Chapter 45 The Uninvited Guest
"How did it come to this?!"
"If you're going to run away, at least think it through!"
After being thoroughly berated, Rhiannon, whose backside was stuck in a drain, was finally pulled out by the knight Stanley's incredible strength.
Even the princes seemed unable to bring themselves to condemn someone who was stuck in a drain.
Once Rhiannon was free, she stood up straight and, as if nothing had happened, gave a graceful noble bow to the two princes.
"Good day, Prince Serio, Prince Roldán. I apologize for my appearance."
"When someone who was just crying in a hole suddenly acts all formal, it throws me off..."
"What happened earlier is a trivial matter. Please forget it."
""Forget it? No way!""
Serio and Roldán both chimed in.
Although they usually didn't get along, it seemed they were in agreement this time.
Hidden behind the tall and serious Stanley, Sarah Belts was desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
Rhiannon, maintaining a poker face, stood before the princes, summoning what little pride she had left.
While she was managing to suppress her feelings in front of others, if she were alone, she would have likely collapsed in embarrassment and flailed on the floor.
After an awkward silence, Roldán cleared his throat lightly and gave Serio a knowing glance.
"Hey, brother, let's get to the charges already."
"Yeah, right. I'm worried about keeping delicate Sarah in such a filthy place for too long."
Serio casually wrapped his arm around Sarah's waist.
Roldán glared at Serio with a mix of jealousy.
Stanley, with a pained expression, averted his gaze from Sarah.
Rhiannon, who had spent her time reading romance novels instead of studying, suddenly had a realization.
(Haah, I see. The princes are at odds over Sarah, and the captain of the knights is burning with a forbidden love story with Sarah, the prince's lover...)
Rhiannon calmly analyzes the situation.
It feels like a cheap romance novel.
For Rhiannon, who has read countless romance novels throughout the kingdom, this is a somewhat tired development.
Regardless of Rhiannon's thoughts, Serio clears his throat and stands imposingly in front of her.
"I, Serio Gehetz, a formal royal of Tortone Kingdom, declare according to royal privilege: Rhiannon Mimi Clahsen, you are sentenced to the death penalty. The numerous harassments towards Sarah Belts cannot be overlooked!"
Serio, who seems to have prepared this line, raises his chin and glares at Rhiannon.
However, strangely, Rhiannon remains calm.
(Oh, even being glared at by a prince isn't so bad. It's much scarier when Kaine finds out I slacked off studying. Besides, I have a feeling Kaine will come to help me soon. So for now, I just need to buy some time.)
If Kaine arrives, the princes won't get away easily.
But it's unavoidable in this emergency.
Rhiannon squints her deep blue eyes, reminiscent of the night, and speaks.
"May I ask, do you have any evidence that I bullied Sarah?"
"Evidence? Of course, it's because Sarah testified that you did!"
"Oh, but isn't that insufficient evidence? A single person's testimony lacks fairness."
"Are you saying we can't trust what Sarah says? Someone as innocent as her wouldn't lie like you!"
"...Oh, is that so?"
Rhiannon looks exasperated.
The sight of the two princes getting furious and shouting reminds her of the former Third Prince Werner.
However, Werner had doubted Sarah's claims as "too convenient." Serio and Roldán, unable to do the same, are now out of control.
In the end, both the First and Second Princes have been led here by Sarah, unaware of their own mistakes.
They don't realize they are about to make an irreparable error.
However, it was clear that there were only allies of Sarah Belts here, and her blind love for Sarah was clouding their eyes to the truth.
"...So, what does Sarah really think about this situation?"
Turning her gaze to Sarah, who was beside the prince, she saw that Sarah was leaning against Roldán with a frightened expression.
"Eek, scary! Rhiannon glared at me..."
"What! To be defiant at this point is just outrageous! Have some shame!"
"Sir Roldán, please don't be so angry! It's my fault..."
"Oh, kind Sarah. Even after being treated so badly, you still blame yourself..."
Rhiannon looked at the princes who worshipped Sarah like a goddess with cold eyes.
"Ugh, this is just a complete farce. Sarah, may I ask you a few questions?"
At Rhiannon's question, Sarah's shoulders flinched.
"W-what...?"
"You said I harassed you, but we've only met maybe twice, right? How can you say I harassed you?"
"That's impossible! You've been interrupting me all the time. Just the other Monday, you even tried to push me down the stairs..."
"How can you spout such lies so easily?"
Rhiannon sighed.
It seemed the time had come to confess something she had stubbornly hidden until now.
"...On Monday, I was working part-time at a bakery."
"Eh, part-time!? Did the villainess Rhiannon have such a setting? And a bakery, isn't that too commoner-like!?"
Sarah's eyes widened.
Her cheeks twitched for a moment, but Rhiannon lightly cleared her throat and nodded.
"Since coming to the capital, I've been trying to take on as many part-time jobs as I could to earn some pocket money. So, I didn't even have time to harass you in the first place."
"That can't be! After all, Rhiannon's family is wealthy, so you don't need to work part-time!"
"I thought so too! But my butler cut my allowance significantly because he said I need to learn about society. ...More importantly, you all better get me out of here quickly. You're definitely going to get beaten up. My butler is really strong!"
Rhiannon covered her mouth and chuckled, "Oh ho ho.".
(Oh no, I unconsciously did the villainess move again...)
Rhiannon felt anxious.
However, the truth was the truth.
If her butler Kaine happened to show up right now, who knows what would happen, even if he was facing princes from a whole kingdom? Rhiannon's words were spoken out of kindness.
Unaware of this, Serio scoffed,
"No fool would fall for such bluster. We have the elite guards and the seasoned First Knight Brigade here!"
Just as the prince made an obvious flag, the sound of footsteps echoed in the dungeon, clack, clack.
There was only one set of footsteps, but they were oddly heavy.
Then came the sound of fingers snapping, crack, crack.
A bad feeling washed over them.
"Quite the impressive lineup for just my lady, isn't it..."
From the darkness of the dungeon, a tall man emerged.
He had smooth brown skin and raven-black hair.
His golden eyes sparkled in the darkness.
He wore a perfectly tailored tailcoat without a single flaw.
"Kaine! Oh no, he's here..."
Rhiannon placed her hand on her forehead.
It was likely turning into the worst situation for Sarah Belts and her friends.
Unaware of anything, Stanley suddenly asked Kaine sharply.
"W-Who are you!!"
"I'm not worth naming. Just the butler of the Clahsen family."
"I left 4 elite guards at the entrance. How did you get in!?"
"I had those so-called elites take a little nap."
Kaine wore a mysterious smile, knelt confidently on the dirty floor, and placed his hand on his chest, bowing his head.
It was as if the princes didn't exist, and he was only addressing Rhiannon in the cell.
"I'm sorry for being late, my lady. I had a bit of trouble getting ready... So, what's with that outfit? It looks quite tattered..."
"Oh, this outfit? It's my own fault, so it's fine! More importantly, let's hurry home! I'm a bit sleep-deprived, so I need to take a bath, eat, and dive into bed right away──."
Before Rhiannon could finish, an enraged Roldán sharply ordered the knights standing behind him.
"How dare you ignore the prince of this country! Teach him some manners! For the honor of a knight, capture that man!"
"Understood!"
The knights drew their swords and surrounded Kaine.
Five knights against one butler.
Normally, Kaine would be at a severe disadvantage.
However, he stood up slowly without showing any signs of panic.
"My lady, please close your eyes for a moment."
"K-Kaine is... angry..."
For the first time, Kaine was truly angry.
Despite the smile on his face, his eyes showed no trace of amusement.
"I'm a bit in a bad mood myself. Don't expect me to hold back."
As he said this, Kaine smoothly threw one of the knights in front of him to the floor.
Then, he swiftly moved into the path of the charging Stanley, and in an instant, Stanley's massive body crumpled to the ground as he pulled away.
The princes were in an uproar, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Stanley was taken down!? Who are you!? Are you really a butler!?"
"A butler must know some self-defense to protect my lady."
"That's excessive self-defense──."
A sound like something being crushed echoed, and Rhiannon hurriedly closed her eyes.
The underground prison was filled with shouts and screams.
Most of them were the cries and pleas for mercy from the princes and knights.
Within minutes, silence fell over the underground prison.
"You're safe now."
When Kaine spoke to her, Rhiannon looked up to see that everything had been resolved.
There were no knights standing anymore.
Stanley and his subordinates were lined up in order of height along the corridor of the underground prison.
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