There are things that are natural to some but not to others.
There are some things that we take for granted now, but that werenât the case at first.
âRashid Briesen looks like me.â
âat all.â
âThatâs the way I see it. But I donât know much about Rashid Brissen. On the other hand, he knows quite a lot about me.â
âHe could be hiding the same thing as Evan.â
âYou mean an Auror. âI hid my path to the sword.â
âokay.â
âyes. Rashid Briesen has already joined the Sword Path and has more Aurors than me, so I didnât notice. We are considering that possibility as well. So Iâm trying to find out exactly what he might have been hiding.â
âAre you saying that you will secretly join a wizard?â
âI got caught. I said I looked into Lord Hertzâs stealth magic, but that doesnât work. I think I will personally approach Rashid Brissen as someone he would not suspect.â
âwho.â
âWhite repair. Itâs him.â
âIt would be impossible.â
âItâs not impossible. It wonât be very fun.â
âhow.â
âBecause I wasnât there either. âAt the end.â
ââ¦â¦ if. I.â
âNo matter what, thereâs no way you would have had the ability to cut off my arm. I was in a state where I couldnât sleep or eat for a few days, got hit by a lot of arrows, no one knew if I was alive or dead, and I didnât know either, but I wasnât in such a mess that I would give my arm to someone as weak as my brother.â
âYou are bitter.â
âItâs better to tell the truth than to wither again for no reason.â
âDonât use that excuse to bark.â
ââ¦â¦ yes. Anyway, I thought you would have seen that too. When he was called to Danu. âDidnât you know?â
âI told you not to watch it alone first.â
âSo you didnât look at it properly?â
âI didnât see it.â
âYou did well. It makes me proud to see people listen to me well, even if only occasionally. Itâs worth raising it.â
âHe said it was a cat. âIs it nature to bark?â
âI heard it looks like a desert dog. I guess itâs nature.â
âIf you look at it again and find that we donât look alike. âDonât you bark?â
âEven if you say no now, it will continue to bark. âBecause itâs nature.â
â⦠Just keep talking.â
âyes. Anyway, Iâm thinking of changing my appearance into a white suri and going there. What do you think?â
âAre you trying to go out and walk around like that person?â
âno. For now, I was planning to go to the marquisâ residence in my own person. Iâm going to check whether the relationship between the two is really bad and make Marquis Briesen be wary of everyone.â
âthen. That disguise tool. âHow about writing one more time now?â
âAre you talking about disguise?â
âI understand that you can hide your auror.â
âthere is. I was planning to hide it once it turns into a white eagle.â
âtherefore. Disguise and hide as an auror. Letâs do it now.â
âWhat way do you mean?â
âLike, my brother and I meet Rashid Briesen at the same time.â
âAre you saying youâre going to disguise yourself as me?â
âokay.â
âBrother, can you follow me?â
âthere is.â
âI didnât know you were that interested in me. I feel proud again.â
âI didnât know you would bark this hard. âAnnoy me again.â
âI was meeting normal nobles in a normal palace, but two of my normal palms got split straight apart. âBecause it hurts, I have to bark hard.â
âSorry. that.â
âIâll accept your apology if you say you wonât do it again.â
âOkay, so.â
âyes. Anyway, then. If you do as you said, if he shows that he recognizes the fake, it will mean that he has more Aurors than me. Even if I donât show it, I will get the results I wanted.â
âokay.â
âMore than anything⦠itâll be fun.â
âIt will be fun.â
âI will meet Rashid Briesen. âI will ask my master to ask you to go to the Marquis Briesenâs residence.â
ânot. on the other way. âI can tell when youâre hiding your surprise.â
âbut. older brother.â
âWhat I said was my responsibility. âHave you forgotten?â
âIâm afraid Iâll wither again while taking care of my brotherâs share.â
âWhat on earth does my brother think of me?â
âItâs a green, round thing that wilts quickly and gets very thin.â
âyou. also.â
âThatâs exactly what youâre thinking of right now.â
ââ¦â¦ hey.â
âIâm just saying Iâm worried. âBrother.â
âIâm saying itâs okay. Thanks to the fence my brother repaired so well.â
âBut⦠yes. All right.â
This happened after a long and peaceful conversation.
Plantz, disguised as Calian, met Rashid Briesen, and in the end, Calian, who could not overcome his stubbornness, went to the residence of Marquess Gray Briesen.
While thinking about that conversation for a moment, Randel organized and understood Calianâs words and opened his mouth.
âYou made Marquis Gray Brissen think that you had something else in mind so that he could hastily gather his forces. Isnât it because you wanted Rashid Brissen to be mistaken that you used a disguise for that purpose?â
âyouâre right.â
Communication bracelets were scattered on the floor as the arm they were wearing disappeared. Calian answered, picking it up and putting it back on. And he added a more detailed explanation of the things Randel did not know about that he had just said to Plantz.
âRashid Brissenâs subordinate, the White Eagle, turned into a one-armed knight I knew and came to me. After that, I killed the White Eagle, but Rashid Brissen doesnât know that he is dead.â
âokay.â
âThatâs why Iâm thinking of disguising myself as a guy. Theyâll probably think that I wonât disguise myself again. Especially if Iâm a one-armed swordsman.â
Calian disappeared for a moment and then reappeared and tapped my left arm. Randel, who was looking at the fingertips, said.
âI understand that.â
âyes.â
âBut I donât know.â
âWhat do you mean?â
Randel quietly turned his head. Then I looked at Planz and then back at Calian.
âYou sometimes talk as if you know the future.â
âI know a little bit.â
âAnd that stranger. The King of Secretia. You look like him.â
â⦠This is my older brother. My brother.â
âBut the King of Secretia doesnât have a younger brother.â
âIt may be difficult for you to believe, but I lived as Chaseâs younger brother for 26 years. Then I died, and I went back 10 years and am now. The person I was in the past has become a non-existent person in this life.â
âThe King of Secretia once warned me about you. He probably knows about you too.â
âyouâre right.â
âBut you still didnât follow him back.â
âYes. I didnât go.â
âIf you used that disguise, you could have lived in a different form, so why didnât you do that? Why did you stay here? Why did you go to such lengths to help us? I wonder about that.â
ââ¦â¦ that.â
Calian, unable to find an appropriate answer to Randelâs words, kept his mouth shut. This is because it was difficult to tell the reason. Isnât there a party of its own here?
When there was no answer for a while, Randel looked at Calian.
âthat.â
On behalf of Calian, Plantz spoke up.
âIt is said that the new king of Kairis started a war. He died because of that war, and Secretia was also destroyed because of it. In order to prevent that, I decided to stay here instead of leaving.â
âIf itâs the new king.â
âYes, it is me.â
âThe third one somehow managed to leave you alone.â
âAre you sorry?â
âMore or less.â
âDo you think Iâm the only one who managed to leave it alone?â
âNo.â
âThe day Calian first came here, I called in and stopped him from threatening to kill his brother.â
âYou must be regretting having to stop it like that.â
âMore or less.â
Thatâs right. Serenity.
Why am I here talking about how pretty they are?
âPlease stop. Before I end up feeling sorry too.â
Why am I suffering here, leaving my good brother behind?
If you know it, I might actually have a lot of patience. After thinking about this for a while, Kalian spoke out and conveyed his thoughts beautifully.
âItâs just like you said. First, to stop it. Then, to save it. And now⦠Iâm living. I didnât go.â
âI came to live because I saved. Is that your answer?â
âNow that we have changed the ending, we have an obligation to create a better ending and show it to others.â
Plantz, who had a slightly more accurate understanding than Randel of who he should show it to, looked at Calian. This is because he understood that it was the answer to what he had said.
âOn the path my mother worked so hard to walk. âIs there another end⦠other than that?â
A different ending that wasnât known to Plants that day.
The end of the path that Silike worked so hard to walk. Calian, who was thinking about that, touched the pink soles of Lucyâs sleeping feet and continued. He spoke of the âdetermined endingâ that he knew.
âKnights wearing gray armor. Wizards wearing pure white robes. I remember my brother standing with them together.â
A smile appeared on Calianâs lips.
Of course, I didnât smile because I remembered what that day was like. This was because Lucy, who hated having the soles of her feet touched, slapped Calianâs hand with her white, cotton-like paw even though she was asleep.
âRather than that, isnât it better to spend your time taking care of a gray cat and a white cat like this? Rather than being forced to be called to Tensilâs royal palace, which is no different from a tower, and act as someoneâs puppet, you said you would take the rose I gave you and raise it there. Itâs better now.â
This is something that Plantz takes for granted, but Randel does not.
This was something that was not natural to todayâs Plants from the beginning.
Kalian lives here, even accepting the role of Rashidâs one-armed subordinate, willing to save the lives of two brothers who may be strangers. Now the reason has become new again and I have explained it again.
âIâll send you off to Tensil, Brother Randel. Letâs build a new residence for the Marquis of Briesen so you can live in it. Then there wonât be a war.â
âYou said you were going to get rid of Briesen. Are you saying you would place a second son on the marquisate?â
âno.â
Calian pointed to his chest and smiled.
âYou know, Brother Randel wasnât the only one who tied up my heart arbitrarily. I was worried that the seal of oath you made would go wrong, so I made a contract with you too.â
âThe second one had one more seal of oath.â
âYes. Did you know?â
Plantz frowned.
This is because Randel noticed when he learned of another seal bound to Plantzâs heart.
The oath seal tied to Calian, as well as the healing powers of Hina and Randel, played a big role in prolonging Plantzâs life until Evan was eliminated. I must have been in a happy mood because I was thinking about the day I unintentionally received help from Randel.
Unlike Plantz, Kalian, who had no regrets over the fact that Randel had saved his brother, nodded.
âThe Marquis of Briesen is tied to the conditions of the oath. So, to be precise, it is not a marquis, but a marquis.â
â When Plants leaves the palace, he lives at the residence of the Marquis of Briesen in Kairisis, raising cats.
â Kalian works hard to help.
âIf Briesen disappears completely, the marquess title will disappear or the family name will change, and if that happens, the name Marquis Briesen will have no meaning, so it wonât matter where you live, but Iâm just curious. Iâll build a new house on the site of the marquisâ house that was completely burned by my brother. âI want to let you live there.â
âIt wonât be easy.â
âItâs okay. Heâs a very capable person. Iâm confident that I can let Brother Randel live comfortably growing roses, but wouldnât it be difficult to have a brother in the capital? Anyway, if I want to keep my brotherâs heart healthy after working hard to heal, I have no choice but to stay there. He is good at raising cats. â¦â¦â
Calian gently tapped Lucyâs head again.
âTo the Archduke.â
Calian drank his tea with a very calm expression, as if he was just throwing out his grand ambitions that he had not yet told Plantz about.
Randel doesnât care at all whether heâs sent to the tower, out of the capital, or even given the title of Grand Duke, and he keeps a smart pea by his side for the rest of his life, having lured him away with the expression that he will let him spend the rest of his long, quiet life holding a cat in his arms in peace and quiet. He pretended not to notice Plantzâs deep annoyance when he finally found out about his younger brotherâs ambitious plan to take care of him.
* * *
Will anything be corrected over time?
In just a few days, more was restored than expected. The things that had been broken when Calian stepped on them were completely transformed. The endlessly deep holes in the forest have been filled, and young saplings have already been planted in place of frozen or burned trees.
âI guess you told me to put away all the magic lanterns too.â
The magic lanterns, which had been installed as if they would light up the entire forest path, had disappeared except for the one placed at the entrance to the forest. As I said this, wondering if I could just leave it as it was already installed, Kirie, who was nearby, gave a low answer.
âDonât you know that the prince likes dark forests?â
âSo you cleaned it up?â
âI guess thatâs why you cleaned it up.â
âItâs good for me, but the wizards must have had a hard time.â
âEveryone was amazed and excited to see the traces of the battle, even though they had gone through a hard time. You donât have to worry about that.â
âCrazy guys.â
Kirie laughed quietly at the honest reaction.
âYou restored everything and left it here, brother.â
âBecause you know it will break again anyway.â
As if they knew that if they planted something again, it would be dug up again, only the empty space in the middle of the forest in the distance had not been restored.
Isnât that the case just today?
If the seedlings had been planted here, they would have had to be moved elsewhere in advance. If I had decided to cross swords with Teilan, I would not have been able to greet the morning with this place intact.
âKiri.â
âYes, my prince.â
âWhat about Aurors after that?â
âIt hasnât reappeared yet.â
Calian nodded, thought about something, and opened his mouth.
âMy teacher was twenty-three and I was twenty-one. Thatâs how I entered the path of the sword.â
âYes. You told me that before.â
âActually, it was very fast. Neither Lord Siegfried nor Briesenâs blood could have been obtained that quickly.â
âYes, thatâs right.â
âBut maybe you will pull it. I think my fiancé will pull it one more time after that.â
Jabak Jabak.
Kirieâs footsteps rang alone. However, Kalianâs voice continued as if to prove that he was not walking the path alone.
âUnfortunately, I will not be known as the fastest age because the age at which I enter the sword path has been pushed back. I will definitely be the fastest. This time.â
As it became known to the world that Calian took up the path of the sword, the earliest age at which he took up the path of the sword was recorded as fifteen. If Demirea ascends before she turns twenty, she will in fact ascend to the path of the sword faster than anyone else, but according to records, she will not be able to surpass Calian.
Kirie turned her head and asked in a voice that sounded pitiful.
âDidnât the Duke of the past take the path of the sword?â
âRather than saying I couldnât do it, I guess I should say I didnât do it. I think Demirea at that time couldnât find a reason to become stronger for anything. Thatâs probably why she didnât take the path of the sword. I think so.â
Arenât Siegfried people who are strong because they protect them?
âThen, are you hoping that the Little Duke will take the path of the sword as soon as possible this time?â
âOf course. Dmirea, who prioritizes Jan, protects Lyrie, and continues Siegfried, is the only one who is greedy for the sword. Now she is doing that. Itâs nice to see.â
After saying this, Kalian looked at Kyrie and added.
âSo, I hope that both you and Dmirea can quickly climb up. Because I know that it is not the end of the goal, but the beginning. I know that both you and Dmirea will be really happy once you climb the path of the sword and realize that you can now hold the sword properly. I know that both you and Dmirea will be very happy. âI want to see your happy face as soon as possible, my fiancé.â
Kirie nodded as if she didnât like the heavy burden, looked around, and said.
âI think it would have been better if you had also invited the Little Duke to this event. I doubt whether I will be able to see Lord Castrin and the prince sparring again.â
âWeâll see each other again. Not today.â
âWhy are you saying it canât be done?â
âI have something to check. Itâs something that Demirea shouldnât know about.â
Dmirea, Eila, and Planz.
He said he was trying to find out what no one except Kirie among those who handle swords should know.
âIs it okay for me to know such a thing?â
âAnything from you. Is there a need to hide it?â
Calian answered lightly, looked at one side of the forest, and opened his mouth.
âAnyway, Kirie.â
âyes.â
Kirieâs voice as she answered like this was no different from usual. Calian smiled slightly and turned his head because there was something that even his good ears couldnât notice.
He spoke with narrowed eyes and a long smile on his lips.
âStay back. Stay far away.â
As soon as those words were finished, the wind blew.
A wind of extreme ferocity blew. After that.
â Slut!
â Kagagak Kagaga River!
A sound that seemed to shatter the silence of the forest was heard.
It was only then that I saw Calian, who had jumped out to the distance and holding a sword, and Teilan, who was holding a sword blocked by Calian and smiling.
The two then continued their greetings.
âAre you sending me a sword without even a greeting, Lord Castrin?â
âThere is no enemy in the world that attacks after sending a warning.â
Teilan, who clearly revealed where Calianâs habit of attacking first without saying anything came from, bit down on his sword.
â Ugh!
The red sword in Calianâs hand cried out for a long time.
The blue aura that wrapped around the red sword like the body of a snake coiling around the enemyâs entire body added to the sharp cries.
I hear a voice like the wind passing by my fingertips.
âlong time no see.â
Kyrie looked at Calianâs sword, which was emitting an unfamiliar light.
Calian looked at Teylanâs eyes, which were a greenish color close to brown. Teilan looked into Calianâs blood-like eyes.
âMaster.â
ââ¦â¦ okay.â
Teylanâs answer was relayed.
âIâm not looking forward to it.â
Calian smiled, pleased with those words that seemed to catch the wind.
âYes. As much as you want.â
Cooâ¦.
The sound of heavy feet is heading towards Kalian.
The sound of the footsteps of someone who has forgotten the sound is heading towards Teilan.
â Kaaaaaaaa!
The reunion has begun.