Those lingering near Prince Arthur, including him, were at a loss for words, overwhelmed with confusion.
The audience, forgetting even to observe decorum in front of a prominent heir, gaped with their mouths open.
Joy stared at me with shaken eyes, her mask of the villainess cracked.
As I watched the chilling silence unfold, I internally screamed.
“Grandpa!”
Grandpa! Save me! How am I supposed to get through this situation?! I don’t know what to do!
<For now, keep your mouth shut for a while. We need to see how this situation unfolds.>
Following Grandpa’s instructions, I tightly closed my mouth and began to observe the surroundings, and slowly, the expressions of the bewildered people began to shift.
“How dare you!”
One of them broke the thick silence with his voice.
It was Arthur.
“Do you think this is the academy?”
He stepped forward, pretending to be angry while standing next to the first prince.
<Quick to assess the situation.>
“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”
<That guy has taken the initiative by shouting first.>
Arthur’s shout was a highly strategic move.
I had committed rudeness in front of everyone. Because of that, it was impossible to make this incident disappear.
Now I couldn’t evade the responsibility of the crime I had committed.
However, how I would take responsibility had yet to be determined.
“How absurd! Do you think that just because you are the daughter of Sir Benedict, your arrogance will be forgiven?”
By raising his voice first, Arthur was trying to seize the initiative to determine the severity of the punishment.
After all, he had the justification of being the prince’s younger brother.
“Enough, brother.”
However, that justification only existed when the first prince didn’t say anything at all.
Since the insult was directed at the first prince, who held a higher position and a firmer justification, if he stepped forward, Arthur had to step back.
“But brother!”
Arthur raised his voice, knowing this.
To protect me.
“I said enough.”
But even that had its limits.
As the first prince furrowed his brow, Arthur uttered an apology and stepped back.
In the midst of the silence that had formed as everyone gauged one person’s reaction, the first prince approached me, his footsteps echoing.
His dark eyes were fixed precisely on me.
At last, the first prince stopped in front of me, looking down silently before lowering his face.
Then he whispered in my ear.
“Do you think I’m not worthless right now?”
He still remembered that?!
Had he kept it in his heart?!
Well, he couldn’t forget!
What kind of crazy person calls him a gloomy worthless loner and expects him to forget that!
After delivering that line, the first prince raised his head, and a smile appeared on his face.
It wasn’t a smile born from happiness.
It wasn’t something outstanding like Karia, but I could tell.
That was a smile that said he had decided to take care of me himself.
<This should be fine.>
“Is it really fine?!”
<He’s not going to go on a rampage and punish you.>
That’s true.
But no matter how I looked at it, that person was targeting me!
You could see he was contemplating how to deal with me!
<What’s the prince going to make a fuss about, being marked by the Evil God?>
Grandpa calmed me, saying the issue was whether he had lost his reason in his rage, but as long as he retained some sanity, it should be okay.
I understood that, but—
That wasn’t the problem right now?!
I was marked by one of the final bosses!
On top of that, the Evil God and the Deity were already teaming up to torment me, and now there was one more!
One more opponent who was trying to teach the mesugaki a lesson!
“I’ve heard that you’ve become quite a capable human, but your personality hasn’t changed at all.”
As I internally screamed, the first prince continued.
His clear voice drew the attention of everyone around.
“You’re participating in the Partlan festival, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How do you know? Gloomy loner prince, are you a stalker?”
Please stop it, mesugaki skill!
Come out at the right time and place!
Can’t you hear the sounds of people holding their breath around us?! Huh?!
“Ha. Yeah. It should be the same as it was back then for it to be fun.”
I thought his voice would get louder, but it didn’t.
The first prince smirked and turned his back.
In contrast, it was the guards standing beside the first prince who appeared more flustered.
“Prince, are you going to let this rudeness go?”
“He’s just that kind of person. Raising his voice only tires us out.”
“But—”
“Let me remind you, as if you’ve forgotten. That girl is the daughter of Benedict Alrn. Considering his contributions, don’t you think this should be overlooked?”
Although the first prince claimed that they were letting it slide due to Benedict’s contributions, the underlying meaning was different.
The reason he specifically mentioned Benedict was likely a reminder that he was lurking behind me.
The guards and those standing behind the first prince had no choice but to remain silent in the presence of Benedict’s name.
Once the first prince confirmed that everyone was silent, he led his group back the way they came.
Whew.
I really thought I was going to suffocate and die.
What on earth was the past Lucy doing?!
How could she have walked around insulting royals, princes, and other nobles while taking in this kind of atmosphere?!
No matter how much Benedict was behind me, shouldn’t she have sensed something?!
Did the mesugaki really not care about others’ gazes?!
Well, if she did care about how others saw her, she wouldn’t be wearing a dress more extravagant than a princess’s!
As I marveled at the past Lucy in a different way, someone tugged at my sleeve.
It was Joy.
“Really. Lady Alrn is as consistent as ever.”
Hearing her voice, which was mixed with a sigh and worry, guilt welled up inside me.
I’m sorry, Joy. You’re having a hard time because you have a bad friend.
I have a gift prepared for you, so please accept it and ease your heart.
Unable to voice my apologies, I silently begged for forgiveness, and she let out a hollow laugh.
“Come on. Arthur wants to talk to you.”
Huh? Arthur?
As soon as the staff saw Joy’s face, they guided us to a room.
“Finally, you’ve arrived.”
Inside the room, Arthur was waiting for us.
“Sit down for now. We just had a grand introduction earlier.”
Following his words, I sat down at the table, and Arthur sighed as he called my name.
“Lucy Alrn.”
“Yes!”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry.”
His sudden apology left me dazed.
Why is he apologizing? Shouldn’t I be the one apologizing instead?
“I am guilty for not stopping my brother from seeing you, knowing what kind of person you are.”
From what Arthur said, it seemed the reclusive first prince, who had been holed up in the capital, was greatly influenced by his desire to visit the Partlan territory.
Originally, Arthur shouldn’t have participated in such a festival, but upon expressing his intention to visit, the first prince became curious, and through their conversation, he ended up participating in this event.
No.
So that means—
Putting all the information together, this guy is the root cause?!
Arthur!
You idiot!
Forget thanking you for trying to protect me!
If you knew what kind of person Lucy was, you should have risked your life to stop the prince!
Why did you, who are not even a tank, pull aggro from the boss and make the situation a mess?!
“Can’t you even say don’t come? You truly are a pathetic prince♡ What are you even good at?♡ Oh, there is one thing: shouting after losing and saying, ‘Just you wait!’♡”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.
“I tried my best! But my brother was stubborn, and there was nothing I could do! And let me tell you! If you hadn’t said those strange things in the first place, there wouldn’t have been a problem! What were you thinking, insulting the most prominent heir to the throne in front of everyone?!”
Yeah, if we were weighing the gravity of the mistakes, mine would be quite significant. If I had to put a number on it, it’d be at least a 9, right?
Still, you, the one who summoned the root cause here, bear at least a 1% of the blame, don’t you?
So just take the verbal lashing I’m dishing out for my stress relief.
I’ll forgive your crime for this.
Arthur, who had been raising his voice in protest, soon cleared his throat and regained his composure.
“The good news is that it seems my brother doesn’t plan to impose any restrictions on you.”
Even after leaving, the first prince didn’t mention my name.
When the guards or aides brought it up, they just brushed it off, so it seemed he wasn’t thinking of pursuing this matter any further.
That probably had a lot to do with Benedict’s name.
Who would want to antagonize someone capable of facing the Evil God head-on, even if it was imperfect?
“However, I can’t say how long this will last. If my brother decides to take action, it will also cause trouble for Sir Benedict. So please, be careful.”
“Yes.”
“Why should I do that?”
“I’m saying this because I’m worried about you! At least pretend to listen!”
Arthur strained his voice again, but I had no way to respond.
As long as the mesugaki skill corrected my tone and actions, I would have to keep calling the first prince the gloomy loner prince.
“Uh, Prince Three.”
As we were bickering, Joy, who had been watching us from the side, quietly spoke up, drawing Arthur’s attention.
“What is it?”
“Is the first prince also participating in the festival?”
“Yeah. Since he came, he said he’d become the festival’s slayer.”
It’s surprising enough that he even left his territory, but he’s participating in the festival too?!
Why?!
What kind of change of heart could lead to such behavior?
While I was in shock over the unexpected development, I recalled the words the prince had said when he left.
Is this because of me?!
Is it because of me?!
Since he can’t directly impose restrictions due to Benedict, is he trying to win by doing it this way?!
Isn’t that a bit too petty for a final boss?!
No, no, wait a minute. That’s not the issue here.
The fact that the first prince is participating in the festival means I might run into him on the street.
“If he’s serious, that title will be his. It’s a pity, though. He was quite serious about targeting it.”
“You too, Prince Three?”
“Yeah. You have to give your all in whatever you do.”
Oh, gods. Why are you putting me through such trials?
I need to ask Grandpa if he can sense the first prince’s aura.
If I run into him face to face, another incident will surely occur.
I’m currently piled up with stress, you know?
If you’ve brought something to ease the suffering of the apostle, I would welcome it, but if not, things might get a bit rough.
[Quest has been updated!]
[Slayer of the Festival]
[Defeat and win at over 14 stalls!]
Huh?
Huh?!
Why did the number change?
Why did the part that said 10 turn into 14?
Rubbish Deity! You trashy bastard!