Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 127
EP.127 Engagement
Jeong-hyeon approached Charlotte, who was crying at her desk, and stuck his head under it. Honestly, intruding into someone's personal space like this wasn't exactly a good thing to do.
'Being like this in an empty classroom is more of a nuisance.'
He decided to think that they were both doing something equally strange and called out to Charlotte.
"Are you okay?"
At his question, Charlotte, who was curled up like a squirrel, looked at him in surprise. It seemed she hadn't realized someone was watching her. Jeong-hyeon watched as Charlotte's face turned bright red and spoke.
"Is something wrong?"
If he also appeared flustered at this moment, it would only create chaos, so he pretended to be calm. Charlotte quickly tidied her disheveled uniform and spoke to him.
"... No, nothing."
She must have been quite comfortable, considering her hair was a mess when he came in. He looked at Charlotte, whose eyes were full of tears, and after a brief hesitation, he spoke calmly.
"Would you like a drink?"
"Oh... okay."
With a face full of embarrassment and confusion, she nodded quickly. It seemed she didn't want him to ask why she was like this. He averted his gaze from her and took out a drink from his subspace pouch.
"Here you go."
"... Thank you."
No matter how much the kingdom was collapsing and the academy was in chaos, Charlotte was still the first princess. She was in such a noble position that most nobles couldn't even compare, yet Jeong-hyeon couldn't understand why she was crying so sorrowfully.
'Honestly, I'm curious about why she's like this. I want to ask right away.'
But it was probably best to hold back for now. He thought it would be better to leave her alone for the moment and was about to step outside when Charlotte called out to him urgently.
"Wait a minute."
Even as she called him, she seemed conflicted, fidgeting with her fingers. Then she closed her eyes tightly and shouted to him.
"Could you help me with something?"
He nodded as if it were obvious.
'I've received a lot from her, after all.'
No matter how obsessed he was with revenge, he wasn't crazy enough to ignore those who had reached out to him. Of course, he wasn't without a tendency to take excessive revenge on his enemies. But he decided to think that this was separate from that.
"Sure. So, who do I need to kill?"
At his short answer, Charlotte looked at him with a bewildered expression and spoke.
"... I asked for help, so why is killing someone the first thing you mention?"
"Huh? Weren't you asking for an assassination?"
Charlotte looked at him as if she had nothing to say, then shook her head and continued.
"... It's not like that. I just want to live peacefully."
Wanting to live peacefully. In a way, it might be the most common wish in this world. Since Charlotte's words were somewhat abstract, Jeong-hyeon thought it would be best to wait until she explained in detail, so he watched her silently. She spoke softly.
"I gave up my right to the throne for this reason... Ah, seriously."
Then, in the middle of speaking, she suddenly got angry. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside, saying,
"... You're the first person I'm letting in here. Be grateful."
Charlotte, who had pulled Jeong-hyeon inside her desk, took out dolls and blankets from her subspace pouch and spoke.
"I never thought there'd be a day when I'd let someone in here... Ha."
It wasn't appropriate to say such things at someone else's desk, but Jeong-hyeon didn’t want to spoil the mood, so he kept his mouth shut. Charlotte sniffled and spoke to him.
"So, um, how is it? Isn't it cozy?"
Charlotte's expression was somewhat bright, like a child giving a gift. It seemed her mood for the day would depend on his impression. Jeong-hyeon chuckled at her expression and spoke.
"It's nice. Cozy and warm."
"... Right? I'm glad you think so. I don't know why, but I feel so at ease when I'm under the desk."
"Ah, yes."
He could see her becoming lively again. He watched Charlotte, waiting for her to get to the main point. Suddenly, she buried her face in the blanket and spoke.
"Anyway... I have a favor to ask. Could you maybe... en... engage!"
What was she talking about now? Jeong-hyeon looked at Charlotte, not understanding, and she seemed embarrassed, tapping her forehead with her palm as she struggled. Then, as if in a fit, she spoke.
"Could you engage with me? No, let's just do it...! I'll treat you well!"
She dropped a bombshell, one akin to a nuclear bomb, and with her face flushed red, she tugged strongly at his clothes. As his clothes were pulled, Jeong-hyeon looked at Charlotte with a face full of bewilderment and spoke.
"Well, I mean, that's one thing, but why all of a sudden?"
Honestly, if Lucia had said something like this, he might have understood. But with Charlotte, there was nothing romantic between them, not even a hint of interest, so her words were just bewildering. He gestured for her to explain, and Charlotte, after some hesitation, slowly opened her mouth.
"If... if I can't get engaged to you, I'll have to participate in that dreadful battle for the throne again... So could you at least pretend to be engaged to me?"
"Well, I understand that part. But why me?"
"... Because! The kingdom's condition was that I get engaged to you!"
Her words left Jeong-hyeon deep in thought for a moment. He couldn’t know the exact context, but given Charlotte's sudden proposal, it seemed the kingdom was trying to use her to keep him tied to them.
'There's nothing easier than marriage to forge a relationship.'
The kingdom probably thought it was quite a good bait. To an outsider, Charlotte was in a position to offer him the royal dormitory, showing goodwill. Since she had even provided accommodation, it was likely that their relationship was quite entangled, which was why they made such a proposal.
'Unfortunately, we're not that entangled.'
At best, they were just senior and junior. There was nothing romantic between them, so hearing such words didn't have much impact.
'They're doing something interesting.'
Thinking that it was the first time they were using a conciliatory tactic instead of confronting him directly, Jeong-hyeon laughed and spoke calmly to Charlotte.
"You don't need to worry about that. The kingdom will fall soon anyway."
"... What?"
"It means you don't need to worry about the engagement or anything."
"Re-really?"
Jeong-hyeon wasn’t sure if it was right to tell Charlotte this, but it was better to be honest. He decided to tell her, even considering the possibility that she might turn against him. However, contrary to his expectations, Charlotte didn’t seem to care much and just nodded, saying,
"I knew that, but it still kept bothering me."
"Really?"
"Since it's everything that forms my foundation..."
At her words, Jeong-hyeon looked at a nearby doll and spoke.
"Senior."
"Oh... yes?"
Charlotte seemed surprised that Jeong-hyeon called her 'senior,' and she looked at him with a face full of confusion. Jeong-hyeon looked at her and spoke about the matter at hand.
"Would it be okay if I destroyed the kingdom?"
It seemed that emotions changed depending on the space. Jeong-hyeon thought that, like Charlotte said, his heart was becoming too honest, and he asked a question he wouldn’t normally ask. Charlotte, hearing this, looked at him with trembling eyes.
"... Honestly, I don't know. Logically, it would be right to side with the kingdom and not get involved with you, but strangely, I keep thinking it doesn't matter much what happens."
"Really?"
"Yes..."
Charlotte seemed unable to make a decision yet, showing her complex emotions as she looked at him. Jeong-hyeon looked at her and spoke briefly.
"Then there's no choice. What's it called, an engagement? Let's just do it."
"Yeah. Of course, it would be right to refuse... What did you say?"
"I thought of something fun."
Jeong-hyeon thought it would be quite entertaining to enter the kingdom under the pretense of engagement and cause all sorts of chaos, so he already felt his mouth watering.
'If I accept the engagement proposal, the kingdom will advertise it widely to show that the hero who punished the pope is friendly towards them.'
He planned to use this to bring them down, just like he did with the church.
'I wonder what the kingdom will think if they see royal corpses or the pope chimera sitting in my guest seats.'
To celebrate their engagement, the royals would rise from their graves. Just thinking about it brought tears of emotion, so Jeong-hyeon tried to shed a tear and applauded inwardly.
'Yes, this is a true engagement ceremony.'
He was really looking forward to seeing what expression the king would make, and he concluded the conversation.
"Then, please make sure to convey the engagement details well, senior."
"Oh, oh? ... Okay."
Charlotte, with a face full of surprise at the unexpected turn of events, nodded, and Jeong-hyeon laughed as he watched her. Then Charlotte suddenly grabbed his clothes and spoke.
"Oh, and just in case, could you keep the engagement a secret from the others?"
"I don't mind."
Honestly, it wouldn't matter much even if he told them the truth. But since Charlotte asked, Jeong-hyeon decided to do as she wished and nodded. Charlotte let out a sigh of relief and spoke to him.
"... Still, I never imagined we'd end up doing something like this. It's kind of a strange feeling, isn't it? It's just a weird feeling, haha."
A laugh forced to hide awkwardness. Jeong-hyeon looked at her expression and said he felt the same.
'Then, should I head back to the dormitory now?'
Hana would be waiting impatiently, so Jeong-hyeon decided to return immediately and turned towards the dormitory.