Ch.179Side Story 1. The Story Between (2)

# Side Story 1. The Story Between (2)

“It’s really unfair, you know? Why is everyone treating me like this… In my own way, I was trying to adjust the situation favorably so blood wouldn’t be spilled.”

“…”

Why are you telling me this?

Garnet wondered as she watched Esmeralda chattering away in front of her.

And even to her, Esmeralda seemed nothing but sinister and cowardly.

Wasn’t she saying that while she was subduing two Legion Commanders, the others were engaged in some love drama?

There’s no betrayal like this betrayal.

Of course, even if such thoughts crossed her mind, Garnet had to quickly brush them away.

Wasn’t the girl before her someone with the sinister ability to read surface thoughts?

“Sigh, how can everyone be so self-centered?”

Garnet refrained from pointing out that Esmeralda was in no position to talk. It was highly unlikely she’d listen anyway.

“So… why did you come here?”

After calmly listening to Esmeralda’s complaints for a while, Garnet carefully broached the subject.

It was good that they had returned to the Demon Lord’s castle, but she still hadn’t heard any explanation about what would happen next.

Simply put, her treatment hadn’t been decided yet. Whether she would return to the Demon Lord’s army or go elsewhere.

“Sister, just listen to me, okay? The movements of the other girls are quite suspicious. Even though I sacrificed myself to achieve peace, they’re acting in ways that could crack that peace.”

“That… never mind. Just continue.”

Garnet knew. In this state, Esmeralda wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say.

So she decided to just wait patiently.

“That bitch Eirene can definitely see now. Otherwise, she couldn’t deliberately fall into Lug’s arms or pretend to be struggling like that.”

“I see…”

“Millia is the same. She used to always wear robes, but now that the war is over, she’s wearing shirts and unbuttoning the front claiming it’s hot. She’s obviously doing it for someone to see.”

“Yes, yes.”

“And Tina just clings on whenever she gets the chance. She says they’re close, but seeing Tanha appear every now and then, she must know. She knows what she’s doing is shameful.”

“That’s really something.”

Who’s really the shameful one here?

Isn’t it the blonde girl who still can’t accurately grasp her own feelings and makes all sorts of excuses? Garnet had to swallow those words, chewing on her lips.

“And every time, they glare at each other as if to show off. Ah, seriously! I think there might be a knife fight at this rate. That can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen!”

Garnet sensed it.

Right now, Esmeralda was building up all sorts of excuses.

If her previous excuses were to hide that her impulsive actions were due to love and jealousy, her current excuses were to secure justification for what she was about to do.

“So I thought about it. A way to solve this problem.”

“I see.”

Garnet nodded appropriately again and leaned against the wall.

It was none of her business.

If she just nodded along, Esmeralda would come to her own conclusion.

“Everyone, including me, should marry Lug. After all, jealousy stems from insecurity, right? It’s the fear that he might abandon you and choose someone else.”

“Is that what you think?”

“What?”

“I misspoke for a moment. Yes, that sounds good. That could be a solution.”

I wish this conversation would end quickly. With that thought, Garnet tried to respect Esmeralda’s opinion as much as possible.

“So I need to hear your opinion too. When should we get married?”

“…Huh?”

However, if she was included in this story, that was a different matter.

Garnet, who had been nodding along to Esmeralda’s complaints, looked up at her.

A clumsy child who didn’t know how to handle the emotion of first love.

That was quite cute and…

“You like Lug too, don’t you, Sister? So shouldn’t you get married too? It’s only natural.”

“…”

It was chilling.

Garnet realized that Esmeralda wasn’t just complaining; she was planning to use her as an excuse.

To be honest, Garnet did have some feelings for Lug.

But it was just that—feelings.

Not enough to rush into marriage.

“Well, I… I just have a bit of interest in…”

“So do I. But if I’m getting married, why should you hesitate? I only have a slight interest too. But I’m trying to prevent my friends from drawing swords against each other.”

“But why me…?”

“…”

Esmeralda didn’t answer.

She probably couldn’t say it.

The implication was that if even Garnet, who didn’t have much interest, married Lug, then her own actions would have justification.

That blatant and sinister psychology was obvious.

“I’m thinking of you like this, and that’s all you have to say?”

“No, I don’t have that much interest…”

“No, is our relationship only worth that much?”

“…”

A relationship only worth that much.

What does that even mean? What exactly does “that much” signify?

What would happen if she agreed? And what if she disagreed?

Garnet didn’t want to mortgage her life by getting married yet.

But if she denied her relationship with Esmeralda here, it was hard to predict what might happen.

Given that she specifically pointed out their relationship, was it just her imagination that it sounded like Esmeralda might draw her sword if things went wrong?

“…It’s just formal, right?”

In the end, Garnet had no choice but to go along with Esmeralda’s plan.

Is this how noble ladies feel when they’re sold off in political marriages for their families? With a slight fear, Garnet decided to accept the title of queen instead of Legion Commander.

‘Well, it’s not like I could take the First position as Legion Commander anyway. If I think about being able to boss around those arrogant guys with my chin, maybe this is a good thing…’

And just like Esmeralda, Garnet, who was also a hero, began to build excuses in her mind.

***

Esmeralda’s journey to build excuses didn’t end there.

She started acting as if she had lost all fear.

“Since that’s settled, why don’t you two get married as well?”

“…I don’t know about that.”

A prime example was her approach to Robeno and Lacrima.

To be honest, Esmeralda wasn’t close to Robeno.

Their relationship was limited to the help she received in the fight against First.

This meant she didn’t even know exactly what the relationship between Lacrima and Robeno was.

But Esmeralda believed that the two had a deeper relationship than anyone else.

It was her wishful thinking.

“If you two announce your marriage first, it would be easier for me to bring it up too.”

“I said, I don’t know about that.”

“M-Marriage… hehe…”

Robeno frowned at Esmeralda, who had started spouting nonsense while he was already struggling with slow wound healing, while Lacrima blushed and started grinning at the sweet word “marriage.”

Because of this, Robeno couldn’t immediately chase Esmeralda away.

Marrying Lacrima was a foregone conclusion in his mind, so recklessly driving Esmeralda away here might disappoint Lacrima.

“I have my own plans.”

“Can we move those plans up a bit?”

“Is a hero called a hero because they have no fear?”

Is it okay to interfere with someone else’s proposal plans like this?

Robeno was starting to get annoyed. He was only tolerating this because Lacrima had survived thanks to the hero party.

If he had followed his original personality, there would have been no reason to go along with the insistence of Esmeralda, who was weaker than him.

“No, just listen, okay? This could actually be an opportunity for you, Robeno.”

“What are you saying?”

“Lug is the Demon Lord, and if he marries us, everyone in the demon realm will bless our relationship.”

“Yes, that’s something to celebrate. So do that, why are you trying to drag us into it?”

“If you propose to Lacrima after our wedding, how do you think it will be perceived?”

“How would it be perceived?”

“It would be overshadowed.”

“Why should I care?”

“A woman would care, don’t you think?”

“…”

Robeno glanced at Lacrima, surprised by Esmeralda’s unexpectedly logical argument.

Whatever she was thinking, Lacrima was just smiling brightly with her chin propped up, showing no particular reaction.

“Haah…”

But Robeno knew.

Having been with Lacrima for many years, he couldn’t help but know.

Lacrima was a trickster. She lived a life of attracting attention and deceiving people.

Would she be happy if she missed the opportunity to receive the most attention?

Even if she wouldn’t be sad, she wouldn’t be happy either. And Robeno wanted Lacrima to smile as much as possible.

“Fine, whatever.”

In the end, Robeno scratched the back of his head and sighed deeply.

“If I’m going to do it anyway, it’s better to make it widely known to eliminate any chance of others approaching Lacrima.”

Wolves never give what’s theirs to others.

So he could never let Lacrima miss the opportunity to be blessed by everyone.

“Great. This will reduce the attention on us. It would be even better if it completely overshadowed us…”

“But what exactly are you plotting to go to such lengths?”

When Robeno glared at Esmeralda with a sharp gaze, she nodded and answered.

“It’s embarrassing…”

“So she really is crazy.”

She was trying her hardest not to acknowledge her own love.