I Reincarnated As A White Pig Noble’s Daughter From A Shoujo Manga

194: Princess Tsundere* And The Phantom Prince (Angela’s Perspective)

I — Angela, with my hands and feet tied, was rummaging through every corner of the room I was being confined in.

However, nothing seemed to be particularly useful, only wooden boxes packed with dark brown lumps.

After rummaging for a while, the crew of the ship came into the room.

(But I haven’t found anything useful yet ….)

With their escalating irritation, I was thrown and tumbled on the floor.They stared with pity.

They put a tray that served a simple meal in my hands. It looked like a tough bread and watery soup with scraps of vegetables floating in it.

I was not particularly hungry, but hard to know when I would have another chance to eat a meal.

(It’s good that they don’t seem to have the desire to kill me yet.)

I decided to eat. They released my bound hands so I could eat.

Perhaps due to my obedient behavior that they let their guard down.

After finishing my meal, they did not rebind my hands.

(While I’m at it, might as well loosen the constraint on my legs.)

I wanted to escape but was locked in the room with no way out. The room had no windows either.

I pretended to be seasick and went on the deck. The boat still swayed a little even when moored, since it was still floating on the water.

My current location was probably the west port of the Royal Capital.

An array of ships with similar sizes, like the one I was on, was lined along the dock. I felt a sense of relief upon confirming that the ship had not departed yet.

There seemed to be relatively few people at the dock. The crew of other ships would occasionally pass through.

(It’s okay, I can still return.)

I was tempted to call out for help but could not let civilians get involved.

The men aboard this ship were armed for this was an act of kidnapping a princess. People involved could get hurt if I cried for help.

Besides, even if I managed to get off this ship, they would most likely recapture and drag me back onboard.

(I have no choice but to wait for a chance to escape.)

I observed the watchman. There was always someone standing guard outside the room I was confined in.

The distinct glow of our slightly pale skin was the characteristic of people of the Northern Kingdom.

I realized that I was entangled in the discord between the Northern and the Central** Kingdom.

As if the ship was waiting for something, it had yet to leave port.

(Is it waiting for a person? Some stuff? Or perhaps, someone’s order?)

Even after spending a few days on the ship, it had not set sail yet.

Gazing far into the horizon, I decided to prepare more for my escape since I had figured out enough to find my way inside the ship.

Fortunately, no one kept an eye for the obedient princess.

My golden opportunity to escape came the next day.

I was idling in the room when sudden noises aboard the ship occurred.

I had been confined in a small room at the base of the stairs below the deck. The men who brought food for me earlier rushed out of the room.

(Oh, they forgot to lock the door!)

I was not sure if it was an ally trying to save me, or other enemies attacking the ship.

I could not tell who they were, but my body cringed with fear as I heard clashing metal from above.

(I shouldn’t stay here. This is my chance!)

I had freed my legs from the bindings, so I could run away. I should run.

I walked gingerly out of the room while keeping my eyes peeled for the happenings on the deck.

I was encouraged to see the familiar royal soldier uniform fighting on deck.

The soldiers and the crew clashing on board seemed to be unaware of my movement.

The enemy was swarming around the ship entrance, so it would be better to find another way off the ship. My effort would be moot if I got caught right now.

I was hesitating for a moment, but I saw the crew starting to move toward me. So I went around the other direction toward the stern, hoping they would not notice me.

(What should I do …?)

It would be easy to jump into the sea, but I could not swim. Since I barely left the castle, I never needed to learn how to swim.

(There is a small pond with a fountain in the castle, but swimming there had never crossed my mind.)

However, since it was impossible to reach the entrance, the best choice seemed to be jumping off the ship.

One of the crew noticed me as I was approaching the stern. He shouted.

I desperately scrambled to the edge of the ship and leaned over.

“Why are you in such a place?!”

The shout from the crewman startled me, and my legs gave out. My head went blank.

I started to hear things from the sea surface.

I guess I was beginning to lose my sanity since too many stressful events had happened in rapid succession ….

(No, there’s no way Emilya would appear in this kind of place. It’s weird that I’m hearing his voice.)

Somehow, I got utterly tired of myself who never knew when to give up. But my curiosity got the best of me. I turn my head in the direction of the voice.

(… Oh, I really am hallucinating!)

Emilya was waving his hand on a small boat, calling my name.

This hallucination certainly worked in my favor!

But … if I got caught right now, the crew of this ship would use me as their shield and attack the soldiers on those boats. It would be the end of them.

(I don’t want to be a burden to anyone this late in the game!)

So I took a deep breath, sat on the ledge of the ship, and leaned down toward the sea.

(Rather than getting caught, or becoming a burden to my kingdom … I’d rather indulge in my convenient phantom Emilya and jump.)

With my back facing the water, I threw myself into the sea.

Aside from my body that painfully plunged into the sea … I thought I heard another loud splash. Could it be the crew who jumped after me?

The dress I wore sucked all the water in like a sponge. It became heavier, and I kept sinking to the depth of the sea.

I felt something abrupt touched my back, and my body started to float.

(Huh …?)

The surface of the water gradually became closer, and I finally resurfaced. Someone was bracing my confused body from behind.

A few small boats were approaching from the front. The soldiers of the Central Kingdom were on board.

“Your Highness Emilya and Princess Angela! We’ll pull you up now!”

I was fished out of the water by the strong arms of the soldiers.

Another person got on the boat after my limped body. It must be the person who rescued me earlier.

When I look over my shoulder to express my gratitude … it seemed that I was hallucinating again.

“A dream?”

That person brushed up his wet red hair while tilting his head.

“What dream? Anyway, are you all right, Angela? Did you inhale any seawater?”

“… Yes, a little, but I’m fine. Since this is a dream, I should be fine.”

“Like I said, what dream are you talking about?”

With the haziness in my head, I answered the phantom question.

“Well, Emilya should have returned to the Southern Kingdom. He can’t possibly be here. This is a dream that conveniently portrays my wishes.”

Strangely, the phantom in front of me seemed to blink those amber-colored eyes.

“So I see. That’s what you meant by ‘a dream’. I don’t know who you heard it from, but I didn’t go back to the Southern Kingdom.”

“You’re lying. There is no merit in staying in the Central Kingdom, especially with this whole fiasco going on. It’s a political marriage anyway, so returning to the Southern Kingdom would be his smartest choice. It’s too bad, but better than getting involved in unnecessary danger.”

“I see.”

Emilya’s narrowed his eyes and extended his arms tenderly. The distance between us contracted. I felt the warmth of his fingers touching my lips.

“Do you think this is still a dream?”

I could not get my eyes off of the aggravating smile in front of me.

At that point, I snapped back into reality.

(No way … is this the real Emilya?! … Oh no, what should I do?!)

I had displayed such a disgraceful behavior! Thinking of how to take back all the embarrassing things I had said and done, my face blushed profusely as if on fire.

Emilya’s arms were holding me even tighter while he gently smiled.

“Ah, I see, I see. You think that it’s ‘too bad’ that I left. And you were hoping that I stayed, weren’t you? The honest Angela is also cute.”

“Wha …?!”

I tried to refute, but Emilya held me even tighter before I could breathe a word. Feeling the warmth of his body temperature wrapped around my shoulder, I unconsciously swallowed my words.

“Angela, I’m glad you’re safe ….”

“… Hnn.”

My vision started to blur from hearing his gentle voice.

I threw myself into the sea to fulfill my duty and was prepared to die right there and then. But in reality, I was terrified.

Even before I arrived at that determination, I could not help but feel insecure since I did not know what to do after being taken and confined in an unknown place.

I hugged him back so he could not see my weeping face.

Emilya let me be for a while as if he knew everything.

Translator’s note:

* I assume everyone knows what “tsundere” is. But I’ll explain away anyways, just in case. A “tsundere” character often switches from being tough and cold towards a love interest into being soft and sweet. More detailed examples of the “-dere” types: https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/tsundere-kuudere-yandere-meaning.html

** I decided to call this the kingdom in the middle of this world the “Central Kingdom” from now on. I called it “heart of the kingdom” in the previous chapter, but thought it was not accurate. I apologize for the confusion.