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Chapter : 33
Even If I’m an Extra, I Refuse to Take the Death Route (33)
The next morning.
As soon as I arrived at the kitchen, I went straight to find the head pastry chef.
“Good morning, Chef.”
“Yeah.”
As always, the pastry chef answered while busily moving his hands, glancing at me briefly.
“They’re starting tool production today.”
“Really? Things are moving faster than I expected.”
“Oh, and yesterday, by His Highness’s order, I went out to do some market research.”
At my words, which seemed to pique his interest, the pastry chef stopped what he was doing and looked at me.
“The unit prices of the basic ingredients were higher than I thought.”
“Of course.”
“I guess I assumed it wouldn’t be like that since the imperial palace has so many supplies.”
I said that with an awkward smile.
“Over seventy percent of the goods imported from the Kingdom of Tartan come straight to the imperial palace, so it’s only natural.”
“Tartan… that’s where His Highness went recently, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then did His Highness already know about this?”
At my question, the pastry chef shrugged.
“Probably. Like I said, the Crown Prince’s palace is the only place with a dessert kitchen. There’s no way he wouldn’t know how much supplies are coming this way.”
“Then why give me that order…?”
“Likely because he wanted you to see and feel it for yourself rather than just hear about it.”
“Oh.”
Honestly, he can be surprisingly mature at times.
That’s another point added to his charm.
“Oh, right. Have you seen Serena by any chance?”
“Not sure.”
After that incident, I hadn’t run into Serena at all yesterday.
I was planning to talk to her again today if I saw her.
But she wasn’t where she normally would be.
I looked around, spotted Sophie, and quickly walked over.
“Head maid.”
“Yes, Irenea. Good morning.”
“Good morning. Um, have you seen Serena?”
“She said she wasn’t feeling very well.”
“Oh… really?”
Hearing that she was sick reminded me of how Serena had taken care of me when I was injured.
“Would it be alright if I went to see her for a moment?”
“You must be worried. Go ahead.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right back.”
I hurried toward Serena’s room.
Knock, knock.
“…Yes.”
The sound of knocking echoed through the quiet hallway, followed by Serena’s weak voice.
When I carefully opened the door, I saw her sitting up on the bed, as if she had been lying down.
When Serena realized it was me, her eyes widened briefly in surprise before she looked away.
“I brought you lunch.”
“…Okay. Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
She answered in a lower voice than usual, her gaze fixed on the wall.
“Can we talk for a bit?”
“……”
She didn’t answer, but I didn’t take it as a refusal and stepped closer.
“Are you angry at me about something?”
“……”
“If you don’t say anything, how am I supposed to know?”
When I spoke gently, as if soothing a child, Serena clenched the blanket tightly.
“Serena.”
“…Are you hiding something from me?”
The sudden, cryptic question caught me off guard.
“What? All of a sudden? No, I’m not.”
“You’re really not?”
“I told you I’m not. Why are you asking?”
“…Then it’s fine.”
Serena looked at me and smiled softly.
“I’ve just been in a bad mood lately. Sorry for taking it out on you.”
Something about how calmly she said that didn’t sit quite right with me, but I decided to accept it.
“No, it’s okay. Are you feeling a bit better now?”
“Yeah, thanks to you. Thanks for worrying about me.”
As she said that, Serena opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out a small box.
“Here.”
“What’s this?”
I set the tray I was holding down on the table and asked.
“It’s for you. Think of it as an apology for snapping at you. Will you accept it?”
“You didn’t have to give me anything like this…”
Ignoring my hesitation, Serena opened the box and placed it directly into my hand.
“A bracelet?”
“Yeah. They say it’s a lucky bracelet.”
It was a thin gold thread bracelet with small purple crystals embedded in it.
“Lucky?”
“If you wear it, good things will happen.”
“I see. Thank you.”
I replied while fiddling with the bracelet.
“I’ll put it on for you.”
“Huh? O‑oh, okay.”
I handed the bracelet to Serena.
“It suits you, Irenea.”
“Really?”
“They say it only works if you keep wearing it, so don’t take it off, okay?”
“Yeah, I won’t.”
I nodded and smiled.
I was relieved that it seemed like it really hadn’t been a big deal.
“I should get going now. Sorry for disturbing your rest.”
“No, thank you for checking on me.”
“You did the same for me before. Of course.”
When I smiled as I said that, Serena’s expression stiffened for just a moment before softening into a faint smile.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought your dessert.”
It was the second greenhouse.
I entered, wondering if something had happened, but thankfully, Iart’s expression didn’t look too bad.
“Alright.”
I placed the dessert in front of him.
“Today’s dessert is fruit jelly.”
He didn’t look particularly displeased, but just in case, it would be better to excuse myself.
If he was in the greenhouse, something might have happened.
“Please enjoy.”
I bowed politely and quickly turned to leave.
“Are you in a hurry for something?”
“…Pardon?”
“Normally you’d be rambling about something pointless, but today you turned around right away.”
“Ah, that’s because—waaah!”
As I hurriedly tried to turn back, my steps tangled oddly, and I ended up falling to the floor.
With a loud scream.
“Oh dear, I fell. Ugh…”
I laughed awkwardly and brushed myself off as I stood up, but then a sharp pain caught my attention and I looked down at my palm.
I must have scraped it when I instinctively put my hand down—blood was welling up on one side of my palm.
“What is it?”
Iart asked indifferently at my reaction.
“I think I scraped my hand. I’m sorry for showing you something so unsightly.”
At my awkward smile, Iart let out a small sigh.
“Honestly, you’re as troublesome as ever.”
“I know, right? Sorry.”
I replied playfully to his curt remark.
At that moment, there was the sound of a chair leg scraping against the floor, and a shadow fell in front of me.
When I looked up, Iart was holding out a handkerchief with one hand.
“…Huh? Y‑Yes?”
“Your arm’s going to fall off.”
“Ah…!”
I hurriedly took the handkerchief.
“You don’t need to return it.”
He tossed out the words as if they meant nothing and went back to his seat as though nothing had happened.
I stared blankly at his retreating back.
“What are you doing? Wipe it.”
Iart spoke to me while I stood there frozen.
Only then did I come back to my senses and look at the handkerchief he had given me.
How am I supposed to use something this precious?
“But… it’s something you gave me, Your Highness…”
At my words, Iart extended one hand while still seated.
“If you’re not going to use it, give it back.”
“No! I’ll use it! I will!”
I answered desperately, but I still couldn’t bring myself to wipe my hand.
‘Whatever, I’ll just do it.’
“Oh my, a bug!”
I shouted awkwardly and slapped my apron.
At the same time, I subtly wiped my hand.
When I lifted it to check, most of the blood was gone.
“I missed it. Then I’ll take my leave.”
As I spoke, I casually slipped the handkerchief into my apron pocket.
“…What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Did you really think I’d fall for acting that stupid?”
Tch, didn’t work.
“I told you to give it back if you didn’t need it.”
“But you said I didn’t have to return it…!”
I tightly gripped the top of the pocket holding the handkerchief.
“Why are you so obsessed with a mere handkerchief? You’re not even going to use it.”
‘Mere,’ you say?!
“It’s not just any handkerchief! It’s something His Highness gave me! And how could I use something so noble?!”
“…What?”
“I’m going to keep it as a family heirloom for the rest of my life!”
Only after shouting so earnestly did I realize what I’d said.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself to get scolded.
Then—
“…Pfft.”
What? Did I hear that wrong?
I looked around, startled by the sound of someone snorting with laughter.
When I turned back forward, I saw Iart covering his mouth, head lowered, shoulders shaking.
Was he… laughing?
“Your… Highness?”
When I called out cautiously, his shaking shoulders stilled.
He lifted his head and cleared his throat loudly.
“Ahem. Hm.”
There was still a trace of laughter on his face.
I didn’t know what exactly had amused him, but I was pretty happy just knowing I’d made my favorite character laugh.
“You really are impossible to predict.”
“…Pardon?”
“That’s enough. Just go.”
“…You’re really giving this to me, right? You won’t take it back later.”
“If you want to keep saying that, you can stay right there.”
“Goodbye!”
Afraid he might stop me, I bowed hastily and rushed out of the greenhouse.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
As soon as I returned to my room at the end of the day, I flopped face‑down onto the bed.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly remembering something, I shot back up and rummaged through my apron pocket.
“A handkerchief from my favorite character…! I’ve hit the jackpot. Totally hit it.”
I muttered while gazing at the handkerchief Iart had given me.
As I admired it with a blissful expression, the image of Iart smiling came to mind.
“When he smiles… he’s cute.”
Before I knew it, a small smile spread across my lips.
See? He really is kind.
Then suddenly, I remembered that I had fallen earlier.
“Ugh, why did I have to trip like that all of a sudden?”
The embarrassment made me want to crawl into a hole and hide.
I must have looked ridiculous when I fell.
“…But thanks to that, I got the handkerchief, so whatever.”
As I continued thinking about Iart, a strange feeling surfaced.
Lately, I’d been experiencing emotions I couldn’t quite identify.
Maybe it was because everything felt unfamiliar in this new environment.
Honestly, going through the death routes had been hard, but there were enjoyable moments too.
‘Oh, right… come to think of it…’
Then it suddenly hit me—I still hadn’t encountered a death route in this episode.
At the same time, fear wrapped itself around my entire body.
The probability of death had gone down slightly, but it still wasn’t low enough to feel safe.
And if I were to witness Iart’s madness, at least I knew how to handle that—but there had been cases where it wasn’t that.
“…Hah.”
The grim reality before me dampened my mood in an instant.
This wasn’t the time to be happy just because I got my favorite character’s handkerchief…
No, wait. It is okay to be happy about that. Yes. That’s fine.
Anyway, if I couldn’t prepare for it, the only thing left was to steel myself mentally.
Like always, I just had to believe I’d survive.
“Will this become a charm for me?”
I murmured while fiddling with the bracelet Serena had given me.
She said it brought good luck—maybe this time, nothing bad would happen.
With that thought, I tried to calm my heart.
