The Problem Is, My Ex-Boyfriend and I Are Both Dating Other People - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13

Rihardt glanced sideways at her before answering.
“Whatever you’re thinking, you’ve got it wrong, Asta.”
“Wrong? From what I saw coming out of there, you’re planning to take her back again, aren’t you?”
“Asta, Isabella isn’t an object.”
“Exactly. Of course she isn’t. That’s why you have to win her. If she were an object, you could just pay for her and buy her, but since she’s a person, you can’t do that, right?”
Rihardt chose to stay silent. Talking with Asta made it impossible to tell what common sense even was anymore. He had to keep his wits sharp.
“But Commander, I heard rumors you’re becoming the guardian of Sasha. What’s that about?”
“Call her the Crown Princess.”
“Ugh. Sasha is Sasha. ……Fine, fine. But you’re not planning to marry her, right?”
“Why does this conversation keep spiraling into absolute madness?”
“? What do you mean? That’s all anyone’s been talking about.”
Asta tilted her head, then let her eyes roll deliberately—the eyes of a Northern knight intoxicated by dopamine, as Philip would have put it, narrowing with mischief.
Even while carrying the unconscious Noah on her back after slaying the monster all the way to the Capital, Asta kept her ears open. Having read through all the backlogged gossip rags, she’d had no trouble piecing together everything that had happened so far.
Ten years ago, Rihardt and Isabella had been lovers. Then they’d parted ways.
The moment a gap appeared, Daemon—who’d been circling Isabella’s orbit—seized his chance. And now Rihardt was circling Isabella much as Daemon had then.
Then Sasha had stepped into the mess.
Love’s relay baton had tangled itself in every wrong direction, as if a perfect pairing were all it took.
Having untangled this thorny knot of relationships with her own logic, Asta rubbed her jaw with a grave expression.
‘This is a complete disaster. If I leave him to his own devices, he’ll end up selling off the land.’
What was to be done? When matters of the heart fell outside his competence, a loyal subordinate had to step in.
Rihardt watched uneasily as Asta rolled up both sleeves, her eyes gleaming with purpose.
“Commander, when you said you were becoming the Crown Princess’s guardian, didn’t Isabella’s reaction seem a little strange?”
Just as he’d feared.
Rihardt denied it flatly, ignoring Asta’s snickering grin.
“Not at all.”
“Come on, your face gave it away.”
Asta, the Northern Vigilante Corps’s most notorious loose cannon, broke into a wide smile.
“Commander, remember that Project J we did ten years ago?”
At the grandiose title, Rihardt’s brow furrowed immediately. Project J sounded impressive enough, but it was really just a jealousy-provocation operation or something equally ridiculous.
And the only one who’d ever called it that was Asta. A terrible nightmare surfaced, and Rihardt grimaced.
“I don’t remember.”
“Come on, yes you do. The results were incredible back then. Don’t you want to win Isabella back?”
“……The results were incredible?”
Are we really sharing the same memories right now? Despite his bewildered protest, Asta pressed on undeterred.
“Right. You don’t know? The day I linked arms with you, Isabella came looking for me and threw a fit, saying that arm was hers and I’d better not touch it.”
“……What?”
“It was so hard not to laugh back then.”
“Wait. Something like that happened and you never told me?”
“Ugh, I had to respect Isabella’s privacy. You didn’t exactly ignore the guys fawning over her either. Did you want Isabella to know about all of that? Hm?”
As she poked his ribs repeatedly while speaking, Rihardt swallowed hard. But he couldn’t deny it.
Embarrassing and shameful as it was, Project J’s effectiveness had clearly been real. More real than he’d known, if Asta was telling the truth.
“Hehe……. Just trust me. You’ll get your love back, and I’ll claim mine. We’ll turn past failure into our stepping stone and succeed this time!”
“……Are we fighting?”
“Love is war, Commander. That’s what they say.”
Rihardt watched Asta’s unnecessarily grave expression with deep unease.

* * *

Fortunately, Noah hadn’t been badly hurt.
A small cut above his eyebrow was all there was.
Why a cut?
It wasn’t from the monster—it was from Asta’s sword when she was swinging it. In other words, all the blood covering him belonged to the monster. Once I realized that fact, I breathed easier and had every right to complain.
“Why did you pass out?”
“Looks like he was hit by the monster’s poison.”
“It had poison?”
“How am I supposed to know anything about monsters? Ugh, I’m sore all over. Did Asta really bring me here herself?”
“Yeah. I checked—she handled the job right.”
There wasn’t a trace left of Noah having been attacked. What’s more, when Asta had entered the Capital, she’d been wearing the Knight’s Uniform of the Belua Duchy.
If he’d simply said that knights had been sent from the territory to escort the Duke’s close associates, no one would have questioned it.
The situation at the territory was much the same—no one noticed anything amiss beyond the fact that two retainers who handled accounts had disappeared.
Claire had been upset that Noah returned to the Capital without stopping by the manor.
But considering he’d arrived unconscious and covered in blood, Asta’s handling of the situation was remarkably thorough.
“So, did you actually see a Monster?”
That is, assuming there really was one.
“It was a real Monster, I’m telling you.”
“You didn’t misidentify something? Maybe you mistook a bear for one?”
“You grew up playing in that forest yourself. Apart from the handful of deer released during hunting season, are there any beasts in Hote Forest capable of attacking people?”
“It’s more realistic than a Monster never found below the northern border suddenly appearing in the heart of the Capital.”
“I’m telling you it was real! Where is Asta? Where is she?”
“Left you there unconscious. Seems like he still likes you, though. Before leaving, he threatened the physician—said if you were left with scars on your face, he wouldn’t let it slide.”
“Hmm. He probably didn’t mean it seriously.”
“Right. So running into an old flame after all this time definitely didn’t make you mistake a bear for a Monster, is that it?”
“Ugh, for real!”
Noah stamped his foot in frustration.
I wasn’t any less frustrated myself.
Whether to believe this or not.
Noah had no reason to lie. It wasn’t as if he was pulling a surprise—and if he were going to lie, would he claim something as absurd as a Monster?
It was also true that there were no large wild beasts in Hote Forest. Being adjacent to the territory, it was strictly maintained.
Still, though.
‘A Monster in Belua Territory.’
It was simply too unrealistic.
Seeing through my expression, Noah kicked his feet in indignation.
“No matter how senseless I was, would I really confuse a bear with a Monster? I don’t know what dying words the Grand Duke left before he died, but those lunatics grabbed the Secret Ledger and fled deep into the forest.”
“Deeper than the last report indicated?”
“Yes. They crawled in so far that even routine patrols don’t reach there. I chased after them, saw smoke, and rushed toward it—only to find those madmen burning the ledger.”
“They burned it?!”
“Yes. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, the ledger was nothing but ashes. I was thinking about capturing them and finishing the job when suddenly a rabbit—well, if you can call it that—came bounding out.”
Noah scratched his head furiously, scowling.
“This fluffy thing just burst out of nowhere and suddenly tore right through their throats. And let me tell you, that’s when I really understood why a wound to the throat is fatal. They couldn’t even scream—just died.”
So both the ledger and those who knew its contents had vanished entirely. A headache throbbed as I pressed my temples and asked.
“……Did you find out why Asta was in Belua Territory in the first place?”
“Would I have had the presence of mind to ask that while I was unconscious for half a day?”
No. I suppose not.
I nodded. Not that I couldn’t guess. Leaning against the window frame, I let out a long sigh, and Noah followed suit with several heavy sighs of his own.
Names long forgotten came rushing back unbidden—hardly the reunion of fond memories. Noah’s thoughts seemed to run along much the same lines as he fingered the bandages at his eyes and murmured.
“She vanished so suddenly, and I was left wondering where she’d gone.”
But there was something about his tone and expression.
Or rather, something about it was definitely.
“You……. Did you have feelings for Asta?”
The moment I asked, the answer was already written all over his face. Where exactly? Where else—that goofy expression.
At my disbelieving stare, Noah’s face flushed crimson in an instant. It was a metaphor, but no more apt description existed.
“W-who likes who?! She’s just a girl I was always chasing after, so naturally I went looking for her when she suddenly disappeared!”
At Noah’s outburst, I lost the ability to speak.
I simply couldn’t fathom why he’d deny it so fiercely when it was written so plainly across his face.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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