Chapter 10. We’ve come too far (6) After
finishing a lot of work, Kalian sat down and quietly closed his eyes.
And by circulating the mana in the body, the external mana was slowly drawn in and purified.
Immediately, I felt a warm energy gathering inside my body. Calian began to carefully move the collected mana towards his heart.
The idea is to create a fourth circle.
At first, I felt the mana forming a belt and heading towards my heart without difficulty. Kalian had always been successful up to this stage after mastering the 3rd circle, but he could not get past this point. Therefore, Calian concentrated even more and carefully moved the band of mana to the heart.
Suddenly, the nature of the mana belt, which had been moving smoothly, began to change drastically. The warmth of mana is transformed into a strong yet sharp anticipation.
The mana whose nature had changed quickly flowed into the dantian. As the tail of the mana band entered the dantian and disappeared, the mana band that was going to the heart also moved backwards and was absorbed as if it were being sucked into the dantian. The mana that should have formed the circle was converted to the source of the auror and was accumulated in the Danjeon instead of the heart.
Calian, who was unable to create a circle this time, let out a short statement.
“also.”
It was the same today too.
Calian sighed. I felt Alan smiling in my head. Alan spoke without trying to erase his humorous tone.
– Congratulations on having a stronger aura.
How can that be a compliment? Instead of being sarcastic like that, I felt like I would feel better if I cursed at him and called him a bastard.
– It’s not easy to break the habit of swinging a knife, even if it’s only for a short time. I understand, so just know that you won’t be able to step into Kairisis until you succeed.
Calian laughed awkwardly at Alan’s cheering threat.
The principles of using auras and magic themselves were not different. Thanks to the power of blessing, Calian was able to accumulate enough mana to use both auras and magic. Therefore, there was no great difficulty in manifesting the power that had already been accumulated.
The problem was that if you tried to create a circle with the mana you had saved, all of this guy’s mana would go to waste. You go through the process of building up your aura unconsciously. Since I couldn’t create the 4th circle, I couldn’t ask him to teach me magic even if Arsene was next to me.
It was for this reason that Alan told Lemain that Cispanian would go away crying. All of the overflowing mana was turning into an auror, and even Alan was upset.
Still, the point at which mana is absorbed into the Danjeon is being delayed, so no matter how late it is, you will be able to succeed before you arrive at Siegfried’s territory. Both Alan and Calian were looking forward to it.
– Anyway, I understand. And because of what the prince’s father did, I was forced to stay in the palace for 15 days without moving. It may be difficult to respond to the conversation, so don’t worry if you don’t respond.
Calian tilted his head at Alan’s words.
This is because if anything has happened so far, it has been Kalian or Allen, and LeMaine has never done anything. Calian asked curiously.
– What did your highness do?
Alan didn’t answer for a moment. Because I was a little surprised.
Calian always called Lemain by his name when talking to Alan, but Calian’s title for Lemain had changed. I thought maybe that was a change that occurred while catching the blue warbler this time, but I didn’t bother to mention it and just gave the answer.
– It’s no big deal. It’s just my job.
Calian, who heard the somewhat ambiguous words, let out a laugh without realizing it. Because it was not a sound that could have come from the mouth of a wizard. In any case, if it was important enough for Calian to know, there was no reason for Alan to hide it, so Calian just assumed that something else had happened between them and moved on.
Instead, I asked what I had been curious about.
– So, have you decided what to do with Lennon Brissen’s job?
Alan didn’t answer Calian’s question for a while.
In the process of interrogating Hail Latran, it would become known that Hail had sold new items to the Brisen Merchants. What it meant was so clear that if it were made public, it was obvious that everyone, including the Marquis Briesen, would know that Lennon had changed his mind.
So Lemain had to decide whether to keep the fact hidden or make it public for profit. And Kalian was asking about the result of that concern.
The words were delivered from Alan with a sombre feeling.
– I haven’t decided yet. It seems like they are trying to gauge how the fire will spread, so please watch first.
If it was just a fight between father and son, it didn’t matter whether they changed their minds or not. However, the problem was that the body of the Briesen family where the fighting took place was too large.
Aside from the fact that the fight between the two could escalate into a civil war, it could also easily escalate into a power struggle between the 1st and 2nd princes.
– Your Majesty must already be worried about the princes’ fight.
When Calian, who brought the matter in motion, said that, Alan laughed.
– Lemain wasn’t the eldest son either, so how can you not know? You don’t have to worry too much. You can just walk the path in front of the prince.
Out of respect for Lemain, who must have been pondering the many possible consequences of Lennon’s betrayal, Calian did not give a different opinion, but only replied that he would understand.
Since he said he had to enter the palace soon, I thought he would end the story, but Alan spoke again.
– A maid named Merlin came to visit. He said he had sent the proceeds from the Whitlin Estate, but since the Prince is away, he asked me to ask him what to do with it. How can I handle it?
– ah. The timing has come.
The story was that Kalian’s safe had to be opened. Calian briefly asked Alan to manage the safe and explained the location of the safe and how to unlock the magic symbol. And with those words, he cut off the magic that had been infused into the ring.
* * *
In Alan’s hands was a large luggage bag.
Alan clearly had a magic bag that did not increase in size or weight no matter what he put in it. Nevertheless, he carried a luggage bag as big as his body without asking anyone else or using magic.
Lemain, who easily sensed the intention, asked in an indifferent tone.
“Are you telling me to feel sorry?”
“I’m glad you at least recognize it.”
Alan, who had brought the luggage he had brought with him and put it down next to Lemain’s desk, nodded and answered. Then he spread out his palm, which still had dark traces of the bag handle, in front of Lemain and spoke.
“Your Majesty, for a moment, you cared too much for your son, and the old man is suffering like this. What are you going to do about it?”
Lemain answered, bringing his eyes to the document he was looking at.
“I should be able to trust those who are not my sword.”
“No matter what, what if I really send Kaera away?”
Alan’s eyes rose.
It was clearly Lemain who had decided to send the knight Karen. However, upon learning that Brisen was deeply involved in this matter, he immediately dispatched Kaera. That was during the brief period when Alan visited the person in charge of the royal palace to do what Calian had told him to do. There was literally no wasted expedition.
Thanks to this, Alan had to pack his bags and come to the palace. As if he had some reason to trust him, he was entrusted with Lemaine’s guard in place of Caera’s remaining ten knights.
“If Your Majesty only gives special treatment to Prince Calian like this, it will not be good for the prince at all. The moment you show favoritism, Prince Calian’s lifeline will be cut off. To prevent such a thing from happening, you did not show interest in anyone. Did you go?”
Lemain nodded as if telling him not to worry. He said he had already thought about it.
“So I decided to have lunch with the two princes tomorrow.”
“Are you saying that you will give Kaera the same weight as just one meal?”
“I’d like to see the relationship between the two children.”
What they meant was that they were trying to see if there were any signs of a power struggle between the princes.
“There’s nothing to see. It’s surprising that blood isn’t blowing right away.”
After saying that, Alan walked over to the sofa and sat down. Lemain, who was looking at Alan like that, adjusted his glasses and asked.
“From what you see, do you think our relationship is that bad?”
One corner of Alan’s mouth curled up as he acted as an unexpected escort towards Lemain, who was at the level of examining each item one by one, but did not have the willpower to look at all three at once. Lemain saw that and quickly stopped talking.
“No, don’t say it. I understand.”
Alan, who was trying to say that the dogs in the dogfighting ring would get along better than the princes, nodded and smiled.
What on earth was Calian thinking when he picked up a guy like that?
In fact, LeMaine, who was closest to Alan, looked in Latran’s direction for a moment.
* * *
Before going to sleep.
Arsene came to Calian, who was sitting across from Jan and resting while drinking cold mint tea. After putting down the sacred items he had taken from Hale, Arsene said this to Calian, who said he had a hard time.
“As I watched, Count Latran’s words and actions were not good. If I dare to tell you what I think, I think he needs to be punished.”
Calian asked with an expression of anticipation.
“What did you say?”
Arsene asked back with an embarrassed expression.
“Do you mind if I convey that irreverent content to the prince?”
Wizards usually have good memorization skills. This is because there is more than one thing to memorize, such as complex spell formulas, magic circle composition, mana arrangement, etc.
Arsene, who was chosen as the only wizard to guard Calian, had an excellent memorization ability among wizards. Therefore, it would not have been very difficult for Arsene to perfectly memorize the short words Hale said, including the intonation.
Calian, who overlooked it, nodded without thinking.
And I got scolded.
So Calian quickly reflected on his harsh attitude towards Arsene and sent Hale, who had been trying to detain him in a room, to the prison right next to the torture room.
It was the wettest and darkest place in the dungeon. It was an action that meant learning with your whole body what might be living under the straw that was spread in such a place. Insulting the royal family was a crime that could be punished even with the prince’s authority.
After that, Calian talked about magic with Arsene, exchanged swords with Kyrie and told him what needed to be fixed, and chatted with Jan while waiting for the knights to come from Kairisis.
And after some time.
“Kaera… I think so.”
Calian gaped as he watched the majestic Caera knights enter Latran. It didn’t take even a blink of an eye to understand why Alan had to be in the palace and why he said it was Alan’s job.
Kaera rested for just one day after arriving in Latran.
And with the exception of Norton, who ‘died’ of a sudden heart attack, he took the two prisoners, Aila and Hale, and immediately set off for Kairisis.
Of course, Norton, who had woken up again after being sent out of the castle after his death, was heading towards the Whitlin estate with his wife. His new identity documents were to be delivered to the estate by a sender from Alan.
“I hope you have a smooth journey. Thank you very much.”
With that, Calian left Latran, receiving a thank you from Malcolm, who was to act as the estate management agent until a new lord arrived. Time passed again.
Hale
was revoked of his title and spent the rest of his life in prison.
Then came the news that Aela’s sentence had been carried out.
Calian, who heard Alan’s words while looking at the Hiriska Forest that had just begun to come into view, just nodded.
