How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 22

Lawrence de Harpense, the First Prince, sneered at Rianus. The boy who had always struggled desperately to keep up now seemed to have given up entirely, showing no interest in his lessons whatsoever.

Even as the swordsmanship lesson drew to a close, Rianus remained completely absent-minded. The Duke, who served as their swordsmanship instructor, had not corrected Rianus once throughout the lesson. Instead, he had ignored him even more than usual and focused solely on teaching Lawrence.

After the lesson ended, Lawrence approached Rianus, his brow furrowing slightly as though he were concerned.

“Rianus.”

“…Ah, Brother.”

Rianus had been staring blankly into space, and it took him a moment to respond to Lawrence’s call.

“Are you still feeling unwell? You seem rather weak today.”

“I’ve completely recovered. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

At those words, Lawrence’s lips curved into a smile, leaving a faint red impression in their wake. It seemed that what had happened at the ducal residence had dealt Rianus quite a blow after all.

He had even fallen ill after storming out like that.

Lawrence wanted to watch his foolish younger brother shatter into a thousand pieces and crumble before his very eyes. So whenever the boy climbed desperately upward, forgetting his place, Lawrence had been waiting to shove him off the cliff.

Sometimes, just as Rianus was about to collapse, Lawrence would even extend a hand to him. Without realizing whose hand it was, Rianus would climb back up again and again, his face plastered with inferiority.

Watching his younger brother like that was Lawrence’s one and only source of amusement. It was hilarious to see him climb and fall, completely at Lawrence’s mercy. Every time he pushed the boy off the cliff, a strange thrill swept through his entire body.

And now, it was time to extend a hand to the boy who had fallen once more.

Putting on an innocent expression as though he knew nothing, Lawrence cautiously spoke to Rianus.

“I heard they’re separating your lessons. I suppose I wasn’t considerate enough of you at the ducal residence. You must have been terribly upset. I’ll apologize, so why don’t you cancel the changes instead of bothering your innocent instructors?”

Lawrence extended his hand, his vermilion eyes curving into gentle crescents.

Rianus had been looking at the ground the entire time, but when Lawrence’s palm entered his field of vision, he lifted his head and met those vermilion eyes.

Having been lost in thought, Rianus only realized they were in the middle of a conversation when he saw the outstretched hand. He briefly tried to recall what they had been discussing.

“A-ah, no, Brother!”

“…What do you mean, no?”

“I asked for the lessons to be separated because I want to attend them with my friend. It has absolutely nothing to do with you, Brother, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…Your friend?”

Lawrence lowered the hand he had raised slightly. Then he recalled the conversation he had had with his mother just the previous day.

‘The prince, that cursed child, came to His Majesty asking to bring a commoner boy here and make him his friend.’

‘A commoner boy?’

‘I don’t know what sort of child he is, but I’ve already ordered an investigation. We should hear something soon.’

‘…Perhaps no one pays attention to him, so he’s bringing in a commoner child to console himself?’

‘Exactly. You needn’t concern yourself with the prince. Leave the investigation to your mother and simply do as you please. If he can be useful, use him. If he becomes a nuisance, get rid of him…’

‘Yes, Mother.’

“…Brother! Brother!”

“Hm? Yes, what was it?”

Lawrence snapped out of his thoughts at Rianus’s call. Before his eyes, a head of swamp-colored hair bobbed up and down.

“I said I’d be leaving first. My friend is waiting for me.”

Leaving first? The boy who always stayed behind to practice alone after lessons?

Only then did Lawrence realize that something was going wrong. Eager to discover what had caused this change in Rianus, he hurriedly came up with something to keep the boy there.

“Why don’t we have a meal together for a change? It’s been a while.”

“I’m sorry, Brother. I already promised my friend. He said he was bored and told me to hurry back! Then I’ll be going!”

Before Lawrence could say another word, Rianus hurried away with his knight in tow.

“Sir Evan, let’s go! Hurry!”

His cheerful voice was almost startling.

The swamp-colored head that had always seemed damp and gloomy now looked fresh and green, like the trees of a forest swaying in the breeze.

Lawrence stood motionless for a moment, watching the back of his departing younger brother. The Duke of Thesaurus, who had been observing from nearby, and the escort knights all silently watched the First Prince, gauging his mood.

Was the boredom of some commoner brat really more important than dining with him?

That boy, who had never once dared refuse him. How dare he?

Cracks began to appear in Lawrence’s face, which had always worn a gentle smile.

His foolish younger brother had given up trying to climb the cliff.

No. He had simply found another cliff.

Something other than Lawrence.

A quiet grinding of teeth echoed from one corner of the training grounds.

 

***

 

When Rianus returned to the palace, Nihil was trotting down the stairs into the lobby. He immediately approached Rianus, studied his complexion for a moment, then chuckled and whispered for him to hurry up and wash.

And then, in Rianus’s bedroom—

“…Why are you grinning so much? You might as well bark.”

After watching Evan, who had been grinning from ear to ear, for a while, Nihil finally spoke up.

Rianus had yet to emerge from the bathroom.

Thinking that he should obediently bark since the wildcat had asked him to, Evan made a little woof sound.

“……”

Having actually heard a dog bark, Nihil’s expression visibly stiffened. For a moment, he seemed to wonder if he had misheard and even poked at his own ears.

“…You’ve finally lost your mind.”

“Ah, maybe I have.”

No matter what Nihil said, Evan simply kept smiling. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

He laughed so loudly that Rianus, who was washing up in the bathroom, called out, “Sir Evan, what happened?”

Nihil frowned.

“If you’re going to go mad, at least do it gracefully.”

“Thanks to you, I witnessed something truly rare.”

Evan recalled what had happened at the training grounds earlier that day.

I should’ve recorded that snake’s expression with a memory orb…

He had responded to the First Prince’s escort knight’s provocation like a wildcat, nearly starting a full-blown dogfight. Even so, he was thoroughly pleased with how things had turned out.

“What’s my payment for the show?”

Without even asking what had happened, Nihil demanded payment for the entertainment.

Evan nodded, thinking, Of course I should pay him, and asked what he wanted.

As long as it was within his abilities, Evan was more than willing to grant whatever Nihil requested. The spectacle had been that precious, and he was in an exceptionally good mood.

“…Think of some games that will tire Rian out enough to fall asleep early. About five of them…”

“……”

Evan was struck speechless. He then realized that, unexpectedly, his own abilities were rather limited.

“Payment for the show.”

“…That’s too… expensive.”

“Then three.”

The wildcat’s requested payment was even more expensive than Evan had expected. Although the number had been reduced from five to three, Evan still couldn’t think of a single game before Rianus finished washing up.

Nihil clicked his tongue and muttered that Evan was useless, but the useless Evan kept his mouth firmly shut. He couldn’t argue with that.

Nihil had been struggling since morning to come up with games he could play with Rian all day, but before he had a chance to return to the problem, something even more bewildering happened.

The etiquette lesson was scheduled to begin during lunchtime.

The shameless puppy, who hadn’t properly paid his entertainment fee, had gone out, claiming he had something to do. Meanwhile, Nihil was now sitting beside Rianus for the etiquette lesson.

Whenever lessons were scheduled around lunchtime, the instructor responsible for manners and etiquette would sometimes join the students for a meal, almost like an examination, to assess their dining etiquette.

Unfortunately, today was one of those days.

The meal had been planned in advance, but the timetable had been changed only the day before. And because Rianus had been so excited about attending lessons with his friend, he had completely forgotten about the schedule, resulting in this disaster.

Rianus, sitting beside him, whispered softly.

“Neil, I’m sorry. I completely forgot, too.”

Nihil merely nodded indifferently. He was only taken aback by the sudden need to sit across from a stranger and eat with them. It wasn’t as though he particularly disliked the idea. When had he ever cared about what other people thought of him?

When the etiquette instructor entered the dining room, she flinched upon seeing Nihil’s snow-white hair, but quickly regained her composure.

Fortunately, the lesson disguised as a meal proceeded more smoothly than expected.

Rianus had already explained that his commoner friend would be accompanying him to every lesson, and Nihil, for once, managed to behave himself reasonably well without acting out.

Perhaps the etiquette instructor didn’t expect much from Nihil because he was a commoner, or perhaps she simply wasn’t interested in him. Either way, she hardly corrected him at all.

Since there were only a few exchanges during the meal, Nihil paid no attention to the conversation and focused entirely on eating.

The lesson continued even after the meal ended, with everyone moving to another room. Nihil, however, remained quietly in his seat like a sack of grain someone had left lying around.

How to greet His Majesty depending on the circumstances. The hierarchy among royalty from the Empire and other kingdoms. Things to keep in mind when speaking with people from other kingdoms. Ways to deal with those of lower rank.

Contrary to Nihil’s expectations that they would merely teach him how to sit properly, the lesson turned out to be surprisingly practical.

Not that it was of any use to Nihil, who treated everyone as equals.

He clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that people who lived like this must have exhausting lives.

Nihil had been sitting with reasonably proper posture, doing his best not to cause Rianus any trouble. But by the time the lesson was nearing its end, even his posture had collapsed, and he was leaning haphazardly against the backrest.

Just as Rianus was about to call out to Nihil and encourage him, their etiquette instructor, Countess Tarandrus, addressed him.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, Teacher?”

“That concludes today’s lesson.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Countess.”

During lessons, Rianus was meticulous about addressing his instructors respectfully, using the title “Teacher” for all of them. It was a way of showing respect to those who taught him. Once he stopped using the formal address, it meant the lesson was over.

The countess glanced at Nihil, who was sprawled beside Rianus, then cautiously spoke.

“Your Highness, keeping an uneducated commoner boy by your side is unwise.”

“If you’re going to insult my friend, I’d appreciate it if you stopped.”

“I’m saying this for your sake, Your Highness. Your reputation is one thing, but to behave like that in front of royalty and nobility…”

“Enough.”

Rianus cut the countess off.