Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: The Prostration Blunder
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"...?"
Everyone stared down at the little one sprawled spread-eagle on the floor, their eyes wide round. They couldn't fathom what this was all about, but Nihil rubbed his hands and feet against the rug as if to confirm this was exactly right.
"What in the world is this behavior!"
"...!"
The queen bellowed, and Nihil jolted in fright, leaping behind King Sedes to hide. Sedes couldn't understand why his son's friend was hiding behind him, but he racked his brain trying to figure it out.
...Is this some kind of 'show your belly' surrender?
Or maybe he just liked the rug.
Sedes pondered things like Kids these days are beyond me, but realizing his own lack of delicacy meant he'd never get it no matter how hard he thought, he turned to his son's friend for answers.
"...2nd Prince, do you know why this child is acting like this?"
"Y-Yes? Oh, uh, n-no, this has never happened before... I'm s-sorry."
Lianus was just as baffled by Nihil's actions, rolling his eyes nervously as he gauged the room.
That's when Nihil pointed straight at Aiden. The singled-out boy scowled, and the maid who understood the implication let out a soft sigh.
The maid took a cautious step forward.
"Your Majesty, might I speak?"
"...Speak."
"It seems the young master has given the white-haired... young lord some lessons in etiquette. There's no malice, so please don't punish him."
"How can you call lying flat on the floor proper behavior!"
Helia snapped at the maid.
The maid trembled and bowed deeply.
"S-Sorry...!"
"I'm not blaming you for defending the child. But how can you cover for him instead of correcting such improper conduct! No matter the reason, to dare do this before His Majesty...!"
"Enough."
Sedes raised a hand to quiet the commotion. Truth be told, he had no desire to engage with the queen, but the little white one clutching at his cloak from right at his feet left him no choice but to speak.
"...But Your Majesty!"
"Queen, that's enough. You always pretend it's for my sake while dragging me into it. I've said nothing myself. Don't presume to speak as if your opinion is mine."
"...!"
Helia's lips clamped shut at his words. Sedes smirked faintly at her lack of even a single apology, then nodded toward the maid.
"Continue."
The maid glanced warily at the queen but carefully spoke up.
"...The young master said he was teaching the white-haired... young lord proper etiquette..."
"...?"
"That he should flatten himself on the floor before high nobles..."
"...?"
"S-So perhaps the young lord misunderstood..."
Sedes looked down at Nihil by his feet.
So he did this once before already.
Sedes's eyes narrowed. No way it was a misunderstanding. This was clearly just to mess with the other kids.
He couldn't help clicking his tongue. He had no idea how the boy had won the maid's favor in that short time, but luring her into exposing Aiden's folly without saying a word himself was masterful.
"Young master."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."
Aiden, who had been glaring at the maid, flinched at Sedes's call and bowed his head low.
"There is a clear difference in station, but that doesn't mean you can treat him carelessly."
"...Yes."
"Apologize to the child first."
"...!"
Aiden bit his lip. Apologizing to lowborn trash? Utterly ridiculous.
That's when his sister Camilla stepped forward again.
"Your Majesty, my brother did nothing wrong! That gutter rat tried to harm us! L-Look, this young master got hurt running from him!"
Camilla pointed at the boy who had tripped in the training yard earlier that day. The boy flinched at being singled out, glanced nervously at Camilla, and stammered.
"I-It’s true. H-He tried to hurt me, so I r-ran and got injured."
The boy limped as he spoke. It was just a scrape on the knee, but his mother had drilled into him to impress the 1st Prince and young masters, so he put everything into the act.
"Tried to harm you?"
"Y-Yes! That pea—er, that kid threatened us and ch-chased us down!"
Camilla ranted that the gutter rat had tormented them. Sedes eyed her before glancing at Nihil and asking lightly.
"Did this child swing a blade at you?"
"...Yes?"
Camilla blanked for a moment at the question, blurting it back before sneaking a peek at Nihil. He was the smallest of the kids. Honestly, she was confident she could take him in a fight.
Sedes didn't give her time to make excuses and pressed on.
"Or did he threaten you, saying he wouldn't let you off?"
"N-No, that's not it..."
Camilla faltered, fidgeting with her hands nonstop. She couldn't admit they chased him to smear him with chocolate.
"How exactly did this little one try to harm you?"
"H-He was going to infect us with disease..."
"...Disease?"
Sedes shot Nihil a baffled look, as if asking what nonsense this was.
"...Does he have the power to spread disease?"
Nihil seemed to ponder the question briefly, then raised both arms high in a menacing pose. Just like with the other children, he "threatened" Sedes by lunging and hugging his thigh tight.
"...?"
Silence fell over the drawing room.
Sedes didn't react as he puzzled over the meaning, so Nihil tilted his head, raised his arms in threat again, and hugged once more.
"...Hah."
Am I seriously being threatened right now?
A hollow laugh escaped him. It seemed the kids had been treating his son's friend like some plague demon and avoiding him.
Nihil tilted his head at Sedes, as if wondering why he wasn't scared. Then he raised his arms in threat once more.
Grab!
Sedes had now been "caught" three times by what felt like a ferocious beast, so he had to speak.
"Truly... terrifying."
"...!"
"Am I... infected now?"
Nod nod!
The little one nodded vigorously, looking immensely proud as if he'd succeeded.
"This is... troubling indeed. Isn't it, Queen?"
"...!"
"An assassination attempt on royalty. It's been ages since blood last flowed from the guillotine. A pity it would be a child's."
"What?!"
The kitten listening in leaped in shock. Sedes was mocking the children, but oblivious Lianus took it at face value.
"Wh-What do you mean! My fr-friend doesn't have any disease!"
Lianus hurriedly pried Nihil—who was still clinging to Sedes's thigh—off and put some distance between them. Then, clutching Nihil protectively behind him like he'd never let go, he sniffled on.
"I-It's true. Look how fine I am."
"...!"
"My friend is clean. W-We even bathed together!"
"...!"
"W-We’ve slept together for nights already! And I'm still fine...!"
"...!"
"Hic...!"
Tears welled up in Lianus's eyes. Sedes watched him, tempted to tease more but unable to respond, when Lianus turned and whispered to his friend.
"Sniff, Nil... run away."
"...!"
"I'll... later, no..."
Lianus started to say he'd call him back once he was king but switched, realizing it might be impossible or take too long.
"Just... sniff, come with me. Take me with you."
"...!"
"Sir Evan too... let's take him."
"...!"
"Ah... we have to grab Robert too..."
Lianus mumbled about his little puppy, then hesitantly continued while watching Nihil's reaction.
"Robert's food... we can take from my share..."
"...!"
"Hey... can we take Poofu too...? Poofu doesn't eat."
"...!"
Nihil trembled again. Holding back laughter while watching the young prince pick out items for their elopement was pure torture. The face veil had been a brilliant choice.
After mentally sorting a few more things to pack, the prince peeked at his father, lowered his voice to a whisper, and went on.
"Later... much, much later... when His Majesty's hair turns white and he forgets, that's when we come back."
"Khk...!"
Sedes gazed at his second son in exasperation—the boy plotting to run away and waiting for him to get senile. Right now, the prince's cheeks were puffed out like they might burst, swollen with indignation. The queen had insisted on separating the princes' luncheon from the other children.
The meal should have been canceled outright, but she spouted nonsense about letting the kids reconcile among themselves and forced them to sit.
Thus, his son's friend sat isolated amid the noble children. Wedged between them, his tiny frame looked even tinier.
"Hey, do you even know how to hold utensils?"
"What do lowborns eat to survive?"
"I heard they eat rats—is that true?"
"...!"
Nihil ignored the children and looked toward Lianus. Seeing the prince's face puffed up like seaweed with zero effort at hiding his feelings nearly set off another laughing fit.
To soothe his seaweed, Nihil hopped down from his chair. His "puppy dad" watched anxiously, wondering what mischief he was up to now, but Nihil ignored him.
Scraaaape, scraaaape...
The scraping of the chair echoed through the dining room. Servants rushed over in alarm, but Nihil smacked away their restraining hands and dragged the chair with all his might.
Scraaaape, scraaaape, thunk.
The chair scraped furiously before catching on something and stopping.
Nihil paused to look up. The kitten stared down with saucer eyes. Next to him, the baby snake frowned slightly.
Pretending to be so refined, you tiny thing.
"Y-Young lord, you can't climb up there."
While Nihil sized up the 1st Prince, a fidgety maid spoke up. Nihil swatted away her reaching hands and hoisted the chair—twice his size—with a grunt.
"Young lord, it's dangerous."
Then a guard on duty stepped in, took the chair from him, and set it back in place.
"...!"
Nihil stared blankly at his now-empty hands, then shot the man a dissatisfied glare. But with the face veil, it didn't come across.
Thud, thud.
Chair or no chair, instead of giving up, he stomped up onto the dais forcefully. Ignoring the servants' panicked cries, he scurried to the kitten's side and plopped down on the floor.
A scuffle broke out to pry him away, but with arms and legs wrapped around Lianus's chair legs like a vise, the servants were helpless.
Frustrated at the sight, the 1st Prince finally scowled and scolded.
"Lianus, because you just sit there, your gutter rat acts so insolently! Manage him properly!"
"...How am I supposed to manage my friend?"
"Friend or not, there is hierarchy."
"My friend is not beneath me."
Lianus grumbled and hopped down from his chair. Only then did Nihil release his grip on it.
"If my friend coming up is the problem, then I'll come down. Brother, enjoy your meal alone."
Lawrence's eyes twitched faintly at the words, but Lianus didn't notice.
"Your Majesty, may I eat next to my friend?"
"Do as you like."
Sedes waved dismissively as if it were no big deal, so Lianus grabbed Nihil's hand and headed to the children's table.
The queen scowled deeply. In a luncheon she'd barely salvaged from cancellation, she couldn't very well chase out the gutter rat for bad manners.
A lowborn acting like an uneducated brute would only tarnish the 2nd Prince's image anyway, so no issue there. But she hadn't expected the brat to be this dim-witted.
I figured he'd be timid enough to flee servants, but even here he clings to the 2nd Prince.
He even seemed a bit slow—verbal scolding clearly wouldn't fix that. Dealing with someone too stupid for logic was a hassle.
Shff.
Helia unfolded her fan to cover her lower face. Her crimson eyes flashed sharply, fixed on Nihil.