How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 47

“…Neil?”

After waking up, Rianus stared blankly at the space beside him. When he got up in the morning, his friend was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Pupu was lying neatly in his place.

But we definitely went to sleep together…!

Rianus wondered if Nihil had somehow shrunk and gotten trapped beneath Pupu. He lifted the stuffed animal to check, but, of course, Nihil wasn’t underneath.

Pupu had always been precious to him, but with the toy occupying Nihil’s place, Rianus couldn’t help finding it utterly detestable.

Surely he hasn’t been kidnapped…?

It didn’t even occur to Rianus that, if someone were to be kidnapped, he would be the more likely target. His face gradually turned pale.

Growing anxious, he sprang out of bed and slipped his feet into the slippers on the floor. Just then, he heard a knock.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

It was Evan, his escort knight. Delighted to hear his voice, Rianus hurried over and flung the door open.

“Sir Evan!”

“Your Highness, I’m honored that you’ve come to greet me personally.”

“Sir Evan, have you seen Neil?”

Evan thought back to the white-haired beast he had briefly passed during his early morning training and answered with some reluctance.

“If you mean that fellow, he should be washing up in his own bedroom. He woke up early… very early.”

He had seen the white beast before the sun had even risen, while training alone at dawn.

Covered in dirt, the beast had glanced at him as he trained, then gone on his way without a care in the world. And the direction he’d headed wasn’t toward the palace, but toward the mountain behind it.

Where the hell is he wandering off to at this hour…?

Evan had considered following him in case he ran into danger. However, he couldn’t stray far from the prince, and the white beast had disappeared from sight while Evan was distracted for only a moment. In the end, he had simply returned to his training.

He encountered the beast again when he finished training and was about to return to the palace.

The fellow was carrying a small flowerpot and several plant roots in his arms. He looked even dirtier than before, as though he had been doing forward rolls all over the mountain. Even his formerly snow-white hair was caked with dirt.

When they crossed paths a second time, the beast glanced up at Evan before casually continuing on his way again. Since Evan had finished training and was curious about his destination, he decided to follow him.

Contrary to his expectations, however, the wildcat arrived at his own bedroom as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

But when he reached the bedroom, the fellow didn’t go inside. Instead, he stood motionless in front of the door and stared intently up at Evan.

Puzzled by his behavior, Evan asked,

What? Are you telling me not to follow you?

Open the door.

…

Only then did Evan realize that the fellow had been waiting for him to open the door. He even graciously opened it and escorted him all the way to the bathroom before finally heading downstairs to wash up in his own bedroom.

After washing up in a rather perfunctory manner, Evan returned to the prince’s bedroom, only to find his kind, adorable, beloved little kitten hopping around in alarm because the wildcat was missing!

“So he went to wash up. I thought Neil had been kidnapped…”

“…Wouldn’t it be more efficient to kidnap Your Highness than to kidnap him?”

“Oh… I suppose so?”

Rianus nodded, thinking that made sense. Then, as if he had reconsidered, he shook his head again.

“No, kidnapping a prince would be risky, so they could kidnap Neil instead.”

“…Unless he’s cold and hungry, I doubt he’d willingly let himself be kidnapped.”

“Hmm, that sounds about right, too…”

The little kitten was relieved that everything was fine and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Soon afterward, the white beast crept into the prince’s bedroom. Evan wanted to ask him all sorts of questions, but since water was dripping from his hair, he first wrapped a towel around his head.

For someone who had just washed up, Nihil’s skin felt remarkably cold.

“Did you wash with cold water?”

“…”

Rather than answering, Nihil trotted over to the fireplace. The way he pressed himself close to the flames and warmed himself looked oddly combative, but Evan assumed he was simply cold and let it go.

Only after the prince emerged from the bathroom did Evan understand why Nihil had been warming himself so diligently.

“Neil!”

“Yeah.”

“Did you finish washing up?”

“Yeah.”

“Hahaha! Your cheeks are so warm, as if you’ve just come out of a hot bath!”

“Yeah.”

Overjoyed to see his friend, Rianus placed his hands on Nihil’s flushed cheeks and rubbed them enthusiastically.

Evan watched with half-lidded eyes as Nihil’s face was squished and distorted beneath the prince’s hands.

So the fellow had been warming himself by the fire all that time because he didn’t want anyone to find out he’d washed with cold water.

What a sly little bastard…

That thing was definitely a fox. They should have nicknamed him Fox from the very beginning.

Evan considered whether to tell the prince about the wildcat’s fox-like tricks, but decided to keep quiet. The only person who would suffer from it would be the prince.

If their angelic little prince found out that his friend had been splashing around in cold water, he would undoubtedly be horrified.

Rianus refused to be apart from Nihil for even a moment, right up until it was time to leave for swordsmanship class. He dawdled for so long that it became obvious he would be late if he delayed any further. In the end, Evan had to scoop up the little kitten and carry him to the carriage.

“Your Highness, it’s time to go.”

“Ugh… Neil, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“Yeah.”

Rianus said goodbye with a look of unmistakable reluctance.

He was going to see Nihil again at lunchtime and would spend the rest of the day with him in the palace after statecraft class, but he was still reluctant to leave.

Nihil waved until Rianus’s carriage had completely disappeared from sight. Then he went straight to the butler, handed him a note listing the supplies he needed, and headed back toward the mountain behind the palace. There were still plenty of herbs he hadn’t finished gathering at dawn.

Nihil hopped along a steep, seldom-used path, collecting herbs as he went. Surprisingly, the mountain behind the royal palace was home to quite a few valuable medicinal plants. Perhaps it was because no one was reckless enough to trespass on royal woodland to gather herbs.

Or perhaps it had something to do with Rianus’s mother, the half-elf. After all, the palace Rianus now occupied was the one she had lived in until her death.

Nihil wasn’t particularly daring, but since the kid’s father had said he wouldn’t be scolded for digging things up, he felt safe enough to take out his gardening trowel.

Rianus had promised to return by eleven thirty, so Nihil needed to finish up and head back before then.

He had plenty to do in the afternoon, too. He needed to sort the herbs he had gathered and prepare emergency medicines for the child’s field trip tomorrow.

Ideally, he would have liked to scout Sharton Street in advance and eliminate any potential dangers, but he couldn’t risk Rianus wandering around looking for him. After all, he had heard the prince worrying that morning that Nihil might have been kidnapped.

Thinking about Rianus’s physical condition, Nihil let out a deep sigh and drove his trowel into the soil again and again. How was a prince supposed to survive in such a harsh world when his body was so fragile?

To be perfectly honest, Nihil wasn’t in any position to worry about anyone else.

He had fallen asleep several times before, but this was the first time he had slept for five hundred years. It was also the first time he had awakened in the form of a child.

He had lost his strength and even the child he had cherished. When he first awoke, he had been consumed by anger, but with something cute fluttering around him, he was gradually regaining a measure of calm.

The problem was that his body was so damaged he could no longer maintain his original form.

Not that he could clearly define what his original form was in the first place. Still, he had become so weak that he could no longer conceal himself from those things, and he couldn’t use mana.

He could probably force himself to use it, but if they noticed, they would immediately begin hunting him.

Still, I suppose it’s fortunate that my body itself is sturdy and I can still use my assimilation ability.

When he had been kidnapped aboard the pirate ship, several kinds of medicine had failed to produce their usual effects. That suggested his existing immunity to poisons hadn’t disappeared, either.

Judging by his current condition, it would take roughly seven to ten years for him to develop a reasonably useful level of combat ability in the Middle Realm. He was already stronger than an ordinary person, so he should be able to support the puppy and protect one little prince.

…Though he hadn’t been able to protect that child.

 

***

 

Feeling unusually energetic, Rianus ran hard and swung his sword with all his might. He had a strange feeling that if he worked hard enough, the class would end sooner.

He also felt that his form was better than usual.

Watching him, Evan smiled with satisfaction.

In truth, except when the prince stayed behind for extra training on his own, his swordsmanship had always suffered because he kept glancing at his half-brother while practicing. But today, for some reason, his stance was remarkably steady.

In fact, the First Prince was the one who occasionally glanced over at him. It was so satisfying that even Evan, who was watching from the sidelines, felt a sense of triumph.

When class ended, Lawrence approached his younger brother.

Rianus needed to return to his own palace by eleven thirty to spend time with his friend, so he hurriedly gathered his belongings as soon as swordsmanship class finished.

“Rianus.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Are you not staying for extra training today, either?”

“Ah, yes.”

Rianus answered briefly and resumed gathering his things. It was a little bothersome to have to pack everything himself without a personal attendant.

Lawrence waited for him to explain why he wasn’t staying for extra training, but no further answer came. Instead, after picking up the towel he had used to wipe off his sweat, Rianus started heading toward the training grounds’ showers.

Lawrence hurriedly stopped him before he could leave.

“W-Wait a moment, Rianus.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you in such a hurry? You have statecraft this afternoon anyway. Why don’t we have lunch together and take our time catching up? It’s been a while. I’ll have them prepare the herbal tea you like.”

“Ah, thank you for the invitation, Brother, but I’m planning to return to my palace for lunch. Perhaps another time.”

“…You’re going back to your palace just for lunch?”

“Yes. My friend doesn’t like eating alone. I’ll see you in statecraft class.”

Rianus gathered his belongings without noticing Lawrence’s face stiffening. Then he urged Evan along, calling, “Sir Evan, hurry, hurry!”

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Rianus stopped hurrying and turned back toward Lawrence.

There it is, Lawrence thought. I knew it.

He waited for Rianus to say something like, Brother, I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.

But that wasn’t what Rianus wanted to say at all. He cupped both hands around his mouth and called out something he had wanted to say for a long time.

“Brother! I actually don’t like herbal tea very much!”

“…”

“But I know you like it, so I’ll drink it with you sometimes!”

“…”

“Then I’ll see you in a little while!”

After saying that, Rianus ran toward the showers at the training grounds without looking back again.

He was running short on time if he wanted to get back to the palace by eleven thirty.