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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Taylor's Disciple (3)
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“Hmm?”
But then, from a distance, he spotted a very familiar figure approaching.
“That guy…”
Illnis, recognizing the person's face, scrunched his already scowling face even further and glared at him with icy eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I'm not here for you, so you don't need to concern yourself.”
The person in question was none other than Sei-an, who had been constantly getting on his nerves lately.
‘That infuriating brat!’
Seeing Sei-an calmly tell him to mind his own business, a curse word naturally sprang to Illnis's mind. Though he didn't utter it aloud.
“Hmph! Did you come here to wag your tail and curry favor with His Highness Idis, too?”
Illnis sneered, a mocking smile playing on his lips, and spoke sarcastically.
“Hmm, ‘too,’ you say… It seems you are here for that very reason, then.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? I'm waiting here to assist His Highness.”
But upon hearing Sei-an's words, who looked at him with apparent interest despite his sarcasm, Illnis's face immediately contorted into a frown.
“If not you, then are you implying that everyone else gathered here is waiting to wag their tails for His Highness Idis?”
“What are you...!”
Illnis was about to exclaim, "What nonsense are you constantly spouting?" at Sei-an's follow-up, but then he noticed the sudden chill in the atmosphere around him. He turned his head, a puzzled look in his eyes.
“...!”
He hadn't intended to say that, but Sei-an's words instantly made it sound as if he had been mocking everyone else present. Illnis couldn't help but panic.
“No, no, what I meant was...”
“Heh! Well, well, Lord Illnis says you're all just tail-wagging dogs.”
Illnis tried to quickly stammer out an excuse under the cold stares of the surrounding students, but at that moment, Kanto's voice cut him off, making his face twist in a scowl.
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“I merely repeated what Lord Illnis said.”
“Grr!”
Illnis, who had intended to pick a fight with Sei-an, found the atmosphere shifting in an odd direction and his plan backfiring spectacularly. He gnashed his teeth in exasperation.
“Anyway, this is no place for you, so just go home.”
But that was only for a moment. Illnis quickly composed his expression, as if trying to regain control of the situation, and spoke coldly to Sei-an.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“What?”
“I'm leaving because you told me to go.”
“...? Fine, get lost right now.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
As soon as Illnis finished speaking, Sei-an turned around and walked away. He even offered a word of thanks to Illnis as he left.
‘What the...’
Sei-an's behavior left Illnis flustered once again.
He couldn't understand why Sei-an would express gratitude and walk away, as if genuinely thankful for being told to "get lost."
“I'm curious how you intend to take responsibility.”
“What do I have to take responsibility for...!”
Illnis, who had carelessly blurted out a reply to the voice from behind him, suddenly realized who the speaker was and quickly spun around to face them.
“Y-Your Highness!”
It was Prince Idis. At his appearance, Illnis quickly bowed his head, hiding his flustered expression.
“I'm asking how you'll take responsibility for sending away someone who came to see me without my permission.”
“...What?”
But at his next words, Illnis found himself asking dumbfounded, without realizing it.
“You're not trying to escape, are you, Sei-an?”
However, Prince Idis seemed to have no intention of conversing further with Illnis. He was already speaking towards Sei-an, who was quickly walking away in the distance.
“Gasp!”
“The person His Highness Idis was looking for...”
“Was Sei-an?”
Instantly, everyone around them looked on in surprise, their gazes flitting between Sei-an and Prince Idis.
No one had ever imagined that the person Prince Idis was looking for would be Sei-an.
The same was true for Illnis, which made the shock even greater.
He had been waiting for the arrival of a scion from a truly distinguished family, but the fact that the person turned out to be merely Sei-an filled Illnis with a sense of humiliation. He clenched his fists tightly, trembling with rage.
“Yes, I am escaping right now.”
Meanwhile, Sei-an, who had paused at Prince Idis's words, turned to look at him and spoke blandly.
Then, he slowly began to walk towards him.
“A minute has long since passed.”
“It's not my fault. This person prevented me from coming to Your Highness.”
Sei-an casually pointed a finger at Illnis in response to Prince Idis's words.
“What? You, you!”
How could he be so brazen?!
Illnis was dumbfounded by Sei-an's words, which placed all the blame on him for not appearing before Prince Idis within a minute, despite Sei-an having just arrived. He couldn't even properly articulate a response.
“Your Highness, that's not what I meant...”
“Follow me.”
A moment later, Illnis tried to quickly stammer out another excuse, but Prince Idis merely spoke briefly to Sei-an and swiftly left the spot.
Sei-an quietly began to follow him.
“...”
Once Prince Idis and Sei-an had disappeared, the surrounding students also quickly dispersed.
“...Damn it.”
Left alone, Illnis muttered a quiet curse, filled with an inexplicable sense of injustice and bitter frustration. He gnashed his teeth one last time towards Sei-an, who had already vanished from sight, and stood there for a long time.
***
“You...”
“Surely, Your Highness isn't so idle as to come all this way just because I left without a word, are you?”
“...”
Prince Idis, who had been about to reprimand Sei-an for leaving without a single word, found himself unable to admit it when Sei-an actually asked him that.
“Would Your Highness, being so busy, really come all this way for such a trivial reason?”
Seeing Sei-an speak again with a serious look, as if to say "surely not," Prince Idis found him even more insufferable than usual today.
He knew that Sei-an must have guessed the real reason for his visit, yet he was preempting him like this.
“So what if I did?”
“...It seems the position of a Prince is indeed a leisurely one.”
“What was that?”
“My apologies. I left without being able to inform you beforehand.”
At Prince Idis's curt, almost angry reply, Sei-an bowed his head more respectfully than ever and offered an apology.
After all, it was his fault for leaving without even a letter.
“Tsk.”
At Sei-an's quick apology, Prince Idis clicked his tongue softly, wearing a displeased expression.
He always felt that whenever he conversed with this fellow, he inevitably missed the right moment to get angry.
“Anyway, I came for a few reasons.”
“A few reasons?”
“Yes. It's also true that I came to offer my congratulations to Lord Taylor.”
“You've known him for a long time?”
Sei-an looked at Prince Idis with a puzzled expression.
Given Prince Idis's personality, he didn't seem like someone who would personally travel just to offer congratulations.
Sei-an wondered if there was some connection between him and Taylor.
“I received his teachings a long time ago.”
“Hmm, I see.”
And with his answer, Sei-an knew his guess was correct.
“Is the ring you're wearing now perhaps a gift from Lord Taylor?”
“Hmm?”
Sei-an pointed to the ring that Prince Idis had always worn on his hand, both now and when he first met him, and asked.
“Yes, that's right. How did you know?”
“It just… seemed that way.”
Prince Idis looked at Sei-an with a slightly surprised expression at his question, then gave a slight nod.
The ring on his left hand was a personal gift from Taylor, given to him long ago when he finished his studies and left the Tower of Sages.
Prince Idis had never once taken the ring off his hand, wanting to remember all the teachings he had received from him throughout his life.
‘Strange fellow.’
Seeing Sei-an recognize that fact instantly, Prince Idis let out a small chuckle.
“You seem to be doing surprisingly well.”
“Hmm, were you perhaps worried about me?”
Sei-an chuckled at Prince Idis's words, which sounded like he was relieved, and spoke casually, as if making a joke.
“...”
But the moment his words ended, Prince Idis's expression subtly changed.
First, he seemed a little flustered, then his eyes widened in surprise, and finally, he subtly frowned, as if angered by something.
“Why would I ever worry about a guy like you?!”
“...? Yes, there's no reason for you to worry.”
Sei-an had to tilt his head, a puzzled look in his eyes, at Prince Idis's sudden, angry outburst.
‘Damn it!’
Meanwhile, Prince Idis muttered a small curse inwardly, looking at Sei-an with a displeased expression.
It was only now, after Sei-an's words, that he realized the true reason he had come here was out of concern for him.
Ever since he heard that Sei-an had gone to a place where he had attempted suicide, he had been strangely bothered, unable to focus on his work, to the point of irritation.
It was then, among the numerous obligatory invitations he received, that Prince Idis found one from Juist Academy. Without much thought, he immediately headed there.
But realizing now, only after hearing Sei-an's words, that the reason he had been so bothered and irritated was out of concern for Sei-an, Prince Idis couldn't help but feel flustered for a moment.
And then, a surge of anger welled up within him at the fact that he hadn't even been able to properly do his work because he was worrying about this guy.
He, of all people—someone who had lived without a single regret—was bothered and worried about a guy like that. He absolutely detested that fact.
“Is there something on my face?”
“...If you know, wipe it off.”
Prince Idis, who had no intention of ever admitting such a fact and hurting his pride, merely spoke coldly to him for no real reason.
“...?”
Sei-an diligently touched his face with his hand, though there was nothing on it, and kept tilting his head in confusion.
