the corners of Marquis Evan Briesenâs eyes went up.
At this moment, he didnât know if he knew that someone had said something about him chewing and spitting out mugwort bread, and that the person who said those words had fallen into a deep sleep while thinking about cutting off Evanâs life right away. I had returned to the mansion early and immediately stayed in the study to calm down my anger.
The tantrum that had been barely controlled exploded with just one word.
âDidnât I tell you to think before speaking? I guess you forgot how to think during the time you were away. Did you think sending poison or assassins would work?â
Thanks to this, Evan got angry and glared harshly at Lennon, who had finally let out his tantrum. Lennon got angry when he saw Evan mention something that didnât need to be brought up.
âWhy are you bringing up a story that has been locked away?â
I packed everything I needed, but I lived in an unknown place for a year without seeing a ray of light. It was better than prison, but it wasnât worth living. Lennon frowned and replied, remembering the days when he was trapped without knowing why.
âEven though I told you that it was clear that that bastard, Melfir Fallun, had a hand in it, I just ignored it without even thinking about finding out who was imprisoning me or explaining why I sold the top to that bastard. But today, you canât even say Katabuta. âWhy are you dragging me to the banquet hall without me? Why do you get so angry when I say that Iâm thinking about my father? Why have you changed so much while I havenât seen you?â
Lennon had no idea that it was Evan who had imprisoned him, or that it was Evanâs house where he had been imprisoned. He was trapped somewhere for almost a year without knowing why, but Evan had no intention of finding out who the culprit was.
If we carefully examine the circumstances surrounding Silikeâs death and the quick sale of the top, it would not have been difficult to figure out that Evan was the main culprit in everything, but unfortunately, Lennon was not a very thoughtful person. He is just angry at the way Evan, who âsavedâ him, has no intention of catching the criminal and gets angry and yells at anyone who says anything.
âIf only your brain had been half as good as the second prince, I wouldnât have been so upset! I donât want to talk for too long, so get out.â
Evan, who said this without knowing who the head that couldnât even keep up with the Plants Peninsula resembled, kicked Lennon out. And then he let out a long sigh, not sure if it was a sigh or a lingering annoyance.
âIf it werenât for him, I wouldnât have taken that out.â
If it werenât for Gray, who knew how to use his brain a little more, but was just as greedy, there would have been no need to bring Lennon out again. I went through all the frustration to bring out Lennon, but things ended up getting messy without any reward, and now Iâm on the verge of exploding.
âAnyway, what should I do with the three princes?â
It was the day of the long-awaited banquet, to show Lennon in front of the nobles, to let Gray hear the rumors that were spreading, and to upset Alan and Calian. In that situation, I was caught in a ridiculous situation, so I returned without being able to say anything about Freyaâs concubine.
âBecause I couldnât say anything, other people wonât be able to make a loud noise either.â
Even after thinking about it for a while, I couldnât think of a solution to stop Calian. Eventually, the face of a not-so-pleasant guy came to mind and Evan groaned.
âShould I visit Plants?â
I thought about going to Planz and asking him for advice, but it wasnât long before he shook his head and frowned once more. This is because I remember being told to use my brain and live my life. Isnât it too early to hear that from him again? I thought about it a bit more and if I still couldnât think of anything, I would go and see it.
Without realizing that his decision to stay away from Plants to build up his shallow pride was exactly what Calian had expected.
* * *
The sound of footsteps moving quietly rang out.
The sounds of those feet with different strides overlapped for a while, and then sounded out of sync for a while. Yan, who was somewhat amused by the fact that they were walking at the same speed while matching and then diverging from each other, smiled.
Then, he opened his mouth to his younger brother, who had grown up to be at eye level with him.
âEven if we spar, come a little later, not tomorrow. The prince is in a bad mood today.â
I wasnât talking because I was in a bad mood because of Evan. I just knew that Kalian, who celebrated his birthday every year even last year, right after his attitude changed for a moment, was always on edge. Whether it was because he had to appear in front of the nobles and Silike, or there was another reason, Calian has always been like that.
However, there was no reason to tell Dmirea about such a thing, so Jan just kept it simple.
Demirea, who remembered how irritated she had been dealing with Evan when she hid Calian in the mansion, frowned imperceptibly and answered.
âI donât have time right away anyway.â
If Calian has Calianâs circumstances, Demirea has Demireaâs circumstances. The minor duke Demirea also had a busy schedule, so even if it was the swordsmanship taught by Calian, it was difficult for her to suddenly come to the palace every day to practice. So I answered like this and took a walk again.
âOkay. If you tell me a good time after next week, Iâll adjust the schedule.â
âYes, I will.â
He set out to take Dmirea to the mansion on behalf of Calian, who could not leave the palace. Calian told me to come spend the day at my parentsâ house for the first time in a while since it was late, but the expression on his face when he said that was not very good, so I couldnât readily reply that I understood.
â Maeam Maeam.
As he was quietly moving his feet to get to the carriage, the cicada cried, perhaps because he had been awakened by the sound of footsteps, or because the lights of the royal palace were still shining brightly, preventing him from falling asleep. Yan, who heard the sound of cicadas, quietly opened his mouth.
âI guess the cicadas canât sleep because Siegfried is so bright.â
âYou can go alone, so please go in, brother.â
Demireaâs voice became a little louder as she answered like that.
Dmirea was the one who knew better than anyone else how much Jan was reluctant to hear the inevitable sound of summer cicadas, and why he was so reluctant.
âThatâs so strange, Demirea.â
Jan smiled slightly, saying something that seemed to be a response to Demireaâs words.
âUntil the summer of last year, I was always at Chermil Palace anyway, and sometimes when I heard that sound, I would duck inside⦠Last year, I heard it all the way home, but I donât know if I heard the cicadas or not. âI couldnât think of a thing.â
After saying this, Yan walked slowly, listening to the quiet sound of cicadas, and spoke again.
âThe whole time I was there, the prince had so many accidents that I was completely unconscious. Thatâs why I donât remember anything. I wonder if I heard the cicadas or not.â
On the way to Rosellita, I couldnât hear whether the cicadas were crying or not because I was concentrating all my attention on Calian, who was running around destroying everything. As a result, the sound of cicadas that I can hear now is not something that bothers me.
Demirea laughed softly at those words.
Didnât Demirea go through that too today? Calian is a person who can cause serious accidents if he puts his mind to it.
âI must have been out of my mind.â
âYes. I remember making mint tea with ice over and over again, but I donât remember the sound of cicadas. Not at all, really.â
Jan said this again and laughed, making the same noise as Demirea. Then, just as Slayman did, he raised his hand and stroked the head of Demirea, who had become Siegfriedâs little shield and was constantly worrying about him.
If it hadnât been Jan who raised her hand, the hair would have been blown off right away, but in any case, Demirea just stayed still without showing any displeasure.
âDonât just tell me not to worry about you, and donât worry about me either, Demirea. Iâm growing up too.â
Like the sound of different footsteps, the speed of growth may be slightly different, but in the end, it is the same as walking forward. Wasnât Jan as tall as Dmirea, who had grown up well?
Yan, who was laughing at that thought, suddenly turned white.
âOh, come to think of itâ¦!â
Jan, who was looking down at Demirea, who was asking what was going on, said in tears.
âI feel like Iâm growing taller too fast. What if I win the bet?â
In fact, the baby elephant had no desire to win the height bet with our flower-like prince. However, because the baby elephantâs father was a very large elephant, the baby elephant, which closely resembled its father, was growing well day by day.
Demireaâs expression distorted for a moment when she learned that Jan, who seemed to have won the bet with Calian thanks to her, was thinking about how to grow less tall.
Is this why I donât have to worry?
It was a face that wanted to say just that.
* * *
Is this a dream or reality?
I twitched and closed my eyes.
Perhaps I was thinking the same thing, and the red eyes that were assessing whether what I was seeing was a dream came into view once again.
âPrince?â
Arsene, seeing bright red eyes with bright blue eyes, made a sound as if he was happy to see them. Calian, who was at a loss for words because the end of the voice was so twisted, looked up at the sky for a moment.
There are truly countless yellow stars in the beautiful night sky.
As I counted them one by one, it seemed difficult to keep track of so many stars, so I turned my head and looked to the side. Rather than counting the stars, I thought that seeing the light green guy standing next to me would make me feel calmer.
âAh! Our prince is here!â
Itâs useless.
Just looking at that ugly face didnât calm my heart.
âHe is our prince. He is Prince Calian.â
Ah⦠I guess this really crazy guy is really crazy.
Calian couldnât hold back any longer and lowered his head and started laughing.
Arsene, who entered the palace while being half-lifted by Kyrie, smiled brightly. Kirieâs face hardened when she saw that.
âIâm sorry. I was fine until a little while agoâ¦â
I had fainted quietly until a little while ago, but suddenly I woke up.
Kalianâs laughter, whether he knew what it meant or not, echoed through the front yard of the Wilhelm Pavilion.
It was truly amazing to see Planz frowning and not smiling at all even at this moment, but was there any time to argue with that? If Iâm funny, I laugh.
âWhyâ¦â
He laughed for a while, pointing his finger at Arsene, asking why he was acting like that before he could get it out of his mouth. The tips of my fingers waved wildly along the shaking shoulders as if I was sobbing.
Arsene, who had been staring at the hand, opened his mouth with a sense that had not yet fully recovered.
âI am the prince. Today.â
The prince, the deputy commander, told me to go to the prince. Arsene, who was about to say something, suddenly turned his head.
âAh! The prince, the vice commander, is also here!â
Planz, who was looking at Arsene with a look on his face as if there was moving trash here, sighed briefly and said to Calian.
âClean it up and come.â
Judging by Calianâs reaction, it didnât seem like he had met Arsene at Siegfriedâs pavilion, so he thought it was strange. There must be no reason why Arsene came back in a state of despair.
Thereâs no way I can tell you what the reason is.
Therefore, it meant that I would just leave the place on my own before anyone realized what was going on.
Calian, who was watching Planz walking before he could answer, turned his head to Arsene. The reason Calian didnât know why was the same.
âLord Hertz.â
âI am your prince.â
The sky was clear and yellow stars appeared.
I was hungry, but I couldnât eat. A crazy wizard was brought in drunk.
âSay it. I will listen.â
So just tell me what made you so upset that you drank so much.
Arsene, hearing those words, grinned once again.
âPrince, itâs me.â
Thanks to the energy from drinking four beers, I started talking without hesitation.
There were so many things I wanted to say to Calian, but the stories I had kept bottled up came out like a torrent.
While Plants returned to Chermil Palace and Kirie was training once again, she talked about everything she didnât want to do, what she wanted to do, what was difficult, and what she liked despite it all.
I collected and collected the words I had piled up, and did that for a long time.