Surely There's One to the Princess' Taste (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
Until just a moment ago, Irtis had been hovering between life and death.
From time to time, he heard someone’s voice, and he could also feel the cold.
“Huh….”
But for the most part, he was unconscious and couldn’t grasp what was happening.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, something touched his forehead—cool and soft.
That sensation then spread throughout his entire body.
He felt as though someone was taking care of him.
What was going on?
Yet his consciousness remained submerged in that pitch-black abyss, refusing to surface.
It’s cold. But it feels nice.
Just a little longer—I want to sleep just a bit more like this.
At that moment,
something touched his chest.
Tap.
Simultaneously, his submerged mind surged upward and awakened.
Irtis’s eyes snapped open.
Instinctively, he grabbed whatever was touching his chest—it was someone’s wrist.
Irtis blinked as he recognized the face of the wrist’s owner.
“…What are you doing right now?”
It was Prodia.
Their eyes met, and Prodia jumped in surprise, dropping the cloth she’d been holding.
“I-Irtis?”
Without a word, he looked down at his own body.
He saw his bare upper half.
Moreover, Prodia’s hand was resting right on his chest.
Alright, stay calm and think this through. So, this situation right now is…?
Irtis asked in a trembling voice,
“You weren’t… trying to take advantage of me…?”
“Have I gone mad?!”
“Then what exactly is going on here?”
“Well…!”
At that moment, Irtis felt the dampness of the bedsheet and pillow beneath his skin.
“Huh…?”
Suddenly clear-headed, Irtis looked around.
An unfamiliar bedroom.
He slowly released Prodia’s wrist.
Then, with an incredulous expression, he asked,
“Was I… sick?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“About half a day.”
“Where is this?”
“It’s an inn near the Grand Temple.”
“An inn?”
Prodia explained to him everything that had happened with the elderly lady.
While doing so, she carefully observed Irtis’s condition.
Just then, as Irtis tried to sit up, he suddenly clutched his head.
“Ugh.”
It seemed he still had a headache.
Prodia quickly said,
“Lie back down and rest more. We were planning to stay here overnight anyway.”
“What are you talking about? Now that I’m awake, we should leave immediately.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind them.
“Oh dear, do you even know what time it is?”
Both of them startled and turned around.
The elderly lady stood at the doorway, smiling.
“I heard voices and came to check—sure enough, you’re awake.”
Irtis asked,
“Are you the innkeeper?”
“With that cheeky tone, you really must be the Archmage of the Magic Tower.”
As she spoke, the elderly lady flung open the window curtains.
Outside, night had already fallen.
“It’s too late to leave now. It’d be dangerous—you’ll stay here for the night as originally planned.”
Irtis quietly called out to her.
“Innkeeper.”
“Hmm?”
“…I owe you a debt. I’ll repay your kindness.”
“What debt? Come downstairs and have a meal, both of you.”
With that, the elderly lady left the room.
Immediately, both Prodia’s and Irtis’s stomachs growled loudly.
They looked at each other simultaneously.
‘Right.’
‘We haven’t eaten anything this whole time…’
As Irtis slowly sat up, Prodia approached and handed him fresh clothes.
“Put this on.”
“Huh? Clothes? Did you make them with magic…?”
“These were lent to you personally by the elder.”
At that, Irtis silently took the clothes and put them on.
Soon after, the three of them went downstairs to the dining area.
There, a home-cooked meal prepared by the elderly lady awaited them.
“Help yourselves.”
“…I’ll dig in.”
“I’ll eat well.”
Irtis, clearly famished, gripped his fork and knife with a warrior’s intensity.
He seemed ready to attack the meat first.
But Prodia pushed a bowl of soup toward him.
“You’re still a patient. You need to soothe your stomach first.”
“I’m completely fine.”
“You don’t look fine to me. Drink this first.”
“Sigh…”
Though he wore a disgruntled expression, he began spooning up the soup as Prodia instructed.
Watching this, the elderly lady smiled contentedly.
“But tell me, what brings you two to the Grand Temple?”
Prodia dabbed her mouth with a napkin and replied,
“We’re going to attend a ceremony.”
The elderly lady, surprised, turned to Irtis.
“You’re not entering the Prince Consort Selection, are you?”
“Yeah.”
The elderly lady gaped, then stared at Prodia.
“Wait—you two really aren’t lovers?”
“I’ve told you several times already that we’re not.”
“Then why, young lady, did you come all this way with him?”
“I’m his personal tutor.”
“Oh dear…”
The elderly lady muttered regretfully,
“You two match so well—it’s a shame you’re making things needlessly complicated.”
Immediately, Prodia and Irtis both cried out,
“We don’t match at all!”
“We really don’t match!”
At that, the elderly lady chuckled softly.
‘If they get along that well, how can they possibly be “nothing” to each other…?’
After a while, the meal ended.
The three climbed the stairs, heading to their respective rooms.
On the way, Prodia suddenly remembered something terribly important.
‘Wait—didn’t the elder say there’s only one room left in the inn?’
Which meant…
She’d have to spend the entire night in the same room as Irtis, who was now perfectly conscious?
All the color drained from Prodia’s face.
What should she do? Should she ask to sleep with the elder instead?
No, that would be terribly rude!
Just as Prodia stood frozen, unable to decide, the elderly lady called from the end of the hallway.
“Well then, have a good night.”
“Wait…!”
But the elderly lady had already disappeared into her room.
Prodia was beside herself.
‘Elder! We really aren’t married or lovers, I swear!’
How could they possibly sleep together here?!
Reluctantly, Prodia entered the room with Irtis.
“…”
She glanced at him absentmindedly—a flicker of unease passing through her eyes.
Irtis, reading her thoughts, sighed inwardly.
Seriously.
‘I wonder who was calmly undressing me earlier.’
Irtis flicked his finger toward the air.
Instantly, he was clad in black sleepwear.
His original clothes were neatly folded atop the table.
He flicked his finger once more, and the disheveled bedding instantly straightened itself,
looking freshly laundered and crisp.
Irtis pointed to the bed and said to Prodia,
“Prodia, you sleep here tonight.”
“Then where will you sleep?”
“On the roof.”
Prodia gasped in alarm.
“Are you insane? Absolutely not!”
“Why not? I’ve done it plenty of times—it’s fine.”
What kind of life had he lived to sleep on roofs so often?
“What if you fall ill again? It’ll ruin our schedule—no way.”
“I’m truly fine. Besides, you don’t want to share a room with me anyway.”
“Ugh.”
Did he really have to say it so bluntly? Now they were both embarrassed.
“Anyway, I’ll find somewhere else to sleep. You stay here. Sleep well.”
With that, Irtis turned to leave.
But Prodia immediately grabbed his sleeve.
“What?”
“…You sleep here too.”
“There’s only one bed.”
“Can’t you just magically make another place to sleep?”
“You’d feel uneasy if I stayed here.”
That was true.
Prodia stared straight at Irtis and said,
“Yes, but I’d feel even worse worrying that my contractor might fall ill again.”
After a brief silence, Irtis turned back toward her.
He flicked his finger, conjuring a luxurious sofa.
“Good enough?”
Prodia nodded.
Irtis chuckled softly and flicked his finger once more.
Instantly, Prodia’s clothes transformed into a pristine white nightgown.
“…!”
Moreover, she felt refreshingly clean, as if she’d just bathed.
She looked over herself in astonishment.
“Magic can do this too…?”
“You couldn’t even change comfortably because of me. Just wear that tonight.”
This guy’s actually pretty thoughtful, huh?
She felt a little guilty for having been so anxious about him.
Prodia hesitated before saying,
“Um… sleep well.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Irtis flopped onto the sofa.
As soon as Prodia lay down on the bed, the lamp’s flame extinguished with a soft whoosh.
Moonlight streamed through the window.
For a long while, neither could fall asleep.
Breaking the silence, Irtis spoke first.
“Thanks for today. And… sorry for worrying you.”
“Then don’t get sick again.”
“Right, I won’t.”
Silence settled again—until Prodia spoke this time.
“I’m sorry too.”
“For what?”
“For not taking proper care of you, even though I’m supposedly your contractor.”
“You’re doing more than enough. Why would you think that?”
“Me?”
“Yes. So hurry up and sleep. You couldn’t rest properly today because of me.”
“…Alright. Sleep well.”
Prodia rolled over.
Moonlight settled gently upon her.
Irtis found himself unable to sleep.
For a long time, his gaze remained fixed on Prodia’s back.
So absorbed was he that he didn’t notice Prodia was also staring at her own reflection in the window.
[This is the timeline separator]
The next morning.
Having slept poorly, the two descended to the first floor with heavy, tired eyes.
The elderly lady watched them and smiled wordlessly.
‘So much for “nothing” between them.’
Soon after,
Prodia and Irtis finished preparing to head back to the Grand Temple.
Prodia offered payment for their stay to the elderly lady.
But she shook her head.
“Your lodging is free. Just go.”
“What? But…!”
“It’s payment for giving an old woman some long-overdue company. And you,”
she said, turning to Irtis,
“Great power always comes with great responsibility. Take care of yourself.”
“…Got it.”
And so, the two departed from the inn.
Inside the moving carriage, Prodia sighed.
“I really should’ve insisted on paying the lodging fee. We owe her so much.”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry—I already took care of it.”
“What?”
Inside the inn,
on the luxurious sofa Irtis had conjured the previous night, a pile of gold coins gleamed.
The elderly lady, discovering it belatedly, sighed.
“I clearly said it wasn’t necessary, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Beside it, the clothes she’d lent them were neatly folded.
On top lay a note left by Irtis.
[I’ll visit again.]The elderly lady picked up the note and chuckled softly.
Meanwhile, the carriage carrying the two sped onward—finally arriving before the Grand Temple.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
I Decline the Ex-Boyfriend of the Regretful Male Lead (Completed Main Story)
After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete)
Long Live the Emperor, Minus Me (Completed Main Story)
Who Spent the Night with the Tower Master (Completed Main Story)
Captured into the Bedroom of the Enemy Emperor (1 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became a Supporting Character in a Martial Arts Novel (Completed Main Story)