13. Hope

Xavion reported to his father that Claude was in the forest, even living in the dangerous zone where many goblins were in the vicinity.

Claude had set up a tent from stolen blankets, and his presence startled King Liam, who, instead of ordering Claude 's return, bestowed upon Xavion a sum of money to aid Claude 's survival. It seemed like a privilege granted to Xavion.

Duke Arthur, Claude 's father, learned that Claude had settled in the forest. He even went to Xavion's private mansion as the Second Prince was about to ride back to the woods.

Despite his anger towards Claude 's behavior, Arthur couldn't ignore the betrayal of his lingering affection for his son. He provided food for Xavion to take to Claude , boldly entrusting Xavion with it.

"I will provide him with food and send the food supply for each week. I humbly ask for your kindness to take care of my son in your capable hands." Arthur bowed before Xavion upon Arthur's henchmen and put a big wooden crate on the ground.

The second prince vaulted onto the saddle of his horse, he said. "No need to worry, Duke Arthur, I certainly will."

***

In the forest, Claude struggled to survive, learning archery and crafting bows from branches, although his shots consistently missed their targets, Claude kept training his archery skill every day.

"Ah, failed again!" Claude exclaimed as an arrow missed a rabbit, he didn't give up, however.

Before long, Nathan stumbled upon a herd of bucks grazing below a tree. He pulled the string up to his cheek, his gaze was sharp, confident in having a proper dinner after weeks surviving on wild fruits and plantains.

However, the sound of galloping horses was heard from a distance.

The herd scurried away at once when a group of gallant riders appeared from the dense foliage.

"There goes my dinner!"

Thud!

Xavion dismounted from their horses and then he instructed his entourages to bring forth the crate.

"Hunting is prohibited in this area; this is goblin territory. The scent of blood will draw them and you'll be overrun by their numbers before you know it," Xavion warned the boy in a relaxed manner.

"What are you doing here? Leave me alone!"

"I am afraid I can't," Xavion said. "Your father sends his regards. Wishing you to come back home."

"Hmph!" Nathan snorted and turned his back.

Xavion, however, couldn't imagine what kind of hell that Claude had been through for years. He then opted to hold Claude 's hands.

"Let's have some food, you must be hungry, right?"

Claude 's stomach growled aloud, making his face blush and as red as a tomato.

"F-Fine, just for this once!"

Eagerly, Claude accepted the food, devouring it with gusto. Xavion, observing Claude 's hunger, realized it had been only two days since Claude had eaten, so he didn't mind Claude keeping the food to himself. He also gave Claude a bag of clothes, containing pants, shirts, and a cloak.

"Thank you, I thought I was going to starve...," Claude murmured, wiping his eyes.

"You're welcome. Turns out you can say thank you after all," Xavion replied, patting Claude 's head but he had to withstand a cold slap on the back of his hand.

For him, Claude was like a spicy stray cat that needed the utmost attention.

"After this, do you want to go to the market? I want to buy something," Xavion suggested.

"Uhm, sure." Claude nodded.

After they had their fill, Claude bathed in the river, regardless of whether the water was clean or dirty. Claude scratched his face while swimming; it turned out he was allergic to river water, leaving his face crowded with rashed skin.

Xavion giggled jovially when he saw Claude who was like a drenched cat with reddened skin all over his face.

"Grrr…" Claude growled deeply.

Nevertheless, despite his annoying and playful side, Xavion cast a Wind Elemental Magic to dry him and a bit of healing magic to get rid of Claude 's allergy.

"Hey, Let's go to the market, shall we?" Claude said after putting on his clothes.

"I will buy you anything," Xavion replied softly, feeling pity for Claude 's condition.

Xavion then took Claude on his horse to the market, where Claude was allowed to buy whatever he desired. A jingly bag of gold coins dangled on his hips when Claude strode upon stall after stall to buy food and anything that fancied his eyes.

"Tomorrow or the day after, I might not be able to help you like this, so buy as much as you need," Xavion added while walking beside him. "The Annual Magic Academy Test is around the corner."

Although it's only a few days he spent his time with Claude , an affection swelled in his heart. He wanted to strengthen himself to protect Claude in the future, as Claude would become his responsibility.

"Okay!" Claude nodded, taking the money and running off to the shop.

Two hours passed, and Claude returned with only a small bag at his waist. "What did you buy? Did you run out of money?" Xavion asked.

"It's gone, but I bought this. It's a storage pouch that can hold anything and has unlimited storage capacity. It's a magic pouch; I waited for a wizard to make it for an hour and exchanged 1 million ribel for it," Claude explained, opening the pouch to reveal its magical properties.

'Luckily, I remembered about the magic pouch. When I was writing this novel, I took inspiration from the anime he watched,' Claude thought to himself, feeling delighted.

"Whatever, it's your money," Xavion shrugged, not scolding Claude for his extravagance.

When Claude returned to the campsite with Xavion, he was astonished to find a small but decent wooden lodge house, furnished with a foldable bed and a blanket.

"H-How? Did you tell your henchmen to build this?!"

"Yes, it's my gift for you. I hope we can get along together as a friend, Claude ."

"Thank you so much!" Claude hugged the second prince without hesitation.

Xavion's face reddened; he wanted to break the hug, but Claude clung to him tightly. Xavion felt his face turning as red as a tomato because of Claude 's embrace.

As a result of this incident, the bond between Xavion and Claude strengthened significantly. Claude began to trust Xavion as the best person in his life, while Xavion felt that Claude was now his responsibility.

From then on, Xavion never appeared in front of Claude again, only secretly delivering food every night and then disappearing.