Chapter 12: Old Maid

At the command to “bark,” Evan wondered for a moment if he’d misheard.

But the Wildcat’s insolent gaze clearly said,

“Well? Why aren’t you barking yet?”

He hadn’t even said a word, and now he was supposed to bark more?

Evan felt wronged, dumbfounded, and angry—a bubbling frustration rising inside him.

He was certain that if he didn’t punch this brat at least once, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

Before he knew it, Evan clenched his fist and swung it at the kid’s white-haired head.

But his fist met only air, slicing through the space with a whoosh.

Dodging nimbly, the Wildcat dashed over to the bed where Lianus was sleeping and leapt up with a bound.

Evan panicked as the bed bounced wildly.

“Hey, hey! What do you think you’re—!”

He’d meant to stop the Wildcat for fear of waking the Prince, but his voice came out louder than intended.

Evan abruptly stopped and glanced nervously at Lianus.

Fortunately, the Prince didn’t wake.

But that damn Wildcat, uncaring whether Evan noticed or not, simply went over to the sleeping Prince and began smacking his small, round forehead with his wicked palm.

“W-What are you doing! Stop that immediately!”

“Lian, wake up.”

Smack, smack.

Nihil paid him no mind and kept patting Lianus’s forehead.

Evan hurriedly grabbed Nihil by the scruff, but the Kitten, disturbed by the commotion, finally stirred and opened his eyes with a sluggish blink.

“Ugh… Mmm…”

Seeing the Kitten rubbing his eyes sleepily, Evan froze in place, still holding the Wildcat by the scruff.

As soon as he woke, Lianus opened his eyes wide, trying to grasp the odd scene before him. He looked back and forth between Evan and Nihil.

“Nihil? Sir Evan? What are you doing?”

“Ah, well, Your Highness, it’s just that…”

While Evan faltered, Nihil, still dangling by the scruff, answered boldly.

“I’m bored.”

Evan pressed his temples.

Ah, so you were bored.

This Wildcat had told him to bark just out of boredom and smacked the poor Kitten’s forehead for the same reason.

“Nihil, you were bored! Did I sleep too long? I’m sorry!”

Ah…

Evan sighed deeply.

Choose: which is the worse Wildcat—the one who noisily woke the sick Kitten out of boredom, or the one who, despite being sick, apologizes for making the Wildcat bored?

Evan couldn’t find the words. So he simply set the Wildcat down gently beside the Kitten.

Freed from his grip, the Wildcat crawled over to the Kitten on his knees, and our dear Kitten just beamed with delight.

Evan felt dizzy.

It wasn’t even noon yet, but he already wanted to give up thinking, his body and mind exhausted.

“Nihil, what should we play?”

“Paw!”

At last, the Wildcat started treating the Prince like a pet.

Our innocent, ever-kind Kitten tilted his head but obediently held out his hand, while Evan seethed inside.

Nihil grabbed Lianus’s offered wrist, lowered his gaze slightly, and held it for a few seconds.

“…I woke you a bit early. Do you want to sleep more?”

“What? No, I don’t. I’m not sleepy anymore.”

Lianus shook his head, his wrist still in Nihil’s grasp. Evan, watching, narrowed his eyes and cautiously asked,

“You—do you know how to check a pulse?”

At Evan’s question, Nihil glanced at him, then refocused on Lianus’s pulse.

“I just have a rough idea of someone’s condition. I don’t know the details.”

“Where did you learn that? Do you know about herbs, too?”

“More or less, if it grows on the mountain. Why?”

“…No reason.”

“Unimpressive.”

Lianus, who had been watching Evan and Nihil’s conversation with bright, curious eyes, pressed his own fingers to his wrist as if fascinated.

He could feel his big blood vessel pulsing. But that was it. All Lianus could tell was that his heart was beating.

“I don’t really get it. But, Nihil, doesn’t your way of speaking keep changing?”

“…Huh? Ah.”

Realizing his speech kept shifting, Nihil shot Evan a glare filled with blame, as if to say, “This is all your fault.” Though, with his expressionless face, only his eyebrows creased slightly.

“You—don’t talk to me.”

Nihil declared a sort of breakup, glaring at Evan, but Evan just looked at him like he was some fascinating creature.

So he’s not even aware that he’s changing his speech.

A glint shone in Evan’s eyes.

If that’s the case…

“If you speak like that, it makes me a little sad.”

Maybe Nihil would imitate him if he spoke formally?

“There’s nothing to be sad abou—ah.”

Nihil’s face twisted in frustration. He seemed to realize Evan’s intentions right away and didn’t finish his sentence. Annoyed at falling for such a trick, he promptly hurled a pillow.

Evan didn’t bother dodging and let it hit him square in the face. Even so, the corners of his mouth curled up.

Unfortunately, the Wildcat was quick to catch on, but there was hope.

If it meant fixing the Wildcat’s way of speaking, Evan would gladly keep using formal language.

“If you keep throwing pillows like that, it hurts.”

“I’m throwing it so it will hurt… Go away.”

“What is it? What game are you playing?”

Evan admired Nihil’s self-control for not shouting, but Lianus, completely lost, stared at the two in confusion.

Not wanting to drag things out, Nihil quickly changed the subject.

“It’s nothing. Lian, your kni—no, your guard dog hasn’t slept since yesterday and kept… barking… I mean, watching over you. Why don’t you let him rest for a bit?”

“What? Sir Evan, go rest! I won’t leave my room today, so I don’t need guarding.”

Evan was bothered by Nihil’s halting words, but when he met the wide-eyed gaze of the Kitten, he could only smile back.

“No, Your Highness. With all the palace staff dismissed, if I leave too, you’ll have to move around yourself. And every time someone comes, you’ll have to hide that Wildcat, so you won’t be able to play in peace. I’ll handle the errands, so please enjoy yourself. If you permit it, I can rest comfortably here as well. Ah, should I bring you some toys to play with?”

“I’ll hide myself, so just go… Just go away.”

Grit—teeth grinding was audible. The Wildcat’s expression barely changed, but his jaw was clenched.

Evan, finding this more amusing than expected, grinned again.

Then he picked up the pillow that had been thrown, dusted it off, and handed it to Nihil like a gift.

Nihil seemed to hesitate, wondering if he should throw it again, but after glancing at Lianus, he quietly set it down.

He fluffed the pillow a few times to even out the feathers, then placed it neatly at the head of the bed.

“Hmm, I think it’s better if Sir Evan stays. It might be a bit hard, but could I ask you to?”

After some thought, Lianus finally answered, and Evan nodded with a victor’s smile, promising to fetch some simple toys before opening the bedroom door.

Soon, the sound of a pillow being patted echoed from behind, and Evan found himself smiling again without realizing it.

The meeting with the Queen and the First Prince was already forgotten.

***

Despite Evan’s efforts, the “Wildcat’s Tongue-Lengthening” operation ended in failure.

The thoroughly sulking Wildcat ignored Evan completely, not even pretending to listen when spoken to.

Worse, whenever he needed something, he would just nod or jerk his chin like a lord to his underlings. Before Evan could “lengthen the Wildcat’s tongue,” his own patience would burst first.

Now, a Kitten, a Guard Dog, and a Wild Wildcat were sitting on the bed playing Old Maid.

Evan, who had been terrified at the thought of getting on the Prince’s bed, couldn’t withstand the adorable, affectionate persuasion of the lovable Kitten.

Thinking, “If even that ragtag Wildcat can get on, why can’t I?” he finally climbed up.

With Evan’s heavy, broad frame on the bed, his spot sank noticeably.

As a result, Nihil, who had been sitting cross-legged shuffling cards, tipped over and bumped his head on Evan’s elbow.

The cards scattered across the bed. Nihil, frowning, was about to say something to Evan, but stopped when Lianus burst into laughter.

With a strange expression, Nihil shuffled away from Evan.

In this card game, whoever was left with the Old Maid (the Queen) after all cards were paired almost always lost.

Nihil was skilled at reading others’ expressions and concealing or faking his own, making him formidable in psychological games like this.

Lianus couldn’t hide his own expressions well, but was very sensitive to subtle changes in others.

The problem was, he had no sense for reading situations—he’d notice changes, but not what they meant. More than once, he’d confidently draw a card after seeing Nihil’s faintly furrowed brow, only to end up with the Old Maid.

Evan was pretty good at hiding his own expressions and quick on the uptake, but it was useless against Nihil.

In the end, all he could do was read the innocent Kitten’s face, which was no help at all.

In the midst of the game, Nihil asked Evan offhandedly,

“Do you need an Ace?”

“….”

“You do.”

Nihil flicked his hand over Evan’s cards a few times, then deftly plucked out the Ace of Spades.

Casually, he matched the pair and tossed the two cards aside.

Evan, who thought himself a master of poker face, could only clutch his head in agony after losing his Ace so easily to Nihil.

How many times has this happened already!