I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 2

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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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Episode 2. Wife? Angel?
‘…Really?’
I rubbed both my eyes again.
It was unmistakable.
It looked exactly like the picture Dai had shown me.
‘Could it be a trap…?’
Did he know I was coming and leave this as bait?
The moment such a thought crossed my mind, the Head Maid pulled out a booklet that had been hidden beneath the Holy Contract.
Whoosh.
The Holy Contract was shoved aside carelessly, as though it were mere luggage.
And nothing happened.
Despite my hand touching it directly.
“…….”
At least touching it was safe.
Unsettling, though….
Well, never mind.
Things turned out fine…?
‘Let me just try holding it.’
While the Head Maid was absorbed in the glittering résumé, I slipped the contract away.
It went so smoothly it was almost embarrassing how nervous I’d been.
‘Is this really happening…?’
Things are going too well—which only makes me more anxious!
I had the unsettling feeling that something was going wrong.
Then the Head Maid set down the papers and smiled with satisfaction.
“Do you know how to polish porcelain?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Perfect, then. We’ve been short-handed in that department.”
It meant I was hired.
Excellent!
I felt my cheeks flush as I nodded eagerly.
All that remained was to work hard, meet up with the fixer Dai, and hand over the Holy Contract.
“Thank you so much!”
As I bowed awkwardly with an uncertain smile, the Head Maid gestured for me to follow.
“Come along now. The Founding Celebration is just around the corner, so we’re in a hurry.”
“Yes, of course!”
I quickly fell into step behind her.
We crossed through the Imperial Palace with the brisk, precise gait distinctive to diligent servants.
“During the Founding Celebration, the Imperial Family puts on display the treasures that hold special meaning.”
“Throughout the entire Imperial Palace, you mean?”
“No, from the palace entrance to the Banquet Hall. Still, there’s quite a lot of it.”
So we were about to go polish all of it.
‘I wonder how many there are…? A hundred?’
I tried to estimate the quantity for a moment, then shook my head.
What did it matter how many?
Work that needed doing was work that needed doing.
“There are many delicate artifacts and ceramics, and we’ve been understaffed in that area.”
“I see…!”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
But inwardly, I was uneasy.
Delicate artifacts? Ceramics?
‘Isn’t entrusting those to an unvetted new hire a bit much…?’
It seemed far too vulnerable to theft.
The same sense of wrongness I’d felt when I found the Holy Contract now settled across my cheeks.
I ventured carefully to ask.
“Um… but can someone like me, a new worker, really be trusted with treasures? I could steal them, after all.”
“Are you a thief?”
“…No! Of course not!”
“Ha ha ha! Just joking.”
Hic.
The fright had given me the hiccups.
As I drummed my chest anxiously, the Head Maid laughed heartily and clapped me on the shoulder.
“There’s no need to worry about the Imperial Treasury Vault’s treasures. They’re all protected by Holy Magic.”
“Holy Magic? You mean…”
That exclusive domain of the Imperial Family.
A power only the blessed could possess.
The Head Maid nodded.
“The moment anything steps even an inch outside the Imperial Palace, it returns to the vault on its own.”
“I see…”
“Anyone foolish enough to steal it gets struck by lightning and roasted alive. I’ve seen it happen more than once.”
The Head Maid moved on, laughing boisterously as though the memory itself delighted her.
“…Hic!”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I just swallowed wrong… Hic! I’m fine.”
My cheeks burning, I laughed along with her.
‘Right, of course…!’
Yes, shoddy security—as if.
The Imperial Palace would never be so careless.
Now I understood why the Holy Contract didn’t circulate outside either.
“So everything marked as non-exportable from the Imperial City must work the same way, then?”
“Of course. They wouldn’t have slapped that designation on it otherwise.”
Ah… I see…
Feeling tears threaten, I squeezed my eyes shut.
This was as good as a death sentence…
The Holy Contract in my pocket suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
I asked, clinging to one last shred of hope.
“But couldn’t someone just use a Holy Contract right here in the Imperial City? What do thieves do in that case?”
“Hmm? Oh, the Holy Contract. That thing has more wild rumors surrounding it than most.”
Wild rumors…?
My hope shattered in an instant.
The Head Maid shook her head with an amused smirk.
“Back in the day we had plenty of petty criminals. There was this wild story going around that it was a magical contract that could bind someone’s will with Holy Power. That’s why so many tried to steal it.”
“……”
Oh no…
While I fought to keep my expression neutral, the Head Maid continued.
“We ended up with quite a few slaves because of it.”
…What?
“I’m sorry, what…?”
“When you use it, your soul becomes enslaved to whichever member of the Imperial Family is closest.”
What on earth was this…?
I stared blankly at the Head Maid.
Sorry, what exactly…?
“A slave?”
“It was made to force criminals into hard labor, after all.”
“But then why call it a contract…?”
“Don’t you use things for purposes other than their intended ones?”
“……”
Well, I suppose I do, but…
I closed my mouth, at a loss for words.
Get rid of it.
I have to get rid of it right now.
‘A contract that kills you if you take it outside, and enslaves you if you use it inside.’
It’s nothing but trash…!
I let out a small, quiet sigh.
I couldn’t begin to imagine how much of a fuss Dai would make when he learned this.
Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.
Maybe I should just burn this beautiful view into my memory one last time…?
Chirp-chirp.
Leaving the cheerful birdsong behind,
I swallowed my tears and followed the Head Maid.
* * *
And so I arrived at the Imperial Treasury Vault.
I wiped the porcelain slowly, carefully.
“What is she doing…?”
“The porcelain is glowing….”
“The crown too….”
The maids’ whispers brushed past my ears.
“Hm, hm—♪”
Such easy and delightful work it was.
Compared to Dai’s antiques, which broke if you so much as nudged the dust away, this was a hundred times better.
Gleam. Gleam-gleam.
Each time I polished with the dry cloth, the treasures reclaimed their lustre.
‘How beautiful….’
Their splendor was so enchanting I forgot the situation entirely.
Who knew when I’d see them again—I had to drink in the sight.
I glanced quietly around the vault.
Are all nobles’ treasuries like this?
Pristine white columns carved with intricate detail, gleaming marble floors, and treasures arranged with care upon their pedestals, each piece a study in refinement.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
The Head Maid placed her hand on my shoulder, beaming with approval.
“This requires delicate technique, and yet you do it better than anyone—and so quickly, too.”
“You’re too kind.”
To be praised for just this….
My cheeks flushed and I waved my hand dismissively.
The other maids, seizing their moment, crowded closer with compliments of their own.
“Too kind? I’ve never seen anyone do it like you!”
“How did you do it? Teach me too.”
“Well, it’s….”
Somehow a break had formed, with me at the center of their circle.
We all sat together, chatting away cheerfully.
“You just arrived today, right? Then you haven’t met the Third Prince yet?”
“Hm? No, I haven’t.”
In truth, meeting anyone besides Dai felt like ages ago.
The mood turned lively in an instant.
“Really? How sad! He’s incredibly handsome!”
“He’s kind to us maids, like an angel!”
“They don’t call him the Empire’s Saint for nothing!”
“Kyaaa.”
R-really…?
I smiled blankly and nodded.
What kind of man could he be, to inspire such devotion?
I grew curious.
‘I wonder if I’ll get to see him?’
I only had today, but….
Still, being within the same Imperial Palace, there was a chance I might catch a glimpse of him.
The Founding Celebration would be held, after all.
‘I hope I do!’
My heart quickened and I swung my feet back and forth without thinking.
We went on chatting like that for a few more minutes.
“…to see something like that, it’s truly an honor….”
“…speak freely anytime….”
At some point, faint voices began drifting from beyond the storage area.
A low, calm voice cut through the chatter of the maids with strange clarity, refusing to fade from my ear.
‘Hm?’
I turned my gaze without thinking.
“Is someone there…?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, the Head Maid’s brow furrowed.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I just….”
It was difficult to explain.
A strange sensation crawled down my spine.
That was the moment it happened.
Creak!
Before I could even finish my answer, the vault door swung open.
‘Who on earth—?’
I was about to peer nervously around when the Head Maid sprang to her feet and yanked me up by the arm.
“Get up this instant! Hurry!”
“……?”
Who—who could it be?
I stumbled upright in her iron grip and caught sight of the newcomers’ faces.
When I lifted my eyes, a man filled my entire field of vision.
Soft cream-colored hair, pale brown eyes with just a hint of amber, a smile as warm and rich as custard.
‘…An angel?’
The Head Maid pressed down sharply on the back of my head.
“We receive Your Highness, the Holy Saint of the Empire, Oswald Urian.”
Ah…!
My eyes went wide.
The man I’d heard about constantly, until my ears were sore from it.
The Third Prince.

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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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