I Got Reincarnated as the Villain and Saved the World, but After the Ending I Was Betrayed and Exiled. I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life in the Frontier, but for Some Reason My Former Companions Started Chasing Me with Yandere Eyes… - 27

Chapter 27: Messenger from the Hometown

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I was in the middle of my date with Tia-chan when suddenly I ended up having to confront my personal maid, Stella, who had barged in without any warning beforehand. Since Stella was here… Did that mean Ange, the lord of this territory, had already found out about our movements?

“Darling, sorry to keep you wai—… Huh? Who is that person?”

“I see… So she is your new companion?”

While I was still trying to decide how to answer Stella’s question, Tia came back. This was bad… I didn’t care what happened to me. But I had to prevent Tia’s face from being recognized and her being put on a wanted list…

“Wait, she’s—”

“Nice to meet you. I am Stella, formerly Phantom-sama’s personal maid, and now the personal maid and bodyguard of the current lord of Pail Territory, Ange-sama. I hold no hostility toward you, so please, both of you, refrain from using your skills.”

As always, Stella rose with her expressionless face, but her movements were graceful. She followed it up with a smooth, flowing bow. I had been on guard, ready to activate my Evil Eyes at any moment after her opening remark, but I released my tension. There was no killing intent, so I decided it might be worth hearing her out.

“Y-Yes. My name is Tia. Um… My master… No, Phantom-san, has been extremely kind to me, even teaching me the basics of being an adventurer.”

“I see… So you two are quite close. For the record, I’ve changed Phantom-sama’s diapers before, held him in my arms, and even bathed with him.”

“Wha—!? You changed Master’s diapers… and even bathed with him…?”

For some reason, Stella was wearing a smug look on her face. Well, she was the daughter of my wet nurse and had taken care of me in many ways. It was only natural she had done all of that stuff and yet, for some reason, Tia looked incredibly vexed at that.

“Yes, I was the first one to sleep beside Phantom-sama, and I’ve even seen his p—”

“Hey! What kind of talk is that!?”

“I’m talking about the trust between us, Phantom-sama. I take pride in having raised you and learned many things alongside you.”

“…Eh?”

This time, it was my turn to be surprised. She bore no hostility toward me at all. Even though I had dragged trouble to her lord’s territory…

“I’m here because a suspicious man wearing a mask was sighted when the guards detected the presence of demons. I thought it was probably you, so I stationed personnel in the surrounding towns to warn you.”

“To warn me…?”

“Yes. For some reason, Minister Josef had demon-detection magic tools installed along the kingdom’s borders after the Demon Lord was defeated, spending a massive amount of tax money to do so. That’s why your movements are an open book. By now, the knight order led by Henrietta-sama, as well as our own territory’s knights, are likely surrounding the area. I don’t know why you’re with a demon… But you don’t want to fight your former fiancée or our soldiers, do you? You need to leave this place immediately.”

The flood of information left me confused. Still, fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—I was used to tense situations. Right now, I needed to regroup with everyone at once. I stood up, but before leaving, I couldn’t help but ask Stella this question.

“If the soldiers are moving, that means it’s a royal order, right? So why are you doing something that’s basically protecting me? Wouldn’t this cause trouble for Ange—”

Before I could finish, she grabbed me by the collar. I was about to complain, but seeing her face, I couldn’t bring myself to.

“Why? Do you need a reason to help someone who’s like family when they’re in trouble? Rely on us more, Phantom Pail!! What you should have done was not sneak into Pail Territory, but ask us for help from the start!!”

I’d known Stella for a long time, but this was only the second time I had seen her this angry. The first time was when I went to a monster-infested forest with Henrietta and Ange…

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!!” 

She had scolded me, even though she always teased me with her usual expressionless face. The change in her usual demeanor caused that memory to leave a huge mark in my mind.  While I was left speechless by seeing that anger again after so long, she pulled me close by the chest.

“You suddenly came back saying you’d been exiled… And when Ange-sama and I were discussing how to encourage you, you just left right away saying you didn’t want to cause us any trouble… I was lonely, you idiot.”

When she patted my head like she had when I was a child, memories of the days we had spent together came flooding back, and I almost felt like crying.

Ah… That’s right…

She had always been on my side. Even when I fled to the territory after the victory parade, she gave me food without asking questions, and even cooperated with me in faking my death.

So why hadn’t I trusted her more? There were so many people around me who could be trusted… So many people who truly saw me…

“…Sorry… Sorry for making you worry.”

“It’s fine. Helping you at times like this is my duty, as the older one. I’ll take care of the bill here. Now, you’d better go quickly. If it were only our soldiers, it might be one thing, but if Henrietta-sama herself arrives, I won’t be able to protect you.”

I thanked Stella, who had returned to her usual expressionless self, and stood up.

“Yeah. Let’s go, Tia.”

“Yes, Master!!”

Grateful to Tia for silently watching my exchange with Stella, we left the café. We departed, seeing Stella off as she munched on the apple pie I had ordered.

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“They saw through our movements…? How cheeky, for Cain of all people!!”

“No, most likely this is Ose’s doing. Perhaps out of caution toward me, the strongest Demon Lord… He’s as sly as ever.”

After explaining the situation, we set out immediately. But our peace only lasted for a while.

“Damn it!! We’re surrounded!!”

Hearing Amon’s voice, I looked outside to see carriages approaching from the front, flying both my family’s crest and Henrietta’s family’s flag. I steeled myself to fight Henrietta and my family’s soldiers.

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