Chapter 103
Chapter 20. This time (5)
Kalian rested his chin on his elbows on his knees.
The long fingertips of the hand that was not resting his chin tapped the table.
– Knock knock knock.
Arsene’s office was very simple.
There wasn’t a single common picture or flower pot. There was only a desk, chair, sofa, and table. Compared to that, the size of the office was quite large, so even a quiet voice could be heard quite loudly.
Thanks to this, there was a small echo at the end of the sound of banging on the table, but Kalian didn’t pay much attention to it. Because there was no one.
Now Calian was waiting for Arsene.
While I was waiting, I was thinking about Randel.
“What was so urgent?”
Calian laughed and muttered:
Because I never thought that the day when my mind would be filled with thoughts of Randel would come so soon.
If you think about it, it wasn’t difficult to figure out why.
It’s just that Calian didn’t think it was that important.
Randel, three years older than Kalian, is now eighteen. There isn’t much time left until I turn twenty. So it had to be decided before then.
Should I be pushed out of my position and leave Kairisis?
Will he become crown prince and continue to live in the palace?
‘Or maybe I’ll die.’
For that reason, Calian, who decided to understand rather than understand Randel’s movements, smiled bitterly once again.
– smart.
At that time, Arsene returned with a knock on the office door. When he came inside and sat down opposite Calian, he had what looked like two or three pages of documents in his hands.
“What is that.”
“Commander Manasil told me to tell you this.”
Arsene answered, holding out what he was holding in his hand to Calian.
“This is a list of priests delivered by Tensil to be sent to Kairis and information on priests who previously stayed in Kairis.”
“I guess it’s the material given by Your Majesty, not Master.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
There was no need to look at the two lists on either side.
All of the existing priests were included in the list of priests scheduled to come. So, Malcolm Chetish was also on the list of priests to visit this time.
“They said it was on the visitor list, but it wasn’t there in reality.”
The wizards’ information gathering methods were very ignorant, uncharacteristic of wizards. It was obvious that some wizard was lurking around them to make sure that there really wasn’t a priest named Malcolm. No matter what method was used, the thirty people would have overheard each other calling each other one by one. That would have confirmed the fact that none of them were called Malcolm.
So Euria’s information is more accurate.
“I almost just passed by.”
In fact, if I hadn’t noticed that it was strange, I wouldn’t have used this method.
Soon Calian raised his head and looked at Arsene again. The documents were what Alan had asked to be delivered, and the instructions Calian had given to Arsene were separate. It was related to the fact that the area under Arsene’s eyes had now turned black again.
“What happened to what I asked you to check?”
“Yes, Prince. I watched Marquis Briesen’s house all night, but no one in particular came in or out.”
Since Calian joined hands with Plantz, I wondered if Randel might reach out to Evan.
However, since I could not meet Euria right away after the dinner, I hurriedly asked Arsene, who was at Wilhelm Pavilion, a favor. So, by now, the people of Euria would have been hiding near the Marquis’ house, checking on those who came and went.
“I’m sure the priests are fake, but there’s no sign of meeting the Marquis of Briesen…”
Calian, who gathered his thoughts by picking up his tea cup and taking a sip, looked at Arsene and spoke again.
“Please tell His Highness that I have something to ask of him.”
“Yes, my prince. How can I tell you this?”
“I would like you to ask Brother Randel if he knows anything about this matter.”
“Are you talking now?”
Arsene asked this with a questioning face.
After he started bickering with Planz, Arsene’s way of speaking, which had been unnecessarily polite, was gradually changing. Maybe in the past, that question would have lasted much longer.
If you think about it, Arsene was speaking informally when he attacked Bern. Perhaps he, too, had something to do with Plants? Calian laughed quietly at that thought that suddenly occurred to him.
After checking the time, Calian nodded and gave a slightly delayed answer.
“No special schedule has started yet, so Your Highness will be able to talk fully.”
“I’m sorry. I asked because it wasn’t time, but because you don’t yet know Prince Randel’s intentions. Wouldn’t it be too early to reveal to Prince Randel that you felt something strange here?”
“I misunderstood. The identity of those priests.”
“Yes, it is.”
Soon, a smile resembling Plants appeared on Calian’s face.
It was a sneer that implied that he had a rough understanding of Randel’s intentions.
Arsene saw that and made a disgusted expression.
It was because he thought that Planz often met Kalian and taught him strange things.
Calian, who had no way of knowing Arsene’s true intentions, stretched out three fingers. Then he folded them one by one and explained them.
“Surprisingly, it could be a real priest. It could be Sejak. It could be an assassin. Or else.”
Calian, who had said that far, shook his head and said to Arsene.
“It would be comfortable to think that it would be one of the three.”
Actually, the fourth thing I hid was something I came up with with a bit of force, so there was no need to mention it to Arsene.
“Anyway, it’s difficult to narrow down the scope of what they’re planning to do with them based on just my guesses. I’m just going to make them tell me directly.”
“Are you trying to set a trap again?”
“That’s what I’m good at.”
Isn’t the most fun thing in the world to see what gets caught in the trap Calian sets? Because of this, Arsene’s eyes were filled with interest.
“I took good care of my grandson, bought him diamonds, and sent him salt. Should I just stand by and see him try to repay his gratitude in this way?”
Arsene made a strange face when he heard that. What Calian was referring to was the King of Tensil. It’s not Randel.
Arsene asked with an anxious face.
“No way, prince… are you trying to catch Tensil?”
Calian answered with a bright smile.
“I hate war. So I plan to avoid it as much as possible this time.”
At that moment, it seemed to Arsene that it wasn’t that he couldn’t catch Tensil, but that he didn’t want to catch it because he didn’t like war.
but. Because it’s Kalyan.
Setting a big trap is just a little complicated. It occurred to me that just because Calian was in the position of a prince right now, there was nothing stopping him from starting a war.
Anyway, Arsene was so caught up in those thoughts that he couldn’t attach much meaning to Calian’s words that he planned to avoid war ‘this time’ and just moved on.
“If you keep attacking me without knowing the subject, think about what will happen to my blood. I’m just warning you.”
Seeing Calian’s expression as he said that, Arsene realized for a moment how good a decision it had been to live his life following Calian.
After saying that, Kalian stood up.
Because I had a place to go and someone to take me there.
Then, Calian suddenly remembered something and opened his mouth briefly.
“Oops.”
“Are you forgetting something?”
Calian stopped for a moment in front of the door and turned to look at Arsene. And with a quite meaningful expression on his face, he said something mixed with jokes and concerns.
“Brother Planz, don’t break the sword. It’s precious.”
I think I should never say that I was researching what to do because it looked like it would be difficult to destroy the spirit.
“…… yes.”
“and.”
Calian, seeing Arsene like that, grinned and said one more thing.
“I heard my baby elephant is whining that he didn’t receive anything from the Lord.”
…… AC.
Arsene slowly took out his money bag.
* * *
Kalian originally liked black clothes.
This was because the old Calian didn’t like being noticed, and Bern’s blood wasn’t noticeable even when it spattered.
Even now, Kalyan was like that. He liked to wear black clothes.
I don’t remember what Planz was like originally. There was no need for Calian to know what color his enemy-like brother liked.
Therefore, Calian did not know that Planz had suddenly started wearing bright clothes.
I know that now.
Now I know exactly why.
So, as soon as Plants’ servant Reric closed the door, Calian burst into laughter. Calian, who had been laughing for a while, opened his mouth.
“I’ll change your name tag. Leave out my name and put your name on it.”
And then, in Plantz’s arms, ‘I am Prince Calian’s cat.’ He pointed at the cat. Plantz responded with an expression that asked what to do.
“Don’t bark.”
There was probably no great person other than Calian who would laugh out loud like that in front of Plants or who would not pay any attention to such words.
Planz, who soon put down the cat, looked at Calian and asked.
“Why again?”
Why did you come again? Where did you leave those outstanding servants to come and laugh? Anyway, don’t laugh, tell me why you came and leave quickly. etc. were implied.
“I have somewhere to go with you for a moment.”
Plantz frowned.
It’s okay if we go to dinner together once. Where else can we go?
“I’m going to meet Marquis Briesen. On horseback.”
After hearing Calian’s words, Plantz thought about something in silence for a moment. Then, with a chuckle, he pointed out Calian’s true intentions.
“Are you cheating?”
After all, Planz is smart. Calian laughed.
“Yes. The two princes are going to meet the Marquis of Briesen. If we show off on horseback, Brother Randel will see it too. It’s too obvious.”
Looking at the overly obvious actions of his two younger brothers, Randel must have thought this.
– It’s something they do on purpose to get on my nerves.
If he realized that such actions were deliberately staged, he would have suspected that the fact that the two of them had come to dinner together the previous day was a lie. In such a situation, Lemain calls Landel and asks about the priest.
In that case, Randel would have thought that Calian was suspicious of the priests’ identities and was deliberately pretending to join hands with Planz.
“After that, I plan to go to Brother Randel’s room tonight. I’m sure he’s been thinking a lot about me all day, so there’s no need to explain much. I’d like to just say something.”
“Let’s join hands and hit Brisen first.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’d like to join hands with you and start with Brisen. Then, I will keep quiet about everything I find out about what brother Randel has been hiding.”
“… I guess you won’t refuse.”
“I think so too.”
because.
“Because you are anxious to have me in your hands.”
Calian concluded his speech with a bright smile.