How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 46

As the door flew open, Evan’s hand froze in midair just as he was about to knock.

Nihil raised his chin and asked, “What?”

Genuinely startled, Evan furrowed his brows, cursed inwardly, then pulled a small glass bottle from his coat and tossed it to Nihil.

“Here.”

Nihil caught the glass bottle containing a red liquid and shook it gently.

“His Majesty sent it. How’s your wound?”

“A potion.”

“Yeah. It’s low-grade, but still valuable. It’s the kind you’d only use in an emergency on a battlefield or during a monster subjugation. But it would be troublesome if the prince noticed your injuries anyway, so don’t feel bad about using it.”

“…”

Nihil recalled the wounds he had inflicted on his forearm with his own fingernails. They had been quite ragged, but by now, they should have almost completely healed.

“I’ll wash up and use it.”

“I’ll check, so don’t forget.”

“…Fine.”

Nihil gently persuaded Evan, who kept sneaking glances at his forearm, to leave, then went into the bathroom.

A little while later, Nihil emerged from the bathroom, steam rising from his body. His previously snow-white cheeks were now tinged with a faint blush.

He stood in front of the mirror in his dressing room. He was planning to go to Rianus’s room anyway, and since he hadn’t lit the fireplace, his bedroom was rather chilly.

The wounds on his forearm hadn’t healed as much as he had expected, but he actually considered that fortunate. It meant he could use the potion.

Nihil pulled the stopper out of the bottle and boldly poured the contents over his forearm.

Since the wounds were already about halfway healed, even a tiny amount would have been enough to heal them completely. However, potions made from processed troll blood tended to deteriorate once opened, so he poured out every last drop.

Nihil opened every door connected to his bedroom, looking for somewhere to store his herbs. Aside from the bathroom, there was a sitting room, a small study, a dressing room, and an unusually spacious terrace. The room had practically everything, but none of the spaces seemed suitable for keeping herbs.

The dressing room, in particular, was occupied by the clothes and shoes made by the royal designer that Rianus had given him. Thanks to that, he had plenty of extravagant outfits for going out, but hardly any light everyday clothes or loungewear.

Nihil deliberately chose a pair of pajamas with sleeves that rode up slightly. Otherwise, that puppy would undoubtedly fret beside him until he had checked the wounds himself.

After changing, Nihil left the dressing room and returned to the study. Given its location, it seemed the most suitable place for storing herbs.

He tapped the study wall a few times. The room felt a little cramped, but there seemed to be an empty room right next door. He wondered if he could break through the wall and renovate the study into an herb storage room.

Just then, Evan came back.

Having realized that there was no need to knock when Nihil could detect every sign of his presence anyway, Evan deliberately entered without making any announcement.

Unlike Nihil, however, Evan couldn’t immediately sense where Nihil was. When he didn’t see him in the bedroom, he called out quietly.

“Wildcat.”

“In the study.”

Evan strode toward the study, following the voice.

“You should’ve lit the fireplace.”

As he spoke, Evan covertly glanced at Nihil’s forearm, pretending not to care. Seeing that the wounds had healed cleanly, he felt somewhat relieved. Then he noticed two thick books sitting inconspicuously in a corner of the study.

They were none other than the herbology books Evan himself had obtained for Nihil.

“Why did you put those over there?”

“Because the kid shouldn’t see them.”

“…Why?”

“You lied to Rian and told him you weren’t good at reading.”

“That’s true, but… you can’t keep hiding it forever when you’ll need to prepare medicine for the prince.”

“Later. I still need an excuse to read fairy tales to him.”

Evan felt strangely unsettled and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um, you said you could see mana, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Could you possibly… heal the prince’s mana vessel, too?”

“…I can only see it. A mana vessel is the same as a mana heart. If there’s a way to restore a shattered mana heart, then it should be possible by following that method.”

Understanding Nihil’s answer, Evan lowered his head.

There was no way to restore a shattered mana heart. If such a method existed, mages and knights whose mana hearts had shattered wouldn’t end up as broken wrecks.

Nihil paused briefly as he watched Evan’s bowed head. The memory of Evan apologizing for being unable to remember him lingered in his mind, making it difficult to ignore the man’s dejection.

Nihil looked at Evan, opened and closed his mouth several times as though hesitating, then spoke in a very quiet voice.

“…Still, there might be a way if it’s immediately after the damage occurs. So if your mana heart ever shatters, come find me.”

“…?”

Evan stared down at Nihil with wide eyes, startled by the unexpected offer of help.

Nihil shifted his gaze away as he continued.

“I can’t promise I’ll be able to fix it. But it’s worth trying, isn’t it?”

“…”

“And just in case you’re thinking about it, don’t go doing something reckless and shattering your mana heart just because I said that.”

“…”

“…What? Have you forgotten how to bark, too?”

When Evan still didn’t answer, Nihil looked up. Evan was staring down at him with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

Nihil frowned at the man’s foolish expression, as though a screw had come loose in his head.

“Forget it. Pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

“N-No, that’s not it. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Evan hurriedly shook his head and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Then he handed Nihil the container of tea leaves he had brought with him. They were supposedly precious leaves that the apothecary had given him.

“Take these. The apothecary gave them to me.”

Nihil opened the container, checked the tea leaves, then set it down indifferently.

“Throw them away.”

“…Is there something wrong with them?”

“The tea leaves themselves are fine. They help eliminate a little toxin from the body and are good for calming the nerves. The problem is how they interact with Rian. For elves, they’re practically a narcotic.”

“What?”

“They don’t damage the body like human narcotics do, but they’re highly addictive. I don’t know how strongly they’ll affect Rian, who’s a quarter-elf, or what the effects will be, but there’s no harm in being cautious. You can drink them yourself, if you want.”

“…”

Evan gritted his teeth.

He had only been vaguely suspicious that the tea leaves might end up in the First Prince’s hands, but now he was practically certain.

Nihil merely shrugged as if it were nothing, then asked, “Anyway, it looks like there’s an empty room right next door. Can I break through the wall?”

“This study is at the very end of the building.”

“…?”

Confusion spread across Nihil’s face. If the study was at the end of the building, the layout didn’t quite make sense. There seemed to be too little space. And when he had tapped the wall, he had clearly heard an empty space on the other side.

To check, Nihil left the bedroom and headed to the far end of the corridor, where the stairs were. As he had suspected, the space visible from the corridor was slightly wider than the study, but there was no door.

“Is there a secret passage?”

“…I have absolutely no idea.”

Leaving Evan, who was of no help whatsoever, behind, Nihil reentered the study through the sitting room. He deliberately stomped his feet, tapped the walls, and even examined the empty decorative vases.

“Puppy.”

“…Stop calling me that.”

“Try pushing that bookcase.”

“…”

Evan did as Nihil asked and carefully pushed the bookcase. It was empty, yet surprisingly heavy. It moved a tiny bit, then refused to budge any farther.

“It won’t move any more… Should I break it?”

“No. We’ll investigate further another time. Rian should be coming out soon.”

“…Are you keeping watch all the way to the prince’s room, too?”

“You’re his only escort knight, and you’re standing right here. Shouldn’t I keep watching myself?”

“…”

Evan had suspected that Nihil’s range of vigilance was extensive, but this was genuinely impressive.

This room faced the prince’s bedroom, and its layout was the exact opposite, like a mirror image. Since the bathroom was the farthest point from the study, this meant the wildcat could keep watch over the entire fifth floor by himself.

“I only keep watch over such a wide area when you’re away from Rian. If I had to monitor this much space all the time, I’d get tired, too.”

Nihil pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose as though he really were exhausted.

Evan thought that with this fellow around, the prince’s safety might actually be assured. Feeling proud of him, he ruffled Nihil’s still-damp hair, then lifted him up and carried him toward the prince’s bedroom.

Rianus had just come out of the bathroom and was being attended to by the maids. When he saw Evan and Nihil arrive, he quickly dismissed them.

Evan handed Nihil over to Rianus, who beamed and hugged him tightly as though Nihil were a gift box.

It looked like a gift-giving ceremony in which Nihil’s opinion had never been taken into consideration. Nevertheless, Nihil returned the hug without complaint, then picked up a dry towel and gently began drying Rianus’s hair.

“Rian, let’s go to bed early today. Like I said earlier, I might be a little busy tomorrow getting ready to go out. Do you only have swordsmanship and Imperial language classes tomorrow?”

“Hmm, no. I have statecraft after swordsmanship.”

“Then you’ll be eating at the main palace.”

“Ummm…”

Rianus couldn’t give an immediate answer.

Yesterday, he hadn’t had a choice because His Majesty had invited him to a meal. But now, he doesn’t want to eat with his older brother.

However, he had classes at the palace both before and after lunchtime. If he deliberately returned to his own palace just to eat, his brother would undoubtedly find it strange.

While Rianus agonized over what to do, Nihil poked him in the cheek.

“Rian, I don’t want to eat alone. If you have time, could you come back and eat with me?”

“H-Huh? Yes, I have plenty of time. All right! I’ll eat lunch here!”

The gloom that had briefly settled over Rianus’s face vanished in an instant.

He really should come back to eat. He couldn’t possibly leave his friend to eat alone!

“What time will you be back?”

“Class ends at eleven, and… I can be back by eleven thirty!”

“Pardon?”

Evan questioned the schedule, which seemed far too tight. But Rianus, whose eyes shone at the thought of spending every possible second with his friend, emphasized it once more.

“Eleven thirty!”

“…Don’t rush back if it’s too difficult. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay!”

“Good. Could you watch me read for a little while again before bed tonight?”

“YES!!”

Rianus nodded so vigorously that, before Nihil could stop him, he scampered off and returned with an armful of fairy-tale books.

Nihil gently calmed the bright-eyed Rianus down and made him dry his damp hair first. Then he settled in properly and began reading the fairy tales aloud.

It was a peaceful night, as tranquil as Nihil’s soft, quiet voice.