Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

It was Cesaria Lé Chenío.

She was wearing a blue dress today. It wasn’t lace, but it had ruffles that accentuated her immaculate beauty.

Her silver hair which was braided and attached to one side, was simply lovely.

She looked perfect, as if someone had sat her there on purpose to paint a beautiful picture.

Ding.

The door closed behind me. She must have called for me.

It felt weird to say hello first, so I kept my head down and stayed still. My legs were stiff because I had to rushed to get here, but I didn’t dare sit down.

“Is your arm better?”

“Oh, yes. It’s all better, thank you.”

It was a strange feeling to be talking to the female lead of the original story like this.

“I heard you’re from the Salt Islands.”

“Yes.”

“God was merciful, you actually survived that.”

“Yes. A priest saved my life.”

Truth be told, I had a lot to tell her.

For example, ‘Don’t let your father dictate your happiness.’, and that ‘She should be honest with the crown prince and ask for his help.’

“Then you should be more grateful to God.”

“Yes.”

“And don’t dare look up where you can’t climb.”

The muscles behind my shoulders immediately tensed.

Her words were simple, but the intention behind them flew cold and were piercing.

“Be grateful for what you’ve been given. That’s what it means to be alive.”

“Yes.”

My skin tingled, and I imagined how she looked at this moment.

“Show me your face.”

Her tone was soft, but not the least bit warm. I lifted my eyes and caught a glimpse of her face.

Her blue eyes were just as cold.

I kept my face up but my gaze dropped back to the floor.

She asked me to raise my face, not to make eye contact.

Silence descended for a moment.

Even though I wasn’t looking, I could still feel her gaze.

I wondered what she was thinking when she looked at my face. I felt a chill run down my spine, and all I could do was stare at the end of the tablecloth in silence.

“Have you ever made tea before?”

There was a long silence before she spoke again. It was a subtly dismissive comment, since slaves weren’t usually allowed to make tea.

“Yes, I have. But I’m not very good at it.”

“That’s okay, brew me one.”

On my journey to the crown prince’s palace, I’d experienced many things, including serving tea when I worked in a restaurant.

But I wasn’t very experienced, so I couldn’t vouch for the taste.

I thought to myself, ‘I won’t get in trouble if the tea doesn’t taste good right? She’s not going to punish me for this, will she?’

The original female lead was a simple character who fell in love with a man she was supposed to kill, but now she just looks like a cold beauty, which was very strange.

When I got to the table, the tea was already ready for me to brew. The moment I saw the steam coming out of the tea pot, my hands started to sweat.

The maid standing outside the door must be an expert, so why is she putting me through this ordeal?

Clink. Clank.

I brewed the tea with all my soul.

My hands were visibly shaking and I had to take several deep breaths.

If it were any other noble, I would have called it quits at this point. The original female lead was waiting for me to finish without saying a word.

From my memories of working in an apothecary’s shop, these were definitely Hot ash tea leaves.

They were often used as a medicinal herb, the leaves were popular for their less astringent and more savory flavor.

The only downside is that it’s very expensive.

If I made a mistake and had to brew it again, that alone would make me dig a hole and hide.

At least she didn’t ask me why my hands were so slow.

I poured it into a teacup and it turned into a pale pink color.

If I recall correctly, I think I heard someone say that this is the color of a good tea.

Tink.

I placed the teacup in front of Lady Cesaria as if it was a treasure.

My fingers were trembling, which was nothing new.

“Thank you.”

She touched the back of her hand to the teacup, as if to feel its warmth, though I must be mistaken…

She didn’t look genuinely grateful at all.

“P-Pri–Princess.”

I called her on impulse.

I didn’t know when I’d ever see her again, but I didn’t know what to say to her.

I also overheard the story of their engagement’s dissolution, which was different from the original story I knew.

It actually made me even more confused.

“If you call someone, shouldn’t you tell them why?”

“I— I just wanted to ask if you were having trouble sleeping. This tea is said to have a strong stimulant effect… I apologize. I was being presumptuous.”

I could see the shadows under her eyes. She must have a lot on her mind. But I had no idea where I was going to go with this, so I changed the subject to tea immediately.

“Don’t trust your father too much.”

I blurted out, and I felt like tearing my hair out immediately.

“Indeed, I don’t. You’re right.”

She lifted her teacup and peered into it, then turned it over.

Clink.

The soulful brew poured down her thighs harshly.

“I better not drink that.”

“!”

The steeping had cooled the tea a bit, but it was still hot.

I grabbed a white cloth from the tray and poured cold water on it, then hastily placed it over her thigh.

“Celie!”

As soon as I heard her shout, the door burst open.

“Miss!”

A maid rushed in, snatched the cloth from my hand, poured more cold water on it, and held it over the princess’s thighs.

“Ugh.”

She groaned.

I stood there, dumbfounded, the whole thing seemed like something out of a novel.

How the hell did this happen?

“You, what are you doing, how dare you a slave touch my lady!”

The maid, named Celie, screamed angrily.

“Celie. It’s okay.”

“Princess, that’s why I said I’d stay with you, huhuhu. Just hang in there. I’ll get to the doctor.”

“It’s okay, this is the palace. I don’t want to cause any unnecessary fuss.”

“Well, What if you get disfigured, I’ll go get the doctor. No! You! You go!”

“I’ll get him.”

The slavemaster appeared and bowed outside. He didn’t even look at me, he just hurried away.

I could see a growing number of eyes looking this way from the hallway.

“How dare you!”

Celie cried, while glaring at me.

Cesaria was looking down at her thighs with a slight bite to her lip.

I remained where I was. I was struck dumb and at a loss for words.

“I have called the doctor over for you.”

The slavemaster and I crouched beside her while the doctor administered first aid.

Cesaria let out a small groan every now and then.

“Wait for it, your punishment will definitely come!”

When the treatment was complete, Celie grunted as she helped the princess to her feet.

Cesaria walked past me, her eyes were impassive.

“I apologize. Princess. I’m so sorry.”

The slavemaster fell to his knees, apologizing profusely. I knelt beside him, not for me, but for the female lead.

I felt very bad that she had gone to such lengths for me.

That’s because when she turned the teacup over, what I saw on her face was desperation. Not pleasure.

⚘

“I’m sorry, Slavemaster, but I didn’t do that–”

“I know.”

“You do?”

Slavemaster Solgar looked me up and down. Then he clicked his tongue.

“The punishment will be inevitable.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Solgar snapped and looked at me again.

He didn’t look pleased with my silent acceptance.

The path back to the crown prince’s palace seems farther away.

As I walked along the road less traveled and the sight of the crown prince’s palace grew even closer, I felt a little more at ease.

It was like coming home.

The thought of the pain of being flogged made me despair a little, but I could only hope that it would be a single stroke. Or better yet, give me a huge task and make me do it all.

Even if it’s hard, I’d be grateful for that kind of punishment.

‘What if you’re not a slave?’

The voice must have been stuck somewhere in my mind.

It rang in my ears unexpectedly.

Even if I were not a slave, I’d still prefer to stay in this palace.

Even if this happened, I still wouldn’t want to leave.

It was all right, even if it was unfair. As long as I could stay here, where I could see him, it was all right.

⚘

“Lady, does it hurt?”

“It hurts.”

Back at the Lé Chenío mansion.

Celie kept sobbing and fanning her with her fan.

She wanted the hot sensation from her thighs to go away. Her dress was pulled up and her thighs were thinly bandaged.

“Celie.”

“Yes.”

“You saw the child, didn’t you?”

“Yes! How dare she hurt you! We shouldn’t let her off, not when she’s hurt you like this!”

“Was she pretty?”

“What?”

“Was she prettier than me, and more beautiful?”

“Miss…”

“Celie.”

“No, her appearance was simply ordinary, a little pretty for a slave, yes but nothing compared to my lady.”

“Celie, don’t look at me like that.”

“What?”

“Don’t look at me with pity.”

“Oh, miss, I don’t, how could I!”

“Faster.”

Celie grasped the fan with both hands and fanned with all her might. Cesaria turned her head away, not wanting her to see the sight of her tears for some reason.

Her mind was entirely occupied with the slave named Seth.

It was an objectively pretty face.

Her gaze was downcast, but she didn’t look helpless, and her whole body was tense when she was trying to brew that tea for her.

She looked like she wasn’t trying to hide anything, she was just being herself.

‘Was that what attracted him?’

It must have been so different from her, who was always hiding herself.

Just imagining him smiling at the slave made her feel hot all over.

It was nothing compared to the heat on her thighs, and she would do anything even pour that tea if she could just get rid of that slave.

But that slave belonged to the Empire, and she couldn’t make her leave his side.

If the crown prince truly loved Cesaria, he might have granted her request, but that was unlikely.

“What punishment would you suggest?”

“How about starving her?”

“Something else.”

I didn’t want a punishment that would be short-lived, but one that would put her out of her misery for good.

That would make the self-harm worth it.

As she sat in the rattling carriage, Cesaria tried to think of a punishment that would have the most effect without being too obvious.

The crown prince had already left the palace with the advance party, so the incident would not be reported.

Cesaria lifted her arms and looked at it for a moment— It should have been this arm that had been cut that day, not the slave’s, and she should have been the one he was carrying, not her.

She pondered about it, again and again, wondering what the wisest punishment would be.

But the next day, it was to no avail.

The incident had already reached the ears of the Duke of Lé Chenío.

He was furious and demanded that the slave be banished from the palace altogether.

Since the request was made in the name of the House of Lé Chenío, it could not be completely ignored, so a compromise was reached and a punishment was issued for the slave.

The punishment was for her to be included into the next batch of slaves that was supposed to be sent to Einfork.

(T/N: This is exactly what she wanted! Hahaha Sike~ Your plan was worthless, you only helped Seth! X’D)