Chapter 249

That day, the wind in the imperial palace was particularly chilly. Though flowers were blooming on the trees and the wind scattering the clouds was warm, it felt cold.

So, no one found it strange that Jin had pulled a thick blanket over his head.

“Lady Dilaina has passed away?”

“Yes, in the middle of the night.”

“Tsk tsk. Our poor Prince Jin.”

“With His Majesty showing no signs of improvement, the young one will have a hard time. Instructions have been given to be especially careful, so refrain from careless words.”

“What about the funeral?”

“It seems it will be kept simple. The cause of death can’t be revealed, after all.”

Death due to exposure to the poison of the demon Arsen.

This was Dilaina’s direct cause of death, but everyone in the palace was working together to erase the events of that day. Her death would likely be recorded as due to illness or worsening of injuries sustained during the rebellion.

The mage scratched his forehead with a file of documents and sighed.

“By the way, how many are left waiting for the sealing magic?”

“Only fifteen have gone out so far. Without Lord Ian’s help, the progress is slow. We’re already short-handed, and now some are being dragged to the interrogation room. Have you seen Patrick?”

“That madman. Who told him to have such foolish thoughts?”

“This is the first time it’s been so chaotic since entering the palace.”

While the loss of manpower due to Arsen was one thing, weeding out the traitors took two or three more rounds of effort. Those being investigated were mages, and those doing the investigating were also mages.

As they passed through the corridor expressing their fatigue, there was someone eavesdropping secretly from a corner.

“Huh? Prince Jin’s mother?”

It was Beric. Not only were his cheeks full, but both hands were also clutching meat. For recovery, chewy, tender meat was absolutely essential, but these ignorant palace quacks only gave him thin porridge.

He had no choice but to roam around the kitchen area from time to time, evading the servants’ surveillance in search of meat. It was still vivid in his memory how he had carried the unconscious woman on his back and ran when the rebellion was in full swing!

Oh my, Beric pressed himself flat against the corridor wall, constantly chewing on meat.

‘…His mother died.’

Beric was about to return to his room but changed direction. It was closer to rolling unsteadily than walking, but he didn’t feel too uncomfortable. Every time the meat juice slid down his throat, he felt like his blood was circulating.

“Lord Beric?”

“Ack!”

But he didn’t know. It wasn’t that he was moving secretly without the mages knowing, but that the mages were gritting their teeth and pretending not to notice.

This time, as if a report had come in that he was rolling around the corridors with his hands full of meat, Vivianna and Romandro personally showed up.

“Tsk tsk. Is that, is that a person or what?”

“Sir Romandro’s face isn’t much better.”

“I just woke up from sleep!”

Romandro, who had just barely woken up after falling asleep as if fainting. His face was so swollen that half of his features had disappeared. Beric staggered and leaned against the wall to stand.

“Then why not just keep sleeping, why did you come out?”

“I heard Lady Dilaina passed away. I was worried about Prince Jin, and thinking about Ian handling work alone made me feel uneasy. I thought I’d at least show my face.”

Though he was recovering on his own without the help of mages, it seemed like exchanging a few words and returning would be his limit. Romandro gestured for Beric to follow, yawning widely.

“Prince Jin must be very heartbroken. Be careful with your behavior. At such a young age, he’s all alone now. Oh my.”

“What do you mean alone when he has three siblings?”

When Beric asked, scratching his nose, Romandro and Vivianna exchanged glances. Come to think of it, hadn’t Beric been bedridden since the end of the rebellion? He was on the brink of death when Arsen used magic in Prince Gale’s quarters. It was natural that he knew nothing.

Romandro cleared his throat and carefully informed him.

“Mariv, that is, the First Prince, has been stripped of his title and even his execution is over.”

“…What did you say?”

“Prince Gale has also passed away.”

“Huh?!”

“As for Arsen, well…”

Romandro glanced around briefly before whispering in Beric’s ear. Arsen’s true identity and the consequences of it. And how the aftermath was being handled, and that he shouldn’t speak carelessly about it, and so on.

Beric was so shocked that his jaw dropped. The meat he was chewing was clearly visible. Vivianna carefully closed it for him.

“Huuuuh?!”

“Be quiet, you fool.”

“Crazy, what happened while I was gone? Why am I the only one left out?”

“What do you mean only you? That’s nonsense.”

“Oh, if only I had been there!”

“If you had been there?”

Beric couldn’t hide his excitement, grinding his teeth roughly. Muttering that he really wasn’t human, Romandro pulled on Vivianna’s arm. She smiled gently and supported Beric.

“That’s nothing! Huh? Like this and that, just, chomp! I would have bitten and bam! Cleanly! Somehow I felt that guy was really unlucky. He looked exactly like Prince Jin, but something was off. Hmm. As expected, my intuition is different. Wow. This is crazy.”

You’re playing around. Romandro thought it was fortunate that Beric had been lying down while the commotion was happening. It was already chaotic and busy enough, and if this guy had caused trouble, it would have truly been a headache.

They arrived near Jin’s quarters, exchanging eye greetings with passing mages. As they turned the corner, familiar figures came into view.

“Oh my. My lady.”

“Hello, Sir Romandro. You’re up. Are you able to move around? Are you alright?”

It was Philea and Nersarn. They had entered the Ministry of Magic after receiving Ian’s summons and had just met at the entrance. She and Nersarn approached closer upon seeing Beric.

“Lord Beric. I heard you were rolling around.”

“You seem better than I thought.”

“Why would I be rolling around?”

“Is that so? Then that’s good.”

Beric made a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t understand. Though his gait was a bit strange, he was walking well on two feet, so he couldn’t understand why they were saying such things.

In the meantime, Romandro gestured to a servant to announce their arrival, and soon the door opened from inside.

Creak.

“Lord Ian?”

“Your Highness, we’ve heard.”

As the two couples carefully entered, Ian, sitting at the bedside, greeted them with his hand to his mouth. Quietly, asking them to lower their voices.

Something shapeless rolled up in a thick blanket. It was Jin. The child had covered himself with the blanket and was holding Ian’s left hand with just one hand sticking out.

“You’ve come.”

“Is Prince Jin sleeping?”

Ian shrugged as if he wasn’t sure. Though his breathing was steady, the grip on his hand hadn’t loosened. He had read twice, but Jin remained unmoved.

Ian placed documents on his knee and turned the pages with his right hand alone.

“Sir Romandro, how are you feeling?”

“No problem. Though I feel like I could fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Ian, how are you? I’m sorry. I couldn’t get up easily.”

“It’s fine. Captain Hale tried his best in his own way. Though I don’t think he’s cut out for office work at all.”

As Ian smiled faintly, Romandro also breathed a sigh of relief. Beric poked his head in during that moment. Ian asked in surprise.

“Beric. I heard you were rolling around?”

“Damn it. What’s this all about?”

“Never mind. Looking at you, there’s no need to worry.”

“Master. Can I order that meat I couldn’t eat last time again? I can eat meat now. Really! Look at this?”

Chomp chomp, Beric devoured the meat ravenously as if to show he was healthy. Ian watched this curiously. He let out a short exclamation of “Oh,” but that was all. He focused on the documents and scribbled with his pen.

“Lord Nersarn.”

“Yes, Lord Ian.”

Nersarn’s tanned shoulders flinched. Ah. How to handle this awkward atmosphere between the new stepfather and son? Even the honorifics were ambiguous. Romandro rolled his eyes slightly, while Vivianna and Philea needlessly soothed Beric, who was putting on a meat show.

“I’ve found a clue about Silasque.”

“Is that true?”

“The merchant group that gave me the flowerpot I had is Rutherford. They’re also the source of the amber raw stone ‘Idgal’ that Mariv used in the rebellion.”

Rutherford. Nersarn shook his head as if he had never heard of it. Weren’t they a minority group that only traded with Bratz in the Great Desert? He didn’t have any particular information to share with Ian.

“How is Chief Winchen’s condition?”

“Though I can’t say he’s recovered as before, he’s enduring well.”

The gypsy’s chronic illness symptoms were like that, but at the time, it must have been even more critical due to the betrayal of Bumart, the traitor of Cheonrye who had colluded with Count Dergha. He was the chief food manager and had worsened Winchen’s health to take over the tribe.

“We expect Rutherford to enter Bariel around autumn. However, I’m not sure if it will be through the Hawan Kingdom or another route.”

“Autumn…”

“Once they enter Bariel, we’ll surely be able to make contact, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

Will it be alright? Can Winchen, who has withered like a bare branch, hold out until then? Worry suddenly took precedence, but there was no way around it. Nersarn nodded.

“You use carrier pigeons for Kakan, don’t you? Since he’s traveling slowly, combining it with a journey, won’t it take a long time?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

Philea, who had been watching Beric eat meat while clapping lightly, turned her head quickly at Ian’s call.

“Do you remember in detail about when you said I was praised by the merchant group?”

“In detail?”

“Or if I seemed strange after that day, or different from usual, anything like that. Even if it’s trivial, please tell me whatever comes to mind.”

“Well…”

Philea tried hard to recall the faint memory. But no matter how much she thought about it, what was strange wasn’t Ian from that day, but Ian now.

How could he become so mature and clever after experiencing a few near-death crises? Philea awkwardly smiled and smoothed her hair.

“I don’t think this is very helpful.”

“It’s alright.”

“You had a fever flower for a few days.”

“A fever flower? Why?”

When Ian asked about the cause, Philea became flustered. He was a child from the slums. How often would they know the reason for getting a fever flower? The environment was harsh, and there were no doctors to look after them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really know about that.”

“Ian. Well, you know, when foreign merchant groups come and go, unknown illnesses often spread. Things like fever flowers are common in childhood. Yeah.”

“That’s right. Usually, they bloom and wither quickly.”

As Romandro chimed in, checking Philea’s expression, Vivianna also added her words.

Wondering if she might misunderstand and resent him? Ian gave a faint smile to his mother looking at him. Immediately, Philea’s face brightened.

“…Lord Ian.”

At that moment, Jin slightly lifted the blanket and revealed his eyes. His pale, delicate eye area was swollen. Ian gently asked, shielding the lamp light with his hand.

“Your Highness. Are you awake? Should I tell Beric to leave?”

“No, what? I didn’t say a word and just ate meat! Prince Jin. All the noise until now was Ian! I am innocent!”

“Oh, you fool. You’re being noisy. Your manner of speech is strange too.”

“What? Sir Romandro is even noisier.”

Romandro and Beric, who were bickering loudly. They forcibly regained peace under Vivianna’s smile as she rolled up her sleeves. Jin looked around at the gathered people and asked.

“If you’re busy with work, you can go.”

“It was noisy, wasn’t it?”

“That’s absolutely not the case.”

“If you say so, I’m fine. And everyone is here partly because of work, but also because they were worried about you, Your Highness. Right, Beric?”

“Huh? Me? Yeah yeah! That’s right! Here’s some meat!”

At Ian’s call, Beric raised his hand high. Ah. There’s no meat left. He had brought some to share with Jin, but he had eaten it all in the meantime.

Jin inadvertently smiled slightly.

“Beric. I’m glad you’re up. That meat you couldn’t eat then, let’s eat it together later. It was very delicious beef.”

“Oh. When? I’m the type to set meal appointments firmly. Do you want to have breakfast together?”

“How dare this guy share a table with His Highness!”

“Ack! Xiao ate with Prince Jin too!”

Smack!

As Romandro and Beric started bickering again, even Vivianna raised her voice, and Philea tried to mediate between them, unable to do either.

“Is it noisy?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“No. It’s good.”

Jin muttered in response to Ian’s question. Rather than hearing the sound of sobbing alone, this was better. Jin stared blankly at them from under the blanket, then suddenly asked.

“By the way, Lord Ian.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you perhaps have a younger sibling?”

“Pardon?”

A younger sibling? Him?

As Ian raised his eyebrows, Jin also made a puzzled expression.

“Lord Roberside told me. That your younger sister is very pretty.”