Shi-en’s head turned white at the provocation of the Lady Virgin Saint.
No words came to mind. Words floated, and language failed to create context.
In fact, Shi-en secretly agreed with the Lady Virgin Saint’s criticism. No matter how much she wanted to see I-an, Shi-en understood her own shame.
That was why she bowed her head every time she arrived in front of the temple.
She had no right to monopolize I-an. No, she didn’t even possess a qualification, let alone a right.
The cause of I-an’s injury was none other than the Imperial Princess.
The Imperial Princess’s gray eyes shook violently as this realization struck her again. The vertically slit pupils were shoving the emotions of others into the depths of her mind.
It felt like a heated iron skewer piercing through her optic nerves.
This was the first time she had ever felt such fierce malice and hatred.
Shi-en couldn’t even grasp the source of that anger. She merely gasped for breath, barely managing to exhale.
The fury of a woman who almost lost her beloved man was frighteningly intense.
That burning pink gaze was almost disturbingly vivid. The Lady Virgin Saint spat her emotions out once more, as if biting into her words.
“Honestly, I don’t like that you keep coming back. Of course, I’m grateful and sorry. But, you know, there are plenty of others out there who are thankful and sorry to I-an, aside from you?”
Those words, uttered with a bright smile, were laced with a sharply raised tone. The timid Shi-en could do nothing but stumble over her words, unable to respond properly.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, making her feel like she would burst into tears at any moment.
Yet she held back.
It was her fault after all; she had to make some sort of excuse or plead for forgiveness.
It was a reaction that could even be called a judgment of compulsive reflex.
“W-well, um, it’s just that… there’s a bit of a misunderstanding…”
“…Misunderstanding?”
With a chuckle, the Lady Virgin Saint finally let her hand drop from brushing her bangs away.
Her silver hair shimmered down, showcasing an otherworldly beauty. It was truly a celestial sight, breathtaking to behold, yet Shi-en couldn’t stop her body from trembling.
The Lady Virgin Saint’s mouth was smiling, yet her gaze was chillingly cold.
The stark contrast tightened around Shi-en’s throat.
The waves of her emotional turmoil suffocated Shi-en like a heavy liquid with a dull flow.
“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, misunderstanding… how wonderful, how excellent.”
As the Lady Virgin Saint took a step closer, Shi-en instinctively stepped back with a gasp.
Ultimately, unable to endure, tears began to well up in her eyes. Of course, the Lady Virgin Saint had long lost any trace of mercy; her sense of reason was completely gone.
“Even if you meddle with I-an and his family, all you have to say is that it’s a ‘misunderstanding’? And now, you pretend as if nothing happened and take meticulous care of I-an while trying to act like his lover?”
Shi-en jolted at the Lady Virgin Saint’s cold voice and shook her head violently. The tears that had been held back slipped away, but she had no energy left to care about that.
It felt entirely unreasonable.
To even think of being the lover of Sir I-an, it was something she couldn’t have dared to imagine.
How could she harbor such feelings after committing so many wrongs? In a frantic rush, Shi-en scrambled to string together a defense.
“W-well, how could I…”
“But why do your eyes look like that?”
Shi-en became speechless, staring blankly at the Lady Virgin Saint.
What was wrong with my gaze?
The Lady Virgin Saint sighed heavily, clearly showing her irritation. Her hand pressed against her forehead.
“You’ve been gazing only at I-an, with a face that shows you’ve fallen for a splendid knight. Anyone can see that you look like a female.”
“…A, a female?!”
It was a blatant expression she had never heard in her short life. Shi-en’s eyes widened, and she immediately covered her mouth with her delicate hands.
No matter how that went, the Lady Virgin Saint displayed a nonchalant attitude, twirling her hair with her finger.
“Yes, a female… I understand, after all, you must be of an age where that’s understandable.”
“That’s not it!”
With her face flushed bright red, Shi-en shouted, but the Lady Virgin Saint continued her perfect disregard.
Instead, she twisted her lips into a sly grin.
“Ian is off-limits, you know that?”
Once again, the atmosphere cooled, and Shi-en faltered, her confidence dwindling. In her gray eyes, there was still a trace of moisture.
Before long, the distance between the Lady Virgin Saint and the Imperial Princess shrank to mere footsteps.
The whispers of the Lady Virgin Saint were close enough to dampen the Imperial Princess’s eardrums.
“You are not a princess; you are a bad dragon.”
That one phrase froze Shi-en’s trembling heart in an instant.
With that, the Lady Virgin Saint slowly began to step back, distancing herself from Shi-en. After lingering for a moment with a grim expression, she shifted her gaze to I-an.
The look in her eyes was completely the opposite of how it had been when she looked at Shi-en.
Affection, worry, pity swirled within those pink eyes, leaving the Imperial Princess speechless.
But instinctively, she understood.
That was what she meant by “the eyes of a female.”
Shi-en realized she didn’t even have the right to look at I-an with those eyes.
She thought she had no complaints up to this point, but as that thought crossed her mind, her heart tightened painfully, and she placed her fist over her chest.
It hurt and felt torturous.
It was then that the Lady Virgin Saint spat out her cursed command.
“Leave.”
As she said this, the Lady Virgin Saint did not even look at the Imperial Princess. Instead, her gaze was simply hovering over I-an, as if she were eternally searching for him through time.
At that resolute tone, Shi-en felt an unease creep over her.
“W-wait… just for a moment…”
“Leave.”
In the end, Shi-en had to turn away, defeated. At that moment, another voice echoed in her ear, the voice of the Lady Virgin Saint.
“And don’t come by again. Honestly, it’s a disturbance.”
The low warning made Shi-en’s steps come to a halt.
She turned back, desperation in her eyes. With a voice that sounded urgent, she protested, requiring tremendous resolve for her to speak up.
She had so much to say.
Outside, there were only those who hated her now. Every time she faced their emotions, Shi-en was wounded, and the scars of her childhood deepened.
Yet she could somehow survive.
She had found the “real” thing she had longed for so badly; as long as she could see I-an, everything else didn’t matter, and even when blood dripped from her heart, she smiled.
But now, they were trying to take away her last remaining “real” thing.
It wouldn’t have been strange to voice her objections loudly. The fear Shi-en felt was chilling. The desperation and anger surged up her throat.
If even I-an was gone, she would collapse.
Just like she did in her childhood.
It was a kind of survival instinct. Shi-en locked eyes with the Lady Virgin Saint, who was looking down at I-an.
And then her breath stopped.
In the Lady Virgin Saint’s gaze, looking down at I-an, there were glimmering tears reflected. Shi-en had never heard of the Lady Virgin Saint crying before.
She was such a strong and benevolent woman.
It was then that the words the Lady Virgin Saint had spoken stabbed into her heart like daggers.
“You don’t even have the qualification,” yes.
She realized she didn’t even have that qualification.
All the strength left her body, and even then, Shi-en couldn’t bear to give up on I-an, tears streaming down her face.
In the end, the words of rebellion that escaped her lips were nothing more than faint sounds of crying.
“B-but…”
There was no response to that tearful sound.
The world was not Shi-en’s nanny. Problems that could be solved by crying did not exist. The Imperial Princess realized this once more and turned away weakly.
The footsteps that echoed were promising nothing but bleak despair.
After Shi-en left, the Lady Virgin Saint leaned against the bed as if she could crumble.
Her hand rested on her forehead. With each heated breath that escaped her lips, regret seeped out.
“I shouldn’t be doing this.”
First love drives a woman mad.
There were no exceptions to that truth.
The once clear sky was now stained with gloomy hues.
The sound of raindrops pattering added a somber soundtrack to the dark view. The sunlight, obscured by heavy clouds, failed to penetrate properly, blurring the boundary between day and night.
Shi-en’s gray eyes were shadowed with melancholy as she exited the temple.
Weather greatly influences human emotions. At the very least, it could certainly plunge a previously gloomy girl into the depths of despair.
Shi-en unfolded the luxurious umbrella that her attendant had prepared. The navy umbrella, embroidered with golden threads, looked like something only the nobility would use.
Of course, Shi-en felt no sense of incongruity as she opened the umbrella.
It had been her entitlement since birth.
As someone of royal blood, she had received countless privileges like breathing in and out. At this point, there was no reason for her to make a fuss over a single umbrella.
Thus, Shi-en stepped forward without a thought.
The rain-soaked stairs made a splashing noise as droplets scattered, and the entrance of the temple, drenched in a downpour, had an unusually sparse presence of people.
In a way, it was a relief.
She had no desire to show herself in such a disheartened manner. The Imperial Princess let out a deep sigh, wiping the moisture from her eyes.
It was then that she encountered another girl.
A waterlogged hooded hat caught her eye.
The woman standing there without even an umbrella was being doused with heavy rain.
The hat, unable to withstand the moisture, had already drooped down, and the clothes wrapping around her small frame were dripping with raindrops.
The girl possessed a cute appearance, almost doll-like.
Her brown hair blended beautifully with her blue eyes, which stared blankly at the ground. Even her complexion conveyed a sense of deep melancholy.
Upon seeing the girl, Shi-en could only pause for a moment.
She recognized who it was. A prodigy from the Rainelle Clan, one of the most renowned fourth-year students at the Academy; one who was well-known to everyone.
Elsi Rainelle.
It was said that she had a special connection with I-an. Proving that rumor, Elsi had been standing in front of the temple every day since I-an was hospitalized, waiting for him.
Even on days like this when heavy rain poured down.
Shi-en hesitated, unsure of what words to say, and ended up walking past with her head bowed.
She realized that whatever she said would provide no comfort.
Elsi’s emotions were clearly reflected in her gray eyes. The fluctuating despair made Shi-en keep her mouth shut.
She had no confidence to present a proper answer if someone asked whose fault it was.
So, Shi-en desperately tried to ignore Elsi as she continued on her way.
Had it not been for the small voice echoing in her ear as she brushed past the girl, she might have succeeded.
“…Must be nice?”
Shi-en’s steps came to a sudden halt.
She turned around slowly, slightly surprised. There stood Elsi, glaring at her with a gaze as cold as the chill of raindrops.
“Must be nice to interrupt without a care… To be saved by chance, and now you’ve come to visit him, all on your own.”
Faced with that clear hostility, Shi-en opened and closed her lips in speechlessness.
If the Lady Virgin Saint was of a similar rank to her, she could comprehend that much. However, she never anticipated that the Rainelle Clan, as imperial nobles, would openly express such hostility toward her.
And above all, the dark blue eyes that stared at her.
Clenching her teeth, the girl’s trembling fists emitted a disturbing atmosphere. Shi-en could only manage to frown once more.
At the temple, and outside the temple, everywhere she went.
All around her were enemies.
