CH 157

Thankfully, though, it turned out I had not misjudged them as squad Purity’s members lauded my capability with flushed faces.

“The effectiveness of her support spells were extraordinary after experiencing it myself. She cast a triple-stacking spell over four squads, I tell you.”

“All four squads?”

“Yes. We didn’t know because we were so frantic, but it has to be accurate since the squad leader of Yellow Lightning said so.”

“If that’s true, then… I think we’ve been misjudging support mages until now.”

“It makes sense. Considering the kind of person His Excellency is, there’s no way he would’ve appointed just anybody.”

“True that. But still, the way His Excellency treats the vice-captain seems a little different from how you would a valuable talent… Is there really nothing going on between them?”

Squad Purity had united to defend my name, but at that question, they only managed to give an awkward smile for an answer. The ones who were questioning them got the exact meaning of that expression.

“No wonder… Squad Darkfall was exceptionally courteous to the vice-captain. The people in that squad don’t bow their heads to any random person, as you know.”

“The squad Darkfall bowed their heads to the vice-captain? Impossible! They don’t even talk properly to the rest of our corps. Not even the elite members.”

“But it’s true. And they were all smiles looking at her. I found that odd so I snuck over and eavesdropped a bit. Guess what I heard them say?”

“What did they say?”

“That the vice-captain was none other than the future grand duchess and mistress of Nochtentoria Castle!”

“Golly! So she wasn’t simply a lover.”

What I heard was an utter shock because I had no doubt that squad Darkfall disapproved of me. I mean, what was with you guys smiling so warmly from afar? And what was this talk about being the future grand duchess? Where in the world did they get the wrong idea? Was letting Mayer Knox hug me the problem? But even if I didn’t, could I have avoided these suspicions?

Thanks to the unexpected participation of squad Darkfall in the rumor-mongering, my treatment was elevated from being Mayer Knox’s lover or mistress to the future grand duchess. Naturally, this wasn’t at all something I had wanted. If anything, it was a relief that I could grasp the situation quickly thanks to squad Purity’s leader, who informed me of everything. But no matter how much I denied the rumors, everyone only mistook my efforts as “playing secret lovers”… It was in vain. I looked for August to find a way out of this situation, believing him to be the one person to hold an objective view. As a consequence, I was getting a huge scolding.

“You have the intention, yet you hug His Excellency in front of all the troops…” Was that the biggest problem after all? August sighed as he looked at me and I laughed awkwardly. The sign of resignation was plain on his firmly-set features. “Ha… What is the point of saying all this? Whatever. I wash my hands on this matter.”

August shook his head as if saying there was no solution. He cast me a gaze of pity—rarely seen from him—as he said, “I assure you one hundred percent. If you go to the capital with the way things are, your denial of having an affair with His Excellency will not have even the tiniest effect.”

“…You think so too?”

I sighed. It was horrifying to even think of becoming the public enemy of all the women in the capital. August was apathetic as this serious situation was not his business. “It may be easier to just give up. After all, as long as His Excellency protects you, no one will make any obvious attempts to harm you, Sister.”

“You’re telling me to accept the gossiping to avoid getting caught in a shower? But how would I handle it if a problem pops up with my love life later down the line?”

“So you did have thoughts of starting a relationship.”

“Of course!” I retorted angrily. I was only putting it aside for the moment because I couldn’t afford to date anyone right now. I had entered a game world with lots of handsome guys, and there was no reason to not try falling in love after defeating the demon lord. Besides, if my ex was Mayer Knox, I was sure to attract some weirdos. Like, say, they’d try to compare themselves with him by dating me. Of course, there might be good guys among them, but still… I didn’t want to make a situation where I could get involved with weirdos in the first place.