When the Villain Joined the Knights to Avoid Doom Flags, but Somehow the Heroines Started Approaching Him - Chapter 34: The Real Challenge Begins

Chapter 34: The Real Challenge Begins

And so, two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Living in hiding—more like an extended game of hide-and-seek—had become routine.

By now, Yulis sometimes found himself wondering, What am I even doing here again?

For example—

“S-Senior Celia! Please put some clothes on!”

“Hm? But I take pride in my choice of underwear when I’m at home.”

“This is bad! Master’s had a nosebleed and passed out!”

Yes, lucky incidents like that kept happening.

 Or—

“Yulis, this is the person who founded the kingdom.”

“Master, you got this part wrong again.”

“Ugh… Why am I studying now, of all times…?!”

“Maybe because you’re bored?”

“Because you’re bored.”

It was such a peaceful life that it hardly felt like they were protecting someone’s life.

But that couldn’t be helped.

While another team was out trying to locate the culprit and lower the bounty on Fia, there wasn’t much Yulis and his group could do. Their priority was staying hidden and safe until the situation was resolved.

And then—

“It looks like things are finally settling down.”

The beautiful reflection of the full moon danced on the lake’s surface as Celia stood there, casually holding a letter in one hand.

Draped in her now-familiar bathrobe, she exuded a relaxed elegance that had become part of their strange but routine lifestyle.

“Oh? That’s good news! Does that letter mean it’s from the Knight Order?”

“Pretty much. It just arrived a little while ago.”

“Finally,” Iris muttered, stretching in her maid uniform as she responded casually.

“Apparently, the whole thing started because a noble from a neighboring country fell in love with the princess at first sight. Add in his… unique hobbies, and he turned into an extreme stalker. I can’t even begin to relate, but he seems to be the kind of guy who’s thrilled by a beautiful face—alive or dead.“

“…There’s not a single part of that I can relate to.” 

Lieselotte’s expression was stiff as she sipped tea at the table.

Currently, there were three of them in the room—all the women tasked with guarding the princess.

Fia, the third princess, was resting in her room, while Yulis was outside keeping watch on his own.

“Love stories are often considered beautiful as long as they don’t inconvenience anyone else. But you should all be careful—while love takes many forms, this kind will definitely get you hated by the other person.”

“…Please don’t lump me in with some creepy love-struck collector. My way of showing love is staying close and taking care of him.”

“My apologies. I wouldn’t want my cute junior to lose respect for me, so I’ll stop offering unnecessary advice.”

Celia replied, folding the letter with a soft smile and tucking it into her pocket.

“So, when do you think this whole lifestyle of ours will finally end?”

“Right now, efforts are being made to track down that noble in the neighboring country. But since it’s another nation, we can’t just waltz in and forcefully arrest him. It’s not that simple.”

“But there is some evidence against him, right?”

“I’d say so. However, even with evidence, the fact that it’s a cross-border issue complicates things. The neighboring country has a friendly relationship with us, so they’ll likely cooperate to some extent, but mishandling this could easily blow up into a full-blown international incident.”

That said—

Celia’s expression turned more serious as she added:

“The truth is, what happens next is hard to predict. A cornered rat will always try its best to escape, but what’s more unpredictable is how the cats it controls will react.”

It was natural for the noble to try escaping to avoid capture.

He might even go so far as to destroy evidence to cover his tracks.

But the real issue wasn’t the noble who placed the bounty—it was the ones operating behind the scenes.

The assassins and dark guild who wanted the bounty money wouldn’t sit idly by.

“The Dark Guild wants their payday. They’ll do anything to avoid the stigma of failing to deliver on a contract. That’s why, before that idiot noble gets caught, they’re likely to make one last attempt to go after the princess.”

“In other words—”

Lieselotte set down her cup, her expression tense.

Celia, noticing this, shrugged lightly and spoke.

“This is where things get serious. It’s possible our location has been compromised, and we should prepare for the worst—a big, messy fight that nobody wants. Let’s just hope we’re ready to flee if it comes to that.”

♦♦♦

The full moon was beautiful.

There was something special about gazing at it alone, a quiet kind of enjoyment.

The moon’s reflection on the lake gave it a dreamlike quality, with the cool breeze making the swaying grass and trees even more enchanting.

Yulis stood at the villa’s entrance, taking in the peaceful scene.

Though, he couldn’t help but sigh as an unwanted “bonus feature” began to make itself known.

“Sigh… Can’t even enjoy a peaceful moon-viewing, huh? Maybe I should file a labor complaint against this ‘Knights’ Order.’ Every task they hand out just screams overwork and black-company vibes.”

The villa offered excellent visibility.

While it was nestled in the woods, the area around the lake was open, making it easy to spot anyone approaching from any direction.

That visibility, however, forced intruders to either march in boldly or arrive in overwhelming numbers.

And sure enough, Yulis’s view was now filled with dozens of black-clad figures.

(If only this many “guests” were all we had to deal with… but no, they finally decided to make their move. Damn it.)

Yulis exhaled, his breath visible in the cool night air.

And then—

“Alright, alright, time to clock in. Let’s get to work. If I don’t get to the princess (heroine) soon, I’ll just get yelled at for letting too much trash pile up.”

In an instant, a shimmering curtain of ice spread across the villa, encasing it protectively.