Chapter 5.3
“But Saint, did you really not know?”
“……”
“The fact that you could kill people?”
As soon as Melina’s sweetly whispered words ended, the large glass windows behind Rachel began to shatter with a crash.
Clang—!
“Kyaaaah!”
Ear-piercing screams and the sound of breaking glass carved the air coldly.
Even I, who knew how far Rachel’s power could ultimately go, was amazed by its tremendous force, and the windows behind her successively created glittering fragments that attacked people.
“Aaaaah!”
“Be careful!”
“Saint!”
Before the windows even finished breaking, Rubellian immediately held me in his arms and quickly moved us to safety. From beside his arm, I poked my head out and gulped.
My goodness, this is Rachel’s power? I only imagined it, but seeing it directly—
“Amazing.”
—It’s really incredible?
Every glass window shattered without exception, the shards raining down to the floor. Through them, cold night wind blew frantically, making my arms exposed to the cold air feel chilly.
In the midst of complete chaos, while looking at people trembling in terror huddled together, I turned my gaze to Rachel and Melina.
“Lady Barnes, are you alright?!”
At the same time as Rachel’s rampage, Melina Barnes, who had been closest to her, couldn’t escape in time and had to receive the glass shower directly.
The young ladies standing behind her hurried toward Melina.
“My goodness, how did this…”
“The, the glass…”
“Saint! What on earth are you doing?!”
One young lady who was brushing off Melina’s clothes as she stood frozen like a nail screamed shrilly.
Still, it wasn’t fake friendship made of plastic, as I watched her genuinely getting angry on Melina’s behalf, then turned my gaze back to Rachel.
“Saint, Lady Barnes is His Highness the Crown Prince’s fiancée! How dare you do such a thing!”
At the loud voice, Rachel’s eyes widened in shock. As if her mind had finally returned, she stepped back hesitantly.
“Ah… I, I…”
“The Saint will have to pay the corresponding price to the imperial family for this.”
Rachel’s expression as she hesitated, not knowing what words to say, came across too clearly.
Staring at that, I narrowed my eyes. Whatever the case, Rachel was in the wrong. But who provoked first? Who emotionally stimulated her by tearing at her wounds?
Moreover, Rachel absolutely didn’t do it on purpose. She simply didn’t know how to properly control her power.
Of course, that wouldn’t serve as any excuse to others.
I escaped from Rubellian’s embrace. After scanning the gazes of those staring at Rachel as if terrified, I saw the Crown Prince’s figure on the second floor and bit my lips tightly.
“The Crown Prince… has quite a peaceful expression.”
“Indeed.”
Rubellian’s agreement carried quite a lot of meaning.
I narrowed my eyes while scanning the Crown Prince, Melina Barnes, and Rachel. And then, suddenly the Crown Prince on the second floor ‘smiled.’
At his smile that flashed by in an instant, I gripped Rubellian’s hand tightly. In the current situation, the Crown Prince’s smile surely didn’t mean anything good.
Soon, someone desperately called to the Crown Prince as he began to move.
“Your Highness! Please severely punish the Saint!”
The Crown Prince slowly descended from the second floor to the first floor. His leisurely steps showed not a trace of anger about his birthday banquet being ruined. No, not just anger. Rather, the Crown Prince’s face was mysteriously calm.
Standing tall between Rachel and Barnes, he turned his gaze to the young lady who had shouted at him.
“Severely punish the Saint?”
“Your Highness, Lady Barnes has been injured like this…”
At the Crown Prince’s cold voice, the unnamed young lady spoke while sobbing.
Who told them to provoke Rachel? I muttered internally. By the way, will the Crown Prince take Melina’s side? In the original work, he would have sided with Rachel, but their relationship isn’t good right now…
However, the Crown Prince actually opened his mouth with an utterly cold face.
“Who was it that first made provocative remarks to the Saint?”
……!
At the Crown Prince’s unexpected words, not only Melina Barnes standing there blankly, but even I widened my eyes.
What, what’s this again?
Ah, no, wait. Of course it’s not strange in terms of the original work for the Crown Prince to help Rachel, but…
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, th-that was just Lady Barnes inquiring about the Saint’s well-being—”
“Does Lady Barnes inquire about well-being in such a manner? Lady Barnes, tell me. Why did you speak to the Saint like that?”
At the Crown Prince’s question, Lady Barnes’s pupils shook endlessly. Even from far away, her bewilderment was clearly visible, making her appear utterly pitiful, and I clenched my fists.
The Crown Prince ignored that appearance, turned around, and spoke to Rachel.
“The Saint must have been startled.”
“……”
“My fiancée seems to have been quite rude. I apologize.”
As if he hadn’t been looking down from above, as if he hadn’t shown any displeasure toward Rachel, the Crown Prince spoke most affectionately.
At this, Melina, whose eyes had widened, shouted toward him.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, I—!”
Melina Barnes’s tearful voice was utterly desperate. As if pleading for something, she moved her lips, but the moment the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, she stepped back hesitantly.
“Saint, I’m sorry.”
“…No. The one who made a great mistake is me.”
At the Crown Prince’s apology, Rachel shook her head. She answered with a reluctant face, perhaps surprised by the Crown Prince’s sudden change.
However, the Crown Prince only chuckled.
“Lady Melina Barnes, apologize to the Saint.”
“……”
“Quickly.”
It should have been an utterly satisfying scene.
The villainess Melina Barnes who provoked Rachel by touching her painful spot, Rachel who ran wild because of it, and the Crown Prince who helped Rachel when she was in a difficult situation.
Nevertheless, it felt utterly discordant.
Clearly, clearly this was a scene where the male protagonist punishes the villainess, but why…
Why.
While I was lost in thought with an uncomfortable feeling, Rubellian, who was standing behind me, murmured in a low voice.
“Icarus always plays the good role.”
“……”
“That’s like him though.”
The moment he uttered those words, I realized what the source of this discordant feeling was and bit my lips.
From the moment I transmigrated, I thought the Crown Prince would naturally be kind.
Why? Because he was the male protagonist of the novel.
But knowing the sins his father committed, he still kept Rubellian by his side. What did he do keeping him by his side? Right, he looked at him with wistful eyes, calling him brother.
What did he do when Rachel and Melina confronted each other? He scolded Melina. But the one who actually solved all the problems wasn’t the Crown Prince but Rachel.
It was Rachel who confronted the Empress too, and the Crown Prince just loftily scolded them.
So in the end…
“The Crown Prince wasn’t a good person from the beginning.”
I only thought he was a good person because he treated Rachel well.
I gritted my teeth. So I had been constantly rationalizing that he was a kind character just because the Crown Prince was the male protagonist.
“When Melina approached Rachel, the Crown Prince just watched.”
“……”
“But now seeing him take Rachel’s side…”
“He must have used Lady Barnes.”
In other words, Melina has no grievance against Rachel at all. It’s all before the Crown Prince and Rachel become involved. Rather, she’d have more grievance against me.
Yet she picked a fight with Rachel like that, and even made an aggrieved expression when the Crown Prince scolded her.
The Crown Prince watched Melina from afar, then came down the moment Rachel’s power rampage ended.
“The Crown Prince wanted to test Rachel. How far that power goes.”
I raised my head to look at Rubellian.
“He subtly revealed feelings of hatred toward Rachel to Melina, and exposed Rachel’s past. Melina wanted to receive the Crown Prince’s favor, so she picked a fight with Rachel, whom the Crown Prince disliked.”
The Crown Prince just watched all of that. If Rachel had just meekly taken it here, he would have discarded her, but if she could somehow fight back against Melina Barnes, that itself would be a great power.
Ah, arrogant bastard. It was satisfying when I read the original work, but seeing it directly like this feels bad. Who is he to test Rachel?
I stared at Melina, who was hanging her head like a deflated mouse, and Rachel, who was looking back and forth between the Crown Prince and Melina with a somewhat reluctant face. Rachel clearly hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to come out like this either.
Suddenly Rachel’s gaze fell on me, and she drooped the corners of her lips.
Sister, you’ve had a hard time.
The Emperor and Crown Prince are all the same. Blood doesn’t lie. Arrogantly standing at the highest place and watching two people fight. When the biggest source of all evil is himself.
“Lady Melina Barnes, your apology?”
“…I’m sorry, Saint. I carelessly ran my mouth and hurt the Saint’s feelings.”
When an apology finally came from Melina’s mouth under the Crown Prince’s cold face, Rachel nodded. She too knew that all she could do here was quietly accept the apology.
At Melina Barnes’s apology, the Crown Prince spoke.
“Regrettable, Lady Barnes. I felt you were a more excellent noble than anyone, yet such a thing happened.”
“I’m… sorry… Your Highness.”
Melina tightly shut her mouth while sobbing.
Ugh, if I had seen this scene in a novel, I would have definitely cheered saying it was refreshing and satisfying, right? I, who had been frowning while watching that scene, shook my head.
“You honored us with your presence from the temple, yet after treating the Saint in such a way, we are ashamed to face you.”
“……”
“I’ll make sure such a thing never happens again.”
“No, Your Highness. It happened only due to Lady Barnes’s discourtesy.”
“That’s right. How on earth does Marquess Barnes educate his daughter! To dare show such discourtesy to the precious people of the temple!”
As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, the nobles all spoke in unison.
Is that person standing in the corner with a red and blue face Marquess Barnes?
At the unfolding situation, he eventually bowed to the Crown Prince and begged for forgiveness.
Seeing people who had been dying to take Melina’s side just moments ago suddenly completely change their attitude, I felt anew how scary the world truly is.
Soon servants entered and began hurriedly cleaning up the chaotic party hall.
“Hurry up and come out!”
Meanwhile, Marquess Barnes was grabbing his daughter’s wrist and practically dragging her out. Though my father often scolded me for my endless mischief, he’d never do something like that.
The swirl of emotions I felt upon seeing them faded in an instant, replaced by a cheerful smile as I approached Rachel.
“Rachel!”
Rachel, who had been conversing with the Crown Prince with a somewhat darkened face about something, raised her head. Alfred, who had been hardening his face behind her, raised an eyebrow upon discovering my presence.
“Rachel, are you okay?”
“Ah, Eve. That… are you alright? Did I perhaps cause you trouble just now…”
“Oh my, I have a husband made of steel. I’m fine.”
I smiled broadly while shaking my head. Though the Crown Prince’s brow twitched slightly as if my appearance was unwelcome, so what? I deliberately acted as if I had buried my sense of reading the room underground and firmly grasped Rachel’s hand.
“By the way Rachel, you must have been more surprised.”
“No. I… I’ll definitely be careful from now on.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“Still, I caused too much trouble…”
“Trouble? It’s no trouble at all.”
Actually, since this was the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, this line should have been said by the Crown Prince, but since I was originally the uncultured, ignorant crazy woman of this area, it didn’t matter.
Completely ignoring the Crown Prince’s existence as I talked with Rachel, I spoke affectionately.
“Rachel isn’t someone who causes trouble.”
“But I’m dangerous and…”
“Why is Rachel dangerous? You’re just an ordinary human being.”
“Why would you be dangerous? To me, you’re just an ordinary woman.”
I smiled brightly while delivering a line the Crown Prince would probably say if the development continued a bit more.
Since it’s come to this, I’m aiming for the male protagonist’s position!
Others transmigrate and steal the female lead’s position, but why am I like this? Sigh, my fate.
At my words, Rachel widened her eyes then smiled shyly and nodded.
That’s when it happened.
“Ahem.”
“Oh my, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
At the Crown Prince’s throat-clearing sound, I stepped back while covering my mouth tightly with both hands. When I bent my waist while grabbing both sides of my dress with exaggerated gestures, I could see the Crown Prince narrow his brow.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I was so worried about the Saint’s well-being that I failed to notice Your Highness.”
“…Is the Duchess close with the Saint?”
When the Crown Prince sent a wary look, I smiled broadly and nodded.
“I like the Saint.”
“…I see.”
“As Your Highness saw last time, Duchess Colica and others seem to dislike me terribly…”
I drooped my shoulders most pitifully. Actually, rather than disliking me, they seem to just ignore me because they don’t want to associate with a terrible hybrid, but that’s the same thing.
“And the Saint is beautiful.”
“The Duchess is beautiful too.”
“Oh my, I’m honored, Your Highness.”
How fortunate that despite such beauty, you didn’t accept my proposal that day. Phew, if I had married you, I think I would have already killed several people. You cowardly bastard.
“Anyway, today’s incident is regrettable, Saint. I hope we can meet again in the future.”
“It’s an honor, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Then the Duchess too— Ah, and the Duke.”
He, who had been about to leave after bidding farewell to Rachel and me, looked at Rubellian standing quietly behind me and spoke as if something had occurred to him.
