I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 29

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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 29. My Dress…
That soft voice and perfectly composed expression, the neat appearance that belied anyone who’d just been in the Secret Warehouse moments before.
Yet her eyes held no warmth whatsoever.
Her gaze moved slowly, as if taking our measure.
“How did you find Ruern?”
“Intriguing, I must say.”
Yurian smiled languidly.
“Particularly the abundance of alleyways throughout the city.”
For an instant, Olivia’s eyes flickered.
She accepted the beverage glass from the merchant and stepped closer to us.
“The alleyways, you say?”
“Yes.”
Yurian answered with an unbothered face.
“I thought they’d been closed off, yet I found several still in use.”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard without meaning to.
‘Your Highness? Is it all right to say such things?’
But Yurian remained unruffled.
“I have no intention of informing your father.”
“…Why not?”
“Well.”
Yurian smiled gently.
“Someone might find themselves in a difficult position, mightn’t they?”
…….
Olivia closed her mouth.
She could have asked who would be in difficulty, what he meant—but she didn’t.
She only stood there, wine glass in hand, her eyes trembling faintly.
‘Ugh.’
I hugged myself without thinking, my body quivering.
Even though neither of them spoke, the air felt taut, stretched thin as wire.
Olivia was clearly assessing us.
How much we’d seen.
And how much we’d grasped.
I found myself holding my breath, eyes darting about, reading every shadow of meaning.
Yurian, by contrast, remained patient.
“You needn’t worry.”
He smiled softly.
“I myself have no love for needless chaos.”
“…Is that so.”
“Especially.”
Yurian’s pale amber eyes curved slowly upward.
The graceful arc bent as if in delight.
“One ought to understand those who have things they wish to conceal.”
To look at him, one would think him a saint.
Olivia’s fingertips trembled minutely.
It was only an instant, but I saw it clearly.
The confusion in her eyes ebbed away, replaced by relief.
That was when I understood.
‘She wasn’t testing us after all.’
She’d been confirming something else.
Whether we stood with Brennon or against him.
I stared at her, dumbfounded.
Olivia studied Yurian as if weighing him on a scale, then slowly turned her gaze toward me.
…….
Had her eyes grown softer, or was it merely my imagination?
She examined me carefully, taking me in piece by piece.
The Sky-Blue One-Piece Dress I’d put on for the first time today, the Ribbon I’d chosen with such excitement, and my face—which had been incapable of composure since moments ago.
‘…Why is she looking at me like that?’
I found myself hunching my shoulders without reason.
Then Olivia took one step closer.
“You’re the one called Banilin, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes! Hello, Miss Olivia.”
“I hear our servant owes you a debt of gratitude.”
“Ah….”
I closed my mouth and nodded carefully.
Her gaze toward me was soft and warm.
The wary edge that had sharpened during my conversation with Yurian seemed to ease slightly.
She lowered her eyes, as if choosing her words carefully.
“He came to me when he’d given up everything.”
Her voice was low and quiet.
“If it weren’t for you, he’d likely have died there.”
“…….”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”
I felt oddly bashful and fidgeted with my fingers.
“It’s not like I did anything particularly remarkable….”
It was true.
All I’d done was damage the lock on an iron gate slightly—just that, nothing more.
Everything else, he’d accomplished on his own.
Olivia regarded me quietly.
Her calm eyes, unlike when we first met, were clear and uncomplicated.
She slowly turned the glass she held in one hand.
The light pink liquid swirled within the cup.
“Perhaps.”
Olivia gave a small laugh.
“But it became a turning point for me.”
A turning point?
I lifted my head in confusion.
Whoosh—
Someone brushed past Olivia’s shoulder.
One of the merchants bustling about to prepare for the Festival.
“Oh.”
Olivia’s body swayed.
And—
“……?!”
Splash.
The light pink beverage poured across my skirt.
“Ah…?”
No, it couldn’t be, right?
I stared down blankly.
The sticky liquid streamed down over my Sky-Blue One-Piece Dress.
A sweet fruity fragrance rose up.
“Oh my.”
Miss Olivia, the Baroness Brennon’s daughter, hurried over with a startled expression.
“I wasn’t careful. I’m sorry.”
“No, no, please don’t apologize…!”
I fumbled to pull out my handkerchief.
But it was already too late.
A large pink stain was spreading across the fabric.
‘My dress….’
And I’d only just put it on for the first time today….
For a moment, tears threatened to spill.
A color like this doesn’t wash out easily.
Olivia watched me silently for a moment, then quietly extended her hand.
“Wait just a moment.”
Her fingers naturally grasped my sleeve.
Drawing very close under the pretense of examining the stain, she whispered low.
“The current Baron is a fake.”
“……!”
What did she just say?
I flinched and opened my eyes wide.
But the Barony’s daughter was already smiling softly, as though nothing had happened.
“The color’s so deep it might not wash out easily. What should I do?”
And then,
Crinkle.
A folded piece of paper slipped into my palm.
“Shh, don’t let anyone notice.”
“……!”
It was done so naturally that even I didn’t catch it at first.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and stepped back.
“I’m sorry—would you mind if I sent you a new dress?”
“Oh, no. That’s all right.”
“Still, it troubles me.”
She remained the picture of a perfect noble daughter to the end.
So graceful, so composed, so dignified—as if the cool warning expression from moments before had been nothing but an illusion.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
The Barony’s daughter gave a light bow.
And then she vanished into the crowd.
“…….”
What on earth had just happened?
I stood stupefied, clutching the paper in my hand.
My heart was pounding.
Yurian chuckled softly beside me.
“You seem quite popular today.”
“Um, Your Highness……”
“Yes?”
I whipped my head around, checking who might be watching.
Fortunately, no one was paying us any attention.
It was just as well—the Square was crowded with the Festival approaching.
The chaos and noise were actually helpful right now.
“This.”
I quickly showed him the Note.
He raised an eyebrow with evident curiosity.
When I unfolded the paper, there was only a single short phrase written on it.
<Third Harbor Abandoned Mailbox>
And the handwriting was hasty, scrawled urgently.
“A location, it seems.”
“But why would she give me something like this……?”
“I couldn’t say.”
Yurian answered matter-of-factly.
“Did she say anything else?”
“Anything else……”
“Like that the current Baron is an impostor.”
“……!”
I looked up at him in shock.
“H-how did you know that?”
“At that distance, I can read lips well enough. It’s basic training for the Royal Family.”
Yurian replied with perfect composure.
He sounded like someone casually remarking on the weather.
‘…He really is the most terrifying person I know.’
He could never become an enemy.
‘In any case.’
I clutched the Note tightly.
“An impostor—what could that mean?”
“It could be simpler than you think.”
Yurian walked forward at a leisurely pace.
I hurried along beside him.
“Perhaps he’s usurped the family name.”
“Or?”
“Or the true head of the family exists elsewhere.”
A chill ran down my spine.
So that’s to say….
“You mean he usurped the Barony?”
“That’s merely a hypothesis. It could be something else entirely.”
But something in his words felt true—a gut instinct I couldn’t shake.
I swallowed hard without meaning to.
“In any case, the fact that he’d raise such a dangerous matter to the Royal Family at all suggests he’s in genuine desperation.”
“Desperation….”
“It means he needs the power of the crown to help him.”
I nodded in agreement.
Now that I thought about it, that was exactly right.
Olivia had tested us at every turn.
Whether we stood with Brennon or against him,
whether we were people she could trust.
Only after confirming everything had she moved with such careful discretion.
“…So then.”
I asked quietly.
“Will you go to that place?”
“Of course.”
Yurian answered with a slight smile.
“But first, let’s change clothes. If I wander around like this, Banilin will just keep worrying.”
Right….
Of course she would.
I reached down absently to pick at the stained hem of my skirt.
Yurian let out a soft laugh watching me.
“We’ll visit the Abandoned Mailbox tonight.”

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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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