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~ - Chapter 88: I Decided To Save The Heroine

“Aahhhh!? P-please, spare me!!”

At the king’s command, the knight captain who had been standing guard seized the servant by the collar and tried to force his mouth toward the portion indicated.

The servant, face twisted in terror, cried out for help in desperation.

Naturally, toward none other than the crown prince, Jean.

But…

“Captain, what are you waiting for? End this farce at once.”

“N-no… no, I don’t want to die! I don’t want to dieeeeee!!”

Without a shred of mercy, Jean cut him down.

The knight captain looked around briefly, then nodded silently. He forced the poisoned food into the servant’s mouth, and in moments, the man convulsed and collapsed lifelessly.

“Ah! What a terrible thing! Had Prince Harold’s maid not noticed, we, myself included, would all be dead right now!”

King Salomon, his face red with fury, shot to his feet and roared.

The full brunt of his anger was directed at Jean, who had served as the host of tonight’s banquet.

“Jean! How do you intend to take responsibility for this?”

“…It was due to my own negligence. I shall investigate at once to determine who is behind this.”

“You call that taking responsibility!? If Prince Harold had been poisoned, a war with Dehaubarz would have been unavoidable! Do you not even understand that? Pathetic!”

“…”

Overcome with rage, King Salomon hurled the glass in his hand. It struck true, and blood trickled down Jean’s forehead.

Though Jean’s expression remained solemn, his eyes clearly burned with anger and hatred. He really was terrible at hiding his emotions.

“Enough! You are confined to your chambers! Until I give permission, you are not to leave!”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

After a long, tense silence, Jean gave a curt nod and left.

“Prince Harold, my apologies for this disgrace.”

“Not at all. If anything, I must apologize for causing such an uproar at your banquet.”

“Nonsense. Had your maid not noticed, I might be the one lying dead. Allow me to thank you once more.”

Saying this, King Salomon bowed his head.

For the king of a major power like Capetien to show such deference to a mere visiting prince was extraordinary, but I chose to accept it graciously.

“Then, Prince Harold, please continue to enjoy the evening. I shall ensure there are no further incidents.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

King Salomon rose from his seat and departed the garden with the knight captain in tow.

“U-um…”

“The culprit has been caught, and His Majesty himself encouraged us to enjoy the evening. So please, Princess Lisette, do continue your story.”

“Of course!”

Lisette, still uncertain what to do after the commotion, glanced up at me hesitantly.

I gave her a warm smile, deliberately trying to lighten the mood.

The so-called “villainess” expression she wore so often was nowhere to be seen. Lisette’s entire face lit up, beaming like sunlight, as she resumed talking with cheerful enthusiasm.

That smile of hers was nothing like the wicked noblewoman she was said to be. She was, unmistakably, Engage Hazard’s true main heroine.

◇

“…Haru-sama. I have many questions, but let me begin with this one first. When the knight captain tried to force the servant to eat the dish, why did you not stop him?”

No sooner had we returned to our quarters than Sandra asked that question point-blank.

She must have meant: Wouldn’t it have been better to keep the servant alive, and make him confess who ordered the poisoning?

If I hadn’t already known who the mastermind was, I would’ve done exactly that. But since I knew Jean was behind it all, I chose not to interfere.

“What do you think of the knight commander?”

“The commander…?”

“Yes. Acting under the king’s command, he forced that servant to eat the poison and killed him without hesitation. As you yourself just pointed out, he never even questioned it.”

“Ah…”

Exactly…

As the captain responsible for the royal palace’s security and the king’s safety, he must have realized there was a mastermind behind this attempt. If he truly sought justice, he would have detained the servant alive to extract the truth.

Yet he hadn’t. Without a second’s hesitation, he’d killed the man.

“I see… So Haru-sama believes the knight commander is connected to the true culprit.”

“Precisely. Even if I had stepped in to save the servant, the captain would have eliminated him before he could speak.”

In fact, just before killing the servant, the knight captain had looked around to make sure no one would interfere.

That said it all.

“In any case, there’s no doubt we’ve gotten ourselves caught up in trouble. It would be wisest to return home to our kingdom as soon as possible.”

As I said this, I gave a wry smile and shrugged my shoulders.

By now, Minister Olson was probably already in talks with the Capetien side about shortening our stay.

But…

“Fufu… And yet, Haru-sama, you intend to stay here, even if it means overruling Minister Olson, don’t you?”

Before I could say it myself, Sandra beat me to it.

“H-how did you guess that?”

“Because you are too kind a man to abandon Princess Lisette after what happened tonight.”

Ah, she saw right through me.

She was right. Now that Lisette’s route from Engage Hazard had begun, I couldn’t just ignore it.

Officially, Engage Hazard was a romance RPG where, once a heroine’s story started, it followed a set path, but if the player neglected Lisette’s scenario, it affected the others.

The Capetien throne would fall to Jean… and Lisette never appeared again.

In other words, the coup succeeded, and Lisette was either imprisoned at best, or executed at worse.

I had promised myself not to get involved with the heroines of this world… but once I’d met one, once she became part of my life, I couldn’t just abandon her.

“I’m sorry…”

“There’s no need to apologize. In fact, I’m proud and truly happy to be the fiancée of someone like you.”

Sandra gently pressed a finger to my lips, her cheeks flushed, smiling softly.

Her kindness made my heart swell with warmth.

I took her small hand in mine, holding it tightly, pouring into that touch all my gratitude and love.