Chapter 72. It’s a shame (2) that
there are a lot of things I don’t need to do myself.
For example, we extend our arms to pick up food that has been placed far away, look after an accidentally dropped fork or glass of water, unbutton our clothes to change clothes, extend our hand to receive something from someone, or express an apology or gratitude. Or introducing who I am to the other person. I’m talking about things like that.
The same goes for knocking.
In the first place, there was no need to ask for permission to go in unless Lemain or Randel were inside, and even in that case, it was his servant’s job to ask for permission. He just decides where to go and moves his feet.
Because he is royalty.
– Jump and jump.
So, of course, there was no need to personally open the door to a place where permission to enter was not even required. Nevertheless, he personally reached out and grabbed the door handle. You don’t have to do it yourself, but you can reach out as much as you want if you want.
As I said, he is royalty.
– Jump up!
I turned the handle. As if there was nothing to worry about, he opened the door and went in alone and closed the door. Then, the person who had drawn the black chiffon curtain on the terrace a little further turned his head. Then he lowered his head with a look on his face that showed he was not happy about the visit of one of the few people who was okay with coming in here without permission.
“Meeting with His Majesty the Crown Prince of Planz.”
I heard a greeting that contained only formality.
Of course, Plantz didn’t care.
Because it was familiar and natural.
“Callian is.”
“I went out.”
“where.”
“This is Duke Siegfried’s residence.”
“why.”
“I said I would meet Norton Ramirez in person.”
“when.”
“Two hours ago.”
It was just the day before that I fell asleep after fighting a grand battle.
The day before, when I went down to Kalian to give him the disguise bracelet around lunchtime, he was still asleep. So, while handing the bracelet over to Kirie, who was guarding the door, I noticed that my elbow was still dislocated. Kirie, who was silent and didn’t know what was happening, said ‘Excuse me for a moment’ without much explanation and held Plantz’s arm and adjusted the misaligned bone neatly on the spot. Thanks to this, Plantz forgot to return the communication supplies he had taken from Calian. I was sick.
In the middle of the night, the smart Planz, who remembered something he had forgotten, skipped the long hallway and went to the terrace of his brother’s room. However, I only saw an empty bed. For some reason, on the way back, the light in Alan’s office was turned off, so it was obvious that he would have asked Alan to go to a place filled with the smell of sea salt, so I didn’t wait any longer and came back.
But this time, not again.
He couldn’t stand the bird and went out again.
“… My brother is really busy.”
A somewhat dissatisfied tone came out.
Anyone would think that Calian was busy alone, but it was definitely Plants who was more pressed for time. A person who doesn’t even need to ask permission to meet someone and is extremely busy has already taken a third empty step.
It’s so moving around.
If you look at it at a time like this, it’s definitely like a spring dog.
“Iknow, right.”
However, these words of sympathy came back from Jan. Of course, he would agree with the saying that he was busy, but to Plantz, it sounded like an opinion about the idea that he was like his little brother.
Yan, who was silent for a moment without knowing that, checked the time and spoke.
“You said you would come before dinner, and you have no other plans after that. I will tell you to go see your Majesty right away when you get back.”
Plantz, who postponed his answer, looked at Jan.
Now that I think about it, I see that my face is drained of energy.
While Calian was gone, I felt like the sky was falling when I heard that he was worried and injured, and in the meantime, I couldn’t see his face even once, but we barely met, and then he went out again. Of course, Calian would have had to take care of soothing her, but that wouldn’t have made her pain go away.
Plantz, now fully aware of the extent of the worry, let out a short sigh.
“not.”
Then, he took out a bracelet from among Kalian’s communication items and handed it to Yan. The empty bracelet that Calian had not yet found its owner, so he was about to declare that he would use it. I handed it to Jan without permission.
What if there was a need somewhere else? Calian will take care of it, as he has good skills and the treasury situation is smooth.
I was just thinking something like that.
“Is this a communication bracelet?”
“that’s right.”
“Can I just tell you this instead of telling you to go find it?”
“No. Use it. You. I’ll give you the ring that’s connected to it when I meet you.”
Jan, who understood what Planz meant, shook his head. He then handed the bracelet back to Plantz and said.
“How do I use this?”
“You can use it even if you don’t have magical power.”
“That’s not it. Rather than me, it’s to the knight Sir Verne….”
“You were worried. You were frustrated.”
Plantz cut off Jan’s words.
“My brother is so busy that he will continue to be busy like this. He can’t lie and he hates breaking promises, so he couldn’t have assured you that something like this wouldn’t happen again.”
“…… yes.”
“You won’t get used to it and will continue to worry when my brother keeps running away, can’t contact you, and gets hurt.”
“How do you not worry?”
“So. You use it.”
Yan pursed his lips.
“No matter what you say about it, my brother is the kind of person who will listen to everything. So whether you worry, beg him to come quickly, or nag him, you can do whatever you want. Don’t rummage around the curtains in good condition by the window in case he goes out and disappears again and doesn’t come back.”
Jan didn’t answer.
I just looked down at the bracelet in my hand.
Plantz, seeing this, sighed once more and opened his mouth.
“… If my brother disappears again, I will find him again.”
And Calian promised something that could not be guaranteed.
Will those words be seen as pretense or hypocrisy from an older brother who has been doing bad things to Kalian for a long time? I didn’t care about that. If it’s Jan and not anyone else, you can think of it that way. Because it’s natural to think that way.
Jan, who was looking at the bracelet, looked at Planz.
I opened and closed my mouth, chose my words for a while, then lowered my gaze to my bracelet. I held it tightly. After that, I spent some time and saw Plants again. I was helpless because I couldn’t put into words all the words that came to my blue-gray round eyes.
“If you’re going to do this… why did you do that before?”
do.
I swallowed all those words and asked only one thing.
“Why did a person who could give such things and say such things do that all this time…”
Planz quietly looked at Jan.
I looked at those transparent, bulging eyes in silence and turned back. I walked slowly and stood with my hand on the door handle of the all-black room, then lowered my eyes for a moment. Somehow, I put down one word that could not be answered.
“Sorry.”
I opened the door quietly. I took one step and closed the door. And then he walked briskly again.
Why did you do that?
It’s not that I don’t know the answer. It’s not because I’m a royal that I don’t have to answer any questions I don’t want to. Because it is a question that will never be answered even if 30 years, 50 years, or the last day of my life comes. There was no answer.
I just apologized.
* * *
– Please listen without showing off. Something strange happened.
Pearl-like white beads.
Hina’s words delivered through the communication magic stone.
“okay.”
I nodded.
– That person is the person whose arm was cut off by the prince in Latran territory. That knight named Norton Ramirez. We met. I was taking a walk yesterday morning.
“huh.”
– When I was with my brother, I saw a lot of people lose their limbs. It takes time for people to forget that the arms or legs they took for granted are gone. Until I get used to using one arm, I keep moving the shoulder on the side I lost. It’s like trying to use an arm you don’t have.
“huh.”
– Everyone is like that.
“Yes, Hina.”
– But that’s what he did. It’s already been three years since that happened, as if I still have both arms. That was strange, and… there was something suspicious, so I heard from the Duke that something happened while the prince was following that person. So, I secretly took a look. however.
“huh.”
– … It hasn’t been long since my arm started to hurt. It is true that one arm was missing, but the direction in which it was cut seemed to be different. So… just like anyone else.
Hina, who was staring at Kalian with black eyes, said these words.
Then he slowly turned his head and pointed at a spot on my neck.
– Siegfried’s knights wouldn’t have left suspicious accessories alone. So I looked it up. Here, under the skin. I hid it.
After that, Hina looked at Kalian with a bright smile.
Just in case, Calian knew that in this place where there were many people who could understand sign language, they had communicated without even using sign language. However, since the bead was not a communication tool for exchanging words, Kalian just nodded.
A magic item for disguise that we don’t know how many Devlans made and where and how they were distributed. I decided that I had to find a way to tell if it was fake.
And he returned the marble without any further reply.
Quietly, like a person who has been scolded. Afterwards, I was guided to Siegfried’s annex and thought about it as I walked.
“White Suriname.”
I got the answer.
I met a white suri.
He fell into Zeon’s hands and betrayed Secretia.
Attacked Calian and was captured by Chase and Alan.
I met the guy who was unable to see, hear, or speak.
“Sugar-shaped poison. Remember?”
That guy was listening to Calian’s words with normal ears and glaring at Calian with eyes that showed no problem. On the contrary, his twisted arm was being held by Eila.
“How can you not remember? Isn’t this something that the prince himself brought to me?”
I answered with a well-groomed tongue.
“that’s right.”
A medicine that was put into coffee with a silique in front of it.
A medicine that resembles a piece of sugar that temporarily stops the heart.
I remembered that medicine.
“I went to you to buy it. It’s a medicine used by the secretaries of Secretia. Now that I think about it, I paid quite a lot for it, but thanks to you, I’m still alive, so I guess I bought it cheaply.”
Calian, who spoke as if reminiscing about a memory, looked at the white eagle. And then he continued speaking.
“I happened to know that Norton Ramirez here might be a fake. Then I remembered how I gave him that piece of sugar. I never saw the prince’s face while guarding the copper mine in the mountains, so I swung my sword once without knowing it was the prince. “It would be a bit unfair to be executed for something like that. So I gave him that medicine. I faked his death and stole it away. I didn’t bother to bring him back to life and send him to Whitlin Territory.”
In fact, I made a deal to capture Lord Ratran rather than save him because I thought he would be unfairly treated.
“I thought about that incident and realized. The reason the Sejaks carry that medicine around is to run away. Who would chase a dead guy?”
Knock knock knock.
“Sejak. If you can’t speak, see, or hear. That means you’re dead. There’s no way King Secretia would chase after someone who died like that. There’s no way I would care about you. There’s no need for my master to chase after you. You knew that too. .So, I think they caught someone and had him change his appearance to pretend to be you. Before he even had time to say that, he took the medicine that King Secretia gave him, and he probably died after that. “In the hands of Rashid Briesen.
” I remembered Rashid’s words about killing someone who couldn’t see, hear, or speak. I thought that it might be a white eagle. But no, it
wasn’t.
By the time I was receiving medicine from Chase, the white eagle had already run away. ” I had disguised another person to replace me.
“The best way for Sejak to escape is to pretend to be dead.”
Calian, who had been looking at Eila for a moment, looked at the white eagle again. And it had been a long time since he was cut off. I looked at the arm I was missing.
“Even if you lose an arm just to call me out, it would be better than not being able to see, hear, or speak. That’s right.”
Tap, tap, tap again.
Calian, who was sitting down and tapping on the table, smiled brightly at the white eagle.
The white eagle saw the smile and smiled back.
It smiled as if there was nothing to worry about. Then.
– Huaaaaa!
Strong . He pushed Aila’s arm away with force and straightened up. Then, he pulled out a piece of metal he had picked up and hid somewhere and swung it at Aila. Calian did not get up. He was not surprised. He was still sitting with his back against
the
backrest
. There it was.
– Taaa!
The guy couldn’t even admit that he lost an arm and kept trying to move.
– Teok!
– Kagagak!
There’s no way Aila could get hit by that guy’s blade.
– Kwaang!
He didn’t even try to push the white eagle back. Eila, who let go, avoided the blade by biting one foot. Then, she stretched out her leg and kicked the white suri’s hand. In the
end, the white suri, not letting go of the metal fragment, lunged at Aila again. Ale took out a dagger from her arms. Ra blocked it. Then, he grabbed the white suri’s wrist with the other hand and spun his body around. The sound of bones twisting was heard from the white suri’s arm, which was twisted as it was pulled by Aila’s body. The thick heel was used to touch the white suri’s waist
. Aila kicked the white suri one more time and threw it on the table. Then she looked at the blade that wouldn’t let go.
– Kwajik!
She pulled out the hairpin.
With it, she hit the back of the white suri’s hand.
– …… A sharp tone!
Only after the hand was pierced did the missing blade emit a sharp tone.
Aela, who did not even pay attention to that, opened her mouth to Calian.
“They said it was an expensive hairpin. It’s sturdy.”
“Only the decoration is platinum.”
“It’s mithril. It was somehow pretty.”
Calian chuckled as he saw the hairpin stuck on the table not moving.
“He said he wouldn’t use it sparingly. “You’re really writing it.”
“They said you could just write it.”
“…… Yeah. I did that.”
“Where did you buy something like this?”
“I had it set up before I bought the cheap hairpin.”
Eila nodded and pressed the white suri’s head against the table once again.
Calian quietly opened his mouth and opened the white suri. I asked,
“I only had one question. Are you going to keep wasting time?”
The white eagle, which didn’t even groan even though the back of its hand was pierced, let out a laugh. It looked up at Calian with anger that didn’t fade in the slightest and opened its mouth. “You know birds really well
. What was his relationship with King Secretia that led him to kill the birds like that on behalf of the prince? If you tell me, I will tell you.”
“That’s him. Those words are too harsh. He was once your master.”
“I have never taken as my master this pathetic person who is too kind and gives names to birds.” ”
Ah…”
Calian laughed.
“If this continues, I won’t be able to hold back my anger again. Let’s finish this quickly.”
Calian, with his back straight, continued to ask questions calmly.
“The guy I saved. The guy you were disguised as. Norton Ramirez. Did you kill him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Of course. Do you know Rashid Brissen?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“I see.”
It was Bern who taught the Sejaks how to lie. He was not an idiot who could not deceive others and did not know how to deceive. “I don’t know
if Norton Ramirez is dead or alive. I really don’t know. Rashid Briesen knows.”
So there is no need to hear the truth.
You can at least find out whether what is being said is false or true.
“The guy I ran away to Whitlin territory. If he came to see me, I would be interested. In addition, you must have thought that selling your name would definitely entice me. No?”
The white suri did not answer.
That too was the answer. The calm face, the breathing that did not change in the slightest, the unwavering eyes, and all the expressions of ‘truth’ that were deliberately created became the answer. Knock, knock, knock. Let’s leave the table for a
while
. Kalyan, who was giving the gift, opened his mouth and said,
“Rashid Brissen to you. I guess you tricked me into making me follow you to Whitlin or wherever. So you came to see me, but I saw you first. He noticed that I was caught like that, so he took me into the trap he was trying to catch Marquis Gray Briesen. Then, before I could kill him, a white-haired wizard appeared, killed your entire group, and then disappeared, taking me with him. So I reconsidered my original plan. To see me again. So I was deliberately captured by the capital guards. If you do that, the string will somehow reach me.” The
white suri laughed.
Calian stopped laughing.
“I would like to thank you for telling me the details. “I don’t like people who try to scratch people.”
– Ugh!
I heard the sound of a sword appearing in an unseen place.
Aila took her hand away from the white eagle. She pulled out the hairpin that was stuck in her hand. And then one shot. “I can’t say that.”
Calian
‘s words reached the white eagle’s ears.
And
– Kwasik!
The dagger created under the table was aimed at the white eagle who was trying to get up. It pierced the heart.
Clap, clap, clap. .
Now, a strong scent is wafting out from the truly lifeless body. Calian, who was looking down at the figure, stands up.
“Aila.”
“Yes.”
“I can’t see Lillie like this again, so I’ll go first. “Tell Demirea I’m sorry for dirtying her room.”
“Yes. “Prince.”
“I’m going to my brother. Come when it’s over.”
“I understand.”
I didn’t say that it was a lot of work.
I didn’t even say that I would leave it to you to clean up after it.
Because those words were already contained in that expensive hairpin.
“You had a hard time.”
Instead, Aila said this.
Because the hairpin was too expensive to just clean up, the person who gave it to him also took it with him.
“Yes,”
Calian answered briefly, then turned back.
As if he had been holding his breath for a moment, he opened the locked door again and went out. He then moved on.
Because he had a hard time. Now ,
let’s eat some food and take a breather.
To the palace. To the house.
