Chapter 55: Game on?

“Cecilia!!!”

“Huh!? Ka—please don’t hug me, Kaiser!”

“Where the hell have you been all this time!?…Oh, you’ve lost some weight, haven’t you?”

“Sure…you look a little pale?”

“No, no, Ghislan, it’s because Kaiser is holding me so tightly right now that I’m in pain!”

“Princess…Are you injured anywhere?”

“I’ll be fine!”

“Cecilia…I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who kidnapped you, am I right?”

“That’s not the case!”

“Lady Cecilia! Lady Cecilia! You told me to you would take me with you next time, didn’t you? Why didn’t you bring me too!”

“No, no, Lady Lateia, even if you say that…”

Suddenly the situation became so hectic that I was at a loss as to what to do.

And just when I was about to be asked more questions, the king’s loud coughing sounded in the audience room.

“…Surely this would be included in your thoughts?”

“Well…just a little bit.”

I awkwardly laughed back at the words of the king with a stunned voice.

“…What is in your thoughts?”

Everyone pulled away from me and away from me, and Kaiser looked at me and the king with a dubious look on his face.

To which the king replied on my behalf.

“Miss Cecilia was troubled by the fact that she is your fiancée and had gone into hiding herself this time.”

“What? Cecilia, is it true!?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s true…”

I replied with a bitter smile at Kaiser, who was crowding me with a surprised expression.

Not really by myself…but I still don’t want to talk about Prince Leon. It’s just that…the way he did it wasn’t good, but he acted out of consideration for me even t hough he went a little too far, and when I think about the events that have taken place since I learned of everyone’s feelings…I still think that my actions were not good enough. So I…

I looked at the king’s face with a determined expression.

“Your Majesty the King, I am responsible for all the disturbances up to now and this disappearance problem. Therefore, please strip me of my status as Kaiser’s fiancée and as a duke’s daughter!”

My statement caused an uproar from everyone present.

“Cecilia!! What are you saying!?”

“Hey Cecilia!! Well, I don’t mind cancelling the engagement, but it’s stupid to ask for your identity to be revoked!!”

“The princess is not responsible for this at all!”

“Then I guess I’m in the wrong, huh?”

“I can’t believe that Lady Cecilia won’t be a duke’s daughter…”

“No…It wasn’t Lady Cecilia’s fault…”

Each one of them contradicted me, but I just stared at the king’s face and remained silent.

The king looked at me and let out a loud sigh.

“I’m not sure what to do,” he said, “but if Miss Cecilia’s determination is that strong, I have no choice. Now then…”

“Father!!”

Prince Leon stepped forward, interrupting the king’s words, and stepped forward with a serious expression.

“What’s the matter, Leon?”

“I’m the reason for Cecilia’s disappearance. Because I held her captive in my cellar!”

“Hey, Prince Leon!!”

The confession caused a stir again, and I rushed to stop Prince Leon.

“If you think it’s a lie, check out the hidden door hidden in my bedroom right now. This is the key.”

After saying that, he pulled out the silver key from his pocket and showed it to them, but none of them were able to move because of the suddenness of the situation.

Prince Leon smiled to himself as he looked around at everyone. Then he turned his body towards me, who was confused.

“Sister Cecilia, I’m really sorry. But…I really do love Sister Cecilia!”

“Prince Leon…”

The seriousness of Prince Leon’s face made me unable to say anything. Then I heard the king’s deep sigh in my ears.

I looked at the king and saw that he had covered his face with his hands and was sighing again.

Then the king dismissed his hand and rose from his throne and walked down from the platform to where I was.

“…Miss Cecilia.”

“Yes!”

“I am sorry that my son has caused you so much trouble. It is as it should be.”

“What!?”

The king bowed to me and apologized, which gave me a jolt and upset everyone.

“His Majesty the King! Oh, please lift your head! I don’t really think anything of it!”

“However…”

“It’s really okay!”

As expected, it was indeed heart-stoppingly difficult to be bowed to by the king, the leader of the country.

I was so relieved that the king had finally raised his head as I asked him to do so.

“Your Majesty, I beg you. I beg you to keep this matter of Prince Leon to only those here!”

“Sister Cecilia!”

“No matter how much Miss Cecilia wishes for it…”

“…If the news of Prince Leon, the second prince, gets out, I think it could cause a lot of problems. And the effects of that could, depending on the circumstances, lead to a downturn in the situation and the spread of unrest among the people.”

“Hmm…”

“So, since I’m still going to say that I did it myself this time, could you please do as I asked earlier?”

“Cecilia! You don’t have to take responsibility for that!”

Kaiser rushes over to stop me, but I shake my head at him and refuse.

“…Okay.”

“Father!!”

“Kaiser, keep your mouth shut for a moment. I know exactly how you feel, Miss Cecilia. I’m sorry I wasn’t aware of Leon and the pressure of being Kaiser’s fiancée. But in truth, I would have preferred Miss Cecilia to be queen of the land. But it was this fact that has caused her a great deal of trouble. So I won’t strip you of your title, but I will break off your engagement to Kaiser. Oh, and of course, anyone who says anything to me about this case will have to rest assured that I will take care of it.”

“Father! That is—!!”

While Kaiser was complaining with a sad face, everyone else looked very happy.

And I, too, was shouting with joy in my heart.

Yay, I did it! I’ve finally escaped the fiancée shackles! But while I was at it, it would have been even better if they had stripped me of my status and I could leave the aristocratic life for good…Well, still, this is still a big change! Anyway, now that I don’t have to stay in the castle anymore, I can go home, right? I’m sure that the game correction will make them fall in love with Nina from now on, so I’ll be cheering for them from afar. That will change the way they feel about me too, right?

I was reassured that it would be all right, even though I was still slightly anxious.

But the king’s next words made me freeze on the spot.

“Kaiser…If you feel that much for Miss Cecilia, I will acknowledge her as your fiancée again when Miss Cecilia loves you. But this gives everyone other than you the same rights.”

The king’s words caused everyone to look up at once.

Hey wait, what are you talking about!?

I was so upset by the statement, and then Kaiser turned away from the king and approached me, reaching out to me with a serious expression on his face.

“Cecilia…I love you. You are the only queen I can think of. I beg you to fall in love with me.”

“Huh!?”

I choked up as Kaiser smiled softly and confessed his love for me.

Then Ghislan stood next to him and with a blatant face, and put out his hand just like Kaiser did.

“Hey, I will be the only one who can take you as a wife, so love me!…well, I’ll love you more than that, but…”

I stared dumbfounded at Ghislan, who was blushing and looking even more moody while saying that.

In addition, Victor stood next to Ghislan and reached out in the same way.

“Princess…I will love you for the rest of my life, and I will protect you. So please love me?”

I was confused by Viktor, who was staring at me with a serious expression.

Then Prince Leon stood next to Kaiser with a determined look on his face and still extended his hand towards me.

“Sister Cecilia, I’m not going to be able to tell you what to do after all this happened, but I know that my feelings are real. So will you fall in love with me?:

Prince Leon tilted his head and appealed to me with a puppy-like expression.

And as I had already expected, Prince Alfeld stood next to Prince Leon, still holding out his hand to me.

“My darling Cecilia…this time I want to take you back to my country with dignity. So will you reciprocate my love?”

He smiled lustrously at me as he said that.

I was exhausted by the five of them, and for some reason, Nina and Lateia-sama, who were both nodding at each other, stood next to Prince Alfeld and held out their hands at the same time.

“The first thing to say is that, Cecilia-sama, Nina and I have been talking about this for a long time now…I want to quit my position as the Marquis’ daughter and become a commoner with Nina, and then live with Cecilia-sama.”

“What?”

“I agreed with that idea, thinking that the three of us, me, Cecilia-sama and Lateia-sama, would be able to live happily together. So, Cecilia, come and live with us in my village!”

And then they both gazed at me with a smile.

I was confused and breaking out in a cold sweat at this incomprehensible situation, when suddenly a guard rushed in from the door.

“I must tell you something, sir! At the entrance of the castle, the leader of the Lonjar bandits is calling out Lady Cecilia’s name, saying, “I’ve come to get you, my wife!”

I was perplexed by this report, and yet I was puzzled to see that everyone was still holding out their hands to me.

I felt as if I could see a message that I should not be able to see as I watched the scene.

And I couldn’t help but scream involuntarily,

“Of course I will not be a villain, but…I refuse to be the heroine either!!”

Yes, I thought I saw a system message.

[Which route would you like to choose?]

—Fin—

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T/N: Stay tuned for some side stories and then Part 2!

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