The Villainess Enjoys Her Seventh Life as a Free-Spirited Bride (hostage) in a Former Enemy Country

“Oopsie.”

Raul pitched the knife he had in his sleeve at the knight who was about to run out.

The moment the knight was frightened, he jumped in at once and closed their gap. He slammed his knee into her solar plexus and used the momentum to spin and kick another knight away with his heel.

“You……!!”

Raul looked icily at a flinching knight straight in the eye.

“Relax. I’m not going to kill you.”

“Wait till I’m on my dying breath before you make light of me!”

“Tch, that’s why your every line is cheap.”

He didn’t mean to insult. It was said that keeping the enemy stunned rather than dead would reduce their morale.

Besides, a win would be meaningless here.

“Mmmm!!”

Raul could hear Harriet’s muffled voice calling out to him.

His friends were on the roof of the church. They should be pulling up the ropes, and if they could make it up there, they could escape. From the position of Harriet’s voice, they must be only a few meters away.

Things would be much simpler if we simply let Harriet escape.

It was their only chance whether in Fabrania, on the route here, or in the days they spent in Garkhain.

But that’s not the point. If Harriet disappears here, Fabrania will frame Harriet to keep her mouth shut before hunting her.

If that happened, there would be no way out. They would also confront Sigwell and let them take responsibility for Harriet’s deeds.

“Chief! We’ve reached the upper window. We’re getting out of here.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“You!!! We can’t let Harriet get away…gahhh!!!”

The knife Raul threw plunged into the knight’s leg, causing her to faint. The numbing potion applied to the blade was undiluted.

Raul jumped into the pew and used its backrest as a stepping stone. He jumped down into the main nave and blocked the way with his back to the door.

“Twelve more?”

“Kill him!!”

The knights pounced at him at once.

He dodged lightly and sent five daggers flying in a radial pattern. The slender blades impaled, and the knights crumbled heavily.

Raul then instantly bent down and braced his hands on the floor. He deflected a knight’s leg that slashed at me, and caught it in amusement. It seemed that even Fabranian knights, who employed despicable means, fought with swords righteously.

A fair match was a trivial thing for Raul.

What counts is only the results. No matter what the process, the one who achieves the goal wins.

The numbers quickly dwindled until there were only three knights left. Raul laughed and briefly exhaled.

“When I snuck into your country, I discovered a detailed plan for the counterfeit.”

“Wha–?”

“It was written in King Walter’s handwriting, and he left his signature exactly where it should be. That’s His Majesty Walter! He must have been so enamored with his wonderful project that he wanted to record his credit.”

“Impossible, there’s no way that exists!”

Of course, the knight was right. No matter how foolish the King was, he wouldn’t bother to leave something like that behind.

But if it didn’t exist, they could create it.

Raul gathered information on Fabrania and studied King Walter’s handwriting. Then he made up a plan and set it in motion.

“People, you know. People like interesting lies more than uninteresting truths.”

“…… You ……”

“I’m a liar by trade, so I’m familiar with that kind of mindset. If a thought-provoking rumor gets an exciting boost, plenty of people will willingly spread it as fact.”

The Fabranians should know this well enough. They were probably trying to use the people’s psychology to condemn Harriet and stigmatize Garkhain.

“Even rumors that didn’t have an iota of truth are sometimes believed and treated as if they were true. ―― So here’s one.”

Raul laughed and took out another dagger.

“Let’s prepare a corpse of someone, say, hostile to Fabrania.”

“Wha――?”

The knights exclaimed, as if they were looking at something unbelievable.

“A counterfeit money scheme signed by Walter; the body of a dead Sigwell mercenary who may have stolen it…I wonder how things would

develop if Garkhain’s, who Fabriana can’t control, find this out.”

“N-No way…”

“Yeah! Rumors will spread, and eventually formal diplomatic relations will be involved. When the international community gets suspicious, Fabrania, which was actually producing forgeries, won’t be able to get away with it, no matter what.”

Raul chattered, and the knights took a step back.

“You must be insane!…Do you think we’d let you get away with that?”

“I’ll die. It’s the quickest and least damaging to the whole thing.”

Raul held out the dagger in his hand and shook it playfully, swinging it from side to side.

“This blade is coated with poison, a deadly poison that will kill you in agony. If this makes a miserable corpse, rumors will increasingly get exaggerated.”

“…Try it. If you commit suicide, we’ll just dispose of your body and that’ll be the end of it.”

“Unfortunately, my men are staying behind to keep an eye on things. As soon as I’m dead, they’re going to cause a ruckus and bring people here.”

If that happened, the women would not be able to hide Raul’s corpse, let alone escape the multitude of witnesses.

―― Well, I guess it’s the least I can do.

Raul smiled softly as he looked at the faces of the knights.

I also drugged Miss Rishe with a dose that rendered her immobile…Now everyone can just speculate that Garkhain is just a victim who got involved.

Raul wasn’t at all regretful for causing such trouble.

He chuckled. I’m sure he even had something close to a grudge against this country called Galkhain. He was certain that he even had something close to resentment towards this country called Garkhain.

I’ve also told my men to stall the Crown Prince of Garkhain if he comes after me, long enough without killing him.

If all the knights were stunned, the notion that Raul was killed by them would not hold. There were three of them left, so even if they tried to go after Harriet, his men would be able to disperse them perfectly.

“Thanks for hanging out with me…Alright, I’d better get this over with.”

Raul spun the knife around and pointed the tip towards himself.

“Wait! Don’t move any further…”

“No waiting. I’m sorry, but don’t take one more step from there.”

This would at least protect Harriet.

It’s been a long time since Raul smiled with such happiness. The clouds that had been hanging over them cleared, and light shone through the stained glass.

Blessed by the light, he was about to plunge the blade into his throat when he sensed a strange presence.

“――……Huh?”

Raul immediately looked up.

The picture of the Goddess that filled the ceiling jumped into his eyes. However, it wasn’t the time for him to be distracted by such things.

Because the stained glass in the upper window of the church shattered with a crack.

“Tha…”

Shattered pieces fell as he blinked.

They became red, blue, and multicolored crystals, twinkling in the sunlight. As if to avoid the rain of glass, something jumped into the air.

“――….!”

Beautiful coral hair fluttered.

Then a girl in a brown robe fell, the hem of her dress billowing softly.

No, it wasn’t a fall, but a feathery swooping down.

And in her arms, she carried a black sword that was inconsistent with her physique.