Fiancée VS Fiancée

The story went back a little, beginning from the moment Cattleya had pressed her Demon Sword against Mies’s throat.

“Now then, you’re going to talk.”

“Ngh…”

While Cattleya handled the situation calmly, Mies, despite technically being a soldier, had been raised as a sheltered young lady and possessed less combat ability than even an ordinary soldier. All she could do was stare at Cattleya while her entire body trembled.

But at that moment, an explosion accompanied by a tremor in the earth came from the area where Lilim was fighting. The Red Dragon looked in that direction and reported exactly what it saw to Cattleya, but the identities of the people involved presented a serious problem. Unable to contain herself, Cattleya complained to her dragon.

“Why the hell are the brats from the Three Dukes all the way out here?!”

From Mies’s perspective, Cattleya suddenly talking to herself was extremely frightening. At the same time, however, she realized that Cattleya’s attention had shifted elsewhere. If Mies… had any particular talent, it would probably have been retreating from dangerous situations. Mies had originally appeared in the game as well, and although her stats were low, she possessed one distinctive trait—a skill.

“Now is my chance!!!”

Mies activated one of the pieces of equipment she carried. It was a ‘smoke screen.’ A cylindrical object rolled across the ground, then violently spewed smoke that obscured the vision of both Cattleya and the Red Dragon. But that alone would not have been enough. Something this simple could never let her escape from a dragon and a Dragoon… if it were only smoke.

“Wha—! It stinks! What the hell is in this smoke?!”

Cattleya covered her nose and mouth with her cloak, while the dragon was likewise unable to pursue Mies because of the stench. Amid the foul-smelling smoke, Mies successfully escaped from the Dragoon. Her unique ability… ‘Successful Escape’ was a skill that gave her a high chance of fleeing successfully under virtually any circumstances.

The circumstances themselves also favored Mies. There was no chance Cattleya would prioritize Mies over Lilim here. Since Lilim’s opponents were heirs of the Three Dukes, Cattleya had no choice but to deal with that first. And because her original mission had been either to capture or kill Lilim, she could not afford to waste any more time on Mies.

“I had to use my trump card… and this smell is so hard to wash off! This is why I hate Courtois! Damn you, lizard knight!!!”

Mies fled while hurling insults behind her. Meanwhile, Cattleya decided to head toward Lilim’s location.

“What is with this smell?! And seriously… why does she always, always cause trouble?!”

Grumbling herself, Cattleya climbed onto the Red Dragon’s back and headed off to assist Rudel and the others.

When Cattleya reached the battlefield, she immediately charged alongside her dragon straight into the Wind Dragon carrying Lilim. From what she had seen from the air, Rudel’s group consisted of five people, and two of them were already on the verge of being taken out. If this dragged on any longer, someone would die.

“Please surrender quietly, Senpai!”

The two dragons collided and grappled with one another as they fell toward the ground. The two Dragoons leapt from their backs, landed on the ground, readied their respective weapons, and immediately began fighting.

“Cattleya!!! What the hell does a filthy whore like you want?!”

The moment Lilim recognized Cattleya, she unleashed her emotions without restraint. Cattleya, who knew how Lilim normally behaved, was thoroughly appalled—but Cattleya herself had also been responsible for creating the cause of Lilim’s current state.

“Those are my orders. Please surrender quietly…”

Cattleya’s Demon Sword violently clashed with Lilim’s knife. As their faces drew close while their weapons locked together, Lilim spat directly into Cattleya’s face.

“Why the hell are you talking politely now?! I already know what you’re really like! What does a woman who spreads her legs for any man she sees want with me now?! You even went after my… my fiancé, just to rub it in my face, you bitch!!!”

Lilim was no longer making much sense. In her confused mind, Cattleya was a homewrecker trying to steal Rudel, her fiancé. To Lilim, Rudel had become intertwined with the memory of her former fiancé and had turned into a romantic interest. Rudel, the man who had sworn to share a future with her, had seen her black eyes, betrayed her, and gone off to fool around with other women.

That was how Lilim understood the situation. Cattleya, however…

“What the hell was that for?! You’re always acting so prim and proper… and I’m a virgin!!!”

“Liar! You’re always flirting with other male knights… right where everyone can see you!”

The two separated, and the fight shifted to magic. Lilim launched spells in rapid succession, while Cattleya countered with her own magic and mana slashes released from the Demon Sword, turning the battle into a mid-range exchange.

“I was just being friendly! I have no interest in men who approach me just because of my face and body!”

“Bragging again?! That’s why the other female knights hate you! You keep acting sweet around every popular man you see! You’ve noticed them avoiding you during training too, haven’t you?”

“Kh… Don’t screw with me! You’re always acting aloof too, and the other women hate you just as much! The moment you leave the break room, it turns into a festival of everyone badmouthing you!”

The two Dragoons continued fighting while trading insults. Considering how advanced their battle was, the content of their conversation felt like an incredible waste.

“A-Anyway, what do you even see in some brat like that…?”

“You… you could never understand how I feel! Unlike you, I don’t care about family status or money! I just… I just want to get married!!!”

At Lilim’s heartfelt cry, Cattleya found herself wondering whether that was really any better.

“All I wanted was a happy family… but because of these eyes, I can’t even have that. Do you have any idea what that feels like?!”

“Of course I don’t, and I don’t want to! Getting married to someone you don’t even love…”

Cattleya’s voice trailed off near the end, prompting Lilim to respond.

“What are you dreaming about? You seriously think some prince on a white horse exists in this world?… Pfft.”

Lilim burst out laughing at Cattleya’s unexpectedly maidenly romantic ideals. As Lilim laughed as though to say they did not suit her at all, Cattleya finally reached her limit.

“I’ll kill you… I’ll fucking kill you!!!”

“I’ve been trying to kill you from the start, dumbass!!!”

“…Hey, Rudel. I’m starting to really not want to jump into the middle of that anymore…”

Rudel and Unias, who had approached the fighting pair, abruptly stopped running when they overheard their conversation. Rudel had stopped because he was waiting for the right moment, but Unias was clearly horrified by the two women.

“Is there some kind of problem, Unias?”

“Dude, do you seriously still want to save women like that?”

Unias pointed toward the pair and looked at Rudel with a completely serious expression. At the end of his finger, the two Dragoons were fighting while furiously insulting one another with obscene expressions that even most men would hesitate to use.

“Of course! I’ll save them no matter what.”

“Haah… Fine. I said I’d help, so I’ll commit to it too. Haah…”

Unias tightened his grip on his greatsword and ran toward Cattleya. Rudel likewise readjusted his grip on his sword and headed toward Lilim… but he had one concern.

(Just hold together a little longer.)

His sword had finally begun reaching its true limit after the battle with Lilim. Even the way it felt in his hand was different from usual, a subtle change he could recognize only because he had used the sword for so long. Even so, Rudel understood it unmistakably. This sword had reached its limit…

Just as Lilim and Cattleya, still trading insults, were about to close in for another melee exchange, Unias moved against Cattleya while Rudel moved against Lilim, stepping between the two and stopping their battle.

“Kh…! What do you two think you’re doing?!”

When Cattleya recognized Rudel and Unias and shouted at them, Unias answered with an awkward smile. Having overheard the two women’s conversation earlier only made his expression twitch even more.

“Come on, hold up a second, Dragoon-san. My buddy refuses to give up on saving his fiancée… so could you give us just a little time? If you say no, then I guess you’ll have to keep me company for a while.”

Unias appealed to Cattleya in a tone that almost sounded like he was flirting with her. From Cattleya’s perspective, however, one of the very people she had come to rescue was now getting in her way. It was hardly pleasant.

“Are you serious? Even if you’re an heir of one of the Three Dukes, there are things you may and may not do.”

You’re really the one saying that? Unias thought, but he poured strength into his greatsword nonetheless, making it clear that he had no intention of letting her pass.

Cattleya leapt backward away from Unias and created some distance between them.

“Even if you somehow save her… Senpai—no, that Dragoon will…”

She would undoubtedly be charged with a serious crime. Cattleya wanted to say as much, but after lowering her eyes, she looked once more at Unias and then toward Rudel, who was speaking with Lilim behind him. Unlike before, Cattleya felt no hatred welling up toward Rudel. She lowered her weapon and quietly watched the two of them.