Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 2

Ugh, it hurts so much.

 

My body sank down as if falling into a swamp, then crashed into something hard and stopped.

 

Judging by how I could still breathe, thankfully it wasn’t a swamp. Instead, my whole body screamed from the impact, and I had to gasp for breath to drive out the pain.

 

Where am I now?

 

Suppressing the pain as much as possible, I looked around and saw a rock just a hand’s width away. No matter where I turned my gaze, all I saw were stone walls, sending a chill down my spine.

 

A space just big enough for my body had formed between the cracks in the rocks. If I moved even slightly wrong, I’d crash headfirst, so my heart pounded.

 

Get a grip. Hoo, hoo.

 

I pressed my hands to my chest and took a deep breath. To teleport, you need a moment of intense focus, so first I had to calm myself. Then I realized the area wasn’t as dark as I’d thought.

 

The forest had been pitch black without a hint of moonlight, but here it actually felt relatively bright. As I fumbled around, careful not to bump into the rocks, I saw light seeping up from below.

 

Suddenly, my heart pounded so hard it hurt.

 

Could there be an escape route below?

 

The hope that what I’d been desperately searching for might be down there made my body feel lighter. Luckily, it seemed I’d gotten caught in this gap while falling.

 

If a warden or someone else was around, they’d have heard the crash already. Since there’d been no sign of anyone so far, maybe I was safe?

 

The light was coming from a natural hole between the rocks. When I looked down through it, the rock face sloped diagonally down to the ground.

 

If I stepped on the protruding stones one by one, I could probably make it down. I took a deep breath and stretched my leg down through the hole.

 

It’s okay. I can do this.

 

But as I started down, the slope was steeper than I’d thought. My legs trembled as I forced them to move, descending one step at a time. Two torches on the cave wall flickered as if about to go out. The space wasn’t very big, but the light was so dim that the far wall was just darkness.

 

“Huh?”

 

It was when I was almost down. The stone I stepped on broke, and my body slid down with a rush. My knee scraped against the rock wall.

 

“!!”

 

When it hurts too much, you can’t even groan. I clutched one knee and swallowed the pain again. Even as I held my breath and endured, no one approached. That was a relief.

 

It had felt bright only because the mountain was so dark, but now that I’d gotten used to it, it wasn’t that bright after all. I couldn’t believe there was a cave like this here.

 

It seemed likely it was connected to somewhere outside the island. If there was even a single abandoned boat, that would be perfect.

 

Feeling along the wall, I touched a smooth rock surface. Stepping back a bit, I saw that a single rock stretched from ceiling to floor. It definitely didn’t look natural.

 

Suppressing my quickening breath, I examined it and saw fine cracks around the rock. Cold air was coming in through those gaps. It was like a door made of stone.

 

Ah, could it be? No way!

 

I crawled closer to get a better look.

 

Clang!

 

A sound rang out behind me. I froze, holding back a scream and even my breath.

 

Someone’s here.

 

I pressed my back against the wall in a panic. I had nothing that could be used as a weapon. If it came to it, I could teleport back to the forest I’d come from, but then my identity as an Epilo would be exposed.

 

In the Empire, Epilos were the enemies of all. If I was discovered here, I’d face a fate worse than slavery.

 

As the torchlight flickered, darkness surged in like waves and then receded. Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, a huge silhouette appeared so clearly I wondered how I hadn’t noticed it.

 

“Gasp.”

 

I belatedly covered my mouth with my hand. Then I realized the cave walls were covered in what looked like writing.

 

This wasn’t a naturally formed space. Every time the torchlight swept across the wall, the letters would appear and vanish.

 

It was as if the letters were alive, shimmering along the light. Only then did I realize the silence in the cave was actually an oppressive presence.

 

Staring at the writing, I felt like a speck of dust, utterly insignificant.

 

I couldn’t read the language, but the overwhelming atmosphere filled the space.

 

And at the end of that overwhelming darkness, I saw ‘him.’

 

Both arms chained, hanging limp as if unconscious. He was completely bound to the cave wall. And I realized the smell from before wasn’t just old earth.

 

Drip, drip.

 

Blood from him soaked the floor.

 

That thick liquid was slowly spreading, as if it had a life of its own.

 

I couldn’t see his face, but I felt like I knew who it was. The unexpected encounter sent chills down my spine.

 

‘Sihien!’

 

Sihien Ka Sharcani.

 

He was the male lead of the Original Story.

 

[…On Salt Island, there is a space imbued with a dragon’s power. Once a year, the Crown Prince would let his power run wild there. Only in that space could his power be contained….] 

 

The fact that the male lead came here was top secret, but the Prince eventually found out, and that was the problem.

 

It was the perfect chance to get rid of the male lead and frame him, so they blew up Salt Island.

 

Because they could cover it up by saying the male lead’s power ran wild and caused it.

 

‘But they never said he was in such a miserable state.’

 

Even though it was a tragedy, I never expected it to be this bad. I’d seen him whipped brutally as a slave, and I’d seen wounds so deep the bone showed through.

 

Even then, I’d barely managed to keep my sanity, but compared to the scene before me now, that was nothing.

 

Three diagonal gashes cut across his exposed chest, as if slashed by something sharp. His thigh had a chunk of flesh gouged out, as if scooped out by something round.

 

Those were just the major wounds; countless smaller cuts and scratches covered his entire body. Just looking at his injuries, it wouldn’t be strange if he was already dead.

 

It wasn’t in the Original Story, which made it feel even more tragic. He barely got a few lines of narrative, and yet he’d suffered all this pain alone.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Then a groan-like breath escaped him. That vivid sound sent ripples through me.

 

The original <Blood-Soaked Moon> was my escape from reality when things got tough, and the male lead Sihien was my favorite character, someone I’d pictured in my mind countless times.

 

Just thinking of the name ‘Sihien’ made my heart ache and my eyes grow hot.

 

His desperate love for the heroine, his sense of duty to the Empire even in a hopeless life—how many times had I fallen for him and thrilled at his story?

 

The feelings I’d forgotten while living as a slave came rushing back.

 

I never knew that knowing a person’s entire life from childhood to the ending could be so bittersweet.

 

‘How pitiful.’

 

The wounds were too gruesome to look at, but I stepped closer anyway, trying not to step in the blood.

 

Up close, it was even more hopeless.

 

When I came to this world, I thought no one could be more miserable than me, but at this moment, his fate seemed even harsher.

 

Seeing my favorite character right before my eyes, I wanted to do anything I could to help him.

 

I desperately wished for him to suffer even a little less.

 

Ah, I had Noveni!

 

I remembered how I’d eagerly picked herbs with pain-relieving effects. I took a few roots from the ragged cloth bag I always carried.

 

These herbs could be chewed raw, but he clearly wasn’t in any condition to do that. If eating them was too hard, placing them on the wound would help, but I had to crush them to get the juice out.

 

I looked at the herbs, then at him hanging in chains, and finally put the herbs in my own mouth.

 

I chewed them until they were soft, then spat them into my hand. The sharp scent of the herbs mixed with the smell of blood.

 

“Ah….”

 

After spitting out the herbs, I realized it was pointless. There were too many wounds for this to be enough. In the end, the best thing would be for him to swallow it.

 

“Um, just a moment.”

 

He couldn’t hear me, but I carefully cupped his face with one hand. Since he was unconscious, his face tilted upward at my touch.

 

“Ugh.”

 

His face was in terrible shape, too. Whether his head had been split or smashed, one side was covered in blood. I bit my lip, feeling a pain that wasn’t even mine.

 

Then I pressed the chewed herbs into his mouth. Even if it was useless, I just wanted to ease his pain, even a little.

 

A man who never truly knew happiness, who suffered from his innate power since childhood, and in the end, never even found love.

 

And yet, he still—