The Condemnation Play (3)

Koleha pulled a bundle of letters from her pochette.

"These are the letters Your Highness sent to Hiiro!! Their contents are… so saccharine! Sickly sweet!! How do you intend to explain this!?"

"Ah. Those are letters I had Hiiro exchange with you… Don't wave them around; it's embarrassing."

"Eh?"

Koleha froze, then reread the first letter.

"… It says, 'like a violet'!? I'm not that cute though!?"

"You are. If you think I'm lying, point out a single 'violet' element about Hiiro."

"… Today's dress has purple in it."

"Yes! I put Ojou-sama's color in!"

"There you have it. It comes back to your color."

"Wait, Hiiro! Isn't that Lord Kurushu's color!?"

"It's Ojou-sama's color."

"Lady Nyarlathotep and I are cousins… It's only natural we'd have similar colors."

Cousins, huh—Koleha clutched her head.

The line "I wonder if it will reach you" also made sense if it was to Koleha. It all added up.

"Eh, wait a second? 'Exchange with me,' you said?"

"Yes. You had Hiiro ghostwrite for you, didn't you?"

"… I did draft the content, true…! Hiiro, you said you didn't know noble letter etiquette!?"

"Eh? Oh, come now, Ojou-sama. As a lady's maid, I sometimes write letters on your behalf, so of course I know noble etiquette. But it's true I couldn't write to His Highness on my own!"

"You… you set me up!?"

"Now, now, Koleha. Don't bully Hiiro… The capture targets and the Heroine are supposed to set up the villainess, aren't they? Isn't that how the story goes?"

So said Harks to Koleha.

"That's true, but… Eh? Wait, Hiiro, you told him that much!?"

"Sorry, he's royalty, so I couldn't refuse!"

"Ah. On that point, I did pressure her. My apologies to both of you."

What a blunder. Her serves-you-right… her serves-you-right wasn't going to work!

Or rather.

"These mortifying love words were sent to me!?"

"… Don't call them mortifying. I thought of you and tried my best."

The policies she'd proposed in her letters had been properly conveyed to His Majesty under Koleha's name.

Above all, realizing that those words of love and praise for her intellect were meant for her and not Hiiro… Koleha flushed.

Something warm welled up in her chest. What was this feeling? She didn't know. A thrill different from savoring others' misfortune.

Come to think of it, Harks had grown into a proper royal, yet here he was kneeling to beg for her love… He was being very humble. To an ordinary noble, this might be comparable to a groveling plea… or so Koleha began to feel.

"… Very well. Very well, Your Highness Harks. I'll concede a hundred steps and accept that you intend to make me your wife."

"Mm."

"However! As the royal house… don't you want to make the 'Saint' your wife? Yes, the Saint as your primary wife, with me as a secondary. That earlier Saint declaration, that's what it implies, doesn't it?"

Making the 'Saint' the royal wife: that was the royal house's long-cherished wish. To skip the details: unless the Saint refused, they couldn't not approach her. That was the setting.

(Skipping the details meaning: she vaguely remembered that's how it was set up, but not clearly.)

"Ah, that. Rest easy. I certainly intend to make a 'Saint' my wife, but I have no intention whatsoever of making Hiiro my wife. Only you, Koleha."

"… What do you mean?"

Koleha tilted her head. Harks stood while still holding her hand and drew her close.

"Everyone! One more very joyful announcement—there are two Saints this generation!!"

"Eh?"

"You've heard of her, haven't you? The 'Saint of Medicine'. You thought it merely referred to a wonderful woman and not a true Saint—didn't you? No! She is also a true Saint!!"

At that moment, Hiiro, escorted by Kurushu, approached.

"Yes! Lady Koleha is the true master of my wing, the 'Great Saint'!! My power is but a fragment of the grace granted to me by Lady Koleha!! Even that Demon King sealing spell was jointly invoked with Lady Koleha!!"

"—Just so! The true wing of the 'One-Winged Saint'. The 'Three-Winged Great Saint' and 'Saint of Grace', that is my fiancée, Koleha Nyarlathotep!! These two are both 'Saints' together!! And I, in the name of the Daido royal house and as crown prince, declare that the 'Saint of Grace' Koleha Nyarlathotep shall become not my fiancée but my wife, Koleha Daido!!! His Majesty has approved it, so rejoice!!!"

Harks stood at Koleha's side and hugged her tighter as he spoke.

There was way too much information all at once. What on earth was a Three-Winged Great Saint???

"… Huh?"

A beat late, everyone except Koleha erupted in cheers.

Only Koleha was left behind.

"Eh? Eh??"

"Koleha. Everyone is giving us their blessings. Let us build a happy royal family."

"… You'll be crown prince? Well, if you marry a Saint I suppose that would happen…"

"I will. Because I will wed you, the Saint Koleha. His Majesty, my father, has approved it."

The groundwork was perfect. Only Koleha hadn't known…?

"… M-my serves-you-right… What happened to my serves-you-right…!?"

How had it come to this?

She had been building up so much for her serves-you-right… living off the daily mini-serves-you-rights, working so hard…

… Ah? Perhaps she'd trickled it out too much…?

What a blunder! She had trickled out her serves-you-right until it ran dry!?

In other words… she couldn't do it anymore, she had no serves-you-right left!? A completely serves-you-right-less state!?

"Uu! What… What should I do…"

"… Ah, Koleha. Don't look over there. I said everyone was celebrating, but it seems there are exceptions."

"Hm?"

Being told not to look made her look, and she saw women with faces twisted in jealousy.

"!!!"

Koleha started.

Having her marriage to the prime catch that was His Highness the First Prince declared so publicly—there wouldn't be a single woman who didn't feel jealous!

Ah, delicious! So good! Show me more of that face!

Her deflated mood swelled. Her serves-you-right hadn't run dry after all.

No! Serves-you-right is immortal! As long as humans remain human, second and third serves-you-rights will arise!

"Well then, should I use my prince authority to deal with such people—"

"No, Your Highness Harks. That won't be necessary. I would like to handle it myself."

"Is that so?… If anything troubles you, tell me. I am here to support you. Use me as much as you like."

"Yes, then please hold me tighter?"

"L-like this?"

When Harks held her tight, the women's jealous faces grew fiercer.

Ahhh, the best! Those jealous gazes feel so good—!!

Rain poured onto the desert of her heart, and a forest was born.

Right, time to switch gears.

The serves-you-right before your eyes is better than the serves-you-right that failed!! If it's immortal, then I can keep aiming for more!

"Yes, yes. Showing them our happiness is the best way to handle it, Your Highness."

"R-right. It's embarrassing… but such trifles aren't worth our time. Dealing with them when something actually happens is enough. Mm, embarrassing, but if this is the best way… so be it… kuh."

I'll take that face too—!!! Koleha's heart thumped.

"C-come, let's show them! If you like, you can slip your hand into my bodice? As my fiancé, that's borderline permissible."

"I won't go that far!? Borderline or not, it's not permissible! What are you saying!"

"Ufufu! A joke. Ufufufu. Such things must wait until after we graduate, yes?"

"Y-yes."

His face was bright red! Your face is bright red, Your Highness Harks! Koleha's own reddening face went unremarked as her excitement climbed.

"… Say, Koleha. From now on, let me stay by your side even at the academy. Such types appear everywhere. I want to be able to protect you."

"Yes! Let's do that! We'll show them!"

Imagining a new school life, Koleha grew giddy.

She hadn't managed a serves-you-right for the prince, but this was this… To be the focus of all the nation's women's jealousy! On reflection, what a position! So much fun—!!

"I even prepared hair clippers, and didn't get to use them…!"

"You prepared them? If you want, you can shave my head."

"… No, let's not."

A trophy for display should look good. You could purposely damage what others wanted right before their eyes, but Harks was something she planned to keep for a long time.

Yes, likely for life.

For life, she would keep him at her side and show him off.

And she decided she'd tease him to no end for life.

Because it was fun.

"Ah. That's right, Prince. Even when you make me your wife, you needn't declare you won't take concubines. Rather, leave the door open."

"Hm? Why? I have no intention of taking any wife but you."

"Because it's only right to let people have hope… Or do you mean you'll waver for some other woman? Prove your devotion with your actions, won't you? Yes?"

"… If that is what you want, then so be it."

So it was decided.

 

 

Also, Kenho had at some point lost track of the conversation and was left slack-jawed.

How very pitiful.