Also, Basen's death will make my life much more difficult, because then he will not be able to inherit the title of Count."
In order for Cale to continue his peaceful life, Basen needed to survive. Lily was still a little sister, but she was too young. Also, Cale had to leave Western City with the ancient power hidden by the man-eating tree in order to be able to obtain some ancient powers located outside the Haniteuz family lands.
Cale's worldview was shaken.
It seems we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Cale is going to the capital instead of his brother.
He turned his gaze to the deputy butler, Hans, who was going his way. Hans's expression was troubled, but not gloomy. He seemed to be experiencing some bitterness, but his eyes were clear.
- Young master, the request your guest has come with...
- Hans.
Cale interrupted him before Hans could say anything else.
— Bring the guest here.
- Sorry?
Cale wasn't going to elaborate. If he had to leave this place, he had to do it in the most comfortable way possible, and he knew what would be most beneficial.
- Ah, if he doesn't want to come, just tell him something.
Based on Hans's expression, Cale was confident that Choi Han's problem had been properly handled. In the novel, Count Derut had given permission for the villagers to be buried and had taken care of everything, even after Choi Han had beaten his eldest son. That was not going to change under any circumstances.
— Payment.
- Sorry?
- Tell him to come, because there is a way for him to pay me back his debts.
Deputy Butler Hans immediately ordered another servant to call Choi Han.
The wall became a wall again.
The first to speak was the one who had been silent the longest. The God of Death.
- It seems like you need a little time.
Everyone shuddered again, but came to their senses. Almost everyone.
The Crown Prince never moved.
Now all attention was focused on him.
Rosalyn, having weighed the pros and cons, rose from her chair and approached the prince. Carefully standing in front of him and placing her hand on his shoulder, she asked:
- Your Highness, are you alright?
It was a rhetorical question, of course, no one was okay here, but it seemed to help the prince come back to reality.
He perked up, raised his head and, trying to force a smile, said:
- Yes. I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Miss Rosalyn.
Of course, no one believed him. Not even the little dragon, who had just begun to perceive people not only from the point of view of absolute evil.
The red-haired mage nodded and returned to her place.
She, as the still, unfortunately, Crown Princess of the Breck Kingdom, understood how Albert Crossman felt at the moment. Responsibility for his people. For the innocent citizens he had to protect. And hearing that his efforts weren't enough was hard. Cale said that Choi Han had stopped half of the plan. Which meant the other half had happened.
Alberu tried to pull himself together and start thinking rationally. He needed to start thinking about how to prevent this. But he kept getting distracted by the thought that it was his fault.
And he definitely needed something stronger than tea.
He was in charge of organizing this celebration. He was responsible for the guests, the celebration on the square, and most importantly, the security. And yet, something terrible happened, and he missed it. Not only the organization is guilty of the probable tragedy, but he himself.
Side thoughts about strengthening security suddenly became thoughts of primary importance.
Taking a deep breath and deciding something to himself, he finally began to diligently write down everything he heard.
Choi Han, a few chairs away from the prince, was thinking much the same thoughts as the blond. He had sworn revenge. He had promised himself and the graves of his loved ones that he would get the bastards wherever they were. And he would face them soon. And yet, it seemed he had let them go. Whatever had happened in the square was his fault. He had not been strong enough. He had not been able to stop more and people had gotten hurt. He bowed his head and clutched the scabbard in his hands.
Vitira watched both of them and thought intensely about something.
Eruhaben suppressed a heavy sigh. Two youngsters, idiots by his standards, of course, were beating themselves up over something that hadn't even happened yet.
"Aigoo... I'm too old for this shit."
Damn it, it's high time he retired, and here he is trying to put impressionable young people's brains in their place.
And this was probably just the beginning. Where was his life heading? He finally sighed and addressed everyone:
- It hasn't happened yet. And we were invited here to keep it that way. Get your heads out of where you put them.
The black dragon looked at his older comrade with big blue eyes.
"Is this how dragons are supposed to behave?"
He decided that Eruhaben was a great role model. And the only one, for that matter. With these thoughts, he moved from the chair back into Eruhaben's arms, surprising him quite a bit.
After all, the closer you get, the better you can see, right? That's what the little dragon thought.
Everyone was a little taken aback by the blunt comment from a usually very cultured elf. That is, if you ignore the number of times he called Cale Hanitus a bastard. Varying degrees of luck. But otherwise, a very cultured elf.
But he was right, as always. There was no point in them falling into despair when they had the power to change everything.
The prince became more cheerful.
- Eruhaben-nim is right. We need to find out as many details as possible.
Everyone nodded and began to remember.
- This will happen at a celebration in a place with a large crowd of people.
- There's a damn secret organization behind this.
- Which is strange, by the way.
- Why?
Alberu turned to the former butler.
- Before that, they were hiding. As we know, they have existed for a long time, and nothing is known about them. In the village of Harris, they tried to cover their tracks, but attacking the capital is not the same as attacking a village on the edge of the country.
Thinking about it from this point of view, the prince suggested:
— Such large-scale incidents usually lead to destabilization of the situation. People start to worry and fear a repeat. Perhaps this was the plan. We wouldn't know who the culprit was anyway. It's not a problem for them to lie low.
Rosalyn shared the following thought:
- I can help you. I was heading to Huiss anyway. I can hurry.
Alberu was very grateful to her. Although he noted to himself that the capital of Roan, Hewiss, was not quite on the way, if Rosalyn's final destination was the Magic Tower. Quite off the way. But he let it go and nodded gratefully:
- We would be happy to accept your assistance, Miss Rosalyn.
She smiled back. The two heirs understood each other.
- Good! We also need to catch any details about this incident that Cale can think of. Even if he himself does nothing but avoid danger, we will know what exactly he will avoid, and that is also useful information.
Everyone nodded. Next was Choi Han.
- But we have to meet the organization twice more on the way to the capital. And the memory ended at the moment when he seemed to want to entrust me with something. It is logical for him to take me as a bodyguard in such a dangerous place.
It made me think.
The sword master also thought that the situation was strange. He could essentially be used as a human shield, but that was not certain, and on the other hand, his double himself suggested it.
He didn't know how to feel about it, so he pushed the thought aside.
Twisting a strand of hair around her finger with a thoughtful look, Vitira, after a little hesitation, said:
— Up until this point, young master Cale tried not to interfere with the "book's" scenario. On the contrary, he tried to personally make sure that everything was going as it should. So the option that the young master will not interfere with Choi Han-nim, and can even help based on his knowledge, is still viable. And he can also remember the "book" again, and we will learn the details of the journey.
A black robe fluttered in agreement next to her.
They could only hope that this would be the case.
- I suggest we continue watching. We need more information.
Instead of verbal agreement, everyone simply looked at the black fog.
The wall melted again.