Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: In Search of True Happiness
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Happy.
So incredibly happy.
It felt like every moment of my life up until now had been a lie—this was true happiness, something I'd never experienced before.
What on earth is this feeling?
Like sinking deep into fluffy clouds, doing absolutely nothing, just resting in perfect comfort.
When I was around people, it was like being dropped into the middle of a sauna. Among monsters, it was a slightly more bearable empty space, trapped all alone.
But this... what is it?
"I'll dig in."
"I... I'll dig in."
The same Japanese-style breakfast as always.
A simple meal of well-seasoned miso soup, steamed rice, and perfectly grilled fish.
And yet, sitting face-to-face with another person, sharing a meal right after waking up—it felt utterly different.
This wasn't like those brief glimpses followed by a quick bite and goodbye.
Of course, even those meals with Shin-woo had been truly delightful and delicious.
Thump. Thump.
'Right now, it feels like I'm dreaming...'
A pleasant dream.
A dream I never want to wake from.
A dream I'd happily sleep forever to keep seeing.
I was living that dreamlike dream even with my eyes wide open.
After breakfast, to loosen up a bit, I walked side by side with Shin-woo through the garden in front of the mansion.
Something I could never have done before.
Though we met every day, he was just a guest.
I could never share a table with him anywhere but the guest quarters.
And that was only natural.
He was a commoner, and I was nobility—even in this modern age without formal class systems, our divide remained.
I thought the only connection between us was exchanging words while meeting eyes.
But now...
"Um, Shin-woo..."
"Yes?"
"Your hand... it feels empty. Could we hold hands while we walk?"
"My hand...?"
I clasped hands with him and walked side by side.
Something I'd only imagined in my head, like Romeo and Juliet—an impossible scenario from a play.
"Of course. Sure."
The commoner prince took my hand without hesitation.
If a shady paparazzi snapped this and it spread worldwide, his safety could be at risk—but I couldn't hold back my desire and gave the order.
'I'm... the worst...'
I wish this were a dream.
How wonderful it would be if everything I'm seeing, feeling, and experiencing right now was just a dream of pure happiness, with no need to think about what comes after.
Shin-woo probably has no idea.
How outrageous it is for someone from one of the Ten Great Families to share a meal, make physical contact, and converse on equal terms with an ordinary person who has nothing.
The casual acts he's doing now at my command are opportunities even heirs to global conglomerates or successors to advanced nations' presidencies can't easily have.
That's why I don't want to tell him, if possible.
I want to keep this relationship going just like this.
Always holding hands at eye level, eating meals together, exchanging goodnights before bed—those ordinary things...
"You should have used proper contraception..."
"But for a bastard child, the talent is exceptional."
"Then let's use this one as the next 'sacrifice.'"
...This 'ordinary' life I'd never experienced before, I'd finally obtained.
'I'm so happy.'
Insanely so.
'This is enough.'
I never imagined I'd feel this happy in my lifetime, yet I'd spent the whole day smiling nonstop.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
'I'm satisfied.'
Time, which had always seemed frozen, had blinked by a few times, and night was already here.
"Princess. Goodnight, then."
"Yes. You too, Shin-woo. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
A daily life where I could close my eyes smiling right up to the edge of dreamland.
The happiest times had always been deep in numb darkness—my dreams—where I felt nothing.
Today, for the first time, I didn't even want to sleep.
'I hope it's always like this...'
But sleep I must.
Then tomorrow, continue this perfect routine.
I'm already happy enough.
Just being with Shin-woo like this is...
Snap!
"......"
...Truthfully, it was a wicked thought, but this wasn't enough.
"...I want to be even happier."
I wasn't satisfied yet.
Compared to my life so far, it was flawless—like miso soup perfectly brewed but missing tofu.
What Princess Kurumi truly desired was something else.
The man himself: Han Shin-woo.
"I want to... feel you even more..."
You, sleeping beyond that sliding door.
You, who showed me light in my dark world.
You, who took the hand of a bastard daughter from the Ten Great Families without prejudice.
The thought of almost losing you during that last attack turned the dark world I saw every day into an even darker void, impossible to see even an inch ahead.
And in that world where I'd lost even the reason to live, when you appeared before me again, the princess resolved herself.
I want to leave your trace inside this body.
"Amaterasu. Come out."
The quiet predawn.
Princess Kurumi, sitting on her futon in the empty tatami room, quietly called it.
Then, in a low voice, she asked the still-silent room.
"How much longer... do I have to live?"
The answer came from behind her.
"One year."
A chilling sensation ran up her spine.
The presence vanished after the brief reply, but even though she'd expected it, knowing she had only a year left...
"...That's a relief."
Princess Kurumi stroked the area below her navel gently with both hands, thinking of the surprisingly ample time she had left.
"That's enough time to make it..."
It was the bittersweet smile of a woman who had only found happiness at the very end of her life.
The underground detention center of the Hunter Association's Korean branch.
...Calling it a detention center was generous; it wasn't just a prison—it was designed like some medieval fantasy dungeon, a rat-infested cesspit from the depths.
"Ugh... To think I'd lose..."
The sole inmate there, Lavrentsky, sighed deeply, handcuffed in hunter-specific restraints.
"I underestimated Korean level. I figured they were just a bit stronger than North Korea... Didn't expect a monster like that roaming around..."
Anyway, now that he was caught, there was nothing more he could do.
His situation was already precarious; attempting an escape by blowing up the entire Korean Hunter branch?
That would mean crossing an irreversible river.
"So, is this where I retire?"
Before breaking out of prison.
He suddenly recalled his last conversation with the warden who had given him the mission.
"Listen well, Lavrentsky. From now until you return to Russia, you'll be a criminal even here."
"...? Wasn't I already a criminal in prison?"
"W-Well, yes! Anyway! Your job from here on is to go abroad as a criminal and commit the same heinous crimes! Then Russia becomes the poor 'victim' nation because of you."
"...Ah. In simple terms, make it look like this whole operation was my solo rogue action."
"Exactly! Otherwise, it could ruin Korea-Russia relations—or sever them entirely. So... same as always, I'm counting on you."
"Haha. Leave it to me! I'll head to Korea on my own initiative and kidnap that daughter of Japan's Ten Great Families!"
"Thanks, Lavrentsky."
As always, he'd stepped up for his country, volunteering as the bullet sponge—but this time, he'd failed spectacularly.
'This'll earn me a scolding when I get back.'
It was his first time being repatriated as a criminal since Soviet days, after a failed op.
Until he set foot on homeland soil, best to just sleep it off.
Lavrentsky, with nothing else to do, tried to catch some rest.
"You can't come in here, miss!"
"Hey, move it! Don't you know who I am?"
"W-Well..."
"I'm calling my dad! You know you're all fired if I do? Got it? Then scram!"
""Yes, ma'am!""
Something noisy was happening beyond the bars.
"What the...?"
Curious with nothing better to do, Lavrentsky walked right up to the bars.
"Hehe. Found you. So you're the amazing hunter who came from Russia."
Cute pink overalls with pigtails.
But her eyes held more mischief than charm.
"...Who?"
"You don't need to know who I am. Just do exactly what I say from now on."
As soon as Yoo Si-hyun met his gaze, she began casting Charm on him.
"From now on, you're my loyal slave."
"...What?"
Lavrentsky tilted his head.
In that instant, the world drowned in pink bliss—a happy illusion.
He quickly realized it was the Charm status effect.
'?! Trying to Charm me? With this weak level...?'
If it were A-rank hunter level Charm, in his neutralized state, it might've had a slim chance.
But this? Like rubbing a lighter flame on a skyscraper wall to start a fire.
Just a slight floaty feeling, no real Charm.
However.
"Now, you're going with me to that mansion where the princess from the Ten Great Families is staying."
"...Oh?"
"Then, act like a third-rate villain who puts the princess in danger before getting taken down by me! Got it? Answer me!"
An opportunity to make up for his mistake? No reason to turn down free luck.
Thus.
"Yes. Understood. I'll do that."
"...! Good! I'll give you the key now—escape quietly!"
Yoo Si-hyun tossed the key she'd snuck from the guard hunters inside the bars.
Clank.
"Phew. So, when do we depart, lady?"
"I'll decide that. You just shut up and follow my lead."
Free once more, Lavrentsky joined hands—not quite hands—with the daughter of a Korean conglomerate for his second chance.