I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 36

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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 36. Setting Sail!
* * *
Yurian remained silent until Vanillin’s figure disappeared completely from view.
A salt-tinged sea breeze brushed through his hair.
And when at last she was gone from sight entirely.
“Mermaid’s Tears, then.”
He laughed softly.
“A rather romantic gift you’ve entrusted me with.”
His smile was always difficult to read, no matter how many times one saw it.
Until recently, Lein had thought of it as the mark of a saint’s temperament, but now… well.
Lein met the prince’s gaze steadily.
“It was merely the victor’s prize.”
“And yet you took the trouble to explain the meaning behind it—was that also a courtesy to the victor?”
……
“Love that is certain to be fulfilled, and love that never changes.”
Yurian closed his eyes slowly.
“But I’m afraid, much to your regret, none of that will take hold here.”
Whoooosh—
A breeze swept past, and the leaves of the row of trees rustled against each other.
Lein’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
Yurian, pretending not to notice, continued as though nothing had happened.
“By now, Vanillin must be genuinely troubled.”
……
“Wondering if perhaps she’s accepted something far too precious.”
……
“Or whether you might be regretting your generosity after all.”
A brief silence fell between them.
Lein clenched his teeth so slightly it barely showed.
It was true.
Vanillin had asked him exactly those things.
The fact that the man standing before him—who hadn’t even been there—knew it didn’t sit well.
Lein looked up at Yurian.
“You’re quite different from what people say.”
“Different how?”
“Far more mischievous than I expected.”
“You’re too kind.”
Yurian deflected the remark without a flicker of concern.
Lein drew a deep breath, trying not to glare.
Why was that?
The moment kept coming back to him—when Vanillin had smiled as he gave her the Mermaid’s Tears.
He’d thought that would be enough…
‘Apparently it wasn’t.’
The fact that this man irritated him so deeply was proof of that.
Lein slowly lifted his gaze.
Yurian was tall.
One rarely noticed it because he wore only white, pristine garments, but his frame was surprisingly broad and sturdy beneath them.
…Was that Vanillin’s type?
In every way, he stood at the opposite end of the spectrum from Lein himself.
Lein had neither his height nor his broad shoulders.
Only a thin, frail body prone to frequent illness.
……
He stared at Yurian and spoke quietly.
“To reach Valenta Island, you’ll need our cooperation.”
Lein loved Vanillin.
“I doubt warnings of this sort will improve our future relationship, however.”
How could anyone not adore her?
Hair like cotton candy—soft, pale pink—and eyes the color of fresh spring green.
Delicate-seeming yet strong-willed, his one and only benefactor.
…And the man before him now was a portrait Vanillin had drawn herself.
That alone was reason enough to despise Yurian.
But.
“Well, well.”
Yurian chuckled softly.
There was no reason not to.
Ruen Harbor was already, for all practical purposes, in his hands.
Olivia and Lein had promised that Ruen would become his eternal ally in exchange for their help with this matter, and their entire conversation had been meticulously recorded on a listening device.
He had never been one to trust people easily.
So there was no need to resort to coercion.
But for him to wear his affection for Vanillin so openly, so completely—
“You needn’t worry on that account.”
Vanillin was his own.
Though the beginning had been compulsion, she was the one he had chosen to keep—his sole attendant in all the world.
“If you have sworn an unchanging love to Vanillin….”
His golden eyes curved slowly as he smiled.
“Then Vanillin has already given me her soul.”
Through a contract, of course.
Yurian swallowed the last of his words and grinned.
The meaning beneath was unmistakable.
As long as you love Vanillin, in the end you cannot defy me.
Lein’s eyes widened sharply.
“So the bond has grown that strong, has it….”
A murmur, spoken to himself.
This time, it seemed the blow had struck deep.
For some reason, the sight of it brought Yurian a thrill of satisfaction.
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
Lein unclenched his jaw with deliberate care and asked quietly.
“Then how do you feel, Your Highness?”
Dark eyes tinged with blue met his pale yellow gaze head-on, the look of a male assessing a rival.
“Do you love Vanillin?”
Like watching a male beast gauge his competition.
Yurian laughed softly.
Love, he said—nonsense.
Yurian answered without hesitation.
“She is simply mine.”
Love was nothing but a futile game.
Lein studied him for a moment, then a faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
“I see.”
Then he spoke.
“I trust that feeling will never waver.”
* * *
“What were you two discussing?”
“Matters concerning the future.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded without much suspicion.
Well, Lein would soon become the head of Brennon House, after all.
There must be plenty he and His Highness needed to discuss in confidence.
“Heave!”
We boarded the ship moored at the end of the harbor.
It was a medium-sized brigantine bearing Ruen’s distinctive blue pattern.
The Brennon House crest was stitched clearly upon the sails, and across the deck, sailors moved busily about their work.
“It’s a shame—I really wished I could go with you.”
The Brennon daughter, or rather—
The brown-haired woman who was now simply Olivia sighed playfully.
“There’s so much I still need to teach Lein that I’m afraid I’ll have to stay here for at least three months.”
“Three months?”
“I know, I know. I thought I was finally going to be free.”
Sigh.
Olivia made a show of sighing, her smile warm.
For all her words, she didn’t look the least bit confined.
Her chestnut hair streamed freely in the wind.
When she was the daughter of Brennon House, there was an elegance to her, a refinement—yet something of a caged bird about it. Now she looked like a pirate girl through and through.
‘Somehow, this suits Lady Olivia far better.’
I smiled without thinking.
“It suits you.”
“Hm?”
“This. Right now.”
Olivia blinked.
“What does?”
“Everything. All of it.”
She looked far more natural laughing in the sea breeze like this than she ever had clutching at her skirts, playing at being a noble’s daughter.
Olivia stared at me for a moment, bewildered, then burst into laughter.
“What was that?”
“I mean it.”
“…I know. Thank you.”
Her eyes, flickering in the sunlight, looked refreshingly clear.
Like the face of someone who had finally snapped a rope that had bound her for far too long.
“Well then, shall we be off?”
Olivia laughed playfully and stepped back.
The sailors sprang into motion at once.
“Raise the sails!”
“You there, mind those ropes!”
Clank.
Thick ropes unfurled, and the canvas billowed full with wind, swelling magnificently.
The cool sea breeze swept sharply across my face.
I gripped the rail and waved toward the two of them.
“I’ll be back soon!”
Olivia and Lein waved in return.
“Safe travels, both of you!”
“Take care, Vanillin.”
Whoooosh—
The ship pulled slowly away from the harbor.
Ruen receded into the distance, shrinking into a speck.
‘We’re finally heading out to Valenta Island.’
My time in Ruen had been pleasant but exhausting.
To be honest, I’d been longing for home.
‘I wonder if I can actually rest there without a care in the world.’
I hoped to avoid work entirely and simply laze about on holiday.
…But that was hardly likely.
‘If only I could dig out my swimsuit.’
At that moment, I truly thought I could.
And then, hours later.
“…Your Highness?”
We ran aground.

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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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