Chapter : 23
I looked into Sirinyu’s eyes and spoke. I wanted to tell him that he wasn’t as bad a person as I had thought.
“I think you wouldn’t do that. Considering everything you’ve done so far…”
“Thinking is your freedom, but even if you regret it later, it won’t help.”
Sirinyu approached me with a cold expression. I hesitated slightly and took a step back.
As I continued retreating, my back hit the wall—I had nowhere else to go. Sirinyu tilted his head slightly toward me and spoke.
“Do you know what I like?”
Startled by the sudden question, I widened my eyes and looked up at him. Sirinyu smiled faintly and said to me:
His smile was so beautiful that I unconsciously parted my lips. Like an angel… I hope he keeps smiling like this all the time.
“I like to lock up those who defy me and watch them.”
After finishing his words, Sirinyu grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. I felt a warm sensation where he held me and followed him obediently.
He pushed me into a cell made of iron bars.
“Let’s see if you remain so calm even when locked up.”
With the sound of the iron door closing, Sirinyu left without looking back, leaving me inside.
I paused for a moment, trying to process the situation, then hurriedly grabbed the bars and called out.
“Hey!”
His broad back gradually receded from view. I blinked in disbelief. I thought I had been complimenting him… I couldn’t figure out what had offended him.
I shook the bars weakly and, realizing there was no way out, reluctantly turned around.
Looking around the cell, I noticed it was cleaner than I had expected. It was surprisingly neat for a place that supposedly held prisoners.
My eyes landed on a pile of books in the corner. Objects like these didn’t belong in a cell, which piqued my curiosity. Most of all, something familiar caught my attention among the books.
“Korean?”
Until now, all the writing I had seen here had been in the local script, which I couldn’t read naturally. But the characters in front of me were clearly Korean.
I pulled a book written in Korean from the pile and plopped down on the floor.
Looking around, I realized that aside from the lack of furniture, the cell was more comfortable than the semi-basement room I lived in when I entered university.
It was fortunate I hadn’t worn the bustle that puffs out skirts while riding a carriage.
I pulled out a few more books, stacked them to make a makeshift pillow, and flopped down.
The small cell was beginning to feel cozy.
I opened a book and saw words written in Korean:
“The resurrection of the Demon King…”
After being tense all morning, seeing those words made me sleepy. I gradually drifted off to sleep.
A moment later, the loud sound of metal scraping woke me with a start. Rubbing my eyes and sitting up, I saw Sirinyu looking at me in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
“Uh? I just nodded off…”
Sirinyu’s expression, upon seeing me sitting on the floor, could not hide his astonishment. Out of all the expressions I had seen from him, this one revealed the most emotion.
“You fell asleep? On this floor?”
As I clumsily stood, Sirinyu opened the cell door wide. I walked awkwardly toward it, and Sirinyu said:
“You’re a woman who doesn’t follow common sense. Aren’t you afraid?”
He spoke with a look of disbelief.
“Usually, people beg for their lives within a day… I’ve never seen anyone react like you among those I’ve locked up before.”
“Haha.”
I laughed awkwardly, and Sirinyu clicked his tongue.
“I came to check if you’d passed out since it was too quiet…”
“No, I wasn’t planning that… It’s just that I tend to fall asleep when I read letters…”
As I subtly raised the book in my hand, Sirinyu snatched it away and said:
“How did you find this?”
“It was here?”
I said with a puzzled expression. Sirinyu, sounding incredulous, spoke:
“This book didn’t come up even after we turned the entire estate upside down. I heard they searched the underground thoroughly… how did it appear?”
“I wouldn’t know…”
I followed Sirinyu’s escort back to the reception room. He flipped through the book and then looked at me.
“This is the book you need to decipher. Reference materials are in the reception room; start by figuring out how to read the letters.”
“I can read them though?”
As I sat on the sofa, Sirinyu, who was about to sit, turned his head toward me.
“What?”
“Eh?”
“What did you just say?”
Sirinyu asked, startled.
What day is this? Is this my lucky day?
Grateful to witness Sirinyu’s range of expressions, I quickly replied:
“I can read this.”
“Then read it. The first page.”
I turned the book and read the words on the first page:
“I record the resurrection of the Demon King…”
“Stop.”
“Okay.”
Sirinyu, after watching me for a moment, explained quietly.
The book I was holding is a prophecy passed down in the Lephrix family, predicting the arrival of the Demon King. Except for the first five letters on the first page, it was previously indecipherable and therefore unused.
“I see.”
Seeing it written in Korean, I had guessed that no one here would have been able to read it.
While I nodded, Sirinyu, with a serious expression, said to me:
“It would be troublesome if others knew you can read this without a translation.”
“That makes sense.”
I didn’t need to ask why. If it became known that I could do unnecessary things well, life would get complicated. I carefully asked Sirinyu:
“Then, will you keep it a secret?”
He stared at me and replied:
“Tell me the translation first, and don’t tell the Crown Prince until the appointed date.”
“Yes, I will.”
I nodded. Sirinyu summoned a servant with a gesture. While he spoke with the servant, I flipped through the book.
“Prepare so it can be deciphered.”
I turned my attention back to the book and said:
“I’ll read a bit more. I might need a dictionary for characters like Chinese ones…”
Muttering that, Sirinyu tilted his head.
“Chinese characters?”
Ah, there aren’t any here. I wracked my brain for something similar to say.
“Um… like a code.”
“Oh, got it.”
The first page read:
‘I record the resurrection of the Demon King.
This story comes from the hands of descendants of those living in the mountains who can see the future.’
“See the future? Must be a family of prophets.”
I nodded slightly and turned the page.
It described more about the prophets. They wanted no involvement in the world, so they left this great prophecy and hid in the mountains. Yet, it said to visit them if help was needed.
Where is that…?
Are they teasing me? I slowly turned the pages.
Until the page I had seen earlier, it was mostly old stories—how the Demon King appeared, how heroes defeated him…
It was fairly entertaining, and as I read, a cup of tea was placed in front of me.
“It’s a fragrant Darjeeling.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I picked up the cup with tea at a pleasant temperature. I thought:
‘Ah… no ice?’
I only drink iced… There’s probably no ice here, right?
Thinking about the ice-free summer made my chest tighten. The biggest drawback of this place wasn’t monsters or someone dressing me directly—it was the lack of iced drinks.
I hadn’t needed coffee while lounging at home, but now that I was out and using my brain, I craved it.
As I lifted the cup with a sad expression, Sirinyu was staring at me.
“Don’t you like Darjeeling?”
“No?”
“If you want a different tea, tell me.”
‘You, as tea…’
I covered my smiling mouth with the cup.
It’s bad for my heart.
But humans tend to indulge in things they know are harmful.
While admiring Sirinyu’s posture as he sat with his legs crossed, he spoke again:
“So, can you finish the translation in a week?”
“Huh? Ah, of course…”
I had wanted to boast that it would take only a day, but I quickly shut my mouth. My mind was racing. If I finish quickly, can I go home sooner? I cautiously asked:
“If the translation is done sooner, can I return to the mansion?”
Sirinyu, rising from the sofa, asked:
“You want to go back to the mansion? Why?”
“Huh? Well, if you ask why…”
It was too obvious to explain. Sirinyu frowned:
“Don’t like the room? …That’s why you’re not translating while lying down?”
What? I could have translated while lying down? Why didn’t he say…
Well, in truth, any house that turns everyone into a princess isn’t exactly my style either.
Seeing my delayed reply as affirmation, Sirinyu looked at the servant:
“Doesn’t like it, apparently.”
The servant looked incredulous. Feeling like I was disregarding their effort, I hurriedly spoke:
“No, not that. I’m just more comfortable at my home.”
Sirinyu, with a crooked expression, said:
“You have to stay until the promised date.”
I remembered what Noel had said before departure:
“But the Crown Prince said to come to the palace as soon as the translation is finished…”
Before I could finish, Sirinyu’s expression stiffened.
“What?”
