I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 26

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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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Chapter 26. Following
…Handcuffs?
I blinked blankly.
My head felt like it might spin right off my shoulders.
A young lady and handcuffs—what in the world was this combination?
‘And worse still.’
Brennon looked utterly unfazed.
Glimpsed through the thin fabric of her robe, her expression was remarkably unmoved.
As if she were merely selecting some ordinary piece of jewelry.
“This should do, I think.”
Click—
Brennon turned the handcuffs fastened around the servant’s wrist this way and that, examining them, while the servant offered her arm obediently without a word.
“Or perhaps a bit tighter.”
…….
“Do you have something in a sturdier material?”
She was actually fingering another pair of handcuffs, engaging the shopkeeper in conversation about it.
This was clearly wrong.
I was about to step forward like a man in a daze when—
“Where are you going?”
A large hand seized my wrist.
It was Yurian.
I started at the warmth radiating from his grip and turned to him.
“Your Highness, over there Brennon is—”
“With a servant Banilin seems to adore, no less.”
That’s not the point here.
I lifted my gaze, and he smirked.
“What did you mean to do there?”
“Well, I…”
“Were you planning to inquire about the Countess’s refined hobbies?”
I, well.
Is that really what you call a hobby?
My pupils trembled.
I’d wanted to go over without thinking, but honestly, I had no idea what I’d actually do once I got there.
“It is not Banilin’s concern.”
Yurian spoke with an easy drawl.
His pale yellow eyes slid slowly toward the Countess and her servant.
“Say nothing.”
At his words, I clamped my mouth shut.
Click.
The cold sound of metal grazed my ear once more.
Brennon twirled the handcuff key between her fingertips with composure.
Her expression was as casual as if she’d just purchased a new toy.
Meanwhile, the servant kept her head bowed in silence.
“Let’s go.”
Yurian tugged my wrist lightly.
I followed him while glancing back over my shoulder several times.
But their figures soon vanished into the crowd.
…Unsettling.
No matter how I thought about it, something felt deeply wrong.
“Your Highness. You saw that just now, didn’t you?”
“The handcuffs?”
“Yes…”
So he did see them.
I nodded listlessly.
“Why would she put on something like that?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“People don’t normally do that, do they?”
“No, normally they don’t.”
I was utterly unsettled.
I bit my lip and turned back to look one more time.
For no clear reason, unease settled over me.
The whip marks I’d glimpsed at the dinner table, the way Brennon had pinched her own hand, and now these handcuffs I’d just seen.
Each detail was stranger than the last.
“You look terribly serious.”
“I suppose something’s been weighing on my mind.”
“Hmm.”
Sunlight fell softly across Yurian’s gleaming platinum hair.
His white shirt shone brighter in the rays, luminous as fresh snow.
He shaded his eyes with the edge of his hand, looking down at me.
“You seem quite interested in that servant, Banilin.”
“Well, I do know her, after all.”
Whether it’s sympathy or simply meddling on your part, I couldn’t say.
The words fell from his lips lightly enough, yet held no warmth.
I stole a glance at him, searching his expression.
…Had his mood shifted again?
But he turned back to me with a smile soon enough.
“So then.”
“Yes?”
“Are you thinking of rescuing that servant?”
“I… well…”
I couldn’t answer at once.
Rescuing her seemed like too grand a word for what I’d been considering, but still.
‘If she really is being mistreated…’
I couldn’t simply pretend not to know.
It was then.
A desperate cry suddenly erupted from somewhere above.
“Wait, what—what’s happening?”
“Get out of the way! Move!”
A cart came barreling down the slope like something possessed.
“Aaah!”
Screams rang out ahead of us.
Thud-thud!
A massive cart rolled downward over the stone path, bouncing as though it might take flight, thundering toward the lower incline.
Crates of fruit struck by the cart went scattering everywhere, and people scattered in panic, scrambling to clear the way.
And then it began barreling straight toward us.
My mind went blank white with terror.
“D-danger…!”
Again.
Before thought or judgment could crystallize, something alien stirred in the depths of my being—a pull, a drag.
A fierce compulsion bloomed within me to shield him, and I was about to lurch forward on instinct when—
Whoosh.
My waist was wrenched backward.
“Huh—?”
The world spun.
In one fluid motion, I was pulled into Yurian’s arms, and the cart swept past us to crash headlong into the wall.
Crash!
The wooden cart shattered into splinters.
……
……
I stared numbly at the ruined cart.
This cursed contract.
‘I almost died. Again.’
Cold dread crawled down my spine.
A sigh drifted down from above my head.
“Banilin.”
“Y-yes, yes…”
“Is worrying about others your nature?”
His voice sounded oddly stripped of its usual edge.
I lifted my head.
…Now I remembered—he’d been asking whether I’d rescue the servant if she were in danger.
He seemed to have gotten his answer from what had just happened.
“Before worrying about others, look after your own life first.”
“I’m sorry….”
Though it wasn’t exactly my intention just now.
A twinge of conscience made me mutter gloomily to myself.
At that, Yurian let out a soft laugh.
“You look like you’re about to cry again.”
“I’m not going to cry.”
“But you were just tearing up.”
“That was just because I was startled.”
“Ah, I see.”
…Was he teasing me?
When I looked up at him, he finally released the arm he’d been wrapping around my waist.
Whether it was the sea breeze or something else, his body carried a cool, fresh scent.
The moment his warm embrace faded, I felt oddly hollow.
‘Wait, hollow? Why?’
…What was that about?
‘Never mind.’
I stole a quick glance up at him.
Had I simply grown too accustomed to sleeping beside him?
Was that why I felt this emptiness now—missing the arm that had encircled my waist every morning?
‘Ugh, I don’t know.’
I couldn’t afford to dig any deeper into this.
I hastily turned my head away before our eyes could meet.
That’s when I saw it.
“Hm?”
A familiar black robe brushed past the edge of my vision.
My eyes widened.
“Your Highness, that—!”
Down the alley.
A young woman in a black robe and her servant were moving swiftly in some direction, careful to avoid drawing attention.
Both of them kept glancing around, checking for observers.
Without thinking, I reached out and gently caught hold of Yurian’s sleeve.
“Doesn’t that look suspicious…?”
“It does look suspicious.”
“Right?”
“However.”
Yurian smiled slowly.
“Isn’t following someone in secret a wicked thing to do?”
…….
I never expected to hear such words from him, of all people.
I stood there with my mouth hanging open.
Then cutting down a man with a sword in the back courtyard and covering it up—that was righteous, was it?
Making your troublesome younger brother unearth his own weakness with his own hands…?
Unable to find words, I could only gape stupidly until Yurian shrugged.
“I’m a saint these days, so I’d rather not.”
“Then….”
“If you’re about to suggest going alone, swallow that thought.”
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly without meaning to and quickly averted my gaze.
How did he know I was about to say that….
He didn’t seem to be reading my mind.
I fidgeted with my fingers nervously.
I knew he didn’t want to go.
If he firmly refused, I would accept it without complaint and follow his word.
It wasn’t my place to interfere further anyway—as Yurian said, I was his person.
But.
“Would it be all right if we just followed for a little while?”
Something in my gut was pulling at me.
A hunch that we needed to go now, that something deeply suspicious was unfolding.
“Really, just a tiny bit.”
“…….”
“Just a little… one step?”
“Sigh.”
Yurian exhaled in defeat, a low, resigned breath.
Then, still gripping my wrist, he moved toward the Alley.
“Just this once.”
“Really?”
“But.”
Yurian leaned down.
Those golden eyes drew near, closer than breath.
“If you sense any danger, come straight behind me.”
My heart lurched downward.
You… aren’t you too close…?
And isn’t this too gentle?
Feeling my heart ripple unexpectedly, I nodded quietly.
“…Yes, I will, I promise.”

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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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