Chapter 10 The One Who Strikes First Is in the Wrong
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The moment I stepped out into the nearby woods with Emma in the carriage, we were attacked in an empty spot where no one could see us.
Since we had set this up as a secret trip, both Emma and I were dressed simply, like town girls. The carriage looked like a hired hack. The only visible guard was a single Royal Guard in disguise.
The Howard family veteran posing as the coachman shouted in a flat, practiced monotone: “S-Spare us, good sirs!” The Royal Guard, who had been told ahead of time that this was a performance, seemed genuinely impressed: “You’re really committing to the bit.”
The coachman, our family’s finest, leaped down from the driver’s seat, flashed a wide grin, and called out: “Then, my lady! I wish you luck!” And with that, he hurried the Royal Guard along and vanished like the wind.
Some of the attackers gave chase, but the hidden guards were already moving to catch them. Hopefully, they would keep things quiet enough that the Royal Guard never realized this was the real deal.
When Emma and I stepped into view, the six or seven attackers, dressed like travelers, stood there blinking in confusion.
They had planned this ambush carefully. But the coachman had stopped the carriage on his own. The guard had left his post. The noble lady, the target, had stepped out on her own and did not look even slightly afraid. This was not the script they had practiced.
Recovering quickly, the men bared ugly smiles and leveled their swords at me.
”You’re the Moon Princess, right?” said the bear-like middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader.
”I’m not,” I replied.
”We ain’t got nothin’ against you – wait, what?” He blinked, thrown.
”Like I said, I’m not. I’ve never once gone by that embarrassing name.”
”It ain’t about what you call yourself! You’ve been called Moon Princess before, haven’t you!?”
”That… is true, however reluctantly.”
”Then you’re our target! What the hell, you’re throwin’ me off my groove!” The leader stomped his feet in frustration.
Now that I have lived sixty years across two lifetimes, I find something almost sweet about watching a man this age throw a tantrum like a kid. Is this what they call “gap moe”?1
Regrouping once more, the men opened their mouths to scare the two helpless women standing alone.
”Hee hee hee… Looks like everyone abandoned you, lady,” one of them leered.
”Just behave yourself, and we’ll treat you nice,” said another.
”Don’t worry, we won’t kill you. Might make you wish you were dead, though. Heh heh.”
”Take enough of us, and you’ll be so spoiled you can’t live without a man.”
”Too bad for you, but – “
If I let them go any further, the Shadow, not to mention the hidden Howard family guards, would lose it. So I cut in.
”Excuse me. You do know who I am, correct? That is why you are attacking me today?”
”Huh? Yeah, ‘course. You’re the former fiancée who bewitched the Crown Prince. Your crimes caught up with you, stripped of your rank, on your way out of the capital, right?” said the leader.
”My engagement has not been broken yet. I am still, as we speak, the Crown Prince’s fiancée. Which means… surely you understand?” I smiled sweetly.
”Un – understand what?” He took a step back.
”That you attacked someone of near-royal standing. And that as a weak woman with a blade pointed at her, I have every right to wipe you out with everything I have.”
And with that, my declaration of total war was complete.
Something about my cool smile must have reached them. The big men shuddered, just a little.
Attacker A was writhing on the ground, pinned under Emma’s foot.
He was the kind of man who could not read the room, the first one to charge us, thinking we were two defenseless women. Emma used his speed against him and drove a hard strike into his stomach. He dropped to his knees in an instant. Every Shadow member is battle-trained, so putting down an overconfident opponent is second nature. Mm. My subordinates are excellent.
Emma followed up by driving her small fist into Attacker B’s gut.
At that, their leader seemed to decide there was no backing out now. He and several others charged.
Emma moved, and I was ready. I activated the prototype I had brought along for mine and Emma’s fun… well, let us call it research. The “Repel Bear-chan Prototype 1.”2
It looked like a slightly chubby pen, shaped like a laser pointer. This prototype was enchanted so that when it locked onto a target, it would release a spray of chemical agent. A simple trigger switch set it off.
Like some kind of justice warrior, I held multiple Repel Bear-chans between my fingers, locking on and firing one after another. The contents were slightly different for each, actually.
”Aahhh, my lady! You have to fire them slowly so we can check what each one does!” Emma kicked Attacker B, now doubled over and clutching his gut, and voiced her complaint.
”Do not be ridiculous! They are not going to wait politely while we take notes! Speed is everything!”
I saw that the attackers who had been hit were down and shot down Emma’s complaint without pause.
The ones who tried to run did not make it far. The Bear-chans were equipped with tracking magic.
”Ooh ho ho. These two are mine, my lady.”
Emma’s tongue slipped across her lips. The look on her face was that of a hunter about to finish off her prey.
In her hand, clutched tightly, was a Repel Bear-chan marked with a skull.
Minutes later, seven grown men lay at my feet, sniffling, sobbing, groaning in deep, hoarse voices.
”Ugh – AGH! Mercy, mercy! What IS this – OW! That seriously hurts!” Attacker A, clutching his eyes and writhing at my feet, had been fully beaten by Emma and then, when he still had the nerve to talk back, he had eaten a Skull Bear-chan.3
”Hmm. It seems the formula is a bit too strong. We will need to adjust the mix. And ‘it hurts’ does not help. I need details. Type of pain, nature, intensity. Come on, what is it like?” Emma leaned in with scientific curiosity.
Once Emma’s research instinct kicked in, she was merciless.
I am not exactly innocent myself. I took the chance to use these attackers as test subjects for my new creations. I know that.
But if I had left it to the professionals, the guards and the Shadow, it would have turned into a bloodbath. And I would still have no idea how the prototypes worked. More importantly, I would not be able to have a word with Charlotte-jou, the one who hired them.
Yes, I made them suffer a little. But that is the price of getting involved in villainy.
”Too close range, and we will get caught in the spray… but we cannot always lock onto the face. And we definitely need better fire rate and range. Emma, we can take their statements later. I feel a little sorry for them now. I will heal them.”
At my words, the hidden Howard family guards came out one by one.
Once the attackers realized they had been set up and had lost all will to fight, I used healing magic to flush out the chemicals.
I made a deal with them: I would not hand them over to the Royal Guard if they would take me to the person who had hired them, the one who was supposedly coming to watch their “performance.”
They held back at first. But then the Royal Guard, who still believed this was all a test for new equipment, showed up, showed his badge, and praised them: “That was quite a performance.” At that point, they had no choice but to agree. The threat to their lives had, apparently, become very real.
And so, we found ourselves heading to a certain inn.
Along the way, they kept complaining: “We did not hear anything about a fiancée!” “Breach of contract!” “We were cheated!”
”Whether your target is the prince’s fiancée or a common girl, any job that involves attacking women is never going to be ‘decent.’ Besides, you had time to say ‘too bad for you’ during an ambush. That is why you got caught off guard. You are not cut out for this work. Take this as a sign and find honest work.”
By the time I finished my lecture, we had arrived.
Whether it was my usual good name that helped, or the simple explanation that this was a “meeting for new product development,” the Royal Guard accepted the situation without question and let us through.
—
Summary:
The protagonist stages a faux ambush to test her new chemical weapons and trap the noblewoman who hired the attackers. She and Emma dismantle the assault team with clinical efficiency, using the Repel Bear-chan prototypes to neutralize the thugs while hidden Howard family guards contain the scene. After healing the attackers and forcing a negotiation, she secures their cooperation to meet Charlotte-jou, the true orchestrator.
—
Trivia:
The protagonist has lived sixty years across two lifetimes, giving her a detached perspective on the attackers’ behavior.
Emma carries a Bear-chan marked with a skull, indicating a more lethal variant of the prototype.
The Shadow unit operates as the protagonist’s hidden elite guard, distinct from the Howard family guards.
The Royal Guard assigned to the outing genuinely believes the attack was a performance for new equipment testing.
The attackers were hired by Charlotte-jou, who planned to watch their “performance” at an inn.
The protagonist’s engagement to the Crown Prince remains legally intact despite rumors of its dissolution.
The Bear-chan prototypes use tracking magic and chemical sprays, with different variants for different effects.
Emma’s research instinct overrides her mercy, demonstrating her scientific curiosity and combat pragmatism.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Emma – Peridot, Rebecca’s observant personal maid and one of four Shadows, has clear yellow-green eyes matching her codename. From a physician family’s collateral branch, she wields deep pharmacology knowledge. Endearingly unhinged in devotion, she self-tests poisons for Rebecca’s resistance training. Battle-hardened, she handles threats with brutal efficiency and enjoys testing weapon prototypes. Extremely energetic, loyal, and protective, she views Charlotte as a compulsive liar.
• Howard – Marquis Howard, Rebecca’s father and Howard family head, shrewdly manages domain yet indulges her unusual requests; reluctant about her royal marriage. Her mother supports with exasperated tolerance toward daughter’s demands.
• Charlotte – Reincarnated protagonist of an otome game world. Formerly an unhappy Japanese high school student from a middle-class family who was constantly compared to her older sister. Now reborn as a pink-blonde beauty with light-affinity holy magic. Saint Candidate at the Royal Lemres Academy. Self-absorbed and casually cruel, but also deeply wounded by her past life of rejection and bullying. Believes the world exists solely to grant her a happy ending. Unaware that her knowledge of the game is incomplete and that her assumptions may be flawed.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply