My pupils involuntarily quivered.

“Y-your Highness! The castle is in grave danger! is immensely gracious! I, out of fear, have behaved recklessly!”

But soon, I was abruptly pulled up to my feet by the male lead, who had grabbed both of my arms.

“Quiet. This damned fool has made things quite complicated, so keep your mouth shut for a while.”

The male lead then dragged Count Alcas by the nape of his neck towards a large tree beneath a waterfall.

He irritably threw him near a giant tree root that was protruding from the ground.

“Your Highness, you-“

“You were quite impressive earlier.”

The male lead looked at me and smirked. Cold sweat ran down my back.

Crazy.

He couldn’t possibly have seen my entire act, could he?

I pretended not to understand and asked back.

“What do you mean, I don’t quite understand….”

“If you’re pretending not to know, it’s not fun, so just understand as you usually do.”

I shut my mouth tightly, and the male lead pointed at me as if to emphasize and said,

“You’re quite clever, throwing weird pepper water in the count’s face.”

I felt a bit embarrassed and averted my gaze downwards.

And it’s not pepper water, it’s pepper spray, you idiot.

“And how many times do I have to tell you to get rid of that damn ancient etiquette? I don’t have that much patience.”

I clasped my hands together and bowed as politely as I could.

But if I speak briefly, I’ll be criticized for being arrogant, right?

Isn’t it?

“It would be better for you to come out now, Ash.”

The male lead said as he picked up Count Alcas’s sword from the ground.

I got goosebumps. His expression had completely changed.

“It’s no fun hiding like a coward when you’re the one who got us into this mess.”

In an instant, the male lead flung Count Alcas’s sword he had just picked up through the bushes.

My mouth fell open at his audacious action.

The sword stuck straight into the ground. With a rustling noise from the nearby bushes, a familiar head of black hair suddenly popped out.

“The Third Prince…”

It was my first time seeing him up close.

For someone who had struck a deal with a black-market dealer, he looked too young.

In Korean terms, he was probably in the third grade of middle school?

“Calix Posman!”

With a face twisted in malice, the Third Prince charged at the male lead with the sword given by the temple.

“How annoying.”

The male lead frowned as if truly irritated.

And with a light swing, he deflected the Third Prince’s clumsy attack.

Clang!

Perhaps due to the overwhelming difference in strength, the Third Prince’s silver sword flew off and stuck into a tree.

My mouth fell open as I watched.

The male lead leisurely pointed his sword at the Third Prince’s neck. The Third Prince trembled violently like a scared puppy.

I thought he was a scoundrel deserving death but seeing him as just a child… my emotions were mixed.

“Have you finally lost your mind?”

The male lead smirked arrogantly.

“Thanks to you, the situation has become a complete mess.”

He then threw a small pouch at the face of the third prince.

“I found a female goblin’s scent pouch placed in front of my hideout. Thanks to that, my clothes are completely dirty now.”

He glanced at his shirt stained with goblin’s blood and spoke. The lips of the third prince turned pale blue.

“Get lost!”

“To call me here by kidnapping my maid and then telling me to get lost, hurts my feelings, Ash.”

The male lead’s eyes flashed with madness.

His white sword pressed closer to the third prince’s neck, and soon, a red line appeared on it.

“Ash.”

He smeared the goblin’s blood from his clothes onto his left thumb and rubbed it on the third prince’s cheek.

“Shall we just say you died by a goblin? Going to a royal trial would be bothersome.”

“Pl-please, save me, save me.”

Tears fell from the third prince’s eyes. His face was filled with terror.

“That’s what you get for messing with me.”

I bit my lip hard. According to the original, the third prince dies.

He had to die.

After all, he was indeed a bad guy who colluded with illegal traffickers, and moreover…

‘Damn teenagers.’

My forehead involuntarily creased.

“If you’re going to spare me, then it was inevitable! You know, right? Compared to my other siblings, my power is…”

“You?”

The male lead moved the sword closer as if to show his displeasure.

“Maybe you’re scared of the others, but I’m not. So, you rage without knowing what you’re talking about.”

The male lead’s sword pointed towards the sky.

I kept repeating to myself.

After all, he’s a character from a book. It doesn’t matter if he dies.

He’s a character who has nothing to do with me, damn it.

Why the hell am I thinking about my mom’s son, Lee Do-Yeong?

“Your Highness!”

My shout stopped the male lead’s movement.

“Your Highness, I beg your pardon, but if you punish the Third Prince now, there’s a high chance that the First and Second Princes will notice.”

The male lead’s sharp gaze turned to me.

With a trembling voice, I blurted out to the male lead as if to let whatever happens happen.

“Rather than sullying Your Highness’s hands, wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the creatures that have appeared?”

And I pointed to the count, who still hadn’t come to his senses.

“Moreover, it seems unlikely that the Third Prince will survive on his own.”

The male lead’s expression changed. It was as if he was asking what I was doing.

‘Yeah, I don’t know what I’m doing either!’

I tried to remain as calm as possible. What I had said was not necessarily wrong.

The characters who could enter this mountain were predetermined.

The royalty and their vassals.

If the male lead kills the third prince, unless he’s a master of disposing of bodies, there’s no chance of not being discovered if the royal family or the temple seriously investigates.

“Oh, a Saintess has arrived.”

The male lead said to me as he threw the third prince to the ground.

“Argh!”

The third prince screamed. The male lead crouched down and grabbed both cheeks of the third prince with his hands, aligning his gaze with mine.

“Because of this guy, You almost died. Are you the type to show mercy?”

The Third Prince struggled to break free, but the male lead chuckled, forcing his head up even more.

“Or are you just overly rational?”

The male lead frowned as if annoyed, then suddenly stood up. He then sighed and said to me with a refreshed look on his face.

“Alright. Your advice had a point.”

He pointed to the sky with his finger.

“Though, thanks to you, I didn’t manage to secure the damned food and the day has ended, your words weren’t wrong, so I’ll let it slide this time.”

The third prince let out a low groan as if in pain, and the male lead made a displeased face. It was a face that didn’t care at all about the third prince’s pain-filled groans.

“You’ll have to pay the price for underestimating me.”

Then he grabbed my wrist. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t trembling.

I caught sight of the third prince, hunched over and clutching his stomach in pain, coughing.

I thought desperately,

‘He’s a bad guy. The male lead did what he had to do, so please, let’s not care!’

If I’ve come this far, I’ve done my best.

After all, according to the male lead, this guy tried to kill me.

He should be grateful for his life spared, really.

“Sh*t.”

That’s when it happened.

The male lead, looking into the air as if he sensed something, frowned and then lifted the third prince who was lying on the ground.

“Thanks to you, the situation has become quite complicated. Isn’t that right, little brother?”

“Hu, huk.”

And he continued, gritting his teeth,

“Just in time, a monster decided to show up.”

I slowly turned my gaze to where the male lead was looking upon hearing his words.

Not too far away, a very large black figure was visible.

“What are you doing? Pick up your sword.”

The male lead said to the third prince.

Still frowning, he looked at me. And then, pointing at the fallen Count Alcas with his chin, he said,

“Rose, wake that guy up.”

I almost stopped breathing for a moment.

What? Did he just call my name?

“Damn, things just got a lot more complicated.”

That’s when it happened.

Screeeeech-.

With a strange sound like a ghost wailing, the dim sky turned dark in an instant.

It was the monster.