The Lady is a Stalker

His magic and deadly force were mixed together and surrounded the cave. His breath was suffocating and her body felt like it was being held down by gravity. Goosebumps appeared all over her body. She collapsed on the floor helplessly. Then, she wrapped her arms around herself, lowered her head, and waited for his anger to subside.

 

‘Damn it, why, what made him explode? Princess Serabi, what on earth did you do to the crown prince?’

 

She thought that the reason he was so angry was because she had touched on the past trauma created by Princess Serabi. However, the words that came out of the Crown Prince’s mouth after breaking the silence for a long time were completely unexpected.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“…?”

 

In response to the endless question, she turned her head slightly to look at the crown prince with questioning eyes, and he asked again as if urging her to answer.

 

“Who dared hurt your body, the Duke’s daughter?”

 

“…?”

 

As he said that, he slowly swept his hand along her shoulder, where the handprint was, all the way to her back. Goosebumps appeared all over her body at the feel of his cool hands. It felt completely different from when he touched her skin to inspect the wound just moments ago. When she was so overwhelmed by his murderousness that her whole body trembled like an aspen tree and she was unable to respond, he seemed to receive her reaction in a different way.

 

“…Are you afraid of retaliation? It’s okay to be honest. In particular, I will personally punish the culprit. The crime of touching a nobleman’s body is a heavy one.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

The crown prince was laughing cruelly as he uttered those words. But she could tell at a glance that he wasn’t smiling because he was in a good mood. He looked at her with a bewildered expression, with red eyes that looked like they were about to explode at any moment. When she looked closely, she saw that the pupils were abnormally dilated. His eyes were not like those of a human, but like those of a bird of prey. They said he used the dragon’s magic power, so those were the dragon’s eyes? His eyes were as beautiful as rubies but as gruesome as blood.

 

She took a moment to try to understand the situation. It seemed like he didn’t know that the wound on my shoulder was his own doing. Moreover, judging from the conversation so far, the crown prince seemed convinced that she had been attacked by someone else. She finally figured out why he was going crazy, but something was strange. She couldn’t believe he got this excited about just that much. Even showing off his red eyes.

 

“Say it.”

 

She shook her head. She didn’t know where his anger would go if he found out he had done it.

 

“Okay? If you don’t want to talk, I’ll force you to talk.”

 

He grabbed her face, which had been avoiding his gaze, and made her face his red eyes. It was so close, as if they were about to kiss at any moment. However, the look in his eyes was so cruel that it was not a romantic atmosphere at all.

 

“Say.”

 

How could she open her mouth if he spoke in such a commanding tone? Suddenly, she felt the strength in her whole body loosening up. The mouth opened of its own accord, betraying its owner’s will.

 

‘No way, no way this…’

 

Dragon words? That was the reason why dragons had no choice but to become the strongest race on earth. If you give a command with magical power in your voice, anyone will follow the will of the caster. Whatever the command was. Even orders to die. She never would have thought that even if he had absorbed the dragon’s magic power, he would be able to use dragon words.

 

Prince Raven was a lot more of a munchkin than she thought.

 

“Say.”

 

No one could tell a lie while facing his red eyes. Her body was already speaking out of its own accord, betraying her will. As a small voice came out of her mouth, he pricked his ears and came closer, as if he would never let her go.

 

“Raven.”

 

“What?”

 

The dangerous atmosphere that seemed like it might explode at any moment at her answer suddenly subsided as if it had been hit with cold water. Before she knew it, his eyes had returned to their original warm golden glow. After checking that, she relaxed and sat down on the floor with a sigh of relief.

 

In the original novel, when the crown prince first showed his red eyes, he seemed to have a more beast-like appearance, but for some reason, it felt like he still had reason left. Should she say it was fortunate that a full-blown storm did not begin? Or maybe he wasn’t as angry as he seemed, or maybe he was deliberately pretending to be angry to get her to open her mouth. But was the dragon’s magic power something that could be controlled on its own? 

 

While she was thinking about that in her head, the crown prince, who had calmed down again, sat down in front of her, made eye contact with her, and said,

 

“Explain.”

 

Now, pretending like she didn’t know anything wouldn’t work. Even if she tried to lie clumsily, she was bound to get caught if the crown prince used magic again. So she took a deep sigh and opened her mouth with difficulty.

 

“On the day I collapsed, Raven came to my hospital room and interrogated me. Then my arm was caught and injured.”

 

“…gibberish.”

 

The crown prince widened his eyes in disbelief.

 

“You said you got that kind of injury just because I grabbed your shoulder too hard? Are you some kind of glass doll? And you didn’t look like that at all. How can a person not make a groan when his shoulder hurts like that?”

 

He seemed to think she was lying. A topic that he had personally confirmed by using magical powers just a moment ago. She answered his question with a slightly pouty face.

 

“Anyway, Raven doesn’t agree with lying. I just told you the truth.”

 

“…There are degrees of weakness.”

 

He must have forgotten that he killed a dragon with his bare hands when he was eight years old. he prince slumped down on the floor, probably exhausted from using the dragon’s magic power. He was looking at the floor as if he had lost all energy and asked in an indifferent voice.

 

“So what about treatment? When will you get better?”

 

“I don’t know. I heard that in the worst case, I might not get better.”

 

“…What are you talking about?”

 

The crown prince’s expression hardened at the calm answer. It seemed like he thought she was joking. The crown prince said, ‘Are you out of your mind to make a joke like that?’ He looked at her with a face that looked as if he was going to scold her at any moment. She didn’t want to tell the crown prince straight, but it was a fact that if he used the dragon eye again, it would be true even if she didn’t like it.

 

She told him exactly what she heard from the doctor.

 

“Fortunately, my left shoulder, which I usually use, has somehow healed, but my right shoulder condition is a bit dangerous, but I heard that it may get better if I leave it alone, so I don’t have to worry.”

 

“Good? You’re not worried even though one of your shoulders is said to be in danger?”

 

As she continued speaking, the prince became more thoughtful. He looked back on her words as if he were talking to himself with a very puzzled expression.

 

“Yes. No worries.”

 

She answered calmly, but the prince’s face was so distorted that it couldn’t have been worse. Maybe he was feeling guilty about her arm being like this. The crown prince, who had been looking for something to say for a long time, spoke in a quiet voice.

 

“…The subjugation ends at the imperial palace. The royal palace masters might know how to fix it.”

 

“It’s okay. Just don’t worry about me.”

 

“What?”

 

The crown prince looked at her with an expression as if he was questioning his ears. He was now doubting whether what he had heard was true.

 

‘If you asked me to say it again, there was nothing I couldn’t say twice.’

 

She said indifferently, looking into the crown prince’s golden eyes with a calm face.

 

“If a person is good enough, you can bottle it up. Remember what I did. For 14 years, I chased you to death and tormented you. Moreover, I killed someone because of you. So, you shouldn’t make a fuss about me having one of my arms broken. The dead I killed will cry in the afterlife.”

 

“…”

 

The crown prince’s face darkened sharply at her words and he didn’t say anything for a while. But what she was saying was true. The crown prince was very nice to people. He had no one to worry about. He’s worried about Serabi. He needed to change his habit of showing favor to evil people like Serabi so that his life would be easier in the future. With that thought in mind, she sat staring blankly at the cave wall, and just as she was about to stop, the crown prince cautiously opened his mouth.

 

“What’s wrong with you these days? You seem like a different person.”

 

“You’re so quick to ask.”

 

She could feel his gaze staring at her, as if observing her, but she didn’t even turn her head towards the crown prince.

 

“…Just answer me.”

 

“Well, I guess I really had a stroke of luck.”

 

In response to her answer, the crown prince lowered his head with a complicated expression. Also, as if he was practicing silence for a while, the crown prince just looked down at the floor and said nothing.

 

“I think I’ll be able to stand up in a little while, so let’s go back to where our colleagues are.”

 

“…okay.”

 

“Oh, I forgot to mention this.”

 

“…?”

 

“Thank you for saving me.”

 

“…”

 

At her thank you, the crown prince stared at her with an expression as if he were looking at something really unfamiliar.

 

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Translator Note: