A small abandoned church seemed to have been forgotten by the people as a large church was built in the center of the city.

The statue of the Goddess had been removed, and the congregational seats in the empty auditorium were covered with a thick layer of dust.

Raul was sitting against a seat and resting his cheek on his knee.

The Fabranian women knights had their backs to Raul and were making their preparations alone with each other. Raul watched the scene and chided them leisurely.

“You’re somewhat too slow to gather, don’t you think?”

As he had intended, the female knights glared at Raul.

“Shut up. Unlike you, we have to obey His Majesty’s orders.”

“You’re tense, I can see that.”

Raul laughed and glanced behind him.

“If we don’t kill Harriet successfully, it will be inconvenient for Garkhain to take the blame, right?”

On the lectern sat Harriet, tied to her back, drooped helplessly.

The knights were upset and kept giving Raul the evil eye.

“Don’t go too far. Don’t forget that I made you part of the plan because you bowed to me.”

“With all due respect, you’re the one who didn’t realize that I was Curtis’ double, right? It’s a good thing I was on Fabrania’s side, but if I had come from Sigwell to rescue Harriet…”

“I told you to shut up.”

It seemed that they were aware of their blunder. Raul laughed and looked around the abandoned church.

“Whatever, just get all the Fabranian knights over here.”

There were a total of twenty female Fabranian knights here.

There were about ten people left who hadn’t arrived. Raul jested, turning his head coyly.

“At any rate, I’ve already picked a fight with the Crown Prince of Garkhain. I need you guys to protect me until I can escape to Fabrania.”

“Hmph. You’re a coward, hunter.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say. You’re talking to the person who helped you kidnap Harriet.”

But, of course, Raul had no intention of going into detail. Raul got off the back of his chair, receiving a scowl.

Then, with a light gait, he approached Harriet and crouched down in front of her.

“Harriet. Are you crying?”

“Raul, why are you doing this?”Harriet looked up shakily, and Raul was surprised to see her expression.

She was frightened, yes, but evidently, she never shed a tear.

What a surprise. I assumed that this gal would be absolutely pale, confused, and crying non-stop…

With that in mind, Raul showed a cold expression to Harriet.

“That should be my line, Harriet. Why did you betray Fabrania?”

“…”

“I’m sure you’ve given the gold you got from His Majesty Walter to that young lady…You must be hoping that the young lady can discover that it was counterfeit and help you out.”

And truth to tell, Miss Rishe had figured it out.

Even Raul was surprised by that.

“You’re a bad girl for a princess, Harriet. You knew that if you did that, Fabrania wouldn’t be able to protect you, and Sigwell would be in trouble.”

“Uh-u-u…”

“The only thing that the Sigwell Kingdom is good at is bookmaking. We have to help our allies, and if Fabrania, the representative of our alliance, targets us, we’re done.” We ‘hunters’ are just a group of mercenaries hired for money, not knights who have sworn allegiance to you.”

The Fabrania female knights, directed their contemptuous gaze at Harriet, as if taking advantage of Raul’s words.

Even a knight looked down on Harriet, who was supposed to be royalty.

It was clear just by looking at the knight how much the royal family of the country of Fabrania looked down on Sigwell.

Harriet, who went to Fabriana for her bride training and must have been treated unfairly, had lost weight after not seeing her for a while.

Raul continued to look at the pale Harriet, feeling terribly disinterested.

“I know you’re faint of heart, but how easy would it have been to fool Garkhain? All you had to do was put up with your guilt and do some random shopping. Just for that, you would have been recognized as the Queen of Fabrania, don’t you know?”

“…”

Harriet seemed to be choked up.

Then she shook her head with a rattle.

“Ts…I won’t use it.”

“…”

She began speaking slowly, if poorly, as if readying herself for something.

“I knew that the counterfeit gold would give me ‘what I wanted,’ and His Majesty Walter would praise me for a job well done. Everyone can think of me as ‘worth using,’…but it’s no good.”

She uttered in trepidation.“I can’t shop around…If even one single counterfeit gold coin makes it to the market, everything will be over.”

“…Huh?”

“That alone … makes all the gold coins circulating in the country questionable. Even if it’s just one piece, gold coins will be discredited, and the economy will fall into ruins…”

Raul kept his mouth shut and looked down at the top of Harriet’s head.

“I didn’t give those gold coins to R-Rishe-sama to get her help. I don’t deserve to be rescued!”

Harriet, as if she had made up her mind, spun her thoughts, albeit poorly.

“Rishe-sama said I was a friend.”

“…”

It was certainly something that the girl would have said.

Rishe was a girl with a contradictory nature. She seemed to have a good eye for people, but didn’t seem to know how to be suspicious of them.

They’ve only known each other for a few days, but Raul could tell from his observations.

“We definitely have to tell Garkhain about Fabrania…It’s not just Garkhain gold that they’re trying to reproduce. There’s a lot more.”

I know…

Even Raul had a rough idea of what that country was planning to do.

“If only you had kept your mouth shut, Fabrania would have been enriched with forged gold and Sigwell would have benefited.”

“That’s a lie. It’s written in many books!…The wealth you gain by inconveniencing other countries will disappear sooner or later. The first who will bear the brunt will be the people.”

Harriet countered clearly in a quivering voice.

“To avoid causing trouble for Garkhain, and to protect the innocent people, I can’t obey Fabrania…”

The female knights of Fabrania glared at Harriet in abhorrence.

Harriet’s shoulders jerked. But her olive-colored eyes looked Raul straight in the eye.

“I know I can’t live my life the way I want because I was born a princess. But…”

She summoned her courage and expressed herself.

“I have decided not to do anything that will cause the suffering of innocent people, even if it kills me!”

Raul wondered when Harriet, who had always been so cowardly, had made such a decision.

He mulled it over, but it was obvious who had triggered it.

The girl who gave Harriet confidence, restored her pride, and made her look forward came to his mind.

“Rash, foolish princess…”

Raul sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Part 2 tomorrow 🙂