The Lady is a Stalker

The crown prince’s words that she was causing disorderly conduct were true. Only after hearing his words did she begin to recognize the gazes around her. However, contrary to what the crown prince said, it was not so serious that she would be locked at home on International Day or be locked in prison until the event was over. That meant the crown prince was exaggerating.

But to put it conversely, at least in the eyes of the crown prince, she guessed she looked beautiful enough to cause a stir. Hmm. In fact, there were constant incidents and accidents around them today.

Passers-by who were staring at her blankly said things like colliding with a carriage or fighting among themselves. Um, did they not know that she was Princess Serabi, who had a reputation as a villain? Or was it that she was so beautiful now that she could forget all that for a moment? Princess Serabi was not the type of person who was popular for her looks. But today, everyone who saw her complimented her and told her she was pretty.

Her face was the same, but was it perhaps the difference in her mood?

She was now waiting for the person she promised to meet today. She was reading a magic book on the bench where she had agreed to meet, and when she looked up, the second-in-command was standing a little distance away.

He was wearing casual clothes today, not a military uniform. His casual clothes are black and his hair was also black. Only his pure white skin and sharp eyes looked unique.

A gentle wind blew from somewhere and passed between the two of them. He certainly seemed more tired than the last time she saw him. Although it was short, it was probably the first sound sleep he had in 10 years. Neither he nor she said any greetings, just looking at each other with calm expressions. He and she were probably full of questions about each other.

Instead of saying hello, she asked what she was curious about.

“…Did you sleep well last night?”

She was still concerned until now. Maybe she freed the deputy commander from the curse of sleeplessness.

He slightly lowered his eyes in response to her question.

“No…”

Right. Was it not liberated? She felt a little disappointed. Since she had always been indebted to him, she thought it would be good if she could be of help.

Unlike how she always saw him, he looked calm. Somehow the image was very different from usual, but she felt that this was the real him.

He looked at her and sat down slightly away.

“I’m not sure, but I guess it’s thanks to you. For over 10 years, no matter how much I tormented my body, I couldn’t sleep. What did you do?”

“I don’t know either. As far as the principle…”

If she knew a way to lift the second-in-command’s curse, she wanted to let him know. But she couldn’t obediently reveal that this place was in a novel and that she came from outside.

He muttered with a disappointed look on his face.

“I see…”

After saying that, the deputy commander continued to stare at the floor, as if lost in thought. She felt like he needed some time to think, so she tried to turn her attention to the book again, but she heard a murmur around her. 

‘Hmm. I was told that I stand out today. I forgot.’

Although it was not as good as the crown prince, it was bound to be doubly noticeable since the second-in-command, who had a handsome face and a fan base, was also there. They decided to move to their seats and got up.

Now that she thought about it, this person was the only person today who didn’t tell her she was pretty.

‘Ah. Come to think of it, the crown prince was like that too.’

When she mentioned this, he frowned slightly and asked,

“Is it pretty?”

‘…If you ask me that, how should I answer?’

The standards for beauty were different for each person, so only you knew. When he looked at her with those eyes, he slowly looked away and said, wondering how he interpreted her gaze.

“Oh… I’m sorry. Actually, I don’t feel that way.”

He must have thought that her sarcasm was offended because he had never told her that she was pretty, and he had a very sorry look on his face. Didn’t he feel that way? She looked up at him with eyes demanding an explanation.

“I have never once looked at a person and thought they were beautiful, and vice versa.”

‘Hmm. The standards of beauty are very strict, so I’m similar…’

Thinking that way, she nodded without thinking much.

“However…”

“Yes.”

“I am sleepy.”

“…”

Now that she thought about it, she felt it from the first time she saw him. The deputy commander seemed slow to answer today and somewhat confused. What was she going to do to him if he said he was sleepy here? When she looked at him with those eyes, he spoke with a tired look on his face, as if he was holding back drowsiness.

“It’s been a while since I felt this way, so I thought it was a mistake, but as soon as I saw you, again… I’m sorry. I really did it now…”

The second-in-command finished speaking in a voice that sounded like it was about to break and fell into sleep as if he had fainted. She barely caught him falling and sighed.

It’s said to be the curse of sleeplessness.

He sleep well anywhere.

She laid him down on a bench in a deserted park and got lost in thought. How should she deal with this person? She couldn’t hang something this heavy all day.

However, she thought it would be too harsh to throw it away in a nearby park or bench. There was an option to wait and take care of him safely until he opened his eyes, but she had no intention of going that far for the second-in-command.

She was wondering what to do, but fortunately, there was someone who recognized her. He was one of the servants she remembered occasionally encountering at the Duke’s house. She was so happy to see her that she tried to approach her, but when she saw the unconscious second-in-command behind her, she pointed her finger at her with a look of horror on her face.

“Oh, princess, I can’t believe that you again…”

Again? Oh, come to think of it, she was still suspected of kidnapping the crown prince.

Just like the crown prince, there was no way this person could be kidnapped by her. He’s not an ordinary human, he’s probably a demon or a different race. How weak did they think this country’s soldiers were?

Besides, how did everyone think she kidnapped the crown prince and the deputy commander? Kidnapping two such monsters? If there was someone who could do that, he or she was actually the strongest person in the world. Rather, they were the ones who always caused trouble to her.

She guessed image was important in everyday life.

“I have an appointment for dinner. Please take care of this person.”

“…”

The maid, unable to hide the suspicious look in her eyes, approached her to carry the second-in-command. The moment the maid stretched out her hand to touch the second-in-command’s body, the man she thought was asleep harshly slapped the maid’s hand away. Before she knew it, the second-in-command had opened his eyes and was glaring at the maid with his red eyes filled with hostility.

He hit her back with a horrified look on her face. He didn’t seem to be fully awake, and seemed to be instinctively wary of the unfamiliar hand approaching him.

“Don’t be brute,” she said, extending her hand to block his view. “It’s okay. Please sleep.”

Then, as if it was a lie, she felt his body, which was breathing heavily, calm down. Soon she handed over the second-in-command, who had completely fallen asleep again, to the maid.

“Yeah, but…”

The maid seemed to have forgotten the eerie look in her eyes that she had seen earlier, and was reluctant to touch his body. She seemed to think that at any moment he would open his eyes and pounce.

“It’s okay, it won’t happen for a while.”

The maid looked at her face blankly at her words, and then she carefully accepted him. Amazingly, this time he didn’t wake up.

In the end, she ended up enjoying the after-party alone, but it was a fun time. There were many people looking at her, but perhaps because of the power of the jewel made by the crown prince, no one approached her, so she was able to enjoy it comfortably. It was a very convenient item for someone like her who liked to be alone. She should use it often.

While watching a street performance, she turned around when she felt someone gently tapping her shoulder. It was the crown prince. Because it was a crowded place, he had his hood pulled down, probably because he didn’t want to be noticed.

The schedule may have ended earlier than expected, but it was much earlier than the promised time. He asked her as soon as he saw her.

“I thought… you would be inside.”

“Ah, yes. But the person I was making the appointment with said he wasn’t feeling well, so it was canceled.”

“Okay?”

She could see the crown prince grinning under his hood at her words.

‘Umm. Didn’t you hear that the person I was making an appointment with is unwell? Why do you like it…’

He glanced at the area around her neck and spoke with a somewhat flushed face.

“You really used it.”

This was what he said when he saw the necklace around her neck that had his magic in it. Although he was trying to hide it, he was elated as if he had received an unexpected gift. Even though he tried not to look at her, he kept glancing at the red magic stone hanging around her neck, as if his eyes naturally caught her attention.

She guessed he never expected her to show up wearing this.

“Didn’t you give it to me so I could use it?”

“I thought it would be mercilessly abandoned due to your personality…”

He said with a somewhat bitter smile.

She stared at his face blankly for a moment and then answered.

“…How much of a villain do you think I am?”

He didn’t answer anything.

It’s not even a curse, so it’s impossible to trample on a person’s sincerity like that.

She asked, turning her attention back to the performance.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Because that jewel stands out.”

Was there some kind of location tracking magic? When she looked at the crown prince with suspicious eyes, the crown prince spoke angrily, as if he had been stabbed in the crosshairs.

“It’s not like that! There’s no way I can’t feel my own magic.”

 

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Translator Note:

Next week I won’t be able to release any chapter of this story. See you the week after that!