How the Prince Makes Friends - Chapter 305
Only Noblemtl
Episode 305
* * *
“Ugh…….”
“Ugh……”
Evan chuckled as he watched the kitten entwining the pink snake.
To be honest, I was really shocked and upset that the guy I thought was a raccoon was actually a grand duke, but on the other hand, I was secretly relieved that the hedgehog that had been acting so prickly toward me wasn’t a raccoon.
‘…Can you still love me even if my father isn’t affectionate?’
Somehow, what the Archduke said bothered me… … .
‘Does this mean that you want me to like this wildcat guy even if he reveals his true nature…?’
I already know that he’s a pervert old man who only likes kids.
Then suddenly a question occurred to me.
‘The day the rotten moon sets and the new moon rises… , is that right, tomorrow night… ?’
Isn’t it today after 12 o’clock? Evan stared blankly at the grandfather clock, wondering that. It was soon 12 o’clock.
A strange sense of anxiety suddenly crept up my spine. Now that I think about it, why didn’t the Archduke come to take Ariel? Is he perhaps receiving treatment?
Evan glanced at the cotton ball. For some reason, the cotton ball was burying its head under the prince’s pillow.
‘Is it okay?’
If it was something you needed, you would have definitely called. There must be a reason why you didn’t call. If you go and cause trouble…
But as the clock passed 12 o’clock, Evan’s anxiety grew and eventually he couldn’t bear it anymore and walked to Aryl’s room.
“Huh, huff…”
“…….”
And Evan, who had reached Ariel’s room, froze in surprise at the sound he heard from beyond the door.
‘Ugh, ugh… … .’
‘Eww, ew, eww… … .’
My heart sank. The sound of my mother’s sobs, which I thought I had forgotten, and the dying cries of my newborn baby came back to me from the back of my memory.
“Kolok, sa, save me……”
“Aryl!!!”
Bam!
The moment he heard Ariel’s fading voice, Evan stopped thinking and immediately opened the door.
Aryl was buried under something black.
“……!”
Evan flew straight ahead and swatted it away with all his might. He didn’t even have time to figure out what it was. All he could think about was that he had to get rid of it, or Ariel would die.
“Cough…!”
It was only after I struck him down that I realized that it was a baby-looking archduke.
‘…grandee?’
Why on earth?
“Cough, oh, brother…!”
“Aryl, are you okay…!”
“Ugh, oppa……”
Evan quickly hugged Ariel, who was running straight towards him. Her small body was trembling, but he couldn’t properly comfort Ariel because of the questions swirling around in his head.
Why on earth? Wasn’t it to get rid of the divine punishment? Why are you trying to kill Aril? Did I unknowingly get on his nerves? What should I do? If I kneel down and apologize right now, will he forgive me?
The more my thoughts wandered, the more pathetic I felt. Was all I could do to the whims of the transcendent beings just to kneel?
“…@%$#^%#@#……?”
“……!”
Then, at the sound of a voice that suddenly came, Evan instinctively took out Ladere. And immediately after that, the Archduke’s magic power grew even stronger.
“…@#$%^#$%@#$^.”
“…! Aril, run away!”
“Oh, where to?”
“Anywhere! Hurry up!”
Even though he knew it was useless, Evan sent Aryl out first. Then he swung his sword right away to get the Archduke’s attention.
But my aura simply dissipated as soon as it touched the Archduke’s aura, even though he was holding a poker, not a sword.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that he didn’t chase Ariel.
Evan felt dizzy at the pitch-black aura of the Great Prince, which seemed to swallow up the entire space. It seemed as if what was in front of him was not some living creature, but a piece of the universe.
Then a soft voice was heard.
“I told you not to climb up.”
The Archduke had already returned to his original form.
“Weren’t you giving me a chance!”
Why on earth!!! Evan screamed in betrayal. Was this why he showed such kindness to Ariel?
It was miserable.
Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped my mother that day. Should Ariel have died that day? Where on earth did it all go wrong?
‘If it was going to be like this, why didn’t you build expectations in the first place… … .’
I felt like I was being denied. It was as if they were saying that all my choices and efforts from that day until now were useless.
“Ugh…, gulp….”
Evan stared blankly at his blood soaking the floor. His vision was blurry after being beaten so badly, but he didn’t feel like he was going to die.
‘… I think I’ve had a similar experience before.’
I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t. The Archduke could have taken my life several times, but he pretended it was a mistake, pretended to let his guard down, and gave me an opening several times. I threatened him, but he didn’t threaten me. It seemed like he was really fighting with all his might, but at first glance, he didn’t show any sign of exhaustion.
At the end of the standoff that was barely possible due to his mercy, it was ‘me’ who ended up stabbing the enemy’s heart with a sword.
Who am I?
‘I am, I am.’
Then who was the opponent?
Evan thought blankly. For a moment, he thought the man in his memory was the Archduke, but the name of the man in his guise was not Dios.
‘…What’s your name?’
‘Requies.’
“…….”
Evan closed his eyes and opened them. The Archduke was gone. No, maybe he didn’t close his eyes and open them, but just lost consciousness for a moment.
Evan stared blankly at the spot where the Archduke had disappeared, then tried to get up. However, his whole body was creaking, so even that wasn’t easy. He tried to use his sword or his staff, but when he looked for it, it wasn’t there. It seemed like the Archduke had taken it.
Eventually, I was able to get up only after crawling and leaning against the wall.
Evan walked upstairs. If the Archduke had intervened, it would have been too late, but even so, there was nothing else he could do.
‘…the smell of blood.’
Evan cleared his mind and followed the cruel scent. At the end of the scent was the Archduke lying on the ground and Aryl, covered in blood, in his arms.
“…are you dead?”
I could hear my voice cracking between the rumbling tinnitus. Perhaps because I hadn’t yet fully realized Ariel’s death, I didn’t shed any tears.
No, perhaps it was because the face of the Archduke, who was quietly looking down at Ariel, was filled with a sense of loss.
At that moment, the Archduke rose from his seat with a jerk. The slender body held in his arms also dangled carelessly along with him.
“The wolf cub… is in my mansion. He will return to the palace when the sun rises.”
“……?”
It took Evan a while to understand what he meant.
“Aryl…, are you alive?”
“okay.”
Yes. I see. Ariel is alive. Then what is the Archduke holding…?
“…Then that is…….”
Then, what is it that you are holding so preciously right now? Just as he was about to ask that, a change occurred in the small body in his arms.
His already small arms and legs became even smaller, and his light gray-brown hair, which resembled mine, began to lose its color from the roots and eventually turned white.
“…no way,”
“It’s a doll.”
Just as Evan was about to say something, the Archduke interrupted him with a muttered voice.
“Yeah… this is a doll.”
It almost seemed like he was brainwashing himself.
Evan, who realized the identity of Ariel, no, what Ariel was, laughed in vain with a sense of self-loathing.
“Doll…, huh.”
“Yes. It’s a doll that died in place of your brother’s punishment.”
“…….”
“It is the only doll that can deceive the eyes of God.”
I see. So that’s what happened. So it was that guy back then too… … .
‘Even if you gouge out my eyes and give me my limbs, I will eventually forget everything.’
‘… … .’
‘You too, I’m sure.’
Evan was stunned again by the voice ringing in his head. What kind of memory is this?
I… , I can remember now… … .
‘So please, just forget about it.’
Evan stood there blankly, blinking. Unknown memories swirled around in his head.
“You must erase your memories now.”
“…….”
Evan raised his head at the Archduke’s soft words. Evan stared at him blankly for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Does the doll…come to life?”
“Dolls don’t die.”
“…okay.”
Evan slowly nodded. The Archduke stared at me and placed his hand on my head. I wondered if he was planning to erase my memories.
But Evan still had something he wanted to confirm, so he opened his mouth again.
“…grandee.”
“Don’t say no. Even if you say no, I’ll erase it.”
“Do you remember everything?”
“What… does that mean?”
“Do you remember… all… the sacrifices that guy made?”
“…….”
Dios didn’t answer and lowered the hand he had placed on his head. Somehow he felt as if he would erase his memories without having to erase them himself.
The wolf cub glanced at his father, who was being held helplessly like a doll, and then opened his mouth softly again.
“Requies……”
“…….”
“I killed a Demon King in your guise… no, Requies. … I think so. No…, actually, I don’t know. I don’t…, remember very well. To be honest, I’m not even sure if it’s my memory….”
The wolf cub was talking nonsense. His eyes kept losing focus, which made it seem like he wasn’t in his right mind.
But Dios did not stop him. It was worth it just to have someone remember his father.
“I… didn’t necessarily mean to kill you… no, I had to kill you, but I guess I didn’t really want to kill you…….”
“…….”
I never thought that the wolf cub in front of me would be the one who killed my father.
‘Father would have known.’
So that’s why you put so much effort into it.
“What I wanted to ask was…, so, I wonder if Your Highness knows about it….”
“If you want to ask if I know that my father died in my place… then yes.”
“…I see. That’s fortunate…, that’s fortunate.”
“What are you talking about?”
Dios frowned involuntarily. Was it fortunate that his father died instead of him?
“At least you…, remember him.”
“…….”
The wolf cub who had been mumbling like that smiled weakly.
“I was sad because no one remembered me….”
“…….”
“grandee.”
“…Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep.”
Dios cut him off. The rotten moon was already over, and the more he thought about his father, the more the gods would interfere.
“I see… Am I not supposed to remember?”
“…….”
Dios did not answer. He should have said no, but he did not want to.
The wolf cub lowered his head, as if he had judged my silence.
“…Can you tell her that I’m sorry I couldn’t remember?”
“…….”
Actually, this is already the third time… The wolf cub muttered something like that and then fell down.
And at that moment,
thud.
My father’s pulse returned.