Chapter 292

The reception room was quiet. The entire delegation from Luswena had already left, and most of the palace officials had taken their leave as well.

There was a mountain of work to be done—preparations for the appointment ceremony, welcoming and entertaining guests from various nations. Ian glanced at the cold tea cup and gave a subtle nod to the attendants, signaling them to clear it away quickly.

“Your Highness, you handled that well.”

The prince was staring out through the half-opened window. Pollen continued to drift down outside, but why did a heavy weight press on his heart? Jin gave a faint smile and shrugged his shoulders.

“What is there to be proud of?”

If Ian hadn’t appeared at that moment to capture the king’s attention, the meeting would have ended long ago.

They wouldn’t have been able to send back such an insulting gift, nor could they have responded in kind. It was all thanks to Ian. That was both a relief and a regret.

“Everyone was watching.”

Not just the prime minister, but the ministers of every department, officials, even foreign envoys. Jin furrowed his brows tightly and rested his chin on his hand.

“The crown prince seems quite unsettled,” Romandro observed keenly, stepping forward to offer comfort.

“Your Highness, it’s nothing. King Eriphoni was unpredictable. Who would have thought he’d speak so boldly in front of you? Don’t be too disappointed. Just remember the expression on the king’s face as he left the reception room.”

“…”

Jin pressed his lips together and blinked, looking at Romandro. Then, he glanced subtly at Ian, who was wearing a faint smile, as if lost in thought.

“Why are you smiling, Sir Ian?”

“Seeing Your Highness so regretful makes me think there’s endless room for growth ahead.”

King Eriphoni had ruled his country for a long time. Beyond political savvy, he was a leader with a wealth of life experience. When someone like that acts unpredictably in a one-on-one meeting, it’s not easy to handle.

Ian looked at Jin’s fingertips, where faint marks showed from gripping the bowstring with bare hands.

“Don’t be too disheartened. Your hesitation came from how deeply you care for the empire.”

This was a meeting between leaders. Jin’s choices would determine peace or war, life or death for the empire’s people. Knowing that weight, it was understandable he couldn’t respond easily.

“It’s far better than acting rashly out of frustration. You did well. Remember, this was your first diplomatic encounter.”

Jin followed Ian’s gaze down to his right hand, then rubbed his fingertips lightly, as if to say it was nothing. His expression had softened somewhat.

“If it weren’t for you, Ian, I would have been in serious trouble.”

“Don’t dwell on what-ifs.”

“…How far have Burgos and Clifopod reached?”

There was determination in his voice—he would not make mistakes when facing those two nations.

Ian glanced at the mage standing behind him, who bowed apologetically.

“Sorry, no word yet.”

“We’re maintaining contact with the outskirts and monitoring closely. I’ll inform you as soon as we hear anything. But for now, please rest a moment.”

Romandro motioned to guide him back to his quarters, but Jin sat down, lost in thought.

His round head, twitching fingertips, and lips that kept moving slightly—Ian and Romandro exchanged puzzled looks.

‘Why, why is he like this?’

Romandro asked with a slight smile, but who could say?

Just as Ian was about to speak—

“…Are you feeling tired?”

“Of what?”

“Of producing magic power.”

“Ah.”

It was something Jin couldn’t bring himself to thank Ian for. It was filtered through the prince’s pride, the watchful eyes around him, and his own dignity, expressed only as concern.

But Ian understood immediately and knelt to meet his gaze.

“Not at all, Your Highness.”

Well done. A prince shouldn’t casually say thank you to his subordinate in such a situation. The words hovered on Jin’s tongue, but Ian carefully chose different ones.

“It was not difficult at all.”

“Good. Then that’s settled. I’ll go ahead. Xiao.”

When Jin called for Xiao, the attendants bustled into motion, rushing ahead to prepare for the prince’s movement. The remaining officials, seeing no further business, quietly dispersed.

Only the magic department remained. Romandro sank into the sofa with a deep sigh of relief.

“Ah, the tension just drains away. Though there are still two more of these events to go. Ha ha. Well, it’s the empire’s festival, so it’s not really a problem. Ahem.”

He cleared his throat while crunching on a candy.

Something between Ian and Jin had shifted. The boy who used to follow Ian around calling him “big brother” had drawn a clear boundary, and Ian seemed unwilling to cross it.

“Hey, Ian.”

Ian turned his head at Romandro’s call. His expression was as usual, but somehow different.

What was it? What had changed?

“…Did you and Prince Jin have a fight?”

Romandro blurted out before covering his mouth.

Ian was equally incredulous. How could the word “fight” apply between him and Jin?

Ian frowned, and Romandro waved his hands apologetically.

“Sorry, that was a mistake!”

“Be careful. Even the portraits in the palace have ears.”

“Right, I misspoke. No, I just wondered if there was something I didn’t know.”

Ian said nothing and gave instructions to the mages.

“…Send another message to the outskirts. Wait one more hour, and if there’s still no sign, we’ll send people along the expected route.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Hey, Ian. I don’t know about other things, but I’m great at reading the room. That’s how I survived as Viviana’s husband!”

“The Clifopod delegation is larger than Luswena’s. If they appear on the outskirts, it’ll take three hours to reach the palace. Keep that in mind as you proceed.”

“Dialogue is really important!”

As Ian stepped out of the reception room giving various orders, Romandro trailed behind, chattering on. Ian ignored him outright, so no reply came.

“Why is Romandro acting like that again?”

“Don’t you know? Did he do something wrong?”

“Never mind that, everyone hurry up! We need to switch shifts!”

The mages’ curiosity sparked briefly, but after seeing Ian’s reaction, they lost interest and dispersed.

As they walked down the corridor connected to the garden, Romandro kept going on about the importance of dialogue and building trust early in a marriage.

Ian half-listened, then suddenly stopped.

“Earlier, I noticed King Eriphoni was no joke.”

“He was so arrogant, acting like this was his own palace. Did you hear how he asked what a black jewel was?”

“Yeah. Like he was talking to a common child.”

“It’s because there’s no elder in the royal family. The emperor is old, so that’s understandable, but the absence of the two crown princes is a huge gap.”

“No, it’s not that. The vacancy of the crown prince is natural, but the problem is that Prince Jin is too young to fill it.”

“Can’t be helped. The two princes ended up like that because of the civil war.”

Romandro widened his eyes and leaned over the railing. Officials who had gone ahead were gathered in small groups, smoking cigars. Just as he was about to call out a warning, Ian grabbed his arm.

“Romandro.”

“Ah, but—”

Ian’s gesture said to leave them be. He lightly stopped Romandro and continued walking.

Romandro glanced between the railing and Ian’s back, then followed, resuming his chatter.

“Ian, why do you let those people be?”

“When the ruler is absent, people talk badly about him. Even if you cut off their conversations, you can’t erase the truth. Prince Jin did well for his first time, but outside opinions are inevitable. It’s something he must endure.”

Bites, cuts, and scars grow tough skin. Those people were only adding their words out of concern for the current situation.

“Enduring is a very good way to grow.”

Those were probably the mildest of the criticisms. The boy’s inexperience, his flustered expression, Eriphoni’s rude attitude—all would be fodder for gossip.

And on top of that, his name would be dragged into it.

‘Because of me, Jin barely managed to finish the situation…’

If the rumor spread like that, it might be a blessing. Didn’t he even shoot a dazzling magic arrow? It might be exaggerated to say he defeated Eriphoni.

If so, the pressure on Jin and the opposition would only increase. The more provoked, the fiercer the reaction, and the wider the scope to advance.

‘Maybe from now on, Jin won’t even be able to hear words of worry from me.’

The boy had carefully trimmed down his thanks before finally expressing them. It showed how much he cared about others’ eyes. That was exactly what Ian hoped for.

Not standing on one leg alone, but finding balance with another leg of his own. The more who share the weight of the crown, the better.

“Ian.”

Romandro suddenly stepped in front of Ian.

“I’ve thought this before, but you’re too light.”

“…Me?”

“You mean it feels so light it might just blow away, right? If there are people around, hold on to something. Don’t just try to endure it—share it, talk about it, okay?”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Ian’s usually expressionless mouth. Then, without lingering, he stepped aside and brushed past Romandro.

“Thank you just for saying that, Lord Romandro.”

Below the stairs, the carriage waiting for Ian and Romandro came into view. Ian gestured to the coachman to prepare for departure.

But at that moment—

Clatter, clatter!

“Iaaaan!”

A very familiar voice.

Beric was galloping toward them from afar, riding hard. Even though he was part of the Royal Palace Guard, his uniform was a chaotic mess, sleeves and sashes flapping wildly as he tumbled and rolled.

“Why is Beric coming here?”

“I thought the Royal Palace Guard had their own schedule.”

“Yeah, me too. Wait—could he have been kicked out?”

Always breaking things, tearing stuff up, causing trouble—maybe he finally got the boot! Romandro’s face went pale as he hurried down the stairs.

Wheee!

“Hey, you! What are you doing here?”

“I’m on an errand. Has Queen Luswena arrived safely?”

“She has. We just finished sorting the spoils and escorted her to her new residence. But why an errand? What’s that about?”

The Royal Palace Guard running errands? Romandro felt a pang of pity and grabbed Beric’s arm. But Beric just sniffled and nodded toward Ian.

“Ian, the old man wants to see you.”

“Captain Jaret?”

“Yeah, it’s urgent. He said to bring you quickly. Something about Popo! It’s related to the Kingdom of Popo.”

Ian lightly furrowed his brow.

The Kingdom of Popo? No way.

“…Clifopod?”

“That’s it. He said if you get there within twenty minutes, he’ll feed you. Let’s go!”

Looks like Jaret’s learned how to handle Beric.

Ian signaled the coachman to change course.

“We’re heading to the Royal Palace Guard’s building.”