Calianâs smile towards Dmirea did not change.
He created a flawless smile on his face and drew the deep smile he really wanted to make with his fingertips.
âDemirea this way.â
After that, he personally guided Demirea to his now empty seat.
Demirea also knew very well that here and now, even a short breath or a passing glance carries the same meaning as a stigma. Therefore, Demirea bowed her head with a slight smile and accepted Calianâs hospitality. And then I sat down, following Kalyan.
The commotion subsided.
The nobles gathered at Siegfriedâs coffin were trying to somehow interpret and accept the situation they were seeing.
Everyone was silent as the day they had only imagined had become a reality, as the predictions they had been making up until now had come true.
âThe Marquis Briesen has not arrived yet.â
The distance between where the two sat and the noblesâ seats was quite far. Therefore, Demirea said this with a calm smile, as if they were exchanging a light greeting. It was a very small voice, careful not to spread the sound in the silence filled with noise louder than ever.
Calian nodded as if in response to Dmireaâs âlight greetingâ, which confirmed and informed him that there was no one person who should be here right now, and answered.
âYes, I know.â
Isnât there anyone here now with a higher status than Calian or Plantz, who left the room a little while ago? Nevertheless, the two princes were there before Demirea and Evan.
Of course, I had deliberately told Demirea to do this in advance. It was to capture the attention of the nobles who were already gathered in one place at once and to show off Calianâs greed more efficiently.
âSimilar to yours, but for a slightly different reason. Itâll probably come soon.â
The same would be true for Evan.
He wants to show off his influence and power that he is in a higher position than the princes. It was clear that they were trying hard to ruin this event at the right time.
And maybe
âYour Majesty the King!â
â⦠You might want to say that your power is greater than Your Highnessâs.â
In response to the words that seemed to overlap with the knightâs shout announcing Lemaineâs arrival, Demirea nodded very slightly and stood up. Kalyan also stood up after him.
Alan wasnât there.
Since it was a day where it was impossible to congratulate Kalian or not, he had told Lemain in advance that he would not be attending.
Lemaine, dressed in dark gray robes with a purple tinge and a black cape that extended to his feet, walked straight toward Calian. The gazes of the nobles gathered to follow his footsteps.
â Should I get angry and blame myself for being careless?
â I wonder if it will be ignored and passed over, just like it was originally.
â no. Rather, I think they will like it and welcome it.
The silent stories continued endlessly like the chirping of a small bird. How will Lemain react when he sees Demirea? Accordingly, how should I, and indeed my family, respond?
âHappy birthday Kalyan.â
Lemain exceeded all the noblesâ expectations.
Lemain, who sincerely wished a happy birthday, looked at Calian for a long time with a silent smile.
There was no need to tell whether it was really a birthday congratulation or a congratulations on successfully completing the show.
âThank you, Your Highness.â
Calian said only this and lowered his head.
Afterwards, Lemain exchanged a brief and casual greeting with Demirea, looked at Evanâs empty seat for a moment, and then went to his own seat. He then finished his brief greeting by expressing his gratitude to those who attended the event to celebrate Kalyanâs birthday.
âNow then, a toast to the three princes.â
With Lemainâs short words, champagne was filled in front of everyone, including Calian.
Calian, who was looking at the bubbles rising and bursting repeatedly inside the red wine, smiled bitterly and could not be seen.
To others, bright red champagne would appear to be the color of Laprania, used when celebrating birthdays. However, no matter how much he looked at it with Calianâs eyes, he could only see the color as a pure melt of Annelusia.
Lemain, who was unaware of the complicated feelings that were stirring Calian for a moment, opened his mouth.
âTo celebrate this happy day when the third prince of the great Kairis was born.â
Lemain, holding a bottle of champagne in his hand containing the light of a flame that was both life and death, looked around for a moment. Lemain, who had glanced at the nobles waiting for the low, echoing voice to continue, was about to tell Calian in a powerful tone what he would give as a gift.
âSorry for being late, Your Majesty.â
gate crasher.
The kingâs congratulatory address had already begun, so Lemain was interrupted by the voice of a person who was nothing more or less than an uninvited guest who entered the room after ignoring the article that said entry was not allowed at this time.
In order to show off the power he possesses, regardless of social status, he recently and miraculously foundâ¦
âThis is the Marquis Evan Brissen and Viscount Lennon Brissen.â
One person arrived late on purpose to make sure everyone could see Lennon Brissen. It was Evan.
Evan and Lennon came hurriedly into the banquet hall, leaving behind the words of the Caera driver explaining who had entered the banquet hall without permission.
â
Pomegranate juice was placed long before the champagne was filled to celebrate the birthday. The ice filled with it melted and sank slightly with a clear sound. To Calian, the small sound made by the ice sounded much louder than the sound of Evan and Lennonâs footsteps entering the banquet hall.
Evan, who entered wearing dark blue robes and fancy platinum decorations, turned his eyes to Calian, who was standing with his back straight. This is why I was curious to see how Lennonâs face would change if he received it as a birthday present.
As if he felt his gaze, his mysterious eyes, shining transparently as if filled with pomegranate juice or red champagne, turned towards Evan.
And it was soon taken away.
He didnât even give Lennon a passing glance.
A look that is enough to check who is coming in now. And his face seemed a little more interested in the pomegranate juice that was making noise right before his eyes.
Evan, who briefly raised his eyebrows at the action of not even looking at Lennon, soon regained his composure.
âbut. âYou must have known.â
In fact, there are already a lot of rumors about Lennon. Kalian must have also taken into account that they would show up together on such a dramatic day to celebrate Kalyan.
Therefore, Evan looked away without being greatly disturbed by Calianâs calm reaction.
Plantâs empty seat and Demirea standing on the other side. The jewelry with many stories on Demireaâs head caught my eye one after another.
Demirea took another drink. He didnât even look at Evan at all. Evanâs eyebrows twitched once more when he noticed what was shining brightly on Demireaâs forehead as she turned her head toward Lemain.
âSo thatâs why Planz is away.â
Even though he is Evan, he is still a person who walks on two feet and talks. I understood that this surprise party that I had worked so hard to prepare was to no avail and what Calian had done now.
âIf I had known this would happen, I would have come a little sooner and watched them all from the moment they entered!â
Evan, remembering his late regrets, clicked his tongue quietly. Lennon, who heard the sound alone, opened his mouth to Evan.
âfather?â
Lennon, who had been ârescuedâ by Evan and treated as precious as gold or jade without even knowing that the person who had imprisoned him was his father, was looking at the faces of Evan, Calian, and Lemaine with an incomprehensible expression.
Thanks to Lennon, who couldnât understand the situation, Evan suddenly came to his senses. First of all, it was important to act resolutely and never let others see that you were embarrassed.
Soon Evan took his gaze away from Calian. Then, he slowly walked to the empty seat in front of the nobles and sat down. Let alone an apology for arriving late, he had skipped a proper greeting to Lemain and Calian.
â Knock knock knock.
Calian, who was holding a glass of champagne in his hand, tapped the glass with his fingertips.
I was holding back so as not to get angry at Evanâs endlessly arrogant attitude. First of all, it wasnât Evan who was the problem right now; it was LeMaine who had to say the rest.
So please tell me quickly.
Calian, with eyes like these, looked up at Lemain. Lemain glanced at Calian briefly, then withdrew his gaze and opened his mouth once again.
âTo Concubine Freya Whitlinâ¦â
And finally.
âI will lower my rank as queen.â
Words like a thunderbolt falling from the sky echoed throughout the hall.
The music, which had been playing quietly, stopped. The champagne glass that had been raised for the toast was slowly lowered. The noblesâ eyes looked at each other.
Did I hear correctly?
do.
â Knock knock knock.
Calianâs hand made a sound once again.
No one will probably know how hard Kalian is trying not to show his face full of interest right now.
You should never be disturbed by the noise of the nobles. You shouldnât like it, and you shouldnât show your intention of rejecting Lemainâs story. I had to look around with a calm and calm face.
âWho sits down and who gets up.â
Because I had to see it clearly with my own eyes.
* * *
There was one thing that changed and one thing that remained the same.
One thing that has changed is that he no longer uses strange and long titles such as âPrinceâs older brotherâ when calling himself.
âWhat are you doing here at this hour?â
It came into being at some point, and at some point I used it every time, but now I no longer use it.
âThe prince, the vice commander.â
And what remains the same is that people have become a bit quieter or are no longer calling people by the proper title, âPrince.â
Now Arsene has removed Planz from the âKallianâs older brotherâ category. To be precise, I would have to say that I removed Calian from Randel and Plantzâs brothers, but in any case, I didnât try to tie them as brothers anymore.
Thanks to this, Plantz, who was already used to the title, which seemed to have become shorter or more bizarre, answered without much reaction.
âcold.â
âDo you have a cold?â
After saying this, Arsene quietly took a step back.
âItâs too much to take care of 100 new people. You shouldnât move.â
100 new members, including early graduates from the magic academy, were added to the Balkan wizards. In addition, the Knights of Karen and Laon officially joined the Knights of Balkan.
The expected change that came thanks to this was, of course, âbeing busy.â Itâs not just that Iâm busy, Iâm so busy that Iâm going crazy.
âshut up.â
Planz, who was not in a very good mood, went to a place completely opposite to Arsene, took off his cloak, took off his shirt pin and tie, and threw them on the sofa.
I donât know where I left Relic, but heâs really good at solving things without anyone helping him. Arsene frowned and asked as he watched Planz, who had taken off his jacket and vest and was wearing a shirt, rolling up his sleeves.
âYou have a cold, why did you come?â
âDay.â
Ah, prince.
Did I really say that?
Are you saying I started a war because I trusted this man, who is hard to tell whether he is short-spoken or short-tempered?
Arsene, who had been letting out a silent scream, let out a deep sigh and sat down in front of the desk. It was his desk that was as far away from Plantzâs desk as possible.
As the size of the Balkans increased, the expected change was busy, and the unexpected change was now this. Planzâs desk, which had been provided in the Knightsâ Order, was moved into Arseneâs large, inefficient, unfurnished office.
âMy older brother may be shy, but if you get to know him, heâs quite gentle, so get along well.â
Calianâs judgment was truly extremely reasonable.
Of course, the work had increased tremendously, and the smart second prince worked very quickly and well, so it was true that if the two vice commanders shared the same office, work efficiency would increase tremendously.
But isnât it really too much to cram these two people, whose efficiency increases and their lives decrease just by looking at each other, into the same office? They say they donât complain, but Iâm starting to doubt whether itâs really true that they donât complain.
As if he had read Arseneâs thoughts, Planz turned to Arsene with an irritated face and spoke to him.
âWizard.â
âI am the vice-corps commander. Vice-corps commander.â
Plantz opened his mouth again without even looking at Arsene, who once again corrected Plantzâs title, which he had already told him a million times, but he couldnât figure out that one thing.
âget out.â
To the princeâs wedding invitation, which was shy and, at first glance, quite gentle, the wizard, who was shy and quite harsh at first glance, responded with a calm face.
âThis is my office, Vice Commander.â
Again, the two were thirteen years apart.
Plantz, who couldnât hide his irritation and messed up his neatly organized hair, looked at Arsene with sharp eyes in his light green eyes.
âGet out.â
After that, he skimmed through the documents with his sparkling light green eyes and added as if he was flowing.
âItâs my brotherâs birthday, shouldnât we celebrate it?â
It sounds like a happy birthday.
Arsene, who was about to look at Planz as if he was saying something crazy, looked out the window for a moment. Siegfriedâs coffin, the most beautiful and shining coffin on the continent, came into view in the distance. Arsene, who had been thinking about the place for quite some time, put on a pure white robe that had been hanging on the wall and opened his mouth.
âI will come to congratulate the prince on his birthday, Vice Commander.â
Arsene Hertz, deputy commander of the Balkan Corps. The golden laurel leaf symbol that properly showed the position flashed for a moment and then disappeared behind the door.
Since he didnât tell anyone anything and just told him to congratulate him, Plantz, who didnât betray anything about Evan, turned his attention back to the documents as if nothing had happened.
* * *
The day Kalian collapsed, vomiting blood.
The banquet hall was filled with more noise than that day, but no less.
Calianâs eyes, who had been silently looking ahead, turned to Evan. Evan also looked directly into Calianâs eyes.
Evan got up from his seat and walked towards where Lemain was. Thereâs no way Evan wouldnât know what Freyaâs Queen Chusung means.
One step after another.
Calianâs long, white fingers moved as if skimming water droplets from a glass of champagne. Another transparent line was created on the top of the glass.
âiced coffee.â
LeMaine did the favor and Demirea did his part. Plantz left in a timely manner.
Moreover, Calian, who had just confirmed that there was one more happy thing to happen, relaxed his hands at the end of the arc he had drawn. The champagne glass that left my fingertips hovered in the air for a moment and then fell to the floor. fell.
â Clinkâ¦!
The glass fell to the marble floor and shattered. Blood-red champagne spread across the white floor.
At that sharp sound, Evanâs thoughtless steps towards Lemain stopped. The noise that had been spreading indiscriminately stopped.
Calian, who had silenced the commotion in Siegfriedâs coffin, looked down at the bright red liquor that had spilled out onto the floor.
Now that it was visible in the light of Laprania, Calian was free from the thoughts about the old Calian that had been pressing on his mind all day, and smiled slightly with a satisfied face.
Evanâs Auror.
ââ¦â¦at las.â
paper.
person.
all.