Watching the girl recklessly throw herself into his arms, Eze’s eyes widened in shock.
“I… no… cough cough… Heidi, why are you here?”
Hearing this, Heidi, who had buried her face in his chest, looked up tearfully, her voice trembling with feigned anger:
“You have the nerve to ask!? The first thing I heard after waking up was that you left the team!? Why would you do that!? Do you know how worried I was!?”
No matter the issue, start loud.
Ignore the facts, subtly put the other side in the wrong, and show off how much you care.
This was Heidi’s standard opening move with Eze, always highly effective in the past.
“No… it’s not… cough cough—you…”
As expected, Eze grew visibly more panicked, even sweating, his eyes darting to the unfamiliar woman beside him.
His guilty, flustered expression made Heidi smug, reinforcing her suspicion—
He was freaking out because he got caught cheating.
Tch, having a fiancée and still messing around? Unacceptable.
With such a big leverage in her hands, how could she not use it?
After hesitating, Eze seemed to finally gather his words, trying to speak.
“Listen, Heidi, you first… cough cough—cough cough cough—it’s like this…”
But Heidi didn’t give him the chance, propping herself up, grabbing his face to make him look at her, pretending to check his condition but actually stopping him from talking.
Explain?
No way.
Why let him clear up something so advantageous to her?
Stall first.
She’d bring it up “casually” in a week or two, when it’d be too late for Eze to justify himself—she’d be the one demanding explanations.
That way, she could pin whatever blame she wanted on him.
It’d also reinforce her persona:
So worried about her fiancé’s health that she overlooked his cheating—wouldn’t Eze have to be eternally grateful?
In short, her words were all calculated, not a trace of genuine emotion.
Heidi wiped her eyes, the eye drops she’d applied streaming down like tears.
“Eze, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Why do you look so bad?”
“I—”
Eze was getting annoyed.
Originally, if he could just find a chance to end himself before Velrian captured him, it’d be a clean resolution—no collateral damage or intel leaks beyond his own life.
As for his life, Eze never cared much.
On the battlefield, it’s you kill me, I kill you—both sides have equal chances.
Having directly or indirectly taken so many lives, would he cower and beg to live when it was his turn?
No way.
Besides, compared to staying teammates with Liya and the others, what’s so scary about death?
So, until just now, Eze had been remarkably calm.
But Heidi’s sudden interference changed everything.
Velrian could leisurely sip tea with him because he was too weak—completely at her mercy, free to toy with.
Heidi was different.
As a proper hero, she could at least somewhat counter Velrian.
If Heidi tried to take him away, Velrian might act directly.
Could Heidi protect him in a fight?
Also impossible.
As a defense-focused hero, Heidi was already countered by Velrian, still unhealed from prior injuries, and without armor or weapons.
If a fight broke out, Eze was still doomed, Heidi would get dragged in, and the whole town could be caught up and destroyed.
If a key stronghold like Tafia fell, it could trigger a chain reaction, collapsing the entire front line.
Humanity wiped out because of a cheating scandal?
That’d be absurd.
That’s why Eze was nervous.
As for being suspected of cheating… he was about to die, so who cares?
His gaze flicked between Heidi and Velrian.
Thankfully, Heidi hadn’t recognized Velrian, who always wore a veil in battle—Eze was the only one on the team who’d seen her real face.
As for Velrian, she just stood there smiling, watching the drama unfold.
Though he didn’t know what she was planning, it bought him some time.
To avoid the worst outcome, he had to get Heidi out of here while she was still clueless.
He sighed to steady himself, pressed Heidi’s shoulders to gently push her away, and looked into her eyes.
“I… cough cough—got hurt in yesterday’s battle. My blessing… cough cough cough—it’s completely broken.”
“The blessing… broken?”
This caught Heidi off guard; she knew Eze was injured but not that severely.
No wonder Liya, that lunatic, went berserk.
Her brain was filled with nothing but the hero’s blessing and so-called duty, plus some colorless fluid.
But Heidi didn’t care.
She was thrilled.
As a hero, Eze’s combat strength was, politely put, like air—barely noticeable. His presence or absence didn’t matter much, as long as his brain was intact, his value to her remained.
But Eze losing his hero’s blessing and status?
That was valuable.
Now he was nothing, and her status as a hero and princess could dominate him even more.
If she played this right—say, helping him get back on the team—she’d have him locked in for life.
Of course, that’d come later; first, she had to drag him back.
So, Heidi launched into her performance.
“So what if your blessing’s broken!? That doesn’t mean Liya can just kick you out!!”
“No, cough cough—she didn’t kick me out. I… left on my own, so… cough cough—you… go back…”
“Enough, stop talking and come back to the Holy Capital with me!”
Cutting him off again, the petite princess grabbed him and dragged him toward the door.
“If we report this to the Goddess, there’s got to be a solution!!”
This was another of Heidi’s calculations.
If she directly asked or begged Eze to return, she’d owe him, putting her at a disadvantage.
So, she avoided mentioning rejoining, only talking about healing his injuries.
This way, she didn’t have to plead—Eze would owe her a favor. Perfect.
As for after he’s healed… back in the Holy Capital, would rejoining be up to him?
Her plan was clicking into place, but Eze, being forcibly dragged, wasn’t so lucky.
Heidi’s strength far outmatched his; he couldn’t resist, and her rough handling tore at his chest wound, nearly making him pass out again.
“Wait… hurts—cough cough—cough cough cough—”
But Heidi, lost in her scheming, her lips curling up, ignored his condition entirely.
Suddenly, a strange gust of wind slammed the open door shut with a bang, snapping Heidi back to reality.
“Stop.”
Velrian, silent until now, finally spoke.
“Miss, Eze is my guest. Dragging him off without so much as a greeting—isn’t that a bit rude?”
The witch’s smile was obviously fake, her irritation and anger clear, radiating a pressure that’d make most people quake.
But Heidi wasn’t most people.
She glanced at Velrian with disdain, sneering inwardly.
Since entering, she’d deliberately ignored her to maintain her “Eze-obsessed” persona, planning to make him more ashamed later.
Truth be told, she never took this random nobody seriously.
And now, this chick thought she could talk back just because she had a decent face and figure?
Heidi wasn’t having it.
“I’m Heidi Yarte, chosen hero, princess of the Yarte Kingdom, and heir to the throne, as well as Eze’s fiancée.”
No need for secrecy with nobles—especially since the other side cheated first and wouldn’t dare make a fuss.
Standing tall, she continued righteously:
“As such, I have a duty to ensure Eze’s safety, so ‘outsiders’ should mind their own business!”
She emphasized “outsiders” sharply.
In her mind, this barrage of titles and words would cow any lowlife into backing off.
But it didn’t.
The purple-haired girl didn’t flinch; instead, she smirked mockingly.
“Oh? You care so much for your fiancé, it’s touching enough to bring tears. But isn’t your ‘care’ a bit… rough? Eze doesn’t look too good.”
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