Chapter 20
The Prince Died, So I’m Starting Over!
To make matters worse, a faint light began flickering in the distance. It looked like an exit.
“There, look! The exit’s over there.”
“How—how can that be? Did we really cross the entire courtyard already?”
“There must be magic cast on this passageway.”
Magic. Magic. Always magic!
At this point, I was sick of even hearing the word.
But the Third Prince, completely oblivious to my frustration, simply lit up with excitement and hurried toward the exit.
You… just be grateful you were born a secondary male lead.
If you’d been born as the heroine, people would’ve called you a walking disaster and cursed you to a long, miserable life.
I followed the prince through the exit, practically in tears.
Just as he’d said, there was a mountain outside.
Halfway up, hidden behind a large boulder, was a tiny cave—clearly the end of the secret passage.
Anyone who didn’t already know about it would never even realize a cave existed there. The exit was that well concealed.
“There’s probably a spell too—one that only allows people who’ve passed through the secret passage to reenter it.”
“I see…”
The Third Prince added an unnecessary explanation, then said cheerfully,
“Well then, shall we head down to the village?”
Even though it was his first time here, he started descending the mountain without a moment’s hesitation.
I hurried to keep up.
Along the path, I spotted two filthy, discarded pieces of clothing lying on the ground.
I picked them up and handed one to the prince.
“Here, take this.”
“…What is this?”
“Probably robes. They’re dirty, but better than nothing. We stand out too much as we are.”
“Ah, come to think of it, His Majesty also wore commoners’ clothes whenever he went out incognito.”
Thankfully, the Third Prince took the robe without complaint and put it on.
That was probably the smartest thing he’d done all day.
The robe smelled musty—understandable, given it had been abandoned here.
But why were clothes thrown away in a place like this?
I really should’ve thought about that question more seriously.
By the time we reached the foot of the mountain, the sun had already turned crimson.
“This is bad…”
Normally, it would’ve been well past lunchtime by now.
Anna was surely waiting for me, worrying herself sick.
“We’ll have to finish quickly,” the Third Prince said, quickening his pace again.
After asking around the village, we finally found the shop owned by a former miner.
Getting there was a real ordeal—every villager we passed gave us suspicious looks.
Two children wandering around alone—it was no wonder.
Something about the village’s uneasy atmosphere gave me a bad feeling.
I even prayed—something I never did.
Oh god of this world—whatever your name is, Goguryeon or Baekjen or Shillan or whoever—please, just let us get back to the palace safely.
Maybe the prayer didn’t work because I got the name wrong.
The gods didn’t answer.
“Excuse me, is the owner here?”
The Third Prince pushed open the door and called out.
According to a village kid, the shop owner was a former miner who’d lost a leg in an accident.
“Who’s there?”
A man on crutches appeared, moving slowly.
“What the—kids? There’s nothing here for brats like you! Get lost!”
He clearly didn’t like children. I could already tell this was going to go badly.
“We came because we’re looking for something.”
“Oh, really? You? Got money, then?”
“Not money, but I can offer you this instead.”
The prince pulled something from his pocket—a red gemstone—and handed it to the man.
“Where did you get this, kid? Don’t tell me you stole it?”
As a former miner, the man clearly recognized its value at a glance.
He snatched it up, clutching it tightly while eyeing us warily.
“If you give me what I’m looking for, I can give you something even more valuable.”
“And what is it you’re looking for?”
“Think carefully. Of all the things you possess, what would be worth that much?”
The man’s eyes narrowed sharply.
This was definitely not the right approach.
We didn’t have a single bodyguard with us.
To him, we were just two defenseless children.
Revealing our wealth in a situation like this was practically begging to be attacked.
But the eight-year-old prince—who’d only ever dealt with nobles—didn’t seem to realize that.
Honestly, nobles were all the same: polished on the outside, but frogs trapped in a well on the inside.
If the prince was too naive to notice the danger, then I’d just have to stay alert for both of us.
I kept a close eye on the man.
He hid the gem in a box, then reached behind his back—grabbing for something, perhaps.
Quietly, I picked up a dirty wooden plank lying nearby.
“…You seem to be of noble birth. Forgive my earlier rudeness.”
Suddenly, the man’s tone turned polite.
The prince’s face immediately brightened.
He must’ve thought the man had realized his noble status and was showing respect.
Even the smartest noble kids couldn’t let go of their class superiority.
But I wasn’t that naïve.
What use was noble status when there were only kids around?
The man’s right hand still hovered behind his back.
I was sure he was testing us.
“I don’t intend to punish you,” the prince said. “Once we find what we came for, we’ll leave at once.”
His head was as much a flower garden as his face.
Too trusting. Too stupid.
“I’ll give you the item,” the man said slowly. “But… how will you return? Forgive me, but it seems you’ve come without a guard. As you know, this item mustn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
“I have my ways. How many do you have?”
We were doomed.
The prince didn’t even deny that we were unaccompanied.
In a case like this, silence was as good as admission.
Good grief… You’ve been so clever lately—why pick today to act like this?
The Third Prince was unpredictable on the best of days, but today he was worse—restless, impatient, as if something were chasing him.
What on earth had gotten into him?
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t count on him. I was on my own.
I tightened my grip on the plank.
“Then, let’s see what I have…”
The man trailed off, glancing over his shoulder.
This was getting dangerous.
I grabbed the prince’s hand and, at the same time, hurled the plank at the man.
It flew in a perfect arc and struck his leg.
“Argh!”
He screamed, collapsing forward.
A small blessing—the plan was working.
I’d never intended to fight.
Let’s be honest: how much damage could a plank swung by an eight-year-old girl really do?
Our best move was to run while he was down.
“L-Lurupel! What are you doing?!”
The prince gawked at me, wide-eyed in shock.
If we’d had more time, I might’ve smacked some sense into him.
But there was no time for that now.
“Run! Now! Don’t you see the axe he’s holding?!”
“An axe? Wait—why would he—”
“Why do you think?! He’s trying to kill you and take the gem! You shouldn’t have let on that you didn’t have guards!”
Only then did the prince spot the axe in the man’s hand, and he finally started running.
We turned and bolted up the mountain, not caring where our feet took us.
The man shouted behind us, “You little rats! Stop right there!”
I looked back—he was chasing us, though the distance between us was several dozen paces.
Fortunately, with his injured leg, he couldn’t move very fast.
I sighed in relief and turned forward again—
Just as a gust of mountain wind blew my hood back.
“Ha… Hariela!”
…What?
How did he know my name?
Wait, is Hariela famous among commoners or something?
It wasn’t exactly the right time for such thoughts, but curiosity crept in anyway.
Maybe because the danger didn’t feel so immediate anymore, given his slow pace.
Could it be that every villager knows the lord’s daughter’s face?
I tried to recall my past life—my previous loop—but no clear answer came to mind.
Of course, it wasn’t like I’d never met commoners before…
