Chapter Sixty One

Not much longer after our agreement, Peter finished taking care of the horse and then he and I left the stable together. So, on our way back to the palace, I decided to ask him. 

"How do you intend to help me, Peter?"

After I had already made the deal with Peter, I finally realized I was acting so much under the influence of Mary's words that I didn't stop to even question it beforehand. 

"I can teach you how to deal with the hyenas of this palace. Serving directly the members of the royal family can make you a target. I had to endure a lot myself so I know how hard it can be." Peter answered looking at me, but then he looked forward and continued saying.

"Most of what they can do to you is pretty harmless, but there are some dickheads that might try to hurt you for one reason or another, and I can help you with that. No one dares to mess with me." He said with pride in his tone.

"Really? Why is that?" I asked with curiosity. 

"When I was still Prince Dylan's servant I used to be his training partner in both combat and swordsmanship, so I always did my best to keep up at the same level as him. Thanks to that, anyone who tried to harm me in any way ended up humiliatingly hurt in return." Peter said that with a grin on his face.

Remembering watching Prince Dylan fighting earlier I realized one thing. 'One mental note: I should never mess with Peter.'

"I see, you can be pretty helpful then..." I said thinking out loud, realizing now why Mary suggested me to befriend Peter.

Peter seemed to be confident about dealing with the servants's jealousy and ill intentions since he used to be one of Prince Dylan's personal servants in the past. Also, he seems to be pretty reliable and knows how to take care of himself.

'Different from me he doesn't need someone else to defend himself.' I thought, feeling quite envious of Peter.

My only strength is my magic which I can't freely use as I wish if I don't want to be discovered and put my life at risk. 

'All I did in these last few years was read so many books that I've lost count. But this is all useless when it comes to self-defense.' I thought, feeling ashamed for a brief moment after realizing I would have to rely on someone else again for my protection.

Although reading was highly useful to me because I knew nothing about this world since I was forcefully living as a recluse, I couldn't stop feeling mad at myself.

'I want to be an adventurer one day but I'm nothing but a weakling.' I thought, feeling a big sense of shame.

"Kiddo." Peter suddenly called me, taking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at him confused. "Yes?"

"If you want, I can join you tonight at the Servant's Hall even without the pass, but just this time." He said staring at me with a serious face.

"Are you sure?" I asked surprised.

Peter just nodded in response.

"Then, I accept your offer. I promise I will give you the pass as soon as I can without fail." I said, determined.

"Good." He said and then he scratched his head, he seemed content. "Then no need to be scared."

'Did he think I was scared?' I noticed, quite surprised that Peter was nicer than I had thought.

"Thank you, it can really be troublesome there by myself, to be honest." I said while he was looking away on purpose, avoiding my eyes.

"Tsk. If you intend to have your meals at the Servants' Hall from now on, just go there as late as you can. It will be mostly empty, and you won't have problems with people trying to mess with you, they will be too focused on finishing their plates before the meal time ends." Peter said, suddenly advising me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Servants' Hall has strict meal times." Peter explained as we entered the palace. "You can't enter before it starts, and you can't stay longer either. They don't care if you're mid-bite; if the meal time is over you are out."

'Wow, so, that is the life of the servants, huh.'

"That makes sense, thank you for the advice, Peter." I thanked him, but he didn't seem to care, he was just looking forward like he didn't even hear me.

The silence between us made me feel uncomfortable, so I decided to ask since I got curious. "Is that why you were at the stable this late?" 

Peter was surprised by my question and then he seemed pensive. I thought he wouldn't answer me, but then he answered. "Perhaps." 

"Perhaps?" I asked, confused.

"In the past, I used to arrive as late as I could at the Servants' Hall to avoid any trouble, just like I told you to do. So I always tried to find things to keep me busy until I could go have my meals peacefully. But, I think it is just a habit now." Peter explained. It seemed like he just had realized that.

"For how long have you served Prince Dylan?" I asked, wanting to know him better.

Peter's eyes looked up as if he was trying to recall it. "I was eight years old when I became Prince Dylan's servant, so…I served him for five years?''

"Wow, you were so young when you started to serve him.'' I pointed out, surprised.

"Indeed. To this day I still don't know why Prince Dyllan chose me to serve him. I was still a newcomer, I had just started working here in the palace when he made me his servant." Peter explained with a soft smile on his face that quickly vanished.

'Peter seems to still like Prince Dylan even though he isn't his servant anymore.' I noticed looking at the subtle sadness in Peter's eyes after his smile was gone.

I was about to ask further questions about him and Prince Dylan, but then I realized something.

'If Peter was eight when he started serving Prince Dylan, and he served Prince Dylan for five years then…'

"You stopped serving Prince Dylan this year?" I asked, surprised.

"How do you know that?" Peter asked, confused.

"I-I know your age so I just did the math."

"Oh, I see." Peter said, putting his hands inside his pants pockets. "Yes, it has been four months since Prince Dylan's dismissed me."

'Just four months?' I thought, surprised.

"Why…Why did Prince Dylan dismiss you as his servant?" I asked looking up at him, unsure if asking this would offend him.

Peter looked away after he drily answered. "I don't know, he just did."

After he said those words, I didn't dare to ask him anything else. He seemed serious and it was clear this was a sensitive topic for him.

'Why would Prince Dylan have dismissed Peter without even explaining to him his motives?' I asked myself feeling empathetic towards Peter.

Prince Dylan was still a mystery to me. 

'Sometimes he seems completely nice and inoffensive, but at others, he is just cold and scary.' I thought remembering how he usually behaves when we are just the two alone.

'At least he genuinely cares about Prince Noah.' I thought, noticing that it was the only good thing about Prince Dylan I knew.

***

We arrived at the Servants' Hall and just as Peter said there weren't many servants eating there.

"Hm, can I still sit with you, Peter?" I asked, quite timidly as we were in the line to get our meal.

He nodded. 

"Didn't I tell you so earlier?" Peter asked briefly glancing at me with his serious face.

I sighed relieved when he wasn't looking.

I thought Peter was annoyed by me because of my questions so he wouldn't want me around anymore, but to my surprise, he still stuck to his words.

Holding my tray with a plate full of soup on it, I quickly followed Peter as he walked away. While following him I made sure to notice any weird movement of the other servants around us.

'This time I won't let myself fall for silly tricks and drop my food all over me again.' I thought determined, yet a bit fearful.

Although I noticed some glances, this time thankfully no one tried anything funny. As Peter said, everyone seemed too focused on their meal to even notice their surroundings.

Peter took a sit on a distant table which there was no one near. I sat right beside him.

"You didn't get a bread?" Peter suddenly asked looking at my tray. 

"Oh, I didn't even notice there were breads there." I said, just realizing Peter had two small loaves of bread, which didn't seem that fresh, laying on his tray.

"Here, take this one." Peter suddenly said, putting one of his bread on my plate.

"T-There is no need for that." I quickly said, surprised.

"It is already on your plate, just take it." Peter said waving his right hand showing I shouldn't mind it. "Besides, believe me, if you just have this bland soup for dinner you will sleep hungry tonight."

Hearing his words made my heart ache. Knowing he would eat less because of me made me feel guilty.

"...Thank you, Peter." I quietly said, staring at my plate. If he heard me, he didn't say anything in response.

Peter started eating and so I did the same.

While I was eating I thought. 

'Peter is such a nice kid, why did Prince Dylan dismiss him so coldly without even telling him why? Peter served him for years, does Prince Dylan have no heart?' I asked myself, annoyed.

I wanted to ask Peter more. I wanted to know more about Prince Dylan, about them, and maybe try to understand what happened between them to become strained. But I knew it had nothing to do with me, so I kept my mouth shut.

Peter had already been too nice to me for me to annoy him and maybe even hurt or offend him with my questions. This is not worth to risk just out of curiosity.

"Are you alright, kiddo?" Peter suddenly asked, surprising me.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." I quickly answered.

Peter had a sided smile when he asked. "It is this bland soup, isn't it? The food they serve the royal family surely is way better than anything they serve here, that I know."

"No, no, it is not that. The soup is not that bad. Well, the soup is bland but it is fine." The food I eat with Prince Noah is ten times better for sure, but even though the soup was bland, it was way better than anything I used to eat when I was stuck in the northwest area. 

''If you say so." Peter said, but the way he looked at me it was clear he didn't believe my words.

After a brief moment of silence, Peter asked me with subtle curiosity in his voice after taking a bite of his bread. "How is it to serve Prince Noah? I mean, to be one of his closest servants?"

"Well, it is…" I started to say, but as I opened my mouth to answer him I quickly closed it.

For some reason I had a glimpse of my past self, and how he would answer it.

Of course, I would've thought of it as all boring and annoying. Following a hot-tempered brat all day, having to overhear his endless classes, and watching him train every day would not be something my past self would see as interesting.

'But after all I have passed in this life, I definitely have changed... I am not the boy I once used to be anymore.' I realized feeling bittersweet remembering about the carefree teenage boy I once was.

Now, in this lifetime, I see that becoming Prince Noah's servant was one if not the best thing that has happened to me in these last four years since I recovered the memories of my past life.

Following Prince Noah around I can see his classes and learn more about this world. I actually enjoy watching them. Seeing him training makes me want to do the same. It makes me think about my life outside of this palace as an adventurer. It brings me excitement and hope. 

And, of course, eating with Prince Noah and enjoying some time with him is definitely the highlight of my days now. 

"It is… It is great, to be honest. I have nothing to complain about.'' I answered, honestly.

"Really?" Peter asked all surprised for some reason. "You don't need to lie to me, you know I also served a prince."

"No, I really meant that." I said, insisting on my words.

Peter looked at me as if I was crazy. "I didn't just hear, but I know how hard it is to deal with Prince Noah. He can be pretty intense and hot-tempered, he is also rude and doesn't listen to others. I can't imagine how it is to serve someone like him."

"Yes I would be lying saying Prince Noah can't be a handful sometimes, but he is also a pretty great and considerate person." I said calmly, although I was feeling annoyed. 

"You are something else, kiddo. Whenever I had to interact with Prince Noah I was so glad I was serving Prince Dylan instead and not him. I could only think how it would be a nightmare to serve a prince like him.'' Peter said then he took another bite of his bread. He seemed calm like he didn't really mean anything with that. It was just his opinion.

But something inside of me snapped.

"It is such a coincidence because I am now so glad I am not serving Prince Dylan, but Prince Noah instead. I can just think of how it would be a nightmare to serve a prince like him." I said, meaning each of my words while having a forced smile on my face.

While I was saying that I could only think of the times Prince Dylan threatened me coldly when it was just the two of us.

But Peter clearly got mad at my words. He was frowning like he couldn't believe what he just heard. He stayed in silence staring at me until he said in a menacing tone.

"...Prince Dylan is an amazing prince, he is smart and skilled, and he excels in everything a dependable and honorable prince should, yet he is also humble and kind to everyone, even to servants like us. Then how can you say he is not good enough to you?" 

Peter's eyes were piercing me because of how intensely he was glaring at me. All friendliness in him was gone, there was just disdain.

At that moment he was pretty scary, but I wasn't taken aback.

"I never said he is not a good prince. But since you were commenting on Prince Noah's personality, I felt it was fair to share my thoughts on Prince Dylan. His kind smile and nice words are nothing but a farce. He abuses his power when he sees fit, threatens the weak when there is no one around, and makes his words heard even though he doesn't make the effort to hear. In regards to personality, I would take Prince Noah's hot temper any day, rather than having to deal with a two-faced prince like Prince Dylan." I said staring Peter back in the eyes frowning just like he was.

I was expecting Peter to do something like punching me in the face, I was even ready for the pain, but Peter surprised me with his words.

"I see." Peter simply said as his demeanor softened, and he didn't seem mad anymore. "You seem to know Prince Dylan better than most people do."

"Pardon?" I asked, confused.

Peter sighed after scratching his head. "I know Prince Dylan from way before he became the prince you know. I also know his worst side pretty well. I thought he had changed, but it seems he just learned how to hide it better, huh."

Peter seemed pensive for a brief moment, but it seemed like he tossed his thoughts away quite quickly and started to angrily eat.

"Are you alright?" I cautiously asked as I watched him eat the soup intensely. 

"Yeah, I am." Peter answered without looking at me, then he took the last bite of his bread.

"I see." I said not knowing what to say, after the short argument between us I wasn't sure how much I could ask him anymore. "Anyway…are we fine? Is the deal still up?"

Peter kept silent, I thought he wouldn't answer me until he curtly said. "...Sure."

"Alright, then tomorrow I will ask Prince Noah for the library pass, I promise." I affirmed again.

Peter just nodded, but he was still frowning. I knew it wasn't about me anymore but about Prince Dylan.

I wanted to ask further, but I decided to not do so.

'Let's leave him to his own thoughts.' I thought decided. After almost fighting with Peter I preferred to not ruin our just-formed relationship any further.

'He still might be useful to have around after all.' 

***

I sighed relieved.

"Tonight ended up better than I expected.'' I mumbled to myself.

I left the Servant's Hall after finishing eating and was relieved nothing bad happened to me.

'I was able to find Peter, I also made a deal with him and I even was able to eat tonight without anyone trying to punch me.' I thought feeling excited about my small achievements. 

''Well, me and Peter had a small argument, but in the end, he still seemed interested in keeping our deal.'' I talked to myself highlighting how I almost ruined everything. 

I sighed again, but this time out of nervosity thinking how badly things could have ended if Peter had decided to get physical. I would have ruined everything just because of my temper.

'I should just go to sleep.' I thought, feeling tired, wanting to not do anything that could ruin everything for me again.

I was getting closer to my bedroom when I was surprised to see a boy in front of my door lying on the wall with crossed arms staring at my door annoyed as if he had been waiting there for a long time. 

"P-Prince Noah?"