Chapter 16: Butler

Perry’s eyes widened in surprise.

Contrary to her assumption that the Guest Room would have already been given up, it seemed that the mysterious child named Nil had been staying in the Prince’s bedroom all along.

Naturally, both Perry and Paul’s gazes turned to Nihil.

Nihil hesitated for a moment.

Whether or not he had his own room didn’t matter much to him, but being a pretty friend living in the Prince’s bedroom would surely lead to unpleasant rumors about Lianus.

Even if he really did stay in Lianus’s bedroom, outwardly, he still needed to have his own room.

“Lian, you’ll come visit me if I get my own room, right?”

Nihil didn’t bother trying to persuade Lianus.

He’d already learned how to handle him.

Lianus mulled over Nihil’s words, then quickly brightened up and nodded his head enthusiastically.

Visiting a friend’s room—now that he thought about it, wasn’t that an exciting idea?

Living together in his own bedroom was nice, but visiting a friend’s bedroom or sleeping there would be a new experience.

Seaweed bounced up and down.

“I want to go, I want to go! Can I come visit? Can I go every day?”

“Sure. I’ll come barge into your room too.”

The Butler and Head Maid, who had been watching the conversation, trembled once more.

They couldn’t hide their shock at Nihil’s boldness.

Only Sir Evan, who had already experienced Nihil, simply nodded calmly, thinking, As expected, he’s good at handling children.

“Nil, you can come whenever you want! What kind of room do you like?”

Lianus mumbled, pondering to himself about where the biggest, sunniest room with the best view might be.

He wanted to give his dearest friend the very best room.

“I don’t need anything fancy. Just make it the room closest to yours.”

At Nihil’s indifferent answer, Lianus’s eyes grew wide, then he broke into a radiant smile.

The closest room!

That meant Nihil liked him too.

The unexpected reply made Lianus even happier.

Nihil could see Lianus’s eyes sparkling more and more.

It was clear the answer pleased him.

While Nihil’s own reason was simply that he liked short walking distances, Lianus was already busy imagining all the fun they’d have visiting each other’s rooms, his little head whirring away.

But the Head Maid spoke up, looking a bit troubled.

“If you want the closest room, there’s the one just downstairs, which Sir Evan is currently using… Should we move him?”

“…..?!”

Like a person caught off guard, Evan, who had been quietly minding his own business, flinched at the threat of losing his room.

But fortunately, Lianus had other ideas, and his little head shook firmly.

“That’s not close at all. We’d have to go up and down the stairs!”

“Excuse me? But no one except royalty is allowed to stay on the fifth floor. No matter which room you take, you’ll have to use the stairs…”

“Give me the room across from mine.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I said, give me the room across from mine.”

Perry didn’t bother to mention aloud that the room was meant for royalty from their own country or visiting royalty from other nations, or for very distinguished guests who might come someday.

Surely, the Prince knew that as well.

It was a room prepared for royal envoys or to house the owner of a collapsed Palace in case of an accident, so it was almost always empty, but it was kept meticulously clean and furnished with high-end furniture and bedding, just in case.

Giving that room was tantamount to treating someone as royalty.

If word got out that the Prince had given that room to his friend, there would surely be gossip about both the Prince and his friend.

“Your Highness, that room won’t do. It would draw unwanted attention to your friend as well.

Master Nil, there are plenty of nice rooms on the fourth floor—would you consider one of those?”

Nihil was about to nod, thinking he didn’t really care if it was on the first or fifth floor, except that a longer walk would be a bit annoying, but Lianus shook his head vigorously.

“I don’t like that. It’s always empty anyway. I want that room. Give me that one.”

Perry mouthed wordlessly a few times, but finally surrendered.

The Prince’s gaze was simply too resolute.

Their young master usually had no desires, but when he wanted something, he had to have it.

It was both his right and instinct as one of noble blood.

“…Very well, I’ll have it prepared. Is there anything else you need?”

“Gather all the Palace staff. Not a single one missing.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When Lianus told them to leave, Perry bowed deeply and departed.

The old Butler still wore his kindly smile, waiting for his Prince to speak.

“Nil, Paul has served mother since the beginning. He’s also the only one in this Palace who has watched me grow up.”

Nihil stared intently at the old Butler.

Despite Nihil’s rude attitude, the Butler didn’t lose his smile and bowed his head again.

Then Nihil spoke offhandedly.

“He looks so frail, he might collapse any second.”

“Uh, what? No… I mean, I am old, but not that…”

“Hahaha, the young master’s friend is quite amusing!”

Despite the disrespectful remark from a child who hadn’t even lived a quarter of his life, the Butler just chuckled.

He looked like a grandfather pleased to see his grandchild bring home a friend.

“Lian, I’m not joking. Let this old man get some rest.”

“Huh? Is the Butler sick?”

“This Butler is still quite healthy, Your Highness.”

Despite the Butler’s assurance, Lianus’s face only grew darker.

Normally, a Prince’s Palace would have multiple Butlers, but because Lianus was extremely wary of outsiders, the Second Prince’s Palace currently only had one Butler handling nearly everything.

“Is he really not well?”

“For his age… It’s only natural to get tired sometimes. He’s fairly sturdy, so letting him rest a bit will be fine. Still, he should have his workload reduced.”

Lianus quickly turned to look at the Butler.

He pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows, staring for a long moment before finally speaking slowly, as if he’d made up his mind.

“Butler, take a week off. Just put out a hiring notice and go rest.”

“But, Your Highness…”

“The Palace won’t collapse just because you don’t work for a few days. That’s an order.”

“…A week is too long. I’ll just rest for today and tomorrow—two days.”

The old Butler smiled awkwardly, looking troubled.

The Butler held the highest position among the staff of the Second Prince’s Palace.

Everything had to go through his hands, and especially when it came to ingredients for the Prince’s meals or the comings and goings of the Palace staff, he had to manage it all thoroughly, even if it wasn’t technically his job.

If he were to rest for a whole week, not just a day or two, he’d be too anxious to relax.

But Lianus was firm.

If his friend went so far as to mention it, it meant that from a third-party perspective, the fatigue was obvious.

The Butler and Prince argued back and forth for a while.

Lianus, seeing that Paul wouldn’t back down, took a hard stance.

“Should I make it ten days, then?”

“A week is already too long. Ten days?!”

“Half a month.”

“…How about five days? I promise I’ll rest completely for five days.”

“Mm, fine.”

Satisfied even with five days, Lianus’s lips curled into a bright smile.

He himself knew that if the Butler took too long a break, it would cause problems.

Lianus smiled, saying it was a good idea, then casually let slip a scary remark that if the Butler didn’t follow the order, he’d just fire him.

He had no intention of ever firing the Butler, but knowing Butler’s personality, he was sure the man wouldn’t rest quietly otherwise.

If he put it this way, the Butler would at least take it easy, keeping an eye on him.

As the Butler sighed inwardly and was about to leave after bowing, Lianus called him back, as if remembering something.

“Do just one more thing before you rest.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“We’re going to have separate lessons. I don’t care if my schedule is a mess, just make sure my brother’s lessons aren’t changed. Adjust it all accordingly.”

“…So, you mean you want me to rearrange the lesson schedule so you and the First Prince have separate classes?”

“Yeah, I’m going to study with Nil!”

The old man looked a bit surprised at that, then the wrinkles at his eyes deepened as his lips curved up in a broad, gentle arc.

His smile, always kindly, now bloomed like a child’s.

“That is a very, very good decision! I will inform them and arrange it right away!”

Paul, unable to contain his joy, grabbed the Prince’s hand and shook it up and down.

He bowed deeply to Nihil as well, thanking him.

He remembered how sad it made him to see the delicate young Prince seem even smaller every time he had lessons.

At an age when he should see, hear, and eat only good things, he worried that the Prince might fall into inferiority and have dark thoughts, or even break down completely.

He had once even considered kidnapping the Prince and raising him gently in the countryside, thinking that it would be better for him to grow up healthy and happy, regardless of the Crown Prince Selection Exam or anything else.

He’d been resenting His Majesty for insisting on unnecessary equality in education, even making dolls that resembled His Majesty out of spite—but now, he wouldn’t need to make any more.

Paul thought, Since today is such a happy day, I’ll have to make sure dinner is extra special.

He bowed to the Prince and left the bedroom with a light heart.

It already felt like he’d had a week of rest.

***

For the first time in a long while, all the staff of the Second Prince’s Palace gathered in the first-floor lobby.

There weren’t many of them.

After the poisoning attempt two years ago, most of the staff had been dismissed, and except for a few sent from the main Palace, no new hires had been made.

The Palace was barely being maintained with the minimum number of people.

Head Maid Perry bowed her head and spoke.

“Your Highness, all staff except for the Butler have assembled.”

Lianus nodded lightly, looking down at the staff gathered in the lobby.

Behind him, Evan and Nihil stood quietly by his side.

Seeing Lianus’s unusually serious demeanor, the staff—summoned without knowing why—couldn’t help but be tense.

All they could do was replay in their minds whether they’d done anything wrong.

Lianus quietly cleared his throat and introduced Nihil.

His speech wasn’t long.

He simply told them to behave and not speak carelessly.

He especially emphasized being careful with their words.

Lianus tried to assign someone to attend to Nihil, but Nihil shook his head, refusing.

Even the Prince, the master of the Palace, didn’t have an attendant; it made no sense for a guest to be waited on.

More than anything, Nihil didn’t like having people around him.

Lianus told Nihil to let him know if he needed anything, then glanced over the staff before signaling to the Head Maid with a jerk of his chin.

At the signal, the Head Maid stepped forward, bowed again, and introduced herself to Nihil, then listed the names and posts of each staff member.

As their names were called, each staff member stepped forward and bowed deeply, unable to take their eyes off Nihil.

Nihil only nodded as if accepting their greeting, but his mind was elsewhere.

Lianus, delighted, had abandoned his dignified posture and was grinning again, while Evan, quietly watching Nihil, wore a stern face, troubled by a vague sense of unease.

The brief introductions of the few staff members ended quickly.

In the silence, Nihil stepped forward and looked down at the staff.

His eyes, like a night sky streaked with the Milky Way, were framed by white lashes that curved like crescent moons.

In the quiet lobby, someone swallowing could be heard unusually loudly.

One staff member, trying to get a better look at Nihil, stepped forward, then froze in surprise at the sound of their own footsteps.

Nihil didn’t say anything like “Nice to meet you” or “Please take care of me,” but no one found the silence strange.

Nihil’s seemingly indifferent expression broke as his lips curved in a red arc and his head tilted slightly.

Then his eyes crinkled sweetly.

There was a sound of someone among the staff sharply inhaling.

But that was the extent of the greeting.

The staff had hoped the beautiful child would speak, but having finished his part, Nihil simply returned to Lianus’s side and slipped quietly behind him.