The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me

0% - Step, step...

“The weather is lovely today.”

I tried to say something casual, but the atmosphere wasn’t great.

“....”

The faces of the girls following me were all shadowed with gloom.

“The garden is well maintained. Look at all the butterflies fluttering around...”

“Hey, Frey.”

I was trying to change the topic to lift the mood when suddenly, Aishi stopped in her tracks and spoke in a low voice.

“What did you... mean by what you said earlier?”

“Hm.”

Glancing around, I slowly sat down on a bench in the park and answered her question.

“As you heard.”

“In that case...”

“I can’t accept your confession.”

The moment those words left my mouth, the air around us turned noticeably colder.

“...Why not?”

As she continued to ask, I sighed and began to explain.

“I have a clear and definite reason.”

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“I am already married.”

“...”

“It might surprise you, but I even have a child.”

As Frey said this, he avoided my gaze.

“...But what if it doesn’t matter to me?”

“What?”

My gaze was fixed solely on him.

“Ms.  Aishi, what do you mean by that...”

“I’m fine with being your concubine.”

As I declared this through gritted teeth, the girl with fox ears behind me wagged her tail, and the drunk young lady beside her staggered, both staring at me in disbelief.

“Still no?”

“Uh, well...”

Frey, too, looked at me with a surprised expression.

Seeing him like this brought a smile to my face.

Had I smiled recently?

No, I hadn’t even changed my expression in so long.

Maybe he really is the only answer for me.

“I don’t just have one wife, though.”

“What?”

As I stared blankly at Frey, he gave an unexpected reply.

“I have... eight wives.”

“Pfftt.”

“If you were to join as a concubine, you’d be dealing with eight other main wives. Do you think you could handle that...”

“Pfft... Ha... Haha...”

Oh, my goodness.

When was the last time I laughed so unrestrainedly?

“Hahaha, haha...!”

“I’m not joking, you know? Just visit my house, and you’ll see...”

The laughter I had been holding back poured out all at once.

“Haha, ha...”

“........”

When I finally managed to stop laughing, I looked at Frey, who was silently watching me, seemingly annoyed.

“Excuse me.”

“...Hm.”

Sure enough, he rose from his seat and began striding toward me.

“...”

So, this is how my last attempt ends.

What should I do now? Maybe I should just give up on everything.

“...?”

Lost in thought, I suddenly felt something being pressed into my hand.

“This is...”

It was a handkerchief, covered in scribbles and filled with a sense of fondness for its owner, for reasons I couldn’t understand.

“Why are you crying?”

While staring blankly at the handkerchief, I heard Frey’s concerned voice.

“Are you alright?”

Oh, so I was crying.

No wonder I felt a little relieved.

“...It’s just dust in my eyes.”

“You seem to be shedding a bit too much for that.”

I tried to make an excuse, but Frey looked at me with a skeptical expression, so I asked him quietly.

“What do you think of me?”

Why did I suddenly ask him that question?

“...And what do you think of me, then?”

And what was Frey thinking, asking that back?

“Alright, I’ll go first.”

After thinking it over briefly but finding no suitable answer, I decided to just answer as best as I could.

“You are...”

But...

“.........”

“Ms. Aishi?”

Even that answer escaped me.

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“Why did you stop talking?”

“...”

The reason I confessed to Frey was, in fact, very simple.

It was escapism.

Coming here today, formally proposing to him—those were all just attempts to escape.

Why I needed such an escape can be pieced together by glancing through recent newspaper articles.

In short, could a war criminal, who nearly destroyed the world, truly qualify as queen?

I wanted to file a complaint against those articles, but I stopped myself.

After all, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Miraculously, there were no casualties, but my magic had nearly frozen the entire western continent.

Even though the dragons and allied forces had restored it nearly to perfection after the war, that didn’t erase what I did.

Even in my kingdom, rumors were spreading about whether a woman who could freeze the world should be crowned as a queen.

Abroad, my nickname had already solidified as the “Second Ice Witch.”

Yes, I wanted to run away.

I wanted to escape to the man who once helped me when I was suffering under similar circumstances...

The man who saved me from freezing the world.

But now that I think about it, I wonder if that’s what I truly wanted.

Though he’s an attractive man as any woman would notice...

Is he really the person I want to leave everything for?

My throne, my honor, even my pride?

Yes, I finally understand.

That’s when I realized.

You were nothing more than an escape for me.

I just wanted to run.

To flee from this world, from a kingdom that I loved but that could no longer love me back.

And to escape to you, the one person who reached out to me.

“My story doesn’t matter, right?”

“...”

“Would you tell me what you think of me?”

Having sorted out my chaotic thoughts, I closed my eyes and asked Frey.

I didn’t want to share my story, so he wouldn’t be influenced by it.

“For me, you are...”

I just wanted to hear his answer.

“...a close friend, I’d say.”

“Hah.”

The words that left his mouth were truly absurd.

A close friend, he said.

For a relationship as brief as ours, “close friend” was far too generous.

“Yes, the more I think about it, that’s about right.”

But seeing the sincerity on his face, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

What a kind person he is.

“Pfft...”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, it’s just a little funny.”

“See, we’ve shared jokes, haven’t we? I think being close friends is about right.”

And he’s also a charming man.

How could anyone not be drawn to someone who risked his life to relieve the suffering of others?

“...I see.”

But his answer had already settled things.

“Thank you for your answer.”

The word “friend” drew a clear boundary.

Pushing any further would only complicate things.

And besides, I had lost the will to do so.

“Then I’ll be going...”

“Wait a moment.”

Just as I was about to bow to my “close friend” and walk away with a quiet smile, I felt warmth hold me back.

“I still have something to say.”

“What?”

Frey held onto my arm, looking at me with a serious gaze.

“You’re not someone who would fall here.”

“...”

The next words that left his mouth...

“And you’re certainly not someone who’d fall in line under me.”

“...”

“If anything, you’re someone who shines from above.”

...were words I had longed to hear just once in my life.

“So don’t be swayed by the petty obstacles around you.”

“...Ah.”

“Your worth is determined not by those fools, but by the people who believe in you and by the beauty within you.”

They stirred the desires I had long buried.

“I just thought you should know.”

“...”

“Sorry if that was a bit presumptuous...”

After saying that, Frey scratched his head and looked at me, gauging my reaction.

“Thank you.”

“...?”

Looking at him closely, I then stepped forward with a gentle smile.

“Mmm.”

“...!?”

A moment later, my cool breath left a faint chill on his lips.

“See you later, my friend.”

“W-Wait...”

“When I reach the top, I’ll come find you.”

Funny how an escape can become a life’s goal in an instant.

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- Step, step...

“Hey, human? Are you really just abandoning me? After consuming my fox bead? Just like that?  Really?”

“T-Teacher... I... I want to do it too...”

Miho had her tail wrapped around Frey’s waist while Eurelia kept trying to link arms with him despite her drunken stupor.

“...Ahem.”

Watching Frey leave the garden in silence, Aishi looked on with a slightly flushed face.

“Alright, you can come out now.”

Then, suddenly, she raised her hand with a cold expression.

“Oh.”

The next moment, someone emerged from the far side of the garden.

“How did you detect my presence?”

“How?”

Hearing that curious voice, Aishi—who had just been a vision of youthful innocence—began to radiate a deadly aura.

“...There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize the presence of the one who has plagued me all my life.”

With those words, the once beautiful garden began to freeze over.

“How are you... here?”

“Kehehe... Hehehe...”