How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 286
Only Noblemtl
Episode 286
“Kyahahaha, oppa, look at this. It floats! Kara can do this too!”
“Miyamiyamiyamiyam!”
“Kara, you shouldn’t use spirit magic recklessly! Bella, you have to stop me from playing with you!”
“Oppa, oppa, oppa! Can I take apart this magic tool toy here?”
“Cayenne, do you really want to see your brother’s hand fly away?”
“Dude! This toy sword is cooler than my real sword!”
“Karum, if you swing it at the kids, you’ll get in trouble… No, Evan, look at this! There’s a lot of ancient language written here! Can I copy this?”
“…You can ask me…….”
“Prince, if you spin this around, it sparkles!”
“Aryl also sparkles.”
“yes?”
“Evie, it’s a ghost!”
“Eww!”
“Revan! Don’t bother Noah!”
Boom, boom, boom!
Rianus, who had been quietly watching the playroom that had suddenly become noisy, turned his gaze to his friend who had been quiet the whole time.
My friend was happily watching the children running around, but he seemed a little tired.
“Hey, you little squirrel.”
Then Sir Evan approached.
“What is it, puppy?”
“This bracelet……”
Evan Sir noticed my expression and continued speaking.
“Taigong… gave it to me, but do you know how to use it?”
“If you blow mana into it, it will spit it out on its own.”
“What should I pay attention to?”
“Only that sword is set to be placed in subspace. Be careful not to attach decorations or they may be torn off. The sword has no special powers other than being light and strong.”
“I see.”
Sir Evan put his sword in and took it out several times on the spot. It was really cool and I was envious.
“Neil, is there any potion that will make you grow taller?”
“…sorry.”
“No, what does Neil have to be sorry about….”
What can I do about my short height? I need to grow up quickly.
“Neil, aren’t you tired?”
“Huh? Why? Do I look unwell?”
“Um…, it’s not really like that…, I’ve just been really busy lately…….”
Lianus made excuses and looked closely at Nihil’s face. It was pretty no matter how you looked at it. It was the same no matter if you stretched out or squeezed the cheeks. A pretty face is pretty no matter what you do.
But lately I’ve been seeing my friend napping during the day too often, which is something he’s never done before.
I never tried to wake him up on purpose because he didn’t sleep long, but I accidentally called his name a few times.
‘… Even when I called his name, he didn’t wake up… … .’
Since when did Nihil stop responding when he called while asleep? I thought it was normal for him to do that when he was deeply asleep, but I couldn’t help but worry.
“Rian, you don’t have to play with your toys?”
“Huh?”
Rianus, who had been lost in thought, suddenly raised his head. His close friend was staring at me with a puzzled expression.
“If you don’t like anything, should I get it for you?”
“Uh…, um….”
For a moment, Lianus thought about making an excuse that he was tired so that his friend could rest, but he quickly dismissed the thought. For some reason, he felt that his friend would go out to work again once the children were in bed.
Even now, the baby has gone away saying she has something to do, so there’s no way my close friend can rest in peace.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve been going out at night a lot lately… … .’
Are you sleeping well?
“…Rian?”
“Huh?”
“Where does it hurt?”
Nihil’s palm touched my forehead with a worried question. The Grand Duke wasn’t hot, but since it was summer, the cool, fluffy palm felt very good.
“No. I’m not sick.”
Rianus felt a little upset seeing his friend only taking care of him and not worrying about his own health. He was thinking about how he could make his friend rest comfortably when he saw a thick, fluffy mat.
“Uh… Neil, should we play house?”
“Playing house?”
“Yeah. Come here.”
I grabbed Nihil’s hand, which was resting on my forehead, and pulled him towards the soft mat.
“I’ll be the mom. Neil will be the baby.”
“Usually it’s set to mom and dad, right?”
“No. This is the trend these days. And I wanted to try being a mom. Now, lie down quickly.”
As he spoke, Lianus threw Nihil over, who was looking confused. The fluffy cotton ball that had been sleeping on Nihil’s head rolled off and protested, but soon went back into Nihil’s arms and fell asleep again.
“Ryan,” he said firmly, throwing a blanket over Nihil.
“Neil is a baby, he needs to lie down.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. The baby can’t do it alone. He has to eat what his mother gives him.”
Of course, I won’t feed you, I’ll just let you sleep… … .
After speaking firmly, Lianus began piling blocks around Nihil under the pretense of building a house.
We must not let anyone disturb us!
* * *
“Ugh……”
“Big……”
Nihil made excuses to build a house with blocks and the baby had to sleep, and then he looked at Rianus, who had fallen asleep first, and laughed quietly. He must have been very tired since he had woken up early in the morning for the birthday party.
Nihil got up without hesitation. If he kept his head on the floor any longer, he would really fall asleep.
At that moment, the dog that had been leaning next to me the whole time asked quietly.
“Are you asleep?”
“He’s in a deep sleep. He won’t wake up even if I hold him.”
“…Aren’t you sleeping?”
Instead of answering that question, Nihil shrugged his shoulders. It seemed as though Rianus wanted me to sleep, but it wasn’t that he didn’t have time to sleep, but that he deliberately didn’t want to dream.
“I have to go out and close the crack.”
“Can’t I just ask you for today, Your Majesty?”
“You’re telling me to leave all the mess that humans have to do to Ae?”
“No…, you’re not a kid, are you….”
Evan made a subtle face at the strange relationship. However, there was no denying that the great astronaut, even the great astronaut, had been overdoing it recently. The archduke seemed worried too, so he would gladly listen if asked.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the little squirrel would sleep soundly.
Evan pondered and glanced at the cat following Miss Kara around. Wouldn’t it be better to ask the cat to put her to sleep, even if it was by force? She seemed quite tired, so the sleeping scent wouldn’t be completely ineffective.
“…Stop it. It’s not that I can’t sleep, it’s that I won’t sleep.”
At that moment, the cat, who had easily figured out my thoughts, sighed deeply and tried to stop me. Evan, who couldn’t understand, asked back.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Because I don’t want to dream.”
“……?”
Evan wondered. Didn’t you sleep so well before? You slept like a corpse…
As it seemed as if he would not back down easily, the cat continued to explain.
“I don’t sleep well on a rotten moon. I can’t avoid my dreams.”
“Are you having a nightmare?”
“…It may not be a nightmare, strictly speaking…, but once I start dreaming, it’s hard to wake up. I don’t want to be trapped in a dream.”
“Are you sure you’ll never wake up?”
“That’s not it, but….”
The lynx rubbed his face as if embarrassed.
“Actually, I’m a little tired.”
“I’ll wake you up if necessary.”
“…….”
The cat started to worry at the words that he would wake him up. He really seemed tired.
Evan had been trying hard to convince the guy, knowing that he had been causing him more trouble recently.
“I don’t feel like it’s a good idea anyway because I’m guarding the prince. Oh, I’m not saying that the Grand Duke is in danger… No, come to think of it, isn’t it a little dangerous for the Grand Duke to be away? Honestly, I don’t know how much my skills will work here… ”
“There are many people who stand guard besides you.”
“But I can’t neglect my escort duties since it’s the prince’s first outing after returning as a knight. I’ve been getting some good rest lately, so one day is really nothing.”
“…but…….”
“And actually, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep well either. There’s… lycanthropy, right….”
“Cannes?”
Evan nodded and asked quietly.
“…Even if I attack, I won’t be able to win, right?”
“That guy is the commander here. He may seem a little lacking, but he is no less powerful. And actually, this is a secret… ”
“……?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Oh, why are you stopping talking!”
Evan felt annoyed without realizing it. It was really evil of him to change the subject after making me curious.
“…Now that I think about it, there’s no good in knowing it on your own.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”
“……Can you hear me?”
“Speak quickly.”
Evan urged Nihil. How could he not be curious about the secret of the lynx?
“…that guy ripped the duke’s arm off.”
“…….”
I shouldn’t have listened.
Evan immediately regretted it and wiped his face. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him and he raised his head.
“So that lycanthrope is stronger than the duke?”
“Of course. To be honest, a single human sword master is no match for me. Don’t even think about attacking me.”
“No, it’s not that I’m attacking you… it’s just that you seem to be watching me.”
“That’s because you smell like dog.”
“…….”
“No matter how you look at it, it’s human, so how strange it would be if it smelled like its own kind.”
“…….”
I shouldn’t have asked.
“…Go to sleep. I’ll wake you up.”
Evan, who had been hurt emotionally while trying to satisfy his curiosity, hugged Nihil and Lianus. It felt like it had been a long time since this happened.
“Brother, where are…, uh, the second prince and the angel asleep?”
“What is an angel….”
Evan tried to deny that he could be an angel, but then he saw Nihil with his head down and closed his mouth. It seemed like he had fallen asleep.
‘…Stubbornness in this state… … .’
Because it was late, the other children soon went to bed as well.
It had become a daily routine for the cat to sing lullabies or read storybooks to me at night, so it felt a little strange to see the cat sleeping first.
“Evan, Evan.”
“Yes, Karus.”
At that moment, Karus, who had been busy fiddling around without sleeping, slowly approached me as if he had something to say.
As Evan lowered his body, Carus made a faint, audible gasp.
“…Is your friend Taekong by any chance?”
“…….”
Look at that. I knew I’d get caught.
But Evan couldn’t bring himself to say yes. It seemed like it would have a different meaning if he said it himself.
“…I see.”
Carus nodded quietly, mumbling something as if he had judged my silence, and then asked the question again.
“Do the princes know by any chance?”
“…You wouldn’t know.”
I don’t know about the relatively quick-witted baby snakes, but our clueless kitten definitely wouldn’t know.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret from my siblings too. … Of course, if you find out on your own, there’s nothing I can do about it… ”
“…….”
“…I’m sorry to say this, but isn’t it just a matter of time before we get caught?”
“…….”
That was true, but Evan was careful with his words.
As the night deepened and Karus went to sleep, Evan, who was free, summoned his sword and was cleaning it, when the Archduke, who looked like a baby, returned.
I thought about waking him up, but the Archduke looked at the sleeping cat, checked his sleeping condition, and left again.
‘… It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a rich relationship.’
It was strange that the lynx treated the grown-up Grand Duke like a baby, but the Grand Duke’s attitude wasn’t very normal either. Rather than being respectful as a father, it felt like he was serving a higher being with utmost sincerity.
Of course, it could be true if he had grown up under an overbearing father since childhood, but there was no way that the wildcat would do that. That was a fact that could be easily inferred just by looking at the way his white hair was being pulled at every once in a while.
“flaw…….”
“……!”
At that moment, a faint breathing sound was heard from the sleeping cat.
If it had been someone else, I wouldn’t have noticed, but because he was so corpse-like, the difference was very noticeable.
Evan placed the sword directly on his bracelet and approached Nihil. His body was so slightly tense that no one else would have noticed.
‘Are you having a nightmare?’
Evan shook Nihil’s body without hesitation.
“Hey, hey, hey.”
But no matter how much I called him, he showed no intention of waking up, and instead, the prince who was sleeping next to me began to move slowly.
At the moment when I was about to hug her, thinking that I should move her seat first, her pure white eyelashes fluttered and soon a small universe appeared in my mind.
Evan looked at Nihil with a sense of relief.
“Hey, Salmon, are you okay?”
“…Why.”
“……?”
“Why didn’t you kill him?”