Chapter 30: Their Past
“Can I touch it?”
The wind swayed the grass outside, making a rustling sound.
He didn’t expect the prince to be sitting in the hidden rear garden, where he thought no one would be. Carlos smacked his lips dry with tension. He was told that the prince had lost his voice ever since he witnessed his mother’s death in front of his eyes, but the Crown Prince’s voice, albeit gloomy and somber, was much clearer than he would have expected.
“Yes… Your Majesty.”
Who would have imagined that he would run into the Crown Prince on a shortcut he took to run errands for his knight? Carlos gave his dagger to the blond young Crown Prince in an awkward posture.
“Is it a stoat’s skin?”
“Yes, it is. Your Majesty.”
The blond boy who accepted Carlos’ sheath and inspected it carefully was Leandro, the one and only Crown Prince of the Baldwin Empire.
Leandro Apolliner.
Eckhard III’s only enemy, and a prince with a beautiful appearance as his mother, Lucilia, the most beautiful woman in Baldwin.
Carlos looked at his long golden eyelashes and opened his mouth without realizing it.
The Crown Prince looked just like Lucilia, the empress whom he had passed by once at a distance. He is expected to become an adult in the future.
“Who made it for you?”
He didn’t know how he would be curious about a mere squire like him, the crown prince kept asking Carlos questions.
“Oh, my mother made it for me.”
His mother, who was a noblewoman in name, made it for him by herself, saying, “Shouldn’t you at least have a sheath made of leather?”
Carlos did not quite understand why the old, shabby dagger attracted the Crown Prince’s attention.
“I also… had something like this.”
When a squire appeared fearlessly in his own secret rear garden, Leandro was angry at first.
But soon he found a familiar dagger in the squire’s waist as he was bowing down to him in fear, and his anger turned to curiosity.
It was because he remembered Lucilia insisting on making a dagger sheath for her only son before she died.
At first glance, there was a look of sorrow on Leandro’s face looking at the back of the sheath. Carlos felt sorry for the young prince, wondering if he was thinking of his dead mother.
“If you… would like to have it, I’ll give it to you.”
“What?”
How dare a poor squire who has nothing to brag about tell the Crown Prince of a country to keep his dagger if he liked it. Carlos said those words without realizing how insolent they were and immediately regretted them.
He could justly be criticized for being arrogant.
Carlos clasped and unclasped his trembling fingertips. The prince’s clear eyes staring at him silently made his palms wet with sweat.
“You’re going to… give it to me?”
The eyes of two young boys met in the air.
The air in the forest surrounding the two was warm.
“You… What’s your name?”
“My name is Ly, Lyner.”
Carlos lay flat on the ground, as if he had known that Leandro would accuse him.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Forgive me for being rude…”
“What’s your first name, not your last name?”
Carlos, who bowed his head down to the floor, slowly raised his head at the unexpected question.
“Yes…?”
Is he trying to learn his name to punish him later? Carlos wriggled his hands in suspense.
“Carlos…”
“Carlos Lyner. Carlos… Lyner.”
It felt strange to hear the Crown Prince muttering his name so many times.
“Carlos.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Will you be my friend?”
“Yes?”
“No, this is an order. Be my friend.”
He almost got up in surprise. Looking at Carlos’ bulging eyes, Leandro showed a toothy smile.
Perhaps he found a place to lean on in this barren palace with nowhere to cross his heart on. It was only the first time he saw him today, and all he had to say was a few words, but Leandro strangely wanted to order the brown-haired squire in front of him to stay by his side.
So Leandro, 12 years old, and Carlos, 14, whose paths should have never crossed became friends.