Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The Drunken Prince
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"You lowly thing, how dare you forget your place!"
Benjamin, seething with rage, finally raised his hand. Lawrence couldn't ignore the stares from the passing servants, so he lifted his own hand to halt his squire.
"Enough. Stand down, Benjamin. I'm fine."
Lawrence rubbed the back of his hand—which barely hurt at all—and offered a gentle smile.
"How can we blame the child alone for a lack of proper upbringing? If they don't know, we simply teach them."
"As gracious as ever, Your Highness. You insolent brat, take off that hood! What do you think you're doing in front of a prince?!"
Benjamin bellowed, but the child only trembled. In the end, the guard assigned to protect the child crouched down carefully beside them and began to soothe them gently.
"Little one, it's not polite to wear a hood in front of nobles. It's okay, why don't you take it off?"
"……."
"There, good child? Let your uncle help……!"
The knight gently coaxed while lifting the hood, only to meet a pair of eyes like the night sky and draw in a sharp breath.
'Is it okay to remove this hood?'
The moist eyes gazing up with desperate plea tugged at his heart. And on another note, a thought crossed his mind.
'No wonder His Highness picked them up—they're beautiful.'
He had never seen such a pretty child in his life. Not even a doll crafted by a master artisan could compare. And then those black eyes shimmering with an enigmatic light, paired with snow-white hair. If he were in the 2nd Prince's shoes, he would have scooped them up in an instant.
Whether they had noble blood or not didn't matter. This child was nobility in their own right!
"Sir, what's wrong?"
"Ah, my apologies."
The knight snapped out of his reverie and asked the child carefully.
"May your uncle remove the hood?"
A nod.
With the child's permission, the knight tremblingly pulled back the hood. The features that had gleamed even beneath the dark hood now shone even more brilliantly in the sunlight. The sunlight reflecting off the pure white hair was almost blinding, in fact.
The other two men also stood frozen for a moment, speechless at the child's appearance. The child hurriedly pulled the hood back on, and Lawrence, rousing himself, spoke to them softly.
"What's your name?"
The child worked their mouth, trying to make a sound. Lawrence found himself staring intently at the lower face visible beneath the hood, but the child suddenly whipped their head away.
Lawrence's brow twitched at being ignored again, but he couldn't help starting in surprise at the sight of a carriage approaching from the direction the child had turned toward.
The approaching carriage wasn't ornate, but it bore a crest he knew all too well.
'The royal crest?'
Only royals could bear the royal crest. His Majesty was in the main palace right now, and his mother wouldn't ride in such a shabby carriage, so it had to be…….
'Lianus?'
Why was that child here? Why had he returned to the main palace? Even at full speed, classes wouldn't have ended yet, so how could he arrive this early?
Lawrence felt a twinge of confusion. But Nihil, standing beside him, was even more baffled.
'Why so soon……?'
Nihil hadn't ruled out the possibility that Lianus might come to pick him up.
But knowing how well the boy distinguished between public and private matters, he hadn't expected him to show up before classes ended. Especially since classes had started late, he figured it might even be later.
Perhaps he'd heard that Nihil had been harshly scolded by his "kid's dad" and rushed over.
The original plan had been to plant an approachable image with the 1st Prince and lure him into easy persuasion. But with Lianus already here and the 1st Prince unlikely to leave, Nihil would have to flexibly adjust his plans based on Lianus's actions.
Just then, the window of the speeding carriage slid open, and a head of curly dark green hair poked out.
"Niiil~"
Lianus beamed with an innocent smile, waving his hand merrily.
"……."
Nihil's pupils began to quiver unnaturally.
'What's wrong with the kid……?'
He knew Lianus liked him especially well, but grinning like that in the main palace—with the 1st Prince right there besides—was odd. Normally, Lianus would have gone on guard the moment he spotted the 1st Prince nearby.
'Does he have a fever……?'
Nihil worried that Lianus might be feverish and not properly assessing his surroundings.
At that moment, a large hand shot out from inside the carriage and yanked back the cheerfully waving, greeting Lianus. It seemed to be Evan. He must have realized the 1st Prince was here.
The carriage drew closer, and everyone watched it intently. Even servants passing by in the distance stopped to glance over curiously.
The carriage halted at Nihil's feet, the door flew open, and a small, adorable creature tumbled out.
"Whoa, Your Highness, danger……!"
"Nil!"
Nihil swiftly caught Lianus leaping from the carriage and tried to set him down gently on the ground. But Lianus clung to him with all his might, refusing to let go.
"Niiil~ I missed you sooo much, so I came to pick you up~"
Lianus, uncharacteristically dragging out his words, nuzzled his face against Nihil's head.
The scent of alcohol wafted over. A very familiar smell of liquor, at that.
In an instant, furious Nihil shot a glare toward the fifth-floor office where his "kid's dad" was supposed to be. King Sedes, who had been secretly watching from the terrace, flinched and took a step back.
Nihil gave Evan, who had followed from the carriage, a pointed look as well. Evan mouthed silently, explaining the situation without a sound.
'He ate the chocolate, got drunk, and cried about wanting to see you, so I had no choice but to bring him.'
It seemed true—Lianus's eyes were still misty. Nihil carefully supported Lianus with one arm while gently wiping the moisture from his eyes with the other hand.
"Niiil~ I missed you sooo, sooo much, that's why I came…… but you weren't there, so I came……."
Lianus kept mumbling as he rubbed his cheek against Nihil's hand.
The sheer absurdity of the situation left Lawrence calling out to Lianus.
"Lianus."
"Ung……?"
Only then did Lianus seem to realize others were present. He looked around and narrowed his eyes upon spotting the one who had called him.
"Who're you."
"……."
Having just hit his half-brother with a "Who're you," Lianus lifted Nihil's face to make him look at him. In the process, Nihil's hood fell off, but Nihil had no mind to put it back on.
"Niiil~ Stop seducing kids…… Am I not enough for you~?"
"……."
With that, Lianus grumbled and tried to pull Nihil's hood back on. But with his head still clutched tight, it was impossible.
Lianus started whining again.
"I told you not to take off the hood~ It won't go on……."
"……."
It was Lianus himself who had removed the hood and was now preventing it from going back on, but Nihil didn't point that out.
Giving up on the hood, Lianus hugged Nihil's head tightly as if to shield his face with his own body. He then glared warily at Lawrence, acting as if he didn't recognize him at all.
"Nil is my friend…… These weird things keep sticking to him……."
"……."
Suddenly branded one of those "weird things," Lawrence gaped at the drunken Lianus. Evan covered his face with both hands in despair. No, actually, he was stifling laughter.
He wasn't intervening because he knew this would end as a mere farce. The chocolate His Majesty had personally given turned out to be liqueur-filled, and it would all blow over with the 2nd Prince making a drunken fool of himself in front of his cherished friend. Though it might spawn rumors weirder than the fact that the 2nd Prince treasured his friend so dearly.
After quietly chuckling to himself and catching his breath, Evan schooled his expression and spoke.
"My apologies, 1st Prince. The 2nd Prince isn't feeling well, so I'll take him back first."
With that, Evan scooped up Nihil entirely and loaded him into the carriage. Lianus's whines continued amid it all.
"……."
Lawrence blankly watched the departing carriage.
Everything was utterly incomprehensible.
"Sedi-!"
"……I'm reflecting on it."
Abel's nagging began anew.
"Why did you hide giving chocolate to the 2nd Prince?!"
"……."
King Sedes couldn't bring himself to admit he'd hidden it to avoid the nagging. The best he could do was send herbs and regular chocolate to the 2nd Prince's palace while instructing the servants to mark any liquor-laced desserts.
He was a bit worried about the 2nd Prince drinking, but that mysterious child—who might be hiding some unknown power—seemed likely to look after him well, so he felt somewhat reassured.
Honestly, he couldn't be sure if the child saw the prince as a 'friend,' but their goodwill toward him was clear. The friendliness the child showed him stemmed not from his status as king, but simply as the father of his friend.
It was a bit bittersweet that the person the prince sought out drunk was that little kid he'd only recently met, but it was his own karma—who could he blame?
'The real issue is how the Queen will react.'
The 1st Prince was still young enough not to worry much about. The problem was the Queen and her ducal house. With the 2nd Prince so openly showing favoritism toward that child, they might be in some danger. They could try to win them over, and if that failed, even attempt assassination.
'Should be fine, though.'
King Sedes decided to set aside his worries about the child. They'd ask for help if needed. And they didn't seem the type to go down easily.
Ordering the king around for treats, calling the Prime Minister an idiot, pretending to tremble in front of the prince—it all suggested they were more likely to play along with persuasion for their own gain.
Leaping from the carriage and being caught effortlessly, glaring toward the terrace as if knowing his location from the start—none of it seemed ordinary.
'Is he really a spirit beast?'
Beasts with snow-white fur were said to be special. Special enough to have the ability to transform into a human, sure.
Thinking that way, King Sedes called to his friend, who was still mid-nag beside him.
"……Sedi, you're too careless! You need to be more delicate……!"
"Abel."
"Yeah?"
"Let's go eat."
"……."
"……."
"Sigh…… I'll shut up."
In the end, it was Abel who surrendered.
Mealtime was for eating. Indeed.
Freed from the nagging, King Sedes's lips quirked up faintly. But soon, receiving a letter from the 2nd Prince's palace—no, a threat—he faced another barrage of scolding.
-The alcohol in the chocolate raised his fever too, and he can't take medicine until the intoxication wears off. If Rian's condition worsens, you won't hear the end of it.
"Sediiii!!!"
King Sedes quietly lowered his eyes.