How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 147

Evan gently coaxed Rianus, who was still lounging in bed, into getting up.

“Your Highness, it’s time to wake up. You have swordsmanship lessons, remember?”

“I don’t wanna gooo…”

“…Are you feeling unwell?”

“Nooo… I just… don’t want to go.”

Rianus lifted his head slightly, then buried his face in the pillow again. He had almost forgotten, but now he remembered how he had lost to his older brother again during swordsmanship lessons just the other day.

Normally, he wouldn’t have minded much. But then he remembered his friend, who had nodded without the slightest hesitation when asked whether he was hopeless. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like going at all.

Meanwhile, that very friend was sleeping soundly beside him.

Neil is an idiot…

“Your Highness, did something happen?”

Evan was puzzled. Rianus had never expressed a desire to skip lessons like this before, so he gently tried to coax his young master. Perhaps something had happened during swordsmanship lessons on the day he had been away.

“…No. Nothing happened…”

“Please, tell me. You can tell me anything. I might be able to help.”

At those words, the adorable little kitty’s head peeked out. He pulled the teddy bear Pupu close and hugged it tightly before mumbling,

“Um… Sir Evan, do you think I’m hopeless too…?”

“What… do you mean?”

“…My… swordsmanship…”

“…! Who the hell said that?! Was it the duke?!”

Evan flew into a rage as though he were about to challenge the duke, the only Master in the kingdom, to a duel.

“I’ll go confront him right now—!”

“No… The duke didn’t say anything.”

He doesn’t even properly pay attention to me in the first place…

Rianus grew even more depressed and hugged Pupu tightly. Then he noticed Popo sitting all by itself. Since Nihil never slept while holding Popo, Rianus figured he should at least make up for it and quietly pulled the rabbit doll closer, too.

“Then… was it that snake bastard—no, the First Prince?!”

“…Huh? No, no. Actually, Neil…”

“HEY, YOU LITTLE WILDCAT! GET YOUR ASS UP!”

Realizing that the reason their little kitty was depressed was the wildcat sleeping right beside him, Evan immediately grabbed Nihil by the collar and shook him.

“Ah! Sir Evan, don’t! Neil only nodded…!”

“GET UP, YOU LAZY LITTLE BRAT!”

The little kitty beside them tried to stop him, insisting that wasn’t what had happened, but the enraged puppy couldn’t hear a word.

After being shaken a few more times, Nihil’s white eyebrows furrowed slightly before his arrogant eyes opened. Even while dangling in the air by his collar, he crossed his arms haughtily and tilted his head to one side.

“What?”

“Y-You! Did you tell our prince he was hopeless?!”

“When did I?”

The wildcat played innocent, then glanced at the clock before asking the little kitty, who was hugging Pupu and Popo tightly,

“Rian, aren’t you going to swordsmanship lessons?”

“…I don’t really… want to go.”

“Good. You made the right decision.”

“……!”

At the wildcat’s cold reply, the little kitty’s face crumpled as though he were about to burst into tears. Still, he didn’t want to cry, so he stubbornly held them back. The sight was simply heartbreaking.

“What kind of thing is that to say?!”

“What?”

“Why, why are you telling him not to go?!”

“That duke fellow doesn’t teach him anything.”

“W-Well, that’s true, but…!”

“It’s a waste of time. How can you leave him to such a useless lesson and call it teaching? Do you have any sense? You’d be better off teaching him yourself.”

“……!”

Evan’s eyes widened. But soon, his expression darkened.

“…How could I presume to be His Highness’s instructor…?”

If a commoner like him taught the prince, it would only damage the prince’s reputation further.

Besides, unlike the apprentice knights, he had never undergone formal training. He had joined the Knights Order through sheer martial prowess alone. If he wasn’t careful, he might even end up teaching His Highness the wrong swordsmanship techniques.

Nihil glanced at the slightly dejected Evan, twisted his body, and lightly sprang out of his grasp.

“Rian, let’s go watch the Knights Order train.”

Sniff… “Okay…?”

Rianus, who had been discreetly wiping his tears on Popo’s large ears, raised his head in confusion.

“Get ready.”

“???”

 

***

 

Before he knew it, Rianus had been led by his friend to the Knights Order’s training grounds. However, since his friend was wrapped up tightly in a robe to hide his ears and tail, and couldn’t speak either, Rianus was ultimately the one who had to do the talking.

“Your Highness, is something the matter?”

While everyone else kept their distance, wary of his ‘curse,’ only Sir Ernest approached and spoke to him.

Rianus hesitated, unsure of what to say, then simply repeated what his friend had told him.

“…Might I observe the Knights Order’s training?”

“You have swordsmanship lessons now… Ah, of course. You may observe. I’ll arrange a place for you shortly.”

Walter hurriedly changed the subject, assuming that the delicate Second Prince had been discouraged after losing to the First Prince in their last sparring match.

“Oh, there’s no need for that. Just… pretend I’m not here and continue your training.”

“…In that case… understood. Please make yourself comfortable.”

Walter reluctantly left the somewhat downcast Rianus behind and gathered the knights. Their brief break came to an end, and the knights began their morning training.

A few knights looked uncomfortable, but the prince simply took his friend’s hand, found a quiet corner, and watched in silence before leaving.

However, what they had assumed would be a one-time visit continued the next day, and the day after that. Eventually, complaints began to surface among some of the knights.

Walter had a backlog of work, so he kept the early-morning training brief and left the rest to individual practice. As expected, several of his subordinates came to complain, but he managed to placate them and send them away.

“Captain, why does the Second Prince keep coming here?”

“…Sigh. Deputy Captain, even you?”

Walter frowned when even his trusted deputy captain took that attitude.

“Why are you all trying to ostracize such a young prince? There is no such thing as a curse. Even if there were, Sir Evan is perfectly fine, so we can be certain it isn’t a curse that spreads to others.”

“It’s not the curse! It’s his gaze that’s making us uncomfortable! At the very least, we want to know why he keeps coming!”

“He simply sits there quietly and leaves. What’s so uncomfortable about that?”

“You don’t understand, Captain!”

Aaron pounded his chest in frustration.

Honestly, he hadn’t thought much of it on the first day. In fact, calling it an observation was misleading. If anything, the prince and his companions were the ones being observed. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one who had kept an eye on them.

The knights might have been curious about the so-called ‘Curse of Mana,’ or wondered why the prince would skip swordsmanship lessons just to watch their training. But they were also quite curious about his companions.

After all, who wouldn’t be curious about a friend so ridiculously beautiful that he had to cover his face, or the youngest knight in history, a commoner notorious for his terrible attitude?

But things had been different from the second day onward.

Aaron shuddered as he recalled the prince’s gaze, which had been as persistent as a predator watching its prey. The prince stared at them without blinking, his expression completely blank. It had sent chills down Aaron’s spine.

That gaze never left them, not even when they drank water or took a brief rest. They couldn’t let their guard down for a moment throughout training.

“Did you do something to offend His Highness?”

“That’s what I should be asking you! What did I do wrong that makes him stare at me like that?!”

“His Highness is such a kind child. If you simply tell him that his gaze makes you uncomfortable, I’m sure he’ll stop. After all, he’s never caused any serious trouble—”

“THAT’S RIGHT! I’M CURSED! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!”

“…He was doing so well until just now…”

What was that supposed to mean…?

“……”

“……”

Crash!

Walter and Aaron stared blankly at each other for a moment before jumping to their feet and rushing outside.

The knights, who should have been busy with individual training, had gathered around a tiny prince who barely came up to their thighs.

Apparently having overheard something, the prince was huffing angrily before letting out a shrill shout.

“Y-You! I’ll spread my curse to you!”

“Yaaah!”

Evan watched the terrifying little beast—his adorable kitty—raise both hands and charge after the knights, threatening to spread his curse. Then he muttered,

“…Well, you’ve certainly taught him something useful.”

“Khh-hh…!”

“Don’t laugh, you damned wildcat.”

Even as he said that, Evan had to press his lips tightly together to keep himself from laughing.

Knights being chased by a little kid who barely came up to their thighs! And judging by their reactions, they clearly hadn’t expected the prince to overhear their gossip. They looked utterly flustered.

Perhaps because of their pride, they couldn’t bring themselves to run away properly. They merely backed away or changed direction. Still, the very fact that they found the little prince’s outstretched hands threatening was hilarious.

Watching the little kitty refuse to be intimidated and fight back, Evan found himself thinking that he wished their adorable little prince, who was both cute and quick to learn, would chase after him like that, too.

Just then, one of the knights being chased tripped the little kitty.

Thud! Crash—

That bastard…!

Evan’s eyes instantly blazed with fury. He was just about to knock every last tooth out of that knight’s mouth when—

Thwack!

“Ugh…!”

The wildcat, who had already darted forward, kicked the knight squarely behind the knee with all his might.

“Sniff… Neil…”

The wildcat scooped up the little kitty, who had tears clinging to his lashes, in one arm and comforted him. With his other hand, he repeatedly smacked the face of the knight groaning in pain.

It didn’t look as though the blows hurt much, but the way he was hitting him was enough to make anyone furious.

“Y-You damn brat…!”

The knight swung his arm wildly, but the wildcat easily dodged it and hurried back toward Evan, still carrying the little kitty.

Evan immediately reached out to take the prince, but for some reason, the wildcat didn’t hand him over. Instead, he jerked his chin toward the center of the training grounds.

“…? What?”

“……”

“What am I supposed to do…?”

Unable to understand the gesture, Evan raised one eyebrow and tilted his head.

The wildcat seemed equally frustrated that Evan wasn’t getting it. In the end, he lifted his veil slightly and mouthed the words.

Warm up.

Evan’s eyes widened.

“Can I move now?”

Nod, nod.

When Nihil gave him a light nod, the puppy immediately picked a fight with the knight who had tripped the prince.

“You’re still as childish as ever, even at your age, Adolf.”

“You insolent little brat…!”

“Imagine getting whiny after being hit by a child. How much could a kid possibly hurt you?”

Evan curled his lip as he spoke. He was secretly excited at the prospect of finally getting a proper sparring match, but then the wildcat tugged at the hem of his clothes again.

“…What?”

Shake, shake.

“…? But you said I could move!”

Shake, shake, shake.

Why give me permission only to take it away?!