How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 285
Only Noblemtl
Episode 285
“…Are those pink earthworms?”
“It’s a snake.”
“…….”
Lawrence looked at the doll slowly in disbelief.
Even if the pink color is left aside, the snakes I know don’t look like this. I know it well because the Duke’s family crest features a snake. The round eyes and especially the free-spirited tongue that is crooked to the side are definitely not snake-like.
Of course I haven’t seen a snake in person yet, but this is just too… … .
“You look stupid……”
“Look, it has eyes and a tongue. Earthworms don’t have eyes or a tongue… What? Isn’t that too much?”
Nihil, who had been kindly explaining the difference between snakes and earthworms, reacted belatedly to Lawrence’s words.
“That’s not stupid, that’s cute.”
“but…….”
“Hold me tight when you sleep.”
“I’m not a child who plays with dolls.”
My mother said that dolls were for stupid children. I didn’t completely agree with her, but it was true that dolls were for babies.
“…Still, it is a gift, so I will treasure it.”
“My stuffed rabbit sleeps so well when I hold it in my arms.”
“That, that’s what Ryan gave me!”
Lawrence was startled and denied it. When had he seen that before?
“Really? I thought you were after my Popo again. Oh, and his name is Pepe.”
“I said it was a misunderstanding! And why do you have names for each doll…!”
“Huh? My puppy doll’s name is Pippi!”
“…….”
Lawrence, who was about to argue, quickly shut his mouth. He didn’t know that Ariel had given a name to the doll.
“The 2nd prince’s teddy bears are Pupu, so Pupu, Popo, Pipi, and Pepe! They feel like family!”
“That’s true.”
Lawrence quickly nodded and looked down at the doll. Looking closely, the stupid-looking thing looked exactly like Lianus.
We must cherish it.
“But why is this tongue like this?”
Lawrence flicked the tongue of the snake, which was crooked and almost out of place. Was this a subtle sarcasm directed at me, who only tells lies?
“…That’s not something I did.”
“? Then what?”
“Ask Pepe. He’ll be happy to tell you.”
“…I’m not really curious. What are you going to do now?”
Lawrence changed the subject. No matter what, the prince had to save face. He couldn’t show the other children his foolish appearance of talking to a doll.
“Shall we go treasure hunting?”
“……?”
“Let’s go to the treasure room. We should also get the gift the Archduke gave us.”
“I really want to take care of it? What if the Archduke gets angry?”
“Our Archduke doesn’t talk empty words. Right, Dia?”
“…….”
To Baedong’s question, the baby did not respond, but instead grabbed the baby’s white hair. It seemed like he was still feeling uncomfortable, but Baedong smiled and rubbed his face against the baby’s cheek.
The baby didn’t refuse even though his eyebrows were furrowed, but he glanced at me and quietly opened his mouth.
“…The warehouse you can look around is on the third basement floor.”
“That’s right. Let’s go.”
The children eventually followed Baedong into the basement.
“Brother, Kara, I want to see that.”
“Kara, if you go missing again, my brother’s heart will break.”
“No, Kara isn’t like that anymore.”
“Still, that won’t work.”
“Brother, let go of my hand.”
“No, Revan. You’ll jump out again.”
“Hey, bro, there’s something interesting over there!”
“Revan, please!”
As I was checking on the curious Kara Yang and Revan Army who were trying to stray from the path, I soon arrived at the entrance to the warehouse.
The inside of the warehouse looked like some kind of exhibition hall, but it was all covered in glass, so it seemed like children would not be able to touch it as they pleased.
The baby who had been looking through the warehouse opened his mouth softly.
“…There’s nothing special you can take at the entrance. You have to go in deeper. Still, it wouldn’t be bad to take a look around once in a while.”
“Baby, baby, what is this?”
At that moment, Lianus spotted something and approached it. It was a worn, plain, plain lyre.
“…That’s the lyre that Harpen played.”
“……!”
“It has no special features. It’s just… a normal lyre.”
“Did Lord Harpen give it to the Grand Duke as a gift?”
Lawrence asked, but he thought that his ancestor Harpen was a very strange person. If he was going to give me a gift, he would have given me a better one, rather than something so worn out… … .
“No. This is stolen.”
“……?!”
The Grand Duke is stealing?
Lawrence was perplexed. But was the Archduke so lacking in money that he would steal such a worn-out lyre?
“Oh, I see.”
I was very curious about the inside story, but I didn’t ask. The Grand Duke must have had his own circumstances. Moreover, how could a baby know all of those circumstances?
Of course, that was just my thought, Lianus immediately asked back.
“why?”
“Lu, Ruth……”
Lawrence gave Lianus a look, but my brother, who had never been very observant, did not notice and asked again.
“If it’s Lord Harpen’s belongings, wouldn’t it be right to keep it in the royal palace?”
“That’s right.”
Fortunately, the baby nodded his head and agreed, not feeling particularly offended.
“But when Harpen died, the old Lyra was abandoned.”
“…….”
“I guess they didn’t want to show that their king played a cheap lyre.”
Dios smiled bitterly.
Harpen’s body was cremated, holding a luxurious lyre that was pleasing to the eye.
According to his will, his ashes were scattered all over the country, and no grave was built, let alone a place to honor him. As time passed, all traces of him disappeared.
“It is said that the devil was so impressed by Harpen’s beautiful lyre playing that he changed his mind and saved the world… but in fact, his playing wasn’t very pleasant to listen to. It was just a little strange that he tried to lighten the mood.”
Even the Lyra was made by Harpen himself, so it was very crude and the tuning was a mess.
“It’s more like a children’s toy that makes noise than a musical instrument.”
Still, I couldn’t help but feel bad about it being thrown away so I took care of it without realizing it.
“If the royal family wants to take it now, I’ll give it back to you, so take it.”
At those words, Rianus, who had been watching Lyra closely, opened his eyes wide.
“What if the Archduke gets angry if I give the baby back without permission?”
“…I won’t get angry.”
“is it so?”
“okay.”
“But I don’t want to take it.”
Only the Archduke would know the value of that lira, Lianus said, then turned his head as if something suddenly came to mind.
“Then, Lord Harpen, you asked the Archduke for money after playing such a crude piece of music?”
“…….”
“He wasn’t just a conman. He was really bad.”
“…he wasn’t a bad kid.”
Dios sighed deeply, making excuses without realizing it. Honestly, he didn’t know why he was making excuses.
‘Your Majesty, when I die, please take care of my descendants.’
‘… Your shamelessness is sky-high, Harpen. What more can I do than this?’
‘Since you’ve already taken it, shouldn’t you see it through to the end?’
‘… … .’
‘But if the person you’re looking for comes back, then… … .’
It’s okay to leave.
“…….”
In the end, it was probably for his own good.
“Um… baby?”
“…bouncer.”
“?! I was wrong!”
Rianus, who had been worried about the baby who was just sitting there blankly, was surprised by the accusation of being arrogant and quickly apologized. It seems that the baby does not like hearing bad things about Lord Harpen.
The party went on about the treasures of the Grand Duke, hearing stories that were too trivial to be recorded now. Dios also became sentimental as he told old stories, but only the first two or three times.
“Baby, baby, what is this shiny mineral?”
“…Stop asking and choose. When are you going to choose?”
Dios touched his forehead to the endless questions. He had talked so much that his throat was almost dry.
“But it’s more fun to hear old stories.”
“…It’s just an ordinary black opal stone. I’ll process it to fit my father later if necessary….”
“I want this!”
“…….”
“Baby, what are these jewels?”
“…It’s just a collection of pretty colored gems. It doesn’t have any significance.”
“Can I choose here?”
“…okay.”
Dios, who had given up, relaxed all his strength in his body. His father kept laughing as if he found something so funny that the shaking didn’t seem to stop.
“All the jewels here look like Neil’s eyes. They’re mysterious and colorful.”
“…….”
Dios, who was hit hard, did not answer.
“Baby, I’ll take this.”
Lawrence picked up a jewel and showed it to me. Inside the jewel were floating, glittering objects of various colors, but there was one jewel that was particularly red, reminiscent of a blazing flame.
“That’s just Sunstone… no, just do that.”
The baby seemed annoyed and gave a vague answer, then waved his hand and sent the group to the playroom before disappearing, saying he had something to do.
“Wow!”
“There are a lot of interesting things here!”
The children were excited and immediately started looking through the toys. They were toys made of magic tools, something that was hard to find even in the palace.
“I didn’t know there was a playroom in the Grand Duke’s house.”
Lawrence looked around the playroom with curiosity. It seemed larger than the playroom in his palace and had a wider variety of toys.
“Is this by any chance the playroom you used?”
Lawrence asked Baedong, the local master. If Baedong was born and raised here, he might be the owner of this playroom.
However, Baedong looked around the playroom, tilted his head, and answered as if he was puzzled.
“It looks like this place was built in a hurry…….”
“…Who said that?”
“Your Majesty. There was no room like this until this morning. Be sure to thank me later.”
“All right.”
Lawrence thought the Archduke was more meticulous than he had expected and immediately joined the children. There were so many interesting things that he couldn’t just sit back and look.
Baedong didn’t seem very interested and just sat there watching the children play, but Rianus didn’t leave his side either, so in the end, all they did was watch the children.
Although the sight was a little nerve-racking, Lawrence was so excited to be playing around with kids his age without any pretense that he soon forgot about it.
* * *
‘Where am I?’
Lawrence looked around in surprise at the dark surroundings, but his body did not move properly. What on earth was going on?
But the anxiety was short-lived, and soon a faint light began to bloom in a corner, brightening my vision. And the first thing I saw was… .
‘…your majesty?’
Lawrence was surprised. His Majesty was looking down at him right in front of his nose. Even his expression was not ordinary.
I tried to quickly get up and say hello, but my body still wouldn’t move and my voice wouldn’t come out.
‘hmm…….’
His Majesty looked down at me for a long time with a serious expression. Lawrence was very embarrassed by this situation, but perhaps because His Majesty was right in front of him, he was not that afraid.
At that moment, His Majesty slowly reached out to me. For some reason, the hand that was reaching out seemed very large. His Majesty lifted me up, caressed my face, and looked at me in silence for a long time.
Lawrence, who was being petted quietly, suddenly wondered if this might be a dream.
This might actually have been when I was a newborn. Now that I look at it, His Majesty’s face doesn’t seem serious, but rather a little tense.
His lips parted as he thought about whether His Majesty had come to see him like this when he was a baby.
‘Abel, what should I do?’
… … !?
Lawrence’s heart sank at the unexpected complaint. Thinking about it, it occurred to him that perhaps His Majesty had not been particularly pleased with his birth.
I was feeling a little sad and almost tearful when I heard the prime minister’s answer.
‘What the hell. Sadie, is the needle stuck?’
… needle? thread?
‘…yet.’
‘Oh my… … .’
His Majesty, hearing the Prime Minister’s sigh, slumped his shoulders as if he had lost his spirit, put me down, picked up a needle, and began to thread the thread.
His Majesty failed the simple task several times, and Lawrence, who was watching with such concentration, found himself cheering him on. But he shouldn’t have cheered.
Because Your Majesty has thrust a needle and thread into me!
Lawrence, startled, shut his eyes tightly. However, no matter how much he closed his eyes, the image of His Majesty did not disappear, and he did not feel the pain of the needle prick.
Oh, it was a dream.
I was relieved by the thought that came to mind, but His Majesty, who had been concentrating on something, turned his head and opened his mouth again.
‘Abel, no matter how much I sew, the thread won’t stay put.’
‘What the heck…, oh my, you idiot! You have to tie a knot in the thread so it doesn’t come off! And the snake is pink with a red tongue, so why is the thread black?’
Snake and tongue. These two words brought back memories of my conversation with Baedong.
‘… That’s not something I did.
‘? Then?’
‘Ask Pepe. He’ll be happy to tell you.’
no way…….
That messy sewing was your Majesty’s handiwork?
Lawrence was extremely confused, but he tried to concentrate on what was in front of him.
Her Majesty would carry me… no, a doll around with her all the time, and try to sew with it whenever she had time.
It didn’t take long since it was only a matter of sticking out his tongue, but His Majesty seemed dissatisfied with the results and kept tearing it out again.
The needles were moving back and forth to the point where it seemed as if the inside of the doll’s mouth was empty, and it seemed as if I could count the number of eyelashes on His Majesty’s face as I looked intently at him, when Baedong came.
‘Hand it over, father.’
‘Can’t you give me just a little more time?’
‘I did it all.’
‘Ha, but it’s crooked. I have to put it back on… … .’
‘Do you think that tongue will stick straight again if you cut it off?’
‘… You’re going too far.’
‘Hand it over.’
‘What if the child cries when he sees my messed up tongue? He might resent me.’
I wouldn’t do that. Lawrence answered without realizing it, even though it wouldn’t be conveyed.
‘If you have something to say to the child, say it to the doll.’
‘… on a doll?’
My father hesitated a bit at the sudden request. But soon he looked at me and opened his mouth quietly.
‘Happy birthday, Ross. And,’
I love you.