The Seventh Prince Runs Away from Awkward Situations Chapter 82 : Chapter 82

Chapter 82 - Persuasion

Before arriving at the destination, we stopped briefly at a village to catch accommodation to abandon the carriage and transfer to horses.

There was also a need to let Ratel, who wouldn't wake up easily, recover for a mont.

I had thought so at least until Jing laid Ratel on the bed.

Shing.

If I had known in advance that the guy would thrust a sword at my neck as soon as he opened his eyes, I might have thought a little differently.

***

A well-honed blade was maintaining a perilous distance from the end of my neck.

"It seems the two of you roughly finished talking while I lost consciousness, is it my turn now?"

Ratel said while looking alternately at and Jing.

"Ratel, stop right now! That person isn't the kind of person you think he is!"

Flustered Jing shouted, but Ratel's sword fixed on my neck had no movent.

"Didn't you call that man a Prince at the tower?"

Ratel, who answered curtly, directed his golden eyes exactly at and slowly scanned my face.

Right, this much was expected.

From the mont I decided to reveal myself in front of him, I had prepared myself to answer the countless doubts he would have about .

I barely swallowed my saliva past my parched throat and slowly opened my mouth.

"Right, you must have many things you're curious about. But choose carefully. Since we don't have much ti right now."

Before Dito's power grew any larger, Ratel also had to grow his power.

Before that, I needed to convince the guy about my necessity and the current situation.

Repeating several answers inside my mind that the guy would demand from , I looked at the guy's face pondering sothing.

Finally, his mouth opened.

"How old are you?"

......This was a question I hadn't even imagined.

The guy was indeed the novel's protagonist.

Not a single prediction hit the mark.

Feeling various answers I prepared in my head flying away, I sighed at the guy's twisted etiquette of checking whether I was older or younger than him even in this situation.

"Twent...... Nineteen years old. I'm probably older than you."

I was so dumbfounded I almost said my real age.

As if pondering whether a two-year difference was enough to drop honorifics or not, the guy's face crumpled discontentedly.

"Is your hair originally that color?"

This ti a sowhat commonsensical question returned.

"Right, it's been this kind of hair since I was born. Thanks to that, I'm treated as a nuisance Prince in the Imperial Family. Since I have no power whatsoever."

Ratel was listening quietly to my answer mixed with lies.

Though that didn't an he removed the sword aid at my neck either.

"This is also the reason I'm helping you. Since it was obvious I would die at Dito's hands if I stayed still."

"You an Dito is targeting you who has no power whatsoever?"

Ratel asked, crumpling his eyebrows.

"He's not just targeting . Everyone in the Imperial Family will die at his hands."

Just as it was in the original work, the guy would want to obtain the power of all Imperial Family mbers.

Of course, Ran Abalan's role was rely his experintal subject.

***

Ran Abalan in the original work desperately wanted to escape his powerless situation.

Enough to swallow the unidentified red lump Dito held out without a single doubt.

"Did Dito eat sothing strange in the middle?"

At my question, Ratel nodded his head slightly as if he had a guess.

"That's the power the guy stole after killing Rasia. Ah, Rasia is the 1st Prince of this country."

"Since Prince Rasia died, now it must be a matter of ti before Dito becos the next Emperor."

At my answer, Jing, who wore a miserable expression, muttered.

"And Dito has no intention of becoming Emperor. Since what he wants is greater power. Although he will suffer a headache for the ti being because of the Red Book he couldn't obtain."

"What on earth is that Red Book?"

Perhaps having endured his curiosity all this ti, Jing forgot to restrain Ratel for a mont and asked .

"If you want to hear the answer, could you please remove this first."

My timid resistance was not realized.

"Don't try anything funny."

It only brought the result of the guy's sword getting closer.

I swallowed my saliva with difficulty and obediently opened my mouth.

"Simply put, it's a travelogue, more precisely speaking, a history book where not a single historian's personal opinion is written. Since it was written by Sierra Abalan himself. The thod Dito used to kill Rasia is also written inside there."

Whether my answer was quite surprising, the Duke and Jing's eyes widened.

"Yo, you burned such an important thing...... No, rather than that, if the remaining part of the book containing such dangerous content falls into Prince Dito's hands, isn't it a big problem."

"Yes, it is a big problem. Isn't that why I made it so he couldn't take it."

As if he didn't understand my answer, the Duke's brow furrowed in the center.

"But you clearly said you left it under Prince Rasia's corpse......"

Would I do such a dangerous thing?

How troubleso it would be in the future if that fell into Dito's hands.

"I did leave it behind. Though I burned everything containing important content."

I saw the Duke squeeze his two eyes shut, but I no longer had the composure to wait for his ntal and physical stability.

I turned my gaze and looked at the sword still threatening my neck without shaking and its owner.

"You get it now, right? Now the only person who can guide you is . So why don't you put away this bloody thing?"

Since the Red Book that would have beco the guide for the guy's adventure disappeared, he would need my help to leave the capital and set out on the road.

Whether that period is long or short.

Whether soone wishes for him or not.

***

Finally, the novel's protagonist opened his eyes.

Although he suffered a miserable defeat unlike the original work.

What kind of expression would everyone make if they found out there was an originally determined fate, and the reason it went awry was because of who possessed a character in the book?

I could assert that Ratel wouldn't have even shown the magnanimity to give ti to explain like a mont ago.

So this matter is a secret I have to take to the grave.

***

The standoff between the protagonist and didn't last very long.

Click.

"I brought the al...... Oops."

It was thanks to the shop owner's kindness who forgot to even knock because he was bringing the al.

"E, enjoy your al."

He put down three bowls of stew on the floor as if throwing them and then quietly closed the door again and left.

"What are you going to do if he calls the village vigilante or sothing like that?"

So it was said with the aning to quickly put this away.

Ratel stared at with eyes of unfathomable depth.

Watching the blade that was aiming at my neck slowly withdraw, I quietly caught my breath.

The guy opened his mouth without waiting for to catch my breath.

"For a Prince who says he has no power whatsoever, it seems you know too many things."

"Because I have no power. I ran around in all directions trying to survive."

I answered hurriedly to effectively convey the intent that I had no hostility towards him and would help him as much as possible.

"How did you get to know that the 2nd Prince would steal Manis?"

Although it was a confession full of lies from the start, since what would start from now on was true fraud, blackmail, and trickery, I secretly swallowed my saliva without taking my eyes off the opponent in front of .

"Well, that's thanks to you."

Fortunately, at the lie that ca out smoother than I thought, Ratel's eyes darkened.

"What do you an by that?"

"6 years ago, because you ran away from the capital, I ca to know about 'Amica's prophecy'."

Unfortunately, I realized in a not-so-good way that the guy's threat until before was rely a level of wariness.

"Does that an you were also at that place on that day 6 years ago."

Along with the question, small drops of light appeared beside the guy who raised his body.

It ant his emotional control wasn't working that much.

This is a scene that doesn't appear even a few tis in the original work.

It was a more intense reaction than expected.

Before Ratel got more excited, I took one step away from the guy so it wouldn't be too obvious.

"Right, although at the ti I didn't realize what I saw."

Ratel's breathing which had beco rough cald down a little.

The guy glared at as if telling to speak more.

"On the day of the ritual, there was one carriage the Empress secretly brought into the castle. You would know better than ."

Although there was no returning answer, the guy would know too.

Since he was the person involved who was riding inside it.

When a lie is exposed, 90% is due to the eyes.

Fix the pupils, do not let the voice tremble, and do not stutter.

And lastly, if you mix a little truth into the lie, a lie that people might fall for is completed.

However, the opponent was a guy with wild instincts.

I secretly swallowed a breath to load a lie that would be countable in my life.

"That day, you weren't the only one in the Empress's room."

I glanced sideways at the guy curling his fist and prayed earnestly.

Please let him not just smack with that.

***

"You were in the Empress's room?"

Ratel asked back.

"Right. It was a place I hid after being chased by the Empress's son."

The Empress's son ntioned here is Cellos.

Thinking I should say at least a word of thanks later if I happen to et him again, I flapped my lips.

"And I saw you. The Empress is trying to kill you too. Even if you survive and run away, everything."

"What is the reason you just watched that?"

The guy who regained his usual calm asked.

I opened my mouth hoping my voice wouldn't tremble.

"I told you. At the ti I didn't know what I saw. I was busy running away out of fear."

"You ran away......"

Ratel muttered my words repeatedly.

"If you can't believe it, I can tell you everything that happened in the room that night. Is that not enough?"

I had to struggle not to avoid the guy's eyes.

Since everything was bullshit except for the fact that I could tell everything about that night.

That night, there's no way Ran Abalan was there.

Since it was late at night, he probably stretched his legs and slept in his room for all I know.

But the guy had no way to verify that.

The guy's eyes staring at blinked once.

Even if he couldn't completely believe it, it would be ambiguous to guess it as a lie.

Moreover, now wasn't a situation to be nitpicking for long.

"I ca to know about the prophecy, and through a book found in the Empress's room, I also learned about the holy objects. In a situation where Dito could kill all Imperial Family mbers at any mont, you were my best choice."

"Ran-nim, that prophecy......"

Examining Ratel's unusual deanor, Jing asked cautiously.

"It is a prophecy given by Amica. Simply put, the content is that a black-haired savior will defeat the Imperial Family and save the world."

"Savior......"

Jing chewed on the word and looked at Ratel.

"Before, you said he could beco stronger. Is that thod related to those holy objects?"

I raised the corners of my mouth at him who finally brought up the most important question.

"If he can destroy the holy objects, Ratel can beco stronger. And the authority of the Imperial Family in Abalan will fall further."

So Ratel must leave on an adventure to destroy the holy objects.

On the correct path, as quickly as possible.

Before Dito's power becos stronger.

***

In the original work, Ratel, who blocked Dito's evil deed once, steals the Empress's Red Book from the Imperial Castle and runs away.

This is the part where Ratel's adventure begins in earnest.

What appears in the Red Book are the locations of the Abalan Empire's five holy objects.

Every ti one holy object is destroyed, there is also an additional effect.

Every ti a holy object is destroyed, the brainwashing of the Imperial Family mbers ruling Abalan is undone.

When Ratel destroys all the holy objects, Abalan will obtain true salvation as per the prophecy.

For the sake of progression according to the original work, I was willing to gladly beco a temporary navigation system.

Of course, that would be a possible story if Ratel accepts it.

From the guy's position, there would be nothing as insane as saying "Right on!" and following along when an Imperial Family mber who suddenly appeared says he will guide him.

Perhaps he might be thinking that saving his life was also a show.

I raised my index finger to the guy still holding the sword in his hand.

"I will take you to the place where the first holy object is. If we don't find it, kill on that spot. In whatever way you want. You can take out your grudge against the Imperial Family on too."

At my hesitation-free answer, Ratel tilted his head.

"Whatever way I want?"

"Right, whatever."

A smile hung on the guy's face for the first ti.

Although it was a sneer with one corner of his mouth raised unpleasantly.

"It seems you are not afraid of death."

"I am afraid. But this is the only way I can live."

And I am confident I can guide you safely to the holy object.