Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 378
She and the Ducal House 2
I couldn’t endure and shook off Freed’s hand.
To hell with reason. Still, I was filled with the feeling that it wasn’t what it looked like.
I abandoned everything and shouted.
“You’re Abel! Right!? Where did the real Duke Pellegrini go!?”
My sudden appearance startled Marquis Westin and Duke Pellegrini.
“… Princess Lidiana? Why are you here?”
Duke Pellegrini muttered so. I didn’t miss what he’d said and shouted.
“Duke Pellegrini calls me Your Highness! He wouldn’t say Princess Lidiana!”
I only talked with him once, after I got married in a corridor of the royal quarters. He referred to me as ‘Your Highness’ then. I’m usually called ‘Princess Consort’, so I found it unusual and remembered it. He absolutely didn’t call me Princess Lidiana.
Next, Freed showed up and caught me in a fluster.
“Your Highness Friedrich…”
They looked more surprised than when I’d come out, but I didn’t avert my gaze from the fake Duke Pellegrini.
“Freed. I’m positive that Duke Pellegrini is Abel. I have no doubt.”
While holding me in his arms, Freed nodded.
“I agree with Lidi’s opinion. Duke Pellegrini would never say things you said now. I can declare that with confidence.”
Duke Pellegrini said he was joyous about me and Freed. He said he was truly glad to see the King pleased with his son’s happiness.
They were the words befitting the very loyal Duke Pellegrini.
That’s why I could declare.
The Duke Pellegrini who had said those words wouldn’t say the words said just now.
“T-This is… D-Did you call His Highness Friedrich despite promising we would meet alone? Duke Pellegrini!”
“Stop the shameless imitation. Hey, Abel. It’s enough, could you finally admit your loss? Your choice of words was a mistake. The way you called me too, but you also used many words Duke Pellegrini would never say. Your mistakes were immediately apparent to anybody who knows him.”
The fake Duke Pellegrini sank into silence. Marquis Westin was still barking.
“What an incomprehensible thing are…!”
“Stop talking like you are unrelated.”
It was Brother who appeared, blocking his escape route.
“Were you trying to make the betrayal the fact by disguising him as Duke Pellegrini? You asked him to use his sons to make them witnesses of the betrayal, but you picked a fight with the wrong person. The moment my little sister got involved, it was a checkmate.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking where the real Duke Pellegrini is.”
Marquis Westin didn’t answer Brother’s question. Instead, the fake Duke Pellegrini spoke.
“The Duke is safe, so don’t worry. I have a no-killing principle.”
Marquis Westin grew angry as Duke Pellegrini spoke in a tone unlike his usual one.
“It can’t be helped, can it? It got exposed. You know, I thought it was a little unreasonable. It’s your loss.”
Saying that, Abel cancelled his disguise. In the blink of an eye, Duke Pellegrini disappeared and Abel with his short ponytail, whom I had seen before, appeared.
Abel looked at me and smiled meaningfully.
“I thought it was unreasonable, but I didn’t think you’d see through it. You win the bet. Mrs. Crown Princess. As promised, I won’t be involved in this matter anymore.”
“Do you think it will end at this?”
With these words, Cain appeared. Abel’s eyes widened.
“I’m surprised. You were here too? Eeh? How many people are still hidden? Rather, what sort of magic did you use? It’s amazing.”
Abel blinked his eyes and said.
“Sorry, but I don’t intend to get caught. Look, I have to earn money somewhere to make up for this failed request, and ultimately, I’m unrelated to Sahaja.”
Abel, who shrugged his shoulders, really seemed unrelated to it. Looking impatient, Marquis Westin reproached Abel.
“Oi, Kaleidoscope! The promise was different. Your job should’ve been to pretend to be Duke Pellegrini and change sides to ours!”
“It can’t be helped, can it? After all, I was found out. This Mrs. Crown Princess is amazing, isn’t she? She saw through my disguise three times. I’m surprised, there was nobody like that in Sahaja.”
“It’s your fault for wearing a half-baked disguise that could be seen through! What disguise specialist! Weren’t you easily found out!”
“Iーamーsaying, this Mrs. Crown Princess is simply amazing. Well, whatever. It’s pointless to explain it to someone so dim-witted. Ah, the real Duke Pellegrini was thrown into the basement storage of the mansion, so you should quickly help him.”
. Abel waved his hand and put together the sign to escape. I shouted at that very moment.
“Ah! It’s impossible! I don’t know his destination!”
As long as we don’t know Abel’s destination, he can’t follow him.
I grit my teeth at Cain’s words, and Abel cackled.
“Ahaha, that’s how it is. Let’s meet again if there’s an opportunity, Mr. Patriarch.”
Then, leaving Marquis Westin behind, he disappeared from the spot together with red light.
In the end, even though I’d exposed him, Abel escaped. While I was feeling vexed, Will and Glenn, who hadn’t shown up till the end, finally came out.
They must’ve been shocked in various ways. Both had terrible complexions. And Marquis Westin, who was as a result surrounded by six people, had an even worse complexion.
Even if he tried to escape, he couldn’t when surrounded by so many people. Brother, who was behind Marquis Westin, asked Freed.
“What should we do, Freed? Capture him?”
“There’s no need. ―― Marquis Westin. Return to your country and tell King Maximilian. If you promise to convey these words, I’ll pretend to overlook you.”
Brother directed a reproachful look at Freed.
“Oi, Freed. Is that fine? If he’s left as is, won’t he repeat the same thing?”
Brother asked what everybody had in mind, but Freed declared.
“King Maximilian won’t do something as foolish as repeating a mistake. He’ll use another method if he wants to do something, and he won’t give the same person a chance to redo. That’s why, there’s no problem. And? What do you say? Marquis Westin.”
After confirming that Marquis Westin nodded, Brother got out of the way he’d been blocking.
“… Haa. It can’t be helped. Oi, you can go.”
Despite glaring at Freed, Marquis Westin didn’t miss the chance to escape and ran away tripping over his own feet. Everybody watched him leave.
Freed looked back and told everyone.
“Let’s go help Duke Pellegrini. We don’t know when he was locked up, but I’m sure he’s exhausted.”