I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11. Is the “B” in Vanillin for “Bumbling”?
“Tell me, what is your name?”
Yurian asked the Stranger.
Warm and gentle… a smile calculated to absolute perfection.
“Ha.”
The Stranger laughed bitterly, lifting his head.
His eyes gleamed dull and flat, like a dead fish’s gaze.
“Why? Will you call my name for me, Saint?”
His words dripped with spite.
Well, nothing the Stranger wanted has gone his way so far….
I watched the two of them alternately, my fingers fidgeting.
Not only had I failed to dispose of Yurian, but I’d been captured and framed besides—which almost made his anger seem justified.
“Such shamelessness….”
“We nearly came to harm ourselves, didn’t we?”
“Tsk, if he has a grudge, he should settle it there.”
“We must execute him at once, Your Highness!”
The Delegation’s response was glacial.
Perhaps because they had nearly been hurt themselves, their eyes when they looked at the Stranger were piercingly cold.
In the Hunting Ground where a chill wind swept across, only Yurian stood there smiling.
He did not waver for a moment before he spoke.
“Only then can I forgive you.”
“……!”
My mouth fell open slightly in that instant.
‘No matter how well he feigns sainthood, can he really go this far?’
I had assumed he would at least turn the matter over to the palace guard, but this was entirely unexpected.
I glanced sideways—the Delegation wore the same expression.
They stood slack-jawed, uncertain whether they had heard correctly.
Even the Stranger.
“What, what?”
He stammered, as though he had heard something beyond all imagination.
“What did you just—”
“I understand your anger,” Yurian said gently, cutting the Stranger off.
“The sorrow of losing someone you love does not fade easily.”
The man dropped his brows in apparent sympathy.
‘Ugh….’
How utterly repugnant.
That expression was so pitiful to behold that even I, knowing what lay beneath the surface, felt my heart sway.
Ugh, pull yourself together, Vanillin.
What dwells in him is a demon.
“However.”
His voice was as warm as spring sunlight.
“If you pour that anger in the wrong direction, you will only destroy yourself in the end.”
With those words, Yurian released the Stranger from the restraint he had been holding him with.
The Stranger touched his shoulders, confused, as though he had never expected this.
“I will not punish you.”
“……!”
The Stranger’s eyes widened.
His pupils trembled roughly, as if searching for the truth.
Yurian lowered his gaze calmly and drove the wedge deeper.
“I shall forgive this matter.”
“Good heavens….”
I gasped without thinking.
No, but still.
‘Really… he’s truly letting him go?’
I could not believe it.
That man, the Yurian who had shown no hesitation in killing?
‘…He must be planning to deal with him quietly later, surely?’
‘This is nothing but a performance of sainthood, and in truth he intends to summon him to the Fifth Palace and dispose of him there….’

[No, sir.]
“Eek!”
Goodness, you startled me.
My body jerked at the low voice that slipped into my ears like a whisper.
When I looked up, Yurian regarded me with a gentle expression and smiled softly.
[I have no intention of laying a finger on this fool of a man.]
Y-yes, of course….
I bowed my head and averted my gaze, managing to murmur agreement.
His temperament never matched that serene face—utterly ruined.
[What did you just say?]
‘Oh, nothing at all.’
Ugh, how terrifying.
Having someone peer directly into your thoughts like that—it’s hardly fair.
‘Is there really no way to block it…?’
I’d have to examine the contract more carefully when I got back.
I shook my head vigorously to chase away the thought and glanced around.
Everyone’s reaction was much the same.
The Delegation members, mouths covered in stunned amazement.
“We’d heard he was a Saint, but….”
“Truly, the Third Prince. His caliber is altogether different.”
Muted exclamations rippled through the gathering.
The Ruffian too had fallen silent, his eyes darting about.
Clearly his mind was churning furiously, weighing what advantage lay in this for him.
‘Well….’
He must have thought death certain, and now he was being spared. I might’ve done the same.
And yet.
A low groan escaped me.
I narrowed my brow and let out a sound of distress.
‘Should we really just let him go like this?’
My greatest concern was my own safety.
If he attacked again, it would be disastrous.
I’d have to throw myself in harm’s way once more…
and there was no guarantee Yurian would be there to save me next time.
‘What should I do?’
Perhaps I should try to convince him through Telepathy.
I drew my brows down and looked up at him.
And I spoke within my heart.
“Wouldn’t it be better just to… dispose of him?”
“……?”
All at once, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on me.
The Delegation, Yurian, even the Ruffian.
All staring as though trying to comprehend what I’d just said.
Wh—um?
I blinked.
‘Did I… speak that out loud?’
Confusion made my pupils quiver.
No, surely I meant to think it silently?
[Is the ‘Va’ in Vanillin for ‘Vapid’?]
No… it isn’t.
My eyes rolled nervously.
From their reactions, it was clear I’d spoken the words aloud.
I had to salvage this somehow….
Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain—
“For… for—”
The Ruffian spoke up before I could, his voice booming.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. I must be mad!”
Thump.
He fell to his knees with such force the sound echoed through the space.
Then he pressed his forehead nearly to the ground in a deep bow.
“I swear I’ll never do this again. I’ll live an honest life!”
Uh….
What’s going on here?
I blinked, staring at the sight before me.
The fierce momentum from moments before had vanished without a trace.
“Just one chance… please, just give me one more chance!”
His desperation was almost pathetic.
Why had he suddenly become like this?
I hesitated, unable to grasp what was happening, and then Yurian’s voice reached me.
[He seems to have taken Vanillin’s words to heart.]
Taken them to heart…?
I looked up, wanting him to explain further, and found Yurian narrowing his eyes.
[He’s terrified you might change your mind about forgiving him, I’d say.]
‘Good grief….’
That face, and such crude language….
[A fool lacking even the backbone to follow through, it seems.]
No matter how many times I witness it, I still can’t get used to it.
Such cutting observations, spoken through a face so ethereal it could barely snap a flower stem….
I gazed for a moment at that beautiful countenance, radiant as if touched by divine light, then lowered my head.
‘If only I’d known just his face. I could have done without knowing what lies beneath.’
[I hear everything, you know.]
‘Yes, my apologies….’
In any case.
Yurian didn’t seem to dislike the current situation.
In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it.
[Had he resisted to the end, I’d have found it a bother to slit his throat. This worked out quite nicely.]
…So he says.
Having spoken thus, Yurian smiled pleasantly and helped the ruffian to his feet with a tender expression.
“Get up.”
“Your… Your Highness….”
“Punishment is heaven’s work. All I can offer is forgiveness.”
[Though you’ll likely meet your end at my second brother’s hands anyway.]
How could body and heart act in such contradiction?
I barely managed to keep my eyes from squeezing shut.
‘I see….’
So that’s why he said he had no intention of interfering.
[My second brother isn’t the type to offer a failed tool a second chance, let alone a third.]
Unfortunately, that is the case.
At this added remark, I finally closed my eyes tight.
“Go now. I hope you live your days giving rather than taking.”
“Thank you, Your Highness… thank you!”
What sort of person had I truly made a Contract with?
Had fear driven me to stake my soul far too recklessly?
‘The first letter of Vanillin’s name might stand for fool….’
It could well be.
For some reason, tears began to fall.
* * *
“…So you came back having done nothing but raised Yurian’s reputation?”
The Office was heavy with ominous atmosphere beneath the shadow of half-drawn blackout curtains.
Cut off from the light, the space felt dim as dusk.
Second Prince Kitten brought his fist down hard on the desk with a bang, unable to contain himself.
His counterpart shuddered and pressed himself flat to the floor.
“That is, in fact….”
“If you’re about to make excuses, shut your mouth.”
“I apologize.”
It was the same ruffian who had caused such a disturbance at the Hunting Ground earlier.
The man dripped with cold sweat, pressing his forehead to the ground.
‘Damn it…!’
He had lost count of how many humiliations he’d suffered today, but this was no time to stand on pride.
To him, the Second Prince was his only lifeline.
‘A full one hundred and fifty Gold.’
When he’d sold his parents to the Slave Market over gambling debts, he thought it was the end of everything—utter ruin.
But 150 Gold.
If he could multiply his fortune by rolling a few dice, becoming rich would be child’s play.
“Please, grant me just one more chance.”
For that, bowing his head to someone young enough to be his son was nothing at all.
“I swear it—I will kill Yurian Ozwald and be done with him!”
The Stranger’s eyes blazed with resolve.
Silence stretched between them.
Just as the man, unable to bear the heavy quiet any longer, began to lift his head—
“Pffh….”
“……?”
“Pfahahaha!”
The Second Prince threw his head back and erupted into laughter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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