Chapter 8. Orphanage Visit

Inside the rocking carriage, Asher was restless from the cold eyes directed at him. He was fine with the smiling Jeffrey seated across from him, but the gaze from the small, young boy seated next to the consort hurt. With soft, curly, red hair and large, round, golden eyes, he was Prince Noah. Asher had been under the impression that it would only be Jeffrey with him today, but he learned just before that Noah also visited the orphanage every month. It seemed that Noah also didn’t know that Asher would be accompanying them as his face had clearly shown surprise when he spotted Asher.

“It is my first time riding a carriage with you, Prince Asher,” Jeffrey said to start a conversation.

“Oh, yes, it is…” Asher replied.

“Recently, it has only been Noah and me, but three people in a carriage like this reminds me of back in the day when Hugo used to accompany us to the orphanage. He couldn’t even ride a horse back then.”

“I-Is that so?”

However, next to the gentle Jeffrey, Noah puffed his round cheeks and glared at Asher. Asher didn’t want to meet his gaze, so he focused all his attention down on his hands and waited for the awkward ride to end.

After some time, the carriage came to a stop, indicating that they had reached their destination. When the carriage door opened, several women knelt down and formally greeted them, “Welcome, Lord Jeffrey.”

“Thank you for your warm reception,” Jeffrey responded.

After Jeffrey and Noah alighted from the carriage, Asher popped his head out from the door. When he did, the ladies greeting them audibly gasped. “…His Highness…?!”

“I’m sorry, director. I was going to contact you, but all of this was a bit sudden… Prince Asher requested to accompany us today to observe our visit to the orphanage,” Jeffrey explained to the elderly lady whom he referred to as the director.

“…Is that so? I understand…” she responded.

“Thank you for having me today,” Asher said. It was evident from the reactions of the other employees of the orphanage that he wasn’t welcome here. Rumors about him had appeared to reach even this remote orphanage, so given that their impression of him was bad already, he hoped to improve it. His glittering golden hair, clear jewel-like blue eyes, and beautifully plump pink lips curling into a smile made several of the female employees blush and become flustered. There were also several among the soldiers escorting them who blushed upon seeing Asher smile for the first time, although Asher himself was unaware.

The mansion was a bit of a walk from the carriage yet the sound of children’s laughter could be heard. Noah noticed their voices and excitedly looked up at Jeffrey.

“Later, Noah,” Jeffrey said.

“Yes, Mother…” Noah said.

Asher was a bit confused by this exchange, but he and Noah followed behind Jeffrey and the director as the two adults chatted and walked towards the mansion. The black knights Theodore and Ward would continue to escort the royal family while the rest of the soldiers stayed behind with the carriage.

When they arrived at the mansion’s entrance, several children ran over after they noticed the approaching guests. They shouted, “Ah! It’s Noah! Noah!” and “Noah~!” as they ran out with smiles on their faces. An employee scolded, “Do not address Prince Noah so casually!” but the children didn’t pay any attention. They surrounded Noah and cheered. Noah looked up at his mother again, and this time, Jeffrey gave his permission.

“Thank you so much, Mother!” Noah said with a smile and ran off with the other children. Asher had never seen such a smile on Noah.

“There are no children around Noah’s age in the castle, so I let him play with the orphans here,” Jeffrey explained quietly to the surprised Asher.

“Wow… He looks so happy.”

“Yes, he is still a boy, after all.”

Asher watched Noah run off with the children when a childhood memory of his suddenly flashed in his mind. A young Asher stared outside the window by himself and watched Samuel and Hugo practice fighting with toy swords and have fun. The young Asher left the window, hugged his knees, and buried his head. This was “his” childhood.

“I…wish I could’ve done that.” These words unconsciously slipped out of Asher’s mouth and surprised those around him as they looked at him. But Asher himself was also surprised. “Ah, no… I mean, I didn’t have any friends my age back when I was Prince Noah’s age… Um, please don’t mind me.” Asher clenched his chest and looked over at Noah again. Those words were not his own. While he possessed memories of the past “Asher”, it frankly felt like he had simply inherited a stranger’s memories. But that memory… It felt… so heartbreaking. This feeling… was the same as when he met his father… This… wasn’t how the Asher now felt.

“Your Highness, is something the matter?” Theodore said. He stared at the prince’s face and appeared to be concerned.

Asher had been lost in his thoughts, so he jumped in surprise. He replied, “…I’m fine. It’s nothing…”

Asher noticed the director also anxiously looking at him as she opened the door to the mansion and welcomed them inside. Asher picked himself up and went inside with Jeffrey and Theodore. Ward remained outside with Noah. Asher lightly shook his head to shake off that unease from before and continued inside. The door slammed close and the sound echoed through the area.

＊＊＊

“Hey, Noah, who was that guy before?”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask too! Who was the one with Lord Jeffrey?”

“He was pretty. Like the angels you read about in stories.”

Noah played with the other children in the garden when one child suddenly remembered Asher and asked Noah about him. Some children joined in too to ask. Noah had been enjoying himself and forgetting about Asher, but with the mention of his half-brother, he became upset. He snorted and answered their questions, “An angel? As if… He’s a bad guy.”

“A bad guy? What do you mean?” a young, black-haired, cat beastfolk boy asked, crossed his arms, and narrowed his already narrow eyes at Noah.

“Bad guy as in he’s a bad guy! I wouldn’t be doing anything, but he’ll kick me really hard.”

“You serious? You got beat up by such a weak-looking guy?”

“That guy’s a bad guy, but you’re also one too, Bryce.”

“What d’ya say?!” The young beastfolk boy named Bryce ruffled Noah’s hair, and the surrounding children laughed.

“You’ve done it now!”

“Ahaha! I did it ‘cause you’re so weak! So much for being a prince! I’m gonna teach him a lesson.”

“Teach him a lesson… Hey, you can’t do that!”

“Well, you can’t ‘cause you’re weak.”

“Hey, why say that?!” Noah chased after the laughing Bryce.

While this was happening, Jeffrey and the director stepped outside the mansion, having finished their conversation. And Asher was there behind them. Noah thought his monthly playdate would be over as he slowed down, his pace falling behind Bryce. But Bryce didn’t seem to have noticed that Noah wasn’t chasing after him as he accelerated. He sped towards the sandbox where the younger children were making mud pies. He snatched up one as he ran past, his speed not dropping, and headed straight for Asher.

Noah realized what Bryce was trying to do and desperately shouted, “Huh? Wait! Bryce!”

But Byrce didn’t hear Noah’s warning. He shouted, “Take this!” Even if he was a child, Bryce was still a beastfolk so the mud pie he threw whizzed through the air straight for Asher.

When it collided with its target, Noah closed his eyes.

＊＊＊

While Asher descended the stairs to leave the mansion, he heard a sudden splat and was surprised to have something hit his cheek and clothes. When he turned to the direction of the sound, he saw Theodore’s hand extended near his face and dirty with wet mud.

“Is Your Highness hurt anywhere?” Theodore asked. Asher was confused, but he shook his head.

In the next moment, the shrill cry of the director echoed through the air. “My apologies! My apologies!”

The rest of the employees were dumbstruck for a few seconds, but they soon prostrated themselves with the director and desperately apologized to Asher. “We apologize for our incompetence in raising this child! Our apologies!”

Asher still couldn’t grasp the situation, but when he heard the word “child”, he finally noticed the young beastfolk boy whose hands were slightly dirty from mud. Bryce stood there frozen just a little ahead, staring at Asher, and appeared just as confused about everything.

Asher went through the sequence of events in his mind. Mud was thrown at him. Theodore protected him from it, but since he couldn’t completely block it all, some landed on him. Everything had happened so suddenly that his reaction was delayed.

Jeffrey held out a handkerchief. “Prince Asher, are you all right?”

“Th-thank you very much, Lord Jeffrey… Theodore too.” Asher used the handkerchief to wipe the mud off his face. He tried to get the mud off his clothes too, but since the mud was wet, it stained the fabric.

Bryce looked confused as to why the employees and director were all apologizing to and prostrating before Asher when Asher called out to him, “Are you the one who threw this?”

“Y-yeah,” Bryce answered, albeit surprised by Asher suddenly talking to him. However, the moment he answered, an employee ran up to Asher, lowered her head right by his feet, and cried, “I beg you! Please punish me instead! He’s only a child! I will take full responsibility!” It was then when Bryce finally realized from how abnormal the employees were reacting that he had done something inexcusable. The ears on his head lowered and trembled.

“Um… I’m fine. Please don’t take it so hard. Children will be children.” The air was tense, so Asher tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible when he responded.

The director and employees couldn’t understand what Asher was saying. They all lifted their heads and stared blankly at him. Jeffrey had been ready to stop an outburst from Asher, but even his beautiful green eyes were opened wide in shock. One employee slowly said, “B-but such a disrespectful act to the prince is…”

“Huh? Oh, I guess it was… This kind of mischief needs to be punished, right?” Asher said and approached the trembling Bryce. “You shouldn’t throw mud at people. Take this!”

Asher recalled how in the TV shows he watched in the past, the protagonist would flick the forehead of naughty children, and he attempted to do the same for this beastfolk boy. Bryce looked back at Asher in shock and confusion. “Huh?”

“You understand now? If you don’t answer, I’ll do it again, but harder this time.”

“…Huh?”

“Take that!” Unlike the first one, this flick was a clean hit, eliciting a loud “Ouch!” from Bryce who rubbed his forehead. Asher asked again, “You shouldn’t throw mud. Your answer?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. That’s correct. And what do we say after we do something bad?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Yes, good job.” Asher smiled, put his hand on the beastfolk boy’s head, and gently patted it. Since the boy’s ears were on top of his head, Asher could feel the young boy trembling under his hand. “You must have been shocked when the ladies started yelling, right? You’re a good boy, okay? You don’t need to be so scared. You probably didn’t think it would turn out this way, right?” Asher gently talked to the boy.

However, tears instantly began welling in the boy’s eyes until they spilled out. Asher became flustered. “…Huh?! Wait?! You’re fine, really! Don’t cry. Don’t cry, okay? I’m sorry. Does your forehead hurt?” He quickly picked up the beastfolk boy, held him in his arms, and gently stroked his back. The sobbing boy tightly wrapped his arms around Asher’s neck.

“There, there…” Asher comforted Bryce. While still tenderly holding the boy in his arms, Asher turned around, “Um, I’m sorry for making him cry—” but he was shocked to see everyone looking shocked back at him.

Among them, the female employee who had prostrated herself by Asher’s feet rushed over. She said, “Bryce, come here. You’re being rude to His Highness, Prince Asher.”

“H-huh? Prince?” Bryce said through sniffles.

“Yes, he is His Highness Prince Asher. He is Prince Noah’s brother and had accompanied him today.”

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t know…”

Bryce cried even harder, so Asher gently stroked his head to calm him down. The softness of his fur was comfortable, but this benefit given to Asher was a bit inappropriate to think about in this situation.

The employee took Byrce from Asher and held the boy instead. Most of the employees would have never imagined such behavior from Asher. They were relieved and talked among themselves, “It looks like the rumors were wrong.” But standing among them, Jeffrey looked to be deep in thought as he stared at Asher. But he soon showed his usual, gentle smile and turned away.

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