The Lady is a Stalker

It would be best to let them know that it was useless and to give up.

 

“I don’t know, but it’s better to stop anyway. It’s dangerous if you go any deeper. There’s no way there won’t be side effects. Even though I’m only using a little of the dragon’s power, you’ll pass out when it’s over. No matter how much we train our bodies, the structures of dragons and humans are completely different. They also have four hearts that control magical power.”

 

As she continued speaking, the prince’s golden eyes became deeper. She felt burdened by the prince’s eyes looking at me as if he was searching, so she slowly looked away and finished the story. He looked at her without blinking and then opened his mouth.

 

“That’s an interesting story. Where did you hear that information?”

 

Although he heard an interesting story, his eyes were not smiling at all. He looked at her with sharp eyes, as if observing her. She quickly made an excuse, thinking she had made a mistake.

 

“In a book…”

 

“A book? No one would know that the dragon has four hearts, the organ that controls magical power, except me who took it out myself?”

 

She stopped her hand from lifting the teacup. She took it out. It takes tremendous courage to bring out that disgusting thing directly. No matter what Nina was thinking, the crown prince’s eyes were becoming sharper. The average person didn’t know that a dragon had four hearts. It would be okay to say this much. She thought so, but she didn’t know it because it appeared so frequently in the novel, but it seemed that dragons were rarer in this world than she thought.

 

He, who was sitting at the table across from her, slowly approached her. Then he looked down at her with eyes full of suspicion and questioned her.

 

“Where did you get that information? Tell me, what else do you know?”

 

“…”

 

She closed her mouth. The excuse that she saw it in a book didn’t work, so what should she explain now? Besides, he was already suspicious of her. If she had said anything else hastily, she could have killed herself. He was racking his brains, looking for an excuse when the Prince nervously shook his head and said:

 

“…Shall I let you speak?”

 

Her body flinched reflexively after hearing the prince’s cold words. This was because he recognized the true meaning of the crown prince’s words. He wasn’t saying he would torture him to open his mouth. The crown prince could use a more convenient and simpler method if he wanted to. She looked up at the crown prince with a nervous expression… Those eyes seemed sincere.

 

The dragon’s language that allowed him to control his opponents according to his will. The Crown Prince intended to use it on her again. Was it really that bad that only she knew about dragons? Or did he decide that she was hiding information from him? Whatever the reason, he was planning to use that method on her again. The crown prince looked at her with cold eyes and spoke in a voice without any emotion.

 

“…You better not lie to me. Especially you.”

 

As someone who has already been caught lying to the crown prince to hide a wound on his shoulder, she definitely agreed that it was better not to lie to the crown prince, but it was difficult for the crown prince to use abusive language towards her now… Information about the dragon was not the problem. But a smart prince would inevitably wonder where she got that information. There was a high probability that it would be discovered to be from outside.

 

If so, it would probably be difficult to just ignore it. Perhaps they would rather conduct research on my existence rather than research on the magical power of dragons. Anyway, her top priority right now was to prevent the crown prince from using abusive language towards her. However, as he was immersed in research on controlling the dragon’s magical power, he would not miss even the slightest clue. How on earth could he use such logic to prevent the crown prince from using Yongin? 

 

‘What should I do… how, ah, damn it.’

 

No matter how much she thought about it, there was absolutely no solution that came to mind… If this happened, it would be a mixed bag. It was a method she didn’t want to use even if it would kill her out of pride, but it seemed like it was the only way to go.

 

…She covered her face with both hands. If reason didn’t work, she had no choice but to push through emotions. Even if she put aside what happened when she was discovered to be from the outside, she never wanted to experience the dirty feeling of losing control of her body and being manipulated as he pleased. It would have been best if pitiful tears had flowed down her cheeks at this time, but her tear ducts had already dried up a long time ago, so she just covered her face and let out a mournful sob.

 

“I really just read it in a book, but if you keep doubting me like that, I…”

 

The tear glands didn’t even budge, but fortunately, his voice sounded pathetic, as if he was truly hurt. She was very curious about what kind of expression the crown prince was making after hearing what she said, but when he raised his head, it was all over. If her expressionless expression, which she barely covered with her small palm, was revealed, it would be revealed that she was acting. If she got caught this time, she couldn’t just say it was a joke. 

 

The crown prince still said nothing. Was it really that weak? She thought it would be better to go harder now. She spoke with a very trembling voice.

 

“Are you trying to use the method you used in the cave again? Sigh, I don’t like it… I’m scared because you don’t seem to be the sweet Raven you usually are, so…”

 

As she was speaking, her whole body was shaking, as if her emotions were truly assimilated into the acting. Even when she heard her voice, it felt like she was sobbing in fear. Could there be anything more barbaric than forcing a seemingly pathetic person like this to open his mouth? And as far as she knew, the crown prince was not the kind of person who would do such a thing. Maybe in a little while he would bite her. Alternatively, it would be a good scenario to call a retainer and drag him out.

 

As she was continuing to think these calculated thoughts, the crown prince suddenly hugged her…? What’s going on? For a moment, she forgot what she was acting and made a dumb expression. She didn’t expect this to happen… The prince’s body was shaking much more than mine. His touching hand was gentle and careful, as if he was touching glasswork. The crown prince, who had been holding her for a moment, opened his mouth in a trembling voice. It was a voice that sounded like it was filled with self-reproach.

 

“…I didn’t know you hated it so much. I don’t think you’ll even cry… I was determined never to scare you again.”

 

When the crown prince came out like this, a conscience he didn’t even know he had began to prick and he began to assert himself. She was just planning on not allowing him to use profanity because if her true identity was discovered, things would get difficult, but she never thought she would find out the inner thoughts of the crown prince, who was so desperate. She thought he was a good guy, but she didn’t expect him to be this soft.

 

She was thinking that, when the crown prince suddenly pulled away from her and gently grabbed her shoulder and made eye contact with her. She forgot how to act and looked at the crown prince with a puzzled face. He continued to look at her with a pitiful look while making a stupid expression. After hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

 

“…But Serabi, I never did it to scare you. Please don’t misunderstand. Because in fact, the only reason I wanted to control the dragon’s magical power was…!”

 

“Can I come in?”

 

The moment the crown prince was about to talk seriously, a sudden interrupter intervened. The owner of the voice seemed to be asking for consent, but his body was already in the room. The crown prince was startled by that shameless voice and reflexively removed his hand from her shoulder. The crown prince clearly looked embarrassed by the appearance of his second-in-command. But she didn’t look at him, but only stared at the crown prince.

 

“What were you trying to say?”

 

She was so curious about the next story that she couldn’t afford to worry about new people appearing.

 

“You know, right. The only reason he thought he wanted to control the dragon’s magic power is, what’s next?”

 

The second-in-command grinned and asked the same question as her. It was an evil-looking smile.

 

She felt like he was asking this question even though he knew it. She couldn’t help but think about it. He must have realized that he was being teased by his second-in-command, so his face turned bright red and he spoke as if he were shouting.

 

“…This has nothing to do with you, so don’t be mistaken!”

 

“…”

 

She let out a weary sigh. After finishing speaking, the crown prince looked as if he was in a state of self-destruction. In the end, she didn’t hear what the crown prince said, but she was also perceptive, so she was able to predict it to a certain extent. It was clear that the crown prince was feeling guilty about the last time he went out of control and almost killed her. It would be difficult for the already shy crown prince to say such a thing in front of others.

 

She stood up, patted the folded hem of her dress, and spoke indifferently.

 

“There is a red dragon living in Dragon Lair, deepest in the Istal Forest, the realm of the demons. As far as I know, he is the only dragon that is friendly to humans. I wonder if he will be friendly to Raven, who killed his kin and absorbed its power. I don’t know, but if you’re that desperate, the only way is to face it in person.”

 

The crown prince’s eyes widened slightly at her words.

 

“Serabi, you…”

 

“…?”

 

“…no. Nothing.”

 

The crown prince was about to ask how she knew such a thing, but his mouth was shut. He no longer questioned the dragon.

 

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Translator Note: