Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Memories of Nanny's Birthday
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My palace was bustling with noise for the first time in ages. It was my nanny's birthday.
Lianus wanted to throw a lavish birthday party for his nanny, who had been like a mother to him.
"Young master, how does this dress look? Doesn't it suit me perfectly? I wonder who left such a pretty dress right in front of my door~?"
She spun around in the dress he'd gifted her, beaming radiantly. She'd even pinned the paper flower he'd made to the wrapping paper right on her head, as if showing it off.
The paper flower he'd crafted himself was a bit crumpled, which embarrassed him a little, but he pretended not to know since he couldn't let on that it was from him.
"Nanny looks pretty no matter what she wears!"
That much was true from the heart.
"Oh, our young master, how are you so adorable?"
"Oh come on, I meant you, Nanny!"
"Of course! You're so pretty, I could just gobble you up."
The nanny responded in kind, glaring at him like she might bite his cheek right then and there. But she didn't actually bite—instead, she peppered it with kisses.
The smacking sounds and the soft, warm scent as she rubbed her cheek against his felt wonderful.
"Nanny! This is yummy too!"
"Is it? Shall I get you more?"
"Yeah!"
Even though it was her birthday, he was the one getting more excited. Then it suddenly hit him: she always took care of him, so this time, he should return the favor.
"Nanny, you eat this too! Eat lots and lots!"
"Nom, mmm~ So delicious!"
"Nanny, Nanny, this one too!"
No, don't.
"Here, Nanny!"
Don't do that.
"Let's share it!"
Please...!
"One bite for Nanny, one bite for me!"
No...!!
"Rian."
"...!"
His eyes snapped open. The familiar canopy of his bed came into view.
His heart felt like it had plummeted—or vanished entirely—leaving his chest hollow. His body wouldn't move.
"Shh, it's okay. Breathe slowly."
He steadied his ragged, wheezing breaths without realizing he'd been gasping. Nihil scooped up his still-lying form and patted his back.
Thump-thump. The sound echoed in his chest, almost as if it were beating in place of his heart.
"Your Highness, are you all right?"
A low voice like a heartbeat rang in his ear. Sir Evan was looking at him with concern.
"...Sorry for waking you."
Embarrassed for no reason, he buried his face. He'd thought he'd fully overcome it by now, but apparently not.
Lifting his head slightly, he spotted the colorful invitation on the nightstand.
-Young master, I'll bake yummy cookies for you. Please come to Kara's birthday.
He'd been thrilled to be invited, said the cookies would be even tastier this time, hoped Kara's birthday would come soon... he'd just smiled like that.
'What if I ruin Kara's birthday too.'
Now... he could no longer smile.
"I'm okay now. Nil, put me down."
Nihil stared blankly at him as he said it, then gently laid him back in bed without a word. Soon, a warm blanket covered him, followed by soothing pats.
That tenderness made drowsiness creep in again.
Ah, what if he slipped back into that dream.
The worry flickered through his mind, but...
"...Sleep well, little one. My precious baby."
A lullaby drifted in.
"Don't fear the darkness beneath your eyelids. When you open your eyes, I'll always be right there before you... ."
So these were the lyrics.
"...Don't fear the fleeting moments."
Lianus let sleep take him peacefully.
"Good work today, Miss Barensha."
"Um... Your Highness, are you hurt anywhere?"
"Eh, what? No, not at all. A bit of muscle soreness... but nothing major."
Lianus smiled awkwardly as he kneaded various parts of his body.
This morning, lost in thought while swinging his sword, he'd taken more hits from Nihil than usual.
His close friend was skilled at holding back, so there were no wounds, but his arms ached a little when he lifted them.
And... maybe from a bad hit, his front tooth felt a tad loose...
Still, that probably wasn't the cause of his poor voice.
As he prodded his front teeth with his tongue, worry suddenly washed over him. The quarterly evaluation was soon—what if it was a problem?
"Is it really that bad...?"
"Well... you seem a little less confident."
"I see."
Lianus's face fell. To be thrown off like this from just one dream.
"Oh, don't worry. It's not that serious. I'm just being a bit sensitive."
Olivia Barensha hesitated a moment before speaking again.
"Will you be attending Miss Francesca's birthday party, by any chance?"
Lianus couldn't help but flinch at the question.
"Why do you ask...?"
"My little sister was invited too. She's five, same as Miss Francesca... and she plays the piano quite well. I was thinking of having her perform as a celebration, but if Your Highness is fine with it, how about a duet?"
"Me... a duet?"
'I love our young master's violin playing the most!'
Even though he'd only just started learning violin and it only squeaked, his nanny had said that.
"Yes. My sister needs to gain some experience soon, but a solo might be too much pressure. And it could be a good opportunity for Your Highness too."
That day too... he'd planned to play for his nanny...
"What do you think? Miss Francesca would love it." Miss Barensha smiled as she spoke, but Lianus couldn't smile back.
"...Give me some time."
In the end, Lianus couldn't give a firm answer and sent Olivia away.
"What do I do, Nil?"
"Hm?"
"I might... ruin Miss Kara's birthday party."
He might plant a horrific memory in what should be a joyful birthday.
"Rian."
His body was suddenly lifted. He'd grown used to these abrupt pick-ups by now. Soon, gentle patting followed.
But even this reminded him of her now.
"Rian, a birthday party won't be ruined just because you make a mistake."
"But..."
"You still have time, so think it over slowly."
"Yeah... At least your quarterly evaluation should go smoothly. That's a relief."
Lianus changed the subject, feeling bad for worrying him unnecessarily.
His close friend might be looking forward to Miss Kara's party too—if he hesitated, Nihil surely wouldn't enjoy it.
"Mm. They said the finance class is just basic arithmetic, so no problem."
"Yeah."
Nihil decided to let it slide for now, seeing Lianus trying to change the topic.
Spring had fully arrived, blanketing the few trees in the garden with blossoms.
The grass, greening up but still a bit sparse, was layered with petals drifting in from the back hills.
'He seems down. Maybe a picnic.'
Or a simple flower-viewing outing...
As he thought that and gazed out the window, he turned back to find Lianus already pulling out a book to study.
"......"
To Nihil, it seemed more than enough already, but the young prince, always playing catch-up, grew visibly anxious as the evaluation neared.
He'd crack open a book whenever he had a moment, and at night, he'd toss and turn before getting up to light a candle again.
Even having a nightmare today.
Asking Puppy about it, he'd said it had always been like this, but nightmares were rare, and he expressed worry.
Nihil gazed steadily at Lianus before speaking.
"...Rian, the flowers are blooming a lot. Want to go on a picnic?"
"Huh, what?"
Lianus looked up at the words and peered out the window. Just then, a breeze rustled, sending petals dancing.
"Wow, really..."
Lianus was genuinely awed. A picnic with his friend would be so much fun, he thought—until the fountain pen slipped from his hand.
"......"
The ink splatter from the fallen pen looked like blood for an instant. Reflexively wiping it with his hand left black smudges.
"......"
"Rian?"
"...Ah. Um... sorry, Nil. The flowers will still be blooming after the evaluation. Let's go then? If my grades drop, it'll reflect badly on you too."
"...Okay."
Lianus felt sorry for Nihil, but he couldn't enjoy anything right now. Did he even deserve to?
'Enjoying fun with your friend while surviving alone?'
A voice both longed-for and cruel echoed in his head.
Lianus squeezed his eyes shut then open. He focused solely on the text.
How long had he buried himself in studying? When he looked up, noticing the dimming light, the sun was already setting.
Sir Evan stood silently guarding the entrance.
'Where'd Nil go...?'
No matter how he scanned, Nihil was nowhere.
Fear gripped him. Had he left because Lianus was just studying? But he wouldn't go without a word...
"Sir Evan, where's Nil...?"
"I'm right here."
Anxiety rose to his throat, making his voice tremble faintly, but a reassuring voice came from behind.
"...Nil?"
Only the voice—no sign of him. Instead, Robert was there, face-planted in a plate on the table, chowing down.
Chomp-chomp-chomp-
Had Nil turned into a puppy...?
He didn't want to disturb the feasting dog, but with a hunch, he approached Robert cautiously.
"Yeah."
Thankfully, the response came from behind the sofa—not the dog.
From behind the sofa, amid a pile of blankets, white ears and a head poked out.
"Wh-what?"
"Y-you, what are those ears?!"
Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar cat ears, he froze in shock. Even Sir Evan rushed over in alarm.
"Nil, what happened? Mess up another magic tool?"
Nihil, wrapped in a blanket, hopped over the sofa back. Lianus instinctively glanced at the swishing tail and grabbed it lightly.
"...?"
But his hand passed right through.
Sir Evan, about to scold him for planning to cut off cat ears for a kid's gift, placed his hand on Nihil's head—and it passed through too.
The ears did the same.
"...What is this?"
Lianus waved his hand at the tail passing through his grasp. Come to think of it, not just his hand—the blanket too.
"Rian, it's an illusion from a magic tool. You can't grab it. The kid said she wanted cat ears for her birthday, so I made some. Wanna try?"
"H-huh?"
Nihil did just that, placing something on Lianus's head. Sir Evan immediately covered his face with both hands and screamed.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Wh-what! Sir Evan, what's wrong!"
"Th-the baby kitten is real...!"
"...?"
Sir Evan flailed at thin air, pacing anxiously before squatting on the floor.
Nihil clicked his tongue at him and fiddled with the magic tool on Lianus's head.
"Kids these days, no idea what they like, so I threw in a bunch of stuff..."
Suddenly, antennae sprouted on Lianus's head. He reached to touch them instinctively, but his hand passed through.
"What's this?"
"Butterfly... but I must've messed up the wing placement."
Nihil eyed the butterfly wings on his waist—not shoulder blades—and retrieved the tool to tweak it.
"But why were you behind the sofa?"
"Didn't want Puppy making a fuss. It'd disturb your studying."
"......"
Lianus fidgeted awkwardly, touched and sorry. He could've gone to his own room to work on it quietly, but he'd stayed by his side.
"Um... sorry for making you worry, Nil."
"Nothing to be sorry for. Rian, try this one."
The tool was placed back on his head. Not just cat and butterfly—rabbit, fairy, angel too.
"Put in everything kids might like..."
Nihil pondered seriously at the ring of options spinning around Lianus's head. Lianus couldn't help but chuckle.
"Miss Kara will definitely love it. Isn't this enough?"
"Mm, it's a prototype, so more varieties the better."
"Prototype?"
"If the reactions are good, I'll supply them to the Allie Merchant Guild."
Magic tools were rare, so pricey for toys, but dialing back to one function each could hit a reasonable price.
"It's a kid's birthday, but at a marquis's house, so lots of noble children will be there. Not really just a toy anyway. Feels a bit like exploiting kids, but..."
The more funds, the better. At his mumble, Lianus's eyes widened.
"Nil, do you need money?"
"Not right now."
"Um... want me to chip in from my allowance?"
His friend chuckled lowly and stroked his head.
"Thanks. I'll let you know if I do."
"Yeah!"
Nihil stroked the sleeping Lianus's head. Despite claiming he couldn't sleep, the boy had tried studying late again, so he'd barely coaxed him to rest.
His body was frail enough—continuing this obsession would make it hard to be in top form for the evaluation.
In fact, Lianus's past quarterly scores weren't as high as one might think.
Nihil called to the one who'd just entered the bedroom.
"Old man."
"Yes, young master."
"Find me a festival ending before the quarterly evaluation."
That way, he wouldn't have time for other thoughts at all.