How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 277
Only Noblemtl
Episode 277
* * *
The morning of the day when the princes’ birthday banquet and the Duke’s welcome banquet are held.
Dios, who was combing his pure white hair, suddenly remembered something and asked.
“Come to think of it, didn’t little Rex look sad?”
“Of course, he was a little upset. He tried not to show it because he was afraid that I would be embarrassed… I felt so sorry.”
“So just stay still, what are you doing…….”
“That’s okay. Instead, the Archduke promised to show me around in the evening.”
“……?”
“I’m really curious because they say there’s an island in the sky. Oh, and can we have the kids’ birthday party here tonight?”
“…….”
Dios didn’t respond, but instead tightened his grip on the hand that was combing his hair. He really was being selfish.
“Isn’t that okay?”
“…Do as you wish.”
When I finally responded bluntly, I heard a soft laugh. I’m sure he did it because he knew he couldn’t refuse.
“Dia, wouldn’t you like to play with the kids this evening?”
“…….”
Dios continued to ignore his father, who tried to tease him, and focused on dressing up.
As she braided her neatly combed white hair little by little and connected it with accessories to let it hang long, dozens of blue sapphires that gave off a vivid blue light sparkled harmoniously.
The pitch-black, ominous horns were a bit annoying, but if they weren’t there, it wouldn’t look like a demon.
“Father, there are many more precious jewels…….”
Of course, it is by no means common to find jewelry containing such a large quantity of blue sapphires of such vivid quality, but there have been many gems of greater value than this.
“Well, I’m drawn to this color today.”
“…Is that so?”
Although he was a little suspicious, Dios didn’t vomit anymore because his father had personally chosen him. It was a little strange to just be dressed up neatly.
Dios, who had finished making up to a certain extent, lifted the veil one last time to cover Nihil’s face. Since magic did not work on his father, he had placed a magic spell on the veil in advance to prevent facial recognition.
“…….”
“Dia, why are you staring so intently?”
As I was blankly staring at the station building that resembled the night sky, my father smiled faintly. My station building was awkward, but strangely enough, my father’s station building felt more awe-inspiring than awkward.
Even though it felt like blasphemy to dare meet his eyes, I couldn’t easily shake off his gaze as if I was possessed.
“…It’s nothing.”
Dios quickly covered his face, looking away. He fastened the veil to his horns and lightly placed a chain-shaped ornament made of platinum on them, making the black horns look less sinister.
“I feel like I’ve become a jewelry display case.”
“The usual display case is less ornate than the jewelry display case.”
“It’s too cumbersome. Can’t you just take off the thing on the horn?”
“What if the blood clots see the ugly horns and cry?”
“……!”
At those words, his father looked at him in surprise. Dios felt a little proud and continued his explanation.
“The little rexes probably wouldn’t be too surprised, but the other blood clumps… well, they might run away thinking it’s a monster.”
If he were a father who was obsessed with children, he might be shocked to see his children running away from him. It was okay for him since he didn’t like children in the first place… But…
“…Have children ever run away when they see you?”
“…….”
“It’s okay, Dia. No matter what you look like, you’re the prettiest in my eyes.”
“…Okay.”
Dios was about to pull at his white hair out of spite, but then he looked at the jewelry and stopped. However, he must have noticed it again because he let out a soft laugh.
“Your habit of pulling your hair when you’re upset is the same as when you were a baby. Of course, you also play with your hair when you’re happy… ”
“…….”
“By the way, Dia, are you sure you don’t want to attend together?”
“I’m busy.”
Currently, I am the only one who can close the cracks on my own, aside from my father, and even now, cracks are opening simultaneously in the Grand Duke’s territory.
Since the demons didn’t pour out just because the crack opened, I sent Khan away for now, but I planned to go close the crack again once my father left.
‘I don’t really want to interact with humans.’
“I even prepared clothes for you with my own hands.
“……?”
“I made it myself. It’s a suit that fits me perfectly.”
Dios looked up, puzzled. Father makes his own clothes… Did he have time for that?
“Now, look. Isn’t it pretty?”
“…….”
But Dios felt a pulling sensation in his back as soon as he saw the clothes, because there were only a handful of them.
“Because I was short on time, I could only make small clothes.”
“…Did you have time to decorate it?”
“If there aren’t any decorations on baby clothes, what kind of taste are they?”
“Baby clothes in the first place…, no, that’s enough. Just hurry up and go to the banquet.”
“Are you going to put it on?”
“Go quickly.”
* * *
“Sir Evan! It suits you really well!”
“…Is that so?”
Evan awkwardly fiddled with his fancy dress. It was a gift from his teacher last night. I’m on the large side, so ready-made clothes don’t fit me well, but since it fit me perfectly, I figured it must have been custom-made after seeing my empty closet.
“What do you think, princes?”
“Ariel, you’re pretty. In fact, you’ll look pretty in anything you wear.”
“That’s right. It suits you really well, Ariel!”
Even though they sent Ariel’s share as well, they were afraid that if they looked too close to the princes, they might be viewed with suspicion by the nobles, so they decided to wear the clothes that matched the prince’s to a dinner party where only the children were present.
Of course, the lynx was an exception.
Evan looked down at Nihil, who was more flamboyant than usual.
‘Somehow you look different than usual… … .’
Of course the clothes were different, but it felt like something fundamental had changed.
“Cotton, no, Neil, should you be quiet?”
Dori dori.
“Uh…, you should just stay quiet…….”
Dori dori dori.
But the little cat kept making a fuss as if he had eaten something wrong.
“Your Majesty, why is this guy acting like this today?”
“Huh? It’s nothing. I guess he just doesn’t want to be quiet today.”
“……?”
There’s nothing that can be done. The prince said this with resignation, and then he held the lynx’s hand tightly and led the way.
“Eww, get out of the way, get out of the way!”
“There, it’s going to collapse, so organize it properly! Don’t miss a single item on the list!”
“No, why are you sending the Prince’s gift here?”
“Where should I put the gift that was sent to Master Neil?”
“Keep all unverified drinks and foods in one place!”
“Everything that comes to the Emperor will be moved to the palace!”
Evan glared at the back of the head of the spoiled cat, then looked at the busy servants with a look of disgust.
“It’s a bit chaotic since it’s an unscheduled banquet. But aren’t there more gifts for that Duke or something? It’s the princes’ birthday after all.”
Instead of the kitten who was busy taking care of the lynx, the pink snake next to him opened its mouth to answer that question.
“Because you’ll want to look good to the Emperor.”
“Aren’t you upset that you were pushed down the priority list?”
“Thanks to Taegong, the banquet is being held. First of all, mother…, isn’t it the case that the mother of a country has committed a crime and is awaiting judgment? And…, Taegong is the father of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke is also the guardian of Harpens, so it is right to treat his father with the utmost respect.”
“yes?”
“The Archduke is the Guardian of Harpens. Didn’t you know?”
Lawrence opened his eyes squintingly as if to ask how anyone could live in Harpens and not know that.
“Although the Archduke may look a little scary, he should definitely be praised as a guardian or a hero. Looking at his 300 years of achievements……”
“Ah, no, Your Highness. That Taekong is the Grand Duke’s father…?”
“Oh, you might not have known. You must have left as soon as the trial was over. Ruth and I also found out after the trial was over, but the role of the Statera is originally played by the priests. In the home country, the Grand Duke played that role. This time, the Grand Duke was busy, so the Grand Duke took his place.”
“…Wasn’t he like a demon lord?”
“Well, I’m not sure about that, but it’s really rude to think that just because you’re a Grand Duke, you don’t have a father. Well, of course, I was a little, just a little surprised… ”
Lawrence tried to excuse himself by saying that he was only a little surprised, but Evan was too confused to hear what Lawrence was saying.
‘… Wasn’t the baby of the wildcat the grand duke… …?’
Was he mistaken? But Evan had something to be sure of.
The day I brought Aril to the palace, and the day that the little cotton ball that fell for my provocation called for its father, the baby who had never met Aril before came to me late at night out of the blue and told me about the divine punishment.
At the time, I didn’t realize it right away because of the situation Ariel was in, but no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed a little strange that the baby knew about Ariel.
After that, I carefully compared the actions of the baby and the Archduke, and what made me most certain that they were the same person was none other than the attitude of the wildcat.
The two people he uses formal language with are… no, if they are the same person, then he is the only one.
To be honest, I don’t really know if he was planning on hiding it, but he didn’t reveal it himself and pretending to know would only get him in trouble with the Grand Duke, so he continued to pretend not to know.
‘A wildcat is not the kind of person who would just bring someone else’s child and call it his own… … .’
If Taekong is the Grand Duke’s father, and the baby is the Grand Duke as I guessed, then the cat is Taekong, and the cat was definitely next to the prince during the trial.
‘Then, who on earth was that wildcat back then… … .’
“Huh, huh? You shouldn’t take off your jewelry….”
“Kuiyah.”
“…….”
‘… It was a cotton ball.’
Evan chuckled as he watched the stray cat-shaped ball of cotton remove its headdress. He was speechless at the absurdity.
‘So, is that guy Salmon leaving to attend the banquet in the guise of Taekong? How much do the princes know about it?’
“…Your Majesty, have you talked to Taekong?”
“I exchanged a few words with him. Unlike the Archduke, he was a very gentle person.”
“That’s right! But I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere. And that horn too…”
Where have I seen it? The curly hair tilted.
“Kuya.”
“Shh, shh, Som, no, Neil, you have to be quiet. Neil is…, no, you’re known to not be able to speak yet.”
“…I think it might be a mistake, since His Highness used to have long hair.”
Evan pretended not to know anything, looked away from the cotton ball, and made a vague excuse. Judging from the princes’ reactions, it seemed like they knew that the current lynx was a cotton ball, but they didn’t seem to know that Taekong was a lynx.
“I wish the banquet would end quickly.”
“…What is it?”
“Neil said he’d show me the Grand Duke.”
“…….”
…Do you think he’s going to hide it?
Evan left the confusion behind and took Ariel to the banquet hall first. He had not yet been reinstated as an escort knight, so he could not follow the princes up to the stage.
“Brother, I’m so nervous. What if I make a mistake like I did at the trial?”
“Aryl, now that I think about it, what did you mean when you called me angel?”
“Ah, I thought Taekong was an angel. But I guess not. Adult angels don’t have horns.”
“…I see.”
It’s only a matter of time before I get caught, isn’t it? As I was thinking that, I felt a familiar presence behind me and then heard a bright call.
“Evan!”
“…! Karus!”
When I looked back, Karus met my eyes and waved his hands wildly as if he was happy to see me.
Evan smiled brightly, feeling relieved inside. To be honest, he was worried because it was his first time entering the banquet hall without the prince.
At that moment, a little child next to him came running towards Ariel with her skirt fluttering.
“Sister Aril!”
“Kara!”
Perhaps it was because he saw a familiar face, but Ariel also seemed a little relieved.
Francesca’s youngest daughter grabbed Ariel’s hand and ran around, then saw Francesca’s eldest daughter following her and introduced herself brightly.
“Aryl unnie, this is Kara unnie.”
“Oh, hello.”
“Hello, you’re Ariel. I’m Kayen, Kara’s older sister.”
“Cayenne, take care of Miss Ariel.”
“okay.”
“…! Ah, no. There’s no need to worry so much….”
“No, Sir Evan. We will take good care of it.”
“That’s right, Evan. You’re not in a position to take care of anyone in the first place.”
“……?”
Evan was confused, but Karus paid him no mind and simply patted his younger brother on the shoulder next to him.
“Karum, I’ll go in slowly with Evan. Take good care of your sisters.”
“okay.”
“What if that jerk approaches?”
“It’s a stab in the eye.”
“Okay. Come in.”
“???”
“Aryl, shall we hold hands?”
“yes!”
“I want to hold Aril’s hand too!”
Evan looked at Karus as if he was dumbfounded by the conversation that made no sense, but the siblings, who resembled the freshness of the wind, took Ariel and went ahead.
At that moment, Karus, who was waving to his younger siblings, turned his head and looked at Evan.
“Evan, were you just going to go in like that?”
“…Is there anything else I need to prepare?”
Evan shrank a little. Even though he had been by the prince’s side for five years, he still found the etiquette and culture of the nobility difficult. Perhaps it was because the prince was so open and easygoing to commoners.
“It’s a good thing I discovered it first…….”
Karus shook his head and then hit Evan on the back.
“Evan, you must never leave me.”
“…? All right.”
“Don’t treat anything passing by as if it were a potato. And never laugh. Got it?”
“I can do that well.”
Evan confidently responded to Karus’s advice. Isn’t that what I’ve always done? It’s probably not much different from standing silently by the prince’s side.
‘I guess I’ll just stand by Karus’ side as if I were guarding him.’
But Evan soon found out.
That’s a huge misconception.