Though he had knelt, perhaps because his loyalty toward Kalroy could be felt, he didn’t appear servile. I had felt this before, but it was fortunate that Behern guarded William’s side while Rob guarded Kalroy’s side. Having someone you can entrust your back to nearby is truly a blessing.
Seeing Rob like that, William wore a troubled expression and seemed to think for a moment, then soon came up with a wise answer.
“If His Highness is ill, I cannot remain still. I have no choice but to directly report this fact to His Majesty and call for a physician!”
“Y-Your Highness…”
Knight Rob threw away his dignity and clung to William’s legs, hanging on desperately.
Wow… not bad at all.
His quick thinking to reverse the situation in his favor in such a short time was remarkable. If this goes well, I might actually receive help from William in political struggles. To think I’d need to borrow intelligence from a mere ten-year-old. Hahaha… I felt self-loathing but also a surge of pride at the same time.
Then Kalroy’s furious voice was heard.
“What are you saying right now? That I’m suffering from illness? I’ve never had such a thing.”
Having said that, Kalroy commanded the soldiers who had followed him with blazing eyes.
“What are you all doing! Arrest Knight Rob immediately! I will hold him accountable for the crime of insulting me.”
The soldiers instantly surrounded Rob. Even in the midst of this, Rob remained prostrate on the ground without saying a single word. It was the attitude befitting a loyal retainer. Even as Rob was being dragged away by the soldiers, he only looked at Kalroy. The soldiers quickly left the Prince’s quarters with Kalroy.
Foolish Kalroy…
To think he’s being manipulated by the treacherous Lord Kelton while trying to imprison the loyal Rob. This is why you’ll have the Emperor’s throne stolen by your younger brother.
But now that the situation has reversed again, what is William planning to do? Curious, I focused all my attention on William.
William spoke as if it were trivial.
“I’ve been mistaking an earthworm for a snake all this time. This must be why brainwashing is so frightening.”
Of course, William’s muttering probably didn’t reach Kalroy’s ears, as he had already left.
Behern asked in a lowered voice.
“What do you plan to do?”
William smiled with an expression unbefitting a child. It was a chilling smile that sent shivers down my spine.
“What do you mean, what to do? I don’t need to do anything. The palace is the place where rumors spread fastest in the world. By tomorrow, rumors that the Crown Prince has gone mad will spread far and wide, so just wait and see!”
Is he planning to use rumors?
I couldn’t help but admire deeply inside once again. How could he think of a method that even I hadn’t considered in such a brief moment?
Only then did I realize. William’s rampage was partly due to the drug’s side effects, and partly because his traits were more dominant than Kalroy’s, but it was also William’s scheme that had taken even the current situation into account…
No one would have taught William to use such tactics. This means that while being bullied and crawling at the bottom of the palace, he had learned on his own that he needed to use such methods.
But William? You pretended to be weak in front of me, didn’t you? Pretending you knew nothing. What was the reason for that? I’m just a lowly Omega of the most humble status… Is this also a scheme? Or did the young Prince feel friendship toward the first peer attendant he met and rely on me?
No matter how much I thought about it, it only gave me a headache. But I soon dismissed all thoughts. Right now, it was more important to just watch how pretty William navigates through the tangled political situation, so there was no need to give myself a headache with unnecessary suspicions.
***
That night.
I was organizing the day’s events in my room when I heard the sound of a bell ringing. It was William calling for his attendant.
I irritably got up from my seat. It wasn’t that William had become bothersome, but if he was calling me again like this when we had been together just 5 minutes ago, even a saint would be annoyed. Though William was young, he wasn’t a nursing infant, and calling every 5 minutes was excessive.
Moreover, I was someone who had many things to do alone.
I had to dig into the true intentions of the black-hearted retainers who rushed in wanting to share the spoils, be wary of Kalroy’s people who were scheming with political machinations to overthrow, and compare and analyze the randomly chaotic developments with the original work.
I’m really busy to death!
I grumbled internally as I went outside. William was leaning lazily against his bed, beckoning me with his hand. What am I, some kind of dog? What’s with calling a person like that!
“Your Highness, what is the matter?”
William raised one eyebrow.
“You’re my attendant. You should come running whenever I call. Why are you asking for reasons?”
“……”
Since he was right, I closed my mouth and slowly watched William’s mood. His expression as he glared at me while moving his lips looked exactly like a little kid who had something to say but would be hurt in his pride if he said it.
What does he want from me… Could it be another rampage? It shouldn’t be a rut yet.
I set up various hypotheses and tried to figure out why William was being difficult with me. But the next moment, after hearing what came out of William’s mouth, I was dumbfounded.
“Come here and tell me more tiger stories.”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you making me say the same thing twice? I said tell me tiger stories.”
Ah, tigers… Right, that’s what it was. You weren’t trying to be difficult – you wanted to hear tiger stories.
Good. Folk tales are supposed to change each time they’re passed from mouth to mouth! I’ll properly manipulate it and tell you a story that can help you be reborn as a good William.
I swallowed my saliva and went to lie down next to William. William sat up and looked into my eyes. His gaze sparkled and his white face was flushed red. William, who had been staring only at my lips for a while, came close up to me.
“Today, instead of tiger stories, let me tell you about pheasants.”
“Pheasants? That’s the first time I’ve heard that name.”
“Pheasants are birds that live in the East, slightly larger than chickens and more beautiful and intelligent than chickens.”
“Ooh… So what did that bird do?”
I appropriately adapted the story of Jangkki who died from eating poison because he didn’t listen to Kkaturi’s words and told it to him. I filled the story with hopes that he would grow up to be a wise ruler who listens well to his loyal retainers’ advice.
When I told him the part where Jangkki ate the poison, William opened his mouth wide and began trembling all over.
Seeing him like this, he was unmistakably a child after all. No matter how smart and skilled in political machinations and eloquent he was, a child was still a child!
“So you must distinguish well between treacherous and loyal retainers, and listen to your loyal retainers’ words even if they’re sharp.”
William blinked and then spoke as if something had occurred to him.
“How do you know if they’re treacherous or loyal? Noticing signs of betrayal isn’t easy. Politicians’ lies are hard to detect…”
William bit his nails with a troubled expression. I gently took his wrist and pulled it down, smiling.
“That’s the role of a wise ruler.”
His gaze that had been directed downward met mine.
“I’m just a Prince. The Crown Prince will eventually inherit the throne, so I don’t understand why I have to learn imperial studies. Even if I learn it, I have nowhere to use it.”
It was a truly childish complaint about having to study things he didn’t want to study. Perhaps that’s why? I found myself smiling broadly without realizing it. William suddenly cupped my cheeks and turned his head this way and that, observing me.
“You…”
“…?”
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“How exactly was I smiling?”
William dragged out “Well…” and then moved his lips again. It was an expression he usually showed when he had something to say but was hesitating. Forgetting that I shouldn’t cross the line of rudeness, I vigorously tickled William’s sides.
The sound of giggling laughter and the sight of him, who usually didn’t move much, shaking his shoulders made my mood brighten completely.
I didn’t stop my hands because I wanted to keep seeing William, who always had an angry face and frowned, finally laughing like a real child.
I tickled him and made a resolution. Today he was being forced to laugh by my hands, but someday I would make him laugh broadly because he himself wanted to laugh.
“Ah, stop it. Stop! I’ll tell you. I’ll say it! Stop it!”
Hiik, hik. I wanted to tickle him more because I liked seeing him laugh while swallowing his breath, but I stopped my touch because it seemed like he might really run out of breath if I continued.
“Huk, huk… That’s too ticklish. This is the first time something’s been this ticklish. It was more torturous than when hair gets stuck to my back.”
I giggled and raised my hands again.
“Please tell me quickly how I was smiling! Otherwise I’ll tickle you again.”
“Hiik! I understand. So when you smile looking at me sometimes, you smile too happily. It’s hard to put into words, but, um… Right! It’s like the smile my mother showed me when she was holding me and our eyes met. I just had that thought.”
William’s words made my heart sting. How lonely must he have been to think of his mother when looking at me, a man. Sob sob.
“My mother was also a male Omega like you.”
“…?”
Huk, damn it! I kept forgetting that this was an Alpha-Omega world.
“Looking closely, you seem to resemble her somehow.”
“……”
Regret washed over me belatedly. Just as I was about to tell him that when longing deepens, even the slightest similarities make things seem alike, a strange sound came from the window direction.
Rustle, swish, hik.
It sounded like wind or trees bumping into each other, but it was coming from in front of the Prince’s bedroom. Could it be an assassin?
I quickly wrapped the Prince’s body in blankets and said.
“Please stay here. I’ll go out and check.”
As I tried to quickly get down from the bed, my wrist was caught by the Prince’s hand.
“What are you talking about when you’re weaker than me? I’ll go out and take a look.”
I shook off William’s hand with all my strength.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
