The Lady is a Stalker

“It must have been difficult.”

“I’m used to it now so it’s okay…”

“If you’re not busy, take a nap while you’re sitting there.”

At her words, the second-in-command looked down at the bed he had been sitting on. Then he sighed and answered.

“Have you listened to what I’ve said so far?”

“You will be able to sleep well.”

“I can’t sleep.”

A bit recklessly, she gently pushed him to lie down on the bed. She covered him with a blanket and patted him, and for the first time, he made a slightly annoyed face in front of her. It was the first time he had expressed his emotions like this. When she realized that fact, she smiled slightly.

“You will be able to sleep well.”

“…”

When she insisted again, the deputy commander frowned as if he couldn’t understand. She smiled softly and patted the blanket like she would a child. When the second-in-command heard what she said, he looked slightly dumbfounded, but his eyes were slowly becoming blurry, as if he was about to fall asleep.

He grabbed her arm with a half-asleep look on his face.

‘You had a face that seemed like there was a mountain of things you wanted to ask me.’

Even though he hadn’t slept in over a decade, it was incredible willpower. She placed her hand on the eyelids of my second-in-command, who was looking at her with bleary eyes.

“Good night.”

He tried to ask her more, but it was impossible to hold on any longer after 10 years of bad sleep. The second-in-command blinked his eyes once and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

“…”

She looked at his face as he was sleeping defenselessly. A face as cold as a veil. Maybe that’s his true face.

…She did it just in case, but it still happened. It works here too. She quietly looked down at her hands.

There was something she learned from her journey so far. She ignored all the laws of this world. It was said that even though the elf child could read the prince’s inner thoughts, he could not read hers, and the fact that when her shoulder was injured, despite the priests pouring in divine power, recovery from the wound was noticeably slow. At the time, she thought it was the priest’s poor condition, but the cause lay with her. Adriana later revealed that the reason she was so hostile when she first made eye contact with her was because she couldn’t look into her inner self. The prophecy also said that her future was vaguely predicted by looking at the crown prince, but her future itself was not visible. So maybe the curse of sleeplessness has no effect in front of her?

It was just something she expected, but it really seemed like it. Perhaps it was because she came from outside.

‘This… seems like it could be of some use.’

So, was the crown prince the only one who she needed to be careful with? For some reason, the only things that worked for her were the idioms and magic he used. Why? Because he’s the main character? Because the crown prince had to kill her? Even if she thought about it alone, there was no way she could come up with an answer.

And that must have been a very unfortunate thing for her.

* * *

The next day, while writing her resignation letter, she woke up on her desk and the second-in-command was already gone. If it weren’t for the slightly open window, she would have thought she had dreamed last night.

‘You left without saying anything.’

It’s not like him. She hoped he slept well. Was he now free from the curse of sleeplessness? She was curious, but they would meet tomorrow anyway, so whatever…

As she stretched out her groggy body and went out, the servants’ faces turned pale when they saw her. Why?

“Umm… My lady, an invitation has arrived from the imperial palace…”

“…?”

She looked at the sender in a half-asleep state and, sure enough, it was the crown prince. It’s been a while since he came. The vacation would end soon anyway, so it was a hassle.

“Mo, should I say I’m feeling unwell…?

But why were the attendants shaking so much? Oh, no way. Come to think of it, the second-in-command came to her last night and explained the rumors surrounding the crown prince. She was suspected of kidnapping the crown prince. Perhaps the attendants thought that she would be punished by the crown prince.

The resignation letter was completed last night, and it went well. She told the attendants that it was okay and prepared to go to the imperial palace. She was curious as to why the crown prince called her to the palace, but as soon as she arrived, he took out a book without even saying hello.

This was still being done. As she was solving a math problem, she looked at the crown prince. He was processing a document full of words that seemed difficult.

“Hey, Raven.”

“What.”

He answered her call stiffly without even looking up from his papers.

“It’s nothing.”

For some reason, the pressure was lower than usual. She guessed today was not the day to hand in her resignation. So she put the resignation letter she was about to hand out back into her clothes. It was clear that the Crown Prince was in low pressure today. He didn’t even make eye contact with her and didn’t respond to her questions. It was just self-study.

If this was going to be the case, why did he call someone to the palace… Since today was going to be the last class anyway, she stayed still for now, but even though he grumbled, she focused on the problem.

“What will it be like when I’m gone?”

He was almost shocked by the sudden question. It didn’t seem like a question to ask during a meal, but it felt like he was being weighed down by the question.

No matter what she thought, the crown prince looked at her with serious eyes. Ah… maybe now was the time to hand in her resignation. She put down the fork she was about to put in his mouth, looked at the prince, and said:

“Maybe I will be living a normal life?”

“Normal?”

“Yes. As an ordinary woman.”

“What does it mean to be a normal woman?”

“At least I’m not a soldier.”

“….”

“And I’m now 16 years old.”

“…”

“Now that I’m getting older, people at home are telling me to get married quickly.”

“…married?”

In fact, she had never been told to get married, and even if she had, she had no intention of getting married, but she said it to create a suitable excuse. If her family was telling her to get married, there was no way he wouldn’t accept my resignation letter. It was a statement made with such calculation in mind. And it seemed to work as expected.

“Yes. I can’t just stay by your side forever.”

“Forever… no?”

“Yes.”

She answered lightly, as if asking such an obvious question, but the crown prince’s expression suddenly hardened at her answer.

“…”

“Your Highness?”

“…”

He was silent for a while.

“Excuse me?”

“No, that’s enough. Just put some food in your mouth.”

Strangely, the prince’s tone became sharper. What mistake did she make again? As expected, today’s crown prince was somewhat strange. Normally, the crown prince was unrivaled in his sentimentality by anyone, but today he even seemed unusually hysterical. He looked like he would get angry at any moment if she said something nonsense.

She secretly grabbed the resignation letter she had in her pocket. The crown prince didn’t say anything after that, as if he was deeply saddened. Even when she tried to ask a question, he remained silent. Perhaps he was hurt by what she said coldly earlier.

‘What a delicate soul he has…’

“Hey, the question I asked earlier was what it would be like if I disappeared.”

“…?”

“You must be very lonely, right?”

“…”

After thinking about many things, she came up with what she thought was the most common answer. He wasn’t the type to be particularly lonely, so he was the type of person who would enjoy a solo life even if he was dropped on a deserted island, but he couldn’t honestly say, ‘I’m fine’ in front of someone who made meaningful comments about what it would be like if she disappeared…

“…I guess so.”

He muttered that and approached her with a determined expression. Somehow, she remembered the kiss they had had in the cave, and she closed her eyes tightly. Surprisingly, the crown prince gently placed something on her hand and immediately pulled away.

“…?”

When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her with a pitiful expression, as if he was longing for something. She looked down at his palm with a puzzled expression, and saw that he was holding a pretty, sparkling red gem. He didn’t look embarrassed like always, but looked at her with a serious expression and said.

“Because you seem like the type of person who gets upset easily.”

After hearing those words, she felt like she knew what this gem was. This jewel was the crystallization of the crown prince’s magical power. Since it was red, it seemed to be a gem imbued with the dragon’s magic. It’s a gem imbued with the magic of a dragon. Even if you pay an astronomical amount of money, you cannot get it. It may be the only one in this world.

She was curious about the prince’s intention in giving her such a huge gift. When she looked up at the crown prince with that face, he turned slightly red and spoke with a faint expression.

“Even if I’m gone, it will protect you.”

“…”

It seemed like the crown prince had decided to leave. What should she answer? Ironically, even though the crown prince was tickling, he always saved her when she was in danger. What was this burdensome feeling?

She felt like something was weighing me down. That’s right, this was probably created by the crown prince by shaving off his own lifespan. Even though she knew nothing, a terrifying energy was flowing from the red gem that resembled ruby. If it has this much energy, it probably wasn’t made as a joke. Moreover, it must have taken several days to make it. He was giving her this just because she was the risk-prone type? It was not something that could be received for something so meaningless.

What answer should she give after receiving this? Thanks? Sorry? Have a nice trip? She couldn’t say anything easily.

 

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