WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 282: Room 204, Mission Room - ‘Hotel Cinema’ (6)
──────
- Yoo Song-i
Evelyn's words made me let out a dry laugh. Was she trying to say that some nobody she'd never even heard of had seduced the Crown Prince?
This was such middle-school-girl energy. Even by romance fantasy standards, wasn't this plot a little childish? Popular romance fantasies these days had much better buildup than this!
And that wasn't the end of the childish plot. It would be more accurate to say it was only the beginning.
--- Grab!
“Hm?”
“Let's dance.”
“Huh? Jo-”
I didn't even have time to answer.
The boy, his face flushed bright red, gritted his teeth and dragged me toward the square where couples were dancing. The disguised guards behind us, watching with expressions that screamed, What do we do now?, began moving in a panic.
A dance suddenly started before I could even grasp the situation!
Two steps to the left, two steps to the right, one turn backward, then a step forward. It suddenly hit me just how absurd this was!
What were these kids even doing?
It was like an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend were both showing off, saying, “Mm-hm, I've got a boyfriend/girlfriend!” And I was stuck in the middle as the current girlfriend. Even when I was Seung-yeop's age, this sort of childish plot would've given me chills.
“Song-i! Let's go over there!”
I looked at the boy excitedly leading me toward the center of the square.
As I turned with the boy, who was doing his best to dance convincingly, I saw the ridiculous show the people guarding the Crown Prince were putting on.
No matter how childish and clumsy the Crown Prince was acting, who was he? He was their lord for life. Anyone with half a brain would know exactly what was happening here.
The guards were forcing ordinary people nearby to clap for us. Watching their tearful loyalty, I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
Ah...
I looked up at the sky. It was filled with brilliant blue starlight, sharp enough to sting my eyes. Then I looked back and forth between the boy and girl, both blushing peach-red as they became conscious of each other.
This plot was so childish that I would've believed it if someone said it had been written by a middle school girl, but that was why it was fun.
That was the truth.
Even world-famous romance films watched by tens of millions had childish parts if you picked apart their plots.
A wealthy person who could buy a ship on a whim, a powerful figure who could command thousands with a gesture. Such people suddenly met someone of humble status, fell in love, and acted as though they would throw away everything they'd built over their lifetime.
How could something like that happen in reality?
Yet audiences around the world had laughed and cried over such stories. Of course, exceptional directors hid that “childishness” as well as they could, but there was another underlying reason.
People were childish even after they grew up.
We only called the innocence of childhood childishness once we became adults and hid it away. That was why everyone had a boy and a girl in their heart. Right now, I could feel the girl inside me happier than ever.
“Urgh...”
The sound of teeth grinding.
In this ridiculous atmosphere, I looked at the boy who was taking everything so seriously. His bright-red face couldn't hide his sense of defeat.
The reason was easy enough to understand. Compared to Pendleton and Evelyn, who looked as though they'd just stepped out of a fairy tale, he probably felt that our side was falling behind.
No matter how much he tried not to notice, countless people surrounded us, and it was obvious which side they cheered for more. Sure enough, the girl across from us smiled, unable to hide her sense of victory. It was childish, funny, and entertaining. In so many ways, the characters were kind of cute too.
That meant I should do my part to keep this going!
“Jo.”
“Th-that really-”
“Jo!”
“Huh? Song-i?”
“I'm sorry I'm not Elena.”
“Huh? What are you suddenly-”
“But the protagonists of this world aren't them. They're us.”
The protagonist of a movie had to win. Even if the battlefield wasn't some harsh northern frontier invaded by barbarians, but a battle of nerves with his ex-girlfriend!
I reached out into the air. Then an object created by a super-civilization in distant outer space, standing at the boundary between miracle and technology, worked a miracle in a flash of victory.
“Aaaah!”
Pendleton suddenly began thrashing around like a madman.
It was as though the girl who had rested in his arms like a skylark had transformed into a man-eating monster! He shoved Evelyn away as if throwing her aside, shouted into the air, and swung his fists before finally coming to his senses.
But it was already too late.
Evelyn rolled across the dirt, and her dress was ruined in an instant. Everyone nearby stared at Pendleton as if he'd gone insane. Tears had already begun streaming from Evelyn's eyes.
There was another madman beside me.
“Hahaha! Ahahaha! What’s with him? Has that bastard lost his mind?”
“Your Highness, are you enjoying yourself?”
“Huh? N-no! A lady rolled around in the dirt. How could that be amusing? I just felt like lecturing that fool for his idiotic behavior!”
“Then let's go do it.”
“Huh?”
“The lecture. Let's go give it now.”
I led the Crown Prince along while I was at it. He looked startled at first, then seemed to realize this was the opportunity of a lifetime. With a broad smile, he headed toward Pendleton, who was panicking over the massive disaster he'd caused.
“Lord Pendleton!”
“... Y-Your Highness?”
“What was that display just now? Throwing a lady into the dirt out of nowhere! If the Duke had seen you, he would've given you a beating. I cannot refrain from lecturing you as one who will lead the future of the Empire. And-”
“Your Highness, this way!”
“Huh? What?”
Mischief filled the boy's eyes as he followed the direction of my finger. Perhaps the happiest boy in the world at that moment, he held out his hand with a bright smile.
“Lady Evelyn, take my hand and rise. And... next time, I hope you find a partner who at least knows how to dance in a public square.”
“You...!”
Oh? Oh?
What was with that look?
If a person could die from the force in someone's eyes, Yoo Song-i had just died exactly twenty-seven times. The killing intent in Evelyn's eyes was so fierce that my heart nearly fell out of my chest.
Did you sense something? Even the Crown Prince dancing beside me hadn't noticed anything unusual about the bracelet. Was this some kind of exceptional instinct possessed by an Adversary of the female protagonist?
For some reason, I felt like I couldn't lose in terms of presence either. I approached the girl as she rose while holding the Crown Prince's hand and whispered.
“Lady Evelyn, if you feel wronged, become the female lead.”
“What? What on earth-”
“If you don't like it, climb the hotel. Got it?”
“W-What on earth are you-”
“Evelyn! It was Song-i who said we should help you after you fell. Shouldn't you at least thank her?”
The girl trembled for a long while, then finally opened her mouth, unable to withstand everyone's gazes.
“... Thank you.”
That mosquito-sized voice was probably the highlight of this movie.
... Ha!
This was insane! Did everyone see what I can do? From the beginning until now, my judgment had been controlling and directing the movie's flow! Unflinching decisiveness! Insight that saw straight through the Crown Prince's mind!
Ah! Too perfect. I was intoxicated with myself! Right now, I was Perfect Song-i.
* * *
Everyone was speechless for a moment as they watched Song-i blatantly boast so those of us outside could hear. Eun-sol, her mouth half-open, couldn't hold back a mutter.
“She... she's completely swept up in the movie's mood.”
A-ri, who had been giggling like crazy for a while now, reacted positively.
“Ahahaha! So what? She's doing great, isn't she? Go, Perfect Choco Song-i!”
* * *
Considering the time, this movie was entering its final stretch. Evelyn and Pendleton had vanished long ago, and the New Year Festival event seemed to be coming to an end. Around then, the Crown Prince approached me.
“Um... Song-i.”
“Jo?”
“I was so happy today. I mean it.”
“You certainly looked happy.”
“Ah, you probably already know, though there's really no one who doesn't know, but E-Evelyn...”
“I heard you and Evelyn were close in the past.”
At that moment, Joshua Persson wasn't the Emperor's son and Crown Prince of the Empire. He was just a boy. His expression looked exactly like that of a boyfriend caught keeping photos of his ex-girlfriend on his phone and looking at them sometimes.
“No! What are you talking about? The way things were going, we just ended up dating.”
“The way things were going?”
“Evelyn is a distant relative of Her Majesty the Empress. So about two years ago, Her Majesty introduced us, saying she thought we'd suit each other.”
“Did you?”
“I told you we didn't! It's true. I was never comfortable around Evelyn, not once. She was always making me watch my every step. We eventually broke up because of that...”
Why did your boyfriend break up with his ex-girlfriend?
I could guarantee that no high school girl in the world would be uninterested in that topic. The moment it came up among high school girls, it could make someone the star of the whole classroom!
“Did something happen?”
“Back then, maybe two months ago? I fell while riding Motian. That crazy horse-”
The Crown Prince glanced at me and changed his wording.
“... That horse, which still hadn't adjusted to me, threw me off. Everyone nearby panicked, but instead of comforting me, Evelyn only looked at me coldly. What did she say then? That I should improve my horsemanship? I was so angry that I told her never to come to the Imperial Palace again.”
I got a rough idea of what that girl was like. Rather than sincerely loving the Crown Prince, she had probably regarded him as one of the most precious gems that made her shine. When that gem showed its ugliness, she had simply become angry.
“I sometimes regretted breaking up so impulsively back then. Her Majesty scolded me a lot too. But.”
But.
With that word, the boy turned to me with a pure smile.
“Now I think that was the greatest stroke of luck in my life. Maybe Motian threw me off because it wanted to tell me there was someone better for me. So...”
“Go ahead.”
“There's something I really want to say today. I want to formally introduce you to my father. I-in an official setting.”
The most important moment in a romance fantasy had finally arrived. That's right!
‘The Proposal Event.’
Festival excitement colored the embarrassed boy's face. At this moment, the Crown Prince felt a little like a male lead. If this weren't a movie, if it were real, my heart might have fluttered a little.
It would've suited the mood better if the Crown Prince were a little more handsome, brave, and smart, but sadly, he wasn't.
* * *
“Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Kids these days, honestly! How can they say something so embarrassing so easily?”
“... A-ri, that was a little much. And Song-i didn't say it. She only thought it.”
“Hey! Eun-sol, is that a normal thought? It's basically the same as saying it to us!”
As if waiting for the moment, the “real grandfather” beside them shouted.
“Kids these days, honestly! At least think about the people watching!”
Ga-in had a slightly different opinion.
“No... I think everyone found that really romantic, but didn't the ending completely ruin it? ‘It would've been better if you were a little more handsome, brave, and smart?’ That's basically saying she'd rather he were someone else.”
Jin-cheol let out a hollow laugh beside him.
“Either way, we're on track to clear this, right? Seung-yeop, wipe the drool off your mouth. You're about to climb into the screen.”
* * *
--- Rattle!
“Ugh!”
“Lady! Are you all right? You fool! Didn't I tell you to drive more carefully?”
When I came to my senses, I was riding in a moving carriage. The situation was easy to understand. Today was the day the Crown Prince would introduce me as his fiancée in an official setting.
The ending of this movie was finally in sight!
Naturally, it would be the happy ending created by this Yoo Song-i!
It was hard to hide the laughter bubbling up from deep inside me. Ah! Song-i, aren’t you too smart? Elena had failed, but I was succeeding so brilliantly?
I was intoxicated with my own perfection. Honestly, today I was allowed to be.
As I leaned back against the carriage seat and grinned to myself, the old man seated across from me smiled slightly.
“Seeing you so happy brings me happiness as well.”
This was Gellion, the attendant the Crown Prince had sent to fetch me.
He seemed to think I was happy because of the Crown Prince's proposal. It wasn't entirely wrong. That proposal would probably be an essential part of the happy ending.
“Thank you.”
The old man's eyes suddenly grew moist.
“I have... served His Highness since he was an infant. Shamefully, there are times when I feel as though I am looking at my own grandson.”
“Sir Gellion...”
“Please take good care of him. My lady-”
Suddenly, the sharp instincts of Perfect Song-i flashed brighter than ever.
Why was there a scene of us traveling in a carriage right now? Had this movie ever shown the process of moving from one place to another in detail even once?
The ballroom, the Fox Hunt grounds, the Crown Prince's zoo, the New Year Festival. Not once had there been a scene of traveling somewhere!
Why? Because there was no room in the limited running time for a boring scene like traveling.
Which meant the current carriage ride was...
An interesting scene.
--- Rattle!
Footnotes:
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