The Reincarnated Villainess Whose Romantic Trauma From Her Past Life Is Too Strong Is Sweetly and Painfully Doted On by the Prince of the Neighboring Country - Chapter 14

When Cherie attended the academy for the first time in a while, the people around her stared, looking at her as if she were something fragile and volatile.

(…Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.)

The annulment of her engagement to Reiss.

Then, the talk of her becoming an aide to the Prince of Trigea.

Aside from the scandalous nature of a woman becoming a prince’s aide, everyone was likely wondering why she had suddenly caught the Prince of Trigea’s eye.

(To be fair, I myself don’t even understand why Lord Salute cares for me so much.)

Love at first sight—one could call it that, perhaps. But when the person who falls for you is such a high-profile figure, it’s only natural to wonder, “Why me?”

“—Cherie.”

Along with the voice calling her name, the pleasant scent of sandalwood tickled Cherie’s nose.

“Sa—”

(…No.)

She started to call back “Lord Salute,” but realized in an instant that it wasn’t appropriate.

“…Lord Salute.”

—That’s right.

The person standing before Cherie wasn’t Salute Trigea, the Prince of Trigea, but “Salute Stanley,” an exchange student from the same country.

(—Ah, I see. He intends to stay in this guise at the academy without revealing his true identity.)

Understanding Salute’s intentions instantly without a word being exchanged, Cherie smiled at Salute’s “Good morning, Cherie,” and replied, “Good morning, Lord Salute.”

“Hey, would you mind if I walked with you to class?”

Just as Salute’s tone with Cherie had become informal, Salute’s way of speaking had turned casual and friendly. To this Salute, Cherie replied, “Yes, of course.”

As Cherie and Salute began to walk side-by-side, the awkwardness of being stared at by those around them seemed to vanish in an instant.

(…Just having him by my side feels incredibly reassuring.)

A sense of being protected.

The security of feeling that everything will be alright as long as she is here.

There was something like that in Salute’s presence.

(I wonder how long Lord Salute intends to stay at this academy.)

It had been three months since he arrived. Since he came as a third-year like Cherie, he would be graduating with her in just two more months but…

(Since he’s hiding his identity, there’s no reason for him to actually graduate from this school.)

Graduating as the fictional “Salute Stanley” wouldn’t count toward Salute’s actual record. He surely has his own duties to attend to, and he can’t stay here forever. As she thought this, she imagined the empty space beside her once he was gone, and a sudden wave of loneliness washed over her.

(—Oh, dear. I’m becoming completely dependent on him.)

While she preached independence, she was starting to rely on Salute entirely. She mentally scolded herself. Then, perhaps noticing the slight shift in her inner mood:

“What’s wrong, Cherie?”

Salute asked, looking worried.

“No, it’s nothing.”

To that Salute, Cherie replied while making a conscious effort to act nonchalant.

“Lady Cherie! Is this not a bit much!?”

It happened during the break after the second period.

Lily had stormed into Cherie’s classroom, looking absolutely livid.

“How can you switch to Lord Salute so quickly when you already had a fiancé like Lord Reiss!? For that matter, were you already close with Lord Salute? You weren’t cheating from the start, were you…!?”

Lily shouted this at the top of her lungs, interrupting Salute and Cherie’s quiet conversation. It was almost as if she were doing it on purpose so that everyone else in the class could hear.

“Hah?! I mean, despite having Lord Salute, you’re already with another man…? Lady Cherie, aren’t you being a bit too loose with your morals!?”

(…I mean, are you really the one to talk, considering you’ve seduced almost every capture target into a reverse-harem state?)

She had just been called “loose” by the most loose person in existence.

Cherie thought this to herself but couldn’t exactly say it aloud, so she remained silent and endured it. Then, Salute leaned his face close to Cherie’s ear and whispered:

“…She has a personality like absolute garbage, doesn’t she?”

(……………… “Personality like garbage”…………)

It was quite the thing to say, but because it hit the mark so perfectly, Cherie had to fight to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.

“What are you whispering about?”

Lily, bothered by Salute’s movement, questioned him, but Salute simply shrugged it off.

“Miss Lily. Let me explain once more: my relationship with Lord Salute is not what you think. It is strictly a professional arrangement. Could you please stop spreading baseless rumors based on your own wild assumptions?”

“How cruel… I’m not ‘spreading’ anything…!”

What she was doing right this second was the very definition of spreading rumors, but whether she realized it or not, she acted hurt, as if Cherie were treating her unfairly.

“Because Lady Cherie says such bad things about me…! I wasn’t even allowed to give a greeting as the [Maiden of the Flower Succession] to Lord Salute! Because you played that video and audio like a public execution at the party, Lord Salute’s impression of me has soured!”

“……………”

Since the very person who had staged that “public execution” was standing right next to her, Cherie involuntarily looked at Salute in silence.

(Besides, I wasn’t even told about that beforehand…)

She hadn’t heard anything about Salute using flower magic to recreate the scene, so Cherie herself had been shocked at the time. Certainly, it might have felt like a public shaming to Lily and Reiss, but it wasn’t done to punish them so much as to provide evidence for Cherie to break the engagement. In the end, the fact that it became a spectacle was Reiss and Lily’s own fault.

“…As I thought, she’s a nuisance.”

Beside Cherie, Salute muttered under his breath.

(—Hm?)

The moment Cherie thought “Hm?” at Salute’s mutter, he turned to address Lily.

“The reason you’re picking a fight with Cherie like this is because you hate her, isn’t it?”

“I… it’s not that I hate her! I just…! I thought Lady Cherie’s actions were too much…”

“But in reality, I don’t think her actions are as unreasonable as you claim. Isn’t it because you’re making such a scene that rumors are being embellished and her reputation is being ruined?”

Lily choked on her words at Salute’s statement.

“I-I’m not exactly! I just wanted Lady Cherie to be more…”

“More?”

“More… I just want her to have a kinder heart!”

“Hmph… is that so?”

Beside Cherie, the aura surrounding Salute as he took in Lily’s words suddenly turned sharp and dangerous.

“A ‘kinder heart,’ you say.”

Lily seemed to sense it too, as she flinched at Salute’s words.

“If you ask me, I think Cherie is far kinder than someone like you.”

“Wh—”

“I mean, isn’t it true? Even when you rudely barge in during a break, Cherie deals with you properly and never speaks ill of you to others. In contrast, what about you? You’re out there spreading all sorts of lies and truths about Cherie, aren’t you?”

Lily remained silent, unable to argue, perhaps because she had a guilty conscience.

Until a moment ago, Salute had been acting as “Salute” by using polite, formal speech, but now, because Lily’s comments had clearly struck a nerve, his natural, blunt way of speaking was bleeding through.

“You—you said you wanted to greet His Highness Salute, right? And you also said it was ‘loose’ of Cherie to be with me when His Highness exists.”

“Y… yes…”

“—Let me tell you then.”

Who I am—and why I am here?

(—No way.)

The moment Salute said that to Lily, Cherie felt a shiver of apprehension run through her.