The Lady is a Stalker

Although the crown prince was a genius in inaction and tactics, he was still a 14-year-old child at heart. This was her assessment of him after actually meeting him. Although he grew up with an adult personality, the way he held his tongue and rebelled was exactly like that of a child his age. If the crown prince listened to what she said and still made his subordinates fast, then he was really just a child and worthless.

 

“…do whatever you want.”

 

The crown prince stood with a shocked expression on my face for a long time, and then left the restaurant without saying anything.

 

“If…”

 

She became so relaxed that she flopped down on the table. She pretended to be strong and spoke proudly, but she thought she was being weighed down by his fierceness.

 

At that time, one of the soldiers who had been watching them asked her.

 

“What kind of trick is this?”

 

Alas, the crown prince was not the only one who disliked Serabi. Of course, it could not be compared to the life of the crown prince, but it was also not easy to live with the soldiers.

 

“Are you worried about us? A passing dog must have laughed. Until yesterday, you were insulting us by calling us guard dogs, but now you’ve decided to change course?”

 

“Yes, there’s no way that vicious woman would have obediently done something like cooking. She must have done something to the food.”

 

It’s a mountain beyond a mountain. She was so exhausted from dealing with the crown prince that she had no strength left to persuade them. If they were to refuse food despite the crown prince’s permission, she had no other choice. She couldn’t force it into their mouth.

 

She regretted the effort she put in, but she had no choice but to throw it away.

 

“What kind of scheme was this? I was constantly watching to see if anything was done in vain, but nothing like that happened.”

 

“Deputy Commander?!”

 

For the first time, someone spoke out in defense of her. She suddenly raised her head and looked at the owner of the voice.

 

‘Ah, it was the man who took me to the kitchen to put me in a corner.’

 

That man was the second-in-command. He sat down about two seats away from me, and without hesitation, he scooped up a spoonful of the soup she made and put it in his mouth. The man called second-in-command swallowed his food and spoke to her.

 

“It’s okay. You’re always chasing after Your Highness. You have a really good skill, don’t you?”

 

Ah, the tone was still sharp, but maybe that person was protecting her in his own way. Of course, telling a nobleman that he was good at cooking was an insult, but she could tell that he didn’t mean it that way. So she immediately felt better and smiled softly.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Huh? Uh… Okay. Hey, you guys, don’t just stand around and come and sit down.”

 

“Yeah, but…”

 

The soldiers still seemed to hesitate. She couldn’t help it. Maybe they couldn’t trust her. However, when the second-in-command glared at the surroundings with glaring eyes, everyone took their seats in less than a second.

 

‘Wow… Everyone is so disciplined.’

 

Still, she could finally eat a proper meal. She was full, but she wanted to enjoy this time more, so she picked up the spoon again.

 

* * *

 

She felt like she was going to vomit… She had a somewhat ominous feeling, but as expected, she ended up pretending. It was the first time in her life that she was at a table that was so livable. No one said anything openly insulting to her because of the person called second-in-command, but she saw it. The sharp eyes of the soldiers who looked at her throughout the meal, their eyes filled with murder as they roughly cut the steak. It was clear in his eyes that he wanted to cut her up like a piece of meat. Maybe it was meant as a warning that if you do something foolish, they will cut it up like this piece of meat.

 

She didn’t know if the food was going to go into her mouth or nose, so she kept swallowing it and it ended up like this. After finishing cleaning up the kitchen, she ended up collapsing and lying down on the bench. It seemed like the passing Distian soldiers were looking at her with pitiful eyes, but she didn’t even have the strength left to fire. But the good news was that there was no one who openly argued with her as if they were being grateful.

 

They say that animals are tamed by food. For some reason, words she had heard in her previous life suddenly passed through her mind. When she looked up at the sky, the sun was already setting. This was because it took longer to clean up than to prepare the food. Regardless of their ill feelings toward her, everyone seemed satisfied with the meal itself. The only person who openly praised her cooking skills was the second-in-command, and it is difficult to call that a compliment.

 

Despite the grumbling, everyone emptied their dishes completely, so she secretly laughed. It was fortunate that the first place her deputy commander took her was to the kitchen. Cooking ranked 8th among my 105 talents. For reference, 17th place was about growing a cactus, and 56th place was about imitating the vocal cords of a singer who was out of fashion. It was said that cooking was one of the specialties worth considering. As she was blankly watching the sun set, thinking about insignificant thoughts, she suddenly remembered someone she had forgotten.

 

Come to think of it, the crown prince didn’t even touch the food she made. Well, it was said that the crown prince was able to survive for several days without eating or drinking due to his advanced body, but that did not mean that he did not feel hungry. As expected, she was a bit harsh earlier. For a moment, reason was lost, and the adult became truly angry at the child.

 

“…”

 

She took out the cookies she had made for dessert. She put it in her pocket to eat later when she was hungry. She knew there’s no way the crown prince could get used to just eating food, but she’d like to give him a small snack as an apology for what happened earlier, or just out of spite. Perhaps the crown prince would not readily accept her favor. He might also suspect that it was poison or a weak drug.

 

‘Ah, but what if there is a needless misunderstanding?’

 

He realized that she still liked him. Ah, then she realized that she was lying down too comfortably in her dress. So she sat on the bench with her back straight and a good posture.

 

“What are you doing in front of these frustrated soldiers? Oh, or was she intentionally showing it to us and did I inadvertently intervene? As rumored, she is a lewd woman.”

 

“There is no one in Distian who would feel lust for her.”

 

“They feel lust even when they see worn-out boots. They are beasts.”

 

The second-in-command clicked his tongue and spoke in a confident voice.

 

“No, probably not. I just happened to hear it in passing. No matter how pretty she looks, Princess Serabi is creepy and seems to have no such thing as chastity…”

 

When, with a calm expression, she emotionlessly recited the insults she had heard about Seravi during the past day, the second-in-command, who had been quietly listening to the story, gradually looked astonished.

 

“Are you really saying that you listened to these bastards and stayed silent? Are you stupid? You were always talking about this and that in front of the commander.”

 

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but his words as he berated me seemed to have a hint of concern mixed in. It seemed like he thought she was hurt.

 

“Didn’t you call me an animal as you said, Deputy Commander? Conversation is with people. No matter how hard I try to defend myself, it will only sound like a lie to them.”

 

“…”

 

And above all, she wasn’t hurt at all by their words. Above all, it wasn’t her story, and Princess Serabi’s personality was about a hundred million light years away from hers, so even when she heard bad rumors, she was able to ignore them as if she was hearing stories from another world. She was used to being criticized. And there was no truth in what they were saying in the first place. 

 

But Princess Seravi, a pure lover who only had eyes for the crown prince, would be amazed if she heard that he did not know chastity. Considering what she has done to the crown prince, the cute words of her pure love are absolutely out of place, but it seemed to her that Princess Seravi was the one who kept her chastity better than anyone else in this novel. Of course, this was when you put aside the various things he did to the crown prince.

 

“Anyway, I have a call from the commander, so I’ll stop now.”

 

When she heard that there was a call from the commander, a good idea occurred to her.

 

‘Oh, how about using this person as a carrier? He even said that he was going to see the crown prince.’

 

She firmly caught him as he tried to turn away and put a cookie in his hand. The deputy commander saw that and was silent for a while.

 

“…I’m sorry, but you’re not my type.”

 

What kind of misunderstanding was he having? She quickly added before the misunderstanding got any deeper.

 

“Please give it to His Majesty on your way. It’s in lieu of a meal.”

 

The second-in-command said, looking down at the cookie with a worried expression.

 

“You can tell it to him yourself. No matter how much he dislikes you, he has a good nature. I’m sure the commander’s favorability will increase.”

 

What he said was correct. Prince Raven was a good person. It’s rare for a novel’s hero to be a villain.

 

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Translator Note: