Part 1A Serpent's Mercy

In the corpse-piles of a battlefield, I found the Crown Prince, his memory gone. I fought off wild dogs with him for scraps of food.

Later, when he returned to the royal court, the King asked me what reward I desired.

A line of text appeared before my eyes, visible only to me:

【Don’t tell me the side character is actually going to ask the Prince to marry her.】

【A common huntress from the countryside, daring to dream of marrying into the royal family? No wonder she ends up being forced to drink poison.】

So, marrying the Prince was that dangerous.

I shivered, hiding the small sachet he had given me, and bowed my head to the stone floor.

“Your Majesty, all that Edith asks… is to be sent back to my home in the Northern March.”

* * *

The King was silent for a long moment. “Is that all you wish for?”

I thought about it, then answered honestly. “If it’s not too much trouble, a little money and a large house would be nice, too.”

I peeked at the King’s expression and quickly corrected myself. “A small house would also be fine.”

It was just that a small house wouldn’t have room for chickens and ducks, or a trellis for my climbing flowers.

Silence fell over the throne room. Everyone had assumed I would demand the Prince marry me. After all, the Northern March was a harsh and unforgiving land. If I hadn’t found Prince Drake, gravely wounded and without memory, in that mass grave, he would have frozen to death that winter.

A debt for a life saved is a heavy one. Even the King hadn’t expected my wish to be so… simple.

The text before my eyes erupted into a chaotic argument:

【I didn’t expect the side character to be so decent. My heart aches for her.】

【It’s just a tactic, feigning retreat to advance later. All the scheming second female leads are like this.】

【If the side character is gone, the main female lead and the Prince can finally be together.】

【But the Prince is the devoted second male lead! If he gets the girl, what happens to the main male lead?】

The King told me to wait one month. “The Border Legion is preparing to depart. You may travel with them back to the Northern March.”

“Edith,” he said, his expression unreadable, “you have been wronged.”

But I didn’t feel wronged at all. “I have fine clothes to wear and good food to eat. Edith is already very content.”

As for the Prince… I touched the sachet, a pang of sorrow in my chest. I’d just have to eat a few extra bowls of stew. The sadness would pass.