Chapter Chapter 73: 9. The others’ stories (2) (2/2)

And the moment the imperial princess smiled brightly.

“Kuugh!”

“Khhhgh?”

“What are you doing, elder sister!”

Along with the feeling of something crushing my heart, I couldn’t breathe.

And that wasn’t just me, but everyone except for the princess and Sir Reia!

“Little brother, little brother. Did you really think I was fighting for the throne all for big brother or my cute little brother?”

As the princess made her way to our lord with elegant steps, we could only watch her go.

No matter how much we struggled to move our bodies, none of us could move a finger.

“The only reason why I fought in the succession war, was simply, because I needed a reason to play with Ast, my little brother.”

Even when the princess’s fingers were close enough to touch our lord’s cheeks, none of us could move at all.

“Th, then… what is it that you want, elder sister.”

At milord’s words, the princess smiled so brightly that one could not see her gleaming red eyes.

“Ast. That’s all I need.”

With that one sentence, everyone in the room immediately realised that something was wrong.

If the princess’s words were true, then Ast was not disposed of by the princess’s hands, but he had vanished overnight for a different reason.

“The man named Ast… is he not urrgghh… is he not the man that disappeared three days ago?”

“Mm, although to be accurate, he ran away.”

“Ran.. Away?”

Ran away? The man who created achievements that were near-unprecedented in imperial history?

“Lately, whenever I saw Ast I felt strange. Something felt ticklish inside me.”

“Huh, huh?”

Our lord was surprised at the sudden sigh and complaint, but the princess didn’t care.

“And so from a long time ago, whenever he did something bad, I said that if he kept doing that I’d marry him, you know.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

There was a lot of things that our lord wanted to take the princess to task for, but like us, our lord couldn’t move a finger either.

“Hm? Oh, that was just because whenever I said that Ast was horrified and ran away. I found that amusing. Well, either way, around a week ago I actually did it for real. But he ran away.”

Now what manner of bullshit was this.

“Actually did it for real? Did what for real?”

“I told you, little brother. Marriage, of course.”

Marriage of a member of the imperial family involves all sorts of political maneuvering.

Especially of those that were very close in line to the throne, and among them the three people closest to it, their marriage was a national-level problem.

Even if Ast was one of the great heroes of this war, there would be an outcry of opposition from other nobles.

No, even before that.

“And so he ran away? That Ast did?”

Running away during war was an very, very serious crime where no one would say anything if you were cut down on the spot for it.

And a general that led over an entire army ran away, and what was more, over pressure of marriage from his superior!

The war wasn’t even over yet!

“Seriously, a beauty like myself is offering to marry him. Ast really is a strange man.”

As we looked at Her Highness make a face as if she couldn’t understand, we all had faces that said we understood even less than that.

Right now, all we could do was barely nod our heads a bit, our lord was the only one who could speak at all.

Right now the imperial princess could take all our lives on a whim, but having created that serious situation, the princess was saying all sorts of ridiculous things.

“So the only thing elder sister wants is Ast, just him? Do you not even need the throne?”

“That’s what I’m saying, little brother?”

As the princess said so with a pure face, our lord shut his mouth.

And seemingly after thinking for a bit, he said with a serious expression.

“And why do you want this man so much that you’d go to such lengths?”

“Because I like him.”

“What?”

Although that serious expression was broken in just over five seconds.

“It was just a joke at first. To be honest I had no thoughts of really marrying him at all. But when he actually ran away my head just blanked out. And after I thought on it for three days I realised that I actually liked him.”

For a teenage girl talking about her love life, the imperial princess recounted it all too bluntly.

But at those words, our lord didn’t say anything at all, but started whimpering to himself.

“Yes, sister. So I understand that what elder sister wants is just that one man named Ast.”

After whimpering for about two minutes, our lord sighed and began talking.

“But even if I do understand, my followers won’t. So if you really don’t have any designs for the thr…”

“Here.”

“I was trying to put on some airs…”

Although he started talking with a majestic face, he was cut off in the middle but even as he grumbled, our lord took the document the princess handed over.

“A Geass Roll and the price is military assistance… just what are you planning to do, sister?”

“I need to capture Ast that’s run away but this war is too annoying. I just want to get it over with.”

“Is that so?”

She was called a genius among geniuses in the empire, and I never doubted that.

But right now, I started to doubt my own brain.

What the hell did she just say. The princess that said she would end the war, and our lord who didn’t deny it?

Even if they’re geniuses blessed by the heavens, an adult like myself couldn’t follow the conversations of those who had barely lived more than ten years!

“I will think about it.”

“I’ll give you ’til tomorrow. If you don’t want it I can always go to big brother Ignal.”

As the princess got up from her seat, the rest of us could finally move our bodies a bit.

“Then see you tomorrow, little brother.”

As the princess and Sir Reia left without a single look back, none of us could move for a long time even after they left.

“What are you going to do, milord?”

When I asked to see if he really was going to take up the imperial princess’s offer, our lord smiled bitterly.

“If I refuse, it’s over?”

With that one sentence as his answer, our lord went to see the imperial princess the next morning with the Geass Roll in hand.

“Very good, little brother. Now should we end this war in about three years?”

And after she made that outlandish declaration, the war ended in just three short months.