I Was Reincarnated as a Mob Noble, and I Swear I'll Protect the Villainess Who Got Married Off to Me No Matter What ~To Dodge Our Total Downfall, I Went All Out Training My Trash Skill [Super Recovery] Through Crazy Hard Work, and Before I Knew It, I Could Totally Wreck the Game Protagonist Who Condemned My Wife Easily - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Valeria Getting All Soft and Sweet in Bed

“I linked our magic by holding your hand. I’m sharing some of my magic power with you. The best way to treat Magic Power Deficiency Syndrome is to sleep while your magic is fully topped up like this. So? Feeling a little better already?”

“Uh, yeah…”

For a split second I got my hopes up for something else entirely, and I almost died inside.

Just like Valeria said, this warm wave flowed over from her hand, spreading through my whole body and making me feel all cozy and warm.

But honestly, way more than that, my heart was pounding like crazy just from how her hand felt…

“Th-thanks. This really helps.”

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and somehow managed to get the words out. Then Valeria gave this mischievous little laugh and started teasing me.

“Hehe, you’re so tense. The son of Sword Saint Baldo, and you’ve seriously never even held a girl’s hand before?”

“I-I’ve spent my whole life focused on swordsmanship, okay? But you’re the one shaking. You’re not forcing yourself, are you?”

“Huh!? N-no, I’m not!”

She denied it super fast, but I could totally sense how stiff and tense her body had gotten—it was obvious.

Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense.

“Ending up sleeping with a guy you don’t even like… must be rough for you too, huh, Valeria.”

“Huh… n-no, that’s not really…”

For some reason Valeria started mumbling and trailing off.

“Hm? What’d you say?”

I couldn’t quite catch it, so I asked again.

“I-I said I’m not bothered by it! I became a huge criminal and dragged my father’s name through the mud. And then Gawain and the others… so I absolutely have to beat the Imperial army no matter what!”

Whoa, she suddenly yelled it right next to my ear.

“That’s why I figured it’d be better if we worked together! S-so just don’t worry about it and keep holding my hand! That’s an order!”

“I-I see… so you’re saying you’ll do whatever it takes for that, huh…”

The weight of everything Valeria was carrying hit me hard, and my chest tightened.

Thinking back, she got framed by Saintess Alicia, had all her followers slaughtered… she really is a pitiful girl.

“Alright. Once we push back the Imperial army together, next up I’ll prove your innocence, Valeria!”

I got fired up and declared it right then and there.

With my game knowledge and my position as the heir to a border count, I should definitely be able to pull it off.

And more than anything, I already had a pretty good idea who was behind the people who attacked Valeria—Saintess Alicia’s people.

Looking back, in the game there were way too many incidents and events that just conveniently worked out perfectly for Alicia from the very start.

Like how the crown prince sneaks into the downtown area incognito, gets attacked by assassins, and—by pure chance—Alicia happens to be right there and uses 【Miracle of Healing】 to fix his cuts.

Or how the villainess Valeria, for some reason, decides to send undead after the two of them while Alicia’s on a date with the crown prince.

Then Alicia and the prince protect each other, and their love just bursts into flames…

But if Valeria was seriously trying to kill the crown prince, why would she target him when he’s with Alicia—who can use 【Miracle of Healing】? I always thought that part of the scenario was kinda dumb.

But if you think about it, all of that makes perfect sense if there was some group that stood to gain a ton by getting Alicia married to the prince and becoming queen—and they were secretly pulling strings to make sure those two ended up together.

And their real identity is probably… that organization that was raking in insane profits right from the early game.

“W-what…?”

Valeria looked completely stunned.

“You trying to assassinate the crown prince? That’s gotta be a false accusation, right? That’s why I said I’ll prove you’re innocent.”

“Huh… ah…”

Right then, a single tear slipped out of Valeria’s eye and rolled down her cheek.

Huh!? She’s suddenly crying—what the hell…!?

My heart seriously almost stopped for real this time.

Did I say something that hurt her really bad?

Or maybe holding my hand made her realize she’s physically repulsed by me!? If that’s it, that’d suck way too much!

“Zenon… y-you really believe I’m innocent… and you’ll help me?”

Valeria wiped her tears and was desperately trying to hold back so she wouldn’t cry anymore.

“Huh? Well, yeah—of course. We’re bound by fate, right? Comrades-in-arms?”

If a comrade’s in trouble, you reach out a hand. That’s how the Greivan border count family rolls.

“…Because we’re husband and wife, it’s only natural?”

Valeria blinked a couple times.

Husband and wife…? We’re not actually married yet, so the word felt kinda off.

But anyway, to calm her down, I kept talking even though I was kinda panicking.

“Valeria, you were originally trying to strengthen the military to protect this country, right? When I found that out, I thought, man, she’s seriously awesome!”

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

She just didn’t get along with the crown prince, and nobody around her understood where she was coming from.

Plus she was getting sabotaged by Alicia’s people the whole time.

“And when I was about to duel Gawain, you got all worried and tried to stop me, didn’t you? After that you kept worrying about how I was doing… and even now you’re holding my hand like this.”

“…!”

“To be honest, it made me really happy. I got stuck with this magic-type skill I could barely even use, and I was honestly kinda lost. But I thought—if I’m with Valeria, things’ll probably work out somehow.”

Valeria’s face turned bright red all the way to her ears, like a boiled octopus.

“I-I’m not really good at dealing with girls, so maybe I said something weird… but I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you! So, um… please don’t cry!”

More than anything—if one of the maids happened to see Valeria crying, who knows what kind of misunderstanding would spread!

Worst case, rumors would fly around the whole castle that I forced myself on her even though she hated it.

Just thinking about it made me freak out inside.

“…I’m sorry. Even His Highness Harold assumed I was the one behind the undead assassination attempt and wouldn’t listen to me at all.”

Valeria hung her head and said it in this tiny, fading voice.

Right… getting treated like an assassin by your own fiancé—who tried to kill you—would hurt like hell. My words probably just reminded her of that, and that’s why she’s crying.

“Sorry. Did I make you remember something awful? There’s no way you’d ever do something like that, Valeria.”

“Huh…”

“Anyone who can’t see how good of a person you are is just a lousy crown prince.”

Even though he was one of the main romance targets in the game, Crown Prince Harold seriously has zero ability to judge people.

Then again, I used to think Valeria was just a totally broken villainess too, so maybe I’m not much better.

“…Th-thank you, Zenon. I thought I didn’t have a single ally left.”

Valeria wiped her face and gave a small smile.

My heart squeezed tight for a second.

Yeah. Even if she acts all high and mighty, she’s still just a fifteen-year-old girl.

For a girl like that to get branded a major criminal and then come all the way out here alone to fight an enemy army… I thought I understood how heavy that was, but I really didn’t.

She must’ve been on edge this whole time, thinking everyone around her was an enemy.

So in that case, I—

“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’m on your side, Valeria. Always.”

I thought it really, really hard.

And right after I said it, I realized—wait, isn’t this straight-up a hero line from an otome game? I internally cringed so hard.

Crap. Stuff like that only works when a hot prince says it—the heroine’s supposed to swoon.

I already messed up copying Gawain during the duel… did I just do it again?

“Th-thank you… Zenon.”

Valeria’s voice cracked. She covered her face with one hand so I couldn’t see her expression, but she sounded super moved.

“I’m really glad I became your fiancée.”