The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 182

The room was instantly enveloped in a frozen silence. Aro stared blankly at the village chief. In her eyes, along with disbelief, a growing fear was forming.

I couldn't speak and kept staring at the village chief. The village chief was alive a moment ago, but now she wasn't anymore. The silence of that moment felt as long as if time had stopped.

"Grandma...?" Aro called again in a trembling voice, but there was no answer. Now the village chief showed no reaction at all.

I glanced at Sannyeong. She must have already expected that the village chief wouldn't live long. But Sannyeong's reaction was beyond my expectation. She had a flustered look on her face, like someone who had suddenly suffered a misfortune. Her flushed red face, which had been full of anger, was gradually losing its color and turning pale.

"N, no way. Ah, not yet, not yet..."

Sannyeong strode into the room and approached the village chief. I took a step back from them.

"Not yet!" Sannyeong shouted. It was a voice filled with more anger than sorrow. She grabbed the village chief's cold hand and kept calling her. But the village chief didn't answer.

After a while, Sannyeong made a desperate expression and bowed her head. Her shoulders heaved greatly.

"Hic, hiccup."

Aro began to sob. Sannyeong paid no attention to her and continued to cling to the village chief. I slowly raised my hand and wrapped one around her shoulders.

"Uncle. W, what do we do now?"

Her pronunciation was garbled because of her sobbing, but I had no problem understanding her. I was silent for a moment and then answered with difficulty.

"First of all..."

But even those words couldn't be finished.

"Stop crying!" Sannyeong shouted at Aro. Then she turned her head sharply and looked at me.

"Nothing happened. Do you understand?"

She tried to shut me up. But the village chief's death was not something that could be covered up just by keeping it a secret.

"......It's difficult to keep a secret, it will eventually be revealed."

Why is she trying to tell a lie that will be exposed soon?

"Even in a few days."

It seemed that anyone in the village could enter this shrine. There was no way for Sannyeong alone to prevent access. Eventually, the fact that the village chief had died would be known in some way. People in the village might even be able to guess the news of the village chief's death by seeing that they didn't bring food or clothes when they came to the village.

"It doesn't matter."

Sannyeong glared at me.

"It's none of your business. Mind your own business. Weren't you eager to leave our village as soon as possible anyway?"

It's true that I have to leave. But...

I glanced at Aro without saying anything. She was still sobbing, but now her face was even more uneasy. She looked at me, then carefully grabbed my sleeve with her small hand. As if to say don't go.

And Sannyeong continued in a commanding tone.

"You, get out."

After saying that, Sannyeong looked at Aro. And she gestured for her to come closer.

"Come here."

Then Aro looked at me and Sannyeong, then shook her head timidly. Sannyeong frowned and shouted in an even louder voice, her expression not even seeming to care that she looked pitiful as she shook her head powerlessly and slowly.

"I said come here!"

Aro started sobbing again at Sannyeong's words, making it seem like she had barely stopped crying. Her face was already tear-stained. I stepped in to mediate.@@novelbin@@

"Calm down a bit..."

"Don't interfere!"

Hey, why are you being like this to me?

It was a somewhat unfair situation, but I obediently kept my mouth shut. It's not like I could fight with them.

"Uncle."

Aro pulled my sleeve a little harder and asked, "Are you going?"

"Where to?"

I wasn't sure if she meant to go back to the village, or... if she was asking if I was going to leave the village altogether, so I asked. Aro just hung her head low.

"Go."

And Sannyeong repeated the same word. Even if I were to leave, where could I go? The first area where I opened my eyes in this otherworld was a barren wilderness, and to find a place where people lived, I had to go back to the border area I had visited before... But I had heard that I would die if I went there without any preparations.

"Do you mean to go back to the village?"

At my question, Sannyeong started glaring at me. I didn't know what she meant. Was she just telling me to go out and die? Gon's words, telling me that I was clueless and getting angry, came to mind.

"If you're going to keep beating around the bush like that, you might as well leave the village altogether."

Hmm.

I glanced at Aro. Then I remembered that she had previously asked me to take her out of the village.

"If I can leave the village, I'd like to do so."

Sannyeong's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?"

"To be honest, yes. I sincerely believe that leaving is the right thing to do. Because I can't stay in this village."

"Then?"

"I have to go back. To where I originally was... But I don't know how."

"......Just go straight past the sacred rope at the border."

Sannyeong readily began to tell me the way. But I already knew that much. Because I had seen the map in the study.

"But you said that it would be dangerous to cross the sacred rope without special preparations?"

Then Sannyeong's eyes showed a wary look.

"......You must have sneaked a peek in the library."

"Let's not lie."

Sannyeong stared at me silently for a while, then sighed and answered.

"That's right."

"Then please help me with the preparations so that I can return to where I originally was. Then I will obediently leave the village."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It shouldn't be difficult, should it?"

"......Is that really all you need?"

"Why are you so distrustful even though you know I want to leave?"

In fact, I had an idea why Sannyeong was so distrustful of my words.

"......Is it true that you went into the library?"

"It's true."

I nodded my head.

"How did you get in?"

"I snatched the key from Hwang Danyo when she was coming out of the library."

Then Sannyeong muttered, touching her temple.

"Danyo, you say? I shouldn't have entrusted the key to her..."

"It's already spilled milk, what's the use of regretting it?"

"......That's true."

Sannyeong sighed heavily, looking half resigned.

"So, even though you sneaked into the library and stole a look at the records, you still want to leave our village? And you're even saying you'll leave empty-handed without asking for anything?"

"I don't think I said I would leave empty-handed. Didn't I ask you to help me prepare so that I could safely pass through the area outside the sacred rope?"

"Anyway. Isn't that the same thing? Do you really think I'm going to believe your words?"

"What's the reason you can't believe me?"

If I reveal my identity as a member of the Great Army, would she believe me? But I had a feeling that I shouldn't reveal my identity.

"I don't think you have a desperate reason to go back."

Sannyeong sighed deeply.

"If that's the case..."

Then she looked at the motionless village chief.

"Let's get out of here for now."

"Can we just leave the village chief like that?"

Sannyeong glared at me instead of answering.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

Is that so? Well, I guess so.

I nodded and naturally picked up Aro. I couldn't just turn around and leave her sobbing. More than anything else, it had become almost a habit to pick her up whenever I saw her.

"You come here."

At that moment, Sannyeong said to Aro in a stern voice. Aro, held in my arms, looked at Sannyeong. When the mother and daughter's eyes met, a strange atmosphere flowed. It felt strangely hostile. Soon after, I could understand the reason.

"He's going to leave soon. I told you not to get attached to him."

Then Aro's face turned red again and I began to hear her sobbing.

"I told you to stop!" Sannyeong shouted.

I don't know why she kept yelling at a crying child when it didn't seem like it would do any good. Is that how it's supposed to be? But that answer would only be known by those who have lived with their mothers. As an orphan who grew up without parents, that was an unanswerable question for me.

"I'll calm her down, so it's better for you to go out first."

I stopped Sannyeong and hurriedly left the room with the ancestral table and the village chief. When I came out into the corridor, Sannyeong headed somewhere. Following her, I found a room with slightly old but clean tables and chairs.

"Why is there a reception room?"

"Don't try to know. Didn't you promise that you would definitely leave?" Sannyeong said in a cold tone.

"Yes, well."

I awkwardly nodded and sat Aro down first, then took a chair next to her.

"I have to clean up here."

Cleaning up... It was a simple expression, but I could guess that the task would be anything but simple. Secretly sending off the deceased village chief would be a big task.

"Are you really not going to tell the villagers?"

"Isn't that something you don't need to know?"

It wasn't unreasonable for her to say that she wouldn't tell me because I was leaving, but on the other hand, since I was leaving anyway, there was no reason not to tell me. It was a rather unfeeling attitude. Even though I had helped the village with various tasks.

I quietly nodded my head. Then silence flowed. Sannyeong didn't seem to want to talk much. Of course, Sannyeong and I needed to talk about how she would send me out of the otherworld, but for now, it seemed we both needed to rest. Even without looking closely, fatigue and anxiety were evident on Sannyeong's face.

"......Are you going back to the village?"

It was Sannyeong who spoke first. I shook my head.

It didn't really matter if I went back to the village, but Sannyeong wouldn't want me to return to the village with Aro. Knowing that what she wanted and what I wanted coincided, she wouldn't send me and Aro back together even in case of an emergency.

And I couldn't shake off this girl’s grip on my sleeve. She was still holding onto one of my sleeves tightly.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]