As soon as I opened my eyes, a fragment of Soladin started picking a fight with me. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this, so I tried to ignore him, but his next words made me stop.
...Oh, right. I had been distracted by that ridiculous armor of his, hidden under the outer garment.
“Honestly, I wanted to hang myself.”
“If I hang myself, the branches would probably break.”
“You... are you sure you’re not actually a servant of the dark gods?”
I snapped at the fragment, but my desire to die wasn’t a lie.
Of all places, in front of that Lucy Allen, after hearing his insults, I passed out like that!
This is no mere embarrassing history! If I’m not careful, I’ll be relegated to the level of some lowly figure like Rina or a mere apostle of the Art Church!
...Come to think of it, there’s more than one way to die. Maybe I should consider how to die cleanly and painlessly.
“I won’t deny that. But let me at least explain.”
“Don’t you think Lucy Allen is also to blame for this incident?!”
“That brat is way too defenseless!”
Sometimes I think about it. Is Lucy Allen unaware of what kind of person she is?
She is too defenseless.
She doesn’t pay attention to the people around her.
She doesn’t think about how others perceive her.
Though she often responds to the glances directed at her with playful words, there’s rarely any sincerity behind them.
No, it would be more accurate to say almost never. She really means it when she speaks with disdain to the foxes lurking beside her or to the apostles who praise her beauty.
Even from my position, listening to that endless string of insults that gives me cold sweats, I can’t understand how those two can easily brush it off and laugh.
I don’t want to understand it either. The moment I sympathize with that feeling, I’ll be reduced from a human to an animal.
Anyway, back to the point. Lucy Allen doesn’t care at all about how she appears to others.
In the past, from a distance, she was beautiful and cute, but she was something no one wanted to approach.
As soon as you got close, words too harsh for “thorns” would fly, tearing apart the heart of anyone who dared to approach, so no one could comfortably admire her outward appearance.
That’s why, when she first entered the academy, her surroundings were empty.
For various reasons, those who had grown tired of Lucy Allen avoided getting involved with her, and those who didn’t dislike her would only watch her from a distance.
After all, Lucy Allen, from a distance, was like a piece of art.
To put it another way, she was someone who could only be art and nothing more. No one would want to own an object that would curse them the moment they touched it.
Even now, most people avoid Lucy Allen.
Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.
Though some might become interested due to the Art Church’s jewelry, with the blessings contained in the jewelry and her divinity, they might think she’s become someone different from the rumors.
But still, the thorns she had planted in the past scare people away, and they are too afraid of being caught by her playful red eyes to approach.
Even if they’re intrigued by her, they’re too worried about the people around her who might show interest.
Thus, most people don’t know just how defenseless Lucy Allen is.
Lucy Allen treats others with unreserved kindness.
She smiles as if nothing matters, using her playful eyes to charm people, and once she distracts them for a moment, she quickly steps away and mocks them with laughter.
I’m not the only one. She treats everyone around her like a toy, playing with them.
In the process, she never considers how much the toy’s heart might be shaken. She doesn’t even doubt it. At most, she might think, “I made them a bit angry,” and then giggle.
“That’s what happened earlier! She’s always blabbering about how cute and beautiful she is, but she doesn’t think others would see her like that! Just watching her tilt her head makes me furious!”
For a long time, Lucy Allen’s appearance has been famous. Otherwise, how could she have continued attending high society events despite causing incidents everywhere she went?
Even then, she would charm others with laughter and tear them apart with her words, and recently, her beauty had only intensified.
The apostles of the Art Church, who are always extremely picky about art, are not showing her awe for no reason.
Anyone who passes by—no matter how much they hate Lucy Allen, even to the point of wanting to kill her—would answer the same way.
Lucy Allen is beautiful. It wouldn’t be strange if she were called a goddess incarnate.
“That girl appeared in that... that ridiculous armor! Not only that, she even got close and ambushed us! How should we endure this?!”
If it hadn’t been for that last insult, I would have just barely been able to control myself. I’ve built up enough resistance for it.
But that mocking insult destroyed everything.
“She’s worse than a fox! The fact that she doesn’t even realize she’s charming those around her is what makes her truly malicious!”
I was the only one who collapsed, but everyone was shaken.
The Saint could only hold onto a leg that was about to break, Frey and Kent acted indifferent, but their hidden hands were shaking, and Kal turned his head to avoid seeing his master’s disgrace while still stealing glances.
I’m not the only one who’s strange! The real odd one is Lucy Allen! If she cared even a little about her appearance, this wouldn’t have happened!
“Well... not exactly.”
I don’t not understand why Lucy Allen has become so twisted.
I’ve heard she made enemies with everyone after countless acts of mischief, so she probably doesn’t think anyone would care about her.
Just like how I forgot the words about being happy because of my mother’s death, desperately struggling to elevate her name—surrounded by hatred, she lost the possibility of ever being loved.
“That’s why it pisses me off more. There’s no one she can complain to.”
Sighing as I grabbed my hair, the fragment let out a hollow laugh.
“What else can I do? I’ll just try my best not to be misunderstood and play the role of her toy.”
At some point, we’ll probably get severely punished. The world isn’t as oblivious as us. Someone will misunderstand, and Lucy Allen will pay dearly for it.
...Though, I wonder if there’s anyone capable enough to misunderstand her to the point where she gets punished.
Grumbling, Arthur got up, and hearing the sounds of battle nearby, he sighed.
Damn it. I guess I’m going to be mocked for a while. Not just by Lucy Allen, but by everyone around us.
They have no respect for the prince. Even though I’m royalty, the people around treat me like an easy target.
At some point, I’ll need to remind them there’s such a thing as treason.
“It was an accident earlier. A perfectly executed ambush. I’ve seen it once and suffered, so I won’t fall for the same thing twice.”
Lucy Allen had just described what happened earlier as training.
She never speaks carelessly when facing something as sinister as a monster, so that bizarre appearance of hers must have been necessary.
Even knowing she’ll be mocked, I have to go. The trial we’ve been given isn’t something we can pass lightly.
“Advice? From you? You haven’t taught me anything useful except how to enchant a sword with magic!”
The fragment’s expression was so serious that I didn’t say anything more and took a deep breath.
Lucy Allen has always surpassed common sense. From the moment we first got involved with her, she broke every norm effortlessly.
So this time, too, she’ll easily break my common sense. I should remind myself of that and go.
With this determination, I headed toward the commotion and finally understood why the fragment had told me to prepare myself.
On the barren ground, a fairy was dancing.
She created a stage with the warm divine light, like sunlight.
Through something that couldn’t even be called armor, she caught the attention.
With a playful smile, she held their gaze.
And with a more beautiful dance than any dancer, she seduced them.
As she lightly stepped back, she looked more like a fairy from a fairytale than any other fairy.
“Prince, you’re finally awake?”
“...Uh, yes, I am.”
“Pfft. Is the loser still a loser even after waking up? What a pathetic expression. How cute.♡”
I felt the blood rush to my head, and not long after, my vision began to blur.
The fragment’s grumbling could be heard, but I couldn’t answer.
“Are you going to fall again!? How pathetic. Can we really make use of such a pathetic prince?”
More than that, the cold, dry feeling of the ground greeted me.