Chương 94: Chapter 93 – Rumors of Romance

After reaching our agreement, Rushia and I began discussing specific timelines. According to our plan, we would start leaking our "relationship" to the public within the next few days by appearing together more frequently around Imperia. Afterward, Rushia would speak with her father about her desire to get engaged and bring me home to introduce me to her family. Throughout our conversation, I also began to assess Rushia Matthew more closely.

My initial impression of her had been correct; this was a highly intelligent girl. Despite having only just passed the legal age of adulthood, she already possessed a mature and composed manner of speech, polished through years of socializing within the high nobility. She was strongly independent in her views, yet also excelled at listening and negotiating. If she had been born in the modern world, Rushia would have had the potential to become a brilliant leader and diplomat.

Someone like her would be the perfect final piece in the Hero party I was trying to forge. The only drawback was her lack of resistance to sweets. She had polished off that entire plate of pastries all by herself. It wasn't until I boarded the carriage back to Imperia that I finally let out a long sigh. Earlier, I had conducted myself with absolute professionalism during our exchange, and I truly viewed this partnership through a professional lens.

But that didn't make the fact that I was about to become an engaged man any easier to swallow. Back on Earth, I was just an ordinary citizen from a family of salaried workers. I had never imagined that a day would come when I would enter into a "political marriage" or use my own hand in marriage to barter for something. Now my "fiancée" happened to be a Duke's daughter, and an exceptionally beautiful one at that.

Even though this engagement was a sham, and the identity I was using for it wasn't even my own, I really should have been rejoicing over landing such an incredible bargain. Perhaps the weight of the word "marriage" was simply too heavy. It was laughable. I barely even flinched when it came to the prospect of defeating the Demon King and saving the world, yet the word scared me half to death. Maybe I was afraid of forming real attachments in this world. Because in the end, I would definitely leave.

As my mind wandered, a sudden realization hit me—I had forgotten something. Right, I had completely forgotten to ask Rushia how she knew Rachel was a fake princess! Because right from the very beginning, Rushia had dropped the bombshell of an "engagement" on me, leaving me unable to think about anything else. … Would it still be in time if I called for the carriage to turn around now? Peering through the window curtains, I saw that Imperia was already right before my eyes, forcing me to abandon the idea.

Oh well, we would have plenty of opportunities to meet in the coming days anyway. The next morning, thanks to going to bed early, I managed to wake up on time by myself. Furthermore, the outside world seemed a bit rowdier than usual. As Han and I left the dormitory together, dozens of eyes instantly locked onto us. Sensing the tension, Han slowly drifted to the side, leaving me standing completely alone at the center of attention. I scanned my surroundings and immediately understood what was happening.

This was the male dormitory, a path the female students rarely frequented. Yet this morning, three girls were standing right by the entrance, waiting. What was more, these three happened to be quite famous within the academy: Rachel, acting as Princess Claire Cassandra; the daughter of Duke Matthew, Rushia Matthew; and the Hero candidate, Lealia Castela. The moment they caught sight of me, all three spoke up simultaneously.

"Asher!"

"Good morning."

"Hey." Then, all three abruptly froze, glancing at one another. The whispers among the surrounding male students who were lingering to watch the drama began to swell. I didn't even need to listen to know what they were saying. To be perfectly honest, this situation was incredibly awkward for me. Rachel must have been looking for me to ask about Rushia; Rushia was here to kick off the plan to leak our "relationship"; and as for Lealia… Out of the three, Lealia surprisingly stepped forward first.

"I came to give you the herbs for the next few days. I waited for you after class yesterday, but you were nowhere to be found… Here, you need to keep taking this medicine for at least three more days." I took the package of herbs from Lealia and nodded.

"Thank you." Lealia bit her lip, looking at me before subtly darting her eyes toward the other two female students behind me, as if asking what they were doing here. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Meanwhile, Rushia and Rachel were staring each other down, as though the first one to blink would lose. I felt as if I needed to channel my mana into the Strategy skill just to devise a way out of this predicament without causing any misunderstandings.

I couldn't help but admire those womanizers—how on earth did they manage their time so that their various romantic interests never found out about one another? After a split second of a million thoughts racing through my mind, I whispered to Lealia:"I'll explain to you later." Then I stepped forward and offered a formal bow to Rachel.

"Good morning… Lady Rachel. My deepest apologies for making you come all the way here. The matter you entrusted to me yesterday has not yielded any results yet; I must ask for your patience a little longer." The corner of Rachel's eyebrow twitched slightly, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were quite this busy. Has being so popular with the ladies been taking up too much of your time?" My head began to throb instantly. Did this assassin girl feel that the current situation wasn't chaotic enough?

"Not at all, my Lady. I swear by the Goddess who witnesses my fidelity. I will definitely complete the task you assigned as soon as possible. With that, please excuse me." I then turned and smiled at Rushia.

"Shall we go, R… Rushia?" Rushia nodded. Then, in perfect unison, the two of us removed ourselves from the center of attention as quickly as possible. I led Rushia down a less frequented path. Only when there wasn't a single soul left around us did Rushia speak up, her voice entirely detached.

"I didn't find it convenient to bring this up yesterday, but what is your relationship with that person?"

"…Who?" Rushia stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me.

"The fake princess." I replied: "The same as my relationship with you." Rushia knit her brows: "You have another fiancée?"

"…I mean a cooperative relationship." Despite asking me, she didn't look particularly surprised by this revelation, nor did she seem angry that I hadn't mentioned it sooner. I probed further:"You don't seem surprised at all. Did you already know I was associating with the fake princess and still propose our partnership anyway?" Instead of answering directly, Rushia countered with another question: "Where is the real Claire Cassandra?"

"Dead."

"Did you kill her?"

"Of course not. Do you think I'd be able to stay alive under the Royal Family and the Church after doing something like that?" Rushia didn't seem upset upon hearing about Claire's death either, so I asked:"How did you know the princess was a fake?"

"I met the real princess once when we were children. My memory is quite sharp, and Claire Cassandra's facial features were entirely different from this person's," Rushia paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"This individual gives off a very dangerous aura."

"She does," I nodded in agreement.

"But you don't need to worry. I can guarantee she won't interfere with your plans. On the contrary, you two might even become allies." Rushia offered no opinion on the matter. When we reached a fork in the road, she stopped and said:"I think our appearance together this morning is sufficient. You don't need to look for me after class. Tomorrow morning…" I hastily cut her off: "No need to wait for me tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, we will make our appearance after class, alright?"

"I was actually going to suggest that you wait for me outside the female dormitory, but after class works too, since it seems you are incapable of waking up early. Going to bed early and waking up early is highly beneficial for your health and fosters discipline; you should consider it." With that, she turned onto the left path. As I watched her walk away, I noticed her pull out a small pouch filled with bite-sized cookies and begin eating them.

Eating a bunch of sweets in the morning isn't exactly great for your health either, I thought to myself. The next order of business was to explain the current situation to Lealia and Rachel. Since Lealia and I were both in Class F, I took the opportunity to fill her in during class.

"…And that's how it is."

"So you're getting married now?"

"No. It's a fake engagement, I already explained that."

"Then what about the princess? How do you even know the Royal Family? Isn't she furious with the Vice Captain of the Knights for killing her close nun?"

"It's complicated… Don't view Rachel as a princess. Her real name is Rachel Hustler. Just treat her like a friend."

"Oh. Then can you still work as my assistant? Won't your fiancée get jealous?" When she said this, she looked exactly like a child watching an adult hand out candy, waiting for her turn. I could only choose my words carefully to reassure her:"I am still your assistant; I'm just no longer exclusively yours. Both Rachel and Rushia are highly likely to become your future teammates, so you should try interacting and making friends with them. I'd also like to hear your thoughts on them."

Hearing that her opinion mattered to me eased Lealia's anxiety a bit. Still, she spoke with a trace of uncertainty:"I don't know. I mean about making friends. Both of them seem rather..." I figured "strong-willed" was a fitting descriptor. Rushia was a textbook noble. While she hadn't been corrupted by her status, she was accustomed to holding power and issuing commands. Rachel, conversely, was a victim of power and politics.

She was like a wild leopard that had been caged for years, biding her time to break free from her chains, rather than a docile house cat. As for Lealia, I wasn't too worried about her relationships with others. She was gentle, kind-hearted, and quite easy to reason with in most situations. If the three of them could successfully form a team, I was hoping Lealia could act as the communicative bridge between the other two. But that was a matter for the future.

Right now, I just needed them to accept one another's existence in our upcoming plans. Thinking of this, it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't seen Kale since I returned. Or Jullius, for that matter. Rummaging through my memories, I recalled that during my first isekai run, Jullius had been assigned a mission around this exact time. Back then, he and a few other combat-capable candidates had been sent out to exterminate a band of bandits. That had also been the first time I acted as his assistant on a mission.

The outcome of that mission was that I got injured trying to help a merchant convoy under raid. My left arm was broken and rendered pretty much useless for the entire duration afterward. Jullius had mocked me for it for a whole month after we returned. Due to the broken arm combined with the lack of timely first aid, I hadn't had the energy to pay attention to the other candidates assigned to that mission. Looking at the current situation, it was highly likely Kale was present too.

From what I remembered, that mission lasted nearly two weeks. I could only hope that if someone had to suffer the same terrible luck I did during my first run, that person would be Jullius. I had intended to speak with Rachel after class, but during lunch, I received a letter—or rather, a crumpled piece of paper that was tossed in my direction. Written inside were a few concise words. I understand the situation. No explanation needed. When I scanned the dining hall for her, she was nowhere to be found.

Where on earth did she eat lunch? I knew Rachel had her own ways of gathering information. If she wanted to, there were virtually no secrets she couldn't uncover. But I believed that for people on the same side, it was better to communicate directly rather than spying on one another in secret. It was just that Rachel was set in her ways; she would need to break this habit if she wanted to function effectively within a party.

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