The Princess Wants to Live (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 30
The dark storm clouds gradually thinned, and the next day, the rain pouring from the sky had weakened.
Having concluded the ritual to summon the ancient god and imprisoned the culprit—though it now seemed as if it had all been a lie—the Imperial Palace was peaceful.
And right in the center of the Princess’s residence, as on any ordinary day.
“Lady Taren?”
“Yes.”
Olivia set down her documents, unable to hide her surprise at the unexpected request for an audience.
Ambre Taren had safely returned home the previous day.
‘We will take care of those two within our own household.’
She had even brought along the mother and daughter who’d been kidnapped around the same time.
The culprit who had sought the god was now floundering in the abyss of the palace’s deepest dungeon, the lowest place in the Imperial Palace.
In any case, the incident—which had yielded not even a single strand of hair, let alone the ancient god’s head—was finished.
Yet, it had been merely a few hours since its conclusion.
Surely, if anyone had the right to rest, it would be the victim herself….
Meeting Ambre Taren’s gaze, Olivia asked naturally,
“Shouldn’t you be resting right now?”
“Everyone has told me the same, but I only have scraped wounds. Rather, Your Highness…”
Ambre trailed off, lowering the ends of her eyebrows.
And no wonder—hadn’t Olivia stood fully exposed to that torrential downpour for so long?
Olivia, who possessed only slightly better stamina than an ordinary person, couldn’t possibly be fine.
Her face was visibly pale, fatigue deeply etched upon it, yet Olivia lightly waved her hand.
“I don’t even have a scratch. More importantly, I’m glad to hear you’re alright.”
“Yes. Your Highness, if I may be so bold… about that knight…”
“He’s perfectly fine as well.”
Of course, it was hard to call a palm pierced by a dagger “perfectly fine,” but to him, such a wound was hardly different from a minor scratch.
“Oh…”
At the curt reply, Ambre opened her mouth again, then closed it.
Olivia didn’t press her. Though Ambre claimed to be fine, it had only been a few hours since she’d endured such an ordeal.
Seeing that she’d brought up Cryer, it seemed she’d properly grasped what had happened then.
Realizing this belatedly due to her sluggish thoughts, Olivia blinked wearily.
Could it be… had she fallen for Cryer, the knight who’d dramatically saved her? Had she come to talk about something like that?
Considering her previous love epic, it was certainly possible…
But Olivia had already firmly shut down any notion of being entangled with him in matters of love or such nonsense.
Watching Ambre’s pink-tinged crown as she stared silently at her teacup, Olivia reached out.
-Click.
Picking up the teacup, Olivia frowned—her fingertips felt heavy and dull, and her vision was horribly narrowed.
She clicked her tongue inwardly.
Though she bore no actual scratches, her icy hands and feet, coupled with the fever making her dizzy even while seated, told her plainly enough—
She was far from fine.
Yet, if she wasn’t about to collapse and die on the spot, there were things she still had to do.
After all, she knew better than anyone that her signature alone held the power to condemn or spare lives.
Trying to moisten her parched mouth with tea against the sizzling heat, Olivia heard Ambre speak.
“That knight… he has some connection to this incident, doesn’t he?”
It was a question that struck right at her vulnerability.
She’d expected Ambre to merely gush about how Cryer, rescuing her, resembled a fairy-tale prince.
Of course, even if caught off guard, she couldn’t gasp and ask, “How did you know?”
Maintaining a faint smile, Olivia tilted her head vaguely.
“Naturally. Didn’t he save you, Lady?”
Ambre nodded firmly at the flawless answer.
“Of course. But what I mean is his connection to the ‘god.’”
The moment Ambre fell silent, a pitch-black shadow spread above her.
“Cryer!”
Though her vision spun, Olivia’s hand found Cryer’s arm precisely.
Pulling his arm sharply toward herself, the shadow looming over Ambre slowly receded.
Only after securing Cryer beside her did Olivia speak.
“My lady, breathe.”
“Guh… Hah! Hah, hah, hah!”
Only then did Ambre realize she’d stopped breathing and exhaled shakily.
Gripping Cryer’s arm tightly, Olivia addressed Ambre.
“Whatever you’ve realized, just keep it to yourself. No—forget it.”
That day, at that moment, Ambre Taren had seen something—and understood something.
But that was all.
“Forget it.”
Olivia repeated, staring directly at Ambre as she caught her breath.
Yes, she must forget.
Though the “god” Ambre had mentioned had no tangible form yet, Cryer—bound by that god’s chains—would never permit her to know.
Had Olivia not seized him, Ambre would have perished without even realizing her own breath had stopped…
Yet Ambre’s next words were even more unexpected than before.
“I want to help.”
“What?”
Though her jaw trembled under Cryer’s gaze, Ambre didn’t retreat.
“You saved my life. I owe you my life—I want to repay you.”
“Fulfilling your duties well as the next head of House Taren will be more than enough.”
Despite Olivia’s firm refusal, Ambre stood her ground.
“I am Taren. Whatever it takes, I will be of help.”
Meeting Ambre’s eyes—bright and sparkling, yet never frivolously floating—Olivia understood.
She would not back down.
Indeed, even for Olivia, who knew something of the future, and Cryer, who was clearly no longer entirely human, breaking the contract with the “god” would be agonizingly difficult.
Thus, anyone who could understand their situation and lend aid ought to be welcomed with open arms.
But not everything unfolded so rationally or efficiently—nor could it.
After all, the “god” was Cryer’s most sensitive sore point, his greatest weakness.
Had Ambre not mentioned the “god,” had she merely offered help, things might have been simpler.
But once words were spoken, like spilled water, they couldn’t be taken back.
Facing refusal as unyielding as a permanently sealed door, Ambre took a deep breath.
Though her jaw still trembled—Cryer’s crimson eyes swirling as if ready to tear her throat out—her resolve remained unchanged.
Ambre was innocent enough to believe everyone possessed goodness, more trusting than most.
But she wasn’t foolish.
As the sole heir of House Taren, she was sharp-witted and quick-thinking.
And above all—
Even after enduring such a vile, perilous ordeal, she never hesitated to extend a hand of pure goodwill to those facing hardship.
On that day of torrential rain, in that place, Ambre had seen.
Or rather—realized.
An incomprehensible, colossal weight bore down upon the shoulders of Her Highness the Princess and that rumored knight.
It was likely the “god” the knight had spoken of.
“For reasons I can’t fathom, Your Highness—and your knight—are opposing the ‘god,’ aren’t you?”
Those who’d saved her life were in trouble.
Trouble beyond anything Ambre could even imagine.
Thus, she didn’t think deeply—didn’t need to.
“I want to help you.”
Repeating the same words, Ambre smiled brightly—just as she always did.
And so Olivia couldn’t help but ask,
“Do you understand what consequences might come?”
Simply for helping a man in trouble, she’d been branded as the final sacrifice and kidnapped.
If Cryer and Olivia hadn’t arrived in time…
Ambre tilted her head briefly, then answered.
“I don’t know.”
Such a simple, spirited, and cheerful reply.
“What…?”
“But I still want to help.”
Her words were light, her expression innocent—yet the resolve within her was as solid as steel.
Watching Ambre silently, Cryer slowly bowed his head and whispered into Olivia’s ear,
“How useful could she be?”
Olivia turned to him with wide, startled eyes.
Since he could read her unspoken question in her expression and gaze, Cryer answered easily.
“Yeah. If she’s as eager to help as I am, there’s no need to refuse.”
“A moment ago, you nearly killed her for mentioning the god?”
“But I didn’t kill her.”
Olivia, who’d grabbed the collar of the Child trying to run away, asked,
“What made you change your mind so suddenly?”
“I saw it.”
At his blunt, clipped answer, Olivia pulled his arm and leaned close to his face.
“What did you see? Let me see it too.”
Cryer didn’t push her away or pull back.
Instead, he leaned in until their breaths mingled and whispered,
“No—it’s because I saw you in her.”
At the low voice slipping into her ear, Olivia unconsciously rubbed her chest.
It felt as if she’d swallowed a feather, an odd tickling in her stomach.
As Olivia tilted her head in confusion, she heard Ambre’s voice—previously forgotten.
“Shall I leave if you have something to discuss?”
Of course, they hadn’t been alone—the entire whispered exchange had been witnessed by Ambre.
From her wide-eyed, utterly guileless tone, it was clear she genuinely asked if she should step away.
Olivia cleared her throat loudly and waved her hand.
Ambre, who’d half-risen from her seat, settled back down—and to her, Olivia spoke words she didn’t need to say.
“As I’ve said before, we have nothing to do with Cupid.”
If Ambre had been an ordinary person, she’d have nodded along politely, though inwardly doubting—perhaps suspecting some ambiguous relationship, if not love itself.
But Ambre wasn’t ordinary.
Though sharper in perception and wit than most, she fundamentally trusted everyone’s words completely.
Naturally, without the slightest hesitation, Ambre nodded vigorously at Olivia’s statement.
“Yes!”
So decisive and refreshing was her answer that Olivia herself momentarily faltered.
Did they truly appear so utterly unrelated that she believed it instantly…?
An indescribable, ineffable emotion welled up—but dissipated as she watched Ambre rise to her feet.
Ambre gracefully, impeccably courteously, bowed to Olivia.
“For Her Highness the Princess, this Ambre Taren will do everything within her power.”
Then, with a radiant smile, Ambre declared cheerfully,
“Please call me Ambre!”
Watching her, Olivia whispered to Cryer,
“Just where do you see me in her?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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