Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Blind Tag Mayhem
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"No way, even with that nose of yours!"
Lianus freaked out and darted around every which way to evade Nihil. He ducked behind the butler at one point and clutched at the maids' skirts at another, but Nihil zeroed right in on him without so much as brushing anyone else's hem.
Even though it was just a game, Lianus felt a twinge of real fear and forgot all about not running. He bolted straight for Evan, arms outstretched like a kitten begging to be picked up.
It was definitely against the rules, but Evan couldn't ignore his tiny kitten highness's plea. Plus, he secretly wanted to see the wildcat squirm a bit, so he scooped Lianus up and hoisted him onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride.
Lianus's view shot up high in an instant, giving him a full panorama of the study.
Evan strode forward steadily with his rider aboard, shifting their position a little.
No matter how sharp the guy was, tracking a prince on horseback would be tricky. He might sniff out the direction, but at arm's reach above, even the wildcat would have to throw in the towel.
Atop his mount, Lianus clamped his legs tight around Evan's neck and hugged his head close. He looked just like a shivering squirrel fleeing a predator, and the servants chuckled at the sight.
Nihil paused for a moment, then turned toward Evan and took a step, then another. Unlike his previous strides, which had shown no hesitation, these were slower, more deliberate.
Forgetting it was his job to make some noise in the game, Lianus clamped a hand over his mouth and held his breath as Nihil approached. The guy halted abruptly just five or six steps away.
The servants tensed up, forgetting to cause a ruckus themselves, and the study fell eerily silent. Even unflappable Evan stiffened.
In the hush, Nihil tilted his head, then began tapping his toes against the floor.
The rhythmic patter echoed through the empty space, dominating the room like the steady tick of a clock's second hand.
How much time passed? Nihil smirked, having mapped the servants' positions from the floor's vibrations.
One was missing, for sure.
'Puppy boy's got himself a horse, huh.'
Nihil advanced with excruciating slowness, one deliberate step at a time. He was less than three paces from Evan now.
Too immersed in the game, Lianus shook his head frantically at the approaching Nihil, terror building. It felt like he was alone in an empty void with the guy.
Nihil's footsteps stopped dead again.
Evan's hair was a total mess from Lianus's grip, strands pulling free in real time.
Evan didn't dare complain about the pain, lest he give away the prince's position. He just gazed mournfully at the locks drifting to the floor.
Nihil's head lifted slowly. It stopped, aimed precisely at Lianus astride his shoulder.
A red crescent curved on Nihil's lips.
With a hint of laughter, he whispered so softly only Lianus and Evan could hear.
"Gyaaaaah! $%@#$@#"
"Gah— Your Highness!"
The study's silence shattered with two screams.
One was Lianus shrieking in terror at being caught. The other belonged to Evan, whose neck was throttled and scalp yanked by said prince.
"That was... too scary."
Nihil patted Lianus's shoulder to soothe the fear he'd unwittingly instilled.
Lianus reached out to the still-blindfolded Nihil and carefully removed the cloth, inspecting it minutely for pinholes. But not a single one marred the fabric.
Evan set Lianus down from his perch and ran a hand through his sparse locks. Stray hairs caught and fluttered free.
"S-Sir Evan, sorry."
"...It's fine."
Evan eyed his liberated strands with a touch of gloom. He itched to sock the smirking wildcat, but that would only get his prince in trouble.
Ignoring Evan's glare, Nihil rebound Lianus's eyes with the black cloth.
As his sight vanished, Lianus felt his other senses sharpen.
"I can't see a thing."
"Heh heh, well, with your eyes covered, of course not."
The butler watched fondly and chuckled good-naturedly.
As the prince was It, the butler seemed eager to be caught and acted more boldly. The other servants matched his energy, eyes gleaming with competitive wariness.
"Counting off?"
One, twooo, threeee, fourrr...
As Lianus began counting, the servants scattered busily. The butler grinned broadly, clearly enjoying himself. Even Evan, who'd been standing stock-still, shifted to widen the gap.
At ten, Lianus started moving. Arms outstretched, shuffling awkwardly step by step, and the servants erupted in noise.
"Your Highness, over here!"
"This way!"
Voices and claps mingled in a cacophony from all directions. Lianus's keen ears caught every sound in chaotic overlap, leaving him clueless whom to chase. Then—thunk—his toe smacked a table leg.
"Th-this is too hard."
He'd thought nothing of it when Nihil dodged furniture effortlessly while pursuing him, but being It himself made every step precarious.
Unable to watch, Nihil quietly relocated small, light furnishings that might trip him.
The servants, desperate to be caught, amped up their racket. Nihil clapped along, but it drowned in the din, failing to draw Lianus's attention.
Seeing Lianus freeze amid the confusion, Evan advised focusing on one sound.
Lianus tuned in again.
Amid the mess, a faint but rhythmically steady clap emerged. Guessing it was Nihil's, Lianus blocked out the rest and followed that alone.
One step, another.
Not as precise or swift as Nihil's, but more confident than his first tries.
As the sound grew near, the claps faltered, then shifted away. When they receded again, Lianus broke into a light jog and lunged into an embrace.
"Gotch—... huh?"
Expecting Nihil's slight, compact frame, he instead hugged something large and rigid—a cylinder?
Lianus whipped off the blindfold. Blinking, he met his wide-eyed knight's gaze.
"Sir Evan?"
Evan, stunned at being caught, peered down at the little kitten clutching his thigh tight.
The kitten's eyes rounded in dismay at his catch, but he soon beamed and squeezed harder.
"It was you, Sir Evan. That small, steady clapping."
"Impressive, Your Highness."
Zeroing in on his claps amid the uproar was no small feat. Evan admired the beaming, delicate kitten.
Nihil sidled up to Lianus.
Lianus lamented to him, wishing he'd startled Nihil in turn. Nihil, with zero intention of getting tagged, just smiled softly and glanced up at Evan.
Evan met Nihil's eyes and smirked.
"Get ready to be It again, wildcat."
Challenged, Nihil scoffed with a crooked grin.
Whispering to Lianus that a knight deserved a handicap, Nihil prompted him. Lianus eyed Evan, agreeing fair play demanded adjustments, and nodded vigorously.
His guard was, after all, the youngest ever in the royal knights—a stellar talent!
"Sir Evan, you're a knight, so you can find us without clapping, right?"
"Naturally."
Evan tracked Nihil's presence even now. He'd memorized those lighter, more leisurely footsteps better than the prince's.
Faint as they were, focus let him follow without fail.
"I'll catch that wildcat and deliver him to Your Highness."
"Yeah! Go for it, Sir Evan!"
Lianus cheered his knight sincerely. Nihil hadn't done anything wrong, but being chased had been terrifying. He hoped Nihil felt a sliver of that fear.
Truth be told, he also yearned to see that ever-relaxed face crack—just imagining a spooked Nihil was impossible.
Evan counted off slowly. The servants scattered wildly, then stilled. Their presences lingered vividly.
Even as they bustled, one set of steps stayed leisurely. Evan marched straight to where those light, nimble footfalls had paused.
Nearby, bouncy little princely steps pattered past.
Not his target—the kitten—so Evan let them go.
'Did His Highness pass this way?'
A fleeting doubt, brushed aside.
He regretted it soon. Nothing at the spot where the wildcat's steps had cut off.
Clap—from behind. His head whipped around.
No clapping allowed—that was the wildcat mocking his miss.
But Evan tensed further. He'd heard the clap, yet sensed no presence. Mimicking footsteps and fully masking his aura from a knight? Some kid.
Footsteps resumed—genuine wildcat tread. Evan quickened before the presence vanished again.
Still no easy catch. The steps persisted, but dodged nimbly, never lingering.
The target was Nihil, so servants relaxed—until he grazed past them perilously close, racking up near-misses that built tension.
"Eek, not me!"
A coachman yelped and fled a close call.
Nihil slyly herded Evan's reaches toward the servants. Repeatedly duped, Evan grew irate.
Lianus forgot all about tagging Nihil, giggling at the spectacle. Playing together was pure joy.
Bullied by Nihil, the servants huddled against walls, fleeing the non-It menace. He was a pint-sized disaster on the prowl.
Then Nihil brushed past Lianus.
Grab.
"...?"
Confusion bloomed on Lianus's face. Nihil, seemingly passing by, hugged him from behind.
As Lianus twisted to look, puzzled and cradled in Nihil's arms, a large, rough hand plopped atop his round, dark green head.
"???"
The sudden heavy weight registered late. Lianus's eyes widened like saucers as realization dawned.
"Got the wildcat! ...?"
Evan removed his blindfold and checked his catch's round head.
Not white—dark green.
Nihil smirked at Evan from behind Lianus.
"Waaah! Sir Evan's a dummy!"