Seijo no Hazu ga, Douyara Nottoraremashita – Chapter 73

Hime is probably the only person who knows how he dies. 

However, Lector and the Vice-General were opposed to me seeing Hime. Lector and his subordinates were probably using various methods to get her to talk, but I haven’t heard of them succeeding so far. 

Would I be drawn to her pace again if I were to meet her now? 

Finding out the cause of Lector’s death is for my future as well, and now I strongly wanted to know how he would die. One becomes a little more cautious when their life is at stake, don’t they?

That’s why they won’t get easily coaxed like they did in the past… right? Is that really true?

If I were an extremely good-natured saint, like the ones I’ve heard so much about, then I might feel sorry for someone if they cried and begged, and forgive them. I might even let her go. 

But unfortunately, I’m not that pure. 

And I’m really afraid of Hime right now. I don’t think I will lend her a hand… probably…?

In the past… uah… that… I’ve always felt like things conveniently end up in a way where I get coaxed by her some way or another… yeah…

Well, either way, I can’t act on my own and go against Lector right now. 

If I do what I want, then I’ll be interfering with his various plans and calculations. So, I should follow his orders no matter how vague they are. 

He’s always planning something with a nonchalant expression on his face… I’ve recently begun to think that it’s a hobby of his. I’m sure he’s always happily scheming something. 

Yes, I shouldn’t interfere if it’s a hobby of his, and I won’t get involved. It’ll probably get annoying if I do interfere, so it’s best to just observe. Touch wood. 

One day, when I was working hard on my daily duties, I was called into Lector’s office. The room was filled with documents and the leaders had been discussing something earlier on. The Vice-General, who was still in the office, had a complicated expression on his face, creating an unsettling atmosphere. 

When Lector saw me enter, he said, “I can let you meet that prisoner once. Do you want to see her?”

“Huh? Me? See Hime?”

 Lector put a letter that looked as if it had arrived this morning into a drawer and locked it. 

What’s in that letter? Did he receive some important news? 

“That’s right. But I’ll be there with you. You can’t be alone with her. I won’t let the maid leave the room either. Jouvence, you come along too. The more spectators the better.”

“Huh? Is it alright? Then I’ll come.”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Why?” I was so surprised that I asked. Why did he change his stance on this out of the blue? 

“They’ve made a decision about her. She’ll be sent back to Origlow. She was an excellent prisoner, and we were able to get good conditions from Origlow. But there’s something that doesn’t add up. Why did the fake ‘Saint’ come here and why is she so obsessed with you and me? Someone suggested earlier that we might find out something if I let her talk to you. She also seems to want to talk to you, so I think it’s worth a try.”

Which meant that he hadn’t gotten the information that he wanted from her.

“So, rather than being the decoy, I’m the bait?”

“Well, you’re there to get her talking. If she gets a little shaken from seeing you, then we might be able to see something that we couldn’t see before. I don’t want to send her back like this, I want to shake her up a bit and see if I can get information out of her before I send her back. But I won’t force you to do this if you don’t want to. So, how about it? Do you feel like seeing her?”

“Well, I’ll do what I can to help.”

I’m already uncertain anyway. 

She’s leaving this castle. 

Should I be happy about this or worried? I’m happy that she’s leaving, but that also means that the enemy is going back to the enemy nation. 

But I won’t argue with the decision of the master of the fortress. 

If it’s something I can do and if it’s for his sake, then I’ll do my best. That’s all. 

It’s easy to forget, but this person is my boss as well. 

I’m not sure I can win if I were to talk to her and confront her. 

Of course, I will do my best. I’m a little different from how I used to be. 

I need to be strong now that I have status and someone who I want to protect. 

We discussed what I will be talking to Hime about right there and then. I couldn’t just make small talk with her about anything. 

What does he want to find out? What did he want to know? How am I supposed to get her to talk? 

I was only supposed to talk to Hime about the topics they had decided on. 

But it was that Hime. 

Yes, that Hime!

Was I foolish to think that things would go according to plan? *Sob sob*

We suddenly visited Hime in the Red Room without prior notice to avoid her making any kind of plan. 

Strategy One: catch her by surprise and make her anxious. But… 

“Hello, ‘Saint of Prophecy’-sama. I heard that you wanted to talk to me. So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

I’m only speaking to her as the mistress of this fortress. I can’t lose this act. 

At my feet was my beloved cat, Lolo, and behind me was the lord of this castle, the General, and his subordinate the Vice-General, and of course, the shadows are here too, even though they’re invisible. 

Unlike us, who were trying to hide our nervousness and put on a calm expression, the three maids, who adored Hime, seemed moved and happy that I had come to talk to her. 

Hime was upset at my sudden visit at first, but she quickly regained her composure. Oh, she’s a tough one. 

Hime straightened up her posture, looked at Lector passionately, then smiled at me calmly. From that moment on, she began to speak in the language of our previous world. 

Huh? What? What’s she doing? 

The smile I had on my face twitched. It seems like I still haven’t mastered the art of keeping a polite smile on my face. 

『Oh my, you’re acting so arrogant. Did you come to show off the fact that you’re the mistress of this fortress? Or have you come to see me in my pathetic state?』