one who committed a mistake is Devlan in the palace. The only one who should die and be punished is Devlan. Not you. I was going to tell you that because you seemed to care, but the story got longer.”
“No. Thank you for listening.”
“But I was wondering if I would ever have to talk to you again. Is it okay if I ask you one favor?”
“Any amount is okay.”
There was a strong sweet scent coming from the cooled tea.
On the contrary, Louise looked at Arsene with a smile that seemed to linger with a bitter scent.
“I hope you protect my child, who stays there alone. It’s something I can’t do in this life.”
Arsene grinned after hearing that.
“Would it be possible?”
Soon, a blue chill gathered at the tip of Arsene’s hand.
At the same time, a thick shield was created around Louise.
“Besides, this time, I plan to protect the mother of the person who will become my king.”
As if to continue the answer, a light that became brighter as the night darkened brightly illuminated the room and then disappeared.
A purple beam of light cuts through the dark night.
It was Euria’s lightning.
* * *
Only Devlan and Chase heard Calian’s words.
No one around could hear Kalian’s words. Of course, even if I had heard it, I wouldn’t have known what it meant.
Devlan understood the situation with only a brief explanation that he was a surviving child.
“That’s sad.”
And Kalyan did not ask what was sad. There was no longer any reason to ask the meaning or listen to the sophistry.
It could mean that he was sad that traces of pruning remained, or it could mean that he was sad that his only son was truly trying with all his might to throw himself away. One thing is clear: I did not say this out of pity for the child. Even though they would have understood that saying that a child ‘survived’ means that the child’s entire family is dead.
“Why don’t you remove this magic and put the child to sleep?”
Chase glanced at Devlan and spoke quietly. As soon as those words were finished, the silent curtain disappeared. Then, Teilan picked up the child who had fallen asleep thanks to Calian’s magic and opened his mouth towards Devlan.
“Just because you turn a blind eye doesn’t mean the facts disappear. It doesn’t mean the countless lives you saved with your own hands disappear.”
Soon, the names of numerous families came out of Teilan’s mouth. He was just quietly reciting the missing family name, but Teylan’s words continued for a long time.
“Jonathan Cajon.”
The name of the child’s father, Count Cajon, was the last to be called.
A relative’s house is located just over a small hill.
The child went to that house that day and spent the night. There was no particular reason. It was because I just wanted to tell scary stories and fight pillows all night long with my siblings who were the same age as me.
But that night, a big fire broke out in the child’s house.
Everything was on fire. Houses, property, and people all burned down and disappeared. No one could escape. I don’t know if it was lucky or bad, but only one child survived.
The child’s relatives discovered the cause of the large fire. I realized that it was not that there were no people who ran away from the mansion, but that there was no one who could escape. Nevertheless, he did not throw the child away. The one night I was planning to take care of the child turned into two days, then three days, and then six weeks passed before I knew it.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew that the body of a small child had not been found in the big fire, and that there was an additional child in their relative’s house. What was known became a rumor and spread again, reaching the royal palace in the capital, Secreta.
One day after those six weeks, the child disappeared.
The child’s relatives knew well what the cause was. But he failed to spread what he knew. The price of keeping quiet and leading the Cajon family well was his own life.
“You killed my sister, you killed my sister’s husband, you killed all of my sister’s other children, and you gave me the earldom. That’s what you did to this child, my nephew.”
Half courage and half fear.
Half anger and half guilt.
The person who did not throw the child away, but who could not even speak of Devlan’s mistake, stepped forward. People who couldn’t have known how much courage it was took action.
“I am a close friend of Baron Liberty, who died mysteriously last year.”
One person stepped forward.
“It’s your fault, Your Highness. I was Count Rams’ servant.”
“I am the Baron of the Indar region. I also know what your highness has done.”
Those who remembered those who had been erased and disappeared and eventually nodded to the request of Teylan, who came with Alan, came forward one by one.
“Your Highness, 13 years ago…”
“Your Highness.”
Another person said, and then another person stepped forward. Everyone stepped forward and looked at Devlan with equal courage and equal guilt.
“How can you say you don’t know all this? Don’t I remember everything? Don’t these people here remember everything?”
The child’s relative burst into anger as if he was vomiting blood, leaving behind the continent’s best prosecutor who had knelt at his feet and asked for a favor, telling him that the child was doing well under the protection of the crown prince and the marquis’ daughter.
“majesty.”
Marquis Lei Jian Lin, with his calm voice, spoke for the first time. Devlan looked at Leijian, and Leijian continued speaking with the same expression on his face.
“I, Lei Jian Lin, will believe His Majesty the Crown Prince and what they say. We will conduct a fair investigation, so we ask you to stay in the palace and wait.”
The smile disappeared from Devlan’s face.
For the first time, anger appeared on his face.
“I have never placed a person shaken by a few words on the rank of marquis. That’s right. Was this yours too, Chase? Have you been so greedy to take my crown?” “Your
Highness!”
The surroundings were still quiet, and Devlan’s short words were heard by everyone. Tailan, who recognized that this was also a made-up anger, could not hold back any longer and raised his voice. At that time, the
distant The dark sky there turned purple.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the sky, and Devlan, who saw it, opened his mouth.
“… So.”
Devlan, who had created anger and well-made sadness in his eyes, let out a long sigh. Rest.
“Did you try to get rid of me by dragging in the prince of another country? We have confirmed the circumstances in which a foreign power attempted to use force in my country. I was wondering what on earth was going on, and let’s count. It was your doing.”
When Calian’s eyes landed on that place.
A sharp, sharp stabbing sound that seemed to pierce deep into one’s lungs flowed from deep within the palace.
“Did you think I would just suffer?”
Planz’s killing spree.
Calian said . He let out a laugh.
“Devlan…how dare you.”
