I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 33

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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 33. How Beautiful
Well, um… so, you see.
‘Why am I here…?’
My vision went completely white.
A cascade of stage lights and the gaze of hundreds of eyes.
The murmur of the crowd washed over me like waves.
“Hello there, Vanillin?”
“Oh, I… hello….”
I couldn’t do this.
I couldn’t even greet them properly.
I wanted to leave the stage.
Tears pooled at my eyes as I turned around.
But it was already too late.
At the foot of the stairs behind me, Yurian stood grinning broadly.
‘This devil…!’
I’d been a fool for thinking that smile angelic, even for a moment.
That was a devil’s smile.
No—a demon lord’s smile!
‘Your Highness…!’
I cried out desperately with my lips alone, but it was useless.
He even gave me a graceful wave.
[You must concentrate. You’re on stage, after all.]
His meaning was clear: stop complaining and get on with it.
This is too much.
I trembled, my face twisted in misery.
The host called out brightly.
“Now then, Contestant Number 31, Vanillin! What have you prepared for us?”
“I, well….”
I had no idea.
I wanted to know myself.
My mind had gone completely blank.
A song? I couldn’t sing.
A dance? That was even worse….
‘What do I do… sniff.’
Should I run away right now?
Wasn’t it still not too late?
I wanted to bolt from the stage that very instant.
‘Ugh….’
I glanced down and found Yurian still watching me from below.
Hair shimmering faintly gold beneath the moonlight, eyes curved in a lazy smile.
His face seemed to say: ‘You can do this.’
‘…But I don’t know what to do.’
Frustrated, my lower lip jutted out.
Yet something felt different.
My heart pounded as though it might burst, and every fiber of my being screamed to flee.
Still, I didn’t want to fail.
I clenched the hem of the dress he’d bought me.
Deep down, I already knew.
‘We were going to expose the Baron’s crimes right before the Champion is announced.’
If that was the plan, the only way to buy time was to take the stage myself.
I had to pull this off.
‘…But what on earth could I do?’
A plausible excuse—something to drag out the time enough.
I fought down my panic and searched desperately for an answer.
Then something at the edge of the stage caught my eye.
Festival Paint and a large cloth abandoned haphazardly in a corner.
Leftover materials from preparing the stage banners, it seemed.
‘…Wait. Could that work?’
I moved toward it as though in a trance.
Painting—I could manage that much.
Copying aristocrats’ signatures, tracing their seals, forging stamps.
To survive under Dai, I’d had to practice these skills countless times.
I carefully pointed to the cloth and paint.
“Would it be all right if I used those?”
“Oh, you’d like to paint?”
“Yes.”
“An improvised painting! Now that’s something interesting.”
The announcer’s eyes gleamed as he spoke loudly to the crowd.
A rush of cheers and applause cascaded down.
It was daunting, but once you drew the blade, you had to see it through.
I stepped up to the canvas the announcer had hastily prepared and drew a breath.
The smell of cheap muslin lingered at the tip of my nose.
‘It’s fine. I can do this.’
It wasn’t so different from what I’d done before.
Though back then, all I could do was copy.
I moved the brush slowly.
Shhhhhh—
The canvas scraped beneath my hand as I traced the first line.
“Oh, she’s starting now.”
“What’s she painting?”
The murmur of the crowd gradually quieted.
I couldn’t tell if they’d fallen silent or if I simply couldn’t hear them anymore in my concentration.
Deep blue paint bloomed across the cloth.
‘Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing.’
So I simply painted what lay before my eyes.
The deep, dark night sea.
A ship drifting across its surface.
Lantern light.
The people watching from the shore.
And….
‘Yurian.’
My hand moved without thinking.
For the first time, I felt neither the crowd’s gaze nor any nervousness.
I was simply following the scene unfolding before me.
Wind and waves.
Hair catching the moonlight, soft and luminous.
A gentle smile and finely sculpted features.
The brush quickened beneath my fingers.
I felt the breath catch in the throats around me.
A figure stood in the painting now.
A man smiling softly beneath the dim moonlight, his back turned to the deep blue sea.
I stopped.
‘Wait… what?’
I hadn’t meant to paint a portrait of Yurian… so how did this happen?
Heat crept up my neck in embarrassment.
But it was too late.
The painting was nearly finished.
The crowd gasped.
“Oh my… heavens.”
“It’s so beautiful.”
“The God of the Sea himself couldn’t be more magnificent.”
The… God of the Sea?
Was it just because I’d used blue paint that it looked that way…?
“No, I think she really did paint the God of the Sea.”
“Indeed, those beautiful features could never belong to a mortal. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Good heavens. Surely this belongs in a temple.”
…Surely they’re joking?
‘If I hung this in a temple, I’d be arrested for blasphemy….’
Vanillin.
Ugh, he’s calling me again.
That’s so unfair.
I quickly turned my head away, pretending to focus on the painting.
I could picture his cruel smile without even looking.
I picked up the brush again.
Now for the finishing touches.
Swoosh—swish.
Blue paint spread across the canvas in long, graceful strokes like waves shattering beneath moonlight.
Yurian’s flawless features were rendered with equal care.
Finally, after adding the pupils to his eyes, I set down the brush.
Exhale.
“It’s finished.”
How much time had I managed to draw out with this?
I glanced carefully at Yurian.
‘Will this do, Your Highness? I don’t think I can stretch it any longer.’
But he didn’t answer.
Rather, quite the opposite.
“Magnificent work, Vanillin.”
“Huh?”
He was simply offering oblique praise.
Was that… a compliment?
Or was he mocking me?
I had no time to ask.
“Wow…”
“Woooow!”
The crowd, belatedly coming to their senses, erupted in roars that shook the Harbor.
Thunderous applause and cheers poured down.
I looked back and forth between the canvas and the people in bewilderment.
“Goodness, she painted that in just ten minutes?”
“Miss, are you a painter?”
“But who is that man? Is he actually real?”
He exists, yes.
He’s standing right behind me.
My face burning, I lowered my gaze cautiously.
And then.
……
Beneath the moonlight, my eyes met Yurian’s—he was gazing intently at the painting.
His gaze turned slowly toward me.
For some reason, time itself seemed to slow.
“You painted me.”
His monotone voice neither blamed nor praised—impossible to discern.
I wetted my lips.
I didn’t know what to say.
Should I apologize? Say I was sorry for painting so boldly without permission?
An eternity passed in a single moment.
‘That is…’
“Beautiful.”
My eyes widened.
Pure admiration.
Yurian’s eyes crinkled as he smiled slowly.
“Is this how Vanillin sees me?”
“I… that…”
His smile pierced through my chest like a blade.
Why was this happening? What should I say?
In my eyes… does Your Highness truly appear that way?
I was about to force my lips open when—
Bang!
I flinched and turned my head at the sound of a fist striking the table.
The delicate moment that had been building evaporated in an instant.
The source of the commotion was none other than one of the judges.
“The Champion is this young lady! Don’t even think of contesting it!”
One of the judges suddenly shot to his feet.
The other judges immediately began nodding in agreement.
“I concur.”
“I have no objection either.”
…Wait?
“Shall we announce it right away then?”
“Let’s do so.”
“The Champion of this Sea Festival is―!”
Hold on, hold on.
This is far too soon!
I flailed my hands in panic.
‘No, there’s still time left…!’
I hadn’t even received the signal that Young Lady Brennon and Lein were ready!
I leaned down urgently to look below.
Yurian, too, seemed to be calculating the time, his eyes narrowed to slits.
The host broke into a broad smile and opened his mouth.
“Well, everyone’s so eager to hear the Champion announced! Shall we all listen? This tournament’s Champion is―!”
This can’t happen…!
Darkness seemed to close in on my vision, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘There’s truly no way out of this now.’
Please hurry and come…!
It was that very moment I was desperately praying.
CRASH―!!
With a tremendous roar, one of the canvas partitions behind the stage collapsed.
“Aahhh!”
“What, what is it? What’s happening?”
People screamed and looked around frantically.
I too spun around in alarm.
And then.
“…Eh?”
“Ugh! Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
My eyes met those of a man tumbling roughly down onto the stage floor below.
Ornate clothing, a face twisted in agony… and handcuffs clamped firmly on both wrists.
‘B, Brennon…’
The Plaza erupted in commotion.
“Isn’t that the Baron?”
“Handcuffs…?”
“What is the meaning of this?”
The murmurs rippled outward like waves.
I stood there slack-jawed.
‘He…’
This was how he was meant to make his entrance…?

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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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