Chapter 80. Meow (1)
First, I called Yan.
Jan, who said he wasn’t sleeping yet, came right away and gave me proper clothes. To be precise, it would be correct to say that it was put on with care and attention.
Kalian, seeing Yan like that, burst into laughter.
“Brother, was it that difficult for you to follow me?”
He smiles at Jan and then speaks to Plantz.
Aren’t both Calian and Planz dressed comfortably? Calian was grabbed by Freyr while he was lying on the bed, and Planz went to look for Calian instead of heading to bed. Therefore, Calian and Plantz, who had returned to their original selves, were wearing quite similar clothes.
However, Jan did not yet know that the two had removed their disguises. Nevertheless, Jan’s care for Kalian is very careful. This means that I recognized the person standing in front of me as the real Calian, not Plantz disguised as Calian.
So that was the question I asked.
I wonder how bad my imitation must be for the baby elephant to notice right away.
“That’s not it, I’m seeing the prince properly.”
“Is that so?”
“How can I not recognize the prince? And is there anyone in the world who can imitate the prince properly?”
Calian tried to ask if he was taking Flanz’s side by saying that it wasn’t that he couldn’t imitate, but he just nodded. I didn’t think it was a joke worth telling Jan yet.
In addition, I did not get lost in complicated thoughts while thinking about the old Kalyan. Because Jan was Jan and Kalyan is just Kalyan.
“Yes, you are right, Jan.”
Yan nodded and finished helping Calian with his clothes. In fact, a purple cravat is lightly tied over a white shirt that should be considered more comfortable clothes than pajamas, and a black vest and jacket are added.
Calian, who finally felt comfortable after putting on his clothes that early in the morning, smiled brightly.
“Thank you. Would you like to eat together?”
“no.”
“Okay then. Go and rest.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind if I go up?”
“There are people here too. Don’t worry and sleep.”
“You can’t sleep right after eating.”
“yea, I got it.”
“After you finish eating, drink tea other than black tea. I can’t sleep.”
“I will.”
“You can’t sleep. Just rest for a little while.”
“Okay. Don’t worry.”
“all right.”
I called Jan, who was resting, and asked him to pack his clothes. Then he sent Jan away like this.
“Really.”
After going back to his room to change his clothes, Planz called Jan out because he was too hungry to come back out, but watched Kalian just say thank you.
“What are you saying?”
“My brother’s great servant told me something.”
“Did Jan tell you anything?”
“okay.”
The parlor is not a place for eating. It is a place to drink tea and have conversation. Tableware began to be placed instead of teacups on the largest table in the parlor used for such purposes.
It was a very unnatural sight, but Calian, not paying much attention, raised the glass in front of him. Then, after taking a sip of cool water, he opened his mouth.
“That’s surprising.”
There is no need to ask what was said.
It was Jan and Flanz’s business, and if Calian needed to know, either Jan or Flanz would have told him first.
“I don’t know if I can be happy to see you.”
“…… not really.”
“yes.”
Not only should I mention food that suits my taste buds, but next time, I should also sing Relic at times like this. I don’t know exactly why I have to do that yet, but if I call him and Reric comes to visit, he will understand then.
After thinking this, Planz let out a short sigh. Anyway, the problem right now wasn’t Reric, but the situation where I had something else in my stomach that seemed like it had finally been barely digested.
This time, I really should only eat soup in moderation.
…… If I had known that you would ask me to prepare food like this, I would have just said that I had dinner.
– smart.
Just as Planz was about to end his promise and feel a little regret, the door to the living room opened with a knock. Beyond the glass door, one person is seen opening the door and another person entering.
The person who opened the door was Kirie, and the person who entered was Randel.
“You ended up breaking the watch?”
Dark dawn everywhere.
Randel, who had been invited to a meal at a time when it was hard to tell whether to say it was too late or too early, said something.
“Why don’t you ask me if anything other than the watch is broken?”
“If that were the case, your subordinate would have gone somewhere else instead of coming to call me.”
“But still. It’s good if we worry about each other. Between brothers.”
“Please don’t remind me. I haven’t forgotten.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
When he asked me if I didn’t even know what time it was, I asked him if he was worried about me. Then, the answer came back asking if Kyrie, who would have already gone to see Navia if something went wrong with Calian, would still be running errands.
When asked whether or not that meant he was worried after all, Calian just smiled for fear that he would get a meaningless answer other than the various words he had been used to. I hadn’t forgotten how long it took for Plants to tell me that he was worried.
“They seemed like people I wouldn’t have touched if I had known it was you.”
“Yes. It is true that they took me without knowing it was me.”
“Well then. What did the one who held on to the ‘second’ do?”
“It’s alive.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“There’s still a lot I need to hear.”
The servants’ hands are busy putting the plentiful food on the table. Of course, I didn’t know that they had eyes and ears as well as hands, but I didn’t care and just talked.
After all, wasn’t they having a dignified meal in a public place like this to announce the fact that ‘Kalian, who was disguised as Plantz, was kidnapped by someone, but escaped safely with the help of Plantz and Randel’?
However, Calian did not mention the name ‘Freyr’. This was because they were concerned that if the fact that Freyr had helped Planz was exposed, there might be retaliation, and thus the conversation that had not yet been held might not be able to continue.
“okay.”
Randel, who seemed to have roughly grasped the situation through a few words of conversation, nodded. And instead of saying things like, “I had a hard time” or “I’m glad I came back unscathed,” I raised my spoon. Not paying any attention to the arrival of his brothers, he followed Planz, who started eating first, and put the soup into his mouth.
Calian, who saw that, smiled brightly again.
This is why I felt empty again for a moment because I thought that I was the only one who was hungry enough not to notice the soup with white mushrooms and broccoli.
“Let’s talk about the rest after dinner.”
“So be it.”
“yes.”
So finally, finally.
The meal has begun.
I put the fried minced pork into my mouth. The soft scent of apple sauce makes me smile. The lamb steak with my favorite mint jelly, the grilled beef with stewed onions, and the thinly grilled corn dough rolled up with shredded cucumber and chicken breast all had a satisfying taste.
Is it because it is a place where elf and half-elf nobles live mixed with human territory residents? They gradually filled their stomachs with foods that were difficult to consider as part of an elf diet.
Randel finished his second dinner with half a bowl of soup and two bites of salad. Planz filled his stomach again with two bites of soup and half a plate of salad. This was while the two were emptying two glasses of wine and carbonated water each.
– Sweet.
During meals, Kalyan is mostly silent.
Landel and Planz are initially silent.
Therefore, the living room was silent until Kalian, who had finished his last meal of carbonated water with a pleasantly chewy apple pulp, smiled, literally full.
Soon Calian made a gesture towards the servants standing around. The silence continued until those who quietly approached cleared the table and put out the tea and the plate with dried apricots again.
Kalian’s gaze rests on the teacup for a moment.
It’s not black tea, it’s ground white tea. Calian lifted the cup containing it and took a sip of tea.
– Sweet.
There is another quiet sound as the hand puts down the teacup. At the same time, a translucent membrane surrounds it.
Silent.
“It was called Freyr.”
Now the conversation is finally starting.
“This is the name of the person who tried to forcefully take you away today.”
“Your name is similar to Queen Freya.”
“Yes, it is.”
Plantz, who had already seen Freyr’s face when he went to look for Calian, did not react much. It seemed like he had already guessed it. Randel spoke instead.
“You said you had a younger brother, so it was him?”
“Actually, he is my older brother. I think he is known as my younger brother because he looks younger.”
Soon Calian told the story. I told Narzan, the elder of the elves, everything from hearing that Freya was actually an elf to what happened in Brigitte’s Forest in Secretia. A village of elf outcasts created in the forest, now connected to the great northern desert, and the name ‘Whitlin’ discovered there.
Calian, who had been talking up to that point, closed his mouth for a moment.
Plantz, who could not have known the reason, raised his voice without any doubt. And he naturally followed suit, as if he had already spoken.
“Whitlin is the name of another elf who was close friends with Queen Freya. Although it is a close guess, Calian and I believe that Whitlin was killed by Brisen.”
“Why are you so sure?”
Calian looked at Plantz, who had stepped up for him again. Plantz answered, pretending not to have seen his younger brother’s bright red eyes.
“Because Whitlin’s husband was murdered for being involved in a secret he was trying to hide in Briesen, and Whitlin appears to have died trying to uncover it.”
“Are you talking about my mother being poisoned?”
The question was asked straight away as if there was nothing to think about.
Calian took a deep breath.
Plantz slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“I guess the reason I’m explaining that fact now, after going through Whitlin, is because it was something I couldn’t tell you until now. That’s the only thought that would make the second child speak up instead of the third.”
“…… yes.”
Calian answered, and Randel only nodded briefly.
“Please continue explaining.”
“Yes. Queen Freya went to the palace immediately after visiting Kairis to look for Whitlin.”
“And poisoned. Likewise.”
“That’s right.”
A white tea brewed from dried peaches.
No other conversation took place until the tea in Kalian’s cup was halved and two sips disappeared from Randel’s cup.
Meanwhile, Plantz’s car has not decreased at all.
– Sweet.
After drinking his third sip of tea, Randel put down his teacup.
I looked at the tea, which had a warm and comfortable scent that resembled white snowflakes, and turned my head toward Plants.
“Stop. It doesn’t smell like flowers.”
A low voice is addressed to Plants.
Calian laughed quietly.
It seemed like there was an opening for the wind to blow through Randel’s window, which seemed like it would never be opened. I was full from the smell of white peaches coming through.
“yes.”
A similarly quiet reply was directed at Randel.
Plantz’s hand touched the glass filled with white tea different from Renieri.
The lingering flower scent that lingered all day finally fades away.
* * *
Brown shoes.
And three steps.
The sound of those steps rang in the ears of the person with the red wine in front of him.
I remembered the light green eyes that were looking straight at me without any wavering. I recalled giving my feet to a servant carrying flawless brown shoes and not moving my body leaning against the chair even an inch until the hand that supported my feet helped me put my shoes on and lower my pants.
‘Brother, your shoes are small.’
After the redness hidden in that light green color was revealed, I reflected on the words spoken.
– Flutter…!
The wine in a transparent glass produces a clear sound.
Brown shoes.
A pure white foot revealed itself in it. Those were the feet that existed to walk on the red carpet that was used only once and then discarded. Such were the feet of royalty.
But that wasn’t the case. I willingly put my foot out of the brown shoe on the floor. Instead, I even lifted the shoes that were supposed to touch the floor with my own hands.
And three steps.
Three steps toward my brother, barefoot on the ground. The brown shoes I put down with my own hands after that. The black shoes I picked up instead. A pure white foot went into it by itself.
I remembered each touch, each step, and the red eyes that were completely upright and unwavering, unlike the wine in the glass.
“… But why?”
Three steps barefoot and brown shoes.
Why is that?
Does it look like protection rather than submission?
In the deepest part of the lord’s castle, Freyr, who was still sitting in his study where Calian had been with him a little while ago, muttered quietly.
I didn’t forget Calian’s words to share the rest of the story again. The red eyes that conveyed those words, the straight gaze, the unwavering steps, yes. Kalyan is right. Looks like Freya. It’s true that he is my brother’s son.
“But… why?”
But why?
It is true that he is Freya’s son, but why?
Son of Silice. why.
how.
like that.
– Slurp!
Even going so far as to put on the guise of Silike and step on the floor with his feet, even going so far as to imitate submission.
“……Who is it?”
Freyr, who had been lost in thought, opened his mouth again.
Even though I was sitting alone and ignoring everyone, I asked that question. Without moving his dark brown eyes that were looking down at the wine, without turning his head, and without twitching his shortened ears.
“Wow…what is it?”
Then, an answer came from where no one was.
A wizard who has no trouble maintaining invisibility and teleporting because he can use both water and electricity. Therefore, he is a wizard who is also the boss of an intelligence organization that brought a lot of the information that Calian desperately needed.
The wizard’s purple hair was revealed. Euria was unable to ignore the threatening energy aimed precisely at her, so she threw away her invisibility.
Euria let out a pure exclamation and looked at Freyr. Then Freyr greeted me with a slight nod of his head and opened his mouth.
“If I had told you that the prince needed something, I would have given it to you, but you’re going through all the trouble.”
Following Calian’s words, Euria, who briefly returned to being the head of the intelligence organization, sat down in front of Freyr.
Freyr answered in a dry voice.
“Prince Calian doesn’t trust anyone.”
“That’s why you told me to spy on me. That’s sad.”
“No. You told me to steal sleeping incense. I guess you don’t like sleeping outside the house.”
“Not my surveillance, but the scent of sleep.”
“Uh. Prince Calian doesn’t suspect anyone.”
This is it.
Do you think Kalyan is good at trusting people or not? You can’t know, right?
Freyr smiled slightly and put down his wine glass. Then he looked at Euria and pointed to the cup. He asked if she wanted to drink together, and Euria shook her head.
“The juice isn’t that great.”
Rather than make another offer for rejection, Freyr stood up. Then I opened the desk drawer placed far away.
“And the recipe. Both the sleeping scent and the anti-inflammatory method.”
Euria, who was watching this, said.
“… He is a wizard with many wishes.”
“I told you. You don’t like sleeping. We need to make a solution.”
“Wouldn’t it be okay if we asked to cancel the contract together?”
“How do I know if it’s an antidote or poison? I have to make a new one myself, of course.”
“If you give me the recipe, I know how to make it.”
Euria chuckled.
“Ask the wizard about medicine.”
Most wizards learn medicine together. This is because before the War of the Two Gods, wizards not only performed magic but also made medicine containing magical power. However, since most of it was black magic, it was now forbidden to contain magic power in medicine, but wizards still practiced it together.
Therefore, although there were many apothecaries who could not use magic, there were not many wizards who did not know how to make medicine. Just as Veronica and Arianne handled medicine and Ronil, who could not create a circle, became an apothecary.
“I was the first to save your nephew, the prince.”
So Euria also dealt with medicine.
Wasn’t this the first thing Alan did when he found out that Calian was drinking poisoned tea? He went to the Wizards Association and created an antidote.
“I owe you in Whitlin.”
“If you think so, I can give you the recipe and give it to you.”
Grumbling.
Freyr took out something, closed the drawer, and walked back. And then he put it down in front of Euria.
It wasn’t a piece of paper with a recipe written on it.
Brown water in a small glass bottle. It was a simple cancellation.
Euria, seeing this, frowned and said.
“Was it difficult to understand what I was saying because it was human language?”
“Because you can’t make it.”
“why.”
“Because he’s a human wizard.”
Euria’s eyebrows furrow a little more.
“What? Is it black magic again?”
“no.”
Freyr shook his head, whether fortunate or not, and moved his hand.
“Because only I can make it.”
As Freyr said this, golden energy gathered at the tips of his hands. It quietly spread out and enveloped the entire study.
Euria’s eyes lit up when she realized that the energy of light was very similar to the power wielded by Hina, and that the shield that was so difficult to break was the power of light. This is because one of the wizard’s curiosity, which had been put off for a while due to Calian’s errand, was resolved.
Soon Euria opened her mouth.
“You said you owed me money first. I’ll pay for it, so just give it to me. The recipe.”
Admiration is admiration.
I have to do what Calian tells me to do.
“I thought it was some big secret.”
Euria proudly held out her hand.
What I meant was that it doesn’t matter, so give it up.
Freyr looked at Euria quietly and opened his mouth.
“If you tell me one thing, I’ll give it to you.”
“What.”
“Crown Prince Plants. I wonder why the Association is still keeping the Crown Prince alive. The reason he joined hands with Alan Manasil must have been to support Prince Calian and oust Brisen. Why didn’t he make a move?”
That is correct.
‘Do the wizards here think it’s okay for a lion cub with a sword to wear a crown?’
That’s what Alan asked when he first met Euria. So Euria sided with Calian. To grow the wizard power and take down Brisen.
Now Freyr was asking it again.
It was clear why the Wizards Association, their leader, kept Plantz alive.
After hearing that, Euria shrugged her shoulders and answered.
“Because I don’t want to be left behind.”
“…… To whom.”
“He is Prince Calian. Who am I to be afraid of?”
It was a light answer, but Freyr frowned. Euria, who saw that, smiled slightly and said.
“Uh, it’s okay. Everyone reacted that way at first. Anyway, I answered, so if you think your life is a waste, stop messing with me.”
Knock knock.
Euria, who had been poking the table as if thinking of someone, held out her hand again. Then, he spread his palm out to Freyr and said the same thing one more time.
“Give me the recipe.”
What more could the half-elf healer whom Calian cherished so much be able to do? His face was exalted by the wizard’s curious expectations about him.
