SCMBRN Chapter 7

I flinched in shock, but unlike yesterday when I encountered the Crown Prince, I didn’t scream.

 

No, perhaps some part of me had expected something like this. Ever since Yugen had suddenly appeared before me in broad daylight.

 

“……Lord Mont.”

 

Yugen raised an eyebrow slightly.

 

“You recognize me.”

 

He meant to ask how I knew. He wasn’t wearing a helmet this time.

 

Dark brown hair verging on black. Crimson eyes that must have struck fear into countless enemies across countless battles.

 

Those were the familiar features always visible even through his helm. But beyond that, he was nothing like the rumors suggested.

 

Apart from a horizontal scar at the corner of his lips, his skin was smooth. His facial lines were delicate. His large eyes, reminiscent of a deer.

 

The real Yugen Mont, whom I now faced, despite being an adult as described in the novel, had an oddly boyish air about him.

 

But that body!

 

As if enchanted, my gaze drifted from Yugen’s face downwards.

 

Of course it would be. The body of the Mercenary King was nothing short of magnificent. Now that he was wearing simple clothes instead of armor, his muscular build was clearly visible.

 

That face, paired with that body… isn’t that cheating?

 

The Crown Prince from yesterday wasn’t lacking either, but Yugen’s combination of youthful features and a sculpted physique had a shocking impact beyond imagination.

 

The Empire, ignorant of his true appearance, only made wild assumptions. Some said he had suffered a horrific burn, others that he was hideously ugly and hid his face beneath a helmet.

 

In truth, it was because of Yugen’s youthful looks that his mercenary comrades had urged him to wear the helmet, fearing he might not be taken seriously. Hiding his face certainly added to his aura of intimidation.

 

If not, half the women in the Empire would’ve been swooning.

 

Yugen, unlike the Crown Prince, wasn’t striking in a dangerous way. He had a gentle face, and unless provoked, his personality matched.

 

When I remained silent, simply staring at him, Yugen tilted his head.

 

“Everyone’s usually surprised.”

 

Ayla had been startled too, when she saw Yugen’s face, so different from the rumors. As a reader who already knew the truth, I recognized him instantly.

 

“Because your voice is the same as earlier.”

 

“This is the first time.”

 

There was a flicker of change in his expression, but on second glance, his face remained neutral. He climbed in through the open window, entering my room.

 

He looked at me for a moment, then asked,

 

“You’re not surprised?”

 

It sounded the same as before, but it wasn’t. That time, he was talking about his appearance. This time, he meant the sudden visit.

 

Yugen was a character with a unique way of speaking. He left out nearly eighty percent of what he meant.

 

Those unfamiliar with him often found him difficult because of this reticence. Even the female lead, Ayla, had struggled to converse with him at first.

 

But I, having read the novel, was accustomed to his manner. I could more or less understand what he meant.

 

“I was pretty startled. I just didn’t show it.”

 

“I had something to do.”

 

“It’s fine. If it’s urgent, it makes sense to come right away.”

 

“Speech.”

 

“You mean I should speak casually? Alright. I’ll just call you Yugen from now on.”

 

Honestly, I’d been calling him by name in my head all along, so that was easier for me too. How many readers go around using honorifics for fictional characters?

 

Back in the day, I called the Crown Prince and the rest all kinds of names…

 

As I reminisced, I realized Yugen had closed the distance and was now standing right in front of me. His intimidating chest muscles loomed inches from my face.

 

I swallowed hard from the tension. His baby face had made me let my guard down, but up close, his presence was overwhelming.

 

The thought hit me again: Ah, I really did fall into the novel. I wasn’t just a reader anymore. These characters weren’t just fiction to me.

 

“Um……”

 

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I tried to speak, but he suddenly pointed behind me.

 

“That bed.”

 

At the tip of his finger was my bed.

 

Of course. Naturally. That damn bed was there again.

 

I didn’t want to believe it.

 

Since yesterday, when the Crown Prince explained the curse, a suspicion had crept in like smoke. I dismissed it, thinking there was no way, but now it was back, solid and undeniable.

 

Reynard wasn’t the only one cursed by the bed. Yugen confirmed it with words that left no room for denial.

 

“I want to sleep there too.”

 

Really, I just wanted to hand over the bed and leave.

 

I sat Yugen on the sofa and attempted a proper conversation.

 

“So, you haven’t slept in days?”

 

Yugen nodded quietly.

 

“And the voice.”

 

“Told me to go to your bed?”

 

“Only to me.”

 

“So no one else hears it? A hallucination?”

 

“You. Banquet.”

 

“Huh? You tried to speak to me during His Majesty’s birthday banquet yesterday?”

 

So it was me he’d approached then. I had no clue, unaware of the curse.

 

“Ian… told me. Orange hair.”

 

“Orange hair’s not exactly common. Still, it must’ve taken effort to find me from just that. Your friend Ian investigated?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Yugen’s symptoms were exactly like Reynard’s. Severe insomnia. A voice urging him to go to my bed. And visions of me that wouldn’t fade.

 

I bit my lip in dismay.

 

“Did the voice say something about the author?”

 

Yugen’s eyes widened.

 

“How did you know?”

 

“I just… had a feeling.”

 

Because the other guy came yesterday and helpfully explained everything, down to the details.

 

“And also… Yugen, go straight to her bed…”

 

“Ahhh! You really don’t need to repeat that!”

 

Hearing those humiliating lines from the character himself made me want to die. If I could go back in time, I’d smack my past self who wrote that comment.

 

Did I really write that pervy stuff not just for Reynard, but for Yugen too? What was it about that bed, anyway?

 

Yugen, unaware of my wish to crawl into a hole, simply looked amazed.

 

“Amazing. You understand me so well.”

 

“…Just sort of happened.”

 

If it were Reynard, I’d pretend I had no connection to the curse. But with Yugen, well…

 

How should I put it? He was, generously speaking, eccentric. Less kindly, he was a bit slow.

 

Among readers, there was a running joke that if he hadn’t met trustworthy allies, he’d have ended up sold off to a fishing boat and become the King of Fishers.

 

Well, he’d be good at any kind of physical work, I guess.

 

With things as they were, I had no choice.

 

“Fine. Lie down on the bed.”

 

Let’s just get this over with. I could deal with the mess tomorrow. Maybe because I barely slept last night thanks to the Crown Prince, my eyelids felt so heavy.

 

“Thank you… for helping.”

 

Yugen gave a faint smile, if it could be called that, and started toward the bed.

 

“Wait. Clothes? You didn’t bring sleepwear?”

 

“No.”

 

Figures. If he were that prepared, he wouldn’t be the Yugen I know. Honestly, what kind of mercenary unit doesn’t even help with basic stuff like this?

 

When I asked, he said he hadn’t told anyone about his symptoms. When I asked why…

 

“Just because.”

 

Unlike a certain someone who came yesterday and didn’t trust even his closest aide, hiding any weakness he could.

 

Well, even if more people knew, it wouldn’t benefit me. So I didn’t mind.

 

Still, I absolutely could not let him lie down in outside clothes that might have the grime of the road on my precious bed.

 

But kicking him out and telling him to come back tomorrow with pajamas seemed cruel. Up close, the shadows under his eyes were deep and dark.

 

He must’ve gone without sleep for so long…

 

Compared to me, he looked ten times more exhausted.

 

I headed toward the door and told him,

 

“Since you helped me earlier, I’ll lend you some pajamas. Just wait here a bit.”

 

Feeling strangely uneasy, I warned him firmly.

 

“Don’t leave this room. Don’t make noise. If someone comes, hide. Got it?”

 

“Got it.”

 

After getting his clear answer, I took one of the lit oil lamps and stepped out.

 

If anyone found out I had brought a man, and not just any man but Yugen Mont, into my quarters at this hour, just thinking of the chaos made me shiver.

 

Especially the Marchioness, a perfectly ordinary woman who feared the infamous Mercenary King. When she found out Yugen was involved today, she made me promise never to get tangled with him again.

 

Let’s just hurry and get this over with.

 

Fortunately, the laundry room at the Lyndsey estate was always stocked with men’s clothing.

 

The knights and servants who lived on the grounds had all their laundry done there.

 

Before long, I reached the laundry room without running into anyone. At this hour, few servants were about, so with a little care, it was easy.

 

“Men’s sleepwear, men’s sleepwear…”

 

I searched through the shelves of neatly folded, freshly laundered clothes.

 

This one seemed too small for Yugen. That one, too big. As I examined each piece carefully, my eyes landed on one that looked just about right for his build.

 

“Huh?”

 

But this one, oddly the fabric felt really nice.

 

At that moment…

 

“What are you doing here, Sister?”

 

A voice came from directly behind me, nearly stopping my heart.

 

“Holding my sleepwear.”

 

In the darkness, Jayden Lyndsey looked down at me with scrutinizing eyes.