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 99: We began the condemnation

“By the way, Sandra, who exactly is this man?”

“Hehe… He is Queen Paula’s attendant.”

“What!?”

“…”

At Sandra’s quiet, mocking laugh, every gaze in the courtroom turned toward Queen Paula.

Even now, she maintained her calm composure, but perhaps that very composure was what it took to be a queen. At the very least, Lisette could never manage it.

“…Paula, what is the meaning of this?”

“My, I have no idea. I’ve never employed such a man as my attendant.”

King Salomon spoke in a voice lower than usual, whether from his sore throat or from anger, it was hard to tell, but Queen Paula feigned ignorance. As expected, she’d immediately disowned the servant, yet once suspicion had been cast, there was no dispelling it.

She was likely hoping to let things remain ambiguous and end the matter by declaring it the servant’s lone crime.

However…

“My onee-sama… I’m so glad… so glad…”

From the spectator’s seats, Elyne clasped her hands and wept tears of relief at Lisette’s vindication. Lisette looked back at her with eyes filled with endless gentleness.

Now then… of course, this wasn’t where it ended. I didn’t accuse Lisette or stage this trial merely to condemn Queen Paula or the true mastermind, Jean.

No, my real target was something else.

“Phew… To think that a ‘talentless wicked prince’ from another nation accuses our own country’s ‘wicked princess’, only for the case to end with the queen’s attendant acting alone… What a pitiful farce. I wonder whose failure this reflects?”

“Jean…?”

Queen Paula’s face tightened in confusion as Jean, beside her, sighed and shook his head as though in exasperation.

At that single remark, King Salomon seemed to realize something, and he immediately turned toward the rear… where the Knight Commander was.

Naturally, it was to give an order to restrain Jean, who was already radiating the air of a man about to act.

But…

“Wha…!?”

“Your Majesty, I must ask you to remain still.”

A sword was pressed against King Salomon’s neck, leaving him speechless.

“What!?”

“Silence! This court is now under our control!”

At the Knight Commander’s signal, the knights surged into the courtroom. Thus began the coup d’état, orchestrated by Jean, the true mastermind.

The trial of the First Princess, attended personally by King Salomon and observed by the kingdom’s leading nobles, was the perfect opportunity for a coup.

Unlike two years later, when the main story of EnHaza began, Jean didn’t yet have many allies, but this event allowed him not only to assassinate the king, but also to seize the nobles as hostages.

In total, perhaps fifty knights stormed in. Meanwhile, counting the royal family and the knights already present, there were over a hundred people in the hall. Though we outnumbered the attackers, no one dared resist the knights. Submission was the only option.

“Well then… I must thank you, ‘talentless wicked prince’. You’ve prepared such a fine stage for me.”

“Prince Jean…”

“Do not worry. I understand that Prince Harold holds no value as a hostage. You will be permitted to return home safely and deliver a message to King Eivar: ‘The Kingdom of Capetien hereby declares war upon the Kingdom of Dehaubarz’.”

Ahh… just as in Lisette’s scenario in EnHaza, the Capetiens bared their fangs at Dehaubarz.

Jean, a hardliner displeased with the pacifist King Salomon’s rule, sought to steer the nation toward militarism through this coup. I knew that much.

Truly… he had no idea how difficult it was to preserve peace.

“Mother, I will be king. Not a foolish king like this man, but the greatest ruler, one who will dominate this world.”

“Oh… Jean, I know you will! Unlike this worthless man, who spent his youth bewitched by his concubine, his servant girl!”

Ah, I see. That servant must have been Lisette’s true mother. No wonder Queen Paula found it so distasteful, not that I particularly cared.

Anyway.

“What!?”

“You traitors! Surrender at once!”

Before anyone noticed, the nobles in the gallery, all armed, rose to their feet and began subduing the knights.

“Wh-what is this!?”

“Well, you should at least remember the faces of your own kingdom’s nobles. Otherwise, even if you became king, you’d earn nothing but the name of a fool.”

Of course, we knew Jean would stage a coup once we’d presented him with this perfect setup, and so, naturally, we’d made our own preparations.

The “nobles” here were, in fact, soldiers from the Dehaubarz delegation, disguised as Capetien aristocrats and guards.

And…

“What!?”

Even the “King Salomon” sitting upon the throne was one of our men, chosen for his similar stature and appearance. The real King Salomon was waiting safely elsewhere for the outcome of today’s trial.

“Hehe… Truly, everything has unfolded exactly as Haru-sama has planned.”

“Yes. To think they’d fall for it so completely, I almost feel bad for them.”

Well, Jean’s house arrest over the poisoning incident must have made him desperate. He’d likely feared that, if he waited any longer, his plans would collapse entirely.

Therefore, even knowing the risk, he’d taken the bait and began his coup.

All we’d had to do was set the trap. Our capable Minister of Foreign Affairs had handled the arrangements perfectly.

On the Capetien side, Elyne took charge as the liaison and now, protected by soldiers, she stuck out her tongue playfully, clearly delighted.

Ideally, Lisette herself would have served as our liaison, but unfortunately, her reputation as the ‘wicked princess’ made that impossible. As much as I hated to admit it, no one in her kingdom would move for her sake.

“Princess Lisette, I apologize for having caused you such trouble.”

“P-please, Your Highness Harold, you have nothing to apologize for! Rather, it is I who am sorry for drawing you into Capetien’s internal strife…”

The ever-proud Lisette bowed her head meekly, a rare sight indeed.

“Please don’t worry about it. More importantly, let’s bring these rebels under control.”

“Yes! Everyone… finish them!”

At Lisette’s line, which sounded almost like something a villainess would say, we began suppressing the coup.