The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 53, v3 Chapter 54, v3 Chapter 55

Rikimaru (7)
I finished talking with Prince Hiiro and was shown to my room. It's the room I'll be living in starting today. A few other singles from Ichinose have also been permitted to stay here. Even if the room is left vacant, it still needs maintenance, so Prince Hiiro said something like, "If you want to use it, feel free." They also made a room for me in that corner. In my case, it was hard to get Prince Hiiro's permission, so I had to appeal to Prince Akemi and force my way in, though.

I was surprised to learn that Naruhito used to be a weapon. It was all so far beyond my imagination that my head felt like it was about to explode. I tried to think about what it really means for Naruhito to be a weapon, but I just couldn't grasp it. In the end, I figured if Naruhito doesn't know about various things, I could just teach him myself. Just as I reached that conclusion, my mother dropped the delightful news that she wanted to go shopping together. So, I hurriedly contacted Prince Akemi and arranged for me to stay at the detached palace.

Don't call me a nuisance! Seriously, don't.

When I dropped my things off and headed to the dining hall, Naruhito was nodding off, having barely touched his lunch. Hirosue was sitting beside them, trying to talk, but Naruhito’s head had already dropped, and Hirosue gave up. After leaning Naruhito against the chair, he checked if there was any food left in Naruhito's mouth and wiped it clean. He had this expression like, "He’s so cute," as he finished up. Before I knew it, Lord Murashige was also there, carefully taking off Naruhito’s bag.

When did he put that on?

It was a small shoulder bag with a vivid red button. I bet there are candies inside.

Lord Murashige fixed the red hat that was about to fall off Naruhito's head.

He really likes red. Is it okay for him to wear so much red when he’s Prince Hiiro's vassal?
Well, if Prince Hiiro allows it, I guess it's fine.

With a face that showed how much he adored Naruhito, Lord Murashige gently carried him out of the room. Naruhito looks pretty happy right now, so I guess it's okay.

Even if he was originally a weapon, or whatever.

In the end, Naruhito took a nap, had a snack, and then my mother came to teach him some lessons, leaving no time for me to play with him.

They looked satisfied, but I'm seriously disappointed. Come on, I can hang out anytime now.

Since I had no choice, I knocked on Naruhito’s door after dinner.

“Naruhito, let's go to the bath together.”

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Naruhito (63)
“Naruhito, let’s go to the bath together.”

After dinner, Rikimaru came to my room and said that, which startled me.
Huh? Why?

“I told you this morning, didn’t I? I’m going to be living in this detached palace from today. The bath here is huge, and you can use it anytime within the set hours, right? Let’s go together.”

As I froze in place, he kept talking, as usual.

“Ah, I-. I usually bathe with Hiiro.”
“Come on, enough about His Highness. You’ve always been bathing with him, so it’s fine to change it up once in a while. I’ll wash your back.”

I’ll wash your back.
Those words made my head spin.
Wash your back. Do it?
What if he washes me?
No, I don’t want that.
I only want Prince Hiiro to do that.

“I-I... n-no...”

My vision blurred. I desperately avoided the hand reaching out to me. I didn’t even want to touch it to push it away. I could hear something, but all I could do was focus on avoiding that hand. If he grabs me, it’ll happen again. But would resisting only make it worse? If that’s the case, maybe I should just stay quiet...
But the creeping feeling of disgust wouldn’t allow me to let him grab me, and my body instinctively fled. Even though my vision was hazy, the hand reaching toward me remained terrifyingly clear.

“N-no... no! Aaaaahhh!”

I finally collapsed, sitting down. With my limp right hand, I grasped the floor and slowly scooted backward on my bottom.
My throat made strange noises as I gasped for air, unable to breathe properly.
As I retreated desperately, the sounds around me disappeared. Was it my ears that had broken, or had I managed to get away?

I looked around, my eyes darting. It didn’t seem like he was chasing after me.
Maybe I had escaped. The thought made me lose all strength. The floor felt softer now. Was I safe here?

“Hiiro... where are you...?”

My vision went completely dark for a moment, and then a strange hand began to caress my body again.
So I didn’t manage to escape after all.
I couldn’t move anymore.
All I could do was curl up, groaning from the nausea, and wait for it to end...

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Rikimaru (8)
“N-no, nooo. Aaahhh!”

Naruhito screamed and frantically backed away.
What? Why?
I had no idea what was happening.

“Naruhito...?”

The more I reached out to him, the worse his panic grew.
As I stood confused at the door, I saw Prince Hiiro rushing up the stairs.
The sheer intensity of his aura froze me in place.
He was furious.

“Hiiro!!”

That was my older brother’s shout. As Prince Hiiro hesitated for a moment, my brother caught up to him and wrapped his arms around him from behind.

“Hiiro, take care of Naruhito. Leave Rikimaru to me.”

I could tell that my brother was using a lot of strength, restraining the prince’s actions. A vein throbbed visibly on Prince Hiiro's temple.

“Breathe deeply. Come on, let’s go to Naruhito.”

My brother, still holding onto Prince Hiiro, guided him into the room.
I could only stand frozen in place.
From the open door, I could see into the room. Naruhito was curled up on the carpet, groaning. Sweat was dripping from his face, his brows furrowed in deep anguish. He seemed to be holding back his voice, biting his lip so hard that blood was seeping out.
What on earth had happened...?

Even though they were in the room, neither Prince Hiiro nor my brother approached Naruhito. They just stood there, watching him from a distance.
Why weren’t they doing anything? If they didn’t stop him soon, he’d end up injuring himself even worse, and then he wouldn’t be able to eat because of the wounds on his lips.

I acted without thinking. I rushed into the room, heading straight for Naruhito, and reached out to touch him.

“N, no-noonooo, aaaahhh!”

The moment Naruhito’s piercing scream echoed through the room, I was sent flying by a punch from my brother.
With my vision swimming, I quickly assessed the situation. My brother had just been struck by Prince Hiiro and had collapsed to his knees.

“Ugh... ugh...”

I heard Naruhito groaning again, and when I looked over, I saw him shoving his right hand into his mouth to muffle his cries.
Now he was biting down so hard that his hand was bleeding.
Why...?

When I looked at Prince Hiiro, he was standing there, fists clenched, staring at Naruhito. Blood was dripping from his own hands.
My brother, having recovered, gently patted the prince’s hands, trying to calm his ragged breathing.

“Rikimaru. There won’t be a second chance. Ignorance is a sin.”

My brother’s voice was low. I realized that I had only survived because he had hit me first, holding back just enough...
Naruhito's muffled groans continued. It was a heart-wrenching, painful sound that tore at me.
I finally understood—I wasn’t supposed to touch him.

So, this is how it ends?
I couldn’t even help him with his bloodied lips or his injured right hand. I couldn’t shake him back to his senses. I couldn’t wipe away his cold sweat, and I didn’t even know what was causing his suffering.
All I could do was stand here, far away, listening to his anguished cries.
Just listening...?

I...
I must have done something.
Something that made Naruhito suffer this much.
Ignorance was a sin.

For what felt like an eternity, I just watched Naruhito suffer. I just listened.
It was the worst time of my life, even though it had been so short.

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