CH 26

Extra Story — The Knight Who Pledged The Oath, Part Five

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

The original plan was to point out that they were being deceived and enshrined by an evil entity without realizing it when we talked about the alliance, and to bring the conversation to the point that「we can’t just sign a contract with a country like that…」but that has shifted dramatically.

Remilia-sama seemed to have had the mercy of wanting to talk as discreetly as possible, but that would never satisfy those who adore Remilia-sama, including myself and Angel-sama. Secretly, we were planning to reveal the truth in public to those in this country… who had once betrayed Remilia-sama.

It’s the same thing that the Crown Prince Williard did, so there’s no harm in making a scene at the soirée. Besides, she was not falsely accused.

Angel-sama pointed out that the smell of a supposedly forbidden drug (which is actually just a perfume with a characteristic scent) comes from the Star Maiden, and that it is harmful to the Demon Tribe, forcing the king to make a decision.

I see David just cringing at the words, and I wanted to cover my face and lament. I was excited here when I realized that I was quickly given up on by the instructions that skipped me when I was supposed to be a Star Maiden’s guard… If he had been proactive in capturing the Star Maiden himself, he would have still had a chance to float after this.

I was saddened by the deplorable appearance of my old friend, whom I used to love like a little brother. I used to think he could properly… think and act as a knight and not just blindly believe, but when did he become this man? Or does the Curse Of That Star Maiden slowly erode his ability to think as well?

「That’s! No, I’m not. I just…」

「Reports are coming up from the person in charge of conducting the trade. He refused, but when he was approached with a bribe, he gave you a perfume made from a flower native to another magical world under the false pretense that it was a drug. The smell of that illegally distributed perfume is wafting from you to my nose. I ask again, if you were not trying to harm me, what’s the difference?」

「Kuh…」

According to the investigation that Angel-sama directed and conducted, we have an idea that it was probably directed by the Star Maiden of this country, although it went through a number of people. To our chagrin, the intermediary had been killed, and although no physical evidence remained, we were almost certain by testimony and circumstantial evidence.

And the fact that she knew the effects of the drug, and the fact that she was wary not to speak falsely in front of the Demon King, it seems certain that the Star Maiden has some power beyond human knowledge, as Angel-sama had deduced.

Unlike Remilia-sama, who was informed of the drug’s existence by a revelation and knew about Angel-sama’s eye. I wonder if this knowledge was given to her by an evil entity, or if she misused her power to learn about it, since it seems certain from her abilities that she has the body of the Star Maiden… Either way, it is a crime that cannot be committed without the person’s malice. Her responsibility and guilt are great, including the fact that she killed a man to keep his mouth shut.

「Ohh, I knew you knew that my eyes would see through the lies. Just as I had heard.」

「T–That’s not true… I’m just, I just wanted to get to know the Demon Tribe better…」

「So you use drugs? Just like Remilia warned me about.」

「What, why does Angel-sama know that person’s name…!?」

「…The knight there, please keep her mouth shut. She would be strangle to death if the woman to whom I owe so much for saving our country were insulted. And woman, I don’t allow myself to be called by name. I don’t care about the position of an ornamental person who is enshrined in a country. If you want to die, shut your rude mouth.」

I felt angry when she called Remilia-sama “that person,” forgetting my position as a knight in waiting, but I was immediately touched by Angel’s rage, and on the contrary, I became calm.

Everyone around us was pressured by the dignity of the absolute strongman and the anger backed by love. It was hard to believe that he had been called a slacker and a prick by us for a long time.

I can’t defend that he is too timid when it comes to colorful love, but when he does it, he pushes hard, so I can leave him in good hands. He’s a real slacker when it comes to colorful love. I’ve said it twice.

The kind Remilia-sama made a suggestion to the strange Star Maiden not to stir things up, but the woman foolishly shook off her hand. From our side, which has prepared a perfect rebuttal, it looks like a self-destructive act to run up to the decapitation point.

That rag was immediately out of the picture.

She won’t be able to speak falsely in front of Angel-sama, who I know will see through the lie… It seems that she has that level of wisdom, but Angel-sama seems to know how to corner them and clearly asks them about the pros and cons.

The eyes around her are becoming more and more severe on the Star Maiden, and she must be aware of this, as the mask she has been wearing is peeling off even more.

「I don’t know how enshrined you are, but I would never want someone just for their title. Remilia is also the Maiden Of Purification who receives blessings from Renge, the youngest daughter of the God of Creation, but I love Remilia, a kind-hearted woman who has devoted herself to the world based on her faith without corruption and without breaking even though she has no allies, no matter what kind of blessings she has.」

If it were an opera, this would be the best place to see it. The way he confessed his love in front of her ex-fiancée and the wrongly accused villain, while preaching the rightness and splendor of Remilia-sama in the midst of the chaos, was too vivid and impressive.

「I hope you will forgive me for saying this, Your Majesty, The Demon King.」

I decided that I had no choice but to forcefully change the course, and I raised my voice. Normally, it would be impossible for a knight to address the king of another country on such an occasion, but if questioned, I would be able to get away with saying,「I meant to address His Majesty Angel-sama, the king of our magical realm.」

This attempt to take advantage of the chaotic situation was successful, and I no longer needed to make any attempt to get Angel-sama to talk to me.

Then, with everyone’s attention on me, I showed them the details of what I was about to show them under the direction of His Majesty the Demon King. I also made it clear that this is something we are doing on our own, driven by our feelings, regardless of Remilia-sama’s will.

As Remilia-sama’s knight, I ask for your forgiveness for taking this magic crystal stone with images, which was entrusted to me in trust, without permission. I understand your kindness, Remilia-sama, in not wanting to expose her, even though she is a criminal… I understand that, but in this case, me and Angel-sama must be selfish! We can’t listen to Remilia-sama’s request, no matter how much she asks…!

The crime of mistreating a saint who truly saved the world, this is something this country needs to be very aware of.

I am very sorry that the kind-hearted Remilia-sama had this knight who’s thinking this way… When this soiree is over, your Sofia will return to being a chivalrous knight, true to Remilia-sama’s word! I hope you will allow me to be vengeful just now.

In order to prevent the absolution from being interrupted by the merciful Remilia-sama, Angel-sama has created a barrier to isolate the entire area with Klimt-dono, that’s why we must take this opportunity to firmly turn in those who perjured themselves. I am sure Remilia-sama would be able to dismantle even that barrier with little difficulty.

The magical images on the screen reveal the sins of those who have been complicit with the Star Maiden and others one after another.

Some of them have the temerity to say「it’s a fabrication,」well, I hope their appeal will be accepted by the official judiciary as well. Many of them are not here, but are the school’s servants, Remilia-sama’s attendants, and commoners in the special student quota who attended the school. It is a shame for the people involved, their families, and the aristocrats who sponsored her, but it may have been a good opportunity for them to disassociate themselves from the false accusations by being known as people who helped fabricate them.

I’m not saying that it was wrong to be deceived or foolish, but they must have known that it was a sin to speak falsely. They could have just said no properly,「I want to help you, but I can’t lie to you.」…In fact, some of them refused to do so… but if they would testify at the time of Remilia-sama’s investigation that they were asked to perjure themselves…

No, let’s not consider vain hypotheticals.

But just before I was about to do so and reveal the fornication of the Star Maiden, which should be the best place to do so, Remilia-sama stopped me. Kuh, the audience understood the viciousness of that woman so well that no one would have any sympathy for her if they saw what was to come…!

Besides, I personally wanted to pursue the betrayal of Remilia-sama’s guards in a big way. Even if they had been a「knight」escort, how could they commit a crime in the form of betraying and entrapping their lord? I do not want them to call themselves a knight. How contrary to justice they are!

Inwardly chagrined, the Crown Prince Williard and the Star Maiden are quarreling on their own accord. I’m kind of terribly angry at His Highness, who looks like a victim of deception and looks like he’s having a hard time. No, I don’t think this would have happened if you had trusted Remilia-sama to the end, don’t you? I feel like interrupting and asking them. Don’t, don’t do it.

Next to being caught in a lie, she started crying it off, but no one would believe her now. In the end, she went crazy, as if she didn’t want to admit that her crime had been exposed, but there was nothing she could do about it, and all she could do was expose herself to the public crying and screaming with a miserable face.

「Pina-san… how poor of you, relying on spells to manipulate people’s feelings, and no matter how much they like you for it, it’s just empty… Did you really want to be loved so badly, even if it was under false pretenses…?」

However, Remilia-sama’s compassion was strongly revealed here.

Remilia-sama even shed tears of compassion for the end of those who had wronged her…! T–Truly a saint…! No, that’s a known fact…

Ohh, I must call the painter! Is what I would say, but I too understand that this is a quandary now.

I thought with regret, “I should leave this image to posterity…” But then I thought to myself, “Yes, later I can ask Angel-sama to project this scene with his water mirror magic and make many copies of that magic crystal stone!” And I came up with a great idea. I will definitely implement it.

「This is the woman who falsely accused you. You shouldn’t show any mercy towards her…」

「No… Angel. It was indeed sad that I was accused of a crime I didn’t remember and that no one believed me, but I am happy now. Pina-san… You bribed them with money and even used your body to make me look bad… but that won’t make you happy, Pina-san… will it? You can’t make people love you by humiliating me or manipulating their feelings with curses… This is so sad and I feel so sorry for you, Pina-san…」

How kind Remilia-sama is… And how beautiful the tears she shed in mourning for that sinner…

I’m a little concerned about Angel-sama, though, who is getting the best position, as soon as she expresses her feelings for him, she becomes his lover and holds him by the shoulders.

The atmosphere in the hall was like a funeral after the Star Maiden, whose voices had been stolen by Angel-sama, were made to leave the hall.

Among them, those with sad faces were probably those who had just been projected by the magic of the Water Mirror and their relatives. The guilty ones broke down, began to cry, and some even fainted, as their complicity in the crime was thus revealed.

They finally understood who was right, who was wrong, and what they had done.

The area began to be noisy, but I did not feel any sympathy at all when I saw such a scene. I wondered if I was being unsympathetic, even though I had acquaintances and blood relatives among the victims.

Those who weighed their future against their own and failed to speak up. It was certainly not a good thing to do, but I understand that not everyone can always choose the right course of action due to their position and ties.

But the fools who helped the Star Maiden this time around knew it would be a crime to lie and engage in perjury. I am sure that I was seduced by the malice of the Star Maiden, but it was I who chose to be complicit in their crimes. They all deserve the punishment they deserve for their crimes.

The evening party, which was no longer the place to be, was interrupted, and the king of the country hurriedly left the place to settle the matter. Making sure that the alliance with the Demon Nation is in order, that’s all. Now that the「Star Maiden,」a living legend in this country, has turned out to be a fake, they must have thought that this was the only thing they could do.

As the room became noisy, Angel-sama quickly stepped back accompanied by Remilia-sama, who still looked shocked.

Without even a moment’s pause, she did it with a brilliant move.

「Lady Sofia! Your father didn’t say anything about it, but you were in the service of the Demon Tribe!」

「I’m sorry to hear about your family… No, I would say that Lady Sofia was wise to leave early in this situation.」

I know how much we wanted to give the tearful Remilia-sama a quiet place to rest as soon as possible.

But those of us who were left behind were surrounded by aristocrats who had come to their senses, especially me, whom they were acquainted with, and who was blatantly trying to get in their way one after the other. They’re so clean and tepid, aren’t they…

The Knight Commander still had the King’s trust, but he must have realized it when he saw that he had skipped David, who was supposed to be the incoming King’s aide, and gave him instructions.

The power was divided within the Order between Silvestre, the elder brother who was known as a sword saint but lacked political power, and David, the Crown Prince’s close associate who was also a commander with solid skills.

They are David… more specifically, they are from the commanders who belong to the Crown Prince’s forces. So is my family. With David’s fall confirmed, he may have found it difficult to switch to the support of Lord Silvestre, who is close to First Prince Elshorha. He seems to have something in mind to flatter such a small kid who is only a knight.

I would never allow such people to be involved in the dealings of the Demon Nation!

「Ahh— …I don’t have any authority to intervene in any trade or transaction…」

「No, I didn’t ask you to be such a mouthpiece!」

「Yes, I am involved with your parents’ family, and me and others just talked to them because we missed you so much.」

Well, there’s no way they would honestly back down if I refused in a straightforward manner. I don’t know how to escape… I’m surrounded… As I was contemplating this, someone shook my hand in time with Misery-dono’s voice saying,「This is done!」

「!? I–Is this… the castle gardens?」

「We could have kicked them to the curb and forced our way through… just to show them the difference in rank a little bit.」

With a slightly smug look on her face, Misery-dono stirred the magic circle, which was still glowing faintly in the air, with the tip of her finger to make it disappear. Apparently, she escaped from that place with the transfer magic she drew. She knew she had great skills… she said,「I am a researcher, so I am a little unsure about the actual battle.」

For the time being, it seems that the rest of the members are spread out in the castle, and they have decided not to go to the antechamber where Angel-sama and Remilia-sama, who were finally able to express their feelings to each other, are probably present. Hmm… I’m tremendously worried about leaving the wonderfully beautiful Remilia-sama alone with a man tonight… but I won’t worry, because Angel-sama won’t let anyone to touch her!

By the way. I heard that there were a couple of fierce competitors who stayed behind, hoping to enjoy the drinks and the dinner, although I have no intention of returning to the venue because it would be too much trouble for me. They are very strong.

「Klimt-dono, uhh… your hand.」

「Ah, I–I’m so sorry…!」

When the hand that he held to connect me with Misery-dono, who uses transfer magic, was pointed out to him, Klimt-dono pulled his hand away as if in a panic.

Of course, I don’t dislike it. But I can’t keep holding his hand forever, uhh…

As we were blatantly distancing ourselves from each other, Misery-dono approached us with a grin, giving us amused looks like,「Hmmm～」and「Ohhh」as if she was trying to get us to move away. What’s with her eyes?

「Hey, it’s a party tonight. It must be a wonderful night with the restoration of Remilia-sama’s honor in this country… Let’s both dance a little.」

「What’s with the suddenness?」

「That’s fine. I’ll play a song.」

With that said, Misery-dono push my back and Klimt-dono comes to face me.

「Your sister initiated it and you didn’t?」

「It’s no fun dancing with Sister and Brother. That’s okay. It’s a happy day.」

I looked up at Misery-dono, who had forced me to dance with him, with a slightly annoyed expression.

「No, I’m sorry, Sofia-san… Look, I’m embarrassing my sister.」

「No, uhh, you know, you’re not in trouble. In fact, it was honestly refreshing to see the look on those men’s faces when they learned the truth and regretted it. Instead of screaming for pleasure, I think dancing would be a good way to vent this heat. Yup.」

「But it’s hard to do, isn’t it? I’m shorter than you.」

「That’s not the point! … It’s not, however…」

I just couldn’t help but whisper, even though there was no one around. I was too embarrassed.

「…I can’t dance.」

「Eh? You were practicing with Remilia-sama, right?」

「On the male part, yes. I’ve always been asked to play the role of prince by women… and when I had a fiancée, I never had any fiancée-like interactions with him…」

I remembered it a long time ago, but I have already forgotten it. When I was Remilia-sama’s practice partner for this evening party, it had been a long time since I danced with her, but I had actually danced the steps many times as a man, so I had no problem because my body remembered them… I’m really not confident about dancing the female part.

On the few occasions I’ve had, I’ve had to look sideways at the women dancing around me to make sure. There are no other dancers here who can cheat.

「Fufu… Then, may I dance the female part?」

「Klimt-dono will do that?」

「Yes, I’m sure Sofia-san will lead me well, won’t you? I, as well… I was so happy that my brother finally told Remilia-sama how he felt about her, I wanted to start dancing!」

Misery-dono, who was preparing a lyre with an excited look on her face, immediately started playing a melody, and I somehow ended up dancing with Klimt-dono on the spot. We are both in knight’s uniform and I am taller than he is. It would surely look like two men dancing together.

When I put my hands around his waist to lead him firmly, I was a little surprised to find that his girth was sturdier than I had expected. The hands we held together for the dance were bigger than mine, and I was kind of conscious of that. I almost made a mistake in my steps even though I should have danced many times as the male one.

「Sorry, I’m sure there will be opportunities like this in the future at social functions. We’ll probably partner with each other as entourages… so we’ll practice.」

「I don’t really care either way, but who you dance with is more important, isn’t it?」

It was the first time I had ever been told such a thing.

I didn’t know what Misery-sama’s true intention was when she suddenly asked me to dance… but somehow, I felt that this moment of dancing with the parts where the genders were originally reversed was a very comfortable time for me.