SIAHG 21

Chapter 21

The Crown Prince murmured contentedly and closed his eyes again.

“I don’t know how I could be having such a pleasant dream.”

His servant’s hair was being ripped out, yet he called it a pleasant dream.

It was a reaction completely outside of Max’s expectations.

“Uwaaaah! Your Highness!”

Max, who had just looked relieved thinking his master would wake up and save him, once again writhed in pain.

“Sir Max! April is talking to you.”

The hair was yanked and shaken again.

Only then did the Crown Prince seem to come to his senses and opened his eyes.

“Hm? So this isn’t a dream…?”

I tilted my head at Max and spoke innocently.

“Oh my? His Highness has woken up. Sir Max? No answer? Is your stomach hurting? Should April take a look?”

“Khh—It’s not his stomach, it’s his scalp. His hair, Max’s hair, it’s, khup… quite tidy now.”

Even to my eyes, his hair looked extremely thinned out.

Did I care? Not at all.

The Crown Prince, who had been stifling giggles, finally burst out laughing.

“Pfft, uhaha. Hahahahaha. Haha. Hahahahahaha.”

Sian and Yeniel stared at the Crown Prince as if he were insane.

Once he started, the Crown Prince simply couldn’t stop.

Like a dam bursting, laughter overflowed.

He laughed so hard it looked like he’d run out of breath.

Was Max really that funny? To be laughing like that all alone.

I stared coldly at the Crown Prince.

“Hahaha, uhahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!”

The way he collapsed, clutching his stomach, reminded me of my brother, and it all felt oddly pathetic.

The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!
The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!
The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!
The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!
The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!

Even those notifications felt pathetic.

In The Archmage’s Mansion, the Crown Prince was at least cool—most of his illustrations showed him dignified and charismatic.

My brother always challenged the so-called Crown Princess Ending, which was considered the true final boss route from Yeniel’s perspective.

“Not on the first playthrough. You have to do it from the second one onward, clear all the events cleanly, raise your stats, gather hidden items! And you have to see the Crown Prince’s affection and hidden events too!”

“How many times have you succeeded?”

“From now on. This is my first time.”

“You’re insane.”

That memory felt like years ago now.

What mattered was—the Crown Prince my brother had so passionately pursued turned out to be…

A man who happily let himself be carried along by a so-called ditzy lady like me.

A man who laughed when Max lost his hair.

‘Let’s stop here.’

If I thought about it any further, I’d lose what little mystique he had left.

The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!
The Crown Prince’s affection has greatly increased!

It was thanks to Yeniel that Max, abandoned by everyone, was finally freed from my grasp.

“Lady April. I need to examine His Highness. Could you please pass me the first-aid kit beneath you?”

“Yes!”

At her request, I neatly released Max’s hair.

Yeniel’s affection has greatly increased!

Affection rose.

Yeniel took the kit and went over to the Crown Prince.

I glanced down—too much hair stuck to my hand. I’d better wash up.

As I rinsed my hands at the washbasin, Max avoided my eyes in the mirror.

He must have learned something from this.

Lesson engraved, he likely wouldn’t rush forward so carelessly again.

At that moment, the status window updated:

Yeniel’s suspicion has decreased by 10%.
Total suspicion: 0%

Why now?

Yeniel was too focused on tending to the Crown Prince to even glance this way.

We prepared to set out again.

“Thank you. It was thanks to everyone—Lady April for finding the kit, Sian and Lady Yeniel for measuring the dosage. Max doesn’t remember, but I know he worked hard.”

The Crown Prince encouraged everyone.

“Your Highness…!”

Max teared up at the gratitude, but I ignored him.

A shiny bald spot, the size of a coin, gleamed on his head.

The Crown Prince summed up the situation.

“Our goal is to open the great door to the next section. As the inscription says, ‘Grant Eternal Rest.’ We need to gather the doll fragments.”

Sian placed down the doll’s head I brought and the legs Max brought.

“Head from Room 207, lower body from 212. Torso from this room. Correct?”

“Yes. Did you find the torso?”

The Crown Prince shook his head.

“No. We didn’t.”

“What? It wasn’t there?”

Max flinched in shock.

“I was conscious for about twenty to thirty minutes after entering. Lady Yeniel and I searched the room. Lady Yeniel is meticulous. Sian tends to miss things, but Lady Yeniel rarely does.”

He emphasized why he had brought Yeniel along.

‘Well, Sian couldn’t even find the secret cabinet.’

He was lost in thought again.

Meanwhile, Yeniel hadn’t seemed to make any mistakes.

She was always the capable, refreshing heroine in the game.

“If it’s not in this room… then somewhere else?”

Sian looked troubled.

“Was there any key or clue to another room?”

“None. Not at all.”

Yeniel answered firmly.

At that moment—

‘If it’s the torso with the heart, it should be in this room. Condition to spawn is for someone to fall asleep and dream, right?’

The thought rose inside me unconsciously.

‘Rooms 201, 204 to 206, and 208 to 211 are locked anyway. No entry.’

I froze.

Why was I thinking this?

This wasn’t something I’d heard from anyone, nor seen in a guide.

It felt like knowledge gained by replaying dozens of times myself.

‘But I only cleared this game twice.’

First time, I followed my brother’s advice.

Second time, I rushed battles and shortcuts for the fastest clear.

Total time, just a handful of hours.

“April wants to sleep.”

Still, I smiled sweetly as I spoke.

Because deep down, I knew—it was the real strategy.

Everyone looked shocked.

I was supposed to be the bright comic-relief, the harmlessly pretty ditzy noblewoman.

For me to directly demand something was rare.

“Because it’s already past nap time.”

“I see. Lady April wishes to nap?”

The Crown Prince replied with a smile in his voice.

“Yes!”

I gave him a pure, sparkling gaze.

“So be it. I’m still not fully recovered myself. Let’s rest before moving on. We’re not in immediate danger of pursuit.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

“Your Highness! I, Max, shall serve you!”

There were three rooms total: the large bedroom we were in, plus two adjoining ones.

I hurried to Yeniel and clung to her arm.

“Lady Yeniel! Let’s be together. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I will share a room with Lady April.”

When Yeniel said so, Sian pointed to one of the rooms.

“Sir Max and I will take turns sleeping and keeping watch over His Highness.”

“What nonsense! …Unlike Sir Sian, I don’t need rest.”

Max raised his voice but, catching my eyes, quickly lowered it.

I hadn’t even meant anything by it. What a coward.