What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally?

Right after my date with Nana began, I bumped into someone on the street. The other person was a woman. Beautiful golden hair danced at the edge of my vision.

But wow… we just collided normally, but the woman who got bumped must have had quite a solid core, as she remained standing without any sign of falling.

She spoke to me with a cool expression.

“Oh my, forgive me. I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you injured?”

“I should apologize. Are there any stains or…!?”

Catching her clearly in my vision, I was struck speechless with shock. Meanwhile, she tilted her head curiously.

“There are no stains. You weren’t holding anything in your hands.”

“…………”

“Hello? Are you listening to me?”

The woman waved her hand in front of my mask. Her golden vertical curls exuded a noble aura.

—Of course they did. She was a genuine bourgeois. A real noble person.

Lycoris Flambeur Prominent.

The first princess of The Principality of Prominent next to this kingdom.

Bright, beloved by the people, and close to them—a rare royal family member. She had thicker trust and faith from the people than the first and second princess—one of the original story’s heroines.

She was the woman who joined hands with Iris to challenge the final boss Yuguram.

I never expected to encounter her on a public street like this. Was she planning to head to the palace? If so, why wasn’t she in a carriage?

While various questions floated through my mind, I belatedly responded to her.

“Ah… yes. I’m listening. I’m glad Lycoris-sama is safe…”

“Eh?”

She reacted to my words. The maid lined up behind her also sharpened her gaze. Did I just leave some kind of landmine in that short statement… ah!?

I understood. I just naturally called her name when…

“Why do you know my name when I haven’t introduced myself…?”

“That suspicious mask too… could you be an assassin!?”

The maid stepped forward to protect Lycoris. A small knife was gripped in her hand.

This person could handle combat too… come to think of it, there was such a character in the original. But this was a misunderstanding. I wasn’t a suspicious person.

“C-calm down. I’m not a suspicious person.”

“You look suspicious from every angle!”

Exactly right! I had this same exchange with Iris!

Why does everyone label me a suspicious person when they see my mask… At first we could have normal conversations…

This mask really was cursed. The design was bad, or rather, it really seemed like it had an actual curse on it.

“State your name! And remove that mask!”

“I can’t remove the mask. This is my identity. I’ll tell you my name, so please lower your weapon.”

I raised both hands to avoid stimulating the maid as much as possible.

Then Lycoris, who was hiding behind the maid, spoke up.

“How interesting that you find identity in a mask. Do you expect us to trust you based on name alone?”

“I’m Princess Iris’s guard. If you ask Princess Iris about a person named Yuu, she’ll tell you about me.”

“Princess Iris’s? You are…?”

Wow, I could feel intense suspicious stares piercing me.

I get it, okay? There’s no way a suspicious guy like me could be a princess’s guard! But it was the truth. I hoped they’d realize there were various circumstances.

“Whether you believe me is up to you. But I don’t intend any harm, so could you let me go? I’m planning to go on a date with my daughter right now.”

“Daughter… daughter!?”

Ah, that made things unnecessarily complicated. I shouldn’t have mentioned that information. Looking at Nana standing behind me, both Lycoris and her maid widened their eyes.

“To think you had a child… from your voice I thought you were young…”

This wasn’t a situation where I could say she was my adopted daughter. Well, if they wanted to misunderstand on their own, that was fine.

With my hands still raised, I said:

“That’s how it is, so see you somewhere else. Goodbye.”

And I passed by them with Nana.

Finally, Lycoris let slip some words:

“Yuu-san… was it? I’ve made quite an interesting discovery.”

The meaning of those words… I couldn’t understand.

▼△▼

After parting from Lycoris and the others, we walked straight down the street. I sighed and said to Nana, who was following behind:

“Sigh… that was terrible, wasn’t it, Nana?”

“Papa’s fault for saying troublesome things. And that mask.”

“Can’t be helped, right? You understand Papa’s circumstances, Nana.”

“Mm, can’t be helped. But who were those people?”

“Ah… come to think of it, you didn’t know, Nana. She’s Lycoris Flambeur Prominent. The first princess of The Principality of Prominent next to this kingdom.”

“Princess… same as Iris-sama?”

“That’s right.”

As expected of Nana, she immediately understood by comparing to someone familiar.

“But well, she’s someone unrelated to us guards. You can forget about her~”

“When Papa says that, I usually get the feeling we’re going to get involved somehow…”

Hey daughter… don’t say ominous things.

Even while feeling similar unsettling vibes, we enjoyed our date normally after that. We got too carried away and ended up being caught by soldiers.