I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 40

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 40. Rescue?
What, what did you say?
“The two of us?”
I swallowed hard.
The campfire crackled softly, sending up tiny sparks.
Red flames wavered loosely in Yuri An’s eyes.
He was smiling as if joking, yet there was nothing playful about it—an odd quality to his expression.
I instinctively hugged my knees tighter.
“I don’t think that’s something you should say so calmly about…”
“Why not?”
“Well, because…”
I mumbled miserably, my lips moving without conviction.
“There’s no soft bed here…”
The bed in the Imperial Palace was incredibly fluffy and wonderfully comfortable.
“Once you’re used to that, you can’t sleep well without it…”
People really are fickle creatures.
When I lived with Dai, I slept fine with nothing at all.
One shouldn’t let oneself grow accustomed to luxury.
With a dispirited look, I scraped at the sand beneath me.
“And there’s no blanket… no pillow…”
……
“Still, I prefer the Imperial Palace.”
Nod.
The moment I reached that conclusion, Yuri An let out a soft laugh.
His gaze was deeply amused and intrigued.
I glanced at him cautiously, lifting my head slightly.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason.”
Yuri An’s lips curved upward.
“It’s just that Vanilla is treating my bed as naturally as if it were her own.”
“…Oh.”
…Wait?
Is that really how it came across?
I panicked and quickly waved my hand.
“That’s not what I meant—I just meant that the bed felt nice…!”
“Is that so?”
He tilted his body slightly toward me.
His golden eyes curved playfully.
“I thought you were declaring that you’d be sleeping together with me from now on.”
“…Your Highness!”
“I can’t sleep well anymore without Vanilla, you see.”
…There he goes, saying something that invites misunderstanding, completely unfazed!
Heat flooded my cheeks.
If I weren’t someone who knew him as well as I did, I would certainly have misunderstood that remark.
“It was truly difficult in Luern.”
…It’s just because of his insomnia!
I shook my head side to side.
If I kept listening, my mental health would suffer.
Like, I might accidentally convince myself that he truly needs me, or something.
‘Dangerous, dangerous.’
I had to change the subject!
I jumped up from where I was sitting.
“N-now that we’re done eating, shouldn’t we think about what to do next?”
“For example?”
“Build a raft, of course!”
That was the only way to get back to land.
But he was a formidable opponent.
“…You mean to build it yourself?”
“Yes!”
“Vanilla will do it personally?”
“…Why are you laughing at me like that?”
“I’m not laughing at you.”
…Then what’s with that smirk?
Unfair.
Why is he showing absolutely no sense of crisis—no cooperation whatsoever?!
I struck my own chest with my clenched fist.
“You’re actually quite good with your hands.”
“Am I?”
“And you’re strong too.”
“Certainly. Stronger than me, at least.”
He narrowed his eyes as if recalling something from the past.
‘…Now that I think about it, I did knock him unconscious.’
Three times, striking his solar plexus alone….
‘Yikes.’
The air felt oddly tense, so I hurried to change the subject.
“Anyway, I can do it.”
“You’ve built a raft before?”
“…No.”
“That’s a rather worrying answer.”
“But surely I can try, can’t I…?”
We can’t just stay here forever, no matter what.
I gestured earnestly.
“We’ll tie the logs with vines, make oars, that sort of thing….”
“And capsize within ten minutes of setting sail.”
“Your Highness!”
“Haha.”
Yuri An laughed aloud.
His low, gentle voice suited the night sea perfectly.
Honestly, it was a bit irritating, but still.
‘It’s good to hear him laugh.’
Hehe.
Instead of arguing further, I laughed along with him.
It felt good to see Yuri An so at ease.
I’d always thought him composed, whether in the Imperial Palace or in Luern, but now was somehow different.
There was less of that mask-like quality about him.
I laughed alongside him, letting my gaze drift absently toward the distant sea.
Expecting to see a dark horizon stretching endlessly ahead.
But that was when it happened.
“…Huh?”
A light flickered in the distance.
On the water.
A dim, wavering glow approaching beyond the dark horizon.
“Wait, what—?”
And it wasn’t just one.
Multiple lights were twinkling.
I leapt to my feet.
“That—what is that?!”
“Hmm?”
Yuri An turned his head in the direction I was pointing.
A ship.
An enormous one, at that.
“Your Highness, we—!”
“We’re saved.”
“Yes!”
I bounced toward the shore eagerly.
A ship arriving at this exact moment—I couldn’t be more grateful!
“―Your Highness, are you there?”
“―Vanilla!”
As the ship drew closer, voices called out.
People holding lamps crowded toward the bow of the vessel.
Familiar faces came into view.
The sailors of Brennon, whom I thought I’d lost.
Imperial Palace knights.
Even a rescue vessel.
I blinked repeatedly.
‘…What?’
“We spotted the rescue signal and came at once!”
“Thank goodness you’re safe, Your Highness!”
“Everyone’s been terribly worried!”
…Wait a moment.
A rescue signal?
I turned my head slowly.
Yuri An’s face remained perfectly composed.
No—actually, he looked almost pleased.
“…Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“You didn’t…”
You didn’t, did you?
At the look I gave him, he smiled gently.
“Ah, didn’t I mention it?”
…Why am I uneasy?
I looked up at him.
He spoke softly, tenderly.
“Ever since being abandoned like that, I always carry a Rescue Signal Flare with me.”
……
“I don’t enjoy being made a fool of twice, you understand.”
I lowered my head.
My body trembled violently.
“When did you—use it?”
“Ah, after Vanilla entered the island first?”
So all those things about whether we should stay alive together or whatever—they were all…
‘He was toying with me!’
My blood pressure soared.
But what could I possibly do about it?
I clenched my trembling fists tightly together and whispered.
“You charlatan…!”
Like the devil himself!
But my desperate inner scream was carried away on the distant waves and vanished.
* * *
The time after returning from Valenta Island passed in a blur.
There truly was no breathing room—that expression fit perfectly.
The trial of the Marquis of Brennon proceeded far more swiftly than expected.
The evidence was simply too clear.
He’d slaughtered the entire House of Brennon, sold the true heir to slave traders.
After eliminating everyone, this pirate had brazenly forged his identity and lived as if he were Brennon’s original master.
Add to that the smuggling, illegal trading, and slave trafficking all tangled together, and he had no real hope of survival.
The Imperial Investigation Team gleefully picked the Marquis clean, and as a result, his life collapsed quite spectacularly.
‘Yes, truly spectacular…’
I shuddered slightly, recalling the Marquis’s face as he was dragged from the courtroom.
People really should live righteously.
Yes, absolutely.
One look at the example of another person’s lack of virtue made that even clearer.
“We’ve discovered a large-scale gemstone mine on Valenta Island.”
“What, what did you say? What did you just say?”
“Elder brother has given younger brother such an immense gift. I am grateful.”
The gemstones recovered from Valenta Island numbered fifteen varieties in total, including Diamonds, Rubies, and Sapphires.
And every single one was of the highest purity.
It was a discovery vast enough to feed an entire moderate kingdom.
“U-ugh… ugh-ugh.”
Upon hearing this news, the Second Prince collapsed on the spot.
The doctor said it was due to excessive stress and anger.
‘…I suppose I can understand that.’
People say their stomach hurts when a cousin buys land, but a rival brother discovering a gemstone mine on land I gave him—
I could imagine the world going dark before my eyes too.
But the real problem came after that.
The day the Second Prince returned to the council meeting after recovering sufficiently.
Yuri An smiled with a very gentle expression and spoke.
“After the mine development is complete, we plan to convert all of Valenta Island into a tourist destination.”
“…….”
“We’ve already finalized the contract with the New Marquis of Brennon, and we’ve secured both the tourism route development rights and port usage rights.”
The barely recovered Second Prince’s fists trembled again, visibly shaking.
“That’s… well done. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, brother. The projected revenue is said to be three thousand gold.”
“…Per year?”
“No, per month.”
And the Second Prince collapsed again.
This time, he was genuinely carried out on a stretcher.
‘…He’s starting to seem a bit pitiful, actually.’
So the journey, which had stretched far longer than expected, came to an end.
And for a time afterward, there was peace—deceptively perfect peace.
No incidents, the Second Prince quiet, no one suddenly rushing in in tears.
Which meant—
“…Your Highness, would it be possible for me to use the Imperial Palace library?”
It was the perfect moment to learn more about Lancelot.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————