How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 188



Only Noblemtl

Episode 188

“…….”

Dalgak. The man carefully put down the wooden box he had picked up. Picking it up was quite an impulsive act.

The wooden box was probably in the arms of the little boy who had pulled my hair, because the corner was slightly broken by my attack.

What should I do?

Actually, I brought it here because I wanted to fix it. I didn’t really care about being called the devil, but I didn’t want to become an adult who broke a child’s toy.

Besides, didn’t that kid almost die by my hand? If the prince hadn’t poured the elixir right away, it probably would have happened without a hitch.

‘I never thought you’d carry an elixir around… … .’

But it still bothered me that I didn’t feel any movement until it grabbed my truck.

Knock, knock, knock.

The man knocked on the box meaninglessly and then picked it up again.

Crunch, squeak-

There was a loud noise as I forced open the lid whose hinges were twisted.

“…Is it broken?”

I opened the lid, but the music box didn’t turn. The mainspring wasn’t even wound.

The inside doesn’t seem to be damaged…

Feeling somewhat regretful, the man rubbed the outer surface of the box.

Grumble, grouse.

“……?”

And at some point he realized that he was scratching something. He turned the box over to check what was catching his fingertips. There was a faint engraving on the bottom of the box.

-Dia, to my dear little one.

Click, knock, rrrrr… … .

♪♩♩♪♪♩-

The debris that got caught in the music box fell and the wind-up mechanism turned.

* * *

“…S, re…s.”

My body felt heavy as if it had been filled with water. My body has never been this sore unless I was taking a pill. What could be happening?

“Requies!”

“……!”

Huh, Requies opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. He saw a man. A familiar, yet very nostalgic face.

I miss you? Why?

“…Dia.”

“How long are you going to sleep? Wake up.”

“…….”

Requies writhed as he received the rough yet gentle touch. His head was dizzy. But before he could come to his senses, his head was pulled. The now fully grown little boy brought a comb and began combing his hair.

“Dia, you don’t have to comb your short hair so hard…….”

“Are you still half-asleep?”

“……?”

The boy thrust his white hair, which was dragging on the floor, into my sight as if he were a fool.

“If this is short, I’ll be bald.”

Requies rubbed the corner of his mouth, feeling embarrassed for no reason.

Yes, that’s right. My hair was like a part of my body, so I didn’t cut it carelessly. It was also useful.

Why did I think it was short?

Requies felt a little puzzled, but ignored it. He turned his head slightly and saw a head of brown hair that was quite common.

“It’s quite long. Should I cut it for you?”

“It wasn’t that long.”

Requies snickered at the curt reply. When he was young, he would cling to his hair and ask it to be cut even if it was just a little long, but now that his hair has grown a bit, he wants to show off and doesn’t try to cut it properly.

But it definitely felt like it was time to cut it… … .

As I sat there blankly thinking about that, I heard a worried question.

“…Do you still think about that guy?”

“……?”

That guy? Requies hesitated for a moment, then shook his head at the remnants of the image that came to mind.

You’re talking about that kid who stabbed my heart a while ago. I had forgotten for a moment.

“No, that’s not true. Isn’t that child doing well?”

The child accepted his ‘death’ and returned to his original place. However, the little boy frowned, either unsatisfied with that or dissatisfied with the fact itself.

“Never give your heart to those things again.”

“…….”

Even if he said that, there was nothing he could do. Requies felt sorry for no reason and avoided eye contact.

“…Aren’t you resentful?”

What a complaint. It’s all because of my greed.

… sniff, sniff… … .

“……?”

At that moment, a sobbing sound was heard. Nihil turned his head in surprise.

“Dia, are you crying?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

But I must have misheard, because not a single tear was in my little one’s eyes. His slightly furrowed brows even made him look a little displeased.

“…It’s nothing. I must have misheard.”

* * *

The first animal that Lianus raised was a small, round blue bird. He loved it very much, but he couldn’t remember its name.

One day the bluebird disappeared.

‘Sir Evan, — is gone… … .’

‘… Oh, I guess the cage was open.’

Kkirrik-, the unfastened door rang the empty cage.

‘I’m sorry. I should have checked properly.’

‘no…….’

Lianus was upset, but he did not blame Sir Evan. He was also the one who did not check properly. After being gloomy for a while, His Majesty gave me a bird as a gift. It was a colorful, curious bird that could talk.

Lianus tried to say only pretty words to the bird.

Hello, good morning, I love you, pretty, good night, thank you… … .

That day too, he greeted me as I slept well and closed the cage tightly. It was a day no different from any other day.

‘Hello, —. Did you sleep well?’

But the next day, there was no reply to my bright morning greeting.

The bird always answered brightly with a ‘hello, hello’, but did it sleep in late? Rianus wondered and put his finger through the gap in the cage. However, the bird did not move.

Suddenly, his heart sank. Thinking that maybe he was angry at being locked in a cage for so long, Lianus quickly took the cage out onto the terrace.

‘I’m sorry, I won’t lock you up.’

But even when he opened the cage, the bird did not move at all. Rianus carefully put his hand into the cage and took the bird out.

It was cold and hard.

‘You can fly away. Really. I won’t hold you back.’

He threw the bird with great force. And the bird plummeted. Lianus’ mood also plummeted.

‘…Your Majesty!’

I, I took away my freedom… , so… … .

‘Your Majesty!’

I shouldn’t have closed the cage… … .

“Prince!”

“Ugh!”

A familiar face appeared. Without realizing it, Rianus reached out his arm toward him.

“…Sir Evan…….”

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Evan quickly picked up Lianus, who was sweating profusely. His small body was trembling.

“Because of me…, because of me, the bird died.”

“…….”

Evan didn’t answer. No, he didn’t dare answer. He didn’t have the right to do that. All he could do was hug her frail body tightly, disgustingly.

“Let me down, Sir Evan.”

Lianus, who had regained his composure, immediately looked at Nihil. Fortunately, his friend was still warm and soft. He was breathing properly and his heartbeat was stable. Even his expression looked relaxed.

I wonder if you’re having a good dream.

Lianus selfishly wished his friend had a nightmare, so that he might wake up sooner.

“Sniff…, Neil, wake up quickly…….”

It was the second night since my friend collapsed.

* * *

Yvonne tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, until she finally got up. It seemed as though she would never be able to fall asleep again.

“Hey, Yvonne, where are you?”

As I was putting on my slippers, I heard a noise from the bed across from me. It was Jane, who I was sharing a room with after her roommate got fired.

“Jane, do you want to go too?”

“Uh, where?”

“walk……?”

“This bar, in the middle of the night?”

Jane nodded out the window, showing her excitement, but Yvonne just shrugged her shoulders and turned the doorknob.

“I can’t sleep. I’ll go out for a bit.”

“Go, let’s go together.”

Jane got up out of worry. She couldn’t sleep either. Whenever she closed her eyes, she kept thinking of the young master who came back covered in blood and the prince who was covered in tears. The atmosphere was so serious that she couldn’t even ask what had happened at the banquet hall.

‘I need to cool my head down… … .’

But the moment I set foot in the hallway, regret came over me. Not only was the hallway dreary and dark without a single ray of moonlight, but I could barely see anything in front of me.

Jane quickly grabbed the hem of Yvonne’s clothes as she walked forward.

“Hey, Yvonne, if you want to walk, why don’t you, why don’t you just, just walk in place in your room?”

“Hahaha, Jane, that was kind of funny just now.”

No, I didn’t say that to make you laugh.

Jane glanced at Yvonne, who was casually passing off her true feelings.

“Hey, why is this here?”

At that moment, Yvonne bent down to find a black cloth on the floor. However, the moment she tried to pick it up, the cloth moved with a squeak.

“huh……?”

The two boys raised their heads at the same time. There was something at the end of the cloth.

‘…what?’

Jane squinted her eyes further, trying to make out what was in the darkness.

Then that ‘something’ looked back.

“……!”

You’re a human!

Jane was so surprised that she couldn’t even scream, and froze. There was a little kid at the end of the cloth. What she thought was the cloth was actually the kid’s hair.

The little boy was holding something in his arms, but for some reason his eyes were covered with a black cloth, which made him look very strange. He was also wearing a black robe, making it difficult to distinguish him from the dark hallway.

“Uh…, hello…?”

“…….”

“…do?”

“…….”

Yvonne greeted him in the meantime, but there was no answer. Jane gaped at her friend’s fearless behavior, then glanced at the child. It was fortunate that there was no answer. If there was, it would have been even scarier.

The little ghost turned around and walked away again.

Jane quickly pulled Yvon’s clothes before he could talk nonsense any further. She had to pretend not to see him and go back to her room right away. If she paid attention to the ghost, she might end up being his plaything!

“Uh, uh, Jane, what’s wrong?”

Why, why are you like that!

Jane would have screamed if it weren’t for her stuttering disability. She didn’t look like a human being at first glance, but she was greeting him. She wanted to knock Yvon out by hitting him on the back of the head for not following along, but as a human being, she had to convince him twice, so she opened her mouth stammeringly.

“Hey, let’s go in. You, it’s so, uh, dark.”

“Wait a minute, I think he’s looking for that little one’s room.”

Crunch, squeak-

That was true. The kid was going around repeatedly opening and closing the door. The problem was that, whether by accident or intention, he only checked the empty rooms.

“I might have gotten lost while out doing some errands.”

No, Yvonne. That’s not it!

Jane shook her head frantically, but Yvonne was already running after her, calling the little boy.

“Kid, who are you looking for? What are your parents’ names?”

Please, Yvonne!

Jane was inwardly terrified, but Yvonne stood firm.

“Little one?”

“…….”

“Hyung…, no, Oppa…? I’ll find your room for you.”

“…….”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the little boy did not respond. Jane could not bring herself to approach him, so she just stamped her feet from a distance.

At that moment, an unexpected response was heard.

“I am looking for…rest.”

Jane’s hair stood on end at the cold voice. The content was also creepy. To seek peace, isn’t it like openly revealing that you are a ghost?

Become a Buddha, should I make you become a Buddha? How can I make you become a Buddha? Can I just make your wishes come true?

Yvonne added a word as Jane floundered in confusion.

“Huh? It’s gone.”

“Ahhhhhh!”

That night, Jane was scolded for causing a commotion, and strange rumors began to spread in the palace of Wernus.