WeTried Translations
Translator: Goku
Editor: Sty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The War Hero in the NTR Game Wants to Die ◈
Chapter 007
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Lingering Ties (1)
Returning to my room, I stood before the mirror.
In the mirror stood a wreck, who had done nothing but drink for days.
His face was gaunt, cheekbones protruding, and dark circles were sunken beneath his eyes.
Anyway, I felt a strange stinging sensation on one side of my cheek, and it turned out that my face had been slightly cut while clashing swords with the family head.
A ball, in such a state.
I looked cleaner when I was stuck on the front lines.
Because back then, it was stranger not to have a single wound on his body.
If Marquis Monbern's youngest daughter were to meet this face, she would probably cry her eyes out.
I, for one, have no intention of getting involved with that woman, so it doesn't matter.
It wasn't that I didn't believe in love at first sight, but it did sound a bit promiscuous.
Balls, social gatherings, and such.
No matter how much I searched my memories, there wasn't a single good memory left.
Riehen had always been ashamed, and also afraid, to appear anywhere bearing the name Gryan.
Because whenever I showed my face at a banquet, whispers of ridicule always followed, and no one ever treated me properly.
It was understandable; the man who sat there calling himself my father would beat me with a sword scabbard until my bones shattered just for uttering a wrong word in the mansion, and I was always ignored even by Rione.
Then, with a knock, the door opened.
At least this time, it was Rione who knocked before entering.
"What are you doing? Change your clothes and tidy up your face... make yourself presentable."
"......Now?"
"Didn't you hear Father? We're leaving right after dinner, so until then... that wound. Did you do that yourself?"
"Your father did it."
"......He's your father too, Big Brother. Anyway, I'll bring some servants... just get ready quickly."
Rione uttered that, then left the room.
Then, she returned with a few servants from somewhere.
The servants entered, arms full of clothes, warm water, shaving razors, and such, and began to prepare me.
After washing and shaving, I took out a neat set of clothes and put them on.
Doing this didn't suddenly transform me into a young master.
I looked more like a junkie who had just finished a drug addiction rehabilitation program.
No matter how nicely I dressed, the exhaustion ingrained in my hollow, sunken eyes wouldn't easily disappear.
I idly traced the cut on my face with my fingertips.
The servants had sprayed an unknown medicine and covered it with a white cloth, so it would heal quickly.
Anyway... the person called the family head probably wouldn't bother me anymore.
Because he's a person who operates solely on that damned honor and pride.
That goddamn Gryan.
Every time I hear it, shivers run down my spine.
I rummaged through the cupboard and got a bottle of liquor and a cigar.
Leaning back on the sofa, I clamped the cigar between my lips and lit it. Then, I was about to pour liquor into a glass, but put it down instead.
I would have to get on the carriage soon, and I didn't want to ride it while suffering from a hangover.
* * *
I got into the carriage with Rione.
At first, I thought the family head had sent her to prevent me from escaping... but then it occurred to me that Rione, despite her age, didn't have any particular marriage prospects either.
It was probably to be expected, given her personality.
Inside the swaying carriage, side by side, the silence was more than just awkward.
Our eyes met for a fleeting moment.
Seeing Rione about to speak, I turned my head to look out the window, and she mumbled a single remark to herself.
"...There will be quite a few people clinging to you, Big Brother. And many women will throw themselves at you."
"So what?"
"Just... that's how it is. No matter how much you deny it, Big Brother... you were born a Gryan."
This distance between us seems just right.
A distance where I simply let nonsense flow past without replying.
I rummaged in my pocket, took out the cigar I'd brought, lit it, then rested my arm on the windowsill and looked outside.
"That... do you have to smoke it here?"
"If you don't like it, get off. You're faster running."
"What are you even......"
An ordinary person like me rides in a carriage, but people like the family head or Rione would be faster running on their own feet than riding in one of these.
"Because we're family, I'll overlook it when you talk such nonsense without knowing your place, Big Brother, but be careful what you say at the ball."
Rione sighed, then subtly rested her hand on her sword hilt and continued.
"As I said earlier, in the end, you're a Gryan too, Big Brother."
I glared at her and didn't reply.
Even though I had heard the words that the Riehen of the past had so desperately wanted to hear.
Because I'm not Riehen.
I got out of the carriage and headed towards the mansion.
A ball, it seemed, typically stretched over several days, but I had no intention of staying long.
I thought it wouldn't be bad to just go to the capital like this.
It wasn't so much to look for the woman who had followed another man... but rather, wherever it was, it seemed better than the Gryan Ducal House.
There aren't many places Riehen can be.
Because of that damned Gryan name, I couldn't even stay at the bottom, nor could I mingle with the high-ranking.
Because even as a Gryan, in the end, I'm just substandard trash.
I headed straight into the ballroom.
And without dancing a single dance, I leaned against a moderately secluded railing, looked down at the ballroom, smoking a cigar and drinking liquor heavily.
Under the chandelier lights, people paired up and twirled around.
The music, the laughter, the clinking of glasses, all seemed to have nothing to do with me.
When was the last time I fit in somewhere like that?
It was probably the last time, dancing in a subtle atmosphere with my former fiancée, before the engagement was broken.
Then, a fucked-up sight caught my eye.
As if to confirm it was that goddamn shitty NTR game.
In Rione's room, half-hidden by a wall in a secluded corner, where she was swaying drunkenly... a man began to enter.
And he was saying something in front of her.
Though it wasn't audible from here.
It might be nothing.
It could just be some petty merchant who managed to slip into the ball thanks to his status.
It might be an overreaction... but in the end, the world I've fallen into isn't a normal place.
It wasn't as if they were holding hands or their shoulders were touching, but...
I don't know how she got that drunk.
Was I worrying about Rione right now?
Someone like me shouldn't be in a position to worry.
From a man's perspective, they might know that if they take a risk and somehow manage to sleep with her, and it gets noticed, it's an opportunity for social advancement.
Honestly, I thought whatever happened to Rione was none of my business.
But Riehen, it seemed, thought otherwise.
I ground out the cigar I had been clenching in my teeth against the railing, then moved my feet.
Though the music had stopped and dancing was taking a short break, the ballroom was far louder than expected.
Everyone must have been gathered, chattering away diligently.
As I walked towards Rione, there were people who glanced at me repeatedly, but no one made a show of knowing me.
Ah, I think there was one person.
"W-wait, you, Riehen......"
It seemed someone had called out, but I passed by, assuming I'd misheard.
It wasn't important.
"These chocolates with alcohol inside are currently popular in the capital... Who are you?"
I approached the man standing in front of Rione, took his hand, and naturally put my arm around his shoulder.
The flustered man tried to push me away, but as his finger bent, he was about to scream.
"Ugh... hngh... ugh!"
Not wanting to cause a commotion, I grabbed his shoulder and pressed down, kicked him in the chest with my knee, then put my arm around his shoulder again and met his eye level.
When our eyes met, I could see him trembling.
"Gryan. Riehen Gryan."
After saying that, I released the man, and he looked at me with terrified eyes before fleeing.
At the same time, two women sitting next to Rione also left as if escaping.
And Rione, half-drunken, showed a slightly surprised expression on her face before looking at me with the same impassive face as the family head and speaking in a low voice.
"Why did you do that? I was going to chase him away anyway."
Having acted impulsively, I didn't know how to respond, so I stepped back slightly.
"Were you worried? You, Big Brother, about me?"
"Did I overstep my bounds this time too?"
"......No. Yes. You did. Someone like you, Big Brother. Not even a minor head of family."
[Affection level has increased.]
"It was nothing. Just... at first, there were only women, and he said he was a merchant selling famous desserts from the capital... so I was just listening to what he had to say."
That actually meant nothing.
Because even if the women nearby just chattered away diligently that a certain man had stayed in Rione's private room for a long time, rumors would naturally spread.
It was just... something that always happened because there were many people envious of the Gryan Ducal House.
However, the target was always the easygoing me, but it seemed there wasn't enough to gossip about.
"Rione."
"......I know. Thank you."
I heard her say thank you, but for some reason, my stomach churned.
Because the image of her smashing my head with a wooden sword came to mind.
So I didn't reply and left the spot.
* * *
Leaving the boisterous ballroom, I sat on a bench in the quiet garden and looked up at the sky.
As I moved away from the heat and lights of the ballroom, the night air settled coolly.
Faint music drifted from afar.
As I was blankly counting the stars for a long time, someone subtly approached from behind.
Dressed as always in a dress that was pure white on top and slightly bluish at the bottom.
With dark hair that had a slightly bluish tint and violet-blue eyes.
"......Riehen. That, it's really Riehen."
She was a woman familiar, if familiar at all.
The woman continued, wearing a slightly troubled smile.
"I heard you came back alive... but, well. What should I say in a situation like this?"
Because she wasn't a former wife, and too ambiguous to be considered a former lover... she was a former fiancée.
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