Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: The Queen's Invitation
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Nihil waved his hand dismissively at the two of them, their faces grave, as if it were nothing at all.
"Rian's sleeping right now. Just go."
"This isn't for the prince."
"The queen must've sent a letter straight to me, then?"
"How did you... Yes..."
"Hand it over."
Sending a letter directly to Nihil—who wasn't even nobility, just known as the "stray dog"—was an insult to the palace's true master, Lianus.
Nihil gave the envelope a cursory glance before ripping it open roughly with his fingers.
The contents were unremarkable. On the surface, it welcomed him to the palace and expressed a desire for a brief chat. The date was this coming Friday at noon.
Not afternoon tea, but lunch—and on a Friday morning, no less, when swordsmanship lessons were scheduled. It seemed the 1st Prince would be there too, which meant some scheme was definitely afoot.
"Send a reply. Say you're worried the stray dog might ruin the precious luncheon because he's poorly trained."
"...We'll send it that way, but the luncheon won't be canceled."
"Yeah, figured as much."
Nihil pondered for a moment, then grabbed a pen and scrawled a massive X across the blank space at the bottom of the queen's letter. It was bold and messy, the ink blotting heavily enough to turn the once-pristine, elegant stationery into a scribbled mess.
The three onlookers were inwardly stunned by Nihil's sudden action but tried not to show it.
Nihil folded the defaced letter—ink still wet—and handed it to the butler.
"Enclose this with the reply. And spread a rumor that the stray dog got a harsh scolding in the palace and now dreads meeting highborn folk."
This was both a defense and petty revenge. They'd bypassed the palace master to send it straight to the stray dog, so now the stray dog would "personally" reply.
It might look like proper etiquette on the surface, but it wouldn't come across that way at all.
The head maid gaped at Nihil's audacity, but the butler cracked a faint smile.
"Understood. And here's the personnel files on the servants you requested, along with a summary of the rumors circulating in the palace."
Nihil took the neatly compiled report and skimmed it. He'd asked about three servants, and all had stashed or smuggled out significant amounts of the gold coins he'd hidden.
How the hell did he know? Just a hunch?
Nihil glanced at Rian, who to the end hadn't stamped approval for those three. His instincts were sharp in the weirdest ways.
"Old man."
"Yes, young master."
"Have trustworthy servants keep an eye on those three. Use the ones who got stamped today. I'll tell Rian myself."
"May I ask... why?"
"They smuggled gold out."
The butler's eyes widened at the response.
"The gold you ordered recovered this time? But... how?"
"I coated them with tracking scent from the start. The servants swapped them out, which was a pain..."
"Pardon? Swapped the gold coins? Was that necessary?"
The butler looked puzzled, as if wondering why bother with such nonsense.
"Ask the head maid. She's got one on her right now."
Nihil pressed his throbbing temples, jerked his chin at the head maid, and gulped down the now-cold, tasteless dog-bland tea.
"...Head maid?"
As all eyes turned to her, she flustered, bowed her head deeply, and finally spoke.
"There's a rumor going around... that carrying that gold coin brings good luck."
"You believe that crap? You're not a kid."
"..."
Too embarrassed to look up, the head maid pulled the gold coin from her pocket to show it.
Superstitions like this often swept through the young female staff, but with the young master's looks, new ones popped up daily.
They'd call each other idiots even as they tried it—just in case, or what the hell, right?
"I'm ashamed. I'm sorry."
"Eh, not blaming you for that, but don't come crying to me if it doesn't work."
"Of course."
Nihil toyed with the still-scented gold coin before handing it back. Perry, thinking it'd be confiscated, had fidgeted anxiously; receiving it, she visibly brightened.
Nihil smirked at the sight, then finished skimming the report. Most palace rumors were about his true nature.
"What's the most popular one?"
"...Many think you're a spirit beast or divine creature."
"There must be more related to that."
Nihil tilted his head slightly, as if wondering why they weren't all listed. The butler hesitated, then cracked under Nihil's steady gaze.
"...It's not about you directly, but there's talk that drinking spirit beast blood cures illness."
"Might get requests to share mine soon, then."
The butler bowed his head apologetically at Nihil's sarcasm.
"...I'm sorry. I'll warn everyone."
"Nah, let the rumors run. You two... here, take these as gifts. Carry them."
"...?"
Nihil passed his teacup to Evan, hopped off the bed, and returned with two small glass vials and white thread.
Evan raised an eyebrow.
"What're you up to?"
"Want one for you too?"
"What?"
"A talisman."
"Don't believe in that junk."
"Suit yourself."
Evan scowled at the word "talisman." Perry's eyes, meanwhile, sparkled.
Nihil pulled out a pocketknife, snipped a lock of his hair, tied it with the white thread, and dripped a few drops of blood on top. It looked convincingly mystical, but Evan grimaced as the thread soaked red.
"Gotta use blood?"
"Needs blood to look legit, right?"
Nihil handed the vials to Paul and Perry.
"Don't hide that I made these talismans with my blood."
"Then I'll treasure it around my neck!"
Perry, delighted, tied the thread securely to the vial and hung it around her neck, her face lit up.
As Evan watched dubiously, Nihil turned to him again.
"Sure you don't want one?"
"No need!"
"What, not gonna brag to the other knights?"
"No ne— Wait, do I need to spread rumors outside?"
Evan nearly yelled no again but paused, wondering if his help was needed. Nihil snorted as if it were ridiculous.
"If it was that, I wouldn't ask you. You... got no friends."
"..."
The friendless dog deflated at the spot-on jab, then mumbled timidly as someone came to mind.
"...I have friends."
"Oh? Who?"
"...The marquess."
Pfft.
Nihil bit his lip to stifle a laugh.
The butler gazed at the grown Evan fondly, like he was adorable. The head maid's eyes gleamed with surprise at this new side. Maybe a tale of the palace dog having just one friend would spread too.
"Ahem, well, your teacher'd be thrilled to hear it."
Nihil made a mental note to tell Karus later and patted the bright young twenty-year-old with only one friend.
Evan pulled away from the teasing pat, grumbling.
"...Knock it off. You only got the prince too."
"Can't make friends versus won't—big difference."
"..."
Evan glared, genuinely annoyed, but Nihil, now hooked on teasing, grinned slyly and added, "Wanna be friends?"
Evan predictably freaked and refused. Nihil chuckled lightly and turned to Perry, who kept fondling her vial.
"It won't last forever. Toss it after a month."
"...?"
Perry blinked, confused.
Talismans had expiration dates?
"Burn it as soon as the hair turns black. No hesitation."
"...Y-Yes...? Huh?"
Perry echoed dumbly, but Nihil shooed them out.
As the two retreated like they'd been chased off, the ever-curious dog immediately asked,
"Does it really work?"
"Would I hand out junk?"
"The hair does... that?"
Evan skeptically ruffled Nihil's snowy locks. His face turned serious; he fetched a cloth, wrapped Nihil's head like a turban, and tied it under his chin.
"...What're you doing?"
"If someone tries to pluck your hair, yell 'No!' 'Stop!' 'Don't!'"
"..."
"Watch for hair loss."
"..."
"No cure for that."
...Hair loss?
Absurd, Nihil yanked off the cloth and tossed it aside. His hair and blood were mere mediums to hold his "breath" briefly. The hair itself held little power.
It shared his assimilation trait, but didn't last long.
Evan frowned at the discarded rag.
"Ungrateful brat... So, what does it do?"
"Nothing much. Keeps your knees from breaking if you fall, maybe?"
"...For real?"
Evan narrowed his eyes dubiously, then shrugged it off like he didn't care. Though he kept sneaking glances at Nihil's hair.
"Anyway, gotta find an apothecary quick."
Or rumors might spread that he was feeding Rian his blood.
"...Does it really work?"
"What? My blood?"
Evan hesitated but nodded shyly.
Like how precious potions were refined from troll blood, maybe the wildcat's blood had potent effects, snuck into meds. His brews were indeed superior.
But it was a poor question; the wildcat's face briefly hardened. Subtle, but unusual enough to notice.
"...Want some?"
"...No."
A short silence fell. The wildcat resumed tending Rian as if nothing happened, but Evan felt guilty for his dumb remark.
With Rian stabilized and Nihil settling down from his flurry, a heavy quiet descended.
Nihil wasn't talkative anyway, and their chats usually revolved around the prince—like work—so Evan found the prolonged silence awkward.
He's pissed, huh.
No matter how he thought, he'd said something stupid. Blood being a panacea or not, getting caught prying wasn't good.
The guy who read people easily must've noticed his unease but ignored it anyway—definitely on purpose.
Why'd I bring up blood...
Evan regretted it, agonizing for tens of minutes over breaking the ice. A response might normalize things, but more ignoring would hurt.
Since it was his fault if the wildcat was mad, Evan spoke first.
"Wildcat."
"...What."
The reply came a beat late, gaze fixed on the prince. Definitely mad.
Evan didn't want awkwardness, so he pressed on.
"...Sorry."
"...Why?"
"The, uh, blood thing..."
"Blood..."
"I didn't mean it like th— Agh! Wait, what're you doing?!"
Evan yelped, grabbing Nihil mid-sentence. Nihil had drawn a dagger and was about to slice his own forearm.
"...Why?"
Nihil tilted his head innocently at Evan's grip.
"Wh-What's wrong with you?"
"Don't... need it?"
"When did I say I needed your blood?!"
"Why?"
"Why what?!"
"...Why?"
"...?"
Then it hit Evan.
The kid was acting... weird.