Nihil let out a deep sigh and lowered his head, speechless for a moment as he stared at the seaweed that had vanished in an instant.
His gaze fell to the cloak spread out on the floor.
The cloak he was sitting on was filthy, covered in smears of grime.
Nihil knew all too well that the filth had come from his own body, so he couldn’t bring himself to move from that spot.
If he stepped onto the pristine rug, his blackened footprints would be left behind, plain as day.
“Hey, beggar.”
“What.”
Nihil replied bluntly.
As expected, the moment the seaweed disappeared, that Knight—who resembled a pale brown dog—started barking.
“Do you have any idea how precious that Elixir was? Even if you worked your whole life, you couldn’t repay the favor. The Prince treated you kindly as a friend, and you actually think you’re real friends now? Know your place. Show proper respect to the Prince…”
The Knight’s nagging went on and on.
But it sounded more like a dog’s jealousy toward a wildcat that had stolen its master’s attention, or a sulky grumble aimed at a kitten.
Nihil, watching the large, pale brown dog bark, simply replied with a blank expression.
“And what about you? While that precious Elixir was being poured out on a complete stranger, what did you, the so-called Royal Knight and sole bodyguard, do besides stand by and watch?”
That hit home.
The Knight’s voice dropped, sharp as a dagger, stabbing right into the Knight’s chest.
Evan instinctively stepped back. His emotions slipped out despite himself.
“I’ll find a way to drive you out, no matter what!”
“If you can, go ahead. But if I get thrown out, that Prince of yours might just bawl his eyes out and wither away for good this time.”
Nihil’s retort made Evan flinch.
The Prince’s behavior today was certainly different from usual.
The lonely child who always stifled his sobs to avoid seeming weak was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the image of a kitten crying pitifully and sorrowfully.
The Kitten seemed strangely fixated on this wildcat.
The Prince, who usually drew clear lines and kept strict boundaries, made an exception for this wildcat.
But the wildcat was dangerous. Evan’s Knight’s intuition told him so.
There wasn’t a single thing about this gray wildcat that wasn’t suspicious. Leaping out in front of a galloping carriage, coming back from the dead (though he’d never really died to begin with), and remaining calm in unfamiliar places—it was all odd.
The risks of keeping such a dangerous presence around the gentle Kitten were too great.
“Impudent brat.”
“Hmph.”
Evan clenched his teeth.
That brat was far too insolent.
That was the biggest problem.
He wasn’t the type to be fixed with discipline.
He acted that way even though he knew he was being rude.
Even if Evan tried to subdue him by force, he’d just run away.
He wasn’t the sort to ever submit. And even if he did, the Prince would probably be disappointed anyway…
In any case, keeping him close was bound to cause trouble.
It was a shame to have used up half of a once-in-a-lifetime Elixir, but Evan couldn’t shake the thought that he had to reveal this brat’s true nature to the Kitten and tear them apart.
Unlike the adorable, lovable Prince, this one wasn’t a kitten but a wildcat. Similar, perhaps, but fiercer, dirtier—a completely different animal.
If the Prince couldn’t let go of the wildcat, Evan would have to drive a wedge between them himself.
The longer he waited, the harder it would be to separate them.
“Know your place. I saved you from freezing to death on the streets. If you have any conscience at all, you should crawl out on your own.”
A surprisingly cold voice slipped from his lips.
Was he scared? No, Evan meant to scare him—so why did he feel worried?
But in Evan’s pale ivory eyes, calm and steady, he saw Nihil sitting on the dirty cloak, one corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk.
The brat, sitting on the floor and looking up, seemed to be looking up and yet not really looking at all.
Seeing that unshakable, relaxed composure, Evan’s jaw tightened.
Then the wildcat started to sneer.
“If I don’t want to leave on my own, what can you do about it?”
“If you so much as harm the Prince, I’ll string you up to a tree and beat you black and blue.”
“Oh, really.”
‘Soft-hearted, aren’t you.’
All he could threaten was a beating.
Nihil, still expressionless, swept a hand over the cloak he was sitting on as if threats had nothing to do with him.
He moved with a nonchalance that was almost leisurely.
The soft fabric tickled between his fingers.
It was filthy because of him, but it was clearly a high-quality cloak.
The Prince had claimed to be bullied, but judging by the abundance of supplies, he didn’t seem to lack for anything.
Nihil let out a short, derisive laugh. For a moment, he remembered the round, green-haired head that had bawled its eyes out after being rejected as a friend.
“The Royal Knight seems desperate to gobble up one harmless beggar. Guess I’ll have to stick close to the Prince, if only out of fear.”
“Hmph, if you don’t want to get kicked out, you’d better cozy up to the Prince and act cute.”
“Cute, huh…”
Just as Nihil was about to retort that the Prince was the one acting cute, he heard the sound of wheels rolling just outside the bedroom door.
The noise grew louder as it drew near.
Nihil glanced at the bedroom door, then abruptly stood and picked up the cloak.
“What are you doing!”
Evan frowned as he watched Nihil’s dirty footprints stamp themselves across the white rug.
Nihil was so light that he dangled from Evan’s hand when the Knight grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Even then, Nihil’s blank expression didn’t falter.
“Someone’s coming.”
“What?”
At Nihil’s words, Evan listened.
He’d been so focused on the wildcat that he hadn’t paid attention to the outside, but now he could clearly hear the trolley wheels drawing closer.
“Well? Aren’t you going to hide me?”
Evan was irritated by the beggar’s brazen attitude, arms crossed and head cocked, despite being hauled up by the scruff.
But he did need to hide him.
That approaching trolley almost certainly carried the ‘lots of meat’ meal that the Prince had ordered for this impudent wildcat.
Whatever else, it was clear the Prince had taken a liking to him.
With that realization, Evan grumbled in a tone that sounded more petulant than he intended.
“Why should I?”
“Come on. If I get caught, the one who’ll be in real trouble is your precious, adorable Prince.”
Evan scowled at Nihil’s taunt, about to retort, but the trolley wheels were already right outside the door.
He strode to the terrace, opened the window, and tossed what he was holding outside.
Then he quickly shut and locked the window, making sure the wildcat couldn’t get back in.
For good measure, he pulled the blackout curtains tight so not a sliver of light escaped.
Watching from outside as the bedroom lights vanished behind the curtains, Nihil guessed he’d be left out there until the Prince emerged from the bath.
He neatly slung the cloak over his shoulders and settled into a crouch in a corner of the terrace.
He was so hungry that the smell of food seemed to twist his insides.
Not long after Nihil was banished to the terrace and the room grew quiet, a knock sounded at the door.
When Evan opened it, instead of the usual single maid, three maids entered, each pushing a trolley.
It was because the innocent Kitten had ordered ‘lots and lots of meat’ out of hunger.
As the maids set dish after dish—especially the meat—on the table, Evan found himself unable to laugh or cry.
He glared out at the terrace for no reason.
A breeze had started up, and the terrace window rattled slightly.
Evan found himself hoping it would get bitterly, bitterly cold outside. Even after all the food was laid out and the maids left, he was still troubled by what to do about the wildcat he’d banished to the terrace.
He wanted to lie and say the wildcat had run away, but it would be an obvious lie, and even if it wasn’t discovered, the Kitten would be so disappointed he might never mingle with his peers again.
Thinking that, Evan decided it would be better to expose every bit of the wildcat’s savagery so that the Kitten would reject him on his own.
Still, feeling spiteful, Evan briefly considered letting the wildcat back in just before the Prince finished bathing. But he shook his head.
If that wildcat decided to tattle, Evan would be the one in trouble.
Whooooosh!
A gust of wind howled like a ghost at the window.
‘Damn it.’
Unable to help himself, Evan strode straight to the terrace.
Swish—click, clatter!
Evan yanked back the blackout curtains, quickly undid the lock, and threw open the terrace window.
But the wildcat was nowhere in sight, and for a moment Evan was thrown off.
Had he run off after all?
Just as a faint hope flickered in Evan’s heart, he spotted, through the clear terrace window, a pair of mysterious black eyes watching him from a corner.
‘So much for that.’
Evan looked down coldly at the figure huddled like a pile of trash.
The wildcat had wrapped himself snugly in the Prince’s precious cloak, pinning the ends down with his feet and curling up to block out the wind completely.
Apparently, Evan had underestimated a beggar’s survival skills. This one would survive just fine, even if thrown out right now.
Evan grabbed the lump by the scruff and dragged him back inside.
He set the wildcat down in the exact spot he’d been in before. The wildcat glanced at the table piled high with all kinds of meat, then looked up at Evan with a faint smile.
“Unexpected.”
“What is?”
“I thought for sure you’d leave me out there until the Prince came out.”
That had indeed been the plan.
Just as Evan was about to say he wished the wildcat had disappeared for good,
“You’re not quite as narrow-minded as I thought, are you?”
At those words, Evan clamped his mouth shut and said nothing.
He’d almost ended up looking like a petty man.