Chapter 3

"Who are you?"

My whole body trembled. It was scary even when she didn't know who the person in front of her was, but when she found out, a funeral song rang in her ears.

Crazy! Why is Richard here!

I don't understand. No matter how deep I entered the forest, I never left the forest attached to Opal Palace. In other words, this is my land.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is a declaration of war, to attack another princess' land with a sword...….

'Oh right.'

I twisted my face.

'He likes war very much.'

Unlike the other imperial descendants who were reluctant to engage in all-out war, Richard always walked around the imperial palace with a sword. With an attitude as if he would pull it out right away.

I don't know why I came this far, but at least I was a human with common sense that I wouldn't just go to someone else's land.

“Are you dumb?”

As I continued to receive no answer, Richard muttered to himself.

Even in the midst of fear, it was quite absurd.

Isn't it a little too much for a 12-year-old to talk like he's going to suffocate people?

While I was thinking that, I unconsciously glared at Richard.

Did his thoughts show up on his face, or was it funny that he put up his sword on a trembling person?

Richard smiled at me.

In an instant, I forgot all about my situation and how it was going.

In a forest full of verdure, Richard's blond hair was as brilliant as the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

An overwhelmingly gorgeous face, in the middle of which the red eyes were clear as if they were burning. It's like the last brush strokes made by a craftsman with all his might.

I just laughed, but all the sounds around me disappeared and time suddenly seemed to slow down. It was such a destructive face.

Wow, Richard, you are much more handsome than I imagined...….

“Ah, is that your weapon?”

I was stunned, but then I came back to my senses at his words.

The place Richard pointed with his chin was my right hand. To be more precise, the mushroom skewers I'm still holding on to.

But what did you just say? Is this skewer a weapon?

“No, this…….”

I raised my hand in bewilderment. I was just trying to show the mushrooms.

Suddenly, I felt something brush my way, and the mushroom skewer fell in two pieces to the floor.

“Don’t move.”

I opened my mouth wide.

It happened right in front of my eyes, but I couldn't understand it. Bar, did you just cut the skewer with your sword? Didn't see anything?

“It was good to try. It was kind of cute too.”

He took a step closer and smiled even deeper.

“That, that, that weapon, that wasn’t…….”

I desperately tried to talk to him.

“But I’m not the kind of person who thinks you're cute, so isn’t your strategy wrong?”

Of course, the mad dog of the Esperusa family didn't listen to anyone.

Fool, at least pretend to listen!

“I’m too stupid for that bastard to send…….”

Richard stopped talking and suddenly looked behind me. Then, as his face slightly frowned, he swung his sword loudly.

I reflexively flinched.

Duaang.

But the attack was directed at my back, not at me.

An explosion sounded behind him, and Richard disappeared before his eyes. It was a movement that I still couldn't follow with my eyes.

I looked back, as if with a wink.

Half of the hut was now completely destroyed, leaving only ruins. And in the middle of the ruins, I saw Richard fighting wildly, spraying sword energy.

Even the three or four humans who evaded that swordsmanship surprisingly quickly.

“……!”

I covered my mouth not to make a sound.

The people attacking Richard were all dressed the same. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and a white mask was worn over his face.

If it appeared in a cartoon or game, anyone would say 'assassin'.

Their movements were swift, but somehow odd. It felt like it was moving more like a mollusk than a human being.

At that moment, Richard's sword cut the wrist of one of the assassins. Instead of blood, black smoke billowed from the place where it was cut, and it instantly took the shape of a hand.

I was aware of that existence that no one could see was human.

'The 5th Prince's Shadow Doll!'

If the 12th prince, Richard, was a sword genius, the 5th prince, Rudolph Sol, was the greatest wizard the empire had ever produced.

Shadow puppets are his favorite technique, and they appeared in the original work to kill Imelda.

Each of the shadow puppets had swordsmanship at the level of a skilled assassin, and if not critically damaged, they immediately recovered from wounds. There were not many people who fought against not one but several such monsters and survived.

One of them, the male lead in the original work, had to work hard to protect Imelda and deal with the shadow puppets...….

Phew.

The moment he thought so, the sword energy emitted from Richard's sword slashed the three shadow puppets at the same time.

The three puppets were hit by red swords and exploded, disappearing like ashes blown away by the wind.

That…… Aren't they so easy to deal with?

'I guess it's because it's daytime.'

I muttered to myself.

'Shadow puppets are black magic, so they're stronger at night. And Tristan couldn't show off his skills to the best of his ability to protect Imelda.'

As a fan of the male lead in the original work, I couldn't accept the scene in front of me and made excuses that no one would hear.

'Richard is stronger than the male lead! It can't be!'

While I was engrossed in such stupid thoughts, Richard shook his sword with a displeased expression. As if something dirty was buried.

“Whoa.”

He caught his breath and turned his gaze towards me. His face was even more annoyed than before, and my heart sank.

Wasn't it a setting that made you feel good after fighting a strong opponent? A shadow puppet would be strong enough, so why are you so angry?

“Aren’t you interfering?”

Richard slowly approached me.

“I thought we were on the same side. Then how did you know I would be here?”

“No, I…….”

Once I know the situation.

Richard came all the way here, being chased by an assassin sent by the 5th prince, or chasing an assassin.

And unfortunately, I was in the spot where he was passing by, so he mistook me for an assassin would that be the case?

The funeral song rang once again in my ears. A cold sweat run down my back.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Richard muttered in a low voice. Annoyance could be seen in his voice, and goose bumps ran through his body.

Haha, no matter how much Richard thinks, 'It's annoying, let's kill it'...….

“It’s annoying, so I'll kill it.”

That's right!

Richard raised his sword high with an expression that everything was troublesome. My head stopped thinking about anything else.

Oh I'm dying...

As the fear reached its peak, the tension in her body was released. Without even realizing it, her entire body lost strength.

And…….

Rumble.

The empty stomach roared without missing the gap.

Really, all it could say was a rumble. It was such a loud sound.

Richard looked at me with an absurd expression.

“Just that.”

He muttered in disbelief.

“Is that the sound from your stomach?”

Suddenly, the side of my neck felt chilly, so I looked down and saw that the sword Richard had been swinging stopped at a gap of a span.

“You.”

At that moment, sadness surged from the inside of my throat.

“Huh…….”

How can I explain my feelings?

A few months since I woke up in a novel.

The days of being ignored by the servants without being able to eat to my fullest were extremely sad.

But I persevered.

Because if you deviate from the original, something might go wrong, and to go wrong in this palace means you'll die soon.

Because I knew I would be happy if I just wait patiently.

But what is this like?

Not even 3 years, I ran into the original villain in less than 1 year, was misunderstood as an assassin, and ended up dying after showing a shameful appearance.

The first was death from overwork, and the second was murder.

Why is my life like this?!

“Uhhh, uhhh…….”

At some point I was crying.

Not only did she shed tears beautifully, but she cried very sadly and with a strange sound.

“Ha, I am.”

Richard laughed, but his voice didn't have the same composure as before. If I'm not mistaken, he seemed a little taken aback.

"Hey, do you think just seeing you cry will help? You're pretending to be weak and trying to catch me off guard...….”

"I-!"

Now I couldn't see anything. I shouted and interrupted Richard.

“It’s not like that!”

Without even thinking to wipe away the flowing tears, I screamed with all my might.

"I'm just hungry...….”

I stopped talking and cried out again in sorrow.

“My mushroom!”

The birds sitting on the trees were startled by my shouting and flew away.

“Huh, my mushroom…….”

I continued to mumble while whimpering.

I don't know who I'm talking to, and after shouting once, I ran out of energy and couldn't raise my voice any more.

How many times have I cried?

With a rustling sound, something dark red suddenly appeared in front of me.

"This……, want some?"

What Richard handed me was beef jerky.

The smoked scent wafted from the beef jerky, which was a little smaller than the palm of my hand.

Snap.

The moment my nose sensed the smell of meat, I lost my temper. I snatched the jerky and shoved it into my mouth.

“Kuhk, kol hack!”

“Hey, chew it well and swallow!”

Richard patted me on the back as I was coughing out of choking and even held out a bottle. I moistened my mouth with water and chewed the jerky in my mouth.

The beef jerky was incredibly tasty.

I don't know how long it's been since I've eaten meat. It is neither rotten nor spoiled meat. It's not juicy, but it's full of charcoal flavor, and the taste is rich and tender, probably from good meat.

“Huh…….”

Tears come out again because it is so delicious.

It's the first time I've had such delicious beef jerky...….

“Why are you crying again?”

Richard frantically searched his pockets again. He expected something else to come out, but this time he brought out a handkerchief.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t apply poison or anything like that. Oh, beef jerky and water too. I brought it to eat.”

When did I ever worry about that? So, I'm just thinking the same way.

I thought so and smiled.

Richard flinched and stared at me. Then he picked up his handkerchief and wiped my face.

It was a very strange feeling to put my face in Richard's hands while chewing the jerky.

The anger and excitement gradually subsided. The sense of reason that had left me was also returning.

'It's ruined, it's ruined.'

The returned reason shouted at me.

'It's completely ruined, you idiot!'

That's right. It is fortunate that his life was saved, but the original plan to live quietly and unnoticed was completely ruined.

Was it because of the embarrassing noise from the ship, or was it because I was crying out loud while shouting "mushrooms", Richard didn't seem to suspect that I was an assassin anymore.

Instead, I'll start with other doubts.

For example, who would be a girl of the same age walking around in a dress in the Opal Palace forest where the 17th princess lives...….

"Hey."

After wiping my face, Richard stopped and asked me. Red eyes filled my doubts and scanned my face and clothes.

I gulped down the last piece of jerky I had been chewing on.

That's right. I am your poor little sister, weak, frail, with no strength, no power, no ambition for the throne...… The moment I was about to say those words,

“Are you the maid at Opal Palace?”

Richard misunderstood my true identity.

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