Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Lynx's Night Watch
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Nihil waited until he was sure Lianus was completely asleep, then quietly sat up. Sir Evan pressed down on Nihil's head, forcing him back down.
"You sleep quietly too."
"If I fall asleep now, I won't wake up until morning."
"...That's why you chugged all the sleeping potion."
"I drank it in moderation. You spiked my beer with milk too."
"......"
Sir Evan sighed, remembering how his beer had turned milky from the milk.
"The antidote."
"It wasn't a sleeping potion problem to begin with."
"Then just sleep. I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry."
"Were you planning to ditch me?"
"I'm telling you I'm not. Sleep before I knock you out?"
"I'm too scared of being ditched to sleep."
"What nonsense from a guy who wouldn't get ditched even if I tried."
"Kuh...!"
Dave, who had been pretending to sleep, finally couldn't hold back his laughter at Nihil and Sir Evan's banter. Sir Evan growled lowly at the kids who weren't asleep, telling them to go to sleep quick, then continued the conversation.
"You could eat and live well anywhere anyway."
"I don't want to work."
"...Damn lynx."
Sir Evan furrowed his brows, knowing that "don't want to work" meant mooching off His Highness the Prince.
On the other hand, it occurred to him that if the guy actually worked, his little body wouldn't hold up. Telling a little kid who barely reached his thigh to work—that really was his own fault.
"...Yeah. Better if you don't work."
"Why?"
"You said you don't want to!"
"What's that got to do with you?"
"......Kitty, put him to sleep."
Sir Evan could no longer tolerate the lynx's constant cheeky retorts and called for Bella. Deep down, he wanted to smack the back of his head himself, but if a bump formed there, their precious baby kitty would surely freak out and jump in surprise—so this time, he decided to hold back.
Bella seemed to agree he needed sleep too; she let out a soft meow, handed the puppy to Sir Evan, and leaped onto Nihil.
"Kitty, get down."
"Meow."
"No. Go away."
"Meeoow."
"...Fine."
"Meow?"
"Yeah. I'll just sleep then."
"Meow mew."
"If you don't believe me, why ask?"
"Meow, mew, meooow."
"I'm telling the master on you. You don't listen at all."
"Mehhhahaha~"
As if laughing, the cat lightly nipped Nihil's cheek. He must have truly been exhausted; the small body that had been propped up just a bit couldn't fight off the drowsiness and flopped right down.
"...Asleep? Not dead..., right?"
"Meeoow, mew, meow-meow-meow."
"I can't understand cat, since I'm not a lynx."
"......"
The cat narrowed its eyes as if to say he was utterly useless, then sharply turned its head and curled up slyly atop the leaf bed. But Sir Evan wasn't having it; he set her down on the floor and tucked the puppy back into her embrace.
Bella meowed in protest, but Sir Evan—who hadn't learned cat-speak—ignored her and gently laid the sprawled-out Nihil beside Lianus.
When the cold body touched him, Lianus let out a groan and frowned slightly, making Sir Evan pause for a moment. But their adorable baby kitty confirmed it was just the lynx boy, wriggled closer to drape the blanket over him, and hugged him tight to share his body heat.
And silence fell once more.
That silence broke a few hours later, when Lianus mumbled in his sleep and called out for Nihil.
Sir Evan's hand twitched as he watched Nihil slowly open his eyes. He raised a brow.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't wake up till morning?"
Nihil didn't answer right away. He blinked slowly a few times, stared quietly at Lianus right in front of him, then slowly opened his mouth.
"...He called me."
With that, Nihil slowly sat up.
"Sleep more. Sun's still far from rising. I'll wake you later."
"...No. It's fine."
Nihil gazed blankly around the shed's interior, still half-asleep. Spotting Lianus huddled in sleep, he warmed the now-cold waterskin against his body and tucked it into his arms. Seeing the twins shivering even in their sleep, he even took off his own robe and draped it over them.
The twins cracked their eyes open slightly in their drowsiness, but Nihil didn't panic—he just gently closed their eyes with his hand. They drifted off again right away.
Sir Evan frowned as he watched Nihil so meticulously tend to even the bratty twins who'd ignored his kindness to the end.
"You really have a good personality."
If it were him, he'd have left those tomboys to shiver or not—he wouldn't care.
Thinking back, the lynx kid was just a bit rude and playful, but aside from being prickly at their first meeting with His Highness, he'd never once lost his temper and always acted like a perfect gentleman. That first encounter was plenty reason for the guy to get mad, from his perspective.
He gave off the vibe of someone standing a step back, looking down fairly on everything.
"You know they dumped the herbal tea, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Then why keep fussing over them?"
"These kids..., they're just full of suspicion and can't easily accept kindness."
Sir Evan smirked at that.
"Hah, lived a life full of getting duped, huh."
"Must've."
"......I see."
Sir Evan let out a groan, figuring it could well be true. Being wary of strangers was natural, after all. Somehow, being around the lynx made him feel like the narrow-minded, childish kid.
Just then, Nihil moved to open the shed door and head out.
"Where you going?"
"Just getting some air. Keep an eye on the kids."
"Still pitch black out—where to?"
"If you've got nothing to do, start a fire. The potion'll wear off soon, and the kids'll wake up one by one."
With that, Nihil slipped out before Sir Evan could stop him.
Sir Evan sat there dazed for a bit, then rubbed his dry face and stood to head to the backyard. As the guy said, nothing else to do—might as well make a fire.
But starting the fire took longer than expected. The rain had soaked all the usable firewood, and even when he finally got it lit with effort, it went out again in no time.
"......"
Sir Evan pondered for a while, then stealthily plucked some dry leaves from the leaf bed where his master lay. They caught fire bright and fierce.
As Sir Evan basked in his successful blaze, Nihil—who had returned unnoticed with handfuls of herb roots in both hands—stared at the bonfire and spoke up.
"Took 'em from the kid's bed, huh."
"......"
Caught red-handed for swiping the leaves, Sir Evan clamped his mouth shut. The leaves had already burned to ash, and the guy hadn't even gone back into the shed—how the hell did he know?
As if reading his thoughts, Nihil jerked his chin toward a corner of the shed and continued.
"Had firewood stacked separately."
"......"
In the spot he'd indicated were neatly piled branches covered by a tarp. He definitely hadn't seen them just minutes ago, but now with the faint light of dawn breaking, they stood out plain as day.
Sir Evan let out a hollow sigh.
"...Tell me ahead of time next time."
"Sure."
Nihil rinsed his muddy hands and the herb roots in a puddle, went into the shed to retrieve the robe he'd draped over the twins and slipped it back on, then came back out.
"What's with the herbs?"
"Easily found around here. Not super effective, but better than nothing, so I gathered 'em."
"Diligent, huh."
"Caught a wild boar too."
"...Caught what now?"
Sir Evan asked again, sure he'd misheard.
"Wild boar."
"......"
"Why?"
"Where's..., the boar you caught?"
Sir Evan asked hesitantly. The guy had come back with only herb roots in his hands, after all.
"Too heavy, plus needed to drain the blood—so I left it. Fetch it in a bit."
"How the hell did you catch it? And why you, of all people?"
"Wasn't planning to hunt. But it spotted me and charged."
"And?"
"Climbed a tree. It kept ramming its head to shake me loose, so I dropped a rock on it from above."
"......"
"Then while it was out cold for a sec, I went—"
"Stab..., right."
*Nod.*
So that's how it went.
Sir Evan let out a hollow laugh.
"First time seeing someone take down a boar that easy."
Wild boars were no pushovers. Knights with aura could handle them without issue, but for regular folk, it'd take at least three or four charging in with axes.
"It was a small one."
"Sure, smaller than you, I bet."
"Not quite..., but when Kitty wakes up, leave the guarding to her and go fetch it."
"Got it."
A few minutes later, the kids—woken by the cold—began gathering one by one around the bonfire to chase away the dawn chill.
Bella was the last to stir. Well, not really the last to wake—she was just pretending to sleep because she didn't want to move.
"You gonna sleep the whole day, huh?"
"Oh dear, doggy dear. It's still the dead of night! This lady means, the young masters woke up early, okay?"
"I'll be stepping out for a bit—guard duty's on you."
"Huh? Hey? Doggy, where you going? Doggy!"
Sir Evan finished what he had to say and headed straight into the forest, ignoring Bella's calls.
'Northwest, about 500 meters. Guy went pretty far in no time. Hope I can find the damn thing.'
Sir Evan fretted about not locating the boar, but his worries were quickly put to rest.
The boar was impossible to miss. With its hind legs bound by a tough leather whip and dangling from a tree branch, the thing looked utterly pathetic. The cold air made faint steam rise from the pooled blood below.
'When the hell did he snag the whip?'
Sir Evan sighed deeply at the lynx's thoroughness in securing the crime scene evidence, then spotted a pack of wild dogs slinking closer and drove them off with a burst of killing intent.
Untying the whip sent the hefty boar carcass thudding to the ground with a wet splat, splattering blood all over his clothes and face.
"Ugh, for real."
Sir Evan grumbled as he roughly wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and drew his dagger.
'Heavy enough he left it—how'd he even hang it up there?'
With that thought, Sir Evan slit open the boar's belly. He tossed the foul-smelling guts to the wild dogs as feed, then hoisted the rest of the carcass over one shoulder.
'The kids'll love this.'
The lynx had played it off as the boar charging him, but he wasn't the type to hunt unless it was for food. Hell, he might've just petted its head and shooed it away.
No matter how he hid it, only that guy truly looked after the kids. Sir Evan smirked to himself as he lugged the precious provisions back to the kids' hideout.
What he heard upon arrival was...
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
A piercing scream.