The Talentless Wicked Prince Wants To Survive ~ The Only Way For Me, Reincarnated As The Punching Bag Third Prince In A Romance Smartphone RPG, To Live Is To Not Break Off My Engagement With The Duke’s Yandere Daughter Who’s Stronger Than The Heroine~

“Ah, welcome.”

Lorenzo greeted us with a cool, composed smile as we entered.

He looked like the picture of calm refinement, which only made the menace behind that mask all the more terrifying.

“S-so, you said you had a request for me…?”

“Yes, though it’s a somewhat delicate matter…”

Still smiling, Lorenzo glanced briefly toward Sandra.

“Your Eminence Salvatori… Sandra and I are engaged. There’s nothing about me I wish to hide from her. Please, allow her to remain present.”

I pressed the point while I could. Even Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to refuse after I’d stated it so clearly.

“Very well. I understand.”

He accepted far too easily, which caught me a little off guard, but fine by me. If I’d come alone, I might’ve been cornered in the negotiation.

“Then, if you would, please have a seat.”

Following his lead, Sandra and I sat down.

“First, let me thank you for granting me some of your time.”

“There’s no need for pleasantries. We’re only here to listen, nothing more.”

I made sure to warn him up front. After all, agreeing to any scheme from a known manipulator was just asking for disaster. I only came because I was technically hosting the delegation, otherwise I’d never have shown up.

“Haha… my, you’ve taken the initiative already, haven’t you?”

Lorenzo gave a wry laugh, scratching his head.

Yeah, spare me the friendly act.

“Allow me to explain. It’s a bit embarrassing to air internal matters, but…”

And so Lorenzo began to speak, his tone slow and deliberate.

At present, he said, the Holy Kingdom was divided into two factions: the conservatives led by the Pope, and the reformists composed of younger clergy like Lorenzo himself. The two sides were locked in a constant shadowy struggle for dominance.

Caught between them was Saint Christia, who was maintaining neutrality, and both factions were desperate to win her to their cause.

They’d tried coaxing her repeatedly, but she’d always brushed them off without giving a clear answer.

That was why Lorenzo had devised a plan for this very envoy mission to the Dehaubarz Kingdom.

In short, the envoy had been supposed to be led by the Pope’s representatives, but Lorenzo had maneuvered to join in their place, bringing Christia along to persuade her while abroad.

From Christia’s point of view, there was no real reason to accompany the mission. She could’ve refused. Lorenzo, however, had lured her with a tempting excuse: a “preliminary inspection” of the Royal Academy, ahead of her future study abroad in two years’ time. Naturally, she’d accepted.

Even in Engage Hazard, it was written that Christia felt stifled by her role as Saint and the Holy Kingdom’s unstable politics. She would have leapt at the chance for any kind of “freedom”.

“…So what you’re asking is for me to persuade the Saint to side with His Eminence Salvatori, is that it?”

“We would of course appreciate your cooperation, but that’s not quite it.”

“Oh?”

“We will contact you at the appropriate time. When that happens, we want you to escort the Saint to a designated location.”

The moment he said that, a chill ran down my spine.

Wait… was this that certain event… the “Saint’s Abduction Incident” from Christia’s main scenario?

In Engage Hazard, Christia suddenly vanished one day, hence triggering a major crisis. As the symbol of the Holy Kingdom, her disappearance caused an uproar. The Dehaubarz Kingdom was accused by every neighboring nation, and chaos ensued.

The kingdom sealed its borders and coastlines, desperately searching for her, but found nothing. Then Wilfred and the other heroines joined forces to track her down, while Harold, of course, did everything in his power to obstruct them.

Eventually, Wilfred discovered that she was being held in a port city, defeated Lorenzo who was the event boss, and rescued her.

In other words… the man sitting before me was asking me to help kidnap the Saint.

“As the host for our envoy, His Highness Harold would have no difficulty arranging such a thing.”

Lorenzo bowed lightly, peering up at me with that infuriatingly polite smile.

Did he not understand what “I’ll only listen” meant? Handsome face or not, he was clearly a few points short in common sense. What a shame.

“Of course, if you agree to cooperate, the Holy Kingdom will ensure His Highness receives our full support. We could easily overturn your current standing in the kingdom. That humiliation from your recent match? We could erase it entirely.”

“…”

“Moreover… this plan already has the Pope’s blessing.”

“Huh!?”

Wait, what!? The Pope?

That couldn’t be right. In Engage Hazard, the Pope was Lorenzo’s political rival, and Christia’s strongest supporter!

Still, I let my face show surprise as I couldn’t let him suspect what I knew.

“It’s simple. A disobedient dog that refuses its collar is nothing but a nuisance to its master.”

Ah… so that’s how it was.

The Saint was valuable as a symbol, but if she refused to obey, she became nothing but a threat. He thus decided to eliminate her…

Come to think of it, maybe in the original Engage Hazard, Harold really did accept this same deal from Lorenzo. That would explain why he hindered the heroes during the event.

“What do you say, Your Highness? For just this one favor, you could earn the full trust and affection of Her Majesty, the First Queen Margaret, your mother.”

…He’d done his homework, I’d give him that. He knew the old Harold had longed for his mother’s love.

“Sandra.”

“I shall follow whatever your heart decides, Haru-sama.”

I see… no matter what I chose, she’d stand by me. Honestly, there was no fiancée in the world as perfect as her.

So then, I’d play my part.

Just like Harold of Engage Hazard, the perennial loser in the hero’s story.

“…Very well. I accept His Eminence Salvatori’s request.”

With that, I let a crooked grin curl across my lips.