The Doll and The Prince - v2 Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18 (Patreon)

Naruhito (10)
Before I realized, he came back moving while swaying, which surprised me. He stank of alcohol, I don’t like it.
What...?
Even though I understood I was being embraced by Hiiro, I tried to move away a little because of the smell of alcohol.

"Are you awake? If you move strangely, you'll fall."

Hiiro shook me awake and pressed me against his body, but I was not fond of places that smelled like alcohol, as I had never had a good experience in such a place.

"Ikumatsu, come live with me. It's not too far from my place. You can commute to work."

The loud voice of Uncle Kujou resounded around the room. In the midst of my surprise, we entered that room.
Coming from the dim hallway, entering the bright room made me squint.

On the desk, there were various dishes lined up. Oh, fried chicken. I had received it from Hiiro before and it was delicious.
It was tough and hard to swallow, so I kept chewing in my mouth for a long time. When I ignored it as if nothing happened, Hitachimaru told me to spit it out, saying it's not gum, and when I was reluctant, he stuck his finger into my mouth and pulled it out. Chewing and swallowing is difficult...

"Oh. The young lad has come."

I flinched at the loud voice as Uncle Kujou looked over at me.
I clung to Hiiro in panic. Even if he smells like alcohol, there's no helping it. The whole room somehow stank of alcohol.

"Oh, Master Hiiro has a child clinging to him. Come over here to gramps. Hm? Did you eat alone? It must have been lonely."

"Naruhito, this is Lord Kujou Toshitane. Greet him."

I was placed on the tatami floor and stood in front of Lord Kujou, who was sitting in seiza. For now, I straightened my posture and saluted with my right hand.

"Well, well. It was not a child, but a seasoned hero, huh.”

Lord Kujou looked me up and down, then stood up and returned the salute.

"Can you greet with your mouth?"

Hiiro, who smiled a little, said gently.
Greetings... um...

"Welcome back."

The room fell silent, and everyone looked at me.
Suddenly, Lord Kujou embraced me tightly.
Gyaah~ He reeks of alcohol. I don't like it, I don’t like it. I tried to move away, but he hugged me tightly. In a loud voice near my ear, he shouted.

"Master Hiiro. Gramps will live here. I'll do any job, so please let me stay!"

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Naruhito (11)
I'm troubled.
Seriously, troubled.
I am sitting on the cushion on Lord Kujou’s lap, it's noisy, and he reeks of alcohol. Lord Kujou is an elderly man, but he's big and has strong muscles.

"I am Kujou Toshitane. You can call me Gramps if you want. What is your name, brave hero?"
"Naruhito.”

I have no choice but to tell him.

“Naruhito, huh? Not a bad name."

Yeah. A good name.
What a good oby, he patted my head.

"Did you already eat? How about some juice?"

Gramps said, and poured colored water into a cup on the table. He also put a straw in and handed it to me.
Is it okay to drink?
When I looked at Ikumatsu he nodded.
I tried sucking in a little.
Oh~
Ohh~
What is this, it's yummy.
Really, yummy!

"Oh my, you look like you're drinking this for the first time. Do you like orange juice? Is it good?"

Gramps smiled while asking. I like it. I really like it.
If I were told to choose between candy and orange juice just before I die, I'd hesitate.
Delicious!
Since nothing was coming out of the straw anymore, I tilted the cup to my mouth. It seems like there was still a little left in the cup, but it didn’t come out.

"Let me see, I'll pour you a little more. Hand me the cup."

"Lord Kujou, please, in moderation. It's the first time he's drinking juice. He's a child who has only eaten porridge and rice soup before."

"Ikumatsu. What did you call me again? Did you mishear?"

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. Um, Father.”

"Mhm, good.”

Gramps happily poured a lot of orange juice into the cup.
Hehe~
I'm happy~
And while I was admiring the beautiful orange color, it was taken away by Hiiro.

"Hey!"

No, my orange juice.

"Too much."

He said and drank half of it.
Ah, my, my orange juice...
I looked at the returned cup.

"No. None. Too little."

"You can have more tomorrow. Let's call it a day for today. If you, get a stomachache, you won't be able to drink tomorrow. Father put in too much. Okay? Wait for tomorrow."

I'm not satisfied at all.
As I sulked, Otoha came to my side. She was inviting me with her hands wide open. Of course, I'll go.
I won't let go of the orange juice. Even though there was less, though.

"Naru, you are admirable for voicing out your dislike.”

She hugged me tightly.
Otoha didn’t smell like alcohol. While I was cuddling with her, of course, Hitachimaru came over.
After being separated from Otoha, I went to Hiiro and sat next to him.
Drinking.

"Are you sitting there? Weren't you angry with Master Hiiro?”

Hitachimaru said something while holding Otoha. I don't care.
While I was drinking the orange juice little by little, Hiiro lifted me up onto the cushion.
… I might be happy a little.

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Naruhito (12)
Hitachimaru and Gramps’ combat training was impressive. They do it with enthusiasm in a corner of the garden.
Hiiro, who occasionally joins in, is quickly knocked away.

Oh, Hitachimaru got blown away. Watching it made me eager, so I also tried a roundhouse kick at Gramps. It seems that with only one eye, it's difficult to grasp the depth perception, and I got too close. My thigh hit Gramps’ well-guarded thick arm, and I couldn't bounce off properly, falling straight down.
I was supposed to land gracefully after turning around, but it didn't go well, and I fell.

I took a strong hit to my back. It hurts.
It seems my balance was disturbed due to the lack of my left hand.

As I laid there, unable to get up, Gramps quickly lifted me up.

"I am surprised. You're strong."

"You fool. Don't rush in at a speed where we can't hold back. You're fast. Where did you hit?"

Hitachimaru lifted my back.

"It's nothing much. It'll hurt tomorrow, though~”

"It hurts now."

"It'll hurt more."

"Eh~ no way."

"It's probably the eye after all. It's difficult with one eye, right? You just have to get used to it."

"Yeah."

"As for the hand, maybe you can balance with a prosthetic. But I've heard it's better to get used to not having it because prosthetics are heavy."

While the three of us were talking, Hiiro came back. Seeing me in Gramps' arms,

"What happened?"

He asked while reaching out to me. When I moved into Hiiro's arms and stuck to him, my head became dizzy.

"What's wrong? What were you doing? Call Ikumatsu."

Gramps, Hitachimaru, and I were scolded by Ikumatsu. It was still no good to move that much. It felt like I could do it, though. Because my back hurt, I laid on the bed face down.

"It's good that you feel well, but you have to take better care of your body."

Yeah.

In the room where we're alone, Hiiro's voice was comforting.

"You're going to marry me, right? Since we'll be together forever, you have to live a long life. If there’s no Naruhito around, I'll be sad."

Hm?

"What will you do if I die, Naruhito?"

"I'll die too."

"Why?"

"Because you won't be here."

"Why would you die if I'm not here?"

"...?"

There's no point in living without Hiiro.

"Without me, Naruhito would be sad. You would be lonely."

I see.

"I feel the same. I'd be sad without you, Naruhito. So, you cannot die so easily. Don't give up on living. Can you promise?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then."

Saying that, Hiiro put a ring on the ring finger of my right hand. It had a small gem with a color between orange and red embedded in it.

"Since you don't have a left hand, wear it on the right. Natural amber, a scarlet gem, my symbol."

Then, he put the matching ring on his left ring finger.
Sparkling.
Otoha was wearing one too.
Beautiful.
Hiiro lifted me up and pressed his lips against mine. Staring at his long eyelashes,

"It's a kiss of commitment. Close your eyes."

Hiiro whispered.
The touching lips felt good, and we stayed connected for a long time.
It would be nice if I could melt into Hiiro from this kiss...

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