How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 92

Ella and Ellen had been living alone together in a small cabin deep in the forest ever since they lost their parents. Despite their young age, both were exceptionally clever, so they had managed to get by without much trouble.

Life had been difficult after their parents died, but they had endured it because they had each other.

Then, one day, they met a wizard who had lost his way in the forest, and the encounter brought them together. Taking pity on the twins, who had lost their parents and lived alone, the wizard began visiting them frequently and helping them in all sorts of ways.

“Big Brother Wizard! What did you bring today? The cookies you brought last time were delicious!”

“Brother, I want the cotton candy you gave me as a reward for helping you when you got lost in the forest!”

“Haha, cotton candy, huh? Oh, dear, what should I do? I didn’t bring any treats today… But! I’ll teach you magic instead!”

“Wow! Really?”

“Can we make things sparkle like you do, big brother?”

“Of course! Hold out your hands, both of you.”

“Here!”

“Here!”

“It might hurt a little and feel strange, but you have to endure it, all right?”

Believing that they would be able to use magic, the innocent children held out their hands without hesitation. They endured the unpleasant sensation that felt as though something were rummaging around inside their bodies, eagerly anticipating the moment they would finally be able to cast spells.

When the children had endured the pain, a white, sparkling pattern appeared on the backs of their hands.

The wizard had a similar mark on the back of his own hand, although its design was different. The children never suspected a thing. They jumped up and down, asking if they could use magic now, too.

The wizard told them they would be able to use magic the following day. Then, as usual, he played with them until evening before leaving.

That night, however, intruders broke into their cabin, and the children were sold to a slave auction house.

Their misfortune began there.

When Ella and Ellen discovered that the patterns on the backs of their hands were slave brands, they desperately wanted to believe it wasn’t true.

No—they simply couldn’t believe it.

They shouted again and again from inside their iron cage, insisting that something must have gone wrong.

But it turned out that the wizard specialized in applying slave brands. He had been targeting Ella and Ellen from the very beginning.

The reason he had befriended them and continued visiting their home was to make absolutely certain that they had no guardian looking after them.

Ella and Ellen were put up for auction and purchased by a wealthy merchant. However, they managed to seize an opportunity and escape just before the auction ended.

The two drifted into the slums, where their intelligence and sociable personalities quickly won them friends among the other children.

Even when the children discovered that the twins had slave brands, they told them it was all right and continued playing with them.

At least, on the surface.

The children reported the twins, collected a hefty reward, and handed them over to slave hunters.

That was when the slave brands were moved from the backs of their hands to their backs.

The man who had bought them at the auction dressed the twins in ridiculous outfits and made them perform in front of large audiences. They had to deliver identical lines, make identical expressions and gestures, and perform the same dances and songs.

If they made even the slightest mistake, they would be beaten mercilessly in places concealed beneath their clothes after the performance ended.

Then, one day, a nobleman who enjoyed their performance bought them for an exorbitant price.

Their new master didn’t make the siblings perform in front of people like their previous master had.

He gave them plenty of food and dressed them in clean clothes. They did have to remain locked inside a beautiful, birdcage-like enclosure until their master arrived, but at least he didn’t beat them.

Instead, their master wanted them to stay pressed close to each other at all times. Feeding each other or helping one another change clothes wasn’t particularly difficult. Neither was holding hands or embracing.

But the demands gradually escalated. By the time even the young twins began to realize that something was terribly wrong, Ella finally burst into tears.

Ella had always remained strong, never shedding a single tear no matter how difficult things became. Instead, she would boldly hurl the most vicious curses at anyone who mistreated her. Seeing his sister cry was a tremendous shock to Ellen.

He couldn’t endure it any longer.

That night—the very night his sister had cried—

Ellen secretly cut his sleeping sister’s hair short. Then, carrying the severed locks, he waited for the maid who always came to visit secretly at night and leave them cookies.

Tears in his eyes, Ellen told the maid that he had quarreled with his twin sibling that day and that, while he was asleep, his sibling had cut his hair like this. Their master would surely be furious if he found out. He begged her to help.

The maid who brought them cookies seemed terribly surprised, but she did her best to fix the situation. She spent the entire night making a crude wig and placing it on Ellen’s head.

Although the wig was a little shorter than his original hair, it was good enough to fool their master.

Ellen straightened his shoulders and stood where he could see himself in the mirror, twirling his now-longer hair around his fingers. He wore a prim expression, his lips pressed together ever so slightly.

From that day forward, Ellen decided to become Ella.

When Ella woke up and saw her chopped-off hair and the wig Ellen was wearing, her mouth fell open. Then she let out a disbelieving laugh.

Ellen had cut off the luxuriant hair his sister treasured, yet she didn’t get angry with him.

The sight of her sister’s unevenly chopped hair haunted him. I should have cut it more neatly.

“I’m all right now. I won’t cry anymore.”

Even if I’m scared, wouldn’t it be all right as long as it’s you?

Even as her hand trembled behind her back, Ella grinned and said those words.

Ellen stared for a long time at his sister’s beautiful smile, which remained unchanged despite her short hair. Then his face crumpled, and he began to cry.

“Big Sister, I… I hate this. I don’t want to live like this anymore. Please run away with me. Okay? Please. I’m so scared to do it alone…”

He told his sister through his tears how much he hated their situation and how frightened he was.

His kindhearted sister knew perfectly well how dangerous it would be, yet she promised that she would do it—that she would leave this hell with him. Then she pulled him into a tight embrace.

On the day they planned to escape, Ellen chose the most elaborate, cumbersome skirt he could find and put on a pair of shoes adorned with glittering jewels. To make himself look especially innocent, he wore a wig with the hair neatly braided to one side and tied with a strip of soft silk.

He poured oil secretly taken from a lantern into a small perfume bottle and tucked it into the voluminous, lace-covered sleeve of his dress. He also hid the matches he had stolen inside his neatly braided hair.

Their plan wasn’t particularly elaborate. They would wait for an opportunity to start a fire, then escape while everyone was distracted by the chaos. That was all.

…At least, that was how it appeared.

Ellen knew that escaping would be pointless. His sister Ella must have known it, too.

The slave brands, engraved through magic, had an ability to reveal their general location, though it wasn’t entirely accurate.

They had already escaped once, only to be captured again. Ellen knew that the brands moved to their backs had probably become even more powerful as a result.

Even if they managed to escape by some stroke of luck, the contracts inscribed into the brands might take their lives. And even if there was no such contract, they would hardly emerge unscathed if they were caught again.

Ella… his beloved sister… had promised him something.

She had promised to die with him.

The two dressed themselves beautifully and waited for their master to summon them. He usually came to see them in the late afternoon, and that day was no different.

Ella hadn’t yet grown accustomed to her short hair. Out of habit, she kept raising a hand toward her head before pausing and lowering it again. But the moment she stood before their master, she changed her demeanor completely, as though nothing had happened.

The twins knew each other far too well by then. Pretending to be one another came naturally.

As expected, their master didn’t notice that they had switched places. Pretending to be Ella, Ellen approached him eagerly, though he acted timid and hesitant.

He checked once more to make sure the fork he had hidden in his skirt—one he had secretly taken without his sister’s knowledge—was still there.

When Ellen lifted his skirt slightly to retrieve the fork, their master merely grinned foolishly and tried to peer underneath it.

Big Sister, I’ll make sure we escape this hell.

Thinking that, Ellen gripped the fork tightly.

He had to stab the man in the throat or the eye. If the attack wasn’t deep enough, he and his sister would be the ones to die, not that damned master.

I have to get it right in one strike.

Ellen summoned all his strength and thrust the fork toward his master’s right eye.

“Ugh!”

Perhaps he was too nervous. The fork didn’t penetrate deeply enough and merely scraped past the eye. The master groaned in pain and clutched his face. Blood streamed from his eye, but that was all.

I failed.

I’m going to die anyway if this continues. In that case, I should at least leave him with a scar he’ll never be able to erase.

With that thought, Ellen lunged at him again. Just as the master opened his mouth to shout toward the door—

“Ellen, duck!”

A voice rang out from behind him.

Ellen instinctively dropped low. Something heavy whooshed over his head, followed by a loud thwack as it struck something.

Ellen stared blankly at their master, who lay collapsed with blood pouring from his head. Then he suddenly came to his senses when someone grabbed his hand and pulled him.

“What are you doing, standing there like an idiot?!”

Ella scolded Ellen as she untied the ribbon holding her wig in place and used it to bind their master’s arms and legs, which were sprawled at awkward angles.

Fortunately, the guards waiting in the hallway hadn’t heard anything. The soundproof walls, installed to conceal their master’s secret hobby, had ended up becoming a trap that silenced him.

Only then did Ellen snap out of his daze. He pulled the oil-filled perfume bottle from his sleeve, removed the cap, and plugged the opening with a handkerchief.

Their Molotov cocktail was ready.

It was a little small, but it would be sufficient for their purpose: starting a fire some distance away.

After tying up their master’s hands and feet, Ella approached the terrace and cracked open the window. It was time for the servants to eat after their master’s dinner, so only a few guards were walking around outside.

Their master’s room was on the top floor of the mansion, making it impossible to jump down.

Ella and Ellen looked at each other for a brief moment. Then they tore down the curtains, ripped them into long strips, and tied the pieces together. They secured the makeshift rope tightly to the terrace railing and threw the bedding down below.

Just in case, Ella also struck their master on the back of the head with a vase one more time. The vase shattered on the second attempt, but Ella seemed pleased and tucked a sharp piece of porcelain into her clothes.

Ellen went to the terrace and lit a match. He waited for a guard to pass, then set fire to the small Molotov cocktail and hurled it as far away as he could.

The little bottle shattered without making much noise.

As a result, the guard didn’t notice it immediately. The dry grass, parched by the weather, quickly caught fire and began to blaze.

“Fire!”

A maid was the first to spot the flames and shout. The patrolling guards and servants moved swiftly, fetching water to put out the fire. It didn’t take long to extinguish it.

Then one of the guards noticed a pile of bedding lying outside. Suspicious of the unexpected sight, he looked up and saw something resembling a rope hanging from the terrace railing. Black smoke was also rising from the head of the household’s bedroom.

“T-the master’s bedroom is on fire…!”