Though I’m a Homebody, I Found Myself in a Dark Captive Genre

Chapter 6



The incident in which unidentified assailants infiltrated the heart of the Salt Kingdom quickly spread across the region.

 

King Salt regarded the incident as the work of those with ill intentions against the kingdom and ordered an investigation, though he did not reveal many details, such as the identity of the kidnapped person.

 

Clink!

 

A fine piece of pottery, carefully crafted by the artisan, fell and shattered at a mere gesture.

 

It was clearly intentional, but no one noticed.

 

The maid, startled, lifted her head and asked with a worried expression.

 

“…Your Highness, are you alright?”

 

Lemeia, who had brown hair as lush as a field of wheat ready for harvest, raised her head after a brief delay.

 

“Oh, I guess I’m just a bit tired. I got dizzy for a moment.”

 

“You really should be careful, Your Highness. If something were to happen, especially with the kingdom in such turmoil…”

 

“Amber.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“I’m fine. Could you just clean up the floor?”

 

“Ah, yes, of course, Your Highness. I was just worried…”

 

“I know, thank you.”

 

With a gentle smile on her pale face, Lemeia remained kind and merciful even in the midst of the tense situation.

 

‘She’s truly a good person.’

 

The maid who picked up the broken glass pieces couldn’t hide her feelings of regret.

 

When news of the intruders reaching the palace had spread, everyone had been so shocked.

 

Though there were whispers, rumors circulated publicly that the Crown Prince of Kleitan had sent people to kidnap Lemeia.

 

If the kind-hearted princess were to be captured by the shameless Empire’s Crown Prince, the Salt Kingdom would surely fall into deep sorrow.

 

Amber sincerely hoped such an event would never happen.

 

“Please call for me if you need anything.”

 

The maid quietly exited and closed the door.

 

Once she was alone, Lemeia hardened her expression, which had previously been relaxed.

 

She truly felt like she might lose her mind from all the stress lately.

 

‘It’s all because of April.’

 

In the Salt Kingdom, it was customary for the royal heir to be actively involved in national affairs, regardless of gender.

 

In a kingdom that had grown through commerce and trade, the royal family’s abilities were considered essential qualities.

 

However, unfortunately, Lemeia’s abilities were extremely unevenly distributed.

 

For instance, she had an exceptional talent for maintaining her appearance, eloquence, dance, and managing her image—areas where no one could compare to her… but her ability to study, or her “academic skills,” were naturally poor.

 

It was so severe that reading more than ten minutes of text in a day would give her a headache as if her brain were about to explode.

 

Her comprehension was also below average, so when someone reported on work-related matters, it took her a considerable amount of time to process the information and reach a conclusion.

 

Had her siblings not died before they were weaned, Lemeia, who had no aptitude for governance, would never have been given such careful care.

 

‘If it weren’t for that child, things wouldn’t have gotten this big!’

 

But King Salt did not want to reveal that the missing person was April.

 

It seemed he feared that the truth might come out—that April had been abducted while fulfilling Lemeia’s duties.

 

Unable to hide his complicated expression, he summoned Lemeia and gave her a stern order.

 

“It’s time for you to play your role. You’ve had enough time, so it shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”

 

“Yes, Father. I’ll do my best.”

 

Lemeia, unable to refuse the order, lowered her head.

 

But.

 

Once again, Lemeia was not smart, and all her troubles stemmed from that fact.

 

So, it was only natural for Lemeia to direct all her frustration toward April.

 

Despite trying every method, Lemeia could not fill April’s void.

 

She would review documents and organize her thoughts all night, only for the next day to render it useless, a mere pile of scrap paper.

 

The King’s disappointed gaze was an added burden.

 

Had she simply failed because she didn’t try hard enough or took her duties lightly, he wouldn’t have been so angry.

 

Creak.

 

Lemeia opened her drawer and pulled out a letter.

 

The thin golden-embossed paper bore the symbol of Kleitan’s royal family, depicting a soaring dragon.

 

“Raiden…”

 

Reading the letter once again, which she had read many times before, Lemeia’s expression softened, as if the anger had been replaced with tenderness.

 

As usual, the letter was filled with praise for the wise and beautiful Lemeia.

 

Although it took quite a while to read the letter again, she wondered if kind Raiden would understand her true feelings if he knew.

 

Sighing, Lemeia retrieved the half-written letter from yesterday.

 

This was the third day she had been working on it.

 

Because writing more than two lines would cause her brain to ache, despite her efforts, the letter had barely reached a single page.

 

It was sunny now, not even raining, but Raiden in the Empire would never know that.

 

Knock knock—.

 

At the sound of the knock, Lemeia quickly hid the letter, pouting her lips.

 

“Come in.”

 

“Excuse me, Your Highness… I apologize for interrupting your work.”

 

The young administrator entered carefully, bowing as he spoke.

 

“I came because the documents I submitted a few days ago have not yet been approved.”

 

“Documents from a few days ago?”

 

“Yes… these are the documents.”

 

As Lemeia checked the papers pointed to by the administrator, she soon felt a headache and set them aside.

 

However, with her superhuman focus, she was able to discern one thing from the complicated documents.

 

“The Kleitan Empire is requesting a wheat transaction.”

 

“Yes, that’s correct. But…”

 

The administrator scratched his head, looking a bit puzzled, and continued.

 

“We bought the wheat from the Empire, but now they want to buy it back. It’s a bit strange, so I came to confirm.”

 

Huh?

 

What’s so strange about that?

 

Lemeia tilted her head inwardly.

 

‘Kleitan people must eat wheat too, right? They can’t just live on bread.’

 

She quickly made a decision.

 

“Give them the wheat.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Just make sure to charge them a high price.”

 

“How much should we charge?”

 

“Well, double? Or should it be triple?”

 

“Ah…”

 

The administrator felt something was off but didn’t show it.

‘The princess must have some reason for this. She has done well up until now.’

 

So, he suppressed his lingering doubts and bowed.

 

“Then, I will charge triple.”

 

“No, wait a moment.”

 

Lemeia, pondering, lowered her voice slightly.

 

“How about between double and triple?”

 

“Do you mean 2.5 times?”

 

Double and triple seemed to mean four times, right?

 

Lemeia tilted her head but didn’t feel like voicing this thought, so she simply nodded quietly.

 

“We’ll go with that.”

 

The documents in the administrator’s hands now bore the princess’s seal.

 

After the administrator left, Lemeia retrieved the letter again.

 

She couldn’t remember where she had left off, and the headache grew stronger as she read her reply.

 

‘Hang in there! I just need to write four more lines and send it tomorrow.’

 

She had to contact Raiden quickly.

 

With the pen in her white hand dipped in ink, Lemeia continued her reply-writing for the next hour, adding exactly two more lines to the original content.

 

* * *

 

“Honestly, I thought it was a lie.”

 

“What was?”

 

After April was dragged out, Liam, who had remained silent for some time, spoke up cautiously, glancing at the Duke.

 

“I thought it was a lie that April Salt was Lemeia’s representative.”

 

“We can’t be entirely sure yet.”

 

“If she is indeed the representative of the princess, will you keep her alive?”

 

Kayan didn’t place much value on human life. He would take it if necessary, but discard it without hesitation otherwise. Liam, who had witnessed countless criminals perish in the Duke’s underground dungeon, could attest to that.

 

However, if April was truly Lemeia’s representative, she would at least have some value to remain alive in the Duke’s prison.

 

“I plan to keep her alive. She’ll be useful in many ways.”

 

As long as she could work like a slave, there was no need to discard such a person.

 

And April had been thwarting Raiden’s plans, as if she already knew about them. Keeping her close was necessary to identify the source of her information.

 

“As for the Crown Prince… Yeah. It’s better to send word that it failed.”

 

Although it was unfortunate that the deal with Raiden via Princess Lemeia had fallen through, it wasn’t urgent at the moment.

 

It was wiser to focus on keeping an eye on the Crown Prince’s next move.

 

“I’ll send a message to the Imperial Palace.”

 

Bowing deeply, Liam turned and hastened his steps.


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