'Oh, come to think of it, is that so?'
If my crimes were revealed to the world, it would be natural that the charges I had brought against the garbage heaps would also be cleared.
I screamed with my eyes shut as I thought of the Duke, Madame Magadha, and Melina looking down at me, kneeling and tightly bound with rope.
“That’s absolutely not possible!”
I would rather die from an infectious disease and vomit pus. I absolutely could not bear to see that happen.
I looked at the Crown Prince with my tightly clenched fists trembling.
A victorious smile still hung on his lips.
'I hate you so much I could die.'
But what can we do?
This fight was a complete victory for him.
“Yes, I’ll go to Delucia.”
“I guess you’ve come to your senses now.”
The expression on the Crown Prince's face as he spoke like that seemed quite satisfied.
But I had no intention of backing down like this without getting anything out of it.
'If you draw your sword, you should cut something.'
Yeah, since I was going to get my hands on it anyway, I was thinking of getting something for real.
“Give me hazard pay instead.”
“What do you want?”
“Although I said I couldn’t resist Your Highness’s threats, my life is at stake. I can’t go without any compensation. At the very least, I should receive money.”
He looked dumbfounded for a moment at my firm attitude, then let out a deep sigh.
“Noblesse oblige, your duties as a noblewoman, these things don’t seem to be on your mind at all.”
“You can say as much as you want about noblesse oblige, which has no return.”
“Seriously, you are a woman...”
He let out a hollow laugh but soon nodded.
“Very well. If the Princess will obey my wishes, I have no problem giving you a few pennies.”
“As expected, Your Highness! You are so refreshing. Then how much is the price?”
“...Let’s talk about that as we go. If you want to go to Delucia, it would be better to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes, yes. Then let’s decide the amount on the way there.”
“Once you’re done, start preparing quickly. Time is running out.”
He urged me on with an annoyed look on his face, then turned his back and said he would wait outside.
I guess he thought that since he had listened to my demands, everything would go smoothly now.
But I still didn't move my body. No, I couldn't move.
“But Your Highness, I’m sorry, but there is one more problem...”
“What, again?”
The Crown Prince, who was walking towards the door, turned his head in annoyance.
“This time, are you going to ask for life insurance?”
“What about life insurance? I don’t have any family, so what good is the money coming in after I die?”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He flicked his sharp chin as if telling me to hurry up and stop dawdling.
Still, I couldn't open my mouth right away and could only mumble.
The words that are coming out of my mouth right now are so absurd that I can't even think about them myself.
But as I watched the Crown Prince's eyebrows rising higher and higher, I felt that I could not delay any longer.
“That’s... That’s... Ha, Delton won’t go.”
“If he says he's not going, where are you going?”
“Where are you, Delucia?”
The Crown Prince's expression hardened at my grumbling words.
“Yesterday, he followed along so well, but why is he suddenly refusing to go? Is it possible that even a lion can’t fight an infectious disease?”
A faint sense of anxiety was visible beyond his hardened face.
“No, I don’t know about that...”
Just as I was about to finish answering, I quickly shook my head.
“Ugh!”
Delton, who had been lying on his front paws under my bed, raised his body and roared loudly at the crown prince.
“I can tell from the look on your face that you’re talking about something. What are you saying?”
“Well, that’s...”
I scratched my cheek with an embarrassed face and then translated Delton's words in a crawling voice.
“He says his life is precious too.”
“...”
“Ugh!”
“It’s not like he spent a thousand years training in a cave, eating moss, just to die from an infectious disease or something.”
“...”
“Crunch! Crunch!”
“If you want to take me away, you have to pay a price.”
“...”
“Ugh!”
“Make a list of desserts you can give me and bring it to me.”
“...”
The Crown Prince, whose expression hardened at a frightening rate every time I said a word, shook his head in annoyance.
“Ha, that master is that beast.”
The Crown Prince, I, and Delton had a heated discussion about the rewards we would give and receive as we rode in the carriage to Delucia.
After much pushing and pulling, a suitable compensation plan was decided.
Each time we visited the disaster site, I would receive one hundred gold coins, and Delton would receive one hundred each for two different types of desserts each day, for a total of two hundred.
By the time we had reached a satisfactory agreement, we had arrived in Delucia.
I put on the protective clothing the Crown Prince had given me in advance.
With a long robe that completely hid even my shoes, a thick cloth covering my nose and mouth, white boots that reached up to my ankles, and gloves on top of that, I looked like I was only showing my eyes.
The Crown Prince, who had been staring blankly at me while I was fully armed, gave me a stern warning.
“Now that it’s not unpaid volunteer work, I’ll have to work harder than before.”
“Of course. Don’t worry, Your Highness, I will work until my bones are dust.”
I smiled broadly and felt confident.
Based on past precedents, I probably wouldn't have been able to go even for a day, but at this moment, I was sincere.
The Crown Prince, who had been furrowing his brows as if he still did not believe it, opened the carriage door and got out.
I was about to quickly follow him, but an unpleasant smell from somewhere suddenly attacked my nose.
It was truly the most horrible stench I've ever smelled in my life.
“Ugh, what is that smell?”
I unconsciously swallowed a breath as I awkwardly got out of the carriage with my nose tightly covered with my sleeve.
In the square a short distance from the carriage, there were what looked like thousands of people lying on mats, each of them oozing fluid from their bodies and screaming in agony.
“I’m not getting any treatment or anything!”
“Just kill me quickly?”
“Ahh! Don’t touch me!”
With a face that was about to die, they squeezed out their last bit of strength and begged not to prolong their life.
I was speechless at their condition, which was more horrific than I had imagined, and this time a pungent smell hit my nose.
It was a different kind of stench than the one coming from the mud.
As I looked around, I soon discovered black smoke rising into the sky like a dark cloud at the end of the village.
“That’s...”
“They are burning the body.”
“The body?”
The Crown Prince nodded.
“Because if we bury the bodies of those who died from the epidemic, we don’t know what will happen.”
"Ah..."
The fuel for that ever-rising smoke is none other than humans.
Suddenly, I felt out of breath and my chest felt heavy as if a rock was placed on it.
The crown prince, who was staring at the smoke with a calm expression like me, said.
“Let’s go. Check your outfit one more time.”
"Yes."
Following the Crown Prince's instructions, I pulled my robes down deeper and pulled my gloves up tightly. Then I walked with heavy steps.
Soon, the distance between us and the sick people became a few meters.
“She... is a Saintess.”
I don't know how he recognized me with only his eyes open, but there was a faint sense of anticipation in his voice, which was made up of all the energy he had.
At the same time, the gazes of those lying limply on the floor turned towards me.
A young man who jumped up as if he had welcomed a goddess.
A middle-aged woman tried to get up to follow him but ended up collapsing and sitting down, apparently because her legs were weak.
A child who barely managed to raise his upper body and looked at me with tearful eyes.
An old man who can't even do that and can only barely nod his head.
Although they were in different poses, the thousands of pairs of eyes looking at me were all saying the same thing.
'Maybe I can survive.'
Those who just a moment ago refused treatment and asked to be killed now long for life.
All because of me.
I gritted my teeth at the tiny spark of hope blooming in their eyes.
'Yeah, that's right.'
No matter how dirty and miserable life is, this world is better.
Shouldn't I somehow survive tenaciously and do everything I've never done before, everything I wanted to do but couldn't do, before I die?
'That way, your mother will have something to gain from enduring the pain of death to give birth to you.'
I suppressed my surging emotions and made a promise.
I will definitely let them live.
If my crimes were revealed to the world, it would be natural that the charges I had brought against the garbage heaps would also be cleared.
I screamed with my eyes shut as I thought of the Duke, Madame Magadha, and Melina looking down at me, kneeling and tightly bound with rope.
“That’s absolutely not possible!”
I would rather die from an infectious disease and vomit pus. I absolutely could not bear to see that happen.
I looked at the Crown Prince with my tightly clenched fists trembling.
A victorious smile still hung on his lips.
'I hate you so much I could die.'
But what can we do?
This fight was a complete victory for him.
“Yes, I’ll go to Delucia.”
“I guess you’ve come to your senses now.”
The expression on the Crown Prince's face as he spoke like that seemed quite satisfied.
But I had no intention of backing down like this without getting anything out of it.
'If you draw your sword, you should cut something.'
Yeah, since I was going to get my hands on it anyway, I was thinking of getting something for real.
“Give me hazard pay instead.”
“What do you want?”
“Although I said I couldn’t resist Your Highness’s threats, my life is at stake. I can’t go without any compensation. At the very least, I should receive money.”
He looked dumbfounded for a moment at my firm attitude, then let out a deep sigh.
“Noblesse oblige, your duties as a noblewoman, these things don’t seem to be on your mind at all.”
“You can say as much as you want about noblesse oblige, which has no return.”
“Seriously, you are a woman...”
He let out a hollow laugh but soon nodded.
“Very well. If the Princess will obey my wishes, I have no problem giving you a few pennies.”
“As expected, Your Highness! You are so refreshing. Then how much is the price?”
“...Let’s talk about that as we go. If you want to go to Delucia, it would be better to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes, yes. Then let’s decide the amount on the way there.”
“Once you’re done, start preparing quickly. Time is running out.”
He urged me on with an annoyed look on his face, then turned his back and said he would wait outside.
I guess he thought that since he had listened to my demands, everything would go smoothly now.
But I still didn't move my body. No, I couldn't move.
“But Your Highness, I’m sorry, but there is one more problem...”
“What, again?”
The Crown Prince, who was walking towards the door, turned his head in annoyance.
“This time, are you going to ask for life insurance?”
“What about life insurance? I don’t have any family, so what good is the money coming in after I die?”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He flicked his sharp chin as if telling me to hurry up and stop dawdling.
Still, I couldn't open my mouth right away and could only mumble.
The words that are coming out of my mouth right now are so absurd that I can't even think about them myself.
But as I watched the Crown Prince's eyebrows rising higher and higher, I felt that I could not delay any longer.
“That’s... That’s... Ha, Delton won’t go.”
“If he says he's not going, where are you going?”
“Where are you, Delucia?”
The Crown Prince's expression hardened at my grumbling words.
“Yesterday, he followed along so well, but why is he suddenly refusing to go? Is it possible that even a lion can’t fight an infectious disease?”
A faint sense of anxiety was visible beyond his hardened face.
“No, I don’t know about that...”
Just as I was about to finish answering, I quickly shook my head.
“Ugh!”
Delton, who had been lying on his front paws under my bed, raised his body and roared loudly at the crown prince.
“I can tell from the look on your face that you’re talking about something. What are you saying?”
“Well, that’s...”
I scratched my cheek with an embarrassed face and then translated Delton's words in a crawling voice.
“He says his life is precious too.”
“...”
“Ugh!”
“It’s not like he spent a thousand years training in a cave, eating moss, just to die from an infectious disease or something.”
“...”
“Crunch! Crunch!”
“If you want to take me away, you have to pay a price.”
“...”
“Ugh!”
“Make a list of desserts you can give me and bring it to me.”
“...”
The Crown Prince, whose expression hardened at a frightening rate every time I said a word, shook his head in annoyance.
“Ha, that master is that beast.”
***
The Crown Prince, I, and Delton had a heated discussion about the rewards we would give and receive as we rode in the carriage to Delucia.
After much pushing and pulling, a suitable compensation plan was decided.
Each time we visited the disaster site, I would receive one hundred gold coins, and Delton would receive one hundred each for two different types of desserts each day, for a total of two hundred.
By the time we had reached a satisfactory agreement, we had arrived in Delucia.
I put on the protective clothing the Crown Prince had given me in advance.
With a long robe that completely hid even my shoes, a thick cloth covering my nose and mouth, white boots that reached up to my ankles, and gloves on top of that, I looked like I was only showing my eyes.
The Crown Prince, who had been staring blankly at me while I was fully armed, gave me a stern warning.
“Now that it’s not unpaid volunteer work, I’ll have to work harder than before.”
“Of course. Don’t worry, Your Highness, I will work until my bones are dust.”
I smiled broadly and felt confident.
Based on past precedents, I probably wouldn't have been able to go even for a day, but at this moment, I was sincere.
The Crown Prince, who had been furrowing his brows as if he still did not believe it, opened the carriage door and got out.
I was about to quickly follow him, but an unpleasant smell from somewhere suddenly attacked my nose.
It was truly the most horrible stench I've ever smelled in my life.
“Ugh, what is that smell?”
I unconsciously swallowed a breath as I awkwardly got out of the carriage with my nose tightly covered with my sleeve.
In the square a short distance from the carriage, there were what looked like thousands of people lying on mats, each of them oozing fluid from their bodies and screaming in agony.
“I’m not getting any treatment or anything!”
“Just kill me quickly?”
“Ahh! Don’t touch me!”
With a face that was about to die, they squeezed out their last bit of strength and begged not to prolong their life.
I was speechless at their condition, which was more horrific than I had imagined, and this time a pungent smell hit my nose.
It was a different kind of stench than the one coming from the mud.
As I looked around, I soon discovered black smoke rising into the sky like a dark cloud at the end of the village.
“That’s...”
“They are burning the body.”
“The body?”
The Crown Prince nodded.
“Because if we bury the bodies of those who died from the epidemic, we don’t know what will happen.”
"Ah..."
The fuel for that ever-rising smoke is none other than humans.
Suddenly, I felt out of breath and my chest felt heavy as if a rock was placed on it.
The crown prince, who was staring at the smoke with a calm expression like me, said.
“Let’s go. Check your outfit one more time.”
"Yes."
Following the Crown Prince's instructions, I pulled my robes down deeper and pulled my gloves up tightly. Then I walked with heavy steps.
Soon, the distance between us and the sick people became a few meters.
“She... is a Saintess.”
I don't know how he recognized me with only his eyes open, but there was a faint sense of anticipation in his voice, which was made up of all the energy he had.
At the same time, the gazes of those lying limply on the floor turned towards me.
A young man who jumped up as if he had welcomed a goddess.
A middle-aged woman tried to get up to follow him but ended up collapsing and sitting down, apparently because her legs were weak.
A child who barely managed to raise his upper body and looked at me with tearful eyes.
An old man who can't even do that and can only barely nod his head.
Although they were in different poses, the thousands of pairs of eyes looking at me were all saying the same thing.
'Maybe I can survive.'
Those who just a moment ago refused treatment and asked to be killed now long for life.
All because of me.
I gritted my teeth at the tiny spark of hope blooming in their eyes.
'Yeah, that's right.'
No matter how dirty and miserable life is, this world is better.
Shouldn't I somehow survive tenaciously and do everything I've never done before, everything I wanted to do but couldn't do, before I die?
'That way, your mother will have something to gain from enduring the pain of death to give birth to you.'
I suppressed my surging emotions and made a promise.
I will definitely let them live.
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