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 29

Along the main thoroughfare connecting the academy’s front gate to the entrance hall, a spot bustling with students heading home, the echoes of a heated argument rang out.

“Hey, Lily! Seriously, enough is enough!”

“I understand you’re shocked by the rumors, but if you don’t fulfill your duties, you’ll never be able to clear your name, you know?”

The voices belonged to Geek and Thiel. Behind them stood Wraith, arms crossed in silence, though his eyes spoke volumes of his disapproval.

Cherie, who was about to head home with Salute, happened upon the commotion as they passed the entrance hall.

(…Of all places, why must they cause a scene somewhere so conspicuous?)

If they were going to fight, they should at least do it somewhere private. Cherie, already anxious over the unsettling atmosphere surrounding Lily lately, was worried sick that causing a disturbance in such a public place would only further damage Lily’s reputation.

Perhaps sensing Cherie’s unease, Salute subtly shielded her from the fray. “…Let’s go, Cherie,” he urged, prompting her to leave the area.

(True, as Prince Salute says, it might be best to walk away. But…)

She felt it wouldn’t be right to simply leave without knowing how things turned out. Cherie hesitated for a moment, unable to follow Salute’s lead immediately. In that brief window of hesitation, the voice of the person at the center of the conflict, Lily—rang out.

“Leave me alone! I don’t want to be the Flower-Sowing Maiden anymore!”

“It’s not as simple as ‘I don’t want to do it’ and ‘Oh, okay then.’ The role given to you isn’t something so trivial!”

“Then fine! Just have Lady Cherie do it! Everyone thinks she’s more suited for it than me anyway, don’t they?!”

“…Why you…!”

Lily, who had been sulking, suddenly flared up at something in Geek’s words and began screaming at them.

“Isn’t it true?! I know! Geek, Thiel! You’re both telling me all this not because you actually care about me, but because your own reputations as Knights of the Flower Basket will drop if I don’t do my job properly, right?!”

“HUH?!”

Geek’s voice thundered with rage at Lily’s accusation. Though Thiel and Wraith remained silent, everyone nearby could see their faces pale instantly at her words.

(…Isn’t this situation getting incredibly bad?)

Protected behind Lute’s back, Cherie’s heart pounded with growing dread. For Lily to avoid the Bad End of the Flower-Sowing Maiden, her only hope was to rely on the affection of the capture targets. Why was she being so reckless and self-destructive now?

“Are you… seriously saying that…?”

“Of course, I am! Because it’s the truth, isn’t it?!”

As Geek took a menacing step toward Lily, she recoiled a step-in fear. At that moment—

“…Stop it, Geek.”

Wraith stepped in to restrain him.

“Lord Wraith…! But…!”

Stopped by Wraith, Geek turned back with a frustrated cry. Wraith stepped past him and moved to the front.

“…Lily.”

Wraith approached her with a look of profound bitterness, but Lily’s expression remained cold and hard. Suppressing the unnameable emotions rising within him at how different she seemed from the girl who used to act sweet while trying her best, Wraith opened his mouth to speak.

“…Until now, I believed we were comrades sharing the same goal. That’s why, even when you fell short, I turned a blind eye. I thought you were brave for trying so hard to brighten the atmosphere. But if you say things like that, what are we supposed to do?”

So please, I beg you, wake up—

Wraith approached her, his words overflowing with sincere emotion, but Lily cut him down with a frigid, merciless gaze. There was even a hint of mockery in her eyes.

“…You don’t have to do anything.”

“………………”

“You don’t have to do anything at all. Because what I wanted from you all was protection after my duties as the Maiden were over.”

This was her true nature, laid bare for the first time. Bewildered by her sudden shift to a condescending attitude, Wraith managed to respond.

“That’s—”

“You can’t do it, can you? I know. No matter how hard Lord Wraith tries to make me his fiancée, it’s never going to happen, right? Then what reason do I have to keep trying?”

She let out a scoffing laugh. Wraith was left speechless.

“The only reason I worked hard until now was to become a Princess, marry into wealth, and live an easy life. If that’s not going to happen, there’s no point in trying anymore. Thank you for everything. But please, just forget about me.”

“………………”

Lily’s blunt, sugar-free words left both Wraith and the surrounding crowd of onlookers utterly stunned.

Faced with the shocked silence, Lily’s mocking expression vanished into a blank mask. She then grimaced, gave a perfunctory bow, and ran away from the scene.

Cherie, who had been watching in hopes of finding a way to help, found herself unable to do anything. She could only watch with a heavy heart as the onlookers awkwardly dispersed, leaving Wraith and the others behind.

(…I wonder if Miss Lily and Lord Wraith’s group will be alright…)

Despite her worries, Cherie eventually followed Salute’s lead and headed home. However, her fears would take a concrete and terrifying shape two days later.

Two days after the incident at the academy.

“—The Flower-Sowing Maiden has disappeared.”

Summoned to her father’s office, Cherie was informed that Lily had abandoned all her duties as the Maiden and had vanished, presumably having fled.