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CHAPTER 06
“I’ll try to persuade her.”
The Crown Prince held Ji-woo in his arms, soothing her and patting her back. It felt disgusting. It felt awful, but she didn’t know how to relieve it—or who she could possibly make understand it.
And not long after, Ji-woo truly met that noble daughter at a gathering arranged by the Crown Prince.
“I’ve decided to acknowledge you.”
It was a ridiculous statement. Who was acknowledging whom? And in that condescending tone, as if granting charity? Wasn’t it her who had intruded into what had originally been a normal relationship between them?
“We’re quite lucky.”
“What do you mean?”
Though it sounded miserable, Ji-woo pressed her. The lovely young noble lady covered her lips with a fan and smiled with her eyes.
“I can provide Aleph with a solid noble foundation and an heir, and you can offer him what is like Akarna’s blessing on top of his position.”
“……”
“I like you. I think we can all get along well together… if I yield my position a little?”
It was clearly meant as praise. Her smile felt closer to genuine goodwill than hostility toward a rival.
But Ji-woo’s heart instantly turned cold. It was as if the heat that had surged that summer day—when they kissed and reached a peak of passion that never cooled—had been snuffed out in an instant.
This woman called him Aleph.
Yet I still call him “Your Highness.”
“You seem to call His Highness by his name.”
“Oh my, of course. We’re going to be married, after all.”
“……”
“And no matter what Akarna is, your shell is still that of a commoner.”
Above divinity stood the Empire. Even while diligently fulfilling Akarna’s duty, there were more than a few times Ji-woo had felt she was not a servant of the gods, but a servant of the Empire.
The only reason she had barely endured it and even forced herself to think it was something good was because of the Crown Prince. Because of her lover. But was it all just her imagination?
While Ji-woo was lost in thought, the woman continued chattering on about herself.
“So you have no idea how much I’ve sacrificed for him. That includes acknowledging your existence.”
“……”
When Ji-woo stayed silent, the woman continued with trivial social gossip that Ji-woo had no interest in.
The situation of the three of them had become quite the scandal.
The passionate Crown Prince who, despite Akarna’s infertility and the possibility of weakening his position, still arranged this meeting and refused to give up love. His benevolent fiancée who did not act out in jealousy. And Ji-woo had become an obstacle who intruded upon the Crown Prince’s brilliant life.
Is that so? Is that really how it is?
Am I the only fool who clings to something like this?
I gave up my past for love, lived only in the present, and was willing to abandon everything while dreaming of a future with one person.
But the Crown Prince—Aleph—was not like that. His love was calculated from the very beginning. Not even for a single moment could love take priority over what he valued more.
So he would maintain this relationship even at the cost of narrowing his position?
What did he sacrifice?
He hadn’t sacrificed anything. Rather, he was using the situation to solidify his already favorable image.
It felt as if her love was being trampled into the ground. She, who had thrown everything away to prioritize Aleph and love, felt like a fool. She had thought that as long as she had Aleph, she could abandon her past life and settle here. That she could discard everything that once defined her and start anew here.
—I love you.
Aleph’s shy confession echoed in her mind.
He probably did love her. He just wasn’t someone who would give up something more valuable just for love. Her love was not something grand enough to give him anything significant in return.
Yes, that was logical. That was the rational conclusion. He was royalty, and she was merely an Akarna shell that could be replaced at any time.
Akarna were frequently dispatched to barren lands, never knowing when they might die. They could not even produce heirs. The Crown Prince had done nothing wrong.
Besides, he wasn’t abandoning her—he was offering her a realistic position. Wasn’t that something she should be grateful for?
But what about my will?
No one had asked for her opinion, not even her feelings.
They had decided everything among themselves, and now she was told to accept it as if it were an honor.
Ji-woo clenched her fists tightly. Her shoulders trembled.
“There were other ways.”
“Hm? Another way? Ah, haha. Surely you’re not serious.”
The fan that had gently stirred the air snapped shut. Behind it was a mocking gaze, as if laughing at her for wanting too much beyond her station.
“You didn’t actually expect Aleph to abandon my conditions and choose you alone, did you?”
Countless thoughts swirled in Ji-woo’s mind, but only one word came out.
“…Hah.”
She clearly remembered what she thought that day.
I really am nothing more than an outsider here.
[Forest of the Other Race]
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Feeling cold water drop onto her forehead, Ji-woo slowly opened her eyes. Sudden light flooded her vision, making it dizzy. After a while, her focus finally returned, and she saw tree roots dripping with water.
Was she still lying there?
Ji-woo quickly sat up.
“Ugh… ah.”
A wave of dizziness hit her. Her whole body felt lethargic, like she had taken sleeping pills and just woken up.
But strangely, despite being left there for so long, her body wasn’t cold. Something thick had been draped over her. Not far away, a campfire crackled.
“I… cut my arm with a blade…”
She looked down at her arm, carefully wrapped in clean white cloth. Only the injured area was swollen, and blood had seeped into the fabric. She absentmindedly touched it.
“Ahh….”
The unhealed wound hurt more than expected. She gave up checking it and looked around.
As expected, she was alone. No escort would have come this far down. The male other-race being she had purified the miasma of… well, she hadn’t saved him expecting anything in return, so he likely had no obligation to take her to a nearby village. Still, he seemed to have left her a fire.
Crackle. Pop.
This life of mine really is stubborn.
As an Akarna, she had learned during long relief missions that people die easily—but also don’t die as easily as expected. And as an Akarna herself, she likely leaned toward the latter.
“Haah…”
A deep sigh escaped her.
Her cursed body instinctively welcomed the warmth after losing consciousness. Warming her hands by the fire, Ji-woo thought gloomily.
I’ll just wait for rescue.
Trying to die impulsively only led to fear of death after failure. After experiencing death-like pain multiple times and surviving, she did not want to go through it again.
Even if she was treated as an outsider here in the end, there was nothing she could do.
Even if she accepted it or left the Crown Prince, there was nowhere else to go. The temple would not accept her, and the Crown Prince would not let her go.
While she stared blankly into the fire, a rustling sound came from the entrance.
Ji-woo lifted her head.
And met him.
The first thing she noticed was his hair—pale silver with a faint wash of forget-me-not blue. In the sunlight, it looked even brighter than it had in the dark.
Then she saw his ears. One was partially torn off, something she hadn’t noticed before. The asymmetry with the intact ear made it even more striking.
He cautiously watched her, then slowly approached as if making a decision.
They stared at each other in silence.
“……”
“……”
No words were exchanged.
The man placed a bundle of cloth in front of her. Inside were freshly picked fruits, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs. Then he threw a piece of skinned meat into the fire.
Soon, a savory smell spread. The scent of roasting meat and apple-like fruit filled the air, but Ji-woo had no appetite.
After a moment, the other-race man spoke.
[You are an outsider.]
“……”
She had only ever heard of other races being extremely closed off. This was her first time meeting one.
Even the language was unfamiliar—not the common imperial tongue she was used to. It reminded her of when she first fell into this strange world, hearing another unknown language. She could understand it then, but not speak it—just like now.
An outsider.
In truth, weren’t they both outsiders?
