Chapter 120

The Lord of the Reddington territory, Viscount Tessid Reddington was a tall, thin man in his mid-40s.

Living up to his reputation of being a thoughtful and serious man, he was staring out his window, deep in thought.

Tessid was one of the rare nobles who had not sided with any one prince, which was why for him, although Prince Calian’s visit was sudden, it wasn’t especially unpleasant for him either. Which was why he thought that he could pay attention to make sure Calian could pause here to rest during his journey without any issue and send him on his way.

If not for the carriages currently entering his castle gates, that thought wouldn’t have changed.

“What a disaster.” It was said exceptionally calmly, but the words themselves were enough to express his feelings on the matter. As the Lord of a territory close to the capital, it wasn’t like he couldn’t recognise the crest engraved on the side of the carriage.

And although he wasn’t aware that Margrave Gray Brissen was also on his way to Kyrisis, he was very much aware of the relationship between Calian and the Brissens, and knew this coincidence would not be happy once.

Either way, he was running out of time, so Tessid turned from his spot at the window, and decided it would be best to go down and speak to the new arrivals. He would let them know that Prince Calian was already staying here and hopefully, they would understand the implication that they could not remain.

Although the results may not be completely in Tessid’s favour, the Prince had arrived first and he had already extended his hospitality to him, so there was nothing else that could be done.

But the butler of his estate knocked on the door to his office and said,

“Prince Calian’s servant is here, my Lord, he says he has a message from the Prince.”

Tessid nodded without hesitation,

“Show them in.”

Following his command, Calian’s direct attendant, Yan, came to greet Tessid politely and delivered Calian’s words.

“His highness had asked me to confirm whether the Lord was thinking of telling the visitors of his attendance at the castle and sending them away.”

Feeling like he had been seen through and caught doing something wrong, Tessid couldn’t help but show his surprise on his face.

Yan, who confirmed his answer after seeing his expression, continued without a shift in his own expression.

“The prince has said that if anyone else descends the carriage and it is alright to do so, however, if it is Margrave Gray Brissen, then he would like to invite him to join high highness for tea.”

‘What do you mean Gray?’ When the name of someone he wasn’t expecting came out, Tessid was once again left shocked, but for a different reason.

Tessid couldn’t help but confirm the order once again,

“So, if it is anyone else from the Brissen House, his highness would like for me to send them away, however, if it is Margrave Brissen, then to allow them entry?”

“Exactly.”

“…it seems his highness is saving me.” It wasn’t just flattery but words filled with Tessid’s sincerity.

Compared to a distant member of the Brissen family, or perhaps even the second son the Brissen family – sending someone like Gray Brissen back at the gate wouldn’t be a matter that would end with simple disadvantages.

So Tessid understood that Calian was being considerate of him by telling him not to push it too far, and that it was okay to just send them through if the figure would end up causing trouble for him.

“Alright. Inform the prince that I will do as he says.”

Yan bowed and left the room as soon as the matter was concluded.

Tessid, who saw the carriage had reached the inner gate of the castle and was now literally directly under his nose from where he was watching through the window, looked rather nervous.

___

“Can you tell me what you know about Margrave Brissen?” Calian asked in a light tone.

The information of most prominent nobles that were relevant to Calian was already engraved and organised in Yan’s head – it was something that was very much expected of a Prince’s attendant, so Yan opened his mouth without hesitation,

“He had been appointed Margrave some time ago, and it is said that at the time of his appointment, his relationship with Marquis Brissen was not great. There were rumours that rather than receive the title of Margrave, he had wanted to inherit the title of Marquis and run the knights training school in the capital. His personality is said to be bold and audacious – the typical personality of a high profile noble’s son. And there is one, particular rumour…”

Yan trailed off, hesitating. He then lowered his voice a little and said,

“There are those who say that there are four separate bedrooms in the house.”

At that, Calian couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Having multiple bedrooms in the house was slang among aristocrats – in short, there were four more women apart from his wife at the house.

“So basically he’s good with the sword but didn’t show greed for the position of Margrave while he was interested in the title of Marquis. And he’s fond of women. Right?”

“Yes, your highness.”

Calian committed Yan’s assessment of Gray Brissen to his memory and asked one more question.

“I can’t remember ever having met Margrave Brissen – have we ever met?”

“As far as I am aware, there was one occasion before I became your attendant. However it’s normal that your highness might not recall.”

If it was before Yan had become his attendant, then the meeting happened before Calian had turned 11. Calian nodded slowly.

‘If he met me back then, he probably can’t even imagine my current form.’

Of course, he’s probably heard a lot about Calian from the letters Silica probably send him. However, he would soon be able to confirm just how much of Silica’s words Gray Brissen believed.

There was a sharp knock on the door.

Yan went went to see who it was, and stepped out to have a short conversation with the visitor. When Calian had glanced back as the door had opened, he recognised the visitor as Viscount Reddington’s butler.

He glanced back to where he could see that a carriage still stood in the open, within the inner gate. Servants began to approach, slowly unbuckling the straps that held the horses to the carriages and guiding them to the stables.

It meant that Calian had identified the guest correctly.

So Calian rose from his seat calmly as Yan returned.

“Viscount Reddington and Margrave Brissen are currently in the drawing room. Would you like to go straight away?” He asked,

“I should.” Calian answered candidly.

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