Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: How a Prince Makes Friends
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Whether Jane was freaking out inwardly or not, Raymond's words kept rolling on.
"That little rascal carries a pouch around with him..."
"A p-pouch?"
"Yeah. It's not just junk in there—there's money and jewels too. Seems like he thinks they're precious, so he keeps it close, but he doesn't really know their value. Used to hide gold coins all over the place."
Raymond snickered and bragged about how he'd picked up a few of those gold coins back then.
"...N-No way you t-took that p-pouch from him, right?"
"Took it? What do you mean took? He used to run off every time he saw me before, but lately he doesn't bolt as much. I take good care of him, treat him nice, and he hands stuff over like it's a gift. Sometimes trades for cookies and things."
"Y-You just t-took it like th-that?"
"What's the big deal? He gave it, I took it."
Raymond proudly showed off what he'd received. Jane's expression turned subtly awkward, unsure what to say.
"Sh-Shouldn't you t-tell the b-butler about this?"
"What? You wanna get it all confiscated?"
"......"
"What're you on about? I shared a good thing with you... You're not gonna snitch, are you?"
Raymond narrowed his eyes and glared. He seemed to realize tempting an innocent kid had been a mistake.
Though really, it wasn't an innocent kid—it was one pretending to be innocent.
"N-No, I w-won't say anything."
He'd lose it all and get fired soon enough anyway, even without her saying a word.
Suddenly, she started worrying a bit about Yvon. He might just accept whatever the young master gave him at face value.
She figured she should tell Yvon too, so she opened the door. But Raymond grabbed her shoulder irritably.
"Hey, hey! You going off to tattle?"
"N-No. Just t-telling my f-friend..."
"Young master, you can't just hand these things out to people willy-nilly."
"......?"
As she tried to explain, a familiar voice came from the hallway. Peeking out, she saw a familiar back hunched over, talking to someone.
"Young master, did you give these out to others too?"
Nod, nod.
"I'm grateful for the thought, but I can't accept something so precious."
Tilt.
"Let's go tell the butler about this and recover the items right away."
Yvon said that as he scooped up the little white boy. The little white one meekly nestled in, stroking Yvon's hair. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like praise for a job well done.
"Ahaha, so cute."
Yvon... who are you calling cute right now...?
Jane called out to him a bit awkwardly.
"Y-Yvon."
"Oh? Jane!"
Yvon turned around happily at her call.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"Oh, heading to the butler with the young master."
The white young master, catching her eye, gave a light wave. Jane waved back before snapping to attention and awkwardly bowing in greeting.
'Why is Yvon acting like Nil is a stranger...?'
"See you later."
"Uh, uh-huh..."
Yvon disappeared down the hall with the white young master in his arms, and soon after, the call to assemble came.
"Argh, that nosy jerk ruined everything."
Raymond grumbled beside her as he turned over 'some' of his boasted treasures. Then he glanced at her, forced a silver coin into her hand, and hissed.
"Hey, keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
"N-No, I won't take it. I w-won't say anything."
Jane stubbornly refused the silver coin, but he got annoyed and pulled out another one.
"God, you really don't know how to make a deal. Just take it."
"I s-said I won't."
"You stiff bastard."
"If y-you're worried, just t-turn it all in."
"Hey, do you know how much this stuff is worth...?"
He glanced around, quickly stuffed the silver coins into her pocket, and bolted.
It was utterly bewildering, but her immediate worry was what to do with the silver coins. There was no loyalty to hide them for him anyway—she could just tell the butler right now...
"......"
But there were too many servants around. Yvon wouldn't care about prying eyes, but she was a coward who wanted no part of the attention in a situation like this.
She resolved to tell the butler later... and then forgot all about it as time slipped by.
"Young master, I told you you're not allowed in here without permission."
"......"
Jane watched Yvon scolding Nihil, who was trying to enter the greenhouse, and realized something.
This guy has no idea Ner’s brother and the young master are the same person.
Come to think of it, Yvon might not have seen the young master's face in Sharton. He'd been wearing a hood the whole time.
Of course he'd heard the voice, but in the palace, the young master was known to be mute, so there'd been no chance to hear it here either.
Plus, unlike the sharp 'Ner's brother,' this 'little rascal' seemed a bit dim, clueless about the world.
'...How can he not know even now...?'
She wondered if someone could really be this oblivious... but the white young master seemed pleased with it and started petting Yvon's hair again.
'Should I tell him?'
The thought crossed her mind, but it quickly became irrelevant. The greenhouse door burst open, and a head of dark green curls peeked out.
"Nil, got what you need?"
"...Your Highness?"
"Oh, Yvon and Jane are here too! Wanna have tea together?"
"Uh... uh...?"
The dazed voice was dragged straight into the greenhouse.
Lianus, who had just moved a pawn, burst out laughing upon hearing Yvon's story.
"Ahahaha, Yvon, you didn't realize it was Nil."
"...Yes."
Yvon flushed bright red and hung his head. He really needed to mind his own business more.
"No need to be embarrassed. Nil was hiding it on purpose."
"...Was the young master testing me?"
"I just left it because it was fun."
Nihil smirked and moved his bishop. Lianus groaned "Uwaaa~," pinned again. Everyone else was relaxed, but Jane fidgeted, apologizing to Yvon.
"S-Sorry, Y-Yvon. I r-really didn't know you didn't know."
"No, Jane. It was my fault for being oblivious. I thought Nil... no, the young master was the 1st Prince."
Of course she'd assumed his brother was a prince too, Yvon grumbled timidly.
"More importantly, watch out for the servants of the Black Canopy."
"Black... what? Servants from some palace?"
Having never heard of the Black Canopy, the two boys naturally tilted their heads.
"Nil sent the queen to the cold palace. You won't see the vermilion canopy for a while."
Who sent who where...?
The boys' faces stiffened, but Lianus calmly captured Nihil's queen. He knew it was a trap but wanted it anyway.
"Check, Rian."
"Check means... oh, check."
"What do you do grabbing it when you know it's a trap?"
Lianus giggled and quickly moved his king to safety. Our king is precious, after all.
"I knew it was a trap, but I wanted to take your queen."
"...Hm?"
Nihil's expression turned odd at the mention of wanting the queen.
"This is the queen?"
"Huh? Yeah, this is the queen."
"Not the prime minister...?"
"Huh?"
"When did you... get promoted?"
"......?"
The crossed wires led to silence, chessboard between them.
Nihil had been limiting the pieces' movements so far... but Lianus had just thought he was going easy.
Lianus finally shared the chess rules he knew.
Nihil listened intently, nodded, and admitted his mistake.
"Guess I mixed it up with another game."
"...But... you were winning, Nil...?"
Now Lianus looked subtle. They stared for a moment, then quietly cleared the board.
Sir Evan chuckled softly beside them and poured fresh tea. Not brewed by him, of course. It was brewed by our cute, lovable, magnificent baby kitten.
Our baby kitten brews tea well too. Truly the best.
"Lady Tarandrus is later than expected..."
Lianus muttered, glancing toward the greenhouse entrance. But the ceiling and entrance were obscured by strange trees and vines, hard to see through. The inside twisted like a maze now, no longer the open space it once was.
Like a forest from a fairy tale. Not some fantastical woodland... more like, yeah, a slightly sinister witch's woods.
Where at night, moonlight-fed plants lure lost travelers...
"Those vines look like they'll start wriggling alive any second."
"...How'd you know...?"
"Huh...?"
As he muttered about his best friend's peculiar tastes, an unexpected reply came.
But the bewilderment was short-lived—a scream echoed from the entrance.
"Uwaaak!"
"Kyaaak! Sergio!"
"Nephew!"
"......?!"
Lianus jumped up at the sudden commotion and rushed to the entrance. Sir Evan and Sharton followed right behind.
"Wh-What's that?"
The sight at the entrance left them slack-jawed. A boy dangled upside down in midair, wrapped in vines that squirmed around him like living things.
Below, the prime minister and the countess stomped anxiously, while the butler who'd escorted the guests calmly scanned for witnesses outside.
Shing—Sir Evan drew his sword tensely.
"Stop. It's lucky we saved it. Don't cut."
Nihil strolled up leisurely from behind, waving him off.
Nihil stared intently at the boy dangling in the air. A familiar scent wafted from him—the potent sleeping drug he'd given the countess.
He hadn't expected the owner of that hardcore narcotic painkiller to be such a green kid, so one eyebrow rose involuntarily.
"Ugh, th-this isn't g-good!"
The staff the boy held clattered to the ground. A ribbon was tied to it.
A strange sense of déjà vu hit, and Nihil turned to the prime minister with a subtle look. The prime minister smiled awkwardly.
"Haha... to make him look a bit cuter..."
"Prime Minister, slapping a ribbon on doesn't make everything cute. And if you're hanging one, put it on the kid."
"My nephew refused to wear it on his head... But Nil, could you let my nephew down first?"
"Warn me before bringing him next time."
"Y-Yeah... my bad..."
Abel reflected silently, and Nihil stroked the vines, whispering something unintelligible.
The vines wriggled as if understanding, gently righting the boy.
"......?"
But that was it. Sergio's feet still dangled in the air.
"Yvon, Jane, could you help out in the kitchen?"
The quick-witted butler led the two boys away.
Clank. The greenhouse door shut.
"Looks like the talk'll be long—let's head inside."