Chapter 298
Side Story – Memories of a Princess (49)
#65 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Villain
Why are you looking at me like that?
I heard they received a report about an evil being, but looking at me like that…
“Is it you?”
Hey, you’re misunderstanding, Saint.
So I’d appreciate it if you could remove that gaze quickly.
“It’s not?”
I answer quickly.
Getting involved with an organization like Religion is out of the question.
As it is, evil organizations don’t get along well with Religions, so I’m extremely uncomfortable around Saints. If I have to endure that chilling gaze, I really feel like running away.
“Then what is the reason why Her Highness the Princess and Sir Knight over there are looking at you like that?”
I glance away slightly.
The gazes of the Princess and lady Renia are like they know I’m the culprit but can’t say it because I’m an acquaintance.
Like I said before, why are you looking at me like that? You keep misunderstanding!
“They’re joking around. Her Highness and lady Renia are mischievous people who often tease me.”
“Good heavens.”
Lady Renia let out an exasperated gasp.
What, why?
“Don’t you think there’s a problem with that, Sir Ast?”
“I don’t think there’s a problem, what kind of problem do you think there is, Lady Renia?”
I smirk at Lady Renia’s chilling gaze.
“Your Highness?”
The Saint looks slightly flustered at the situation and glances at the princess, but the princess answers nonchalantly.
“Well, we have that kind of relationship.”
“It seems like a relationship that requires a lot of explanation. Can you explain it to me?”
“Umm… It’s hard to explain in words but that kind of relationship?”
“Is that so?”
Perhaps because she is the Empire’s princess, the Saint couldn’t just ignore her.
The Saint, who looks like she wants to sigh, forces a cramped smile.
“So you mean that person is not an evil being?”
As the Saint points at me, the Princess of course nods her hea–
“Umm… uh umm… ummm….”
“Isn’t this the timing where you should be nodding, Your Highness?”
“But it’s Ast…”
“This is not the time for joking around, Your Highness! If you get caught by the Religion like this, what will you do?!”
“But he’s Ast…”
“Is my name the name of some evil god?! Isn’t this too cruel?!”
There are things I can and cannot say in front of the Saint.
The Princess just called me an evil being itself.
“Put your hand on your chest and think about it. Can you feel anything prickling you?”
Bam!
I put my hand on my chest and shouted confidently.
“I don’t feel anything!”
“I think this guy really is an evil being.”
“It seems that way, Your Highness.”
Despite my confident shout, chilling gazes gather.
“Should we catch him then?”
The Saint, who had been holding her forehead with a look of distress on her face, points at me and says.
Ah, no…
I’m going to get caught. If I’m caught and tortured like this, I’m confident I’ll readily spill all the information about the Howling within 3 minutes.
I’ve received torture training in the organization, but back then I knew they would absolutely not kill me and that I would be dealt with if I spilled, so I endured it.
But outside, I could die on the other hand, and if I spill, I might be able to live, so the moment the torture starts, I’m confident I’ll spill all the information.
Then I’ll get marked by the imperial family as well as the organization.
I don’t think I’d be killed by the Religion that carries the name Peace, but what happens after is the problem.
So,
“Oh no! For the peace-loving Religion of Peace that pursues peace, isn’t it damaging to the Religion’s reputation to be catching innocent people? As someone who follows the will of the god of Peace more than anyone else and hates evil gods, fxxk those evil gods!”
I decided to take the initiative.
“….”
The Saint was at a loss for words as she watched me.
Good, I got her.
“Saint, I can become a follower of the Religion of Peace anytime. All hail peace! For world peace!”
“Ast? Do you know what we’re doing right now?”
“War for peace! WAR & PEACE!”
“Your bullshit is peaking now…”
The princess’s cold gaze stabs at me, but now was the time to match the Saint’s tastes.
Well, I never did try to match the princess’s tastes before.
“The war we’re fighting right now is for peace. The Kingdom of Merdeah mercilessly slaughtered imperial diplomats who were making efforts for peace with evil intentions. If only those diplomats were still alive, it may have prevented the war from engulfing the entire continent. Yes. The Kingdom of Merdeah turned the continent into a battlefield for their own greed!”
“I learned one thing. When Sir Ast starts talking lengthily, it’s all lies.”
“Even though you are the Empire’s princess, don’t you feel a little unjust for the Kingdom of Merdeah, Renia?”
“Not at all.”
Mind your own business.
Not only are you not helping your ally here, but you keep putting me into traps.
What did I even do wrong!
“That reaction is them teasing me. I have faith in the peace-loving Religion of Peace! And especially you, Saint. Please consider it. If I were truly an evil being, I wouldn’t act that way, would I? I’d obviously hide it. We’re at war now, and morale is important for our troops. I don’t need to tell you what it means for our forces to know one of their commanding officers is an evil being.”
“Umm….”
Even the Saint unconsciously nodded her head.
Even in the Saint’s view, the current attitude of Her Highness and Lady Renia was very strange.
Unless they were enemies, to so freely handle their core member, their ally like this.
“Like I said before, Her Highness has a mischievous personality. She enjoys teasing her subordinates like that and watching their reactions.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Lady Renia unconsciously provided support fire.
The tide has turned.
The Saint also seems to be realizing that it was the princess’s prank.
“Ah… I see. According to the information that reached the Religion, there is a very dangerous individual among the upper echelon here…”
“How could that be? We are proper soldiers who wage war while complying with international law.”
“Is that so…?”
The Saint let out a sigh at my words.
“Well, I figured as much. Due to the Religion of Peace’s nature, we have to stop wars… But even the god of Peace said so. Wars cannot be removed from human life. As long as humans have desires, wars will continue.”
“That is truly saddening.”
This I mean genuinely.
Trying to resolve things through violent means like war.
Wouldn’t it be easier if those empty heads fought one on one?
While they don’t go through any hardships themselves, the humans below kill each other with hardship, that is war.
Those who do not want war have to fight, while those who want it spectate.
From my pacifist point of view, they were very tragic matters.
“And so our Religion became a contradictory Religion that advocates for peace yet cannot stop wars. But when there is an evil purpose in the war, then the story changes. For example, if a war breaks out in order to summon a devil, or if a war occurs by the devotees of evil gods to destroy the balance of the world, then our Religion can stop those wars.”
The Saint let out a small sigh with a very pitiful expression.
“For that reason… There were always those who tried to stop wars by pinning such suspicions on the other side.”
They ignored the Religion of Peace when starting the war, but now that it looks like they’ll lose, they call upon the Religion of Peace.
It was a lowly yet effective method.
Because the moment suspicion arises, it creates the condition for the god of Peace to intervene.
“Especially for evil gods, it’s a realm that even the great gods cannot see through. While most of their devotees are just ordinary humans, if there is someone among them related to an evil god, it could throw the world into great chaos.”
That’s why the Religion of Peace has to move the moment they receive a report.
I already knew organizations are stupid, but the Religion of Peace was one of the greatest fools among them.
“So I apologize for my rudeness.”
“No, it’s an honor to meet a Saint who always makes efforts for world peace.”
I politely bowed my head at the Saint’s apology.
Good. This should prevent any entanglements with the annoying Religion.
“I knew they were baseless rumors. From watching people die as he starts meals, he wields a wicked magic that inflicts suffering beyond human endurance simply by patting people. There were also sights of him seeming to eat human flesh at night… Umm, your name was Sir Ast? Your expression doesn’t look good…”
“Huh? No way.”
My poker face broke for a moment and the Saint noticed it.
Damn! She understood everything else but who would have thought she would even know about sucking vitality.
Was my training still insufficient?
“Could it be…”
The expression of the once gentle Saint turns cold.
To think she’d find out so easily even after I had just dispelled her doubts!
“Those are all just baseless slander spread by the enemies to degrade our troops. Eating human flesh? Our forces are currently maintaining optimal supplies. And watching people die during meals…? No matter how much of a war it is, there’s no way such things would happen, would they?”
Of course, I did do similar things.
But this is a battlefield.
It was all just deception tactics to deceive the enemy.
“And inflicting suffering beyond human endurance with an evil magic? There’s no way something like that exists…”
“I found it, Saint!”
Found? What?
A holy knight who suddenly appeared shouts while holding up something.
“The shape perfectly matches the reported information!”
“Wha…”
It was a wooden stick that looked like something you could find anywhere.
It’s something I had hidden away to use on enemy spies I captured recently, though I haven’t been using it much lately!
“Where did you find that?”
“I found it in the officer’s quarters. It’s an item that came from the room of someone named Ast…”
At that moment, the Saint looked at me with cold eyes.
It was an expression that said ‘What is this? Care to explain?’.
Don’t panic. Believe in the words of our ancestors who said that if you keep a level head, you can survive even in a tiger’s den.
Though I don’t know if the people who said that actually went into a tiger’s den and came out alive!
“That’s a training wooden weapon I use.”
“Wooden weapon?”
“Yes. It’s a weapon made of wood. As you know, knights must always be ready to train. It’s just an item I keep on hand so I can train indoors. Doesn’t it look like an ordinary wooden stick?”
The situation is serious now.
So Lady Renia, could you please wipe that expression off your face that looks like you’re about to hear an insult to knights? If this keeps up, I’ll be dragged off to the Religion’s underground torture chamber!
“That’s right. Something that inflicts suffering beyond human endurance just by hitting someone? How could the imperial army have something like that evil magic?”
I nonchalantly pick up the wooden stick in the holy knight’s hand.
“Look, see this. Suffering beyond human endurance? What is that?”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
I swing the wooden bat around hitting various parts of my body. As if recognizing its owner, it didn’t inflict any pain on me.
It just felt like I was getting hit by a wooden stick I guess?
I can’t say it didn’t hurt but I didn’t feel any suffering beyond human endurance.
“See, nothing to it. Just an ordinary wooden stick, right?”
As the Saint looked at the holy knight, he bowed his head and apologized.
“I’m sorry. Since it looked the same as what was reported…”
“While it’s not something you see often in a battlefield, it’s just an ordinary wooden stick you can easily find in any village. There’s no way something like this could be evil magic.”
The previously intimidating Saint’s expression was gradually loosening up.
For a wooden stick to be an evil magic… Anyone could tell it was clearly false at a glance.
“Ah… I’ve been rude again. I feel like I’ve been quite impolite today.”
The Saint also seems to have thought so as she sighs and…
“So please bear it for a moment longer.”
“Huh?”
I thought she was apologizing but in a flash she came up to my side and snatched away the wooden stick I was holding.
And then,
Thwack!
“Ughaa!”
She struck her own thigh with the wooden stick then slumped to the floor with a groan.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
It felt like time had stopped for a moment.
Me, the princess, lady Renia, and even the holy knights.
We all stared at the Saint who had let out a weird groan and collapsed.
“….”
The Saint lowered her head for a while, trembling violently, then glared at me with eyes full of tears.
And,
“Now, seize him! He is an evil being!”
The moment I heard that voice full of resentment, my body automatically attempted to flee.
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