I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 1

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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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Prologue
Have you ever killed a person?
I never had. I swear to heaven—not once in my life.
…But then how had I ended up in a situation like this…?
A sliver of a crescent moon, no larger than a fingernail, cast its pallid light across the darkening night.
Dark clouds swallowed the moon’s shadow, and a blackness like pitch descended over everything.
This was deep within the Imperial Palace,
the Abandoned Garden, where no one ever ventured.
“Hah…”
No one saw that, did they…?
I clutched at my heart, which hammered madly against my ribs.
Everything was a complete disaster.
“First… first I just need to hide him somewhere out of sight… h-hiccup!”
A hiccup tore through my throat.
My mind refused to function properly, and my fingertips had gone numb with cold.
Before me lay three men, all collapsed.
The first one—
Dai, my employer. The fixer from the Slums.
He lay sprawled out, staring up at empty air with half-lidded eyes.
Blood welled up and poured from his chest in thick, rhythmic gushes.
I reached out a trembling hand and placed it against his neck.
There was no pulse.
“…He’s dead.”
The moment the words left my mouth, reality crashed down on me.
I clapped my hand over my mouth and staggered backward.
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, to flee—
‘…But if I do, I’ll die too.’
So I had to keep moving.
I dragged the fixer’s body toward the edge of the brush, acting almost like an automaton.
His clothes trailed across the ground, gathering dirt and filth.
I had scrubbed them so carefully all through that frozen winter, soaking my hands in icy water—and now it was all for nothing.
I shoved his body deep into the underbrush.
The wild grass completely covered him with plenty left over.
And then the next one—
A fat, middle-aged nobleman.
The kind of man who wore wealth like a second skin, with the soft, pampered features of the privileged hung around his mouth.
“Ugh… disgusting…”
He too lay sprawled, pierced by a wound.
I clenched my small teeth and dragged his body into the brush, burying it among the weeds.
The second man, disposed of.
And then the last.
The man lying on the ground.
Even in the darkness of night, his platinum-blonde hair gleamed with a faint, ethereal shimmer—and his features were sharp, refined, sculpted like marble.
Though I had only met him for the first time tonight, I knew I could never forget his face.
Urian, the Third Prince of the Oswald Empire.
My hands trembled violently.
I was suffocating, terrified that the man’s golden eyes might snap open at any moment.
I didn’t want to check…
But I had to.
I drew a deep breath, then gently felt for his pulse with my quivering fingertips.
The faintest stirring of breath registered against my fingertips.
…He was alive.
“Hah… hah…”
Thud.
My strength gave way, and I collapsed where I stood.
It felt as though all the blood were draining from my body.
“Vanillin, you idiot…”
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
I covered my face with both trembling hands.
Was it a relief that the Third Prince was still alive?
…Or would it be the worst?
“What have I done to the Third Prince? What have I done?”
The sky above, when I lifted my gaze to it, remained dark and heavy.
As though it were foretelling my future.
“How did things come to this?”
Sob.
In the middle of the Abandoned Garden within the Imperial Palace, trembling beside the fallen Third Prince.
I found myself remembering this morning, when everything had begun to go wrong.
Chapter 1. I Was a Slave, You See…
“A hundred gold coins, Vanillin! A whole hundred!”
Bang!
Dai burst through the door, shouting with unbridled excitement.
His nose twitched and flared with barely contained glee.
This was the Fixer’s Office, tucked in the beggar’s quarter of the slums at the edge of the Capital of the Oswald Empire.
In that shabby space, Dai careened about with his arms spread wide, as though he’d just claimed a throne.
“Ha-ha! Once I pull off this job, I’m rich! I can quit this pathetic fixer work and live like a lord!”
“Wow… That’s impressive, Fixer.”
I clapped dutifully.
But despite my words, unease crept through my chest.
Whenever Dai got like this, something bad always followed.
“A hundred gold coins? What kind of job could possibly be worth that?”
“Heh-heh! It’s simple, simple!”
Dai answered as if he’d been waiting for the question.
“All I have to do is steal a Sacred Contract from the Imperial Palace!”
“…What?”
Did he just say what I think he said?
“A… a Sacred Contract?”
I jumped to my feet.
“That’s a Prohibited Item. Holy Power is exclusive to the bloodline of the Royal House—”
“Yeah, yeah! That’s exactly why it’s expensive!”
Dai snorted and shoved his chair back with his boot.
“The client was spooked by it too, but what’s the problem?”
“But Fixer, this job is far too dangerous. A hundred gold coins is tempting, but this time we should decline—”
“Dangerous? What danger? It’s just one little piece of paper to swipe, and a hundred coins tumble in. Three days, that’s all.”
“Still—”
“Hey! Even if you whine, there’s no pay for you anyway. You beggar brat, always so annoying.”
My feeble objection was ignored, as it always was.
The moment I hesitated, a palm slap invariably followed to the back of my head.
Smack!
“Ow!”
“Stop dawdling and pack your things. You’re coming with me this time.”
“M-me too…?”
“What, you don’t want to?”
Of course I did.
I quickly shook my head in vigorous denial.
To go outside… and to the Imperial Palace, no less.
How long had it been since I’d left this place?
“The timing’s perfect anyway—tonight’s the Founding Commemoration Festival.”
“But Fixer—”
Thwack!
Dai raised his hand threateningly once more.
I instinctively hunched my shoulders, and in annoyance he kicked the desk instead.
“You keep it up and I won’t investigate your brother’s case.”
“…Ugh.”
I bit my lip hard.
Fifteen years ago, my brother had died under mysterious circumstances.
This fixer was the only one who’d been willing to take the case when no one else would.
Though so far, he’d yet to unearth any real information…
— What are you doing? Get cleaning, you wretch. Or do you not want me looking into your brother’s death?
And so, in exchange, I’d bound myself to a contract little better than slavery, confined to this small fixer’s office where I did all manner of drudgery.
He was my brother’s only hope, so I had no choice but to follow him.
“I’m sorry. I’ll get ready right away.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
In the end, I lowered my eyes and obeyed.
Dai smiled cruelly and shoved me aside.
“If you’re curious about my business, you’d better do your job well, understood?”
I couldn’t say a word in front of him.
* * *
Was it because of the Founding Commemoration Festival?
The streets, which I hadn’t seen in years, were far more crowded than before.
“I heard the Third Prince will be attending this banquet.”
“Oh! Urian? How wonderful—I’d love to see him too.”
A prince, no less….
He sounded like someone out of a fairy tale, and my heart couldn’t help but flutter.
Screech—
The carriage came to a halt before me.
Dai descended with an air of importance, dressed to the nines.
“Since I’m nobility, I’ll enter the Banquet Hall. You find the Sacred Contract and bring it to me.”
“Yes.”
A task tossed at me as if it were obvious.
So this was why he brought me along.
Just for his own amusement.
I pouted but carefully put on the Maid Uniform he’d handed me earlier.
Soft pink hair flowing gently past my shoulders, eyes that looked docile.
When I traded my patched, worn clothes for a Maid Uniform made of quality fabric, my complexion brightened noticeably. There was an odd flutter of joy, as if I’d been given a new dress.
“Now, get going. Don’t come back until you’ve found the Sacred Contract, and don’t get caught.”
Smack!
Dai snorted and kicked me away.
“Ouch….”
It hurt.
My eyes welled with tears, so I rubbed them.
Dai paid me no mind and headed for the Banquet Hall.
Well, this isn’t the first time—far from it.
Rather than despair, I took in the vast expanse of the Imperial Palace.
“Still… I’m excited.”
Has it been three years since I’ve been outside?
This outing would last only a day at most, but moments like these made the world seem so boundless that my heart swelled with wonder.
“The Head Maid’s Office is this way.”
Clutching the résumé Dai had urged me to prepare, I hurried along with the other applicants as a palace attendant led us through the corridors.
We passed through the main palace’s hallways and arrived at the Head Maid’s Office, which was far more grand than any office I’d seen before.
“So, your name is Vanillin?”
“Yes, Head Maid. It’s an honor to meet you.”
When my turn finally came, I stood before her, fidgeting with my fingers.
Rustle—
The Head Maid examined the résumé carefully.
The résumé she was reading, the letter of recommendation, and the seal stamped on the paper—I had forged them all.
I had flawlessly replicated the paper’s grain, the ink’s bleeding, and even the handwriting’s peculiar habits.
To my eye, there was nothing amiss, but….
— No one but me would accept your pitiful skills. Be grateful for it.
That’s what Dai always said.
“One year with Baron Gurlisse’s household, two and a half years with Count Gebaksen’s household…. Ah, and even six months with the demanding Duke’s household.”
Fortunately, the Head Maid nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes. My specialty is the handling of artwork.”
“Most impressive.”
She even offered praise.
She showed no suspicion whatsoever.
…Had I gotten away with it?
What a relief.
I glanced about nervously.
The herringbone-patterned floor, the crowded bookshelves, the sofa, my fidgeting feet….
I wandered this way and that until my gaze snagged on something atop the head maid’s desk.
‘…What?’
I blinked.
My thoughts came to a halt.
‘Am I seeing things…?’
I rubbed my eyes blankly.
And no wonder—in one corner of the desk, buried beneath a tangle of documents,
‘A… Sacred Contract…?’
Unsigned Sacred Contracts lay strewn about.

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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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