I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 44

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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 44. I’m Disappointed, Vanillin
“…It seems people these days are quite easily angered.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
Sunday morning, with sunlight streaming through the windows.
I straightened the edge of the blanket and let out a small sigh.
“Oh, nothing really….”
……
“I’ve just been running into strange people lately.”
“Strange people?”
Yurian’s hands, which had been adjusting his clothes, went still.
His eyes, narrowed slightly, turned toward me.
I let out another sigh.
“Not long ago, someone was chasing me, actually.”
“…Who?”
“I don’t know… They were people I’d never seen before.”
I searched through my memories carefully.
They might have been wearing black clothes, or perhaps not.
Honestly, I didn’t remember clearly.
I’d been too frightened at the time.
“I was absolutely terrified. They just suddenly came rushing at me….”
“And then?”
“I ran away.”
More precisely, I took advantage of the moment they let their guard down, shoved them with all my strength, and fled.
…Or rather, to be even more accurate, I did hit them a bit.
I think I repeated that sequence about three times.
“So they stopped chasing me after that.”
……
Yurian looked down at me with a somewhat complicated expression.
Then he let out a sigh and continued speaking.
“Why are you telling me this only now?”
“Well… you’ve been busy, haven’t you?”
I fidgeted with my fingers.
Haven’t these past few days been filled with matters that needed handling?
Besides, since Yurian hadn’t insisted on keeping me at his side constantly, I’d been occupied with various tasks to support him.
“It wasn’t really an important issue anyway.”
Upon hearing my words, Yurian furrowed his brow and pressed his hand to his forehead.
“Are you injured?”
“…No.”
“No scratches or wounds?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded.
I was truly unharmed.
I’d been frightened and scared, but ultimately nothing had happened.
…And yet.
“Haa.”
It seemed different for Yurian.
He exhaled sharply, brushing his hair back.
“To be honest, I’m quite disappointed by this, Vanillin.”
His expression, too, had hardened into something unlike his usual demeanor.
I blinked.
“Eh….”
Since when had he worn such an expression?
I asked quietly.
“Disappointed… is it?”
“Why are you telling me about something like this only now?”
He spoke in a tone of reproach.
I hesitated, my lips moving without words.
“That’s….”
The reason I hadn’t mentioned it was simple.
‘Because it truly wasn’t anything significant.’
Yurian let out a hollow laugh, as though he’d read the thought off my face.
“Vanillin must find it convenient to have such peace of mind.”
A cold, cutting gaze I’d never seen from him fixed on me.
He spoke low and quietly, each word sharp as a blade.
“What would you have done if you’d been caught that day?”
“That’s….”
“What if they’d been carrying weapons?”
…….
“Or if you’d been abducted? Would you still claim it was nothing to worry about?”
His voice was glacial. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, only closed my mouth.
Honestly, I was caught off guard — but underneath that was something stronger: a sense of injustice.
I’d been an assistant to the Alley’s problem-solver. In the Alley, this sort of thing was child’s play.
It hadn’t actually been that dangerous, and for me it wasn’t the kind of issue worth dwelling on.
…There was no reason for him to be this angry.
I’d only brought it up as casual conversation.
A dozen excuses were already crowding at my throat, desperate to escape.
But.
“…I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t bring myself to make foolish excuses in front of him wearing that expression.
As I apologized quietly, Yurian pressed his palm to his brow.
“Making judgments alone, solving things alone, concluding that everything’s fine alone.”
…….
“Is this how you handle your work?”
…Ugh.
I lowered my gaze.
That really wasn’t it.
It wasn’t that I’d thought it through alone and made some reckless judgment.
It was just that even though something had happened, I hadn’t mentioned it.
“…I didn’t want to trouble you.”
Because, truly, I hadn’t even been injured.
“I was taught that things like that should be handled on my own….”
I fidgeted with my fingers.
It had always been like this when I worked under Dae.
— Stop whining and copy that seal mark properly. What am I supposed to do with the fact that you’re hurt?
— Stop sniveling. It’s annoying.
— You’re alive, aren’t you? That’s all that matters.
…So I’d thought that was just how things were.
But maybe it wasn’t?
“So I didn’t know if I should report it. I apologize.”
…….
Sigh.
Yurian exhaled sharply, as though exasperated.
Silence settled over the air like a weight, stealing my breath.
How long did we stay like that?
After a moment, Yurian brushed his hair back and spoke.
“Vanillin is my person.”
The words spilled out like a sigh, raw with sincerity.
“So you should consider that I will worry about you. Not go dashing around recklessly on your own.”
His voice, slightly quieter now, made my heart drop.
“…Worry? For me?”
Was he talking about me?
“From now on, report everything to me so I can know. Don’t judge on your own whether something’s fine.”
Inappropriate to the moment, the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
So all of this — he was angry because he was worried about me?
…….
It was a strange feeling.
Or rather, I couldn’t quite believe it.
This was the first time since my brother that someone had gotten angry at me for being in danger.
…And yet.
“Yes… I will. I promise.”
I nodded.
Only then did Yurian lower the hand that had been pressed to his forehead.
But his expression remained grim.
Was he very angry with me?
‘He told me to report everything to him from now on.’
I should tell him about meeting the First Prince a few days ago in the Library.
I didn’t want to disappoint him again.
I was just opening my mouth to confess when—
Tap, tap.
A crisp knock cut through the heavy silence.
I turned my head reflexively.
“Your Highness, the Second Prince requests your presence.”
It was an attendant’s voice.
Yurian’s gaze shifted toward the door.
“He says he has urgent business regarding the Valenta matter.”
……
His eyes grew cold and distant.
Anyone could see he had no desire to go.
I swallowed hard.
Of all the moments for this to happen…
“I’ll go at once,” he said.
Yurian pulled on his coat.
He started toward the door, then stopped and turned back to face me.
“Vanillin.”
“Yes…?”
“Wait in your room.”
An unresolved chill still flickered in his eyes.
“Don’t come out until I call for you. Do you understand?”
“Are you… very angry with me?”
……
He said nothing.
He really was angry.
I felt the ground shift beneath me, and without thinking, I reached out and caught the hem of his coat.
“Your Highness.”
My voice trembled as I spoke.
He turned without a word.
“Yes?”
“It’s just… there’s something…”
Should I tell him now?
About meeting the First Prince, about Lancelot?
‘I don’t want him to think I’m hiding things again.’
I looked up at him hesitantly, but he didn’t wait.
“If it’s not urgent, we can discuss it when I return.”
He reached for the door handle without hesitation.
Bang.
The door closed behind him.
I stood frozen for a long moment.
The room was so quiet it felt suffocating.
I shuffled over to the foot of the bed and sank down, wrapping my arms around my knees.
“Fine, it’s… not that important anyway.”
The First Prince was just a brief encounter, and Lancelot—that’s only suspicion so far.
Yet still, something heavy settled in my chest.
A mix of remorse and the fear of being cast aside.
“I regret this.”
I buried my face in my arms.
He told me not to leave until he called.
So all I could do was wait for him to summon me.
I sat numbly, my head resting against the wall, waiting.
Time passed mercilessly.
The sun rose higher and higher, then descended again.
I’d waited quite a long time, yet still no word from Yurian.
‘Could the conversation be dragging on…?’
Perhaps there was some friction with the Second Prince.
Or maybe he’d simply forgotten about someone like me.
I was peering anxiously at the closed door when it happened.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
“……!”
His Highness?
I rushed over and yanked the door open.
But to my disappointment, a brown-haired maid I’d never seen before stood there.
Not Yurian.
She opened her mouth, her expression slightly strained.
“Are you Vanillin?”
Her voice was curt.
“…Yes.”
“His Highness Yurian is asking for you.”
Ah.
My eyes widened.
Even though I’d been waiting for him all this time, hearing those words made my heart unexpectedly sink.
“Where is he now?”
“I can’t tell you here. He said to bring you away from prying eyes.”
The maid glanced around once before leaning close and whispering urgently.
“Hurry. He said it’s very urgent.”

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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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