How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 281
Only Noblemtl
Episode 281
Again.
A man painted in achromatic colors from head to toe came in. The jewel that held the colored chain in place was blue, but it was so small that it was hard to see.
For some reason, he had his eyes covered with a black cloth, but perhaps because he didn’t have the usual sense of intimidation, for a moment Sedes almost didn’t recognize him as the Archduke.
The Archduke glanced around, as if he could see something beyond the black cloth, and muttered quietly.
“…It wasn’t a birthday party for the kids, it was a funeral.”
“Oh, no, Your Highness. Welcome.”
Sedes, who had been frozen in an awkward position, quickly straightened up.
The Grand Duke himself opened the door to the banquet hall and came in. I was a little puzzled by his quieter appearance than usual, but at this moment, he seemed like a savior who would break the situation.
“You came at a good time.”
But before he could go down to greet the Grand Duke, the Duke sitting next to him suddenly disappeared like smoke.
“uh?”
The eyes of the princes who were left behind widened. Sedes was also confused and looked around to find his whereabouts, when he heard the voice of Taekong who had disappeared from the center of the banquet hall.
“Come in, my little one.”
Taekong appeared in the air with his pure white hair and the hem of his robe fluttering like wings.
Everyone was mesmerized by the angel-like appearance, but the Archduke opened his mouth calmly as if he had expected this.
“father.”
The atmosphere in the banquet hall became chaotic again at the Grand Duke’s soft call. This was probably because after hearing it directly from his own mouth, he realized that Taegong was really his father.
When the two rich men stood side by side, Taekong unexpectedly appeared taller.
It may simply be because of the horn on the Duke’s head, but perhaps because the Duke was covered in black cloth up to his eyes, the Duke standing in front of the Duke looked like nothing more than a human.
“Have you had a good time?”
The Grand Duke asked, took Tae-gong’s hand, bowed deeply, and placed his hand on his forehead.
Sedes had never imagined that the Grand Duke would be polite to anyone, so his stern attitude was truly astonishing, but it seemed that the other nobles were the same.
But the truly shocking scene came next. Taekong pulled his hand away and began stroking the Grand Duke’s head.
“Dios, you don’t have to be an example to me.”
“…….”
Even the Archduke remained calm as if he was used to it.
Where did the Grand Duke, who always oppressed those around him with a strong sense of pressure, go, and only one gentle lamb remained?
This is a thought that came to mind after experiencing Taikong, but I think it would be less scary if you just kept pressing down from the beginning to the end like the Grand Duke. The whims of a transcendent being are truly terrifying.
‘… Is even the greatest prince in the world not good enough for my father?’
As I was thinking about this while looking at the Grand Duke who was quietly receiving Taekong’s touch, I heard the Grand Duke ask a question that seemed a little stiff.
“…What happened?”
“More than that… there’s blood on it.”
“…it’s not my blood.”
“Did you come over from the cracks?”
“…Why are you so angry?”
Although the Duke was clearly not angry with him, the Grand Duke looked at his father’s expression as he asked.
Sedes couldn’t help but tense up his back again in the strangely flowing atmosphere.
Taekong smiled gently and wiped the blood stains on the Grand Duke’s jawline that hadn’t been wiped away yet, then opened his mouth softly.
“Honey, how about you stop closing the cracks?”
“…who hurt your father’s feelings?”
“What if I tell you?”
“…….”
“If I say I don’t like everyone here….”
“…….”
“Are you going to kill them all?”
“…….”
“…….”
When the two people who had been talking shut their mouths, silence flowed and the atmosphere in the banquet hall became tense again. In particular, Count Calypse, who had first summoned Taekong, looked as if he would suffocate at any moment, but no one had the leisure to look at his condition.
But what broke the tension was none other than the Archduke’s sigh-mixed muttering.
“There’s no way the blood clots would have been harassed in this place.”
“…….”
“What lack of a person has ever insulted me in front of my father?”
“…….”
“Ignore me. I have been here for 300 years. Do you think there has never been a human like that before?”
At those words, Sedes opened his eyes slightly. When he thought about it, Count Calypse couldn’t have been the first person to try to belittle him in this way.
So, has the Archduke endured all these humiliations and protected Harpens for 300 years?
But that’s too… , doesn’t it seem like a fool?
If Sedes had heard the Duke, he would have been unable to bear it and hit his forehead, but Taegong opened his mouth again.
“I don’t want you to harm karma, but it’s not your duty to close the rift. Can’t you just leave it alone?”
Sedes nodded his head without realizing it at Taegong’s discontented voice, but the Grand Duke frowned and asked back.
“Have you never tried it?”
“…….”
“Father, if you thought I would just continue to endure like you, you were mistaken.”
“then…….”
“When the rumor spread that Harpen’s bloodline was the devil’s puppet.”
“……?”
“There was a time when I left this country with the Rexes because there was a rebellion going on.”
At those words, the audience began to look at each other, especially those who had similar scenarios in their heads.
“The Grand Duke’s Leadership, Harpen, which was left floating in the sky because the cracks kept opening due to the erosion of magic… I even returned the castle that child gave me as compensation.”
“…….”
“What do you think happened?”
“…Has the country fallen?”
“Ha, it would be better if it just failed.”
Dios laughed self-deprecatingly. In the first place, he didn’t care whether a country without Harpen’s children would perish or not.
But they weren’t just going to fail.
“A demon came through the crack.”
It wasn’t a big crack. The crack that had opened in the Grand Duke’s mind was managed continuously without his knowledge.
But with just one crack, just one crack in the capital, everything came crashing down.
“The nobles pretended not to notice the small cracks that had opened up in the capital. To be precise, they were too busy fighting among themselves to take possession of the vacant throne.”
The gap wasn’t that long. It had only been a month since he had left with the Rexes.
However, the crack grew bigger day by day, and eventually a demon tore through the crack and emerged.
To be honest, it wasn’t a very strong demon, and even at that time, there were temples and sword masters, so they had the ability to deal with it to that extent, but the problem was that the demon was a guy who knew how to use his head.
“The guy kept his presence hidden from view, waiting for the crack to grow bigger, and by the time humans noticed, the area around him had been consumed by the magic flowing out of the crack.”
As soon as the demons moved, the capital was quickly reduced to ashes.
“Eventually, the nobles, who could no longer handle the rift with the demons, tried to summon me again.”
“…Did you come back because I called you?”
When Nihil asked, Dios frowned without realizing it.
“Do you think I’m your father? I ignored you. It’s none of my business whether they die or not.”
“…….”
“But they tried to open a dimensional gate leading to the Demon World.”
“…….”
“You thought I… had left for the Demon World. I guess you were mistaken in thinking that if you formally summoned me and made a new contract, you could bind me again.”
But that couldn’t be possible, because he was human.
Dios continued to speak, suppressing his rising anger.
“You know what makes me even angrier? Those bastards sacrificed helpless children just to summon me.”
Really… , really… … .
Dios, recalling that time, roughly wiped his face.
What greeted Dios was an altar covered in blood and the corpses of children strewn about.
“I’m sick of human selfishness and greed.”
“…….”
“After all, they should have all been killed 500 years ago…….”
“…….”
“I can’t help but feel regretful that I couldn’t kill all the humans and was sealed by my father! Do you understand?”
Finally, Dios, unable to bear his anger, shouted at his father.
The people who could vent their anger were dead, and the vivid events that felt like yesterday had already become a distant past.
But I could do this because I knew my father wouldn’t hate me.
As expected, I felt careful hands wiping away tears that weren’t there through the black cloth covering my eyes.
“You can do that now if you want, my little one.”
“…….”
“Or should I do it for you?”
“…….”
Dios didn’t respond, because he knew that if he nodded here and now, she would be happy to do so.
500 years ago, during the Heavenly Demon War, you sealed me under the pretense of saving humanity from me, but Dios knows the truth. It wasn’t for humanity’s sake, but to save me.
How could I not guess that he sealed me away to receive the punishment he had done, and that he pretended to be me and died in my stead?
But Dios did not want his father, who was supposed to bring him rest, to fall asleep again, especially after 500 long years.
Moreover, humans are infinitely evil, but also infinitely good… … .
‘Your Majesty, I’m sorry. But I can’t just watch innocent people die.’
‘Rex, do you think they’ll appreciate your efforts?’
‘I’m not going there because I want you to know. I was born into royalty and have enjoyed it, so I just want to repay you.’
And there are kind demons like you, so you might be able to talk to them too.
“…one stupid Rex left, saying he wanted to talk to that demon. Even when one of them said he would go, the rest of them followed him.”
“…….”
“…I made a promise with Harpen, so I couldn’t watch those children being torn to pieces by the demons.”
In the end, he dealt with the cracks and the demons, and even cast great magic to restore the capital to its original state as much as possible.
“The area where erosion had occurred was beyond our control. We had no choice but to tear that part off and move it into the sea. It would have consumed too much magical power to float it in the sky….”
This is how the largest lake in Harpens, Lake Ultimus, and the second Grand Duchy’s territory, Margarita Island, were created.
As the audience became silent, Nihil carefully tidied Dios’ hair and opened his mouth.
“I don’t know how I became so kind.”
“…….”
“If you want, I can kill you anytime.”
“Don’t act hypocritically, Father. Even if I really tried to kill you, you would eventually stop me.”
Because you hate it when I harm karma, Dios said, roughly swatting away the affectionate hand. He felt a little embarrassed because it seemed like he had thrown a tantrum.
“It’s already in the past. And…….”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Dios looked around to change the subject, and noticed that the ornament wrapped around his father’s horn was slightly crooked.
“…Why is it so messy?”
“ah…….”
Nihil turned his gaze to the unexpected remark, but Dios’ face hardened.
“Surely…, is there anyone who would dare touch my father’s body?”
“No. This is me……”
“Hiccup.”
“……?”
But before Nihil could make an excuse, a hiccup was heard from the stage.
“…hiccup.”
Lawrence was startled and tried to cover his little brother’s mouth, but Somnus pointed at Rianus and shouted as if this was the moment.
“Kui, Kuiya!”
He did it!
“Kui, ku!”
Give me a lesson quickly!