Ch.334334. ····His Personality is Absolutely Nasty.

“…You, do you really have no intention of marrying Joanna?”

At the banquet with Emperor Callian after ending the war.

I glanced at Princess Joanna sitting across from me, her face flushed red, before speaking.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Princess Joanna is watching. Could you please stop joking?”

“It’s just a shame to let you go. Your contributions to the war were also tremendous.”

I swallowed the last piece of meat in my mouth and adjusted my posture.

“What are your plans now?”

“For a while, it seems it will take time to recover from the damages of war.”

“Well then, I’ll always support your efforts in restoration and the development of the Western Continent.”

“Are you planning to leave already?”

“I’ll leave after the meal is over, but I thought I should say my farewells now.”

“Hmm… I was thinking of having a drink with you today. What do you say? With Joanna as well.”

I had an ominous feeling that if I drank and woke up, I’d find Princess Joanna in my bed.

Knowing Emperor Callian was exactly the type to arrange such a thing, I shook my head vigorously.

“I’ll just gratefully accept Your Majesty’s kind thoughts.”

“Why such a hurry? Are you returning to the Eastern Continent’s Imperial Palace?”

“…I think I should visit Alphonse territory. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen my parents.”

“Oh, I wanted to express my gratitude to your parents as well. This works out perfectly.”

“…Pardon?”

“However, since I’ll be busy with war recovery efforts, how about taking our Joanna with you to Lake territory instead?”

Wasn’t he the one who said he would never send Princess Joanna to a man who would marry two women? At this point, he seems quite serious…

Desperately trying to maintain my composure, I quickly changed the subject.

“Your Majesty, what do you plan to do with the captured rebels?”

“…Regrettably, we must extract information through torture and then execute them all. That way, there won’t be any future problems.”

That was a relief.

Even if Prince Leonis had been beheaded, releasing the remaining rebels could allow someone else to become the ringleader and plot another rebellion.

We needed to eliminate the threat completely as a precaution.

“…That seems like an appropriate decision. And regarding the torture, Lady Seri Familia will handle it, so you needn’t worry.”

“Isn’t she going to Alphonse territory with you?”

“She’s a person with a strong sense of responsibility, so I believe she’ll return to Alphonse territory after everything is finished.”

Emperor Callian slowly nodded at my words.

“By the way, Emperor Mallius must be pleased.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s only natural he’d be happy about becoming family with a hero like you, isn’t it?”

Here we go again.

Fortunately, I had anticipated this and finished my food quickly, so at least I didn’t have the experience of food going up my nose.

I sighed briefly before speaking.

“Doesn’t Your Majesty plan to marry?”

At that, Emperor Callian’s eyes widened slightly.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“…Pardon?”

“Do you happen to have a sister?”

I had a feeling that if I introduced Miria Alphonse to Emperor Callian, she would definitely treat me as her mortal enemy rather than family.

I straightened my back and continued calmly.

“I do have an older sister, but she probably has someone to marry.”

“‘Probably’? Is it my imagination, or does your wording sound strange?”

“She, uh, recently met a man for marriage, and the atmosphere wasn’t bad.”

“In other words, the marriage isn’t decided yet, and she’s still meeting potential husbands. Then it seems I still have a chance?”

“…You’ll regret it.”

“Why?”

Miria Alphonse becoming the wife of the Western Continent’s Emperor?

The thought alone was terrifying.

If that happened, it would be Emperor Callian sending assassins to Lake territory instead of Prince Leonis.

I had to prevent their meeting at all costs.

“…She has a terrible personality.”

“It’s natural for siblings not to get along well. I think it wouldn’t be too late for me to decide after meeting her once.”

Wait a minute…

Why am I even worrying about this in the first place?

There’s no need to oppose it—if Emperor Callian meets Miria Alphonse once, the matter will resolve itself.

If he had any sense, he would never consider marriage after meeting her, so it might be better to let them meet.

Besides.

Even in the extremely unlikely event they did marry, it might not be all bad.

Of course, Emperor Callian would want to kill me, but since Miria Alphonse would be far away, she wouldn’t have many occasions to visit Lake territory.

In other words, that leech-like “tumor” would detach itself.

My mind suddenly began working rapidly.

I rubbed my palms together playfully and spoke.

“Well, shall I arrange a meeting then?”

Emperor Callian tilted his head at my question.

“I feel like your attitude has suddenly changed. Is that my imagination again?”

“I just realized that a man and woman need to meet to know if they’re good for each other, don’t you think?”

“That’s not wrong.”

Right.

Since this war ended easily because of me, it wouldn’t be bad for Emperor Callian to experience some of life’s harshness as well.

Of course, the decision would be his.

Whether he would suffer briefly…

Or for the rest of his life…

I turned to Emperor Callian with an artificial smile, curling the corners of my mouth.

“I’ll ask my sister and try to arrange a meeting.”

*

“Young master.”

“What?”

“I’m curious about something. May I ask you one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did the Western Imperial Knights chase after our carriage when we departed?”

Inside the carriage heading to Alphonse territory.

I crossed my arms heavily and clicked my tongue.

“Tsk, such ungrateful people.”

“…Pardon?”

“I gave them such diligent training, and they hold quite the grudge.”

Jawill Wilson slapped his knee with his palm as if he finally understood.

“Ah! So that’s why they were all gritting their teeth as they chased our carriage.”

“Yeah, if I hadn’t blocked the road with fire magic, we would have been caught for sure.”

“Haha… How intense was your training to earn such resentment?”

I gave Jawill Wilson a serious look.

“It means I didn’t train them properly enough.”

“…Pardon?”

“Has anyone under my training in Lake territory ever complained?”

“…Do you really not know?”

“Of course I don’t know. They never showed it.”

At that, Jawill Wilson blinked his eyes as if he had much to say.

“They couldn’t show it. If they did, they’d be beaten to dust by you, young master.”

“That’s exactly my point. I didn’t train them properly. I should have shown them hell so they wouldn’t even dare to come after me!”

As I ground my teeth, Jawill Wilson sighed.

“…You’re right when I think about it. If they had received hellish training from you, they wouldn’t dare rebel like I did.”

“If I ever go to the Western Continent again, I’ll have to give them a proper lesson.”

“Again?”

“This is already the second time I’m fleeing from the Western Continent.”

“Haha… Most people would think about being nicer next time… You’re truly one of a kind, young master!”

I leaned back against the sofa with a worried expression.

“By the way, what should I tell father?”

“Baron Byron probably already knows that you’re marrying the princesses, doesn’t he?”

“He certainly does.”

“Then he must have resigned himself to it. He knows it’s irreversible anyway.”

“It feels like I’ve caused a major incident after a long time.”

Seeing my concerned look, Jawill Wilson straightened his back as if to comfort me.

“Young master, Baron Byron will probably be proud instead.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t you the hero who prevented the rebels from targeting the Western Imperial family with minimal casualties?”

Besides.

The time when Baron Byron opposed my building friendships with the Eastern princesses was when a succession war in the Imperial Palace seemed certain.

No matter which side we maintained relations with, if a succession war broke out in the future, the Alphonse family would suffer either way.

But now.

There’s no chance of a succession war, and marrying both princesses eliminates any potential problems.

And since I have no intention of living in the Imperial Palace, I won’t get entangled in politics.

“He’ll definitely be angry at first, but if I explain everything, he’ll understand to some extent.”

“Yes, so I don’t think you need to worry.”

Jawill Wilson nodded, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

“By the way, where will the wedding be held? Normally it would be at Alphonse territory, your family’s domain, but… we’re talking about the Imperial family.”

“I’ll need to discuss the wedding venue carefully with my parents when we arrive.”

“What if Emperor Mallius insists on holding the wedding at the Imperial Palace?”

“I’m already grateful they’re letting me live outside the palace, so if that’s what they want, that’s what we’ll do.”

Why is getting married so complicated…

It seemed that this world was no different from the one I had lived in before.

Screech-!

After spending several days in the carriage, chatting with Jawill Wilson whenever boredom struck, we finally arrived at Alphonse territory.

As soon as the carriage door opened, my mother, Ellaria Alphonse, rushed into my arms.

“M-Mother…”

“Thank you for coming back alive…”

Miria and Leonard.

And even Evander, who had returned to Lake territory.

A warm scene of everyone welcoming me came into view.

“Ahem!”

At that moment, Baron Byron approached from a distance, walking with his hands behind his back and clearing his throat loudly.

Then he slowly came up to me and spoke.

“Follow me.”