It Seems Like I Fell into a Reverse Harem Game V1 C5.1

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Volume 1 Chapter 5.1

I prepared to go out before the sun rose. It didn’t seem I would lose my way because the moonlight was so bright.

Although I was a bit uneasy because it would be like confirming the rumors, I quietly called Daisy into my bedchambers.

Seeing my simple attire for the first time, Daisy opened her eyes wide and pointed at me scoldingly.

“What are you wearing!”

I was wearing a maid’s uniform.

“What kind of… role play is this?”

“What?”

I thought there was something wrong my ears.

“After doing that with that person all night….. How!”

Confronted with Daisy’s fussing, I put a hand on my forehead.

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not? How is it not?”

The excitement in her eyes made me very uncomfortable. Before her misunderstanding got any worse, I hurried to get down to business.

“I’m going outside the palace.”

“Pardon?”

“I feel bad about this….. But I cannot think of who else I can ask to do this besides you.”

“Please tell me what you want me to do! I can handle anything!”

“You have to make sure no one comes in.”

“Yes! Anyone…. Anyone? Even that person?”

I ignored her question.

“You have to make it seem like I’m in this room. You can probably say that she won’t let anyone else in because she’s not feeling well. And because I’ve been keeping you close, no one should suspect you.”

It seemed she was only now putting the pieces together.

“I told you. That I’m going outside the palace. If I don’t come back even after the sun comes up then….”

“Your Highness! Are you going someplace dangerous? Please take me with you too!”

“It won’t be dangerous, and I should return soon, but just in case I’m say_.”

“Please don’t die, Your Highness!”

Close to tears, Daisy wrapped her arms around my waist. I sighed.

***

‘Aiden Fran’. In front of me was the sign with scrawled handwriting.

Because it was early morning, all of the shops along the street were closed, including ‘Aiden Fran’. However, I smoothed out the hood pulled low over my face, slowly walked over and pushed on the door.

The door was not locked.

I slowly entered. Soon, in the darkness, a woman with a gaunt face stepped forward and bowed her head low.

“My deepest apologies for employing such discourteous means to invite you. However, we are also in a difficult situation…. It hasn’t been easy obtaining drugs lately.”

I observed the woman closely. She didn’t seem like the person in charge of this business.

“Please follow me.”

I followed the woman through another door. Sitting at a wooden table was a man who smiled sweetly when our eyes met. The man was excessive in his reception as he stood up and spoke.

“Who is this! Have you lost a little weight?”

“……..”

I didn’t respond.

“Anyhow, I am sure it must have been difficult for you because the drugs were cut off.”

Maybe it was due to the soul swap but I had been just fine. Of course, I wasn’t going to say this out loud. I examined the man calmly. Was he the one in charge? I couldn’t tell.

There were two reasons that I had to take the risk and come out here personally.

It would be most accurate to call this a ‘symbiotic relationship’. I got drugs, and they got insurance for their business.

So, if I happened to stop coming in, they would have kept trying to contact me by other means, and along the way, it could have been exposed to other people as well.

The other reason was to personally verify their true nature. Things like how large their organization was, who their boss was, and if they were at a scope that I could manage if I arrested them. If there was a way to handle everything so they wouldn’t spout any nonsense.

“And the drugs?”

“They should have arrived in the capital by now.”

What?

“Even if you are displeased, there is nothing we can do. This is our policy. Please head back once we get news that they have arrived.”

I understood now. It was because it was in the princess’s power to confiscate the drugs, arrest the mules, and dissolve the organization before anyone could blink an eye.

If they just sent the drugs again and were discovered, the princess could extricate herself and throw them to the wayside. So, until they were safe, until they had on record that the drugs had been delivered intact into the princess’s hands, the princess had to patiently wait in their den.

If she wanted ‘drugs’ that is.

This might be the princess’s ‘weakness’ that the system window wanted. No doubt if I hadn’t come, the princess would have continued to show symptoms of addiction and been found out by Yuriel.

……In other words, I was fulfilling my role as a ‘bug’.

“If you are bored….. Would you like to see the new boys we have brought in?”

As soon as he’d said those words, the sound of iron being dragged came from the door on the far side.

When the door opened, I saw a man with iron chains around his feet. After he came in, right behind him was another man wearing a similar expression, and so on.

They knelt in front of me in a line. All had unfocused eyes and some kind of rags draped over their bodies. Their eyes were empty and their faces were gaunt. I turned my head.

“Why? Is there nothing that catches your eye?”

He was over the top with his disappointment.

“I know that I prepared them according to your tastes…. You said that you found slaves who had done the rounds more than new ones….”

“…..”

Seeing their wretched state, I could make a payment and buy them. Then, when it came to freeing them or whatever else, I could come up with a good excuse and let them go.

But was there any guarantee they wouldn’t become slaves again? With their identities being uncertain, what could they do to make a living in the capital?

But when I considered bringing them to my palace, I thought of that rumor. Seeing as how a part of me suddenly shivered in fear, I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

Could I take responsibility for them until the end?

“Where did these things come from?”

Thinking that I was showing interest, the man smiled sweetly once again and answered.

“From Velrod.”

I bought them right then and there.

Things had taken longer than I expected. The sun had already risen and outside was noisy with the sound of chatter. I pulled my hood even lower.

“Did you come alone?”

For a moment, I looked with contempt at the man who seemed to be always smiling without good reason.

“Me?”

“I’m sure that’s not the case. It’s just that you seemed more uneasy than usual so….”

He called out behind me when I turned around without replying.

“I will wash them up and send them to you before day’s end.”

I didn’t say anything.

The further I went down the main road, the more people there were. Even though it was the morning, strangely enough, there were people gossiping or standing around together.

Right then, a single loud cry from far away spread through the crowd and set off a big commotion.

I pedaled backward into an alleyway and tried to make out the source of the ear-shattering sound. Then I realized that everyone was looking in one direction.

From far away, along with the neighing of horses, I discovered a group approaching.

Flower petals were scattered from every side fluttered. I found the man with dark blue hair at the end of that group. And I recognized him in an instant.

“I thought that it would at least be tomorrow before he came…..!”

At that moment, feeling like he was looking this way, I turned around quickly and began to run.

I had to hurry back. To the palace that would be in an uproar preparing to welcome that group at that.

***

“His Majesty is waiting for you.”

At the entrance of the outer wall of the palace, a servant was waiting to escort them. The soldiers and knights who were wearing armor dismounted from their horses. The man spoke to the servant and to the saluting troops.

“I will see Her Highness first. Go ahead without me.”

“Pardon? But….”

The man did not repeat himself. He dusted off his boots and straightened his collar.

After checking his cuffs and the hem, he turned to one side. It was in the direction of the princess’s palace.

They watched as he strode forward before turning to look at each other. Of course, that only meant verifying that the people next to them were just as shocked.

In any case, the man continued walking. Straight ahead, neither his neck or his eyes straying to either side.

“You cannot.”

The one who stood in front of him was the head maid of the princess’s palace. It was a face that the man had seen even before leaving for the battlefield.

From the now older head maid’s face, he could his own absence.

“You cannot enter.”

“Did she say she would not see me.”

“She did not say anything….”

The head maid shook her head. Apparently, there was no answer.

“And has she not left a message either.”

“Yes. She has not shown herself since this morning, and there is only a maid girl in the room …..”

“I must see for myself.”

“You cannot! She will punish you again!”

Her face white with shock, the head maid blocked the path of the man who was trying to enter the palace.

“The person who should support and oversee the comfort of the princess is thoroughly incapable, I see.”

At the man’s cold expression, the head maid couldn’t say anything.

The man quickly went into the palace. He pushed past those who swallowed their screams at the sight of him, and without even getting lost once he arrived in front of the princess’s bedchambers.

After seeing him, the servants who were standing in front of the door hurriedly backed up out of his way.

“Your Highness.”

The sound of someone taking a breath could be heard from the other side of the door. As well as urgent footsteps. That was probably the maid the head maid had mentioned. The man raised one eyebrow.  

“Your Highness. Are you okay.”

“……”

“What are you waiting for? Hurry and open the door.”

At those words, the servants who were standing out of the way dissuaded him with one voice.

“Open it.”

“But without Her Highness’s permission….”

“Bring the key. Or would you rather I rip open this door.”

At that moment, the door made a creaking sound and slowly opened.

When he turned his head, there was a sweating maid holding the open door.

“S-She asks you to comein.”

***

With a quick glance to the side, I checked that the maid’s uniform I had hastily taken off was safely tucked under the bed. And trying my best to not show how breathless I was from running here, I sat while leaning against a bed post.

The tall man suddenly entered the room without even the sound of footsteps. He lifted the curtains and came inside. For a moment, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

For a moment, his short hair was black. No, his hair had been navy blue under the sun so that was probably more accurate.

The curtain slipped past his hand and drooped back down. Between us, the sunlight decreased even more.

His eyes, which were deep-set like some mineral, stared at me intently. Those eyes also shined a bluish black. Soon, he knelt down on one knee in front of me, his posture upright.

Having rushed over from the battlefield, the toes of the man’s shoes were worn-out and his uniform was dull, but even without acting exceptional, he appeared disciplined and noble.

The eyes that looked up at me were calm and sure with pure intention, so when he extended his palm toward me, I happily had my hand on his.  

Someone like this was communicating with Yuriel?

He lowered his dark eyelashes and closed his eyes. He placed his slightly cold lips on the back of my hand. Then, he looked up at me directly and spoke.

“Your servant Eclot Pacis, reporting that I have carried out all orders and returned.”

Unconsciously, I said.

“You came back alive.”

And then I immediately regretted it. Because it felt like I had said something I shouldn’t. It almost sounded like sarcasm.

But the man looked at me with clear eyes.

“Yes.”

For some reason, his response touched me. Maybe because it was the response of a man who had returned from far away. Returning from a journey that was meant to result in his death, he was so upright and unshakeable.

“Welcome….. back.”

With those words I put my hand on his shoulder, and as soon as I did, I read the deep exhaustion in his eyes.

The anguish and grief that had piled up over the years spread out slowly. Though it was soon put in order.

Even during this, the man was polite and calm.

“Is that so.”

Although the words may have seemed dry to some, they felt genuine to me. He was simple. Although his face showed a bit of age and hardship. I could believe it.

No, in actuality, I couldn’t believe it.

The fact that he didn’t resent me, the ‘princess’, even the slightest bit.

“Have you been well all this time.”

His wordless gaze brushed past my skin. Even this quiet concern was seemed separated from reality.

When I slowly nodded my head, Eclot stood up. Automatically, I lifted my head to follow him.

He spoke.

“There is a rebel in this palace.”

“What?”

As though he really thought I hadn’t heard him, he repeated himself to a fault.

“There is a rebel in this palace. We must root them out.”

“Wait, what…….”

Eclot summoned the maids outside the room. And he spoke.

“Will you leave this to me.”

“……What are you going to do?”

“There is a rebel in the palace. Will you permit me to root them out.”

He must have really thought I was an idiot because he had just repeated the same words for the third time.

I’m asking you to tell me in detail what exactly you’re planning to do….

I had opened my mouth to say something when I met his eyes. Swept away by an indescribable feeling, I ended up murmuring.

“……If you want, fine.”

After that, things proceeded at lightning speed.

As though he had been planning this for a long time, he gathered all of the servants in an inner palace hall – which just happened to be that hall from before. Then he instructed the soldiers to search the servants’ quarters.

Resting my chin in my hand, I was waiting to see what all of this was about while sitting back in a chair at the end of the hall. Eclot was prudent but merciless.

He took something out and clutched it. Suspecting what it was, I lowered the hand away from my chin and straightened my upper body.

One by one, Eclot began comparing the handwritten papers taken from the servants’ quarters to it.

“…..What is that?”

“There is someone who leaked Your Highness’s personal information to me. This is the evidence of that.”

It was a letter. And I was pretty sure I knew what it was.

It took literally no time for Eclot to swiftly find the matching handwriting, and for Yuriel to be found from among the servants and dragged out in front of him, where she even fell. Literally.

“E-Eclot?”

Yuriel looked up at him with an expression that said she couldn’t begin to understand the situation.

But Eclot only glanced at Yuriel with a cool expression and all the emotion of hearing someone call out your name before turning to face me.

In his hand was the evidence. Yuriel’s letters, which she had probably spent a good deal of time and effort in writing, were being treated like ‘Exhibit A’.

“She continuously approached me, Your Highness’s concubine, attempted to push me in a direction that would harm Your Highness, and leaked Your Highness’s information to me therefore-.”

“You! You asked me for it!”

Yuriel grabbed Eclot’s leg.

“I believe it is right to permanently expel her from the palace.”

But he finished without budging an inch.

I opened my mouth then closed it again. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. It was an opportunity to get Yuriel out of my sight, but was that okay?

Was that a wise decision? It could be easier to handle things when they happened if I kept her close by.

Reading my indecision, Eclot shook Yuriel off and walked over to me. He knelt on one knee and looked up at me.

“……I need time.”

“Your Highness.”

“…….”

“What are you worried about?”

At those words, I reflexively gripped the armrests.

“What are you afraid of?”

“……”

He placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.

“I will do it.”

“……What will you do?”

“Everything that is troubling you, shaking your composure. Whatever it is, even if it goes against the right path, please eliminate everything. I will handle it all.”

“…….”

“I will do everything.”

I couldn’t believe it. I knew they were words I couldn’t believe.

“What are you afraid of? And what are you worried about?”

The questions he had asked in the beginning changed and came back to me once again.

“I will protect you.”

“…..Eclot.”

“Please give the command.”

I extended a hand toward Eclot. Watching his hand lift up mine, I spoke.

“Do as you have said.”

“Your Highness! Isn’t this different from what you said! In this place, I….!”

I saw Yuriel’s hopeless and furious face. Strangely enough, I felt peaceful.

Don’t ever come back here.

And it really felt like it was possible.

“Eclot! How could you do this! To me! Me! Do you know what hell I went through because of you! Eclot!”

“To prevent her from coming back, give the guards her identification documents.”

The soldiers saluted and disappeared. Soon, Yuriel who had been screaming in rage, was also expelled from the hall.

My surroundings became peaceful.

Ding!

[The Knight of the Border – 9]

Quest fail!

A penalty will be imposed.

The ‘Eclot Pacis’ route will be completely destroyed.

‘Notoriety’ is created.

‘Notoriety’ increases.

You acquire the title ‘A shameless person who only knows how to steal from others’.

Ding!

You are expelled from the palace!

State ‘Expulsion’ is maintained.

I had been dumbly looking at the system window when I heard his voice ring out in my ears.

“Please punish me now.”

“What punishment?”

“No matter if it was a test, I sought out and acquired Your Highness’s information so-.”

“Stop.”

At my words, Eclot silently closed his mouth and looked at me.

“Are you trying to run away after saying you’ll protect me?”

“I am not.”

“Then just stay. Next to me.”

He slowly parted his mouth.

“Yes.”

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Translator’s note: Yay, Eclot’s here(?)

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