kscans

Chapter 340 - The Villain

"—Helena."

"As you wish."

A voice like the chiming of a bell quietly sliced through the suddenly buzzing atmosphere of the room. The lady-in-waiting, receiving her master's order, stepped into the center of the room, drawing all eyes.

"We have a private matter to discuss, so I will be borrowing those two for a moment."

Her voice was directed at the representative of the Eastern Faction, our General Commander.

Faced with the business-like words from the woman who was apparently his daughter, Goldow, who had been staring blankly at Ashe and me, gave a textbook-perfect bewildered response. "O-Oh…"

"I do not believe it will take long. Those of you who still wish to speak with them, please wait here—Lux. As I told you earlier, you are to wait without fail."

"Hm? Yup yup, okay, got it!"

Just as during the meeting, the situation progressed swiftly, leaving almost everyone with the same bewildered expression as Goldow. The only calm ones were Ashe, Helena-san, and myself.

Well, I was just pretending to be calm.

What I felt most sorry about was Sora, who was currently in the throes of confusion, her eyes spinning… I had been sworn to secrecy, so it couldn't be helped, but that didn't mean I wasn't at fault for this surprise.

"Ah… in that case, can I go ahead and get your friend registration? I've got something to do right after this, so let's save the chit-chat for another time."

"In that case, I'd like to ask as well."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, the pleasure's all mine."

After accepting their welcome offer and registering friends with Auerin and Fuji-san's duo—

"Well then, we will take our leave for a moment."

"Understood. So, Sora, I'm really sorry to spring this on you…"

"Uhm… y-yes, it's alright. I'm just a little… confused…"

Feeling a pang of guilt—a selfish one, I admit—for the considerable burden this sudden turn of events would place on Sora.

I took my partner, who was handed over by the red-headed girl shooting me a pointed glare, and was enveloped in the light of the teleportation that Helena-san activated, leaving the Southern Throne behind.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—In short, I am the one at fault. It was I who asked Haru to remain silent, even though he said he wanted to tell you."

She explained everything: that after this season's Four Pillar War, she had accepted a long-standing offer and entered into a contractual relationship with Yotsuya Development.

That she had maneuvered things that way with me as her objective.

That upon contracting with Yotsuya and approaching me, she had been informed that I and Sora—Haru Kasuga and Sora Yotsuya—were in a fake engagement.

Having revealed the entire situation from some time ago, Ashe bowed her head to Sora as an apology for keeping it a secret by making me swear silence.

"…So that's the gist of it, but I'm an accomplice too. I'm sorry for not telling you."

And so, along with my co-conspirator sitting across from me, I bowed my head from the side.

Here in a waiting room inside Istia's Ruvalest—one with a similar construction to its counterpart, differing only in the fine details of its decorations and main color scheme.

"…………………………"

In the dead silent air—my partner sitting next to me was completely frozen, looking more dumbfounded than I had ever seen her before.

…This was, in every sense of the word, excruciatingly awkward.

"…………………………Uhm… so, does… that mean…"

After a silence that lasted ten, then twenty seconds, Sora shifted awkwardly and began to weave a frail, broken string of words.

She turned her hazy eyes, as if in a dream, toward Ashe.

"That you wanted… Haru… which means—"

"Yes."

Meeting her gaze head-on, Ashe, though apologetic, nodded with the utmost dignity and replied.

"—I love Haru. I've been in love with him since the day he made me smile."

"—…!"

Sora gasped in astonishment.

And Ashe, who had just dropped a bombshell of undeniable affection with the subject of said affection sitting right here.

What kind of face was I supposed to make in this situation? At a complete loss, my eyes wandered and met those of the lady-in-waiting attending the Princess—

"Here you are."

"Thank you…"

A tea set she produced from thin air (her inventory) was placed before me, and still at a loss, I accepted a cup of the poured tea.

I couldn't taste a thing.

"You are his partner, and though it may be a pretense, his fiancée. I understood that he cares for you deeply. That's why I wanted to introduce myself to you first."

Whether she was at a loss for words or prompting her to continue, Sora remained silent.

"I don't know the details of your relationship… but even if it were a simple arrangement of mutual benefit, I imagine it wouldn't feel good to have someone make a move on your partner from the side."

And so, Ashe—calmly, yet with all the sincerity she could muster—spoke as she looked Sora straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry it took so long. And… I hope you'll permit me to get closer to the person you hold dear—please."

She bowed her head once more.

…I had heard what she planned to do by setting up this meeting, but I never imagined she would go this far.

This just added another reason why I couldn't treat her feelings lightly—

"—Please, don't ask that."

Her reply was colored with confusion and… a multitude of emotions I couldn't decipher.

"I'm sorry, I was silent for so long… Uh, um, please raise your head. It's not for me to say anything about permitting or not permitting…!"

Perhaps it was mainly surprise and panic. Sora, who had rattled off a stream of words, choked and let out a small cough.

"Here you are."

"Th-Thank you…………… I appreciate it."

She drank the tea that had been served to her, just as I had, and after taking a deep breath, she smiled shyly at Helena-san and offered her thanks.

The girl took one more deep breath, and this time, spoke with a calmer demeanor.

"Um, Princess—I, uh… I-Iris-san."

Ashe finally raised her head when her name was called.

Even in this situation, her expression was as blank as ever… yet it probably wasn't my imagination that her face was slightly tense.

"Thank you for your consideration—I'm alright."

To such a woman—the modern-day celestial, the one and only Sword Queen—the heiress of the Yotsuya family, while unable to hide her nervousness, managed to smile with admirable composure.

"Haru."

"…Yeah?"

And now, those eyes turned to me.

"It's the same as with the other one, isn't it?"

By "the other one," she obviously meant Nia. I had already told Sora about that matter, as Nia herself had wished for it.

"…Yeah. I've decided to face it, one way or another."

Even if I still lacked the courage to feel romantic love for anyone, if someone felt that way about me—if they had confessed their feelings—I would face them head-on.

"Then, yes…—It really isn't my place to say anything."

She wore that mature expression, the one that had so often made me mistake her for being older than me.

"Iris-san."

"Yes."

Sora turned her gaze back to Ashe… and after a moment of hesitation, as if choosing her words, she opened her mouth with a somewhat troubled look, and said,

"I'm the one who's in the—"

"Wait."

This time, it was Ashe who stopped her.

"I'll say it as many times as it takes. I am the one in the wrong. The one getting in your way is me.—Haru, you too, just listen quietly."

Just as I was about to interject, as she once again cast herself as the "villain," I was stopped as well.

"You saved me, Haru. No matter what anyone says, you bear no sin whatsoever for the fact that I fell in love with you. Absolutely none."

Her unwavering garnet eyes now turned to me.

"Don't you dare think it's your fault—for making me fall for you. You, just as you are now, are the most wonderful person in the world. At least, to me."

"…………S-So…!"

"………………"

"…………"

I was rendered speechless by the sheer heat of her words, which washed over me like a tidal wave.

Ashe, who, as always, conveyed her feelings without a shred of hesitation. And me, probably red up to my neck from her assault.

And while Sora stared, dumbfounded once again, and Helena-san stood frozen in apparent surprise—

"So—it's fine if the one who fell in love loses. An intruder, a villain… If it means you'll allow me to be in love with you, Haru, then that's all I need."

The invincible Princess, her expression still blank…

with a faint blush on her cheeks, declared her terms with majestic dignity.

"Understood?"

And so, Ashe, having declared that she would not relinquish the role of the "villain" no matter what, completely overwhelmed both Sora and me—

""………………Y-Yes, understood.""

It seemed… for now, we had no choice but to admit defeat.