"Why did you embrace other women despite recognizing her as your mate?"

When I asked while awfully bothered by it, Andre made a face that said he didn't understand.

"Didn't you hear me say that I wanted to cherish her? My parents were mates too, so I strongly yearned for a mate. Once I found her, I wanted to cherish her. That's why I endured laying my hands on her and subst.i.tuted other women for her."

"Endured… Is that possible? Moreover, other women…"

When I shook my head in disbelief, Andre laughed mockingly at me.

"Esteemed Father too said it was impossible. But thinking about cheris.h.i.+ng a beloved woman, it should be plenty possible. At least it was for me. Esteemed Father's talk about mates was exaggerated. So to speak, he lacked patience."

"… Is, is that so?"

Clearly told so, I could only nod.

However, subst.i.tuted. In other words, he could embrace them.

Then, after all I can't imagine the woman called Leitis being Andre's mate. Andre said he was thinking of cheris.h.i.+ng her, but from what I heard from Freed, mates seem to be something that blow away their common sense and reason. It's not on the level of enduring. Andre's talk just didn't make sense to me.

I think there's a decent possibility he yearned for a mate so much he deluded himself or came under the false impression.

"Leitis was a very gentle woman from foreign n.o.bility. Because they would become relatives, she strived to be on good terms with Freed. He used that. When I questioned Freed, he said that he had no recollection of that and that he had no interest in Leitis. But that night, the night when the Royal Flower ceremony failed, while wailing Leitis herself said. That Freed stole her virginity. That she resisted, but it was pointless! She should've become my mate, there's no way her words would be a lie!"

"…"

Oh, ooh.

What do I do? Somehow… I feel like I can guess what happened.

It's only my prediction, but that woman called Leitis probably wasn't a virgin from the start.

Foreign women don't really understand the importance of virginity to Wilhelm royalty.

That's why she thought she'd gloss over it. With that little awareness, she lied about her virginity and became Andre's fiancée.

And then there's the fact that Leitis tried to get on good terms with Freed.

… Probably, Leitis's favorite was not Andre but Freed. At first it might've been different, but he's widely known as flawless. It's not strange to fall in love with him at first sight.

Moreover, he's the Crown Prince. Leitis must've wanted to switch to Freed if possible. But, Freed wouldn't go along with it.

Leitis struggled in vain and it was decided she'd marry Andre as originally planned.

I think she attempted the Royal Flower ceremony, failed, and for the first time noticed the gravity of the situation.

Had it been exposed she was trying to marry Andre without being a virgin, it wouldn't have ended with just her being yelled at.

It might have involved not just her house. In the worst case, it could have developed into an international problem.

After all, Andre is royalty.

That's why she immediately said. "My virginity was stolen by Freed. I'd been a virgin".

And so, she successfully redirected Andre's anger at Freed.

Yes. I feel I can understand why Freed looked strange at the time of the victory celebration party.

Of course he wouldn't want to recall the past where he was made to look like a rapist and resented, and he would feel fed up.

Naturally, I don't believe that Freed… forcibly raped Leitis.

Freed himself has no recollection of that, so I'm sure it's like that.

"Because I couldn't obtain the Royal Flower, I was stripped of my status as royalty and put under house arrest in suburbs. I don't have a partner now, I'm just waiting to die. And yet, he obtained the Royal Flower, moreover his partner is his mate? Why only him!? Even though it's all Freed's fault that this happened. If I can make him suffer, inviting Sahaja is nothing!"

Without saying anything, I just stared at Andre who was bellowing.

It's a misunderstanding that Leitis was his mate, and it's also a lie that she had been a virgin.

I fear to say that it's the truth.

I feel sorry for Andre, who holds a grudge against Freed because he couldn't see through a woman's lie and got twisted, but he's barking up the wrong tree.

Freed only got dragged into it…

During the victory celebration party Lord Garay probably understood the situation and settled it in private. Only Andre made a fuss.

"Do you understand? Freed is the lowest man who'd steal one's woman."

As Andre said that with ridicule, I clearly replied.

"I cannot think so."

Freed isn't a person to hara.s.s others. Certainly, I don't know anything about Leitis.

However, I'm the closest to him. Even if we've known each other for a short time, I understand Freed to some extent.

That's why I could declare.

"Freed would not forcibly a.s.sault a woman. He has no need to, and above all, he's a very gentle person… In truth, even you realize it, don't you? That she might've been telling a lie."

"Ah! Shut up! Shut up, shut up! Don't say more!"

"Kya!"

Andre shouted with a bright red face as if I'd hit a bullseye.

"You, Freed, Esteemed Father, you're all the same! Telling me that Leitis lied, that I'm wrong! As if my mate would tell a lie!"

"A, and it's your misunderstanding that she's your ma…"

"Silence!"

Shouted at, I held my tongue.

I didn't really yield. It's just that I thought words wouldn't go through to Andre.

Andre looked at me as I sunk into silence, and after regaining his calm a little, he showed an unpleasant smile.

"… I thought of a good thing."

"Eh?"

"That's right, I can do that…"

Kukuku, Andre laughed and raised one hand. A magic formation emerged in the air.

Magical art? While I was thinking that, many rope-like objects came from the formation. They went through the iron bars and twined around my arms and legs, and in the twinkling of an eye I became bound.

I lost my balance and fell on my backside on the spot.

"Ah! W, what?"

"Kuku. It wouldn't be amusing if you escaped. These are ropes made of magical power. You can't tear them off."

"… Magical power."

With a twitch I reacted to the words made of magical power.

Perhaps amused by my collapsed appearance, Andre's mood got better and better.

Then, he made another magic formation appear inside the prison.

"Look forward to it."

The magic formation s.h.i.+ned violet. Three large round things loudly fell in front of my eyes.

Transparent, large object. Those unpleasantly wriggling things are――.

"Eh? Slimes…?"

They're low-cla.s.s demons that eat prey by bringing it inside their bodies using tentacles.

I've heard novice adventurers often receive requests to exterminate them.

They particularly like dark caves and often live in groups.

However, faced with the beings that should at least not exist in the Royal Capital of Wilhelm, I forgot about being bound and just looked at them, dumbfounded.

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