How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 137



Only Noblemtl

Episode 137

“When you were born, the doctor said that the mother’s life was in danger.”

“…ah…….”

My son’s face hardened at the heavy story again. Sedes continued talking, patting Lianus’ head as if it was nothing.

“Of course I wanted to save her. However…, I couldn’t make a decision right away in front of her, whether her constant brainwashing had worked or not. I hesitated whether I could just carelessly erase her miracle.”

“…….”

“My lover and my child were dying right before my eyes. But there was only one person I could save, and I had to make a decision before the inevitable happened. I’m sorry, Lian, but… in the end, my choice was not for you, but for your mother.”

Lianus nodded.

Even if it were me, I would have saved my beloved lover rather than the child I never made eye contact with. So I could understand.

“But… the moment I made that decision, my eyes met hers.”

‘Sedi, what about our child?’

Your voice, which suddenly spreads in my head, is very clear, but it disperses like ink dropped into water.

It exists there, but as time passes and the child grows, it is diluted, and now… I just believe it is there.

“I…, answered that question reflexively. The child is safe. I used the elixir. So there’s no need to worry.”

Sedes paused for a moment and took a deep, slow breath. He didn’t want to be consumed by his emotions, but thinking back to that time made his eyes well up with tears.

However, all parents are creatures who are reluctant to show tears in front of their children.

Although he had never been a proper parent, he must have had some pride in being a parent, so he didn’t shed any tears.

“ah…….”

But soon, I couldn’t help but contort my face at the small warmth that caressed my cheek.

“Rian, I…, I….”

‘Saddie, I love you.’

A smile like the sun that illuminates my world passes by.

“I still can’t forget the bright smile she gave me at my lie.”

‘Me too…, I love you too, Natura.’

‘Love my child too.’

What did you say in response to that? No, I didn’t answer. To be exact, I couldn’t answer.

Because anyone who would listen to my answer has already turned a deaf ear.

“…Rian.”

“Cool…, yeah.”

Before I knew it, my son was sniffling and shedding tears instead of me.

“Did you say you didn’t hate me?”

“…….”

“I would use the elixir on you even if I could go back in time. It would be better if I didn’t waste time worrying about stupid things like that day. No, maybe I would have run to the Grand Duke and begged for one more elixir because of my pride and all.”

“…Cool.”

“But isn’t that something that has already passed? If I had saved her then, she would have been disappointed in me. She might not have been able to see that smile again. When you say it like this…, it all turns out that I saved you for her sake…. Do you hate a father like this?”

“Keung, ah, no, no, sniff, uh-huh, uh, euaaaang-!”

Lianus could not hold back the tears that were pouring out of his mouth and finally started to cry out loud. Sedes was flustered at seeing Lianus suddenly start to cry, but quickly held him in his arms and comforted him.

Although it was a clumsy touch, it was so affectionate that Lianus cried even harder.

The little prince’s crying subsided only after a long time.

Sedes enjoyed the comfortable silence for a little longer, then slowly opened his mouth, wiping away the tears that were still falling from Lianus’ eyes.

“Rianus.”

“Hipp, yes, hikk, yes…….”

“Can I call you Ruth?”

“Hipp, yes, yes…, really, I like it.”

“Actually, I was thinking of naming you Ruth, after what your mother used to call you. It means light.”

“Well, Hibap, but, why did you change it?”

“…The queen went into premature labor. Lawrence was born before you were born.”

“…Sniff…, yes….”

“I also found out that the queen had gone to great lengths to give Lawrence the title of first prince. I was angry about that. Of course, I don’t hate Lawrence. The child did nothing wrong. Oh, you’ve cried a lot, so have some tea.”

“…Ma, I didn’t cry much.”

Lianus blushed. But as he said that, he obediently accepted the tea that Sedes offered him and drank it.

“It was purely my own fault for changing your name. Your mother was the first queen and you should have been the first prince. However, your mother was already dead and I couldn’t insist that you were the first prince for your own sake, given your extremely weak power.”

“So… you named it Lian?”

“Do you know the meaning of the name Lian?”

“Well… I don’t know. I just heard that it implies king.”

“Did a kid named Chinwoo tell you?”

“yes.”

“…There’s nothing that kid doesn’t know.”

Sedes muttered quietly, reminding Nihil that he was also good at magic.

“The word ‘Rian’ can mean a young king, but it can also mean ‘crown prince’. That’s why it’s usually given to the first prince who has the highest right to succession. In our kingdom’s system, there’s no separate order of succession between the first and second princes…, but adding the word ‘Rian’ to your name was my way of rebelling.”

Sedes said that, then quickly added something, fearing that Rianus might misunderstand.

“Ruth, I love you, but I can’t just push you to be crown prince without any reason. Furthermore, even though it may not be natural, that Lawrence is your older brother. Please forgive me for not being able to take anyone’s side.”

“Your Majesty, don’t worry about that. To be honest, I still don’t know much about the throne. And now that I think about it, if your mother miraculously conceived me…, it would be nearly impossible for me, a quarter, to have children, right?”

“……!”

Sedes’ pupils trembled slightly. Who would have thought that my son, who was only seven years old, would be called a eunuch?

Rianus smiled awkwardly, wondering if he had said something in vain, and comforted his father.

“Don’t worry too much, Your Majesty. Your brother will have the baby.”

“…….”

“What does the child look like?”

“…….”

***

The puppy’s sanity almost flew away when he saw the burst seaweed, but thanks to Lianus’s bashful smile, the worst was prevented.

“Neil, am I… seriously?”

Lianus asked if his face was so messed up that Sir Evan would spray his lifeblood, but Nihil shook his head no and hugged him tightly.

I was thinking of later scolding the baby’s father for making him cry, but not now. Despite his swollen eyes, the kitten seemed to be in pretty good spirits.

“Neil.”

“……?”

Nihil raised his head at the short vibration he felt through his torso.

The face of the kitten that had been smiling bashfully was distorted as if it was about to cry at any moment.

“What’s wrong, Lian.”

“Neil……”

“huh.”

“Evan Sir…, call.”

“…Ignore it.”

Nihil glanced at Evan, turned his head sharply, and walked ahead. However, after taking a couple of steps, the back of his neck lifted and a large hand blocked his vision.

A faint sound was transmitted through the hand covering my eyes.

Nihil opened his mouth to guess what Evan was going to say, calculating the length and intensity of the echo.

You tell me honestly! Can you hear me or not?

“I can hear you very well, so stop making noise. You’ll go deaf.”

Is it true?

“That’s what I said.”

Then, @##$$#&*@&*%^@#!@#$*$##$$*$^%

The echo that was transmitted by hand was too long. No matter how confident he was, he couldn’t have predicted something this long. Above all, he must have been spitting out random words so that it couldn’t be predicted in the first place.

Nihil replied vaguely.

“…Hey, stop barking and go.”

At those words, his vision brightened and he saw the puppy looking down at him with a distorted face.

Evan’s mouth moved again.

‘Damn it… you little bastard… … .’

Nihil closed his eyes.

***

“Oh, Neil! I’ll do that too!”

The kitten came over and snatched the bundle of herbs I had brought.

“…Rian, my hands and feet are fine.”

Nihil opened his mouth in a trembling manner as he looked at the kitten that was treating him as if he was seriously ill and taking care of him.

“And I’m going to use it now. I’m going to grind herbs. Do you want to try it?”

“Okay! I’ll do it!”

Lianus nodded and took the medicine bowl and began to grind herbs diligently. However, his gaze remained on Nihil, not the herbs.

“Neil.”

“huh.”

“Those eyes… why do they keep looking at Mana?”

Lianus tilted his head, unable to understand why Nihil kept staring at him with his white eyes except when the servants came.

“…Do you care a lot?”

Nihil asked, his eyes returning to their original color.

Lianus unconsciously wiped Nihil’s eyes, amazed at how his pupils changed like paint spreading. My friend closed the eye on the side he had touched, but the other eye, which was not touched, stubbornly stared at my face.

No, my lips, to be exact.

Lianus bit his lips in vain because he knew that it was my intention to converse by reading my lips.

“Neil, if I have something to say to you, I’ll give you a signal, so just relax a little bit. Um, or should I just hold your hand?”

As he spoke, Lianus took Nihil’s hand. My friend could tell whether he was making a sound or not just by the vibrations he felt in his hand.

If Evan Sir hadn’t noticed Nihil’s condition first, I would have let it slide without even knowing that my friend had a hearing problem. It was a bit bitter, but my friend was that great.

I know that my friend’s behavior of trying to hide his condition thoroughly stemmed from his desire not to worry anyone. But on the other hand, it was like the instinct of a wild animal trying to hide something wrong with its body, so I couldn’t help but be concerned.

“You don’t have to be too cautious, since you have Sir Evan and Sir Frederick.”

“Haha, that’s right. I’m here.”

“…….”

Frederick appeared behind the children and laughed heartily, but Nihil did not respond. No, it would be more correct to say that he could not respond because he could not hear.

“Who told you to come out?”

But even if you don’t hear it, the answer will come back, albeit late.

Nihil continued, looking straight into Lianus’ eyes, or rather, looking at Frederick reflected in those eyes.

“Do you want to get hit again?”

At those words, Frederick rubbed his swollen cheek and laughed awkwardly.