How the Prince Makes Friends – Chapter 25

Author: isuzuuy

Tea trickled down Nihil’s snow-white hair, soaking his clothes.

Perhaps because of his indifferent demeanor and mysterious aura, the sight was so surreal that he might have thought he was dreaming about spilling tea if not for the milky, sweet smell of milk tea.

“…Wipe it off.”

“AAAH! Are you hurt?!”

At Nihil’s quiet command, Carus, who had been frozen in place and barely breathing, let out a scream. He hurriedly set his teacup on the table, pulled out a handkerchief, and began frantically wiping the mess away. With five sugar cubes in it, the tea was terribly sticky.

“Neil, are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

“I’m terribly sorry. Was it hot?”

Marquess Francesca dampened his handkerchief with water and carefully wiped Nihil’s face and hair. His movements were so gentle and attentive that he looked as though he were caring for a little brother.

Nihil studied the marquess, who was examining his face from every angle with a worried expression just inches away.

Only moments ago, Carus had been whining like a child, begging Nihil to tell him about the ancient language. Nihil had expected him to grovel and apologize, but there was no trace of servility in his eyes. Instead, he saw a little guilt and genuine concern.

Nihil let himself be taken care of by those unassuming hands and slowly blinked.

“Fortunately, you don’t seem to have suffered any burns…”

“Teacher.”

“…Yes?”

“Give me your hand.”

Marquess Francesca absentmindedly lowered his handkerchief and held out his hand.

Nihil seized it, carefully brought it to his forehead, and closed his eyes.

A gentle breeze blew from somewhere, making his white hair sway softly. The scene almost resembled a sacred ritual, and both Rianus and Carus instinctively held their breath as they watched Nihil.

“Ah.”

Thud! Crash!

That was when Nihil, who had been quietly standing with his eyes closed, suddenly cried out and shoved Carus’s body away with considerable force.

“Ugh…!”

Carus was sent sprawling before he could even react, and the air suddenly surged around them.

“…My dear friend?”

Carus stared at Nihil with wide, round eyes.

Rianus was equally bewildered, having no idea what had happened. Then he noticed a thin red line appearing on one of his friend’s cheeks.

“N-Neil! You’re bleeding!”

Rianus shouted and grabbed Nihil’s face with both hands. Carus was startled as well and hurried over to examine him.

“W-what on earth just happened…?”

“Neil, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.”

Unlike the two men making such a fuss, Nihil indifferently raised a hand and brushed his cheek. Blood seeped from the cut, but he acted as though it were nothing.

Carus flusteredly tried to wipe away the blood with his handkerchief, only to realize it was the same one he had used to clean up the spilled tea. He hurriedly took a fresh one from his pocket.

The cut must not have been deep, because the bleeding stopped quickly. After dampening the handkerchief and carefully wiping away the blood, they found that the wound was barely noticeable.

“What suddenly happened?! Are you really all right?”

“I said I’m fine, so stop asking. Give me that handkerchief.”

“I can give you as many handkerchiefs as you like, but… are you absolutely sure you’re all right?”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“Then, what was that ritual-like thing you did earlier…?”

Holding the bloodstained handkerchief, Nihil silently rose from his seat. He walked over to the fireplace and tossed it into the flames.

The handkerchief burned away in an instant, leaving no trace behind.

“…Teacher, you should stop researching that language. It won’t do you any good.”

“Pardon? Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

“Th-then, could I ask just one more question?”

“Don’t ask. Teacher, aren’t you busy? I believe you’re a professor. Your class ended a long time ago.”

“Ah, I am busy, but just one last thing! Just one more piece of information!”

“No.”

“Please, I’m begging you!”

“I said no.”

“My dear friend of the prince! Please, just one last thing! I beg you!”

At last, the marquess threw himself flat on the floor, clutched Nihil’s trouser leg, and began pleading.

“My dear friend of the prince! Please!”

“Let go of me. Rian, do something about this lunatic.”

Unable to move because Carus was clinging to his leg, Nihil boldly grabbed the marquess by the hair and tried pulling him away, but Carus wouldn’t budge.

“Your Highness! You said you liked me! Please persuade your friend for me!”

“C-Carus, please calm down first…!”

Bang!

Just as the situation was spiraling toward disaster, the sitting room door flew open.

“W-what on earth is going on here?!”

Sir Evan had just returned from an outing.

***

Having only just returned from his outing, Evan couldn’t make sense of the scene inside the sitting room.

I heard a loud commotion, so I rushed in, but…

Why was a marquess sprawled on the floor with his hair being pulled while clinging to a wildcat’s trouser leg?

In all his twenty years of life, Evan had never encountered anything remotely like it.

Beside them, the innocent little kitten was fretting over the situation, only to greet Evan cheerfully when he appeared.

“Sir Evan, you’re back!”

“I’ve returned. My lord marquess, what on earth is happening?”

“Sir Evan, you’re here! Please persuade His Highness’s friend for me!”

“Wait, what…?”

What on earth had happened while he was away for only a little while to leave things in this state?

Evan looked back and forth between the marquess and the wildcat, who was audaciously tugging on a nobleman’s hair without the slightest concern.

He had absolutely no idea what had led to this situation. Still, if the marquess had been reduced to crawling on the floor and clinging to someone’s trouser leg, the matter seemed rather serious. Perhaps he should take the marquess’s side for now.

“Payment for the show.”

Just then, Nihil, who was still gripping the marquess’s hair, raised both arms toward Evan and brought up the debt he owed him.

He was telling Evan to rescue him from this situation as payment for the entertainment.

Evan widened his eyes at the unfamiliar sight of the wildcat behaving like a little child. Nevertheless, when the wildcat held out his arms, Evan instinctively scooped him up.

“Lord Marquess, perhaps you should head home for now…”

“How can you do this to me?! We’re friends, aren’t we?!”

It was amusing to hear a marquess speak of friendship with an ordinary commoner knight, but Carus genuinely considered Evan his friend.

After learning that they were the same age, the free-spirited Carus had proposed becoming friends. Since then, Evan had gradually grown comfortable enough around him to treat him more casually.

Evan glanced down at the wildcat in his arms, but Nihil merely repeated, “Payment for the show,” urging him to settle his debt.

Evan decided that dealing with the marquess and rescuing the wildcat would probably be easier than finding three activities to keep the prince entertained. Resolving to fulfill his debt properly, he prepared to act.

“…I owe him payment for the show…”

“What on earth is this payment you keep talking about?!”

The marquess stamped his feet. He looked as though he wanted to snatch Nihil straight out of Evan’s arms at any moment.

The little kitten seemed shocked that his own knight was in debt. He muttered under his breath, “Sir Evan, you’re in debt…?”

“Haaah…”

Nihil sighed.

One person was throwing a tantrum, another was desperately trying to calm him down, and the third was offering to pay off someone else’s debt.

Was this a sitting room or a marketplace?

Exhausted, Nihil went limp in Evan’s arms.

Seeing how listless he looked, all three froze and asked at the same time.

“Neil, are you sick?”

“My dear friend! Are you unwell?”

“What’s wrong, wildcat? Are you sick?”

Their attention had suddenly turned toward him over a meaningless gesture, leaving Nihil a little flustered inside.

Rianus and Carus remembered how Nihil’s cheek had suddenly been cut moments earlier. Their expressions grew serious as they watched him, wondering whether something had gone wrong.

Meanwhile, Evan, who knew nothing about what had happened, took it relatively lightly and brushed Nihil’s hair back from his forehead.

The wildcat smelled sweetly of milk. The scent suited him and yet seemed completely at odds with him, making Evan chuckle.

“Wildcat, you smell like milk. So much for acting like an adult. You’re still just a kid.”

“…That’s because the teacher spilled tea on me.”

“Spilled tea…?”

Evan was puzzled. How on earth did someone manage to spill tea on a child’s head? Come to think of it, not only Nihil’s hair but also his shoulders were slightly damp.

“You little brat, what’s that cut on your face?”

Evan noticed a barely visible mark on Nihil’s left cheek. It looked like a clean cut made by something extremely sharp.

Nihil didn’t answer. After hesitating while watching the others, Carus timidly raised his hand and spoke.

“I think that wound might be my fault.”

“Pardon…?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it was because of me.”

“What do you mean…?”

Evan was about to ask what on earth he meant when Nihil firmly denied it.

“No.”

Nihil patted Evan’s shoulder and nodded toward the sofa.

“Put me down now.”

Evan carefully lowered Nihil from his arms onto the sofa.

The moment he did, Rianus and Carus promptly claimed the seats on either side of Nihil. Watching them, Evan let out an incredulous laugh.

“…Good grief. What on earth is going on here?”

Evan naturally took a seat across from them, picked up the one remaining chocolate cookie on the table, and brought it to his mouth.

“Ah! That belongs to Neil!”

Seeing Evan take a bite of the cookie, Rianus hurriedly tried to stop him, insisting it was Nihil’s. But the cookie was already in Evan’s mouth.

“…?”

Evan couldn’t even chew the cookie. He glanced at Nihil.

Apparently, it really had been the wildcat’s share. Nihil looked just as startled. He raised a hand, then slowly lowered it and averted his gaze.

What? Is he sulking because I ate his cookie?

Thinking he should buy Nihil some cookies later, Evan finally began chewing. That was when the burnt smell hit him. The more he chewed, the more bitter the taste became.

Evan’s chewing gradually slowed.

“…Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“…Have you tried these cookies?”

“I’ve only tried the butter cookies over there. I thought Neil liked the chocolate ones, so I gave them all to him. That was the last chocolate cookie, after Neil had eaten the rest…”

“……”

Evan glanced at Nihil.

The wildcat, who had been avoiding his gaze, poured himself another cup of tea, dropped in one sugar cube, then glanced at Evan and added another. Afterward, he discreetly pushed the teacup toward him.

Nihil had definitely known.

He had known that the cookies the prince thought were chocolate tasted like coal.

And it seemed he had eaten them all himself to keep the prince from trying them.

“Your Highness, these cookies… who brought them?”

“Carus gave them to me as a present!”

“…The marquess did?”

As a gift, he had brought cookies that tasted like coal…?

“Yes! He said his youngest brother made them!”

“Haha! My youngest brother is a genius!”

“Your youngest… brother…”

“Yes! How are they? Delicious, right?”

“……”