How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 135

“U-Urgh!”

“Damn it!”

Evan cursed as he stared at the pool of blood staining the floor bright red. The wildcat was vomiting so much blood that Evan was beginning to wonder if he might actually die from blood loss.

“Y-You… Are you all right…? No, h-how could you…!”

“Ugh. Stop making such a fuss and stay right there.”

Even as he vomited blood, Nihil glared at Evan through narrowed eyes.

He should have stayed put and followed the little kitten around. Why had he stayed behind instead…?

“How am I supposed not to make a fuss?! Th-There’s so much blood…!”

“This is… gastric fluid.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense! Even if it were gastric fluid, wouldn’t that still be a problem?!”

Evan was irritated that the one who had vomited blood seemed perfectly fine while he was the one panicking, but he turned around, thinking he should hurry and fetch a physician.

However, Nihil grabbed the hem of his trousers.

“I’ve finished vomiting. There’s no need to go.”

“Shouldn’t you get treatment?!”

“I merely expelled stagnant blood. There’s nothing wrong with my body.”

“The fact that you had stagnant blood in the first place means something was wrong with your body!”

“…I’m completely healed.”

“Don’t talk nonse—”

“It’s true. More importantly, doesn’t your stomach feel uncomfortable?”

“Why would my stomach feel uncomfortable just because I saw a little blood…!”

Evan started to deny it, but stopped when he realized his stomach really did feel a little uncomfortable.

Actually, it had been bothering him slightly ever since the luncheon…

He tilted his head, wondering if he had really become that squeamish, when the wildcat spoke.

“The medicine will take effect soon. If you feel nauseated, don’t hold it back. Throw it up.”

“…What?”

“The impurities.”

“…Could you explain that in a little more detail?”

Nihil calmly fetched a towel and continued speaking as he wiped up the blood he had vomited with wet, squelching sounds.

“Now that your mana heart has been emptied, didn’t I say I would clean it out? Normally, the process takes several more days, but since you’ve taken the medicine, the impurities should soon be expelled from your body.”

“……You never told me you were giving me something like that.”

“You gobbled up whatever I gave you without a second thought. Why complain now?”

“……”

“Such a careless fellow.”

Since he couldn’t argue with that, Evan sighed and snatched the towel from Nihil, wiping up the blood with a series of wet, squelching sounds.

He considered calling a servant, but explaining this situation would probably be even more difficult, so he decided to clean it up himself.

Irritated for no particular reason, Evan clenched his teeth and growled.

“Zri ge isse.” (Stay over there.)

“……”

But the wildcat didn’t care whether Evan growled or not. He simply squatted beside him and stared intently at his face.

“Damn it, I said stay over there!”

Annoyed by the wildcat’s refusal to move, Evan waved his hand irritably. Only then did the boy retreat a little.

Evan continued grumbling as he finished cleaning up, then tossed the towel, now damp with blood, into the trash can.

Clang, clatter.

‘That’s right!’

Pleased with his perfect shot, Evan silently celebrated. But the wildcat, who had been watching him with a pathetic look, walked over to the trash can and took out the dirty towel.

Evan’s eyebrows shot up.

“What are you doing?”

“…My blood shouldn’t be left like this.”

With that, the boy carried it away and began washing it by hand.

Evan stared blankly, too dumbfounded to speak. But when he saw the small, white hands turning red from the cold, he finally lost his temper and snatched the towel away.

“Give it here!”

“……”

“Damn it, you wildcat! What in the world am I doing here?!”

“……”

“Ugh, just go somewhere else! Why do you keep sticking to me like glue?!”

For some reason, Nihil was glued to his side. Evan pushed him away with his foot. Then, noticing the blood covering the boy’s hands and sleeves, his anger flared up again. He grabbed Nihil by the scruff and lifted him into the air.

Evan tucked Nihil under his arm, roughly pulled off the cumbersome veil, and scrubbed his face and hands clean.

“Why am I raising a child instead of doing the job I’m supposed to be doing as a bodyguard?!”

“……”

“Lower your head, you brat!”

Even while being washed, Nihil held his head high and stared at him, so Evan pressed it down.

Then he noticed a streak of blood running from the ear canal along the line of Nihil’s jaw, and abruptly stopped.

‘What… is this…?’

Evan carefully wiped away the bloodstain. It was unmistakably blood that had flowed out of the ear canal, and it had already dried, making it difficult to remove. He hadn’t noticed it because the boy had kept wearing his veil.

Come to think of it, when that monster or whatever it was had let out its horrible shriek, the boy had covered one of Evan’s ears. And in his other hand, he had been holding something invisible.

Could he have been exposed to that shriek directly and suffered some damage to his hearing?

“…Wildcat.”

Fortunately, the boy lifted his head at Evan’s quiet call.

“You. About that monster earlier.”

“What about it?”

“That thing… the one you told us to cover our ears for…”

“Did you hit your head? Why can’t you speak properly?”

A surge of irritation rose in Evan.

“Forget it! I shouldn’t even bother asking!”

The way the wildcat kept answering back made it seem like his ears were perfectly fine.

Evan irritably resumed washing his face. The dried blood was difficult to wipe away, which only made him more annoyed.

After finishing, he fetched a fresh, fluffy towel and rubbed the wildcat’s face vigorously. But when he saw the boy’s snow-white face quickly turning bright red, he eased up a little.

“You don’t have to wipe me so gently.”

“Shut up, ugh…!”

His stomach had been bothering him for a while, and now he was finally retching. Honestly, one thing after another. What a mess.

Nihil naturally raised a hand and patted Evan’s back. Annoyed by the boy’s nonchalant touch, Evan slapped his hand away.

“Don’t pat my back! You damn wildcat!”

“Don’t hold it in. I told you those are impurities.”

“Why did you give me this medicine in the first place?!”

“It was a measure taken for your convenience.”

“Then explain it properly!”

Why did he always explain things so patiently to the prince, but not to him?!

When Evan voiced his complaint, Nihil narrowed his eyes as though it were a bother, but still added an explanation.

“To expel the impurities completely, you would have to spend time exposing yourself to the air and managing your diet on nothing but vegetables. What’s more, your body would keep giving off an odor while the waste was being expelled. So I used medicine to gather the impurities quickly and make your body expel them.”

“……”

It made perfect sense, so Evan quietly accepted the explanation.

“…It’s true that I don’t have time to spend exposing myself to the air. I need to stay by His Highness’s side, and it would be troublesome if I smelled, too.”

“Just be honest. You don’t want to eat anything but vegetables, do you?”

“……”

Evan kept his mouth shut. He really couldn’t imagine living on vegetables alone.

By the time he had finished vomiting even the black, foul-smelling clumps, he was completely exhausted.

Forget being a bodyguard. He slumped limply on the sofa, and the wildcat clambered onto his lap. Then he naturally took Evan’s pulse.

‘I’m tired.’

Evan wasn’t particularly interested in whether his heart was beating properly. He was simply overwhelmed by an unusual wave of fatigue, so he closed his eyes for a moment.

Since Sir Frederick was here, perhaps he could tell His Highness and take a rare outing. What should he buy as a gift this time? The chick-shaped teapot seemed to have pleased him quite a bit. Ah, perhaps he could get him a fluffy stuffed animal.

As Evan idly wondered where he could find a very large puppy plushie, a sudden pain shot through his back.

“……!”

His eyes flew open in surprise, and he saw the reception room ceiling.

‘Did I… fall asleep?’

The pain in his back had vanished as though it had been an illusion. Instead, when he shifted his eyes slightly to the side, he saw a long, white eyelash. The wildcat was asleep with his head resting against Evan’s.

Evan lay there in a daze for a moment before sitting up. When he checked the time, it was a little past three. He had thought only an instant had passed, but twenty minutes had gone by.

Perhaps the wildcat hadn’t been sleeping deeply either, because he woke up right after Evan.

‘Even if I’m tired, how could I have fallen asleep in the reception room of the main palace…?’

Evan rubbed his dry face, relieved that His Highness hadn’t returned yet.

Just then, the wildcat stood on his thigh, tidied his hair, and spoke.

“The child is coming.”

“……”

Evan had plenty he wanted to say, but first he pressed down the back of his head, smoothing out the hair sticking up.

He couldn’t possibly let their little kitten see him looking so disheveled.

But when the door opened and a small head cautiously peeked inside, Evan nearly lost his mind.

Their little kitten’s eyes were terribly swollen.

 

***

 

“Requies, then. It’s a little difficult to pronounce, but… it’s a lovely name. Are you sure you want to use it?”

“Yes, yes! Please use that one.”

Rianus nodded vigorously. Then, looking a little embarrassed, he fidgeted before continuing in a whisper.

“And… I’d like to keep it a secret from Neil.”

Rianus smiled bashfully. Sedes smiled back at him and gently stroked his head once more.

Then he remembered Baron Allier and his son, whom he had watched leave while embracing each other, and spoke up almost without thinking.

“Rianus.”

“Yes?”

“I hear you like shrimp.”

“Yes, yes. How did you know?”

Rianus stared at Sedes with wide eyes. He had never told him anything about himself, and Sedes had never asked.

Sedes continued.

“And you particularly dislike bell peppers?”

“Th-That’s… just a little… I-I can still eat them.”

“Your favorite books are fairy tales about witches and heroes…”

“Yeees…”

“I also heard that you used to dislike this hair color.”

“…I did, but… I like it now. Neil… likes green.”

As he spoke, Rianus played with his bangs. Now that he thought about it, his friend seemed to like him even more than he liked himself.

“I like it, too.”

“……Pardon?”

At those unexpected words, Rianus’s head shot up.

Sedes smiled faintly at Rianus, who was looking up at him with wide eyes, and gently brushed his hair back.

“I like that color very much. It looks as though your mother’s golden hair and my dark blue-black hair were mixed together.”

“……”

“I also like your eyes. One is the emerald green of your mother’s, and the other is my golden eye.”

As Sedes continued his confession, Rianus didn’t know what to do. His face turned red, and he lowered his head. Then, for no particular reason, he began kneading Sedes’s hand.

Sedes chuckled softly before speaking again.

“I… loved your mother, Natura, very much.”

Rianus’s hands stopped moving.

Sedes took the small hands that had gone still in his own and held them tightly.

“That was why I was even more conflicted when you were born.”

“……”

“I… weighed your life against your mother’s.”

‘You shouldn’t have hesitated.’

The words the small, white child had calmly uttered that day had been circling in his mind ever since. At first, he didn’t understand what they meant. No, he had understood the moment he heard them, but he had kept pretending otherwise, refusing to acknowledge it.

Sedes slowly took a deep breath and tried to continue as calmly as possible, as though nothing were wrong.

“My indecisiveness nearly cost both of you your lives.”

“……”

“I hear that you cannot use mana because of me.”

“……”

“Haha. If only I’d known this would happen, I shouldn’t have hesitated back then…”

Sedes tried to continue lightly, still pretending to be calm. But when something warm fell onto the back of his hand, he stopped and looked down at Rianus.

The child had pressed his lips tightly together and bowed his head. He hurriedly wiped away the tear that had fallen onto Sedes’s hand, but, sadly, more tears soon came tumbling down.

Of course. He must resent his father. For being a half-elf’s child… for being the child of a concubine… for having no mother… for being a child afflicted with the ‘Curse of Mana’… How much contempt had he endured because of those ridiculous labels?

And his own father had been so incapable that he couldn’t even properly care for him, doing nothing but keep him hidden away.

Sedes was about to open his mouth to ask whether Rianus resented him, but then—

“Do… Do you hate me?”

At that question, his lips, which had begun to part, closed again.