Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 395: Proof of Innocence
After resting at the village inn, the bridal procession departed early the following morning and reached Wasan safely.
Because the town had received advance notice, the mayor himself welcomed Alimar’s party and guided them to the inn where they would stay before the ceremony.
The mayor’s eighteen-year-old son immediately demanded to see Sita, with whom he had fallen in love at first sight during her family’s visit the previous year.
Tradition forbade the groom from meeting the bride immediately before the wedding, so Tauro, acting as her escort, refused him entry.
Unlike his courteous father, the young man made a terrible first impression.
“What’s your problem? Are you trying to keep me away from my own bride?”
He was large, overbearing, and clearly accustomed to using his father’s position to get whatever he wanted.
When Alimar’s family had visited Wasan the previous year, the mayor’s son had become infatuated with Sita. Unable to forget her after she returned to Zenyu, he begged his father to arrange the marriage. Alimar accepted immediately because the proposal came from the mayor’s household.
Mage Baron Wasan himself had an excellent reputation and was considered a trusted retainer of Count Graunewald. Judging by the son, however, Tauro suspected that the mayor had spoiled him badly.
Tauro explained that seeing the bride before the ceremony was considered unlucky, but the young man refused to accept it. Worse, he resented Tauro for guarding Sita.
“Some strange pest is hovering around my bride!” he complained loudly to his companions.
“Why am I suddenly involved in this?” Tauro asked Ankh.
“Hahaha! He sees you as a romantic rival because you’re a boy,” Ankh said, irresponsibly clapping him on the back. “You should be pleased—he recognized you as a man.”
That evening, Sita learned how the groom had behaved and became even more anxious. She finally confessed to Alimar that she didn’t want the marriage.
“We’ve come too far to cancel it now!” her father protested.
Alimar was startled by what he considered a sudden change of heart, though in truth he had simply never understood his daughter’s feelings. He assured her that the young man would settle down after marriage.
Sita’s mother agreed with her husband, leaving their daughter unable to argue further.
Late that night, an intruder slipped into the inn.
The masked figure wasn’t a bandit, but the mayor’s spoiled son attempting a secret nighttime visit to Sita’s room before the wedding.
Ankh caught him. When Tauro removed the cloth covering his face, the young man became furious.
“You little brat! Don’t think you’ve won. I’m the son of a Mage Baron! Release me, or I’ll make you regret it!”
This is hopeless. The wedding is only a few days away, and he still couldn’t restrain himself.
Tauro couldn’t ignore what had happened. He told Ankh to release the young man and help him to his feet.
“You’re only acting brave because your companions are strong. If you had been alone, I’d have beaten you senseless!”
The mayor’s son raged as though being caught during an attempted nighttime intrusion were someone else’s fault.
Does he rewrite every event inside his own head? Nothing I say will reach him.
Tauro considered how to warn him.
“I’ll report this incident to your father. Until the wedding night, don’t attempt anything like this again.”
Informing the mayor seemed the most sensible course.
“My father…? Don’t think you’ve won yet!”
The young man suddenly brightened as though struck by inspiration.
“That’s it! I challenge you to a duel. When I defeat you, the victory will prove my innocence!”
What’s he talking about?
Tauro stared at him in disbelief.
In ancient custom, victory in trial by combat had once been accepted as proof of a claim. Such a duel could no longer erase an offense under ordinary law, although remnants of the practice apparently survived in remote areas.
The mayor’s son had learned of the custom somewhere and assumed that Tauro’s small size guaranteed an easy victory.
“Is that a formal challenge?” Tauro asked, suddenly thoughtful.
“Of course it is! Someone bring me a glove!”
Tauro removed a pair of gloves from [Magic Storage] and handed them over.
The young man took one and threw it against Tauro’s face.
“Tomorrow at noon, on the hill outside Wasan, I challenge you to a duel to prove my innocence!”
He clearly believed Tauro had no chance of winning.
“Then if I win, Sita’s wishes concerning this marriage must be respected.”
“Her wishes? Is that all? Hahaha! Fine. I’m a man, and I’ll respect the wishes of the woman I love.”
The mayor’s son displayed false generosity because he had already decided that victory was certain—and because he couldn’t imagine Sita rejecting him.
As he swaggered out of the inn, Alimar hurried over in confusion.
“What’s happening? I heard shouting in the middle of the night, and now you’re dueling the groom?”
Tauro briefly explained the intrusion and challenge.
“A nighttime visit before the wedding…? Perhaps Wasan has a custom like that,” Alimar said, desperately searching for an innocent explanation.
“If it were an accepted custom, I doubt he’d have challenged me to prove he never attempted it.”
Tauro’s answer shattered the chief’s attempt to avoid reality.
“Whatever happens, the groom can’t be injured immediately before the wedding. You understand that, Tauro-san?”
Alimar still couldn’t face what the young man’s behavior meant. Tauro understood that the chief was effectively asking him to lose.
“Consider the duel another pre-wedding event and enjoy the spectacle,” Tauro replied with a laugh.
Then he urged everyone to return to bed.