He finally spent a week in Callian's body. He would wake up to the aroma of tea, get ready carefully in the morning, endure breakfast time, and attend several lessons.
In that period, he clashed with Planche three more times.
During their swordsmanship lesson, Planche insulted his mother Freya and Callian attacked him as if he intended to kill him, but passed it off as a mistake. After that incident, Planche became somewhat quiet.
What amazed Callian was Planche's remarkable ability with the sword. Of course, Callian's own strength was poor, but Planche blocked his attack quite well.
'Not in vain does he come from a famous family of knights.'
Planche still looked at him contemptuously whenever he met him, but the number of times he opened his mouth against him had decreased. For now, that was enough to satisfy Callian.
One morning before breakfast, as Callian sat in front of a mirror, lost in thought while a maid combed his hair, Yan approached him and informed him of the day's schedule,
"… And lastly, you will dine with the Queen and Viscount Brissen."
"Hmm."
Viscount Lennon Brissen.
He was the brother of Queen Silike and the second son of Marquis Brissen.
Although he was born into a historic family of knights, he abandoned weapons at a young age due to his lack of talent with the sword. He was currently the Head of the Brissen Emporium, the largest Trade Group in Kairis.
'But it was said that he was not qualified to run the business, so he hired a manager for a large sum of money, to whom he left almost all control. Well… the fact that he has the money is an ability in itself.'
"Apart from Viscount Brissen, won't there be other nobles?"
"No, Your Highness. He was supposed to prepare a performance for the last day of His Majesty's birthday celebration, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it will not be able to take place on this occasion. He came to apologize to His Majesty, and since he is in the palace, he also wants to see the princes. That's the reason for the dinner."
"In that case, wouldn't it have been better for just Planche to attend?"
Yan's expression hardened when he said Planche's name bluntly. It was clear that Yan would have a hard time finding the right words to respond, so Callian quickly spoke again.
"Anyway, that's okay."
There were still other matters to discuss besides the schedule, so Yan opened his mouth again,
"There's something I have to tell you."
Callian nodded slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, Yan spoke,
"Your Highness' safe will need to be opened again for a moment. Would you like for me to do this for you this time too?"
'A safe? Do I own something like that?'
He assumed he was a penniless prince, but it seemed like he had some money.
Callian quickly searched his memory, and realized that the useless silver furniture in the corner of his bedroom was a safe.
He mistook it for a chair, and so he sat down on it sometimes. No wonder it was hard as a stone.
"For what reason?"
"It's, um…"
For some reason, Yan hesitated.
There could only be one explanation for that: It had to do with Freya. Yan proceeded cautiously,
"The earnings sent by the caretaker of the Whitlin Family have arrived."
'My mother's name was Freya Whitlin. Then it must be from Freya's property.'
Perhaps King Lemain had given his concubine some wealth, and Callian seemed to have inherited it, without it passing over to another nobleman after her death. At the news of this unexpected income, Callian said,
"Let's check it together. I'm curious how much has been sent."
"I understand, Your Highness. And—"
Callian was ready for breakfast now, but he could sense that Yan had something else he wanted to add and nodded again.
"As you are aware, when your highness turns fifteen, you are able to appoint two more attendants."
He wasn't aware of that.
"As you will turn fifteen this year, the internal affairs official asked how you intend to select them. You may appoint them two or three months in advance of your birthday if you wish. And if you do not have a particular person in mind, the official can assign them for you."
In summary of the news, Yan said,
"How about appointing two guards, as the other Princes have done?"
Callian remembered the attendants who always seemed to follow Randell and Planche. Since they carried no swords, Callian assumed they were regular attendants. He responded with new understanding on his face.
"So they were guards. No wonder they had good physiques."
Excluding the Crown Prince, Princes of Kairis were usually not appointed a separate set of guards. The amusing part was that the fiercest of battles were usually fought amongst the princes, not the crown prince.
For that reason the princes personally hired guards, but this was illegal so it was customary for the guards to be disguised as servants instead. As carrying a sword would make them noticeable, those who were skilled with smaller throwable weapons would be selected.
Callian had known this, but he didn't know he would be allowed additional men when he turned fifteen.
'Did the original Callian have guards?'
If Yan had said this in the previous life and Callian had the money to hire guards, it was highly likely that he would have done so.
Callian had magic. There were guards. And yet he was assassinated. Then it was likely a formidable assassin capable of overcoming a 3-circle mage. Callian absentmindedly brushed his hand against his heart.
'No. If it had been disguised as suicide, then it would be a clean job. If Callian were a capable mage, he would have left a trail of aggression or defense behind. It is more likely that the original Callian was not in a state where he could use magic like myself now.'
In any case, Callian had died two or three months before his birthday, and the guards were also likely assigned two or three months before his birthday. The parts that fit too well together to be a coincidence had him thinking, Either the guards didn't stop the assassin, or one of the guards was an assassin. A multitude of other possibilities swirled in his mind.
Whatever the answer was, the guards would bring no benefit to him.
"I don't think we should hire guards, there are others that may have already prepared for that."
Yan looked stunned at his answer, but Callian did not elaborate any further.
Of course, the one that Callian wanted by his side was that child he planned to save, however, there was a problem…
"I'm not completely sure, but I believe the person I want is a commoner. Will that be alright?"
The person Callian wanted as his escort would be a superior rank to Yan, who was a mere attendant. Yan was from a staunch noble family. Callian seemed to be asking if he could treat a commoner as his better.
An expression crossed Yan's features that seemed to say,
'Why are you asking me that?'
Callian always felt that Yan was the type to reveal his thoughts on his face.
"If he will be your guard, then I do not mind. It's not only nobles that can only serve the prince."
What mattered now was not the status of the person guarding the prince, but the fact that there was someone who was even willing to be a guard at all. Hurry now and bring them here, what matters of their status?
Callian grinned after reading Yan's thoughts.
Is was truly a "Yan surrenders" response.
"If someone is qualified to be a worthy knight, why not make them your attendant first and if the opportunity comes give him the title of knight?" Yan said.
Although Callian was royal, he was not at liberty to confer a title as he pleased. Unless the person had made a great achievement for the country, he couldn't increase one's status as he liked. For that reason, in these types of cases the guards would generally accompany the princes as attendants before it came the time to confer the title of a knight.
"You're right. It's not something we can do right away. Tell the internal affairs official that I'll take care of it."
The first problem was that Callian first had to find out where this person was. Callian wasn't sure if he could be found in the capital city of Kairis.
"I'll let him know," Yan said.
"So is that all?"
"No, there's one more thing."
Callian nodded, allowing him permission to continues speaking. Yan felt like he was swallowing needles dry before continuing.
"Do you have to keep exercising?"
He was referring to physical training that Callian had imposed on himself for the past week. It wasn't particularly rigorous, only three or four laps around the man-made lake in front of the palace, and he couldn't do much more than that.
Perhaps because he was not active much until now, but he felt more energetic than before. However, he also lost some weight, piquing Yan's concern.
"If I do it steadily, I'll be fine," Callian replied.
It meant that he would continue. Yan gave a low sigh as if he expected this answer.
"I'll talk to the chef and have him pay special attention to your diet. Breakfast can't be helped, but you must eat your entire meal for lunch and dinner."
Callian could manage that.
"I understand. Thank you."
Yan was starting to get used to Callian's remarks of gratitude, and he gave a little smile. He then gestured politely at the door in indication that it was time to go to breakfast.
Ugh. Callian had no desire to go.