TNMN 19

Chapter 19

Watching Alosha’s desperate acting, Duke Whistler let out a scoff. He rose from his seat, drew his sword, and pointed it at Alosha.

“……You seemed to recognize me right up until you passed out, but now you can’t remember after waking up?”

“Wh-what are you talking about? I really don’t… Could you please put the sword away first and let’s talk things over?”

“Since you say you can’t remember, I’ll tell you. You are a spy from a neighboring kingdom. When I caught wind of it, you drew a sword at a imperial event and tried to kill me.”

“Oh my god! That’s ridiculous! Why do you have to make up such a terrifying lie! When was I ever a spy, and when did I ever try to kill you, Duke Whistler! You must be quite the novelist!”

Alosha, who had yelled out in panic, regretted it a moment too late.

“Just a moment ago, you seemed to remember nothing, yet now you remember that I’m a Duke?”

Duke Whistler twisted one corner of his mouth in amusement. His expression felt like a scene straight out of a horror movie, and Alosha gulped nervously.

“Ahhh… My head!”

Alosha clutched her head, bent forward, and put on another desperate act.

“Cut the tricks. What was your real reason for approaching me, babbling about winning the bid?”

As the Duke’s sword drew closer to her neck, Alosha resigned herself, slumped her shoulders, and put on the most pitiful expression she could muster.

“Hurry up.”

It was a pity that her look, meant to trigger protective instincts, had no effect on Whistler.

Urged on by Whistler, her throat parched, Alosha racked her brain for a perfect excuse to convince him.

“One, two……”

“I-I’m in love with you, Duke Whistler!”

At Alosha’s outburst, the physician and Crowler gasped.

“……I told you to stop your tricks.”

Whistler’s eyes widened in disbelief at her declaration of love, and he frowned.

“It’s true! Please believe me! I truly lo-lo-love you, Duke!”

At her desperate confession for survival, Whistler stared intently at Alosha, then sheathed his sword.

“You claim to love me, yet you didn’t even recognize me in the garden earlier? Do I look that foolish to you, my lady?”

“I have night blindness! It was too dark in the garden earlier, so I couldn’t recognize you!”

It was a nonsensical excuse, but since Alosha stubbornly insisted she couldn’t see due to night blindness, what more could Whistler say?

“You love me, so you impersonated my fiancée?”

“A woman’s imagination and fantasies sometimes slip out, you know.”

In truth, she had only spouted that nonsense to get down from the tree, but she never imagined it would become her lifeline like this.

“Love? Ha! To dare utter such bold words in front of me, you must not have heard the rumors about me, my lady.”

“No rumor can stop my love for you!”

She had to survive.

With the most shameless face imaginable, Alosha recited a line that sounded like lyrics from an old song, then raised her arms high above her head, made a heart shape with a proud expression.

“……What kind of gesture is that? Are you asking me to split your head in half?”

“Why would I want my head split in half! Look carefully. See how it makes a heart shape? Love! Love! Don’t you get it?!”

It wasn’t a gesture that would ever catch on here, but Alosha began drawing every heart shape she knew with her body, trying to appeal to Whistler.

“This is your last warning. Stop your nonsense about loving me and tell me the real reason you approached me.”

She hadn’t expected it to work easily, but Whistler’s completely impenetrable reaction made Alosha break out in a cold sweat.

*‘Okay, if it’s come to this, I’ll have to pull out the discarded Episode 17.’*

When things reach a point where no excuse will work, the only option left is to throw an even bigger bomb to divert attention.

Alosha decided to bring out a topic she would never have mentioned with a clear head.

“……Do you know of it?”

“What?”

“Do you know of the Saeyibi Cult?!”

At Alosha’s words, Duke Whistler’s face twisted into a menacing scowl.

What fresh, innovative nonsense was this?

“You haven’t heard of it! The Saeyibi Cult acts to lead the world towards goodness alongside our brothers and sisters, under the doctrine of the god Saeyibi, who preaches equality and love for all! That god Saeyibi appeared in my dream and gave me a revelation: spread love to Duke Whistler, marry him, and save the world!”

When Whistler first saw Alosha in the carriage, he’d wondered if she was crazy. Now, he was certain she was insane.

How could anyone who wasn’t mad spout such incoherent drivel and perform such incomprehensible actions?

“……Is this some kind of side effect from the medicine?”

Whistler directed his slowly rising anger towards the physician.

“Ah, that’s unfair! I merely administered a recovery tonic to boost her energy and help her wake up quickly! There’s no way it has side effects that make her spout such insane… I mean, such nonsense!”

The physician, feeling wronged that the Duke doubted his skills despite the patient waking up after proper treatment, protested vehemently. He shot Alosha a look that clearly said, “Are you crazy?” but didn’t voice it.

“I know you find it hard to believe! But I truly received a revelation from the god Saeyibi! He told me I absolutely must marry Duke Whistler, see our great-grandchildren, and then return to his embrace together, at the very same hour!”

Whistler responded to this bewildering tale with murderous intent, his anger rising towards Alosha.

“……Is that the end of your last words?”

Alosha, seeing Whistler acting even more bloodthirsty than expected, wisely shut her mouth for now.

Having risked everything on the principle that dying one way or another was the same, Alosha, whose body and mind were trembling, began to self-hypnotize to calm herself down.

*‘Anyway, that man can’t kill me before chapter 50!’*

Though she wasn’t certain, an unfounded confidence arose that the original story’s force would protect her safety. Alosha decided to become bolder.

“Duke, what I said about the god Saeyibi is true! He watches over us! As proof, when you look at me, don’t you find yourself strangely concerned, feeling some unexplainable emotion?”

Even if the Duke was emotionally obtuse and enjoyed killing, he couldn’t be completely devoid of feelings. But surely, everyone just tiptoed around him to avoid displeasing him.

Alosha decided to focus on the fact that negative emotions—bewilderment, anger, irritation—were still emotions, and insist that she was making him feel those.

“Now that you mention it, I am concerned. Why have I let you live this long, my lady, while you prattle on about pointless things?”

At that instantaneous reaction, Alosha beamed with the joy of a fanatic savoring the hints dropped by the original author.

“That is precisely the miracle of the god Saeyibi!”

“……Are you trying to say that’s all the god’s influence?”

Of course that wasn’t the case, but Alosha smiled and nodded.

“You’re seriously making insane claims.”

“How dare you speak so irreverently! The god Saeyibi will be angered!”

“Ha, and what exactly could that god Saeyibi do to me even if he were angered?”

Whistler sneered, twisting his lips crookedly. At that very moment—

*[CRASH!]*

The chandelier, which had been securely attached to the ceiling, suddenly fell, making a loud noise.

Seizing this unbelievable opportunity, Alosha put on a slightly frightened expression and spoke.

“You see! The god Saeyibi is angered!”

The physician was so shocked his mouth fell wide open, while Whistler fell into thought, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Oh, god Saeyibi! Forgive this ignorant man, for he has spoken irreverently, not yet knowing you well!”

As Alosha clasped her hands and prayed towards the heavens, the physician also clasped his hands towards the sky and muttered softly, “Forgive him.”

“……Ridiculous. So, that damned god told you to spread love? For what reason?”

Having drawn this much attention, it was time to back away.

With a triumphant expression, Alosha looked the Duke straight in the eye and spoke.

“What reason is needed to practice love? Well, I suppose you need time to understand and accept this situation too. I, being closer to the god Saeyibi, will understand. When you are ready to hear the word of the god Saeyibi, let us talk again then.”

Having said that, Alosha forced tears to well in her eyes, but inside, she was already congratulating herself on her skills as a writer. She had managed to neatly tie up the rambling, ruined story, using her quick thinking and flimsy material, weaving them into a plausible narrative to overcome the crisis.

*‘As expected of me.’*

Realizing that conversation was impossible, Whistler quietly rose from his seat.

“……It seems the lady has suffered a severe head injury. She doesn’t appear to be in a state for proper conversation. Let’s talk next time.”

“Will you come to fetch me personally?”

“The day after tomorrow, at lunchtime, the ducal house will send a carriage. Be sure to ride in it. By then, you’ll have to find a way to convince me, no matter what.”

With those words, Whistler stepped out the door, and Alosha felt all the tension drain from her body.

She had put out the immediate fire, but she had stirred things up with such a reckless story that she’d have to find some way to clean it up. Her brow furrowed with worry.

*‘What do I do now?’*

As she agonized over how to make the ice-cold Whistler feel something, the door to the room Alosha was in burst open.