Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: The Poisoned Spoon
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"Mm……."
"……."
Lianus gazed up at the canopy drifting down like faint mist, then slyly turned his head. His close friend, whose sleeping habits were so atrocious they could pass for a corpse, furrowed his brows ever so slightly and shifted his body.
Lianus watched him quietly for a moment before placing a hand on Nihil's forehead. He wasn't sure about a fever exactly, but it felt warmer than usual.
"…Nil, you awake?"
"……."
There was no reply. But since Nihil's brows were still slightly creased, Lianus picked up Poofu and Popo, who had been lying beside him, and tucked them into his friend's arms. Nihil's expression softened a little more.
But Lianus's own face remained tense.
"……."
What was this nagging discomfort?
Lianus stared at Nihil for a while longer before retrieving Poofu. Holding the bear doll made him feel a tiny bit better. Yet the fact that he felt irritated by his close friend stirred up an entirely different kind of displeasure.
Why? Why on earth did he feel this way?
Lianus slid out of bed. The mattress rippled from his movement, but his friend didn't stir. Perhaps because of that, his senses felt sharpened, yet everything had a dreamlike haze to it.
The downpour that had hammered like a hole torn in the sky had vanished as if it had been an illusion. Moonlight shattered through the chiffon curtains, but it didn't strike him as particularly beautiful.
Lianus took in the faint flickering rising from the windows and doors, then opened the terrace door. They'd set up magic circles to sound alarms if outsiders passed through the windows or doors, but since he wasn't an outsider, nothing happened.
He glanced back to make sure his friend hadn't woken, then hurried out to the terrace and checked the flowerpot. The moonlight was so bright no lantern was needed.
Deep down, he'd hoped to find nothing, but there it was—the teaspoon he'd kicked away with his foot. The problem was the sweet cream residue clinging to it had attracted bugs, and Lianus nearly screamed at the sight.
But the bugs weren't moving. They looked already dead.
"……."
Lianus carefully lifted the spoon's tip with his fingertips and shook it. The bug corpses rained down.
Revealed beneath was the teaspoon, its surface partially discolored black.
Lianus considered fetching a handkerchief but worried it might wake his friend, so he bunched up his sleeve and wiped it instead. He scrubbed vigorously, half-hoping it was just dirt, but of course, it didn't come off.
The bug corpses left no room for excuses. This was poison.
Did Nihil know and eat it anyway?
But he already knew the answer without asking.
He must have known. That's why, despite no need to pretend, he'd eaten it by hand instead of with a spoon like usual. He knew silverware would discolor on contact.
'Nil, you said you liked strawberries, right?'
He'd handed it over himself.
"……."
His lips pressed into a tight line. Guilt constricted his throat. If his friend weren't immune to poison, surely...
'Nanny takes a bite, then I take a bite.'
Just like back then.
Slap-!
Lianus struck his cheek as hard as he could. He couldn't surrender to that helplessness again. He still had a friend to protect.
It's fine. His friend was unharmed, and he would stay that way. So it was fine.
And this wasn't his fault. He hadn't laced it with poison, and Sir Evan had brought the cake...
'Um... yes. Truth is, I... bought it because I wanted to eat it.'
"Ah."
A voice flashed through his mind, and Lianus swallowed a groan. Suddenly, he understood why Nihil had pretended ignorance and hogged the entire cake.
Someone was targeting his knight. His life, or perhaps his honor as a knight.
"...How dare they."
His eyes gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
"Nil, Nil."
"Mm……."
Nihil dragged himself upright at the voice waking him. Was it because he was assimilating with the kid? His body felt impossibly heavy.
Has my little one been living in a body like this all along? Somehow, I'm impressed.
He resolved to praise him later, but his head bobbed sleepily, and before he knew it, it drooped forward. Something soft and fluffy brushed his face. Cracking his eyes open, he saw a rabbit doll in his arms.
'...Assimilation rate too high, maybe.'
He hadn't expected it to affect even his sleeping habits, so Nihil decided he needed to be more careful. A slip-up might make the kid sense the danger and turn hostile toward him.
But he still didn't want to move.
Nihil buried his face back into the soft, fluffy doll.
Tok-tok-tok-
Then, amid his fading consciousness, he heard a faint tapping sound growing closer.
"……?"
As Nihil puzzled over it and lifted his head,
Thwack-!
"Ugh!"
"Nil!"
Something slammed into his face.
"Kyaa!"
"...Somsom?"
It was none other than Somnus who'd struck his face. The creature was puffed up with fury, fur bristling.
"Kyu-!"
"Ah."
Sleep fled Nihil as he hurriedly shoved the rabbit doll aside. Somnus pounced on it and began trampling it mercilessly.
"...Looks like Somsom doesn't like Popo."
Lianus, watching, murmured softly before tucking Poofu away and slipping under the covers.
"He's jealous like that. Come here, Somsom."
"Kyu!"
After stomping the rabbit doll to its heart's content, Somnus puffed up triumphantly and leaped into Nihil's arms.
"By the way, Rian. You're all ready?"
Nihil scanned Lianus's fully dressed form up and down, then checked the time. It was far too late to be getting up.
"Why didn't you wake me sooner?"
"Oh... um, you looked tired. I was just saying goodbye before heading out. You can sleep more, Nil."
"I'm fine. I'll get ready quick."
"No! Really, it's okay! You're smart, Nil, so missing a few classes won't matter."
Lianus pushed the rising Nihil back down. He placed a hand on his own forehead, then Nihil's, and tilted his head. Nihil chuckled at the sight.
"Rian, I'm not sick. Just a bit tired."
"...Did you... take your medicine?"
"……?"
Strangely, Lianus seemed utterly convinced he was ill. Nihil thought for a moment before realizing.
'Busted.'
He'd thought he'd played it off naturally, but how had he figured it out?
But since the cat was out of the bag, it didn't matter how. Lianus might lack some perceptiveness, but he wasn't dumb. The fierce determination he showed at times even surprised Nihil.
'...He must think the target was that puppy.'
From Lianus's perspective, unaware of the full backstory, it was easy to mistake Sir Evan for the target. On the surface, he'd been the one to bring the desserts.
'Especially since the guy tried to eat the poisoned one himself. Plenty of reason to misunderstand.'
Sir Evan collapsing from poison, or someone else doing so and getting framed for attempted regicide—it could all look like a plot against him.
"I... can handle classes alone. Worst case, I can join Older Brother's class again..."
Lianus hung his head. If possible, he wanted to hide Sir Evan away too. Why did everyone he cared about end up suffering?
Of course, he now knew there was no curse...
But did that mean it wasn't his fault?
"...Sorry I'm so weak."
If he'd been truly strong, he could've protected them.
Tears pricked at Lianus's eyes. But he couldn't cry on top of being weak, so he swallowed them down.
"Up you go."
Suddenly, his body lifted. A soothing voice followed, like one calming a child.
"Rian, you're strong."
"……."
"The shards couldn't shatter you because you're too strong, so they're just scattering around."
"Then... what do I do? Everyone I care about keeps getting hurt."
"Do they?"
"……."
"I'm happy."
"……!"
"Don't you care about me?"
"No!"
Absolutely not. Lianus shook his head vigorously.
Nihil found it a struggle to hold the thrashing kid, but he couldn't let it show, so he gripped tighter with his arms.
"Rian, you don't have to shoulder it alone. You're doing plenty, and the people around you are trying too."
"But you try to handle everything by yourself, Nil."
"Well..."
Caught off-guard by the retort, Nihil gave an awkward smile and changed the subject.
"I'll skip classes too... since I have things to do. And I mean it—I'm not sick."
"...Really?"
"Really."
Nihil raised one hand to pat the kid but stopped. He couldn't spare the strength to free an arm.
'...Having to tough it out in such a frail body.'
It was unavoidable for the assimilation training, but the thought of enduring days like this filled him with worry.
'Maybe lower the rate even if it takes longer. But stay assimilated too long, and side effects might kick in...'
"Hey, Nil... um..."
As he pondered efficient mana perception training, Lianus spoke up hesitantly again.
"Yeah?"
"Did I... gain weight?"
"...No. Why?"
"My arms are shaking."
"……."
This was serious. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to carry the kid around.
"Am I... heavy?"
"...No. But you're growing, so maybe a little heavier."
"Really?!"
"Y-yeah."
"Hehe."
...The future already looked bleak.
"Your Highness... why are you alone?"
The administrator arrived for fiscal studies class and asked, puzzled.
He'd always been too busy to miss lessons, so there'd been some anticipation, but only one student was present.
"Oh... my friend has some circumstances..."
"Is something wrong?"
"Um, no, just... yeah. Anyway, he won't be attending for a while."
"...I thought we'd finally see that pretty lunatic..."
"Huh?"
"N-no, nothing. Let's begin."
The administrator was quite disappointed but couldn't force the half-brother to sit through it, so he pushed aside his regret and started the lesson.
"Your Highness, your budget analysis is remarkably realistic."
"Is it?"
"Yes. You seem quite familiar with commoner prices. Have you studied separately?"
"Ah, my friend taught me a lot."
"I see."
The administrator nodded. Better than some idiot nobles who didn't know the price of their own bread—this commoner half-brother seemed more promising.
"But I heard the half-brother just sits quietly during class."
"He still follows the teachers' instructions well."
"...Does he?"
The administrator replied but remained dubious. It sounded less like they were teaching him and more like he was humoring them.
Without the half-brother there, he couldn't verify, so once class ended, the administrator bowed and departed.
"Butler! Butler!"
The prince's voice echoed brightly down the hall.
'Still a kid, after all.'
He'd been so composed during class that a chuckle escaped.
"Where's Nil right now?"
"The young master is in his bedroom with the pharmacist."
'Pharmacist? Is he ill?'
Curiosity slowed the administrator's steps. Maybe that's why the half-brother skipped class.
"Young master... overdoing... die......"
"Rima... it's fine......?"
"...Save...... him."
'...? What conversation is that?'
"Do you need something else?"
The head maid approached and addressed him. He'd unwittingly paused because the voices were faint.
"Ah, no. Then I'll be off..."
The administrator hastily bowed and hurried away. He hadn't caught it clearly, but the situation felt graver than expected.
'Could this be... that rumored intrigue?'
There were whispers that Grand Duke Lepne had his eye on the 2nd Prince's half-brother. If the 1st Prince's faction was countering...
'This is huge news...!'