Chapter 09
Translator: Missme
Editor: Aru
The thought I just had come out, straight from the Crown Prince’s mouth.
At the same time, I almost threw the portrait I was holding to the Crown Prince.
Recognizing the identity of my opponent, I managed to suppress the urge.
Just now, what did I hear?
He wants me to seduce the Duke?
“What are you saying……..”
“I’ve heard rumours that you’re a great yobu.”
“Ah.”
There was an awkward smile shaping around my lips.
I was wondering why the Crown prince came to find me, so was it because of that rumour?
I tried to say it was a false rumour, but the Crown Prince didn’t even give me time to protest.
“I heard that you’ve made a lot of men kneel under your feet with that body of yours, right?”
Well, indeed, I usually make men kneel under my feet……. although, by force, it’s true anyway.
“I heard there’s no man who wouldn’t fall down at a single gesture from you.”
“I heard even from a single hand gesture, there’s no man who wouldn’t fall for you.”
That’s right, but the actual hand gesture and rumour’s hand gesture have different meanings……….
“And when you smile, no one could even make eye contact with you.”
It’s because they are scared of me……..
“You don’t have to use any special means and methods. Just make the Duke fall for you.”
Ummm, excuse me, Your Highness.
I think you came to the wrong person for this kind of proposal.
I swallowed those words inside.
I don’t know if the original Lena might be able to do it, but I’ve never even had a fling with a man, let alone a relationship experience!
And now he wants me to seduce a man?
More than that, with payment?
I was shouting that my morality should never let me accept it.
Even when the target is Caleb Egon.
The male protagonist, who will be connected to the female protagonist.
To define it in a word.
‘He’s someone else’s man!’
Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have worried about this, right? Because this attempt will not bloom anyway.
First, let’s just refuse it. No, the answer is nothing but rejection anyway.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. To make the Duke fall for me, what………”
“I’m sure I’m being too comprehensive. I’ll explain in detail from now on.”
But I wasn’t asking for an explanation, I was rejecting.
However, this time again, the Crown Prince spoke faster than I did.
“People say Caleb Egon doesn’t care about women. And in fact, that’s the image he’s showing. But I don’t believe it, and I’m a little bit curious.”
“…………”
“About the rumour, whether the Duke is interested in women or not.”
Raising his arms on the table, he shrugged and smiled.
‘Tha, that scared me.’
As he approached the distance in an instant, I flinched.
Lowering my gaze, I pretended to look at the portrait for nothing and said.
“Do you really need to know the truth? It doesn’t seem to be a problem if you just trust the rumours.”
Except for the strange rumours about me.
“It’s hard to hold back when we are curious about something. I’m sure you know what that feels like.”
At the Crown Prince’s words, I bit my lower lip.
Because he was just reciting what I said to him earlier.
‘I made a mistake.’
If I try to turn the words around or cover it by saying no, he might have dragged me away for blasphemy against the imperial family.
I think this guy can do so.
“I don’t believe that rumour anyway. What kind of person in the world doesn’t care about the opposite sex? Most of all, the Duke is already 26 this year.”
“26?”
“Yeah.”
I was told that he was the youngest Duke and the commander of the Imperial Knight, but I didn’t know that he was younger than I thought.
Because he’s only three years older than me.
“Does it make sense that he doesn’t have a lover, let alone a fiance, at that age? It’s not like he’s made of stone or tree.”
Maybe it’s not because he doesn’t have any interest in the opposite sex? Maybe he just didn’t show it.
Suddenly, I feel sorry for the Male Lead. I can’t believe he was called ‘stone’ just because he’d never been in a relationship before…
“But isn’t it the same for you, having no fiancee?”
The Crown Prince is the only member of the Imperial Family except for the Emperor and Empress, so if he had a fiancee, it would have been a quite hot topic.
But I remember that he had no fiance. Or do I mistakenly remember it?
“Am I the same as the Duke? Engagement and marriage of the Imperial Family member should be carefully considered.”
Ah, yes……….
“And I at least go out with my lovers”
“Lovers?”
“Yes, I’m normal compared to a duke who doesn’t even have a lover.”
Are you bragging that you’re two-timing now? Isn’t this man a real jerk?
“……I don’t know why I’m talking about this all of a sudden.”
When I saw the Crown Prince with a cold gaze, he coughed in vain.
“In any case, I will not only provide you access to approach the Duke, but I’ll also provide support for you.”
“…….”
“So you can attend as the Duke’s partner at His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday party and the New Year’s Party which will be held in 6 months. If an unmarried man and woman from Aristocats family enter the banquet together., it is tantamount to declaring that they are lovers.”
“Do I really need to be the Duke’s lover?”
“It’s not fun if I keep this great news to myself. There is no way I could know whether the Duke has developed an interest in you, so seduce the duke and announce that he is your lover.”
I was wondering how he’ll check that I had seduced the Duke, so this is how he wants to check it.
The question has been solved, but I don’t feel good.
Maybe because I’m not trying to approach someone voluntarily, rather because of money?
I can’t do this.
“This is the advance payment I’d give you.”
An unidentified piece of paper was thrown onto the table.
“A cheque guaranteed by the Imperial Court is worth exactly 1,000 gold.”
That’s about 1 billion won in my previous life, right?
For a moment, I gulped my saliva without realizing it.
With that amount, I’ll not only pay off all the debts of the dead Baron couple, but if I use it sparingly, I could also live without worrying about money for a few decades.
“In addition, it’s literally a prepayment. I’ll give you an extra double if you succeed.”
Twice as much as 2 billion won?
My hands tremble at the unexpectedly large amount of money.
“What happens if I fail? Even if I fail, is 1,000 gold still mine?”
Gasp, when I saw the big money, I asked a question without realizing it…….!
Is this what it’s like to be blind by money?
I was really sure I had no intention of accepting the Crown Prince’s offer before!
Even thinking to myself, my actions were absurd, so I glanced at the Crown Prince’s eyes and frowned. As expected, he must be thinking I was too snobbish.
“Are you thinking of failing even before you could try? Don’t you have enough of a mindset that you have to succeed unconditionally?”
……. he’s not thinking that I was snobbish.
But it didn’t comfort me.
It was as if I had said I would accept the Crown Prince’s offer.
‘Crazy! Why would I ask that?!
No, this wouldn’t have happened if the Crown Prince hadn’t visited me in the first place.
Why did he come to me and ask me to seduce the male protagonist?
I wanted to tear my hair off, but for the sake of my dignity, I was just grabbing the hem of my skirt under the table.
“Wait, the Crown Prince came to me, offer me to seduce the male protagonist? I think there was something else important…… but what was it?’
One fact came to mind as soon as I thought about it.
This situation was briefly explained in the original story of the novel <The Flower of Elphida>.
The Crown Prince hated Caleb and kept him in check.
It was because Caleb was not only more capable than him, but also because he received trust and support from the Empire citizens.
The Duke who is much better than him, who’ll become the Emperor!
The Crown Prince was very unhappy with the fact.
He felt relieved that Caleb wasn’t interested in the throne in the first place because he knew better than anyone else that if Caleb had been interested a little in the throne, then he would never become the emperor.
For that reason, the Crown Prince decided to make Caleb marry to a woman from a powerless family.
He wanted to dampen Caleb’s position.
If he were the Emperor, not The Crown Prince, he could have pushed for a political marriage to Caleb, but the current emperor was still alive.
Eventually, the Crown Prince proposed women of various statuses, characters and appearances to seduce Caleb to carry out his plan.
But the result was a debacle.
Because Caleb is not interested in the opposite sex.
Except for the female protagonist, of course.
Once I thought of a particular scene, the original story came to mind like a lie.
Have I always been a supporting role all along? Or did I simply become one because of the rumour?
There was nothing certain about either.
Because the original story didn’t explain this situation in detail in the first place.
It was the same with the identities of those paid women.
All I knew for sure was the end of those women.
The Crown Prince killed all the women who failed to seduce Caleb and those who refused his offer.
To hide that he made this request.
Oh, wait a minute.
Did he kill them all?
Even if they say no?
My mouth was wide open and I was sweating profusely
I even rejected the offer earlier.
If I refuse again, he’ll surely kill me.
‘Oh, my God. Crazy.’
I’m barely adapted to this life, but I’ll be dead again?
Other than that, it wasn’t as good as that. Even if I accepted it, it was clear that I would fail.
Because I’m not the female protagonist.
Although I have the same name and similar habits as the female protagonist, it was just that.
If I were the female protagonist, I would be possessed by Vivian. Not Lena.
‘What should I do?’
If I refuse, I’ll die right away, and if I say yes, I’ll die after a grace period.
Would it be better to buy time even if I were going to die anyway?
In the meantime, maybe I could find a way?
How about if I accept the offer then run away…….?
It was terrifying to think about it.
I had nowhere to go, and my opponent was the Crown Prince.
Even if I run away, he’ll kill me with his men.
‘As expected…… it’s better if I accept it and buy some time, right? I can think about the way slowly.’
There is no need to refuse and be killed immediately.
The end of those women in the original story was because they did not think the Crown Prince would kill them.
It’s because of their naive belief that no one who is as big as the Crown Prince will ever kill the people of the Empire.
But I knew from the original story that the Crown Prince would eventually kill me.
So wouldn’t I be able to come up with a solution somehow?
By the time the nervousness tightened my throat, the Crown Prince leaned back against his chair and said.
“Well, that’s fine. I won’t ask you to give back the advance payment if you fail.”
Don’t people usually tell you to pay the advance payment back if you fail? Unless it’s evil………no, let’s focus.
It’s not something to be easy on. My life is at stake.
I just remembered what I was thinking earlier.
After so much thought, there seemed to be only one option. To buy a little time by saying accept the offer.
I can’t be the lover of the male protagonist, because I’m not the female protagonist.
I don’t know if the male protagonist’s personality is trash, or if it’s his style that blocks women from coming, but at least Caleb in <The Flower of Elphida> didn’t have that kind of personality.
If he had that personality in the first place, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have come to me and plotted such a scheme.
‘Should I rather go to the male protagonist and tell him the truth and ask for help? No, this is too reckless.’
I wonder if he would believe me, a woman who he met for the first time, but even if he believed me, he would never protect and take responsibility for my whole life.
On the other hand, the Crown Prince …….
‘He surely will try to kill me somehow for ruining his plan.’
I can’t believe I’m possessed in a book, but now I’m doomed to disappear as a supporting character whose death has been confirmed!
I was going crazy because I never thought about it.
Who would’ve thought that the Dead Flag would be this crazy?
‘I’m going to die anyway, so if I slapped the Crown Prince with this portrait and cursed him not to live life like that, wouldn’t he just think that I was just a crazy bitch and save my life instead?’
Of course, I knew it would only take me to the underworld at super high speed, so I couldn’t do it.
That was when I was about to take a deep breath and say I would accept his offer.
The necklace on the Crown Prince’s chest caught my eye.
At the same time, an idea came to mind. The only way I can survive without dying, even if I fail this quest.
Chapter 09
Translator: Missme
Editor: Aru
The thought I just had come out, straight from the Crown Prince’s mouth.
At the same time, I almost threw the portrait I was holding to the Crown Prince.
Recognizing the identity of my opponent, I managed to suppress the urge.
Just now, what did I hear?
He wants me to seduce the Duke?
“What are you saying……..”
“I’ve heard rumours that you’re a great yobu.”
“Ah.”
There was an awkward smile shaping around my lips.
I was wondering why the Crown prince came to find me, so was it because of that rumour?
I tried to say it was a false rumour, but the Crown Prince didn’t even give me time to protest.
“I heard that you’ve made a lot of men kneel under your feet with that body of yours, right?”
Well, indeed, I usually make men kneel under my feet……. although, by force, it’s true anyway.
“I heard there’s no man who wouldn’t fall down at a single gesture from you.”
“I heard even from a single hand gesture, there’s no man who wouldn’t fall for you.”
That’s right, but the actual hand gesture and rumour’s hand gesture have different meanings……….
“And when you smile, no one could even make eye contact with you.”
It’s because they are scared of me……..
“You don’t have to use any special means and methods. Just make the Duke fall for you.”
Ummm, excuse me, Your Highness.
I think you came to the wrong person for this kind of proposal.
I swallowed those words inside.
I don’t know if the original Lena might be able to do it, but I’ve never even had a fling with a man, let alone a relationship experience!
And now he wants me to seduce a man?
More than that, with payment?
I was shouting that my morality should never let me accept it.
Even when the target is Caleb Egon.
The male protagonist, who will be connected to the female protagonist.
To define it in a word.
‘He’s someone else’s man!’
Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have worried about this, right? Because this attempt will not bloom anyway.
First, let’s just refuse it. No, the answer is nothing but rejection anyway.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. To make the Duke fall for me, what………”
“I’m sure I’m being too comprehensive. I’ll explain in detail from now on.”
But I wasn’t asking for an explanation, I was rejecting.
However, this time again, the Crown Prince spoke faster than I did.
“People say Caleb Egon doesn’t care about women. And in fact, that’s the image he’s showing. But I don’t believe it, and I’m a little bit curious.”
“…………”
“About the rumour, whether the Duke is interested in women or not.”
Raising his arms on the table, he shrugged and smiled.
‘Tha, that scared me.’
As he approached the distance in an instant, I flinched.
Lowering my gaze, I pretended to look at the portrait for nothing and said.
“Do you really need to know the truth? It doesn’t seem to be a problem if you just trust the rumours.”
Except for the strange rumours about me.
“It’s hard to hold back when we are curious about something. I’m sure you know what that feels like.”
At the Crown Prince’s words, I bit my lower lip.
Because he was just reciting what I said to him earlier.
‘I made a mistake.’
If I try to turn the words around or cover it by saying no, he might have dragged me away for blasphemy against the imperial family.
I think this guy can do so.
“I don’t believe that rumour anyway. What kind of person in the world doesn’t care about the opposite sex? Most of all, the Duke is already 26 this year.”
“26?”
“Yeah.”
I was told that he was the youngest Duke and the commander of the Imperial Knight, but I didn’t know that he was younger than I thought.
Because he’s only three years older than me.
“Does it make sense that he doesn’t have a lover, let alone a fiance, at that age? It’s not like he’s made of stone or tree.”
Maybe it’s not because he doesn’t have any interest in the opposite sex? Maybe he just didn’t show it.
Suddenly, I feel sorry for the Male Lead. I can’t believe he was called ‘stone’ just because he’d never been in a relationship before…
“But isn’t it the same for you, having no fiancee?”
The Crown Prince is the only member of the Imperial Family except for the Emperor and Empress, so if he had a fiancee, it would have been a quite hot topic.
But I remember that he had no fiance. Or do I mistakenly remember it?
“Am I the same as the Duke? Engagement and marriage of the Imperial Family member should be carefully considered.”
Ah, yes……….
“And I at least go out with my lovers”
“Lovers?”
“Yes, I’m normal compared to a duke who doesn’t even have a lover.”
Are you bragging that you’re two-timing now? Isn’t this man a real jerk?
“……I don’t know why I’m talking about this all of a sudden.”
When I saw the Crown Prince with a cold gaze, he coughed in vain.
“In any case, I will not only provide you access to approach the Duke, but I’ll also provide support for you.”
“…….”
“So you can attend as the Duke’s partner at His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday party and the New Year’s Party which will be held in 6 months. If an unmarried man and woman from Aristocats family enter the banquet together., it is tantamount to declaring that they are lovers.”
“Do I really need to be the Duke’s lover?”
“It’s not fun if I keep this great news to myself. There is no way I could know whether the Duke has developed an interest in you, so seduce the duke and announce that he is your lover.”
I was wondering how he’ll check that I had seduced the Duke, so this is how he wants to check it.
The question has been solved, but I don’t feel good.
Maybe because I’m not trying to approach someone voluntarily, rather because of money?
I can’t do this.
“This is the advance payment I’d give you.”
An unidentified piece of paper was thrown onto the table.
“A cheque guaranteed by the Imperial Court is worth exactly 1,000 gold.”
That’s about 1 billion won in my previous life, right?
For a moment, I gulped my saliva without realizing it.
With that amount, I’ll not only pay off all the debts of the dead Baron couple, but if I use it sparingly, I could also live without worrying about money for a few decades.
“In addition, it’s literally a prepayment. I’ll give you an extra double if you succeed.”
Twice as much as 2 billion won?
My hands tremble at the unexpectedly large amount of money.
“What happens if I fail? Even if I fail, is 1,000 gold still mine?”
Gasp, when I saw the big money, I asked a question without realizing it…….!
Is this what it’s like to be blind by money?
I was really sure I had no intention of accepting the Crown Prince’s offer before!
Even thinking to myself, my actions were absurd, so I glanced at the Crown Prince’s eyes and frowned. As expected, he must be thinking I was too snobbish.
“Are you thinking of failing even before you could try? Don’t you have enough of a mindset that you have to succeed unconditionally?”
……. he’s not thinking that I was snobbish.
But it didn’t comfort me.
It was as if I had said I would accept the Crown Prince’s offer.
‘Crazy! Why would I ask that?!
No, this wouldn’t have happened if the Crown Prince hadn’t visited me in the first place.
Why did he come to me and ask me to seduce the male protagonist?
I wanted to tear my hair off, but for the sake of my dignity, I was just grabbing the hem of my skirt under the table.
“Wait, the Crown Prince came to me, offer me to seduce the male protagonist? I think there was something else important…… but what was it?’
One fact came to mind as soon as I thought about it.
This situation was briefly explained in the original story of the novel <The Flower of Elphida>.
The Crown Prince hated Caleb and kept him in check.
It was because Caleb was not only more capable than him, but also because he received trust and support from the Empire citizens.
The Duke who is much better than him, who’ll become the Emperor!
The Crown Prince was very unhappy with the fact.
He felt relieved that Caleb wasn’t interested in the throne in the first place because he knew better than anyone else that if Caleb had been interested a little in the throne, then he would never become the emperor.
For that reason, the Crown Prince decided to make Caleb marry to a woman from a powerless family.
He wanted to dampen Caleb’s position.
If he were the Emperor, not The Crown Prince, he could have pushed for a political marriage to Caleb, but the current emperor was still alive.
Eventually, the Crown Prince proposed women of various statuses, characters and appearances to seduce Caleb to carry out his plan.
But the result was a debacle.
Because Caleb is not interested in the opposite sex.
Except for the female protagonist, of course.
Once I thought of a particular scene, the original story came to mind like a lie.
Have I always been a supporting role all along? Or did I simply become one because of the rumour?
There was nothing certain about either.
Because the original story didn’t explain this situation in detail in the first place.
It was the same with the identities of those paid women.
All I knew for sure was the end of those women.
The Crown Prince killed all the women who failed to seduce Caleb and those who refused his offer.
To hide that he made this request.
Oh, wait a minute.
Did he kill them all?
Even if they say no?
My mouth was wide open and I was sweating profusely
I even rejected the offer earlier.
If I refuse again, he’ll surely kill me.
‘Oh, my God. Crazy.’
I’m barely adapted to this life, but I’ll be dead again?
Other than that, it wasn’t as good as that. Even if I accepted it, it was clear that I would fail.
Because I’m not the female protagonist.
Although I have the same name and similar habits as the female protagonist, it was just that.
If I were the female protagonist, I would be possessed by Vivian. Not Lena.
‘What should I do?’
If I refuse, I’ll die right away, and if I say yes, I’ll die after a grace period.
Would it be better to buy time even if I were going to die anyway?
In the meantime, maybe I could find a way?
How about if I accept the offer then run away…….?
It was terrifying to think about it.
I had nowhere to go, and my opponent was the Crown Prince.
Even if I run away, he’ll kill me with his men.
‘As expected…… it’s better if I accept it and buy some time, right? I can think about the way slowly.’
There is no need to refuse and be killed immediately.
The end of those women in the original story was because they did not think the Crown Prince would kill them.
It’s because of their naive belief that no one who is as big as the Crown Prince will ever kill the people of the Empire.
But I knew from the original story that the Crown Prince would eventually kill me.
So wouldn’t I be able to come up with a solution somehow?
By the time the nervousness tightened my throat, the Crown Prince leaned back against his chair and said.
“Well, that’s fine. I won’t ask you to give back the advance payment if you fail.”
Don’t people usually tell you to pay the advance payment back if you fail? Unless it’s evil………no, let’s focus.
It’s not something to be easy on. My life is at stake.
I just remembered what I was thinking earlier.
After so much thought, there seemed to be only one option. To buy a little time by saying accept the offer.
I can’t be the lover of the male protagonist, because I’m not the female protagonist.
I don’t know if the male protagonist’s personality is trash, or if it’s his style that blocks women from coming, but at least Caleb in <The Flower of Elphida> didn’t have that kind of personality.
If he had that personality in the first place, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have come to me and plotted such a scheme.
‘Should I rather go to the male protagonist and tell him the truth and ask for help? No, this is too reckless.’
I wonder if he would believe me, a woman who he met for the first time, but even if he believed me, he would never protect and take responsibility for my whole life.
On the other hand, the Crown Prince …….
‘He surely will try to kill me somehow for ruining his plan.’
I can’t believe I’m possessed in a book, but now I’m doomed to disappear as a supporting character whose death has been confirmed!
I was going crazy because I never thought about it.
Who would’ve thought that the Dead Flag would be this crazy?
‘I’m going to die anyway, so if I slapped the Crown Prince with this portrait and cursed him not to live life like that, wouldn’t he just think that I was just a crazy bitch and save my life instead?’
Of course, I knew it would only take me to the underworld at super high speed, so I couldn’t do it.
That was when I was about to take a deep breath and say I would accept his offer.
The necklace on the Crown Prince’s chest caught my eye.
At the same time, an idea came to mind. The only way I can survive without dying, even if I fail this quest.
