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 5

Chapter 5: Getting Engaged to the Legendary Villainess Valeria

But Felix’s face twisted up like he’d just bitten into something super bitter.

“It’s just that… this particular lady…”

Right then, the game scenario from my past life flashed through my brain like lightning.

“Valeria was the ‘once-in-a-generation evil woman’ who tried to assassinate the crown prince even though she was his fiancée, right? And that’s why she got her engagement broken off?”

The fact that she got engaged to me—a total mob—right before our doom wasn’t even mentioned in the game plot.

I knew she’d been exiled to this place… but I never would’ve guessed she ended up tied to someone like me. Total shock.

Probably just some side episode the game devs cut out ’cause it wasn’t worth talking about.

“You already heard the rumors? I’m sorry to say it, but yes—that’s exactly it. Lady Valeria, who carries royal blood, actually plotted to take the throne for herself. But Saintess Alicia stopped the conspiracy, and seven days ago Lady Valeria was exiled here to the borderlands.”

“…So basically, the Asphodel duke’s thinking is ‘she’s already exiled, nobody else wants her as a bride, so just dump her on my kid’?”

“Ha, if we’re being blunt… yeah, pretty much.”

“Sending her straight to a war zone like this means the royal family would prefer she just dies out here, huh.”

When someone super high-ranking tied to the royal family commits a major crime, executing them outright is awkward, so the usual move is exile to some far-off remote place.

In short—getting rid of a problem.

For the duke, marrying her off to me means he can argue she’s no longer part of the ducal family and wash his hands of her.

So the royal family, the ducal house, and Father’s plans all tangled up and created this mess.

The reinforcements are super welcome, but still…

“…Ha. The lord really put you in a tough spot, young master.”

I thought back to the game scenario.

Early in the game, the villainess who bullied the protagonist saintess Alicia was Valeria.

Alicia was a commoner who got the [Saintess] skill, so she got invited to the palace to heal the king’s illness. That put her right next to the crown prince real quick.

Valeria got jealous and picked fights with her every chance she got.

『How dare you so casually grab His Highness the Crown Prince’s hand—it’s outrageous!』

『Running in the hallways is unbecoming, you know.』

Stuff like that.

But the crown prince was sick of the stiff palace life and started falling for Alicia’s free-spirited vibe.

Then Alicia, who came from a poor orphanage, asked the prince to help support the orphans.

It was this touching episode that really showed how kind she was.

But when Valeria found out, she lost it—said it was way out of line.

『A commoner sticking her nose into politics? Know your place!』

She pushed to shut down the prince’s orphanage support and redirect the money to military expenses. That sealed the total rivalry between Valeria and Alicia.

Even thinking back now, Valeria just came off as this awful girl throwing around her ducal daughter status.

And on top of that, attempting to assassinate the crown prince? Her personality was straight-up done for.

And now I’m getting engaged to a girl like that…? Ugh, my head’s starting to hurt.

“But Duke Asphodel hasn’t completely abandoned Lady Valeria. His plan is for her to redeem her honor by repelling the empire army, earn the king’s forgiveness, and eventually get her into the noble academy too. For us, that’s perfect timing—like a gift from the heavens.”

“…So that’s why he sent his precious elite knights as her escort.”

Yeah, super typical for a family known as the kingdom’s sword.

If she racks up war achievements, the king might grant her a pardon.

I kinda get the “solve it with force when you’re in trouble” mindset, though.

Would be nice if they sent way more knights, but whatever.

In the game scenario, the Asphodel duke was busy leading the subjugation of a massive monster horde in the south. Eighty escorts for Valeria was probably the bare minimum they could spare, considering she was a criminal.

“Ha. Lady Valeria is only fifteen but already a seriously skilled mage. This year she received the powerful magic-type skill [Necromancer]. The lord seems to have big expectations for her personally as a fighting asset too.”

Got it…

Valeria died early in the game as a villainess in the empire war, so I didn’t know much about her backstory.

Getting a strong magic skill like that probably meant she’d been getting elite magic combat training since she was a kid—so she could protect the crown prince if needed.

Her strength was the real deal.

Still, for my sword-obsessed dad to actually count on a mage as a war asset…

“…Since I pulled a trash skill, Father’s finally at the point where he can’t be picky anymore, huh? The Balzark Empire’s a magic powerhouse. Without some top-tier mages on our side, we can’t fight back.”

“Ha, the lord’s orders are for you to keep Lady Valeria’s mood in check and handle her carefully.”

So that’s why Father ordered me to stay at the main castle. Since he can’t leave the front lines, as her fiancé I gotta greet her here and welcome her properly.

I’ve never dated a girl—not even in my past life—so this is a tough ask…

“But if I can pull Valeria and her Schwarz Ritter escorts into my army instead of Father’s, our chances of winning shoot way up.”

I slapped my own cheeks to snap out of it.

No matter if she’s the “once-in-a-generation evil woman,” I gotta do this.

“Alright—I’m definitely turning Valeria into an ally!”

Yeah. This is actually a huge chance for me.

If I play it right, I can dodge the doom flag completely.