SML Ch 58

Chapter 58

It happened on the fifth day since Reynald and the princes had begun serving as scarecrows.

“Ah, Lord Reynald! So the rumor that you’ve been helping with scarecrow duty was true?”

“That’s right, Volant. How is the farm work coming along?”

Today was the day to help with Volant’s fields. Reynald would have liked to check on them sooner, but the scarecrow duty required following the birds’ flight paths, so today was the first opportunity he had.

“It’s manageable. At first, the thought of doing it alone felt overwhelming, but with friends and adults lending a hand, it’s been bearable.”

Fortunately, Volant seemed to be managing well. Even though he had spent last week constantly going back and forth to the lake with Reynald—leaving him little time to tend his fields—they were still as neat and orderly as any other farmland.

“By the way, I heard rumors that Prince Serna has been attempting something… strange?”

“Ah, you mean that. He’s researching an efficient way to drive away the crystal clockwork birds.”

“So it wasn’t an experiment to blow up the fields? Honestly, I was worried.”

“How in the world did the rumors get so distorted? There hasn’t even been a single small fire, let alone an explosion.”

Serna only smiled awkwardly at their conversation. Today, he appeared a bit more serious than he had in previous days. There were likely several reasons for this—the strangest being the rumors spreading among the villagers, just as Volant mentioned. But besides that…

“This time, I’m going to do it properly! I won’t cause a disaster like before, so don’t worry.”

“O-oh, thank you! But don’t overexert yourself…”

He was probably still hung up on the incident when, while questioning Volant about his necklace, he had accidentally caused him to fall into the water. Reynald had heard that Arun had scolded him harshly afterward, pointing out that no matter how curious one might be, prying into someone else’s circumstances was improper.

It seemed this youngest prince was eager to redeem himself by succeeding at something impressive this time. Volant, meanwhile, seemed to have nearly forgotten the incident and simply bowed with a cheerful smile before heading toward Alex.

“Hey, Alex, how about I join in this time?”

“No need. You must already be tired from tending your own fields alone.”

“It’s not that hard. Besides, this year I only have to work enough to feed myself. The mouths to feed went from four to one, remember?”

“Just because the mouths to feed are down to a quarter doesn’t mean the farm work is down to a quarter too. Look, with all these people helping, you don’t have to overdo it. And don’t start spouting nonsense just to cheer people up when it doesn’t even work.”

As the two bantered—half joking, half serious—while waiting for the birds, Serna began rummaging through his satchel, quietly taking something out. Reynald had seen this sight for days now, so at first he dismissed it. But soon he sensed something amiss and narrowed his eyes.

‘Is it my imagination, or is the prince sneaking glances at me?’

It was as though he were about to pull out something secretive. Serna furtively looked around, pretending nonchalance. When Reynald turned his gaze elsewhere, Serna swiftly retrieved an object and placed it on the ground.

Feigning focus on the two young men’s conversation, Reynald quietly observed Serna’s movements. The prince crouched low, nearly covering the object with his body, fiddling with it in secrecy. What on earth was he hiding?

“…?”

He even seemed to be wary of Arun. When Arun shot him a puzzled look, Serna put on an overly innocent expression and acted as though nothing was amiss. Arun seemed to buy it and turned his eyes back to the sky, waiting for the birds—but Reynald wasn’t fooled. After all, he had seen everything from the start.

The very moment Serna relaxed and refocused on whatever he was fiddling with, Reynald lunged like a predator ambushing unsuspecting prey and snatched the item from his arms.

“W-wah! Sir Reynald!”

“What are you handling so secretively, young prince?”

“Uh, it’s just a magical tool!”

There was no way something “just a magical tool” would be handled so covertly. Reynald raised the confiscated object and confirmed its identity. And then—

“‘Just a magical tool,’ you say, Your Highness? This?”

“…Ahaha…”

“Why is the royal family’s heirloom here of all places?”

As Serna squirmed in embarrassment, Reynald sighed deeply, holding up the entirely golden mirror. Its appearance was all too familiar to him—after all, this very mirror had saved the lives of the king and the first prince multiple times in the past.

Known as the Golden Mirror of the Sun, it was an heirloom passed down through the royal family, capable of nullifying or reflecting almost any conceivable attack so long as it absorbed enough sunlight. The commotion drew Arun’s attention; upon spotting the mirror, he too widened his eyes in shock.

“Did I not specifically tell you not to let Sir Reynald see that, Serna?! Why in the world would you bring it here—!”

“Prince Arun? And what exactly do you mean by that?”

So the two of them had been conspiring together? Reynald shot Arun a look of incredulous exasperation, and the latter, caught red-handed like a child, quickly averted his gaze. Reynald sighed again, examining the golden mirror. Even without a detailed explanation, the situation was clear enough.

‘Of course. No wonder they didn’t assign extra guards—they handed something like this to their children instead.’

Even if the king had a habit of throwing his children into dangerous situations, he wouldn’t actually want them dead. Their relationship wasn’t strained, and the king was raising the second and third princes with care, intending to make them the right and left hands of the first prince rather than rivals. Naturally, he would ensure their safety with such protective measures.

The only thing was—the king must have judged that Reynald shouldn’t be told about this “protection.” If Reynald knew, he might assume the princes were safe and lose his sense of urgency about returning to the capital as quickly as possible.

“Did another knight pass this to you while I was talking with Sir Bestrot? And specifically tell you not to let me find out?”

“Ah, uh, well… you figured it out anyway. As expected, Sir Reynald, you’re quick on the uptake!”

“I’m much older than you princes; of course I’d be quicker to notice things. But why bring this all the way here?”

“Well, I was curious. Would a mindless construct like the crystal clockwork birds even count as an ‘attack’? This mirror is famed as a royal treasure, so I wondered if it could nullify them perfectly. But then again, the mirror only blocks attacks imbued with malice from living beings. It doesn’t stop natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, right? So I wanted to see whether this assault would be interpreted as a creature’s attack or just a natural calamity. Don’t you find that interesting too, Sir Reynald? Or do you already have a guess?”

“…I can’t even guess, but do you know the saying about using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? Are you aware this is a royal heirloom?”

Reynald genuinely didn’t know the answer to Serna’s question. Few royals would use a treasure worth more than its weight in gold to run such experiments.

But did he truly need to bring it all the way here for that? This was a priceless artifact—far beyond even mountains of gold and jewels.

Was it recklessness, or bravery? Reynald sighed yet again. Arun, who had been rendered speechless in shock, finally exhaled and interjected into the conversation.

“Serna. No matter how trivial your curiosity, what good does it do to reveal it to Sir Reynald? Father must have had his reasons for ordering secrecy.”

“Well, the benefit is peace of mind for Sir Reynald, right? Honestly, isn’t it better for him to know this mirror exists? Imagine if something catastrophic happened later and our lives depended on it—Sir Reynald might make rash or misguided choices simply because he didn’t know about the mirror! If he knew, he could devise far safer and more rational strategies for everyone.”

“…Hmm.”

“I think it’s proper courtesy toward a mentor to reveal the cards we have, just in case.”

Arun seemed convinced by this logic and nodded gravely. But Reynald sensed instantly that Serna had improvised this excuse in barely a second or two. The youngest prince—who had clearly planned to keep the mirror secret himself—sure had a silver tongue.

Still, there was no need to call him out now. If Serna truly hadn’t wanted anyone to know, he wouldn’t have brought the mirror in the first place. And in any case, knowing about the mirror’s existence was also a boon for Reynald.

Besides, the mirror wasn’t something that wore down with frequent use. If they could make use of it, why not? As long as Arun and Serna remained here, perhaps it could even be used to protect the villagers.

“Lord Reynald! The birds are coming!”

Right at that moment, Volant shouted, pointing toward the distant sky. As he said, a flock of shimmering crystal clockwork birds was flying toward them. At his words, Serna immediately snatched the mirror from Reynald’s hands and held it high.

To activate the mirror, all that was required was sunlight. Once it absorbed enough rays, the mirror’s edges glowed white; angling it toward an attacking enemy would reflect their assault back at them.

“There! Their assault counts as an attack, Sir Reynald!”

The crystal clockwork birds, which had been hurtling toward Volant’s field with ferocious speed, suddenly froze mid-flight as though paralyzed, then plummeted limply to the ground. Serna, thrilled to have his curiosity satisfied, leapt for joy. The others were equally astonished.

Only Alex, however, upon witnessing the scene, quietly lowered his head, his expression tinged with bitterness.