How to Live as the Enemy Prince

Calian gazed at Alan with calm eyes, he stood silently but what he wanted was clear; he wanted to have a conversation.

Even though he was the Prince of a foreign country for Alan, it would still be disrespectful for him to address Calian from atop his carriage, so Alan dismounted – and it was only then that Calian was able to see his face clearly and he was surprised. 

He had heard that Alan was in his fifties, but no matter from which angle, to Calian he looked like he was in his late 20s at most. Fortunately, the unique color of his hair, which became more red as it got closer to the ends, indicated that he indeed was Alan Manasil.

It was only then that Calian realised why the voice at the gates had sounded so young as well. He had heard that if one completed the seven circles, one could change their apparent age.

‘It seems I’ve actually found him.’

Calian looked at Alan without concealing his approval . Alan’s eyes were fixed on that look.

‘He is only fourteen. How does one his age have such a gaze?’ 

The prince looked at him differently than the guards did. Somehow, it felt like Alan was being assessed for his usefulness rather than his appearance.

Alan bowed his head lightly toward Calian and greeted him.

“I am Alan Manasil,”

It was a simple greeting. Alan’s attitude was quite confident. No one other than the royal family could greet a prince this way at their first meeting. It wasn’t because Alan didn’t know who Calian was, nor was he playing a simple game. 

It was because Alan knew himself that he was a talented enough being that he didn’t have to shrink away and humble himself in front of the royal family.

‘I like this man,’ Calian thought.

It occurred to Calian that Alan’s attitude would not change even if he stood in front of King Rumein. A sincerely happy smile spread on Calian’s face.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

As he was taught by Yan, Calian was royalty and so he did not introduce himself. 

“Why would you depart at such a late time?” Calian asked.

(T/N – In the sense of – it’s too late so you should have just stayed over instead of leaving)

“I had opened the closed door, but it seemed the threshold was too high for me to enter.” Alan answered with a pompous voice.

Upon hearing Alan’s answer, Calian smiled slightly, he was saying that he had come as he had been asked, but it was the guard that turned him away for his appearance. 

Calian sighed internally, and carefully schooled his expression as he chose subtle words to match Alan’s round-about way of speaking.

“An entrance had been prepared for you, so why did you go to the place that had been closed?” Calian answered with a relaxed look. It was Alan’s lack of invitation that caused him trouble. 

Alan looked at Calian strangely. He had felt this about Calian from the moment he noticed his gaze – but fourteen-year-old boys did not give that kind of answer. 

As if he knew what he was thinking, rather than apologising to Alan, Calian smiled brightly at Alan’s attitude. 

“There was a lot of wind blowing and dirt piling up on to the threshold. As [I/the guard] was in a hurry to block the wind, [I/ the guard] could not pay attention to clearing the threshold,” 

(T/N – Calian does not specify who the subject is here so I wasn’t sure who he was referring to – in Korean it's not always necessary to specifically mention the subject when its implied – here Calian is implying that the guard, as part of the royal family’s security, was a part of him and his actions as well)

He was saying that while being careful and making sure no unwanted winds blew through the Royal Grounds, the guard had indeed made a mistake. 

It wasn’t an apology, rather he was saying that it was a small error while the guard was doing his job and while he would not be impudent, he would not apologise either. 

‘This child will be interesting to watch.’ 

With that thought Alan finally began to take stock of Calian properly and when things that he had not noticed initially began entering his line of vision, the amused flicker of a smile that had been playing on Alan’s lips began to slowly fade. 

‘Wait…?’

Alan’s gaze reached the end of the cape that Calian was wearing. Then he stared at Calian’s hand, and then looked back into his eyes. It was hard to see what the mage was thinking, and Calian silently watched Alan observe him.

Alan took a step toward Calian.

The mage’s expression was stiff, and caution flickered into Calian’s eyes. 

“Please excuse me for a moment,” Alan said, then reached out and grabbed Calian’s wrist.

“…!”

Normally Calian would have evaded the move, but the long day had exhausted him. It had been a long and hectic day and he had been on the verge of collapse so his reflexes weren’t fast enough.

Also, there was no one who could reach out and touch him like this so brazenly and he was so caught off guard that his wrist was captured.

Alan looked down and seemed to check something on Calian’s hand.

“What are you—!”

Taken aback, Calian opened his mouth to protest, while at the same time Alan allowed his mana to flow into Calian’s body.

Calian choked on his words as he clutched his chest, unable to speak at all. 

A sharp pain pierced through his heart – it was hard to get used to no matter how many times this prickly pain wracked through his body. He couldn’t stop his body bending over as pain several times worse than what he was used to shook through him.