The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Naruhito (41)
"What about you, Aoba?"
"Me?"

Lady Akari, almost as an afterthought, turned to Aoba to start a conversation.
Aoba, gently bouncing me on her lap, pondered slowly. It felt good.

"Why, that's a tough question. I can only answer, 'Before I knew it'..."
"That's a bit of a cheating answer, isn't it? What about you, Otoha?"
"... I guess I found myself here."

Otoha tilted her head, placing her right hand on her chest.

"And Naru?"

As I was leisurely observing Otoha, the conversation turned towards me.
Huh? What?
I almost choked on candy, hastily closing my mouth.

"I asked you, why do you like Lord Hiiro?"
"I just do."
"Come on."
"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, the room's door swung open, and Hiiro entered.

"At least knock."

Hiiro glared at Lady Akari’s protest.

"This is my palace, and furthermore, my room."
"We're in the middle of a girls' gathering. Weren't there guards at the door?"

I am a man.

"Sorry, Naru. This was a brides meeting.
"What's wrong? You look terrible. Haven't been sleeping, huh?"

Hiiro looked unwell, dark circles under his eyes. Is he exhausted?

"Naru is worried about you. Sleep now. We will be here."
"Huh? Why do I have to sleep while listening to your voices?"
"We're saying we're here for you now. Understand?"

Hiiro, scratching his head vigorously, looked at me. Smiling with candy in my mouth, he walked towards me and licked the corner of my mouth. "Sweet," he said, then walked to the bed.
He tossed his jacket aside, climbed onto the bed, and sprawled out.

Otoha quietly stood up, covered Hiiro with a blanket, and drew the curtains around the bed.

"Truly, men are pathetic."

Lady Himiko muttered softly.

"There's no use in struggling against things you can't change."
"Rikimaru isn't coming either."

Otoha muttered softly, and I felt a bit lonely.

"It's pathetic to be scared of seeing Naru unable to move."

Aoba’s words made me feel sad, as if it were my fault.
For some reason, I was becoming more and more immobile, and my waking hours were getting shorter.

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