Prince, I Don’t Want To Be Killed by You This Time! -The Poor Lady Who Was Framed by the Saint, Avoids Being Skewered the Second Time! ~ - Chapter 30

When the dry winter winds began to blow over the Kingdom of Leia.

The saint, who had been busy healing the nobles and influential people who came from all over the country, spent more and more days at the Golden Palace as they regained their health.

The newspapers, which had been full of stories about the saint day after day, stopped covering the topic, perhaps because it was no longer fresh. The number of her cronies was also decreasing and the royal palace, which had been noisy since the discovery of the saint, had regained its composure.

A fire broke out in a large opera house in the royal capital.

This was the same incident that happened to me the first time. At that time, water was kept in a cistern for fire prevention, but it froze in the cold night and was unusable, so firefighters were slow to extinguish the fire.

So this time, I had sent a letter to the firefighters reminding them to tap the surface of the water regularly so that it would not freeze even at night. That may have helped a little and this time the water was useful in extinguishing the fire.

Besides, the Royal Guard quickly rushed to the scene and used the water dragons to extinguish the fire on a large scale, which allowed the fire to be extinguished before it spread to a wider area.

A few people who worked on the fire suffered minor burns, but no other damage was sustained.

When I heard this news, I couldn’t help but strike a gut pose in my heart.

The fire at the opera house, which had caused extensive damage the last time, had been averted.

That evening I met Cynthia and Mac and we all rejoiced together in the courtyard of our dormitory.

Our eyes shone, blazing in the dark night courtyard, in the shadow of the tall buildings.

“Aren’t we awesome? This saved a lot of lives, didn’t it? That’s more than one two-timing Benjamin.”

“When I heard the news, I shouted ‘Yoshaa!!’ (Alright!!)”

It’s so unexpected and funny that even Cynthia says “Yoshaa!,” and when she and Mac look at each other, they both giggle.

“Mac, the fact that the fire was extinguished so quickly this time is really thanks to the Royal Guard!”

“I kind of …… secretly feel like an awesome hero. We saved a lot of people.”

“You two are my  unsung heroes!”　

“What do you mean by two! It’s all three of us right?”

Cynthia laughs as she wipes tears from the corners of her eyes. Then she said bitingly.

“The future has changed, Liesel. Just as you’re no longer the crown prince’s lover, the future of being put on trial will never come again.”

“Yes. Thank you both so much.”

All my efforts since I was six years old were not in vain. It was worth the effort.

Still, there were some things that couldn’t be changed. The relationship between our ally, the Kingdom of Mikunov and its neighbor, the Kingdom of Saber, was rapidly deteriorating.

We cannot change even the atmosphere of dissension between nations.

Mikunov and Saber had always been on bad terms.

Saber was a big country and it was a troubled country that launched wars against neighboring countries by making any kind of difficulties as if it was the hobby of the kings for generations to expand their territories. Because of this, many refugees flowed into Leia every year.

Mikunov was a country where the king’s power was so weak that throughout its long history, it had always been taken advantage of by the Sabers and had managed to survive by ceding territory in small pieces.

It had been almost a year since I came to the royal palace.

When the ambassador who had finished his stay in Mikunov returned home to report, a big meeting was held at the royal palace, with the participation of the Minister of War, to discuss the future of Mikunov. The saint also participated in the meeting, and for some reason, the nobles around her were also present at the meeting as if they were the opinion leaders.

Of course, as the crown prince’s personal guard, all I could do was stand in the corridor with the guards and wait, but the meeting seemed to be in a state of confusion and did not end well.

When the meeting was over, the crown prince was the first to come out of the room.

As I ran up to him, he gave me a brief report.

“Our country has decided to send troops to our ally Mikunov.”

“Did you already decide that at this meeting?”

I cannot hide my surprise.

As far as I know, the Saber invasion of Mikunov is yet to begin, and of course our Kingdom of Leia would send reinforcements to the allied countries after that. It was in June that the crown prince Ulysses led his armored troops out of the royal palace.

It’s still March.

“The Sabers are gathering their troops on the Mikunov border. The march is near. If we wait, it will be too late.”

Could it be,

Probably,

The Crown prince – no, the “former Gideon” who was the ringleader of the time-reversal and the current crown prince – has this memory. No doubt.

He‘s convinced that the Sabers will launch the invasion.

He knows which village they’ll enter and what strategy they’ll use. The crown prince, now that he has prepared in advance and has read the strategy, intends to prepare early.

After all, in the previous deployment, the crown prince had to fight an uphill battle due to the unexpected turnover of officers and local lords on Mikunov’s side.

After taking a glance at the ministers and bureaucrats coming out of the conference room one after another, the crown prince said to me.

“In addition to the regular army, our country has decided to deploy magic soldiers.”

The magic soldiers, who report directly to the military arm of the Royal Magistracy, use magic for forceful confrontations. In addition, the barriers they made were always useful in times of armed conflict because they had more defensive power than steel shields.

When I said, “I see,” the crown prince folded his arms with his cruel eyes turned toward me.

“The commander of the Magic Legion is Gideon Lancaster.”

I thought I had misheard.

Because why Gideon?

He’s not in the military.

He’s in the Royal Guard Bureau of the Department of Magic.

Even the last time Gideon was there, he was just attached to the saint like a goldfish dropping and he wasn’t even in the war.

“Why is Gideon…?”

The crown prince twisted the edges of his mouth and said, amused.

“The Commander must be a prestigious sorcerer. The House of Lancaster would have no shortage. Besides, his great magic power should be used in times like these for the good of the nation.”

Selfish.

You didn’t even go to war, you just followed the saint around in the royal palace holding the hem of her skirt.

I shudder with confusion and anger and at the same time, my head goes cold.

(What are you up to? What do you want?)

“Don’t stare at me with those eyes. Gideon has already agreed to this. He wants to make you and the Duke of Lancaster agree to be friends.”

“Eh…..?”

The crown prince gave me a meaningful look of surprise.

“Now… he’s trying to win his lover again with his military prowess. Isn’t that healthy?”

“This time too… you say?”

When I asked him back, the crown prince laughed.

“That was a gaffe. Well, you know nothing. No, he’ll fight like hell to protect the pearl in his hand.”

“I too, am against the idea of letting Gideon go, Your Highness.”

I hear a soft voice and turn around in a huff.

Standing behind me and the crown prince was the saint.

She was wearing a pure white dress with a lace shawl of the same color draped over her shoulders. The saint’s lovely face was painfully clouded.

“I’m worried that something might happen to Gideon at Mikunov. I told you that I would serve with him as a saint. His Majesty was eager for me to go, but you were against it…”

The first time, the king kept the saint in his palace to prepare her for her marriage to the crown prince. This time, since there was no obstacle, he was in less of a hurry and thought it would be better to allow him to serve.

Then the crown prince gently touched the saint’s arm. Her expression changed from a moment ago, and she looked very kind.

“If I take the saint into battle, I might incur the wrath of the gods. No, more than that, I don’t want you to go.”

“I’m just genuinely worried about Gideon.”

“Don’t worry, Iris. Gideon is strong. He’ll return without a scratch.”

“But I’m sure the Duchess of Lancaster will be very concerned.”

“Really? The Duke of Lancaster said he couldn’t be more honored.”

“That’s because fathers and mothers surely feel differently…….”

Iris suddenly turned her eyes to me.

Then she held out her white, thin hand and touched mine.

“You are very close with Gideon, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we’ve been friends since the academy.”

“A friend? Gideon invited you to his grand soiree. Are you not his girlfriend?”

From the looks of things when she was visiting the Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Iris seemed to have a thing for Gideon as well. She wouldn’t allow the shadow of any woman other than herself to flicker over her favorite man.

This saint is a troublesome woman who is not satisfied unless she is the one who is adored as the “best” by everyone.

“No, I’m not. Besides, I didn’t attend the Grand soiree after all….”

Then the Saint looked somewhat relieved.

Her light red lips arched slightly.

“The duke was worried that he might have found a lover who is not worthy of his status.”

I wondered if she was talking about me.

You are so kind to say that.

“Gideon is like a real brother to me, as well as a childhood friend. I want him to be happy and I want you to be happy too, as a friend.”

“Yes, of course.”

The saint gently took my hand in hers. Then she said with a beautiful smile that seemed to draw me in.

“I’m glad to hear it. I hope you won’t do anything that will make the Duke sad.”

I suppose she’s trying to say that the Duke will be saddened if I become Gideon’s lover.

(For the Duke’s sake, it’s not fair to say that.)

As I was struggling to answer, the nobles who had gathered behind the saint interrupted me.

“The saint is asking you a question. Answer her quickly!”

It’s safer to let them think I am helpless and unthinking now. If I make the mistake of timing my counterattack, everything will be ruined.

I replied to the saintly woman with a downcast look.

“I am aware of it.”

She smiled a full-blown smile like a flower. Her smile attracts the ecstatic gazes of her cronies as if they were mesmerized.

The saint let go of my hand and fluttered her hand.

“Thank you for understanding. –I’ll be counting on you to escort His Highness.”

The Saint leaves with a group of people in tow, following along like a family of ducks.

The crown prince, watching her back, looked surprisingly uninterested.

Perhaps it’s the saint’s concern for Gideon that is so disheartening.

I spoke to the real Gideon inside the body of the crown prince in my mind.

(You liked Iris, didn’t you? Iris was not just a childhood friend to you.)

I suddenly realized.

Perhaps that’s why he became the initiator of the “Three Wise Men’s Time Begging”?

And so he’s going to get Iris this time…..?

I thought I found the answer in the crown prince’s profile as he gazed lovingly at the saint’s back as she moved away.