The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34
Perhaps he had mistepped somewhere and fallen to his death. His body bore no signs of life.
Yet the knight’s form moved slowly, steadily approaching the tent. Like a zombie from a horror film.
Among the knights frozen in shock, Rotar Eisenrit was the first to raise his sword.
“That is not Becker. Prepare for combat.”
Becker—the name of the knight walking toward us with his body crushed.
It was just as the other knights, finally regaining their senses, began to draw their blades.
“Barbarians, hear me!”
The returning scout—the knight called Becker—opened his mouth and cried out. His voice rasped and crackled with an eerie cadence.
“If you persist in attempting to cross the Snowy Mountains, I cannot guarantee your lives. Return to your lands. Do not repeat the slaughter of two hundred years past through reckless ambition!”
The knight spewed blood as he shouted, then collapsed to the ground. He lay motionless, indistinguishable from an ordinary corpse.
Rotar Eisenrit knelt before him faster than anyone else. He examined the wound on his head, pried open his closed eyes, and placed a finger beneath his nose. Then he issued a command in a grave tone.
“Becker has fallen. Dig a grave to bury him.”
“…!”
Then what was that spectacle I had just witnessed?
A brief commotion rippled through the knights, but soon they moved to obey. They had witnessed something inexplicable, yet nothing more. Their lord’s command took precedence over unresolved doubts.
Of course, there were those here who did not serve Rotar Eisenrit as their lord.
“Well then, we shall examine the corpse more closely.”
Wolfgang approached the body with a couple of Holy Knights. His eyes, clad in white gloves as he traced over Becker’s form, betrayed deep vigilance.
I quickly walked between Rotar Eisenrit and Wolfgang, then knelt.
“May Pelmira’s protection accompany you on your journey.”
With my hands clasped, I recited a prayer for the deceased, then raised my head to see Wolfgang’s peculiar expression.
Why? He opened his mouth at my silent question.
“As expected of the Holy Maiden. Even in such circumstances, you fulfill your duty as a believer.”
Was he being sarcastic? I harbored brief suspicion, but seeing his expressionless face, it seemed he genuinely found it unexpected.
‘Isn’t that natural?’
The knight before me was a casualty of an expedition undertaken at great cost. And the one who planned this expedition was me.
Rather than respond, Wolfgang extended his palm toward the corpse. The Holy Knights beside him likewise lowered their bodies and began tracing their palms across various points on the dead knight’s form.
Soon, one of the Holy Knights spoke.
“I sense no malevolent aura.”
There were no traces of demons or monsters. The other Holy Knight offered no objection.
However.
“….”
Wolfgang’s expression was subtle.
After examining the corpse’s aura for some time, Wolfgang dismissed the Holy Knights. Only when I and Rotar Eisenrit remained did he finally speak.
“It is true that there is no aura of demons or monsters. However.”
“However?”
“I sense a different aura. A strange sensation I have never encountered in my life.”
At Wolfgang’s words, Rotar Eisenrit furrowed his brow slightly.
“You mean the nature of that aura is unknown?”
“To be honest, that’s the situation right now. I can only speculate that someone manipulated a corpse, but nothing more.”
“How irresponsible can you be….”
Rotar’s voice, grown noticeably colder, trailed off mid-sentence.
‘…What?’
Rotar wasn’t the only one who stopped what he was doing.
Wolfgang, myself, and indeed the entire expedition lifted our heads to gaze upward at the sky.
Someone murmured.
“The blizzard has stopped.”
It was true. The snow that had been falling moments before with enough force to bury every living thing on the ground had ceased.
The snowfall hadn’t gradually weakened either. As if plugging a hole in the heavens, it simply stopped—the black storm clouds parted, and the clearing sky felt like a dream.
But it couldn’t be a dream. I opened my mouth among the men whose faces had grown grave as they stared upward.
“The Otherworldly Race.”
Two pairs of eyes immediately fixed on me.
“The group that would call us ‘barbarians.’ There’s no one else it could be, is there?”
Someone had warned us through Becker’s mouth. If we continued attempting to cross the Snowy Mountains, our lives could not be guaranteed.
‘Return to your lands. Do not repeat the massacre of two hundred years ago through reckless greed!’
A war from centuries past. The Elheim Empire beyond the Snowy Mountains.
“What if they caused the blizzard? To block our approach, that is.”
I couldn’t know who they were, or what they truly were. I couldn’t know how strong they were either.
But one thing was certain—they did not welcome our expedition… and that was the conclusion I had reached.
It was Rotar who broke the silence that had settled over us.
“Even so, nothing changes.”
He continued speaking without taking his eyes off the lifeless knight.
“We anticipated conflict, and we have nowhere to retreat to.”
“…That’s true.”
His words were right. Whatever power lay beyond the Snowy Mountains, we had no choice but to advance.
A grave for Becker was prepared quickly now that the blizzard had ceased. The moment our brief mourning ended, the expedition resumed its march.
Not because we had grown accustomed to a comrade’s death. Simply because we needed to survive.
‘From Graupels, crossing the Snowy Mountains would take at least three weeks by my estimates.’
Whether we lived or died, the true expedition was only beginning now.
***
Fourth night. One knight suffered critical injuries in a Cobalt swarm attack, and we lost some provisions.
Seventh day, afternoon. A massive battle erupted at the harpy nesting grounds. Two Holy Knights and one regular knight sustained critical injuries. Considering the expedition’s movement speed and health status, some were ordered to descend the mountain. Twelve soldiers remained.
And then, the dawn of the tenth day.
“….”
I opened my eyes slowly and gazed quietly at Rotar Eisenrit’s face, his breathing steady and rhythmic just inches from mine.
His features had grown sharper as weight fell away, his cheekbones and jawline distinct even in the darkness. If I reached out to touch the bridge of his nose and the line of his jaw, the prominent bone structure beneath his skin would feel vivid and real.
The night before, Rotar had rubbed his tongue against the nape of my neck and asked.
‘Would it be acceptable if a child were conceived?’
I thought the question came a bit late, but I answered without deception.
‘I suppose? My body isn’t capable of bearing children anyway.’
At that moment, Rotar’s movements had paused briefly.
I hadn’t meant to hide it. When the conversation turned to the Staufen Family’s succession, I’d honestly thought it had nothing to do with me. I hadn’t anticipated things would deepen between Rotar and me to this extent back then.
The claim that my body couldn’t bear children was ultimately just a conjecture. Yet through all my repeated lives, I had never once conceived Maximilian’s child.
Since Frederike had ascended to the position of Empress by bearing Maximilian’s child, there was no reason to suspect that man’s reproductive function was flawed.
‘Then it must be my problem.’
‘I wish to separate every version of Maximilian across all timelines from you.’
That was my last memory—Rotar whispering in a soft voice, drawing my body deeper into his embrace.
‘For someone who doesn’t look it, he’s quite jealous.’
I wondered if there was any need for that. I spent every night with Rotar without lies, skin against skin.
Before meeting Rotar, I hadn’t known. That the act of pressing lips together and touching each other’s skin could become a form of solace.
Now, in the rush of overwhelming pleasure, I welcomed those moments when the chaos in my mind evaporated into white silence.
“….”
Yet the moment clarity returned, reality reasserted itself.
I slowly slipped away from the man’s warm embrace. After wiping my body with a water-dampened cloth, I dressed in the clothes Rotar had prepared for me, one piece at a time.
Then, sensing something odd, I turned around.
“You’re awake.”
You startled me.
Rotar had opened his eyes at some point and was watching me, making no sound whatsoever.
Do all knights wake this easily? And hide their presence so effortlessly?
I concealed my surprise and fastened the front of my coat as I spoke.
“Sleep more. I’m just going to get some air.”
“Outside is dangerous.”
“I know. That’s why I’ll keep watch while I walk around.”
“….”
Rotar’s eyes narrowed slightly.

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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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