So this was Lord Yuri...
I had heard rumors in the Royal Capital that he was a powerless shut-in with a dark, brooding personality. The reality, however, was the exact opposite.
He possessed enough strength to easily overpower the knights assigned to my own escort, yet he remained perfectly composed—polite, refined, and exceptionally handsome. He was like a prince stepped straight out of a fairy tale.
And I am to be this man’s wife.
To be honest, I had dreaded the idea of being sent to an unknown Frontier Region, but now, anticipation outweighed my anxiety. It was a desolate land where many hardships surely awaited, but if I were with him, perhaps...
As I was lost in those fluffy, daydream-like thoughts, Yuri called out to me.
"We’ve arrived. This is Alum Town."
Before us stood a City Wall so massive it could have rivaled the one surrounding the Royal Capital. For a moment, I was struck by the illusion that we had somehow circled back to the heart of the kingdom. It was that magnificent.
"Um, is this place really...?"
"Yes. This is Alf Town," he replied.
It was supposed to have been a mere village originally, but with a City Wall this grand, calling it a 'town' already felt like an understatement. Then again, this was a dangerous Frontier Region. It wasn't entirely surprising that one would prioritize the maintenance of the City Wall immediately upon taking up their post.
The gate opened slowly.
Beyond it lay a sprawl of laid cobblestones and beautifully lined buildings. The streets were teeming with people, their faces bright with smiles. It was a townscape overflowing with vitality. Looking at this scene, who could have guessed that this was a dangerous Frontier Region abandoned by the state?
As I stood there with my mouth agape, stunned into silence, two familiar faces approached us from the center of town.
"Oh? Lady Tia? What are you doing here?"
The newcomers were Emma and Emilina.
"The Hero and the Saint..." I murmured.
"Ahaha! I’m always telling you that just 'Emma' is fine, right?"
"I—I couldn't possibly. The Hero has a grave mission to exterminate evil, after all."
"R-Right. Yeah. The Hero's Mission. I have one of those. Definitely," Emma said, her eyes drifting toward the sky.
She had clearly forgotten all about it.
To be honest, Emma had been following Sasha’s instructions almost exclusively lately, so I hadn't seen her face much myself. It didn't help that I had been busy flying all over the place. Moreover, Emma had a tendency to lose all control whenever she saw something fluffy; since I usually had Fee or Elu with me, it made traveling with her quite difficult.
If she were to commit some gross discourtesy against Elu, the Princess of the Beast Kingdom, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Beast King—who absolutely doted on his daughter—erupted in a world-ending rage. For those reasons, I had left her in Sasha’s care, figuring that was the safest place for everyone involved. Regardless of her quirks, she was still the Hero; she possessed a baseline of genuine ability.
"Anyway, back to the point," Emma said. "Why did Lady Tia come all the way out here?"
"That is simple," I replied. "I am here to enter into an engagement with Lord Yuri."
"Wait, what?" Yuri blurted out.
He sounded genuinely surprised. Come to think of it, I hadn't actually mentioned this to him yet. Seeing him so caught off guard gave me a small sense of triumph, and a smile escaped my lips.
"I will explain the details later, but Lord Yuri... I look forward to our future together."
◇◆◇◆◇◆
How did it turn out like this?
I held my head in my hands, reeling from the fact that I had gained another fiancée without even realizing it. All I wanted was Independence. Why did I keep collecting Royal Fiancées like they were some kind of common commodity?
No... stay calm. This might be a ploy to provoke me, a way to bait me into exposing a flaw.
If that were the case, there was only one path forward. I would act as I always did. I wouldn't change a thing.
"Well then, I’ll continue the tour of the town. Emma, Emilina—could you two go and tell Sasha and Fee that Lady Tia has arrived?"
"Got it! Leave it to us!"
Emma dashed off immediately, with Emilina scurrying frantically after her.
[Report from the Author]
Thanks to everyone's support, it has been officially decided that Reincarnated as a Mastermind Family, but I'll Ignore the Original Game and Become Independent will receive both a light novel publication and a manga adaptation!
Thank you all so very much.
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I look forward to your continued support!
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