Chapter 212 – Sister’s Engagement Ceremony and Sister’s Dash

From this episode, we will go back to the point of view of the main character, Kamyu.
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“… In addition, the traitor Catherine hired the Demon King’s army to cause a terrorist attack on the cathedral.
Accordingly, the Demon Army dispatched the Sang-sang Army, Kamyu Franz, to find out and punish the demon king’s infiltrators.”

Announcement of arranged marriage and engagement ceremony.

“The enemy, the Demon Princess Rumica Theresia Bernstein, sent a letter of alliance to the rightful Queen Stella Amitie.
This is to defeat Catherine and Alberic, the common enemies of humans and demons, advocates of biological experimentation and human sacrifice.
That wicked and prodigal daughter, Catherine, even contaminated Nuvacane, the guardian dragon of Amitie, with the ‘seed of the God of Destruction’ and mobilized it for a rebellion.
It wasn’t enough to personally summon the nation’s number one dragon, it poisoned his mind and caused him to die an insulting death!
This is tantamount to blaspheming the great founding fathers and King Taejo!”

Stella and I are standing in the middle of the ‘Hall of Magnificence’ in the central palace.

“… For the above reason, Kamyu Franz, the ‘Iron Mask’, a top demon, rose up against the vicious Catherine’s biological experiment.
She intends to make him consort to Stella Amityer, Queen of Amitye.
Do you swear to love and cherish each other as you would your own body as a covenant in front of the sun god and the black sun?”

We both raise our hands.

“”I swear.””

“With this, in front of the sun god, we declare the engagement of Stella Amitie and Camus Franz.
Please remember this covenant until marriage.”

Marianne flatly refused to preside over the vows of her betrothal.
Accordingly, the presiding officer was replaced by another high-ranking priest.

Now I proudly show off my bull-like horns and sit in the seat of honor.
Human aristocrats who are terribly awkward around me.
I approach them one by one and talk to them.

“Oh, Marquis Marmont.
Long time no see.
You saw us at the Battle of Silcan Valley, right?”

“Yes? Ah… Haha… Yes.”

“Hey, I remember you participated as a member of the noble cavalry at that time.
You still look brave, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what to do when the iron mask master compliments me like this.”

Okay.
You pissed me off at that time.
Who wants to be in the lead?
The guy who did the ignorant Lance Charge in the mountainous terrain was wrong.
Hey, let’s not kill it.
I’m on the same side now.

“Sir Claude!
It’s been a while!
Hey, how long is this?
This is the first time since we ate together during the Belzeburg Peace Treaty, right?”

“Ah, yes.
Haha.
Go, see you soon.
Your voice is still booming.”

Smile and say hello
Well, the nobles who thought I was Kamyu Abubakr were very confused when they saw my horn.
They work hard to win hearts.

“Oh my.”

They say if you moan when you sit down, you’re old.
After having a drink at a time, I’m tired.
Go back to your seat and sigh and sit down.

“You have suffered a lot.”

“Ah, sick princess.
Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course.
It’s my younger brother’s engagement ceremony, so I have to come even if I’m sick.”

My dark circles have faded a bit.

I sit and watch Stella in the distance.
Wearing a crown and wearing splendid clothes, she approached and talked to the surrounding nobles.
Now, even without Duke Dupre, he speaks well by himself.
You are courageous.

“Honey drips from your eyes.”

“Yes? Me?

“Yes.

“I was just staring.”

“Lie.”

Looking back at Anne, she recalls the night before Stella brought up the story of her engagement.
Around the time I visited again for psychotherapy with hypnosis.

[Can you give me your wrist?]

[What is it, Sick Princess?
What can I lie about?
What’s the matter.]

[I want to ask you something.]

She put her hand on my wrist.

[Do you love Stella?]

[Love? It’s ambiguous.]

[Please answer yes or no.]

[No.]

[Lie.]

[?!]

[Is Stella attracted to you as a woman?]

[Ah, no.]

[Lie.]

[It’s true.]

It’s true.
I don’t just love you the way I love Rumika and Nene.
… Not yet.
Some!
Because it’s some!!

Well, love doesn’t all have the same color, the same density, and the same depth!
Do you know how to distinguish this much?

[No.
You are lying
Don’t fool yourself.]

That… The body I saw wearing the Valkyrie armor was small, cute and pretty.
Cute
It’s disgusting.
Boobs, ass… Aaaaan!!!
A lewd devil, yes you bastard!!
Won’t it get out of my head!!
No, wait.
Can’t I get out of my body?
Probably not.
Give up quickly.

But I’d rather call this love…

But it’s already too late.
Upon hearing Anne’s words, her heart was already bobbing.
Whenever I had a chance, I kept thinking about Stella.

At some point after that.
Suddenly, Stella opened my door and entered.

[Hey, Camu!
Ha, let’s do it!!!]

[What?
Big… !
Hey, wash up.]

Fuck!

[What, what are you talking about?!
Fool! Pervert! Beast cub!!]

[You forgot the target!!
Just right to misunderstand, you broke into someone else’s room at night!!
In the future, tell me with attention to the sentence structure!!]

[Idiot!!
Hey, get engaged with me!
Arranged marriage, I will do it!]

[Uh, yes?
What are you doing?]

[What, what.
Are you disappointed in me?
You’re a complete star… Kyaaaaagh!]

[Uh haha!!!
No~~
Our queen is amazing!
You made a big decision~]

[Hey! Don’t hug me! Don’t lift it!
Scared! It’s a bit high!!!
Aww!
Don’t go round and round!
I’m dizzy!!
Aww?!
Crane?!
Bo, don’t kiss the cheek!!
Who dares?]

[Um~ side! Jjook!
Oh, it’s pretty.
My cheeks are mochimochi.
Whatever I like.]

As you said, success with Stella!
It is surprising that he became Queen Amitie’s consort more easily than I thought.

No, I’m a demon.
Can it be this easy?
After all, anything can happen in times of trouble.

Fortunately, thanks to my performance when I was the commander of the iron mask corps, the support of the nobles of the Juhwa faction was solid.
There are many nobles who have been watching since the peace agreement.
When I went to the meeting room wearing an iron mask and baring my horns, everyone almost fainted.
When the iron mask was taken off, about half of the command team actually fainted.
The other half asked for crab foam.

In any case, Anne’s words were one of the reasons why I readily agreed to Stella’s invitation to engage.
However.

“Actually, I lied then.”

On the day of the engagement ceremony.
Anne sits at a celebration and says these things.
What?

“Which one?”

“That you love Stella.”

It’s completely back.
It reminds me of the words written on the back of my chair when I was a spy.

[Real liars only tell the truth.]

… I took a shot at the crucial moment.

“Are you attracted to me?”

“It was the truth.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“How about you change your position and try it, demon hypnotist?”

Anne’s faint smile.
She looks back at me sideways.
The parting is the opposite of hers, so her eyes are slightly obscured by her hair, making it more mysterious.

“I feel bad.
I reflected again.”

“Whoops, you did well.”

She smiles brightly and is disgusting.
For some reason, her smile is different from usual, so it’s fresh.

“You know the story of the shepherd boy, right?”

“Sure.”

“But why did you lie?”

“I wanted you to like my sister first.”

I didn’t know at the time that this answer had an ambiguous meaning.

“Is this an arranged marriage?
Are you afraid you won’t be loved after you get married?”

“Um, yes.
There are things like that.”

“But even if I like you first, can’t the little princess kick me because she doesn’t like me?”

“It could be.
I wished for that.
May her sister have a choice.”

“Ah…
You wanted to let the little princess decide whether to marry her or not?”

Under. It’s fished.
Well, since I’ve achieved my goal anyway, it doesn’t matter.
Stella came to her room first to talk about engagement and marriage.
As a result, it is a lie that cannot be hated.

“At least my sister is going to marry her first man, so I wanted to let her decide while being loved.”

Huh, true.
Your love for your brother is overwhelming.

“A beautiful sister.
Then, if your sister refuses, you have to take on the arranged marriage that you don’t want to do?
You’re sacrificing too much.
Laying down her right to the throne to save her brother.”

Then Anne’s words suddenly pierce my heart.

“Have I ever told you that I don’t want to get married?”

“… Uh?”

Uh?
Uh?
Uhhh?
I’m having cognitive dissonance now.

Did I hear you right?

As I stare blankly at her face, Anne calmly looks at her Stella and says:

“If her brother had said no, I would have had a chance too.”

Ah.
Now I get it
What Anne had just replied.

[I wanted you to like my sister first.]

What does this mean?

[(More than my younger brother) I wanted you to like my younger brother first.]

And.

[I wanted you to like my sister (before me)]

Ah.
This is really…
Hey
This is true

It’s cool, so the words come out randomly.
Like a teenage boy.
So stupid

“… Maybe I just won’t marry either of you.”

“It is not like that.
He’s the one who proposed an arranged marriage as a condition for alliances and military reinforcements from the beginning.”

“Yes.
Big! Hmm!”

Apparently my ears turned red.
It’s hot because it’s hot.

“Ho, didn’t you just want to get married quickly?”

“No.
Men are still awkward, and since I was young, there has been a lot of talk about arranged marriages, so I didn’t think much of it.
However, I wanted to meet my brother when he rejected you.
There were things I was thankful for, and I had seen them before.
Because I’ve never met a man or a woman.”

“Ah.”

“And… Are you curious about what kind of demon the cheeky man who dared to take a country’s princess as his sixth wife, and that he would consider it?
Are you hurting your pride?”

“Sorry, sorry…”

Egogo.

“Thank you for your apology.
Anyway, being thankful is something I’m thankful for, and seeing you is another matter.
I wanted to meet you once.”

That word
I asked where did Stella learn it, and she learned it from my sister.

“… Did you hate me?”

“Oh no!
I was a bit surprised.”

“… If it’s because I’ve been through something like that, I’ll give it up gracefully.”

What are you talking about!!
It’s not like that!!

“No no no!
It only made me think for a moment that I was cowardly.”

I’m sorry, so I’m also polite.

“Cowardice? What do you mean?”

“Hmm.
I am a hypnotist who heals the princess’s mind.
I wonder if it’s cowardly to use your status as a man who can get close to you to be loved.”

“Hmm.”

Ann unknowingly touches her lips.

“Look over there.”

Point your finger at Devot.

Devot stands to the right of the chief seat, fully armed.

“That blunt friend seems to be just standing there the whole time, but he’s glancing at you.”

“Why?”

“Because of guilt.
… Is it okay if I talk about that earlier?”

“Short.”

Oh, I’m worried.
I need some extra psychotherapy today.

“That friend fell for the ruse that day and regrets leaving the place on a business trip.
I should have come back and blown Alberic thrush, but I’m always depressed.
But I can’t even approach you because I’m worried that approaching you will hurt me.”

“… I don’t think it’s Lord Devot’s fault that happened to me.”

“I don’t think so, but would Sir Devot think so?
He’s your guardian
Look over there this time.”

I point to Angela.

“My guardian knight.
The knight who fell on the dragon’s head because he loved me.
As for how upright and stubborn I am, even after the hypnosis is over, I keep my oath as my lord.
Even though the first thing I did to her was as bad as Alberic’s.
Does Devote seem more flexible than Angela?”

Shaking my head.

“No.
Worse was worse, no less.”

“I think so too
There are so many people around you who care about you.
But it would be cowardly for me to approach you using my position as a psychotherapist.
It’s against work ethics, and I’m also dangerous.”

“…”

“I don’t get someone’s love through hypnosis anymore.
Unrequited love is boring now.”

Ann hits the spot.

“Are you talking about the saintess and sir angela?”

“… Huh.
No matter how I try to excuse myself, I was just a puppet master while being loved.”

“Isn’t it a bit different when you hypnotize me for treatment?”

“… I once fell in love while treating someone who was in a similar situation to you.”

“Sister Rebekah is what you mean.”

A corner of my heart sinks heavily.
Rebekah laid her body in the garden behind the village of Adebi.
In fact, it always seems to be buried in a corner of my heart.
As life gets longer, the number of beings buried in my heart increases.
Father, mother, younger sister, Rebekah, comrades, colleagues…

Living long is sometimes a terrible thing.

“Huh. She is the first human woman I ever loved.
At the time, I kept deceiving myself that it wasn’t real love.
… I only found out after sending it.”

It was.
This is what I regret the most whenever I think of Rebekah.
Deceiving yourself that it wasn’t love, that it shouldn’t be love.
If not, I would have loved and expressed it to the fullest.

“Because humans are enemies.
Thought she shouldn’t be in love
And because I thought for quite some time that this feeling was caused by not being able to differentiate between interest and affection for treatment.
So… I missed the chance to say I love you.
Because I said it at the last minute.”

I hope my heart reaches those who couldn’t save it.
What I said condescendingly while placating Stella was, in fact, a word that came out of my own experience.

Ann closes her eyes for a moment, then she opens.
She waved her hand softly at Stella, who was waving her hand to him in the distance.
She turns her head and looks into my eyes.

“Okay.
Then do this.”

“How?”

“If we are interested in each other after I get better, let’s meet.
Meet and walk, eat, drink tea.
Isn’t that grandiose and burdensome?”

[Just.
Privately.
Let’s meet more comfortably.
It hasn’t been long since we’ve seen it, right?]

How can sisters talk so similarly?
Stella’s shy expression comes to mind, and I end up laughing.

“… Is it funny?”

“Put, no.
Haha, you speak very similarly to Stella.
They must be sisters too.”

“Is it so?
Did Stella say something similar?”

“Huh. It was.
OK.
Walking, eating delicious food, drinking tea, and talking.
You are a more mature person than I thought.
I would believe you even if you lived more than two hundred years.”

“Just because you’re 23 this year doesn’t mean you’re an old virgin, right?”

Most princesses get married between the ages of 16 and 18.
There is some misunderstanding.

“No no.
You think more deeply than me.
Please take good care of me.”

Shuk.

Ann stared blankly at my outstretched hand and smiled softly as she embraced it.
It’s a handshake now, but I don’t know what will happen in the future.
I don’t know, neither does Anne.

Why, why, why, why, why, why!!!!

Redundancy warning.

Local warfare that has become frequent in recent years.
I thought they would drive me into a wheel battle, but what kind of plan was this?

“Sick Princess, I’ll go out first.”

“Bye.
Take care of yourself.”

“Huh.”

Take off the robe that was worn one size larger on the outside.
The baby general’s armor worn inside.

“Zach! Ludwig! Stick with me!”

“”Yes!!””

He waves her hand at Stella from a distance and runs off.
May everyone be safe today.