The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 32, v3 Chapter 33, v3 Chapter 34

Hiiro (44)
"Excuse me, Your Highness, Lord Hitachimaru."

Someone suddenly appeared between me and Naruhito, and I instinctively reached for the area around my waist where I usually kept my gun.
Since I was still in my loungewear, the gun wasn't there, and cold sweat ran down my back.

Hitachimaru's killing intent swelled up and quickly dissipated.
He was probably too surprised and had entered an attack stance.
The person who appeared was unaffected by the killing intent of someone said to be the strongest of this era, and skillfully supported Naruhito as he knocked on the door.
In a better mood, Naruhito walked with their support.
Actually, he was almost entirely relying on the support to walk, but it was done so subtly that it was hard to notice for both him and those around him.

"Ichinose, huh..."

The covert group under Akemi. For some reason, they're working happily at this detached palace.
They're convenient, and since Akemi trusts them, I left them alone, but they seem to be formidable. And Naruhito is getting too attached to them...

Following Naruhito, I entered Sai's room.
Hitachimaru followed as well, still rubbing the back of his neck and looking cautious.

"Sai. Did you eat?"

Naruhito, leaning his upper body on the bed, spoke to the lying-down Sai.

"Naruhito. You've come to see me again."

Sai answered wearily, opening his eyes. He looked thin and pale. I had heard he had his surgery before Naruhito and that it was successful.

"Did you eat?"
"I don't have much appetite."
"I was thinking of giving you some ice."
"Ice?"
"Because it's tasty."
"Ice, you say?"
"Isn't it delicious?"
"Cold ice, right?"
"Yeah. Hiiro wouldn't give it to me."
"I see..."

Ice is a treat for Naruhito, but Sai probably doesn't understand what it means to him.

"And the candy melted too."
"Naruhito, you like candy, don't you?"
"I hid one piece."
"Candy?"
"Yeah. Hiiro said I shouldn't eat it and threw it away."
"That's unfortunate."
"Yeah... I wanted to give it to Sai. But it's gone... Sorry."
"You wanted to give the candy to me?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't it your precious treasure?"
"Because Sai doesn't look well."

Sai smiled deeply and looked at Naruhito.
A hand, thin from being under the covers, reached out and patted Naruhito's head.

Ah, I see. To Naruhito, candy was a treasure. He wasn't getting much of it because it would make him lose his appetite, and I thought he ate it immediately because he liked it so much.
It must have been a candy he treasured and saved despite wanting to eat it.
I regret throwing it away. I should have given him a replacement first.

----------

Hiiro (45)
Suddenly, Naruhito's body was gently lifted and laid down next to Sai on the bed.
Murashige Ichinose quietly removed Naruhito's slippers and then stepped back.
Naruhito looked momentarily startled before relaxing and turning to face Sai.

"Oi."
"He's exhausted and at his limit. He seems to want to talk a little more, so please be patient, Your Highness."

Without me noticing, he was right beside me. His presence is truly undetectable. The hair on the back of my neck bristled. Murashige, with a calm expression, watched over Naruhito.
Hitachimaru stuck closely to Murashige.

"Scary."

I muttered under my breath, and Murashige's smile in response was equally terrifying.

"There isn't any food."
"It's alright."
"I brought a puzzle."
"A puzzle?"
"Because it's fun."
"Do you like it?"
"Yes. A picture appears. It's pretty."

I didn't know he liked puzzles. I'll buy him one next time.

"I'll leave it here."
"Isn't it your treasure? I can't accept it. I'll be fine without it."
"I have three."

Naruhito, who had been holding the box carefully, placed it on Sai's blanket. Sai lowered the hand that had been patting Naruhito's head and grasped the small box. It must be a simple puzzle. There was a rustling sound.

"I can't do it while lying down."

Sai murmured, holding up the box.

"Yes."
"Are you tired today?"
"Yes."
"Shall we do it together tomorrow?"
"Yes."

Murashige looked at me. Annoyingly, I moved to the bedside following his implicit instructions.

"Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness."

To Sai's words, I responded,

"Don't worry about it."

And then I lifted Naruhito.

"Hurry up and recover. The paperwork is piling up. We're in trouble without you."
"I'm nothing..."
"I can't even remember how we managed when you weren't around."
"Your Highness..."
"Sai, give me some time to do puzzles too."

Sai gently held the puzzle to his chest and softly said, "Yes."

----------

Rikimaru (3)
"Ice is gone."
"Well, you had a stomachache, so it can't be helped."
"I wanted to give it to Sai."
"Even if you did, Sai would have been troubled."
"It's delicious, so I thought it would make him feel better."
"Ah, well, it might have cheered him up."
"I was going to give candy instead, but it was all sticky."
"You took it out? You didn't eat it?"
"Yeah. I hid it here so Hiiro wouldn't find it."

Naruhito pointed under the bed.

"You hid it? It would melt there."
"Hiiro threw it away."
"If it was sticky, it was no good."
"But it was still edible."
"It would be bad if he got a stomachache."
"Where do you hide your candy?"
"What?"
"Candy. Where do you hide it?"

I don't hide candy.
Well, let's see. This kid doesn't get much candy because if he eats it, he won't eat his meals.
I thought he ate it as soon as he got it. But he hides it.
No, maybe he's started thinking about the future more. Like making plans for tomorrow, or saving candy to eat the next day. That's important.
It made me happy. Naruhito will be here tomorrow.

"For important things, I put them in a box or something."
"A box?"
"Like a treasure chest. I collected shiny stones or perfectly shaped cicada shells in a box."

Naruhito tilted his head, not understanding what I meant.
In Naruhito and His Highness's spacious private room. This is where Naruhito spends most of his time. On a carpeted area, a low table is scattered with puzzle pieces, and he's sitting there. There's a large beanbag for him to lean on when he's tired. On a small shelf next to it are picture books that my Mother and I brought from home. His favorite picture book about distributing dumplings to make friends burned with the mansion, so my Mother bought a new one. There are two small puzzle boxes for young children. These are Naruhito's only possessions.

"For important things that you want to hide a bit, you put them in a box and place it out of sight. It's hard to find, but you can get to it anytime you want."
"Important things..."
"You'll find lots of important things from now on. Let's get you a treasure chest. We'll go shopping and find a box and buy some candy."
"Shopping?"
"We'll go to a candy store and buy candy. There are all sorts of boxes at a general store too. Ah, that sounds fun. Let's go shopping, Naruhito."
"Hiiro makes the candy, doesn't he?"
"Huh? Well, I guess he could, but the candy we usually eat is bought."
"What do you mean by bought?"
"Uh? From a store. Huh?"

Has he never been shopping? No way.
He said he spent three years on the battlefield. Before that? Wait a minute.