How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 21

Evan wondered whether Nihil might actually be around his own age, or perhaps even older. But the idea sounded so ridiculous even to himself that he shook his head vigorously.

Besides, he couldn’t possibly handle a friend like that. At least their kind, innocent, adorable little prince was manageable.

If Nihil were human, then no matter how much malnutrition or lack of sleep had stunted his growth, he could only be a year or two older than the prince.

…If he were human.

Having reached that thought, Evan stared down at Nihil for a moment before letting it drift away and pretending he hadn’t thought of anything. After all, the prince needed the boy.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be going out while you’re attending lessons with His Highness. I’ll get them then.”

“Fine.”

Nihil didn’t seem the least bit curious about where Evan was going or why. He asked nothing more.

Evan was relieved that Nihil wasn’t interested in him, since he didn’t want to explain himself, either.

Soon, the damp seaweed emerged from the bathroom, and Nihil went in to wash up.

While bathing, Nihil wondered why he was bothering to wash in someone else’s bathroom when he had a bedroom of his own. But Rianus came out and casually called, “Neil, hurry up and finish washing,” so by the time Nihil came to his senses, he was already sitting in the bathtub.

When he came out, Rianus came scampering over and began vigorously rubbing his hair dry with a towel. He did it so forcefully that Nihil’s entire body swayed from side to side.

The towel and Rianus’s hair occasionally stung his cheeks, but the little prince looked so enthusiastic that Nihil couldn’t bring himself to tell him he didn’t need the help. He simply kept his mouth shut and obediently entrusted his head to Rianus.

And, just as he had expected, Nihil never got the chance to return to his newly assigned bedroom.

He lay there, staring blankly at the wrinkled canopy above the bed.

Somehow, the old teddy bear Rianus had given him was now nestled in his arms. Its name was Pupu, and Rianus had told him that his mother had made it while he was still in her womb.

Rianus lay beside Nihil, chattering away about the next day’s schedule until he eventually wore himself out and fell asleep. The medicine was probably taking effect.

Nihil sighed and turned onto his side. Pupu’s face was squashed against his chest.

As Evan waited for the little kitten to fall asleep, he heard the wildcat mutter, “Etiquette, history…”

Unable to stop the corners of his mouth from lifting, Evan quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

Tomorrow was the day for lessons in etiquette and history.

 

***

 

The prince’s mornings began early. On days when he had swordsmanship lessons, Rianus was usually gloomy from the moment he woke up. Today, however, he was unusually excited from the very start of the morning.

Nihil had realized that the duke who taught swordsmanship was the First Prince’s guardian. Worried that the seaweed might get soaked in the duke’s brine, he had decided to make his move before anything could happen.

“Rian, I’ll get bored, so you have to come back quickly.”

“Okay!”

“You have to play with me all day, so don’t tire yourself out too much. Just swing your sword a little and come back.”

“Okay!!”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay!!!”

Rianus nodded enthusiastically and headed to the training grounds with a light heart.

Watching the energetic little kitten first thing in the morning, Evan thought about how glad he was to have brought home that wildcat approximately twenty-one times.

He was even willing to make a secret vow not to get angry at Nihil’s insolence—at least once, or perhaps twice.

Meanwhile, unlike the lighthearted little kitten and his guard dog, the wildcat was already nursing a headache over the responsibility of entertaining the little kitten all day.

 

***

 

Rianus was busy running laps around the training grounds.

As was customary for most knights’ training sessions, the duke always made the trainees run around the grounds before beginning their swordsmanship lessons.

Rianus caught a glimpse of his older brother running half a lap ahead of him.

Normally, he would have pushed himself to catch up, even if it meant overexerting himself. But right now, he was too busy thinking of things he wanted to do with Nihil to pay attention.

Evan watched him with quiet satisfaction. He believed that the prince’s ability to maintain his composure and run at his own pace instead of exhausting himself was all thanks to that wildcat.

If no one had opened their mouths beside him, Evan would have continued watching happily while thinking about what he could do for Nihil. Unfortunately, there was an unwelcome interruption.

“Hey, Evan. Your master will never be able to wield aura in his entire life. Why don’t you make him give up already?”

“……”

Evan stood his ground, keeping his eyes firmly on his prince without even glancing at the speaker.

They were the First Prince’s escort knights.

Normally, they would have snickered at the sight of Rianus panting as he pushed himself too hard. But since the prince was maintaining his composure today, unlike usual, they had started picking on him for other reasons.

“Isn’t this just giving him false hope? How long can a child cursed by mana even keep this up?”

“……”

“No matter how much swordsmanship he learns, it’ll be useless against someone who can wield aura.”

“……”

“Tsk. A commoner with nothing but pride…”

When Evan refused to respond and continued staring straight ahead, the knight clicked his tongue.

As a commoner himself, Evan desperately wanted to punch the knight in the mouth for running it so carelessly. But he knew that was exactly what they wanted, so he swallowed his anger.

If he allowed himself to be provoked, there would be no one left to protect his small, fragile little kitten.

He had passed the Royal Knights Order’s entrance examination at the unprecedentedly young age of fifteen. Yet because he was a commoner, he had endured jealousy and contempt ever since.

Evan might have seemed taciturn, but he had never been the type to simply tolerate insults. When someone provoked him, he settled things with his sword. If someone hit him once, he hit them ten times in return.

That was how he had been before becoming the prince’s escort knight.

After taking that position, however, he had done nothing but endure.

Even when they beat him as a group. Even when they threatened him by flaunting their status. Even when they picked fights with him, calling him an ill-mannered, insolent child who didn’t know his place.

He had endured it all for fear that his young master might suffer the consequences. He couldn’t bear the thought of making that fragile, kindhearted child—who already struggled to take care of himself—worry about a mere knight.

So he endured.

For a commoner knight with no influential backers and a past full of mistakes, that was the only thing he could do for his delicate young master.

Suddenly, Evan wondered how that wildcat would react if he heard these taunts.

Would he simply ignore them, as Evan did? Or would he get angry on the prince’s behalf?

As Evan imagined how Nihil might respond in this situation, the corner of his mouth curled into a crooked smile.

“Bark some more.”

As soon as Rianus headed to the training grounds with his guard dog, Nihil began moving.

Thanks to Rianus giving him a brief tour of the palace the day before, he was able to find the butler’s bedroom right away. As expected, however, it was empty.

The servants were probably busy with their duties, and there were so few of them compared to the enormous palace that Nihil hadn’t encountered anyone along the way.

That old man really doesn’t listen. I clearly told him to rest.

After wandering around the palace alone for quite some time, Nihil finally ran into Head Maid Perry. He stopped her and asked where the butler was.

“Where’s the old man?”

“Mr. Paul should be in his office right now.”

“Where is it?”

“I’ll show you.”

Nihil followed Perry down the corridor once more. When they reached the butler’s office, Perry returned to her duties, and Nihil decided to take a little revenge on the butler for making him walk around for nothing.

Without knocking, he flung the office door open.

The sudden appearance of Nihil made the butler jump in surprise.

“Goodness, young master! If you keep barging in like that, this old man’s heart won’t survive!”

“Old man, you’re disobeying orders.”

“Anyone who heard that would get the wrong idea! I merely left something in my office…”

“……”

Nihil slammed the office door shut, folded his arms, and cocked one eyebrow at the butler as though to ask whether that was really the best excuse he could come up with.

The elderly butler smiled awkwardly, looking troubled.

“…Are you going to tell His Highness to me?”

“That depends on how you behave.”

“Please spare me. I’ll have no choice but to rest once His Highness returns anyway.”

“We need to talk.”

“Yes, yes, of course! Please, have a seat first.”

Nihil plopped down on the sofa in the office and crossed his legs.

The butler brought him tea and a small assortment of refreshments.

“Would you like some milk in your tea?”

“I hate that. Especially with sugar.”

“Oh dear. Our prince loves it…”

Nihil had already seen for himself how much Rianus liked milk tea with plenty of sugar.

Hadn’t the little prince dropped seven whole sugar cubes into that tiny teacup?

But that wasn’t Nihil’s taste.

“So, what brings you all the way here? What is it you wish to know?”

“The current royal family’s genealogy and basic information about its members. Influential nobles and their relationships with one another. The princes’ public reputations. And everything about the princes that isn’t classified.”

“Heh… We won’t finish all that today.”

The butler smiled amiably, but he was also watching Nihil discreetly.

The boy’s first impression had been far from ordinary, but the butler hadn’t expected him to show up unannounced and immediately demand information.

“Then start with things related to Rian. Especially anything involving his trauma.”

“…Wouldn’t you rather know what His Highness likes?”

Without losing his smile, the butler was politely expressing his refusal. Even if Nihil was the prince’s friend, he couldn’t casually reveal information that might become a weakness for His Highness.

Nihil understood the implication but pretended not to, replying in his usual indifferent tone.

“Rian likes me.”

Paul was left speechless.

It was obvious that the prince liked Nihil, since he had brought him to the palace as a friend. But where on earth did this boy get the nerve to say it so confidently?

Unfazed by the butler’s silence, Nihil continued.

“He seems pretty fond of his damn dog, too…”

“Sir Evan is his only escort knight, so naturally His Highness cherishes him.”

“And that teddy bear his mother made for him…”

“Do you mean Pupu?”

“…Anyway, he seems to cherish that bear, too, but not as much as he cherishes me.”

“……”

“His Highness is kind to the servants, but he doesn’t seem to trust them all that much. On the other hand, he seems to trust you quite a bit, old man.”

“……”

As the butler’s expression gradually stiffened, Nihil spoke in a soothing tone.

“Don’t be on your guard. Rian himself told me to make sure I listened to you. I’m not asking for deeply buried secrets, just things that people could ordinarily find out.”

“…Why do you want to know?”

The butler asked the question without relaxing his expression.

Wanting to ease the tension hanging between them, Nihil uncrossed his legs and slumped so far back into the sofa that he was practically lying down. He looked just like a languid, sprawled-out cat.

“I realized he had elven blood, and the child was deeply shaken by it.”

“……”

“So just tell me enough that I can avoid saying the wrong thing.”

“…How much do you know about His Highness?”

“That he doesn’t have any friends besides me?”

“……”

“I’ll explain everything from the beginning, step by step.”

The butler’s explanation continued for quite some time.