I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 52

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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 52. Operation: Capturing the Fourth Prince
I climbed the long staircase again and arrived back at ground level, quickly glancing around.
Fortunately, the Fourth Prince didn’t seem to have returned yet.
The atmosphere of the Party Hall, glimpsed through the crack in the door, hadn’t changed from before.
It still reeked of vulgar debauchery.
“…Good.”
If the Fourth Prince had noticed me, I would have had to use a different method. Lucky, then.
I pushed the rope, scorched by the match flame, behind my back and wrapped my wrists as if they were still bound.
Loose enough that a little strength would snap it free, but tight enough that no one would notice from the outside.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
Even though there was no reason to be caught, anxiety kept creeping in.
Yurian had already slipped out through the window.
By now, he’d be entering through the Main Gate, pretending to know nothing.
I pressed my eye to the crack in the door.
From outside, the lukewarm, sickly-sweet smell of the Aphrodisiac Drug still wafted through.
Scratch.
I lit the Herbal Cigarette.
I had no intention of losing my wits again.
People spun in circles dancing or sprawled across sofas scattered throughout the space.
The slurred laughter and chatter of the drunk drifted faintly to my ears.
[Are you ready?]
A voice tinged with amusement tickled my ear.
My cheeks flushed with delight.
‘Your Highness. How did you get here?’
[The Brown-Haired Maid showed me the way, most helpfully.]
He emphasized the word “helpfully” as he spoke.
The Brown-Haired Maid—that must be the woman who brought me here.
The Second Prince’s underling.
[Then I’ll go in.]
Creak.
Before I could respond, the sound of the door opening reached my ears.
“Oh my?”
“Goodness, who is that?”
Immediately, the crowd began to murmur.
I confirmed that no one’s attention had turned my way, then cracked the door open slightly.
Yurian walked in boldly, barefaced—wearing no Mask at all.
He wore that bright, beautiful smile he always had.
All eyes naturally fixed on him.
His pristine white Uniform and composed bearing stood in stark contrast to the dark, viscous atmosphere.
In this depraved space, he alone seemed to belong to another world entirely.
“Isn’t that the Saint himself?”
“What’s he doing in a place like this?”
“This is amusing, isn’t it?”
Several nobles tittered with intrigue.
Then they looked to one person in particular.
A gray-haired man on the Second Floor Balcony, sprawled across a leather Sofa, smoking Cigarettes.
It was Kyle.
He laughed languidly and rose to his feet.
“Ah… and who might this be?”
Thud, thud.
The sound of footsteps descended the Staircase.
[Close the door.]
‘Got it.’
At Yurian’s warning, I quietly shut the door again.
Kyle descended the Staircase and passed in front of the door, approaching Yurian.
“What brings our noble older brother to a place like this?”
He circled slowly around Yurian.
Like a beast sizing up its prey.
Yurian only moved his head to look at him.
Then he spoke calmly.
“I’ve come to retrieve my maid.”
“Over a mere maid…?”
Ha ha.
Kyle made a pretense of laughing, his voice utterly devoid of strength.
“I thought something terrible had happened.”
Whoosh.
Cigarette smoke scattered into the empty air.
He came to a halt before Yurian.
“You really did come all this way for a single maid, didn’t you?”
“…….”
“One might think she was your paramour.”
My.
Someone tittered, covering their mouth with a gesture.
“What manner of maid could have captured the Saint’s heart?”
“Is it her face you favor? Or perhaps her figure?”
“Your Highness, might you pick one up for me as well?”
Laughter rippled through the crowd at the blatantly flirtatious remarks.
Heat crept into my face.
The shame of being bandied about on their lips was suffocating.
Then Yurian’s voice descended upon my ears once more.
[Do not lend your ears to the prattle of lesser men.]
His tone was firm, dismissive of any worth in their words.
…Somehow, his single sentence brought more calm than a dozen vulgar remarks could disturb.
That was surely because it was the Saint’s voice.
The warmth in my cheeks gradually faded.
I cracked the door open again and observed the two of them.
“Say something, why don’t you?”
“…….”
“The maid is merely an excuse. You’ve really come here to indulge yourself, haven’t you?”
The laughter of the crowd swelled at Kyle’s words.
Wine and music, narcotics and excess.
In their eyes fixed upon Yurian, I sensed a base hunger.
A twisted wish that this noble Saint might fall as low as they had.
“I’ll turn a blind eye. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.”
Kyle swept his arm in a grand gesture, as though wafting the scent of Aphrodisiac Drug toward Yurian.
An unmistakable mockery.
The gesture of one hoping the drug would cloud Yurian’s senses and dull his mind.
Yet Yurian remained utterly unmoved.
Instead, he slowly reached into his breast.
And then,
Click.
He lit a Herbal Cigarette without the slightest hesitation.
As though he had already anticipated this paltry scheme.
“Whoosh.”
Yurian exhaled the smoke with languorous grace.
The bitter-sharp fragrance of medicinal herbs enveloped him.
He smiled, eyes narrowing softly.
“Do you find joy in hoping others will debase themselves?”
The words fell from his lips in a silken, unbearably holy cadence.
Kyle raised his eyelids slowly.
“What was that you said?”
“I find myself deliberating—whether I ought to indulge your pleasures, or instead teach you the path of righteousness.”
Step.
Yurian took one pace closer to Kyle.
Then, with affection, he reached out and stroked his hair.
“Because you are my brother.”
A gesture as though bestowing a blessing.
And yet unmistakably, it was an act that placed Kyle below him.
Kyle’s expression hardened.
For just a moment, a savage glint pierced the usually languid gleam in his eyes.
“I don’t need a brother looking after me.”
“Ah. You already have a second brother, then?”
“…Brother.”
Kyle’s mouth twitched.
He fixed his gaze on Yurian.
“If you want to find the maid, you’ll need to stay in my good graces.”
His eyes, which had been clouded, suddenly gleamed with something unsettling.
He placed another cigarette between his lips.
A sign of irritation.
Yurian regarded him quietly for a moment, then smiled softly.
“Then what if we struck a bargain? I have an intriguing story to share.”
“Not interested.”
“A few months ago, I entertained a diplomatic envoy at the Hunting Grounds.”
A few months ago. The Hunting Grounds.
Kyle’s expression, which had been dismissive, grew subtly tense.
Yurian continued as though he hadn’t noticed.
“An assassin crept in then, intent on doing me harm.”
“…….”
“But seeing some remorse in him, I forgave him and let him go. However.”
However?
The surrounding nobles tilted their wine glasses with interest.
It seemed they found the story particularly entertaining—coming as it did from the mouth of the Saint, who was so unlike them.
“However, what is it?”
“I’ve met him again recently.”
“……!”
Kyle’s eyes widened sharply.
A flash of unguarded sincerity he couldn’t suppress in that instant.
Yurian caught it and raised his eyebrows.
Then, in that beautiful voice, he whispered almost like song:
“Shall we make a deal?”
“…….”
Kyle’s deep amber eyes fixed on Yurian, emptied of all humor.
What filled them was unease.
How much of what Yurian had said was truth.
If true, how much did he actually know.
His gaze was one of endless calculation and verification.
“If you’d rather not, I can speak of it here without issue.”
Yurian did not avert his eyes from Kyle’s stare.
Rather, he simply smiled with ease, his eyes crinkling warmly.
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
Tension hung heavy in the air around them.
Yurian exhaled smoke, his smile never wavering.
A soft plume rose into the air.
Between Kyle and Yurian, a translucent gray veil formed and dissipated.
Watching it drift, Kyle let out a laugh.
“Brother.”
He plucked the cigarette from Yurian’s lips and cast it to the floor.
Then he crushed it beneath his heel.
“A conversation like this… isn’t suited to a crowded place.”
“Is that so.”
“Come to my quarters. I’ll pour you a cup of tea.”
It was, in effect, a declaration of surrender.
Yurian laughed softly.
Then he draped an arm affectionately around the fourth prince’s shoulders.
“Wonderful. I see no reason to refuse my brother’s invitation.”
[Get ready.]
His warm smile brushed past me in passing.
Click.
I closed the door behind me.
‘Alright. Now the real game begins.’
I quickly settled back into the chair, sliding my wrists beneath the rope.
‘Ready.’
[The moment I lock the door, you overpower them. You remember, yes?]
‘Yes.’
I heard footsteps approaching—two sets, growing closer.
One measured and brisk, the other slow and deliberate.
I let my body go limp, feigning unconsciousness.
I even mussed my hair as though I’d struggled.
The door opened, and Kyle and Yurian entered in succession.
And then—
Click.
The door locked.

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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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