Chapter 13

Chapter 13

My brothers gasped in shock and confusion, “What!?”

“I mean, think about it. Who do you think can pull off sneaking into the harem unseen? Me, who is slender and quick, or a big guy like Eriez?”

I knew many, if not all, brothers were furious at my words, but I felt safe. It was because an Innocent One could not attack another brother with a sword who was unarmed. When one of the brothers came at me with his fist ready, I didn’t try to block it or avoid it, but to my surprise, Manar came to my side and stopped the attack that was meant for me. Eriez also stood up quickly and helped. The angriest brothers were Eriez’s friends. The one who tried to attack me, Ramish, screamed at me, “You! It’s all your fault! Because of you, Eri was blamed for everything!”

“Ramish! Calm down!”

“What do you mean, ‘calm down?’ That bastard… He…!”

Iztal Ramish and Iztal Yurema…

The brothers on Eriez’s side pushed Manar’s boys out and surrounded me. One of them, who had a very husky voice, looked at me with interest and asked, “Why did you do it? Let’s hear your reason.”

“…”

“If you can’t tell us, then doesn’t it prove that you were lying just to protect your friend? You may think it’s the loyal thing to do but to lie, as the Innocent One? It’s funny to see you lie, Juya, of all people. Aren’t you the one who thinks you are better than all of us?”

I answered immediately, “It’s not a lie.”

It was true that the Innocent Ones were not allowed to lie. This meant that even if I didn’t explain myself, my brothers had no choice but to believe me.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I am the one who relocated the priestess, but I cannot tell you why I did it. Think about what you will. I don’t care. Maybe I did it for a reason Manar guessed earlier. Maybe I fell in love with the Virtuous Priestess, so I kidnapped her. I don’t care what you people think.”

“What? Hahahaha…”

I couldn’t tell what everyone was thinking, but I was pretty sure they didn’t believe that I would fall in love with the priestess. I was the most stoic one among the brothers. I was the one who was the least interested in women, and my brothers knew this.

Manar didn’t seem interested in why I did this. He asked, “Fine, Juya. So, where is the Virtuous Priestess, or aren’t you going to answer that either?”

“Of course not.”

Manar grinned and gestured to the others to back away a little. He then said to me, “Is that so? Well, then I guess, you need to be beaten until you are ready to talk.”

Manar then turned around and left with his friends. I was left surrounded by the brothers who actually hated Manar and were close to Eriez.

“…!”

I was hit by an elbow in my waist, which caused me to fall on the ground. Immediately, I was kicked a few times, so I couldn’t get up again. Someone grabbed my hair and forced my face down to the ground. There were so many of them, and I couldn’t do anything against them. Several of them surrounded me and began to stomp me. Things happened so fast, and I couldn’t find a way to escape this situation. All I could do is get into a fetal position and cover my head with my hands as best as I could.

“Arg… gg….”

I had to move my body as much as possible, or else, I would get kicked in the same spots repeatedly. The pain was unbearable, but I expected this. There was no point in fighting back. At least, they didn’t have any proof against me, and this meant they couldn’t outright kill me.

I assumed they would back off once they became tired. I could understand the brothers’ anger.

Was it too much even for Eriez to stop them or was he still frozen from the shock of this day, or… was he so angry at me that he didn’t want to save me?

I didn’t know how much time had passed. One of the brothers who walked away with Manar brought the Goddess’ warrior and announced loudly, “It’s happening over there, Sir! My warrior, Iztal Juya, is being beaten by the other brothers without clear proof of a crime…! They are claiming he tarnished Iztal Eriez’s reputation, but they have no evidence of it! Please do something!”

The brothers who were beating me stopped immediately. I didn’t know what the warrior did or said to stop them. All I could feel was Eriez approaching me slowly and checking my body carefully.

***

The first question I was asked after I regained my consciousness was the following.

“Why did you do it?”

“What…?”

And the next question was this.

“Did you really do it?”

As soon as I could see clearly, I decided to answer by asking a question.

“‘Why did I do it?’ What are you referring to? Are you asking why I relocated the Virtuous Goddess or why I said it to help you even though I didn’t do it?”

I was upset with this whole situation, and I could hear the same sentiment in his voice as well. Eriez no longer sounded friendly.

“Whichever applies.”

“… Well… If I could tell you that right now, I would have said it in front of all the brothers earlier.”

We both became silent. I wish I could tell Eriez the truth, that I was loyal to the prince, although my feelings for him may not be returned.

I felt confused. Why did I do it just because Prince Camille asked me?

However, what he asked of me was so strange. Save the Virtuous Priestess because she was in danger? I mean, it could be true that she really was in danger, and it was also possible that it was the right thing to do to save her.

His highness told me that I would learn the truth when I saved her, but I still didn’t know anything. In the end, I caused so much angst among my brothers and upset Eriez.

Did I really do the right thing, or did I end up satisfying the misguided prince?

Eriez was sitting nearby, but not too close, and he said to me, “Based on what I heard, it seems everyone is beginning to believe you fell in love with the priestess and tried to rape her. It’s a ridiculous story, of course. Of all of us, you are the least lustful one, and even if you became amorous suddenly, it wouldn’t be towards a woman.” What he said wasn’t entirely wrong.

“… instead, it would be for a man?”

“… you are making me insane.”

He looked at me and shook his head in frustration. For some reason, he wasn’t wearing a top. He was half-naked.

Suddenly, he asked me a sharp question, “So, is it the prince then?”