The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 54 - Arrest

A meeting room in the Imperial Palace.

A woman’s voice rang out harshly, echoing beyond the thick door.

"Sponsorship... Sponsorship is falling short?"

The rare, rough tone startled the finance department official, who had been about to open the door for his report.

— Bang!

A loud noise pierced through the heavy door again.

Perhaps something had been slammed against the desk.

Hopefully, it wasn’t someone’s head...

"Princess Aina wouldn’t go that far."

Swallowing nervously, the official opened the door.

The scene that unfolded in front of him was tense.

Thankfully, no one had their head slammed into the table.

But Princess Aina’s fist was bleeding.

"Y-your Highness!"

"Fetch the royal physician immediately!"

The high-ranking officials around her clamoured in a panic, but Princess Aina simply waved her hand, and the bleeding stopped.

With her fist still clenched, Aina’s eyes blazed with fury.

"This minor injury isn’t important. Speak clearly. Where exactly did the sponsorship fall short? Tell me which fools forgot to send their contributions."

The princess growled, her voice laced with anger.

The man who had just delivered the report trembled visibly.

Dave—the man holding the report on the annihilation of the Seven Kill Squad in Eastan—quietly sighed in relief, knowing it wasn’t his report that had sparked her anger.

After all, it was about sponsorship.@@novelbin@@

'The imperial successors can’t operate normally without it.'

The princes and princesses competing for the throne participated in various state affairs. Although they were given a budget to manage their tasks, it was often not enough. To climb higher in the line of succession, they didn’t just need to do their jobs “adequately”—they needed to excel.

And to achieve more than expected, they needed more than just their allocated budget. The only realistic way to secure such large sums of money was through sponsorships—donations from guilds, organisations, and nobles, ostensibly given without expectation of repayment.

But of course, these so-called donations weren’t truly free. They became debts, to be repaid with various privileges and favours once the sponsored candidate ascended the throne. In other words, sponsorship was a way for benefactors to invest in the future ruler of the Empire.

And now, Princess Aina’s sponsorship had hit a snag.

'No wonder she’s furious.'

It wasn’t an entirely unheard-of situation, but it was certainly a severe one.

Since becoming one of the Three Heroes, Princess Aina’s sponsorship had grown explosively month after month. The increasing sponsorships indicated that many believed she had a strong chance of becoming the next ruler.

But someone had cut their sponsorship.

That meant they no longer believed Aina had a chance at the throne. And for the sponsorship to have been interrupted, it had to have been a significant benefactor.

“Who exactly are you talking about?”

“Th-that…”

“Do you not have a mouth? Can’t you get that one thing right?”

Princess Aina scolded the public official.

Despite being reprimanded by the same public official, Dave understood Princess Aina’s frustration.

The decline in donations was symbolic.

It meant that Princess Aina’s growth trend, which had been steadily rising, had hit a setback. If this rumour spread, other guilds and nobles might reconsider their support for her.

But what the reporter said next was even more shocking.

“It’s… the Harold Trading Company.”

"The Harold Trading Company? Claire’s Harold Trading Company?"

"Yes."

The room fell into a stunned silence.

The sound of someone stumbling and falling could be heard.

It was the princess’s strategist.

Gripping the table, he managed to stand back up, looking dazed as he muttered.

"Th-this must be a mistake. Lady Claire’s support is essential to us. Not only is she one of the Heros like Her Highness, but the new guilds that followed her sponsorship may all withdraw…"

At that point, Dave, who had come to deliver another report, realised that something had gone terribly wrong.

After all, the report he held—summarising the political changes in Eastan—included a note that the Harold Trading Company had decided to shift its support to the Third Princess.

"Dammit."

The curse slipped out before he could stop himself.

Naturally, every eye in the room turned toward him.

Cursing in front of the princess, no less.

Sweat dripped down his face.

He had to say something.

"U-um..."

Sharp glares bore into him.

Princess Aina, in particular, was staring at him as if she could kill him on the spot.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"It appears Lady Claire has decided to support the Third Princess."

◆

Beneath the shade of a tree near the Holy Office of Holy Constantine.

The Third Princess, her advisor, and the village chief sat huddled together in the shade.

Lloyd, who served as the advisor, was scribbling on the ground with a twig.

"This is how I see the current succession structure."

— First Prince: Holy Constantine + Noble faction

— Second Princess: Blood Cult + Guild faction + Princess Aina’s heroism + Someone within the Holy Office

— Third Princess: Newly allied with Claire

"When you consider Claire originally supported Aina..."

"Wait a moment! What do you mean, the Blood Cult and someone from the Holy Office? Are you saying those groups are aligned with the Second Princess?"

"Oh, that’s just speculation."

Yulia and the village chief stared at Lloyd, waiting for an explanation.

But Lloyd simply looked back at them, as if wondering why they were staring.

"Explain! Why are the Blood Cult and the Holy Office aligned with that woman... I mean, the Second Princess!"

Yulia couldn’t hold back and shouted.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"It’s simple, isn’t it?"

What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?

Yulia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Finally, Lloyd, who had been lazing about, spoke.

"Well, this is mostly conjecture, so I didn’t want to say it with too much certainty."

"Then you should’ve said that first. Don’t make it sound like a fact."

"Either way, I’m fairly sure about this. So, do you want to hear it or not?"

Lloyd pretended to zip his lips.

As frustrating as it was, the theory was too intriguing to ignore.

"…Go on."

"Do you remember Ilsal’s shoulder? It had the symbol of the Blood Cult on it."

"Yes."

"And in her drawer, we found a holy relic belonging to the Saintess."

"...That’s true as well."

Scritch, scratch.

Lloyd’s twig continued to drag across the dirt.

Ilsal — Claire — Second Princess

ㄴ Blood Cult — Holy Office

The tangled web of connections.

"At any rate, we can’t rule out the possibility that these groups are gathering around the Second Princess. With Aina’s personality, she’ll do anything to secure the throne."

"...This really is just speculation. Using items found in Ilsal’s room as evidence is a bit of a stretch."

The village chief stroked his chin thoughtfully but soon shook his head. Yulia, however, wasn’t convinced.

"Think about Ilsal’s character. She wasn’t the type to leave things lying around carelessly, especially items hidden away like that. There must have been a reason for it. It’s a reasonable suspicion."

"That’s true..."

As the two of them lapsed into silence, Lloyd returned to drawing the succession structure on the ground.

"We’ve successfully brought Claire to our side. Effectively, we’ve absorbed the Harold Trading Company. The important thing is that not only Claire, but also the new guild coalition she leads, will likely follow us. That will significantly weaken the Second Princess’s power."

"That makes sense. The coalition of new guilds was Princess Aina’s main source of funding."

"We’re about to shift the balance of power."

Swish.

With a light stroke, Lloyd erased part of the Holy Constantine connection under the First Prince.

"We’re aiming to bring part of the Holy Office’s faction to our side—either the Saintess faction or the Archbishop’s faction. With one of them, Princess Yulia’s forces will grow considerably, and we’ll be able to turn this into a three-way competition for the throne."

"...A three-way competition."

"Yes. We’re very close. It won’t be long until Princess Yulia takes the throne."

Of course, this was assuming everything went according to plan.

Lloyd knew the chances of that happening were less than 10%. But there was no need to mention that. For Yulia, even a 10% chance was significant.

"…We have to make this work."

And Yulia was smart. Smarter than anyone Lloyd had met so far. He liked that about her—how quickly she could pick up on things.

"Exactly."

"...So, what’s next?"

He also liked that she wasn’t afraid to ask questions when she didn’t know something.

Many people let their pride get in the way and made things harder than they needed to be.

"First, we need to get inside the Holy Office and assess the situation. That’s why we’re here."

"I understand that, but how do we get in? I don’t think I can simply announce that I’m a princess."

She had a point.

They were standing near the front entrance of the Holy Office, but calling it an “entrance” was an understatement. It was still a good kilometre from the building itself, and only authorised personnel—priests or official guests of the Holy Office—were allowed beyond this point. It was crowded with people hoping to get a glimpse inside, as setting foot in the Holy Office was a dream for many devout believers. Lloyd and his group, however, were not on the guest list.

"Oh—that part’s easy."

Dusting off his pants, Lloyd got to his feet and wobbled toward the guards.

"I’m sorry, but without proper clearance, you can’t pass through here."

The guards at the Holy Office’s entrance responded politely.

Lloyd grinned.

"My name is Lloyd, from Eastan. I believe you’ve been instructed to expect me."

"...Expect you?"

The guards looked at Lloyd, clearly puzzled.

Yulia and the village chief were equally confused.

Had Lloyd really arranged entry into the Holy Office?

They knew he was capable, but this was...

Their assumptions were quickly shattered.

The guard’s face went pale as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"We’ve received orders from the Archbishop to arrest you. Seize him!"

As the handcuffs clicked around his wrists, Lloyd smirked and gestured toward Yulia and the village chief.

"They’re with me. Arrest them too, please."

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]