CH 42

“……And well, that’s how it is.”

“Aaagh, I always get chills when I hear this story from my sister…”

“So that’s how it is… Sure, the content of the book is very similar to this world, but still…”

“It’s not a bad idea to be careful and try to not get executed, isn’t it?”

The next day, Vivienne, Tillois, Mika, and I were gathering in the reception room to discuss the matter. Because of the incident with the mayor, Tillois has dark circles under his eyes as if he hasn’t slept since yesterday.

After our discussion is over, Tillois has planned to talk to Leon as well. In between, he’s going to hear about his sister’s crazy story, which is probably the worst choice of a story to hear. Even now, he looks like he’s about to lose his mind.

I was showing Mika and Tillois that I’m willing to cooperate with them based on Vivienne’s story, and also to prevent the future that she knew. But inwardly, I was wondering if I should tell them that I also had memories of the future.

Even though I haven’t done anything yet in this world, I have done a lot of things in the world of my first life. It was a bit embarrassing, and I also think they would probably get angry at me, but still… It was at that moment, when I decided to drink a glass of water to brace myself.

Mika tilted his head and asked Vivienne a question.

“But, how did a young lady like you make contact with an assassin?”

“That’s right! Ask her the details, Chardin. I- I cannot take it anymore.”

“Uhmm, the details aren’t written in the book. But when I compare the details of that time period with this world, it seems that around the March of next year, Viscount Godin will be purged for some reason, and mercenaries who lost their livelihood were wandering around the royal capital.”

When I heard Vivienne say this with a hand on her chin, my body stiffened and I almost spewed water out of my mouth.

(Whaaat?!!)

My heartbeat becomes faster.

Viscount Godin was certainly purged around March of next year.

I can recall that event vividly in my mind. That was because around March of next year, I had finished a full year of law class and wanted to help my brother in some way, so I was looking for an opportunity to practice “judging crime”, which I had learned in that class.

Then I turned my attention to Viscount Godin, who was acting suspiciously, and…

It was none other than me, the one who had purged him.

I had no idea that the incident was connected to such a thing, and my heart skipped a beat as I thought, “T-this is bad.” I had exposed Viscount Godin’s wrongdoing in that incident, and I reported it to my brother with great enthusiasm.

I now understand the meaning of the expression on my brother’s face, which for some reason was grim at the time.

(My brother definitely already knows of that person’s wrongdoing and purposefully let him roam freely! And because of that, albeit indirectly, Vivienne was executed!)

The heat gathered in my face out of embarrassment. I kept my mouth shut. I couldn’t tell them. No, if I had to say it, I probably should have apologized at this point.

I was embarrassed, but while I was trying to figure out what to do, Mika gave the finishing blow to my heart.

“Viscount Godin will be purged? This late? Judging those small fries won’t change anything. Who would do something like that?”

“Ugh.”

“Huh? Your Highness Nagi, what’s wrong? Is there something strange in your water?”

Cold sweat streamed down profusely and my battered spirit had no hope of recovery.

I couldn’t help but squeeze my eyes shut. However, thanks to the good timing of drinking the water, I could pretend that the water had entered the wrong place. It helped to make the redness of my face and my closed eyes didn’t seem that unnatural.

And then I thought.

(I definitely can’t tell them!)

For some reason, I felt like Mika was staring at me. When I peeked in fearfully, he smiled with a troubled look on his face and said, “You shouldn’t drink in a hurry,” as if he were scolding a child, and I squeezed my eyes shut again. In my feelings, I just wanted to disappear.

I was too embarrassed that I couldn’t seem to say it, but there was only one thing I could do.

I will never— yes, never again in this second life will I make such a shallow mistake.

I made up my mind that I would never do anything that would hinder Mika or Vivienne, who had gone out of their way to believe me.

I don’t know what Mika thought of me while I was closing my eyes, but then I heard his voice.

“So, what’s going to happen in the future developments of that book until Miss Vivienne plots an assassination attempt?”

“First of all, during the summer break, there will be an event to go to the beach. Then, starting in the second semester, the bullying from me will intensify… Wait, no! That’s right! This is Vincent’s route, so during the summer break… there’s a birthday party!”

“Yes, that is true. His Highness Vincent was born in August. Isn’t it about time for your dress to arrive, sister?”

Vivienne, Brother Vincent’s fiancée, will surely have a matching dress made for her with the same fabric as Vincent’s outfit.

Come to think of it, how was it in my first life, five years ago? I tried to remember, and huh? I tilted my head in confusion. That reminds me, I had a cold and was sitting on the royal couch in a daze.

However, at Tillois’ question, Vivienne said, “Ugh,” with a voice just like me earlier, and looked away awkwardly.

Seeing her reaction, the three of us noticed.

“No way… Don’t tell me my brother doesn’t give Vivienne a dress…?”

“It’s even worse than that. He gives Emilia a dress instead.”

“N-no way! No way that could happen!”

The colour drained quickly from Tillois’ face as he shouted out loud. Perhaps even for Tillois, the unlikely future of his sister’s execution is slowly becoming a reality.

It was an unthinkable situation for Brother Vincent to give a dress only to a baroness while muddying the face of the Ackersons and his fiancée, who had been decided almost from birth. A shiver ran through me as I remembered the unique magic of “fascination” and thought of its compelling power.

Vivienne calmly told Tillois, who had “I don’t want to believe it” written over his face.

“But I haven’t received it yet. Nothing at all.”

“I-I cannot believe it…! Does that mean His Highness intends to escort Baroness Tessier?! He is losing his mind!”

“In the book, a fabulous dress was sent out of the blue and a carriage with the royal coat of arms welcomed the main character. And then His Highness Vincent is waiting for her in the corridors of the royal castle… ‘It’s like a dream!’ is what she said~”

“I really wish it had been a dream!!”

Tillois looked like he was on the verge of collapsing. Looking at his sister laughing, he put his hand on his stomach with empty-looking eyes. It seemed that his consciousness had already travelled beyond the stars in the sky.

Mika and I looked at each other and tried to figure out what to do about this.

If what Vivienne said is true, she will be a wallflower in her own dress on the day of the event. People will make rumors about what might be true or not right in front of her, and it makes me sad to wonder what she will think of it.

Besides, in my first life, five years ago, I felt ashamed that I didn’t see anything around me.

But…

(…Those events haven’t happened yet. There’s something I can do, too!)

There was no way that a royal family member, who was supposed to be a role model, would be allowed to escort a baroness while disregarding his own fiancée. Vivienne may be able to laugh now because she has memories of her previous life, but I’m not sure if she would have done so in my first life.

It must have been hard for her. It must have been an excruciating shame.

I opened my mouth.

“Then I’ll dance as Vivienne’s partner instead.”

“Whaaat?! I-isn’t that a bad thing to do?”

“But formally, you’re someone who is going to be my sister. If anyone is allowed to ask you out, it should only be the royalty or your family.”

“Hey, wait. In the end, that would mean the Ackersons are leaning toward the first prince faction, with no deal, no shit.”

Tillois, who had just returned to life from space, was so distraught that he even say words such as ‘shit’, but I understood his feeling painfully well, so I let him be.

However, if Brother Vincent is going to take it that far, even the Ackersons, who are in collusion with Tyndall, should have fought back.

As I thought of that, Mika said something.

“Why don’t we take it as the Ackersons keeping in check of the Tyndalls? If they’re behaving that way, just show them that you also have something up your sleeves. It’s not that Nagi will escort her, he only invites her to dance. This is politics. Even the Ackersons wouldn’t want to just sit back and be quiet about this treatment, right?”

Tillois gritted his teeth firmly when Mika said this to him.

Yes, it was supposed to be that way. Only one dance shouldn’t be enough to give the impression that Ackerson is leaning toward the first prince faction. But if I, from the first prince faction, offered to escort Vivienne and she took my hand, even Tyndall and the other nobles would have an opinion about it.

Tyndall is the one who is committing the impropriety first.

“On the day of the event, if Tillois brings Vivienne and indeed Brother Vincent shows up with Baroness Tessier while disregarding her, I will dance with Vivienne. Then, it would mean that I was the one who decided it on my own, and it would also suggest that the first prince faction is interested in the Ackersons.”

“Ehh~? Oh my gosh, it’s just like I’m pretending to be a love rival1The original word is 当て馬 (ateuma), usually translated to stalking horse/ dummy candidate depending on the context. However, in romance/ BL stories, ateuma is usually used to describe a character whose role is to turn the attention of the love interest back to the main character. For example, the ateuma character might pretend to be with the main character to make the love interest jealous and turn back to the main character. I used the word ‘love rival’ here, but it doesn’t describe it fully. In this story, Nagi should be the ateuma for Vivienne and Vincent, but Vivienne has her own agenda to be the ateuma for Nagi and Mika. I’m very motivated now~!　We can’t have a matching dress, but I’ll choose a very cute one.”

“Pretending to be a love rival? Isn’t that supposed to be Nagi’s role?”

I know that what Vivienne actually intended was something entirely different, and I felt a chill to my bone.

But surely, if Brother Vincent showed up with Baroness Tessier on the day of the birthday party, neither Mika nor Tillois would be able to dismiss everything as Vivienne’s delusion anymore.

Anyway, for the time being, we decided to cooperate with Vivienne.

And then… I had one more thing I wanted to do at the Taurus mine.