RGS Volume 1 Part 13

People noticed the prince’s change a few days later. At first, they simply thought that the prince was no longer biting Abel. Instead of Abel, who they thought would leave first, it was the prince who seemed tired. Some found it strange, but most thought that the prince was preparing to inflict even greater wounds.

However, even after a day, two days and three days passed, the prince only hugged Abel quietly when he came. It was only then that people realized that the doll-like prince was responding to Abel’s words.

“Oh, please put the lunchbox here. I really enjoy eating it every time. Hehe, by the way, I have to take this! Today, I’m definitely going to catch a cockroach. Prince, I can really catch one today!”

When Abel appeared in the prince’s bedroom in the morning, it became lively.

The only person who could enter the prince’s bedroom except him was a maid named Serene. She, who entered the palace when she was young, could not escape from the kitchen for various external reasons.

After the rumor spread that the prince had gone mad and no one dared to approach him, Serene, who was bigger than most women, came. However, no matter how tall and strong she was, she felt as fearful as others. However, when people were afraid of him, she became angry instead.

What are you afraid of? Are you scared of someone who looks like you?

Like others, she approached the prince and suddenly got attacked, trembling in fear as she looked into his yellow eyes. However, she couldn’t show it. She now knew that showing weakness only invited ridicule.

Thanks to that, she became the honored maid of the prince, but she found this position rather sickening. She had thought that she would live her life buried in the smell of blood next to the prince, but after the appearance of Abel, her life in the prince’s room, which had always been like hell, changed.

“Could you also bring me a basket like this?”

He treated Serene more politely and courteously than anyone else. He looked at herself, who she thought was worthless, straight in the eye and never lost his smile.

“That’s right, and please also put one more cloth to sit on the floor. And also, umm-“

Abel looked around anxiously, tearing at his hair from the early morning. Serene glanced down at the prince sitting on the bed while taking note of what Abel had said.

For the past few days, the prince would wake up in the morning and quietly wait for Abel, even without being awakened.

Except for Abel, anyone who touched the prince was attacked, so Serene couldn’t properly check the prince’s condition. However, when Abel started helping the prince get dressed and washed early in the morning, Serene also became busy.

Furthermore, Abel had a forgetful personality and would always forget something to bring before going to the forest. And why is his voice so loud? He would talk to the unresponsive prince without getting tired. Thanks to that, Serene and Ashler, who were helping from the side, also became distracted.

“But should I bring another set of clothes for the prince? The sky is a bit cloudy. It hasn’t rained for quite a while, right? Oh no! What if it rains? What? We still haven’t found a suitable place to hide in the forest. Right, prince? Shall we build a cabin near the hill we visited yesterday? Hahaha― That would be nice too. Then should I bring an axe, rope, and a tarp? Ashler, what else do we need?”

Ashler, as always, stared at the person with a bewildered look in his eyes.

“You’re going to build a cabin?”

“Yes! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Prince, it would be really comfortable if we build a cabin, right? We wouldn’t have to find a place to eat every time, and we would have a place to rest when we’re tired. And if it rains, we can just take shelter there! Besides, building a cabin is really fun―”

Abel’s voice grew louder and it seemed like he was going to suggest building a palace instead of a cabin, so Ashler stopped him.

“I don’t oppose catching bugs, but building a cabin is not allowed.”

When he firmly opposed, Abel immediately became crestfallen and muttered quietly.

“Why… can’t we do it?”

“Have you forgotten that your role is to stay by the prince’s side, Abel? But a cabin? The only person who can protect the prince by his side in the already dangerous Dragon Forest is you. What will you do if there is a danger to the prince’s safety while you are doing something else?”

“If I promise to take good care of the prince…”

“Please make sure to pack his lunch.”

“Um, if you come with me, Ashler, and help me make it…”

“I refuse.”

“Then if I make it together with the prince…”

“Insulting the royal family.”

Unable to withstand the cold warning, Abel eventually gave up and turned his head. Perhaps feeling sorry for his fallen companion, Ashler suggested an alternative.

“I will prepare a tent that can be easily set up. It may not be a cabin, but it should be enough to seek shelter if it suddenly rains. If you are satisfied with a tent, that is.”

“I’m satisfied! Hahaha, I like tents too!”

Abel’s recovery speed was astonishing enough to make him want to abandon his previous apologies. Ashler hesitated, considering whether to pretend nothing had happened and couldn’t help but ask when he saw Abel’s sparkling eyes.

“However, I’m afraid it will be inconvenient for you to carry all the luggage. Are you okay with that?”

While saying that, he glanced at the prince, who was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. Since Abel always carried the prince, he could only handle luggage that could be held in one hand. So even if they were to transport the large load needed to set up the tent on a horse, it would be difficult to control with just one hand.

Abel immediately understood Ashler’s intention, but he easily found a solution. He knelt in front of the prince and asked with a smile.

“Your Highness, will you hold my hand and move? If you want to explore the forest with me in the future, you need to build up your stamina in advance. But if it’s too difficult for you, please let me know. Then I will carry you and swiftly return to the palace like the wind.”

Then, he reached out his hand to the prince.

Serene, who was standing nearby with Ashler and the luggage, looked at them absentmindedly, thinking that the prince would not move with such words. Of course not. The prince had never voluntarily done anything other than reading books.

So Serene did not expect the prince to place his hand on Abel’s large and sturdy hand. Not only that, but the small hand even tightly grasped Abel’s hand first.

Gasp.

Serene gasped in surprise. Ashler stared at Abel with wide eyes, doubting his own eyes, as he held the prince’s hand and stood up. Abel, who held the prince’s small hand as if it were nothing, made a request to Ashler.

“Could you put the luggage on the donkey? It’s difficult for large horses to pass through the forest where there is no path.”

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He always showed a big reaction and spared no praise even for small things.

‘Wow― Your Highness, you’re amazing! You’ve really found a big one! Look at this beetle’s shell. Doesn’t it shine like a knight’s armor? This guy is big too, um― should I make him the head of the knights?’

While doing so, he turned three bugs that he had already caught and put in a jar for his subordinates, knights 1, 2, and 3. His big hand, catching the bugs, appeared in the sunlight shining through the leaves. It was truly a sparkling light. The child looked up and stared at the beetles wearing golden armor in the beam of light.

“Now, it’s time for the prince to confer the title of knight. Since you discovered it, make it your subordinate yourself.”

A warm voice echoed pleasantly in his ears. He made the child touch the beetle directly. However, the child did not raise his hand to touch it. If someone else had seen it, they would have thought that he was afraid of bugs. But Abel was different. As if he could see through the child’s heart, he gently spoke the words that were most needed.

“It’s okay, Your Highness. Even if you touch it, the bug won’t die. This little guy is stronger than you think. Now, would you like to pet it?”

The child looked at the wriggling bug on his leg and finally raised his finger after a while. All the creatures that had been caught in his hand had met their deaths. It had become a natural thing for the prince to exert strength, burst it’s contents, and tear them apart, so he was afraid of the bug in front of him.

Because if he touched it, the bug would die.

Death had always been a tool that attracted people’s attention, but it changed after Abel came. Even without getting blood on his hands, he always showed interest in the child’s small actions and burst into laughter. When he saw his face filled with genuine joy and a smile spreading across it, the child’s heart raced.

And he knew. Even if the bug died when the child touched it now, he wouldn’t get angry. But still, he was afraid of disappointing him. Although the child did not move his finger for a long time after raising it, Abel patiently waited.

A large stag beetle, only two finger joints long, wriggled its six legs. The child lightly brought his hand closer to the long back with black spots. He could feel the movement of the bug alive under his hand.

“Well done, Your Highness. Now, would you like to try catching more? And later, we’ll put it in the jar with the other knights and go show it off to Sir Ashler. Hehe, everyone will be surprised when they hear that the prince caught it!”

He was delighted as if he had done something truly remarkable, even though he had only touched the bug’s back. The child’s heart raced at his praise. Carefully, the child moved the bug, just as he had said. Carefully.

And for the first time, he began to think about living creatures in this way.

They must not be killed.

The days spent in the palace were enjoyable. At least, Abel thought so. Although it was called a palace, it wasn’t much different from his previous life when he woke up every day and ran to the forest with the prince The forest, where no one’s footsteps were seen, was more abundant and full of life than anywhere Abel had ever seen.

But what made him the happiest was the prince. His small but gradually visible reactions. Catching beetles together, searching for rabbit holes on the hill, rummaging through the half-rotten reed forest to find duck nests. Even when the sudden intruder made the ducks quack and resist, it was a pleasant experience to quickly escape with the prince after stealing one egg.

If Ashler found out, it would be considered an insult to the royal family.

Abel also taught the prince how to gather dry branches and start a fire. Everyone finds it fascinating when they use a flint for the first time. The prince also made several attempts to tightly grip the flint with his small hands and transfer the fire to the dry straw.

And then, with a crackle, sparks flew and a red flame ignited the dry grass. The prince didn’t know how to react in front of the fire he had started. He was still silent and expressionless, but just holding hands and walking together, looking at where he pointed, filled Abel’s heart with joy.

“You see, trees are like small kingdoms, each and every one of them. Look, near the roots, there are countless ants digging holes and living in the ground. Next door, there are worms living there too, and although they are creepy, they are actually timid insects. The moss on the trunk has mushrooms sticking to it too. Oh, and if you peel off the bark, you can see bugs like this. These creatures don’t like light, so you have to close it quickly. Do you see the small holes in the tree above? These are holes made by caterpillars. Thanks to them, birds that eat these creatures build their nests on top of the tree. They jump down to eat the bugs and make the holes bigger There, that hole. That’s what the bird has chewed and left behind. Prince, isn’t it amazing? So many things live on just one tree. That’s why you shouldn’t easily cut down a tree.”

Abel knelt in front of the prince and faced his face that is hidden behind his long hair.

“Prince, even silent trees are precious beings. And so are the living, moving animals. Though they may seem to kill and eat each other, there’s an important reason behind their deaths which is survival. No matter how strong or vicious a beast may be, they don’t kill without reason beyond filling their hungry stomachs. Though they may be mere animals, they still know how to respect each other. So…

He stopped speaking and lowered his voice as if whispering.

“Prince, from now on, I will always be by your side, so please give the animals a chance to live when you meet them. If they happen to attack you, I will protect you. You don’t have to use your hands. I will take care of it. So please watch over the animals with me. Will you do that?”

A question was asked, but it wasn’t to hear an answer. Abel just smiled and looked at the prince, cautiously raising his hand to touch his hair.

The prince flinched and shook his head.

Abel immediately stopped his hand, “It’s okay.”

He gently patted and brushed his hair.