The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 215 Demon Kron (13) - The Unfortunate One (Part 2) Nikolaus, filled with enthusiasm, immediately began preparations for 'breaking off the engagement'. Fortunately, it wasn't such a difficult task. The prestige and influence of the imperial family was enormous, and Nikolaus had many loyal retainers and friends by his side who faithfully followed his commands. If Nikolaus were to unilaterally abandon Selena who was doing nothing wrong, that would be Nikolaus's responsibility. But if Selena were 'a woman with enough problems to deserve being abandoned', then that would be the responsibility of Selena and Duke Valencia. Irene seemed reluctant to cause trouble for Nikolaus and tried to stop him several times, but after Nikolaus's passionate persuasion, she finally actively joined the plan. And finally. The day of operation. Nikolaus declared refreshingly. "─The villainess who tormented Irene with underhanded methods throughout school life, Selena Valencia!! I absolutely cannot marry a woman like you!! The engagement is broken!!" "Y-Your Highness?" Selena's face was colored with bewilderment. While she kept blinking as if she couldn't understand this situation, Nikolaus's associates and those hired by them successively submitted 'evidence of bullying'. "I saw Lady Selena pushing Lady Irene down the stairs!" "Despite being from a count family, she would badmouth saying it was impudent for someone to receive more attention than herself who is from a ducal family!" "There was even a time when something like a needle was stuck in Lady Irene's belongings! To do such a thing to a lady from a count family would require a considerable family background..." Their claims, frankly speaking, were not very logical. First of all, most consisted of testimonies without physical evidence, and the items submitted as evidence were all things that could easily be fabricated. Those who knew Selena Valencia's usual character felt something suspicious, but the problem was that it was none other than the Empire's prince leading this condemnation. Since Fifth Prince Nikolaus was openly criticizing Selena and raising his voice, even those who thought this wasn't right couldn't step forward to raise counterarguments. "N-no, Your Highness. I have absolutely never done such things." "How truly ugly it is to deny your crimes to the very end! The fact that I was engaged to a woman like you even for a moment is the shame of my life!!" It was truly shameless words to say after framing her for crimes himself, but Nikolaus felt no pangs of conscience whatsoever. A monarch does not commit wrongs. If he did, it was all because his subordinates failed to assist him properly. Then what logical flaws could there be in saying that all of this was Selena's fault? "What are the guards doing!! Quickly take this criminal away!!" Finally, as Selena burst into tears and collapsed, and the guards who were reading Nikolaus's mood were about to slowly move forward. ─Click. The sound of shoe heels echoed. ─Click. It was a very strange thing. The ballroom was crowded with people, and quite a few of them were murmuring in confusion at this sudden situation. Normally, the sound of one person's footsteps would simply be buried and disappear in that commotion. That would have been normal, but for some reason, her footsteps could be clearly heard by everyone present. ─Click. Perhaps it was not simply a sound but presence itself. The presence of the person now walking toward the center of the ballroom, into the middle of this evil villainess's condemnation scene, was so intense, and her spirit overwhelmed everyone present, that the footstep sounds that would normally be nothing became so clear. ─Click. Pink long hair swayed like waves. The somewhat cute red dress and black ribbon were, at this moment, emanating a dignified majesty like a triumphant general's armor. Few didn't recognize that face. That person was, in some sense, the most talked-about celebrity at the academy recently. ─Click. And finally, the footsteps stopped. Boldly, as if protecting Selena from Nikolaus's accusatory pointing, Kuella stood with both legs spread and faced the prince. *** The girl spoke. [...Lord Kron. I know that making such a request is truly shameless of me.] [I've already received so much, you've done everything I've asked for, yet here I am trying to make another wish - I must be a pathetically hopeless woman beyond compare.] [But you see. I'm truly sorry and shameless. Still, I can't just stand by and watch this.] [If a price is needed, I'll pay it. If you say you don't need something like my soul, I'll offer something else.] [So please, just one more time, could you help me just one more time?] [Give me the power to help a friend, a friend who's about to suffer unreasonable treatment like I did in the past.] The demon questioned. [Your opponent is royalty. Even if your wish comes true, surely many hardships will come to you afterward.] [Will you still do it? For a connection you've known for not very long when you think about it?] The girl answered. [Yes. If I pretend not to see this and let it pass, I'll surely regret it for the rest of my life.] The demon responded. [─On that, we are in agreement.] *** Nikolaus was momentarily bewildered, but soon seemed to come to his senses with a "Huh!" and glared at Kuella. "Who are you! We're arresting a criminal, so don't interfere!" "Criminal, criminal you say. That's quite strange." "What?" Not the demon Kron. Countess Kuella Ospin smiled. Fearlessly, arrogantly, boldly lifting her chin against this country's prince. "─The real culprit who tormented Irene is actually me, you know?" The entire ballroom fell into silence. It was as if invisible water had filled the ballroom, blocking people's mouths. Nikolaus, who was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish in an aquarium, struggled to speak. "What... what are you saying?" "I said that I was the one who tormented Irene, Your Highness Nikolaus." Kuella picked up a wine glass from a nearby table and moistened her throat with it. Her manner was so light and natural that no one could think this was someone confessing to crimes before a prince. "But you see, right? I've suffered tremendously from Irene all this time. At home, she'd make me run errands like I was some servant, and while saying she had to practice magic, she'd dump all the general education assignments like history and arithmetic on me. Living like that, being treated that way by someone who's supposedly my younger sister, wouldn't resentment naturally build up?" "Nonsense!! There's no way Irene would do such things!!" "Oh my, does Your Highness know Irene better than a sister who grew up under the same roof?" "Time spent together doesn't matter! Such things have no meaning before true love!!" "That's wonderful. But... it seems even with that love, you couldn't discover the 'true suffering' your lover was feeling." "What!?" When Kuella smiled slyly and directed her gaze, Irene met her eyes with a face full of confusion, going "Eh? Huh?" "Irene, is your tongue okay now?" "M-my tongue?" "Why, I stabbed it deep with a dagger last time. It made a big vertical cut, and the blood flowing out was quite a spectacle." Someone gasped. Someone among the audience made a shocked sound. It was conduct unbefitting a noble's dignity, but no one frowned at him. Because it was such a shocking statement. "Potions certainly are effective. Or maybe tongues naturally heal quickly? Looking at it now, it's completely seamless." "S-sister?" "Now you call me sister? Well, calling me 'hey' or 'pinky' even after having your tongue pierced by a dagger would be crazy." But, Kuella added. "Still, be careful with your words. If you chatter too much, old wounds might reopen." ─If you wag your tongue carelessly, I'll expose all the things you did in the past in front of all these people. You know what I just revealed is nothing compared to the rest, right? At the perfectly clean threat, Irene closed her mouth with a pale face. Since it looked like a violent perpetrator and victim, Nikolaus urgently embraced Irene and glared at Kuella. "I thought you were rotten from the moment you betrayed your parents and usurped the title, but to commit such heinous acts against your own blood sister!? There's no witch more vile than you!!" "Hahaha, calling me a witch for this little? I haven't even started yet." Before Nikolaus could question what she meant, Kuella pointed to one of the witnesses who had earlier testified to Selena's crimes and spoke. "You there. You said you saw Lady Selena pushing Irene down the stairs, when was that?" Normally he should have remained silent to such a question, but overwhelmed by Kuella's momentum, he inadvertently opened his mouth. "Th-that was, it happened on the 15th of last month." "Really? That's strange. Irene was serving me tea that day." "Serving tea...?" "Yes. Whenever the black tea tasted bad, I'd splash it over her head. She'd scream that it was hot, and I'd clutch my stomach laughing." "That can't be! I definitely saw it!" "You're a witness, I'm the perpetrator. Which testimony carries more weight doesn't need verification, does it? Or do you have some other physical evidence?" The witness closed his mouth. The incident timeline they fabricated was selected for periods when neither Selena nor Irene had alibis. That way they could avoid the contradiction of victim Irene being with other students during the incident times. Conversely, it was also impossible to deny Kuella's claim that 'she, not Selena, committed the acts' during those times. After that, Kuella continued pointing out witnesses one by one and refuting their statements. The pattern was the same every time. Lady Selena did that? No? I'm the one who did it? Those who initially couldn't think properly due to Kuella's series of shocking statements, being half-stunned, began to realize her purpose as time passed. Nikolaus's eyes widened. 'This, this woman dares!! She's going to take all the blame herself!?' That absolutely couldn't happen. Only if Selena became confirmed trash would his breaking of the engagement have justification. It was just then that some idea flashed through Nikolaus's mind as he pondered how to somehow get through this situation. "Oho! Now I understand!" "?" "You two were in cahoots from the beginning! You conspired together to torment Irene!!" Yes, this was right. No, in some ways this was actually better than the original plan. He could push not only Selena but also Kuella as criminals all at once and deal with them in one stroke, couldn't he? Then only Irene would remain in the Ospin family, so she could proudly inherit the title and property! Nikolaus was ecstatic about his own perfect handling of the situation. But why was it? The moment he uttered those words, Irene's face turned pale. (E/N: Irene is smart, she just underestimated how much of a retard Nikolaus is. Though, to be fair, he is fairly average intelligence wise. But he is like a kid playing in a grown up court.) Someone's voice reached the ears of Nikolaus, who didn't understand why. "Oh my, I see. A sitting countess conspired with a duke's daughter to torment the daughter of former criminals. This is truly enormous. Perhaps it might be an extension of the previous incident." It was a white-haired old woman with an impressively gentle laughing face. However, contrary to her wrinkled face, her back was straight, and the clear light in her eyes proved that the old woman was still active. The academy's headmaster. The person in charge here, who had been maintaining silence all along, spoke in a gentle voice. "Originally, it's a principle to handle academy internal matters within the academy as much as possible... but if it's a matter that might be related to insulting the imperial family, we cannot handle it independently. I will report this incident to higher authorities and request an investigation." This incident is not some bullying situation that occurred among students. It's a situation that 'might' involve a grand conspiracy connected to insulting the imperial family. Therefore, the investigation will be thorough. So thorough that it cannot be passed off with clumsy alibi fabrication or testimony forgery. As people began to realize how far the situation had escalated and turned pale one by one. Kuella quietly sighed without others noticing. From somewhere, it seemed she could hear the sound of a demon laughing.