1506: Comfort

Comfort

"I'm fine, Your Highness." Richard smiled. "I can still work!"2

"Are you sure? I don't want you to overwork yourself."

"I'm fine. This is better than…" Richard looked down while holding his wrists where his callous was. Compared to last time, it had gotten better. And Richard seemed to still have the trauma that prevented him from talking about his past.

"I understand. But make sure you prioritize your health, alright? Don't worry. This will only continue for another week. I can assure you that you won't get as much work next week and it's time to enjoy life."

"Thank… Thank you, Your Highness." Richard nodded many times.

"That's right. I do want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"I wonder what you feel about having another bodyguard beside you?" He asked carefully so as to not make it offensive to Richard.

"That's… I don't know."

"Just for one day since there are going to be important people visiting you. I'll also make sure that they don't talk to you or something, so they won't disturb you."

"One day…" Richard looked down, contemplating for a moment. Ultimately, he nodded his head. "I understand. If it's only for one day, I can manage, I think."

"That's good!" The prince nodded with a smile, satisfied. "If that's the case, get some rest first."

"I understand. Thank you very much." Richard nodded. He saw the prince bringing his bodyguard outside. There was a smile on his face as if he had known what they were going to talk about.

Outside, Prince Karl asked, "How is he? Have you gotten the statistics?"

"Yes. He doesn't really like someone looking angry or scary. It might be the instinct that has grown on him after getting tortured, but it seems that he can notice the slightest hostility from one's expression." She nodded.

"I see. We have been receiving many people over the past week. What's the statistics for his job?"

"There are a total of 361 people who got upgraded from a total of 1199 people. And we have investigated their identities.

"Out of those, we have a total of 186 people who can be classified as a criminal or have done something bad in their lives. And 149 out of those 186 people fail."

"What? So, only 37 people succeed? It's not even a fifth. Does it decrease that much?"

"Yes. I'm assuming that his emotion and feeling are related to his success ratio as well and if people approach him with a smile like that, the success rate has increased.

"When someone begged him or smiled as if they had received the biggest favor in their life, the success rate could reach 40 percent. This is a big number. It should be similar to what Your Highness has done."

"I see." Prince Karl narrowed his eyes. Out of the four people that received the first experiment, two of them managed to succeed because Karl gave him a big favor.

This was indeed a useful statistic.

"This is good data. I have started to worry about what will happen if Flora Wegener or all those important people fail to upgrade their skills, but it seems I have enough reason to tell them off. I can simply tell them that they're scaring him and that's the reason for their failure."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Alright. Keep monitoring them. We're going to receive the people five days from now on. You have to make sure that he's in the best condition possible."

"Understood."

"Good." Prince Karl nodded and walked back into the room. He saw Richard wiping his sweat all over his body and made sure that he took a proper rest. But when he saw Karl coming back to the room, he immediately greeted him. "Your Highness!"

"No need to call me, Your Highness." Prince Karl smiled. "I told you yesterday. You can consider me as your brother."

"That's… I can't dishonor Your Highness' status. I'm just a lowly person." Richard shook his head furiously.

"No need to do it. You are like my lucky charm. Even if you don't accept it, I'll still call you my brother!" Prince Karl smiled.

"That's… I'm very grateful. I don't know how to repay you."

"No need. We have our own jobs to do. You just have to do what you've been doing and I'll make sure to protect you from those bad people. Besides that, I want you to enjoy your life as much as possible. The world has many things to offer, so I want you to have fun. How about having her as your wife?"

"What? Wife?!" Richard gasped and glanced at his bodyguard. He shook his head furiously. "No, no. I don't dare to. She has great status and strength, unlike me who can't even fight a chicken."

"I consider you as my brother, so your status is far above her. I know that it's hard for you to be confident after what happened to you in the past. But I will assure you that you'll get everything and finally smile because you like the world, not because of your gratitude toward me." Prince Karl smiled and patted Richard's shoulders.

"Your Highness…" Richard opened his eyes wide as if he felt moved.

"Whenever you feel discomfort, just tell me about it. I'll make sure that you're fine."

"But…" Richard looked down, not wanting to bother him more.

However, the prince said, "You're bothering me more if you're sick or unwell. That's why I want you to take care of your body, alright?"

"Y-yes!" Richard nodded furiously.

"Then, it's time for me to leave. I still have some work to do."

"Yes. I won't disappoint you, Your Highness!"

Prince Karl smiled and waved his hand as he left the room. Outside, the warm smile was replaced by a sly and evil smile. He thought, 'You have to take care of yourself, Richard. After all, you're the tool I need to rise. I'll make sure nothing happens to you!'

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