How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 39

Rianus had been happily chattering away about his friend when the sudden appearance of the Prime Minister forced him into the classroom against his will.

And before he could even prepare himself mentally, he found himself facing a pair of scarlet eyes that resembled blazing flames.

He would have preferred it if the lesson had simply started already. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister, who had accompanied him, seemed to have some urgent business to attend to and was still talking to another official in the hallway.

His half-brother, the First Prince, Lawrence de Harpense, had the same dark navy hair as His Majesty and the same fiery eyes as the Queen.

With a red curve forming on his lips, Lawrence spoke first.

“Rianus, you’re here. Welcome.”

“Yes.”

Rianus answered briefly, then lowered his head and sat down. He couldn’t bring himself to meet those scarlet eyes. More than anything, he had no desire to engage in a lengthy conversation with his older brother right now.

He had once been delighted whenever Lawrence spoke to him, but now he couldn’t even remember why.

All he felt was discomfort.

“I found it rather lonely attending lessons alone for the past two days. Have you changed your mind?”

At the mention of loneliness, Rianus gave an uncharacteristically bitter smile.

Rianus was often sick, and whenever he fell ill, he would be bedridden for two or three days. Whether he had dragged his ailing body to class or returned after spending three days recovering, Lawrence had never once said that he felt lonely, lonesome, or even a little bored.

Besides, they had attended swordsmanship lessons together yesterday. If one were to be precise, Lawrence had been alone for only a single day.

Rianus no longer had any desire to be fooled by those gentle words, nor did he harbor even the slightest hope that things might somehow be different this time.

After all, he now had a friend who waited for him and told him to hurry back because he was bored.

Rianus did his best to coax his stiff facial muscles into moving naturally. Honestly, he wasn’t sure whether the corners of his mouth were cooperating properly, but he opened his mouth and pretended that nothing was wrong.

“No, Brother. The Prime Minister said he would divide us into separate classes for the lessons on statecraft as soon as his schedule allows.”

Rianus wanted to tell his older brother something.

That he hadn’t felt lonely at all and had been happy the entire time. That his friend had cared for him while he was sick, played with him, eaten with him, slept beside him, and stayed by his side throughout it all. And that when he returned to the palace, his friend would greet him with delight.

He also wanted to ask whether Lawrence’s playmates welcomed him so warmly, solely for his sake, just as his own friend did.

But he held back. His older brother’s attention would be poison to his friend.

A faint crack appeared in Lawrence’s ever-serene smile, and his scarlet eyes slowly swept over Rianus.

Rianus wasn’t looking at him, so he failed to notice. However, the escort knights who had been watching Lawrence the entire time sensed the shift in the atmosphere and grew tense.

“My mother is very curious about your friend. An invitation will be sent soon.”

Lawrence never called the Queen Mother or Her Majesty. He always referred to her as my mother, as though emphasizing that she and Rianus were complete strangers to each other, and that Rianus could never claim her as his own.

At the mention of the Queen, Rianus’s body trembled, but his agitation quickly subsided. This had been inevitable, and his friend had told him not to worry, that everything would be fine. So surely, it would be.

“Yes.”

Once again, Rianus gave only a short answer. He hadn’t intended to, but his tongue felt as though it had stiffened completely, making it difficult to speak.

He knew very well that he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, so he imagined his expression must resemble that of a frightened little mouse standing before a predator.

And so, he tried to think of his friend.

He took a quiet, deep breath, relaxed his tense body, and slowly closed and opened his eyes, as though hypnotizing himself.

He wanted to imitate, even a little, that proud white beast who seemed indifferent to everything and perpetually bored, yet carried himself with such calm confidence that he could brush off anything without a care.

He had no idea whether he was doing a good job of copying him, but he certainly felt a little better.

Lawrence noticed that something about Rianus’s demeanor had changed. He composed his expression and was about to speak again when the door suddenly burst open, and a young man with long brown hair tinted a warm orange entered.

It was Abel Bridgid, Marquis and Prime Minister, who also served as their instructor.

“So the First Prince is here as well. I’m sorry for being a little late. I had some business to attend to.”

“Prime Minister, you’re here.”

“Welcome, Teacher.”

Receiving two greetings that were markedly different in tone at the same time, Abel smiled warmly with his eyes and returned their greetings.

“Have you both been well?”

Abel Bridgid was not only the Prime Minister but also a childhood friend who had grown up alongside King Sedes. Unlike Sedes, who was taciturn and struggled to express his emotions, Abel was gentle and considerate of others, which made him well-liked by practically everyone.

Until now, he had also been the only person who could lecture Sedes without getting into trouble. However, since Nihil had lectured the “kid’s father” today, Abel had unknowingly become the second person with that privilege.

The lesson proceeded without interruption. The two princes exchanged no further words.

When the lesson ended, the Prime Minister asked about Rianus’s friend.

“Second Prince, I hear you’ve made a new friend.”

“Ah, yes. Y-Yes, yes.”

“Are you getting along well with your friend?”

“We are. W-We get along well. Really… um, very well.”

Rianus wanted to chatter excitedly about his incredible friend, but for some reason, his older brother hadn’t left either and was still sitting there. All he could do was give a vague answer.

Just as he was growing increasingly troubled, unable to do one thing or the other, Evan returned.

Rianus beamed at his returning escort knight and welcomed him warmly.

“Sir Evan, where did you go?”

“I apologize. Since Your Highness falls ill so often, we’ve decided to assign you a separate apothecary. I went to bring some medicinal herbs to the palace. I’ll explain everything in detail once we return. Also, His Majesty has invited the princes to dine together. What would you like to do?”

“Huh? His Majesty did?”

Rianus thought of Nihil, who would be waiting for him alone at the palace. But he couldn’t very well ignore an invitation to dine with the King, so he reluctantly nodded.

The scarlet eyes he had glimpsed for just a moment curved into a graceful smile.

He hadn’t even eaten yet, but he already felt as though his stomach were turning.

 

***

 

The very person who had proposed the meal, Sedes, arrived a little late, apparently occupied with work.

The King and the Prime Minister continued discussing official matters without pause, even as they ate. Sedes, in particular, had spent the entire morning wasting time at the Second Prince’s palace, so he would have to work without a break even after lunch.

“…And, Prime Minister, regarding the pirate ship from the Eastern Continent that we dealt with recently.”

At the mention of the pirate ship, Evan—the only person who knew who had blown it up—flinched in surprise.

The matter had supposedly been proceeding smoothly, so why was it being brought up again?

“Rather, the pirate ship disguised as a merchant vessel from the Eastern Continent, Your Majesty.”

Abel corrected him properly so that the princes, who were listening to their conversation as they ate, wouldn’t misunderstand.

There was certainly a reason to invite the princes to this meal simply because Sedes wanted to dine with them. In practice, however, he had likely summoned them so that the young princes could gradually learn about the state of the kingdom.

Sedes was an exceptionally capable ruler, with quick and accurate judgment when it came to handling affairs. But honestly, he wasn’t a particularly good boss.

He was so competent that he couldn’t understand why others failed to understand what seemed obvious to him, and his subordinates were constantly scrambling to keep up with his pace.

Naturally, he was also incapable of explaining what he knew in simple terms, so most of the explanation fell to Abel.

“Ahem. In any case, a report just arrived. Have you had a chance to review it?”

“I received a brief account before the lesson. The pirates had apparently formed quite a large organization in the Eastern Empire. Would it not be wise to pursue trade negotiations by handing over their identities as the Eastern Empire wishes?”

“Yes, I reached the same conclusion. However, a problem has arisen. They discovered traces of demonic energy on the recovered pirate ship.”

“…Demonic energy?”

Abel’s brow furrowed slightly. Anything involving monsters or demons fell under the jurisdiction of Grand Duke Diabolus. If the pirates had been involved with monsters or demons in any way, they couldn’t simply hand over their identities without further consideration.

“What is the Grand Duke’s position on this?”

“The Grand Duke is in a difficult position as well. Traces of demonic energy were found, but that was all. It’s possible that a monster was mistaken for a rare animal and captured, then died when the explosion occurred. However, traces were also found in areas untouched by the blast, and since the explosion itself was caused by a simple chemical reaction, it’s unlikely that the monster would have died instantly from it. There are two possibilities. Someone killed the monster there before the explosion, or a demon powerful enough to evade the Grand Duke’s detection was present.”

As he spoke, Sedes pressed his temples repeatedly, looking troubled.

Abel considered the matter for a moment, then shrugged and replied.

“Wouldn’t the former be more likely? As I understand it, the Grand Duke is among the highest-ranking beings of the demon race.”

“I thought so as well, but apparently, none of the surviving pirates or the people who had been illegally brought aboard as slaves knew anything about the monster. They might simply have mistaken it for an ordinary animal, but whether it was an animal or a monster, if someone had killed it, there should have been some sort of commotion. What’s more, no one knows who blew up the pirate ship, despite the explosion clearly not being a natural occurrence.”

Evan flinched again.

Whatever else might be uncertain, the culprit who had blown up the pirate ship was undoubtedly that wildcat. Could the brat have killed the monster, too?

Then he suddenly remembered the ridiculous rumors about Nihil circulating around the Second Prince’s palace. Some said he was an exquisitely crafted magical doll made by demons, while others claimed he was a demon himself…

Surely not.

He had already suspected that Nihil wasn’t human, but… surely not.

As far as Evan’s thoughts went, his face gradually stiffened.

Could the brat actually be a demon, or perhaps a half-demon? That might explain why he looked younger than his actual age and had survived eating poisonous herbs.

If so, surviving being hit by a carriage might not have been a coincidence, either. If he had unknowingly left traces of demonic energy on the pirate ship—if that really was what had happened—what was Evan supposed to do? If Nihil’s identity as a demon were discovered and the Grand Duke took him away for torture…

Evan had seen the Grand Duke exactly once, on the prince’s fifth birthday.

His hair had been pitch-black and so long that it dragged along the floor, and his eyes were inverted in a way no human could ever possess.

His very existence had been threatening, but when their eyes met, Evan had genuinely felt as though his breath had stopped.

Evan imagined Nihil being accused of being a demon and brought before the Grand Duke.

“……”

But was it because his imagination was lacking, or because two years had passed and the memory of that overwhelming presence had faded?

The small, snow-white beast stood with its chin held high before the terrifying black beast, rudely answering him in casual speech.

…Forget torture. Wouldn’t it be perfectly reasonable for him to be killed on the spot?

No, no. It was too early to jump to conclusions.

Evan shook his head repeatedly, trying to calm himself down.

That wildcat was stronger than he looked and knew a surprising number of things. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to kill a monster quietly.

And even if—just, just in the very unlikely event that he really was a demon—Evan could investigate carefully and make sure to manage things so that Nihil never crossed paths with the Grand Duke.

…He could, right?