Chapter 18 – And So the Stage Draws to a Close③
Lunaria stood poised, her smile unbroken.
Refusing to become a secondary consort meant she would not marry into the Royal Family.
Here, Dale’s plans crumbled.
He had assumed that Lunaria’s kindness would keep her by his side.
However, he was refused outright.
Had the late Duchess foreseen all this? No, that’s not the case.
It was simply that, as a ‘mother’, the late Duchess wished for her daughter’s happiness and took out this insurance policy as a precaution.
And what was just said?
She demanded that Dale and Manna get married.
She would not permit a parting.
The escape route of them breaking up was blocked.
One escape route was cut off.
“Isn’t that splendid? You’ve become the hope of those from houses below the rank of Count, Lady Manna.”
I giggled, with a sneer.
“Please do your best with the Queen’s Education.”
Manna’s face had gone beyond pale, it was ashen white.
Yes, this is not a game, it’s reality.
Having received no training to become queen whatsoever, and having just declared her love for Dale right here, escape was impossible.
The young lady in front of her, who was closest to the Queen, smiled and refused her. She won’t help.
“As you will need to start from scratch, I’m sure it would be challenging for you… but you took my fiancé away from me, and then went so far as to call me the ‘Villain’ in that situation. Then the villain must step aside, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Shut up…! You… no matter what, you’ll always be nothing but the villain to me…!!”
My smile, with the corners of the mouth lifted in a sneer, must look incredibly beautiful.
And equally infuriating.
It’s like saying, “I refuse to accept someone like you becoming Crown Princess”.
In fact, she was being ridiculed. Implying that Manna was incapable of it.
“Calling Sister Lunaria the villain… Are you out of your mind?!”
A dignified, yet childish voice resounded.
Peeking out suddenly was Duchess Mitzegard.
Dressed in an opulent gown that emphasized her childlike appearance, yet her gaze was that of an adult.
“Well, Alicia. Are you here to celebrate?”
“Of course, Sister! As a graduate, I am obligated to attend.”
She swiftly stepped forward to me, performed a perfect curtsy without breaking her posture, and then turned to face Dale and Manna —though her gaze remained fixed solely on the King and Queen.
“My dear King and Queen. I sincerely apologize if I interrupted you. I simply couldn’t help but congratulate my beloved Duchess of Solfege on her graduation. So please… consider this a playful interruption at a celebratory gathering. I humbly ask for your gracious forgiveness.”
“Oh, if it isn’t Duchess Mitzegard? Of course, you’re forgiven.”
Speaking in her capacity as a Duchess, she fulfills her role properly despite her young age.
When she glanced at Manna and gave her a contemptuous look, Manna couldn’t help but flinch.
“The academy has truly fallen… to permit the admission of such riffraff.”
“What?!”
“I mean you, Lady Saint.”
“How dare you, you insolent child!”
“If you know who I am and still speak so boldly, then I’ll take you on as promised.”
“Huh?!”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, as well… I find it utterly baffling how you could have fallen for someone like this…”
She let out a deliberately loud sigh as she looked at the two of them, who could only grit their teeth and glare back, unable to argue.
“I would ask you not to speak ill of Manna… Duchess Mitzegard.”
“Oh? Am I mistaken?”
“You claim you are not?”
“How could anyone possibly see such a young lady as endearing? She approaches a nobleman who already has a fiancée, clings to him like glue, and then, to top it all off, stages this engagement-breakup spectacle at a celebratory gathering. She acts as if she’s the heroine, yet she’s already clinging to another man before his engagement is even dissolved. It’s incomprehensible to me.”
“………!”
After stating only the facts, Alicia turned her nose up and looked away.
Dale had a tragic look on his face, but I couldn’t care less.
Then, glancing sideways with a slow, languid look, she covered her mouth with the fan she held and continued.
“Because she can use Holy Magic, because she possesses Sacred Power, she is a ‘Saint’…”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I hope you, the daughter of a Viscount with no achievements whatsoever, don’t think you can insult me and Sister and get away with it.”
“Here we go again! Using your status to act all high and mighty! You’re the one who hasn’t done a damn thing, you brat!”
Manna’s best attempt at a retort—though it was really just loud, threatening yelling—had absolutely no effect on Alicia.
Of course, it doesn’t resonate with me either.
The only one unaware of how brilliantly effective it was at enraging the Queen—and thereby doubling the anger of the King who adored her—was the one who said it.
“I, Sister, the young ladies and sons here, have all made achievements and are fulfilling our duties as nobles properly, aren’t we?”
“Huh?!”
“You’ve only been learning how to use your power as a Saint, haven’t you, my lady?”
“You can’t use it without learning, can you?!”
“And after you learned?”
“………………………………… Huh?”
“Afterwards, what did you do, my lady?”
Even when asked about “afterwards”, Manna hadn’t done anything.
Yes, she truly hadn’t done a thing.
She learned.
But she hadn’t put it to use.
She could use her Holy Powers as support during monster hunts, create barriers to keep monsters out, and many other diverse things.
Truly, the list was endless.
“But… I mean, there’s no way she could do something so dangerous! She’s the only Saint you know?!”
“And?”
“Huh…?”
“Precisely. There are so many things you must do, such heavy responsibilities… It’s truly… lamentable.”
A deliberately drawn-out sigh escaped her.
Mockery.
She was nitpicked.
The same gestures and actions she herself had once directed at Lunaria.
Now, they were being returned. Slowly, steadily.
“Alicia, you mustn’t bully her. From now on, while receiving her education as Crown Princess, Lady Manna will surely… fulfill her duties as the Saint.”
“Huh.”
“Is that so?”
“You…”
“My, why glare at me so? I suppose I am the ‘villain’ in your eyes? A ‘Villainess’ with designs to steal His Highness the Crown Prince away from you? If that’s the case, then I suppose a fool like me should step aside… and that’s why I advised His Majesty the King…”
Despite my wilted manner of speech, my smile remained intact, which only served to heighten Manna’s irritation.
“Please do not flee. Discharge your duties properly, won’t you?”
“My duties?”
“Yes. First, you will be educated as a Crown Princess. Next, you will fulfill your duties as a ‘Saint’. Regarding this, please consult the church officials again. The Kingdom’s central church. I’m sure they will explain it in detail.”
The duties of a Saint are varied, but the most notable include serving as a healing support during monster extermination campaigns, or granting blessings to ensure the campaigns proceed smoothly.
The most significant duty is the creation and maintenance of “barriers”, which is something only a “Saint”, possessing Sacred Power, can do.
Manna, who knows the game’s content and setting, breaks out in a cold sweat.
Even while receiving her Crown Princess education, she would have to go on extermination missions when requested, and simultaneously cast and maintain barriers. That future was now certain.
Dale, who is standing next to her, couldn’t be relied on.
“N, no way…! There’s no way I can handle all that…! Yes, help?! Lunaria, you have a tremendous amount of mana! You could handle monster extermination yourself!”
“Oh, I refuse.”
“……………… Huh?”
“I will do everything within my power for the sake of the Kingdom and its people.”
“Then—”
“But why should I grant a request from you, for your sake, for your convenience?”
Fuha, the King chuckled delightedly.
“Quite right. If the Saint has appeared, then that is her duty. If you dislike that duty, then don’t call yourself a Saint. And as for Dale, I’ll grant him to you, so be gone.”
While fulfilling her role as a Saint, she receives training as a Crown Princess.
When can she rest?
When does she get to relax?
“Ah……”
“Don’t tell me you weren’t prepared for this, little girl. After all, didn’t you boldly walk in here, convince the Royal Family to annul their engagement, and steal someone else’s fiancé?”
Upon hearing the King’s words, Manna collapsed.
She looked pleadingly at the students, parents, and teachers who had been watching her fate unfold, but no one seemed likely to help her.
Even her own parents averted their eyes.
Dale’s aides turned away, too. They were unwilling to help.
Who would listen to the plea of “an arrogant, presumptuous Viscount’s daughter who stole the eldest Duke’s daughter’s fiancé and failed to fulfill her duties as a Saint”?
She had flaunted her status the most, even while condemning others for doing just that.
Right now, she’s facing the full consequences.
“…I, I will, accept, the, duty.”
Finally accepting her fate, she stood up, sniffled, cried, and bowed deeply toward the King.
Dale also stood next to Manna with a solemn look on his face and bowed his head.
“But…… um, really, I… um, I’m scared…! So…… uh, please help me, Lunaria! Lend me your strength!! Please!!”
Manna raised her head up, her tear-streaked face desperate as she pleaded.
“No.”
However, she received a very blunt rejection.
“Ah……”
────── After all, I am the Villainess.
I declared with just a look, then fixed Manna with the brightest smile of the day.
“Why not ask for help? From the noble sons you were so close to? You have plenty of allies, don’t you?”
“Ah, ah… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!”
Unlike in the game, Lunaria does not summon the Demon King.
But that doesn’t mean the monsters are weak.
Some monsters can be pierced by swords, others cannot. Some only respond to magic—they come in all shapes and sizes.
“Was it Miss Manna, I believe? Of course, you must also receive an education on being a Queen, right?”
The Queen said coldly to Manna, who was crying.
“You need to thoroughly grasp the magnitude of what you have taken on, as well as the weight of your responsibility. Dale, your Crown Prince education will be completely restarted from the beginning. It seems His Majesty the King and I were too lenient.”
She showed no mercy, not even to her own son.
“Seriously… To ruin a celebratory occasion like this… What a foolish son I have! Let’s start over!! I’ll cover the entire budget from my personal assets! We’ll reschedule the graduation party! Oh, that’s right, Principal, I will send apology gifts to the homes of every student present. Compile that list as soon as possible and send it to me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
With a final glance at Dale and Manna, the King clapped his hands twice, refreshing the atmosphere.
When the students and parents present heard that there would be an apology gift from His Majesty the King, they rejoiced and cheered.
That’s not something you can normally receive in a lifetime.
People expressed their gratitude. To this foolish farce, to its two protagonists.
“…… What a fool he was.”
“Sister, do you have any regrets?”
“No, I have no regrets… I just realized how foolish it was of me to ever admire such a person, even for a moment.”
Alicia and I watched as Manna and Dale were dragged away.
I could understand Manna’s feelings about being the heroine in the game world. However, I had no intention of admitting to an unfounded crime nor of allowing Lunaria to be portrayed as a villain.
I simply fulfilled my role as a noble.
“Sister, are you busy after this?”
“No, I don’t have any plans for today, so I’m free.”
“Then let’s celebrate with just us! Oh, Lord Mithos and Uncle Falitus too, just the four of us!”
“That’s a lovely idea.”
I gently stroked Alicia’s hair, taking care not to mess up her carefully styled locks.
She was so cute, squinting her eyes like a cat and laughing, that I couldn’t help but laugh as well, then opened my mouth.
“After we raise a toast… we should formally request an audience with His Majesty the King. We must reconsider the relationship between the four great Duke Houses and the Royal Family.”
“Indeed, Sister. I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince and the Saint will behave well if we just keep them at arm’s length, but… we must make our intentions clear for the future.”
The two Duchesses’ smiles deepened.
“Let us remind them once more what happens when they make enemies of me… of us.”
It will go on a little longer.
I would be honored if you would continue reading.
Sads Translates 