The Kiss of Betrayal
With every successful subjugation, the Hero Party’s fame rose higher. Yet the people’s support kept falling. The Hero Party itself, though, did not care in the slightest…
The common folk had grown cold toward Julius too, even though he was only the porter.
“Haah… can those idiots do anything except cause trouble?”
They had slain the monsters, sure, but the fields were a total mess.
No harvest was happening after this.
Maybe they just didn’t understand that the people weren’t asking only for monsters to be killed.
—
[Erason Crown Prince POV]
I disliked Julius from the very beginning…
He was a country bumpkin, yet somehow polished, refined. Even from my eyes, the bastard was capable!
And his fiancées were all my type…
So I secretly placed the curse Father King Jimetz had once taught me for use against the Margrave family onto Julius during the occupation appraisal at age ten.
Later, when we entered the academy, he was there, but had the curse not worked very well? In the first exams, I suffered the disgrace of having first place stolen by him.
That fool who blocked my perfection from the start, I added even more curses to him.
Father warned me not to overdo it, but it should be fine…
Maybe layering the curses had worked, because after that Julius’s grades at the academy dropped to mediocre, and his practical skills were miserable. I couldn’t stop my lips from curling into a grin.
“Regret ever staining my record!”
Just watching Julius decline… was boring.
Maybe I’d make his fiancées betray him too.
Milian would be easy enough…
Almeria, huh. Julius’s childhood friend, if I recall…
Shall I make my move?
“Lady Almeria of House Zanger, may I have a moment?”
She looked startled that I had suddenly spoken to her.
But her reaction wasn’t bad.
“As fellow members of the Hero Party, there is something I wished to ask Lady Almeria, who is knowledgeable in healing magic.”
“Ah, yes. About healing magic!? If it’s something I understand, then I’d be happy to…”
“I see. Then……… I understand now. Thank you for teaching me. Well then…”
“Yes, I’m honored I could help, Your Highness.”
“Mm. Lady Almeria of House Zanger, as fellow members of the Hero Party from now on, would you allow me to call you Almeria in private?”
“My name!? Well… if we’re in the same party… that should be fine, right? …Very well, Your Highness.”
“Thank you. Then call me Erason as well…”
“I couldn’t possibly… Then, Lord Erason… would that be acceptable?”
Hmm hmm… not bad.
Her looks were my type. She wasn’t stupid. Her healing magic was excellent. And she knew how to behave according to her station.
“Good. I suppose I’ll add her to my harem!”
After that, I spoke to her whenever I had the chance, probing into what kind of woman she was.
And from my experience, this woman had a lot of dissatisfaction built up over her engagement to Julius…
Father had also told me to win Almeria over… and to dig out information on the Margrave house.
Then I’ll guide the conversation while we talk…
“... I see. Almeria, you truly are doing your best. Julius should have paid more attention to you. Reassuring one’s fiancée is also the duty of a fiancé, I would think.”
“As expected of Lord Erason. Thank you very much. And I’m sorry for making you listen to my troubles again. I wish Julius would learn from you…”
“No, it is fine. Julius is trying in his own way as well. Still, if a man cannot be a gentleman toward women, he cannot govern a nation.”
Fufufu… Almeria, huh…
She’s being led along nicely. Now then, something to seal it… Shall I use that?
“We will now begin the Inter-Year Swordsmanship Tournament. First match: Julius von South versus Erason de Titania. Step forward.”
Yes, in this important academy sword tournament, I had arranged the pairing a little.
This tournament was also a matter of pride, fiancées would cheer their men on, and their strength would be acknowledged by everyone around them.
In other words, a weak fiancé would be laughed at by the whole school. A strong one would be respected.
That was why everyone trained desperately for this day…
And Julius had additional curses layered onto him so he couldn’t fight properly. Once he disgraced himself and she was disillusioned… I’d comfort her.
“Then… first match, begin!”
I moved the moment it started. He was so slow I even entertained him a little with my sword, but his strength was weak too.
I’ll finish this quickly. The Curse.
It worked immediately. I knocked aside his sluggish sword with the curse’s effect, then used the recoil to punch him in the stomach.
Julius clutched his stomach and vomited.
“That is enough. Winner: Erason de Titania.”
“As expected of His Highness.”
“That was pathetic.”
“What was that? Lame.”
“How disgraceful.”
“I feel sorry for his fiancées~”
“Ahahaha!”
“Even in the same Hero Party, the difference is heaven and earth.”
A fine result indeed.
When I looked toward Almeria, she had her head lowered, enduring the ridicule around her out of embarrassment, but perhaps she could bear no more, because she ran from the arena…
Good, good. It’s going perfectly.
Now to chase after Almeria and finish this.
She was crying in a deserted place where no one came near. There…
“I’m sorry, Almeria. Since my opponent was Julius, I intended to give him a moment to shine as well… Yet instead, I made you cry.”
“No, Lord Erason, you did nothing wrong.”
Sniff sniff, as she wiped her tears…
“Lord Erason, congratulations on your victory. You looked wonderful. I envy the ladies who are your fiancées.”
She forced the brightest smile she could.
How brave… and how beautiful.
“I only wish those tears had been shed for me…”
I wiped away Almeria’s tears with my finger… and her face turned red.
“Ah… th-thank you, Lord Erason. Please, don’t tease me…”
“It is no tease. Right now, I do not know how to stop those sad tears… I am only a man. So that I do not have to see your sorrowful face…”
Whoosh, I pulled Almeria into my arms!
“Now I cannot see it. So cry if you must…”
“Fweeh…” Almeria clung to Erason and cried. Erason, making sure not to look at her face, stroked her hair and waited until she calmed down…
Then, without either of them knowing who moved first, they gazed into each other’s eyes…
and kissed.
In the shadows, there had been the figure of someone clutching his stomach.
After a while, that figure disappeared…
What do you think about this chapter?
