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 5.6

In a corner of the underground waterway. That place where wooden boxes, tables, and chairs had been brought in seemed to have originally been a storage area for materials. Now, on the condition that the Blaze Brigade regularly exterminated monsters that infiltrated the underground waterways, they were apparently using it as their hideout.

After the members of the Blaze Brigade and Iris’s triplet younger brothers had been made to bow their heads in apology (after Iris had gotten extremely angry at them). After hearing the general circumstances and conducting a Q&A session.

Emilia smoothly knelt and sat on the floor.

She straightened her posture. Took a deep breath.

And bowed her head as if flowing.

“I truly apologize for my actions at that time.”

It was a beautiful dogeza performed with three fingers on the floor. Even for someone from another world without the custom of dogeza, their soul could feel that they were being “apologized to.”

“Why is Lady Emilia apologizing!?”

Iris was in a state of confusion. Emilia slowly raised her head and looked up at her while still in seiza. She gave a gentle smile toward the blue eyes that were looking this way while holding her head.

“Iris.”

“Yes, what is it!?”

“A fight isn’t something that ends when one person bows their head. It ends when neither party has any head left to bow.”

Swallowing the murmur that it would also be the case if heads were physically gone. Emilia nodded with a knowing look.

“For injuring Ren-san and Rate-san. For pushing Levai-san. And also, the stun grenade was excessive. Iris, I’m also sorry for hurting your important younger brothers and comrades. I apologize once again.”

Emilia stated this solemnly. For her, this was meant to settle things. If the Blaze Brigade had no complaints, she intended to consider the matter closed. There was some calculation involved, but as long as Iris hadn’t been taken by a man, it didn’t matter. She vaguely thought something like that.

“Lady Emilia, that’s… First of all, everyone. Or rather…”

Seeing that the apologies were finished, Emilia smoothly stood up. Looking around, the Blaze Brigade members appeared awkward—some scratching their heads or cheeks, others looking away with guilty expressions.

“Enough already. Why did you attack Lady Emilia? Confess.”

The adventurers were looking at the golden-haired, blue-eyed triplets. Iris was also glaring at them. The glared-at three shrank back, seemingly urging each other with looks and gestures, “You say it.”

“That man…”

(…Hm?)

One of the triplets… the boy who’d introduced himself as “Levai,” muttered quietly.

“He’s… a marriage candidate for Iris onee-chan… Mom said…”

(Ah… I see)

In Emilia’s mind, the circumstances connected. It seemed Iris’s mother, Rekka, wanted to marry Iris to Emilia? Based on that information, the Blaze Brigade members must have thought, “Let’s see what kind of man he is, let’s teach him a lesson.” Certainly, the current Emilia could sometimes be mistaken for a boy. They tried to set something up, met with strong resistance, and ended up chasing her… That must be it.

“Wha――”

Iris’s leaked voice echoed through the space. Looking at her, Emilia was startled. From her eyes, a single tear was tracing an artistic line as it flowed down.

“I am so ashamed! Not only did I mess up, but… but! To think Lady Emilia was a man!?”

“Whoa, don’t cry, sis!?” “If they said Iris-chan’s marriage candidate, of course we’d think it was a man!?” “First of all, Iris, doesn’t this one look like a woman―ow!?”

The triplets spoke in unison, and the last one got hit on the head by Iris.

“I, I will cut off my head to apologize! Lady Emilia!”

(Getting all emotional, how cute… Well, I suppose it can’t be helped)

Emilia conveniently ignored her own situation, approached the crying Iris, and patted her shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’m consciously pretending to be a man. I forgive them. Do I look masculine now?”

Emilia relaxed her shoulders, lowered them, and straightened up with her weight on her hips. The swell of her chest and the curve of her waist should be slightly visible now.

“Eh, what?” “It’s true.” “Disguise?”

“It’s not perfect, but that’s the idea. How you stand, how you breathe, how you speak, how you walk, how you swing your arms… Gender differences appear in many places.”

When she changed her voice tone too, even the boys and adventurers stared intently.

“Now she’s a man.” “Interesting.” “Can we do that too?”

“Well, you can do the opposite too, but unless you dress the part, the discomfort would be strong and you’d be found out.”

“Oooh～”

Exclamations of admiration echoed through the basement. Emilia nodded and smiled at Iris, who seemed to have been taken aback and had stopped crying.

“I’m fine with it, so please forgive them.”

“But…”

Satisfied that her gaze wasn’t leaving her.

“In exchange, I’d like you to apologize to me soon, wouldn’t you?”

Emilia presented her dissatisfaction.

“…Eh?”

Iris was dumbfounded. Emilia smiled brightly.

“This morning in the inn’s dining hall, you were called using the Blaze Brigade’s code, right? Then if you had brought me along from the start, wouldn’t this trouble have been avoided?”

“Au…”

Apparently, when Iris saw the emergency code in the morning, she was startled and rushed out in a panic. But her brothers and comrades were fine, and she was relieved and invited to the hideout where she was relaxing when Emilia launched her assault.

“So? Iris”

“Be…”

When Emilia pressed the question, Iris, who had retreated half a step, blushed.

“Because I thought I’d be teased if we were together.”

The embarrassed small voice echoed surprisingly loudly.

(Cute)

Emilia honestly felt her heart flutter and couldn’t look away. Come to think of it, back in the barony, Iris had strangely resisted introducing Emilia to her brothers. Watching Iris with her face bright red from embarrassment, Emilia felt like she could forgive everything.

“Should we cheer you on?” “Even though you’re both women, you make a good match.” “Emilia-san, we’re sorry. Please take care of our sis.”

“Hey, you guys!?”

Iris, being teased by her brothers, was angry with a voice that sounded like a scream.

Somehow, it was all very amusing.

The “muddled feelings” disappeared.

The depths of her chest felt warmly content.

☆ ☆ ☆

After properly bowing to each other again, promising cooperation, and exchanging some information—Emilia left the hideout accompanied by Iris.

(They were good-natured people, weren’t they? The brothers too, they’re such good kids who really care about their sister. Looking back, I suppose it turned out alright? Their injuries were just bruises, and their eardrums seemed fine too. Somehow, I was invited to join the adventurers quite persistently.)

“You’re too strong.” “We definitely want you to join our brigade.” “You could become an A-rank adventurer immediately.” “S-rank isn’t just a dream either” — they kept praising her one after another, and Emilia was only annoyed by that point.

(If someone like me could achieve that, then Iris would become a legendary hero.)

Emilia looked back at Iris, who was following silently with her head slightly lowered and face red. She had naturally dealt with the stun grenade and smoothly avoided Emilia’s attacks. It felt like their training was on a different level, and Emilia couldn’t imagine being able to win against her.

Thinking of her like that, she also recalled the sight of Iris and the boy—Levai—she had seen earlier on the same street. The image of their smiling faces and holding hands crossed her mind.

“Iris. I still haven’t received an apology from you.”

“Hyai!?”

Emilia stopped walking and stared intently at Iris. Iris, who had also stopped her eyes wavered slightly, but she didn’t look away.

“Well, it’s fine, but even if this place has few people around, holding hands with a man out in the open is a bit improper, don’t you think? Baron’s daughter.”

“Bu, but. Levai is my brother…”

When teased about what happened earlier, Iris pouted slightly and resisted. Emilia narrowed her eyes and smiled a little.

“Others don’t see it that way. About the Kismort barony, didn’t I tell you? You mustn’t do things that cause misunderstandings.”

“Au… I’m sorry.”

Perhaps remembering the previous warning, Iris obediently bowed her head. Emilia nodded and reached out her hand to her.

“If we’re going to cause misunderstandings anyway.”

“Ah!?”

Emilia’s left hand caught Iris’s right hand as she tried to escape.

“Thi, this way is the best, isn’t it?”

“Eh, bu, but. We’re both women.”

Both their voices rose in pitch. Emilia cleared her throat once.

“Does it look that way? Are you dissatisfied with Bo(・)ku(・)’s escort? Iris”

She told Iris that crisply.

Her face turned bright red.

But her hand.

Her fingers.

Were secretly intertwined.

Emilia nodded cheerfully and started walking while pulling her hand. Slowly, lowering her pace.

“That’s right. I bought plenty of ingredients at the morning market.”

“Ah, is, that so.”

“It’s already past noon, and we’ve exercised plenty.”

“That’s true, isn’t it. When did…”

Turning her gaze to Iris who was following quietly, Emilia smiled once more. While pressing her stomach that was about to growl.

“There’s a deserted square a little way from here. I can bring out the cart and equipment… Shall we have a meal? Iris”

In the corner of her eye, she saw Iris’s red face.

A light had been lit within it.

“Yes! I’ll put my all into cooking for you!”

“Excellent. Let’s go.”

“Hyai…!”

While thinking the tongue-tied Iris was cute.

Emilia too couldn’t suppress the beating of her own heart.

Without composure, she started walking… a little faster.

The depths of her chest felt “muddled” and very hot.

She felt like she wanted to remember this warmth.