Calian walked out to the restaurant with a light cough.
At that sound, Yan, who was following behind, had eyes filled with strength. No matter how dull it was, it wasnât enough for me to know that the cough that wouldnât stop was not caused by a cold.
âAs promised, I waited until today. If the private car arrives tomorrow, I will stop being a servant.â
âAre you going to come forward and solve it yourself?â
âyes.â
On that day, Duke Siegfried would have to pick up a sword instead of a violin bow, but it was none of Janâs business. Because I knew that Slayman could handle that much.
âYes. Itâs reassuring.â
âIâm not kidding.â
âI know. Iâm not lying either.â
After saying that, Kalyan entered the restaurant.
Randel, who had already arrived and was eating first, lingered on Calianâs face for a while. Because he looked paler than yesterday. It wasnât that he didnât know why Randel was staring, but Calian started eating without saying anything.
Just as Calian, who had just picked up a few salads, put down his fork, Randel stood up.
Calian opened his mouth.
âSee you at dinner.â
These days, Calian has been speaking to Randel once a day.
Starting with an unexpected story about roses, he said that he couldnât sleep the next day because of the heavy rain and wind. The next day, he said he missed the sound of birds. Randel had only said âyesâ to Calian every time. I even thought that if I taught Raven how to speak, she would speak more fluently than Randel.
But today was a little different.
âTake care of your health.â
Weâre finally seeing each other.
Calian lowered his head and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Other people who heard Landelâs words because they were in the restaurant with him could not believe their own ears. Not only Randelâs servant and Jan, but also the servants and maids in the restaurant.
Only Calian responded with a natural smile.
âIâm fine.â
Randel went out without another word, and Kalian also went out and started his dayâs work.
And then it was afternoon.
Yan looked at Calianâs face, which had become even paler, and asked in a subdued voice.
âThere is a noble meeting going on right now, so you must have dinner in an hour.â
âOK got it.â
âYou seem to be getting worse. Are you sure you want to attend?â
Even though he was asking this, in fact, it looked like Jan had already heard Calianâs answer. When he was told it would be resolved on Tuesday, he knew now was the time Kalyan was waiting for.
âOf course I should go.â
Yan, who was looking at Calian with complicated eyes, spoke slowly.
âPlease rest. I will call the maids.â
âNo, wait a minute.â
Calian, who was holding Yan like that, rolled up his sleeves and released the knife. He then handed it over to Jan and pointed to the safe.
âResearch data on that knife and the antidote Silique. Please take care of everything.â
âYouâre taking care of it?â
âI might need to check my room, so leave it to Master in advance. Itâll be difficult if you get caught.â
âCheck the room.â
Who dares check the princeâs safe?
Because what on earth are you planning on doing?
Instead of answering the question, Kalian handed Jan two sealed letters. As Jan accepted it without a second thought, Kalian spoke again.
âGive one to the Wizards Association and one to your teacher. Be sure to stop by the association first and then go to your teacher.â
The fact that he bothered to seal the letter that was to be delivered through Yan was essentially a directive aimed at Yan and telling him not to open the contents.
Unstable.
âArenât you going to tell me what youâre thinking?â
âYeah. I wonât.â
Calian smiled and nodded.
How far should we trust that calm smile? Yan closed his fists without saying a word.
âYou wonât be eating that tea anymore, and you wonât be going to the banquet hall with a knife, so Iâll do as you said for nowâ¦â âOkay. Iâll take
care of everything, so donât worry.â
âOn the day you smiled and said you would take care of it, you got injured by Plantzâs knife.â
âItâs not like that.â
Calianâs smile became a little darker than before.
Thatâs not the case.
It was more than that.
For now, Jan moved as Kalian told him to do.
Calian, who was watching Jan close the safe door, spoke again.
âYou can go to the dinner hall alone. So please come back as soon as dinner is ready.â
ââ¦â¦ All right.â
After answering like that, Jan gathered up the items Kalian had mentioned. Then, after staring blankly at Calian, she went outside without saying a word and called the maids.
After Jan, who had helped prepare the dinner, went out to run Kalianâs errand, Kalian opened the safe again. Then he took out a small object hidden deep inside.
Something that looks like a small piece of sugar from a new store.
Calian looked at the piece he had received from Sejak, a white suri, and put it in his pocket. Then he raised his hand and swept it around his heart and went out.
It was the poison Calian prepared for Silike.
* * *
The knight guarding the entrance to the banquet hall spoke to Calian.
âPrince. The noblesâ meeting has been somewhat delayed, so the dinner time has been postponed. Therefore, the nobles have not yet arrived in the banquet hall.â
It seems that Lemain listened to my request to postpone the noble meeting for just 10 minutes.
âItâs okay. Iâll go in and wait.â
âall right.â
The driver who politely bowed opened the door to the banquet hall.
Calianâs lips slightly rose at the scent of Renieri, which was felt even before the appearance of the banquet hall was visible.
âSilike.â
Silike was sitting alone in the large banquet hall.
The only people who were not present at the meeting but attending the dinner were Calian and Sillike. The dinner started as soon as the meeting ended, so if the meeting was delayed, of course everyone would be late.
Thatâs why I asked Lemain for a favor. It was just to make time to talk to Silike.
Calian walked over and sat down opposite Silike.
An attendant came and set down coffee for Kalian, who had to wait. Calian looked at him and said.
âPlease make room for me until the others arrive.â
âYes, my prince.â
The attendant bowed his head and went outside with everyone.
Silike, who didnât know why he was biting his surroundings, looked at Calian and held a fan in his hand out of habit.
Kalian, seeing that, held out his hand and shook his head.
âLetâs not wear masks. Each other.â
Silikeâs face froze for a moment. But soon he nodded and put the fan down on the table.
âSo then.â
Calian sat like that without turning his gaze towards Calianâs eyes.
Both sides looked relaxed on the outside, but that wasnât the case on the inside. A silence ensued, with the clock ticking in the banquet hall sounding like thunder.
In the end, Silikeâs mouth opened first.
âWhy are you looking at me like that?â
It was like that last time too.
Calian frowned slightly and held a coffee cup in his hand.
âI told you not to wear a mask.â
Calian paused for a moment, then his red eyes moved away from Silike and turned to the black coffee in the cup.
âI didnât say you shouldnât even follow manners.â
In an instant, Silikeâs eyes turned sharp.
Calian was the kingâs bloodline, so even though Silike was the queen, she was not to be spoken to.
ââ¦Youâve really grown a lot.â
âItâs not that difficult to understand, is it?â
Silike, who was probably unaware of this fact, was still speaking lowly. Calian, who drank coffee leisurely, smiled and opened his mouth. And he added in a low voice.
âSilike.â
A venom permeated Silikeâs beautiful face. Calianâs expression made him think there was a face like that behind the fan.
âYou are extremely rude. After all, you are of low blood.â
âI think I just told you that you donât know manners.â
Calian, who had cut off Silikeâs words, spoke again.
âIf we talk about blood, what would the Marquis of Briesen be?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Silikeâs eyes narrowed. Silike was seen gritting his teeth as he remembered that he couldnât kill Calian right now.
âAnyway. I have something I want to tell you, Silike.â
âYou better do it next time. I donât want to be with you anymore.â
Silike stood up.
No, I tried to wake him up.
-Tap!
Calian put down his coffee cup a little loudly.
ââ¦â¦That car.â
Calianâs eyes sank deeply as he looked at Silike. Like Randel, I looked into the bottom of Silike.
âI just wanted to tell you that I want you to stop sending it to me. If I hold back and drink it, the scent of the tea becomes stronger and stronger.â
Just like the scent of Renieri.
Silike slowly sat down again.
From what she heard, Kalyan drank morning tea even this morning. Therefore, I did not think that Kalyan knew that there was poison in the tea. However, Calian seemed to know that the poison had been increased.
âYou drank it knowingly.â
If it became known that the tea given to Calian was poisoned, Silike planned to accuse Calianâs servants and maids and kill them all. Regardless of whether or not the poison was administered directly, the mere act of giving poison to the prince is already a sin.
âI see you were concerned about it. âI didnât know I was going to die.â
A smile appeared on Silikeâs face when he realized why Calian had been drinking the poison in the tea without knowing. A voice came out that did not waver in the slightest.
âYouâre saying something I canât understand.â
Calian smiled and answered.
âI donât know.â
âI donât know.â
Kalian, who was tapping his coffee cup for a moment, took out the piece he had brought with him. The sugar container on the table was also filled with something that looked exactly the same. Of course, it looked the same, but what was in Calianâs hand was not sugar.
Calian spoke in an honest voice, delaying the sound of the clock. Because I decided not to wear a mask.
âActually, I thought about it a lot. Should I use the evidence I got from Lennon? Should I just catch Lennon and threaten him? Should I go under the shadow of my teacher? Should I talk to His Highness? Or should I give my brother some snake blood?â
Silike narrowed her eyes. Calian ignored it and said.
âI didnât feel like using poison. I wanted to avoid everything else. So I decided to just force you to take the hand you had. So that you can never use that kind of hand in the future. Never use poison again. âDonât even think about it.â
Calian showed what he had in his hand to Silike.
âTo do that, I would have to do something, but right now, all I have is a strong heart. So I decided to at least give it a try.â
Silikeâs light green eyes looked at Calianâs hand.
âIt is a poison. It does not react to silver and is not a poison that kills people, so it is not detected in magic reagents. Oh, then maybe it should be called a medicine. It can also be seen as being used to save people.â
Silikeâs fingers on her knees gently grabbed the hem of her dress. This is because I did not know Kalyanâs inner thoughts.
Calian spoke again as if he didnât care if Silike knew all about my plan.
âI heard that after eating this, it stops the heart for a while and makes the living look like they are dead.â
In fact, it was a poison carried by the secretaries of Secretia to escape. Of course, it was not only used in Secretia, so even if Silike knew the identity of the poison, there was no room for linking Calian and Secretia.
Calian looked at the thing, not sure if it was poison or medicine, with the eyes of seeing something truly amazing and continued speaking.
âOf course it wonât be like that for me. Even if I eat this, my heart wonât stop because it has the power of blessing.â
âWhy did I bring medicine that is useless even if I take it?â
âinstead.â
Calian answered Silikeâs question in a slow voice.
âIt would stop detoxification.â
Just as the wound on my palm, which was less important than the poison, did not heal.
The power of blessing ignores poison, which is less important than stopping the heart.
Even if you tell her that the rose next door may die, she will not look more calm than Kalyan does now. Calianâs attitude when he said that his heart would stop was as calm as that.
âWhile the power of blessing removes this poison, the poison I have consumed until today will spread. Of course, even if that happens, my heart is so strongâ¦â âYou wonât die. You will suffer a bit. Instead,
you Itâll be a little annoying.â
A brief spread of poison that makes you sick little by little every day will not kill you. After making sure my heart doesnât stop, Iâll start detoxifying again.
There was a popping sound from Kalianâs coffee cup.
âSo, if you promise not to send tea starting tomorrow, I wonât drink it. Iâm sick of being sick.â
Only then did Silike understand Calianâs intentions.
Even if you donât die, you will still show symptoms of poisoning. If you vomit blood and collapse in front of everyone, everyone canât help but suspect poison. Moreover, since it is impossible to know how much was ingested based on symptoms alone, it could be seen that an attempt was made to poison the person in an amount that could not be detoxified even with the power of blessing.
Even now, Sillike was in the banquet hall alone with Calian.
Silike, realizing that suspicion would inevitably fall on her, snorted and said.
âYouâre so outrageous. Youâre planning to frame me by saying something like I gave you poison.â
âI donât know if you can call that a false accusation. But is there really a need to say that? Anyway, no one would be more desperate than you to want me gone right now.â
A leisurely smile appeared on Silikeâs lips again.
It felt like a child putting one foot down on a sand castle he had been building all day. In that good mood, Silike took off her mask and spoke in a soft voice.
âHave you created any evidence?â
Calian opened his eyes wide like a child. An exaggerated voice came out that seemed to be teasing me.
âProof! Do you need such a thing?â
Calian picked up his spoon and slowly stirred the coffee. At the same time, he corrected what Silike had pointed out.
âIâm not trying to kick you out right away. Even though I have a master, how can I win if Marquis Briesen brings all those knights with him?â
âLuckily you know.â
Silike answered with a smile, and Calian laughed along with her.
âWhat I want to do is make sure you can no longer play with poison. So I donât need any evidence. This time, Iâm just going to do it by making people constantly suspect and monitor you for me. Because I canât see it. âBecause there are even more stifling prisons.â
You cannot punish a person based on suspicion alone. The person who knew it best was Silike.
âA prison like that canât hold me. Itâs an invisible prison. Iâve never experienced it before. Donât you know very well that itâs been that way all this time?â
Even though I have committed so many sins, I am still sitting here leisurely drinking coffee.
Silike bent down and brought her face closer to Calian.
He smiled brightly like a child.
âWho in this world wouldnât know that it was me who sent your mother like that!â
Like the chirping of a bird announcing the morning, Silike whispered: