Arc 1, New Moon
Chapter 2
It was now the second day since Ernst had fallen from his rank as Crown Prince.
All of the butlers and maids went to attend to the new Crown Prince. Regardless if Ernst was also there, they spoke only of the child Crown Prince. Though we aren"t to make brand new outfits for the little Crown Prince, how about we craft a chair and desk which fits him? And such. Though those items were what Ernst had used in the past, now they would be replaced by something completely new for the Crown Prince. If Ernst"s memory wasn"t wrong, what he had used was what the previous generations of Crown Princes had also used.
The mother of the next Crown Prince was the daughter of Marquesse Katalina. The family of the Marquesse was exceptionally affluent, and had the same amount of fortune as the King.
Before breakfast, Ernst took a walk through the garden. Up until now, the inside of the Crown Prince"s palace was always the same; wherever he went, the Imperial Guard followed after him without fail. But today… Ernst regarded the change in his surroundings, and more than anger, what he felt rise in him was a laugh.
Once, everyone and anyone had to kneel to Ernst. But ever since this morning, or rather, since yesterday, no one had bothered to look at Ernst. Though he was certainly still there, he had truly been made to feel that he had already disappeared.
When Ernst had still been young, wherever he went, people would scurry after him; no matter what he was doing, someone would talk to him, or reach out to him, to the point where he wanted to retreat into himself and find some s.p.a.ce to be alone. He had made several attempts to hide, but in just a slight amount of time he would always be found. He remembered quietly staying silent as the servants scolded him.
I…
Ernst spoke to himself.
Had I wanted to be the Crown Prince? Had I wanted to become King?
Or, had I wanted to find freedom?
When he saw the large man attending the bathing chambers, Ernst felt surprise.
He had thought that this manservant"s heart would also be stolen away by the next Crown Prince, and so Ernst had expected for no one to be in the bathing chambers. No matter how low this manservant"s status may be, he should still surely know that Ernst was no longer the Crown Prince. With an appearance no different from before, he washed Ernst as usual.
Suddenly, Ernst wanted to ask for his name.
Now that Ernst was no longer the Crown Prince, it would no longer be disrespectful for him to answer Ernst"s words.
But Ernst didn"t speak up. Even if he asked for the giant man"s name, he was afraid that there wouldn"t be any response. Ernst"s existence was now as thin and unnoticeable as air. If he spoke, only for his words to be pa.s.sed by without acknowledgement, the mental blow he"d suffer would be too overwhelming. It wasn"t that Ernst was that fragile, but for some reason he felt that he couldn"t bear it if this manservant treated his existence as nothing.
His boorish fingers carefully and skillfully washed Ernst"s delicate body as they always did. Every time the manservant moved, Ernst watched the smooth movements of his muscles.
Even now, the bath had always been a place for Ernst to think. After a day"s lesson, he would revisit his lessons in the bath, and come up with questions to ask his tutors for the next day. He thought deeply over the history of the Kingdom, and pondered over and over again the administration he would implement when he became King.
The bath was also a place to deeply immerse himself.
That said, now that he had been dismissed from his rank, this became only a place to not think about anything. Though, this was also a place where Ernst could gaze upon the giant man who kneeled as he served Ernst.
Ernst suddenly had a thought. Didn"t it make him feel superior, how he was able to subdue a gigantic man like this, whose physique Ernst would never be able to have? In this palace of the Crown Prince where all of the butlers, maids, and guardsmen who once bowed to Ernst with the deepest respect now neglected him, only this giant of a man still showed unchanging loyalty. Just how far would this person accept Ernst"s conduct? No matter how unreasonable the Crown Prince"s behavior was, would this servant resign himself to accepting and serving him regardless?
As if to clear out the cruel thoughts that had risen up one by one in his mind, Ernst shook his head. Cold water droplets flew from his hair. It was pathetic how swiftly he had fallen into such petty thoughts.
A touch landed on his knee, and Ernst stood. The servant"s large hands carefully washed between Ernst"s legs. His thick fingers gently scooped up Ernst"s small manhood, and he slowly and gently washed it as if he were holding it with both hands. A strange and tingling feeling spread from Ernst"s toes to the rest of his body.
After he had been diagnosed with Kleber"s disease, the doctors tried to determine if Ernst"s manhood could stand and perform the duties of a man. Sometimes they used bird feathers, other times they used ears of wheat. Yet Ernst"s manhood didn"t p.r.i.c.k up or react in any way. In front of innumerable doctors and butlers, Ernst was made to stand nude to see if he could become erect.
Finally, the chief doctor reached out his thin fingers which looked like dead branches, respectfully picked up Ernst"s soft manhood, and rubbed it.
Even just thinking about it now made Ernst feel sick to his stomach. Ernst had endured it for a very long time, but in the end, his manhood still didn"t have any reaction.
Yet he felt somehow different when in this manservant"s hands.
What that feeling was, Ernst wasn"t able to tell.
After gently being rinsed with water, Ernst dipped himself into the bathtub. The warm water seemed to relax every muscle of his body.
If there were any "muscles" at all in his body, that is.
As usual, the manservant waited right behind him. Just what thoughts were brewing in that brown-haired head of his? Was this big man"s brain also filled to the brim with thoughts about the new Crown Prince? Even if that were the case, right now, he had dedicated himself to serving Ernst as he always had, and for that, Ernst couldn"t help but praise him.
Compared to the behavior of the butlers and maids, the dedication this servant showed to Ernst deserved his appreciation.
There were differences between the Kleber and the Dunbert.
It wasn"t that they as a people were that different, it was that they were different species. Like dogs and cats, or horses and cows, they were not at all the same thing.
The Kleber race belonged to the family of the Sch.e.l.l Continent races, in which blue blood flowed through their veins. The Dunbert belonged to the Grude Continent, and their blood flowed red.
Was red blood warm? With blood that was a warm color flowing through this large-bodied man"s heart, perhaps his heart, too, was warm.
Ernst gave a slight smile at the romantic musings in his head; those thoughts were like those of a young girl.
For someone"s personality to change based on the blood they shed, how ridiculous.