Chapter 196

Gathering myself, I darted away from the crown prince, face bright red. Trying to hide the redness of my cheeks behind my hands, I fumed silently.

I thought you didn’t love me and that you just wanted to work together. Why are you acting like this? The thought came to me unbidden all of a sudden.

But the relief in his eyes was so warm, and his smile so broad, that my heart could do nothing but pound. In the end, like an idiot, I didn’t even manage to snap a retort. I threw off my damp robe and mask. They were heavy and wet and would only be a hindrance going forward. I rummaged in my pouch, pleased to find it had been spelled to be waterproof.

Taking out a purse heavy with gold coins, I handed it to the former captain, standing nearby and staring at us as if he found us very odd indeed.

“Good work. Use this to repair the boat and help the wounded.”

The man’s eyes went wide, and he waved his hands around in frantic denial.

“N-no! That’s not at all necessary! We only survived thanks to you!”

“You lost men. Consider this compensation for their lives.”

“Th-thank you! Thank you!” In the end, he accepted the coins.

Turning my attention to Arkina Island, which was visible in the distance, I opened up my magical map.

Where should I go? There was now a red dot on the map, near the island, but I had no idea where to go from there. Struggling to remember where the temple was, I tapped at various parts of the map. It zoomed in wherever I touched, functioning similarly to a modern tablet. The more I tapped at it, the more confused I became, however.

Huh? The island, which I’d assumed hid some huge secret, seemingly consisted of nothing but flat sand.

I thought the people of the Holy Nation of Laila would have set up camp here… All I could see was an empty desert.

“Their temple is probably located at the very center of the island.” The crown prince, who’d been watching me, suddenly reached out and touched the middle of the island, which expanded to show sandy dunes.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“I had my mages scout the area several times while planning our military operations.” He added, “The barrier around it is so strong, we only managed to confirm its existence, nothing more. Still, it’s probably wise to make our way directly to the center if you want to minimize your suffering. The island is a wasteland—not a single blade of grass grows there. Just wandering about will get you nowhere.”

He had a point. Even if we had a magical map to aid us, we couldn’t just pick a location to search at random in this vast desert. I glanced at Callisto, surprised he was helping. Then a flash of light filled my vision.

<SYSTEM>

If you wish to use the [Ancient Magic Map], point to a location on the map and shout the activation phrase.

(Activation phrase: yala bula artino)

Why is it always some mumbo-jumbo? I scowled at the magic words, unhappy to see it was just as bizarre-sounding as ever.

“You know the activation phrase this time, too? Let’s go, then,” the crown prince said calmly, finger still pressed against the map.

Predictably, I was surprised to hear him say this. “You’re... coming with me?”

“Of course. What do you think I abandoned my war for? You thought I’d just return after slicing up a few tentacles?” he glared at me angrily.

“All the more reason for you to return. It was a rebellion, after all...”

“If this nation can’t handle one measly uprising without me, then it deserves to fall.”

“Your Highness!”

“This is more important to me. And since when do I need your permission to go to Arkina Island?” Callisto asked haughtily, wearing his usual merciless expression.

He was right. Whatever his end goal might be, he was the crown prince. Who was I to stop him?

“You don’t want me to come with you?”

I’d only fallen silent because there was nothing I could say to refute him, but Callisto suddenly sounded anxious.

“Just go by yourself then. I have a copy of the map, so I can get there on my own.” He seemed like a child who feared they were about to be abandoned.

“But you don’t know the activation phrase.”

“Damn it…” he swore when I pointed out the fatal flaw in his plan. He changed tactics. “Take me with you,” he demanded confidently as if he had no expectation of being denied.

His ears were as red as the ruby earring he wore, however.

“You dare laugh?” he snapped, glaring again.

I pretended I hadn’t just been smiling and spoke the funny activation phrase. “Yala bula artino.”

<SYSTEM>

Use the [Ancient Magic Map Scroll] once and move to the desired location?

[Yes. / No.]

I pressed [Yes.], and we were immediately enveloped in white light.

When I opened my eyes, we were standing in the middle of a forest, the sun burning in the sky above us. Extremely hot air blasted into our faces like we were trapped inside a steamer.

I frowned, surveying our surroundings.

“Wait...” I could see the faint outline of a building, distorted by the visible heat rolling off the dunes in the distance. The crown prince had been right. I heaved a sigh of relief, happy we’d found where we needed to go quickly.

Something flopped over my head suddenly.

“Huh? What?”

“The sun’s rather hot,” the crown prince said, wrapping something around my head and face even as I struggled, confused.

It was his red cloak. His handsome face was now fully exposed to the harsh sunlight.

“What about you?” I asked hesitantly.

The crown prince scoffed. “You know, you really need to start worrying about yourself a little more.”

“Yes, but...”

“Do you really think I’ve never spent time in a desert like this during my campaigns?”

The building standing in the middle of the desert wasn’t that far, but I was still concerned. And more than anything, seeing him act so considerately felt strange.

I should have brought my robe, I thought glumly, cursing my lack of foresight. The crown prince started for the building, taking the lead.

“Let’s get going. Days are short in the desert.”

And so we began our brief journey.

As we climbed the final dune, the temple right in front of us, my body reached its limit—even though we hadn’t been walking that long.

“W-wait,” I said, gasping and resting my hands on my knees. It was silly of me to act like this when the temple was in plain sight, but I was badly out of breath.

Callisto waited silently, making no move to rush me. As my breathing started to even out, I finally asked the question that had been bothering me since he’d appeared.

“Why aren’t you questioning me?”

“What?”

“Just... about anything.” Given his temperament, I’d expected him to bombard me with questions—why had I taken the damned poison, why was I here, and what was my relationship with the marquis? Unable to meet his piercing gaze any longer, I looked down at the rough sand under my feet. “You must have heard about what I did if you went to the capital.”

“Oh. You mean how you, the adopted daughter, beat up the duke’s lost daughter and ran away from home?”

“Wh-what?”

“Lord Derrick is on a manhunt for you.”

I scowled at this information.

That bastard. What more does he want from me, after I got done with humiliating him? I shuddered.

“Forget about all that, just do whatever you want. Kill monsters for all I care, or Laila, if you prefer. Just let me stay by your side,” he said.

I froze, looking up at him. “I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

Despite the glaring sunlight, his bright red affection score bar shone brightly. I’d thought I’d managed to let go of all my feelings at the coming-of-age ceremony.

Hard mode is over and all that remains is the female protagonist’s story, so why are you...

“You don’t need to know why,” he said, his expression twisting strangely. “You don’t need to worry about any of that. It’s not important to you anymore. You got out of the manor without anyone’s help, in the end.”

I didn’t know how he’d figured it out. At one time, I’d expected that one of the male protagonists was to be my salvation, thinking that the affection scores were an inescapable indicator of my chances of escape. Both the affection scores and my escape were out of my reach now. I had no goals left, nor any reason to live.

What matters to me now is… What does matter to me?

I was lost in ruminating when he declared, “Our goals align. That’s all that matters.”

“How do you know what I plan to do?”

“I don’t care. Are you trying to awaken the dead Laila and conquer the world, perhaps?” he asked playfully.

I stared at him as if he’d gone crazy. “You’re... the crown prince.” That had been the main reason I’d refused his offer and concluded we could never be together. “You want to be the perfect emperor.”

“Oh, that. Psh.” He shrugged. “Being crown prince isn’t really all that important to me. In fact, I don’t think it would be so bad if you were to conquer the empire and take the throne for yourself.”

“Please don’t joke—”

“You won’t let me stay by your side?” he asked, cutting me off. He wore the same anxious look I’d seen on the ship. He always seemed so in control, but in that moment, he looked desperate.

Callisto hasn’t been brainwashed. Reminding myself that this at least was fact, I nodded slowly. I gave him permission to stay.

The man finally relaxed, shooting me a smile, and my unruly heart resumed its furious beating.