How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 278
Only Noblemtl
Episode 278
At Karus’s suggestion to take it a little slower, Evan walked around the garden of the Wernus Palace with Karus and then headed to the banquet hall.
“Evan, we have to look like a group to everyone. You can’t ever fall behind me. Don’t make eye contact with the other guys. No, just think of them as walking potatoes.”
“…Potatoes?”
“Yes, potatoes. Don’t forget what I said.”
Standing in front of the banquet hall, Karus gave Evan another soft warning and wiped away the playful look that was always on his face.
Rattling, creaking.
The doors to the massive banquet hall opened, and ornate decorations, lights, and numerous potatoes greeted Karus and Evan.
Step, step.
Karus walked straight ahead without paying attention to anyone.
Evan, who was nervous, followed closely behind with a stiff face and stared down at the cyan-colored ponytail.
Perhaps it was because there was some kind of culture that only the nobles could communicate with, but the potatoes, as if they had some business to attend to, would slightly close the distance and send me intense gazes, but they did not speak to me first.
Instead, there were many servants who tried to pass between me and Karus with drinks in hand, but most of them made eye contact with Evan and flinched and turned away.
‘Is this what it means to not fall behind?’
I guess it was meant to keep the potatoes from talking.
But as time went by, there began to be people who would approach me with an iron face and talk to me slyly.
“Haha, Marquise Francesca, are you here? By the way, is that person next to you…?”
“…….”
“Marquise Francesca, it’s been a while. Oh, and something to drink… ”
“…….”
“Your Majesty, I have read the paper on ancient languages you presented last time. It was very interesting. Would you mind if I spoke to you?”
“…….”
Karus ignored all of their words, but he kept glancing at me, which made me think that if he listened to me once, I would be bombarded with questions as well.
‘… If I had come in alone, I would have been in big trouble.’
Evan began to brainwash himself, inwardly thanking Karus.
Those are potatoes, potatoes. Ugly potatoes with jewels on them… … .
“Carus, it’s been a while.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man approached Carus, calling his name in a friendly manner. And for the first time, Carus’s expression suddenly crumpled.
“…It’s been a while.”
Carus reluctantly accepted his words, even though he seemed displeased.
Immediately afterwards, the invisible barrier that Karus had been guarding collapsed, and the nobles who had been waiting for their chance began to rush in like hyenas.
“Sir Evan, I heard you’ve accomplished a great deal… Oh, you’re a commoner? You’re truly amazing. You’re even sponsoring my Academy’s swordsmanship students…”
“Congratulations on becoming a Sword Master. What a rare feat. For such a young man to have achieved such a feat… My son can handle a sword too. Ah, he will be your junior. He is currently gaining experience as an apprentice knight of the royal family. Perhaps, you may need a squire? He is a year older than you, after all….”
“Do you plan to continue working for the royal family? If you have any other thoughts, I will give you three times your current salary….”
“Twenty? My daughter is fifteen. How is that?”
“Well, what about our daughters? The eldest is only ten years old, but if you come as my son-in-law, I will give you the family line.”
Evan was embarrassed as he watched the nobles talking to him one by one. At least the potatoes passing by the prince only gave a light greeting and did not actively approach the prince.
Evan tried to ignore it as much as possible, following Karus’s advice, but it wasn’t easy.
‘These are potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. Just talking potatoes… no, how can you not care when potatoes talk!’
Moreover, since he was a commoner, he felt uncomfortable with continuing to ignore the nobles in this way.
‘… I guess I need to ask for help… … .’
“…Karu,”
“Carus, if you keep acting like this, the gods won’t stay still.”
Just as I was about to ask my friend for help, I heard a conversation I couldn’t ignore amidst the babbling of the potatoes.
“If you don’t stay still.”
“…….”
“Are you going to chase me and my family out, maternal uncle?”
‘You’re my maternal uncle.’
Evan felt his head go cold. Was this author the scumbag that Karus had been talking about?
“After all, I didn’t inherit any abilities, so what are you talking about as a legitimate heir?!”
I was looking at a rotten potato, wanting to punch it in the face, when the potato flinched and looked at me.
“What the heck is this!”
“……?”
Did he see the foreshadowing of me getting hit? Even though he didn’t do anything, the rotten potato suddenly made him a bad guy. He hasn’t hit me yet, so it’s unfair.
Since I’m already being accused of being a bad guy, I was thinking about just hitting him once, when Karus tapped my arm.
“Evan, Evan, I’m fine, so lighten up.”
“……?”
Evan looked puzzled. Had I let my guard down? Now that I looked at it, the potatoes that had been right next to me had all shut their mouths and taken a couple of steps back.
Let’s quickly gain momentum. Karus gave us a thumbs up and whispered to us without anyone knowing.
“Hey, I made a good secret friend.”
Evan chuckled at the playful whisper. As expected, Karus was a strong man.
“Carus, you brought the Sword Master here on purpose to pressure me……”
“Uncle, you are free to make mistakes, but it bothers me that you treat my close friend like a tool. And you can pressure Uncle even without my close friend.”
Karus said as he summoned Sylphy. As her cyan hair flowed softly, he could see his uncle’s confusion.
“…! This is….”
“Don’t discuss legitimacy in front of me anymore.”
“You interpreted that document! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“In the first place, that document is only passed down to those with the right of succession. Do you think your maternal uncle is qualified to do so?”
The word “succession rights” made my uncle’s face turn pale. It seemed that he was upset that he could not inherit the family simply because he was not born with cyan hair.
But Karus scoffed, knowing that succession wasn’t just a matter of hair color.
“I am faithfully carrying on the relationship that my ancestors wanted to pass down. Do not think of interfering with it any further.”
“Carus!”
“Uncle, this is the last time I’ll call you here. I won’t just sit by and watch you abuse your authority any longer.”
“How could you…!”
“Count Bellos.”
“……!”
“I should have warned you.”
As he spoke, Karus nodded his head as if to look around. The high-ranking nobles who had gathered thanks to Evan were looking at the scene with cold faces.
Even high-ranking nobles like counts were not allowed to speak to him because of their titles, so it would be unsightly for a mere viscount to stand up to a marquis. It might be fine within the family, but from the outside, the maternal uncle was just a collateral line that had not inherited the family.
“…Excuse me.”
The uncle looked around and eventually lowered his head and retreated. Karus felt good, thinking that he had defeated the uncle with all his might.
‘I need to share this joy with my secret friend… …!’
“Evan, let’s celebrate with our toast….”
“Marquis Francesca, was that the wind magic that Lady Karina just used? As expected, it has a different delicacy than ordinary magic!”
“What does the document say? Or is it a secret recipe that has been passed down through generations?”
“Lord Karus! Please accept me as your disciple!”
“…….”
But before I could celebrate with my secret friend, the potatoes started to swarm me. They were sprouting potatoes that were blinded by magic and didn’t care about caste or anything. These potatoes will make you sick if you eat them, so it’s best to avoid them if possible.
“Evan, I guess we have to run away….”
“yes?”
But my secret friend was already waiting for me, holding a bottle of champagne, apparently hooked on the word ‘toast’.
“Oh, Karus, is champagne okay? Actually, I don’t know much about this kind of thing……”
Carus stared blankly at the champagne being offered in front of him, then absentmindedly accepted it. Since it was in front of his secret friend, he had planned to act solemnly, as befitting his title of Marquis, but the corners of his mouth were already rising.
“Champagne is good.”
At those words, Evan let out a stupid laugh. The wild wolf-like expression was gone, and he looked like a puppy.
‘That’s why I told you not to laugh.’
What do you think? Since he has already unleashed his momentum once, the Sword Master’s power must have been conveyed to some extent.
“Oh, but it’s wrong to clink glasses when toasting.”
visor-!
“…yes?”
Just as Karus was about to give them some toasting etiquette, the champagne glasses clinked together, making a clear sound. And then, shocked by Evan’s rudeness, the champagne began to bubble and overflow.
“Huh, huh? Karus, why is this…….”
“Whoa, whaaa, whaaa!”
The overflowing champagne soaked his fingers, but Carus couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing. It seemed like he would never be bored with his secret friend.
‘I made a good friend!’
* * *
“Neil, if it’s too uncomfortable, you can take it off, but don’t throw it away… okay?”
Lianus, who was trying to calm Som-Som down by continuously throwing away the ornaments, raised his head at the sound he heard.
“What’s wrong, Ruth?”
“Brother, I think something fun is happening at the banquet hall.”
“…? How do you know that?”
“I can hear Karus’ laughter.”
“???”
Lawrence tried to listen, but the passageway used only by the royals was extremely quiet, and the only sounds he could hear were the footsteps of the party and the voice of Lianus calming his pet.
“Ruth, just leave the jewelry alone. Wouldn’t it be better to take it off now than to take it off and throw it away in front of the nobles?”
“Of course that’s true…. But we matched it together…….”
Lianus, who wanted to become friends with Somsom, became a little gloomy. In fact, there was nothing he could do if hair accessories were uncomfortable, but it was very difficult to take off all the cufflinks and collar pins that made the outfit look neat.
“Your Majesty, I will keep the ornaments in case you forget.”
“Ugh, please……”
In the end, Lianus, who had left the jewelry to Sir Ernest, held on to Somsom’s hand tightly. It was fortunate that he did not let go of the hand he was holding.
“Are you here?”
As we reached the entrance to the banquet hall, we saw His Majesty waiting for us.
Lawrence and Lianus were surprised that we were late.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry I’m late.”
“sorry!”
“It’s not too late. I wanted to see you quickly, so I hurried my pace and this is what happened. Ross, Ruth, happy birthday.”
“Go, thank you.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Sedes patted his sons on the head and lifted them up in his arms. Thanks to that, his son’s friend was left alone, but since he was an affectionate child, he would understand.
“I would like to enter with my sons. Is that okay?”
“…….”
Nod.
“Taigong will be here soon. I’ve prepared a seat for you on Taigong’s side. Is that okay?”
Nodding, nodding.
Somnus nodded vigorously. It couldn’t have been an excellent choice.
“Your Majesty, please come in.”
The royal family’s entrance resounded, and Somnus spun around and slid back to his seat. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find a seat. A seat as splendid as the throne had been prepared.
Somnus nodded again, feeling vaguely satisfied, and sat down in his seat. I wish Grandpa would come soon.
But that thought was fleeting, as Somnus, seeing his grandfather, jumped up and ran to the captain.
“…Why are you doing that?”
Walter was a little nervous as he watched the urgent-looking Baedong. This was especially true since Taekong had just arrived.
However, Somnus felt frustrated at the sight of the captain carefully looking around, so he slapped his thigh.
“Ku, kui!”
“???”
“Kuiyaaa!”
Give me the trinkets, give me the trinkets!