Chapter 26 : The Strange One and the Good One

“Heok!!”

Pale made an unsightly sound at the unexpected, clear voice and stumbled backward.

The young Little Duke, who had run into him at the hallway corner, seemed rather surprised by Pale's reaction and looked at him with wide eyes.

“My, my apologies, Little Duke. I was lost in other thoughts……”

“No, no. It was my fault for speaking to you suddenly.”

The child, who waved his hand at the incessantly apologizing Pale, answered capably.

“Right, is Tollin in the office?”

“Yes. I will go right now and tell him the Little Duke is looking for him……”

“No, don't. He seems busy.”

The Little Duke shook his head again.

“It's nothing important, so you can just answer me. Has the construction been delayed again?”

Pale wanted to treat this small child as the future duke, but at the same time, he struggled to find a suitable answer, not wanting to burden someone so young with many worries, and said after a slight compromise.

“Yes. But it is not to the extent that the Little Duke needs to worry. It is merely that something has come up at the Imperial Palace, so it has been delayed a little.”

At that, the Little Duke's face distorted slightly.

However, Pale had never been around children enough to read it, and the Little Duke, being capable for his age, quickly erased it, so he did not notice the Little Duke's discomfort.

“I see. That's a relief, then. You've worked hard.”

The Little Duke parted with Pale and slowly walked to his room.

He was a smart child.

Smart enough to know that some big change was happening in the Piteos Ducal Family and that Tollin and the other adults were shouldering that problem.

At the same time, he was young enough not to know the answer to why his heart felt heavy even when everyone was taking care of him like this.

Those he loved all took care to ensure the Little Duke would not be sad, and that helped him accept his late father's death.

But there were days when an unknown anxiety like this would wash over him.

The Little Duke sighed without realizing it and opened his door.

“Caw--”

And he discovered a crow sitting obediently by the window, cawing softly.

“Blackie!”

He ran to it happily.

And with a natural motion, as if he had known it for quite a long time, he lifted it onto his shoulder.

“Why did it take you so long to come? I looked it up and saw that some crows leave in the winter, so I was worried you might have left without saying goodbye.”

The child carefully stroked the crow's glossy wings.

“Huh? What's this fur?”

The Little Duke discovered brown fur near the tip of its wing and asked, puzzled.

“Did you go meet a friend? Did you play with a cat?”

The crow pretended its wings quietly without answering.

The Little Duke hadn't asked expecting an answer, so he wiped the fur from his hand.

Never imagining that it was the fur of a giant bear inhabiting the Imperial Forest.

***

In the warm room, the peculiar sight of a child talking to a crow unfolded.

“Blackie, so, Tollin's in a bad mood these days.”

The smart-looking kid chattered away while fiddling with my wings.

“Pale said he's on edge because the construction is delayed.”

I listened to the brat's words without any particular reply, pretending to peck at a few walnuts he had laid out on the desk.

Whether he liked that or not, the child began to pour out the words he had kept inside more actively.

It was a slightly boring, but not trivial, time.

Children are honest compared to adults, and animals are suitable partners for confessing secrets compared to people.

These two things combined created a situation where the brat came to accept me as something like a mute counselor.

The child chatted in front of me about what he roughly knew, though not in detail, about the ducal family's current situation, Tollin's condition, or the progress of the construction.

This smart successor of the Piteos Ducal Family knew a lot for his age, but it seemed he had taken a liking to confiding in a mute beast about things that were difficult to say to the adults of the family.

It also seemed like he had grown fond of me, even though we hadn't known each other long.

If someone were to ask if I was taking advantage of an innocent child, I would have nothing to say.

“Blackie? Are you listening to me?”

Anyway, it's a name I really can't get used to.

Blackie because I'm a black bird; it was a naming sense that made it hard to tell if it was childish or just simple.

The child, who had no way of knowing my feelings, incessantly fiddled with my wings.

I looked at the clear eyes staring at me and recalled the first day I got to know the child like this.

***

The Little Duke was the first one I discovered on the day I turned into a crow and looked around the ducal family, not long after Duke Piteos had died (or was processed as dead).

-A crow……?

To be precise, his eyes met mine as I was peeking at him crying, buried in his bed.

The child, whose eyes were swollen shut, came to the window, paused his crying as if finding the non-fleeing crow strange, and let me inside.

If I were an ordinary crow, it would have been a scene to make his guardian or maid faint, but perhaps out of consideration for the fatherless child, no other employees were seen.

It wasn't a bad opportunity to check the inside of the ducal family, so I didn't refuse the brat's favor either.

Besides, I, who had a history of opening the door for a crow that responded to my words outside on the first day of possession, understood the brat.

Although in my case, one could say the crow invaded through what was practically blackmail.

Thanks to the Little Duke, I was able to enter the ducal family in a more gentlemanly way than that gangster bird from back then.

-Aren't you scared? You shouldn't get this close to people.

The child resembled his father who raised him, meddlesome and smart.

-Today, I said my last goodbye to Father in Tollin's room. We couldn't have a funeral, but Tollin said Father reached Territum and is watching over me. But it's strange. I feel like Father is still alive somewhere.

He was talkative and had a sharp streak in strange ways.

The brat who named me Blackie told me things that allowed me to infer what was happening inside the ducal family.

The one-sided relationship of trust formed like that had continued until now.

I quietly watched the brat chattering with a smile.

“Tollin tells me not to go, but I want to see that place near the temple where the people in need live. I'm almost at the age where I have to enter the Academy, too.”

The brat muttered with a somewhat regretful expression.

“Before that, I want to properly look into the Piteos family's affairs. Because there are things Tollin and Pale don't tell me.”

I turned my head as I looked at the brat saying such admirable things.

The day his wish comes true would probably be the day someone, who is currently working through sleepless nights, has their world fall apart.

Judging that I had found out everything I needed today, I stopped pecking at the walnuts and flapped my wings a few times.

“Huh? You're leaving already? Isn't it too early today?”

An unconcealed look of disappointment showed on the brat's face, but I paid it no mind and tapped on the window.

“Yeah. You might have a family too. Go on, hurry.”

The meek brat quietly opened the window again.

Even after going outside, I circled the ducal mansion a few more times.

The ducal mansion, with Agoni Piteos gone, was giving off an atmosphere that seemed thorny for some reason.

I took in the sight of Tollin in the distant office clutching his head, Pale walking down the hall holding documents, Jack training the knights, and finally, the child's room, before I flew up.

-I want to see that place near the temple where the people in need live.

Remembering the brat muttering that with sparkling eyes, strength entered my wings.

The day I had to keep a close watch on the Little Duke was approaching.

That little Little Duke, whose name doesn't even appear in the original work, dies after the hunting festival, according to the original work.

***

“Vermin-like brat! You should at least tell me how much time you're going to drag out!”

Not as much as Tollin, but the 1st Prince was also heated because of the construction that kept being delayed.

Rasia pressed the 7th Prince, who visited occasionally for treatment, asking if he couldn't just send people to the ducal family, but every time, he only repeated that it wasn't time yet.

Rasia Abalan frowned, recalling the 7th Prince's expressionless face.

The more he saw him, the stranger the brat was.

He didn't demand money, nor did he seem to particularly covet power.

Even while holding his life in his hands, he didn't covet what others desired.

He just set arrogant and irritating conditions or sometimes made incomprehensible demands.

The problem was that those things were what restricted the 1st Prince's actions.

His detached attitude when dealing with him was also grating.

No, in fact, the brat's very existence was grating.

If it weren't for that damned treatment, he would have snuffed out his life long ago.

It wasn't as if Rasia hadn't tried tailing the brat or searching his room.

But in the room, there was nothing that could be called a personal possession except for some crappy books, and on the days he was tailed, the brat would supposedly notice like a ghost and disappear.

Frustrated about what kind of tricks the one with no abilities whatsoever was using, Rasia could only kick the innocent bed.

-If you don't need treatment, you can just tell me directly instead of sending people.

And the day after sending people, he had to listen to the 7th Prince's expressionless sarcasm.

Those words lit Rasia's temper on fire again.

-Don't you dare play games with my life.

The brat didn't even flinch at Rasia's angry gaze.

-Why is that?

-What?

-Is it not playing games to do so with the lives of innocent knights?

The 1st Prince immediately realized who the brat was talking about.

Because the one who chased the 7th Prince and lost him had to pay for that incompetence with his life.

He didn't have a secret treatment to help him avoid Rasia's anger.

But the 1st Prince thought that was a completely different problem from this.

-Are you comparing me to those vermin-like brats right now?

The 7th Prince just stared at the 1st Prince without answering.

It was Rasia who couldn't stand the silence between them.

-……What? Why aren't you saying anything?

-They can't be compared.

The 7th Prince stared at the 1st Prince with sunken eyes and opened his mouth.

-From now on, do not attach anyone to me.

With those words, the 7th Prince shut his mouth, and there was no treatment for a while.

For the first few days, there was nothing particularly wrong.

At that, Rasia suspected his body might actually be fully healed, but after having a nosebleed some time later, he stopped attaching people to the 7th Prince.

“That guy, worse than vermin.”

Why isn't his body getting better?

The 1st Prince gritted his teeth and clawed at the innocent desk.

The brat was clearly hiding something.

Maybe he never intended to heal me from the beginning.

Dragging time out like this, and then his demands will gradually increase later.

If he ends up being dragged around by the brat until he becomes emperor…….

He didn't even want to imagine it.

The brat had warned him not to attach people to him, but he had no intention of meekly following those words.

He had to somehow uncover the truth the vermin brat was hiding.

The problem was that he had to carry out that task without anyone knowing…….

Knock, knock.

A small knocking sound pulled Rasia out of his thoughts, who was working his head hard, which he didn't usually do.

“Your Highness the Prince, the 2nd Prince has come to visit.”

The attendant quietly announced Dito Abalan's visit.

Rasia felt his anger subside a little and called him inside.

The 2nd Prince entered the room, his dazzling blond hair swaying.

“Your Highness the 1st Prince, is your noble self in good health?”

“Pfft, what's with that cringey way of speaking?”

Dito's unique, cheerful atmosphere and way of speaking quelled Rasia's anger.

“I tried imitating the way nobles speak. Isn't it quite similar?”

Rasia frowned at the playful answer.

“Don't imitate the speech of those trash-like things. You'll pick up a filthy habit for no reason.”

Dito made an expression of surprise at the 1st Prince's irritable reaction.

“Did the nobles do something grating again? I thought things went well at the last meeting.”

Dito, who was tilting his head, clapped his hands as if he just realized.

“Did the Piteos Ducal Family dare to make some strange unreasonable demand? I heard the construction is delayed these days. The documents coming down from the finance ministry have piled up.”

Rasia clicked his tongue at his words.

Thinking of the work he had intentionally piled up at the 7th Prince brat's request, he felt his anger rise again.

In reality, he was the one being unreasonable, but Dito didn't seem to have noticed that yet.

Because externally, it was known that the construction was delayed because they couldn't coordinate opinions with the Piteos Ducal Family.

Rasia stared blankly at Dito's face, which still held playfulness and worry.

……Should he try telling Dito?

It seemed like that brat would be able to dig into the 7th Prince's background with ease.

But his lips didn't open easily.

His future was on the line.

Rasia had already tasted the fear that his entire future might disappear.

The feeling of his vision going black, and the unpleasant, humiliating feeling of someone else holding his future in their hands.

He didn't want to have that experience ever again.

Of course, he didn't have the slightest suspicion that Dito would do the same thing as that vermin brat.

Because Dito was…….

Rasia looked away from his brother's face, who was patiently waiting for his answer, and shook his head.

“No, it's not that. It's just because I'm busy.”

When Rasia showed his refusal, Dito put on an exaggeratedly disappointed expression.

“That's a shame. It's a chance to punish the brats who screwed you over, Older brother.”

At those words, Rasia laughed with a deflating sound.

This was a brat who would risk his life for him.

In front of such a younger brother, he didn't want to show himself being swayed by the likes of the 7th Prince.

It was too embarrassing.

Of course, the 7th Prince had also urged him not to tell anyone.

But when the other party naively got angry on his behalf, Rasia felt much better and spoke.

“Well, that's true. I wish I could get started as soon as possible, too.”

“Hmm……”

“What is it?”

“Older brother, in that case, please leave it to me.”

“Leave what?”

When Rasia asked as if puzzled, Dito answered confidently.

“The capital's charity project. If you are that busy, Older brother, I can go as your representative and resolve the matter to some extent. You know I'm competent, don't you?”

“Ah……”

Rasia, who had been speaking comfortably for a moment, enjoying his brother's eloquence, couldn't help but be flustered.

Rasia knew best that the brat Dito was sharp when it came to work.

He had entrusted him with some tricky matters among his princely duties until now, and the brat's opinions had been helpful quite a few times.

He knew that if he entrusted this matter to him, he would handle it well according to his wishes, but he also knew that if he entrusted a task he was intentionally putting off day after day, it might become difficult to make excuses anymore.

“I'll, I'll think about it. As it is a matter I brought up before His Majesty, the Emperor, I want to be a bit more prudent this time.”

Rasia conveyed his refusal to the 2nd Prince in a tone that even he found awkward.

The 1st Prince secretly glanced, wondering if the other party would notice something was strange, but the 2nd Prince just nodded as if he understood.

He even added, as if apologetic.

“That could be. My heart was ahead of me, and my thoughts were short.”

Rasia sighed internally and said.

“Alright, I'm tired today, so you may leave now.”

Rasia tried to send Dito out quickly, and Dito Abalan seemed to accept this without finding it strange either.

“Then,”

Before leaving the room, he smiled brightly at Rasia one last time and said.

“Please be healthy, Older brother.”

Rasia watched his brother's smile, which seemed deeper than usual today, and saw Dito off as he disappeared through the closing door.