-Third Person POV-
Taylor gazed toward Cale and continued to speak.
“Although I may have been pushed aside, I still have ways of getting information in the Marquis’s estate. Although this 50-year birthday celebration for the king was planned from the beginning, the act of calling all of the nobles together was something that the crown prince suggested.”
Taylor knew some information about the crown prince.
“I’m not sure how I should describe the crown prince to you...”
Seeing Taylor struggling, Cale casually answered.
“He is someone with a glib tongue.”
“Ah, yes! Err, I mean...”
‘Glib tongue...?'
Taylor, who agreed with Cale, quickly turned pale and tried to take it back, but, in the end, was forced to admit that it was true. While Eve was looking at Cale wondering what a glib tongue mean.
“Yes. You are right. You already know about it.”
“Isn’t it information anybody interested can find out?”
“Of course. But this is the first time I’ve heard anyone be so blunt about it like you, young master Cale.”
Seeing Taylor nodding his head, Cale started to think about the crown prince.
The glib tongue of the crown prince.
The crown prince was very good at giving compliments to people. He was also very good at praising these people in public for their deeds and giving them recognition.
After that, he used these people.
Of course, the people being used have no idea that they are being used. One of these victims in the novel was none other than Choi Han, the person the crown prince lifts as his close friend and hero.
For a commoner like Choi Han, he thought it was good that someone like the crown prince treated him so closely. However, for Cale, or Kim Rok Soo, who was reading the novel, the crown prince was the type of person he hated the most.
He looks at Eve for a moment before continuing to look forward. He's also thinking about how to explain to a 7-year-old what glib tongue means most simplest way possible.
‘The problem is, that the way he uses people for the right reasons.’
He did not use people for his benefit or power. He used these people for the kingdom, the citizens, and to make the nation greater.
‘I guess it is too much to call it ‘using’ people.’
Rather than using, it was more like asking for their help. The crown prince did not order these people using his superiority, but instead, he asked them on an equal level.
He used that glib tongue of his to praise them a lot and then give a really sad reason that people could not turn down. Naturally, Choi Han was unable to say no. The cold, yet just as good-natured Rosalyn ended up agreeing to help out in the end as well.
Of course, even such a person had a weakness.
“Anyways, young master Cale, his highness the crown prince, ahem, as you already know, it is tiring to get involved with such a person.”
“You do not have to worry. I plan on being as quiet as possible before returning home. I do not like being flashy.”
Cale answered back like it was nothing. However, he then realized that silence had filled the room after he responded. The kittens, On and Hong, Eve, who was still curious, Cage, who was struggling with her hangover, and even Taylor, who had a gentle smile on his face. They were all staring at Cale.
“...Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Mm. Will it be possible to, no, never mind?”
“Nothing.”
Both Cage and Taylor said no before looking away. The kittens and Eve just shook their heads. Cale started to frown and added on.
“Even if I do end up being dragged in, the thing that young master Taylor and priestess-nim are thinking about will not happen.”
Taylor and Cage could see that Cale was smiling. His smile was so devious that he looked like a villain. Cale smiled at the two of them before continuing.
“I also have a very glib tongue.”
The crown prince tended to stay away from people similar to himself. It was his wariness of others like him.
If the crown prince was the type to praise people and use them for his needs, Cale just needed to act the same way.
Seeing Cage look toward him with an expression that seemed to say she was feeling better, he looked right into her eyes. She then started to speak.
“I think this look suits you very well, young master Cale. You look very evil.”
“It is better than looking like a good person.”
‘I knew it.’
Cage nodded her head and seemed to confirm something, but Cale did not care. Instead, he pushed aside the curtain on the window and looked outside. Eve moves closer to Cale, trying to look outside. She was surprised when Cale suddenly pick her up and put her on his lap.
‘I'm also gonna show Eve more of the world. Everything she needs to know and everything she wants to know.'
They were pretty close to the gate of the capital now. The gate that Cale’s carriage was heading toward was a different gate than the gate that the commoners used. He was heading toward the noble’s entrance, which would allow him to get through it much faster.
“The capital is different.”
That was what came out of Cale’s mouth based on what Cale saw out through the window. Taylor seemed to understand why Cale felt that way and nodded his head.
“Roan Kingdom is the kingdom of, ‘Boulders.’”
Cale could see the large wall surrounding the capital. There were many different sculptures on the wall.
The Roan Kingdom was kind of unique. Not only was it the Western Continent’s greatest source of marble, but the Northwest and Western areas of the Roan Kingdom contained a lot of granite. That was why it was called the Land of Boulders.
If you travelled up north, the majority of the mountain peaks were made of granite. The Roan Kingdom had quite a lot of Rock Mountains.
Taylor continued to speak as if he suddenly remembered something.
“If you look through the ancient stories, there are many, ‘boulder,’ related stories, even before the Roan Kingdom came into existence. One of them says that this land had a boulder-like guardian.”
The Roan Kingdom was located in the Northeast of the Western Continent.
Eve looks toward Taylor after hearing a mention of stories. She plays with her sleeves as she waits for Taylor to continue.
“It was a guardian that could protect everything from any kind of attack. When darkness descended on the continent, this guardian was the one to stand in the front against it.”
There were many different myths about the end of ancient times. You would hear tons of different stories as you travelled around the continent.
Some say that the end of ancient times came when darkness descended and some heroes managed to defeat this darkness, others say it ended because people were jealous of each other’s powers and fought for control. Finally, some even say that a god was so angry that it destroyed all living beings.
The story that Taylor was discussing right now was one of those many myths.
“Taylor, you seem to like that story?”
Taylor nodded his head at Cage’s question.
“Yes. I do.”
Cale turned to look at Taylor. Taylor had always had a fragile body, even before his legs became paralyzed. Taylor patted his knees and continued to speak. Eve was staring at him while wondering what a god is.
“The guardian is said to have stood firmly in place, like a boulder, even after everything in his body became broken. That was how he was able to protect the people and the land of this Northeastern area, that is covered in boulders.”
There were a lot of different contents in the stories regarding the darkness that descended onto the continent.
When the darkness appeared at the centre of the continent, other myths discussed the tales of those heroes that fought against it. However, the main character in the one Taylor is talking about only focused on protecting.
Taylor considered such an individual to be a hero.
“Such an existence cannot survive in the present day. That is why I like this myth so much.”
“But you don’t seem to believe it?”
Taylor nodded his head at Cage’s question.
It is very rare to see someone injure himself so severely to protect something.”
“I agree.”
Cale nodded his head to agree with Taylor’s statement. It was one thing to protect yourself, but this guardian protected others and this Northeastern land? Cale could not understand such logic.
“But this is my first time hearing about this specific story.”
Cale had read about all sorts of legends and myths regarding ancient powers while reading until volume 5 of, ‘The Birth of a Hero.’ However, this was the first time he heard about the boulder guardian of Roan Kingdom.
“It is probably because it is not that popular. I only found it while researching through ancient texts for information about ancient powers. I told Cage about it as well.”
Cale nodded his head again and lowered the curtains once more. He put Eve beside him and took out a round pendant from his pocket and threw it toward Taylor.
“Get ready.”
-To be continued...-
(A/N - Please tell me if there is any grammar problem or misspelled that I need to fix.)