Chapter 82. It turned out to be mild (5).
I sat down as recommended.
Planz did not sit down, but Kalian sat down obediently. The fingers of both hands were intertwined and clasped. He placed his hand quietly on his knee and made a voice like a dry wind.
“You mean the axis of time?”
“Yes, my prince. Do you have it?”
“I was talking about your child.”
“I’m telling you something more important.”
Calian closed his mouth and opened it. I was worried that he might lunge at me or crush my neck, so I sat down and kept my hands closed, but now I was afraid that he might swear, so I mustered up all the patience I had left.
“You shouldn’t have brought Kyrie.”
Now that you have an Aura, you should learn how to handle Auras by sparring with Tailan or Slayman in the palace. What kind of greed did they have to bring me here to see the swordsmanship in person? If you had brought me here, I could have just wielded my sword, so why did I tell you to dig up information and make me listen to your useless words? I feel regret.
…… I thought so.
“Even elves bark.”
At first, Plantz said this.
Because of this, Kalian’s pretty face frowned.
Brother, are you treating me and that elf the same way? Why do you say you bark at him too? There is nothing to compare it to. How can you say that that elf is barking? Did you hate the salad you gave to Raven that much? Is that why you are doing this?
He looked at Planz with a huge sense of resentment in his big eyes.
If I had known this would happen, I would have told you at least one plausible swear word. I didn’t teach it because I thought it would only be used against me, but if I had known that they would use the same words here and there to block them, I should have taught them just one harsh word.
“I have no reason to be criticized.”
Whitlin’s words came back to Calian’s ears.
“I just chose the more important side and let go of the other side. I have no intention of explaining the reason to anyone and receiving forgiveness. So there is no reason to be criticized.”
“To Kirie and Hina.”
“Same.”
“… That’s fun.”
I didn’t want to come up with an excuse. I didn’t think there was any need for explanation.
At least Calian was like that. Now that I had confirmed that he was alive, I just wanted to hear an explanation. I wanted to hear the story about why that was the case. Why did they do such a thing while Kalian was out of reach? Is it really because of Brisen? Is that just it?
But then I heard something strange.
I asked about the axis of time.
okay. Because I’m not human. Elves definitely had a different way of thinking, didn’t they? It seemed like all the elves considered Danuhana their mother. As an elf, I thought it was possible because many things would be different from Siona, who lived alone among people in the great desert. I tried to do this.
“It wouldn’t have been this much fun if I had made excuses, explanations, or anything else. It’s really fun.”
suddenly.
A grape-colored dress soaked in blood comes to mind.
‘They said they found me.’
‘I called you because I wanted to ask you something.’
I wonder if my son, who was stabbed in the chest with my knife, is dead or alive. I remember the question asked to Calian, who I only thought would ask that question.
‘You’re hiding something, right?’
It smells like Renieri.
Did you lose your breath while imitating Planz? I am out of breath as if I am immersed in a terrible scent.
“Other than that… isn’t there anything else to say?”
Whitlin did not answer.
Deanna and Louise were not like this. The same was true for Arianne’s mother, Raijian. So Bern thought that all mothers in the world were like them.
I thought she was sweet and caring like Deanna. Like Louise, I thought she was embracing me with an affection that I couldn’t even describe in her eyes, hands, and voice. I thought that, like Lei Jian, they would teach him strictly, embrace him firmly, and protect him with strength. Because the three mothers I saw during my life were all like that, I thought all mothers in the world were like that. I thought that if the father of the world was all rain, the mother of the world would be all warmth.
But no. Lemain was hit by rain just like Devlan, but Silike was different. It wasn’t warmth. It was just a scent.
“Is there really nothing you want to ask me or say on my behalf?”
“It’s unnecessary.”
Whitlin was leftovers. It suddenly came back like this, becoming the dried residue of memories that I thought had already healed.
– Knock knock knock.
Calian’s lips, who were constantly tapping the back of his clasped hand, drew a thin smile.
“Brother. If my mother was like this too… what should I do?”
Silike laughed and said that she was happy after giving birth to Calian. If it wasn’t affection. If it wasn’t like that.
My childhood hurts so much, what can I do?
“What if it really happened? I’m already worried.”
It was something I said out of mixed feelings.
It was a sound made out of a loud heart.
But Plantz opened his mouth.
“I said it was a shame I couldn’t do it.”
He taught me how to do it himself.
Planz to Kalian.
“Can I just say it’s a shame that I can’t do it? Me too. Kirie too. Hina too.”
“perhaps.”
“…… yes.”
– Talk.
– Knock… Knock.
Calian did not speak for a long time.
I continued to tap the back of my hand as I was doing and chose several words. It wasn’t easy to decide what to say.
It’s an elf. not a person
I repeated those words hundreds and thousands of times.
“Whitlin.”
He had a voice like a crushed flower petal.
“Yes, prince.”
“I’m not curious about anything else, and I don’t seem to want to say anything else. I’m worried that I may have misheard, so I ask again. Are you talking about the axis of time? Do I have it? Is that the only thing you asked?”
“you’re right.”
A calm answer is heard.
Plantz quietly closed his eyes and opened them. I didn’t call Kalyan. He didn’t call his name, spill anything like he did in front of Narzan, the leader of the elves, or grab his shoulder or anything like that.
No matter how smart I thought about it, it seemed like it was right to take Calian’s side for now. Either Calian will continue the conversation or he will sink his sword into the heart of Whitlin, who responds calmly. Whatever I did, I didn’t even think about stopping it.
“I wasn’t asking you if you knew what the axis of time was, but if you were asking me if I had it… that means I was sure I knew what it was.”
Red eyes looked into Whitlin’s pitch black eyes.
“Is it Danu? Did you tell me that you had an interesting secret?”
“That’s an unnecessary question too, Prince.”
“Ah… Did we end up sitting across from each other just to talk about what we needed to say? Without even realizing it?”
“We only judge utility.”
“Did you forget about your children because you didn’t need them? You even went to the useless effort of pretending to be dead.”
“If you keep talking about that”
“Ah, I think this part of the story is more necessary.”
Whitlin looked at Calian quietly.
“I’d like to believe that you didn’t think that way from the beginning. Not because of you, but because of your children that you forgot. Because it was quite hard for me to see my father being such a bastard.”
Because Hina has become skilled at sewing by sewing more wounds than clothes. Because Hina knows how much other people can hurt as much as she has experienced pain herself. Because of Hina, who is finally able to live her own life. Because of Kirie, who had to protect her younger sister just because she was two years older than Hina.
I’m afraid that these two, who are like Bern’s life, will be burdened by new wounds.
“Well, I think this isn’t useful to you either. I’ll just leave it as you wish. Anyway, okay. The axis of time. That’s what we were talking about.”
“…… That’s right.”
“Yes, I’m sure it’s an important item.”
“Please confirm what you have.”
“If you can confirm.”
“I can show you how to use it.”
Whitlin spoke in a voice like a pebble thrown at the bottom of Lake Pungdang. At those words, Planz raised his head and Calian smiled like a flower blooming on the most luxurious day.
“Wow… that’s fascinating. Those were very important words.”
Planz, who had been standing up until now, took a step closer. Then, he came in between Calian and Whitlin, who were sitting, and opened his mouth.
“How to use the axis of time?”
“That’s right.”
“……Before that, let me ask you a few questions.”
“Please speak.”
“Is it true that your husband is dead?”
“you’re right.”
“It seems like your life was threatened by Briseen while you were trying to find out the reason. Is that also true?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How do you know Xeon?”
“I got to see it through Rashid Briesen.”
“Do you have anything to do with Rashid Brissen?”
“I received help several times because we had the same goal.”
“So you belong to Xeon? You too.”
“no.”
“But how do you know the axis of time?”
“I saw through the mother tree.”
“Weren’t you abandoned by Danu?”
“My mother found me again and I saw her again.”
“Do you know that I am betrothed to your daughter?”
“Is that so.”
…… Shocking!
Life burst out.
It was Plantz’s life, not Calian’s, who was struggling to endure it.
Kirie and Hina were made residents of the Whitlin Territory because it was difficult to prove their identities. Among them, Hina Bern was betrothed to Crown Prince Planz. They say they don’t know that. Even though there is probably no place on this continent where the news of Plantz’s betrothal has not reached.
Even though I couldn’t have known that Hina Bern was my daughter.
“You didn’t know.”
It’s not that I don’t know.
It has been ignored. He didn’t even look away.
“How do you not know?”
“What is the purpose of your question, Sir?”
Plantz looked at Whitlin.
“Why do you only care about rights and ignore obligations?”
“What right do I have?”
“You had to choose between what to do and what to throw away your children.”
“Yes. I just chose it. If I had the right, I would have the right to refuse criticism here.”
“You have already arbitrarily hijacked your children’s right to choose, which they have never even touched, and are leaving it to your children to pay the full price for the choices they have made. You are only trying to take advantage of their rights again.”
The right to curse and point fingers.
Calian and Kyrie will not take those rights away. It’s obvious that Calian thinks I don’t have it, and Kirie is sure to think it’s not worth having.
Plantz couldn’t stand that.
Chimi couldn’t hold back any more anger.
“I’m going to tell you something really great, so just say what you need to say… That’s how you talk.”
“Lowering.”
“To the one who abandoned him and ran away and survived alone. To the one who refuses the duty to be resented. To the one who holds up his mediocre neck stiffly in front of my brother, who rescued and saved the life of the child whom you had laid down for him.”
The red eyes, moving quietly, looked at Plantz.
Planz continued speaking as if he was breathless.
“How dare you look down on my younger brother Calian?”
From Whitlin’s perspective, Plantz has no obligation to look at Whitlin, wonder why, and understand. Just like Whitlin, who arbitrarily threw away his duties, Plantz did the same. Just like Whitlin, who arbitrarily twisted his right to choose, Plantz took his right and held it in his own hands. That’s how they criticized Whitlin.
– Were you forced to eat meat by any chance?
I was quietly sitting with my hands folded and listening to my older brother, and I ignored his startled younger brother barking, ‘Why are you saying that if I did something wrong while I was sleeping?’
– I’m taking your side.
– yes. But you speak very intelligently, brother.
– Bark.
– Brother, can you please talk to me at that length?
– shut up.
– I think it would be great if you could just say more than four letters to me.
– Quiet.
– …… yes.
…Doing my best to distract myself.
“The axis of time or something. We have no intention of getting anything from you. Neither do we.”
And like this.
In a fit of anger, I kicked Whitlin’s horse.
– Brother, you didn’t ask my opinion.
– That’s right, it’s thoughtless.
– Still, shouldn’t you ask me? Brother, I think you are ignoring my opinion too much. Anyway, since you’re my younger brother, haven’t you ever thought of it as a given that I should ask him what he thinks at least once and then make a decision?
As I let go of my younger brother’s barking that I could still hear.
“No need. You too. To us.”
Whitlin closed his mouth quietly.
The person whose utility was denied quietly kept his mouth shut.
“… My older brother said so.”
Calian smiled brightly, as if he had made a bold decision to angrily refuse to use the axis of time, which not even Alan Manasil could figure out.
Staying with someone you don’t need any longer is just a waste of time. So Calian immediately got up and set his eyes on the ice sculpture placed on the desk in the study. I had never seen the finished product before, but I recognized it at a glance. It must have been made by Arsene.
Calian walked towards the statue that had been left in this place for three days already and stretched out his hand.
– Saruk….
He gently brushed aside the faces of those who were smiling with faces that couldn’t be happier than that, and then spoke.
“I don’t know what my mother thought of me, but Siona said that I take after my mother. So I am sure of one thing.”
A voice filled with light wind continues.
“At least my mother is not the kind of person who would want to keep as a friend an elf who can neither live nor die and therefore has no use in any place. She will never take that elf’s side.”
Whitlin’s eyes rested on the statue, and Calian, who decided not to pay any more attention to the sight, simply closed his eyes.
Another change follows.
He grew very slightly taller. Clothes that were a little big now fit perfectly. My black hair turned bright. The thin neck line moved and the uvula bulged.
A young light that burns red and burns out.
Calian, who returned to those eyes of light, opened his mouth as he looked at his black-haired brother with pulsating flames.
“Let’s go. Now.”
Plantz, who returned to Calian’s face, nodded.
Calian looked at his clothes again and moved his arms. There was no warmth left that would never melt, but I carefully held the piece of ice, which was never lonely, with one arm. He continued to say more as he arbitrarily returned what he had given as a gift.
“Kyrie will be here soon. I hope you don’t run away again and meet her. That’s probably the last time you’ll be useful.”
axis of time.
How to use it.
Calian took steps to continue searching for the answer as he had done so far.
Jump and jump.
* * *
I went outside and closed the door.
In a hallway where many servants did not come and go, a tall man stood alone. The person with a calm expression on his face raised his head. And then he spoke to Kalian, who had just come out of the study and had the face of Planz, to be exact.
“How are you injured?”
“hungry.”
Come to think of it, I slept through the whole day and then jumped into lunch to start a new day with energy. That means I haven’t even eaten a single meal yet.
Kirie said with a small smile.
“If you come up, I will have prepared a meal for you.”
“Okay. I’ll go and eat.”
“yes.”
Even though he answered, Calian did not move his feet. I raised my eyes and looked up at Kirie. With a face full of worry, as if checking his mood.
okay.
Silent was not cast.
It’s not that I forgot and couldn’t cast it, it’s that I didn’t cast it. I knew that Kirie would not avoid it and would want to hear it all. Because Calian is someone who can make his own judgment after hearing the entire conversation with Whitlin, which he will not hide.
Therefore, Kirie, who had heard every detail of the conversation in the study, opened her mouth.
“Then I’ll say hello and come back.”
“okay.”
“Or… Prince.”
“huh.”
Kyrie, who had not continued speaking even though she called Calian, moved her head. Then he looked into Calian’s eyes and said.
“Could you please wait here for a moment? I haven’t eaten yet.”
Light green eyes shine.
It shines like sunlight hanging on the tip of a leaf.
“Shall we eat together?”
“yes.”
“Would you like to drink too? It’s okay for me to like alcohol.”
“…… hey.”
Plantz, who was watching the green-faced crown prince smiling brightly as he pointed out that he was an expert in drinking, frowned the corner of his big red eyes as if he could not bear it any longer.
I’m glad there’s no one around. I’m glad that only my brother’s taciturn driver and I are the ones seeing that little bastard.
“It’s good to drink.”
“Okay. Let’s have a drink, Kirie.”
“yes.”
Kirie, who had finished the meal and drink plan without any time for Plantz to interfere further, gave a silent bow to the two. And he entered the room, leaving behind the three princes with dissatisfied faces and the crown prince smiling brightly.
– Sweet.
Kirie closed the door and raised her head.
I saw a vague image of the back in my memory. I looked at that figure without saying anything. I looked at Whitlin with an expressionless face.
For a long, really long time.
Whitlin, who turned around, also said nothing else. I looked at Kirie without saying a word, with an expression on her face that was difficult to read. Kirie also looked at that face.
For a long time and again for a long time.
Kyrie, who was facing Whitlin without saying a word, took a long breath. And then he opened his mouth.
“The memorial service is finished. That’s enough.”
He said his final greetings.
