Chapter 19. Comb

Translator: AdCaelum

Editor: meli

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TL: Once again, super sorry for the delay. But I got myself another editor here! Enjoy this fluffy chapter!

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Asher was taken to the infirmary by Ward. He had been advised to avoid passing soldiers along the way, but it was difficult to avoid seeing anyone. In addition, the soldiers, who had recently been able to return Asher’s greeting, grew excited when they spotted the prince and even rushed over.

“G-good day, Prince Asher.”

“Prince Asher, I feel blessed today to be able to bask in your beauty.”

The soldiers greeted the prince, and although their smiles looked slightly nervous, they appeared to be genuinely happy. But Asher had just been reprimanded by Ward for being too defenseless, so while he greeted them with a broad smile, he made sure to keep it to a minimum.

“Hello. Good work at your training today,” he told them. “Please excuse me. I’m in a bit of a hurry.” Asher’s beauty as he passed gracefully by was truly immaculate.

Ward looked at Asher and sighed inwardly. Did the prince truly know how much of a problem his ignorance was?

Ward knew that, in his own way, Asher was only following his advice, but Asher’s attempt to restrict his impulsive smiles had the complete opposite effect. Up until recently, Asher’s smile had an innocent quality that incited onlookers’ desire to protect, but now it looked gentle and ephemeral, embodying something so sacred that it was difficult to defile. The soldiers gasped and fell further for the prince. 

“Be as that may,” Ward muttered in a low, barely audible voice as he watched Asher walk in front of him. “Could the shock of falling off a horse truly change a person’s personality?” Even though the prince’s movements and behavior were the same, the slight difference in the air around him had altered his image so much.

Ward had visited the royal doctor to ask about this the other day. The doctor had seen his fair share of complicated illnesses, but he could only give Ward the vague answer of “It’s not entirely impossible.”

Ward also attempted to talk to Theodore about this numerous times, but Theodore cut off any possible conversation with an unpleasant frown. Unable to finish saying what he wanted to say, Ward grew fed up with Theodore, but after witnessing that event in the garden, he couldn’t be any happier, having discovered this new amusement. He would have never expected that the reason behind Theodore’s strange behavior since the beastfolk bandit attack was Asher, but now that he knew, Ward chuckled that he had something to entertain him for some time.

The chance to tease Asher was already enough for Ward, and the reactions the prince gave were exactly his cup of tea. It wasn’t that he hated the way Asher was before, but Asher was too young for him to see the prince as anything but a child. However, if he were to use flowers as an example, the current Asher was like a budding blossom. The very thought of nurturing that blossom until it bloomed and scattering it with his own hands excited him.

A young body on the cusp of adulthood, that awkward sexuality, and that ethereal beauty— How utterly perfect.

Additionally, Theodore’s reactions were the irresistible icing on top.

“Why are you smirking like that?” Asher asked.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” Ward answered.

Asher was perplexed about what Ward found so funny to make him smile like that, but if Ward wasn’t going to answer, then there was nothing he could do about it. He turned away from Ward and continued ahead.

Asher slowed down his pace when he heard the conversation and laughter that was coming from his destination, the infirmary.

“Prince Asher should be coming by soon, so scram. Don’t bother us.”

“You say that, but are you sure? I still can’t believe that Prince Asher would treat the injuries of a beastfolk like you, Vex.”

Asher peeked through the slightly ajar door and saw two visiting beastfolk soldiers standing by the three injured soldiers’ beds.

Their conversation made it a little awkward for Asher to enter… They were talking like this the first time he visited too.

Asher wryly smiled at how awkward it had been when he heard those words that were never meant for his ears. However, as of lately, the soldiers had opened up to Asher in their own way. As such, Asher confidently opened the door, positive that there wouldn’t be another repeat of that awkward silence.

“It’s really true! Remember, Vex! I too had Prince Asher use his beautiful, pale, delicate hands to apply salve and gent~ly wrap the bandages for me.”

“What d’ya mean ‘gent~ly wrap’, Wile!? You’ve long gotten better, so you don’t need salve or bandages anymore! Sop taking up a bed and beat it!”

“Shut up, Zeddam! Don’t think I didn’t catch you staring lovingly at the sling Prince Asher wrapped for you! Seeing you treasure it like that is gross!”

“My! Bone! Is! Broken! You idiot! Besides, Asher personally washed the sling. ‘Course I’m gonna treasure it!”

“Argh, shaddup already! I think the both of you should just go back to the dorms if you’ve got that much energy!”

“What d’ya say, Vex, you bastard?! I know all about it. Beastfolk like you can heal the bones in their fingers within 3-4 days! Yet you pretend and beg ‘Oh, I can’t use my hands~’ to get Prince Asher to pamper and feed you— Ah!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

The soldiers noticed the frozen Asher standing by the open door and instantly quieted. Ward, behind Asher, covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to hold back his laughter.

This was awkward… Extremely awkward… A different awkwardness from before…

It was like another comedy skit with these three, so Asher could only wryly laugh.

“Um… I’ve come again to help today,” Asher said, still bewildered by what he’d heard.

The three soldiers realized how rude their conversation must have sounded and gave embarrassed, awkward smiles to the prince. The two visiting soldiers, however, still looked wary.

“Ahem. From what I heard from your conversation, your injuries have already healed, right?” Ward said. He managed to successfully hold back his laughter and put on a refreshing smile. The soldiers flinched. Ward continued, “Then, Prince Asher no longer has a reason to come here, does he?”

“No way!” The beastfolk soldier named Vex cried out, and the two visiting beastfolk soldiers next to him looked at him in shock.

“A prince of a nation should not need to do this much for a normal soldier. Besides, you appear to have completely recovered,” Ward said.

“Actually, I plan to keep coming here until everyone has fully recovered…” Asher interjected. When he noticed a bag left on the table, he exclaimed, “Oh! Mr. Vex, I see that the item I ordered has arrived.”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Hearing the news, Vex’s eyes twinkled and his nose twitched in delight.

In the beginning, Asher didn’t know that underneath the bandages that were wound around his head, Vex’s face was that of a hyena. He was surprised at the reveal during their removal, but he could now slightly tell apart the beastfolk’s expressions.

As Asher walked over to him, Vex immediately grew flustered. Ward picked up on this, but Asher didn’t.

“The comb I ordered has flexible teeth, so it shouldn’t aggravate your injuries. Let’s give it a try.” With a smile Asher took the comb out of the bag and walked up to Vex’s bed. He then softly ran the comb through the fur on Vex’s shoulders, arms, and wherever else that wasn’t near his still bandaged back. He asked, “How does it feel, Mr. Vex?”

As the smiling Asher combed Vex’s fur, Vex flicked his ears in delight again, although he had a slightly awkward look on his face. The two visiting beastfolk soldiers watching Asher were slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

Asher felt their gazes on him. He stopped brushing Vex’s fur, turned to them, and asked, “Um…?”

“P-Prince Asher is personally… combing Vex’s fur…”

“I must be seeing things…”

Asher realized the problem lay with him combing Vex’s fur, so he quickly withdrew the comb. “I’m sorry… Did I do something wrong?”

“No, not at all! Your Highness has done nothing wrong,” Vex reassured him. He turned to the soldiers and shouted, “Look what you guys did. You’ve got him apologizing!”

The other injured soldiers lying in bed, Wile and Zedam, watched on, amused at Vex, and exchanged smirks.

“Prince Asher, beastfolk only allow those they trust to comb their fur. Such as family, friends, and even lov—”

“Wile!”

Vex bared his fangs and gave a low, beast-like growl, but Wile and Zedam cackled with laughter. The soldiers were indirectly implying that Vex trusted Asher enough to let him touch his body.

However, it seemed that Asher hadn’t picked up on that, so he took their words literally and immediately apologized, “I-Is that so? I didn’t know… I must have been too intrusive…”

Asher now understood why those two beastfolk soldiers looked shocked. Since he didn’t know much about beastfolk, just how many times had he offended them? He had often brushed Vex’s fur because Vex couldn’t properly bathe with his injuries. He thought this was the least he could do to help… but was Vex too scared to reject the prince’s offer?

Asher faced Vex directly and lowered his head. “I apologize for my ignorance… Um, you must have been pushing yourself… to play along with my whims…”

“The prince apologized… The rumor… was true…”

“I don’t believe it…”

The two visiting beastfolk soldiers continued to mutter between themselves, their eyes fixed on Asher. Ward snickered to himself, having known this would happen. There was no other prince as selfish or cruel as Asher, yet they suddenly found him diligently treating and caring for three normal soldiers with such kindness. No one would believe that those three injured soldiers who were so terrified of Asher would be so comfortable with him now. What was more unbelievable was that the prince would brush someone’s hair, the hair of a beastfolk soldier no less.

Then again… what man wouldn’t love to be cared for with loving tenderness, an angelic smile, and kind words when he was weak? If anything, that man would be deeply moved.

“Is Prince Asher truly over there?” a voice suddenly shouted from the hallway, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to the door. 

Asher smiled when he saw the face peeking into the room. It was Marquess Clarke. He seemed to have rushed over here as his chestnut-colored hair was a disheveled mess. He scanned the room, and when he spotted Asher, he rushed over, crying, “Prince Asher! What are you doing here of all places!?”

“Lord Clarke! You’ve returned from your territory. Is everything okay now?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, but more importantly…”

Marquess Clarke looked around at the soldiers present before his eyes landed on Ward and narrowed.

“Good day, Marquess Clarke. Have you resolved the issue on your land?” Ward greeted him.

“Ward Braun… Why have you brought Prince Asher to such a place…?”

“Because Prince Asher wanted to.”

Marquess Clarke furrowed his brow and turned to face Asher. He asked, “You did?”

“I’ve been secretly sneaking out of my room to help out here for the past few days. Ward had nothing to do with it,” Asher answered.

“To help out?”

“Yes, such as treating these injured soldiers… There’s not much I can do, but at least—”

“Why?!”

“What?”

“Why would you…?”

Marquess Clarke looked very distraught, confusing Asher. Huh? Why did Lord Clarke look… angry? No, but he said—

“But didn’t you tell me… that I should just apologize?”

“That’s—! Ahem, anyways, please return to your room. Queen Angela is looking for you since you weren’t in your room.”

“Mother is?!” Asher immediately knew that this was bad. He chose this time because he knew that this was usually when Angela would be away at a tea party with the other ladies. He turned to the soldiers and said, “Mr. Vex, Mr. Wile, Mr. Zedam, I’m sorry, but I need to leave for today.”

“O-okay,” they answered.

Asher quickly left the infirmary with Marquess Clarke and rushed back to his room with Ward a step behind the two.

“Mother is usually at her tea parties around this time…”

“I do not know the full details. I simply rushed back when I heard the rumors about you from the soldiers…”

“Rumors about me?”

Marquess Clarke was likely referring to what Ward had mentioned to Asher before. Asher had tried to curb the spread of the rumors so they wouldn’t reach Angela’s ears, but as he’d expected, silencing them completely was quite difficult.

“I truly didn’t think I would find you there, Prince Asher…”

Marquess Clarke’s voice sounded somewhat disappointed, which shocked Asher. In this heavy mood, no one spoke as they walked all the way back to Asher’s room.

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