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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Mercenary King's Visit
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I was startled, but unlike when I'd discovered the Crown Prince yesterday, I didn't try to scream.

No, perhaps a corner of my mind had anticipated this very situation. Ever since Yugen had appeared before me so suddenly during the day.

“...Lord Mont.”

Yugen's eyebrow lifted slightly.

“You recognize me.”

It was his way of asking how I knew. He was barefaced, without his helmet.

Hair so dark brown it was nearly black, and reddish eyes that must have made countless enemies tremble in fear.

These were the features of his that were always visible, even from behind his helmet. But everything else was completely different from the public's speculation.

Save for a horizontal scar near his mouth, his skin was smooth. His features were delicate. His large eyes were reminiscent of a deer's.

The Yugen Mont I met in person was just as the novel had described him—a man who, despite being an adult, exuded a somewhat boyish air.

‘And yet, what a body!’

As if mesmerized, I lowered my gaze from Yugen's face.

It was only to be expected, but the Mercenary King's physique was magnificent. Now that he was wearing simple clothes instead of armor, his rippling muscles were on full display.

That face with that body… Isn't that just unfair?

The Crown Prince's physique I saw yesterday was nothing to scoff at, but the combination of such a build with a face that hadn't quite shed its boyishness was devastating beyond imagination.

The people of the Empire, unaware of his good looks, could only make baseless speculations—that he had a terrible burn on his face, or that he was so hideous he had to hide behind a helmet.

The truth was, his comrades in the mercenary group had recommended the helmet, fearing his baby face would cause him to be taken lightly. Hiding his face was certainly more effective for inspiring fear.

‘If it weren't for that, women would be lining up for him.’

Unlike the Crown Prince, Yugen wasn't intimidatingly handsome. He had a gentle look, and as long as nothing provoked him, his personality was much the same.

As I continued to stare at him in silence, Yugen tilted his head.

“Most people are surprised.”

Aila, too, had been quite surprised when she saw Yugen's face, so different from the rumors. But as a reader who knew the backstory, I recognized him right away.

“Your voice is the same as the one I heard this afternoon.”

“You’re the first.”

For a moment, I thought a flicker of change crossed Yugen's face, but when I looked again, it was as expressionless as ever. He slowly climbed into my room through the open window.

He gazed at me intently and asked.

“Not surprised?”

The same question as before? Wrong.

Before, he was talking about his appearance. Now, he was asking if I wasn't surprised by his sudden visit.

Yugen was a character with a rather unique way of communicating. He omitted about eighty percent of what needed to be said.

Anyone who didn't know Yugen well found him difficult to deal with because of this taciturnity. Even Aila, the heroine, had struggled a bit to converse with him at first.

But having adapted to Yugen's unique manner of speech from reading the novel, I could more or less understand him!

“I am quite surprised. I just don't show it much.”

“Had something to do.”

“It's fine. It's understandable to leave first if you have urgent business.”

“Your speech.”

“You want me to speak casually? Alright. From now on, I'll just call you Yugen.”

To be honest, I'd been calling him by his first name in my head all along, so it's more comfortable for me, too. How many readers use honorifics for every single character in a novel, anyway?

‘I used to call the Crown Prince and everyone else 'this guy' and 'that guy'…’

As I was reminiscing, Yugen closed the distance between us. His formidable chest muscles were right in front of my face.

I swallowed hard. I'd let my guard down because of his baby face, but up close, his very presence was overwhelming.

The thought, *‘Ah, so I really am inside the novel,’* hit me all over again. These people were no longer the comfortable characters they had been when I was just a reader.

“Um…”

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I was about to speak when he suddenly pointed a finger behind me.

“That bed.”

He was pointing at my bed.

That's right. As if it were the most obvious thing in the world, there it was—this damned bed!

‘I wanted to deny it.’

The suspicion had been rising like smoke ever since the Crown Prince explained the curse to me yesterday. I had desperately tried to ignore it, thinking, *no, it can't be,* but now it had returned as a stark reality.

Raynerd wasn't the only one afflicted by the bed's curse. Yugen delivered the killing blow with his next words.

“I also… want to sleep… there.”

I honestly felt like just giving him the bed and leaving.

First, I had Yugen sit on the sofa and attempted to have a proper conversation.

“So, you’re saying you haven’t slept for several days?”

Yugen meekly nodded.

“And a voice.”

“Telling you to come to my bed?”

“Only to me.”

“An auditory hallucination that no one else can hear?”

“You, the banquet.”

“What? You tried to talk to me during His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday banquet yesterday?”

So I really was the one Yugen had tried to speak to. At the time, I didn't know about the curse, so I never would have guessed.

“Ian… told me. Orange hair.”

“Orange hair isn't common. Still, it must have taken some effort to find out who I was based on my description alone. Did a comrade of yours named Ian do the investigating?”

“Yeah.”

Yugen’s symptoms were identical to Raynerd's. Prolonged insomnia, the voice telling him to come to my bed, and the image of me constantly popping into his head.

I bit my lip, feeling bleak.

“By any chance, did that voice say something about...'the author'?”

Yugen's eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“Just a hunch.”

Because some other guy came by yesterday and kindly filled me in on all the details.

“And also… Yugen, to my bed right now-.”

“Aaaah! You don't have to tell me the rest!”

Hearing my cringeworthy history from the mouth of the person involved made me want to die of embarrassment. If I could go back in time, I'd find my past self who wrote that comment and give her a good smack.

I gushed like some kind of pervert not just over Raynerd, but over Yugen, too? What the hell is so special about this stupid bed!

Unaware of my desire to crawl into a hole and disappear, Yugen simply looked impressed.

“It's strange. You understand me so well.”

“...It just sort of happened.”

If I'd been in front of Raynerd, I would have feigned ignorance, pretending to know nothing about the curse. But this was Yugen.

How should I put it? To put it nicely, he had an eccentric personality. To put it bluntly, he was a little dense.

It was a common joke among readers that if he hadn't met his reliable comrades, he would have been sold off to a fishing boat and become the Fisherman King.

‘Though I'm sure he would have excelled at any kind of physical labor.’

As things stood, I had no choice.

“Alright. Lie down on the bed.”

I decided to get this over with quickly and leave the complicated thoughts for tomorrow. My eyelids felt heavy, probably because I hadn't slept well last night thanks to the Crown Prince.

“Thank you... for helping me.”

Yugen offered something akin to a faint smile and started toward the bed.

“Wait, wait. What about your clothes? Didn't you bring any nightclothes?”

“Don't have any.”

Then again, if he were that prepared, he wouldn't be the Yugen I knew. Honestly, what are the members of the Hess Mercenary Group thinking, not even packing something like this for him?

When I asked, just in case, he said he hadn't told anyone about his strange symptoms. When I asked him why...

“Just because.”

What a stark contrast to a certain someone who visited yesterday, who hid anything that could be a weakness because he couldn't even fully trust his closest aides.

Well, it wouldn't do me any good if more people knew the truth, so I suppose it's for the best.

In any case, I couldn't bear the thought of him lying on my precious bed in his outdoor clothes, which were probably filthy.

Still, it felt too cruel to kick him out and tell him to come back tomorrow with nightclothes. Up close, I could see the dark, thick shadows under his eyes.

‘Just how long has he gone without sleep...’

His eyes had been fluttering shut every so often, and he looked dozens of times more exhausted than I felt.

I headed for the door, saying to him over my shoulder.

“Since you helped me this afternoon, I'll lend you some nightclothes. Just wait here a moment.”

Feeling uneasy for some reason, I gave him a firm warning.

“Don't leave this room. Don't make any loud noises. And if you think someone's coming, hide. Understand?”

“Got it.”

After hearing his definite reply, I took a lit lamp and left the room.

I didn't even want to imagine the uproar that would ensue if I were discovered harboring a man—and Yugen Mont, of all people—in my chambers at this hour of the night.

The Marchioness, in particular, possessed the perfectly normal fear of the notorious Mercenary King. Upon learning of Yugen's involvement in today's incident, she had earnestly warned me never to get involved with that man again.

‘This is making me anxious. I'd better hurry back.’

Fortunately, the laundry room of the Lindsi estate was full of men's clothing. The clothes of the knights and servants who lived on the premises were all washed there.

A short while later, I reached the laundry room without encountering anyone. Servants were scarce at this late hour, so it was an easy task if one was careful.

“Men's nightclothes, men's nightclothes.”

I searched between the shelves, which were lined with neatly folded clothes that had been washed and ironed.

This one looked too small for Yugen, and this one too large. As I carefully examined each garment, one caught my eye. It looked like it would roughly fit the physique I'd sized up by eye.

“Huh?”

But these clothes... The fabric feels strangely nice.

At that moment.

“What are you doing here, sister?”

The voice came from right behind me, and I thought my heart would stop.

“Holding my nightclothes.”

In the darkness, Jayden Lindsi looked down at me, his eyes searching.