The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 41.2
[These bloodlines are all equally childish.]
At Blue’s complaint, the hawk shook its small head in a birdlike way.
[Not my bloodline.]
At the hawk’s response, fussing as though he were protecting his prince, Blue’s head snapped around.
[Are you siding with him now? If that’s the case, then go back to your own country.]
[He does not wish it.]
When the hawk gave that reason, Blue snorted.
[Can’t you take him back yourself?]
The two were guardian beasts of their respective nations. Beings who had existed alongside their countries’ long histories, they had always protected their chosen masters. Their species and powers differed, but they had much in common.
In other words, Blue knew perfectly well the hawk was choosing not to take the Crown Prince back. The hawk, with his deceptively gentle face, looked down at Blue’s sarcastic retort.
They said guardian beasts resembled their masters — and indeed, he was the spitting image of the Crown Prince.
[If he wants to grow stronger, this place is better. Back there, he could do nothing.]
The hawk readily accepted the Crown Prince’s decision.
[Why strengthen himself in another country? If he cannot bear even this, how can he claim to be king?]
When Blue pressed sharply, the hawk beat its wings once.
[I wish to give that child time to fly freely as well.]
[And I’m telling you, why here? If it’s because you’re after that human, absolutely not. He’s mine.]
Blue bared his sharp teeth. The biggest reason he didn’t want Prince Tarensiu staying here was, of course, the hawk.
[I like him.]
The one the hawk was watching was the human who had first guided Prince Tarensiu. At first sight, he had wanted to snatch him away to his own land, and it was only because the Crown Prince intervened that he barely restrained himself.
[Get lost!]
Blue lashed out at the hawk with both forepaws. Not that it could actually harm him.
The quarrel between the Crown Prince and prince was unfolding in the same way between cat and hawk.
***
After sending Prince Tarensiu off to the Lily Palace where guests were lodged, Kailos pressed his fingers against his temple.
“My head aches.”
His expression was that of a man who had just been saddled with a nuisance. Leslun could not bring himself to say anything. All he could do was quietly set down a cup of fragrant black tea and a glass of chilled apple juice side by side, hoping to soothe even a little of the Crown Prince’s simmering temper.
It was to let him choose whichever suited his mood, but Kailos’s eyes did not linger on the drinks. Instead, they followed the hand that placed them down.
“What do you think?”
At his question, Leslun straightened at once and spoke his mind.
“A foreign prince entering as a student may certainly be burdensome, but depending on how it is handled, it could become a useful tool.”
“So you’re saying there’s a way to turn it to our advantage.”
“If Viscount Vincent had not been appointed as headmaster, the chances of the noble heirs withdrawing their applications would have been very high. Since those movements were already visible, I suggested broadening the range of those eligible to enroll, bringing in new students.”
It was merely a repetition of what he had said before, but Kailos understood perfectly well what Leslun meant by it.
“The range truly has grown far too wide.”
Except the intent had been to broaden downward, not to include a prince. Still, Leslun had seen in Prince Tarensiu a strong determination to enter the academy.
If he could, he had even said he would conceal his identity to do so — but Crown Prince Kailos had pointed out that his appearance was far too distinctive to ever be hidden. At the time, Prince Tarensiu’s disappointed expression had stirred a pang of sympathy in Leslun.
He thought the prince, raised as royalty all his life, might have lashed out in anger. Yet instead, he accepted the Crown Prince’s refusal as if accustomed to such rejection — as if resignation itself had become part of his daily life.
Perhaps that was what made him seem all the more pitiable. As Leslun recalled the prince, Kailos’s expression steadily worsened.
Leslun had said nothing aloud, but Kailos was sharp enough to notice anyway.
In the end, Robin stepped in.
“There is still time. We can think of a way.”
There was no need to decide everything immediately. But instead, Robin steered the conversation toward another delicate matter.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, what became of the aide you took with you?”
“Why bring that up now?”
“Because he saw what should never have been seen. At present, all I have in my head is suspicion.”
He hadn’t said Did you eat him?, but Kailos was not so dull as to miss the implication.
“Not yet.”
“Then what sort of person drags his aide into a forbidden place?”
At Robin’s pointed words, Leslun hiccupped. So it really was a library only the imperial family could enter.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
