How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 95

Rianus watched Nihil tying the bandage with his remaining hand and his teeth. The movements looked so practiced that, after taking a moment to process the situation, he cautiously asked, “What did you do?”

In the brief moment Rianus had spent retrieving the glass bottle, Nihil had stabbed his own hand with a dagger, poured holy water over it, swiftly erased the brand, and applied a hemostatic agent and ointment. Now, he answered calmly.

“I erased the brand. There’s only one left.”

Nihil had said they could watch, but even so, watching someone pierce their own hand could hardly be good for the children’s mental well-being. That was why he had deliberately rolled the glass bottle away to distract Rianus.

“Uh… I didn’t see it.”

“There’s still one more.”

“……”

Rianus cautiously lifted his head and glanced at Evan.

Evan had been watching His Adorable Little Kitten as he scampered after the glass bottle, so he hadn’t seen the dagger pierce Nihil’s palm. However, he had witnessed the rest—the way Nihil twisted the dagger to widen the wound and poured holy water into it. He was now gaping at Nihil and glaring at the back of his head.

There had been no time to stop him, let alone shout in surprise. Just as the dagger had pierced Nihil’s palm in an instant, the treatment had been completed just as quickly. His skill at wrapping the bandage was equally flawless. Even soldiers crawling around a battlefield wouldn’t have been able to treat a wound so quickly.

And the sheer calculation of pretending to knock over a bottle just to divert their attention…

What made it even more infuriating was Nihil’s arrogant attitude afterward, as though he didn’t care if they figured out his deception once it was already done.

Even a prince as oblivious as Rianus couldn’t possibly fail to see through this.

“Was I… tricked?”

Shocked, Rianus blankly stared down at the glass bottle he had brought back. To make matters worse, the bottle he had retrieved was an empty one that was of no use for the moment.

Without bothering to offer an excuse, Nihil casually held out his dagger to Rianus, who was still staring at the empty bottle in a daze.

“…Would you like to treat one of my hands yourself?”

“…You want me to pierce your hand?”

Rianus glanced at the dagger, which was stained with blood.

Noticing his gaze, Nihil quickly wiped the blade clean with disinfectant before holding it out again. Rianus accepted it almost reflexively, but there was no way he could actually do it.

“Come closer. I’ll help you see the core.”

Rianus rolled his eyes nervously as he approached Nihil.

Evan shouted in outrage, demanding to know what on earth Nihil was making the prince do. But Rianus obediently sat beside his friend, afraid that if he looked away again, Nihil would simply stab his own hand without permission.

Just as Rianus was about to suggest hiring a mage to remove the remaining brand, Nihil took off his hood and leaned his beautiful face close to the prince’s.

Rianus flinched at that penetrating gaze and stiffened with nervousness.

“U-um, Neil, y-you’re really close…”

As Nihil drew closer, until they were almost touching, Rianus timidly protested. But Nihil merely narrowed his eyes and smiled sweetly, as though trying to seduce him.

Rianus hesitated, then tried to lean back slightly. Nihil placed a hand behind his head, preventing him from escaping.

W-we’re going to touch…!

Thinking that, Rianus squeezed his eyes shut without realizing it.

Then something touched the corner of his mouth.

It was moist and soft, and something tickled him with tiny whiskers…

Whiskers?

Something… feels wrong.

“……!”

Rianus’s eyes flew open.

Bella, who had somehow slipped inside without anyone noticing, let out a tiny meow right in front of his nose.

“Myaang~”

A wave of drowsiness washed over him. Bella’s sleeping fragrance had spread.

Nihil had assured him that the drowsiness would be bearable, but it was anything but.

Overcome with betrayal, Rianus glared at Nihil, who was still smiling beautifully. Or at least, he thought he was glaring. His eyes were already half-closed.

So that’s why Sir Evan didn’t stop him…!

Only now did he understand why Sir Evan, who would normally have immediately picked Nihil up and demanded to know what he was doing, had remained still.

They had all been in on it. All three of them had deliberately conspired to deceive him!

“Nii-iiil…!”

Just before sinking into sleep, Rianus summoned all his remaining strength to call his friend’s name.

Nihil chuckled softly and planted a light kiss on Rianus’s forehead, as though he were utterly adorable.

“I’m right here, Rian.”

“Mmm…”

“Sleep well.”

Darkness descended.

“…You really do go to every length imaginable.”

Evan muttered his honest thoughts. The cat let out a small meow, as though agreeing with him.

Bella had been unable to resist her curiosity when she smelled blood again, so she had transformed into a cat and sneaked over to eavesdrop.

Nihil had noticed her and, in a moment of quick thinking, used her sleeping fragrance to put Rianus to sleep.

Nihil carefully picked up the sleeping prince and handed him to Evan before taking up the dagger again. Bella’s sleeping fragrance was temporary, so he couldn’t afford to waste time. Nihil carefully selected the spot where he would pierce his hand.

Even knights didn’t often witness someone’s hand being pierced, so Evan, who was watching, frowned.

“You were stabbing yourself without hesitation earlier. Why are you dragging your feet now? It’s unpleasant to watch, so hurry up and finish.”

“I was in a hurry earlier, so I missed the core a little.”

“……You mean you have to pierce it again?”

“No. But twisting the blade while it’s still through my hand hurts… and I don’t particularly like pain.”

“So you weren’t twisting the blade just to pour in the holy water… Ugh.”

Before Evan could finish speaking, Nihil drove the dagger straight down into his palm.

Evan grimaced in disgust and frowned again. There was no doubt about it: aside from the boy right in front of him, he couldn’t imagine anyone else who could keep a straight face while piercing their own hand.

This time, Nihil must have hit the core correctly, because he poured the remaining holy water over the brand without twisting the blade. He sprinkled a hemostatic agent over the wound, pulled out the dagger, and checked that the bleeding had stopped. Then he slathered on ointment, wrapped the wound in a bandage, and finished the treatment.

“…The brands really are gone, right?”

Evan had watched the silver markings fade away with his own eyes, but he asked just to be certain.

Nihil casually replied that they were, more or less, while neatly packing the medicine bottles and empty containers into his bag. Then he held out both arms to take Rianus back from Evan.

However, Evan misunderstood his intention and pulled Nihil into his own arms instead.

“……”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Evan thought the little wildcat seemed a bit uncomfortable, but he couldn’t figure out why. He simply pulled Nihil’s hood over his head and carried him out of the storeroom.

The children had been sitting in a circle around the puppy. When the storeroom door opened, they all raised their heads and stared at Evan as he emerged.

“Uh… um, is everything finished?”

Yvonne asked cautiously, and the twins slowly approached. Trying to act as though they weren’t doing so, they kept sneaking glances at Nihil’s hands, which were tightly wrapped in bandages.

“It’s all finished. Don’t worry.”

“Oh… that’s a relief.”

“What about the money?”

“Oh, here.”

Yvonne promptly held out the money pouch to Nihil. But since the money had been intended for her in the first place, Nihil shook his head.

“Like I said, it’s a reward and hush money. Use some of it to buy food for the children… and keep fifty silver coins aside. Don’t touch them until you really need them.”

“…When would we really need them?”

“You’ll have to decide that for yourselves.”

After saying that, Nihil rummaged through his clothes and took out another gold coin, which he handed to her.

“W-what… what’s this?”

“A gold coin.”

“I… I know it’s a gold coin. Why are you giving it to me?”

“Teach the children to read and write.”

“…Reading and writing? But… I don’t know enough to teach anyone.”

“Then study by reading newspapers.”

“It’s hard to get newspapers in Sharton.”

In Sharton, anything discarded could become a necessity. Newspapers had to be purchased, and even discarded ones might become someone’s blanket or firewood.

“I gave you money. Buy them.”

“B-buy newspapers?”

“The employment newspaper is the cheapest.”

Nihil spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world. But to the children, being told to spend money on newspapers sounded like something from an entirely different world.

They were lucky if they managed to eat one meal every three or four days. Who would spend money on newspapers that couldn’t even be eaten? If they were lucky enough to find a discarded one, it would make excellent firewood. It burned far better than wood.

“Do you think you can afford to study with picture books? Newspapers are the cheapest option.”

“…All right. I’ll try.”

“Um, this…”

At that moment, Ellen, who had been watching the others nervously, rummaged through his clothes and took out a tiny stone no bigger than the width of a finger. He held it out to Nihil.

“It probably isn’t very useful… but this is all we can give you. We were tricked into buying it before, but it was expensive…”

“That wasn’t what I asked for in return, was it?”

“N-no, don’t misunderstand. We haven’t forgotten your condition, either. We don’t need this anymore, and we don’t have anything else to give you, so… we just… hope you’ll accept it.”

Nihil climbed down from Evan’s arms and accepted the transparent, turquoise-shimmering stone. It was rough and crude, and at first glance, it almost looked like a piece of broken glass.

“T-they said it was a mana stone…” Ella offered timidly, trying to explain. Even they thought it looked too rough to be of any use.

Nihil held the tiny stone up to the sunlight and spoke in a flat voice.

“If you give it to me, don’t expect to get it back.”

“No, we won’t take it back! We really are giving it to you. And… thank you.”

“I-I’m grateful, too.”

The twins timidly expressed their gratitude, along with an apology for having behaved so badly toward him.

Nihil rolled the glittering stone between his fingers a few times, then called Bella.

“Kitty.”

“Yeees~ My pretty young master.”

“Take it.”

“W-wait, what? Oh my…”

Bella hastily caught the stone Nihil tossed to her with both hands. It was pretty, but it really did look useless.

She hadn’t expected her pretty young master to hand it over to her in front of the very people who had given it to him. Her eyes darted nervously as she checked the twins’ reactions.

Nihil continued.

“Give it to your master. Tell him it’s payment for lending me his kitty.”

“U-uh… you want me to give this to my master?”

“Yeah. It’ll be useful, so tell him to keep it on his person. It’s already too depleted, so he shouldn’t try processing it any further.”

“If it’s a mana stone… we could get one of those ourselves.”

“That isn’t a mana stone. He’ll understand once you give it to him.”

“For now… all right.”

Bella was a little uneasy, but she needed to deliver it safely to her master. She placed the stone inside a small glass bottle and tucked it away.

“Uh… it isn’t a mana stone?”

Ellen, who had overheard the exchange between Bella and Nihil, cautiously asked.

Nihil answered rather firmly.

“You can’t have it back.”

“No, no! We weren’t trying to take it back. Anyway, it’s useful, right?”

“Yeah. It’s just what I needed.”

“Then… I’m glad it’s useful.”

The twins looked at each other, then smiled shyly at Nihil. Their wariness had eased, and the bitterness in their expressions had faded, leaving them with much gentler smiles.

“Um, could we ask you for one more favor?”

“What is it?”

“We… I want you to help us choose new names. We want to start over.”

As free citizens of Harpense, no longer slaves of the Empire.