Seijo no Hazu ga, Douyara Nottoraremashita – Chapter 76

Lector casually walked up next to me, turned to Hime and started talking, “You’re mentioning my name often in your conversation, and I’m not too happy about not understanding what you’re talking about. If you want to talk about me, then I’ll listen to what you have to say. I want you to stop treating my wife badly. What do you want from me?”

His sparkles weren’t around, but his Princely smile was bursting.

Hime seemed to have forgotten about me in that moment. She turned to face Lector.

“Oh… I’m sorry that you’ve misunderstood like that. I’ve actually been telling her to stop pretending to be the saint. I’m the true saint. That’s why I could see through her lies… But she told me that… she would give me hell if I tell the truth… I’m embarrassed to say that I panicked a bit. I’m not trying to say anything bad about your wife, but I think you deserve to know the truth…!”

There stood a pitiful, weak ‘Saint’.

I heard the gasps of the maids who were listening in the corner of the room.

Yeah, I know how you feel. It’s my first time hearing this as well!

Lector gently said to Hime while I was surprised, “I understand what you’re saying, but I’m a good judge of character. Anise isn’t the kind of person who would say such a thing. I’m sure you must be misunderstanding something. You must be tired from your unfamiliar life here. I actually talked to Origlow today, and it has been decided that you will return to Origlow. I think it would be good for you to go back to your fiancé, Prince Loire, so you can relax.”

I was truly happy to hear Lector’s words.

But when Hime heard that, she suddenly said, “Loire! No, don’t give me back to him! He’s… He’s scary… He hits me and makes me listen to him! I’ve finally escaped from him. You can’t return me back to that hell again! Please let me stay here. I’ll do anything!”

Then, she clung to Lector and cried. She purposely put herself between Lector and me.

Huh? He hits you? That Prince did?

I do remember that he had a lot of pride in the game, but he wasn’t violent… Ah, but of course. That was a game after all.

“This is a decision made between nations, and it cannot be changed. You and Prince Loire are still officially engaged, so I recommend that you resolve such issues between the two of you and the rest of the people involved from Origlow.

Lector smiled as he calmly released himself from her. He’s a gentleman. Well, that did happen in Hime’s private room in Origlow….

I’m sure he’s used to dealing with these kinds of things because it’s happened to him so many times before. Well, it’s a secret that this thought passed through my mind though.

“No way…! Loire doesn’t want to marry me anymore. He made it clear to me that he intends to marry the Saint who tricked him and was taken away by Farglow. Loire was also completely deceived by her… So, I might be killed for being a nuisance if I return to Origlow. Please, let me say here!”

Huh…? Kill you? No way…

The maids were upset. “Poor Hime-sama!”

But Lector remained calm.

“You say that Loire has no intention of marrying you, but so far, there hasn’t been any official announcement about annulling your engagement. At least, we haven’t received any information about it. Therefore, we cannot protect you as you are still officially the fiancée of Origlow’s Crown Prince. Origlow has made a request for your return, and Farglow has already agreed to return you with conditions attached. Origlow has compromised a lot with Farglow for your return. You know we can’t say that we won’t return you after all, right? We can’t change the conditions anymore. If we don’t return you like we promised, then the truce might be broken, and war can break out again. As a Saint, you don’t want that, do you? Origlow wants you to return as soon as possible. As far as Farglow is concerned, we want to respect their wishes as much as possible. We will be responsible for getting you safely to the border,” Lector said kindly but firmly.

You’re a hostage and you’ve done your part. We don’t need you anymore.

Hime seemed to have understood this from Lector’s words. She looked surprised for a moment, then she glared and pointed at me. “What’s with that!? This isn’t fair! You were going to marry Loire first, so why don’t you marry him this time too!?” She yelled in Farglow.

Of course, everyone in the room understood the language.

The maids started whispering to each other and the Vice-General seemed confused.

Even if you say that I married him, that was in our previous world in a game…?

I wanted to say but couldn’t since the situation was complicated. They wouldn’t understand if I said it, anyway. I knew that straight away.

What is she saying to me…?

I was surprised by the turn of events that I could only stand there.

I wish I had shouted that it was a lie right there and then, but my luck ran out when I thought about how I had gotten married at the end of the game.

As a result, I turned pale and froze on the spot.

Lector glanced at me and spoke to Hime, “That’s strange. I did some research when I married her. She has never married anyone before. It’s troubling for you to make false accusations. I recommend that you also solve that misunderstanding with Loire after you return home. According to the information I have on him, he’s never married before. Right, Anise?”

“You’re correct. I’ve only met Prince Loire twice, but I only saw him, and we barely talked. It’s impossible for me to have married him,” I managed to answer, but I wonder If the muttering maids heard me.

“We got a lot of information. It’s not easy for Prince Loire to have a fiancée like that,” Lector muttered with a frown when we returned to his office.

“I hope the maids don’t spread any rumours. I don’t believe that Saint was speaking honestly, but they blindly believed her and became upset, especially after that last accusation,” Vice-General Jouvence said with a puzzled expression on his face.

“But they’ll think it’s suspicious if we forbid them to talk about it. I was suspicious about this, so I used my appraisal on them. The maids have been brainwashed by the fake ‘Saint’s’ lies. Their brainwashing seems too strong, so they might follow the fake ‘Saint’ when she returns to Origlow. Our information would be leaked if they go with her. Jin, keep an eye on the maids assigned to Origlow’s ‘Saint’ for a while. Get rid of them as soon as they leave the fortress if they betray us.”

At that moment, I felt a slight breeze that I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been paying attention.

Jin, one of Lector’s shadows, was on his way to carry out the General’s orders. The door opened noiselessly and then closed.

It was a cold-hearted move, but It was probably for the best. During war, one must crush any possibility of spies coming from within.