Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

The Duke of Lé Chenío was one of the five most prestigious families in the Sharkani Empire.

He had made a name for himself as a tutor to the imperial family, and in the line of the previous Emperor, they were even able to produce an Empress, which further enhanced the family’s status. And now with the next Emperor’s promise, he might even rise to the rank of a Grand Duke.

From the time the prince was born, there was no doubt that he would rise to the position of crown prince and eventually the emperor. The prince had promised early on that as soon as he became emperor, he would make the Duke of Lé Chenío a grand duke. The Empress had also made a tacit agreement to support him behind the scenes.

That is, as long as the prince became emperor.

The Duke of Lé Chenío’s wealth and status would only increase.

“You look thinner. Are you eating well?”

But the daughter who was supposed to be his ladder had been sluggish lately, much to the Duke’s chagrin.

“Yes. I am doing well, thanks for your concern.”

In truth, he wasn’t too concerned about this daughter being thin. Of course, as a lady, she was also raised to the rank of a crown princess, so she must be doing well.

She had almost lived such a miserable life in a brothel, so she should be grateful and thankful to him for ending those days.

“Yes, if you need anything, you can always tell me.”

But he didn’t show it. After all he had to treat her as her own precious daughter until her usefulness was finally used completely. He was trying, but somehow he doubted if he was trying hard enough.

Knock. Knock.

There was a knock on the parlor door where the father and daughter were enjoying their teatime. It was an expected guest.

“Enter.”

The Duke commanded, and the family servant bowed and entered. The reason they were spending time together today was to see him.

“Report.”

He bowed once more, not even straightening his back.

“It was a slave from the salt islands.”

“From the salt islands?”

“Yes.”

A few days ago, there was a small incident at the Princess’ Memorial Celebration. The prince had slightly injured a slave with his sword. It was a minor incident that no one would ever know about, but it was not so minor that the crown prince personally picked up the slave and carried her away. The fact that he reacted so strongly to a mere slave’s wound was something that needed to be addressed.

“That’s all.”

“She’s a proper worker and a pretty good-looking girl, and she’s even received so many offers from various departments to work for them.”

The Duke made a grunt, his discomfort evident in his voice.

“And what was her relationship with him?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I’ve made several inquiries, but no one has ever seen them together.”

“So you don’t know anything?”

“No, but it is said that a Knight of the Thorns visited the slave when she was ill, though I am not sure if that has anything to do with his highness.”

“The Knight of the Thorns…”

“Yes.”

The Knight of the Thorns would be one of the crown prince’s closest confidants. He needed to find out more about the connection.

“Well just keep an eye on her. You may retire.”

“Yes, my duke.”

He hobbled out of the parlor, unable to straighten his back even once. The Duke gave him another grim look. He didn’t like the news he’d brought as much as he’d hoped.

“Cesaria, do you have anything to explain?”

“…Perhaps it was because she was a slave in the crown prince’s palace that she had come to know him.”

“You said you saw the face of that slave yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Was she prettier than you?”

“…Yes?”

Cesaria’s eyes flickered with embarrassment. She had been trained to be careful not to show her emotions anywhere, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but falter.

“I find it incomprehensible that he would do such a thing in the presence of his own fiancée. One would think that he cared more about the slave, which is not something that would be considered normal in the first place.”

It was an odd behavior, to say the least, for the crown prince himself to carry a slave in front of his fiancée.

Cesaria still couldn’t forget the crown prince’s expression and behavior at that moment, and it made her heart ache. She wondered if it had been her who had been cut by the prince’s sword, not the slave. Would he have given her that look too?

“Cesaria.”

“Yes, father.”

“You have been betrothed with him for over three years now, and you spend so little time with him.”

“Ah. His Highness is not in the capital often…”

“The more he doesn’t, the more you should correspond. You should try to find a way for you two to spend time together.”

“I apologize.”

In truth, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that she had received a letter from him asking for a divorce. The Duke of Lé Chenío didn’t actually want her and the Crown Prince to spend time alone like normal engaged couples do. He was simply looking for an opportunity for her.

‘The more time we spend together, the more opportunities I will have to kill him.’

There was a sharp knife hidden in those words. The Duke saw her as the most likely candidate to kill the Crown Prince himself.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s just that His Highness is still waiting for news, and it’s not fair.”

“Yes, I apologize.”

“No need to apologize. Let’s work together.”

“Yes.”

Anything that could harm the crown prince had been done long ago. A poison that could kill him instantly with a few drops in his tea. A dagger that would rot his flesh from the wound if it grazed his skin. A pendant infused with divine power that would make it harder for him to control his power. The duke and the prince had been waiting for the day she would use them all. In truth, she had plenty of opportunities. She could have killed him any number of times. If she set her mind to it. And there was one thing they didn’t know.

That she could use divine power.

It wasn’t explosive, but it seemed she could make it so that his power would explode at any crucial moment. She’d once thought that if she used her power next to him when he was displaying his power, she might be able to keep him from momentarily losing control.

But…

She had never acted on it. He wanted to break up with her, and she didn’t know how many more chances she could get. She should at least try to repay his father for saving him.

But everytime she looked at his face, all those thoughts melted away. All she wanted was to be closer to him. The moment she met his gaze, all thoughts of her father faded into the distance.

‘I will do anything you ask!’

I must have told the Duke the same thing.

When he asked her if she would do him a favor, she felt like she could do anything. If she could go back in time, she wanted to shut her mouth so that she could never say those words again. Cesaria curled her hands into tight fists under the table. She was ashamed and embarrassed of herself for being so unscrupulous.

With her father in front of her, she wanted to turn to sand and scatter to the winds.

⚘

The fever would go down, then up, then down again. Every time it did though, my body would be at ease, but my mind was not. I felt like I needed to get out of this bed and back to the slave quarters.

But when the fever rose again, I felt very comfortable, even though my body was tired. I would rather be a little sicker.

“Ugh.”

I tossed and turned futilely. The comfort of this bed was ecstatic. I wondered when I would ever sleep in such a cozy quilt again. This was for the crown prince, but in the end, it was for me to use as I please. I had given my arm away for him and I gained comfort.

‘Ah, good.’

The fever was gone, and my body felt light. I felt a little guilty, but decided to just enjoy this luxury for now. The bed was not a lace canopy, as was the palace’s taste. Instead, it was draped in dark purple fabric with a luxurious pattern. So what if it wasn’t lace? That it had a canopy was all that mattered.

“Soft.”

I ran my hand over the canopy, and it was softer than I’d expected, and it seemed to have a nice scent of its own. Nobles must go to sleep and wake up in beds like this every day, I thought enviously. I put my face close to the canopy and breathed in, wondering if it was really scented.

Knock. Knock.

I quickly let go of the canopy and stepped back. I’m not even the owner of this room, what should I do? Should I open the door myself? I froze, clutching the comforter, but luckily the door opened on its own.
A maid was just entering with a tray of water bottles and cups.

“Hhah.”

She made eye contact with me and sucked in a breath.

“Me.. Mary…?”

I recognized her face and realized that she had come to the hot springs before because they were short-handed. I remembered fondly how she had treated me with ease, not looking down on me even though I was below her rank. She set the tray down hastily on the table and came straight to me.

“How is your, uh, arm?”

She fumbled at the bedside, while choosing her words cautiously.

“I think it’s fine now, thank you.”

“Glad to hear it. Whoa. You really scared me.”

I smiled sheepishly.

“Seth.”

“Yeah.”

“…You’re even prettier when you smile, aren’t you?”

“What…?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just, you know, Seth, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Yeah? No!”

She cocked her head and looked around. There was no one in this room anyway, but she kept looking around as if there were.

“I’m going to ask you something straight up.”

“Okay.”

She bit her lip, looking quite formidable, and squared her shoulders in determination. I’m not sure what the hell she’s going to ask, and it’s making me nervous.

“When did this all start?”

“What…?”

“I’m asking what your relationship is with His Highness.”

She whispered, as if talking to my ear.

“Between a crown prince and a slave… yo…?”

She wrinkled her nose at the nonsense.

“Do you ever go to him—.. at night?”

“At night?”

Mary wiped her hands unnecessarily on her white apron and averted her gaze. She opened and closed her mouth, and finally spoke with a sigh.

“In that bed,” she said with a sigh,

“With the Crown Prince, if he slept with you, you know. You know, if you did.”

“In this bed? Yes? Why, the crown prince? No?”

“No…?”

“No. Why in this bed?”

Why would the crown prince be sleeping in this bed at night, it can’t be–.

Eh, no way…?

“No, it’s not, is it?”

“What?? No, what do you mean? No!”

“Whoa. So not yet.”

She patted her chest a few times. I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling unnecessarily hot.

“Oh, no. You have a vivid imagination, Mary. Haha.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. Nothing we talk about in this room is ever going to go outside anyway.”

Actually, I don’t think there was ever a conversation that shouldn’t go outside.

I saw her clenched her hands into fists.

“Seth. His Highness must be very fond of you.”

“Me? Alas. It seems like he’s simply trying to take responsibility for me because he saw me get hurt right in front of his eyes–.”

I trailed off, as her expression grew even more solemn as I continued. She wrinkled her nose and gave me a look that told me to stop talking nonsense.

“Ah. You don’t think he did it because he saw me get hurt in front of him do you?”

Mary shook her head.

“How frightened we were that day. We’re still pretending it’s nothing, but we’re all a little panicked, because it’s the first time His Highness has ever done something like this.”

“The first time?”

“The first time I’ve ever seen him hug someone like that, and the first time I’ve ever seen him make a face so completely terrifying, because he had always been so expressionless, and now he’s showing emotion like that. Ugh. I still get chills sometimes.”

Mary hugged herself coldly with her arms. Her face was still a little white from the experience.

“Besides, I never thought you’d be treated in this room. I’m surprised that no one else is surprised.”

“I didn’t expect to be treated in such a nice place either….”

“A nice place? You can’t be serious.”

Mary squinted and looked me over, then her eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“What..?”

“That this is the crown prince’s room.”

The maid, Mary, spoke in a voice that was almost a whisper. But it sounded very loud, as if she were speaking into a loudspeaker. I assumed it was one of the knight’s rooms, or perhaps a room for a guest who rarely came. My head immediately popped and rang.

“Then where does the crown prince rest–. More than that, I don’t think I should dare be here.”

“No, no, no, stay. I think he’ll be more upset if you leave, he’s in that mood right now.”

“Yes? But how dare I.”

“And the crown prince seems to be coming into this room every night, and since you say he’s not yet— well you know.”

Mary looked away again.

“This room?”

“Yes. He hasn’t gone to the other rooms.”

“!”

Not only was I occupying the master’s room, but I didn’t even realize he was resting somewhere here at night. It was too much for my heart to bear.

I buried my face in my hands.

“Huh. Is this what you care about?”

“Yes…?”

I looked up at her, with my eyes only. She was smiling.

“Anyway, I’m in charge now, so if you need anything, just call me. And pull that string.”

“Oh. Mary. No. Mary.”

“A patient rests like a patient. Seriously, you can call me anytime. It’s okay.”

She seemed to accept the absurdity of a slave pulling a string to call a maid. Apparently, being a palace maid is not for the faint of heart. The crown prince came into this room every night, and that fact alone made me feel embarrassed from the very beginning. I wonder if he saw me sleeping in his bed every night?

My face must have been a mess because I slept like a baby. Ugh.

“Aww. You’re so cute.”

‘What? Me?’

“Oh, right. I shouldn’t be doing this, Seth. I’ll see you later.”

Mary waved goodbye, very cheerfully. She kept her finger on the string until the very end.

My fever had gone down, but it seemed to be coming back up again. My head hurt and my whole body felt hot. I laid down with the covers over my head. My heart was pounding, making its presence felt through the covers. Wait, so this bed used to be where the crown prince slept…?

I tried to picture him lying here, sleeping. Even with his eyes closed, his face would probably glow. I feel unnecessarily hot, and at the same time, somehow this futon feels cozier and warmer.

‘Seth. The Prince must be very fond of you.’

Mary’s many words overlap, and my fever gradually rises completely.

(T/N: The maids on the Crown Prince’s Palace are so nice. There was no Jealous, crazy possessive, b–tch so nice!)