Cale started to smile too. Rosalyn was really the one who was on the same wavelength with him.
Each of them, independently of each other, thought that if anyone was on the same wavelength with Cale most of the time, it was Eruhaben, not Rosalyn.
Although there was some common feature in redheads, of course. Incomprehensible for now. And unbearable.
Cale gave all the necessary instructions to the six people sitting in his room before the day even began.
Firstly, the Dragon and the three beastmen had the task of not revealing their identity under any circumstances. No matter what.
This was the most important task.
Secondly, even if Choi Hana and Rosalyn were to find out, they would simply say that it was a pure coincidence that they were here. This was only possible because the crown had no way of knowing about the Magic Bombs hidden in various places in the square, and because there was no way to determine the identities of those who disposed of the bombs that flew into the air.
Thirdly, they will not harm each other.
- It's a very smart strategy: we cover the most vulnerable and play the fool in case we get caught.
"The funniest thing is that it will work," Alberu rolled his eyes again. After all, their actions really couldn't be faulted if they were caught. They came to the party, heard the sound of broken magical devices, and acted according to their duty as good people. Mana Destruction Tool? What Mana Destruction? We don't know anything about it. You can't pester Cale with interrogation either. He only intervened at the end, when he was directly in danger. With his reputation, it was a completely justified reaction. And if the Mana Destruction Tool itself was hidden by a dragon, no one would find it at all.
Cale and Rosalyn knew what they both had to do from the moment their eyes met. That's why Cale stood up and carefully adjusted his clothes.
Then the young man smiled at the man approaching him.
- Young Master Cale, are you alright?
The priest was wheezing as if Amiru and Gilbert had been lassoing him the whole way here. Rosalyn stepped back, and Cale extended his hand to the priest and began to speak.
- It hurts a lot. Please take a look.
"Although, perhaps, they really are on the same wavelength."
Cale then found the Crown Prince heading towards him. The Crown Prince definitely recognized Rosalyn and had probably already seen her dual-layered magic. Naturally, he wondered about the relationship between Cale and Rosalyn.
His Highness Albert Crossman caught the red-haired sorceress's gaze directed at him out of the corner of his eye. He stared back.
And while they were playing staring games, Cale began to cheerfully pull the wool over the eyes of the entire crowd, dreaming of making money from it.
- Yes, yes, yes. I saw your silver shield, Young Master Cale. You did something incredible.
The priest swallowed and grabbed Cale's hand to examine it. The priest's words made the nobles look at him with doubt and curiosity.
Cale Hanityuz, a man who was known as a complete nonentity, suddenly showed such strength. This fact was a very big shock to everyone. Also perplexing was his actions that were done moments ago, when he protected people from the explosion before falling down, spitting out blood. But now, he stood there as if nothing had happened.
"It really does look very strange," Eruhaben rolled his eyes.
"I'm just glad nothing serious happened to him," the Sword Master said, his tone slightly relieved. He was truly glad that everything had worked out. He still hadn't fully believed in Cale's actions. That is, to some extent, of course, he trusted him. Professor Hanityuz had already taught his double and himself a lot. He believed that Cale would really help the "team of protagonists" in any way he could.
But.
He could hear his thoughts. He didn't believe he would intervene personally. Whatever the Death God said about family, it took time. This world was foreign to Cale. He had no reason to intervene so much on behalf of people he barely knew and whose kindness he had mercilessly exploited the day before. So it was a pleasant surprise. The blood had spoiled the impression, of course, but he was fine.
Lock nodded his head next to Choi Han, agreeing with him.
The nobles watched Cale, and since the king was gone, many citizens also looked at the youth. They could not forget about that silver light.
Cale glanced around briefly, studying the faces of the curious nobles. Every time he met one of their eyes, the people showed different reactions. Some continued to stare curiously, others tried to avoid his gaze, and some simply smiled at the young man.
Rosalyn and Albert continued their confrontation of glances. The princess's eyebrow rose higher and higher, while the prince's gaze remained friendly and calm.
Cale looked back at the priest after looking at all the nobles and responded to his statement. Cale's voice was still carefree and calm.
- This is probably the first time you see the Ancient Power.
— Brother.
The priest let out a quiet sigh.
Alberu was no idiot. He knew what the princess was waiting for. She was waiting for a reason. A reason to quickly get rid of the tension that had built up in the room. At his expense. And he knew himself very well. He knew what his double would do now. He would do the same. And the closer his copy got to the main action, the more tense he became. Of course, it was not visible on the outside. But he could only think of one thing. Let something happen and he would not reach Cale.
"Someone shoot me in the knee!"
He was very proud that his smile did not waver.
Ancient Power, a relic of the past that you could only obtain through a chance encounter. Each is said to have unique characteristics and power.
- I see.
A familiar voice rang out as the man placed his hand on Cale's shoulder.
The young man knew exactly that he had come.
- Your Highness.
Rosalyn instantly turned away from the prince next to her and focused on his double. Her gaze was sharp, and a smirk was beginning to form at the corner of her lips. And, horror of horrors, Vitira was looking in the same direction, just as intently.
Cale turned around and met Crown Prince Albert Crossman's gaze. He then realized that this moment was similar to what he had read in the novel.
The hero of the terrorist incident at the square. In order to deal with the citizens' complaints about security issues and the royal family and nobles trying to escape, the Crown Prince turned Choi Han into a beacon of hope. The person who made Choi Han into a hero in the novel was none other than Prince Alberu. And it was this person who stood before Cale now.
Choi Han felt strange. Not that Cale had, per se, kept him from being a hero by keeping him in the shadows. He was just happy that he had been able to help. He didn't care much about public recognition. But that was probably the root of his uneasiness. He knew he had done a good deed. He would have. Things would change dramatically now. But that wasn't the point. He had intervened and helped stop part of what the Hand had planned. And the prince had used that to calm the crowd and cover up the shortcomings of the high-ranking officials. An hour ago, he would have been upset, offended, disappointed. But not now. He had seen the crowd rushing the gates. He had seen the people screaming at the guards to let them out. He had seen the fear and terror in their eyes when the bombs had exploded. And he had seen the emotion, he had felt it himself, when they looked at the shield. It was hope. Was he the same hope for them in the "supposed" future? Did it help calm the frightened people? If so, he didn't mind. For his now nonexistent self, it might have been very nice to have the Crown Prince's support. But for him, it was important that he could help people in more ways than just physical ones. Maybe. And with the Crown Prince, it seemed that he already had a better relationship than he should have. The more he watched him, the more he understood him.
The young man realized that the moment he had been waiting for had arrived right now, as soon as he saw Prince Albert's gaze.
The princesses' grin grew. And Alberu stared at the screen with an almost unblinking gaze.
The ancient dragon, who was watching all this, even felt sorry for the poor guy. He had no luck in life anyway.
Cale had been expecting this to happen since the moment he used the Ancient Power and quickly formed a plan in his head. The young man planned to use this situation to his advantage until the very end.
The Crown Prince also realized that Cale was very similar to him.
— …Master Cale.
Prince Alberu hugged Cale, his face half shocked and half amazed, which was exactly the reaction a prince should have shown.
— AHHHH!
— AHHHH!
A synchronized, completely false, girlish sigh was heard. The Crown Prince closed his eyes. When had they rehearsed this? Both girls sat with absolutely identical expressions on their faces, full of admiration.
He didn't want to hear what they had to say. Where were the archers when they were needed? Okay, organization, they teleported, but shooting the prince shouldn't be a problem. He needed to talk to the palace guards.
He shuddered a little at his own thoughts.
At that moment, Cale heard Prince Alberu whisper in his ear in a voice so quiet that only Cale could hear:
- Mr. Cale, do you and I use the same style?
"Certainly".
Alberu's voice was a little tense as he discovered someone like himself.
- I will make sure that there is nothing annoying, and I will reward you beautifully. What do you think about this?
"In that case..."
Cale raised his hands, smiled and hugged Prince Albert. Then he began to speak:
"Your Highness, this was what any citizen of the kingdom would do.
— KYAYAYAYA!
The sharp scream startled even Bikros. The girls' eyes shone with something incomprehensible. It scared him.
The Black Dragon and the Sword Master looked at the girls in silent shock.
Ron just smiled indulgently. He would have offered His Highness some lemonade to calm his nerves. But it was unlikely to help him now, and there was nowhere to get lemonade here.
"Aigoo...I'm too old for this shit..."
Eruhaben didn't look away from the screen. He still hoped that the girls would soon get tired of it.
Alberu thought that this sound would haunt him to the depths of hell.
The young Dragon's voice echoed Cale's:
- …There's something rather strange here…
The dragon who saw all this was young, but his gaze was extremely sharp.
"No, another "me"! Something strange is happening here!"
- Your Highness! - He had never heard such a vile voice.
Here it is. The moment from which only an archer can save him. And a holy archer of the Church of the Sun God. To be sure. He absolutely did not want to know what would follow his next words. But he had to answer. Unfortunately. Otherwise, it would only get worse.
"Yes, Miss Vitira? Miss Rosaleen?" he asked very reservedly. He did not open his eyes, however.
"Don't you need to rinse off? From all this... stickiness?" the local red-haired bully asked in her most tender voice.
Alberu's eyes opened on their own, and very wide. His eyebrow twitched non-stop. He had expected anything, but not this! This was some new level of irreverence.
Vitira could hardly contain her laughter. Mary froze.
Choi Han and Lock stared at the hugging couple on the screen. It was strange. The prince looked completely clean. If anyone needed a wash, it was Cale. He was covered in dust, and the blood would do well to be washed off.
The black dragon was thinking about the same thing.
Eruhaben raised an eyebrow and looked at the princess with surprise. He hadn't seen such an impudent person for a long time. Although, to tell the truth, he had hardly seen anyone for the last couple of hundred years.
Bikros looked at the princess with narrowed eyes. He was the master of torture here. He was asking with his eyes not to take his job away.
Ron's eyes were shining with delight again. This young miss was a threat.
"...W-What do you mean by that, Miss Rosalyn?" The Crown Prince asked, gathering his eyebrows, jaw, thoughts, and composure in one place. His face had once again returned to the perfect mask of a good prince.
Choi Han, Lock, and the Black Dragon also looked at Rosalyn. They still couldn't find any stains on the clothes of His Highness's double.
- I mean all that sweetness that hovers around you and Young Master Cale. I can practically see drops of honey in the air.
Vitira couldn't stand it and started laughing very loudly, clutching her stomach.
"Yeah. Of course. That's why I believed you."
This time, without betraying his confusion, the prince replied:
"Your Highness the Crown Princess! I cannot express in words how my heart was touched by your concern for my comfort and well-being! From such a lovely creature as you, hearing words of true concern is like balm to the soul," His Highness replied in his favorite manner.
Vitira laughed even louder. Rosalyn looked at the prince with wide eyes, and then she laughed too. The last look she gave him before throwing her head back said clearly: You fought back this time.
Meanwhile, the heroes on the screen had already managed to reach the carriage.
- Mr. Cale, please go first. You have earned this honor today.
The Crown Prince had a smile on his face that was completely different from his cruel face before. The Crown Prince knew that other people were looking at him now, so he had to maintain a certain image and behavior.
- How can I afford this? I can't go ahead of you, Your Highness. You are the star that shines for citizens like me.
— … Man, is your head okay?
The black dragon began to worry that the tame man had been more damaged by the explosion than it appeared.
Cale ignored the Black Dragon's question. The Crown Prince patted Cale on the shoulder and began to speak.
"This is an expression of my respect for you. Please," the Crown Prince patted him on the shoulder quite hard.
- If this is so, then this unworthy citizen will go first.
This whole squabble at the carriage, about who should give up the right to get into the carriage first, opened up new horizons of female hysteria. Vitira tried to say something, pointing her finger at the screen, but she couldn't. She was catastrophically short of breath.
When the princesses finally changed their loud laughter to quiet giggles, on the screen a carriage with two passengers was ready to set off. Anticipating a serious conversation, they tried to give their faces at least some decent expression. It was difficult, but everyone appreciated it.
That was what Cale was thinking as he made his way to the carriage. His smile disappeared as soon as he was inside. Crown Prince Alberu followed him in, then ordered his servant:
- Treat this lady like a VIP guest.
"I am truly grateful to you, Your Highness!" Rosalyn said in a surprisingly serious tone.
Alberu looked into her eyes and, seeing that she was serious, answered her in a similarly serious tone: "You're welcome."
She nodded at this. They understood each other.
Of course, Alberu is talking about Rosalyn.
The carriage door closed and Cale leaned back in his seat.
"The Royal Carriage is really high quality. Where do they get that leather for the seats?"
Cale assessed the comfort of the seat before turning to look at Alberu, who had also gotten rid of his fake smile earlier and now looked just as serious as Cale.
— Do you need any healing?
Choi Han noted that although the prince had taken off his "good prince" mask, the first thing he asked when they were alone was whether Cale needed treatment. In his opinion, this was already indicative.
Cale answered directly:
- My body is healthy, but shouldn't I involve the best doctors and priests? I just want to lie in bed for about three or four days.
- Hah.
The Crown Prince's laughter sounded like a sigh. However, he nodded:
- You are right. It will be good. The noble who saved everyone suffered, and the crown provided him with the best treatment to take proper care of him. Very good.
The Crown Prince did not maintain his mask now that he knew that they were both the same type of people.
Alberu tried to imagine what his double was feeling right now. It was good that he didn't have to pretend. After everything that had happened, he was surprised that he hadn't screwed up anywhere yet. But he was always wary of people like himself. So he should be tense, too. He sighed rather tiredly, closing his eyes. It was always hard for him to relax. And he was at the height of stress right now. He was used to controlling everything around him. And in that world, too much had happened in the last half hour that was beyond his control. And one such factor was sitting right in front of him. He felt a little sorry for himself.
That's why he immediately asked the question that interested him:
- Mr. Cale. Are you connected to them in any way?
By "them," Alberu meant the people who had appeared in the square today. Cale met the Crown Prince's gaze as he thought that the Black Dragon was probably following them in its invisibility state right now.
He remembered the words the Black Dragon had spoken before Cale had entered the crew earlier:
"Why didn't the Crown Prince do anything when other people were dying? He's strong."
The Crown Prince hid his strength. He did nothing, even when one of his servants died and a young knight lost his arms and legs. He simply pretended to be weak and hid.
Alberu tensed and looked around cautiously. It didn't suit him very well. But to his surprise, no one seemed to notice. And Locke (how could he be so good?) even smiled sheepishly at him. And then it dawned on him. They already knew his secret. They understood why he couldn't step forward.
He sighed again in relief. God. This was going to take some getting used to .
"I thought he was a good person, even if he had a tendency to use other people."
But it wasn't like that.
That's why Cale responded calmly, keeping a bright smile on his face:
- Your Highness, why would I do something so annoying?
- Indeed.
The Crown Prince immediately agreed. There was no way that someone who hid behind the mask of insignificance would do such a thing. Besides, Alberu could say with certainty that Cale had only interfered in the events because there was no way to avoid it.
— The Crown may try to start studying you.
- You will protect me, right, Your Highness?
- Why are you asking such an obvious question?
Rosalyn was about to joke about the high level of understanding between them, but she noticed that the prince was really deep in thought about something and changed her mind. She might be a bitch, but she knew her limits. He had also been through a lot lately and had been sitting tense as a string during the incident on the square.
Even though there was only a year difference between them, and each of them, living in the palace, experienced their own difficulties, she understood perfectly well that the pressure on him was much greater than on the beloved princess.
Alberu was going to protect him. The Crown Prince opened the curtains to see the citizens crowding the streets. He smiled again and continued speaking.
- Let's finish our conversation when I visit you later to check on your condition.
The Crown Prince was going to visit the noble during his recovery and wanted to talk. It was very meaningful.
Alberu, who had been listening to everything with his eyes closed for some time, nodded his head automatically. He really wanted to get rid of all thoughts for a while, but unfortunately he couldn't. He automatically assessed his every action.
"It's so exhausting..."
Cale thought about Rosalyn, the Ancient Power, and his reward before he began to speak.
- Your Highness.
— Yes?
- If this is a conversation with the Star of our people, then this citizen is always available for conversation.
Alberu's smile began to fade.
"I don't want my actions to be exaggerated when they are revealed to the public.
- I'll just embellish them a little. I just need people not to complain about the crown.
The Crown Prince continued speaking, casually reciting the next part:
"In any case, thank you. Thanks to your help, the number of casualties was greatly reduced," it sounded a little disingenuous, but it was nevertheless true.
It was hard to imagine the emotions of a person who was responsible for people suffering. No one had spoken out against Albert's strange mood. Most likely, he thought that if he had worked better, there shouldn't have been any victims at all. If they had even a little time to get to know the prince, then that's what was going through the blond's head.
It was hard to tell whether Crown Prince Alberu was a good person or a bad person. No, Cale didn't even know if he was human.
The little black dragon decided that the prince could use another session of great and powerful dragon therapy. Then he slid off the shoulders of his older relative and jumped into the prince's arms. Remarkably, he caught him as he flew up, without opening his eyes. Having brought the dragon closer to himself and seated him more comfortably, he finally opened his eyes and looked at the child with a light, slightly sad smile.
However, the young man did not care at all about such questions and simply said what he had to say:
- I'm looking forward to my reward.
— Yes.
The Crown Prince shook his head, but did not say anything like, "Don't expect a reward." This meant that he would make sure that Cale was rewarded for his efforts.