Chapter 272

The quiet purple eyes moved slowly.

Very slowly.

However, without hesitation, he moved his gaze towards the person sitting in front of him.

– I will be at the end of your thoughts.

Chase glanced at the short blue-silver hair that was very similar to his own, then looked directly into two dark brown eyes that were very different from his own.

Eyes more creepy than those of a snake.

Chase didn’t avoid those eyes at all. I looked straight ahead.

– If it were me, I would have deep doubts about my identity. Devlan is no different, so it is clear that he will try to expose his brother to find out the truth.

What Calian had told me before coming here was exactly true.

– You must not be agitated. If you doubt me, let you doubt me. If you don’t doubt it, leave it alone. If you try to hastily remove suspicion or deceive them, they will be more persistent. Anyway, news will soon spread that Xeon and I may be related, so you can just leave it at that until then.

It was different from making small bets by looking at the morning sky and guessing whether it would rain that day or not. It was different from fighting and fighting in front of a chessboard.

“If you think we have a lot in common…”

So Chase tried his best not to hold his breath and not let his eyes shake at this point.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to meet you sometime?”

Devlan’s fingers paused for a moment.

These words are of no help to Devlan, whose meaning changes depending on what he thinks. I saw Chase’s eyes and heard his voice as he said those words without hesitation.

The smile that was placed on the tip of the finger moved to Devlan’s face.

Predictions are being made with more at stake than a single coin.

A battle of moves began, with lives at stake instead of chess pieces.

“It’s okay. That’s not what’s important right now.”

Devlan turned his head towards Calian.

Meeting him in person was also something I was interested in, but I decided to postpone my interest in Kalyan for a while until I could make a more accurate decision.

“And please rest and do not attend this noble meeting.”

At the noble meeting, they tried to get Devlan to reveal his condition and his true feelings toward Chase. And Devlan stopped Chase as if he had already read all of those thoughts.

A cough followed, and Chase took advantage of it to lower his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts and then opened his mouth.

“All right.”

okay.

There’s no way you wouldn’t know.

I wasn’t disappointed that Devlan didn’t move as he wanted. Because I knew that this was not a fight that would end overnight.

“Did you call me to tell you not to attend the meeting?”

“No. Rather.”

Tap again.

Devlan’s fingertips touched the back of his hand.

“I just called you in silence for a moment.”

The crown prince of a country summoned his son and made him wait for an hour. I sat there for an hour without even pretending to know or saying a word.

Just to be quiet for a while.

No reason, just because I was bored.

‘bottom.’

The goal is to send Chase down to the bottom.

No matter what you plan, you are ultimately my son.

Shouldn’t you know that no matter how much you try to escape, you cannot go against me?

“Wouldn’t it be okay if I did that? For me.”

“Yes. You may do so.”

Chase nodded slightly in response to Devlan, who was looking at him with a benevolent look. And then he looked at Devlan with his still eyes.

As you think.

I am your son

“…… Not yet.”

Chase added a few words and smiled softly.

Devlan’s lips drew a long line.

* * *

It was like the sound of waves hugging the wide sea.

It sounded like the wind passing through the middle of the forest.

– Shoot…!

It rained.

The chandelier hanging from the ceiling swayed in the cold wind blowing outside the window.

“Thank goodness it started raining after we arrived.”

Cold rain was falling on this southern land as if it were about to welcome fall.

If you listen to what Reric said, Lucy when she was younger and Anne now hated getting wet, and I think Calian wasn’t that different. I always disliked the rain.

Maybe it’s because it feels like being submerged in the sea.

“okay.”

Instead of pointing out that he ended his sentence with an ambiguous word that was neither polite nor informal, Plantz just nodded slightly.

Kalian, who returned from sparring the previous day, went to bed and Plantz lost himself in thought all night. We set off again in the morning and returned to Siegfried’s Range in the late afternoon. After taking a bath at the market and coming out for dinner, it was pouring rain, I don’t know when it started.

“Should I close the window? You’ll catch a cold.”

Even though it had been a long time since he had tasted a proper meat dish, Kalian was not very fond of it. We just ate dinner in silence, and when the wind blew, all we could say was this.

“Leave it.”

“yes.”

I’m not angry, but I’m not happy either. He still acts like he’s a servant and pays attention, but something is very different from usual. Plantz, who already knew what it was, said, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m not barking today.”

“Did I do that?”

“I did.”

My younger brother, who used to bark non-stop, is very polite today.

Calian, who was about to say that he would get up after finishing his meal, looked at Plantz and smiled.

“I guess it was meant to rain.”

Then they blamed it on Amon Rain.

Plantz, who heard a lie that wouldn’t work, nodded without saying another word and then turned his eyes toward the sword leaning against the wall.

Calian, who had been watching Plants for a while, spoke in a quiet voice.

“Let’s go in first.”

Plantz nodded, and Calian stood up silently, showed respect, and went out.

It had no sheath, so it was wrapped in cloth.

The bluish-silver sword revealed by the cloth flowing down was sparkling.

Planz’s gaze remained as if nailed to the sword.

The long black letters engraved on the sword’s body flickered in the flickering light. As I look at it, I realize that I had been feeling frustrated since the night before, but I feel like my head is pounding.

– Until you can attack properly.

I didn’t know why my younger brother was doing that.

I already knew that it wasn’t my intention to aim for Calian’s heart from the beginning. To Kyrie, to Dmirea, and of course to Calian. The sword was clearly aimed at the heart.

But we couldn’t do that in the last sparring.

Even after hearing Calian’s warning, he did not swing his sword properly. I couldn’t do it.

‘Why not now?’

Of course now.

At this time, I was about to go to Secretia.

So I know that Kalyan acts like that.

Normally, I wouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have spoken or acted like he was talking. I know better than anyone else that if it weren’t for times like this, I would have just quietly watched.

This time, as usual, Plantz, who had glanced at the table without a single flower on it, got up and went out.

“Why doesn’t everyone drink alcohol? Is there no one who knows how to drink?”

“We will drink it when we get back to the palace.”

“Your vice commander seems to have maintained discipline well.”

“The other discipline was given to me by the vice-corps commander, but the alcohol discipline was… Anyway, I think Sir Hill will have to drink alone today.”

I went back to my room, leaving behind the voices coming from the larger banquet hall next to the restaurant. And then I sat down on the sofa and closed my eyes. I thought about it.

Calian guessed why he suddenly couldn’t hold his sword properly, and Planz went back and organized his memories to find out the reason why he hadn’t noticed yet. In my mind, which is not good at forgetting things, I went back through my memories one day at a time, looking for something that could be the reason.

Sinastar on the sea. Conch shell. The sound of waves. Banana tree. The sound of whale cries passed through my mind. I continued to think about walking into the rainbow and looking at the embers of the bonfire.

As I looked at the chicken flapping in my brother’s hands, I almost confused for a moment whether the chicken was an animal or my brother was an animal. I remembered the day I left here, reluctantly leaving Lucy and Anne in the care of Reric.

I remembered the day when I went down to the third floor to steal a ring and found only a tightly locked window, so I went up to the fourth floor again, determined to send some communication supplies to the crown prince before leaving the palace.

I went back in memory and thought for a while and thought,

‘… Ah.’

I realized.

Because I no longer blocked myself from thinking, I realized now that my thoughts had spread without my knowledge and that I had noticed a certain fact.

Plantz got up from his seat and left the room holding a blue-silver sword. Afterwards, with an expression of no hesitation, he opened the door to another empty VIP room in the mayor’s residence and entered.

Because I am giving my consideration to both cats.

What little consideration he had left after giving it to the cats was being used to hide the troublesome Vulcan members from Kalian’s view.

“wake up.”

Plantz, who thought nothing of waking up his younger brother who had gone to bed early, called Calian. Calian, who must have come to his senses as soon as the door opened, regardless of whether he was asleep or not, slowly got up and answered.

“What’s going on?”

“talk.”

Calian raised his head and looked at Plantz, who was standing in front of the door from a distance.

I know very well that I am a person who has a surprisingly impatient personality and needs to say what I want to say right away. But I also know that he is surprisingly gentle and that if I tell him I’m tired and want to talk to him tomorrow morning, he’ll go back and say he’ll understand.

“yes.”

So I just answered without saying anything and got up.

Plantz turned around and went outside and went up to the rooftop. This was the place where Kalian and Slayman talked when they first came here. There was a tea table with a roof, but Planz walked to an empty space without a roof or garden.

Calian, who was watching the rain falling with an expression on his face, walked quickly to the side.

“Please speak.”

His voice was still stern, slightly different from his angry tone.

After washing well, eating well, and sleeping, I went out to get caught in the rain, so my voice became even more subdued.

“It’s not about me, it’s about you.”

If you eat well, wake up someone who fell asleep early, call them out, and hear them say, “It’s not me, it’s you,” and you understand what they mean, you are a Sispanian. Even for Calian, those words were too difficult.

Fortunately, Plantz seemed to have been well aware of that himself, and looked at Calian, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression, as he continued to explain.

“My brother seems to have misunderstood.”

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?”

“I think you think I’ve become reluctant to get blood on my sword.”

“I don’t think it was a misunderstanding.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Ever since you met Sejak, you’ve been thinking a lot every time you raise your sword, and yesterday you weren’t able to make a single proper attack.”

Plantz did not answer, and Calian continued.

When I turned my gaze away from the bright red eyes and looked to the side, a silent curtain suddenly surrounded the area.

“The one who said he would go find Devlan.”

Plantz answered, slightly raising the sword he had brought.

“I know what using a sword means even if you don’t tell me. I know that the sword is heavy. I knew it and decided to learn it, so I have no intention of avoiding it.”

Just as Demirea said, it is an item that separates life and death. I

never forgot it and never learned it. I never had the illusion that I would continue sparring beautifully without getting blood on this sword for the rest of my life. Whether it was to protect it or not. Regardless, I knew from the beginning that it was something that would eventually harm someone, and I never forgot it even for a moment. “

So it’s not because of Sejak.”

Planz frowned for a moment as he recalled the last image of Sejac swallowing the poison in his mouth. It’s true that it wasn’t a very good memory, to the point where I had trouble sleeping for a few days. But it definitely wasn’t the reason why I got bitten by my sword during sparring. If there was

blood on my sword, I might not be able to sleep for another few days, but I didn’t intend to let go of the sword because of that.

” Or for some reason?”

“You. I think I know what I saw at the marquis’ mansion.”

Plantz had an idea of what Calian saw and who he thought of when he stopped his sword at Evan’s mansion that day.

“Isn’t it my brother who I shouldn’t have lost my mind before sheathing the sword? .”

“Are you saying that the child I saw at Marquis Briesen’s residence that day reminded me of my brother, and for the same reason, I couldn’t attack him because I was afraid my brother’s sword wouldn’t be able to block it?” Calian, whose face seemed to have finally figured out what Plants was thinking, said something more

. When he was about to do so, Planz said as

if driving a wedge in his head, “I’m afraid I’ll get the same blood on the same sword twice.”

This means that he couldn’t attack Calian because he was afraid that Plantz would hurt Calian again with that sword. I was afraid that old memories would come back to my mind again and that I would get confused between then and now and let go of the sword.

“Ah…”

Not knowing what kind of face to make, Calian bowed his body for a moment. He sat down with his knees bent.

I couldn’t tell whether to laugh or cry.

Isn’t it no different from saying that a cat was fighting with a dog that was much bigger than it, and stuck its claws in because it was worried that the dog would get hurt. That’s a really ridiculous and funny story

. I knew that, but I couldn’t laugh. I knew very well what Calian thought of Plantz in the past, so I couldn’t laugh because I didn’t find it strange that Plantz, who knew the facts as well as I did, came to that conclusion. “Let me explain

. “I am.”

Calian said this, but instead of getting up, he just raised his head. He

only half realized what Calian had seen that day, so he looked up at the pea-like eyes of his older brother, who guessed something completely different. “Tell me.” “It’s

Lillie

. The child’s name.”

The child he saw at Evan’s mansion.

He spoke about the child whom Demirea is now protecting.

“As you might have thought, he resembles his older brother.”

In the few years since coming to Chermil Palace, Calian has been out of town. There were no enemies. It was because I was too young, and it was also because the maids who were taking care of Calian did not let him out because they said it was dangerous. Then one day, I looked outside the terrace and thought that I wanted to go to that lake. Rather than feeling frustrated, I just suddenly thought that the lake sparkling was so pretty

. .

So I secretly went out.

No, I tried to go out.

When I sneaked out to the only staircase in the Chermil Palace, I saw someone coming up. Calian, who was embarrassed, turned around and went up one floor. And at the end of the hallway

. I met my older brother for the first time.

“The color was different, but the hair was tied back, the face, and the eyes. He looks a lot like the older brother I saw for the first time. So I was surprised. It’s true that I was surprised.”

When I saw Riri appear at the end of the hallway in exactly the same way as before, the memory of that day flashed out in an instant and I was surprised. It’s true that I was surprised. “But that’s not why I stopped the sword

. Of course, I can’t say it’s completely wrong, but there was a slightly different reason.” After

saying this, Calian brought up another story.

Words that he couldn’t tell to Chase, who found him after getting injured. He slowly revealed the real reason why he stopped using the knife.

When I saw Riri, I remembered Plants that day and was reminded of another child just like him. I also told him what I had done to that child. I also told him why and for whom I had done that. This time, I did not hide everything. I spoke while

sitting with my knees bent and caught in the rain. I

looked up at Plantz, who was standing next to me, and my eyes were closed by the falling rain, so I looked ahead again and told the story without even trying to hide it. This time,

Plantz heard everything I said.

“That’s why I stopped the knife. It was a difficult reason to tell, so I asked you to skip it.”

“… Yes.”

It would have been something I couldn’t have said to Chase or Kirie at that time. So, knowing that this was the first time I was bringing this up to someone, I didn’t frown at all. I just listened. I listened.

“Were you worried about that?”

This time, there was no answer that came back like a knife.

Calian laughed softly, stood up straight, and continued speaking.

“You don’t necessarily have to cut something with that knife. I wanted to tell you this first, but I ended up going to a place where I might have to cut something down.” “I know.” ”

If

the situation calls for that, I hope you don’t think ahead and lower your sword first.” ”

I know. That too.”

“And I’m not the kind of person who will die twice because of you.”

Plantz looked at Calian for a long time at his sudden words. Calian, who

had said something he would never have said before, added one word.

“Brother, your younger brother is holding a sword . I write pretty well.”

“…… I know. Now.”

“Yes.”

A playful smile appeared on the corner of Calian’s mouth.

“You’re too weak to make a mistake.”

Seeing his younger brother smiling, one corner of Planz’s mouth curled up for the first time in a long time.

Now he barks in a casual tone.

Even if I point it out, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fix that messy hair, but that doesn’t mean I can just ignore it as an older brother. So, I’m worried about what I should say first, but I can’t easily point out one thing first. So instead of speaking, I just stretched out my arm. –

Kaaang

. The three swords clashed again in the cool pouring rain

.