Chapter 27: Do I stink?

Lianus froze, his hand still in the air where he’d been patting, while Karus’s face turned deathly pale.

Evan, thinking the wildcat was causing trouble and spouting nonsense again, panicked and yelled.

“What, w-what’s that about eyes!”

“I said it wrong. Watch your words, there’s a child here.”

“You’re the one who said it like that first! And don’t change the subject. How could you possibly misspeak and say something like that!”

“I told you, I said it wrong. I apologize.”

“I don’t need an apology—just explain what you meant!”

Evan was hopping mad, but Nihil, as if he didn’t want to hear it, picked up the blanket that had fallen, wrapped himself up to his face, and turned away to lie down.

He looked just like a curled-up caterpillar, protecting itself.

Evan tried to yank off the blanket, but despite how small he was, the little one was so strong that even if Evan could lift him up, he couldn’t take the blanket away.

In the end, after shaking the caterpillar and seeing the Kitten Lord’s eyes wobble along, Evan gave up and set the Kitten Lord back down beside him.

The Kitten Lord gently lifted the caterpillar-wildcat’s head and laid it on his own lap.

When Lianus timidly pulled the blanket away, Nihil relaxed his grip and let his face show, unlike when Evan tried.

Evan, feeling his efforts had been for nothing, flopped onto the sofa with a hollow laugh and propped up his chin.

Lianus, worried his friend would hide under the blanket again, carefully spoke up.

“Nihil. Are you talking about when you got that scratch on your cheek?”

Eyes like the night sky slowly blinked up at Lianus.

“Don’t worry. I won’t get hurt again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t you tell me why it happened?”

“Yeah?”

Nihil quietly met Lianus’s worried, two-colored gaze, then raised a hand to cover Lianus’s eyes.

Lianus, confused by the sudden darkness, waited patiently for his friend to speak.

Nihil turned his head slightly and met Karus’s eyes.

“Lian.”

“Yeah.”

“My eyesight is very good…”

“Yeah.”

“So I can see things I shouldn’t see.”

“Things you… shouldn’t see?”

“That’s right. You have good eyes too, so if you ever see more than you should, tell me.”

“Okay, I will.”

“And no matter how curious you are, never peek carelessly.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t listen, either.”

“Okay.”

“And if you ever do see or hear something, make sure you’re never caught.”

“Okay, I’ll remember.”

Nihil, seeing Lianus nodding obediently, took his hand away from Lianus’s eyes.

With his vision suddenly bright again, Lianus blinked a few times to adjust to the light.

It was a conversation completely out of step with the situation, but Karus, listening to the calm exchange, realized that Nihil had peeked at something to check on him, got caught, and was nearly harmed because of it.

Nihil was indirectly warning Karus that it was dangerous to dig too deep.

“Teacher.”

Before he knew it, Nihil had gotten up and quietly called Karus over.

Karus instinctively crouched down in front of Nihil. It was a habit from talking with his younger siblings.

“Yes, my lord.”

“When the time comes… no, next time I ask, invite me to your mansion. But until then, don’t even think about learning magic.”

“Understood.”

“And there’s one last thing I’ll tell you about your mother.”

“…About my mother…?”

“Never speak of it, and don’t go looking for her. Just live as if you know nothing. If you make a mistake, all your mother’s efforts will be for nothing.”

At those words, Karus’s teal eyes behind his round glasses widened.

He’d never imagined he’d hear about his mother from someone else.

“If you promise, I’ll tell you.”

“I promise, I promise! I’ll never speak of it or look for her!”

Karus’s face grew solemn.

Nihil grabbed Karus by the collar and pulled him down lower, then whispered carefully into his ear.

Very quietly. So that even the Spirits that might be lurking in this space wouldn’t hear.

His warm breath tickled Karus’s ear.

“Your mother is……”

A Spirit Master.

Those who were hunted as monsters for being misunderstood as controlling Monsters.

They were massacred so long ago that now they’re only mentioned as villains in fairy tales.

Now, a new generation of those who had barely survived in hiding was waiting to awaken.

As he took in Nihil’s words, Karus’s face went ghostly pale.

***

As a scholar, Karus knew well how Spirit Masters were treated and how they’d vanished into the footnotes of history.

Nihil reminded him again to remember his warning, and Karus, making up his mind, nodded gravely and said farewell to Lianus before leaving.

“Nihil, what did you talk about?”

Once the marquis left, Lianus hurried over and whispered quietly, sticking close.

If it wasn’t about Spirits, there was no need to whisper, but his cautious manner made Nihil chuckle.

“Lian, I can’t tell you anything yet. I’ll let you know when the time comes.”

“Was it about that old language Karus’s mother told you about? Or was it not an old language?”

“She didn’t translate the sentence for me. She told me something else instead.”

“But how did you know that language?”

“Lian, my ears are as good as my eyes. You should remember this too. If you see or hear more than you should, tell me.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Even clueless Lianus could tell this was a continuation of their earlier conversation, so he didn’t pry any further.

His friend’s eyes and ears were too sharp—he must have seen and heard things he shouldn’t have.

Don’t look, don’t listen, and if you do, tell Nihil.

Watching Lianus quietly repeat his words to himself, Nihil thought for a moment, then called him softly with a gentle smile.

“Lian.”

“Yeah?”

“Shall we play now?”

At the suggestion to play, Lianus’s eyes grew wide and began to sparkle. The corners of his mouth curled up in a bright smile.

Nihil smiled back, and the smile was so lovely that cold sweat trickled down Evan’s back.

Whenever the wildcat smiled like that, Evan felt an uneasy chill creep up his spine. It was always the feeling that some mischief was brewing.

“Nihil, what are we going to play?”

The excited Kitten, eager to play, started urging him. Nihil took Lianus’s hand and led him to sit on the sofa.

“We’ll play Blind Tag. Since it’s your first time, I’ll make the rules a bit simpler.”

“Blind Tag?”

“It’s like tag. The tagger closes their eyes and tries to catch people. Have you ever played tag?”

“Um, no.”

Nihil briefly explained the rules of Blind Tag to Lianus.

The reason he chose a game that involved covering the eyes was to test Lianus’s sensory abilities.

The innocent prince, not knowing any of this, simply shone with excitement at the thought of playing with his friend, and tilted his head when the explanation ended.

“But Nihil, are we playing with three people?”

Naturally including his own knight in the game, Lianus glanced up at Evan and asked.

Evan, who never imagined he’d be included, regretted only half-listening to the rules.

“This is more fun with more people. Let’s gather a few more. The Butler is on vacation, so he’s probably bored. I’m too shy to talk to people I don’t know well, so you explain it for me.”

Nihil grinned slyly.

Evan’s jaw dropped.

Shy? Who? The wildcat? That guy who doesn’t care the slightest bit about anyone’s opinion?

“Nihil, you’re really shy, huh.”

“…….”

Unlike the shocked Evan, the innocent Kitten Lord took Nihil’s words at face value and nodded.

“I’ll explain it well! The tagger closes their eyes and tries to find the next tagger, right? The others walk around inside the area and clap their hands?”

“That’s right. If you run around where there are lots of obstacles, the tagger might get hurt, so you have to make sure no one runs.”

“Okay, got it!”

Wondering where to play Blind Tag, Nihil decided to take Lianus and Evan to the Butler’s office. On the way, they picked up two maids, a cook, and the Coachman.

“Uh, Prince, what brings you here…?”

The Butler, who had been actively practicing insubordination in his office, hurriedly hid the documents he was looking at, startled by Lianus’s visit.

“We came to play, Butler. Are you busy? Why are you in the office when you’re on vacation?”

“Of—of course I’m not busy! I’m on vacation right now, after all. Ha ha…”

“Right? Then let’s play together!”

Sweat trickled down the Butler’s back. Nihil smiled sweetly from behind Lianus.

And so, the Butler’s office became Lianus’s playground.

It wasn’t all that spacious, but with only the bare minimum of furniture, it was good enough for games.

As they’d discussed, Nihil was chosen as the first tagger.

Nihil smiled at Lianus and mouthed silently, without making a sound.

‘Lian, I’m going to catch you!’

Seeing Nihil’s lips, Lianus’s eyes widened and he quickly scurried away.

‘You’d better run well!’

With that, Nihil covered his eyes with a black cotton cloth.

As soon as his eyes were covered, the sound of busy footsteps filled the room.

The light, bouncy steps belonged to Lianus.

Nihil quietly stood, facing the floor, and tapped the ground gently with his toes.

Tap, tap, tap…

Once, twice, three times…

After ten taps, Nihil raised his head.

And began to move.

Without a moment’s hesitation, his steps led him straight toward Lianus.

The servants tried to distract him by clapping their hands, hoping to save their prince, but it was useless.

As Lianus ran away, he called out.

“Nihil, you’re not actually peeking, are you?”

Nihil just smiled and tapped his ear.

“No matter how good your hearing is, how can you follow only me? It’s so noisy in here!”

The maids burst into laughter.

Standing awkwardly in a corner, Evan clicked his tongue at Nihil’s sharp senses.

He already knew Nihil had good hearing, but to track only one person in this commotion wasn’t something you could do with just good ears.

It’d be more believable if there was a hole in the cloth and Nihil could see everything.

Still smiling, Nihil pointed at his own nose.

In a space this small, not a forest, it wasn’t hard to find the direction of the faint scent of the woods.

“Do I stink?!”

Lianus stopped running, mouth agape in shock. He’d forgotten he smelled like the forest.

“Prince, that fellow can smell your forest scent.”

As the Kitten Lord stood frozen in shock at the idea that he smelled, Evan hurried to clear up the misunderstanding. But the servants were even more shocked by that statement.

Tracking by scent—wasn’t that just like a wild animal!

This became the decisive incident that made the theory that the prince’s friend was a beastkin even more convincing.