I Was Hired by the Dark Prince for My Life's Worth - Chapter 51

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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 51. Does Hope Torture work if there’s no hope?
“…What?”
The Mysterious Criminal’s mouth fell open in a stupefied stare.
It was the look of someone who hadn’t understood what Yurian had just said.
“You said… tenacious, didn’t you?”
His voice trembled faintly.
Yet Yurian merely smiled with gentle kindness.
“Me? Surely not.”
“But you clearly….”
“You’ve been locked away so long, you must be hearing things. How unfortunate.”
At the genuine pity in his tone, the man fell silent.
He simply stared at Yurian with hollow eyes.
His face wore the look of someone sensing something was deeply wrong.
Yet he only mumbled his lips soundlessly.
“Hearing things….”
His murmur carried something strange.
“Yes, it must be that.”
……
“A saint like you would never say such a thing.”
He muttered as though speaking only to himself.
It seemed directed neither at me nor at Yurian.
Only a bizarre attempt to convince himself.
“It can’t be… When I tried to kill you, you never held it against me.”
His voice grew quieter, his chin dropping.
He gazed somewhere into empty space, reciting in a low voice.
“Back then too, you spared me.”
Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
As the flesh prickled along both my cheeks, I pressed myself closer to Yurian.
‘His eyes….’
Something seemed deeply fractured within them.
No person with a sound mind could make such an expression.
He was denying it, wanting to deny it.
His face desperate to believe that Yurian was his savior.
Yurian gazed down at him gently before asking softly.
“You’ve suffered greatly, it seems.”
“Saint….”
His single word became the detonator—the man’s face contorted.
The Mysterious Criminal stumbled closer to the Iron Door, his voice hoarse.
“You’re such a good person.”
One step.
“Because you’re so good….”
Two steps.
“You came to save me, didn’t you?”
Clang.
He lurched forward and seized the Iron Bars.
“Isn’t that right?”
Veins bulged across the back of his hand.
His clouded pupils trembled, pleading for an answer.
Then, as if he could bear it no longer, he shook the Iron Bars violently.
“Please!”
Clang-clang!
“Please let me out!”
Bloodshot eyes fixed on Yurian.
“I’m dying in here, I’m begging you!”
Bang, bang!
“If you just let me leave, I’ll do anything!”
His voice cracked.
His eyes were so red that the tears pooling there looked like blood.
“So please, please just save me, will you?”
Listening to that anguished cry, a chill ran down my spine.
Mad. There was no other word for it. That man could only be described as mad.
This was not simply the face of someone who wanted to live.
The expression of someone who would go insane any moment unless salvation came.
Without thinking, I gripped Yurian’s sleeve tight.
A large hand gently squeezed my shoulder.
“Are you frightened?”
‘…Your Highness!’
“Coward.”
His tone was teasing.
When I looked up at him, his eyes curved kindly.
“That man won’t be leaving this place, so have no worries.”
‘Why… why not?’
“Because I’m not going to rescue him.”
Isn’t that only natural?
He added this matter-of-factly, tilting his head to one side.
“He tried to take my life, yet he still breathes. He should be grateful for that much alone.”
His eyes, curved so gently, seemed utterly sincere.
…I see. So he has no intention of letting him out.
I nodded.
Then I could rest easy.
In any case, that man won’t be able to break through this thick iron door.
Sensing that I had calmed down, Yurian smiled faintly and turned his gaze back to the Mysterious Criminal.
He gently wrapped the man’s hand, which gripped the iron bars, and let his eyes crease warmly.
“Of course I’ve come to rescue you.”
“Is that… truly so?”
“Of course. It is the duty of the Royal Family to care for the people.”
Translated in His Highness’s manner, it meant that by isolating you, this wicked creature, he would protect the virtuous citizens.
But the Mysterious Criminal, unaware of such deeper meaning, brightened immediately.
The expression of someone who had finally grasped a rope thrown to them after desperate waiting.
“Thank you, thank you so much, Your Highness…!”
He extended his hand through the iron bars.
Yurian grasped it without hesitation.
Then he spoke gently.
“But we cannot rush.”
“Pardon? Why…?”
“We must know who brought you to this state, must we not?”
“…Ah!”
The Mysterious Criminal nodded blankly, his mouth falling open.
“That’s right, that’s right. That cursed gray-haired bastard…!”
“Tell me from the beginning, step by step.”
“At first I thought it would be over in a few days. He said if I just endured a little, he’d let me out.”
The man spoke in a trembling voice, almost muttering.
That cursed gray-haired bastard…
Glancing to the side, I saw Yurian gazing at the Mysterious Criminal with a drowsy smile.
His expression had not changed.
Yet I could sense a subtle gleam of interest lighting his eyes.
“Brother, what did that gray-haired man say to you? You can tell me everything.”
“S-Saint…?”
The Mysterious Criminal wiped his eyes and then drew a shuddering breath.
He squeezed Yurian’s hand tightly as he spoke.
“That man… said he would let me live.”
“Let you live?”
“The Second Prince ordered him to kill me.”
As if remembering that time again, the man trembled violently.
“He said if I wanted to live, I should stay here for a while. That when things settled down, he could make use of me again… Damn it!”
Bang!
The iron bars shook again.
The precarious state was palpable.
“If I’d known I’d have to live like this, I should have just died!”
“Come now, don’t speak such things.”
Yurian raised his eyebrows with exaggerated sympathy and shook his head.
Then he patted the hand of the man gripping his with his other hand.
He opened his mouth in a tone of genuine concern.
“Who was it, the person who put you through such suffering?”
“That bastard….”
The man trembled violently.
Rage seemed to boil up at the mere thought of him.
“He was a nobleman. I heard his name, but… damn it, I can’t remember….”
“Take your time. What was his name?”
“…Kyle! It was definitely Kyle!”
“Kyle.”
Yurian’s eyes widened lazily.
A gray-haired male nobleman.
Without thinking, I looked at Yurian.
Yurian was looking at me too.
Our gazes met briefly.
‘A younger brother?’
[A younger brother, then.]
The Fourth Prince.
He had locked the Mysterious Criminal away here without the Second Prince’s knowledge.
[This is rather interesting.]
Yurian’s eyes narrowed.
I nodded in agreement as well.
We were of the same mind.
‘This doesn’t look like good intentions, does it?’
[He was sharpening his blade on his own…. So the Fourth Prince has ties to Oswald as well.]
A smile settled at the corners of his mouth.
It was the particular smile of someone who had stumbled upon an unexpected secret.
[Coming to the Confinement Cell was the right call.]
He withdrew his hand from the Mysterious Criminal’s grasp with a benevolent smile.
The movement was so natural that the man involuntarily released his grip and flailed about helplessly.
A glint of frenzied anxiety flickered in his eyes once more.
“Your Holiness… why are you taking your hand back? Did I do something wrong?”
…….
“You are going to save me, aren’t you? Please?”
His bloodshot eyes, where capillaries had burst, moved grotesquely this way and that, darting between me and Yurian.
When I flinched, Yurian stepped in front of me and spoke gently.
“Of course.”
“Then, right now….”
“But there is something you must do.”
Something I must do?
The Mysterious Criminal looked up at Yurian with clouded eyes.
Yurian whispered his words.
“Until I bring the key, you mustn’t show any sign that you’ve met me. You must stay quiet.”
Clink.
Yurian gave the Lock on the Iron Door a light tug.
“And make sure this Lock doesn’t get replaced with something more intricate and heavier. Understood?”
“Yes… yes, I understand.”
The man’s face brightened with quick comprehension, and he nodded frantically.
Then he made a gesture of sealing his lips shut.
“Your Highness never came here. I was alone the whole time.”
“Well done.”
“I’ll wait quietly and not give anything away….”
“Yes.”
Yurian nodded with a beautiful smile.
“Take care of yourself.”
He lightly wrapped an arm around my shoulder and turned to leave.
I was drawn along by his hand, moving away from the Confinement Cell, and whispered softly.
“Is this Hope Torture?”
“I couldn’t say.”
Yurian smiled warmly and whispered.
“Can Hope Torture truly work without hope?”
…Just as depraved as ever.
As I shook my head, he let out a low chuckle, leaning close to my ear.
“Vanillin, let’s head back up. I think we’ll need to keep up the pretense of being bound a while longer.”

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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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