Picking Up the Exiled Prince
Translator: CleiZz
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!
Ch 24 Peaceful Morning
As the sun came up and the birds were singing, Alan woke up in a daze.
While still in Danis’ arms, with a little more warmth wrapped around him from the bedding, Alan rubbed the tip of his nose against Danis’ chest and raised his still heavy eyelids to a soft, faint smelling lavender scent.
Within his sight was the pendant that Danis was wearing. Danis wasn’t so obsessed with materialistic things, but this was the only thing he wouldn’t let go of.
I’m very curious to know what’s inside, but I honestly feel that I shouldn’t touch it without permission.
Alan had a feeling that he would be angry.
If Alan asked Danis to show him what’s inside, he might.
“… Do you care?”
As he stared at the pendant, Danis’s voice, a little sleepy and scratchy, came down right beside him.
Alan was surprised because he thought he was sleeping.
Danis’s hand that was wrapped around Alan’s body loosened and a kiss was dropped on Alan’s forehead.
Somehow, Alan felt that Danis was being very gentle, but yet, he could not calm down.
“…What’s inside?”
Alan asked, honestly curious.
Danis was looking for words, and during his short pause Alan had sensed that he had a forlorn expression.
“There’s a family portrait inside.”
Alan thought that was unexpected.
But the fact that he always kept it close to him meant that it must have been a very important family photo.
Danis’s family or… Alan tried to picture it, but he couldn’t picture much of Danis’ family’s faces. The only ones in Alan’s memory that had black hair and black eyes were Renius and his parents. He became very concerned.
Alan stared at Danis with a hopeful look in his eyes, wondering if he could see inside. Danis exhaled a little annoyed.
“I’m sorry. I’ve decided not to open it until I’ve achieved my purpose.”
“Purpose…?”
Alan was a little disappointed that he had been rejected, but he was more concerned when he heard the word “purpose” from Danis for the first time.
What purpose could the leader of the underworld not fulfill?
Even though he was at the head of the underworld, where information seemed to gather more readily than in the noble society on the surface — what could he not accomplish?
“Yeah… my whole family was killed a long time ago. It’s almost like I joined this organization to get revenge on the people behind it.”
Danis’s voice was listless.
Alan’s eyes widened in surprise as he heard the story for the first time. He had never felt that Danis had ill will towards anyone in his life.
But the listless voice made him think that Danis had not yet come to terms with the death of his family. The tone of his voice, as if it was nothing, made him feel that it had not yet become a memory of the past.
And to say that his goal had not been achieved means that his revenge had not come to an end.
Was it because of that, that you can’t sleep without holding a person like this, instead of a pillow?
“Well… this is no time to dawdle.”
Danis got up, sounding a little bothered. Alan, feeling like he wanted to slack off a little more, resentfully looked at Danis.
Danis, as usual, immediately lit a cigarette and smoked it, and when he saw Alan’s face he sighed.
“As much as I’d like to give you a break, aren’t you supposed to be back in your… room? I don’t want to deal with that knight if possible.”
Alan paled at those words.
With Chris’s sense of innocence, what would happen if he saw this situation? I think… that he would pull out his sword and slash at Danis in a terrible manner.
Alan jumped out of bed as soon as he realized that Chris might be worried that he was not in his room.
“Yeah, I guess so. Do you mind if I use your bathroom first?”
Danis nodded as he smoked a cigarette.
Alan stumbled into the bathroom, staggered by the lethargy due to yesterday’s act. He twisted the faucet on the shower.
Speaking of which… wasn’t it going to be difficult to become a pillow in the future? Is this okay?
Alan was a little concerned about Danis, who was probably relaxing in his room right now, smoking a cigarette. Would he have another nightmare like that one?
If the cause of the nightmares was the loss of his family, he finally understood the reason for them and the fact that it was not something that could be easily cured.
It meant that the cause of Danis’s family’s death had been tragic.
Alan had seen his father, the king, die after being stabbed with his own eyes. He knew that a death caused by another person could be very painful. Even now, it hurts just to think about it.
However, Alan’s grief was nothing compared to Danis’s — he had been left alone without his entire family.
Danis told me it was a long time ago, so he must have been younger than I am now.
Alan twisted the faucet of the shower and turned off the hot water, thinking that while he couldn’t replace Danis’s family, it would be nice if he could provide enough comfort for him to be able to relax a little.
Afterwards, Alan changed into his clothes and left the bathroom to go back to his room, without exchanging words with Danis.
As Alan was leaving he saw that Danis was gazing out the window, sending only a quick glance to Alan as he passed by. He left the room, wondering if Danis was remembering something about his family, even though he was looking out a bit distantly.
He crossed the corridor and was about to open his own room when he was approached by a voice.
“Good morning, Prince. Where have you been since this early morning?”
When he turned around, he saw that Chris was already there, meticulously dressed. Alan was shocked and impatient at the unexpected encounter with Chris.
However, Chris’s face was not grim, and he seemed to be genuinely asking where we had been.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to get some air.”
When Chris heard that, he was relieved that Alan gave him a normal response.
“I know you’re in an unfamiliar place, but please try not to go alone.”
Chris continued, slightly exhaling.
Chris, who was a knight, might not think it was safe here either.
Alan’s concern was that of royalty. From the current situation, Chris’s presence was very much appreciated. However, there was something that bothered Alan a little.
“Chris, why did you come here with me?”
“Because I’m a knight of the Levsky family, pledged to the royal family.”
“That’s a bit of a pretext, isn’t it? If I’m stripped of my right to inherit, I’m just a child.”
It was unpleasantly disappointing.
The prime minister was now in power, and Alan knew all too well by the way he had been treated, that he was someone who would flip out and treat him as if he were a sinner.
Chris smiled, looking a little troubled. He then kneeled down on the spot, took Alan’s hand, and kissed its back.
It was a courtesy as a proof that the knight dedicated himself to the monarch.
“Please don’t talk like that. You may not remember this, Prince Alan, but once, before I became a knight, you called out to me. With those words, I vowed to serve the royal family.”
Alan’s big eyes snapped open in surprise.
Alan tilted his head to think about it, but he couldn’t remember anything. If Chris hadn’t become a knight yet, then Alan must have been very young. Alan couldn’t believe that he would have said something so grand as to encourage someone to make up their mind with him being so young at the time.
Perhaps he saw Alan tilting his head and desperately trying to remember, but Chris smiled and let go of Alan’s hand and stood up.
“You don’t have to remember, it’s enough for me to remember.”
Alan didn’t understand, but he was sure that Chris had come with him of his own free will, so he decided to accept it.
Alan couldn’t have been happier; the fact that even one person was thinking of him in that castle was enough for him.
“It’s kind of frustrating that I can’t remember, but thank you. Thank you for your continued support.”
Chris replied with a knight’s response in a clear voice.
Support CleiZz on Kofi!
