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~

“Minister Olson. I’m terribly sorry to bother you after you went to the trouble of making the arrangements.”

The next morning, I bowed deeply to Minister Olson, who had come to my room. Of course, this was about withdrawing the decision for the delegation to return early to the Kingdom of Dehaubarz, and instead remaining as originally planned.

“Hm… It’s true that the servant who was the culprit died on the spot, and the Capetien Kingdom will likely search the entire nation for the mastermind behind it.”

Minister Olson placed a hand on his chin and nodded.

However, he added, “Well, it’s as good as already being caught, though.”

“That means…”

“Could it be, Your Highness has realized as well?”

There was no mistaking it. Minister Olson had noticed that Jean was the mastermind. Well… you couldn’t serve as foreign minister without being competent, after all.

“In that case, this makes things simple. By remaining here on purpose, we can show that we genuinely wish for friendship with the Capetien Kingdom, and at the same time, earn the favor of King Salomon.”

“Ahaha…”

Judging by the way he’d said it, that must have been his plan from the start. What a sly old man.

Still, since such a capable person had decided to support me, the ‘talentless wicked prince’, I should honestly be glad about it. Of course, I had absolutely no intention of competing for the throne either way.

Unless Wilfred became the next king.

“Well then, I’ll go inform the Capetien side.”

“Yes. Please do.”

After giving a pleasant smile, Minister Olson left the room.

“Monica, can I ask you to take care of it?”

“Leave it to me.”

After giving a courteous bow, Monica also left the room.

Having decided last night that we would remain here, I’d explained to Sandra, Monica, and Cass what lay ahead, and what we needed to do to stop Jean’s coup.

Fortunately, since Minister Olson had already caught that Jean was the mastermind behind last night’s incident, I planned to ask for his help in various ways from now on.

Then…

“Good morning, Haru-sama.”

Coming into the room as if to take Olson and Monica’s place was, of course, Sandra. She must have known that I was speaking with the minister, and had been considerate enough to wait so as not to interrupt.

“Good morning. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Ah… fufu. No, I haven’t been waiting at all, you know?”

When I bowed my head and apologized, Sandra happily took my hand.

Really, my fiancée was the best, wasn’t she? She truly was.

◇

“So then, what will you do today?”

After finishing a late breakfast, Sandra suddenly asked.

All of our appointments as envoys had been canceled due to last night’s incident, so thankfully we had nothing scheduled.

Therefore…

“Since we have the chance, let’s ask Princess Lisette to keep us company. I’m sure she’ll try to entertain us in various ways.”

“Fufu, that sounds nice.”

And so, Sandra and I left the dining room and went to visit Princess Lisette’s room… but there, we found…

“Haa… just be honest already. Last night’s incident was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“I… I…”

Standing in front of the room, dressed in luxurious attire, was the queen, Paula Beatrice de Capetien, who was questioning Lisette.

The heroine’s usual “villainess” demeanor had vanished. She was hanging her head, shoulders trembling. Behind the queen, her younger sister, the second princess Elyne, was watching with a worried look on her face.

It seemed she was being suspected as the mastermind of last night’s incident. It was just like in Lisette’s scenario in EnHaza, where she had the crime pinned on her.

“If you confess, Jean’s confinement will be lifted. You don’t want to see your brother suffer, do you?”

“…”

Oh goodness, the queen really was saying absurd things.

Why would Jean’s confinement be lifted if Lisette confessed? That was a completely separate issue from his failure as host.

Still, as a goodwill ambassador from another kingdom, it would be far too presumptuous of me to meddle in a family dispute.

So, you know…

“Your Majesty Queen Paula, don’t you think that’s unreasonable?”

Why did I always end up butting in without thinking ahead? Honestly, it was exasperating.

“Prince Harold. This is the Capetien Kingdom’s… no, our family’s matter. Your interference is unnecessary.”

“I’m afraid I can’t agree. It’s only been a day since I met Princess Lisette, but she and I are already friends. And I can’t just sit by and watch when a friend is facing something unjust.”

Queen Paula shot me a sharp glare, as if telling me not to overstep, but I was still a goodwill ambassador from the Kingdom of Dehaubarz. That attitude seemed rather discourteous.

“Haa… it seems Prince Harold is unaware, but embarrassingly, my daughter is known as a ‘villainess’. There’s no one else in this palace who would do such a thing except for Lisette.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Yesterday, Princess Lisette was very considerate of us, constantly attentive throughout the banquet. If she had been the culprit, my maid, who detected the poison, would have noticed immediately.”

Letting out a breath, I continued my rebuttal to Queen Paula, who was trying to frame Lisette as the mastermind.

“In the first place, why is Princess Lisette called a ‘villainess’? To me, she doesn’t seem like that sort of person at all. And more importantly… I can’t stand to see a dear friend of mine subjected to such slander.”

“Huh!?”

When I said that while giving her a sharp look, Queen Paula gasped.