Evan was briefly struck by the thought that Nihil might actually be his age—or maybe even older—but he shook his head, thinking to himself how utterly ridiculous that sounded.
From the start, he knew he couldn’t handle a friend like that.
He could only manage because our Prince is kind, pure, and adorable.
If that one were human, no matter how poorly he’d eaten or grown, he’d be just a year or two older than the Prince.
…If he were human.
With that thought, Evan stared down at Nihil for a moment, then shook off his musings and spoke as if nothing was on his mind. The Prince needed this one, after all.
“Tomorrow, while you’re in class with the Prince, I’ll be going out. That’s when you’ll fetch it.”
“Okay.”
Nihil didn’t seem at all curious about where Evan was going or why he was going out; he didn’t ask anything further.
Evan was relieved by Nihil’s indifference, since he didn’t want to talk about it anyway.
Soon, a damp seaweed came out of the bathroom, and Nihil went in to wash up.
While washing, Nihil wondered why he bothered bathing here instead of in his own room, but as soon as Lianus came out and naturally chirped, “Nihil, hurry up and wash,” he found himself already in the tub by the time he came to his senses.
When he came out, Lianus came running over and rubbed his hair with a towel. He did it so vigorously that Nihil’s whole body shook from side to side.
Sometimes the towel and hair stung his cheeks, but seeing Lianus so enthusiastic, Nihil just kept his mouth shut and let him be.
And as expected, he didn’t get a chance to go to his newly assigned bedroom.
Nihil just lay there, staring blankly up at the wrinkled canopy.
At some point, Lianus had placed a worn teddy bear in his arms.
Its name was “Pupu,” and apparently Lianus’s mother had made it for him when she was pregnant.
Lianus lay beside Nihil, chattering about tomorrow’s plans, but soon tired himself out and fell asleep. It was probably the medicine kicking in.
Nihil let out a sigh and turned onto his side. Pupu’s face got squished.
Evan, who was waiting for the kitten to fall asleep, heard the wildcat muttering, “Etiquette, history,” and couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto his lips as he quietly slipped out of the room.
Tomorrow was the day for etiquette and history lessons.
The Prince’s mornings began early.
On days with swordsmanship lessons, Lianus was always in a gloomy mood, but today he was unusually lively from the start.
Because Nihil, having realized the Duke was the First Prince’s guardian as well as the swordsmanship instructor, had made sure to take precautions in case the seaweed ended up getting pickled.
“Lian, I’m bored, so you have to come back quickly.”
“Okay!”
“You have to play with me all day, so don’t wear yourself out—just swing your sword around half-heartedly and come back.”
“Okay!!”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Okay!!!”
Lianus nodded enthusiastically and headed to the training grounds with a light heart.
Evan, watching the energetic kitten from morning, thought for about the twenty-first time that he’d done well to pick up that wildcat.
Even when the wildcat acted cheeky, he promised himself he wouldn’t get angry—not once, or even twice.
Meanwhile, unlike the kitten and the dog, who were both light in body and spirit, the wildcat was suffering a headache from the responsibility of having to play with the kitten all day.
***
Lianus was running hard around the training grounds.
Like most other Knights, the Duke always had them run laps before starting swordsmanship lessons.
He thought he caught a glimpse of his older brother, already half a lap ahead.
Normally, he would have pushed himself to catch up, but right now Lianus’s mind was busy coming up with games to play with Nihil later, so he didn’t have the energy to care.
Evan, watching, didn’t show it, but he was quietly pleased.
The Prince wasn’t overexerting himself but keeping his own pace and composure—all thanks to the wildcat, he thought.
He might have kept smiling and pondering what to do for the wildcat, if someone nearby hadn’t started running their mouth.
“Hey, Evan. Your master’s never going to be able to use aura—shouldn’t you just make him quit now?”
Evan didn’t even spare a glance at the insolent voice; he stood firm, eyes only on his Prince.
They were the Escort Knights of the First Prince.
Normally, these guys would have snickered at the Prince for panting and struggling, but since he was keeping his cool today, they started picking a fight in a different way.
“Isn’t this just giving him false hope? How long do you think a child cursed by Mana’s Curse can hold out?”
“No matter how much swordsmanship he learns, it’s useless against an aura user.”
“Tsk, just a Commoner acting all proud…”
Evan kept staring straight ahead, not answering, and the other Knight clicked his tongue.
As a Commoner-born Escort Knight, he wanted to punch those mocking mouths, but he knew that’s exactly what they wanted, so he held his anger in check.
If he lost his temper, there’d be no one left to protect the small and fragile kitten.
He’d joined the Royal Knight order at the youngest age ever—fifteen—but he’d always faced jealousy and contempt for being a Commoner.
Evan might seem blunt, but he was never the type to just take it.
If someone picked a fight, he’d settle it with his sword; if he got hit once, he’d hit back ten times.
That was before he became the Prince’s Escort Knight.
After becoming the Prince’s Escort Knight, he just endured.
Even when they ganged up on him, when they threatened him with their status, when they called him rude, arrogant, or told him to know his place.
He endured because he was afraid harm would come to his young master.
That gentle, kind child, who already had enough trouble taking care of himself, might start worrying about his Knight.
He just endured.
A Commoner Knight, with no one to back him and a guilty past, could do little more for his fragile master than that.
Suddenly, he wondered how the wildcat would respond to this mockery.
Would he just ignore it like Evan?
Or would he get angry on the Prince’s behalf?
Evan’s lips twisted into a crooked smile as he imagined how Nihil would react to this situation.
“Keep barking.”
As Lianus headed to the training grounds with the guard dog, Nihil began to move right away.
Thanks to Lianus’s brief tour of the Palace yesterday, he was able to find the Butler’s quarters easily—but of course, it was empty.
The servants seemed busy with their own work, or maybe there were just too few of them for such a large Palace, because he didn’t run into anyone.
‘That old man really doesn’t listen. I told him to rest!’
After wandering the Palace for a while, Nihil finally ran into Head Maid Perry and asked where the Butler was.
“Where’s the old man?”
“The Butler is in his office at the moment.”
“Where is that?”
“I’ll show you.”
Nihil followed Perry.
When they arrived at the Butler’s office, Perry went back to work, and Nihil, wanting a little payback for being made to walk all this way, flung the office door open without knocking.
The Butler jumped in surprise at Nihil’s sudden entrance.
“Oh my, young master! If you come in so suddenly, this old man’s heart won’t last.”
“Old man, that’s disobeying orders.”
“Anyone hearing you would misunderstand! I just had something to pick up from the office…”
Nihil slammed the office door and, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow, stared as if to say, ‘Is that your excuse?’
The old Butler smiled awkwardly, looking troubled.
“…Are you going to tell the Prince?”
“Depends on how you act.”
“Please have mercy. Either way, once the Prince returns, I’ll have no choice but to rest.”
“Let’s talk.”
“Yes, yes, of course! Please, have a seat.”
Nihil plopped down on the sofa and crossed his legs.
The Butler brought out tea and some light refreshments.
“Shall I pour you some milk?”
“I don’t like that. And don’t add sugar, especially.”
“Oh dear, but our Prince likes it…”
Nihil knew Lianus liked milk tea with lots of sugar.
Hadn’t he seen him drop seven sugar cubes into that tiny teacup? But that wasn’t to Nihil’s taste.
“So, what brings you here today? What are you curious about?”
“The current Royal Family tree and basic info on them. The influential Nobles and their relations, the Prince’s public reputation, and everything about the Princes except for secrets.”
“Haha… That won’t be finished in a day.”
The Butler smiled genially, but was secretly sizing Nihil up.
His first impression hadn’t been normal, but to come straight here and demand information like this was unexpected.
“Then start with things related to Lian. Especially his traumas.”
“…Aren’t you curious about what the Prince likes instead?”
The Butler kept his smile, but it was a polite refusal. No matter how close a friend he was, he couldn’t just reveal information that could become the Prince’s weakness.
Nihil understood the meaning, but pretended not to and replied flatly.
“Lian likes me.”
Paul was at a loss for words. Of course, he must like him, since he brought him to the Palace as a friend, but this level of confidence was something else.
Even as the Butler was left speechless, Nihil continued calmly.
“He seems to care a lot about that mutt of his, too…”
“Well, he’s the only Escort Knight, so he has no choice.”
“And the teddy bear his mother made for him…”
“You mean Pupu?”
“…Anyway, he seems to care for that bear, but not as much as he does for me.”
“He’s kind to the servants, but doesn’t seem to trust them much. On the other hand, he trusts you quite a bit.”
As the Butler’s face gradually stiffened, Nihil spoke in a soothing tone.
“Don’t be so wary. Lian told you to listen to me, didn’t he? I’m not asking for any deep secrets—just what’s commonly known is fine.”
“…Why do you want to know?”
The Butler still couldn’t relax as he asked.
To ease the tension in the air, Nihil uncrossed his legs and slouched back on the sofa, almost lying down. He looked just like a lazy, stretched-out cat.
“He got really shaken when he realized I noticed the elf blood in him.”
“Just tell me enough that I won’t slip up and say the wrong thing.”
“…How much do you know about the Prince?”
“Just that I’m his only friend?”
‘…Very well, I’ll start from the beginning and explain step by step.’
The Butler’s explanation went on for quite some time.