Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 1

 

The Sharkanian Empire is a thoroughly stratified society.

 

The hierarchy descends in the order of imperial family, nobility, commoners, and slaves. You could further subdivide it into knights, merchants, priests, and so on, but let’s set that aside for now.

 

What matters here is that ‘slaves’ are at the absolute bottom of the social pyramid.

 

Just as the imperial family, said to have inherited the blood of dragons, stands above all other classes.

 

And unfortunately, among those slaves, the lowest of the low are the slaves of this Salt Island. The lowest of the bottom, truly.

 

“Sez.”

 

It’s Aunt Noah’s voice. It’s the signal that it’s time to get up.

 

To be honest, my mind was already awake, but my body was refusing to start the day.

 

“Yes, I’m coming.”

 

Every cell in my body was fiercely protesting, but I ignored it and forced myself upright.

 

Here, there’s no one who will say, “You must be tired,” and understand.

 

You must wake up at the set time and work the set amount. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick, young, old—no one cares about your circumstances.

 

That is the life of a slave.

 

The word ‘slave’—something I’d only ever read about in books. Who could have imagined I would actually live that life?

 

It still doesn’t feel real, so today again, I pinch the skin on the back of my hand for no reason.

 

“Ah.”

 

It hurts, as expected. This is reality. Damn it.

 

“If you don’t meet your quota again today, you’ll go hungry.”

 

The overseer’s eyes today, as always, seemed to say he was just waiting for someone to slip up.

 

Lately, the workload on Salt Island has only been increasing. They say it’s because salt is in ever higher demand, but what meaning does that have for a slave who can’t claim any share for themselves?

 

The original workload was already tough, but now they expect even more, so the mood in the cave has grown darker.

 

“Why are you so slow over there!”

 

Whip, smack!

 

The whip struck the ground. If it had missed by just a little, it would have grazed my back. Cold sweat ran down my face.

 

Bang, bang, bang!

 

I hate pain, so I slammed the sharp tool down with all my might. White crystals fell from the cave wall.

 

No matter how much we dig, it’s never enough. Unless we empty the entire salt mine, it’ll never be enough.

 

This is what our days are like here: from morning till night, we mine salt until we’re half-dead.

 

I’ve been doing this since I was ten, so this is my fifth year.

 

『Me… a slave?』 

 

Five years ago, I possessed this girl’s body.

 

The ten-year-old girl I possessed was an orphan, and also the youngest slave on Salt Island.

 

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was the cold cave wall, and I fainted again on the spot.

 

And when I woke up again, I realized for sure.

 

This place is inside a 19+ dark romance novel.

 

The Original Story, titled <The Blood-Soaked Moon>, is about a main couple who love each other but, after interference from the villain, meet a tragic end.

 

From the start, the heroine approaches the crown prince male lead in order to kill him, and the male lead, who has lived in pain, meets her and awakens to the emotion called love.

 

The setting was a tragedy with a bad ending in mind, but the male lead was so incredibly attractive that I read it to the end.

 

His desperate devotion to the heroine made me pay for the next chapter every time, and even after it was over, the lingering feeling was intense.

 

But why, of all things, a slave?

 

I wasn’t even hoping to be one of the main characters. I would have been satisfied with just a passing noble.

 

You know, the kind of story where you open your eyes to find a bed with a canopy, and a maid comes in saying, “The young lady is awake!” Or you get dressed up in a gown, your hair brushed, and hear, “You’re so beautiful!” If only I could have ridden in a carriage to a party—how wonderful that would have been.

 

No, forget all that.

 

If only I’d possessed a commoner instead of a slave. Then I could have enjoyed a simple, peaceful life. I wouldn’t have to spend every day doing hard labor. Does this make any sense?

 

Why, of all things, why a slave!

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

I slammed the tool into the salt with extra force.

 

No matter how I think about it, it makes no sense. What did I ever do wrong? Why did I have to possess the lowest of the low among slaves?

 

“She’s gone crazy, I told you.”

 

The other slaves nearby started whispering.

 

“You heard the rumor about the island exploding, right?”

 

“She seemed quiet after her mother died, but now she’s really lost it.”

 

I’d heard it so often that it didn’t hurt anymore. I just pitied them for not knowing the future.

 

Yeah. Explosion.

 

That was the big problem.

 

This Salt Island is going to explode soon.

 

It’s one of the incidents that brings the male and female leads together in the Original Story.

 

The male lead thinks the Salt Island explosion happened because he lost control, and the female lead tells him it was actually orchestrated by his younger brother, the prince, to kill him.

 

The heroine reveals that her own father was involved in the plot, and in exchange, asks the male lead to become engaged to her. That’s how their relationship begins.

 

Knowing this, I had to stop the explosion no matter what.

 

『This place is going to explode.We need to prepare!』 

 

『Ugh, you stink! Get away from me!』 

 

『I’m serious.Please, just believe me this once!』 

 

『Don’t come near me! Do you have any proof?』 

 

『Well, um…I actually see the future in my dreams.』 

 

『You’re saying you saw an explosion in your dream?』 

 

『Yes, it sounds strange, but you have to believe me!』 

 

That day, I think I was punished by being starved all day.

 

Since then, the overseer has glared at me every time he sees me.

 

『There might already be explosives hidden here!』 

 

『Ugh, crazy! Disgusting! Go wash, will you!』 

 

『We could all die, I’m telling you!』 

 

『Get lost!』 

 

No one believed the words of a child slave. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have believed it either. I knew it was hard to believe, but I couldn’t give up.

 

『Auntie. If the explosion starts, you have to stay near me. Got it?』 

 

『Did you actually wash yourself?』 

 

『Ah, I was sweating so much. But anyway, Auntie, if this island explodes—』 

 

『Are you out of your mind? I told you not to go around washed!』 

 

Aunt Noah was the only one on this island who took pity on this girl. Her words could be harsh, but her actions were always caring.

 

『Make sure not to wash too much. Never show this face in front of others, understand?』 

 

It was already confusing enough to possess a slave, but Auntie scolded me like that many times.

 

At first, I misunderstood her and was deeply hurt.

 

Why is she so harsh, I wondered, and hated her for it. But now I understood that Aunt Noah was right.

 

This girl is needlessly pretty.

 

Not only is she a born slave, but she’s also pretty. In the light, her light brown hair looks almost silver, and her eyes are violet. She even has a high-bridged nose.

 

In my previous life, these would have been things I longed for, but on this island, beauty is a curse. Especially for a girl with no protector, she was completely defenseless.

 

So I deliberately cut my hair any old way and smeared dirty earth on my face right after washing.

 

The stinky herbs Aunt Noah taught me about worked like a charm—no one wanted to come near me.

 

『Auntie, if you ever sense anything strange, you have to come to me, okay?』 

 

『Watch your mouth.』 

Aunt Noah glared at me coldly. She was the only one who knew my secret.

 

[The Epireo. They possessed the ability to move through space, but were exterminated for opening a rift between dimensions.] 

 

What mattered in the original world was the ‘Beasts’. Beasts began invading the empire as the dimensional rift opened, and it was said that a race called the ‘Epireo’ caused it.

 

So, while they weren’t major characters, there were many scenes describing just how evil the Epireo were. Even at the end, after the male and female leads die, the rift widens and more Beasts pour in.

 

‘But somehow, I think I’m one of those Epireo.’

 

Maybe because it was so pitiful to be a slave doomed to die in an explosion, fate had me possess a member of the supposedly extinct Epireo.

 

Spatial movement ability—when I first realized it, I was thrilled.

 

‘But so what? I can only go to places I’ve already been.’

 

Having possessed a girl living on an island, there’s nowhere I’ve been outside the island. So even with this ability, it was useless for now.

 

‘No matter what, I’m going to escape. Before this island explodes.’

 

Bang, bang, bang!

 

With renewed determination, I slammed the tool into the salt.

 

＊ ＊ ＊ 

 

It was a very rainy day.

 

The slaves’ quarters were inside the cave, so you couldn’t really tell what the weather was like. You could only barely glimpse outside through a small hole.

 

Officially, it was forbidden to go outside the cave, but on days like this, the guards didn’t bother to watch.

 

After all, this is an island, so there’s little risk of escape, and since every day is filled with hard labor, the slaves don’t usually try to go out anyway.

 

“Maybe I’ll try going toward the mountain today.”

 

But I was different. Even if my body felt as heavy as lead, I couldn’t give up searching for an escape route. Five years have passed since I came to this world, so the time when the male and female leads meet must be drawing near.

 

Which means, the time for the Salt Island explosion is also getting close.

 

I lay pretending to sleep, imagining myself moving outside the cave. When the heat rising from my toes reached my head, I clenched my fists and focused even harder on that image. I tried to picture as vividly as possible the place I wanted to go.

 

When I opened my eyes like that, I’d be at my desired location.

 

Because it was raining so much, I was soaked in no time. Having worked all day, I felt even heavier.

 

“This feels good. Really cool.”

 

I wanted to go lie down again right away, but I made myself speak brightly as I walked.

 

Tomorrow could be the day of the explosion. Telling myself the rain was refreshing, I headed toward the mountain, which was usually off-limits. For slaves, everywhere except the work site was forbidden, but especially the mountain—no one, not even the overseer, was allowed there.

 

They said it was because of the many swamps, but after several attempts, I still hadn’t found any. Lately, I’d been focusing on exploring the area, hoping there might be a way out.

 

But it’s so dark….

 

It was true, the forested mountain was pitch black. If I wasn’t careful, I could fall into a swamp, so I had to be cautious.

 

I could hardly see a step ahead. I had to walk hunched over, staring at the ground, just to see anything. At least the thick trees made the rain feel lighter.

 

“Huff, huff.”

 

My body grew heavier with every step. Trying to memorize every detail of unfamiliar places made me tire even faster.

 

If I wanted to move here again later, I had to remember as much as possible about the surroundings. I forced my heavy legs to move, eyes wide open.

 

Flap!

 

“Ah, that scared me.”

 

Suddenly, a large bird flapped its wings and flew up in the silent forest. My tense body froze, and my breath caught. Since I didn’t know this place well yet, I had to be extra careful.

 

“Huh? Nobeni?”

 

But then, where the bird had flown from, I spotted some herbs. Nobeni—an herb especially effective for pain relief. I couldn’t believe such a precious herb was growing so large here. When Aunt Noah showed it to me, it was tiny. I guess it grew so big here because no one ever came.

 

‘It probably works even better, too.’

 

Escaping was important, but I couldn’t just pass up Nobeni. My hands were covered in blisters again today, and they stung so much. With this herb, I could dull the pain for a while. The herbs grew in a line like a path, so I picked them as I walked, trying to gather as much as I could carry.

 

Flap! Flap! Flap!

 

Then, several birds suddenly shot up into the sky.

 

“Whoa, ah!”

 

The noise was so loud I couldn’t help but jump. Without thinking, I stepped to the side—and the ground gave way beneath me.

 

‘Swamp!’ I realized, just as my whole body sank down. It felt like something grabbed my ankle and yanked me down fast.