Chapter 42
“Looks like you really do have a fever….”
Gilliam took his hand away.
“What do you want to do? Should we eat here, then go back and rest?”
Go back and rest?
‘…No matter how I look at it, if a man and woman are going to rest together, it means that, right?’
What a ridiculous man.
To go straight from asking if she had a fever to steering the conversation there.
‘He’s so practiced it’s annoying.’
And that attitude of his, as though he were leaving the choice up to her.
‘…Even though he’s been sleeping with Maron and Lucy nonstop.’
It was obvious.
Especially Lucy.
There was no way this womanizer had left the girl living right next door alone.
He surely made her prepare food every night, ate what she’d cooked with relish, then ate Lucy too.
Maron was the same.
Anyone could tell at a glance just how psychologically dependent she was on Gilliam.
Could someone like Maron refuse Gilliam’s requests?
No.
Absolutely not.
If Gilliam asked to touch her breasts, she’d offer them to him through tears.
If he asked to see her underwear, she’d lift her skirt through tears.
Even if he asked for something worse.
She’d still obey, probably, through tears.
Surely he summoned Maron at all hours, even inside the academy.
The campus was pointlessly huge, with all its facilities.
There were plenty of secluded places where two people could be alone, out of sight.
By contrast, this was the first direct request he’d made of Elettra.
‘Does he think I’m too hard to make a move on?’
Well, of course.
Even this good-for-nothing knew she was a princess.
Besides, unlike Maron, Elettra met lots of people at the academy. Socializing was part of her duty as a princess.
‘Sigh… Maron’s lucky she has no friends.’
If Maron herself had heard that, she would’ve seen red and grabbed Elettra by the hair, princess or not.
It was a good thing Maron wasn’t here.
Though even if she were, she wouldn’t know unless Elettra said it out loud.
Anyway.
‘As Gilliam’s first wife, do I have to put up with this much?’
A thoroughly jaded womanizer who seduced her while putting his hands on other women every single day.
If she wanted to become the first wife of a man like that, there was no helping it…
‘Huh?’
She was getting more and more confused. What was a first wife, anyway?
As Elettra fell into thought, an unpleasant voice reached her ears.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Princess Elettra?”
“…?”
Elettra turned to the side.
The one who’d spoken to her was a hulking man with the classic nouveau riche look.
Elettra’s brows drew together sharply.
“Manager. Your clientele’s been getting pretty shabby lately, hasn’t it?”
“Th-that’s….”
The manager was sweating buckets.
“Around here… he’s someone we can’t exactly turn away….”
The academy had been built deliberately far from the imperial capital, to ensure the independence of scholarship and education.
Of course, that wasn’t perfect, but it did have some effect.
However, being far from the imperial palace also meant the crown’s control didn’t reach as easily.
“My name is Argen.”
His joints cracked as the hulking man puffed himself up, as if emphasizing his build.
“I have no intention of picking a fight with Your Highness. Yes, why would I do something like that?”
But.
“I’m just saying we should stay out of each other’s business from now on and get along, Your Highness. Yeah?”
“…?”
Elettra was bewildered.
‘Who is this man?’
Did he have some kind of backing?
Enough to pick a fight with an imperial princess?
‘…No.’
He just.
Didn’t know.
A textbook example of a puppy that doesn’t know to fear a tiger.
He was so ignorant he couldn’t even imagine the vast concepts of the emperor or the empire.
‘Unbelievable.’
She hesitated even to draw her beloved sword. Should she ask for a knife instead?
“Or instead of this scrawny bookworm, why don’t you spend some time with me? Hahahaha!”
Just as Argen burst into loud laughter,
Gilliam, whom he’d called a “scrawny bookworm,” took out a gold ring and set it on the table.
“Hey, do you know the ring’s original owner?”
“Hm? What—Gah!?”
Argen’s face went pale when he saw the gold ring.
“Th-that’s… Oroom’s…!!!”
The man Gilliam had killed after he picked a fight with him at the bunny-girl restaurant <Le Lapin> last time.
Big Knuckle Oroom.
He had ruled the dark side of this city.
And if Gilliam had that thing, which had been Oroom’s main weapon…
“Y-you’re the one who killed Oroom with a single blow…!!”
Argen was ignorant, and had no real understanding of power.
He couldn’t imagine the imperial family, capable of commanding tens of thousands of knights. He couldn’t imagine silver-shining helmets, fine steeds, or siege weapons that could bring down castles.
But the more ignorant a man was, the more deferential he was to the fist right in front of him.
Argen immediately bent forward at the waist at a ninety-degree angle.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize you!! Please spare my life!”
“I’m not going to kill you. Do you think I’m some kind of murderer who goes around killing anyone?”
I was already having enough trouble with misunderstandings piling up lately.
“Is the security in this city kind of a mess these days?”
“H-ha ha… People like us, the local toughs, do the muscle work.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Gilliam shook his head.
“Fine, now get lost.”
“Yes! I’ll leave right away—Gah!?”
Argen tripped as he started down the stairs.
“W-whoa!?!? Aaaaaaagh!!!!!”
Crash! Bam! Clatter! Bang!!!
The hulking man rolled down the stairs, making a loud racket as he tumbled and drawing every eye in the building.
At last, his body stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“Gurgle….”
Just like that, Argen’s body came to a complete stop.
Including his breathing.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
A deep silence.
Every eye in the restaurant turned toward Gilliam.
“H-he killed him….”
“Did he trip him with magic…!?”
“As expected…! Everchess the good-for-nothing…!!”
“….”
No.
This is genuinely unfair.
The other times people misunderstood and thought I’d killed someone were unfair too, but this is especially unfair.
“I really didn’t do anything….”
I lamented, but the suspicious looks from everyone around me didn’t let up at all.
“Elettra, you believe me, right?”
“….”
Elettra looked away.
“Elettra?”
“He deserved to die, didn’t he?”
No.
It does kind of look that way.
But I really didn’t kill him.
——————
“Grrr… I wish Gilliam Everchess would just suddenly meet his doom….”
Roderick was groaning as usual today.
Yos, a cadet in the Crown Prince faction, hurried over to him.
“Your Highness! They say Everchess has killed someone again!”
“What!?”
Roderick hurriedly sat up, his eyes sparkling.
“Who was it this time… No, exactly what innocent victim has fallen this time!?”
“Yes! The method of murder was supposedly pushing him down the stairs! I heard the victim died with every bone in his body broken!”
“How cruel!! What about the witnesses and evidence!?”
“Yes! Everchess was just standing there, while the victim rolled down the stairs on his own!”
“…?”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Then it was just an accident.
“W-what about evidence of murder? For example, a ball he’d placed for the victim to trip over, or traces of mana pushing him…?”
“They say there’s nothing at all! He must’ve planned it meticulously and erased every trace!”
“….”
Roderick stood up, intending to throw Yos.
“Please wait, Your Highness. Isn’t this happening too often!? Even without evidence, we can easily pin this murder on him!”
“…Hmm.”
Right.
That makes sense.
“What did the victim look like?”
If he looked like an ordinary, honest commoner, that’d be ideal.
“Yes! Here, this is a picture of the victim!”
“….”
“Your Highness?”
Roderick threw Yos.
——————
On the way back from the restaurant to the academy, Gilliam apologized to Elettra.
“Sorry. I dragged you into a pointless commotion because of me.”
“…It’s fine.”
Honestly, she wasn’t very angry at the guy who’d been clueless enough to pick a fight with a princess.
However.
The way he’d insulted Gilliam by calling him a scrawny bookworm.
That was hard to forgive.
Even if Gilliam hadn’t pushed him down the stairs and killed him by some mysterious means, Elettra would’ve taken care of him with a knife.
Therefore.
“Well… it was satisfying.”
“Hm?”
“Overall, it wasn’t bad. I’ll forgive you for yesterday.”
Since today’s date had been Gilliam’s apology.
“That’s a relief. I’ll walk you home.”
“…Yeah.”
Elettra swallowed.
What would happen after they got home.
She already knew.
After they arrived in front of Elettra’s dormitory.
“Well, good night.”
“Huh?”
Gilliam waved and started to leave.
‘Huh? Huhhh??’
Wait.
‘Wasn’t he going to hold me?’
If so,
‘I-is he going to that bitch Lucy with the cow-sized breasts!? Is holding back here part of being the first wife!?’
What Elettra meant to say:
‘Okay, good night to you, too.’
What Elettra actually said:
“W-wait a second!”
Gilliam turned around.
“Why?”
“I-I, um, I mean…!”
She wanted to be honest.
She wanted to tell him not to go to that bitch Lucy and to hold her instead!
But she couldn’t say it out loud. So. That. How was she supposed to do it? How could she express it…!
“Th-this!”
Elettra grabbed the front of her dress.
A distinctive design with slits up both thighs.
If she lifted the front panels, her underwear would be exposed.
“D-do you… want to… see…?”
“…I do want to.”
“R-right!?”
As expected! She knew a lewd, shameless man like him would like it!
“S-so… if you’re not going to Lucy…!”
“…Why are we talking about Lucy?”
“It was Maron!?”
“Huh??”
Just as the two of them looked at each other in confusion,
“Ah, Princess!”
Elettra’s neighbor, who was also a friend of hers, waved at the sight of her blonde hair.
“You just got back… Ah, ahh…!”
Elettra’s friend looked at Gilliam, then at Elettra, then back at Gilliam.
“I’m sorry!!”
“N-no! It’s not like that!”
Elettra desperately denied it.
“I-it’s not! We’re not going to… you know, spend the night together or anything!”
“No, no, I’m really sorry for interrupting! You two have a nice time together!!”
“I said it’s not like that! W-wait! Where are you going!? You’re going to spread rumors, aren’t you!? Get back here right now!”
Elettra chased after her friend with tears in her eyes.
Looking back, Gilliam scratched the back of his head and headed to his own house.
‘Hic…! Fine, go!’
I’ll let that bitch Lucy with her cow-sized breasts have you tonight!!!
Because.
‘I’m the first wife!’
I haven’t lost! I’m showing the generosity of a first wife!!’
‘Maron and Lucy both recognize and respect me as the first wife!’
Today alone proves it.
They must both want to spend time with Gilliam, too, but they let her go on a date with him alone, didn’t they?
They’d shown respect for the first wife.
Then the first wife should also show generosity toward the concubines.
‘Right! That’s only natural!!’
A voice in Elettra’s head asked if this had become an exercise in deluding herself.
Elettra desperately ignored the voice in her heart.
That was as far as her self-delusion went.
And then, that Saturday.
“<Le Lapin>…? Ah, that place… well….”
“What’s wrong?”
Elettra realized that Maron and Lucy hadn’t been considerate of her at all; they’d only left her out so they could show Gilliam their bunny-girl outfits.
“You two goddamn bitches!?!?!?”
Furious, she stormed into <Le Lapin>.