Chapter 66
Chapter 66
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: 18-4. What I've Been Hiding Is My Trump Card.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A memory surfaced of something that pillar guy had once told me.
I remembered him sharing info I didn't know, since I was on the Saintess route. It struck me as odd that this northern shut-in was suddenly talking about the imperial palace in the capital.
He later told me the Northern Duchess's lines turned positive once Lupus was out of the picture. And then the chat continued.
I shouldn't have glossed over that suspicious line so easily. Looking back, I must've filled in the blank with my own wishful thinking that Mary Sue characters like that should vanish.
No matter how I looked at it, Lupus just didn't have what it took to be emperor. He wasn't as militarily strong as Emperor Locke, nor as intellectually gifted as Nex, and he wasn't kind-hearted either.
I never imagined that "someone else" would turn out to be his older sister. It would've been fine if it was a guy—no interference with the Saintess route.
The hazy flashback ended, and I opened my eyes.
"Licht bro...! You okay...?"
"I'm fine. Your Highness."
"Phew, that's a relief..."
The future harem king was speaking to me in a voice on the verge of tears. Up close like this, he seemed perfectly normal. So why did he turn into such a mess in the sequel?
'Was it because Empress Bellin became a card?'
I pulled myself together, sat up, and sorted through my thoughts. Looking at Mardol or the Lupus from [Black Heart], he'd become obsessed with strength.
"...Just one question, Prince Lupus."
"Yeah, Licht bro! Ask me anything!"
"You didn't originally know that Empress Bellin had become a card, did you?"
"Ah, well..."
I posed the question to uncover the inconsistencies. Professor Dijur was glaring at me discontentedly, but I ignored him.
I needed to verify my hypothesis. I stepped closer, pressuring him, and the truth came spilling out.
"...I heard you'd gone on a long trip somewhere. Until my sister told me..."
"Forgive me for making you speak out of turn, Your Highness."
"No, no! You ended up saving her, bro...!"
Family matters needed delicate handling. I bowed deeply in apology, but he waved it off, rejecting it. Even though it really was my fault. What gives?
'Even after learning the truth later, Lupus became obsessed with strength like his sister... But then why Mardol...'
As I pondered with my hand on my chin, I realized the missing piece. Why hadn't this person appeared in the original or the sequel?
"Do you happen to know why your sister—no, Her Highness the Princess—wears armor all the time?"
"No idea. She says she gets weaker without it."
Lupus wore a grim expression, his wolf ears and tail drooping just like someone else's. It reminded me of our Saintess. I don't like this beastkin trait.
'High chance it's because of Magic Hat. Makes sense after seeing those academy attack victims.'
I recalled the students from the previous incident, twisted into horrific shapes—faces erased, limbs fused together, extras all of them.
A mad magician whose epithet fit perfectly. He'd been obsessively fixated on me too, so I'd repelled him with Demon King Slayer for now. I placed a hand on the forehead of my helmet.
"Licht bro... Anyway, thanks a ton. I heard you saved my sister too."
"...Just doing my duty."
Watching Lupus stammer his gratitude shifted my thinking quite a bit. This was the past, after all. No matter how much I hated harems.
"I didn't do it expecting thanks, Your Highness."
"You can speak casually...!"
"...Force of habit. Sorry."
How could anyone hate this innocent boy? Saving Sharutineth was like changing the future. As long as he didn't mess with demon kings, it'd be fine.
'I wonder if she'll have black hair and golden eyes.'
I imagined Mardol's face inside the crystal visor based on Lupus. Hair and eye color were genetic, like what I saw now.
'Nex too, Lupus, even the Northern Duchess.'
Sometimes they took after one side, but Emperor Locke and Empress Bellin both had black hair and golden eyes. Were there really no white-haired beastkin like our Nameless Saintess anywhere?
"...I'm not feeling well, so I'll take my leave."
"Oh, sure! See ya later, Licht bro!"
"Sir Licht, please get home safely."
Feeling like I'd collapse if I stayed longer, I parted ways with them. I regretted unconsciously planting a flag with Mardol, but...
'No helping it. It was an accident. Saving lives comes first.'
I muttered lame excuses to our Saintess in my head, rationalizing it as the right choice. Sentences that wouldn't convince anyone.
'The best I can do is keep my distance from the princess from now on.'
As long as I maintained space and didn't build a harem, it'd be okay. People can change. And my guess was Mardol was the protagonist of this incident.
Staying comrades like with Kainel shouldn't be an issue.
My head throbbed. Suddenly, a new heroine appears. Saintess and princess—the twin flowers.
Some might say fortune rolled in on a vine. It was a male-oriented game from the start. Two wives? Sounds great, right?
'I don't need that.'
Building a harem from the outset meant I couldn't get closest to our Saintess. Love is overwhelming even for one person.
My fist clenched tight. All I needed was a single blue rose for our Saintess. Two would be too many.
Besides, Manarose was probably a gift item that boosted affection. Roses among flowers, after all.
Infused with dense mana, it glowed blue and amplified magic or enhanced mana resonance.
'Can't let the princess have it.'
This magic swordsman princess might get flagged here. A woman obsessed with strength, beaten by a guy who got a dragon heart while she got a blue rose? Imagine that.
'Anyone would think...'
She'd fixate on the blue rose that came back to her, centering her thoughts on me. Game cliché: after a powerhouse character's first defeat, they see that person as special.
'The reason I'm close to Mardol now is because I'm strong.'
I couldn't win again here and make the princess see me as special. I needed her to think of me as a loser who forfeited—nothing special.
My name might even pop up in her status window. No Love Meter yet, so not full harem territory, but for our Nameless Saintess, I had to dodge flags.
But like how I could track Kainel's Shine Strike visually, a powerhouse like Mardol would notice if I forfeited or threw the fight.
'Imperial Guard would try to kill me, or she'd demand a rematch. Laplace would confirm it digging into my info.'
What to do? As I walked, I brainstormed a solid plan to lower affection without awkwardness.
'...Even if I lose, shatter that crystal armor.'
That way, I'd definitively know if Mardol was a woman. Had to confirm if she really was Lupus's sister like he said.
Breaking gear in the arena and taking the loss—wouldn't she think I'm a pervert or coward?
Aim for the armor inside the mana shield. With my inner energy control and strong will, I could manage it now.
And I needed to drop that apparently maxed-out affection first. We'd unconsciously had a diner date, after all.
'To destroy a masterpiece, I'll have to go in like I'm really trying to win. Things got complicated pretending to lose outright.'
No woman would fall for me through rose-tinted glasses after that. Even without dating experience, I could infer that much.
I let out a deep sigh. To think I'd been hanging out with another girl while we have our Saintess. Dizziness hit as I dragged my unsteady body back to the dorm.