Auto Assigned Villainess - Chapter 23

Auto Assigned Villainess
Chapter 23

Request and unexpected reunion (1)

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“W-well, then, uh… Y-Your Highness?”

I change clothes and come to the reception room to face Benedict, the third prince of the royal family of Fiorenti.

He has a matter to talk about with me and Eileen, so the two of us are in the only ones in the room other than him.

Win and the servants said, “we will be outside, so call us if there is something you need” and left.

There is something I need― I want to shout out loud.

A visit from a member of the royal family.

I simply called out to him because of all the ridiculous events and situations that happened before this. I don’t even sweat anymore.

“Be at ease. You don’t even need to call me in such a stiff manner. Benedict is fine.”

“T-that is such an awe-inspiring thing, Your Highness. What have you come to this mansion for?”

I tried to lift the mood as much as possible.

However, that didn’t even work.

“I guess telling you to stop speaking like that comes first. Please speak naturally, like yesterday.”

“B-but, Your Highness.”

“First of all, I am the third prince. The right to succeed the throne comes after my two elder brothers. I’m not so different from you. I even walk around the park alone without any escort.”

……I see.

“So it was like that. Then―”

“Konomi!”

Eileen’s sharp voice flew to me as I tried to accept his words.

The Villainess Young Lady chickening like this feels deplorable!

No, I too was totally terrified at the possibility of the execution end.

However, listening to him and thinking calmly, I reconsidered that it is not surprising that the “Prince” is also a capture target of the Otome Game.

And even without that meta-information,

“Ei… Charlotte. There doesn’t seem to be any lie in this person’s words. After all, if he doesn’t really care for the people of the nation, it would be a servant and not himself that drives you to Aldington’s house. And if you think carefully, if he had escorts, during the ‘unfortunate accident’ in the pond yesterday, they would have flown into the pool to save him. He really should be without them.”

“R-really, I wonder…?”

“Yes. It should be. I’m not just stupidly brave, but also with excellent observational skills.”

I nod and Benedict returns the same.

“As you just said, I am a royal member, but only a prodigal son whom nothing much is particularly expected of.”

“But even so, you still have the right to ascend the throne. To make you roam around without escorts is a bit…… the Imperial Agents or Imperial Guards…… Well, are the people who manage the state affairs or the Royal Guard Division too sloppy?”

“I guess. But, there’s no helping it.”

“There’s no helping it, indeed.”

“I always never have escorts following around no matter where I go.”

“Just how bad are they?”

He laughed aloud when I gave my sincere thoughts.

He doesn’t seem to be bothered by this disrespect.

“Well, that doesn’t mean I can play around as much as I want. There is a limit.”

“So, Your Highness, what do you need us for? But first, how did you find us?”

It’s a good idea to start with that.

He nodded to express his approval.

“First of all, how I get to find you. From the uniform you wore yesterday, I knew you are students in Fitzgerald School. And some of my old friends are students there. There is one such person that knows you.”

“Ho!”

The route he knew us with is quite indirect.

I don’t think he would have heard of any rumor.

“And Eileen Aldington, I am in anticipation of your bravery, and have a request.”

“Request?”

By the way, why is he making a request to those who might not have anything to do with them in the first place?

When asked again, Benedict nodded.

After enough silence, he said――

“I want you to be my escort.”

…………

“I’m sorry, what does the Prince say just now?”

“Ee, I may be unwell too somehow…… I just heard something really strange.”

“I’m serious!”

Eileen who is next to me too replied that she could not believe what she’s hearing, and raised her brows.

“This time, I’m hosting a meeting. I received a threatening letter, telling me to suspend it. I’d like to ask you to be my escort during the meeting.”

I think I’m hearing things once again.

My brain was melting after all.

“No, His Highness. That’s a word, which is called SP… when an escort is hired. Is it okay to ask you without caring about our status in mind? And in addition, why do you think you need an escort? In the first place, we are just students. We don’t have the power to protect you from assaultants.”
(TN: The SP getting mentioned here, I think she means skill point, and thus, she is trying to make a point that he should hire skilled people)

“There’s a reason. It’s not always the case that the one behind the plot is someone from within the royal family.”

“――uu, mm.”

He wants to invite someone else and also one he trusts for surveillance. That is a reasonable theory…… I think.

Before the growling me, Benedict crossed his legs.

“Of course, I’m not going to ask just you alone. I’m going to let other people I found trustworthy infiltrate as well. You’re not going to fight for my life. I hope you understand that. Look around, and please report it if you find something amiss.”

Well, that is

Before I answered, Eileen leaned forward.

“That means, your Highness, are you telling us to be detectives?”

“You can indeed put it that way, Charlotte Oliver. That’s right.”

“Hmmm”

Eileen put her hands on her chin and thought about something.

After a short while, she turns to me.

“Konomi, Konomi”

“What is it?”

“It doesn’t seem like it will be fun!?”

This fellow, she seems to not recognize the seriousness of this situation at all.

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