The Doll and The Prince - v3 Chapter 38, v3 Chapter 39, v3 Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Naruhito (55)
Hirosue approached Sai and placed the fallen spoon in his left hand after speaking.

“You said it was delicious, right? First, you need to eat plenty of good food and regain your strength. Then, we can think about what to do. No matter what sins you may have committed, I'll bring you food. There might be truly harmful villains in the world, but I don't see you as one of them. If you have any regrets, you should live and think about what you can do.”

Sai rose from the sofa.

“What you need to do now is finish your pudding. Then, after taking a nap, eat dinner when you wake up.”

Sai laughed softly.

“That’s quite a luxurious life.”
“When you get better, you’ll have things you need to do, right? So, you should rest while you can.”

Hirosue is so cool.

“Naru-boy, don’t just sit there. Eat up. It will take some time, you know.”

I nodded enthusiastically and plunged my spoon into the bowl. After putting the pudding in my mouth, I glanced to the side.
Rikimaru was holding his head. He had been crying earlier. Maybe what I said was wrong. I want to apologize again, but I don’t know if it’s okay. I’m sorry for troubling you, Rikimaru.
Rikimaru suddenly stood up.

“I’m going home.”

He said, holding his half-eaten pudding, and left.
Everyone was surprised and watched as he left.

“He didn’t forget the pudding, huh.”

Hirosue muttered, and I thought, that’s so like Rikimaru.

“He’ll probably sort things out in his head and come back.”

Ikumatsu said, looking at me.
Yeah, well, either way...
As long as Rikimaru doesn’t mind...
Thinking about that, I continued eating the pudding, and I started to feel sleepy.

“I’ll escort him to his room.”

Before I knew it, Grandpa was behind the sofa, speaking to everyone.

“Oh, Lord Murashige. You were here. If I’d known, I would have brought you some pudding.”
“Oh, you had some for me too? Thank you as always, Sir Hirosue.”
“Please stop calling me ‘sir.’ I’m not used to it. There’s always enough for everyone, so if you don’t eat it, take it home with you.”
“Then, I’ll gladly accept. Since Master Naruhito looks sleepy, I’ll escort him to his room and then stop by the kitchen.”
“Okay.”

I must have fallen asleep while eating the pudding. When I woke up, I was in my bed, and it was getting dark outside.
Sai and I followed Hirosue's instructions, ate the pudding, took a nap, had dinner, and went back to bed again.

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Naruhito (56)
At night, it seemed like I was having a terrible nightmare. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the carpet instead of my bed, without any blanket. Hiiro was beside me with a pillow and had covered me with a blanket, but unlike usual, he wasn't holding me. He was just watching me from a short distance away.

"How are you feeling?"

Hiiro asked, still keeping a bit of distance. Feeling lonely, I snuggled closer. Unusually, I felt sticky, probably because I had been sweating.

Hiiro's arm wrapped around my back, gently patting me. For some reason, my nose started to sting.

"Feeling better now?"

What are you talking about?
I clung to him and started dozing off again.

"Can you go back to the bed? Is it okay if we go back?"

Anywhere is fine.
I clung tightly to Hiiro's clothes, determined not to let go.

The next time I woke up, Hiiro was gone, and I was alone in bed. There was a glass of water on the bedside table, so I drank it.
As if he had been waiting for me to wake up, Ikumatsu entered the room.

"Good morning, Naruhito."
"Good morning..."

Ikumatsu placed his hand on my forehead and nodded.

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"No."
"Your body temperature is a bit high. You seem to have sweated, so it's coming down. Let's wipe you off. If you get cold, your temperature might go up again."

Saying that, he wiped my head, face, and body slowly with a warm, wrung-out towel. It felt so good that I almost fell asleep again, but then Hirosue came in with some rice porridge. There was also mixed juice!

"Don't fall asleep until you finish eating~"

After drinking half of the mixed juice, it was taken away, and rice porridge was fed to me. I was in a daze, just letting it happen. I managed to eat it all. Hirosue patted my head approvingly and gave me back the mixed juice. I held onto it tightly and sucked on the straw with all my might.
Hirosue laughed.

"Cold things taste good, right? Because your body is warm. I'll bring you more later."

Yeah.
As I tried to go back to sleep, I realized I needed to go to the bathroom.
When I tried to get down from the bed, Hirosue looked surprised.

"Bathroom."
"Huh? Can you manage? Wait a moment."

Just before I could slide down, Grandpa lifted me up.
Hirosue was frozen with his hands outstretched, ready to catch me.

"Hirosue, leave the rest to me."
"Oh, uh, right. Please take care of him."

I went to the bathroom and then fell asleep in Grandpa’s arms. Even though I hadn't done anything, I felt exhausted.

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Hiiro (46)
Naruhito suddenly started crying in the middle of the night. Though no tears were coming out, a strained sound was escaping from his throat. When I tried to rub his back and asked what was wrong, he cried out even louder and tried to move away. He was clearly sleepwalking, his eyes closed, but he kept trying to get up and leave the bed. When I instinctively held him, he screamed and struggled.

Unable to do anything, I let go, and he rolled off the bed, avoiding the blanket. The night guard, alerted by his screams, rushed in and barely managed to catch him, but Naruhito let out another high-pitched scream, seemingly not wanting to be touched. He crawled on all fours, feeling the floor, and curled up on his favorite rug.

I had chosen a rug with short, firm fibers, thinking it would be easier for him to walk on than something too soft or with long fibers. It seemed just right, as he appeared to fall asleep there. When I lightly touched him, his body jerked again. I brought a blanket and covered him, but he started flailing his right hand, trying to throw it off while still making that strained noise. When I removed the blanket, he curled up again.

"This is troubling... Call Ikumatsu."

I told the worried night guard, who left soundlessly. That graceful movement must have been Ichinose. Not long after, Ikumatsu arrived quickly. He glanced around the dimly lit room and approached. Seeing Naruhito curled up on the floor without a blanket and me standing a little distance away, he spoke quietly.

"Your Highness, what is this?"
"He gets scared when touched, and even the blanket frightens him. He doesn't seem to be awake."

I briefly explained the situation. Ikumatsu carefully leaned closer to Naruhito without touching him.

"He seems to have a slight fever. He's sweating—cold sweat, perhaps. I'd like to wipe him down if possible."
"What do you think it is? He bathed and went to bed normally."
"... Naruhito used to be scared of the bath, right?"
"Yes, probably because he had bad experiences while bathing or afterward. Recently, he asked to take a bath by himself for the first time."
"... Today, Lord Sai mentioned that as a Combat Doll, Naruhito might never have slept in a bed. Could it be related to that?"
"... Tell me more."

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