He could not be certain of it. All Ran could do was hope that Rattel, the protagonist, was in position to witness two things: the execution of Agoni Feitus, and the manis of the royal family he was destined to face as the main character of this novel.
At the closing ceremony, Agoni Feitus, hero of his house, hailed for countless contributions on the battlefield, former Imperial Knight Commander of the empire, had been branded a sinner for insulting the imperial family.
With his authority as first prince, Rasia prepared to carry out the sentence. He engulfed the old man in water manis while everyone watched in horror, unable to do anything.
Inside the sphere, Agoni struggled to breathe. In that brief moment he saw Talin at the edge of the crowd, desperately trying to break free from the people holding him back, and wondered why on earth the man had come.
He had hoped Talin would sleep through the entire ceremony after the dizziness that morning. It seemed he had only been pretending to sleep.
Still, Agoni was relieved to see that Talin was safe, even as he felt the guilt of parting like this. As his final wish, he silently hoped that Talin would take care of Flynn once he was gone.
Then he noticed the seventh prince in the crowd, seemingly trying to tell him something. He could not hear a word from inside the water. He focused on the boy's lips instead, and read them.
It isn't your time to die.
At the same time, Rasia launched the sphere and the man inside it high into the sky, then slammed it down into the distance, hoping the impact would finally finish the old man off.
Everyone watched anxiously as Agoni sailed toward his supposed death. Far away, from the windows of his own castle, Flynn saw the projectile falling out of the sky, with no idea that his father was trapped inside it.
On the far end of the hunting ground, Rattel was already running. He chased after the falling bubble to see what was inside it, but the thing was too blurry with speed to make out. Then, after a moment, he realized it contained a person, and he launched himself into the sky with his hand outstretched to catch the man inside.
He did not make it in time. The bubble went over the cliff with Agoni still trapped inside it.
Rattel felt a pang of guilt as he came down. He stood there a long while, staring into the distance in the direction where the water sphere had fallen.
Back at the tower grounds, Talin was staring at what was left: Agoni's boots, and an empty sheath. Around him the crowd had already begun to whisper, wondering what would become of the Feitus family now that it had lost its leader.
The emperor declared that the show had ended, and one of his officials informed everyone that the main closing ceremony would take place later, at noon.
Rasia dusted off his hands, looking thoroughly pleased with himself for having eliminated another bug. He strutted out of the tower grounds, and everyone bowed as he passed. Even Talin had no choice but to lower his head in respect while the crowd around him went on mocking Agoni and the house of Feitus.
After the prince had gone, Talin turned quietly away and began to walk, carrying the weight of a name that had just been branded traitor.
Ran, still watching from the crowd, felt his own pang of guilt. Talin must be heartbroken; he had been close to the old man, closer than a servant had any business being. But Ran did not think Talin would break so easily.
Back in the tent, Talin found Agoni's letter, sealed with the crest of the Feitus family.
In it, Agoni revealed that he had already foreseen his own death, and begged Talin to pray that he might find his way to their paradise, Terrarum. He entrusted Talin with the care of Flynn. He assured him that none of this was his fault.
Moved to tears, Talin read on, and discovered that Agoni had named him acting head of the Feitus family, should anything happen to him.
With his master's final blessing sitting on his heart like a stone, Talin finished the letter and collapsed.
A few days after the hunting competition, Ran called in on Rasia, who was suffering the backlash of having overused his manis for a full night.
Ran told him plainly that his condition had worsened.
Rasia blamed him for it, since it was Ran who had promised that the black stone would absorb his polluted manis, and then threatened to end him if he did not produce a proper answer.
"Releasing your manis in a hurry only makes it worse," Ran said. "You need to let it out slowly."
Rasia seethed at that, and privately swore to tear the boy to shreds the moment he completely recovered.
Ran knew exactly what he was thinking and was not remotely concerned. This disease was not something that could be cured all at once. Besides, Rasia depended on his supply of black stone to stay alive, so he could not make any rash moves for the foreseeable future.
The only thing troubling Ran right now was Talin. He had heard that the man had been in a coma since the hunting competition, and he was worried that he might actually die.
His fears were unfounded. Elsewhere, at that moment, Talin was regaining consciousness.
Whatever had happened to him in those weeks, the man who opened his eyes had been carved down into something harder than the aide who had gone under. He lay still for a moment, working out where he was.