The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

Chapter 1 - For Defeating the Demon King, He Was Executed

"Haa..."

His breath was heavy.

In one hand, he held a dagger, now useless with its blade broken.

In the other, a magic staff was so drenched in blood that its original color was unrecognizable.

His hands trembled, and with each shiver, drops of blood fell to the ground.

Everywhere he looked, everything was stained red with blood.

If there was a place called Hell, surely this was it.

The thought was an apt one.

Exhausted, Lee Han lifted his head, which had been hanging low.

In the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield stood, the Demon King.

The very being responsible for this hellish scene was staring back at him.

"Warrior! That was a fine battle!"

The Demon King spat out blood as he broke into a smile.

Lee Han shook his head.

...Truly despicable.

The Demon King laughed maniacally, a gaping hole where the heart should have been.

How much magic, how many resources, how many lives had been sacrificed to create that hole?

When Lee Han thought about their sacrifice, the fact that his own mana circuits were completely burned out didn\'t matter anymore.

All of those sacrifices had been made for the sole purpose of capturing the Demon King.

And yet, here the Demon King was, still alive and laughing.

"I admit it! Not only did I not die fighting, but you also managed to capture me! You are truly strong!"

Lee Han clenched his teeth as he looked at the Demon King.

"Because you have something left to do."

"Me, the Demon King? Even so, would it be worth losing your life? Now that your mana circuits are burned out, you won’t be able to use magic anymore!"

"My abilities don’t matter. In a world without a Demon King, magic won’t be necessary."

"Ahahaha!"

Stagger.

Lee Han staggered forward, as if on the verge of collapse.

He moved to cover the gaping wound in the Demon King’s chest.

Squelch!

The flow of blood stopped.

"Why don’t you kill me? I’ve killed many of your comrades!"

Lee Han clenched his fist.

He did want to end the Demon King’s life right then and there.

The party he had assembled to defeat the Demon King wasn\'t just made up of the four core members of the Hero Party. There had been many others, even those who might have been considered mere extras.

There was Daniel, the cook who had grimaced while making meals out of monsters. Davis, the porter who meticulously managed their supplies. Jennifer, the guide who had smiled brightly after discovering a shortcut to the Demon King’s castle...

Aside from the core members, many people had died.

Lee Han grit his teeth.

If it didn’t hurt, it wouldn’t be the truth.

But even so, he couldn’t kill the Demon King.

The Demon King’s life was worth more than his revenge.

"Because the value of your life in society is greater."

"What are you talking about?"

Grit.

Lee Han bit his lip.

How many absurdities had he witnessed since being transported to this fantasy world?

People killed for being suspected of being witches, for being mere tribute, for being accused of betrayal. So many had died for nothing more than political purposes. Innocent lives had been lost, simply because they were suspected of colluding with the demons.

This is another world.

These people are primitive.

"In this damn, primitive world, the Demon King is necessary."

Lee Han muttered through clenched lips.

"Innocent girls executed for supposedly colluding with demons.

People condemned as witches and put to death.

Countless humans sacrificed as meaningless tributes.

They all died under the pretense of being in league with you. Go to the human world and tell them they had nothing to do with the Demon King."

Many of his comrades had died. He would make sure their lives paid for a better world.

The Demon King looked at Lee Han and laughed.

"Heh... Fine. I’ll complay. After all, us demons always obey the strong."

This was why he had overpowered instead of killing the Demon King.

Now, the world might become a slightly better place.

"However!"

Splat!

The Demon King coughed up bright red blood.

"You don’t seem to have the same eye for humans."

"...What?"

"You can’t even see the blade aimed at your back."

"!"

The sharp sound of metal slicing through the air reached Lee Han’s ears.

A cold sweat ran down his spine.

A chill spread through his entire body.

There wasn’t even time for Lee Han to turn around.

— Thud.

A head rolled to the ground.

It wasn’t Lee Han’s.

The Demon King’s black hair, now stained with blood, tumbled to the floor. Her eyes, which hadn’t even fully closed, poured out blood.

Lee Han froze in place.

Even as she was dying, the Demon King was laughing.

Her lips moved faintly, bubbles of blood escaping with her words...

— Now that I am dead, I shall return.

The Demon King’s mouth finally closed, along with the blood bubbles.

Lee Han grasped her face in shock.

Even the Demon King couldn’t survive with her head cut off.

— Drip, drop.

Blood splattered next to Lee Han.

A sword soaked in the Demon King’s blood was pointed at him.

There was no need to turn around.

The sword belonged to one of his comrades.

Lee Han’s lips parted.

"Aina. You, do you realize..."

Haa.

He took a deep breath and continued.

"What you’ve done?

"I do."

"No. You don’t."

The blood dripping from Aina’s sword wasn’t just the Demon King’s blood.

It was the blood of those wrongfully accused and executed as witches, the blood of those sacrificed as tributes, and the blood of those who died unjust deaths.

"No. I know."

"Then, how... How can you."

Lee Han rose to his feet.

Aina’s sword scraped against the skin of his neck, but he didn’t care.

He looked up at her.

Her golden hair, once more brilliant than sunlight, was now stained with blood and had lost its luster. Her blue eyes, once more vivid than the ocean, were dulled in the backlight. With an unyielding, expressionless face, Lee Han’s voice rasped from his throat.

"How can you be so calm? After severing the lives of the Demon King, no, thousands of people, with your own hands?"

"Because it confirmed something."

"What?"

"That between you and the Demon King..."

Aina’s dull eyes flickered between the Demon King’s severed head and Lee Han. Then she spoke.

"It confirmed that there was a connection. No ordinary human could have had a conversation with the Demon King."

"A connection? What the hell are you talking about…"

Lee Han’s gaze sharpened.

Aina’s pupils trembled briefly.

"...It means my suspicions have been confirmed."

"Stop beating around the bush and say it clearly."

"That you, Lee Han, were colluding with the Demon King, that you were an agent of the demons."

What is this girl saying?

Even after he defeated the Demon King and saw her die, what the hell does she mean?

As Lee Han stood frozen, Aina continued speaking.

"Given your actions, it was a reasonable suspicion. You spoke too fluently. You managed to persuade two of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army, and you made the other two fight each other. As a result, we were able to enter the Demon King’s castle easily."

"......"

"The Demon King’s castle, which has been impregnable for 600 years of imperial history."

"Are you saying that because I was too competent, I must have been colluding with the enemy?"

"No."

Aina shook her head.

"I’m saying that the Demon King’s castle opened because you were in league with the enemy. And besides..."

Aina’s gaze shifted to the severed head of the Demon King lying on the ground.

"If you had spared her, you would have intended to consume the empire from within. You have that much capability. And this isn’t the only evidence. Lady Claire."

A red-haired girl stepped forward.

She was the party’s fire mage, the heir to the prestigious Harold Trading Company, and a childhood friend. Claire opened her mouth to speak.

"I-I saw it."

"What did you see?"

"I saw Lee Han controlling the demon monsters as he wished. It had to be mind control."

Lee Han’s lips moved.

It was more of a reflex, driven by frustration, than a prepared response.

"I was just reminding them of their own interests. Since it was the officers of the Demon King’s castle who were exploiting them, I made them attack that side."

"S-still..."

"Claire. We’ve known each other for a long time. Look at me. Can’t you trust me?"

"You shouldn’t look, Lady Claire! That might be the initiation of his mind control spell!"

Claire mumbled, staring at the ground.

"I must have been under your control... since then..."

Lee Han’s mouth felt dry.

He couldn’t believe it.

No, he didn’t want to believe it.

But these people, right now...

"You’re... trying to frame me."

"Silence, Lee Han. Aria, how was your experience?"

"Y-yes!"

A girl wearing the robe of a saint timidly stepped forward, her head bowed.

She had hair as clear as a sunny day and harmless green eyes.

A candidate for the Saint, Aria.

"Aria, describe the symptoms you experienced."

"S-symptoms..."

"The ones you felt after sharing a tent with Lee Han."

She mumbled softly, her voice barely audible.

"M-my body..."

"It’s okay. Go on, what happened?"

"It... it burned. I felt like my body wasn’t my own, like my mind was filled with red thoughts. It was strange..."

"Aria is a Saint. A pure saint. The symptoms she experienced were undoubtedly the result of Lee Han’s hypnosis and mind control. If she hadn’t resisted, that night could have been horrific. It’s clear that he used mind control and hypnosis with the intent to violate her, to weaken her purity and power."

It all became clear.

They intended to bury Lee Han.

By framing him with false accusations.

But why?

For what reason?

Since when?

Countless questions swirled in Lee Han’s mind.

Normally, he would have been able to gather his thoughts and come up with a solution. But now, he was exhausted.

His mana circuits had burned out in his battle with the Demon King, and his head was still reeling from the blows he’d taken. But more than anything, one thought kept haunting him.

"...Weren’t we comrades?"

"I used to think so, but not anymore. Lee Han, with just your words, you’ve made countless enemies surrender. Your skills were better than anyone’s. It defies common sense."

Aina’s sword pointed at Lee Han.

"You are a collaborator. You used hypnosis and mind control to deliver us, no, all of humanity, into the hands of the enemy."

Claire raised her magic staff.

Aria began reciting a prayer.

Lee Han lifted his broken sword and bloodstained staff, but...

"......"

He let them fall to the ground with a thud.

Their eyes filled with confusion.

"What are you doing? Why aren’t you resisting?"

"I can’t bring myself to point these weapons at you."

"Stop lying and pick them up."

"Just answer me one thing."

A moment of silence passed.

Lee Han struggled to speak.

"Who was it?"

"...?"

"I don’t believe all three of you decided to betray me at the same time. I still believe that we were all comrades, even those who died or dropped out along the way."

Lee Han still trusted them.

But one of them...

There was a snake in their midst.

Someone who had started spreading poison behind his back while he wasn’t looking.

"Who was the first to start suspecting me?"

At Lee Han’s question, Aina shouted.

"Everyone! Cover your eyes and ears!"

"Was it you, Aina? No, you just like to take the lead. Maybe it’s because of your foolish sense of chivalry. But it’s not impossible. You’re smart and politically savvy."

"Shut up, you demon!"

"Claire. I want to believe in you. We’ve been close friends since childhood."

.......

"Aria. I’d like to think it’s not you, since you’re so timid, but..."

That was as far as he got.

— Clank!

The restraints they had prepared for the Demon King were now placed on Lee Han.

◆

[Hero of Another World, Lee Han. Do you know of your crimes?]

The process from capture to trial had been swift.

The guillotine was already set up beside the courtroom.

— The accused, Lee Han! As a member of the Hero Party, your crime of colluding with the enemy is not light, and you show no remorse for your actions!

My crime was certain.

I had trusted too much in those behind the curtain, those witnesses hidden from view.

No.

Perhaps this was the result of my naive and foolish belief that the people of this world were pure.

Can you survive with just a silver tongue?

No. It’s impossible.

All the evidence had been fabricated.

I could logically dismantle that fabricated evidence... but it didn’t matter. The evidence wasn’t the issue.

The problem was that public opinion had been swayed to demand my death.

The entire empire was clamoring for my execution, and even if the evidence was false, I would still die.

It was a political defeat.

To conquer the Demon King only to end up bound to a guillotine for execution.

"Kuhuhu."

Laughter welled up within me.

"If you have any last words, speak them now."

Last words.

I lifted my head.

I could feel them flinching behind the curtain.

The girls who had banded together against me.

One of them had to be the mastermind, the one who had instigated the others. I considered her the true culprit. She had likely manipulated the others into uniting against me, using it as a springboard to seize power and influence.

A woman smart enough to plan for the future after the Demon King’s demise.

I had no interest in the others who had been fooled by her. But the instigator, I would never forgive.

‘Who could it be?’

I didn’t know. I had no information, no time.

In a few moments, I would be dead.

How could I exact my revenge on her?

There was a way.

Even as I was about to die, I could still make her suffer.

— The accused, Lee Han! Do not delay! Your time is running out!

I smiled and looked up at the curtain.

"My death will benefit you, won’t it? I’m glad. I’ll gladly die for your sake."

I didn’t need to find the culprit.

I would plant the seed of doubt.

They would turn on each other.

I would die, but the seed of suspicion I planted would torment you.

— D-do it now!

A voice cried out urgently.

Was that enough?

A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth.

‘...If I get another chance at life, I just want to live quietly and peacefully.’

Death was nothing.

— Thud.

A sharp pain, followed by a brief sensation of heat.

My vision tilted sideways.

... How unfair.

◆

[Demon of Another World, Lee Han. Execution complete.]

[Considering your contribution to the expulsion of the Demon King and the exposure of the demon’s agent, the following rewards will be granted to the following individuals:]

[Second Princess Aina: Promotion by two ranks in the line of succession. Awarded a duchy-level territory.]

[Saint Candidate Aria: Granted an honorary Knighthood and Sainthood.]

[Lady Claire of the Harold Trading Company: Granted an honorary Knighthood and exclusive trading rights in the Imperial Capital.]

[The three members of the Hero Party will be honored as \'War Heroes\' and will receive corresponding treatment.]