Calian came down to his room with a small pop and looked around for a moment.
Unlike Calianâs room, which was all black, Plantzâs room was quite bright. The curtains, carpets, and bedding visible from a distance inside the bedroom were mostly bright colors.
Of course it was because of the cat.
What can you do when a cat whose hair is shedding at an alarming rate will run around the room? Just like wearing bright clothes, your room will also become brighter.
Calian, who was thinking about this, looked at Jan, who had just entered the room, and said.
âFrom now on, donât serve mint tea when youâre on the 4th floor.â
I was reminded of the expression on Plantzâs face as he drank down a cup of mint tea even though he didnât like it.
I said this because it was clear that he would never say that tea was not to his liking, as he had a personality that catered to cats as well.
âAre you going to keep going up every meal?â
âFor now.â
Calian answered by lightly nodding his head, and surprisingly, Jan responded without much hesitation.
âOkay, I will. And you told me to call Lord Hertz, but I donât think heâll be able to come today.â
âWhatâs wrong?â
When asked because he was worried that he might have been disadvantaged because of this incident, Jan smiled slightly and answered.
âThey say they are helping dispose of the Heishia Palace debris.â
It wasnât that there was anything else going on, but it was true that Arsene was away and couldnât come to Calian.
This is why Vulcan was brought in to dispose of the remains of Heysia Palace in accordance with Alanâs opinion as to what use a wizard with valuable abilities should be used for. That was the punishment not given by Lemain but by Allan, the commander of the Balkan corps.
The image of Arsene, who was clearly working while grumbling, came to mind, and I finally burst out laughing. Calian, who laughed for a while, answered.
âI understand. Please send me money for a company dinner later.â
âall right.â
Jan, who answered that way, did not go. Calian looked at Jan because he seemed to have something else to say, and Jan opened his mouth.
âPrince Siegfried is waiting outside.â
No matter who was waiting for him, he had to report on what the prince had told him to do and convey the information he needed to know first, so he only spoke after conveying all the other information. Calian nodded and answered.
âAsk them to come in.â
âYes, my prince.â
After Jan gave a brief answer and went out, it wasnât long before Dmirea came in. Calian grinned when he saw Demirea like that.
This is why I like Demirea.
Demirea was wearing a dark navy blue pantsuit. When she came to the palace before attending the ball, she wore a light dress, but it seems she didnât think it was necessary.
Demirea bowed lightly to Calian and then sat across from Calian. Soon Jan came in, put down two cups of tea without saying a word, and was about to go out. Even though he probably doesnât know that the conversation is about his younger brother and the familyâs affairs, he doesnât want to get involved or interfere.
âJan. You sit down too.â
Not only was there no reason for Yan not to listen, but after all, Yan was from the same family.
Jan slightly bowed his head and sat down a little away from Demirea. It was an unspoken sign that he would listen to the conversation between the two but would not intervene.
Kalian saw that and laughed inwardly for a moment. I thought I knew why they drew the line like that.
Because Chase reminded me of Bern, who respected Chase by always taking a step back when they were together.
Calian, who decided to respect Yan, took his gaze away from Yan. Then he looked at Demirea and said hello.
âItâs been a while, fiancée.â
Despite the joking greeting, Jan sat there without much reaction, and Dmirea smiled and nodded. After that, he gave a short speech about the rumor that he was âfiancéâ.
âIâll put that rumor to good use for the price of bananas.â
This means that he will pay for the bananas that Kalian ate at the mansion by introducing Kalian as his fiancé. Of course, it was a rumor that Calian accepted out of necessity, but Demirea also benefited from it.
âItâs like selling my name for two bananas.â
âI think itâs a reasonable price since you ate so much.â
Calian asked after laughing for quite some time.
âYes. Is there any other reaction from the Marquis of Briesen?â
âYes. There is no special reaction.â
I didnât even bother to tell you what I did to keep Marquis Evan Briesen quiet. Itâs true that itâs quiet now anyway.
âWhy did you come looking for me?â
Therefore, Calian opened his mouth towards Demirea, who got to the point.
âIâm going to create a knighthood soon. For that reason, Iâm planning to hide Count Eifrinâs knights in Duke Siegfriedâs mansion for a while.â
âYes. I know about that because I heard it from my father.â
âOh, then weâll talk quickly.â
âI heard that they are planning to replace the Royal Palaceâs Knights. Is that correct?â
âOriginally, I thought so, but my thoughts have changed. I will continue to raise them as a new order of knights that will be outside the palace.â
Demirea frowned slightly.
This was because it was unclear whether the knights who would be outside the royal palace meant Calianâs private army or the knights who would attack the royal palace.
âIf this is a group of knights whose purpose is to attack the royal palace, I will not help.â
âShall I say that I will hide the articles written about such things in the elephant house?â
âThen are you the princeâs private army?â
âThey are similar. They are the ones who will become my strength.â
They said they wanted to hide it, but in reality, it meant that they wanted to grow the knights within it. Demirea thought for a moment and opened her mouth.
âI cannot give you Siegfriedâs name.â
To those words that drew a line like a knife, Calian nodded and said as if it was a natural thing.
âI know. As long as you hide it, I will take care of it. And since it will be Count Aprinâs knights, you wonât have to ask for its name. Donât worry about that either.â
âSo youâre saying itâs not the prince, but Count Eifrinâs knights?â
When I asked if they were Calianâs private soldiers, I finally understood why they said they were similar.
âI donât know if this means that I will not keep the princeâs name in it just in case, or if it means that I will raise Count Aprin into a samurai with the same power as Brisen.â
âAs I said, these are the people I will raise as my knights. It doesnât have to be my name, so Iâm just borrowing the countâs name.â
âPrince. The Knightsâ Order is different from the top or the academy. Not deciding on a master for the Knightsâ Order is a dangerous move. It is also different from the Balkans. The faith of the wizards and the loyalty of the knights are different. You should not think that everyone who holds a sword is like Kirie. .â
Immediately Demirea said this.
I also said this because I knew very well what kind of people the knights were.
âIt is not an issue you should see in the same context as trusting Count Eifrin.â
âknow.â
No one would know what kind of knights they were better than Calian. Calian smiled slightly and looked at Demirea.
âSo, what Iâm saying is, wouldnât you be able to at least watch the knights instead of me?â
Demirea closed her mouth.
After taking a sip of tea, Calian continued his words towards Dmirea, who was considering Calianâs intentions.
âLike you said, it will be different than when I can always keep you under my eye in the palace. I am still not sure if I can completely trust Count Eifrinâs knights. So, letâs take this opportunity to see how much we can trust the Count. âAfter that, think about whether to make them an independent knightly order or find another way.â
âSo what youâre saying now, Prince, is that you want to entrust me with the role of âmonitorâ to decide how to use them?â
âThatâs right. Exactly.â
âYouâre trying to manipulate me in many ways.â
âBecause itâs my job to act.â
Calian, who said this, smiled brightly, and Demirea, who was not at all fooled by the laughter, muttered quietly.
âYouâre also shameless.â
âOr canât I give it to my fiancé as a preferential treatment?â
Demireaâs face crumpled noticeably.
It seemed like he wanted to immediately say that the rumor about their betrothal was a rumor, so Kalian quickly waved his hand to stop him and then spoke again.
âPlease, Demirea.â
Demirea looked at Calian for a while and nodded.
âOkay, let me help you.â
âthank you.â
âI didnât even get the accommodation fee last time. Iâm planning on getting the full amount this time too, so donât try to skip it.â
âYou paid me back well for the bananas. Iâll pay you back without taking too much money.â
Demirea eventually laughed at the words of the prince, who out of all his debts had only paid back the cost of bananas.
âBy the way, do you know that you have become somewhat famous? Many people say that you caused a major accident, as if you were shouting that if you want to cause an accident, do it like me.â
âAh, Heisia Palace.â
Calian answered with a shameless face, as if he didnât know anything.
âIt wasnât me. It was Vulcanâs mistake.â
âIs there anyone who doesnât know that Balkan belongs to the prince?â
Kalian didnât give any particular answer to that. Demirea looked at it for a moment and then opened her mouth again.
âAnyway, I understand. Please let me know when the date for joining the knights is set.â
âAh Demirea.â
Calian stopped Dmirea, who was trying to stand up, and showed her the same sign language that Hina showed her not long ago.
âThis. What does it mean?â
Although it was a clumsy hand gesture, the words were not difficult to recognize. Because of this, Demireaâs face changed strangely.
âMemmaeâ.
âDo you hear such things from the princeâs maid?â
âItâs an insult after all.â
Then he glanced at Jan, who was sitting next to Demirea, and said.
âNo one tells me what it means. Not even Jan.â
âWhat did you do wrong to hear such words?â
Calian responded with a small smile.
âBecause there are more than one thing I do wrong.â
Demirea took the last sip of tea and put down the teacup. And answered in a quiet voice.
âYou just have to come to your senses and live your life. Donât listen to the same people.â
Then he got up, said hello, and went out. In the end, they didnât tell us what Hina said.
âWhat on earth are you talking about that Demirea wonât even tell you?â
Calianâs doubts only grew.
* * *
After Demirea left.
Kalian just sat in the same spot for half a day. It was partly because the words about staying sober and living were intertwined with what Plantz had said in the morning, and partly because there was nothing else to do.
Werenât we in a situation where we couldnât even go to the training center, couldnât go to the Wilhelm Pavilion where Vulcan was, and at least couldnât go for a walk?
Anyway, come to your senses and live.
ââ¦â¦ âWhat do you know?â
I was sitting there muttering, thinking about this and that, when Jan came over and sat across from me and set down the chilled mint tea. This is my second
cup of mint tea today.
Unless I tell you, I will drink the same tea twice. It was Yan who had not brought it out, but Calian picked it up without saying anything and brought it to his mouth.
âYou always ask for mint tea when youâre deep in thought.â
Calian smiled slightly and said thank you, and Yan opened his mouth again.
âThe prince is on the 4th floor. I told Count Manasil that I thought I would go on and have a meal.â
âDid you tell him that?â
Calianâs eyes widened.
âYes. I told him that if he was going to move like that anyway, I should just let him move around comfortably. Count Manasil will take care of obtaining permission from His Majesty, so I think you will be able to move freely within Chermil Palace from tomorrow onwards. You donât have to go to the fourth floor in a dangerous way or feel depressed because youâre bored like this.â â
Okay.â
I was about to say thank you to Jan for his kind words, but Jan spoke first. â
So donât do that.â
Sign language can be seen even from afar.
Exercise Jan, who went outside to take Raven back after finishing her work, saw what Hina was saying.
Hinaâs sign language, which was putting down the light blue ice cream next to her, was fast and difficult for Jan to read. Still, he could understand what she was saying
. I thought of my older brother who took all my belongings and burned them just a week before he died.
âBecause I survived, there is an empty space. How do I get rid of it? So, while you donât have time to worry about empty seats, just buy it.â
Jan paused for a moment and looked out the window, then turned his gaze back to Kalian. Soon, his eyes turned to the mint tea and then back to Kalian. The refreshing mint scent
and A completely opposite voice came out.
âPlease donât let something like that happen again.â
I was just preparing for an emergency. I
wasnât thinking about dying right now.
I wanted to live, too.
âOkay, okay.â
Instead of saying that, Calian just laughed
because he felt like he couldnât die even if he had a hand holding him like this.