How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 33

Rianus woke up earlier than usual that morning. The night before, Nihil had read him a fairy tale, claiming he wanted to practice reading, but Rianus had dozed off and fallen asleep much earlier than intended.

It had been only four days since the last cold snap, and the early morning air was still quite chilly. Just when it seemed the weather was finally warming up, winter would suddenly return, as though jealous of spring. This spiteful cold had once again frozen the terrace windows white.

Evan had returned from training at dawn and arrived at work earlier than usual. The moment he entered, he began stuffing firewood into the fireplace with abandon.

Days like this could even bring sudden snowfall, and they were perfect for the frail little prince to catch a cold.

Evan had shoved about fifteen logs into the fireplace when a white-haired figure came trotting over, water dripping from his head.

“Puppy.”

“…What?”

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

Evan unfolded the note Nihil handed him. It was, of all things, a list of medicinal herbs.

“Gather these one by one whenever you have time. The ones marked beside their names are poisonous, so keep that in mind. You can leave out anything that’s difficult to obtain.”

“How much?”

“A sack of each.”

“…All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

Evan tucked the note into his clothes and had the servants bring breakfast. The wildcat seemed particularly intent on staring at him, but he decided to ignore it for the time being.

The sight of the three of them sitting around the same table had become quite familiar by now.

Nihil was eating chicken soup that seemed a little too spicy for breakfast. Meanwhile, Rianus, who was having a bowl of pure white cream of mushroom soup, paused halfway through dipping his bread and spoke up.

“Oh, right! I dreamed I became a hero.”

“Is that so, Your Highness?”

Evan responded with a pleased smile. Nihil also nodded, figuring Rianus must have dreamed about becoming a hero because the fairy tale he had read to him before bed had been about one.

“I became a hero and went to rescue Neil, who had been kidnapped by a witch!”

“Kh—! Cough!”

At the mention of being kidnapped by a witch, the spicy chicken soup came rushing back up Nihil’s throat.

Rianus jumped up in alarm, quickly handed him a napkin, and patted his back. But the itchy, stinging sensation at the back of Nihil’s throat refused to subside, and he couldn’t stop coughing. Tears even welled up in his eyes.

Evan imagined Princess Nihil being kidnapped by a witch while wearing an adorable little dress and laughed so hard that he nearly overturned the entire table.

Then he met Nihil’s tear-streaked gaze and, feeling a twinge of guilt, hurriedly offered him some water.

Nihil was so distracted by his coughing that he nearly spilled the water all over Evan’s face, but he decided to restrain himself.

“Neil, are you okay?”

“Cough, I’m—cough—fine. I’m fine.”

Perhaps because he had drunk some water, Nihil finally began to feel a little better. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his palm, his expression as indifferent as ever.

Maybe it was because he had coughed so violently, but his face had turned bright red with heat, and his white eyelashes glistened with tears. It was remarkable that he could maintain such a blank expression through it all, though somehow that only made him look even more pitiful.

Seeing him like that, Evan could no longer bring himself to laugh. He pressed his lips together and held it in. Nihil continued taking small sips of water, trying to settle the lingering cough.

Rianus, who had been fidgeting anxiously with the guilt of having made his friend cry, finally spoke.

“Neil, I’m sorry I came to rescue you!”

“Pfft! Cough!”

The water in Nihil’s mouth burst out into the world once again. He hurriedly covered his mouth, but droplets streamed through the gaps between his fingers.

“Neil!”

Wide-eyed, Rianus quickly handed him another napkin. Evan tried to hold back his laughter, but there was simply no way he could keep it in.

“K-Khahaha—Y-Your Highness, are you doing this on purpose? Kh!”

“Huh? D-Doing what? Did I do something wrong again?”

“N-No, you didn’t. Your Highness hasn’t done anything w-wrong at all. How could going to rescue someone possibly be wrong?”

“Cough! R-Rian, cough, please, just—cough, cough—don’t say anything for a moment.”

“O-Okay…”

Evan was now on the verge of collapsing onto the floor. The image of the delicate Princess Nihil being kidnapped was hilarious enough, but the little kitten innocently flustering the wildcat with his words and actions, without the slightest malicious intent, was simply too adorable and endearing.

The table Evan was desperately gripping, along with all the food arranged on it, trembled along with him.

After finally getting his coughing under control, Nihil spoke.

“Rian.”

“Yes. Are you okay now, Neil?”

“I’m fine now. If you’re going to tell me about your dream, hurry up and do it.”

Nihil wanted to hear the rest of Rianus’s dream before resuming his meal. He had no intention of spraying food everywhere again because of some unexpected story at the breakfast table.

“Snrk—Your Highness, did the witch’s tower… did it happen to… blow up?”

Evan, still trying to calm his laughter, spasmed intermittently as he asked Rianus the question. His face was scrunched up as though he were sobbing, probably because his stomach hurt from laughing so much.

Knowing that Nihil already had a history of blowing up a pirate ship, Evan had decided to take this opportunity to tease him mercilessly.

Nihil shot Evan a look of utter disdain. But Rianus, who had been asked the question, seemed not to notice. His mismatched eyes grew so wide they looked ready to roll right out of their sockets.

“H-How did you know, Sir Evan? I was just about to reach the entrance to the tower when it suddenly went BOOM and burst into flames!”

“Kh-hahahaha!”

“And then, you know what? Neil was supposed to be at the top of the tower, but instead, he came crawling up from the basement, covered in dust!”

“Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!”

Evan completely lost it again.

Now Rianus’s worried gaze shifted away from Nihil and toward Evan.

The little kitten fretted beside him, meowing anxiously, while the wildcat pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. Evan, however, paid them no mind and laughed to his heart’s content.

It was the loudest and funniest morning of Evan’s twenty years of life.

 

***

 

Rianus left the palace a little earlier than usual. He wanted to pay his respects to His Majesty before his lessons began.

Until now, he had made a habit of visiting the king after classes, so their meetings had consisted of nothing more than brief, simple greetings. But since the classes had been divided into separate groups, Rianus had fewer reasons to visit the main palace. With his royal studies scheduled for that day, he had decided to take advantage of the opportunity to visit His Majesty and at least have a short conversation.

In particular, he wanted to express his gratitude for allowing his friend to enter the palace.

Although it was still early in the morning, His Majesty would undoubtedly already be buried in paperwork in his office.

The main palace, which closely resembled His Majesty himself, was solemn and imposing, but not particularly extravagant. The king had never personally sought out his sons for private visits, but as long as he was not away, he had never turned away a prince who came to see him. Rianus therefore had no need to worry about being dismissed.

He waited obediently in the reception room beside the king’s office. Before long, His Majesty entered.

Rianus sprang to his feet and bowed respectfully.

“Sit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A maid brought in tea. The gentle floral fragrance rising with the steam filled the reception room with warmth.

“I apologize for coming to see you so unexpectedly when you must be busy.”

“It is nothing. Has something happened?”

Sedes had only ever exchanged brief greetings with his sons, mostly to make sure they were still alive and well, so meeting like this in private felt somewhat awkward. His sons would hardly visit him without a reason, and he was beginning to worry that something might have happened.

“No! No, that’s not it, Your Majesty. I didn’t come because anything happened. I-I simply wanted to see you. Since our classes were divided, I’ve had fewer opportunities to visit the main palace, and… well, you also allowed my friend to enter the palace…”

“Are you getting along with your friend?”

Sedes interrupted him, speaking more readily than usual.

When he had granted permission for the boy to enter the palace, he had given no indication of any particular interest. In truth, however, he had merely pretended to be indifferent because he feared that showing too much interest might draw unwanted attention. He was just as curious about the child his son called a friend.

At the king’s question, Rianus thought of Nihil and smiled sweetly.

Seeing his son’s innocent smile for the first time in a long while, Sedes’s eyes widened ever so slightly, though not enough to be noticeable.

“Yes, Your Majesty. We’re getting along very well. I especially wanted to thank you once again for allowing him to enter the palace.”

“I see.”

He was relieved to hear that they seemed to be getting along.

Sedes said nothing more and took a sip of tea. The floral fragrance spread across his palate.

Rianus followed suit. The soft clink of their teacups against their saucers echoed through the quiet reception room.

This time, it was Sedes who spoke first.

“By the way, I heard that the reason you’re taking classes separately from the First Prince is because of that boy.”

“Yes. I made that decision because I wanted to spend more time with my friend.”

“Did you not say he was a commoner? He must find it difficult to keep up with the lessons.”

“…He seems a little bored, but there haven’t been any real problems so far. Carus—no, Marquess Francesca seems to like him, though…”

Rianus trailed off with a peculiar expression. He remembered Carus clinging to Nihil’s trouser leg and refusing to let go.

That means he likes him, right?

After gathering his thoughts, Rianus nodded and corrected himself.

“He likes him very much.”

“That man is so free-spirited that social status probably means little to him.”

“Yes. Your Majesty, may I ask…”

“What is it?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask you. Would you mind dismissing the maid?”

“…”

Sedes dismissed the maid for the time being. Thinking that his son was finally getting to the point, he grew serious.

Something must indeed have happened.

“What is it?”

Rianus did not answer immediately. He first made sure that everyone had left before speaking.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing serious, but my friend said it would be better if people knew as little about him as possible, so I’m being a little careful.”

“Your friend said that?”

“Yes. He said he might become a weakness of mine.”

Sedes narrowed his eyes.

It was a reasonable point, but precisely because it was so reasonable, the boy calling himself Rianus’s friend seemed a little suspicious. Ordinary children would hardly offer advice like that. Sedes wondered whether the boy had deliberately approached his son to exploit his status as a prince. Yet the fact that the boy openly acknowledged the possibility made it even harder to judge him.

I hope our innocent little prince hasn’t gotten mixed up with a strange child…

“…You said he was a commoner, yet he seems remarkably clever. Is he perhaps a little older than you?”

“To be honest, I don’t really know his age, but he’s about the same height as me. And I really do think my friend is very clever. So, if you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

Oblivious to the anxiety building inside his father, Rianus nodded and smiled brightly, pleased that his friend was being praised.

“…Go on.”

“Have you heard anything about my friend from the instructors or anyone else?”

“The countess did mention that you seem to be very fond of your friend.”

“Of course I am! Is that all?”

“Yes. I haven’t made any particular effort to investigate him, and I haven’t heard any rumors either. The marquess seemed determined not to say a word about him. I assumed it was because he liked the boy. Apparently, even the guards patrolling the royal castle have never seen him, as he doesn’t seem to go out at all, even when he’s alone. Did your friend ask you to inquire about this as well?”

“…Yes.”

Rianus felt a little guilty. He had come to express his gratitude, yet he seemed to have spent the entire conversation talking about his friend instead.

Sedes noticed his son glancing at him anxiously, looking rather dejected. Deciding that he might as well continue the conversation and learn more about the commoner boy at the same time, he chose to ask directly.

“May I ask you a few things about that boy?”

“Yes, yes! Of course you can!”

“Did he not tell you to keep information about him from spreading? Is it really all right for you to tell me so readily?”

“It’s fine! He told me not to hide anything if Your Majesty asks. He said that since everything shows on my face anyway, there’s no point in trying to hide things, especially if that might make people think he’s suspicious.”

“…”

Sedes was suddenly overcome with worry.

…Is this really going to be all right?