The Lady is a Stalker

He was kidnapped by her who couldn’t use swords or magic? There was no way the crown prince would be that incompetent. What on earth did they think of him? The second-in-command said with a heartless laugh in response to her answer.

 

“No, I thought it was a ridiculous rumor, but I told it to His Majesty in the morning, and he looked so… mysterious. Everyone wondered if you had really committed it…”

 

The crown prince had a face that seemed to have a story? Why didn’t that person clearly say no, and why did he make that face? Thanks to him, only misunderstandings were piling up. She immediately thought it was nonsense, but was it really that difficult?

 

She pondered her dissatisfaction in her mind. She was not the type of person who particularly cared about her public image, but it would be troublesome if her reputation went down any further. She answered with a slight frown.

 

“It’s obvious that it’s a rumor. What on earth is Raven thinking…”

 

“Yes. On the other hand, if you had told me that your highness had kidnapped you and gone on a love run, I might have believed you a little.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It’s nothing. What were you thinking, your highness?”

 

The second-in-command entered the room with a noticeable change of voice. It wasn’t that late at night, but what was he doing this evening…? She knew he wasn’t a dangerous person, but wasn’t that rude? Moreover, if someone saw it, strange rumors could start. Even if he had come in through the front door instead of coming in through the window, he would have opened it sufficiently.

 

‘Oh, conversely, I wonder if rumors will spread that it is more dangerous.’

 

The deputy commander glanced at the resignation letter she was writing and then spoke.

 

“It’s a love letter. Are you sending it to His Highness?”

 

“A love letter?”

 

Wasn’t a love letter a letter written with love to someone you admire? When did a letter of resignation become a letter of resignation? She looked at the paper again, but it was exactly the same as the resignation letter she had written.

 

“…?”

 

She tilted her head. What was it about this letter of resignation that makes it seem like a love letter? There must be something wrong with the second-in-command’s eyes. She didn’t think his words were a big deal, so she gathered up the paper and put it in an envelope.

 

“But what’s going on here?”

 

There’s no way she would have come all the way here this evening because she wanted to confirm with her own ears the rumors of her boss’ affair. There must be some other reason. Since he and she were similar in age,they talked quite a bit and developed a friendly relationship, but they were not so close that he would visit her house without a reason like this. She felt that he was trying to keep some distance from her too. It wasn’t that she felt bad, but rather it felt like he was being considered, so she liked the feeling of distance.

 

In terms of status, she was higher than him, but in terms of position, he was her superior and he was vaguely older than her, so she used the honorific term for the time being. Originally, there was a reason to use formal honorifics, and people were still more familiar with long-term wills than in a caste-based society. She always used honorifics with servants and attendants. They felt awkward at first, but now they seemed to have gotten used to it. Well, that’s a good thing.

 

“Ah, that’s it…”

 

Bank.

 

The second-in-command turned to answer her question and dropped something on his desk. It rolled over and landed at his feet. The second-in-command, who realized its identity, smiled as if he was a little troubled and picked it up. It was a pen with the royal family’s emblem stamped on it.

 

“Hmm… I think I’ve seen your highness use this a lot.”

 

It belongs to Princess Serabi. She never used it and kept it carefully, as if she were keeping it as a shrine.

 

“If it was stolen, I will quietly return it to its owner…”

 

“I’m sorry. I can’t give you this.”

 

The second-in-command seemed to think that the fan with the imperial family emblem was a trophy for stalking. She quickly snatched it out of his hand. The second-in-command looked puzzled at her reaction.

 

“…?”

 

“It’s precious to me.”

 

If this was truly a stolen item, she would have agreed with him that he would return it, but this was the first gift that Princess Serabi received from the crown prince. It was almost like robbing him by asking for the pen he had been using for a long time as a birthday present. Still, it was precious to her.

 

To divert his attention from the pen, she put it deep inside the drawer and looked at the second-in-command again.

 

“Greatness. By the way, what brought you here?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing special. We were supposed to go to the National Foundation Day festival together a while ago. I heard that everyone wouldn’t be able to attend. I was wondering if I should cancel.”

 

“Everyone? Why?”

 

In response to her question, the second-in-command looked as if he was thinking about something.

 

“Um… Should I say they were injured?”

 

“Huh? Were you bombed or something?”

 

The fact that so many people were injured means that there was a major battle. But she hadn’t heard of anything big like that happening…

 

“No, the enemy is inside. He collapsed from overwork.”

 

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Recently, there has been a lot of hellish training. Everyone is going crazy saying they will die because of the hardships. Everyone is so weak that they are drowning in it.”

 

The second-in-command spoke in a pathetic tone.She tilted her head and asked back.

 

“Hell training?”

 

“That’s right, it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s just surviving on a bucket of water for a week in extreme circumstances, or waking up in the middle of the night and being abandoned on a snowy mountain, or pushing them off a cliff and feeding them in the order they climb up. That’s it. I think it would be okay, but I heard that Your Majesty has a very soft heart.”

 

“…”

 

The second-in-command, who told such an incredible story as if he was reminiscing about happy memories, seemed sincere. There was such a great march while she was on vacation. The deputy commander, who must have been on the line of fire with his colleagues, somehow looked fresher than usual.

 

“So, because they are so weak, they are all complaining of body aches and are unable to get up from their hospital beds. Thanks to that, they said they will not be able to go to the festival. Well, in the end, everything went according to your plan… Oh, no.”

 

She didn’t know why the story suddenly ends up with Prince Raven, but she understood what he was trying to convey.

 

“So, the only sane person is me.”

 

“Is it so?”

 

“So, by the way, do you two want to go together?”

 

“Is it so.”

 

The second-in-command smiled awkwardly at her refreshing answer that came less than a second after he made the offer.

 

“…Can you think about it and give me an answer? I didn’t mean it in a special way, but…”

 

She just answered without hesitation because the second-in-command seemed to have made the suggestion without hesitation. He probably would have reacted the same way even if she had rejected him. Even if the crown prince said the same thing, she always hesitated to answer because it seemed like she was saying it with great meaning and a big decision. Perhaps, if the crown prince had made the same offer, she would not have accepted it as easily as she did now.

 

“But are you really okay?”

 

“Me? As you know, I’m just fooling around, so I’m always healthy.”

 

“No. You always look the most tired.”

 

The second-in-command fell silent at her firm words. He made a puzzled face, as if she had hit the nail on the head. He looked tired, so she just said he looked tired, so why did he make such a puzzled face? Did she touch something that she shouldn’t have touched? The deputy commander lived with a smile, unlike the crown prince, who always frowned. So she thought it was a soft feeling, but he had a cold face, so he couldn’t look that cold.

 

He was looking down at her with a cold face.

 

“How.”

 

“I just felt that way. Not only do you always rest, but you always look exhausted.”

 

“…”

 

He scratched his cheek humbly after hearing what she said. The second-in-command, unable to find any other meaning while examining her true intentions, sat down on the bed as if he had lost all energy. Feeling like the story was going to be long, she pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the second-in-command.

 

“They say it’s a curse. I haven’t been able to sleep for a long time.”

 

For some reason, the second-in-command who said those words looked really tired. What he said about being cursed with insomnia seemed to be true.

 

“Since when?”

 

“When I came to my senses, I was already in this state. I think it was around the age of eight or eight.”

 

“When do you come to your senses?” 

 

“I’m an orphan.”

 

This was her first time hearing this story. Was it okay for her to hear this story?

 

“Don’t make that face. I don’t really care.”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Of course. My body is much stronger than that of an average person. I won’t die just because I don’t get enough sleep. It’s hard enough to kill me, though.”

 

After hearing his words, she was lost in thought with a stern face. If the average human had not been able to sleep since the age of eight, he or she would not have been able to survive, let alone grow. Was he not an ordinary human? In that case, the second-in-command was probably a demon or had mixed blood from a different race… There was no need to say such things.

 

The crown prince probably also knew this. The reason he was particularly gentle with his second-in-command seemed to be because he knew about the curse of sleeplessness that had fallen on the second-in-command. There seemed to be some great story…

 

Even when she looked back on the development of the novel, there was nothing to point out. That’s because she didn’t even know there was a second-in-command in Distian. Regardless of the identity of the second-in-command, the fatigue must have been enormous if he had not slept most of his life. After finding out the truth, she realized that he had deep dark circles and that although he was handsome, he had an expressionless expression and gave the overall impression of being tired.

 

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Translator Note: