Ren held his shallow breath and glared at Giselle. Even as he looked into those quiet eyes, Ren was not fooled.
“You just did something to me, didn’t you? Isn’t that why you called me to the royal castle?”
What had that energy been, digging beneath his skin? Was it Giselle’s ability?
“If you’ve already noticed, then there is nothing more to say.”
Once Ren spoke with certainty, Giselle admitted it cleanly.
“Then let me leave. Verdi is awake now too. That means the matter you asked me for has been resolved.”
Giselle nodded, as though Ren was right.
“Yes. But will you truly be all right leaving without seeing Temar?”
But those words made Ren waver.
“The royal castle is not a place one can come and go from casually. Once you have your answer, come back to me. Then I will gladly let you leave.”
Ren bit his lip. How much longer could he hold out in this body? How much more time would his brother need before he returned? His mind spun busily. Was Giselle able to speak so without hesitation because he already knew what answer Ren would give?
***
“Ren, what are you thinking so hard about?”
Jepeto asked with an anxious face. Ren had been strange lately. He kept staring blankly beyond the terrace for ages. All that lay at the end of his distant gaze were blocked-off mountains, so what was he trying to see?
“Ren. Ren!”
Only after Jepeto finally shook his shoulder did Ren raise his head.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes! Several times. What on earth were you thinking about?”
“No, nothing. I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
Jepeto opened his mouth, then closed it again. He could not bring himself to ask whether Ren was waiting for his brother, who had left for the battlefield.
“You need to eat. That way you can take your medicine.”
Ren nodded. But there was no vitality to be found in his face.
Ren waited for Temar to come.
He felt that if he did not see his face before leaving, he would regret it. He did not want to do something he would regret for the rest of his life out of some worthless pride and his own stubbornness. Ren set aside, in an instant, his resolve to leave when no one was around, and spent his dull days in the royal castle waiting for him.
Most of his time was spent in his room, but Verdi sometimes came to visit, and they walked through the garden together. Even when letters occasionally arrived from Coco and Peruan, Ren did not open them. In his ruined mood, he did not want to do anything. Jepeto worried himself sick, but Veron only told them to leave Ren alone for now, then went off rummaging through the capital’s apothecaries and was rarely at the royal castle.
Even in the middle of a war, the social season would come.
Verdi dragged Ren out, saying he would show him the enormous ballroom where a banquet would soon be held. The marble floor, clean enough to reflect the patterns on their clothing, rang out brightly whenever they moved.
As they were leaving the ballroom, Ren stopped in front of a painting hanging in the corridor, and Verdi spoke.
“The view from the watchtower is magnificent.”
The painting Ren was looking at depicted the scenery seen from the watchtower. Beyond a vast mountain trapped in dark shadow, a faint red glow of dawn was spreading. But for some reason, to Ren’s eyes, it did not look like the sun, but like the light of magic someone had raised.
‘Luman.’
Only then did Ren remember that Luman had come to the watchtower and asked him to look beyond it.
“I want to go to the watchtower.”
“Hm? All of a sudden?”
Verdi was flustered, but said it would not be difficult and took Ren to the watchtower.
It was still the hour when the sun shone. The late sunlight swept across the watchtower. As Ren climbed the watchtower with Verdi, he felt how completely different it was from the last time he had come here. As expected, the stairs Ren had climbed then must have been arranged by Giselle for some reason.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Verdi, who was supporting him so Ren could climb more easily, asked when he noticed Ren staring at him.
“Are you close with Lord Giselle?”
“Hm? Hahaha! Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“I was curious.”
“We’re not exactly in a relationship where I can say we are or aren’t close.”
Verdi rubbed his chin, then bent slightly to meet Ren’s eyes.
“We were once the closest of all, but now... I’m not sure either. This is the first time anyone’s asked me that. What are you curious about, Ren?”
“Nothing.”
Ren held back his words and passed Verdi, climbing the stairs.
The knights who recognized Verdi greeted him. Verdi asked them to bring a chair. He sat Ren down in it as Ren stood on the watchtower, endlessly gazing beyond the broad mountains, then removed his own cloak and draped it over him.
“How long are you planning to keep looking?”
“Until I get sleepy.”
Verdi nodded with a sullen face. He nagged Ren from beside him, but he did not tell him to go inside.
***
After finishing his afternoon meal, Ragniel went out for a walk. A warm breeze gently wrapped around his cheeks. The eyes of those working in the royal palace filled with doubt at his visibly gaunt appearance and thin body. However, the smile on Ragniel’s face was so benevolent and warm that no one realized anything was wrong with him.
Ragniel thought of Giselle, who had come to see him. Had he heard from the maids? Ragniel felt sorrowful over the fact that he could not hide even one secret of his own in this palace. Though he thought it was right to tell Giselle everything, Ragniel still did not want to show his shame. Fortunately, Giselle had said nothing.
“Has there been no contact from Sorse?”
At Ragniel’s murmur, a maid answered that there had not.
They were still searching for the treasure indicated by the prophecy. What on earth was that treasure, said to allow one to become a true king? To protect the kingdom firmly, Ragniel—and the Kingdom of Setoran—needed that treasure.
By now, talented people from every nation must have entered the kingdom, following traces of that prophecy. They had to find the treasure as soon as possible.
“Your Majesty.”
Ragniel, who had stopped walking and stood silently looking at the fountain, raised his head. A servant came running with quick steps and bowed deeply. When Ragniel gestured for him to rise, the servant opened his mouth.
“A message has arrived from Sorse!”
Tension colored the servant’s voice. Ragniel’s pupils widened. Could he truly place hope in the message from Sorse?
Ragniel’s personal attendant received the message and handed it to him.
As Ragniel slowly unfolded the paper, his expression gradually changed from surprise to joy.
On the paper was a brief report stating that they had interpreted the prophecy more specifically, along with the interpreted prophecy itself.
‘The treasure is not an object, but a person. An underage boy.’
And the moment he faced that sentence, a certain boy flashed through Ragniel’s mind.
The boy involved in that incident with the slave caravan and the anti-Hero weapons.
The boy who had dared to grasp Luman’s authority, the Spear of Light, in his place.
“...”
“Your Majesty?”
The servant cautiously called to Ragniel, who had frozen cold.
“Has something gone wrong?”
At the servant’s anxious voice, Ragniel slowly shook his head.
“Rather, I suppose this should be seen as something fortunate. However... can I force one person to sacrifice himself?”
Ragniel’s face sank into darkness. What exactly did it mean to possess the “treasure”? Ragniel no longer wanted to think about it. And yet, reflected in the clean fountain beneath the falling streams of water, Ragniel’s face was smiling.
***
“Ren—!”
Jepeto threw open the door, calling loudly for Ren. Seeing Ren turn back in surprise, Jepeto coughed awkwardly.
“What is it?”
“They say the Heroes are returning today!”
“Really?!”
Ren shot up in surprise. Jepeto hurriedly supported his swaying body and nodded.
“They say they’ll arrive by evening, so you’ll be able to see Lord Temar. So, Ren, please gather a little strength.”
Feeling the thin wrist caught in his hand, Jepeto swallowed a groan. For some reason, Ren’s health seemed to have worsened especially badly.
“Instead of doing this, perhaps you should go to Lady Coco’s mansion...”
“No.”
Ren cut Jepeto off sharply.
‘It probably won’t help much anyway. I don’t want to get disappointed for no reason. And I don’t want to see disappointed faces either.’
Last time, when he had shown his body to the mages, there had been no great result. Back then, he had nodded at Coco’s words that she wanted to try, but now...
It was not that his desire to live had disappeared, but Ren had become calm again.
Perhaps he simply no longer had the strength to keep waiting for Temar, who was always heading somewhere and leaving.
