Chapter 83
Chapter 83
The sound of the Crown Prince's shoes faded completely away at the end of the hallway.
"……."
"……."
A heavy, eerie silence hung between us.
I swallowed hard.
The Crown Prince, the empire's heir apparent, and Elysia had just been going at each other with brutal ferocity.
After seeing that overwhelming presence firsthand, my shoulders naturally hunched and my gaze dropped to the floor.
Damn, seriously.
Was she that terrifying?
Last time, when we went shopping for cosmetics in the middle of the capital and I was picking out a brown bottle, I had thought she had a cute, approachable side to her.
What in the world gave me the nerve to act all familiar with that terrifying young lady and throw out dating advice as if I were some master of push-and-pull?
By now, I was painfully regretting it.
While I was writing an internal apology letter, Elysia slowly turned her head and looked at me.
"……Kasian."
I flinched.
"Yes, yes, my lady."
Before I knew it, I blurted out an answer like a brand-new recruit standing at attention.
Elysia's red lips parted.
"I have plenty I want to ask about exactly how this all happened, but……."
The moment I heard her voice.
I jerked and cautiously lifted my head.
'……Hmm?'
What?
It felt like she had become a completely different person in an instant.
The icy sharpness she had shown while glaring at the Crown Prince had vanished without a trace.
Her red eyes had melted into an endless softness and warmth, as if they had soaked up the spring sunlight.
"I saw with my own eyes that you're safe, so that's enough."
"……Pardon?"
I let out a foolish sound.
What was this ridiculously motherly sweetness?
Where did that cold beauty go who'd been ready to grab her fiancé by the collar and rip into him just a moment ago?
Why was she suddenly looking at me with eyes dripping honey?
Swoosh.
Elysia gently straightened my rumpled collar with an elegant hand.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. Totally fine."
"Thank goodness. Truly."
Elysia let out a relieved sigh and smiled brightly.
The dazzling contrast was nearly enough to make my brain short-circuit.
But then.
"Oh my. Oh, my, oh my."
The Viscountess Müller, who had been quietly watching this entire scene from behind my back the whole time.
She covered her mouth with a leather-gloved hand and looked back and forth between me and Elysia, her expression overflowing with interest as if it might burst.
'Ah, fuck.'
What kind of trashy melodrama fantasy was that lady spinning in her head now?
Honestly, it was so obvious even to me that she was probably imagining some indecent, thrilling romance scenario that I was about to lose it.
Viscountess Müller flashed a shameless, knowing smile.
Elysia spoke to me again in a soft voice.
"I have a lot I want to say to you, but……."
I flinched.
At that moment, I could feel Lily's body, standing guard in front of me, shaking hard.
Lily stretched out an arm toward me and gripped my sleeve tightly.
'Ah.'
Right.
For Lily, who still carried every horrible memory from her past life intact, Elysia's very existence would be terrifying enough to make her shake.
'Aww, our pink puppy's scared.'
I tsked inwardly.
On top of that, what was happening now was basically the Crown Prince openly clinging to Lily herself out of obsession, only to be caught red-handed by the Crown Prince's official fiancée, Elysia.
In a past life, it would have been a setup so dangerous that poison or a dagger flying in on the spot wouldn't have been strange.
But.
'Wait a second.'
The more I thought about it, the more something felt off.
Lily was clearly trembling because she was scared, but the hand gripping my sleeve had quite a bit of strength.
And in the glass window across from Elysia, Lily wasn't shrinking back in fear.
She was staring at Elysia with her eyes wide open and a stubborn glare fixed on her.
'Huh?'
Was she really scared?
If anything, it looked more like the strange displeasure of a dog growling because it's on guard and doesn't want to lose something.
What was even stranger was Elysia's attitude.
Elysia had made it very clear that she despised the Crown Prince, who had been trying to carry on an affair right in front of everyone here, looking at him like he was some filthy bug.
But toward Lily, the very person who had caused all this, she didn't so much as get angry or snap at her.
No, she didn't even spare her a glance and treated her like she was completely invisible.
'Maybe I'm overthinking this a little, but.'
Elysia wasn't even looking at Lily once, and was only looking at me.
With that sweet, sugary gaze from just now.
I swear I'm about to get a blood sugar spike.
"Since you're busy, let's put our conversation off for a little while."
Elysia took a graceful step back and smiled elegantly.
"A little while? Our conversation?"
"Yes."
"Did I have something I needed to say to you privately, my lady?"
When I asked back in confusion, Elysia gave a light laugh.
"Once this complicated matter is safely over, come find me then."
"……Where?"
"At the Rosenberg mansion or the academy garden. Wherever you're comfortable, I'll be waiting quietly."
Elysia whispered while holding my gaze steadily.
"Go on ahead. Everyone's waiting for you."
"……Understood."
I nodded with a dazed expression.
Honestly, after she'd ruthlessly driven the Crown Prince off like that and still not grabbed me by the collar, instead politely making way for me, what more could I ask for?
I should be grateful enough.
"Then I'll be going now. Thank you very much for your help."
I bowed politely to Elysia and was about to move on.
But then.
"Heh-heh."
Viscountess Müller was still snickering, as if she were thoroughly entertained.
I'll be generous and say I can understand it.
The Crown Prince's fiancée and the saintess of the church.
A mere noble young man receiving the attention of both of those women at the same time.
From that auntie's perspective, a slave to capitalism, there was no better premium gossip to munch popcorn over than this.
But not me.
"Could you please stop laughing?"
"Hmm? I was just admiring how our student Kasian really is an impressive man in so many ways."
"Don't tease me. My heart just lost ten years off its lifespan."
"Teasing? This is sincere, too."
Seriously, this old lady is annoying.
But I'll put up with it.
I have to endure it, since she's the backer who staked forty billion on me.
Yeah.
I'll definitely get my revenge by making her lick my toes.
* * *
"Hohoho."
Again.
She's doing it again.
"……."
She's been covering her mouth and laughing like that the whole time we've been walking down the hall, seriously.
That laugh was so obviously deliberate, like she wanted me to hear it.
"Oh, sorry."
Noticing my sharp glare, Viscountess Müller said it shamelessly.
"I couldn't help it. It really did feel like youth was fresh and lively, you know? The tense atmosphere among those three earlier was so lovely to watch that I just can't get it out of my head."
She's roasting me in the classiest way possible.
I shook my head with a fed-up expression.
"Could you stop teasing me already? I'm serious when I say I thought my lifespan had dropped by ten years."
"Hmm. But isn't this too fun and stimulating a topic to stop teasing?"
Fair enough.
The Crown Prince's obsession, the villainess's refreshing fact barrage, and the ordinary noble young man and saintess caught in between.
It was a dopamine-flooding development that made morning-drama slap-fests look tame.
If I had been a third party, I'd have been cracking open popcorn too.
Damn.
'What a fucking exhausting life.'
After exchanging that worthless conversation while walking, we eventually arrived before the massive main hall door.
"……."
The scene in front of that door was ferocious in and of itself.
The Gold Cross Holy Knights, whose chests gleamed with golden crosses, were lined up on both sides, proudly displaying their insignias.
Between them, the academy's heavy hitters, including Department Head Eric, stood guard at the door with anxious faces.
"Ha! Why are you so late!"
The moment he spotted me, Department Head Eric's face lit up in an instant.
That old man had never greeted me like this before.
"There you are. Everyone's waiting for you inside. Go on in quickly."
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Department Head."
After giving Department Head Eric a light bow, I reached for the doorknob, then paused and subtly raised a hand.
"Before I go in, may I have a moment?"
"Hmm? Of course."
I turned around and met the eyes of Lily, who had been clutching my sleeve and following after me like a little tagalong.
"Lily."
"Y-Yes!"
"What I told you to remember in the lab a few hours ago, you haven't forgotten, right?"
At my quiet question, Lily clenched both fists and nodded vigorously.
Her pastel light-green eyes were full of absolute trust, without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes! Tell the truth exactly as it happened."
"And after that?"
"You said not to force a defense or twist things for Kasian's sake, and to tell only the truth exactly as it is."
Excellent.
What a wonderfully obedient parrot, spitting back exactly what I fed her.
"That's right. Very good."
"Hehe."
Lily smiled bashfully at my praise.
But at that moment, I could feel the air around us tightening strangely.
Glancing sideways, I saw embarrassment written all over the faces of the Gold Cross Holy Knights standing guard at the door.
Every single one of them was in full-on eyequake mode.
Honestly, showing off just how completely Lily was tamed by me in front of everyone else was a little awkward.
But now was not the time to worry about other people's looks or stares.
'After all, she's the same pink puppy who didn't even flinch at the Crown Prince a moment ago and even kicked open the lab door to rush out and save me.'
Do you guys know what's going through my head?
Do you know the immense burden and anxiety of a streamer who got donated a speed potion?
"Let's go in now."
I ignored the holy knights' stunned looks and immediately shoved the conference hall door open.
Creeeak─
As the heavy door opened, the scene inside spilled out all at once.
"……."
A large round table.
Around it sat figures who were all big shots capable of manipulating the empire's history at will.
Pope Heinz, and the academy principal, who had been locking horns fiercely at the front entrance.
Beside them was Princess Iveline, maintaining the cool poise befitting royalty.
And the Gold Cross Knight Commander, along with Dean Hicks and the veteran professors who looked like they'd sneer at anyone and everyone, all focused their gazes on Lily and me at once.
A heavy atmosphere as taut as a drawn bowstring, so tense that not even a breath could be heard.
I could feel Lily's shoulders shrinking reflexively.
'No need to be scared.'
Before Lily could get frightened, I cut through that frustrating silence and spoke first.
"Now that the person involved is here, let's begin."