Iâm telling you to bow down and show an example.
As soon as they heard those words, each nobleman thought of a different person. Some are friends, some are family, and some are grown children.
What they all had in common was that they were all unable to come here due to their own circumstances.
And the nobles felt sorry that they were not attending the banquet and could not see the exciting scene unfolding before their eyes. And I continued to worry about how to tell this story to them so that it could be a more realistic explanation.
Whether it was the nobles who were on Evanâs side or not, the first thing that came to mind was such a noble thought.
âWhat was exchanged in that short period of time that led the prince himself to say something like that?â
Prince Callian and Marquess Evan Briesen.
Didnât they once join hands and drive out Silike?
Calian and Planz were on very good terms with Plants, although of course he was seen as such in the eyes of the nobles just a little while ago. However, if there was any conversation with Evan in the meantime, does this mean that Calian is telling Evan to show a good example?
âBut no matter what, isnât that too arrogant⦠for the Marquis?â
And at the end of those noble thoughts, the nobles on Evanâs side thought of this.
Even though Evan is a marquis with a lower rank than the prince, he is one of the three most senior people in this banquet hall. It would not have been simply interesting for the prince to order such a person to bow down.
âIf only I were there.â
There is a prince who does not ascend to the throne. What followed was a thought about how he should act when the prince said something like that to him. One more thing.
âIsnât something even worse than this going to happen when Prince Calian ascends the throne?â
If a prince who even says such things to the marquis ascends to the throne in the distant future, I am already feeling worried and rebellious about how he will treat nobles of much lower rank than the marquis.
âMarquis Briesen.â
Calian called out to Evan once again, breaking the silence that made you feel like you could even hear the sound of countless eyes moving busily.
In Calianâs eyes, he saw Lennon standing at a distance, trying to understand the situation.
Now that I think about it, it became annoying.
Now that Lennon, who had been quietly put away, has been brought out again, it seems like he has to get rid of it again.
Calianâs smile became a little deeper as he found that annoying. On the contrary, Evanâs eyebrows furrowed a little more.
âSmile?â
I had been concerned about Calianâs auror not being visible, but now that thought didnât even cross my mind. Right now, I just want to rip out those two bloody eyes.
If he had even given me a passing glance, I would have used that as an excuse to pass it off, but now that I think about it, he actually didnât say hello. However, even so, there were too many nobles who bowed down to the waist and bowed as Calian told them to do, and then walked away from Brisen as if they had been waiting.
Evan, who unconsciously suppressed the life that was rising, made a desperate effort to calm his boiling stomach. I forced myself to oil my brain, which had never been used in my life, and desperately continued to think about how I should behave in this situation.
Of course, you canât be angry.
If even a little bit of life is shown at this moment, it will be over that day. Calian in front is not the problem. Caeraâs knights guarding Lemain will notice this right away, and if that happens, Lemainâ¦
âHang on. There was Lemain.â
Doesnât the prince now dare to demand a courtesy from the nobleman in front of King Lemain?
âHow can you tell me to set an example to you without completely ignoring Lemain?â
Evanâs brow furrowed as he thought of a smart way to get out of this situation.
Calian, who slowly wiped his flawless smile as if he was waiting for Evan to stop teasing him, moved slightly in Lemainâs direction. With Lemain at a distance from him, he continued speaking in a voice so clear and stern that everyone in this quiet Siegfried coffin could hear.
âShould I even teach you how to show respect to Your Majesty? Has Brisen decided not to even show respect to His Majesty the King?â
Like a cat looking down at a mouse looking for a way to escape.
Like a cat leaving a hole to escape through and watching with amusement how quickly this tasty food would find its way there. He spoke like a cat, lazily putting down its front paw in front of the mouse, which was trying to run to the escape hatch it had finally found, and making a satisfied meow.
â Crack!
Calianâs ears heard the sound of teeth grinding inside Evanâs mouth. And Calian stared at Evan as if he had heard nothing.
Calian provoked Evan by belittling him completely, showing not the slightest respect for the title of Marquis. And then he clearly meant to bow down and show an example to himself. He acted arrogantly, as if Lemain and everyone else should kneel in front of him without any need.
But now I sold Lemain.
Set an example for Lemain, not yourself.
âWhy is Plantz not here?!â
There was no Plantz who had to say a word or take Evanâs side. And Lemain kept his mouth shut and kept his eyes on Calian and Evan. He was just watching, with no expression on his face.
There is no reason for Lemain to step forward.
When a prince reprimands a nobleman to show courtesy to the king, there is no reason or need to stop him from doing so. Lemain would have known that not stepping forward was the wisest course of action.
Lemain would have known that it was not really meant to be polite to him. Thatâs probably why he didnât say anything even though he saw Calian acting like he was standing between Evan and Lemaine and telling them to show an example.
âThere is no escape hole.â
There was no way for Evan to escape once the king was mentioned. The nobles who had been suspicious of Calianâs arrogance for a moment had suddenly become skeptical. He said he was angry because he didnât show an example to Lemain, not himself. What else could he think about that?
Eventually, Evan turned his head towards Lemain. And then he slowly bowed his back.
âItâs late, but⦠I send greetings to His Majesty the King.â
Lemain nodded without saying a word.
Calianâs finger, which blocked the only escape route that had been deliberately left behind and received Evanâs greeting, drew the deepest line drawn today.
I laughed again with my fingertips.
Evan slowly lifted his waist and turned his head towards Calian. The green eyes, which were darker than Planzâs, stared as if they were digging into two blood-red eyes filled with the satisfaction of a predator.
A soft smile was drawn on Calianâs face as he faced it. Calian spoke slowly, with a gentle face that could not be expressed in any other words than the kindness of a ruler.
âThere is no need to greet me one more time, so please go back to your seat, Marquis.â
Called.
It is filled with the generous heart of a royal family who has a humble lineage but is nobler and more benevolent than anyone else.
* * *
Kirie said quietly as she looked at her hands that were shining blue.
âDonât do it.â
Kirie was quite nervous because she didnât know what would happen when the ice wizard in front of her lost her senses, and she couldnât tell if she would be able to stop it.
âIâ¦â
Arsene, who was facing Kyrie with cool eyes, opened his mouth. A voice that was clearly suppressing something came out of parted lips.
âIs there a reason I should endure it?â
âYes, there is.â
Kirie said this with a low sigh. In fact, it was Kirie who was holding back the urge to run out right away, so she had a somewhat angry look on her face.
âFried chicken doesnât taste good when itâs frozen.â
Then, Arsene put the plate he was trying to freeze away.
Kirie, who was hiding the steaming, freshly fried chicken next to two plates full of frozen chicken, opened her mouth again.
âFreeze it one more time and it will just go away.â
âOh, that wonât work. Drinking alone is boring.â
If you thought drinking alone was boring, you shouldnât have frozen the chicken. Or just quietly drink three drinks. He made a meaningless comment about how he was in a good mood today and was just in a bad mood, and then ordered another drink.
If thereâs anything wrong with Kyrie, itâs that she just found out how many beers Arsene drinks, and that Arsene really likes hot fried chicken that looks so pretty when frozen.
I donât know if he knows Kirieâs sad heart. Arsene, who gulped down his fourth glass of beer, opened his mouth again.
âI am the one, Lord Verne.â
âYouâve already said six times how nice it would be to stand next to Prince Calian in that white robe on a day like today.â
So, shut the fuck up before they turn that shit around.
Arsene grinned and shook his head at this clenched sound full of such meaning.
âNo, no, thatâs not what Iâm saying. Itâs me, Lord Verne.â
Kirie clenched her fists.
Heâs good at taking care of his own tasks without requiring too much effort, and if you get to know him, heâs not that crazy of a person, so if Calian hadnât told him to get along, he probably would have gotten his hair trimmed a long time ago.
Kyrie, who had now realized that the fact that he wasnât that crazy was largely from Calianâs perspective, nodded as if he had given up. What I meant was that you should just say whatever you want.
âI am the vice commander of the Balkan army, Vern. No, Lord Bern. If I were by the princeâs side on a day like today, I wouldnât have had to worry about that marquis, who was like a piece of mugwort that he chewed and then spat out, would climb up on our prince. So, Sir Vern. Why would I bother to treat the prince, who is the vice-corps commander? âI have to put up with all the sad things about living under a corps commander who shares an office with me and only uses nice words in front of our prince. I guess thatâs why Iâm doing it just so I can stand next to my prince on a day like today.â
Do you know that because of you, I canât stand next to the prince and Iâm just here guarding the fried chicken?
Kirie, who had that exact look on her face, eventually raised her hand.
Since Iâve already heard that phrase four times, I thought it would be okay to just let him sleep for now. Isnât this enough to serve as a drinking buddy?
And Arsene opened his mouth again. He started talking again.
âThatâs what our teacher said, Sir Vern. A wizard doesnât need anything else, just follows someone who is a little smarter than he is. When I thought about that, I thought about it carefully and I think I found the right person, Sir Vern. But I can do as I please. That means I canât follow you. However, the Prince, who is the deputy commander, told me to go back to our Prince
. I wonder what on earth he is doing, isnât he right, Lord Vern?â I feel like I want to follow Calian around, but I canât do that because of Calianâs situation and Plantz is worried about Planz. It is said that he is frustrated and upset that he is trying to send Arsene back to Calian. â
So, I thought about it, Lord Bern.â
Arsene said that, gave a friendly smile and opened his mouth.
âI guess I am . âLetâs go to the Marquisâs residence todayâ¦â
â Oh!
Ah, this was truly inevitable.
I donât know what he will do when he goes to the Marquisâs residence, but this is the only best way to calm down the Vice Commander of the Vulcan Corps, who clearly has scary thoughts. I canât remember, so what can I do?
After confirming that Arsene, who had fallen after being hit in the back of the neck, had fainted well, Kirie picked up a slightly cooled piece of fried chicken and calmly said, âJust sleep.â Using more
force
than necessary was a coincidence, and it was by no means a selfish intention. It couldnât be helped.
If everything didnât turn, it would have been fine.
* * *
That in itself was Kalianâs life.
My whole heart was relaxed by a smile warmer than the sunlight, and the warmth of those small fingertips seemed to melt my frozen heart. So, Hina. It was such a precious gift that its very existence gave Kalyan a reason to breathe.
But what was that cloak that our precious Hina had obviously folded? It was a round cloak folded at a perfect angle without a single protruding part. Itâs clear that the cute rolled up shape was Hinaâs work, but why did she fold your damn cape, which Raven really liked? Come to think of it, from today onwards, you and I have become the same age for a moment. Do you know this? I barely suppressed the urge to say, âI wo
nât leave you alone.
â I didnât even suggest sparring, nor did I curse.
âBlue stars are falling.â
Kalyan, who felt proud of himself for a moment because he had held back so much today, said this. .
When I came to see Arsene, he wasnât there, but there was a pea standing in front of the window that looked like it had been boiled for a day or two. So, I just sat on the sofa and looked at the cloak on the sofa across from me, and then suddenly I opened my mouth like this.
just.
I thought of a child who really deserves congratulations.
I thought of a day that really needed to be celebrated.
Just so.
âItâs a very short time, but there is a day that is more beautiful than any other day in the world. Sometimes it comes and sometimes it doesnât come, so sometimes I get congratulations and sometimes I donât. Thatâs how it was.â
Although it was a random comment as usual, I knew what Serenti Time was. So even Plantz understood what was being said.
Plantz quietly turned his head and looked at the person sitting behind him. I wondered who was saying these things under his guise.
âWaking up in the morning like this, receiving red flowers, congratulations, and congratulatory wine. I feel sorry to greet such a day, but at the same time, it feels strange.â
Planz, who had listened up to that point, put on the jacket that was hanging on the hanger without saying a word.
Even though I had left all the other complicated things behind, I couldnât go out of the Wilhelm Pavilion in my shirt, where nobles were still walking around.
Then, he briefly opened his mouth to his younger brother, who sometimes said things that seemed to indicate a generation gap rather than an age difference.
âhungry.â
Calian grinned and stood up when he heard people say they should stop talking about useless things and eat something.
âyes.â
* * *
My pretty baby, wake up.
A blue star bloomed in the night sky.
Since you were born on such a beautiful day,
only you are special.
Many stars are happy about your birthday, which is nowhere to be seen.