Chapter 14.1 – Until You Have A Proper Hand (1)

There was a river known by the name Ceignes in the capital city of Kailis. The river, whose name was also used for a building in the palace, flowed diagonally across the city.

The palace was located in the center of the northeast part of the river. The royal road, which went from the main gate in the southwest of Kailis, crossed the Ciegnes River and continued to the Kailis Palace.

After the departure of Sispanian, who had resided in Kailis for more than two hundred years after the death of Hatsua, the city stagnated, and so the construction of the road was undertaken by the kingdom. Because to this vast stretch of road which connected them to many major cities, Kailis had been rejuvenated. To Kailis, this road was their lifeblood.

Dagdak, dagdak…!

On the royal road, two carriages–one white, one black–were headed towards the palace.

The carriages traveled side by side and were the height of luxury, and had large glass windows and an exteriors made of pearl powder. However, each carriage was slightly different, with one carriage decorated with gold foil on a white background and the other adorned with nacre on a black background.

Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, was highly coveted in Kailis. Kailis was part of a large continent, but it lacked access to the sea. Pearls could be formed in freshwater so it was not difficult to obtain, but the mussels, which were used to make the nacre, were. And so, in Kailis the price of nacre was worth more than gold.

The man’s eyes in the white carriage were fixed on the black carriage. A sense of discomfort went through him and he clicked his tongue.

“Look at that. It’s a lump of money rolling around. Isn’t that extravagence excessive?”

The butler sitting up front heard the remark and looked over to the connecting window.

‘He says that as if gold leaf is cheap. Can he look at others and criticize them of their luxury?’

Their carriage carried shoes embedded with the finest diamonds that had been that had been shipped from Tensil.

On the outer left wall of the white carriage was a crest bearing the shape of a griffin holding a sharp sword. It belonged to the family Brissen, and inside the carriage was Lenon Brissen, second son of Marquis Brissen.

“Is it a Siegfried?” Lennon wondered, “No, the elephants are too big and distracted.”

The Elephants of Kailis was a term for the Siegfrieds. They had never coveted the throne, but their power was so formidable that they were named after an herbivore that no beast could touch.

“What kind of man would so much money on the carriage?” Lennon said, unable to contain his curiosity who the person was.

The butler answered carefully through the window..

“I just saw it coming out the streets from Teinansha. The crest is on the other side, so exactly which family’s carriage it is–”

“Teinansha?”

“Yes, that’s where the mages gather,” the butler kindly explained.

Lennon scowled at him.

“Do you think I asked you because I do not know? Are you an idiot?”

Lennon silenced the deacon, thinking that Silica or Calian might have laughed at him if they heard him, and he once again peered through the curtains and looked over to the black carriage. Thick curtains were also drawn on the windows of the other carriage, so there was no way to know who was on board.

“Do any of the wizards have that kind of money?”

“Shall I go to the other side to look at the crest?”

Lennon nodded. Soon the butler gave orders to the carriage driver.

The carriage slowed down allowed the black carriage to go ahead of them, then picked up speed again towards its left side. Then Lennon quickly moved his hand to peek through the curtains of the window and catch a glimpse of the crest.

“That crest is complicated. What’s that, flowers? One flower, two…”

The carriage moved a little further forward, allowing him to see the crest more clearly and when he saw it, Lennon rubbed his eyes hard.

“Am I seeing this right?” he said disbelievingly.

Then the butler looked at the crest outside and spoke kindly again.

“Seven red flowers and a silver wand, My Lord.”

“You think I don’t know that? Shut your mouth!”

Seven red flowers, a silver wand! Impossible!

“Haaa. I’m crazy. How could you be here, in Kailis! Why are you going to the palace?”

The butler didn’t know who the crest belonged to, and he had been silenced by his master, so the butler just stared ahead.

Meanwhile, the two carriages also passed through the streets of Anansha, home to the nobility. Soon the other nobles knew about the knew of the extravagent carriage heading to the palace.

“Is that a vine of red flowers around a silver wand?”

The nobles, who heard of the crest carved on the outer wall of the carriage, sent their servants to check on such a rumor.

Then the nobles said, one by one, after the other, “You must be seeing it wrong.”

No way.

“Alan Manassil couldn’t have come here.”

Then they smiled and gave up what they were doing to go to the royal palace.