Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

『You bitch!』

A shrill voice rang out from somewhere. When I spun around heavily, I saw a black figure rising from the ground. Its two red eyes were as eerie as its pupils.

『How dare you ruin my novel!』

The figure grew larger and larger while shouting at the top of his lungs.

‘Is this the author of the original work!’

『I’m telling you to leave this instance!』

‘No, you go away!’

The figure chased after me from behind.

‘I can’t help it if I want to live! I didn’t choose to come here!’

I tried to move my legs, but they were too slow. Its red eyes were as fast as the wind.

『Aaahhhhhhh』

Then, with a strange screech, it grabbed my leg.

‘No get away!!! Aaahhhhh!’

I kicked my legs and tried to hit the creature with my arms, but It didn’t have a body, so everything just went through the air.

‘Ugh!’

Finally, the black figure grabbed my arm and bit down hard. I screamed in pain.

“Ahhh.”

I snapped out of it.

I actually had a nightmare. I wondered what that ridiculous figure had done to scare me so badly in my dream, but I still felt my body stiffen with fear.

I absentmindedly turned my head and stiffened even more.

There he was, in the fiery sunset.

He had pulled up a chair and sat down, while facing me completely. His arms were crossed, and I wondered how long he’d been looking at me like that, and it wasn’t awkward at all.

Under the baptism of red light, he looked like a statue that someone had spent a lifetime sculpting. But why is he sitting like that with a chair facing me…

“Are you still sick?”

His voice was lowered.

“Oh, no.”

“You sounded like you were in pain.”

“Oh, I just had a nightmare….”

I gingerly raised my upper body, after realizing that I’ve been sleeping for too long.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I pulled the covers up a little higher.

“What was the nightmare about?”

“Nothing much, it’s just scary.”

“What kind of scary?”

“Well, when I woke up, I couldn’t remember, so I don’t know….”

I actually remembered, but I couldn’t tell him that the original author of the novel was chasing after me.

“That’s too bad.”

“What?”

“I wanted to know what you were scared of.”

“What I’m scared of?”

“Because you seem like the kind of person who’s not scared of anything in the world.”

“Me?”

He didn’t answer, but the look in his eyes said yes.

Listening to his low voice on this quiet evening was relaxing in itself. I would be the only slave in the crown prince’s chambers who would be so comfortable in his bed.

In that sense, it made some sense that I didn’t seem to be afraid of anything.

“Well… if you see a ghost. Wouldn’t that be scary?”

“Ghosts.”

I could see the lines around his mouth loosen. I wondered if I was being ridiculous.

“Seth.”

“Yes.”

He was silent for a long moment, not opening his mouth to speak. He was still looking at me, so I waited nervously to see what he was going to ask.

“Come close.”

He was only sitting an arm’s length away, and he stretched out his arm and held it up to my forehead. He still brushed my eyebrows with the back of his hand. Not quite touching, just close.

“Are you not scared?”

His face was aggressive, but it wasn’t scary. When I looked at him, pity and regret always came first before fear.

“No.”

“I am.”

He looked down at his fingers, which had brushed past me.

“I am.”

And then he said it out loud, as if to himself.

What does he mean…

If I think about it carefully, does he mean that I’m scary, or he’s scared? What does that mean? Does he mean that he’s scared of me?

“You?”

He nodded slowly. The setting sun fell on his black hair, making it glow red. For a moment, just the motion of nodding made my heart beat frantically.

“You mean you’re scared of me?”

“Yes.”

A crown prince is afraid of a slave.

I had never threatened or intimidated him. Perhaps I don’t understand the meaning of scary.

The crown prince is supposed to be the one person in the world who is not afraid of anything. With his power. He’s scared of a mere slave like me?

“Why are you scared of me?”

Instead of answering, he reached out again and touched the ends of my hair. His thumb skimmed over my hair, not fully grasping it, but grazing it.

Aah. He wasn’t touching me because he was afraid of me. I was too scary for him to touch?

I suddenly felt resentful. I hadn’t done anything to scare him at all.

Rather, this was a man who could kill me with a snap of his fingers. He looked tall, even when he was sitting down. He had broad shoulders that made him look imposing no matter what he was wearing. Even though he was wearing a comfortable shirt right now, he looked like he was wearing a robe.

For a man who looked so good, I should be the one terrified, and I’d be damned if I didn’t try to do something terrifying.

Something inside me suddenly rumbled and rose.

Gurgle.

Time seemed to have stopped.

My head tried to hold it, but my instincts were not listening.

‘Should I just jump out of here?’

The silence made it sound even louder. I hoped it was just my ears, but it wasn’t.

He pushed himself up from the chair, then tugged at the straps on the side of the bed.

I scrunched up my forehead in self-pity as I realized how much I could have tolerated if I were hungry, but there it was, making such a loud sound.

Knock, knock, Knock

With a click, the door suddenly opened and I heard the maid’s familiar voice.

It was Mary’s voice.

“I’ll have my dinner here.”

“Yes your Highness, I’ll bring the meal in Immediately.”

Mary stood in the doorway and turned to me.

“And hers too.”

“Oh, Yes! I’ll do as you say, your highness.”

Mary was embarrassed, but I was even more embarrassed.

He’s going to eat with a slave?

Back on the Salt Island, the supervisor had told me that slaves were supposed to eat out of sight, and he’d given me a completely darkened dining room.

I hadn’t eaten with anyone so noble in this body since I became a slave, and the only person I’d ever humbled myself and dined with was a fellow slave.

Above all, it was impossible to eat at the same table with someone of a higher rank. It was like eating at the same table with the heavens and the earth.

“Are you going to eat with me?”

“You don’t want to?”

“No! That’s not it, I’m….”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I can leave.”

“Oh, no, I’m not uncomfortable, I should be the one who leaves, why is, Your Highness…”

“I see you’re uncomfortable, then. I’ll just leave.”

“No, no, thank you, my lord, I’m honored! I’m honered!”

I even said it was an honor because he immediately turned around to leave. I can only imagine how much more uncomfortable it would be to send the crown prince out of his own room just because I’m uncomfortable.

It’s hard, really.

Living in a palace as a slave. What in the world does he think I’m afraid of?

Mary proves to be a capable maid, quickly picking up on her master’s intentions. It wasn’t long before the food began to arrive. The small table was quickly filled with plates.

I had worked in a restaurant before coming to the capital. I’d already have a bit of a culture shock in that restaurant, as I’d only eaten simple food on the salt islands.

But compared to the dishes in front of me now, it seemed to be just common food. Each plate was definitely a work of art.

Ding.

In contrast, a bowl was placed in front of me. It was a steaming bowl of soup. There was no cutlery, just a single spoon.

The soup stood out like a sore thumb among the artistic dishes.

“What is it?”

“Ah, yes. Your Highness. It’s a vegetable soup. I was told to prepare it as a meal for the patient to recuperate for the time being.”

“Hmm.”

The corner of the crown prince’s eye frowned slightly. He was probably going to give me something good, but he doesn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable.

“It must be delicious. I’ll eat it.”

I thought he might be feeling sorry because I seemed reluctant to eat with him, so I pretended to look like I’m really hungry and waited in anticipation, because I couldn’t eat unless he ate first.

Eventually, he let out a small sigh and began to eat. I scooped up the soup, hypnotizing myself into eating the food in front of me. Fortunately or not, the soup was very generous. I tried not to look at the other food, and hypnotized myself that the soup I was eating was the work of art itself.

“I’ll call you if I need you.”

I saw Mary’s shoulders stiffen in surprise. I wanted to make eye contact again, but she just stood there with her back to me.

⚘

‘Yeah. The steak, which seemed to be the main course, was okay.’

‘Sure, it looked delicious, but I can tolerate it. Even slaves eat meat. It was usually mixed with broth, though. So it was okay. I could still tolerate it.’

There was one thing, though, that tempted me quite openly. It was those yellow kernels of corn on the edge, as if they weren’t the main course. They had obviously been sautéed in butter. The rich aroma wafted into my nostrils.

I’ve always loved corn, so the temptation was overwhelming. Butter and corn, the palace chef was a skilled man.

As I stared longingly at the glorious corn in front of me, a spoon scooped it up. The corn then sat dazzlingly on the silver cutlery.

To my surprise the corn seemed to be moving closer and closer towards me. As if heeding my call.

The next thing I knew, the crown prince himself was pushing the spoon toward me. I must have looked so eager to eat that he offered it to me instead.

“A little bit, I suppose.”

I told him that I still needed to eat soup, but of course I wouldn’t get in trouble for eating this much corn.

That’s probably what the crown prince meant.

The temptation that was right in front of me was hard to resist, I was scooping up a bland soup, and the buttery aroma was making my mind wander.

But I couldn’t help but notice how rude this picture was, and I couldn’t help myself.

‘Should I take the spoon handle?’

But that seemed very rude too. How rude of me to take the spoon that the crown prince is holding.

But an ignorant slave had no right to refuse what his superiors offered them. They had to accept whatever was given to them. So in the end, it was the reason that I deliberated well in my head.

I moved towards the corn and popped it into my mouth.

“Mmmm.”

The sound escaped me. It tasted so heavenly, the savory flavor rolling off the tip of my tongue and into my entire body. It was like every cell in my body was screaming for more.

With each chew, the kernels popped, releasing a warmer, richer flavor. It was truly the best food I had ever eaten in this world.

As I savored every last kernel of corn, the spoon was there again, as if I had turned back time. He scooped up another bowl of corn and served it to me. The first time is always the hardest, the second time is not.

I remembered to bow my shoulders slightly and express my gratitude. I have to be polite.

“Wow.”

(T/N: Dang I want to eat some corn too~)

I expected the second bite to be the same, but it wasn’t, and it was delicious in a new way.

I was grateful for my injured arm.

I was grateful to have injured my arm.

I continued to praise myself over and over again.

As I ate the corn, I didn’t even notice the plate being emptied too fast.

“Eat as much as you want when you feel better.”

I must have looked regretfully at the empty plate.

“Ah! Thank you your highness.”

Based on the crown prince’s personality so far, I know that he was a man of his word. There would be at least one more chance to eat corn and I know it.

I thanked him sincerely.

If he asked me to prostrate myself and touch his forehead, I would do so with all my heart.