I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 36

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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 36. Setting Sail!
* * *
Yurian said nothing until Vanillin’s figure had completely disappeared from view.
The salty sea breeze brushed through his hair.
And when at last she could no longer be seen,
“Mermaid’s Tears.”
He laughed softly.
“Quite a romantic gift you’ve presented.”
It was a smile whose intentions remained impossible to read, no matter how many times one witnessed it.
Until recently, he’d believed such an expression was the hallmark of a saint’s temperament, but now…well.
Rein met the prince’s gaze with composure.
“It was merely the victor’s prize.”
“And explaining the meaning behind it was simply a courtesy to the champion?”
……
“Love that is certain to be fulfilled, and love that never changes.”
Yurian slowly narrowed his eyes.
“But unfortunately, I’m afraid it won’t take the direction you’re hoping for.”
Whoosh—
The wind that swept past set the tree leaves rattling against each other.
Rein’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
Yurian continued without acknowledging what he’d seen, his tone utterly casual.
“By now, Vanillin must be genuinely troubled.”
……
“Wondering if she’s accepted something far too precious.”
……
“Or perhaps whether you’re regretting having given it away so hastily.”
A brief silence fell between them.
Rein clenched his jaw, concealing the gesture.
It was true.
Vanillin had asked exactly those things.
The fact that this man—who hadn’t even been present—knew it brought him no pleasure whatsoever.
Rein looked up at Yurian.
“You’re quite different from what’s commonly known about you.”
“In what way?”
“Rather more mischievous than expected.”
“You flatter me.”
Yurian accepted the remark with complete composure.
Rein took a deep breath, careful not to glare at him.
Why was it?
The moment when Vanillin had smiled as she received the Mermaid’s Tears kept returning to his mind.
He’d thought that would be enough….
‘Apparently it wasn’t.’
Given how much this man irritated him.
Rein slowly lifted his head.
Yurian was tall.
One wouldn’t normally notice, given that he always wore clean, immaculate clothing, but his frame was thicker and more muscular than expected.
…So that’s Vanillin’s type.
He was a man positioned at nearly every opposite extreme from Rein himself.
He possessed neither great height nor broad shoulders.
Only a lean frame prone to frequent illness.
……
He stared at Yurian, then spoke in a low voice.
“To reach Valenta Island, you’ll be needing our cooperation.”
Rein liked Vanillin.
“I suspect this sort of warning won’t improve our relationship going forward.”
How could anyone not like her?
Cotton-candy-soft pink hair, fresh green eyes—
Seemingly fragile but possessing inner strength, his one and only benefactor.
…And standing before him was the man that Vanillin had drawn as a picture.
In truth, that alone was reason enough to resent him.
But.
“How amusing.”
Yurian let out a soft chuckle.
There was no reason not to.
Ruaern Harbor had already fallen into his hands in all but name.
Olivia and Rein had promised that Ruaern would become his eternal ally in exchange for their help on this matter, and every word of that conversation had been meticulously recorded on his recording device.
He had never been one to trust people easily.
So there was no particular need to resort to blackmail.
Still, watching Rein wear his affection for Vanillin so openly all over his face was rather amusing.
“You need have no concerns on that account.”
Vanillin was his person.
Though the beginning was forced, she was the one he had chosen to keep—his sole confidant in all the world.
“If you have promised her your unchanging love…”
His golden eyes curved slowly in a smile.
“Then Vanillin has already given her soul to me.”
Of course, it was through contract.
Yurian swallowed the rest and smiled knowingly.
The meaning beneath was unmistakable.
So long as you love Vanillin, you cannot ultimately defy me.
Rein’s eyes widened considerably.
“When did things between them become…”
A murmured half-whisper.
This blow seemed to strike him harder than any before.
And for reasons he couldn’t quite name, Yurian found that satisfying.
A brief silence fell.
Rein relaxed the tension in his jaw and spoke quietly.
“Then what of you, Your Highness?”
Eyes dark as midnight, shot through with threads of blue, met his pale golden gaze with the intensity of a rival male.
“Do you care for Vanillin?”
The look of a beast weighing his competition.
Yurian laughed softly.
Care for her? Nonsense.
Yurian answered without hesitation.
“She is simply mine.”
Love was nothing but a futile game.
Rein studied him for a moment, then the faintest smile touched his lips.
“I see.”
Then he spoke.
“I hope that heart of yours never changes.”
* * *
“What were you discussing?”
“Matters concerning what lies ahead.”
“I see.”
I nodded without particular suspicion.
Well, Rein would soon become the head of Brennon House after all.
It made sense there would be things for him to discuss privately with His Highness.
“Heave ho.”
We boarded the ship that lay moored at the harbor’s edge.
It was a medium-sized brigantine, carved with the distinctive blue patterns of Ruaern.
The sails bore the crest of Brennon House stitched in sharp detail, and sailors bustled about the deck with practiced efficiency.
“What a shame. I really did want to come with you.”
The Brennon lady—or rather,
The brown-haired woman who was now simply Olivia let out a playful sigh.
“There’s still so much I need to teach Rein. I expect I’ll have to stay here for at least three months.”
“Three months?”
“Indeed. I thought I’d finally be free, but here we are.”
Sigh.
Olivia made a show of sighing, though she smiled as she did.
For all her words, she didn’t look particularly confined.
Her brown hair streamed freely in the wind.
When she was the young lady of Brennon House, she’d carried an air of old-world elegance and grace, yet seemed like a bird trapped in a cage. Now she looked every inch the pirate captain’s daughter.
‘Somehow this suits her far better.’
I found myself smiling without thinking.
“It suits you.”
“Hmm?”
“This. Right now.”
Olivia blinked.
“What does?”
“Everything. All of it.”
Watching her laugh in the sea breeze like this seemed far more natural than when she’d clutched at her dress hem, pretending to be an aristocratic lady.
Olivia stared at me blankly for a moment, then finally broke into a soft laugh.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m serious.”
“…I know. Thank you.”
Her eyes, trembling in the sunlight, looked refreshingly clear.
Like someone who’d just managed to snap a rope that had bound them for far too long.
“Well then, shall we be off?”
Olivia grinned playfully and stepped back.
At that, the sailors began moving briskly about their work.
“Raise the sails!”
“You there, mind those ropes!”
Clank.
The thick rope unfurled, and the sail billowed full with the wind, swelling magnificently.
A crisp sea breeze swept sharply across my cheek.
I gripped the railing and waved toward the two of them.
“I’ll be back soon!”
Olivia and Rein waved back in return.
“Safe travels, both of you!”
“Take care, Vanillin.”
Whoooosh―
The ship slowly pulled away from the harbor.
Ruaern grew smaller and smaller until it became nothing but a distant speck.
‘At last, we’re heading to Valenta Island.’
The days in Ruaern had been joyful, but utterly exhausting.
To be honest, I’d been missing home terribly….
‘If only I could rest there without thinking about anything at all.’
It would be wonderful if I could just laze about without any work to worry about.
…Though that was surely impossible.
‘I wish I could at least take out my swimming clothes.’
At that moment, I was sincerely thinking just that.
And a few hours later.
“…Your Highness?”
We were shipwrecked.

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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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