Chapter 216 - FRIENDS

WULFRIC glanced at Reas, that vein on his forehead was threatening to pop once again.  He tried to smile but it only came off as a grimaced.  “Reas, you really are such a party pooper.”

He was convinced, this brat was definitely doing this on purpose.  This was already the third time that he him off like this.  And he always did it whenever he was trying to say something important or trying to bond with Aster.  This brat might have been a little bit courteous compared to before but it’s obvious that he still didn’t approve of him getting close to Aster. 

Now he didn’t know if he should be mad that the other still thought that he would do something bad to his brother or if he should be glad that Reas was this protective of Aster.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Reas said without changing his expression.  “Sir.”

Astrid looked back and forth between his brother and Wulfric.  The former had this serious expression on his face, as if what he said was indeed a very serious matter.  While the latter looked like he would explode any minute now because of too much anger and frustration.

Just looking at them like this, he couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped his mouth.

The two both turned to Astrid after hearing this laugh.

This was the first time that Wulfric had seen Aster laughed so freely.  It was not because the other was amused or because he found something interesting.  It was just pure and unadulterated laughter.

Wulfric found that Aster was even more beautiful laughing freely like that.  Even his laughter sounded beautiful.  Like a wonderful melody.  He couldn’t take his eyes off of him. 

And then, as if his hands had a mind of their own, he opened his Terminal and preserved this scene in a video.  Of course, he also quickly closed his Terminal before the twins could notice what he did.  He didn’t want to be thought of as a creep. 

The reason he took that video was not because of something weird.  He just wanted to have a record of this moment.  Something that he could look back on.  Which was definitely not creepy at all.  Right?

“I agree with my brother, Your Highness,” Astrid said after a while.  “Calling you by your name is truly improper.”

Wulfric already expected that Aster might say that.  But he had already thought of an excuse to that. 

“Last time, you said that you would only let me eat your homecooked meal once the two of us became friends.  I just ate four of your homecooked dishes.  Doesn’t that mean that the two of us are already friends?  I might not have a rich experience when it came to friendship, but I know that one doesn’t call their friends by their title.  So, even if you call me by my name, it wouldn’t be improper.  Because we’re friends.  Don’t you think so?”

Astrid was a bit surprised hearing the excuse the other came up with.  It was a very poorly made excuse that almost didn’t make sense.  Because how about the other’s close subordinates?  Surely, they also referred to him in some kind of title or something.  They might call him ‘Your Highness’ or ‘General’.  So, according to what he just said, did that mean that he didn’t consider those people as ‘friends’?

There’s no way that’s the case.  With the kind of personality Wulfric had, those people wouldn’t just stay beside him just because he’s a prince.  So far, Astrid had seen three of Wulfric’s close subordinates – all with a captain rank.  And he could see that they all think of their general as someone very important. 

No matter how novice Wulfric was when it came to matters of friendship, he definitely considered those people not just as simple subordinates.

So, the excuse the other just made didn’t really made much sense. 

But it was enough to make Astrid considered the possibility of the two of them actually being friends.  Maybe because the other based the excuse he just made on that one off-hand conversation they had when they last met.  If Wulfric didn’t mention it just now, he probably would have already forgotten it. 

Now it was Reas turn to look back and forth between the two.  When he first heard what the general said earlier about being friends, all he could think of was, ‘what a childish excuse, my smart brother will definitely not fall for that’.  But when he glanced at Astrid, the other had an expression on his face that made him very dumbfounded.

Just one look and he could easily tell that his brother was seriously considering what the general had said.  He seriously felt like he had just been slapped. 

He wanted to intervene and say something.  But his brother was not the general.  He couldn’t do what he had been doing since earlier to the general – to get in the other’s way. 

Because this was Astrid.  Reas would never get in his brother’s way.  The same way that Astrid wouldn’t get in his.  They respected each other’s decision.  But that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t express their opinions.

So, he chose to shut his mouth at that moment.  Whatever decision his brother made regarding this offer of friendship – though he highly doubted that that was all it was – he would respect it.  But just like he said, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t express his opinion about it. 

Astrid observed Wulfric’s expression.  Although the other was trying his hardest to make it appear like what his answer wouldn’t affect him in any way, Astrid could still see the underlying nervousness.  That’s not all, he could also see his anxiety and a hint of anticipation.  As if he couldn’t wait for his respond but he also couldn’t bear to hear it if it was only rejection.

Astrid smiled inwardly at that.  Who would have thought that the youngest general in their Empire, the only prince, would show such an expression?

He probably had already thought of an answer at that moment.

“Yes, you certainly have a point..”  Astrid then raised his head and smiled before he continued, “Then, let’s be friends from now on, Wulf.”