“Now, I shouldn’t only give him the tasteless top part of the orange juice.”

Oh, I see. Somehow.

“Now, I shouldn’t put chili peppers into the bread and give it to him.”

Wasn’t that something you shouldn’t do in the first place?

‘No, besides that. Is that all?’

Is that the end of the reaction for the crown prince?

Snowballs, orange juice, chili peppers, is that all you won’t do?

The reactions of Agares and Ludwig, who seemed to be amazed, were not the important thing.

Evelia’s small shoulders dropped down significantly.

A sigh of deep desolation leaked out.

Having a friend who happened to be a crown prince.

How nice it would be if he were an easygoing devil like that guy.

“I was a friend who threw snowballs, gave only the top part of orange juice, and put chili peppers into the bread. I’d like to continue being friends. I want to pretend I didn’t hear that my Louis is a crown prince.”

The words that followed were sweet.

In Ludwig’s ears, which picked up only the parts he wanted to hear, skipping over the extremely cruel parts, it was definitely sweet.

“Ha. Friend. Let’s continue.”

With the emergence of hope, sincerity that had been suppressed also raised its head.

What illusion that didn’t exist from the beginning? The illusion has already become a tangible entity within reach.

It’s okay to throw stones. It’s okay to only give orange peels. It’s okay to only give him chili peppers to eat.

Let’s continue being friends.

The words that followed were not spat out in time, but Ludwig’s eyes were full of desperation as they turned towards Evelia.

“Can I? Can we be friends?”

Ludwig nodded energetically in response to Evelia, who was twiddling her fingers and sneaking glances at him. Over and over.

Upon seeing this, Evelia’s face lit up with her usual playful smile.

‘Caught you!’

Soon after, Evelia ran into the cabin and came back out with a notebook and pen in her arms.

“What’s with the notebook and pen?”

When Agares and Ludwig looked at her with puzzled eyes, Evelia flipped over a page in the notebook and wrote in big letters at the top, handing it to Ludwig.

I heard from the cooks while I was messing around in the kitchen.

If you don’t properly leave a contract, you’ll be humiliated!

“Okay! Write down what I’m going to tell you here. Starting from number 1.”

“Okay.”

First, Ludwig corrected the word by adding a stroke, then answered that he understood.

Agares leaned against a tree with an interested face, watching the scene. Every unique action of the little one brought him joy without fail.

After that, for a full 15 minutes.

Evelia’s small mouth moved as she thought, and Ludwig obediently wrote down her words.

Despite the fact that a contract is supposed to be an agreement between two parties, Ludwig silently accepted Evelia’s conditions without suggesting any conditions of his own.

So what if it’s an unfair contract?

Fairness and unfairness, profit and loss, all these worldly things meant nothing in front of his little friend.

But as he listened, it seemed like the contract terms she was reading out for him to write down were a little off the mark.

“……What on earth do you see me as?”

“I see you as a grumpy food thief.”

While writing down the third item of the contract, he sighed and asked his little friend, and the answer he received was ‘a grumpy food thief’, not a crown prince. Somehow, he liked it.

Am I twisted?

Or is this little one taming me now?

‘Whatever.’

Ludwig moved his hand diligently.

Thus, the final version of the contract that was written was as follows:

Do not imprison Eve.

Do not hit Eve’s buttocks.

Do not sentence Eve to death.

Do not take away Eve’s property and food.

Do not torment Eve.

On rainy days, cover Eve’s head with a leaf.

It was a shoddily put together contract, even the parties to the contract and the stamp were missing, to the extent that it had no legal effect at all.

The contents were all about preventing punishment even if she were to play tricks.

In other words, it was a contract filled with the intention to ridicule Ludwig, whether he was the crown prince or the emperor, for a long time to come.

Agares, who had been leaning on a tree, got up and walked over to read the contract clauses. He covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smirk, struggling to hold back his laughter.

His little friend was too serious, and he felt like he would burst into laughter.

“It’s all done! I’ve written what I wanted up to number six, so Louis, you can write the last one. You can think about it and write it later!”

Now it was safe to be blasphemous, still giving him the unpalatable top part of the orange juice, throwing fir cones, or feeding him bread with peppers in it.

She could not slap him, imprison him, or rob him of his property and food.

Evelia grinned like a villain, thinking the contract was perfect.

“That’s why you shouldn’t be so naive. To be so easily fooled by such a scamlike contract?”

She made a show of being incredibly meticulous and wise, lifting her chin while drafting a piece of paper with no legal effect.

In the end, the two rulers couldn’t help but let out laughter.

Who in this empire was more naive than him?

“Oh my, oh my. The Crown Prince is so innocent. If you ever have to write a contract with another kingdom, make sure to show me first. I’m worried!”

Having gained indemnity privileges through the contract, there was nothing visible to her.

Evelia laughed and shook her short index finger left and right.

Despite her little friend making fun of him playfully, Ludwig didn’t find her annoying at all.

Rather, he enjoyed it. Surprisingly so.

The passing wind felt warm again.

It seemed like his little friend in front of him had the power to not only control his mood but also the weather.

As Ludwig rolled up the contract preciously, he thought,

‘Am I really being tricked?’

That taming thing.

Late at night.

In Ludwig’s room, usually filled with the sound of rustling papers and a large magpie sorting feathers, a low laughter settled.

Largo tilted his head at his master’s frivolous laughter, something he had never seen before.

He was a friend who saw him, who had lived his whole life as a Crown Prince, as Ludwig for the first time.

The relationship was always like walking a tightrope, wondering when it would break, but now he didn’t have to worry about it.

His first friend, knowing everything, still remained his first friend.

‘What should I write.’

As he stared at the insignificant contract, the blank seventh clause, at some point, it started to dawn outside.

After staying up all night pondering for a long time, Ludwig soon dipped his quill into the ink.

There was nothing he wanted to demand from or receive from his little friend.

The last clause of the contract was filled with his flowing, unwavering handwriting.

Mirage, you’ve already trapped me in an illusion.

And thus, even the last clause becomes a yoke on me, not you.

So that you won’t change, so that you won’t bend, so that you can be the light,

I am, yours.

I will stay by your side.