Published at 10th of July 2019 09:28:07 AM
Chapter 15.2
Episode 4: Until I Have the Right Hand – Chapter 15 . 2
T/N: this novel will update Mon-Sat
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 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 graddaughter . 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 .
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“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 really 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 clearly 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 .
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“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 really doesn’t know .
“Before calling him dear, I beg of you to actuallylook 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 are 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?”
Anger faded from Rumein’s face . He couldn’t say yes to Alan’s question . Instead, he bit his lip in realisation of Alan’s message .
“Could it be that somebody is trying to—”
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“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 .