Chapter 58. I now like the smell of
peas (5) and dried strawberries in mint tea.
Even if it wasn’t a special preference, once you say that you like someone, surprisingly, you really start to like them. Kalian, who somehow reminded me of the old Kalyan, laughed for a moment and took a sip of warm tea.
“It smells good. I like it.”
I ate a cake with just-harvested red strawberries mixed with black chocolate, and I also ate a purple macaron with a pleasant chewy texture of blueberries. Actually, I don’t enjoy sweets unless I have something to worry about, so when I eat sweet things like this, I think of black tea. However, Jan, who had rolled Kalian up in a thick blanket and brought him all kinds of sweets and stuffed them into his mouth, said that he would not be able to sleep if he drank black tea, and gave him another tea.
Still, Calian answered that he liked it without much complaint.
Not only that, when Jan brought it to him, he rolled it up as he brought it to him, and when he fed him what he rolled up, he just sat still and took everything calmly. I felt dissatisfied as I looked at the face of another person right next to me who was in the same situation and was being treated the same way by Relic.
‘I’ll take good care of you. ‘I, the crown prince, and the prince must have been very surprised to have fallen into the black sea water and come back out in the middle of the night.’
After going in and out of the water, my seasickness got worse, and because I ate a lot of snacks, I feel more deathly sick now than when I went into the sea, but it was no different from when I was dealing with Calian, and I felt like I was fainting when I heard Alan or Alan’s words of concern. It was because the expression on his face that he was holding back when he saw the surprised Relic was obvious.
So, without a second thought, Calian sat side by side with Planz and stayed for a while. Then, in the end, I couldn’t do it, so I very carefully said the only thing that made me uncomfortable.
“Yan… you know.”
“Yes, prince.”
“I’m hot.”
Although he probably didn’t know that the cabin was already covered with Alan’s warming magic, he immaturely looked at the roaring fireplace and thought that the pea leaves would probably turn yellow if this continued, so he gathered courage.
“Is there anyone in the world who falls into the water while trying to get close to a whale? No matter how amazing it was, you should have looked carefully at the prince’s feet first. You’re lucky that something bigger didn’t happen, so just stay still.”
“Yes. I’ll stay still.”
I was scolded without fail.
“And I know that the prince is not sensitive to cold or heat, so don’t lie to me.”
Did you roll it up like this, knowing that I wouldn’t suffer from cold or heat? However, if you ask a child who knows this why he can’t even eat ice as soon as summer ends, you will only end up getting scolded for no gain. That’s why I’d like to tell you, other than me, to take a look at the crown prince over there, who looks like he’s being grilled until golden brown after being seasoned with salt water.
“Calian.”
“yes.”
“shut up.”
“yes.”
I also heard this from the ‘Crown Prince, who lost his footing while trying to watch whales and fell into the water trying to pick up his younger brother, who fell into the sea.’
I wonder if you know that I am getting scolded by Yan for trying to take care of someone. My brother, who is sensitive to cold and heat easily, I really don’t know how you survived until now. I’m probably more curious about that than the issue of the axis of time.
I kept my mouth shut because I felt like if I said that, I would be grabbed by the collar and dipped into the seawater and taken out again. And in the end, I don’t know. Whether the peas are roasted or not, I decided to just enjoy my life, so I took a sip of the sweet and refreshing tea and got up.
“Why are you getting up?”
“Master called me.”
Yan’s eyes narrowed as he watched the bracelet on Calian’s wrist shine.
“Not even a minute has passed since you said you would stay still.”
“Yes. But Master is calling you.”
Calian, who spoke with a smile, unwrapped the rolled up blanket and handed it to Yan. There was a lot on his face that he didn’t like, but Yan nodded obediently. Calian laughed quietly because Yan didn’t look like he wanted to follow him.
Anyway, Jan is Jan.
I didn’t mean to say that it was a difficult position to go to together, but didn’t you really understand Kalian’s thoughts very clearly? So really, Jan is Jan.
“You too, get some rest.”
“All right.”
“Don’t tell others that I fell into the water. I’m worried.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t talk about it.”
“You shouldn’t know about Kirie either. Don’t forget to listen closely to Kirie.”
“Yes. I will be careful.”
If Kirie finds out about this, she will definitely go out with a fishing rod. I don’t know if it’s a winged eel, a blue-backed fish, or a whale. Anyway, I’m going to catch that forgetful sea dragon. Because Kirie is not yet a thousand years old and doesn’t care about anything, whether it’s a lively dragon or a fish.
“Master, I will come see you for a moment, so please rest.”
“okay.”
Calian slightly bowed his head towards Plantz and went out of the cabin.
Even though he looked like he was going to die from the heat, he left Plantz inside, quietly covering himself with the blanket that Relic had given him.
* * *
I use swords and magic.
No matter where I disappear on the continent, I have a father who will find me right away.
“Is this really okay?”
I started worrying all day long.
Calian smiled slightly as he looked at the red lace string tied around Chase’s head and nodded.
“Yes. It almost wasn’t okay, but it’s okay.”
If I had been out of breath in the sea, the memories that had been pushed away might have come rushing back like waves. However, I was saved thanks to a seaweed that was very careful and picked up my younger brother by the collar instead of the head.
Calian burst out laughing alone as he thought about Arnaizel, who gave him an unexpected experience.
“Are you laughing now?”
And I heard this again. This time it was Alan.
“Yes. It’s funny. Not all dragons are like Sispanians.”
Wasn’t it Arnaizel who was excitedly waving his hand?
I laughed because I thought that he was somehow similar to me in not being meticulous enough to always leave out one or two big things even though I live a thorough life.
“He must have forgotten because he wouldn’t have intentionally left someone in the sea who was supposed to safely return to Kairis and call Sispanian. I think he looks a bit like me.”
“I’m so proud of you.”
Calian, who soon stopped laughing, opened his mouth to Alan and Chase.
“Anyway, that’s not why I came… It’s because I want to ask you something.”
“Talk about it. Anything.”
“It is said that the axis of time was created by Cispanians.”
“Yes. I heard from Lord Manasil before you came.”
“Yes. Because of that. Where did you first see the axis of time? I saw it in the palace treasure trove, and I think you already knew about it even before that.”
“Didn’t I tell you that?”
“Yes. You didn’t.”
“I thought you talked about it on a day I didn’t know about.”
Calian just shook his head without answering.
Chase looked into the distance for a moment. He usually made this face when he looked back on events in his dreams that he had not experienced.
“… The abyss.”
And then Chase told an unexpected story.
“Originally, it appeared in the abyss. Lord Castrin told me that a foreign energy was felt in the abyss. But this time, it was at the Great Temple. When I visited the Great Temple, the priests told me so, so I brought His Highness and my mother with me. “I went and saw it for the first time.”
“I thought it might have been hidden in a temple. Was it an abyss at first?”
“It is said that Hell was also created by King Secretia, so I guess that is why.”
Calian nodded to Alan’s answer on Chase’s behalf.
“It was made by Cispanian and was last used by King Secretia… Then, it would be said that King Secretia hid it or stored it in the abyss after that.”
“Maybe so.”
“So you found it and moved it right away?”
“So. The discovery was moved to the royal treasury. Since it was a story that had only been passed down through materials from the royal library, the only people who could find out what it was would be the royal family. It was because it was something that should not be tampered with carelessly. “I see you saw what I left there.”
Knock knock knock.
Before I knew it, Kalian’s fingers were tapping his knees.
“When Arnaizel stopped time. It is said that he used a fragment of the axis to control the axis of time.”
“Yes. Time stopped.”
“Yes. So I’m a little puzzled.”
Because of the story I’m going to talk about from now on, I left Plants, who had fallen into the water, and came to see Chase and Alan. Since he was an extremely smart Planz, he may already be thinking the same thing as Calian, but even so, I didn’t want to tell him right away, so I didn’t call him here.
“It was said that the axis of time could only be used once. However, it was broken into pieces, but somehow it reappeared here. Not only that, but Arnaizel used it properly. I guess that’s still the case.”
Several round rings representing the movement of celestial bodies. And the hourglass located in the middle.
Something that should not be touched carelessly.
The Sispanian who made it with his own hands called it a ‘disaster.’
Calian, who was thinking about the axis of time for a moment, closed his mouth and spoke again.
“This time Brother Planz moved while time stopped, and the fact that he was outside the scope of influence created by the axis of time was perhaps an influence of the ‘past’… I keep thinking that way. If the meaning of ‘can only be used once’ does not mean ‘destroyed’, then maybe…” The
rest of the story doesn’t go away easily.
Chase, who had been looking at Calian for a while, opened his mouth.
“It means that the meaning of turning back time just once may be referring to the effect on the user rather than the destruction of the axis of time.”
“yes.”
“Then. When Crown Prince Plants said it was true that he directly used the axis of time in the past, does that mean he could have gotten away with this because he had already used it once?”
“Of course, it’s an assumption. To a certain extent. If it’s true, I hope it’s not. However, if it’s true, if it’s not an assumption… then it might be true.”
The story stopped again.
This time, Chase’s fingertips made a few sounds on the teacup he was holding, and a short sigh escaped Alan’s mouth. This is because I understood that it was called an ‘assumption’ in the hope that it would be wrong.
It’s not because I hope Plantz didn’t use the axis of time, but because I’m worried or don’t want to believe that Calian really went back in time at Plantz’s hand.
It’s not like that anymore.
“If it’s true. If it’s not an assumption, then I think I’ll have a clear reason why I need to own the axis of time. Worst case scenario…” If
Calian’s thoughts are all right.
What if the reappearing axis of time falls into the hands of someone other than Kalyan? If you can’t destroy it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Serenti, Sispanian, or something else, as long as someone uses it. If you can’t stop it.
When the worst situation arises.
“… Pea might end up wandering alone again.”
A thin whisper came out like a whisper.
* * *
– Tap, tap.
I paused for a moment and stamped my feet weakly a few times.
– Jump and jump.
And when I started walking again, the sound of my shoe heels hitting the floor echoed through the hallway.
I closed the door to the cabin where Chase and Alan were and didn’t make a sound until I came down one floor. Although he didn’t walk with his heels raised like Jan, if he wasn’t careful, he walked silently as a habit.
My mind, which had been so agitated that I couldn’t even pay attention to the sound of footsteps, which I had always paid attention to, was gradually calmed down by the constant sound of shoe heels.
Calian moved slowly and stopped in front of a cabin.
– smart.
And for the first time in a long time, I raised my hand and knocked.
There was no Jan to wait on him, no Kiri to guard the back, and no other servants to knock on the door.
“why.”
Because it was too obvious who the owner of the unfamiliar knocking sound was.
Not only did they not ask who it was, but a reply was heard from inside the cabin that made it difficult to tell whether it was permission to come in or just tell them about business and leave. So Calian opened the door and entered without another word. When I came in on the terrace, I knew that he was asking me why I was pretending to get permission to come in now.
Calian opened the door and looked at the scene for a moment before bursting into laughter. It was because Jan and Reric had not been sent out before they knew it, and the peas, which were still roasting well and piled up in a blanket, were with their eyes closed.
A new teacup was placed where Calian was sitting, across from Plantz. Since he said he would be back soon, it seemed like Jan had prepared a new one and left.
Calian sat there and looked at the closed door for a while before lowering his gaze. And while still sipping warm tea, he said,
“Brother, you’ve never seen a mermaid.”
“doesn’t exist.”
“I saw it.”
I boasted.
Who cares whether it was a transformed dragon or not. If you saw it, you saw it.
And he smiled brightly at Planz, who seemed to think that if he went outside and put that guy in the water again, his motion sickness would go away. As if he was very proud of himself for having had a rare experience.
Plantz, who no longer had the energy to bark or respond, simply leaned his head and body against the backrest.
“But I thought you couldn’t swim too. When did you learn?”
Rather than saying that he can swim, I should say that he can float, but for Kalian, there is no big difference between a person who cannot sink and a fish.
“Lately.”
“I haven’t heard that you’re an actor.”
“book.”
“…… book.”
The Third Prince, who had mastered horseback riding while reading a novel featuring an article, looked blankly at the Crown Prince, who had learned to swim by reading a book.
“A book.”
“okay.”
okay. If you’ve read how to float on water in a book, you know that he’s an amazing person whose body follows suit. I know that the reason I quickly got used to swinging two swords separately, as if it wasn’t that difficult, is largely due to that head. I know, but I know.
“Then, brother.”
“why.”
“How did you come here?”
“What?”
“You came to the sea before Master. Can you tell me how you did it?”
“It just so happened.”
There is no barking in return for an insincere response. As Calian was quiet for a while, Plantz slightly lifted his eyelids and looked at Calian, moving his eyes without even turning his head.
“You went down with a rope. To the sea.”
“You know I’m not asking that.”
“I just knew. After I found out, I started moving.”
“You don’t know how it moved.”
“I don’t know.”
“Then… may I ask how you knew that time stopped?”
A pale hand stuck out from the blanket.
Plantz said, pointing to his head with the tip of his finger.
“Time has stopped, but this hasn’t stopped.”
Calian, who was looking at Planz’s protruding fingers with an expression on his face that did not tell what he was thinking, opened his mouth after a while.
“The last time you hurt your shoulder, it seemed like you were having a bad nightmare. It seemed like you would get better soon, but I wonder if it was for the same reason. You don’t always do that.”
“…… is not it.”
“Lie again.”
“Speak informally again.”
Even as he looked at Planz, who asked why he kept cutting off the tail of his words when it had been a while since my birthday, Kalian didn’t say a single word ‘yo’.
“Then from the beginning, I was in Kairis…”
“No.”
Was it like this even before Kalyan changed?
Plantz, who cut off the words he found difficult to say out loud, continued his answer.
“It was like that from the beginning. It got worse for Evan. From then on.”
I was originally smart, quick-witted, and always had a lot of thoughts, but after what happened with Evan, my thoughts continued endlessly like they do now. It’s from the time when I endlessly thought about other things in order not to break the seal of my oath. He told me that it had become a habit from then on. now.
Calian raised his hands and covered his face.
Plantz, who was looking at Calian quietly, opened his mouth quietly.
“I’m barking in my head again.”
“I don’t bark.”
“I’ve never been uncomfortable.”
“How can a person’s brain never rest?”
“I’m smart enough to do that.”
“Are you saying that now?”
“It’s not your fault, but why do you keep blaming yourself?”
There was no further answer from Calian.
It’s not Kalian’s fault for blocking Planz’s thoughts in order to see when to catch Evan. Whether it was Serenti, who was smart enough to make it a habit to continue thinking without stopping, or Evan, who was the culprit of the incident. There is no one to blame.
“It’s not my fault.”
Including Plantz himself, who signed the oath.
“That’s good. You said you don’t needlessly blame your brother.”
“I know that much. I do.”
He is very objective when using himself as a chess piece, and he is also very objective when judging someone’s right or wrong. Should I say that I did a good job or a mistake regarding that foolish consistency?
“The nightmare is getting better.”
“Is that true.”
“It has decreased. Not long ago.”
Plantz nodded and sat quietly for a while before looking at the teacup in his hand. He looked down in silence at the strawberry pieces and mint leaves inside.
“After I started to be able to do more things with my hands instead of just thinking about them. That is.”
I answered without lying, saying that the nightmares created by my unconscious thoughts were decreasing.
“If you get rid of your habit of wasting magical power, I think my habit of continuing my thoughts will also disappear.”
“He said he wouldn’t blame me.”
“Even if I don’t hold a grudge, I know how to reason. Me too.”
Because I’m smart. Than you.
Calian, who was looking at Plantz who added this, opened his mouth with a serious expression on his face.
“But the shield… My brother is so weak that I try to save him by my own efforts, so I have no choice but to hit him.”
“When are you going to stop barking without context?”
“I’ll try to get rid of your bad habits. I need to get rid of your bad habits, brother.”
“okay.”
Calian nodded several times and pointed to his head with his finger. As if imitating what Plantz had done a moment ago.
“So you moved right after you found out that time had stopped?”
“almost.”
“You must be surprised.”
“why.”
“I’m afraid your little brother is gone.”
…… also.
Planz closed his eyes again without answering. Calian pretended not to have seen it and said various things.
“Time stopped, so I felt relieved and asked about this and that. We chatted and joked while talking. I forgot how smart you are. If I had known you were doing that, I should have just come up quickly.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“yes.”
“I was worried.”
Calian chuckled.
“Also. Because it’s the sea.”
“Even though I fell into the sea again, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I wasn’t as young as I was back then and I was okay with riding a boat. Someone saved me in time.”
“…… okay.”
“Anyway, next time I will come without making a fuss. So next time, just stay there when I stop.”
Do you think that it can be done as you please?
No such answer came back. It wasn’t because they both didn’t know that anyway.
“Don’t walk around alone when there’s no one around.”
“okay.”
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t suddenly disappear like that again.”
“word.”
I can’t figure out the criteria for pointing out informal language.
Anyway, this time Kalian also obediently corrected his words.
“I won’t.”
While I was fixing it, I changed it a little more.
Planz, who had been quiet for a moment, nodded.
“okay.”
“Anyway, it’s nice of you to listen to me.”
“It would be better if you didn’t bark.”
“Later. That.”
Calian, who had brushed aside the promise he couldn’t keep right away, picked up his teacup again.
Soon, a red light began to appear in the deep blue sky.
It was the first sunrise over the sea.
