I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 12

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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 12. Do you think you might ever come to love me…?
Laughter so naked and cruel it made the question obscene.
The Second Prince laughed for a long moment before the stranger bowed his head in panic.
‘Why is he laughing?’
Unease began to coil in his chest.
“Ah… how entertaining.”
The Second Prince wiped away tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, twisting his mouth into a smile.
His head tilted slowly to one side.
“What do you think I called you here for?”
“That… well…”
To give him another chance, surely?
There had to be a reason the summons came to the Reception Room, of all places….
As the stranger fumbled for words, laughter erupted again.
A grating, discordant laugh filled the room like nails on metal.
“A chance?”
The Second Prince swept back his murky blonde hair with one hand.
“Me, of all people?”
Eyes as dark and fathomless as a sea swallowed by night.
Only then did the stranger realize something had gone terribly wrong.
The world’s opinion of the Second Prince was, in truth, abysmal.
A monster so cruel that even demons would shudder.
A lunatic desperate to murder his own family.
The rumors he’d willfully ignored now materialized before his eyes as living truth.
“Why would I give a chance to a fool who failed and then went running to help Yurian instead? Would you?”
“That is to say…”
“How can you be so utterly lacking in self-awareness!”
Hahahaha!
The laughter erupted again, vast and echoing.
‘This maniac.’
Ice crawled down his spine.
The stranger trembled, his face drained of all color as he stared up at the Second Prince.
In that moment, he understood.
This office was not a place for conducting business.
It was nothing but a hell designed to endlessly remind him who stood above and who below.
“Kayle.”
Whoosh—
At the Second Prince’s quiet summons, a figure emerged from behind the door.
When had he been standing there?
The stranger hadn’t sensed a thing.
He was trapped, unable to move forward or back.
The Second Prince before him, the bodyguard behind.
He felt like prey in a snare.
“Your Highness… please, just once more…”
“Dispose of him.”
Those four words were all it took.
Slash—!
“Gck…!”
The stranger fell, a long gash carved across his back.
Thud!
The man’s body struck the ground with a heavy sound.
The Second Prince clicked his tongue at the fallen form.
“Clean it up.”
“Yes.”
Interest had already drained from his eyes.
The bodyguard bowed deeply to the Second Prince, then dragged the stranger away.
Creak—
Click.
The door closed. The Office fell silent once more.
The Second Prince reclined loosely in his chair, gazing out the window.
Below, a man with softly colored cream-blonde hair walked through the street, and the Second Prince’s eyes followed him.
“Yurian….”
Watching him bend his eyes sweetly to everyone he met, offering courteous greetings, I felt a disdain well up unbidden, and my brow furrowed.
Where on earth did such a lukewarm creature crawl out from?
“There’s no way Oswald’s blood could produce something like that….”
It truly was remarkable.
“And his luck is exceptional too.”
The Second Prince’s mouth twisted into a bitter curve.
Until now, he had employed countless schemes against the brothers he held so dear, yet with Yurian alone had he mysteriously failed to succeed.
Or rather, it had led to even better results.
Just like this time.
“Is he blessed by divine grace or something?”
It didn’t make sense.
For a mere human to possess such fortune was absurd.
It would be far more credible to believe he wore the mask of a saint while concealing dark and sinister schemes beneath.
Yet after investigating from every angle, not a trace of the youngest’s hand could be found anywhere.
He had truly sidestepped every single incident by pure chance.
“…It’s infuriating.”
Tsk.
The Second Prince clicked his tongue.
He had received reports that these days, praise for Yurian circulated freely in the streets.
There was even talk that the Third Prince would be selected as the next emperor—a theatrical farce of the most pathetic sort.
Though he had crushed all those voices spreading such nonsense, his mood had become thoroughly foul.
This would not do.
“The only person fit to become emperor is me.”
The Second Prince’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“I’ll need to deal with him properly very soon.”
This time, I won’t let him slip away.
* * *
The afternoon sun sank low and golden across the sky.
“What should I do….”
Sigh.
I collapsed limply onto my bed and exhaled a deep breath.
The moment I returned from the Hunting Ground, the first thing I did was unfold the Contract again.
“Ugh….”
So many words.
I rubbed my eyes while staring at the paper in my hands.
Was this written to be read, or was it meant to trick people?
“I have a feeling it’s both….”
Line by line.
I barely managed to push through the dizziness spinning in my head and read the words.
And finally found one sentence.
“So I can only read thoughts within a five-meter radius.”
And even then, only partially.
On the other hand, reading His Highness’s thoughts is apparently impossible.
And Mental Communication also requires Yurian’s consent to work….
‘It’s completely one-sided.’
My brow creased slightly.
It meant I couldn’t read His Highness’s thoughts, nor could I initiate Mental Communication first.
How could there be such an unequal clause?
“I’m really, truly grateful….”
Phew.
I released a long sigh of relief.
The devil lurking behind that angelic face, with an inner darkness profound enough to make even the most wicked falter.
Just imagining what might dwell in those depths made my skin crawl, and I was supposed to peer directly inside?
“That’s… no.”
I shook my head slightly.
No, absolutely not….
After shaking my head several times, I tucked the Contract safely underneath the bed.
Then I flopped back down onto the mattress.
I’d extinguished one fire, but another still remained.
“A Sacred Contract….”
That pretty piece of garbage.
I let out a sigh and stretched both hands in front of me.
Thin scratches scattered across my palms.
Even though I’d received basic treatment in the Medical Office, they still stung faintly.
“I threw myself into it without a moment’s thought.”
My body had moved first, against my own will.
How could that have happened?
That terrifying sensation lingered vividly still, so I curled my fingers into a loose fist.
“At least Yurian doesn’t know yet….”
Though even that would be temporary, probably.
A small sigh escaped me.
I hadn’t known him long, but that man was anything but oblivious.
So someday he’d notice….
“That’s good news, then.”
Or rather,
“Ah. I found him tiresome to drag around anyway, so this works out well.”
He’d definitely say something like that….
“Ugh.”
I hunched my shoulders and shuddered.
Could he please not say things like that in that tender tone of voice…?
But he would never change, so there was only one conclusion.
“Before he notices, I have to become someone he can never discard.”
The problem was figuring out how to do that….
A small groan.
I hugged my blanket and rolled back and forth.
“Think, Vanillin….”
If it were Dai, what would he say?
Well, he’d probably just tell me to figure it out myself….
Ah, he’s useless to me even in memory.
As I was groaning like that for a long moment, a memory suddenly flickered through my mind.
“Ah.”
When was that?
I’d once thrown away half a glass of liquor while cleaning the Office.
Since I’d always done it without thinking, it seemed like nothing at the time.
“…He got so angry.”
When Dai returned after finishing his work and saw the empty glass, he flew into a rage.
Why had I thrown it away?
He said that if anything worthless was going to be discarded, it should be someone useless like me, not liquor he cherished so dearly.
I slowly sat up.
And I thought carefully.
Why had he been so furious over liquor he barely had left, dust-covered and undrinkable anyway?
…….
Oh.
Oh!
I bolted upright in bed.
My eyes snapped wide open.
“He was angry because he loved it!”
That’s exactly what he’d said.
Liquor he cherished dearly.
Because he treasured it so much, he couldn’t bear to throw it away.
So if that logic held….
“If Yurian loved me….”
I clenched both fists tight.
“He couldn’t get rid of me…!”
My heart pounded wildly.
That was it.
All I had to do was seduce him!.
Good. So what should I try first?
Just as I was about to sink back into deep thought,
[Vanillin.]
A low voice burrowing into my mind.
“H-hic…!”
Startled out of my wits…!
I leapt from my seat, clutching my racing chest.
“D-did you hear all of that…?”
[Come to my room.]
The Mental Communication cuts off before I can finish speaking, saying only what he needs to say.
Ah, that’s right. Now that I think about it, he did say thoughts only carry within a five-meter radius.
…I thought my liver had dropped out of my body.
I pressed my hand against my still-thudding heart, forcing myself to breathe.
In a way, this is an opportunity.
“All right.”
I clenched my fist tight.
The timing was perfect.
My heart raced with anticipation.
I quickly composed myself and made my way to Yurian’s room.
And then.
“Your Highness.”
I grasped the hem of his garment and pleaded with desperate tenderness.
“Would you ever consider loving me…?”

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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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