I Will Break Off the Engagement Because I'm Jealous - The Untalented Villainess Who Rejected the Prince Searches for a Safe Haven with the Cheat Heroine - Chapter 4.7

With a snap, I woke up.

Emilia pressed her hand against her chest, struggling.

(What is this? My heart, my soul, is creaking.)

On the bed, wearing her nightgown, drenched in sweat. Beyond the curtains, there was a faint hint of sunlight.

(Something happened but I can’t remember anything.)

I felt like I had a long, shocking dream. I felt like there were many important things. Yet, I couldn’t recall any of them.

“Iris…”

I murmured absently.

Deep in my chest.

It jumped.

A wave of confusion spread, coursing through my blood and filling my entire body. A fiery impulse surged within me, ready to burst. Emilia sprang up and, still in her clothes, headed for the door. She stepped out into the hallway, running through the empty mansion, and stood in front of the door to the next room. Without knocking, she twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.

“Iris!”

She shouted and ran straight to the bed. Iris, sitting up and looking up at her.

Without hesitation, she embraced her.

“Iris…! I’m so glad!”

“Lady Emilia,”

Iris’s hand rested on Emilia’s upper arm. As she tightened her embrace, she felt the dampness of sweat. Both Emilia and Iris were soaked.

“I felt like I couldn’t do anything. And so, I can’t remember anything.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. You were surely protected.”

Pulling away, Emilia stared intently into Iris’s blue eyes. As she took a deep breath, a strong smell of sweat tickled her nostrils.

“My confusion protected you. You’re safe now.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Emilia had no idea what she was saying. But for some reason, it made sense to her. Iris nodded deeply, as if she understood something. Her face relaxed, looking relieved.

It turned bright red.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! I’m sweaty! I’m smelly, Lady Emilia!?”

“That’s true, I’m the same.”

“Yours smells lovely, so it’s fine!?”

“That’s true, I’m the same… Is it embarrassing? Iris?”

Iris, who had been shouting, froze. Emilia read her subtle expression.

“I’m the same. We’re in this together.”

Leaning close to her ear, she whispered softly.

“Shall we take a bath together?”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Emilia found it inexplicably enjoyable to hear Iris’s scream.

☆　☆　☆

The Duke of Persicam’s mansion was in an uproar. For some reason, all the doors to the rooms were open, and there were two people in strange conditions.

One was Baron Kismort Keiquartz, a guest staying at the mansion. He was found slumped in a chair in his guest room. Although he was conscious, he was discovered foaming at the mouth and was being kept resting for safety. When asked what had happened, he began to talk about a strange dream. He shouted that he had been pierced by a sword of light at the end of the dream and had lost his skills… the protection of the spirits. He particularly muttered that he “didn’t want to see Emilia.”

The other was his maid, Bubaldia Boutique Bargain. She was found collapsed in Emilia’s room. However, Emilia had no recollection of her. Bubaldia had regained consciousness but was mumbling “confusion” like a delirium, appearing to be in shock.

And more than that, the commotion was about.

“Iris, are you ready!?”

“Yes, Lady Emilia!”

The two, now dressed, hurried to the reception room. In the midst of the chaos, somehow the mentors had managed to find time for them.

“A whole day has passed…! We need to hurry, or Prince Sieg will arrive!”

Indeed. While Emilia and everyone in the mansion had been asleep, a day had gone by. Emilia had come to this house the day before yesterday.

They had forgotten everything and had no way of knowing.

But the delay had been successful.

The mansion itself had been in a state of chaos for 24 hours, with many people feeling unwell. It took time to grasp and manage the situation… and it was already close to noon.

“Father, I’m sorry to keep you waiting!”

The maid opened the door and ushered Emilia and Iris inside. Emilia, barely offering a greeting, sat on the sofa as she was invited. She sat lightly, gazing at her father.

“Ah…”

“Mm.”

The moment their eyes met, for some reason, they both let out small sounds. They blushed and looked away. Emilia’s gaze drifted to… her brother and mother as well. While everyone except Iris turned red, the mentor cleared his throat.

“I must explain. I cannot allow my beloved daughter to be saddened.”

“This is about the disownment, isn’t it, Father? It’s alright… I trust you.”

Emilia smiled. Her father, along with her brother and mother, nodded back firmly. The atmosphere in the reception room now was far more relaxed compared to the tense situation of the day before yesterday filled with motivation and enthusiasm.

A family that trusts each other, facing difficulties together.

A warm feeling filled the room.

“First, I must confess my shame. I must apologize. Our ducal family cannot protect you, Emilia.”

Hearing that they couldn’t protect her made Emilia tilt her head. They were simply going to hurry and depart for the Empire. If the ducal territory was not exposed to the prince’s or the kingdom’s malice, there shouldn’t be any problem.

“If Prince Sieg is serious about claiming you, the marriage procedures must already be completed.”

“What!?”

(Ah.)

The surprised voice came from Iris. Emilia noticed and gasped softly.

“The kingdom is slower in governance by law than other countries. If interests’ conflict with others and there is no need for approval, it basically doesn’t matter and can be handled however.”

“The prince intends to come to this ducal territory with the marriage document and demand that I be handed over.”

“That seems likely. If that happens, we have no choice but to hand you over. If you were to be outside the territory.”

“They would have to search for me sending people all the way to the Empire.”

They could probably avoid searching for Emilia as a delay tactic or out of spite. However, the ducal territory was in a crucial period before independence, and if they had to search for Emilia, it could expose unnecessary vulnerabilities.

However.

“But fundamentally, commoners cannot marry nobles or royalty in this country.”

If Emilia and Sieg became “unable to marry”…

“Ah, so that’s why you’re disowning me to make me not a noble, Lady Emilia!?”

Emilia smiled at Iris, who raised her voice beside her.

“That’s right. It might be a matter of timing, whether I was disowned first or the marriage was established first, but that is the aim.”

“Indeed. If that is where the dispute lies, we can request approval from His Majesty the King. Prince Sieg’s scheme will be thwarted.”

Sieg’s claim that he had married Emilia would be true, while the mentors would argue that disowning her would make Emilia’s marriage invalid. If this continued, there would be no resolution, and the king would decide who was correct. And King Aed was in favor of “annulling the engagement.” Sieg’s claims would be dismissed outright.

Emilia understood and nodded. She grasped the situation. She also understood her family’s feelings.

“Emilia. This was the only way to protect you from Prince Sieg. Please forgive me.”

“I cannot forgive you.”

However, she couldn’t accept it.

Emilia stood up and collapsed at her father’s knees.

“I understand that you protected me. I understand that you love me. But I…!”

Before she could hold back, tears spilled out.

Her honest true feelings, along with them.

“I wanted to stay with my father, my brother, and my mother! I wanted to be a family…!”

A painful cry tightened Emilia’s own chest. The catalyst for not being able to be a family with them was her own breaking off the engagement with Sieg. It was her own fault.

The inescapable choices of the past bound Emilia with regret.

“Don’t worry. You will definitely get it back.”

“……Father?”

Her father’s large hand rested on Emilia’s head. Gently, he patted her hair.

“Disownment and marriage to the prince… are matters of the law of the Kingdom of Oren.”

And that voice was also.

Kind.

“—Ah.”

The duke was essentially saying this.

When the ducal territory achieves independence.

Come back.

“When independence is achieved! I will definitely return to celebrate!”

Emilia lifted her face. She looked up at her father.

“I will be waiting. And may that day come as soon as possible… right, you two?”

In her tear-filled eyes.

“Father, I can go to the military anytime. We have enough supplies.”

“You. The groundwork in the border areas is already done.”

Her brother and mother also appeared.

“Emilia. You can come back lightly during the long break from university.”

“Father, Mother, Brother…!”

Tears spilled again.

Different from before, different from the night of disownment.

Warm tears.

“Thank you, everyone, I love you all so much!”

With love for her family.