Episode 26

“Even though you are not lovers, and you are not even close now, why are you following him?” The crown prince asked.

She had nothing but anger left for Liam, but he had worked at the Duke’s residence. If he were to betray Igon like he did to me…

With that thought in mind, her heart grew cold.

“It seems suspicious.”

“Is he a Knight?”

The crown prince asked, mocking, but still followed after Liam.

“Your Highness, it’s over there.”

“Yeah, I see.”

The damp streets echoed with every step they took.

With his robe fluttering, the crown prince chased after Liam through the dark and humid streets.

“…There.”

Liam navigated through identical streets, maneuvering around corners multiple times, eventually descending stone steps that appeared to lead underground.

Whether we were good at tailing or Liam was oblivious, he seemed unaware that someone was following him.

Regardless, Liam was quite a skilled knight, so perhaps the crown prince was just exceptionally skilled at tailing.

“That’s a really suspicious person,” the crown prince muttered as he peered down at where Liam had gone.

“Your Highness.”

I can’t lose him.

With that meaning, she called out to the crown prince that they had to descend.

“Kenneth.”

“Yes?”

“Call me by my name.”

After he said that, I realized that Kenneth was his name.

“Ah…” I let out a dumbfounded sigh.

“If you don’t want to brag about being seen with me, call me that way.”

With a vow not to call him, I nodded my head.

We descended the stairs.

A strange smell emanated from the entrance.

A peculiar scent mixed with the stench of rotting meat.

It somehow felt familiar.

“Cover your nose and mouth with the hem.”

Kenneth covered my mouth with his hand.

I covered my nose with the sleeve of my robe.

Two guards stood below the stairs guarding the entrance.

When Kenneth showed them a token from his sleeve, they let us in without any further questions.

Although it was underground, it was brightly lit with torches.

The stench and scent grew stronger as we went further.

The entrance had food stalls like an ordinary market, followed by leather crafts, and further in, there were pieces of meat and bones scattered around.

There were quite a few people underground, just like in the market above.

The ventilation seemed poor, and it was hard to breathe.

“It’s the carcass market.”

“Yes?”

“It’s a black market for demon corpses from the borderlands.”

“A black market?”

I repeated like an idiot.

Demon corpses.

Then, those pieces of meat and leather scattered around—were they not from livestock but from demons?

Ah, the familiar smell here must have reminded me of the scent I had smelled in the duke’s chamber at the ducal palace.

A belated realization struck me.

“Isn’t it a big problem to buy and sell demon corpses?”

I heard it was illegal.

However, among the nobles, there were those who implicitly used high-quality demon leather to make furniture or carried demon teeth with engraved patterns as crafts.

While openly boasting about it could lead to fines, there wasn’t much enforcement against it.

Those who were conscious of the issue were rare in the empire.

“It’s a problem. Processed demon bones or leather under 10 years emit easily addictive gases. Once addicted, they’ll seek out stronger ones later. There are young nobles willingly participating in eradication campaigns. Think about it. What could they lack that they’d risk their lives for?”

Unconsciously, I let go of the hem and opened my mouth.

The crown prince clamped his hand over my nose and mouth.

I couldn’t imagine there was a reason for that.

I had always seen young nobles participating in eradication campaigns as merely intoxicated by heroic sentiments.

“Then… isn’t there control by the country…?”

“It has already spread as it will. His Majesty tried to control it by capturing some agreeing officials and proposing bills, but many powerful figures strongly opposed it. Do you really not know that the major nobles are running big businesses with these carcasses? Among the opposing factions, there’s even your own relatives.”

Igon?

I raised my eyes to the crown prince.

“I’ve tried poking him several times and got no response, but I wondered if you really didn’t know. You’re truly clueless.”

With that, the crown prince proceeded further in.

The scene became more horrifying as we went inside.

Chunks of flesh that were not human.

Large green arms, from which fresh blood flowed as if they were recently deceased.

There were some exposing sharp, large fangs and dripping saliva and blood.

The black maket was a feast of rawness.

Igon might have shown a different side on the battlefield or in eradication campaigns, but in the capital, he was the epitome of restraint among the nobles.

Such a clandestine market and his demeanor seemed disconnected.

“They seem not to have been dead for long, right? Recently, to ensure their freshness, they even bring them within the city walls for slaughter. What if such creatures were to come alive here?”

Alive?

I imagined demons swinging their large arms, exposing huge fangs, attacking people, and shook my head.

Ordinary people would suffer immense damage.

It was horrifying.

“Fucking mages guarding the barrier.”

Though his tone was rough, I somewhat agreed with his words.

The capital was safely isolated within thick walls.

Only a few mages, by erecting giant shields on the city walls, prevented the demons from entering the capital.

Due to the shortage of personnel, they reportedly work almost without rest for their entire lives, barely having a day off for the shield.

“Do you want to see a living demon?” the crown prince asked.

I thought I would regret it, but when I came to my senses, I found myself nodding involuntarily.

We emerged from underground, mounted our horses again, and rode up to the wall.

After a while, we reached the lookout post.

The crown prince dismounted and entered inside with two soldiers following behind.

Then, he reached out to help me down.

I followed the crown prince and the soldiers up the city wall.

The stairs carved into the wall were steep.

After climbing for a while, we could stand on top of the wall.

The wind blew fiercely, making my ears feel stuffy.

The bright moonlight illuminated the surroundings.

“Your Highness!”

A young man with a tanned face wearing a dark green robe carefully scrutinized us as we approached, then approached the crown prince with a familiar air.

A man with sunburned skin bowed respectfully.

“You’re late for someone who’s coming.”

Despite knowing, he was addressing the crown prince, his tone seemed casual, as if we were close.

“Today, we have a guest with us.”

At the crown prince’s gesture, the man finally turned to look at me.

I awkwardly smiled and took off my robe.

His eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow! Such a beauty in a place like this!”

The man bowed again.

Though taken aback by his flattery, I couldn’t help but smile, feeling not entirely unpleasant about the fuss.

“Goodness, what an astonishing… Your Highness’s lover?”

The crown prince, as if struck dumb, responded with laughter instead of an answer.

I slowly tilted my head.

“Anyway, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Ash Riverbowl.”

“…Evelyn.”

Feeling embarrassed to say the full name, I glanced at the crown prince and left it at that.

“A beautiful name that suits a beautiful person.”

“Thank you.”

The young mage who introduced himself as Ash kept praising me incessantly.

I knew he was trying to impress the crown prince’s guest, but as time went on, it started to feel burdensome.

“I’ve come to show you ‘Rodore’s Hole’.”

Rodore?

Before I could react to the word, which was so familiar to me, an astonished “Yes?” came back in response.

The mage grimaced at the crown prince’s words, his face furrowing.

“‘Rodore’s Hole’? Are you really trying to show such a grim thing to this lady when there are so many beautiful and pleasant things in the world?”

Watching the mage grimace, I pondered, feeling like I had heard of it before.

‘Rodore’s Hole.’

It was undoubtedly one of Igon’s achievements from several years ago.

“She wants to see it. Guide her.”

At the crown prince’s words, the mage pretended to fiddle with various things, while constantly grumbling. Yet, he managed it well against the overbearing and ominous crown prince.

It felt like they were really close.

After gesturing in the air for a while, the mage turned his head back towards us.

“Since you might fly away, Your Highness, I suggest holding onto him firmly.”

“Yes?”

Before I could ask why, a strong arm wrapped around my waist.

Before I could protest, my body started moving involuntarily.

“It’s better to close your eyes since the wind is strong ahead.”

And in an instant, my body swiftly flew forward.

Yes, ‘flew’ was the right word.

I felt the wind rushing over my face as if I were on a fast-moving amusement ride, nearly blurting out an expletive.

Just as abruptly as it started, it came to a sudden stop.

My body lurched forward.

His arm, which I had considered just a tease a moment ago, was now indispensable.

I quickly brushed my hair that had spilled forward.

The crown prince smoothed out the hem of my robe with a familiar touch.

Feeling the pulsating ache in my head, I shook it.

“Are you all right?”

I wanted to ask, ‘Do I look all right to you?’ but I held back and just smiled.

“On the city walls, the mages have drawn teleportation runes for easy movement. They were drawn by past mages, so the effect is certain. It’s just that the speed control isn’t very precise…”

The young mage scratched his head, not hiding his apologetic expression.

Tl/N: Hi guys! I made a mistake with the names of the characters in my novel, but I’m fixing it right away. My phone got stolen and my files are lost.I’ll create a detailed document with all the names and important details, and I’ll edit the chapters to make sure everything is clear for new readers. Thank you all so much for your support. I promise to keep things consistent and easy to understand. Thanks again for your understanding and dedication!

TL/N: The novel *The Little Sister in the Devastating Novel Wants to Live* is fully edited. I apologize for losing my old files and forgetting the names of the side characters. I was reviewing the old chapters for information and discovered numerous mistakes. I apologize for the oversight. I had been preoccupied with university and other responsibilities. Moving forward, I assure you that there will be no errors.