I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 33

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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 33. How Beautiful
Um, well… I mean.
‘Why am I here…?’
My vision went blindingly white.
Floods of light and hundreds of eyes.
The murmur of the crowd crashed against my ears like waves.
“Hello there, Banilin?”
“Ah, hello…”
I can’t manage it.
I can’t even say hello.
I want to go down.
Tears trembled on my lashes as I turned to look behind me.
But it was already too late.
At the foot of the stairs behind me, Yuri-an was grinning broadly.
‘This demon…!’
I’d been a fool to think that smile angelic, even for a moment.
That’s a demon’s smile.
No—a fiend’s smile!
‘Your Highness!’
I mouthed the words with all the desperation I could muster, but it was useless.
He even waved at me with elegant grace.
[You need to concentrate. You’re on stage.]
No excuses—just get on with it.
This is too much.
I trembled violently, my face crumpling.
The host asked brightly.
“Well then, contestant number 31, Banilin! What have you prepared for us?”
“I, um…”
I have no idea.
I wish I knew too.
My mind had gone completely blank.
Singing? I can’t.
Dancing? Even worse…
‘What do I do… *gulp*.’
Should I run away now?
It’s not too late yet, is it?
I wanted nothing more than to flee right then.
‘Ugh…’
When I peeked down, Yuri-an was still watching me intently.
His pale golden hair gleamed in the moonlight, his eyes narrowed with a drowsy, gentle warmth.
His face seemed to radiate encouragement—as if to say, ‘You’ll do wonderfully.’
‘…But I have no idea what to do.’
My lip jutted out indignantly.
And yet something was strange.
My heart was pounding as if it might burst, and I wanted desperately to run down.
But I didn’t want to fail.
I gripped the Skirt Hem he’d bought me tightly.
In my heart, I knew the truth.
‘He said we’d expose the Marquis’s atrocities just before the winner is announced.’
If that was the plan, the only way to buy time was to take the stage myself.
I had to pull this off.
‘…But what on earth can I do?’
A plausible excuse that would stretch time enough.
I fought down my anxiety and searched desperately for a way.
That was when something in the corner of the stage caught my eye.
Festival Paint and a large cloth, scattered haphazardly in a dark corner.
They looked like leftover materials from preparing the stage banner.
‘…Wait. Could that work?’
I moved forward as if drawn by a spell.
If it came to painting, I could manage something at least.
Copying the signatures of nobles, tracing their crests, forging their seals.
To survive under Dai, I’d had to set my hands to work countless times.
I gestured carefully toward the cloth and paint.
“May I… use those?”
“Oh, will you be painting?”
“Yes.”
“An improvised work! Well, this is an interesting turn of events.”
The announcer’s eyes gleamed as he spoke loudly.
Then came a torrent of cheers and applause.
Deeply uncomfortable though I was, having drawn my blade, I had to see it through.
I took my place before the canvas the announcer had hastily prepared and drew a breath.
The smell of cheap muslin drifted past my nose.
‘It’s fine. I can do this.’
It’s not so different from what I used to do.
Though back then, all I could manage was copying.
I moved the brush slowly.
Scraaape—
The canvas rasped beneath the bristles as I drew the first line.
“Ooh, she’s starting.”
“What’s she painting?”
The murmur of the crowd began to die down bit by bit.
I couldn’t tell whether they’d fallen silent or whether I’d simply stopped hearing them as I concentrated.
Dark blue paint pooled and spread across the cloth.
‘Honestly, I have no idea what I’m drawing.’
So I simply followed the scene before my eyes.
A deep, dark night sea.
A ship drifting across it.
A lantern.
People gazing toward me.
And….
‘Your Highness.’
My hands moved without thought.
In that moment, I felt neither the weight of their stares nor any tension at all.
I was simply following the scene unfolding before me.
Wind and waves.
Hair that caught the moonlight and shone with a soft, luminous glow.
A gentle smile and beautifully carved features.
The brush quickened in my hand.
I felt the crowd holding its breath.
Before long, a single figure stood within the painting.
A man standing against the dark blue sea, smiling quietly beneath the pale moonlight like a lantern.
I stopped.
‘…Wait?’
I hadn’t meant to paint a portrait of Your Highness. How did this happen?
In that moment, heat rushed to my face.
But it was already too late.
The painting was nearly complete.
The crowd gasped aloud.
“Ohh… my goodness.”
“So beautiful.”
“There’s no denying it—the God of the Sea himself.”
The… God of the Sea?
Did it just look that way because I used blue paint?
“No, I’m quite certain it’s meant to be the God of the Sea.”
“Indeed, those exquisite features could never belong to a mortal. Surely you agree?”
“Heavens. It ought to hang in a temple, I’d say.”
…No, they must be joking?
‘If that hangs in a temple, I’ll be arrested for blasphemy….’
[Banilin.]
There it was again. My thoughts had been read.
That’s really unfair.
I turned my head away quickly, pretending to focus on the painting.
I could picture exactly what expression he was wearing without looking — that lethal smile.
I moved the brush again.
Now for the finishing touches.
Swish — sweep.
Blue paint spread across the fabric in long strokes, like waves breaking beneath moonlight.
Yuri-an’s flawless features were rendered with equal grace.
After dotting the pupils into his eyes at last, I set the brush down.
There.
“It’s finished….”
How much time had I managed to stretch out?
I glanced cautiously at Yuri-an.
‘This should be enough, shouldn’t it? I don’t think I can stall any longer.’
But he didn’t answer.
Rather, quite the opposite.
[That’s remarkable, Banilin.]
‘What?’
He simply ignored the question entirely.
Was that a compliment?
Or was he mocking me?
I had no time to ask.
“Wow….”
“Wow — amazing!”
The crowd, finally coming to their senses, erupted with shouts that shook the entire Harbor.
Applause and cheers poured down like rain.
I looked between the canvas and the people in bewildered astonishment.
“Unbelievable — she painted something like that in ten minutes?”
“Were you a painter, miss?”
“But who is that man? Is he even a real person?”
…He does exist.
He’s right behind me.
I looked down shyly, my face burning red.
And then.
…….
Beneath the moonlight, my eyes met Yuri-an’s — he stood gazing intently at the painting.
His gaze turned slowly toward me.
For some reason, even time seemed to slow.
[You painted me.]
His voice was toneless, impossible to tell if it was censure or praise.
I parted my lips soundlessly.
I didn’t know what to say.
Should I apologize? Ask forgiveness for painting without permission?
An eternity passed in a single moment.
‘That….’
[It’s beautiful.]
My eyes widened.
Pure admiration.
Yuri-an’s eyes crinkled as he smiled slowly.
[Is that how I appear in your eyes, Banilin?]
“…That….”
His smile pierced straight through my heart.
Why? What was I supposed to say?
Did he look like that… in my eyes?
Just as I was forcing myself to speak, it happened.
Bang!
I jumped at the sound of a fist striking the table and turned sharply.
The delicate mood evaporated in an instant.
The source of the commotion was none other than the Judge.
“The Champion is this young lady! I’ll hear no objections!”
One of the judges stood up abruptly.
The other judges immediately nodded in agreement.
“I concur.”
“I have no objections either.”
…Wait, what?
“Shall we announce it right away then?”
“Let’s do it.”
“The champion of this Sea Festival is—!”
Hold on, just a moment.
This is far too soon!
I flailed my hands in panic.
‘No, there’s still time left—!’
I hadn’t even received a signal that Brrenon was ready, let alone that Rein was prepared!
I leaned over the edge urgently, peering down.
Yuri-an was similarly calculating the time, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
The host beamed and opened his mouth.
“My, everyone’s just eager to hear the champion announced! Well then, shall we all listen? This tournament’s champion is—!”
No, this can’t happen…!
Darkness threatened to swallow my vision, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘This is truly impossible.’
Please, hurry and come…!
In the exact moment I was frantically praying—
Boom—!!
A deafening crash erupted as one of the tent panels behind the stage came crashing down.
“Kyaaah!”
“What—what’s happening?! What’s going on?”
People shrieked and spun around, searching for the source.
I too jolted in shock, spinning to look back.
And then.
“…Huh?”
“Ungh! Ungh, ungh!”
My eyes met those of a man rolling and tumbling down beneath the stage.
Gaudy clothing, a face twisted grotesquely out of shape… and handcuffs gleaming solidly around both wrists.
‘Br, Brrenon…’
The square erupted into chaos.
“Isn’t that the Baron?”
“Handcuffs…?”
“What in the world has happened?”
A murmur of confusion spread like a wave through the crowd.
I stood gaping, my mouth hanging open.
‘So that’s…’
How he was supposed to make his entrance?

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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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