How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 93

When the guards hurried up to the lord’s bedroom, the other guards stationed outside were already rescuing the unconscious lord and putting out the fire.

The flames had started from the bed, and the lord had suffered burns as well.

‘The slaves! Where are the slaves?!’

At someone’s frantic shout, one of the guards who had come up from outside spoke.

“There were blankets spread out outside! And there was something like a rope hanging down from the terrace railing, so it looks like they escaped that way!”

“Catch the escaped slaves! Hurry!”

The mansion descended into chaos. The fire was extinguished quickly, but the lord had lost one eye and suffered burns over nearly half his body, so he was rushed into treatment.

The servants searched the mansion and gardens, while the guards scoured the grounds outside for the escaped slaves.

After confirming that no one was in the bedroom, Ella and Ellen carefully crawled out from under the bed.

The ceiling above the bed, where the flames had blazed, was scorched black, and the acrid smoke had yet to clear completely.

The servants, who assumed the slaves had already escaped through the terrace, paid little attention to the lord’s bedroom. They were even less interested in the bed, which had been the source of the fire.

After crawling out from under the bed, Ella and Ellen cautiously slipped into the study connected to the bedroom.

And by pure chance, they discovered a secret passage there.

It was a miracle from God—the first and last act of mercy they would ever receive.

After spending the night in the underground food storeroom, the twins slipped out of the mansion early in the morning, when the search had become relatively lax.

They headed for the shopping district and pretended to be naive young nobles who had sneaked out to have some fun. This was only possible because their slave brands were on their backs rather than the backs of their hands.

They sold the jewels attached to various parts of their clothing and bought inexpensive everyday outfits. They also behaved as though a personal escort knight were following them around. When purchasing necessities, they deliberately paid a little extra, as if they knew nothing about commoners’ prices.

Their priority was escaping the Empire, so they kept changing carriages as they traveled southeast. More than once, they nearly fell into the hands of the slave hunters pursuing them.

Even after crossing into another country, they faced plenty of difficulties. While most kingdoms surrounding the Empire primarily used the imperial language, the Kingdom of Harpense had its own unique writing system.

Naturally, the twins struggled even to learn the language. Fortunately, they were fairly intelligent, and their desperation made them quick learners. It didn’t take long for them to reach the point where they could understand simple phrases. They had to live like mutes for quite some time, but at least they weren’t lonely because they had each other.

However, another trial soon came their way. They were swindled out of every last coin they had obtained by selling the final jewel they had been saving so carefully.

The thing they had gone to such lengths to buy, even at the cost of being cheated, was none other than a mana stone.

They had heard somewhere that carrying a mana stone could interfere with the tracking function of their slave brands.

The mana stone they had obtained didn’t seem to be fake, but it was far too small and had already expended most of its mana. It was practically worthless.

They couldn’t bring themselves to throw away a rock they had paid so much for, nor could they resell it while living as wandering orphans. In the end, they had no choice but to join another group of orphans and struggle to survive.

‘Come to think of it, meeting Yvonne’s group was lucky, too.’

Some of the children in Yvonne’s group were uncomfortable with the twins’ constant wariness and refusal to trust anyone, but they hadn’t driven them away. If they had joined a different group, they might have been beaten and thrown out. Their lives would have been even more miserable than they were now.

If—just if—they could survive this suffering and have their slave brands erased, if they no longer had to live in fear of someone coming after them…

As they entertained that thought, an excruciating pain struck them, as though their hearts had been ripped straight out of their chests. Involuntary, strangled gasps escaped their mouths.

Am I going to die like this? Will I meet the angel I saw in my dream again?

Even as their entire bodies trembled with pain, they clung tightly to each other’s hands and prayed desperately. They thought of the little angel who had once given them warmth before disappearing, when they had been shivering from the cold in their dreams.

Dear angel,

I don’t mind being in pain for the rest of my life.

You can take me away instead, if you wish.

Please…

Let Ellen escape the uncertainty of running away and live happily…

Let Ella, at least, be free from the pain of anxiety…

Their vision began to blur.

This really is the end. It’s all over.

Thinking that they should at least look at their sibling’s face one last time before dying, they slowly raised their heads.

The same clear blue eyes as their own—or perhaps even clearer—were reflected in each other’s gaze.

I should at least leave them with a smile.

They struggled to lift the corners of their mouths when a clear voice came from behind them.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The low voice jolted them back to their senses. The metallic stench of blood stinging their noses and the wet sensation soaking their backs became unmistakable.

Am I… not dead? Am I still alive?

“It’s over…?”

Their voices came out cracked and hoarse.

“Yeah.”

At the flat reply, the twins blankly sat up and looked at each other. Their entire bodies were drenched in cold sweat from enduring the pain.

Unable to believe it, they checked each other’s backs. The slave brands that had glittered so beautifully in silver, making them all the more repulsive, were truly gone.

“They’re really… gone.”

“H-how did you do that?”

“It’s not over yet. Get dressed and go outside.”

The twins awkwardly wiped Nihil’s blood from each other’s backs and hurriedly put their clothes on. They felt a little sticky from the tremendous amount of sweat, but they would dry off quickly in the breeze.

The little boy standing before them wore a hood, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. But one thing was certain: their slave brands had disappeared.

“You crazy little bastard!”

“……!”

Just as the twins were about to fling open the storeroom door, the big dog came charging in with a furious shout.

“Neil, are you okay?”

A little kitten hurried in after him and scurried over to Nihil. Bella had kept the other children from entering the storeroom, just in case.

Evan scolded Nihil, asking what on earth he had done to make the smell of blood reach all the way outside. Nevertheless, he quickly gathered hemostatic agents, ointments, and other medical supplies and examined Nihil’s palm.

Then he noticed the silver markings engraved on the backs of both Nihil’s hands. Looking puzzled, he asked, “What are these?”

“……”

Nihil pressed his lips shut. Meanwhile, the twins, who had been peering over curiously, recognized the markings and rushed over in alarm.

“W-why are these here? Could it be that you’re… you were a slave, too?”

“A slave? What are you talking about, Neil?”

At the word slave, Rianus turned deathly pale and stared at Nihil.

Nihil gave a slight shake of his head before speaking.

“Nerr, don’t worry. These can be erased. And… These belong to those two. I transferred them to myself.”

“Transferred them?”

“Yeah. Since slave brands engraved on the heart are difficult to remove, I transferred them to the backs of my hands.”

“……”

The twins exchanged uncertain glances, at a loss for words when they heard that he had transferred their slave brands to himself.

They had wanted their brands erased, but they had never imagined transferring them to someone else.

Nihil shrugged as though it were no big deal.

“It’s not difficult to erase these, so you don’t need to look so worried.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Big dog, give me a hand.”

After giving the twins a casual answer, Nihil called out to Evan. But the slightly sulky big dog refused outright.

“No.”

“Then the kitty can help.”

“What can I do for you, my pretty young master?”

Bella promptly approached at Nihil’s call. Evan stared at her in disbelief and muttered in resignation, “……Shouldn’t you at least ask twice?”

Grumbling about how heartless a child could be, especially when he was so generous toward the other kids but not toward him, Evan approached Nihil and reached for the back of his neck.

Or rather, he tried to.

“……?”

Evan stared blankly at his empty hand.

That little wildcat had dodged his grasp.

He had grabbed Nihil by the scruff plenty of times before, but the boy had never once avoided him. It felt strangely unsettling.

“Why… Did you dodge me?”

“…Just because.”

“Don’t tell me… you’re sulking because I refused to help?”

“……”

How dare you!

Is that really it? You’re so generous with the other kids, so why are you like this with me?!

Stung by wounded pride, Evan reached for Nihil again.

Nihil dodged Evan’s hand a few times, even though it was neither particularly fast nor threatening. Then, all of a sudden, he went sprawling onto the floor.

“……”

“……”

Evan had never intended to knock Nihil over or forcibly grab him, so his outstretched hand froze in midair.

Perhaps feeling a little embarrassed, Nihil remained where he was for a moment before slowly getting back up.

“…I don’t need any help, so I’d appreciate it if you could leave for a little while.”

“No.”

“Then I’ll leave.”

With that, Nihil began gathering the medicine bottles he had laid out.

Watching him, Rianus sensed that something was wrong and discreetly caught the edge of Nihil’s robe. The hem felt a little damp.

“Nerr, what’s wrong? I need to gather these, so let go for a moment.”

Since Rianus was only holding the very edge of his robe, he wasn’t really hindering Nihil’s movements. Nihil gently tried to coax him into letting go.

But Rianus was now certain that something was wrong. Without hesitating, he threw his weight against Nihil and hugged him.

Nihil was pushed over in the direction Rianus embraced him and once again landed flat on the floor.

Under normal circumstances, he would have easily caught Rianus, even if the prince had come running at full speed and thrown himself into his arms.

“…Neil, your whole body is damp.”

Rianus fell along Nihil’s robe, which was wet as though he had been caught in a drizzle, before carefully lifting his hood.

Nihil’s beautiful eyes, their focus wavering little by little, stared up at Rianus. Then his gaze briefly shifted to the twins, who were staring at him in shock.

“…Are you okay?”

Nihil’s white hair was plastered messily to his face with sweat, and his body was trembling faintly.

Feeling those tiny tremors against his own body, Rianus gently brushed the strands of hair stuck to Nihil’s dirty face aside and continued.

“Neil, let’s rest for a little while. I don’t really know what you did, but… I can tell you pushed yourself too hard. Let’s rest a little and do it later. Big brother will help, too.”

“……”

“Hmm? Neil, please…”

“…Okay.”

Unable to resist Rianus’s gentle but desperate plea, Nihil finally relaxed his body.

His snow-white eyelids slowly fell, covering those small, beautiful universes.

Seeing Nihil’s body go limp like a marionette whose strings had been cut, Rianus’s face crumpled. He turned toward Evan.

“Help me…”

Evan squeezed his eyes shut.

He remembered that day a year ago, when a much smaller and younger Prince Rianus had clutched a dead puppy in his arms, crying and pleading desperately for Evan to help him.