The Ceignes River was a stream of water that ran through Kailisys, the capital city of Kailis. Sharing its name with a palace building, the river divided Kailisys diagonally. The palace was located in the central region northeast of the river, and the Royal Road that stemmed from beyond the front gates of the outer fortress—which was in the southwestern direction—crossed the Ceignes River and continued to the Kailis Palace.
When Sispanian left after the death of Hatsua, building the Royal Road revitalized the kingdom that was in recession. Thanks to this large road that branched out to all the major cities, Kailisys was able to once again regain its prosperity. That was how crucial the Royal Road was to Kailis.
— clip clop, clip clop
Two carriages, one black and one white, were heading towards the royal palace on the Royal Road.
The two carriages both boasted fancy ornamentations as they travelled side-by-side. Both of them were painted using good amounts of ground pearl powder to make them shimmer, and each of them had one large glass window adorning its side. The only difference was that one of them was painted white with gilded edges while the other was painted black and lined with nacre.
Nacre, however, was incredibly rare in Kailis. Although Kailis claimed the largest portion of the continent, the only thing they did not claim was the ocean. While pearls could easily be farmed in freshwater, abalones—the source of nacre—could not. Therefore, nacre was often priced higher in Kailis than gold.
Thus, when this huge carriage decorated with nacre trotted down the road, it was no surprise that it would gather everybody's attention. This irked the passenger of the white carriage that trotted along on the right. The passenger clicked his tongue as he glanced at the black carriage through his window.
"Would you look at that! It is quite literally a large mass of money rolling out on the road. A bit too gaudy, won't you say?"
Does he think that gilding is cheap? I don't think he's in a position to talk about gaudiness, thought his butler, who was sitting beside the coach box. He had heard his master mumbling to himself through the small push-up window that connected the coach box to the passenger area. He would not have dared to have such thoughts about his master if only they hadn't been carrying a set o-f heels adorned with top-grade diamond that had been imported from Tensil.
A crest with a griffin holding a sharp sword was drawn on the outer walls of the carriage. It belonged to none other than the family of Marquis Brissen, the birth family of Queen Silica. The passenger of the carriage was Lennon Brissen, the second son of Marquis Brissen and the owner of Brissen Merchants.
"Who is that carriage supposed to belong to? The Siegfrieds? No… there's no way those elephants would own something like that."
The Elephant of Kailis.
That's what people called Siegfried. They called him so because although he had never thirsted for the throne all these years, yet was powerful enough for nobody to dare cross them. It seemed only fitting to compare him to an herbivore so powerful that no sane beast would prey on it. Lennon, however, could not think of any other family that could own such a carriage but the Siegfrieds.
"Who in the world decided to smear that much money on their carriage?" asked Lennon, unable to hold back his curiosity.
"I saw it coming out of Teinansha Street just now, milord. The crest, however, seems to be on the other side of the carriage, and it is difficult to tell whom the carriage belongs to…" replied the butler through the small window.
"Teinansha Street?"
"Yes, milord. The street is mostly populated by mages."
"Do you think I asked because I didn't know about it? How could you be so dense?" barked Lennon, betraying his butler's kind explanation.
If Silica or Calian had heard his remark, they would have scoffed at his petty attempt to embarrass his butler. Lennon once again peeked outside the curtain and gazed upon the black carriage. However, there was no way of knowing who was riding inside the carriage as the other carriage's window was also covered with a thick layer of curtains.
"Was there a mage that rich in this city?"
"Would you like to check the crest on the other side of the carriage?"
"Yes, that would be favourable."
The butler obeyed and ordered the carter to change the course of the carrier. Soon, Lennon's white carriage slowed down and sped up once again to catch up to the other side of the black carriage. Lennon quickly drew the curtains and glanced at the crest.
Lennon squinted hard as he muttered, "That's one complicated crest. What are those… flowers? One, two…"
As his carriage inched forward, he could see the crest more clearly. When he finally confirmed the identity of the crest, Lennon rubbed his eyes over and over.
"Am I seeing things…?" he mumbled in disbelief.
"I see seven red flowers and a silver staff, Viscount Brissen."
"You think I can't see that? Now shut your mouth!
Seven red flowers and a silver staff!
"What in the world is happening? Dear heavens… this is driving me mad. It's absolutely bizarre. Why is he here, in Kailis? Why, for God's sake, is he headed towards the palace?"
Oblivious as to whom that crest belonged to and having been told to shut his mouth, the butler merely fixed his eyes to the front and blinked in stupefaction.
The two carriages also passed through Aynansha Street where the noble families resided. Thus, other noblemen were also informed of this lavish black nacre carriage that was headed towards the palace.
"Vines of red flowers were twined around a silver staff, you say?" asked every nobleman upon hearing the crest's description from their servant.
"Yes, milord. That was precisely what the crest looked like," replied every servant with conviction.
"You must be mistaken," denied every nobleman, brushing it off with a wave of their hand. It can't be. "There's no way that the Alan Manassil is in Kailis."
They all smiled a confident smile as they stopped what they were doing in preparation to leave for the palace.
* * *
It was 9:30 A.M. on the third day of the celebration when the news reached the King.
Alan had arrived at the palace amidst many people's gazes and attention. He showed the guards his invitation from the King and entered the palace through its front gates. There was no need to confirm whether the doorsill of the closed gates was high or low.
The crest that was engraved into the outer surface of the black nacre carriage could be seen very clearly even from afar. The grand chamberlain rushed to the King, who had been welcoming waves of noblemen all morning and was then heading back to his study, to inform the King about the important guest.
"Your Majesty, it seems that Alan Manassil has come to visit."
Rumein halted on the spot.
Alan Manassil was one of three 7th-circle mages in the whole continent. However, unlike the other two, he was a haughty man of talent who refused to settle down in one country. Rumein, too, recognised the sheer amount of power that the mage's name held. After all, it was not an exaggeration for Calian to conclude that he would earn his right to fight for the throne if he had Alan on his side.
"Bring him to my study right away," commanded Rumein, who wasn't so much as willing to sacrifice five minutes for the princes. This was the same man who was reigning over a country that took up half the continent and therefore could not waste any second of the day.
As a result, Alan was able to continue his journey all the way to Arpia Palace—where Rumein awaited—in his fancy carriage without having to switch over to the palace's small carriage.
It was exactly 9:30 as if he had planned everything out.
Coincidentally, there were many noblemen gathered in front of Arpia Palace: palace clerks who were unhurriedly reporting to Narsil Pavillion thanks to the late start of the day during the celebration, ambassadors who were returning to Rubia Pavillion after sharing breakfast with the foreign affairs minister, and even those who were about to leave after meeting the King. Thus, many noblemen were able to witness the silent arrival of the black nacre carriage that would soon bring turmoil to Kailis.
"Isn't that Alan Manassil's crest?"
"Well… I did hear that his contract with Liebern was over."
"But why is he in Kailis? Both his mind and his body would be more at ease if he continued to stay in Liebern."
"He went through that incident. There's no way that he would've been at ease. If it weren't for his ties to the King of Liebern, he would've left a long time ago."
"Huh? Oh, right… I forgot about that."
The door of the carriage opened, and the crowd halted their discussion regarding Alan's purpose of visit.
The mage slowly dismounted the carriage as if he had been waiting for the crowd to fall silent. His silver-to-red gradient hair glistened under the sun, and the noblemen's mouths gaped open as they confirmed that the man was indeed none other than Alan Manassil.
Alan looked around slowly. The tattered robe he wore on the first day was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he wore a red robe for everyone to see, embroidered with an emblem that symbolised his status as a 7th-circle mage. His keen eyes gleamed coldly, and an icy smile settled onto his lips.
A middle-aged man approached him and greeted him with respect. "It is our greatest pleasure to have you, Sir Manassil. My name is Raoul Hardt, and I serve His Majesty as his grand chamberlain. His Majesty is awaiting your visit; please allow me to take you to him."
The crowd stirred once again as Rumein's intentions of sending the grand chamberlain himself was clear. Alan, of course, was accustomed to receiving such a welcome wherever he went. He nodded and followed the chamberlain into the palace.
"Do you think he's actually planning to stay in Kailis?"
"If not, why would he be here? There's no way that the famous Alan Manassil would have just visited to wish His Majesty happy birthday only to leave right away."
The nobles were swept with various speculations. It was to be expected. Alan Manassil had come to visit Rumein, who was practically under Silica's thumb. They had to prepare themselves for the result that his visit would bring to this country.
"This way, sir."
On the other hand, when Alan stepped into the hallway and ensured that there was nobody around him, the corners of his lips spasmed ever so slightly as he fixed his eyes on the back of Raoul' head. He had remembered his new student grinning as they parted.
"You must arrive at exactly 9:30 in the morning. Through the 'open gates', of course."
To keep his promise, Alan wore the gaudy robe awarded to him by the Mages' Union that he had never worn before and mounted the large carriage that was gifted to him by the King of Liebern. He had entered the palace through the wide-open gates. As Calian had intended, Alan had arrived just when numerous noblemen were gathered around Arpia Palace.
Alan smiled discreetly. Seems like my dear student is planning to let the world know that he now has me by his side.
The door to Rumein's study opened. When Alan stepped inside, Rumein was sitting on his sofa that was used for greeting guests. He was not holding anything.
"Alan Manassil." Alan greeted Rumein using the same facial expression and tone of voice as when he greeted Calian.
Rumein acknowledged him by giving a slight nod. Unlike Calian, he knew that Alan was much older than himself despite looking very young and was not taken aback.
"Yes. Come and take a seat." Rumein pointed at the couch across from him, and Alan did not refuse. The mage sat down and faced Rumein. While Rumein gazed at Alan with his deep eyes and organized his thoughts, Alan picked up the cup in front of him and sipped some tea.
"I was informed of what happened on the first day. I would like to formally apologize."
"First day…" muttered Alan before smiling gently. "What do you owe me an apology for, Your Majesty?"
Rumein narrowed his eyes. The meaning behind Alan's words wasn't quite as gentle as his smile.
What happened at the palace gates was merely the guard being discourteous, and he had expected Alan to understand that his apology was referring to the guard's rudeness. Yet, Alan was asking about this quite straightforward story. It was clear that he wanted to know how much Rumein knew about this event.
"I was only told that your reason for visit was unclear. I did not hear anything from the third prince."
As Duke Slayman had anticipated, Rumein didn't ask Calian anything. To be exact, he couldn't ask anything. Therefore, all Rumein knew was that Calian had chased after Alan who was enraged by the guard's attitude and was about to turn back.
"If so, there is nothing that you must apologize for. I had a pleasant conversation with the prince and was explained as to what happened in front of the gates. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I was scolded for nitpicking at the guards… in any case, things have been resolved now."
Rumein's eyes filled up with questions. He wondered if he had just heard correctly about Calian scolding Alan. Before Rumein could ask anything, Alan continued.
"Is there an estate in Kailis that I may reside in, Your Majesty?"
Rumein's head spun as Alan jumped right to his point.