"This..."
A red piece was seen sticking out from under a stack of papers piled on one side of the desk.
A round, flat, dark red object the size of a gold coin had grooves cut with a carving knife along its circumference, and only half of it was sticking out from under a pile of papers.
I felt it was a familiar object as soon as I saw it. I stretched out my hand and pulled it out from where it had been placed.
"...It's a nameplate."
The village of Plogne lay across the land of the Kingdom of Oberon, but its people didn't belong to the kingdom. When I was born and raised in that village and spent my childhood there, I didn't exactly understand what it meant.
In order to come to Valmonde Castle and stay with me, Hannah had given me to her vassal's family as an adoptive daughter to obtain status for me. Even after going through such a complicated process, it took several years before I properly understood Oberon's kingdom's status system.
The village of Plogne didn't exist on the map. We were the sons and daughters of the tree who'd tended the sacred tree Arbor, so it was so wrapped up in mystery that even the fact that people had perished with it as it burned down felt tragic but natural.
From a young age, I was taught not to tell anyone that the giant tree existed.
*Keep secrets to yourself. It's no secret if two people know.*
However, even in a hidden village far from the world, they couldn't do everything on their own, so they'd continued passive commercial activities in the village at the bottom of the mountain.
Medicine, cloth, or tools that needed to be worked by a blacksmith to become usable—there were many things that would be of comfort to many people if they acquired them, so they sold herbs and pigments that could be obtained through labor in the mountains.
Since the people of Plogne weren't citizens of the kingdom, they didn't have identification cards, and this nameplate was what they used instead at the village market, which had only known about the existence of "mountain residents" for a very long time.
After trimming the red-colored sandstone into a round shape, people carved their own. There couldn't be any two shapes that were the same.
When doing important work or making only a down payment and paying a large sum later, the kingdom temporarily required proof of identity. Since the people of Plogne didn't have one, they made a nameplate and used it, but only the nearest village at the foot of the mountain would accept it.
But that wasn't the problem. My hand trembled as I picked up the piece of red stone.
"This is my father's."
He'd lived at the edge of Valmonde's estate, abandoning his Vermont identity. So even though he'd had identification, the only thing he'd used to make money in the market was Plogne's nameplate.
The clear, crudely engraved letters indicated my father's name: "Evan."
There couldn't be two identical items—it was the nameplate of my father, who'd died ten years ago. On the day my father was engraving this, I'd come forward and begged him to let me try, and the carving knife had slipped, and even the mistake-like trace left behind was intact.
"Why does Kaian have this?"
My normal flow of thoughts was suddenly interrupted. In the middle of the mound where my mother had lost her life, at the bottom of the far cliff of the ice valley where my father had given up on life, my consciousness was scalded, frozen, and thawed as if my body had been ripped out and thrown away, and my hardened mind was spinning in confusion.
---
Sunlight streamed down through the small window in the stable, drawing lines along the bars. Walking with the stable keeper, Valquiterre looked at the horses closely.
"There's no one running wild. They're such calm creatures."
Kaian and Valquiterre were looking around the stables.
"These guys are so spoiled. Isn't this the time for horses to rest?"
Although Rowan was warm all year round, this was relatively the off-season. No matter how much food was available all year round, other estates could harvest and sell it, but if they gathered for winter and stored as much food as needed, they could eat and live through the winter.
Grain trade stopped in winter, and only fruits, vegetables, and flowers along the Shen River were sent to the capital. Since Rowan's abundance was automatically adjusted to just what was needed, there was no rush to manage the territory.
On the other hand, the beginning of spring determined the year's farming, so the busy days would begin in Rowan to the point where it was said there'd be no time for children. It wouldn't be long before the horses' comfortable life—carrying their owner around the estate—would come to an end.
"So when do you plan to go back?"
No matter how much he asked, Kaian was frustrated because Valquiterre kept deflecting or didn't answer properly.
"Well."
"Speak properly."
"Kaian, if you're like this, where am I supposed to rest?"
The blue eyes, shaded by light golden blond hair, sometimes looked inorganic, like gems pulled from nature, if you erased any emotion.
"Are you bothered by me staying here?"
However, Valquiterre, who spoke informally and looked like this, was trying to gauge the extent of Kaian's feelings as a subject toward his King.
"That can't be."
"Then why are you asking me that? The thing you've said the most since I came to Rowan was asking when I was going to return."
"You speak in such twisted words. I'm saying this because I'm worried that the kingdom has finally stabilized, but you came down so unexpectedly without even notifying us in advance."
"Aha, were you worried?"
A smile returned to the face of the young man whose eyes had narrowed as if questioning whether Kaian liked his answer.
"Of course. It's been so long since the capital's nobles kept quiet and behaved."
"I left the court chamberlain on purpose, but I didn't expect you to nag me so loudly."
"Why didn't Court Chamberlain Makie come?"
But Valquiterre stopped his steps as if he hadn't heard what Kaian said.
"This one—is this the new stallion brought in?"
"How did you know?"
How could he know that a stallion with shiny black fur all over his body and a white cross-shaped star on his forehead was new?
As Kaian asked half out of curiosity, Valquiterre raised the corners of his mouth sheepishly.
"The Count of Montagne said he couldn't send me a stallion because he couldn't find a great horse. And here it is."
Kaian's forehead felt tight.
*Is that what this is?*
The Count of Montagne, who'd borrowed a large sum of money from the previous Duke of Temnes and had secured a quarter of his land as collateral, had sent word to him and begged him to keep this fact a secret from His Majesty the King.
"You're so fortunate."
It was difficult to read any emotions in the blue eyes he encountered.
"No matter how hard you try, the best things always end up being yours."
If Valquiterre became aware of this fact, it would be difficult for both the Count and him to feel comfortable.
*What should I say?*
How could he redirect Valquiterre's words without getting on his nerves? It was time for Kaian to think hard and come up with a difficult solution.
"It won't be long."
Valquiterre belatedly answered Kaian's question.
"Once Makie brings the boat, I'll finish the water banquet and then ride it back to the royal castle."
"Is that why the chamberlain didn't come with you?"
The "Water Banquet" was a tradition of the Rowan estate. The event held every year in mid-February was a declaration of the farming season's end and the start of the new year.
If the Lord gave a generous gift, they'd eat and drink meat abundantly and promise to work hard. At night, they went out on boats on rivers and lakes, lit small candles in boats made of paper, and sent them away. It was an event filled with superstitions, such as saying that if you wrote down your wish, it would come true, or that if the paper boat completely caught fire and burned, a letter would be delivered to the dead.
"But there's still a week left. Wouldn't it be boring?"
When he'd come to Rowan when young, only Queen Silvia had returned to the castle first, and Valquiterre had stayed in Rowan for a long time.
The area around the capital where the royal castle was located was a plain, so there was no cover. It wasn't appropriate for a royal child to learn anything like hunting there, so he'd been left with his uncle, the previous Duke of Temnes, to learn how to ride horses and hunt, which was considered desirable.
But now, unlike then, Valquiterre was just "resting" and had nothing to do, so Kaian—who couldn't just entertain him—was also concerned about the King's rest schedule. This week was too long to just eat, sleep, and play without much happening.
"This is my first time taking a break since ascending to the throne. Don't be too demanding."
Looking at Valquiterre, who calmly dismissed what he said as if he were nagging, Kaian eventually nodded his head.
"I'm just worried about you."
"Thank you. The nagging from my father is enough."
"What nagging? It's natural for the Grand Duke to be worried about you. But what did he say?"
"What else? He's just asking me to find a good Queen."
As Valquiterre turned his eyes away from the horse and headed out of the stables, Kaian sighed involuntarily.
*Ha, really.*
Every time this happened, Kaian felt extremely tired. He truly didn't want to live with Valquiterre like this.
He wondered to what extent what the other person was saying was sincere, whether they were going to backstab him, whether they were betraying him, blaming him, or going somewhere else and saying outrageous things.
It was exhausting to review and doubt something that was always done with other nobles, merchants, or someone from a foreign country.
He'd thought Valquiterre was just like family and that there was no need to wear a mask and treat him confrontationally—Valquiterre, whom he'd grown up with like a brother until he'd returned from the battlefield. But Valquiterre, who'd greeted him on the throne after Kaian had won and returned victorious, had changed.
*Your loyalty and glory to the Kingdom of Oberon will be remembered for a long time.*
Valquiterre, who'd become so dignified that Kaian—who'd seen the future King all his life from birth—felt proud, was quite different from before.
He treated him like a subject and acted as if he wouldn't give up his position. Then, at night, he'd secretly come to Kaian's bedroom, had a face that looked just like his deceased mother, lowered his rich golden eyelashes like the full moon, and spoken helplessly.
*Sorry, Kaian. There's a lot of turmoil both inside and outside the kingdom, so I can't give you special treatment in front of the old nobles.*
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