Communication within and outside Whitlinâs inner city was almost cut off.
Fortunately, however, contact with Calian who entered the elf city was not lost. This means that if Demirea, who is in the lordâs castle inside the inner castle, talks to Calian, Calian can relay the message to Aela outside the outer castle.
However, neither side used this method. No matter what anyone said, it was never the reason that it was difficult to entrust the role of Jeon Seo-gu to Prince Calian. For Dmirea and Aela, Calian was not an interesting person enough to make them reluctant.
Rather, it would be correct to say that there was no need to use Calian because there were alternatives.
-â¦â¦ Piing!
A blue flame rose into the sky from the lordâs castle inside Whitlinâs inner city. It was clearly different from the festival fireworks that float with a brilliant light and explode with a roar. It rises straight up without any huge noise or scattered light and then quickly disappears.
After that, three or four times, the flame, which turned red this time, flashed again and again at intervals before fading out without a trace.
â Ping ping!
So, itâs thanks to that flame.
Thanks to that, Kalian didnât have to act as a warlord. Wouldnât it be a better way to inform allies of the situation and warn enemies that a wizard is staying?
âNothing special yet.â
Soon, they heard the Balkan knight staying near the villa giving a short report to the highest-ranking wizard among them.
The Wizardâs Flame is used as a major means of communication not only in Balkan, but also in the armies operated by each lordâs castle in Kairis, the armies of other countries, and even Zeon. Of course, for security purposes, the meaning of the color, shape, and whether or not the firework exploded in the sky was determined differently for each person, but the use of it as a communication method was the same.
And the information about the meaning of their flame was, of course, confidential.
âIs it really true that nothing special happened?â
Therefore, Yan, who did not know the meaning of the red and blue flames that flew up from the castle, opened his mouth with an anxious face. Then, Eila, with a calm expression, nodded her head lightly and answered.
âThatâs right. It means thereâs nothing wrong.â
âAh⦠thatâs a relief.â
âNot yet.â
âYou mean not yet?â
âI added that they were raising their guard one level. It means that they decided it was time to attack Xeon.â
Eila, who returned to the villa after guiding Hina to the castle, was calm. Even though they said that a fight might soon break out in the castle, I wasnât too worried. The expressions of Yan and the other two attendants who were with him were noticeably different from the slightly stiff expressions.
âBy any chance⦠did Prince Calian tell you?â
The person who was looking at Aila like that, the Balkan wizard who had received the report a little while ago, asked. But his face was full of caution.
Itâs something that canât be helped. This is because we are faced with a situation that cannot be explained simply by the fact that Aila has been protecting Hina for a long time, and that Balkan members have sparred with Aila several times and exchanged learning with her, or that she is the person who will become a knight of Calian.
âThe prince told me a lot of things. I donât know what heâs talking about.â
âItâs a signal, Sir Bridget. Iâm telling you this because you seem to recognize it.â
For example, the situation where it was discovered that Aila had understood the meaning of the fire signal that only some members of Balkan, the leadership, and Calian and Lemaine were supposed to know.
âCanât I find out?â
âItâs not something you can know.â
âDonât worry. Iâm not the prince who would tell you about such things. I just found out.â
After saying this, Eila slowly stretched out her hand. And now I pick up one of the foods that no one is touching anymore. It was food made by the Balkan knights and Relic himself using ingredients that Jan had prepared in advance and even magically preserved. It was not possible to airlift food and cooks from the castle.
The wizardâs words were heard by Aila, who was savoring the large raw oysters prepared for each meal with a little bit of olive oil mixed with sliced lemon peel, at Yanâs request in case Calian might come.
âSo you figured it out yourself?â
âAre you the kind of person, prince, who would entrust the job of asking information to a guy who canât even crack a code like that? Iâm not next to you because Iâm pretty.â
That kind of password.
Should we feel fortunate that someone who can talk so lightly about the confidential signaling system is on Kalyanâs side?
While the confused wizard remained silent for a moment, Aela continued speaking.
âThe prince will be very disappointed if he finds out that his person is being suspected, so just in case, donât do that. It would be unfair to be suspected of being competent.â
âI do not doubt it, Sir Bridget.â
âThatâs it then.â
Aela answered as if there would be no problem and then looked away from the wizard. He then said, putting his hand back to the almost empty plate of raw oysters.
âIf thereâs a fight in the castle, we canât rest either. Eat while you have time.â
Only the orange-haired magician Cain Tess, who did not respond for a moment, nodded. Then we continued with dinner featuring simple recipes. The same was true for the rest of the crew and the three servants, except for those on guard and Siona Hill, who was resting.
Yan, who had finished eating early, turned his head. And as I watched Ayla eagerly eating raw oysters that were mostly untouched, I opened my mouth.
âDo you like raw oysters, Sir Bridget?â
Itâs also difficult to hide.
Eilaâs plate is filled with empty oyster shells.
âyes I like it.â
Eila nodded and answered.
âWhen I was at Secretia, I couldnât eat even on my birthday.â
Because Kalian and Aila did not bother to hide their origins, no one knew that Aila was a Sejak named âBlue Warblerâ. No, just one person. Randelâs servant Den was there, but it was not because they were hiding it, but because they were indifferent to each other, so there was no reason not to mention Secretia here.
âDo you eat raw oysters on your birthday in Secretia?â
âJust eat what you like.â
I like food because I canât eat it even on my birthday, but I eat my favorite food on my birthday. The answer was so confusing that it was hard to tell which came first, but Yan didnât care.
Is the order important?
Whatever it is, if you like it, itâs okay.
âIâm glad. I was worried that youâd be left behind because the prince wasnât around, but you continued to eat well.â
âDoes the prince like raw oysters?â
âYes. I like it a lot.â
Jan nodded with a round smile and answered.
Eila knew very well how many raw oysters Calian ate while he was in Secretia. However, Kalian just ate a lot of everything. So I didnât know I liked it more.
But he likes raw oysters. Kalyan is the king.
âYouâll probably like it more than meat.â
ââ¦â¦ah.â
Royal families do not normally eat raw food. Because raw food is dangerous. Therefore, the royal chef of Kairis, who does not usually eat seafood, had no chance of serving raw oysters.
The same goes for Secretia. Since it is an expensive ingredient, it is included in dishes for guests, but uncooked oysters are not placed in front of the royal family.
It is said that whether it was Kalian of the past or the king himself, there was no way he would have eaten raw oysters inside the palace. But I like it.
I think I somehow understand the reason.
Is it possible that Kirie, a native of Kairis, would have recommended raw oysters to the king, something he had never seen before in his life? Arianne, whom I had met several times in Secretia, did not even let raw oysters near her. So, either the Emperor came to like it after encountering it when he was wandering around outside the palace.
âI see.â
I like it because I like it.
â Clap!
Eila put down the empty oyster shell and nodded quietly. And then I brought the last remaining oyster to my mouth. Itâs an expensive dish that I couldnât even eat on my birthday, so I figured I should eat it to my heartâs content even on a day like this.
â Peeing! ping! Peeingâ¦!
at that time.
Bright orange and white flames alternately lit up the sky several times before disappearing. Kane, who confirmed this, immediately stood up.
After taking a sip of carbonated water, Aila put her hand into water with lemon in it. And I slowly washed my long, white fingers, which still had a few scar marks.
â Jingle, jingle!
Behind the small sound of water washing hands, the sound of the sword master walking towards this place can be heard.
Eila immediately stood up and quietly turned her head. And then he opened his mouth to Jan and the other two servants who had been talking so far.
âPlease stay down.â
The battle for the lordâs castle has begun.
* * *
I didnât know you liked birds.
Rather, I thought he would be reluctant. Wouldnât you hate birds because they might try to eat bugs sitting on rose leaves and drop the flowers? Thatâs all I thought.
âI didnât know you liked birds.â
âIs there any reason to dislike it?â
âYouâre dropping flowers. If youâre careful.â
âno.â
âWhy donât you drop it?â
âIt didnât shake the flowers as much as the rain and wind did.â
âIs that so.â
Because I did not want to be associated with the elves anymore, I thought that even if I came here again, it would not be a very peaceful visit, and when I came to the sea, I felt suffocated by the thick salt smell.
âThatâs the sea, Raven. Take care too. Now I might never see that place again.â
When I first saw that sea, wasnât it a sea I thought I would never come back to? That is, until I saw Planz, who had brought out the Balkan crew, raising blue flames over the black sea.
Therefore, a bird was flying over the dark sea that I had never thought that I would end up burying my head in it, let alone setting foot in it again. I saw a bird with neither red feathers, blue feathers, nor white feathers, but dark feathers that were of no particular significance.
âBy the way⦠itâs not a seagull. I donât know what its name is.â
âActually, they donât know my name, so does it really matter?â
âI just wanted to let you know. This and that.â
It was already dark, so it was not time for seagulls to fly. It was a bird of prey, not a seagull or other waterfowl. It looks like it probably lived in the forest out back and came here to hunt.
The blue eyes of the person who I thought would hate the bird that followed it turned towards Kalian.
âI thought you knew birds well, but this was surprising.â
âAs for the name of the bird, you can open a bird encyclopedia in the royal palace and roughly search for it, or the person who will become the bird can come up with the name. Iâm already busy, so I couldnât even memorize the appearances of the birds with that name.â
âIs that so?â
âYes. Would life in the royal palace have been different for me? It was just as narrow. At least there were days when I wandered outside the palace, so I learned about trees and grass from the people living outside, but I couldnât learn about birds.â
âDonât people outside the royal palace know about birds?â
The bird that went straight into the sea came out of the water. There was no fish tangled in its claws. I guess I wasted a lot of money.
âMany tree fruits and grasses are poisonous, so I have no choice but to memorize their names and appearances. What fruits should not be eaten, how to deal with poisonous plants, what benefits there are if you apply a tree trunk to a wound, etc. But birds âIsnât that true? Thereâs no need to go to the trouble of memorizing the names and appearances of things unless you commonly encounter them. If you catch them, theyâre all meat. Thatâs why I couldnât learn them until then.â
âWhat youâre saying is that anything is just food for them.â
âIn general, yes. Itâs probably worse than Tensil.â
Randel nodded.
For commoners, life is about survival. I wonder if they memorize the birdâs name and use it for something.
âYes. I guess so.â
âYes.â
Pong again. I vaguely heard the sound of water droplets bouncing across the waves. I turned my head toward the sound and saw a silver fish caught in the claws of a bird of prey. âDid you catch it
? I see it.â
Plantz, who was next to Calianâs words, just nodded. Randel looked toward the forest, following the fish caught by the bird, and opened his mouth. âDo you want to celebrate or mourn?â â
That
bird and the fish. Are you saying whose side you will take?â
âYes. Since one lives and one dies, would you celebrate or mourn?â
Itâs an interesting question.
âCanât you do both?â
âIf you say you canât.â âWell, I donât
know. What should I do?â
It wasnât a question that was meant to refer to Calianâs situation. If Cornbeard had been harsh enough to say such a thing directly to Calian, Calian would never have thought of putting that guy behind his back, regardless of whether he was a brother or not.
So. Calian got angry or upset, or instead of answering right away, he looked away. He looked at Plantz with his lavender eyes filled with moonlight and asked, âWhat do you think, brother?â âNot really.â Those words had nothing to do
with
Calian
. Pea, who must have understood just as well, gave an answer that was not at all sincere.
There was nothing I could do.
That was because Pea was upset.
In case you misunderstood, I would like to add that it wasnât that Pea was hurt, it was just Pea that was upset. Quite a bit. As to why the good mood I felt after meeting a friend for the first time in a long time was soured so quickly, I asked,
âArenât you hungry?â
â⦠My brother must have already drank a lot of sea water. I wonder if he still has room to feel hungry.â
âIs there any use in drinking a lot of salt water? I have to eat a lot of meat and a lot of bread to be as tall as I am now. Being shorter than Kirie is already enough. I donât have the hobby of looking up at anyone.â
âItâs not like that.â
âThen what are you trying to say?â
âRide to the seaâ
â Jump and jump!
âIâm back, prince.â
Like this. As
soon as I realized that the guy sitting next to me had turned into my younger brother again, I was thinking of scolding him in earnest, but Kyrie and the resident upstairs came back just in time. So, Plants scolded Calian again this time
. I couldnât do it. I know that I did something that would get me scolded, so Kalian would have already reflected on it whether he said it out loud or scolded me, but I feel a sense of unfairness. We both did something wrong and both reflected on it in the same way, but I was the only one who got scolded and my younger brother didnât. .
Calian, who smiled slightly because his intentions were obvious, turned his head in the other direction again and opened his mouth to the tall knight who was sitting across from him. âWhat do you think, Kirie?â âIf you canât do both, I think itâs right to do neither
.
â .â
âNo congratulations and no mourning?â
âYes.â
âThatâs fair.â
Calian nodded and looked at Randel. He watched his
brother sitting on the wet sand without a quality blanket for a long time before opening his mouth. .
âAre you sorry?â
âWhat?â
âThe fish that was caught dies and disappears, and the bird that ate it lives another day. Do you feel sorry for taking Serjaneâs place and having to live another day?â
âDo you see it that way?â
âIt does appear that way. To be honest, I was surprised because I thought he wasnât the type of person to care about such things.â âI
meant you, not Serzane.â
Randel corrected Calianâs misdirected intention.
I didnât even know he was a person who could feel sorry in the first place. So, it was so surprising that I couldnât believe that he felt sorry for Calian now.
âHmm⦠just a moment. âExcuse me?â
After saying this, Calian raised his hand. Then he tapped his ear with his palm and shook his head. The blue-silver hair that he had tied with a string from Kyrie swayed slightly. âWater got into my ears and Iâm dazed⦠Iâm having auditory hallucinations.â I
sigh
and hear the sound of wind leaking from the side of the plant.
Since I can hear that sound clearly, I guess Iâm deaf. But itâs strange. Why? I hear nonsense.
âYou said you never werenât wary of me, but
it seems like you arenât anymore.â âDo you like that I feel comfortable with Brother Randel?â â
Is there anything bad?â
âHmmâ
Iâm hungry, but
there must be a problem. Randelâs words were heard again in Calianâs ears as he mumbled.
âAnyway, Iâm talking about you, not Serzane.â
âBrother Randel, are you sorry for me? â
âIf I say no, it would be empty words.â
âWhy?â
âI came to life with my brother on my back.â
Calian, who finally understood these words, smiled.
âBrother Randel, did you threaten me by selling my name to become a leader?â
âNegotiation. â
Did Danu decide to extend his roots to Tensil as well?â
âYes.â
Negotiations were completed by selling Kalianâs name. This means that when Randel ascends to the throne of Tensil, Danu agreed to give his abilities to Tensil as well. In that case, there would be no droughts, no earthquakes, and no diseases.
So, should we congratulate the older brother who sold his younger brotherâs name for comfort, or should we pity the younger brother who sold his name for his own comfort? Thatâs the question. It was
with a feeling of regret underneath.
âThe roses will grow well.â
âI guess so.â
âHow did you package and sell them?â
âDanu said that the day would come when the Sispanians would attack this place. I said that if that were to happen, I would have you come forward and persuade Sispanian at least once.â
â⦠Sispanian here.â
âYes.â
Danu cannot see the future.
So Sith The story about Fanian attacking this place was clearly referring to something in the âpastâ. It
wasnât difficult to try to convince Sispanian. So Calian nodded quietly and opened his mouth.
âI understand. Anyway, â
â Prince. Are you busy?
But someoneâs voice was heard, interrupting Calianâs words.
â I think you need to come save me. Do you want to stay away?
Calian took a quiet breath.
It was Aila.