Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Illegal Auction Incident
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Sir Evan tilted his head in confusion at the sudden remark, then paled in shock when he realized it referred to His Majesty's bodyguard.
"...Since when?"
"From the start. He was following us."
"......"
In one corner of the greenhouse, a particularly dense shadow flickered briefly. Lianus, unable to make sense of the situation, just blinked vacantly.
"What are you talking about, Nil?"
"Nothing much. Let's get another dog later."
"Uh... sure!"
Lianus made a mental note to gift Nil a purebred puppy someday, figuring his friend must really love dogs.
Sir Evan, just to be sure, ventured cautiously.
"You haven't happened to bust up any illegal auction houses, have you?"
"No."
"...I see."
Sir Evan breathed a sigh of relief. The lynx's life seemed tumultuous enough already—what if it tied back to the rabbit warren incident? Fortunately, it didn't.
But Nil's next casual words left him wrinkling his nose in dismay.
"Though I have brought one down."
"......"
The dense shadow rippled again, this time large enough for even Sir Evan to notice. You really ought to hear people out to the end, huh.
"Did you take down the rabbit warren too?"
"No rabbits lived there."
"......"
Sir Evan wanted to snap that this wasn't the time for jokes, but with such a crucial witness—no, the perpetrator himself—before him, he took a deep breath and asked slowly, word by word.
"Have you ever dismantled a layered magic circle etched into the ceiling of an illegal auction house?"
Nil glanced at Lianus before brazenly replying.
"No exit, so I had no choice."
"......"
"If there's no exit, you make one, right?"
"......"
"...Rian, am I getting arrested?"
With no response from Sir Evan, Nil turned to Lianus. Lianus jumped up and shook his head vigorously.
"No way! Nil didn't do anything wrong! I'll protect you, so don't worry!"
"Okay."
Secure in his backup, Nil arched one eyebrow and shot Sir Evan a smug look that said, now what?
Sir Evan let out an incredulous huff of laughter.
"Why'd you go into the auction house in the first place? How? Those places had security so tight even the palace was stumped."
"......I got kidnapped."
"......"
Sir Evan was speechless. His grip tightened unconsciously, nearly splintering the tea table.
Another kidnapping. He was sick of this guy's kidnappings. He'd petition His Majesty to root out the scum snatching kids once and for all.
"Nil... from now on, I'll protect you no matter what!"
Having heard of his friend's tragic life, Lianus vowed to safeguard him personally, clasping Nil's hand tightly.
The image of Nil kidnapped by a witch in his dream suddenly felt like it might have been a prophetic vision.
But oblivious to Lianus's thoughts, Nil figured he might as well get another massage while his hand was held, kneading it idly.
Lianus made an oh shoot face, but Nil had no intention of letting go.
"Rian, I don't usually get kidnapped that easily. It was just cold out, so I tagged along for the warmth. I was starving too, and in rough shape—hard to scrounge food like that. Never dreamed it'd be an auction house."
Everyone's jaws dropped. Kidnapped because it was cold and he was hungry...? If it was meant to tug heartstrings, mission accomplished.
Lianus squeezed Nil's still-aching hand and declared.
"Nil, you never have to go hungry or cold again! And the Prime Minister issue's sorted, so no worries there."
"Okay."
Lianus beamed, but Sir Evan was too drained to interject. He just let his charge chatter happily, attaining a zen-like peace.
"Nil, after that, did you stay in the village where we met?"
"No. I stuck to forests and mountains. Didn't want to deal with people. Moved from peak to peak, so I'm not sure exactly how I got to that village. That day, I came down hoping to snag a shovel at least..."
"......A shovel?"
"Looked like snow, so I figured I'd dig a burrow. Ground was frozen solid—too hard to claw by hand, and my fingers were numb."
Sir Evan's jaw dropped again.
A burrow? Where in the world do you find a kid digging one to beat the cold? He wasn't sure whether to admire the lynx's survival instincts or lament his harsh life.
Sir Evan had plenty to say but held back, too curious about the rest of the tale.
Our baby kitten was enthralled by the wild lynx's adventures, eyes sparkling as he asked.
"Did you get the shovel?"
"No. Some thugs picked a fight in the alley."
Sighs escaped Sir Evan and Lianus in unison at Nil's bumpy adventure.
Lianus could've sworn he heard a third sigh, but chalked it up to imagination.
Nil paused, eyeing their rapt attention. A bit embarrassed but seeing their interest, he continued in more detail.
"About three of them—your standard alley punks everywhere. They tried to grab and sell me."
"...You didn't go along because you were hungry, right?"
"As if. I'd caught and eaten a rabbit, but starved for a week after, so I was pissed. Went at 'em."
"Did you win?"
"Did I kill them?"
"......"
Nil glared at Sir Evan, stumped by the wildly different questions.
His eyes seemed to scold, is that what you say in front of a kid? Sir Evan glanced at Lianus, sheepishly leaning back as if conceding the point.
Wanting to beat those scum who'd prey on a little kid had made his words slip.
"I won, Rian. Didn't kill them. Anyway, off I went to find that shovel again."
"Did you get it?"
"Sadly, no. Sleet started falling soon after. Wore myself out pounding those guys, so before my temp dropped more, I thought I'd sneak into an empty house."
"What happened?"
"But the ones I'd knocked out woke up and chased me. One snagged my collar."
"...Don't tell me, kidnapped again?"
Lianus's mismatched eyes shook violently once more. Nil quickly shook his head to dispel the misunderstanding.
"No, Rian. He chucked me away before I could fight back proper. Grabbed me to vent, but got scared I'd hit back again and tossed me."
"What? Those jerks! Hurt bad?"
"......"
Nil paused, looking between them. Hesitant at their focus, he spoke up.
"I don't recommend listening to the rest."
"But I'm curious!"
"No backing out now. Spill it."
Lianus tinkled his teacup with a spoon insistently. Seeing Sir Evan reach for his too, Nil sighed.
He'd warned them they'd regret it, but their prodding continued.
Nil had no choice but to go on.
"...And got flung like that..."
"...Flung?"
Lianus swallowed hard.
"Into a carriage."
"...Huh?"
Somehow, it felt familiar...
"Came to, and there's this heterochromatic kid with seaweed hair crouched there, staring at me."
"W-Wait a sec...!"
"Wouldn't answer who he was, just stared, then suddenly 'wanna be frie—'"
"Eek!"
Too embarrassed to hear more, Lianus shrieked oddly and clapped a hand over Nil's mouth, rambling excuses.
"Th-That was a total slip-up! I'd been chanting 'gotta make a friend' over and over..."
"Told you not to listen."
Nil shrugged, the recipient of said confession. Mortified and sorry, Lianus buried his face in his palms, unable to look up.
"I thought you were a bit slow back then, like a kid."
"Pfft!"
"S-Sir Evan! Don't laugh."
Sir Evan tried stifling it, but snickers leaked out anyway.
Lianus's ears turned beet red as he flailed, then chugged the now-cold plum tea in one go.
It was meant to be a grave tale of getting hit by a carriage, but with the victim himself recounting it so nonchalantly, it turned comedic.
"Nil, I'm really sorry about that."
"It's fine. Easy to misspeak."
"No, I mean getting hit by the carriage..."
"Not your fault."
"But..."
As Lianus trailed off mumbling, Nil smiled gently and called to him.
"Rian."
"Yeah?"
"If going back and getting hit by that carriage is the only way to meet you, I'd gladly step in front of it."
"...Huh?"
"I'm pretty happy right now. So no need to feel sorry."
"......"
Sir Evan clicked his tongue, while Lianus froze in stunned silence.
Noticing something off, Nil tilted his head and called cautiously.
"Rian?"
"N-No!"
"......?"
Snapping to, Lianus slammed the tea table and shot up, yelling. Sir Evan and Nil stared, baffled.
"Absolutely not! I'll come fetch you myself next time, so even if I'm late, just wait without getting hurt."
Lianus vowed inwardly.
If meeting you means trekking to that duke's mansion and clowning around over and over, I'll march into that snake pit on my own two feet as many times as it takes.
He never wanted his friend hurt again, not even hypothetically.
Caught off guard, Nil's eyes widened, blinking a few times before breaking into a radiant grin—like one haloed in light, brighter than any Lianus had seen. Even the gravely serious prince found himself smiling back, mesmerized.
Nil replied with a smile.
"Got it. I'll wait."
You're coming yourself? Guess I'll have to wait, then. No choice.
"Rian, let's go. Class time soon."
"Okay!"
Just then, maids approached from afar. Lianus tidied up hastily and led the way.
As Nil moved to follow, his eyes caught a small vial of holy water.
Nil asked Sir Evan, who was meticulously folding sandwich wrappers in a daze.
"That's high-purity holy water—must be valuable. Where'd you get it?"
"Got a few more. Take it if you need."
"What about you?"
"...Bought it for a reason, but useless."
"Someone ill?"
"......"
"Bring them."
"Not sick, so no point."
"I can see what you can't."
"......"
Sir Evan stayed silent. No point anyway—he couldn't bring them due to his own irredeemable folly.
Nil stared a moment longer, then pocketed the vial without pressing and hurried after Lianus.
Sir Evan watched the two boys' backs recede, his eyes a touch shadowed.