Pharaoh

The outstretched hand of the black-haired guard at the door made the furious black-skinned priest stop.

"Even if you are a high priest, it is not allowed to trespass into His Royal Highness's room without notification."

Although slightly shorter than Mahat, the lowly guards blocked Mahat's footsteps with their bodies.

"Then you report to me!"

Ignoring the roar of the noble priest, the pupils of the black-haired guard stared at him coldly for a long time.

"If you maintain this mood, in order to avoid some things from happening, I will not let you see His Royal Highness."

Mahat was startled, frowned and looked at the guard who was staring at him for a while, then sighed softly.

Because he only considered the king's affairs at all, he rushed here in a moment of anger.

Being reprimanded vaguely by the low-ranking guards calmed him down instead.

"I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Please tell His Royal Highness, Mahat asked to see him."

The black-haired guard sized him up again for a long time before turning around and entering the room.

After a while, he opened the door again and came out.

He saluted Mahat and half pushed the door open for him to enter.

"Meow~"

This was the first sound Mahat heard when he entered Wangdi's room.

Is Emma here yet?

He subconsciously lightened his steps.

Turning around the side wall rail, the field of view is much brighter, and sunlight and air come through the tall windows.

The young brother Wang with an immature face was sitting on the north-facing veranda near the garden, smiling and teasing the kitten with beautiful black fur with a small piece of dried fish.

Beside him, the stone table can only place food for one person, and the gaps in the stone carvings are carefully filled with melted gold fine lines, making it even more gorgeous and delicate.

Perhaps in order not to disturb His Royal Highness's interest in playing, the maids stood a little behind.

The footsteps of the black-skinned priest made Wang Di stop teasing the little black cat, and turned to look over.

"Mahat, why come to my place when you have time?"

The young Wangdi smiled at him, then turned around and stuffed the dried fish into Emma's mouth, rubbing its fluffy little head.

The little black cat used its chubby little paws to grab and pull the dried fish, squatting happily and obediently to enjoy the food.

The boy smiled and stood up to meet Mahat, and picked up a soft and white linen cloth to wipe off the oil stains on his hands.

"...are you eating?"

"Yes."

The sudden strange question made the boy's immature face show a puzzled look.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?"

"Haven't you run out yet? Did I bother you?"

"Haha, this..." The young man scratched his head, his smile seemed a little awkward, but it became more and more cute, "Because I was so busy feeding Emma, ​​I didn't eat much myself."

"But Mahat came to see me only when there was something urgent."

"So it doesn't matter if you say first, I'm not very hungry."

Warm eyes, tolerant words, warm smiles, always considerate for others... This is probably the reason why a boy who is gentle with everyone can always win the favor of strangers very quickly.

He originally thought that His Royal Highness such a younger brother could become a helper to support the king.

but……

Thinking of this, the dark-skinned priest felt even more depressed.

He bent down and bowed to him.

"Hey? Mahat, I said earlier that there is no need to do this—"

"His Royal Highness." He lowered his head and interrupted the other party, "Can you please go to the main hall to have dinner with the king."

He felt the hands that were trying to lift him up froze.

Then, the pull on him disappeared.

The young Wangdi withdrew his hand.

He looked up eagerly, and the young man happened to be turning around, so he couldn't see the expression on the young man's face.

"Sorry, I don't want to go."

All he could get was one sentence.

The boy bent down and gently picked up the little black cat that was licking his paw gracefully after eating the dried fish.

The kitten who returned to the boy's arms seemed very happy, and rubbed its fluffy head against the boy's neck.

Probably scratched by the soft fur, the boy let out a slight laugh, and nodded Emma's little black head with his fingers, letting him curl up in his arms peacefully.

"why?"

The young Wangdi didn't answer.

"Why, Your Highness, why did you suddenly—"

"Sorry, Mahat!"

This time, it was the young prince, who was holding the little black cat and turned his back to him, neatly interrupting him.

"I'm full."

"Is it……"

"Just such a light word?"

The hands on the ground were tightly curled up, and the body of the black-skinned priest trembled slightly as he suppressed his anger.

"...you don't know anything."

"How much did Wang do for you! You don't even know anything!"

Mahat, who stood up because of uncontrollable anger, glared at the boy's indifferent back, and the anger even made him forget to use honorifics.

He remembered that moment, the look and expression of the young pharaoh looking back to ask him on the way to the throne.

He took good care of the great Pharaoh--

The king of Egypt who ruled the world──

The king who was stronger than anyone since childhood──

To show such an expression!

He never wants to see it a second time!

"Because of you, the danger that the king encountered...you don't know anything! He tried his best to protect you, and he got you to treat him like this!"

"What is your heart made of, how can it be so hard!"

"Being favored by the Pharaoh who rules the world, what is there to be dissatisfied with!"

"Accept with gratitude, that's what you should do, isn't it!"

He said, taking a step forward, looking down at the young Wangdi condescendingly.

"excuse me."

Grabbing the young man's slender wrist, the usually gentle and amiable priest showed a rare toughness on his face at this moment.

"Even if I use force, I will bring you to the king's side."

"...Who is it?"

The extremely thin voice, because it was too soft, Mahat only heard the last two words of that sentence.

As the sun slanted down, his wide shadow engulfed Wang Di's thin body in the shadow.

The boy's right hand was firmly grasped by the opponent, and the other hand supported the soft little black cat in his arms.

The clever kitten probably also sensed the urgency of the atmosphere, and let out an uneasy humming sound from its throat, pressing closer to Brother Wang's chest.

The young Wangdi raised his head and was probably looking at Mahat, but because his face was hidden by Mahat's shadow, he couldn't see clearly.

All he could see clearly were his pale violet-toned pupils.

The calm, almost weird eyes seemed to be shining brightly in the shadows.

Then, the young Wangdi repeated the sentence that he couldn't hear clearly.

"Who is the person who doesn't know anything?"

It was a calm, almost harsh tone.

Then, the boy shook Mahat away with a wave of his hand, and gently stroked the little black head in his arms with his free right hand.

The little black cat meowed, sticking out its little pink tongue and licking his cheek with some worry.

"Sure enough..."

Letting the little black cat raise its head and lick its own cheek, the young Wangdi stood in the sun.

He stared at Mahat, the sunlight refracted from his light purple pupils seemed to be dazzling.

He seemed to be smiling, but he seemed helpless and couldn't smile.

"No matter when, Mahat, you will always have only one master."

"I should know about this kind of thing."

"Pharaoh is your most important thing, and I know that."

"But that's not what I need."

He stared at the dark-skinned priest, motionless.

On his immature childlike face, there was almost no calmness.

This young man who is gentle to everyone, but at this moment, he doesn't know what kind of mood he uses to say words that are crueler than anyone else.

"Whatever happens to Pharaoh."

"His life or death has nothing to do with me."

Nothing to do with sanity.

Nothing to think about.

My mind goes blank.

Thoughts stopped.

For the first time in your life, actions are faster than thoughts.

The dark-skinned priest raised his hand high.

Swipe down hard.

"Mahat! Stop!"

Loud applause rang out amidst the screams of a group of maids, and the black-skinned priest who was panting heavily, whose mind went blank for a moment because of the burst of anger, slowly came back to his senses because of the burning sensation in his hands. , he opened his eyes wide, staring blankly at the chaotic and almost unmanageable everything in front of him.

He rushed in from the outside in time to block the slap in front of the young brother Wang. On his pretty face, the young priest whose left cheek was swollen and red from the beating angrily dragged the almost sluggish Mahart towards the door.

There was another loud applause.

As soon as he dragged Mahat to a place outside the room where others could not see, the young priest mercilessly slapped his colleague who was dragged out by him.

"Calm down yet?"

Seth stared at his colleagues with icy eyes, frowning tightly.

If he hadn't heard from the attendants on the road that Mahat rushed to His Royal Highness's residence with a face of anger, and rushed here in a hurry, I'm afraid that today's matter would not be so easy to let go.

If Mahat really hurt a member of the royal family, let alone the king, even the group of elders above him would never let it go.

"I...actually attacked His Royal Highness..."

The sudden stabbing pain on his face did wake up Mahat, who was in a trance.

He looked at his hands in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that he was the one who acted impulsively just now.

"……hateful!!"

The slightly trembling hand in mid-air suddenly curled into a fist and slammed it hard on the tree trunk beside him.

The trunk swayed slightly.

The black-skinned priest lowered his head, as if the punch just now exhausted all his strength.

"I'm very angry...but I really didn't intend to..."

"I have absolutely no intention of doing it, really."

He murmured in a dazed state, "I just want to ask His Royal Highness to..."

"I just want His Royal Highness to know that the king..."

"But, but—"

──His life and death have nothing to do with me──

"He actually said something like that!"

Another heavy punch hit the tree trunk, and the eyes of the black-skinned priest once again ignited with anger.

"What does he think of the king's mood!"

"...Then what do you take Brother Wang's mood for?"

The young priest standing aside and watching Mahat coldly made a sound.

"Seth?"

Realizing that such words seemed to be on Wang Di's side, Mahat, who had always been used to Seth picking and choosing Wang Di, looked up at him in surprise.

"As long as you encounter things related to the king, you will completely lose self-control."

The voice of the handsome priest, who still had the same indifferent expression, was unwavering and indifferent.

But it is sharp and cold to the point.

"Do you know why things turned out like this?"

"Do you know why Brother Wang suddenly changed his attitude?"

"Do you know what to do to solve the current situation?"

Pressing every step of the way, pressing people to speak forward.

Mahart was speechless.

"Since childhood, as long as it is what the king wants, whether you or Isis, you will help him get it."

"So it's the same this time."

With a sudden shift, Seth raised the volume.

"Stop being so self-righteous! Mahat!"

"I don't like the existence of Wangdi, because he will affect the stability of Egypt."

"But I hate you even more for your self-assessment of presenting the king's brother as an item to the king!"

"He's a human being, not a toy!"

"It's the king's business to love the younger brother, and the younger brother has no obligation to accept it!"