WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 29: The Grand Banquet (5)
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Saintess.
The moment I heard that word, my eyes widened.
'So the Villainess Ring reacted to the word Saintess. That means the Saintess is the villainess.'
Thinking back to Estella, the North’s Wand.
'Does being a Saintess mean she’s a woman who really hates that Valerian is completely taken with Mirne?'
Making contact with the Saintess’s side could be extremely helpful to me.
The problem was how to make contact.
Even if I did make contact, I wasn’t sure what I could accomplish.
In the former North Grand Duke’s case, it had been an internal matter, so we could handle it internally.
The Holy Kingdom, on the other hand, was entirely foreign territory. I needed a proper reason to intervene.
'If only the one who ruined the banquet had been the Saint.'
Pushing aside that regret, I continued focusing on Mirne and the Saint’s conversation.
“It isn’t excessive. Mirne, you are fully capable of earning the qualifications to become the Saintess.”
“But isn’t there already a Saintess in the Romper Church?”
“The Saintess’s seat is vacant. Only candidates exist, and you could become a candidate as well, Mirne.”
“I’m not part of the Romper Church.”
“Isn’t it enough to believe? The Romper Church does not reject those who wish to believe.”
The moment the words Saint Candidate came up, I was able to roughly figure out what was going on.
'If the villainess isn’t the Saintess herself but a Saint Candidate, then there’s a battle for the Saintess’s position.'
But could an outsider intervene in a battle over the Saintess’s position?
And all it took to qualify for that intervention was believing in the Romper Church?
'This is quite interesting.'
As far as I knew, the Holy Kingdom worshipped Romper as the one true god.
That did not mean it persecuted other gods.
“I’m not sure I could bear such grave responsibilities if I became the Saintess.”
“It’s all right. I’ll be by your side. If I’m there, I’ll provide you with a great deal of support.”
“Even so, I don’t think I can make such a casual decision here. I’ll think about it seriously. That’s the right thing to do.”
“Mirne... How can you be so thoughtful? Very well. We’ll discuss this again later, when we’re alone.”
“Yes, again later.”
While I considered several plans, Mirne and Valerian’s conversation came to an end.
“The conversation is over, but we can continue watching them. What would you like to do?”
“No, that’s enough. Nothing good comes from dragging this out.”
“Understood.”
I told the Executioner that further surveillance was unnecessary.
I had already obtained enough information, and I did not have time to keep watching them.
“By the way, what is your name?”
“Lumynix.”
At Lumynix’s answer, the Executioner who used Mystery, I nodded.
“I have not forgotten the Covenant. But I hear that the Covenant is a matter of the past, and that you cannot speak of its details.”
“That is correct.”
I began working to lower the possibility of the Empire’s destruction.
'I heard that I need to find Arveda’s True Name.'
Each Executioner’s Covenant condition was obviously different.
I needed to learn those conditions before I could try anything.
Of course, even though I knew Arveda’s condition, finding her True Name was still daunting.
Still, that was far better than knowing nothing at all.
“It happened long ago, so honestly, I don’t know the details. I would appreciate some kind of hint that might let me infer what your condition is.”
So I directly asked for a clue that would reveal the Covenant condition.
The person involved was right in front of me. There was no reason to beat around the bush just to learn her condition.
'They’re raising the possibility of destruction? Then I can just ask them how to lower it.'
There was no need to agonize over something this simple on my own.
And in fact...
“A hint?”
“Yes.”
As though reacting to my words, Lumynix slowly turned toward me.
Then she grasped the hood she had never removed in the North.
“This is the greatest hint I can give you.”
Slowly, she took it off.
“...!”
What was beneath Lumynix’s hood was beyond anything I had imagined.
Perhaps because she had been cursed, purple blotches had spread across her entire body.
Her body itself was painfully thin, as though she had been malnourished.
There were unfamiliar markings as well.
The feeling of encountering an unexplainable horror spread through my whole body.
“I cannot tell you anything more.”
It was certainly a major hint, but it was still far too little to determine her Covenant condition.
So...
“What about the fact that you get angry if I call you a Fairy?”
I really did not want to, but I had no choice but to pull the trigger.
The trigger Arveda had told me about for Lumynix.
The moment I pressed it.
“EvenifyouaretheCrownPrinceIcanneverforgiveyou.”
As though she had been waiting for it, Lumynix glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
“Did a Fairy curse you? Or was it a Fairy...”
As I tried to keep talking about Fairies to learn more about her condition.
“I cannot forgive you!”
Whoosh!
The scenery around us suddenly changed.
Teleportation through Mystery.
Unlike magic, there had not been the slightest warning.
'Or maybe Mystery itself is such an unfamiliar concept that I still can’t sense it.'
After experiencing it a few more times, I would surely grasp it soon enough.
Even I did not yet know the full extent of the Crown Prince’s strength.
In any case.
“DonotcallmeaFairywhenIlooklikethis.”
The moment Lumynix moved us to an unknown location.
“That is an insult to Fairies and a curse!”
She poured out those words and rushed at me.
Her eyes looked as though she had heard an unforgivable insult and was facing an enemy she could never forgive.
Despite knowing it was disrespectful, she charged at me anyway.
From that, I could infer one thing.
'Lumynix was originally a Fairy?'
That gave me a rough idea of Lumynix’s identity.
'Judging by the changes to her body, did she receive some unknown curse and become something other than a Fairy?'
That was Lumynix’s condition.
And then.
'Her Covenant condition must be to turn Lumynix back into a Fairy.'
That was her Covenant condition.
While I thought that, Lumynix closed the distance in an instant.
“I’m sorry.”
She threw a punch that clearly carried the intent to attack.
But I understood.
'She was cursed and fell into self-loathing. Of course she’d be angry if someone called her what she used to be.'
Seeing how she apologized even as she vented her anger, it seemed that her body reacted first whenever she heard the word Fairy because of the curse.
Otherwise, why would she apologize while throwing a punch?
Fairies were like mages who used Mystery instead of Mana.
And she had abandoned that to choose hand-to-hand combat?
'She’s resisting as much as she can.'
With that in mind, I decided to subdue her as safely as possible.
It was not difficult.
I simply did this.
Tap.
I knocked aside the fist flying at me without any strength behind it.
“Lumynix, next time, don’t pour everything out at once when you speak. Take your time.”
After saying that, I used the edge of my palm to strike up beneath Lumynix’s jaw.
Smack.
“Urk... Cough... I-I’ll keep that in mind.”
Lumynix seemed to come to her senses, and even as her brain rattled, she used Mystery.
Swish.
She sent me back to my bedchamber.
The first thing to greet me when I returned was this.
[ You have learned Lumynix’s Covenant condition. ]
[ Lumynix’s Covenant condition is ‘to become a fairy again.’ ]
[ The curse on her body must be removed. ]
They were system messages confirming that my assumption was correct.
“So it really was a curse.”
Naturally, it probably was not a curse that could be lifted easily.
Usually, someone of at least a Saintess’s caliber would be needed to lift a curse like this.
Which meant.
'I have even more reason to make contact with a Saint Candidate.'
Would making contact with a Saint Candidate really lower the possibility of destruction?
Wouldn’t it simply end with interfering with Mirne?
I considered those questions for a moment, then swept them away.
There was also something I wanted to test.
'Just stopping the Empire from showering Mirne with gifts lowered the possibility of destruction.'
Then what would happen if I interfered with Mirne’s actions themselves?
I still had many questions about the possibility of destruction.
It was currently at 80%.
Considering the description that the Executioners’ Covenant did not hasten the Empire’s collapse, a large part of that percentage had to come from somewhere completely different.
'Why didn’t the possibility of destruction drop much after the Empire decided it would no longer keep giving to the Macelin Kingdom?'
I needed to investigate that properly as well.
Then I realized this was another problem I did not need to worry about too much.
'The answer key is close at hand.'
Should I make a move tonight?
+++++
The Crown Prince did not appear much in the story of <I’m Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things>.
He only appeared as the kind of older brother who spoiled his younger brother rotten.
As the novel’s story progressed, his presence gradually faded away.
In a way, that was only natural.
He was not the male protagonist and did not take part in the romance storyline.
There was no reason for the novel to focus on him.
But.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince... Why have you called for me in the middle of the night...?”
“Am I not allowed to summon you?”
“N-No, not at all. I was only concerned about Your Highness’s rest.”
“Haha, I’m fine. I’m only worried that you may have been offended by being summoned so late at night.”
“How could I possibly be offended? Not at all.”
Mirne was extremely flustered by the Crown Prince, who had summoned her in the middle of the night.
It was something that had never existed in the original story.
Even though he had already been deemed outside the romance route, the Crown Prince seemed very interested in her.
No, he was not merely interested. He was.
If he had no interest, there would have been no reason to make a public Engagement proposal or summon her in the middle of the night.
'Why? For what reason?'
Amid that confusion.
“Mirne, are you aware that the former North Grand Duke of the Empire committed treason?”
“...I am aware.”
“I understand that you were close with the former North Grand Duke. How should I interpret that?”
The Crown Prince’s quiet questions continued.
It was the middle of the night.
They were in a garden where no one was likely to come.
“There was never anything like what Your Highness thinks. We simply... contacted each other frequently in private.”
Even though there were no walls around her.
“You did not participate in the treason? It was only private? Like the Second Imperial Prince?”
“Y-Yes, that is correct.”
Mirne felt as though walls had closed in around her from every direction.
“From the former North Grand Duke to the Second Imperial Prince and the former East Grand Duke... Mirne, why are you so interested in the men of our Empire?”
“Th-That is...”
“You privately contacted them all, yet why did you not properly answer my public Engagement proposal?”
“I am too lowly to properly understand Your Highness’s noble intentions, so I could not bring myself to answer. I am truly sorry.”
Mirne prostrated herself.
The Crown Prince suspected her.
At a time like this, she had to remain humble to clear away his suspicions and prove her innocence.
Everyone had always shown Mirne affection.
The unfamiliar murderous intent thoroughly weighed down her body and mind.
“Haha, so you keep avoiding an answer. Well, that can happen.”
The Crown Prince chuckled briefly, as though that was not why he had summoned her.
“Though you call it private contact, isn’t the timing too convenient? Did the North Grand Duke truly speak to you only about personal matters? The East Grand Duke as well? And the Second Imperial Prince?”
He immediately changed his attitude and continued pressing her.
“I-I truly only spoke with them about personal matters. How could I lie to Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Yes, of course... I see.”
Mirne remained bowed low.
Then.
'It’ll be dangerous if this relationship continues. I need to win his favor somehow.'
Mirne thought that if things continued this way, there would be a major problem with the future story of <I’m Full Because Everyone Keeps Giving Me Things>.
She decided it would be better to offer him some information and win the Crown Prince’s favor now.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, rather than discussing this, I have a subject you may find more interesting.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“In my kingdom... there is a legend about dragons. Would you be interested?”
A story about dragons.
The Crown Prince likely did not know much about the Executioners.
But if he learned of them later, it would surely be of tremendous help.
'Of course, it’s unlikely that the Crown Prince will find this interesting. The northern rebellion and a legend about dragons are too unrelated.'
Still, Mirne thought it was more important to keep talking about anything at all and turn the Crown Prince’s attention elsewhere rather than continue being suspected.
But.
“A legend about dragons... Does the Macelin Kingdom have many such legends?”
The Crown Prince immediately showed interest, as though he had been waiting for it.
'So there really was a connection.'
Bellon, the Crown Prince, thought.
'Were the Executioners ultimately some kind of arrangement made for the Macelin Kingdom?'
He would turn the tables on the Macelin Kingdom and strip it bare.
Footnotes:
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