Chapter 9

I smiled and waved at the people on the podium.

That was all the prince’s role was, and Calian did not want to do anything more. Soon Lemain gave a long greeting, thanking those who visited. The order of awarding knighthoods to some common soldiers, promoting some noble titles, and granting fiefdoms was carried out.

After the event in the square ended, Kalian waved his hand again and returned to the palace.

Of course, I knew that people were talking and staring at me throughout the event. Since I had set out on this path, I thought it would of course stand out.

– Black hair and red eyes.

However, I had no idea what people who were impressed by Kalian’s perfect appearance would find and say about his appearance.

Kalian returned to the room and ate all of the lunch that Jan had brought. After making a promise to Jan to do so, I have yet to break it once. And changed into new clothes.

Because it was an outfit prepared for tea time, not a banquet, I insisted on a simple design. Instead, based on Merlin’s opinion, I decided to add just one more decorative pin.

‘Instead, take the smallest one.’

With those words, what Calian chose was a pin with three thin chains connecting both collars of the shirt. At the center of the shortest chain was a pendant the size of an index fingernail.

Since other accessories were too flashy by Kalyan’s standards, it was decided to only wear the pin when wearing other robes.

Calian couldn’t have predicted how the aftermath of that shirt pin would spread.

After completing preparations on time, Kalian came out of Chermil Palace again and got into the carriage. Then he spoke with a bleached white face.

“I’m really out of my mind.”

“That’s right. It looks like it’s especially busy this year.”

Yan shook his head with a face half as small as usual.

Yan, too, must have been having a war-like day assisting Calian. It was fortunate that the luncheon was canceled.

The destination we were heading to now was Seneu House, where we had dinner with Viscount Briesen not long ago. I was planning to have tea time with many people there. Of course, Kalian and the princes had the role of saying hello and sitting still, so they didn’t have to doze off.

Calian, who was thinking about the nobles he would soon meet, suddenly asked.

“Jan. You said your family is in Kairisis too, right?”

Most of the nobles of Secretia lived in their own fiefs, but in Kyris, there were quite a few nobles who had fiefdom managers and stayed in the capital Kairisis for most of the year.

The same seemed to be true for Jan’s family.

I once told Calian that my family lived in Kairisis. Jan’s eyes turned round at the sudden mention of family.

“I remember you, Prince. My sister and father are in my hometown, and the rest of my family lives in Kairisis.”

“So, are you coming to the palace today?”

When Kalian asked, who smiled awkwardly because it was something that belonged to the old Calian and he did not remember it directly, Jan smiled awkwardly this time.

“Yes… I will come if I received an invitation.”

It was a vague answer.

It seemed like he was reluctant to talk.

The servant working at Kairis’ royal palace did not reveal his last name. In some cases, nicknames or pseudonyms were used.

When you first enter the palace, the internal affairs officer checks your real name and strictly reviews whether you are a person you can trust, so there are many cases where you do not need to use your real name after that. This is because many of the nobles who worked as servants or maids did not want to mention their origins because they were the bastards or illegitimate daughters of nobles or children of unnamed families.

Calian, who thought that Yan also had similar circumstances, nodded and did not ask any more questions.

Before long, the carriage pulled up in front of Senyu Pavilion.

Calian got out of the carriage, his expression now relaxed as he was with Jan.

I gathered my posture once again and walked to the banquet hall where the nobles would be, nodding once to the knight standing in front of the door.

After showing respect to Calian, the knight opened the door to the banquet hall and said.

“Prince Calian Reyn Kairis is eating!”

There was no need to join the crowd in the square to see the King, so the eyes of those waiting for the 2 o’clock tea time at the Seigne Pavilion were focused on one place.

At the same time, the same thought occurred in everyone’s mind.

‘The rumor was true.’

central nobility.

They were all influential, high-ranking nobles. This means that information can be acquired quickly.

There were two pieces of news they received.

That Plantz came to the event while drunk, and that only a few people saw Plantz like that because everyone was looking at one person like they promised.

– Black hair and red eyes.

– The third prince who resembles a Sispanian.

After the event was over and people said this, the nobles laughed.

It’s just that the hair was cut to reveal the color of the eyes, and it was spread for fun by people who like to make things up based on just the color of the hair and eyes. I couldn’t even imagine that Calian would be completely different.

So, I was shocked as if the sky had turned upside down when I saw Calian walking in with the knight’s shout. Everyone began to look at Calian’s slightest movements with astonished eyes.

Even though he had not yet taken off his boyish form, his handsome face and bright red eyes that made it difficult to look away gave him a strong impression.

He was already smiling with the elegance of royalty. Without realizing it, sincere admiration flowed out of me at the way he carried himself with dignity in every step. They knew best that it doesn’t just happen through practice.

‘When did that happen…’

Calian was completely proving that he was the royal family of Kairis just by showing what he was doing. So it was no wonder that people thought of Cispanians with hair and eyes of the same color.

That wasn’t all.

The clothes Kalian was wearing were also strange.

He wore a tight navy blue jacket that reached below his knees, pants of the same color, and a white shirt. The long jacket had no decorations other than buttons. That’s why the small jewelry tied around the neck of the shirt was very noticeable.

Pendant attached to a shirt pin.

It was a ruby that glowed exactly the same as the eyes that Calian had been covering up until now. It was a color that would never have been chosen if it were the original Kalyan.

‘It seems like he’s saying he won’t hide anymore.’

‘That’s right.’

They didn’t know that Calian was very impressed by Planz’s expression ‘bloody eyes’ and that Calian was completely unaware that his eyes and rubies were the same color.

The nobles, who arbitrarily understood the simple clothes Calian was wearing and the meaning of the ruby, gave a chill down their spines. Then I realized that I hadn’t shown courtesy yet, so I hurried to say hello. It looked quite different from before, when he would just nod his head in moderation.

Whatever the circumstances, Calian appeared in the form of a perfect prince with no flaws, and looked into the eyes of each nobleman who showed respect to him. Then he smiled slightly and returned the favor.

“Nice to meet you.”

Kalian said that and immediately sat down.

It wasn’t some great rhetoric. I felt relaxed in the short words that flowed out in a simple manner.

That one word. This time, those little words caused a problem.

‘Nice to meet you? Isn’t this an expression as if you are seeing it for the first time? ‘What on earth does this mean?’

Soon, the nobles began to try to find out the hidden meaning of Calian’s greeting through silent glances among themselves.

‘Oops.’

Calian secretly blamed himself.

I thought there would be a lot of attention, but the gaze was so burdensome that I forgot that I was in a circle with nobles and greeted them.

‘It’s okay, prince. ‘I’m going to say that because it’s a meaningless greeting!’

From behind, Jan reassured Calian in a low voice.

If either of them had grasped this situation correctly, the ridiculous situation of the price of Kyris’ rubies skyrocketing and the number of people searching for the Sispanian nest that had been empty for 500 years increasing like crazy would not have occurred.

In addition, there was no need for anyone watching Calian to become impatient.

* * *

Siegfried’s Summer Night.

It was a famous piece that was by far the best among the pieces left behind by Olive Wrench, a famous violinist and composer in the Kingdom of Riverne. It was also a song that expressed the feelings that Wrench, who had been invited to the King Kairis Palace, felt upon seeing Siegfried’s coffin.

Siegfried’s Pavilion, known as the most beautiful building in the Kairis Palace, was a huge pumpkin-shaped banquet hall made of platinum-plated columns and crystal walls. Therefore, at night when the magic lanterns were lit, it gave a fantastic feeling as if the entire building had become a brilliant jewel.

Many people shed tears of joy and sadness as they listened to the joy of facing Siegfried’s coffin shining brightly on a summer night and the violin melody that captured the loneliness of the royal palace hidden behind it.

‘If you do music, you must visit the Siegfried Pavilion.’

So much so that this kind of thing went around among musicians.

In fact, the name of Siegfried House comes from the Duke of Siegfried, which is considered one of the two major knightly families of Kairis, along with the Marquis of Briesen. It was the surname of Duke Cytros Horn Siegfried, the first head of this family and one of the eight heroes of the War of the Two Gods.

However, it was later said that because Cythros died on a midsummer night, the Duke of Siegfried’s family considered the song more special than the royal palace of Cairis.

And now.

The famous song was playing in that beautiful Siegfried coffin. The people gathered in the banquet hall quieted their words and began to listen to the music.

“I can’t believe this song was being played at the right time! How could you not love it!”

The man who had just arrived at the entrance to Siegfried’s coffin said with a hearty laugh.

Big voice. Several nobles recognized him and approached him with joy.

“Lord Siegfried, are you coming now?”

The great man, the head of the Siegfried family, the only duke in Kairis, and one of the five sword masters on the continent, hummed a melody and pretended to play the violin. Everyone gathered burst into laughter.

“The way you gesture makes me more curious about your violin.”

“Why don’t you come down and take a rest? I’ll be happy to stop by.”

“I understand. I look forward to seeing your violin skills to the fullest.”

“Of course. There is a saying that there is no Siegfried who cannot use a sword, but there is no Siegfried who cannot play the violin.”

“Is that so? That’s a really interesting story.”

As they talked at the entrance, all the sounds and sights were relayed to Calian, who was heading towards Siegfried’s coffin on Raven’s back.

“He’s a very pleasant person. His name is…”

Calian, who was smiling happily, opened his mouth like this.

Yan, who was looking at the same person with a look of disgust, answered Calian, who was searching through his memories.

“This is Duke Slayman Hon Siegfried, the head of the Siegfried family, prince.”

There was an empty Sispanian nest south of Kairis, and Siegfried’s territory owned a very large area centered on that nest.

Since they were the only dukedom, the Siegfried family would have been interested in the throne, but they spent more than 500 years with the sole intention of protecting the Cispanian territory.

I heard such a story from my friends back in Bern and I don’t know how impressed I was about this honest duke.

“Yes, I did.”

He was truly the type of person Kalyan liked.

Of course, their actions cannot be dismissed as loyalty to the king. But what attracted Calian was his long-held beliefs, not his loyalty.

“I want to hear that violin too.”

Calian looked at the duke with sympathetic eyes.