How to Live as the Enemy Prince

Chapter 1: Prologue

Go onwards, do not falter.

A volley of arrows hails down from the sky again.

I swing my sword to parry them and then lunge forward, running the blade through two enemies and cutting down another.

Do not fall.

Today cannot be the last day of Secretia!

A new enemy rushes forward, brandishing his sword with practised skill.

I block it, and the man asks,

“I remember you. What is your name?”

“I don’t remember.”

I am only a sword that serves King Oros.

The man maneuvers his weapon expertly and shatters my blade.

“That sword...that is Chase’s Auro. I’ve always wished to see it.”

Instead of answering, I swing the hilt at him. He doesn’t bother to avoid it, and instead shoots a spear of ice.

I cannot stop it.

– Puuk!

I can hear the sound of my life thrumming in my ears.

It’s getting difficult to breath.

“I am the army commander of the Caillis Magic Division, Arsen Hertz. I will remember you, Prince Bern of Secretia. You have fought valiantly.”

I lift my eyes to stare into the distance.

Your Majesty...My elder brother...I tried to search for you.

“So now, rest.”

I can see light–

I’m going to die.

***

That was the last memory I had.

I open my eyes to ten years in the past.

I found myself in the body of the third prince Calian of the Kingdom of Kailis, the same one that destroyed my country of Secretia.

Calian.

A weak prince, whose bloodline was the descendant of dragons.

He was a timid boy who had little influence and no ability to protect himself, and so he spent his life in hiding and was assassinated even before he was fifteen.

That was the future ahead of me.

“What are you going to do now?” the image of Calian in the mirror asks.

I answered.

“Naturally.”

I have to live.

Chapter 2: This Life Is Truly A Joke Part 1

The maids’ hands busied themselves as they draw open the heavy curtains, allowing the Ashuri dawn to stream into the bedroom. The prince’s attendant, a young-faced boy, entered the room and stood by the sleeping prince’s bedside.

One must not use their hands to wake up the royal family.

One must not make a loud voice.

So the attendant said cautiously:

“It’s time for you to wake up, Prince.”

The prince was a boy who usually sat up at the sound of the door opening. But the attendant never imagined that it wouldn’t happen today.

‘Did you tire yourself?’

At the thought, the attendant was handed a small bell from the maid who stood behind him. A subtle chime rang out, announcing the early morning.

– Ddalang, Ddalang.

Only then did the boy’s eyes open.

The boy blinked for a moment as he gathered his senses, and he sat up in a whirl. Startled by the sudden movement, the attendant bowed slightly.

“Have you had a good dream, Prince? It is time to rise now.”

He held out the boy’s morning tea. The boy always woke up first to strong scent of the tea before washing his face.

‘Since when do I drink tea?’

The boy–no, Bern–thought, and absentmindedly reached for the cup. He then saw that his hands looked very strange.

The wounds and calloused skin were replaced by pale hands and slender fingers. With a sense of alienation, Bern turned his head and looked his his skinny left arm.

There was not even a blemish on it.

No, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the sight of the left arm.

“My arm was cut off...” Bern muttered, before quickly closing his mouth. He had a voice that was too young to be his own.

“What kind of horrible things did you say? Did you happen to have a bad dream?”

A nightmare.

The fall of Secretia, that was more than a nightmare!

He did not respond to the servant’s words. He would find out why his severed arm was reattached later. What must be confirmed immediately was the life and death of his brother, King Chase.

“Where is my brother?”

At Bern’s urgency, the attendant replied with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Both of them are still in their rooms.”

“...Both?”

This time Bern mirrored the servant’s bewilderment. He had only one brother–Chase.

“I’m sure Prince Randall is already dressed, as well as Prince Franz.”

Randall and Flanz.

Strange but familiar names.

One of them in particular he cursed to the hell.

‘Kailis.’

The King of Kailis, Franz.

Bern’s eyes narrowed at the name of the man not even worth killing.

At Bern’s expression, the servant spoke up again.

“Come, Prince. You must get ready first.”

Thinking that the boy hadn’t properly awoken yet, the attendant called to the maid holding the bucket of water behind him. Bern, watching their actions, murmured in a low voice,

“Yan.”

“Yes, Prince.”

The servant turned his head and answered as his name was called.

A regenerated arm.

And Kailis.

Bern said no more and began to think with his mouth shut.

He had never seen that bell before.

He had never seen that attendant before today either. Yet he knew his name.

Was that it?

No, Bern even knew the name of the maids attending him as well.

Ignorant by Bern’s growing confusion, the attendant poured the water in the basin with a flowing motion.

‘It was a bad dream.’

Bern recalled the attendant’s words and he cupped his hands into the water. The only explanation for the situation so far was that he had no idea that he was dreaming.

Bern bent his face over sparkling silver basin.

No matter how terrible reality was, he would never run away into this wild fantasy. It was not like him.

Upon seeing the reflection in the water, Bern had to stop again.

The red eyes reflected in the water were not his.

“A mirror,” Bern requested in a low voice.

“What do you need a mirror for?”

Bern did not answer.

Yan, who made a mistake of questioning him because of his unusual behavior, quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I’ll fetch it right away.”

Then he turned his hand behind his back and beckoned towards a maid to bring him a mirror.

There was no mirror in the prince’s room.

Because of this, one of the maids standing behind Yan hurried out and brought back a mirror.

Yan accepted it and held it to Bern’s face, and without a word of thanks Bern came to look upon appearance.

“···”

In the mirror was a little boy with black hair.

Peering through a long fringe shone two eyes of ruby light.

Bern raised his head.

There was a phrase inscribed on the edge of the bell. It was definitely Kailis.

It was only after seeing it that that he recalled the attendant called him prince, not emperor. He felt his lips burn.

“Prince Calian.”

Yan watched Bern wordlessly staring at the mirror.

‘No. I’m Prince Bern.’

Bern repeated his name as if to not lose himself. Then, as if to defy him, a memory came into his head like a whisper.

‘No, my name is–’

And a long name that he hadn’t memorized before slipped out of his mouth without even realizing it.

“Calian Rain Kailis.”

Calian, the third prince of Kailis.

That was his name, not Bern.

Bern furrowed his brow and turned back to Yan.

“What did you say my name was?”

Thinking that Bern was in a joking mood, Yan replied with a slight smile.

“You are Prince Calian. And I’m your servant Yan, who is supposed to take the prince to breakfast right now.”

Suddenly, unfamiliar memories burst into Bern’s mind as if it had been waiting for this answer from Yan.

The Kailian royal court, the etiquette, the weather, the schedule, the horseman, the flower garden, the wizard, the queen, the king. And two older brothers.

Yan was right. He couldn’t be late for breakfast.

His memories were clamouring loudly in his head. Get up now. You can’t be late for the other two princes.

Now named Calian, the boy asked quietly.

“What is the day?”

“It’s April 28th. The weather is fair today, Prince.”

After hearing this, Calian looked around and took in his surroundings. They didn’t seemed to be at war with Secretia right now. So Calian asked again,

“What year is it?”

“It’s 522.”

Calian’s eyes trembled.

The Year 522 of the Kailis calendar was year 525 of the Secretia calendar. It wasn’t the day he closed his eyes.

‘It’s ten years ago.’

Ten years ago. And now he was the third prince of Kailis.

Memories of the other two princes came to his mind as if to urge him to get ready and leave.

Chapter 3: This Life Is Truly a Joke Part 2

When the thought-ridden Calian remained still without moving a muscle, attendant Yan could wait no longer and reached for the prince’s arms. He intended to pull the prince’s sleeves and help him up.

Tak!

Calian’s hand reflexively struck Yan’s arm, causing his own thin palm to turn red. The sickly prince’s hand was in pain, since it wasn’t used to such actions.

Tears formed on Yan’s eyes.

“Why did you do that?”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I made a mistake without realizing it.”

The surprised Yan replied quickly without realizing that Calian tone of voice had changed.

“No, Prince. You must get up earlier than him. If you don’t–!”

Without waiting for Yan to finish his sentence, Calian swiftly got up and shook his head.

Due to the persistent memory that cried in his mind, urging that he should arrive no later than those horrible ‘brothers’ of his, Calian decided to get going. It seemed that he needed to think of some sort of job to distract this attendant named Yan.

Calian soon finished washing his face after immersing almost his entire head into the basin of water. He patted both cheeks before saying,

“I’ll be ready.”

‘That voice sounded strange. I didn’t say that.’

As he thought of this, memories flooded into his mind again. After a while, Calian spoke once again,

“No, I’ll be ready. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry once again Your Highness for not following your orders well today...first of all, I will get your clothes ready.”

After Yan spoke, he moved his hands and signaled to the other two maids. Soon, they brought a full set of clothing and dressed the prince. Afterwards, another maid approached and combed his hair.

The prince could see that his black hair covered up his eyes.

Calian normally liked to to tie his long silver hair together, so his current fringe covering his eyes was a bit uncomfortable. He recalled the reason why he didn’t like his hair.

Since brother Franz hates it.

Among his two elder brothers, Prince Franz disliked his red eyes, so Calian used his hair to hide them.

The boy was afraid of his brothers, so he covered up his eyes.

Calian clicked his tongue unconsciously.

‘I’ve heard of enough it, but he really lived like a fool.’

Then unknowingly, he laughed as he thought of that man.

‘Franz hates these eyes.’

The enemy of his enemy. Mad King Franz.

He was the king of Kailis, no– that would be ten years in the future. Right now he was just a prince.

He was the mastermind behind the attack on Secretia.

‘Franz...I hate that fact that you’re alive.’

Calian couldn’t bear to mention that hateful man’s name out of his own mouth.

This place was the royal palace of Kailis. Although it felt as if he was still wandering in his dreams, in reality, he was now the third prince of Kailis–Calian.

Because of this, Calian repeated the same words to himself over and over again:

‘Even if I see him, I can’t kill him now. I must endure.’

It would truly be ridiculous if all of this wasn’t a dream. But if this was reality, it would be a shame if this Calian’s head rolls off when he’s preparing in such a hurry.

The maidservants, who had no clue what Calian was thinking, added the final touches to his clothes and gave the final arrangements. The task was done thoroughly to ensure that the prince’s preparation for breakfast had no flaws.

Calian wondered how much more he had to endure because of his clothes.

Soon, everything was ready.

Calian took a short deep breath at the door and stepped outside. He then went down a strange, central staircase and headed to a dining hall on the far right.

No matter how hard he tried to recall, his memory never revealed how old he was. He wondered if Calian lived until today without even counting his own age. Eventually, he decided to ask Yan about it.

“Yan.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“How old am I?”

It was an abrupt question for Yan. The attendant though that the Prince had been asking him very unusual questions since this morning.

“You’re fourteen years old, still have four months until become an adult.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Somehow, he seems to be quite young.

Calian nodded his head at this thought.

Yan spoke to the young prince with a troubled voice,

“Dear Prince, did you happen to read a novel about the Knight last night?”

It was because the way he spoke was different from usual.

The original Kalian was afraid of riding horses.

Since there is a horse riding lesson tomorrow, the prince may have been anxious about not doing well in class, so was possible that he read a novel about the Knight to quell his anxiety.

Calian answered with a shake of his head.

“No. I don’t care about that story. Not at all.”

After replying, Calian soon entered the dining hall.

The servants were in the room, but there were wasn’t any sign of the other princes. Calian’s eyes bore into Yan for a moment.

‘He kept fussing about leaving quickly.’

He probably lied to him so that he would rush and not be late for breakfast.

There was a massive round table by a large window. The third prince ate here daily at the invitation of King Rumein. It was also the worst place to dine for the previous Calian.

One of the servants in the dining hall pulled out a chair. When Calian realized it was his place, he went and sat down. Then he looked out the window and stared at the unfamiliar landscape.

‘The lands are as vast as the rumors have said.’

The largest of the four continents was Kailis, and its royal palace was also famous for its expansive grounds. It differed from the palace of Secretia, which consisted of some large buildings and two annexes.

The royal family lived in six buildings that were each called ‘Palace.’ There were also other buildings with their own purposes, numerous gardens, as well as man-made lakes within the royal palace.

The Kalian Palace, where prince Calian resided, belonged to a smaller section of the royal palace. Nevertheless, the lake and the garden behind it were still quite large.

The sunshine reflected by the water came shining through the window.

Calian stared at the scene while deep in thought. After waiting for ten minutes, Prince Randal entered the dining hall and about another half hour later, Prince Franz came in as well.

Calian looked at Prince Franz, who sat by the table eyeing him.

‘What on earth–’

What the hell is that?

Calian knitted his brows upon seeing that unimaginable figure.

Chapter 4: This Life Is Truly A Joke Part 3

Franz was poorly dressed. Calian could spy his brother’s bare skin beneath his untied top. A royal family member, whether from here or Secretia, should never be seen like that.

Despite Calian’s surprise at Franz’s rude behavior, he did not make the mistake of putting a knife to his brother’s neck.

He sighed briefly, taking care for it not to show.

Randall frowned at Franz’s appearance, but turned his head away as if he had seen nothing. However, Calian had not missed the scene.

The first prince cannot lay a hand on the second prince.’

It was understandable why.

All three princes were half brothers, and Queen Silica was the mother of the second prince, Franz. No matter if Randall was the heir to the throne, he could not boss around Franz.

‘The power of the Queen’s family is great.’

With that fact, the people in the room could only shut their mouths and keep their thoughts to themselves. Soon a well-made food dishes began to be placed before them one by one.

There was baked bread with a savory and fragrant soup, along with scrambled eggs and sliced ham. There were salads full of fresh vegetables and a variety of fruits. For Calian, who had suffered from war, it was a mouth-watering sight. If he was alone, he would have eaten everything.

But his hands didn’t reach out to grab any of the food.

The first reason was because he worried about Chase, and the second was because his lifelong enemy, Franz, was in front of him. The chilling atmosphere within the dining hall also played a part.

‘The situation here is like treading through thin ice.’

The three princes of the Kailis were obviously brothers, but there was no conversation among them. Though they were half brothers, that alone could not be the reason for this silence.

He knew because Chase and Bern were half brothers, too.

While the chef reheated the food, the two siblings would laugh and converse with each other. Chase had always taken care of him, and his voice seemed to echo in Bern’s mind.

– I can’t believe you’re gonna be a knight. People will depend on you.

– Bern, my brother. Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about anything.

He remembered Chase, the king of Secretia, his brother, the one who wasn’t afraid of sacrificing his own life. However, he could not ask for news of him in this place, and he was gripped by more worry and longing. He had the impulse to run and meet with him.

At those thoughts, his anger against Franz flared up again, so he picked up a glass of water and drained it all at once. There was a voice full of laughter.

“Fool.”

It was Franz’s voice.

No matter what clothes he wore, his countenance was always the same. Franz curled his lip and spoke mockingly.

“You resemble your mother, lacking in dignity.”

It was a sneering jab about Calian’s mother, a commoner. Feeling as if his real mother had been insulted, Calian’s eyes turned sharp.

Franz saw his red eyes burning with hatred through his fringe. Franz glared in return.

Randall was concentrating on the meal without giving them a glance, the perfect bystander.

Calian turned to Randall with the same look in his eyes.

Then, Franz spoke with a threatening voice.

“You dare–”

Calian’s gaze shifted to Franz again. Their eyes locked and neither dared turn away. Only then did Randall open his mouth to speak quietly.

“Stop it.”

Franz kept his gaze fixed on Calian as he spoke.

“I’ve lost my appetite because of those cursed bloody eyes. I’ll be leaving first.”

Franz didn’t bother to ask for Randall’s permission to leave, and he stood up and went outside.

That was rather fortunate. Calian didn’t have the patience to look at his face for a long time.

“You best care of your body. The king’s birthday celebration is just around the corner.”

But with this, Calian lost even more patience when hearing this voice.

Randal had spoken with a dull expression, without even sparing a glance at Calian.

‘It’s me who’s the problem? What about that bastard who just walked out?’

The words full of blame left Calian stunned.

If it had not been for the absurdity of waking up in another body the day he died, he certainly would not have tolerated this.

Randall was completely oblivious of his brother’s murderous intent, and he stood up from his seat and left without paying attention to Calian’s reaction.

“It hasn’t even been a full day yet...”

He could hear Yan talking to himself from behind.

Calian leaned his back on the chair and exhaled to calm his anger. This was a sigh that sounded like the mournful breath of the youngest who received plenty of abuse. Yan stared at the prince with regret in his face.

After a while, Calian rose quietly from his seat. Yan came up to him to pull out his chair and straighten out his disheveled clothes, working meticulously with the details. Calian saw that the other two princes’ attendants were not as attentive to this degree.

There were deep fingernail marks imprinted on Yan’s palm. On the contrary, Yan’s eyes seemed even fiercer than Calians. At the sight, Calian’s boiling anger slowly subsided. He spoke in a low voice.

“Thank you.”

Yan’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Calian. The prince was neither weeping nor making a grim face. Not only that. He even had a small smile. Before Yan could find the words to express his gratitude for the very first time, the prince continued.

“What’s next on the schedule?”

Chapter 5: This Life Is Truly A Joke Part 4

“In an hour, you have a lesson on the war between the gods.”

“Then I want to be alone until then.”

Upon hearing these words, Yan looked back at the prince with worry.

However, the memories of Calian kept him obedient to his duties, and so the present Calian was allowed to leave the building alone and make his way towards the artificial lake.

There was no one else, except Yan following his steps at a far distance.

“Ha.”

Calian stopped by the lake and breathed heavily from his efforts. He saw there was a small statue in the middle of the lake.

It was a black dragon spreading its wings toward the sky, its eyes studded with red jewels.

‘Isn’t that Sispanian?’

The statue was of the dragon Sispanian, who was also the first queen of Kailis.

He remembered a story that said she had black hair like a still night and red eyes that burned with a sacred fire.

Black hair and red eyes. Just like Calian.

‘Cursed bloody eyes.’

Flanz’s voice reemerged in his mind again.

‘Has my mentality become more fragile because my body is younger?’ Calian laughed at himself after having these thoughts.

Bern was a knight and prince who fought and died alone in at the gates of his kingdom. Just yesterday his arm was severed, and countless arrows pierced his body as he wielded his sword.

There was no reason for him to lose his head here.

The priority at the moment wasn’t to kill the hateful Prince Franz. First he had to figure out how he got in this situation.

Calian opened his eyes for a moment and ordered the thoughts in his head, attempting to get a firm grip on the events that happened.

‘...The Axis.’

The Axis of Time.

It had suddenly appeared at the Palace of Secretia one day, shaped like a large hourglass, and it had the power to turn back the clock only once.

That very Axis of Time must have been the cause of this. However, it was also the very cause of the war between Secretia and Kailis.

Before the war began, the Kingdom of Kailis demanded The Axis of Time. Secretia rejected their demands. It was clear to King Chase that it was a dangerous object, and so he stood up staunchly against them. And how did the Mad King Franz respond?

When King Chase expressed his refusal, a large army had fallen upon the city

Franz even skipped the declaration of war, let alone negotiations. He thought himself too great for the concept.

From that war, the kingdom of Secretia was eventually defeated, the consequence was its utter downfall.

‘My brother must have witnessed my death.’

Chase must have seen Bern, the last knight alive, finally die, and so he must have turned back the clock. He didn’t know that this would be the result, but Chase tried to save Bern.

Calian lamented to himself.

“If the the Axis of Time is the cause of this...that means there’s no way back.”

It could only be used once, and if time had already been twisted, there was no way to return to the old days.

What do I do? Calian murmured to himself for a moment.

He should certainly make use of his second life. He couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity that Chase had given him. And so, Calian decided not to go back, but to live. He’ll live first and find another way.

Calian fell back into his thoughts.

* * *

Calian, age fourteen, was to die soon.

He was accused of attempting to poison Queen Silica but failed, and hung himself in fear of punishment.

Of course no one believed that story.

When news of his “suicide” was revealed, all surrounding gossip around his “assassination” had to been heavily censored. It was rumored that whoever killed Calian would of course be a certain powerful figure.

And that person also had a certain connection to Calian’s biological mother, Freya.

The concubine Freya was famous for her beautiful appearance, but her heritage was that of a commoner. She had won the affection of the king and had given birth to Calian, but soon died from the aftereffects of childbirth.

The afteraffects of childbirth being vomiting black blood after drinking the tea sent by the queen.

And so, Calian lost his mother.

It was unimaginable that Calian had some help. It made no sense that the weak prince obtained some rare poisonous herb, and tried to kill the Queen who held even greater power than the King.

Moreover, Calian has been despised by the Queen and Franz since he was born. Under these circumstances, the original Calian would have felt suffocated.

No matter how large a beast is, it will grow weak if it was only fed milk and was trained to lick its master’s feet from birth. And that was why Calian grew up so pathetic, to the point where he couldn’t imagine ever killing someone.

Calian laughed bitterly.

“I’ll just clean up after him since I can’t stand seeing this mess.”

He had heard that his appearance was just like Freya’s, except for the color of his hair.

The Queen hated Calian’s face, as it was a reminder of his mother’s. So she had Calian killed and made up a story, and the King ignored it.

The Queen held all three of the royal guards, except for one knight under the King’s command.

Calian died two or three months before he turned fifteen, and Yan had said that his fifteenth birthday was four months from now.

“I may be killed anytime soon.”

The remaining time for Calian’s supposed suicide by hanging was about one or two months.

His red eyes reflected in the water keenly.

He didn’t have the slightest intention of dying by their hands.

Chapter 6: This Life Is Truly A Joke Part 5

Quite a strange day had passed.

He wondered if he opened his eyes if he might find himself back in Secretia–or perhaps in the afterlife. The unexpected sound of Yan’s bell woke him and shattered his thoughts. Nothing had changed after all.

“Did you have a good dream, Prince?”

Calian sat up and savored the morning tea Yan brought him, then returned the empty cup. After washing his face in the basin, he spoke.

“I’m going to cut my hair.”

Yan’s eyes widened and he blinked in surprise, wondering if he heard wrong. Calian repeated himself again so it was unmistakable.

“My hair. I’ll cut it.”

He motioned with two fingers and pretended to cut his fringe. However, Yan hadn’t misheard Calian. He replied straightaway, wondering what this was about.

“Yes, Prince. I’ll make the preparations right away.”

Before long, the royal hairdresser was brought to Calian’s room. He carefully held his scissors in hand, and also queried Calian again of his decision.

“Are you sure you want to cut it?”

A frown appeared between Calian’s brow.

Like most knights, he didn’t like to repeat himself, and he especially didn’t like that he had to repeat himself three times in a row that he wanted to cut his hair. What the hell where they so hesitant about? Calian pointed at the scissors and spoke.

“Do I have to cut it myself?”

“No, Prince. My apologies.”

Only then did the scissors become busy, and after several careful snips Calian shook off the loose black hair so it no longer covered half his face.

Calian took a good look of himself in the mirror.

‘Hooh.’

Calian’s mouth broadened into a smile.

It was not a lie to say that he resembled his mother Freya, who was said to be the reincarnation of a goddess.

‘Is this face not a fine legacy of Freya?’

Calian nodded with satisfaction, and even Yan looked impressed. However, his voice turned subdued in anxiety.

“You look great, Prince. But if...”

Yan was worried about how Franz would take it, considering how he reacted at yesterday’s breakfast from simple eye contact. Calian, oblivious of what his attendant was worried about, stood up from his seat with a grin.

“One shouldn’t keep looking like a fool.”

Yan looked surprised at the uncharacteristic words and demeanor of his master.

Calian bore a confidence Yan had never seen before, and he was uneasy about this sudden change. Not that this newfound assurance was bad, of course, but he was worried Franz might become even more belligerent.

Calian, sensing Yan’s nervousness all the way to the dining hall, sought to reassure his attendant.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

He went to the dining hall and took his seat, and it wasn’t long before Franz appeared. Franz walked in with his distinctive hazy eyes, and he looked at Randall’s empty chair before turning to Carlisle.

Those thin, light-blue eyes gazed down at Calian’s red ones. Calian did not flee from his sight. He looked straight at Flanz with his face no longer hidden behind his fringe.

Franz let out a laugh then turned away. Yan hurriedly concealed his surprise.

‘Is it over? He laughed and it just ended like that?’

It was indeed incredible, and Franz sat down in his seat without saying a word and no longer paid attention to Calian.

Calian lifted an eyebrow. He had the same thoughts as Yan. For some reason the mad prince was sitting quietly, and he couldn’t fathom his whims.

The quiet tension seemed to stretch out for ages until Randall walked into the room. He sat down as usual and glanced at Calian’s face. The meal was served, and the three focused on their own food.

Yan was relieved that breakfast was going to end without any trouble.

“...Hey.”

However, it was not to be.

There was only one opponent here that Franz would talk so rudely to. And that one opponent acted as if he could not hear anything, and continued to eat with perfect etiquette. Of course, he couldn’t have truly missed Franz’s voice in this quiet hall.

Franz’s lips thinned harshly when Calian refused to look at him, a sign that his temper was about to explode. Yan could feel his heart pounding all the way down at his stomach.

But Calian’s face was completely tranquil. He looked like he couldn’t care less.

“Hey, bloody eyes.”

Franz bad-mouthed him again.

Calian, who was thinking over whether to ignore it once more, finally glanced up at Franz. When Franz was about to say something, the third prince interrupted.

“Calian.”

He spoke quietly, and took a piece of sliced bread with a fork.

“...That’s my name.”

Randall was the first to react to this remark. Both of his hands, which were moving in silence, stopped. Randall raised his head and turned to look at his brother, whose attitude seemed to have changed overnight. But that wasn’t all. Calian was not the type of person who would interrupt someone. Randall soon made his hands busy again and continued his meal.

“Ah.”

Franz’s mouth twisted up. He closed his eyes very slowly and wondered for a moment how he should react to what he had heard. Then he looked at the knife in his right hand and tapped his fingers on the table with his left.

“Alright. I’ll call you by your name.”

“Yes.”

Calian’s answer came straightaway. He took a sip of water.

Tap tap. A little louder, Franz’s fingers tapped threateningly on the table.

The blood drained from Yan’s face.

‘Is this what you meant by ‘doing things on your own way,’ Prince? What exactly are you trying to do on your own?’

Franz laughed once again. A childlike smile spread on his face, making him look more eerie.

In a flash, Franz flung the knife in his right hand toward Yan.

– Sseaeg!

He intended to take his anger out on Calian’s attendant.

In a moment, Yan raised his hands to shield himself but stopped himself from doing so.

He thought if he tried to block it, Franz’s anger would then be directed at Calian. Instead of covering his face, Yan closed his eyes.

At the same time, Calian’s arms moved swiftly.

– Tak!

Faster than a blink, Calian put down the glass in his hand and his hand shot out to catch the knife in midair. Franz’s gaze went the glass of water on the table.

The water remained steady in the glass even though it was quickly put down.

Ttuk, ttuk, ttuk.

Red blood droplets slipped from Calian’s bare palm where it was wrapped around the dull blade of the knife.

Upon seeing the scene, Franz couldn’t help but utter,

“My god.”

Yan’s eyes widened as he took in the details one by one: Calian’s back, Calian’s hand, the knife in his hand, the blood flowing down the knife, and Franz’s shocked expression.

He felt a sensation of bewilderment.

Not because Calian caught the knife, but because he feared the situation would soon spiral out of control.

Calian stood up. He took the blood-stained knife and set it quietly in front of Franz. Then he looked at Franz and smiled face to face.

“It’s okay.”

The meaning of the words were strange.

Don’t worry about my injured hand. It’s okay.

I’ll forgive you for your rudeness.

Or both.

A few drops of spotted Franz’s clothes.

Calian strode out of the dining hall.

Chapter 7: Raven

It was afternoon. Calian felt exhausted after trying to reassure his seventeen-year-old attendant who was worried out of his mind about his injured hand.

He made his way to his horse riding lesson and came across Franz, who was mounted on a steed. There was another horse who looked at Calian with round, gentle eyes.

Calian didn’t say a word. The previous Calian was terrified of the creatures, and when the memory came to mind he pretended to cover his face.

“Is it too dangerous for you to ride, little brother Calian?”

Franz!

Calian looked towards his voice. Franz was looking down at him, sitting atop a silver-white horse that was clearly of good breeding, and Calian wiped his expression.

Franz’s eyes glimpsed the bandages wrapped in Calian’s hand and he laughed again. Calian furrowed his brow, but he turned his eyes away to avoid further falling for his provocation.

Then a horse caught his eye. It was the second horse Franz brought out with him. Calian examined the horse with interest and immediately admired it.

‘That’s a very good horse.’

It was completely black save for its white foreleg, and its mane and tail were well-groomed. Its tightly-knit muscles and sleek body told him that it was a far superior horse than Franz was riding now.

“This horse is stubborn, so I plan to ask my Master to help me tame it.”

Franz was a wild and violent man who had never knew how to ride a horse properly. But Calian could not draw his eyes away from the black horse. After seeing this, Franz addressed him again.

“If you can ride it, I’ll give it to you. If you can’t then apologize to me for what happened at breakfast.”

Yan took a step forward unknowingly, worried that his master would fall of the horse. Franz glared as he caught sight of that annoying attendant again. First the attendant wanted to block the knife throw earlier this morning, and now he wanted to stand in his way again.

He acted like he was Calian’s guardian, instead of his servant.

Calian noticed Franz’s reaction and stepped in front of Yan. He returned Franz’s gaze and answered calmly.

“Alright.”

Calian walked slowly past him towards the horse’s side. The horse had a strong resentment and anger towards people because of Franz’s treatment. The beast showed a firm determination not to give in to the second prince.

Calian smiled deeply when he saw such a creature.

Calian’s soft-eyed look changed in a flash. It was a look of murderous spirit, one that had cut down so many lives so he could survive.

The three-year-old horse, who had grown up in a good environment, could not withstand Calian’s cruel gaze. It was as if the pressure of a thousand glares bore into him instead of a single person’s.

The horse was shaken.

Soon, the horse’s eyes turned as docile as a pony like earlier. Only then did Calian withdraw his pressuring gaze.

In the end, the black horse didn’t refuse Calian’s saddle. Franz was in disbelief, as he thought he knew the horse’s true personality.

Yan, who knew well that Calian had never practiced horse riding, was thrilled.

‘My prince, that story must’ve worked a miracle on you!’

Yan who believed that Calian read the story about the knight, so it was fair to say he didn’t suspect anything.

Calian patted the well-behaved horse in the neck.

“Raven. Your name is Raven.”

Perhaps understanding the meaning of his name, Raven neighed at the words of his new master. Grinning, Calian turned his head and looked at Franz.

“Thank you.”

To some extent he was sincere, as it was a good horse. Calian added in jovially,

“Elder brother Franz.”

It was a very pointed remark. Franz’s face hardened.

Chapter 8: I Haven’t Grown That Much

Hatsua, the founding king of Kailis and one of the Eight Heroes who sealed the Evil One in the Battle of the Gods, wed Sispanian and made her his queen.

Sigmund Khan Sispanian.

They had known each other in the old times. Sispanian was an ancient dragon and another of the Eight Heroes, and she married Hatsua not for the mere “entertainment,” but because it was the true desire of her heart.

In other words, Hatsua did not take Sispanian as a queen for himself–Sispanian chose Hatsua as her dragon companion.

Sispanian hoped that Hatsua and his descendants would be special. Their children bore her blood, which only passed down to their immediate children. They had the power of healing and magical talent, and was known as “Sispanian’s Blessing.”

So the wound on Calian’s palm should have healed already.

His heart should not hurt every time he tried to use mana.

Facing two things that should not be, Calian frowned.

“The wound is still there.”

The wound from Franz’s knife did not start to heal until the evening was over. He initially suspected that Calian’s real father wasn’t King Rumein, but then he recalled that his wounds healed normally in the past.

This meant this was only a recent problem.

But that wasn’t all.

Bern was a knight, and one of only six sword masters in the continent. His old body was made strong from physical activity. Therefore, he wondered if that body could produce such an aura.

So he focused on the mana and realized that there were three mana circles near his heart. At the same time, knowledge of unfamiliar and vast knowledge of magic began to flood his brain.

“My heart hurts when I try to use mana.”

It took him two days to realize that Calian was a mage, but every time he tried to use his mana a pain would sear in his chest. He felt it at the time when he caught Franz’s knife, but not to the same degree. At the time, the original Calian unconsciously tried to use his body and poured strength in his hand to block it. As a result, his hand was injured.

Calian once again tried to use his mana, but to the same result. He grimaced and clutched at his chest.

“If he has three circles at this age, then he had been diligently practicing.”

The frustration was that there was no memory of the painful symptoms before. Perhaps it began when Bern came to this body, or perhaps there was some other cause.

“This is a problem. I can’t use magic at this rate.”

It was difficult. No, was very dangerous.

Realizing that it was not just a trivial matter he could set aside, Calian began to think deeply.

He needed someone to ask about this situation. There wasn’t anyone in the palace who could give Calian advice. He carefully retraced his memory, but he couldn’t think of a solution.

Before long the water had cooled down, and a magical device for temperature control uttered a gurgle. The contraption was the work of mages. Calian’s eyes glistened as he listened to the sound.

“Mage...of course, the mages.”

Calian splashed the bath water with a hand as an idea lit his brain.

“Alan Manassil.”

Alan Manassil. He was one of three seven-circle mages that existed, and was the youngest, the most talented, and the most idolized of all wizards.

By Bern’s time ten years ago, or the current present, Alan visited the city for King Rumein’s birthday festival. He didn’t know the details, but he knew Alan went to the palace dressed in shabby clothes. The guard at the gates prevented him from entering, and so the mage went to the Kingdom of Riverrun. And about ten years later, Alan became the only eight-circle mage on the continent.

His knowledge of mana was unsurpassed, and so Calian was sure the mage could help him with this dilemma.

“It would be best if I could take this opportunity to get him on my side,” Calian murmured to himself.

The support of a powerful wizard was equivalent to the loyalty of a knight. If Alan was on Calian’s side, then all the wizards of Kailis would stand by Calian as well.

“Then I won’t have a silent and useless death.”

No one could touch Franz’s life because of the power of Queen Silica’s knights. And his other brother Randall? His mother Aisha, the former queen of Kailis and who had died of illness, was the first princess of the Holy Kingdom of Tensil. That made Randall part of the Tensil royal family, and his life was not something to be trifled with either.

If Calian had Alan by his side, then he would have that kind of power too.

That wasn’t all. There was one massive change Alan could bring.

Calian’s eyes narrowed.

“My name will be added to the list of candidates for succession to the throne.”

Kailis discriminated against mages harshly, even though it was ruled by the dragon’s descendants. It was Queen Silica’s doing. The mages were practically waiting for someone to overturn the situation.

What if those mages threw their support behind Calian? From now on, it was clear that no matter what family backed Calian, the mages would be a far superior choice.

Of course, as Rumein was only thirty-seven years old, there was no immediacy for him to pronounce an heir just yet. It was still a little longer yet before the battle for the throne would commence, and it would be eight years later when Franz would become king.

Calian once again tried to call upon the mana.

A sharp pain stabbed him in the heart, and he scowled.

“I’m going to have to meet Alan Manassil first.”

Only then would he be able to take the next step.

He needed to see a particular child. If Alan could save Calian, then Calian would save this child next. He would save him and turn him into his weapon.

One month until Rumein’s birthday.

Calian’s scheduled death was around that time.

Events overlapped interestingly.

“I’ll have to hold on and wait.”

Chalbag. Calian splashed the water again.