「And you see—Kazuteru-dono was always making unreasonable requests of me, coming up with the most outlandish inventions, or scolding me whenever I acted like the unreliable fool I was. Whenever I heard he was coming to the palace, I would hide or run away.」
And so—
Seated around the table, sipping tea, we began to talk.
「But he would always find me right away and drag me back. Then, the moment he saw my troubled face, he’d lecture me—at length! It was relentless! Even worse than Tia’s scoldings!」
Most of the conversation was made up of Shaps-san’s recollections.
He spoke with joy, with nostalgia, directing his words at me—
「But you know… Whenever I did my best to meet his demands, he would always smile. And then he’d say, 『You’ll make a fine king.』 …I was called a fool since childhood, lacking even a shred of confidence, but those words… They stirred something in me. To be acknowledged by the friend I respected most—nothing was more gratifying.」
It sounded almost like he was boasting.
Like he was telling a grand tale of his exploits—
「And whenever I finished some great task, he’d sneak into the kinri, bottle in hand. Right here in this very room, in the very seat you’re sitting in now. …And at those times, Kazuteru-dono wouldn’t say a word of reproach. The two of us would simply sit in silence, raising our cups together…」
「You two did things like that…?」
「Mother, you didn’t know?」
「…I had no idea. It must have been quite late at night.」
Mother chuckled, while Fauntia-san looked surprised.
「Oh, that’s right. That fairy dog Cu Sith over there… Kazuteru-dono always brought him along. Back then, he was still a tiny, round little troublemaker. He’d scamper around this very guest room, often making a mess. …And do you know who had to clean it up? Me.」
「Bark…?」
Hearing that, Chocola blinked up at him, completely bewildered.
「You don’t remember?」
「Kuuhn……」
「Or are you just pretending you don’t? Because you ruined the carpet.」
「Bark! Bark!」
Shaps-san stood up, walked over to Chocola, and crouched down.
「You’ve grown so much… It reminds me of the day I took the throne from father. I was scared, uncertain—I wanted nothing more than to run away. But the warmth of Tia’s hand in mine, and the sight of your tiny, adorable face cradled in Kazuteru-dono’s arms… It gave me the strength to stand firm.」
He reached out and stroked Chocola’s head. Chocola accepted the touch, not wagging his tail but purring softly, his eyes gentle.
He must remember.
That this man was his master’s—father’s—friend.
A swell of emotion rose in my chest. I felt happy.
Because this was a story about father that I had never known.
Not as a father, not as a husband, but as an ordinary young man. A youth who laughed and played with his friends. A simple, fleeting moment of his own adolescence.
So even father had once been like me.
But then, Shaps-san furrowed his brows.
With his hand still resting on Chocola’s head, he let out a sorrowful sigh, a wistful smile on his lips.
「…I regret it now. Back then, I never realized it. I didn’t see how much Kazuteru-dono was lifting me up, how he pushed my cowardly self forward. I was too proud to acknowledge the honor of having his support, so I turned away from it. Sometimes, I even thought of him as a nuisance. But only after he was gone from this world did I finally understand… He was my one and only true friend. Not as a prince, not as a king, but simply as a peer, he treated me as an equal. The only one who ever did.」
His words carried the weight of confession—a regret that could never reach the one it was meant for.
So I stood up.
Sat down beside him.
And as I stroked Chocola’s chin, I spoke.
「…The father I knew wasn’t someone who formed deep relationships with others.」
As I recalled our life in Japan, I let his familiar image surface in my mind.
「I think a big part of it was because of me. He didn’t want to leave me alone at home for too long, so he rarely went out. He never went drinking with his coworkers or anything like that. Since he always came straight home, I remember asking him once—『Dad, don’t you have any friends to hang out with?』」
The memory came back to me.
It had been such a casual conversation that I had completely forgotten about it.
But I remembered now—how he had smiled, how he had puffed out his chest, and how he had said:
「『Of course I do. They live very far away, but I have a close friend and his wife. One day, I hope you can meet them again.』 …Now, I finally understand who he was thinking of in that moment.」
Shaps-san’s eyes widened.
Then he clenched his lips, tilting his head back.
Unlike before—unlike when he had clung to me, sobbing like a child—this time, he desperately held back his tears as he murmured:
「I see… I see.」
※※※
Sitting beside Shaps-san, who still gazed up at the ceiling, I thought back to father’s words.
——One day, I hope you can meet them again.
Again.
That word had caught my attention at the time.
Again? Had I met his friends before?
「I must have, at some point.」
「Bark…?」
Just like Chocola had.
A newborn baby swaddled in a blanket, cradled in father’s proud arms—blessed by Shaps-san and Fauntia-san.
Mother, watching on with a quiet smile.
Karen, pouting as if I had been stolen from her.
And a tiny puppy, Chocola, sitting beside her.
A moment from the past—one I had never known, yet one where I had been at the very center.
I had been too young to remember it, but for some reason, the image came to me so vividly.
Perhaps it was merely a memory conjured by the lingering magic in this room.
Leave a Reply