Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru Chapter 7

Author’s note: Nothing strong enough to warrant the story receiving an R-rating, but there are a few peculiar scenes here and there.
   Please avoid if you’re squeamish.

   [Yes, she means it. You have been warned!]

   After the chance meeting, a few days later.

   I’ve been diligently attending to my studies, day in and out. Now that I’ve met my beloved Commander, it’s time to throw all of my energy into self-improvement again. That whole flag destroying matter can wait. Until the other love interests start gathering at the palace, business has been closed for the foreseeable future.
   I want to believe that I can live in peace for a few years until the Wizard and the Priest make their appearances.

   Johan is getting training from Chris, and it’s easy to see how he’s changing. He stands a little taller, and above all, he looks different now. The spoiled crybaby who clung to me until recently has become more princely.

   As for Georg, sometimes I’ll visit Lady Emma, and it’s great fun listening to her gossip about his progress. The boy who used to look exactly like his mother was starting to become more manly these days.
   Georg’s father and uncle are both taking a hand in training him for his future. Not only was he receiving a gentleman’s education, he was also devoting himself to learning the fundamentals of trade from Master Julius.

   Were the Eicher House to fall into ruin, Georg would still be able to support his wife and children, or so Lady Emma boasted, laughing.

   “Ruin,” she says. It’s really not as impossible as she’s lightheartedly making it out to be.

   Anyway! Leaving aside the topic of Lady Emma’s natural airhead self, if those two turn Georg into a decent man, the flags affecting Rosemarie can be struck down by two.
   If the unknown Priestess chooses Johan or Georg, either I won’t be put under house arrest for the rest of my life by one, or I won’t end up in a loveless marriage with the other.

   All right. So far, so good!

   “…………”

   Once upon a time, I truly did believe that.

   I’m currently cooped up in my room, reading a history book that had been a.s.signed to me by the person teaching me history. There were a lot of archaic phrases, and I was struggling through it while trying to hold a dictionary open in one hand, but…good grief, it was impossible to concentrate. I can’t do it!

   Someone has been staring at me with a gaze so strong, it seemed like a hole might burn into the fabric of my clothes.

   “…………”

   No, I’m not being too self-conscious. I can feel it—that dreadful stare—and if I look over my books, for a split second, our eyes will meet.

   Could you get lost!!

   I’m so worked up there’s a stabbing pain in my stomach. It feels like I have an ulcer.

   The criminal guilty of aggravating me these past few days is my guard knight, Klaus von Belmar.*

   To tell you the truth, there is one guy I could have left alone in this world—the m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t Guard Knight.

   With love interests lurking around every corner, it seems strange that there would be someone who doesn’t need to have his flags destroyed—but of course, there was a reason for that.

   In the game, when it came to Klaus, he was “unable to act once he left Rosemarie’s side,” and destroying this flag—his inability to act alone—becomes an important premise in his story.

   In the current world, Klaus is 18 years old.
   He has short-cropped dark brown hair, a deeply chiseled face—strong eyebrows over beautiful deep green down-turned eyes, and a youthful smile that is popular with the young ladies. His smile really suits him, it freshens up his athletic look. Too bad it’s going to waste.

   The story of how Klaus came to be entrusted with Rosemarie’s protection happened a little before a year ago. It was too late to do anything for him by that point—he had already started showing m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic tendencies.

   Klaus was the second son to an earl. His free-spirited older brother, who had played without a care of his surroundings, proved taxing to their more reserved parents. This in turn influenced their choices in Klaus’s upbringing, not necessarily for the better.

   So that they wouldn’t repeat the same mistake with their younger son, Klaus had an extreme upbringing—he became someone who could perform everything flawlessly.
   But, no matter how perfect he was, there were just some things he things he failed at. He was only human, after all. It was natural.
   Unable to see things so optimistically, he blamed himself more than necessary. He tortured himself with criticisms…and before you knew it, his self-loathing had become a desire for self-punishment.
   I don’t really understand what clicks in the mentality of a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, but in his case it was probably his perfectionism tearing him apart. I do wonder if it was his anguish that did him in.

   As the years went by, his older brother began to settle down. Once their parents realized this and started focusing on him, Klaus enrolled to join the kingdom’s chivalric order and left home. Several years later, he became Rosemarie’s guard knight.

   In other words, no matter what I do, Klaus’s masochism is something I can’t destroy myself. Unfortunately, when I think of the Priestess who could do something about it, I’m reminded that her whereabouts are still unknown. And there’s an age gap between the two. I guess it was impossible from the start, so I have no choice but to give up for now.

   There was another important reason why I need his flag to get destroyed, and that’s because of…the twisted Master and Servant bond between Rosemarie and Klaus.

   You see, Rosemarie von Werfard loved Klaus.
   Not, not me. Until the very end, the in-game princess did.

   It was almost inevitable that the young girl was drawn into a romantic relations.h.i.+p with the handsome guard knight. Klaus had always stood beside Rosemarie since her childhood. Nurturing the longing resembling love in her heart, she never confided her secret feelings to anyone.
   Klaus himself had always thought of Rosemarie as a little sister. He cared for her deeply and it showed in the the way he protected her, but he held no romantic feelings for her. What finally broke the status quo was something that happened when Rose was 13 years old.
   By chance, she witnessed a portion of his tryst with an older maid.

   Rose was trying to hide under the covers when she overheard a heated dispute, repeating again and again. The argument seemed to be over a divorce or something like that. She was about to get out and call for Klaus when a SMACK! resounded throughout room. Shocked by the sound, she froze.

   Peeping in the direction it came from, Rose found Klaus together with the maid. His cheek was red, and the maid held him in a tight grip. Ready to fly out and protect her knight, she froze once again at the contents of their conversation.

   “You think you can live when I’m not here?! Is there anyone other than me who is capable of hurting you? Do you really believe you can be satisfied with a normal woman?!”

   The words coming from the maid’s mouth left Rose in a daze.
   She couldn’t understand what the maid was saying. There’s no way a young child, must I point it out, would understand why someone would resort to violence.
   However, far from refuting the maid’s claims, Klaus remained silent in her abuse. He was s.h.i.+vering as if he were intoxicated, and even the untouched side of his cheek was flushed crimson. There was a thick look of enrapture in his eyes, and before long he vomited out “More…!” in a heavy, panting voice.

   I flipped out at the TV screen.**

   “What the f.u.c.k are you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds showing to the innocent princess!”

   Teeth grinding together, if I could have jumped into the screen, I would’ve covered up Rose’s eyes and ears, and taken her out of the room. After that was accomplished, I would’ve exterminated those two pieces of s.h.i.+t without a hint of hesitation.

   In the present world, there’s a possibility that things could still go this way, but since I’m Rose now, it would be pointless. Sadly, life doesn’t intend to go the way I want it to.

   And so, by herself with no one to cover her eyes or protect her ears, an endless stream of thoughts ran through Rose’s mind. The culmination of all her reasoning was—if she could bring herself to inflict pain on Klaus, she would be able to make him hers.

   That’s amazing, princess. After a repulsive scene like that, to say nothing of you not hating it, going so far as matching his preferences is not something anyone can easily do.

   I’m sure it must’ve taken a lot of courage for her to summon the nerve to hurt the person she has always loved. Despite her trembling, Rose struck him in the face, and Klaus fell to his knees in shock.
   Looking down on him, she said, “Klaus, you’re a filthy dog.”

   Let me say it again. The princess is amazing.
   Hauteur like that can’t be taught. She was born a queen. He had his breath taken away by the strength of her presence, not adoration.

   “Pr-Princess Rosemarie! I…I was—”

   “Silence! I don’t recall permitting a dog to speak my name!”

   Once more, she struck Klaus, who was creating desperate excuses, with the palm of her hand. At this point in time, I could see a new nature emerge from Rose.

   “I’m your master, aren’t I, doggie?”

   It was the moment the princess became a s.a.d.i.s.t.
   This is how Rose and Klaus threw away their affectionate siblings’ relations.h.i.+p, and became bounded by the twisted ties of a master and her servant.

   I myself supported this new development. If anyone asks me why, I’d answer they match each other well. Like they say, for every man, there’s a woman. Or, “every Jack has his Jill.”
   As long as they were both happy, I had no problems with it. However, Klaus always regretted warping the innocent princess he had protected for so long, and that regret left an opening for the Heroine to get into his heart.

   When Klaus and the Priestess finally got together, the princess was so sad I couldn’t bear to look at her, but…now I encourage it!

   C’mon! Make my day! Have at him, Priestess!!!

   I have no intention of becoming a s.a.d.i.s.tic princess! While I’m at it, I’ll even swear for all eternity I have no intention of falling in love with him.

   All the more reason for the two of us to keep our harmless relations.h.i.+p.
   Whatever fetishes Klaus may have, in or out of the bedroom, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a talented and excellent guard knight. I’m saying I’ll try my best not to step into the dark side of his personality, so it would be nice if we could build a relations.h.i.+p with good boundaries.
   Klaus had wanted to conceal the fact that he was a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, so for it to go any further, Rose would have to expose it first. Let’s stay like siblings forever, it would be better for the both of us!

   Or, that’s what I thought.

   So why has he been making funny eyes at me?!
   Until just a few days ago, he was still that refres.h.i.+ngly fine young man, wasn’t he? Maintaining the perfect distance—not too close, and not too far.

   What in the world made him start throwing those smoldering looks my way?!