The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

Leslun was not thrown into the same prison cell as before, but into solitary confinement.

It held only a single bed and a small desk, yet the fact that he could move about freely, and that his whole body was no longer bound tight in chains, was in itself a great privilege.

The door soon shut. The instant he realized he was alone, Leslun’s weakened body gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

When his knees struck the stone, the pain tore a silent scream from him, but soon he rolled onto his side and lay down.

“Haa…”

It felt as if his feet were plunged into a bonfire. They burned and throbbed so much that even when he tried to stay still, his whole body twitched restlessly.

He suddenly let out a bitter laugh at the ridiculous sight of himself. Anyone watching would think he had been tortured.

In truth—what had become of his counterpart in the original story?

“There’s no way he ever appeared again.”

He was nothing more than an extra who had abducted Lady Miroi, and the consequences he faced were never recorded.

At most, it was said that all the accomplices had been executed in order to erase evidence of the abduction and silence anyone who knew.

Leslun remembered reading in the novel that Crown Prince Kailos had been the true mastermind behind Miroi’s kidnapping. And because of that, Lady Miroi was left with a wound that could never heal and forced into the unwanted position of Crown Princess.

But knowing everything changed little. Even if he babbled the truth in front of the Crown Prince, it would only hasten his death.

That was exactly his situation now. The role of a secretary was no different from a sheet of paper—used up and discarded.

Though he had survived, unease gnawed at him.

He had disobeyed the Count’s orders and smuggled Miroi away. That alone meant he had already altered the story’s progression. He was nothing but an extra, yet his actions had swayed the flow.

Whether he lived or died might not greatly affect the original work, but the things he had already done were not insignificant.

And since his life had been spared by the Crown Prince’s change of heart, he could well be killed tomorrow. If so, perhaps the plot would not deviate too far.

“If I stay here, I’ll definitely be killed.”

Burying his face in his arms, Leslun could find no comfort even in the simple fact that he was still breathing. Night only deepened around him.

***

“I distinctly recall sparing your life. Did you happen to die in the meantime?”

At dawn, Leslun awoke to icy water thrown on him by the guard. Afterward, he was given fresh clothes, and immediately had to report to the Crown Prince’s chambers.

The Crown Prince, whom he met early that morning, again allowed no chance for formal greetings. It seemed he had the habit of blurting out whatever impression came to him at first sight, almost as if it were his greeting.

“Last night you looked like a wet rat, but now you resemble a sickly rabbit.”

“I… I…”

He could not bring himself to claim he had rested well.

“You’re aware that in the Empire, animal cruelty is severely punished, aren’t you? Are you trying to get me punished at this rate?”

What sort of new torment was this? At times the Count had treated Leslun like livestock, but he had never been mistaken for an actual animal.

“Look at you. Your face is so pale, you could pass for a corpse.”

“……”

Leslun had no right to judge whether the Crown Prince’s words were jest or not. Trembling violently, he could only remain silent—and the Crown Prince’s expression grew all the more sullen.

“Who would call him a corpse when he’s standing here alive?”

A voice unfamiliar to Leslun cut in. Because he still had his head bowed, he could not see the speaker’s face.

But the steady, measured footsteps and the spotless shoes brought to mind the Camilo household’s steward. That man had been obsessive about cleanliness, demanding perfection in everything as if it were a compulsion.

Leslun swallowed dryly, like someone who had forgotten how to breathe.

“Please, do not toss careless jests at your subordinates. Your Highness may mean them lightly, but for those who must receive them, they are a heavy burden.”

“And what burden do you claim I’ve given him?”

“To his ears, it would sound like a threat to make him a corpse on the spot.”

The more the conversation continued, the whiter Leslun’s face became. He had had no idea that the Crown Prince’s words could carry such a meaning.

And then he was doubly shocked, first by the man’s irreverent tone in speaking back to the Crown Prince, and second by the fact that he dared say it at all.

Either he was someone permitted to speak so freely to the Crown Prince, or he was a man who walked around with a few spare lives to waste.

“Enough of that. Let us get to the point. Otherwise, we may indeed have a corpse to dispose of right here.”