In the back garden of Heisia Palace where Queen Silica lived, there was a greenhouse twice the size of Calian's room. Its walls and its ceiling were all made of glass, and the whole greenhouse was filled with Ranieri leaves. Unlike Silica's strong perfume, the greenhouse didn't particularly smell like anything special. The white Ranieri flowers, as mystic as they were, only bloomed for one day out of a whole year.
And sitting on a white chair in front of a white table inside that greenhouse was none other than Silica, as beautiful as a painting. However, Lennon's shoulders flinched when he saw her fierce eyes.
She seems to be in a bad mood again… which is certainly understandable.
On the first day of the celebration, Franz, the second prince, came to the plaza drunk. While that in itself was enough to frustrate the Queen, that wasn't the real problem. Two days had passed since, yet nobody was criticising Franz. The fact that Franz wasn't so much as receiving criticism because of Calian angered the Queen even more.
Lennon's heart also sank. He was planning to report to the Queen that Alan Manassil had arrived in Kailis, but he concluded that it would be better for him not to bring that up while the Queen was in a bad mood. She would receive the news sooner or later even if Lennon wasn't the one bearing the news.
I'll just give her the heels and take my leave. Lennon hesitantly blinked at the butler who was standing behind him. The butler handed the gift box to the head maid. The head maid opened the lid and lifted the box up for the Queen to see.
"What might this be?" asked Silica as she glanced at the contents of the box, despite seeing it for herself.
Inside the box were yellow heels that resembled the colour of Silica's eyes. A large diamond was attached to the centre of the gold plate that adorned the shoes. Silica raised her brows ever so slightly upon inspecting the shoes. It meant that she was pleased.
"This is Tensil's diamond that I had told you about before. They found a diamond mine while constructing a canal, and this is one of the few products that has been made using the very first diamonds that have been mined. Is it to your liking?"
Silica withdrew her gaze and took a sip of her coffee. "Not bad."
"I am very glad to hear that. Speaking of which, about the plan—"
"Anyways…"
Lennon was bluntly shushed. Having cut off Lennon's sentence, Silica turned to look at the head maid. It was a sign that she was done looking at the shoes.
Lennon's face crumpled slightly when he was interrupted by the Queen let alone offered a word of thanks. Does she even know how expensive they were? The head maid, however, was oblivious to Lennon's thoughts. She showed her respect with a stoic face and retreated from the greenhouse with Lennon's butler..
"It has already been two whole months. Why is there no news yet?" Her voice leaked out from between her teeth. Her fists were clenched tight as they rested on the table.
Lennon was not surprised by Silica's sudden change of attitude. He knew better than anyone that the Queen had always been this way. Lennon pulled out a smile and comforted Silica.
"That, I believe… is because of Sispanian's Blessing."
"You told me that you had taken the blessing into account. I hear about the third prince everywhere. It's quite unpleasant to say the least."
Lennon gulped. Silica silently fluttered her fan for a few seconds before opening her mouth again.
"Send me more of it as soon as you go back. I shall increase the dosage."
"Wouldn't that be too dangerous? Using a different method would be—"
Silica did not listen until the end. She turned her head and waved towards the door as if she were swatting away a fly. Lennon quitely gritted his teeth, but was forced outside without even being able to bring up his business.
* * *
Rumein was deep in his thoughts as were his eyes. An estate in Kailis?
Of course, Alan was fully welcome. In fact, he had called Alan to his study so that he could convince Alan to stay in Kailis. In order to suppress Silica's influence, he needed someone as powerful as Alan.
Just what is his intention?
He couldn't help, however, but to doubt Alan's intentions as he brought the subject up himself.
"I came across a red-eyed cat in the plaza, and I've taken a liking to it. I am thinking about teaching it a few things and looking after it for a while… but I don't have a place in this country."
A moment of silence went by before Rumein opened his mouth again.
"What do you intend to teach Calian?"
"It sounds entertaining, Your Majesty, doesn't it?" answered Alan with another question. He picked up a cookie from the table, cracked it in half, and munched on it before gulping it down. It was an incredibly impolite response to a King's question, but Rumein waited silently. After drinking a sip of his tea, Alan continued with excitement in his eyes. "Black hair, red eyes… and magic."
"In order words… you wish to stay in Kailis to teach Prince Calian magic."
"Not only that, but I plan to create a cat-friendly environment. To do that, I believe I must assist the master of the house in cleaning up the house."
Looking after his students was just an excuse. Rumein understood from his hinted words that his true intention was to suppress Silica's influence and support Calian as the next crown prince.
Needless to say, it would not harm Rumein. He picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Are you confident that you will be able to handle it? You would probably know, but my house is quite chaotic right now."
"It is also my first time looking after something. Will you be able to handle it, Your Majesty?"
Rumein smiled faintly. "A teacher and a student. Quite a good excuse, I would say."
A student-teacher relationship with a prince. It was the best way to justify Alan's stay in Kailis. Silica and Marquis Brissen's family were bound to be against the prince learning magic, but they were up against the famous Alan Manassil.
"I am the one volunteering to teach Prince Kalian, so Brissen does not have a good reason to stop me. Since I cannot just be teaching magic all day, they will not be able to prevent a royal tutor with time on his hands from assisting His Majesty. It was quite a clever invitation."
Rumein subtly tilted his head. Alan was speaking as if Kalian was the one who came up with this excuse. However, Alan did not provide any further explanation. Rumein gathered his thoughts and formulated a reply.
"I will look to it that you have a place to stay. I suppose a man with a cat shall not make things any worse around this messy house."
Alan lightly bowed his head to express his gratitude.
However, the conversation wasn't over. Separate to giving permission, Rumein's questions continued.
"I must say that I'm still curious. I heard that there was nothing special about the child."
"Nothing special, Your Majesty?" Alan's eyes narrowed meaningfully. "It was, in fact, difficult to find normalcy in Prince Calian."
Even his state of health had to be special.
"I did hear that he is afraid of many things, however. I was told that he is also afraid of horses, but I suppose he is no longer seeing as how he followed after you."
Alan recalled Calian riding his horse with great familiarity and leaning on the very horse to support himself. Suddenly, he was hit with a strange sense of displacement as he listened to Rumein.
Now that I think…
"I heard that Randel is like the deep ocean and that Franz is like its fierce waves. As for Calian, well, I only heard that he is quiet and reserved. I did not know that he possessed such a gift."
Why is he saying that he has heard about all this? It's as if—
As if he never paid attention to them himself.
"If there was something about him that stood about, I would have heard about it. That's why I was a little surprised."
Alan hydrated his throat with his tea and stood up. He walked to the window and stared at the garden outside. It was time for him to relay a piece of more important news.
"Just like you, Your Majesty, I got married at an early age. I already have a lovely granddaughter as well."
Rumein's fingers twitched. Even though he knew about Alan's age, it seemed that he would need some time to become accustomed to a youthful-looking man talking about his granddaughter. Of course, Alan's granddaughter was not the "more important news". Alan raised his arm and gestured beside his torso with his palm facing down.
"She was about this tall when I last saw her. She's most likely taller now… around here, let's say."
Alan raised his arm a little further. Rumein was unsure of the reason behind all this talk about height but listened quietly regardless. Alan stared at the King.
"Do you happen to know the princes' height, Your Majesty? How tall they are compared to you?"
Rumein didn't answer. He did not know.
Alan had expected this silence. He looked over at the piles of documents that were stacked on top of the desk.
"I am aware that concern can sometimes act as poison as negligence can act as medicine. However, it is even more true that being busy is not a good enough excuse. You were with the princes yesterday, Your Majesty. How could you not know when you were standing and walking together?"
Rumein's eyes turned cold. He felt as if Alan was intruding on the King's private life.
"It seems that you are overly concerned, Sir Manassil. You have only just met me today. My way of raising my children does not need to align with your standards." He continued without trying to hide his discomfort. "I find it amusing that I must explain this to you, but I do care for the princes."
"Do you believe so?"
Rumein paused and stared at Alan. He knew the value of the man before him, and he did not want to show his anger any further. He wanted to end this pointless conversation quickly.
"Especially for Calian, your student, yes. He is my dearest child. I shall look past your attitude since you are willing to teach him, but—"
"Hah!" scoffed Alan.
It was a sneer that interrupted the King's words. Rage took over the King's face, but Alan wasn't one to care. Alan stared at Rumein without wavering.
"If so, you must stop hearing things from others and take a look yourself."
"Take a look at what?" asked Rumein without hesitation. He had no clue as to what he was supposed to look at.
Alan squinted his eyes. He doesn't know.
"Before calling him dear, I beg of you to look at him. Look at who he is now as opposed to then," growled Alan.
"···."
"If you're only here to sightsee, you will lose him."
"Watch your words, Sir Manassil," snapped Rumein.
Alan walked back towards Rumein and faced him. He recalled Calian's emaciated figure. This time, Alan's voice changed; he was quiet and quick like a gust of wind.
"His skin is tinted blue and his fingernails are turning purple. His lips are dry and he pants with every breath. I noticed that the rim of his pupils was turning black. He closes his eyes and pauses before standing up. He must be feeling dizzy. I could tell that his clothes were tailored in a rush. It must have been made smaller. How long does it take for one to tailor a set of clothes? A month?"
The anger faded from Rumein's face. He couldn't say yes to Alan's question. Instead, he bit his lip in realization of Alan's message.
"Could it be that somebody is trying to—"
"Yes. You caught on right away." Alan cut Rumein off once again. "Then you could have seen it right away as well. Your Majesty… you have experienced it once already, and so have I."
Freya.
Rumein remembered the name once again. It was a name that he had finally managed to store away.
"Even if it weren't for that, you should have been able to tell if he had to resize his clothes in just a month. Even if you didn't know how tall he was, even if you never examined his hands and lips, you should have known that he was rapidly losing weight. The person that he looked for in order to save his own life should not have been a mage that he had never met before. It should have been his own father!"
Rumein bent his back forwards and covered his face with his hands. His fingers trembled. He couldn't have even guessed.
"Poison…"
"If he really is dear to you, Your Majesty, you must now look at him properly."
Alan bent forward and picked up the other half of his cookie. He gazed down at the King as he chewed and swallowed. He could see the King's miserably crumpled face through his fingers.
"If not, you shouldn't make that kind of face."
Alan took a step backwards. As he had to Calian, he wanted to show that he would no longer anger Rumein.
"Please continue to disregard this issue. At this point, it should be better that way. I stepped out of line in the hopes that such a thing wouldn't happen again. Please forgive me."
Alan formally showed his respect with controlled poise and left the study.