Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince

“Shane, sir.”

The moment I pronounced his name, a gust of wind suddenly blew between us, blotting out my view of the petals.

His face was a picture in itself, it was vaguely visible through the white blossoms.

I stared at it unblinking, not wanting to forget its beauty until I died.

He lifted his long fingers to the corners of his mouth and lowered them again.

I didn’t miss the slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes as he blinked slowly.

I realized now that even in the midst of his expressionless eyes, his eyes would crinkle like that whenever his emotions were stirred.

“So this is what it felt like…”

As the wind subsided, the flowers settled back down, and for a moment I envied the white petals that were lying on his shoulders and on his hair.

“To be called by my name.”

The words were spoken so low like a whisper to himself, but it still reached my ears and stuck there echoing for a while.

He tossed his gaze toward the lake where the petals fluttered.

“What…?”

The moment I heard him say that, I think I could hear the sound of a parlor table, a bookcase, falling all over my head.

“Seth.”

“Yes. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Your Highness.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“From now on, when we are alone, You have to call me by my first name.”

His voice sounded drunk, and I couldn’t quite make out his expression because his gaze was out over the lake.

And I clenched my fists.

It reminded me of the scene I’d read in the original story.

『No one. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Not even his mother, not his father, not anyone, had ever used the name ‘read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Shane‘ to call him.』

He was the crown prince, and ever since he can remember everyone would always use a pronoun to talk to him, or talk about him.

No one ever used his real name, even when they’re in front of him.

‘Shane.’

In the original story, when the female lead, Princess Cesaria, called his name, he couldn’t help but be drawn to her, because it was the first time anyone had ever called him by his name.

『…The moment she called his name, he suddenly thought of death, and he thought, ‘If I end my life here, there will be no greater happiness than that’..』

It was so poignant, that I had to read it over and over again.

Oh how good it was, how happy he must have felt, that he even wanted to die right then and there.

I thought, ‘This is exactly what I like. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.A sad man is the best! That’s what destruction tastes like.’read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

The phrase reminded me of my own self-satisfaction.

It was a memory that I put aside for a while, because where I am, every day, is real life.

But the emotions I felt as a reader were completely different from the emotions I felt as I looked at him in front of me now.

He was here.

He was now breathing, blinking, and reaching out to me.

He was fully alive in front of me, with a hot, and moving pulse.

“What’s wrong?”

His breathing was strange, and he moved towards me.

He went in front of where I was sitting and got down on one knee to stare at the same eye level as me.

I pretended to be nonchalant as I looked at him, but I couldn’t bear it, so I buried my face into my hands.

I felt my face contort into a weird shape.

“Seth.”

His fingers traveled over my head, over my shoulders, up my arms, his urgency conveyed with each passing heat.

“I’m sorry, hold on, Just a little bit.”

I said, still not lifting my face.

I didn’t want him to worry, but I needed to buy time.

This man, who was hailed as an imperial hero, had never heard anyone call his name in his entire life.

I felt that compassion, sadness, and pity seemed to squeeze and unfold my heart.

I could only hide it for a moment, as I was incapable of completely wiping the emotions from my face.

‘I wonder what he was thinking when I called his name.’

He was casting his gaze towards the lake when he heard me call his name.

The first person to call his name should have been the female lead.

[Read only on Salmonlatte.com]

What will happen to his heart, that was supposed to be drawn by her?

I felt like I had no idea where the original story of「Blood-Soaked Moon」 would go from here.

“Seth.”

I could feel his presence right in front of me.

His large hand was resting on my shoulder.

I heard him exhale a breath, with his voice sounding nervous.

It burned into me, more acute and detailed than any other time.

“Show me your face.”

The tone is commanding, but the tenderness in it makes me melt.

I took a deep breath and lifted my face again.

His face then came into view, against the background of the lake.

A man who never heard his name, called even once in his life.

“Shane, Sir.”

“Yes.”

My heart sank at his throaty reply.

His face was only three feet away, and this time I could see the emotions swirling in his eyes.

I had only called his name, and his golden eyes widened as if he had seen a beautiful landscape.

Compared to that sparkle, the unreal landscape around us seemed mundane.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“I just… Wanted to call you.”

He let out a small sigh after hearing my insolent remark.

His tensed face quickly transformed into a relaxed expression.

The corners of his lips loosened a little and the corners of his eyes subtly lowered.

He held out his large hand, while still on the same eye level as me.

His hot fingers hovered near my ear, lightly touching my hair, and then completely enveloped my cheek.

I felt warm all over, even though he only lightly touched my cheek.

I still felt like I was sitting in front of a fire.

‘You can take a break for a while.’

The warmth seemed to be whispering to me.

All the time I’ve spent so far seems to be wrapped up in that warmth.

It was a first for me.

I’d never felt the warmth of another human being so close before.

It was so warm, so focused on me, that something inside me seemed to have melted.

I leaned my cheek against his hand without thinking.

I leaned it slightly to the side, and the heat rushed in more intensely.

I was hoping for time to stand still at this very moment.

I could understand why he’d thought of death in the original story.

Right now, the serenity of this moment is so complete, so fulfilling that I don’t need anything else.

I just wanted it to stay like this forever.

Just like this, eye to eye, looking into each other, with this warmth.

Clangg, clang, clang.

The sound of the chains rang out from deep within me, a sound I hadn’t heard in a while.

The face, consumed by pain, was superimposed over his current face.

His face was so serene now.

I felt sorry for him, for being doomed to suffer until the end, and I want him to be happier.

I want to give him everything I can, because I love this time I’m sharing with him.

I hope he does too.

I hope it brings him some small measure of comfort.

Whing, swish.

Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up and the petals on the floor flew up in unison.

They begin to swirl around him and me as if they have a life of their own.

Swish.

A stronger gust of wind, this time instantaneous, rained petals down on me.

“Whoooww.”

I can’t help but gasp, as if the petals are teasing me.

It was obvious that my face was going to be full of petals.

I blinked and brushed a petal from my eyelashes, and my vision brightened.

Then I saw him.

He was smiling.

Up until now, I’d barely been able to tell whether he was really smiling or not, but now he was smiling in a way that anyone could see.

My heart raced immediately, I felt hot and cold at the same time.

The difference was even more stark because he didn’t usually show his emotions.

A bright light seemed to come out of nowhere and illuminate his face.

It was blindingly beautiful.

There was a lake reflecting the Milky Way, flower petals glowing white in the moonlight, all around us were sparkling brightly, but right now, this face was the most beautiful.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re beautiful.”

My lips gave an unruly answer.

He must have looked bewildered.

“The petals, the petals, they’re so, so Beautiful.”

He gave me another small smile and pulled the petals off of me, one by one.

I loved the delicate, warm feeling of the petals on my hair, on my eyebrows, on my lips, on the tip of my nose, and I wished for another breeze to blow them all over me again.

I wanted all the petals to rain all over me, and for him to pull them off one by one again.

The wind was blowing in my direction, but I could see the petals sitting in his hair and on his shoulders.

I plucked them off, one by one as well, while listening to the pounding, distant sound of my heart.

I ran my fingers through his hair and a couple of petals flew off.

I wondered why the ones lying on his body looked prettier and more desirable, even though they were the same petals.

[Read only on Salmonlatte.com]

I plucked some of the petals off him and put them in my cloth pocket, pretending to discard them secretly.

(T/N: Hahaha so cute~)

There were petals on my hair too, and he seemed to have slipped a finger behind my ear, the flickering movement tickled a little, and I flinched.

“Whoa.”

He stopped moving, with his body suddenly stiff.

I sat upright while staring at him curiously.

His head was turned away so I couldn’t see his expression.

I stood up slowly, while gently brushing off the dirt on my ass.

I could still feel those tickling fingers on my ears, and it was strangely nostalgic.

“Seth, let’s go back.”

“Yeah.”

All the way back down the mountains, I tried to chastise myself because my heart seemed to be filled with all the disappointments in the world.

Of course I couldn’t stay there forever, but it felt like I was leaving something beautiful behind.

I remembered the heat of his hands against my cheeks, and so I cupped my cheeks to remember it.

He was still walking ahead, still matching my pace, but he didn’t look back.

I was glad he didn’t look back, because my face was getting hotter and hotter from the sight of his back alone.

I didn’t know how I could even walk, I just looked at his broad shoulders, and before I knew it, I was already in front of his barracks.

The feeling of regret continued to roam through my body.

“Your Highness, have a peaceful night.”

It was a shame that I couldn’t call his name, for all the world it would be a shame.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

“I’ll take you there.”

“What?”

“Where are you staying?”

“Oh, it’s okay.. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.It’s not that far, Your Highness.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

The moment I said it’s okay, he already walked ahead of me.

It was already late at night, and there were fewer people around than earlier.

We walked together through the barracks in the quiet of the night.

“This is it.”

I’d hoped it would be a longer walk to the herb warehouse, but we arrived surprisingly quickly.

He stared at the herb warehouse in the moonlight.

“Thank you.”

I bent down and looked up, and he was just stepping into the herb warehouse.

I followed him in, confused.

“Is there anything you need?”

He was slowly scanning the warehouse from floor to ceiling, as if looking for something.

I wonder if he needs more Novenium herbs, I have some dried over there.

I followed his gaze and looked around.

The warehouse is full of herbs, so there’s always a faint scent of them wafting around, which some people don’t like, and others couldn’t help but hold their noses.

I liked the smell, but it bothered me because I don’t know if he did.

“You work here, do you?”

“Yes.”

“What about your sleeping quarters?”

“This place is both where I work and sleep.”

His expression seemed to stiffen a little, so I smiled slightly.

I wanted to loosen it up a bit, but instead the corners of his eyes seemed to furrow even more.

“This is where you sleep?”