Chapter 19: Things That Never Change

Translated by: chocolalaProofread by: lil-valley

Abalana was a sophisticated restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. The black polished marble walls, chandeliers, chairs, desks, and the furniture were all of the finest quality. The menu was on a par with dishes served at the Royal Palace. 

Wow, definitely not a place for children…

However, this place was perfect for secret meetings. There were ten private rooms in this restaurant… Those were clearly designed for secret meetings. In other words, this café was designed as a secret meeting place from the very beginning. And here we were, having tea in the private room. 

“Urschel… Oh, yours is tea. Now I remember; you didn’t like coffee.” As I looked around at the rare scenery, Brother Ben said with a wry smile. 

Brother Ben actually remembered that I didn’t like coffee…

“Wow, you remembered!”

“Yeah. I still remember Urschel’s bitter expression every time the coffee was served.”

“I couldn’t help it; it was just too bitter. But now I can drink it! As long as I have milk and sugar!”

“…I see. I’m glad you’ve learned to drink it, albeit with milk and sugar.” Brother Ben smiled with deep emotion as he continued, “Time sure does fly… just like how you can now drink coffee, Urschel, who used to be so little, has now grown this big.”   

Speaking of which, when I was the prince’s study mate I was only half as tall as Brother Ben. Although, that might be due to the fact that my brother Ben was a precocious child and grew up very fast. The difference in our heights was so great that people used to say we were like father and son. 

In the present, I had already reached two thirds of Brother Ben’s height. So, I could totally understand why he felt such awe.  

“Back then, I used to let Brother Ben carry me on his shoulders and sit on his lap, but I can’t do that any more. I’m a big boy now.”

“…You’re right.”

Brother Ben called for the waiter, asked for two cups of tea, and began to talk nostalgically.

“During those times… I have to admit, it was tough. But, when Urschel was there, I had so much fun. But well, even if I say that, most of my memories were of you being obsessed with the sweets and pastries… All you had in mind were sweets. I can still remember the way you used to eat sweets every day with a smile on your face and no regard for your studies. All you talked about was sweets, and it just showed how much you truly loved them.” 

“…Not much has changed in that aspect, though.”

Although I was studying harder than when I was the first prince’s studymate, I still lived my life for the sake of sweets.

Brother Ben wryly smiled, “So that didn’t change, huh?” 

“Yes. I eat sweets every day. But I don’t eat a lot! I’ll get fat!”1

“That’s great…” Suddenly, Brother Ben reached his hand out towards me, but he stopped halfway. 

“Brother Ben?”

“Ah, no… Sorry.”

 He used to pat me on the head when he used to praise me; maybe that habit caught up with him?

Brother Ben smiled as if he was trying to smooth things over. “I’m sorry. Urschel is not at that age anymore…”

“Hehe, that’s right. I’ll be fifteen years old in a month or so. Next year I’ll turn sixteen–a full-fledged adult!”

“…So fast…”

I hadn’t seen Brother Ben in a few years, he must have been surprised. Well, I was just a little boy then, but in just another year I’ll be an adult.

“You were so small; soon Urschel is going to be an adult… That Urschel who bawled at  a ruined parfait is now…”

“Ah! Don’t remind me of that! I cried so much; it’s an embarrassing memory.”

“Is that so? It’s a good memory for me.”

“A good memory?”

“Urschel may not remember this, but…” Brother Ben began recounting what had happened on that day. 

That day, following a bit of a mess, I decided to quit being the prince’s study mate. My parfait, which was made by the royal palace patissiers, was destroyed during the conflict. 

“The parfait…parfait…!”2

I was so shocked that I burst into tears. When I look back on that incident now, even I couldn’t believe how much I had cried. Perhaps it was because that was the first time in my life that someone had ruined my sweets in front of me. 

Anyway, I was so sad that I couldn’t stop crying. It was Brother Ben who reached out to me.

“Come on, Urschel, don’t cry so much or your eyes will swell up.”

I was crying, and Brother Ben picked me up and comforted me as I sobbed and sobbed. Without thinking, I clung to him and soaked his clothing. His kindness made me happy; I still remembered that feeling.

Brother Ben burst into laughter as he talked about days past. “It was a crazy day, that’s for sure. In many ways. But, before anyone else, I was able to comfort Urschel, whom I regarded as my little brother… That in itself was a good memory for me. Before I met you, Urschel, I was actually not very good at taking the initiative.”

“Brother Ben?”

He didn’t seem that way to me. He was the first person to become my friend; he was the nicest person I had ever met. It never occurred to me that he wasn’t very good at taking initiative or anything similar. 

Brother Ben spoke nostalgically, “From a very young age, I have been burdened with the expectations of my parents and subordinates. I’ve lived my life as they told me to. They told me that Benedict could do this. When I couldn’t do it, they were disappointed. Eventually, I was so afraid of disapproval that I became like a puppet, doing exactly what they told me to do. 

“I don’t have my parents anymore, nor any of the men who served me from that era. And, I’ve somewhat changed, so it’s not like that anymore. But, I was ordered by my parents to become the prince’s study mate, and they even threatened to disinherit me if I didn’t become his aide. I was also told to crush all other nobles in every way possible. I couldn’t trust anyone but His Highness. 

“With the exception of Urschel… I genuinely wanted to be friends with only you.”

“With me?”

With me, who’s only interested in sweets and is seven years younger than him? Be my friend? When I tilted my head, confused, Brother Ben’s smile deepened. There was the gentle face of Brother Ben from back in those days.

“When Urschel arrived, I knew immediately that you had no intention of becoming the prince’s close aide… Part of the reason for your appearance might be because of the House of Minusle, but, more than that, I could sense that you had zero interest in that position. Urschel was the kind of boy who came to study for the sweets and directly went home afterwards… That was…For me, it felt very refreshing. It made quite an impact on me… 

“When I first met you, I felt like my world had changed. I would’ve never thought that there were young noblemen who could live so freely. That’s why I wanted to be friends with you. I felt that, if I could be your friend, it would change something about me. In fact, I feel like I’ve changed a lot since I became friends with you, Urschel. I’m pretty sure I doted on you more than anyone else there. I had never thought that I was capable of that before. 

“For me, who had always waited for someone to tell me what to do, I never thought I could take the initiative to love someone so much.”  

Having said all this, Brother Ben huffed and closed his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been talking about myself for too long.”

I smiled in return and said, “It’s all right. Brother Ben… Just a bit embarrassing…” 

“Er, that’s right. This is indeed not something I should mention to you, yourself.”

“I don’t mind. I’m glad you told me about this. If you hadn’t approached me back then, I might have had all the sweets, but I would have been alone. But you became my friend, and we had a lot of fun when we were study mates. I’m glad I met you, Brother Ben.”

“…!”

Brother Ben smiled at my words as though he had been taken aback.

“Urschel, you really are a good boy who always says what the other party wants to hear… In that aspect, you never change.”

At that moment, two cups of tea and a small crème brûlée for two were brought into the room.

chocolala: Just them catching up and reminiscing old times, but I still have no clue how many years ago was that as in, how old was Urschel in that year that Prince Leodore already started to be attracted to him…