The Abandoned Prince Heals an Enemy Soldier on the Frontlines, Only to Discover She’s the Seventh Imperial Princess - Chapter 73: The Abandoned Prince Accepts a Duel

Chapter 73: The Abandoned Prince Accepts a Duel

The guy who suddenly challenged me to a duel in the middle of the street looked like he was in his mid-teens.

Never seen him before.

Never talked to him, either.

“Uh… a duel? What for?”

“You’re trying to seduce Her Majesty the Empress, aren’t you!? I won’t allow it! Prepare to face justice!!”

“Ah… yeah. Hold on a sec.”

I casually glanced around—

And sure enough, there was a group of young palace guys grinning behind some nearby pillars.

Yeah… I get it now.

They totally egged this poor kid on and shoved him into doing this.

Just one look at him and it was obvious—he was the gullible, easily influenced type.

“Ms. Kuura, what do you think I should do?”

“…Crush him. Silence your enemies. It’s the only way.”

…Okay, not the answer I expected from the calm, quiet type.

I mean, I get what she’s saying, but still.

I couldn’t exactly go around brawling with citizens from a country we might be forming an alliance with.

But then… what was the right move?

This was a public area.

If I turned him down too harshly, I’d just humiliate the kid in front of everyone.

…Then again, now that I thought about it, did I really need to protect the pride of someone who runs up to strangers and shouts “Duel me!” in the middle of the street?

“I refuse.”

“Eh!?”

“Let’s go, Ms. Kuura.”

“…Understood.”

I turned to leave without a second thought—

But the kid quickly reached out to stop me.

“W-Wait!! Don’t run away!! Fight me!!”

“Nope. There’s nothing in it for me, and I’ve got zero interest in humoring some random guy who just came at me outta nowhere.”

“T-This isn’t some random accusation…”

Yeah, no. It totally is.

I never once tried to seduce the Empress—Mitama—or anything even close to that.

But honestly, the kid himself wasn’t what bothered me.

It was the group behind him—the ones who hyped him up and pushed him forward.

If they had a problem with me, they should’ve dealt with it themselves.

Instead, they threw this poor, gullible kid under the bus and sat back to watch.

Even if I word it nicely… yeah, that seriously ticked me off.

So, yeah. Time to bounce.

One of the key secrets to a peaceful life?

Avoid stuff that’s clearly gonna be a headache.

Just as I turned to leave—

“Well, well. Sounds like something interesting is going on.”

A smooth, seductive voice cut through the tension.

I turned toward it—and there she was.

Mitama.

Flanked by Kinko and Ginko.

“T-The Celestial Empress!?”

“Kojiro. You shall not trouble my guest.”

“Ugh…”

Even the boldest teenager couldn’t go against Mitama.

The boy lowered his head and fell completely silent on the spot.

…So his name’s Kojiro, huh?

Sounds like the kind of guy who’d jump on a laundry pole and yell “Tsubame Gaeshi!” mid-fight.

Anyway—back to the situation at hand.

Kojiro looked totally crushed after getting scolded by the Empress herself.

Completely deflated.

At this rate, I figured he wouldn’t be bringing up the duel again.

Guess I’d just toss out a quick goodbye and go flop around in my room for a bit.

Or so I thought—until Mitama, hiding a smile behind her fan, suddenly spoke in the most cheerful tone imaginable:

“But you see, I am quite intrigued by Reyshel-dono. Why not go ahead and duel Kojiro—with me as your witness?”

“Eh.”

Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass.

I wasn’t even that strong to begin with.

And sure, Kojiro looked younger than me, but I couldn’t say with confidence I’d win in a fair one-on-one.

I wasn’t some master mage or warrior.

My entire strategy basically boiled down to spam Perfect Regeneration and pray.

Definitely not the kind of fight I wanted people watching.

So, I opened my mouth to politely decline—

“When the duel is over, the winner may do as they please with my body.”

“““““!?!?”””””

Everyone—including me and Kojiro—froze on the spot.

Eyes wide.

Mouths open.

Yeah, that was not where I thought this conversation was going.

“Lately, it’s just been work, work, work. I’ve been building up quite the… tension. Let’s see… one night wouldn’t be enough. How about seven days and seven nights? You may do whatever you like with me ♡”

“T-That’s… Your Majesty, p-please! That kind of joke is a little—”

“Kufufu… Reyshel-dono, your face says it all. Your nose is practically stretching. Don’t you really want to ravish every inch of my body?”

“Gulp—”

I mean…

She’s a drop-dead gorgeous Empress offering herself for seven days straight.

What guy wouldn’t picture that?

Still, isn’t it kinda wild for a ruler to be throwing out spicy offers like this in the middle of the street?

Then again, Alcarion did say she’d marry me the moment we met…

So maybe I should stop questioning this kind of thing by now.

While I was still scrambling for something to say,

Mitama leaned in close—and whispered in my ear.

“I heard from Ginko… You’re apparently very skilled in bed.”

“I-It’s not that big a deal…”

“Just so you know… I’m the one who taught Kinko and Ginko everything they know about pleasing men. Which means I’m even better than both of them.”

“!?”

“Now… just imagine. While all the other men of the court watch in envy and stew in frustration… You get to indulge in my body however you please. Wouldn’t that be the sweetest paradise?”

“Wow… You’re really good at riling people up, huh?”

“Kufufufu. With this beauty of mine, I’ve seduced leaders from every tribe and united them to build Ashuhara. There isn’t a man in this country I can’t handle.”

I swallowed hard.

The thought of having the most beautiful woman in the nation all to myself for seven days and seven nights…

Yeah, no way I wasn’t getting fired up.

Welp. No helping it now.

“Kojiro, right? I’ll take you up on that duel.”

“!? D-Don’t you dare run away, you hear me!? I’m totally gonna win!!”

With that, Kojiro dashed off—probably to go get ready for the duel.

“…That kid shifts gears fast.”

“Ms. Kuura, maybe hold off on the commentary for a minute.”

“…I’ll be informing Alcarion.”

And just like that, my so-called bodyguard vanished on the spot.

Well, I guess it’s fine.

I mean, the Celestial Empress herself had just declared she’d be overseeing the match.

With the ruler of the country acting as the official witness, there’s no way anyone would try to interfere.

And if they did? They’d basically be slapping their own Empress in the face.

Bold move.

Still… I gotta admit—there was one thing that felt pretty satisfying.

That group of guys who pushed Kojiro into picking a fight with me?

They were now glaring at both of us like we’d stolen their entire inheritance.

They tried to use Kojiro to get rid of me—

And now their plan had totally backfired, with a very real chance I might walk away the victor… and with an epic reward.

No wonder they looked like they were chewing glass.

…Maybe Mitama can’t stand people like that either—

The ones who manipulate others from the shadows for their own gain.

Whether she set this up intentionally or not… I had no way of knowing.

“Reyshel-dono. I’ll guide you to the dueling grounds. Please follow me.”

“Ah, thanks.”

And so, I followed Kinko as she led the way—
Off to the battlefield where it would all go down.

―――――――――――――――――――――

[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Author: “There’s just something thrilling about having the woman everyone adores all to yourself, right?”

R: “Right? It hits different.”

If you found yourself thinking, “That Tsubame Gaeshi reference got me good,” “Mitama is way too cute,” or “Yeah, I totally feel the afterword,” Then please drop a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, or review!