The Life, Death, and Relife of the Mushroom Mage

Chapter 16

"So, Your Holiness," the prince said, halfway through the second cup of tea, and Mally was at this point shooting imploring looks at the knight to just decapitate them and put them out of their misery. He was impervious to their stares. "What do you think about going to the festival with me?"

Mally froze up, because he was asking her on a date, what the fuck, and opened their mouth and shut it. Artesia looked like a deer in headlights. She was completely frozen up, clutching her teacup, and yeah, Mally could imagine how that would be a problem.

"Oh, uhm," she said as she mentally calculated the odds of losing her head if she went with the second male lead to the festival. "I'm afraid I already have a prior engagement."

"Oh? With who?" the prince asked, and she opened her mouth and shut it, and oh, gods, no---

"Mally!" she said, and Mally stared at her. "I'm going with Mally."

"Is that so," the prince said coolly with a glance to Mally, and Mally colored. What did they do in this situation? Did they contradict her, call her out on her lie? They were supposed to go to the bookseller.

"Uhm..." Mally said, just to buy time as their brain fished for something. "I, uhm, well, you see, I don't want to get between you and the prince---"

"Why not we all three go together?" the prince asked casually, and Mally's brain froze up. What? What? Going with the original second ML and the titular main character? Seriously? No. No. This could not be happening right now. They would have to swing by the bookseller before this and let him know they couldn't come.

"I'm a commoner. That isn't appropriate," Mally said immediately, because why did none of these brats get that?

"We're all wearing masks," the prince said teasingly. "Who would be able to tell?"

"You two have very recognizable hair," Mally pointed out, because they both had blonde hair, like spun gold, and Mally was just about ready to beg for mercy.

"There's potions to fix that," the prince said dismissively. "I'll even dress down for it. It's the one night a year we can mingle with commoners without it being frowned upon. Don't be a spoilsport, Mally."

A spoilsport? They were trying to save their head. If it came out what they did... There were no laws against it, but there would be immediately. In fact, it would be virtually impossible to prove that they didn't just kill Georgina. They would be tried and executed for murder. And this body couldn't even die. If they lost their head, they would just grow a new one without the memories. Amnesia in a prison cell wasn't ideal. It wasn't ideal at all.

They would be burned at the stake, they realized. That was the only one to kill them. What a horrible way to go.

They hated this. They actually hated this.

"Well, it's settled, then," the prince said with a clap of his hands. "The three of us will go to the festival."

Mally was going to put their head through the wall.

"If that's what you wish, Your Highness," they said through their teeth. This was horrendous. They were going to lose their mind. They were actually going to lose their mind.

"Wonderful!" Artesia said and clapped, but her face was pale. Once again, Mally was the buffer between her and a main character. Gods. Should they just ditch them? No, terrible idea. The prince could have them beheaded for that. It was only one night, right? Yeah, it was only one night. They could survive one night, and then they could avoid them all for the rest of their life.