Up until now, I've been trying to avoid my execution…
A big change had just come.
Of course I had become thin, but Angela helped me by saying that I was her "friend".
(No way, I didn't think that Angela would call me "friend". In the manga, I was easily discarded right?)
It was complicated, but I felt glad.
She was not a person who would think of others as friends in the manga.
The children who surrounded Angela were not of equal standings. She would judge people only on whether they could be used or not.
Even the Britney in the manga was supposed to be the most optimum fat person she could stand next to.
(That was her character as a villainess… that's how it was supposed to be.)
Somehow, she seemed different now.
(This, maybe it's Marlow-sama's influence?)
By becoming closer with her older brother, Angela's character had changed considerably.
If there were no obstacles ahead, she seemed to advance in a good direction.
(Hopefully, everyone won't be unhappy.)
I strongly wished for that.
Before I knew it, I became a little attached to the princess.
[U-n, if Merrill doesn't appear and Marlow-sama isn't killed… it should be a happy ending though.]
In the girl's manga "Merrill and the Royal Palace's Gate", although there were small skirmishes between countries and conflicts between aristocrats, they were resolved relatively quick.
Now that the troublemaker Angela had calmed down, it seemed like there was nothing dangerous to me.
While thinking such peaceful things, Ryuze came into my room.
[Onii-sama, are you evacuating from the young ladies?]
[No, today is different. I have to return to our territory, so I came to inform you.]
My cousin, who grasped a lock of my hair, fiddled it with his fingertips.
(Lately, our distance is really close.)
Ryuze seemed tired for some reason, and he had a kind of listless atmosphere.
With his eyes covered by his long eyelashes, he seemed to be worrying about something.
[Did something happen at our territory? I too…]
[You don't have to go back. A little problem had occurred, but ojii-sama was there. I'll be back to the capital city soon.]
[Is that so. So what's the problem?]
I ushered my cousin to sit on a chair, asked Maria to prepare tea, and sat opposite to him.
The subject that Ryuze talked about seemed to be troublesome.
The northern part of Hakusu earldom's territory was the border with the northern country where Lucas' father ruled.
In the past, that's where the war had commenced.
Recently, it's said that there's suspicious bandit activities there.
They did not just destroy the neighboring villages and towns, but they also did suspicious moves like exploring the territory.
Every time, they were repelled by the soldiers that defended the towns, but they persistently repeated their provocations.
[Have you already informed the northern country?]
[Aa, I've sent a letter of protest through Prince Marlow. I can only think of it as creating quarrels with our country. But the other side's reply said that they're unaware of it.]
[There's no way they don't know… what about Lucas?]
[Since he's friendly with us, he's assessing the situation at the location. From his opinion, it seems that one of his brothers is the perpetrator.]
[That's a terrible thing to do!]
[The brothers seem to be at bad terms.]
There was no such development in the manga.
There weren't any large disputes until Merrill appeared, so I didn't know what's going on.
(By the way…)
Although there was no direct dispute, the relationship between our countries had been delicate.
Although there was no detailed depiction, small cases occasionally occurred.
It seemed that there were few such cases, such as someone trying to steal the castle's documents. Merrill settled them all brilliantly though.
[Every time, strangely, they seem to enter our territory smoothly. The locations of the attacks were villages that produce the raw materials for our territory's commodities… maybe there's a traitor in this country.]
[If so, who would it be? Is the traitor in our territory?]
[Not exactly. Since our territory has made rapid progress recently, it's possible that it's a person from another territory that's guiding them. Either way, I can't leave you alone, so I'm going to resolve the situation.]
Ryuze said so easily, but it's a dangerous job since we didn't know who's behind it.
He probably noticed that I felt uneasy, so he smiled to relief me and took my hand that was on the table.
[It'll be all right, Britney. I will try not to expand the damages as much as possible, and even if the skirmish worsens for me and ojii-sama, all of the soldiers of our territory are strong.]
[…But, worrying things are still worrying.]
Saying that, Ryuze smiled as if he's troubled. He rose up from his chair, went behind me and hugged me from the back.
It suddenly happened, so I couldn't hide my shock.
[O, onii-sama…!?]
[Britney, you must not leave the capital city. If you break this rule… there will be punishment.]
[…Hii!]
I tried to stand since I was scared by the disturbing words, but Ryuze held me down and kissed my cheek before I could make a sound.
[Hyaa~!? Onii-sama, what are you doing!?]
[…It's just a greeting. By the way, there's something I want to propose to you when I return safely.]
[A, yes… I, I understand. I'll be waiting for your return…]
I really wanted to go with him as a member of the earldom, but there's nothing I could do when it came to bandit activities.
(While I do know self-defense, I can't do anything against bandits.)
Although I understood it, an unfathomable insecurity came over me.
TN: Let’s just hope that it’s not a flag and Ryuze will return safely (or alive at least).