I Was Hired by the Black-Minded Prince for My Life's Ransom - Chapter 54

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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 54. Between Charm and Scheming
A slow drawl that might be mistaken for either serenity or despair, depending on the listener.
Yurian’s eyes narrowed.
“Kayle.”
“Brother, I’m tired of it all.”
A long exhale.
Kayle still worked the cigarette between his teeth, exhaling smoke through the gaps.
“I understand that I’m not the one who’ll take the Imperial Throne.”
His body went slack, as if he’d abandoned all resistance.
He tilted his head back, eyes half-lidded.
“I don’t want to die.”
“You don’t want to die?”
“If Kitten becomes emperor… will he let me live?”
At that question, I looked toward Yurian.
He was still smiling warmly.
If the second prince became emperor, would he spare the other princes?
Everyone in this room already knew the answer.
‘No. Never.’
“That place is my refuge.”
He prodded the chair with the tip of his foot.
The chair teetered backward, as if about to topple.
His body, bound to it, swayed back and forth like he was playing a game.
“I… have a surprisingly strong will to live, you see. Looks aside.”
He rolled his eyes lazily toward Yurian, not bothering to move his head.
Silence fell over the room.
Was that claim true—that he cared nothing for the throne and only wished to survive—or was it a lie?
Click.
Yurian caught the wavering chair and stilled it.
Then he leaned closer to Kayle and spoke softly.
“So you were planning to flee underground if my second brother became emperor?”
“A space that size would be enough for one person to live… and I’ve stockpiled plenty of food.”
“Why did you keep the Strange Man alive?”
“Hmm… for a situation exactly like this?”
Kayle blinked slowly.
His gaze shifted toward the bookshelf—or rather, toward the secret passage that lay beneath it.
“Even if you and Kitten come to blows, I still need to survive, don’t I?”
“So you planned to throw him into the chaos and slip away in the confusion. An assassination attempt among the Imperial Family is a capital crime, after all.”
“I didn’t expect you to find it first, though….”
He exhaled a long, weary breath, as if everything were finished.
His face held the look of someone who’d lost all will within minutes.
“That’s enough. I’m tired of pretending to be a druggist anyway…. I’ll just go down into the underground and live, what of it.”
“And you’ll hand the Strange Man over to me?”
“Haven’t you already spirited him away?”
Not yet.
The Strange Man was still locked away somewhere in the dungeons below.
But Yurian neither confirmed nor denied it; instead, his gaze sharpened.
It meant: think whatever pleases you.
‘What will you do with him?’
I gently grasped Yurian’s collar and sent a signal of Spirit Communication, letting him know I was reaching out to him.
Blink. Blink.
Looking up at him, I blinked my eyes earnestly, and he turned his gaze to me.
Then his lip curved up slightly.
[There’s no need to appeal so desperately. I’m listening.]
‘Are you going to let him live in the underground…?’
[Well, now….]
Yurian let his words trail off, watching the fourth prince below as he puffed on his cigarette in idle succession.
His eyes grew narrow and sharp.
Ennui settled over his pale gaze.
[I don’t particularly prefer leaving dangerous elements alive.]
‘…Are you going to kill him?’
I wonder if that’s the case.
‘…….’
Hmm.
My body trembled at his rational answer, delivered without a moment’s hesitation.
Right. This was the kind of man he was.
The sort who could kill a single person without a second thought.
I gazed down at the Fourth Prince’s crown.
The reason he’d confessed all these details to Yurian was probably because he believed Yurian to be a saint.
He’d mistakenly thought that Yurian would graciously allow him to live in the Underground Chamber.
Not knowing that Yurian was a demon descended into this world.
‘He doesn’t seem like a bad person, though.’
Of course, he was the one who’d kidnapped me and tied me up, and even threatened to kill me.
…So isn’t he a bad person, then?
‘Hmm….’
It was a strange feeling—as if my thoughts were multiplying.
After all, I knew better than anyone the hunger to survive.
I’d crawled under Dai’s boot and endured abuse because I wanted to live, and I’d sold my very soul in a contract because I wanted to live—wasn’t that me?
He doesn’t genuinely desire the Imperial Throne.
He simply wants to survive.
Perhaps because I felt that kinship, the words telling him to do as he pleased wouldn’t come.
‘Then there’s only one path left.’
“Your Highness.”
I slowly lifted my gaze from where it had been cast down.
Then, carefully and deliberately, I grasped his large hand with both of mine.
His fingers froze in surprise, but I had no time to acknowledge it.
Like grains of sand stacking into a castle, a plan built itself up in my mind, layer upon layer.
“…Vanillin?”
“Your Highness, you see.”
Now that I was about to speak, I felt a little afraid.
My fingers fidgeted in their habitual way.
Perhaps it tickled, because his hand tightened slightly around mine.
It almost felt as though he were the one holding my hand.
“What is it you’re trying to say, drawing it out like this?”
He tilted his head slightly.
The soft smile playing at his lips felt somehow warmer than usual.
[Are you trying to charm me? Asking me not to kill?]
“No, that’s not it….”
[What a shame. I’d have given it more thought then.]
Was he teasing me?
‘Should I change my approach now…?’
All I’d prepared was a brilliant plan.
I hadn’t even thought of seduction….
My mind went blank in an instant.
I hesitated and wavered, but unable to let go of his hand, I simply rested my cheek against the back of it.
“…….”
His index finger twitched upward slightly, as though he hadn’t expected this.
His long, slender finger brushed lightly against my cheek.
‘Oh….’
It was cold.
His palm was lukewarm, but only his fingertips were cold, as if plunged in ice water.
Curious, I pressed my cheek against his hand a little more.
Yurian’s fingers moved slowly, flexing gently.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, right. That’s what I—”
I was in the middle of explaining, wasn’t I.
I hurried to gather myself and looked up at him carefully.
His yellow eyes—slightly deeper in shade than before—were looking down at me.
The smile he habitually wore had faded, and instead, his gaze held me entirely within it.
“…….”
Was it an illusion?
His index finger moved slowly, brushing across my cheek.
The motion was gentle, suggesting he had no intention of withdrawing his hand.
‘…A silent pressure to speak quickly?’
Yet for such a threat, his touch was oddly careful.
I tightened my grip on his hand and spoke with deliberate caution.
“I have an idea that’s slightly better than killing him or locking him away underground… Would you hear me out?”
Yurian could shed the stigma of attending an indulgent party, the Fourth Prince could guard the Underground Chamber, and the Second Prince could be dealt with another way.
“What if we used the Strange Man imprisoned below?”
* * *
Click.
The sound of a lock opening echoed through the vast Underground Chamber.
I watched as the prison door swung wide open.
The Strange Man stared up blankly at the flood of light pouring toward him.
For the first time in months, the world beyond his solitary cell.
“I’m out… I’m out! Damn it, I’m out!”
“I gave you my word, did I not?”
Yurian smiled softly.
The Strange Man stumbled forward, tears streaming down his face in disbelief.
The desperate scramble—nearly on all fours—made his longing unmistakable.
So he truly had hated it down there.
I hesitated, then held out the bread I’d been carrying.
“Here… have this.”
“……!”
Snap!
The Strange Man practically snatched the bread from my hands.
Without a word, he shoved it into his mouth.
He swallowed it down in a few ravenous gulps, barely chewing—like a starving beast.
“Damn, this is delicious.”
Fat tears rolled down his hollow eyes.
He grabbed hold of Yurian’s leg.
“Your Highness…. To show such kindness to someone like me….”
His hands trembled violently.
He continued to weep, his mouth still working around the bread, choking out words between sobs.
“From now on, I’ll live an honest life forever. I’ll never do wrong again—I’ll atone every day.”
“Don’t cry. Eat slowly.”
His wailing sounded so sincere it seemed the genuine remorse of a penitent soul.
‘Does he truly repent, or will he say anything to survive?’
[We’ll know soon enough,] Yurian whispered, as though amused.
He smiled softly as he spoke.
Then, with gentle affection, he knelt on one knee and met the Strange Man’s eyes.
“The food is from the Party Venue upstairs, and I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Party…?”
“Yes, a party.”
Yurian picked up a piece of bread that had fallen to the ground and pressed it back into the Strange Man’s hands.
“The wealthiest patrons in the Imperial Capital have gathered there as we speak.”
Then he smiled, bright as ever.

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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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