I Seem to Have Been Reincarnated, So I Tried to Get Everyone to Sensibly Handle the Broken Engagement—In the End, I Didn’t Even Know What "Serves You Right" Meant — Part 8

“No. I have always acted with this country’s well-being in mind.”

“Then… if I become queen, you’ll always think about me, won’t you? After all, a queen is the mother of the nation, isn’t she?”

Wait. What kind of terrifying logic is that?!

And the Queen and Lady Lilia… they look absolutely furious. That level of intensity could probably kill someone outright.

“This conversation is absurd. Your Majesty, I cannot bear the continued disrespect toward the position of queen. Please make a swift decision.”

Ah, yes. In other words, the Queen is urging the King to remove the heroine before her anger explodes any further. Judging by the King’s slightly flustered reaction, it seems I wasn’t the only one who heard her unspoken message.

“Please, Your Majesty, Your Highness. May I have a moment to speak?”

Before the Queen’s mounting fury could lead the King to deliver an ultimatum to the crown prince and the heroine, Lady Lilia stepped forward.

For a moment, I worried this timing couldn’t be worse. But it seems I underestimated her. The Queen’s simmering anger eased just slightly.

“Oh, you’re right. My apologies, Lilia. There was still something important left to address.”

“No need to apologize. Even I could not have anticipated this, so Your Majesty’s anger is entirely justified. I apologize for requesting additional time for my own selfishness.”

“No, this is something that needs to be said. This will be the final matter, so say what you must.”

“Thank you.”

Huh? Did they plan this in advance or something?

Both the King and the Queen seemed fully aware of what Lady Lilia was about to do and say.

Wait. Am I the only one out of the loop here? Or is it just me, the crown prince, and the heroine?

…Am I really on this side of things?

As I grappled with a sense of mild despair, Lady Lilia took a step forward and fixed her gaze firmly on the crown prince.

Having been disinherited and then forced to hear the heroine openly declare her love for someone else—namely, me (which is a colossal headache I didn’t ask for)—the crown prince looked utterly broken, beyond even despair.

But Lady Lilia showed no mercy, and frankly, why should she?

“Your Highness, I would now like to address the most important matter I postponed earlier. You claimed that I was jealous, did you not? That is an unfortunate misunderstanding.”

“…What?”

“After all, I have never, not in the past, the present, or even in the future, had romantic feelings for Your Highness.”

“…What?”

“However, since our engagement was decreed by His Majesty, I fully understood my duty as a noblewoman. I dedicated myself to becoming the future queen with all my might, without hesitation or doubt. But duty and emotion are entirely separate matters.”

There was a brief silence. The crown prince—no, Foren—stared at Lady Lilia in complete shock, his face devoid of life. Even the heroine, who usually couldn’t keep quiet, remained silent, subdued by the overwhelming atmosphere Lady Lilia exuded.

“With His Majesty’s permission, I will speak honestly. I have, for a very long time, held feelings for someone else.”

“W-What…?”

Wait, really? While Foren looked utterly bewildered, I had to admit, I didn’t know about this either.

Well, I mean, I always had a feeling she didn’t harbor any affection for Foren. Still, as his fiancée, she always maintained an air of respect and dignity, so I never suspected she had feelings for someone else.

Am I just that oblivious?

“B-But you brought me gifts so many times!”

“Yes, that’s true. But now I can tell you that those were not meant for you, Your Highness.”

“…What?”

“As your fiancée, it would have been inappropriate for me to personally give gifts to another man. Therefore, I used the roundabout method of passing them through you. Of course, I fully anticipated that you would refuse to accept anything from me, so not a single one of those gifts was ever intended for you.”

Ah… Now that she mentions it, those treats didn’t match Foren’s preferences at all. That explains it…

Wait, then who were they meant for?

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