Chapter 59. Surprisingly clumsy (5)
and sometimes quiet.
Sometimes it’s noisy.
Some days I feel like I’m being overly relaxed, but other days I feel like I’m unusually impatient, so I don’t know if I should call it calm or noisy. If not everything, maybe it should just flow.
– Tick tock tick tock.
Once you listen to the sound of the second hand passing by, it rarely goes away. The more you try to keep your ears away from it, the more useless your thoughts become. Because of this, it has been a long time since my eyes stopped on the book I was reading word by word.
Clock sound.
Because I listened to that quiet yet noisy sound.
Because without even realizing it, I lost my concentration.
Randel silently closed the book he was holding and turned his head. As always, it is dark outside the tightly closed window. Therefore, rather than showing the outside scenery, the spotless window reflected the inside of the room like a bright mirror. Randel sitting in front of a large desk in an old-fashioned but monotonous room.
– Sweet.
The small sound of a teacup being lifted resonated for a moment in the plain room. It was the first noise I heard since Den, the servant who prepared the tea, left.
It was that quiet.
Chermil Palace, where sometimes you could hear footsteps, other times conversations, rarely a cat meowing, and occasionally someone’s laughter, is extremely quiet. It was originally a quiet room, but it became even more desolate now that the sounds from outside had disappeared.
So Chermil was like that watch.
Sometimes it was noisy and sometimes it was quiet.
– Rattling.
A second noise rang out from the teacup being set down.
The scent of dried grapefruit spreads everywhere, escaping the noise.
It was as if he was trying to detect the scent with his eyes. Randel took his eyes off his reflection in the window and moved his gaze from the clock to the book he had covered on the desk with his fingers resting on the teacup.
‘I hate grapefruit.’
Perhaps it was because of that scent that the red eyes that were speaking out the facts they already knew came to mind. Or maybe it’s the sound of time passing.
The two dark blue eyes moved again.
I saw a black mother-of-pearl box decorated with a single rose made of bright red ruby. While I was talking about throwing away all the gifts that came in without even looking at them, a black box caught my eye. It was decorated to show who had sent it, and of course it was a birthday present from Calian.
Since the intention was to prevent people from just throwing it away regardless of whether they opened it or not, Randel told them to leave that one box alone. After that, I spent about two months leaving the box on the side of my desk without opening it. I wouldn’t throw it away, but it was probably a gift I sent with the knowledge that it would be left unchecked, so it wouldn’t have contained items that would become unusable if I didn’t take it out in time.
– Tak.
Because I suddenly heard the sound of a clock, I lost my concentration. Because the scent of grapefruit reminded me of the bright red eyes of my flesh and blood.
Randel picked up the box and finally unlocked the lid.
The gift box alone was already an invaluable item, but there was no one in this royal palace as rich as Calian, and no one was less interested in the money Calian spent than Randel. So, although the hand loosening the lock was quiet, it was not careful.
– Click.
The sound of something tightly closed being opened resonates throughout the room.
Randel opened the box, removed the black silk that covered the contents, and looked inside for a while.
As expected, there were no cards containing congratulatory messages. Didn’t Calian know as well as Randel that, no matter how elaborate or formal it was, it would end up in the trash can or in the fireplace without even getting out of the envelope?
Instead, gardening shears of different sizes and functions were seen.
A rare golden mithril that costs ten times more than the expensive silver mithril. I took the material that would have been considered a waste to make a rare treasured sword and made it into scissors for cutting off rose branches. A gold handle with beautifully crafted ornate patterns and a dark sapphire decoration. Anyone can see that it was made with Randel in mind. Even though it was made so stylishly, Randel’s name was engraved on it in case it was not recognized.
I can’t even guess how much it’s worth. Of course, this is not a bribe given in return for something in return. It couldn’t be called a bribe because there was nothing that Kalian wanted that Randel could fulfill. Therefore, even though an excessive amount of money was spent, it was an obvious gift.
However, is it really a formal gift that only pours money instead of sincerity and heart? Or is it a gift with enough sincerity and heart to spend that much money?
“Indeed…”
I understood that it meant that you should not be bored and spend your time worrying about which of the two the gift should be.
– RS Cyries
While trimming my favorite roses.
Don’t even think about adding one more letter, ‘Lu’, between the names. Don’t even think about taking that one letter, and don’t even think about going to another country because you might end up forgetting the end of a long name.
From Kairis onwards and upwards.
“You’re acting like you are.”
Randel muttered quietly as he looked down at the dark sapphire that looked exactly like his own eyes, then took his gaze away from the scissors. Then, I put the silk cover back on and closed the box lid. After that, I pushed it back to the corner of the desk where it was originally located.
However, the lock had not been refastened.
* * *
Arsene did not come along.
He vigorously picked up his bow and offered to catch fish for his younger brother, giving him a precious opportunity to kill game by swinging an ice spear at his side.
This is because Serzane disappeared along with Adelia, and the sacred knights of Tensil who had been knocked unconscious ended up in their hands. Since it was annoying, I wanted to just bury it quietly somewhere and interfere with Plants’ hunting, but I couldn’t because this was Secretia.
So I contacted Chase, and soon a nearby margrave would come and take them over. What would happen next was something that had to be resolved between Secretia and Tensil, so after handing over the articles and giving them the general picture of the situation, there was no need for Calian and his party to worry about it.
Anyway, for that reason, Calian and Plantz, who had left Arsene alone with the four Holy Knights who had been grouped together from a distance, went into the forest.
“Are you going to tell Your Highness about bringing Serjane to Kairis?”
“why.”
“It seems like you were trying to find out what you agreed to give to Adelia. If you tell me the terms of the deal, you will reconsider entering Kairis.”
“that’s right.”
“Then why haven’t you decided yet?”
“It just so happened.”
“You don’t know when we will meet again, so you should make up your mind.”
“Not yet.”
“Yes. Think about it.”
“okay.”
It is filled with the rustling sound of dry leaves that fell last winter and the fresh smell of new leaves that have just sprouted. Plantz, who felt winter and spring at once, opened his mouth.
“I thought only my brother’s knight had sharp ears.”
“What are you saying?”
“You already heard it. What Serjane said.”
“Ah… does it show?”
“Tina.”
Calian smiled slightly and nodded.
“It’s not as good as Kirie. When you deal with Aurors, various things tend to improve.”
Of course, it wasn’t as good as Kirie’s, but the hearing of those who handled Aurors was quite good. While standing on the cliff, I was able to hear the cries of whales in the sea and the conversation between the two crown princes from afar.
“Yes. That’s what I heard. About what Serjane will do if Adelia tells him the location of the mother tree.”
Plantz let out a short sigh.
– answer. Serjane.
– You should be old enough to know that sometimes it is better not to know.
– It’s probably time for you to know that I hate long words.
– I heard that the healer there recognized the stone. Do you know that too?
– Black stone. know.
– The material that makes the stone. Since I was curious about it, I said I would tell you.
– How do you know that?
– Decrease the crown prince. Because the real Crown Prince Sergeant, not me, knew.
-What is that?
– hour. Time remaining.
The conversation we had just moments ago came back to my mind.
– explanation.
-Do you know anything? Strangely enough, I heard there were many big fires in Secretia, but there were always no survivors. But this time, His Majesty the new King of Secretia informed us about those who had died innocently. About what happened to those who escaped the previous king’s eyes.
– …… Why is that?
– Knights learn how to smell blood. The unique smell of blood left behind when a potentially more viable life dies for other reasons. It’s similar to that. He said that the stone was a fake sacred object made by collecting the remains of a life that could have survived more when it died. After finding out that much, His Majesty the Crown Prince was attacked and all the data he had collected disappeared.
Even though Calian couldn’t hear the conversation in his memory, Planz tried to put the thought aside. As I told Arsene, it wasn’t something I wanted to tell you today.
– I heard that at first, he sent various gifts to keep Zeon’s warriors under his control. Including the disguise item that I am currently using well. Then, at some point, they asked for Tensil’s healer. It wouldn’t have been difficult for Zeon to notice the health condition of the former king here. After that, it seems that Zeon changed the terms of the transaction to hand over the ‘material’. Since it was a purge that was going on anyway, the late king had nothing to lose.
– Are you saying that they were trying to sell things from the bodies of the dead and receive Tensil’s healer in return?
– Yes.
It is said that Vern in the ‘past’ or Teilan in the ‘now’ collected black stone materials from the bodies left behind after pruning and handed them to Zeon. Devlan.
Even though I tried to put off my thoughts, my good head was steadily going back to the conversation from a few hours ago. I heard that my younger brother, who didn’t listen, ended up listening as he pleased. If Adelia hadn’t messed around like that, I would have already told her. still.
I thought it would be okay to not know for about a day.
“Actually, there was something that was completely difficult to understand. Why Devlan, who was so suspicious, immediately handed Lord Castrin over to Brother Chase. That wasn’t the case in the ‘past’. Even if we found out how Devlan had been in contact with Zeon, “I didn’t know how they were related. Now that I know, my curiosity has been resolved.”
I don’t know if you know Plantz’s thoughts.
Calian spoke as if nothing had happened.
“When I was there, I would have been more worried that Sir Castrin and I would side with Brother Chase, so I just kept Sir Castrine by my side. But this time, I was able to have Zeon’s warriors by my side, and since I wasn’t around, I trusted that and Cas. “I sent Lord Trin to Brother Chase as a gift.”
“okay.”
“I guess I was anxious to keep him around and unreliable to keep him far away… It’s funny again, the standard of trust that Devlan had.”
“With Zeon, there is a trust relationship with secrets that must be kept from each other. There is no such thing with Lord Castrin.”
“yes.”
Calian sneered.
“At first, I set the fire to destroy any remaining evidence. Later, I think I set the fire to hide what was missing. On top of the remnants of death that I and Lord Castrin created.”
Plantz, who had been moving his feet quietly, opened his mouth.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
Calian’s feet stopped for a moment and then moved again without a sound.
It may have had nothing to do with Bern.
In the past, Devlan did not face Chase for as long as this time. So in the past, fires may have been set simply to destroy evidence. Even if it wasn’t, it might not have anything to do with Bern. Because Bern didn’t know. But does that mean it’s still still relevant to this day? Are the events in this timeline that occurred due to Bern’s disappearance related to Bern?
Doesn’t that matter too?
Do black stones and Bern really have nothing to do with each other?
Because Bern is gone.
I thought about it.
So I couldn’t find any game. It felt like the forest was empty. It felt like it was empty, as if nothing had appeared in the place that showed fear.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…Do you think so?”
“Why does my younger brother, who is so good at recognizing lies, always ask the same thing back?”
“I’m surprisingly bad at feeling relieved.”
– Tuk.
Even though I knew it was a useless thought, I was a different person from Devlan. Something touched Calian’s back as he was having another foolish thought. Calian, who was one step ahead, stopped and looked back to see Planz, who had stopped, holding a long arrow in his hand and tapping Calian’s back.
“I’m not reassuring you that it doesn’t matter because you’re gone, but I’m saying it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t matter.”
Plantz spoke in a low voice, as if he knew what his foolish younger brother was thinking, and lowered the tip of the arrow in his hand diagonally. As if he already knew all about the scars on Kalian’s pale back.
“Isn’t it true that instead of losing something that should be there, something that shouldn’t be there comes into being? As you live.”
Calian realized that his efforts to hide it had been pointless and let out a laugh. That damn brother’s unnecessarily good memory seems to remember even the wounds he received while fighting to the death.
Well, I guess so.
I have the ability to figure out when time has stopped, so there’s no way I could forget that. By the way, I need to find out whose mouth was the one who told me that a wound was a wound and that I had a scar.
Anyway, I figured it out first and just did it.
“Hina. I think you’ll have a scar.”
Anyway, I don’t know how our Hina is so good at diagnosing. When did our Hina worry about my fair back? I don’t even know where our Hina, who is so smart and has such a beautiful heart, fell like that.
Plantz, whose face looked much different from that of his late twenties, sighed deeply as he looked at his younger brother, who was smiling brightly, and put an arrow on his bowstring.
The tightly pulled protest made a sound as if it would break at any moment. Planz, who had been holding it for a while and looking ahead, relaxed his hand.
– Peeing…!
You can hear the sound of an arrow leaving the bow and the sound of wings flapping. Relying only on moonlight, he was able to find a wild chicken in the bush and hit it. Peas.
– Sabak.
Calian walked towards the sound.
All winter long, the sound of dry leaves crunching underfoot was heard. At Calian’s feet. And then there was the sound of flapping wings.
“I didn’t bring a bow, so you have to subtract what you’re catching from the hunting bet. You can’t secretly add to it.”
“…… okay.”
“Rabbit is delicious too. Why don’t you catch it?”
“no.”
“Well, even a wild boar.”
“The chicken.”
“One isn’t enough. I’m very hungry. I’ve been fighting so hard.”
“Speak informally.”
“I’m hungry, bro.”
A long sigh came out again.
There was the sound of clattering footsteps and clattering footsteps.
After handing over all the Holy Knights to the Margrave, the sound of a crackling bonfire was heard in front of Arsene.
“I don’t know whether you catch or raise wild boars.”
Well, even if the group you came with always disappears.
As you live.
