Chapter 78
* * *
Calix, contrary to someone who had shown signs of an impending rampage, quickly regained his original condition. In fact, it felt as though his abilities had become more refined and powerful than before, though it was hard to be certain.
While practicing swordsmanship in the training grounds, he suddenly had a question and asked Ilion, who was sparring with him.
“Do you know exactly what the lifespan of a fox is?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m feeling uneasy. I wonder if Luna had actually been in a critical state and barely made it through.”
“If that’s the case, isn’t it a relief?”
“Yes, maybe this time it was just barely averted. That’s why I think it’d be good to prepare in advance. I’ve been too negligent.”
“I don’t know how Your Highness plans to prepare, but compared to a human lifespan, it will certainly be much shorter. It would be better to brace yourself mentally…”
Before Ilion could finish speaking, he was sucked up by a small whirlwind and lifted into the air.
“Urgh!”
It happened so often that he quickly regained his balance and landed safely on the ground, but with his lips protruding in a sulky pout, Ilion grumbled.
“It’s not like I said anything wrong— Agh!”
Swept up once again by the whirlwind, Ilion barely landed before a sharp sword narrowly grazed his side.
But for Ilion, dodging physical attacks was easier than sipping lukewarm soup. He bent his waist smoothly to avoid the strike, then immediately extended his sword.
Whoosh— An ominous sound echoed as the sword sliced through the air. Calix, too, without using any powers, dodged Ilion’s sword with only physical strength and countered.
The two of them concentrated solely on the sparring match for a while without speaking a word. Then, Daisy, who had just returned from the department in charge of managing food supplies, rushed into the training ground in a fluster.
“Your Highness!”
“…Didn’t I tell you not to come to the training grounds so recklessly?”
“She’s right, Daisy. What if you get hit by a stray blade?”
At Ilion’s remark, Daisy turned pale, but then quickly remembered why she had come and hurriedly relayed the news.
“Sir Zion has resigned from his position as Commander of the Second Order of Knights!”
“What?”
More shocked than Calix was Ilion. Knowing how his older brother had managed to hold that position until now, he was utterly dumbfounded.
But Calix was just as surprised. Why would someone who had long been a close aide to the Empress suddenly step down?
“This is great news, Your Highness! Now even Lord Ilion can live at ease!”
At Daisy’s words, both Ilion and Calix sensed what kind of ripple effect Zion’s resignation might bring.
No matter how much Bianca was the only Guide in the Empire and the Empress, she wouldn’t be able to forcibly take the Espers loyal to House Grayson.
Ilion unknowingly smiled. The long-distant relationship between the brothers might improve. Such a hope rose within him.
Among the three, the only one who did not smile was Calix. He never saw Zion as someone to be taken lightly.
Unlike Ilion, who was easily swayed by emotions, Zion made decisions based solely on logic. For him to have parted ways with Bianca, there had to be another reason.
Strangely, Calix felt his mouth dry up. He recalled the euphoric dream he still couldn’t erase from his mind.
A strange sense of foreboding, whose source he couldn’t identify, seemed to whisper that it was related to that dream.
* * *
Leaving the training grounds, Calix and Ilion conversed over tea in the drawing room.
“I haven’t asked until now, but there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Yes, please ask.”
“If those were signs of a rampage, the palace medical team wouldn’t have been able to treat it. By any chance… did the Empress visit you?”
Knowing the answer, Calix still asked to confirm. Ilion grimaced and replied roughly.
“I still don’t understand why I should have to call that woman the Empress.”
It wasn’t the answer Calix had asked for, but he understood well enough. He hadn’t really expected a confirmation anyway. If so, then who had guided him?
It was too perfect a recovery to dismiss as a dream. If he had experienced a rampage precursor and still returned to normal, it meant someone had secretly guided him.
“But… are you okay without receiving guiding? I thought it had been a long time since your last one.”
“I’m no different from Your Highness… and as you know, the sacred water from the temple helps to some extent.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“I’d rather die than receive guiding from that woman.”
Despite Ilion’s blunt statement, Calix didn’t bother to correct him as he usually would. He agreed entirely.
“Then why are you suddenly asking about guiding? Don’t tell me… You don’t suspect I used my brother to sneak in a guiding session behind your back, do you?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He wondered whether to talk about the dream he’d had that day. There was nothing to hide from Ilion, yet oddly, he didn’t want to talk about the woman in his dream.
It felt too much like exposing a private part of himself.
“That day, Daisy went to the Empress’s palace, but was turned away. I also tried to meet His Majesty, but couldn’t.”
Ilion’s voice was filled with gloom, and Calix tried to console him in a casual tone.
“That’s nothing new.”
But even as he said that, it stung inside. What exactly did his father want?
Though he’d been disappointed countless times, Calix had never been able to fully let go of his father. Without a mother, his father was his only blood relative.
He could understand that, as an Esper, his father was vulnerable to a Guide. But this time, he just couldn’t forgive him.
If not for the woman in that dream, he would have died already.
“…I should go see Father soon.”
Calix felt it was finally time to have the long-delayed, serious conversation with his father.
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