Elyse shook her head, still not understanding what the prince had said to her. She thought she had heard something incorrectly, but when she looks at him, she realizes he is not joking. Rouge pulled out his sword and drew it. "Kneel, his highness has issued the order." Elyse was forced to kneel due to the sword that was waiting to cut her down if she made a mistake. Her hands were also on the ground.
"Is this the woman we apprehended?" Elyse felt a shiver run down her spine. The prince's voice was colder, even frightening, than the one she had heard in the forest. It's as if a cool breeze just caressed her skin.
"Yes, your highness," Rouge replied politely.
From afar, the prince observes Elyse's face. "How can they send such a wench like this to kill me? Those idiots, are they asking me to cut off their limbs? Are they insulting me for sending such a useless being?"
"In fact, I'm just a regular citizen-" Elyse's sentence was cut short when a sword passed through her neck. Elyse could hear the sword piercing the wall behind her. Then she felt a liquid drain from her neck. She gently touched her neck, feeling a thick liquid. Her eyes widened when she realized it was her own blood.
"Where did you get a permission to speak?" asked the prince. His voice was emotionless, and Elyse had the impression she had just heard an operative doll speak. "You want me to rip that mouth of yours?" Even though Elyse's life was on the verge of ending, she still put her hands back in the floor and continued kneeling, lowering her upper body and pressing her head to the ground. "Please accept my apologies for my hasty action..."
"Would you like to live?" flinched Elyse. His majesty's voice was cold, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. How could this man have such a beautiful and soft face but speak like a dead person?
And what is the nature of that question?
"Of course," she said slowly, nodding. She hadn't even discovered her irritated mother's expression, and she hadn't even traveled around her own world yet—she couldn't die here! "You've probably heard that you only have one chance at life," he says again, gazing at her. To be more specific, he is sitting and looking down at Elyse.
His eyes were starting to captivate her. She was completely baffled as to why she had been summoned and what work awaited her. Nonetheless, she requires a job. "I heard..."
His highness's gaze was fixed on Rouge. And, as previously stated, Rouge recognizes the man's stare and immediately understands what his royal highness was implying. Rouge raised her voice. "We discussed this earlier; all you have to do now is take a bite out of every food that his highness has to eat."
"...Is that all?" She was bothered for some reason. Why is it so easy? Is this a trap set to see if she's a pig or not?
"Are you implying that I'm lying?" Rouge asked seriously, straight-faced.
Elyse could only sigh. "Of course not, I'm just going to test the foods... Do royalties usually come with this type of work?"
Rouge glared at her, "You dare to ask questions here? How dare you speak in front of the Crown Prince? You do seem to get tired of living."
Her agitated expression was apparent. "It's not like that at all...! I sincerely apologize!" she said, raising her hand and waving it as if she was saying 'no'.
The prince taps his finger on the table, as if signaling Rouge to stop, which drew Elyse's attention. "How strange," the prince remarked. The expression in his eyes changed slightly but quickly faded.
"What is it, you highness?" Rouge wondered out loud quickly. The prince didn't respond and instead stared at Elyse intently. She coughed awkwardly and abruptly changed the subject. "But why do you need a food taster, and is it also possible to eat a lot of delicious foods that are ready here?" Elyse asked, shamelessly drooling over the food on the large, long table.
"You can eat it all." the prince replied.
"Are you sure, you highness? You will let someone like me eat these delicious foods right now?" Elyse exclaimed joyfully, and her ears clapped in response.
"If you still want to live, that is." she froze when she heard his highness dropped the fucking bomb.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward. But Elyse noticed the evil smirk that had just appeared. "All you have to do is taste everything and see if there's anything poisonous in there; isn't that simple?" He took up the fork and pointed it at her. The pupils of Elyse dilated.
The task is essentially easy. Your life, on the other hand, can be easily taken. "... Can I still decline the job?" she asked immediately. She's not dumb just to fall in this kind of scam. How could she put her life in jeopardy? This is definitely a scam. Baiting her with food, huh?
Rouge was staring at her. "How impudent! No one can defy his highness' command! This is treason!" Rouge's name reflected his personality.
"No, it's not like that... I just want to live a little longer..." Her mind was now in a state of disarray. Everything is a jumble! How is she so unlucky? Will her desire to return home right away remain a fantasy? That can't be right.
"You wanted to live? Is it in your hands or mine?" said the prince abruptly. Elyse's feet became even weaker as a result of his threatening voice. The fact that the prince didn't even blink when he said it, as if Elyse's life wasn't that important. Elyse felt as if a large rock had just landed in her life at the time.
"Do you believe you have the ability to select the type of work you want to do? Ha! You have no legal standing. What a fool you are!" Rouge screamed. The crown prince gave her a look, just staring at her as if she were an actor in a play, and leaned back in his chair, watching her reaction, his stunning appearance complementing his demeanor. "I'll be gracious and give you two choices and three seconds to answer. Work or perish slowly in the dungeon. "Make a wise decision now," the prince said coldly again, "Answer within that time or your head will fly."
This is a suicidal situation. Even if she chooses one, she will perish. Before she answered, Elyse was already crying in her head. "A-alright, your highness... I'll do the job and serve you well, but how long will this take?" she replied hesitantly.
The silver-white haired man graciously dropped the fork he had been holding. He simply held the fork earlier to play and did not eat with it.
"Until you figure out which foods are poisonous." [Does he mean until I ingest poison and perish?] This is a bad. "But don't worry; even if you ate poisonous food, I doubt you'd die right away." [Is that meant to make a bit me relieved? Please, no thanks.] He suddenly rose to his feet. He began walking as if no one else was in the room except him.
Elyse took a deep breath and exhaled slowly after seeing the prince leaving silently without cutting her head. She appears to have forgotten to breathe.
"There's one more thing..." Elyse became immobile. Is he still not finished? As he walked out of the dining room, he placed his order. "Teach this peasant how to be a good royal servant. She might lose her head even if she only stays at the palace for a day. Her ignorance is what will kill her."
He look back, staring at her. "But your ignorance amused me today, so I shall give you a second life."
[Should I say thank you then?]