First Year Second Semester – Q of Hearts (Part 2)
Note: Please don’t read it in the little pop-up for the reader. For some reason it doesn’t reflect my later edits (which I often make a lot of after publishing), so please click ‘view original’.
I’ve decided to go with Plan A, due to more or less overwhelming support for it.
“Camille, wait a moment!”
After I finished speaking with Mei, Royce-sama called out to me.
“What is it? Royce-sama…”
“I think something a little bad for you just happened.”
Bad for me? I wonder what he means.
“Hey, Mei. It’s nice to see you this lively, but don’t push yourself, okay? Your body isn’t just yours now, after all.”
Royce-sama said that with a smile, before pulling me outside by the hand. It seems that he knows about Mei’s pregnancy as well. Has he heard from Raiga or someone?
“Camille, Achille was brought behind the auditorium by a girl you know! As the fiancée, I think this is where you should step in.”
“…Confessing where people can’t see you, huhh. Isn’t this as usual?”
When I said this, the ends of Royce-sama’s eyebrows dropped in disappointment.
“Camille, that’s no good you know. It’s because you’re like this that the other noble girls haven’t given up on Achille. It looks like a loveless engagement that they have a chance of worming into…”
“Mmmn…”
What Royce-sama is saying certainly does have a point. I’ve always left it alone when Achille gets confessed to, or surrounded by noble girls. Thanks to that, I suffered some unpleasant feelings at Déborah’s wedding reception.
“I understand. I’ll go see how things are.”
“If you’ve decided on that, then let’s go! I have the responsibility of seeing you two through.”
Eh-… Royce-sama too? Just like that, I was led by the hand by Royce-sama behind the auditorium.
※
“I refuse.”
The moment we arrived behind the auditorium, Achille said that.
“Isn’t that great, Camille? It looks like Achille clearly rejected her.”
Royce-sama whispered to me with a smile.
“It seems that way, huh.”
“Why? Even you should think that the state of the country is abnormal. Are you refusing because of your viscount’s family? Or is the cause that fiancée of yours? Honestly, I’m constantly amazed by that romance-obsessed woman. To be picking up men even in a different world… She can’t distinguish this world from a game, can she?”
Wha-… Could that girl, possibly be the Heroine? A lovely girl with fluffy curled hair… It seems it really is her. Even though she’s in front of Achille, she’s saying stuff like “game”.
“Are you insulting Camille?”
“The one being insulted by that woman is you.”
A cold sweat ran down my back.
“…May I ask you what you think you know about my fiancée?”
“Your fiancée knows everything about your upbringing. Your personality, the actions you’ll probably take, your behaviour, and as a result of these, the future you’ll probably meet as well; she knows all of these, and on top of that has gotten close to you, you know? That woman.”
I unconsciously took a breath. She’s wrong… That’s not it. The reason I didn’t tell Achille anything isn’t because of the reson she said. But, I stiffened and stayed right where I was.
“So what?”
Achille probably doesn’t know what the Heroine really means. I wanted it to stay that way.
“Achille Jade! You’re being tricked, you know. By that woman. That woman calculated everything to get close to you. To make you hers.”
“She’s wr-…”
I had no intention of tricking Achille. But, the reason that I didn’t tell him the truth was exactly that. If he knew the truth after all this time, would Achille scorn me? I don’t want to be hated by him… Why am I feeling this anxious…? It’s the first time since coming to this world that I’ve felt terror from something other than physical danger.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to be somebody who is so stupidly involved in romance, you know? You want to change this country, right?”
“Certainly, I do think that I would like to change the country, but… I have no intention of working with you. At any rate, if I was going to change the country, I would do so with a different method.”
“How regretful. I’m disappointed… You’ve been completely led by that woman, haven’t you. Even though I thought I could use the J of Hearts.”
..*
“Huh? They don’t seem to be talking about love, do they…?”
Royce-sama who hadn’t noticed that I was trembling due to the danger I had invited on myself, muttered in bored disappointment. Royce-sama, you followed me here half for fun, didn’t you?
At that moment, the Heroine who seemed to be unhappy with Achille’s reply suddenly raised her hands into the air.
“!”
It was the action of creating a large scale magic. I immediately pushed Royce-sama into cover, and ran towards Achille.
A magic circle was forming in the air. That’s an incantation for quite a high level spell, huh… Memory sealing magic. It’s not a forbidden art, but it’s theoretically better to weave it into the realm of forbidden magic, and is the magic being cast right now.
“Achilleee! It’s dangerouuus!”
“Eh-… Camille?”
While catching sight in the corner of my eye, of Achille who was turning in surprise, I cast the memory seal magic in reverse to seal the Heroine’s magic. I think Achille by himself is enough to deal with it, but the opponent is the Heroine who possesses a lot of magic power. I can’t be careless.
“My, you were here too? …You got in the way, huh?”
The Heroine… Frau Monier, turned my way, and smirked in ridicule.
“This is great. Since you’re here, shall I unmask you before your fiancé? Bodyswapper-san?”
<Heroine-like Guess> In Frau, the Heroine’s mind, 1: Camille’s appearance and behaviour are strange → She’s a bodyswapper (and has the knowledge of the game)! 2: Achille and Camille are getting along → Even though Achille is supposed to ruin Camille, things are like this. It’s strange → The love-obsessed Camille has used the knowledge of the game to woo Achille! or something like that.
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