Chapter 17

That night, unable to sleep, Arkin stepped out into the small garden within the castle.

The mere thought of lying in bed without sleeping grass terrified him, and he wanted to breathe in a little fresh air, if only to clear his mind. Swallowing down his turbulent thoughts, Arkin paced across the frost-covered ground until he abruptly halted upon hearing voices drifting faintly from the shadows of the garden.

“Arkin is going to be a splendid successor. You know that as well, don’t you?”

“Of course I know.”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one unable to find sleep. The hushed conversation exchanged between his father and mother reached him from close by. Arkin set his lantern down and concealed his body within the pitch-black darkness.

“Try offering them some kind of explanation, my love. Tell them it’s an idle rumor, that it isn’t true…”

“How can we offer an explanation first when they haven’t even brought the matter up? It would only look as though our conscience is pricking us.”

His father’s thorn-laced voice cut through the air. His mother fell silent, and Arkin closed his eyes.

“The people of Lakelium have already reached their verdict. They believe we concealed Arkin’s prophecy and hid everything away until now…”

“We need to explain somehow, anyhow… Otherwise, from now on…”

Arkin stood holding his breath in the darkness. The sound of his mother’s labored weeping tore at his heart. He desperately hoped his father would open his mouth. Standing in the cold wind, he waited for him to offer some comforting reassurance, however vague, saying everything would somehow work out.

The King of Solinar remained silent for a very long time before barely managing to spit out a single phrase.

“An explanation? An explanation, you say? Do you even have the right to say that? Who is the one who plotted this whole thing?”

A tremendous shock struck Arkin without a sound. While the blood ran cold and drained from his entire body, the sound of his mother crying drifted past on the wind. So that was why, in the end. Both the reason his father had flown into a fiery rage when he said he would swear an oath at the temple, and the reason his mother had shed tears…

“We are finished now. At the rate things are going, Arkin will have to grovel and beg before Serena during the training tournament.”

An indignant father sprang up from his seat. As his father’s shadow vanished, his mother hurriedly hurried after him in a fluster.

The garden grew as quiet as if nothing had ever happened. Left entirely alone, Arkin’s shadow wavered unsteadily before collapsing limply into the darkness.

Serena and Arkin exchanged a brief glance from a distance.

Arkin was the first to lightly lower his head. It was a conventional greeting. He needed to show the bare minimum of courtesy to someone who had once been his betrothed, and that was all.

Unlike Arkin, who remained largely unconcerned, Serena’s eyes showed noticeable agitation. After hesitating for a long time, Serena finally replied with the shape of her lips, saying, “Hello.”

Arkin’s gaze drifted away almost instantly. It was a matter already concluded, and right now, he had far more important tasks ahead of him. Perhaps he simply didn’t wish to care, as even looking at her made his chest feel suffocated. And above all…

“Arkin, somehow or another, turn that girl’s heart around. Doesn’t her father grant her every single wish without exception? Since Serena likes you, she will surely help…”

No, I handle my own problems.

He could feel Serena’s gaze upon him, but Arkin pretended not to notice. No matter how bleak and hopeless his prospects looked ahead, he had not the slightest intention of clinging to Serena, whom he didn’t even care for. Absolutely not.

An officer draped in a robe appeared from deep within the sanctuary. After casting a once-over across the chaotic courtyard, he pulled out a large horn trumpet and blew it with all his might. The trumpet blast announcing the opening ceremony rang out powerfully.

“All supporting personnel, please move outside the building immediately! We will clear the grounds! The sanctuary doors are closing! Move! Move!”

The officer’s voice carried clearly into the distance.

Arkin directed his gaze down the steps. Thanks to the semicircular structure, the entire panorama of the courtyard came into view at a glance. The attendants lingering on the lower flats rushed toward the exit all at once, driving the congestion to its absolute peak, while people clad in a kaleidoscope of colorful attires moved about in confusion, resembling a giant, rolling wave.

Magnus, having managed to extricate himself from the crush of the crowd, climbed the stone steps while gasping for breath. The attendant, crawling up roughly to the midpoint where Arkin sat, collapsed onto his seat and let out a groan.

“They explicitly said they were limiting the number of supporting staff! Just where on earth did they sell off the regulations? Did they use them as firewood? There are far too many people. I almost got trampled to death.”

“That’s because it concerns the prestige of the royal family.”

“Pft, who gives a damn about some hollow prestige! You need to have practical results like the Prince, sir!”

Raising his voice so that anyone within earshot could hear, a grumbling Magnus handed a small pouch over to Arkin.

“They say all the clothes you’ll use and wear for the next six months are provided right here. Well, so there’s not really much you need to pack…”

“I know, Magnus.”

“Uhm, well, everyone except our Prince is going to have a pretty rough time, though! Princes and princesses here won’t lift a single finger, so I wonder how things will go once all the attendants are gone. It’ll probably be quite a sight, right?”

Flushing his plump cheeks, Magnus beamed a goofy smile. Yet seeing him desperately avoiding the Prince’s eyes suggested it was all a forced smile.

“Magnus, you’ve worked hard.”

“Snoooort…”

He had merely said he worked hard, and Magnus immediately burst into loud tears. Arkin quickly cast his gaze far into the distance, stretching out just an arm to pat Magnus gently on the back.

“Be careful all the way back. Understood?”

“Snooooort…”

Having brought Arkin here, Magnus would board a ship once more to cross the great open ocean over the span of several days back to their home country. Though he would receive special protection, the journey was long and arduous, making worry inevitable.

Sniff. Sniffling back his nose, Magnus drooped his shoulders and muttered weakly.

“Well then, sniff, Prince. Sob, take care… and make sure you wake up well even without me…”

“Magnus, I’m usually the one waking you up more often. What kind of retainer wakes up later than their master…?”

“Even, well, they say the meals are terrible here too, but don’t skip them and chew everything well, please.”

“I eat whatever is given to me. You’re the one who hates mushrooms even though you live in a forest… Forget it. Come here.”

Arkin pulled Magnus into a tight embrace and gave his back a reassuring pat. There was another piece of advice he truly wanted to impart.

“Magnus, when you return to Solinar, please deliver my greetings to Mother first. Tell her I will definitely return with good results, and that she shouldn’t worry about a thing.”

“I shall do so.”

Magnus replied with reddened, downcast eyes.

“…Oh, and Prince, please don’t worry about anything at all. I hope you won’t push yourself too hard. No matter what the Arrowwood elders say, I always believe that Your Highness will become our true king.”

“Right.”

Arkin squeezed Magnus’s shoulders—the same Magnus who was wiping away tears to the very end—before letting him go. He was someone who had spent far too many years by his side to be called a mere attendant. Magnus was his other half, the one who constantly bickered with him yet always stuck close.

Would I really be able to get along well all alone without this fellow? Letting go of his lingering reluctance, Arkin wore a faint smile.

“Now then, return safely with care. Don’t let a single strand of hair be harmed. That is an order.”

“I shall obey.”

Arkin watched the receding head of Magnus for a long time. The back of the attendant making his way through the entourages of other foreign nations soon became buried in the crowd and vanished.

Even after finishing their bittersweet farewell, Arkin gazed out at the sanctuary entrance for a long time. The stairs stretching upward and downward were growing empty, while the bottom was swarming with people. It would take quite a while longer for this many people to clear out through the narrow gates, meaning the opening ceremony or whatever else wouldn’t proceed until they waited a good deal longer.

“It’s a lot more crowded than I thought.”

A sudden voice broke his train of thought. No, it completely shattered Arkin’s composure.

Startled, Arkin turned to his side. Princess Nephitia, who had climbed the stairs up to the vicinity where Arkin was seated, flashed a grin.

“You looked exceptionally close with your attendant, parting must have been quite upsetting.”

Golden eyes, bright as a fiercely burning flame, were staring fixedly at him. True to her title as the Sun Princess, radiant light cascaded down upon her hair and shoulders.

While Arkin debated what to answer, Nephitia climbed the remaining steps as if it were the most natural thing in the world and deliberately sat down right beside him.