Chapter 81

Fortunately, the emptiness caused by discovering the secret friend’s identity was only for a brief moment. I immediately smiled slightly. “But it’s still interesting that we are each other’s secret friend.” Nicholas still doesn’t know that I’ve found out that he is my secret friend.

‘Then, should I give you a hint?’

Just thinking about it already makes me excited.

***

The very next day, I started the operation—a strategy that revolves around Nicholas, who was clueless about his secret friend. During playtime, I sat on the chair next to Nicholas, who was reading a book, and started knitting.

“……?”

Nicholas looked at me puzzled for a moment, then he turned his gaze back to the book. Actually, Nicholas didn’t like having someone next to him and disturbing him while he was reading. After the children felt pressured by his presence several times, the seat next to Nicholas’s was implicitly vacant.

‘But this time, seeing that he has closed his eyes without making a sound, is he letting me off as I am his secret friend?’

Feeling a little better, I excitedly speeded up on my knitting. Of course, I didn’t forget to glance at Nicholas who was sitting next to me. How long has it been? Has it been ten minutes or so? Perhaps he finally noticed my gaze and closed the book he was reading.

“Do you have anything to say?” He turned his head towards me and looked into my eyes. Certainly, I wasn’t flustered. I only shrugged my shoulders.

“I think there is.”

“If there is, there is. If not, there isn’t. Make it clear.” Nicholas didn’t seem to like my vague answer. I smiled a little and answered properly.

“What I want to say to you is… I want to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?”

“Yes. The last time you came to Marquisate, I felt a bit sorry for talking less. It’s been a few days since I went to kindergarten, but now that I think about it, I haven’t been able to talk much with the prince.”

Nicholas made a puzzled expression on his face as he sighed with regret at my words. He heard something from that he had never heard before.

“Is it……”

“It is because you are someone who is a little difficult to approach. Still, it’s a good thing, though. I wondered what I would do if Your Highness didn’t like me, but I don’t think that’s the case. You borrowed a children’s book from me last time too, didn’t you?”

Nicholas calmly nodded his head to respond. “Yes. Come to think of it, I have something to say about fairy tale books, and I have read everything I borrowed from you. I will return it to you tomorrow.”

“Oh, you already read them all! Your Highness, you are a fast reader!” To my brief exclamation, Nicholas smiled and added, “It’s not just fast reading, it’s also extensive reading.” It was a subtle self-esteem boost.

“Your Highness is the best.”

As soon as I raised my thumbs up, Nicholas paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Haha. You are such a fun kid.”

Um, I didn’t know, but Nicholas seems to have a bit of a unique sense of humor. But luckily we had a similar sense of humor.

“Thank you for the compliment. Hehe. More importantly, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

I sneaked in a question, and Nicholas, who had loosened up a bit at my sense of humor, allowed it.

“Why does the prince always only read books in kindergarten? Oh, of course, reading is a very good and beneficial thing… but I wonder why you don’t play with other kids, including me.”

Nicholas’s expression stiffened for a moment at my question, and there was a momentary pause before I could hear an answer.

“…I am scheduled for early admission to the academy soon. It’s only natural that we can’t get along because we are not at the same level.”

“Well, when is that ‘soon’?”

“It’s next year. There is more than enough time to pass the early entrance exam, but there is an age limit for early entry.”

“Aha.” I nodded at Nicholas’ kind explanation. Understood. Although it may have sounded like he was bragging at first, it was true, not a bluff. In fact, so was the Nicholas in the original story. He was set as a great and elite emperor, and this was perhaps to build his character as the male protagonist. Of course, there was no way to portray him as an elite at this juncture, so it was natural to show his genius talent from an early age. Aside from that, the really important thing was that Nicholas would leave this kindergarten next year to be at the academy.

‘It’s kind of sad.’