How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 209



Only Noblemtl

Episode 209

‘I have to go to Ariel… … .’

Despite the fact that he had told the prince a few days ago that he was still fine, Evan was feeling impatient.

However, after seeing the crimson eyes that were round and threatening, he could not easily move his feet.

‘Wouldn’t it be sadder to be betrayed by someone you truly trusted?’

‘Even more so if it’s someone you’ve been with for a long time.’

That must have been my story.

Evan rubbed his face roughly. His breathing was ragged. He had been feeling carefree lately, but he had become too complacent.

What should I order him to do this time? He didn’t properly carry out the order he received last time, so why isn’t he saying anything? What if he’s told to kill that lynx again? No, is it even possible for him to kill that guy in the first place?

Aril… Are you okay?

Suddenly, I felt anxious. On the one hand, I wished it was all over already. But I wouldn’t hurt Ariel. That child was my only weakness that could hold me back.

저같이 미련한 개새끼를 또 어디서 구하겠는가.

Evan looked down at the round heads working hard on their homework. It was so adorable how they would tilt their heads when they couldn’t do their homework. Then he suddenly realized that there was another head that should have been there, but it wasn’t there.

“Your Majesty, where did the lynx go?”

“Huh? Neil went to the greenhouse. He said the seaweed needed watering.”

“…Is that so?”

Evan’s face hardened at the fact that he had been so lost in thought that he had not even noticed the child’s disappearance. Of course, it was not easy to sense the child’s presence, but still, it was disqualifying as a knight to not have noticed that something that was right in front of his eyes had disappeared.

Wouldn’t it be better to hire a really trustworthy new escort rather than someone like me who is lacking? But what if the next escort comes in is also the queen’s person…

How many knights have I gotten rid of with my own hands? To be honest, even the prince’s nanny…

“What’s wrong, Sir Evan?”

“…Huh? No, it’s nothing.”

Evan quickly shook the thought away. He must have bitten the inside of his lip without realizing it, because his mouth smelled like iron.

“Yes, if you have any concerns, feel free to tell me.”

“…….”

Evan was speechless for a moment and couldn’t respond right away.

What will happen if the prince finds out about all this?

Evan stared at his master for a moment. It was a very disrespectful attitude, but my little master blinked his big eyes and raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.

‘Oh, you smiled like that when we first met.’

Will you still smile at me like that after knowing all the facts?

“Sir Evan, what I’m saying is… if you ever need to go out, don’t worry about what others think. If it’s too hard, you can take a vacation. If you want to go on a trip… um, can I come with you?”

“Your Majesty.”

“Huh?”

Evan, who had broken out of his reverie, still looked down at his little master and smiled.

“I think it would be a good idea to have one more escort knight.”

A strong, trustworthy, dependable… that kind of knight.

“As much as Sir Evan?”

ah…….

* * *

“Where can I find a knight as wonderful as Sir Evan?”

“No, you have to be a better knight than me.”

“Well, then I might not be able to get it…….”

“I can help you. More importantly, Your Majesty, I would like to go out tomorrow… I apologize for suddenly asking you.”

“Uh, uh? No. It’s okay if you go. Is one day okay?”

“Yes, that’s enough.”

“Yeah, yeah, if you need a vacation, definitely let me know….”

“…….”

Nihil, who had been quietly listening to the conversation outside the door, turned to walk towards his room. It seemed that the puppy was going out to meet ‘Aryl’.

I opened the locked study again, pushed the bookshelf aside and went into the secret room, where I saw sparkling vials.

Nihil placed a flower pot near the entrance and took out the various potions he had previously prepared for Evan.

Considering that a single knight used expensive and highly pure holy water that was hard to obtain, he must have tried every possible treatment. Considering that he even stole sleeping incense last time, it is highly likely that the person called ‘Aryl’ ​​has an incurable disease that is accompanied by pain. Or it is not a ‘disease’.

If it wasn’t a disease, it would have been better. If I had checked with my own eyes, I could have seen the cause. But if it was an incurable disease, I couldn’t cure it.

Because my essence was ‘imitation’, not ‘pioneer’.

So all we can do right now is to relieve some of the pain.

Nihil lined up the potions he had made on a shelf at Evan’s eye level. He even put a star next to the words ‘For Dogs Only’ in case they were noticed, and left the room.

‘I think this is enough.’

* * *

“…I will tell the captain about the escort.”

“Yeah, yeah. Even if Sir Ernest is busy, don’t worry and go. Neil is here too… ”

Crunch.

“Neil!”

At the appearance of the lynx, the prince laughed heartily, wondering what was so good about it.

“Did you give the seaweed water?”

“No. He takes good care of himself and eats well. He also takes care of other plants while he’s at it.”

“amazing!”

“…….”

Evan looked down at the back of his small head in amazement at Lianus’ innocent admiration. A plant that not only drinks water for itself, but also takes care of other plants. Can you really call that a plant? More importantly, doesn’t the prince find that strange?

“Then you grow up alone?”

“Yeah. But I still get lonely, so come visit me sometimes.”

“okay!”

The prince nodded vigorously. The lynx stroked his cute and adorable head all by himself and then called out to the dog.

“Oh, puppy.”

Evan felt a moment of self-loathing at having to respond to that title, but he did so obediently.

“…What is it?”

“There’s a flower pot in my study. I forgot it while I was doing something else.”

“What is it?”

“Seaweed number 2.”

“…….”

Evan opened his eyes slightly at Nihil’s intuitive naming sense.

“Is Evan III better after all?”

“…I think seaweed No. 2 is better.”

Yes. Nihil nodded and continued.

“Anyway, I brought it because it was particularly withered. Maybe it’ll get better if you have Lian with you.”

“…Do plants also reveal cuteness?”

If so, it wouldn’t be impossible for the plants to cheer up when they see our prince, the cutest and most lovable prince in the world. In fact, doesn’t Miyeok No. 1 like the prince very much?

‘It certainly looks a bit cute when you name it seaweed… … .’

Evan was thinking that he should go see Miyeok No. 1 someday, but Nihil pulled away and bit his ear.

“…The barking has increased.”

“…….”

The wildcat guy scolded him, saying, “Do you really think you’ve become a dog even in the head?” when he called him “woof woof, woof.”

“Elf’s presence alone is a good influence on plants. Their forests are not lush for nothing. Lian is a quarter, but if there is no other way, it is worth a try.”

“I see.”

“If you push the bookshelf in the study, you’ll see it right away. Bring it.”

“…I get it.”

Evan headed to Nihil’s room without saying a word, even though he thought he was being asked to do something. By the way, if he was told to push the bookshelf, did the secret door he had seen before open?

As soon as I opened the study, a peculiar medicinal smell spread out. I don’t know how it can be so bad and not leak out.

Now that I think about it, this place is usually locked tight in case employees come in, but it seems like the lynx forgot to lock the door, let alone the flower pot.

I must lock it when I go back, I thought to myself as I moved the bookshelf around, and the secret door opened with a clicking sound. A faint light streamed out from the secret room, which I had thought would be dark.

“oh…….”

When I looked inside the room, I felt an involuntary exclamation of admiration. Although it was a very small room, the walls were decorated with stones that held a soft light, and various bottles of medicine reflected that light once more, creating a strange atmosphere.

On the shelf closest to the entrance was a rather listless flowerpot that the lynx had apparently asked for, but it looked better than I had expected.

‘It’s not that withered… … .’

Evan thought to himself, “I’m going to sell my worries,” and was about to take the pot back when he glanced at the bottles.

Fortunately, the bottles neatly arranged on the shelf each had a label attached, and the ingredients, directions for use, effects, and precautions were written in detail, so it seemed that even laypeople would be able to use the medicine without difficulty.

While I was looking around like that, I found a bottle with an unusually shiny tag.

-☆For puppies only☆

“…….”

I rubbed my eyes to see if I had read it wrong, but the words had not changed.

By any chance, this is for dogs only… of course not. Below that was the text, “Dangerous, not for general use.”

… No matter what, isn’t it too much to call something like this a dog?

Evan thought the lynx was really annoying, but after reading the tags, he snatched a few things up into his bosom.

‘… It must be better than other medicines.’

A cat’s paw would be much better than a strong narcotic sleeping pill or painkiller. Above all, there’s no other way now. The sleeping scent also seemed to work well.

As I was about to pack the flower pot, afraid that it would be misunderstood if I was too late, a familiar book caught my eye. It was a patient prescription that the cat claimed was a ‘diary’.

Evan couldn’t resist his curiosity and flipped through the diary. Then he saw a word and quickly opened it to find the page.

– March xx, 5xx (Rune 4xxx)

– The puppy is injured. There is subcutaneous bleeding and muscle rupture. There is no abnormality in the bone. Mana is depleted. The recovery process is normal, but it is confirmed that sleeping pills or anesthetics are not working well.

Even in the diary, it’s written that he’s a dog. He’s really treated the same way.

Below the brief description, there was a detailed account of what drugs were used and in what quantities. I flipped through the diary a little more out of curiosity, and came across a page that even detailed the contents of the hangover cure that Sir Frederick had given me the day after he returned drunk.

“hmm…….”

I felt a bit awkward. I thought I was taking good care of the little guy, but it turned out that I was the one being taken care of.

Evan turned the page again. There was a section in the diary where he wrote about how cute their cute little kitten was, and he almost sat there all day thinking about it.

Then, on an unexpected date, he found himself mentioned again.

– It was confirmed that the bloodline of the Wolrang tribe had been annihilated and that they were divinely punished. Since it was unknown how the dog would be treated after awakening, it was decided to postpone awakening for the time being and come up with a countermeasure.

“……?”

The lynx told me that my ancestors were wiped out. But I never heard anything about divine punishment.

Wasn’t my awakening ritual postponed because it might put the people around me in danger?

‘…no way.’

* * *

As I sent the puppy to the study, the kitten came up to me and whispered.

“Neil, Neil.”

“huh.”

“Evan is going out tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“There’s something I want to do when Evan is away!”

“What do you want to do?”

“You’ll help me, right?”

“…okay.”

Nihil felt a little uneasy when he saw Lianus looking at him with sparkling eyes. If he wanted to do something secretly, it would probably be something like a surprise gift that Lianus would refuse.

It seemed like the puppy was looking for a replacement for himself, but the clueless kitten only thought about taking care of the puppy.

How on earth should I resolve this relationship?

Of course, you can also coax or threaten the puppy to open his mouth. If you just know where ‘Aryl’ ​​is, bringing him back will be a breeze.

But will Lianus, who has learned the truth, and Evan, who has been exposed, be able to treat each other the same way as before?

If I found out that the guy I trusted and followed as my only escort had come in under someone’s orders, if I realized that he was one of the guys who had isolated me, that he wasn’t my man.

Even the most innocent Lianus would be able to accept it so easily.

“…A day without Sir Evan is an opportunity. I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. I’ll try to get Sir Ernest to join me too…”

Nihil stared at Lianus, who was chattering and even taking notes.

Doubt breeds doubt.

Even if the truth about the dog is revealed and Rianus forgives him for everything, Rianus will unknowingly begin to doubt even the people he once truly trusted.

I will isolate myself like that. Slowly, little by little. Without even realizing it.

Maybe that’s what the queen wants.

‘If doubt spreads to me, then everything will really fall apart.’

“Neil, Somsom is up.”

At that moment, Somnus, who had been sleeping on my shoulder, raised his head. Then, he immediately spat out the magic stone.

The boy had sent it with the intention of regaining his strength as soon as possible, but unfortunately, the magic stone was being used for other purposes rather than regaining his strength.

Nihil felt sorry for no reason and patted Somnus’ head.

“…But Neil, the magic stone that Somsom sometimes spits out, can you possibly make a magic tool with it?”

“Yeah. If there’s anything you want, just tell me… Wait, Lian. Did I ever tell you that this was a magic stone?”

Strictly speaking, it was not a magic stone but a magic crystal, but with his mana vessel broken, Lianus should not be able to tell the difference between a normal stone and a magic stone.

‘… Is it just simple reasoning?’

Yeah. It’s more strange to think that what the Archduke gives is just a regular rock…

“Huh? Isn’t that magic shaking around here? The magic stone that the Grand Duke gave to His Majesty was shaking like that. The Grand Duke’s communication port is also like that.”

“…….”

“Why, why? Did I say something wrong? Is there something I shouldn’t know?”

As Nihil’s expression became serious, Lianus cringed, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“…I’ll keep it a secret….”

“No, that’s not it…….”

Nihil, who realized the situation a little late, couldn’t answer right away and sighed deeply.

“Rian, you said you’d tell me if you saw anything strange.”

It seems like the kitten’s eyes have improved a little.