Volume 1 Chapter 16 Lydia's Anger And Her Ex-fiancé
Sir Stefan, I thought he had a nice face, but maybe he's just an idiot. That thought made me a bit calmer, even beyond my anger and sadness.
I replay the words in my head.
Um. I'm walking with Sir Ciel, right?
And my clothes are all torn up. I look a bit messy.
The people from Saintwise treated me like a festival float.
So, seeing me like this, Sir Stefan thinks that I was doing something inappropriate with Sir Ciel somewhere in the palace.
"Sir Ciel... It seems like he's thought of you as someone who brings their girlfriend to work, tears her clothes, and then proudly walks around with a messed-up woman in front of His Highness..."
"It seems that way."
"...And Sir Stefan, I thought he was good-for-nothing, but this is just too much..."
I whispered to Sir Ciel.
I can't help but think he's a bit of a pervert, but maybe he's not as bad as I thought. It's a tricky situation.
I don't think he's that much of a creep.
As for Sir Stefan, putting my situation aside, how could he say such terrible things about his subordinate?
Plus, Francois's mother came from a brōtḥel, so what does that say about his comments...?
"Ms. Lydia, I'm sorry that you're thought to be my girlfriend, whom you dislike."
Sir Ciel whispered to me.
"Sir Ciel, aren't you angry... even though he said such terrible things?"
"Well, it's about me, but Ms. Lydia, are you okay? It's my fault for bringing you to the palace. Should we escape with teleportation magic?"
"My clothes will tear, right...?"
"They will tear."
If they tear any more, it will be pretty bad now, but it will get even worse.
I didn't close the shop.
If a customer came in, they would see me not just half-n*ked, but completely n*ked.
My shop is a public restaurant, not some shady place.
So, no. Absolutely not.
"I'm fine... right now, I'm just a chef at the restaurant, completely unrelated to you, Your Highness..."
Because Sir Stefan started to prioritize Francois over me.
And when the engagement was broken, my thousand-year love faded away.
I don't think I had that strong of feelings, but of course, I had some faint hopes.
Now, all that's left is anger, sadness, and resentment.
My mental state has completely fallen to the dark side...!
Since I've fallen to the dark side, I shouldn't be here feeling down while being attacked by my enemy!
"I thought you were a quiet girl, but in the priest's house, you mocked and bullied Francois, and after the engagement was broken, you started hunting for men... Ciel, you too. Bringing my former fiancée into the palace and making a move on her, this is why jewel people are so troublesome and lack common sense."
"...!"
I gasped at the words Sir Stefan spat out.
I quickly looked up at Sir Ciel's face, but he smiled as if he hadn't heard anything.
It was terrible, such discrimination.
Sir Ciel's hair sparkled with gems. I thought it was just decoration.
But when I looked closely, it seemed like his hair changed into minerals halfway.
The Gem People, Gelhyum, are a race made of gems, just like their name suggests.
They used to live in the kingdom, but faced terrible discrimination from humans, so most of them moved to a gem town called Edelstein, located to the west of the kingdom for safety.
Now, they say that discrimination has officially ended and that the safety of the Gelhyum people is protected, but...
"...What are you saying? Sir Ciel and the others are doing dangerous work for the people of the kingdom...!"
I couldn't help but glare at Sir Stefan.
The scene I had just seen came back to me.
The mages from Saintwise lying in bed, looking like they were about to lose their lives.
Mr. Leavis and the others too.
And then, Sir Ciel.
He was conducting research to save the people of the kingdom, even while being cursed.
Sir Stefan might not know that, but seeing that scene made it clear that the people of Saintwise were working hard every day.
I finally understood the meaning of Sir Ciel's words about not interacting much with others and being disliked by the people in the castle.
It was because he was Gelhyum.
"Working for the country is only natural. My father, knowing that Ciel is a mix of Gelhyum and human, still valued his ability and promoted him to the position of court mage. And yet, bringing Lydia into the royal palace... it seems that gem people are just gem people. Their heads are made of minerals."
"Your Highness, that's going too far...!"
I am really, really angry.
All the anger I've felt from smashing meat into minced pieces, or hitting fried eggs and sausages, seems to have come back to me as one big lump.
What is this, Sir Stefan?
Was he really this terrible of a person?
Did I really give my first love to someone so awful?
This is the worst. Too low. It's bad enough he's a cheating man, but he's also a discriminatory man.
Is he going to become the king? This guy who insulted Sir Ciel to his face?
"Lydia, who do you think you're talking to? I heard from Francois that you ran away from the Rest priest family and are living in the town like a commoner. Do you really think you can say such things to me, someone who has fallen to being just a commoner?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
It's true, but.
Sir Stefan is the Crown Prince. Talking back is nothing but disrespect.
"Are you trying to provoke me by flirting with Ciel? Showing up in front of me like that, are you trying to stir up jealousy, Lydia? Foolish."
"...W-What I do with whom is none of your business, Your Highness...! You're just like the size of my thumb...!"
"What do you mean by that?!"
I had been pouring all my hatred towards that cheating guy, remembering the annoying sausage I wanted to crush.
That was, yes.
When I talked about my situation with Mx. Margaret and the peddler Tsukuyomi,
"He's such a small-minded man. It must be about this much."
"Lydia, a fool like Stefan is about the size of your thumb, anyway."
"Exactly."
They told me while stabbing the sausage appetizer with a fork.
So, it's probably about that size.
The knights laughed at how small it was, really.
I mean, it's small, no doubt about it.
"Ms. Lydia, calm down."
"I wish Your Highness would have all his shoelaces break, all his buttons pop off, get so fat that none of his clothes fit, and have his belt snap during a dance so his pants fall down...! Curse...mgh..."
Sir Ciel's big hand covered my mouth from behind.
I squirmed in Sir Ciel's arms.
I was angry. The day had finally come to direct my anger, which I had been taking out on poor ingredients, at the real person.
I might get in trouble for talking bad about Sir Stefan, but I couldn't stay quiet.
I──being from a priest family, had been treated like I didn't exist by my father and the servants.
So, discrimination is definitely not okay.
Because it's really, really painful.
"Oh no...! The round sheep we were managing from the mage office has escaped...!"
With Mr. Leavis's voice, a loud noise echoed towards us.
When I turned around, there was a huge group of round, fluffy, and super cute sheep.
The round sheep were running towards us at an incredible speed.
Mr. Leavis and the mages were chasing after those round sheep.
"Your Highness, please run away...! We'll catch them soon...!"
"Ms. Lydia, let's escape. Your Highness, please run away too."
Mr. Leavis and Sir Ciel's voices overlapped.
I was lifted up by Sir Ciel.
And so, I escaped from the palace along with the flock of round sheep.
From the palace, I could hear Sir Stefan shouting, "Why are there sheep...! Lydia... wait...!"
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