Chapter 184

Chapter 184

The Heroine of the 1st Playthrough Remembers My Training.

Episode 185: The Way To Be Filial… You Know It, Right? (5)

At the same time, in Carnea Academy’s dormitory.

“Boring.”

Liana Rumenhark, rolling around on the bed, suddenly spoke up.

“I said it’s boring!!”

Even though Liana was alone in the room, when no response came, she screamed.

─Swoosh

Only then did Melpissa, as if she had no choice, half-reveal her face from the shadows to respond.

“…Did you call for me, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Melpissa♪ Is there anything fun to do?”

As if she would ask for something fun out of the blue.

In fact, no matter what Melpissa suggested, it would not satisfy Liana.

‘I know that, but…’

Having been asked a question, she couldn’t just keep silent.

Melpissa chose the safe answer as always.

“…How about returning to the royal palace then?”

“Melpissa. That kind of joke isn’t funny… It’s already a place I’m sick of, why would I go back there?”

“…Wouldn’t His Highness the Crown Prince be pleased?”

“My brother? He would probably be the happiest person with me at Carnea. Sigh… Okay, it was my fault for asking you, Melpissa.”

‘…If I hadn’t answered, you would have complained about that too.’

The words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat, but Melpissa knew the value of her own life.

She shook her head once to dismiss the pent-up words.

“Ah~ I miss Yujin.”

At that moment, Liana suddenly mumbled and wrapped herself in the blanket, rolling around.

So many men tried to catch her attention by offering jewels and gold, yet that fortunate man ran away even when she showed interest first.

‘Well, that’s why it’s fun.’

Liana chuckled.

The only person besides her brother who saw through her true nature.

Just thinking about Yujin’s flustered face naturally brought a smile to her.

“Yujin should at least tell me if he’s going somewhere. Then I would have gone with him.”

“….”

Maybe that was why the young master hid information.

Melpissa narrowed her eyes, looking at Liana, when a voice came from within the rolled-up blanket.

“Hm… Should I put someone to watch him? What do you think, Melpissa?”

“…Wouldn’t it be better not to do that?”

“Why? Are you worried because he’s the only family I have left?”

“…Honestly, yes.”

Melpissa answered nonchalantly.

Now, her feelings for Yujin were much more of love than familial affection, but there was no need to tell that to the princess.

Then, Liana started to crawl out from under the blanket.

“Ugh…! Don’t worry, I won’t do it. Yeah, a fight where you know all the cards isn’t fun. I couldn’t do such a mean thing to Yujin… And above all.”

After chewing over her words for a moment, Liana said with a bright smile.

“I have ‘goodwill’ towards Yujin, you know?”

Could the word ‘goodwill’ be this terrifying?

Wouldn’t it be safer to incur the wrath of a mad serial killer than to earn the princess’s goodwill?

Such blasphemous thoughts crossed her mind for a moment, but Melpissa did her best not to show any sign of it.

“As Your Highness wishes.”

“But Melpissa…”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“When you mention Yujin, your voice trembles slightly, huh? Did something happen between you two?”

“….!”

Even while smiling, Liana’s words hit the mark, and this time Melpissa couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘…How?’

She knew Liana had sharp observational skills, but Melpissa’s mask was almost perfect.

As a side branch of the Parvoli family, she had learned to hide her emotions along with the scars on her body.

Before being taken in by the princess and forming a relationship with the young master, Melpissa’s mask had never been broken.

Then, Liana’s eyes sparkled as if she had found an interesting toy.

“Hm… Look at this reaction. I was just probing, but there really was something, wasn’t there?”

‘This…’

Melpissa realized her mistake.

She hadn’t thought the princess would test her, leading to the wrong reaction.

“…Nothing happened.”

“Wow! Are you hiding something from me, Melpissa?”

“I am not hiding anything. Really, nothing happened.”

“Hohoho…♪ Then we’ll have to find out slowly from now on…”

As Liana approached Melpissa with a cheerful smile, her expression suddenly turned cold.

“Ah, well. Let’s leave this conversation here.”

“Your Highness…?”

Melpissa tilted her head, sensing something off.

The Liana she knew would never let go of such an interesting matter.

She would relentlessly dig in to extract the information she wanted.

As if reading Melpissa’s doubts, Liana waved her hand dismissively and responded.

“I said I’m done with it. Or what? Do you want me to dig deeper?”

“…Not that, but…”

“Then Melpissa, go to Sankisan Village and buy some cake. I suddenly feel like eating cake.”

It was an unexpected command, but it was a hundred times better than being interrogated.

“Understood. But Your Highness, cakes are also sold within Carnea…”

“Hmm, I don’t like the ones from Carnea. You must buy them from Sankisan Village. You know the shop opposite the Cream Pie Inn? Buy about five from there.”

“Five?”

“I feel like eating a lot. Then, have a nice trip~.”

With that, Liana waved her hand as if to end the conversation.

Something was definitely off, but since the whims of the princess were not a rare occurrence, Melpissa simply followed the order.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Click─

After Melpissa left the room and confirmed that there were no signs of anyone around, Liana stood in front of the mirror.

“Now, come out.”

As Liana spoke, the mirror rippled like a pond where a stone had been thrown, and then it reflected someone wrapped entirely in bandages.

“…Liana Rumenhark.”

The figure in the mirror spoke with a voice like nails scraping glass.

At that moment, Liana shot back with a cold, sunken gaze.

“Who said you could call me by my name? I clearly told you to call me ‘Your Highness.’”

“…Human status means nothing to us. You should know that.”

“I also think it’s meaningless. But regardless, I really… hate having my words ignored.”

Swoosh—

Liana twisted her lips and pointed her index finger at the mirror.

“So, if you’re confident, try calling my name again.”

Even through the mirror, the murderous intent was enough to make the skin crawl.

‘Warped Desire’ held its breath, looking at Liana’s fingertip.

Logically, an attack from the other side of the mirror was impossible.

Even though they were facing each other in conversation, this was merely a reflection of ‘Warped Desire’s’ ability, not a direct connection.

But…

‘Dangerous.’

As an apostle, her intuition told her that Liana Rumenhark was dangerous.

“…Well, titles don’t matter. If you want to be called Your Highness, then I shall… Your Highness.”

“There, that would have been better from the start.”

Only then did Liana smile sweetly and lower her finger.

Although she added various remarks, ‘Warped Desire’ knew well that they had ultimately conceded to Liana’s words.

For an apostle to bow to a mere human was an unbearable disgrace.

‘…Is that really a human?’

If so, what in the world was Liana, who could make an apostle endure even such humiliation?

“So, what’s the matter? I told you not to contact me until the promised day.”

“…The situation has changed.”

“So, then, what is that situation? Do you not understand unless I explain every single detail?”

Grind—

Despite the continuous insults, ‘Warped Desire’ ground its teeth and glared at Liana, but…

In the end, without doing anything, it slowly spoke.

“…The ‘Resurrected Fallen’ was attacked.”

“Oh my, I thought it would stay quiet, but… it’s already dead? If it was going to die, why resurrect? Just to die again?”

Even with Liana’s mocking words, ‘Warped Desire’ did not react.

After all, there was no camaraderie among the apostles.

“What an idiot. Anyway, because of that, all plans have been accelerated.”

“Will rushing things work? We still need more preparation, don’t we?”

“That’s for us to handle. So, start preparing to leave.”

“…Hmm.”

At Liana’s flat response, ‘Warped Desire’ added a sneer.

“Surely, Your Highness isn’t regretting this?”

“Oh, do I look like someone who would regret it?”

Liana answered with a bright smile, but her eyes held no emotion.

‘…Creepy.’

‘Warped Desire’ clicked its tongue briefly, and the image in the mirror began to fade.

“…I will contact you again with the exact date for departure.”

With those words, the mirror returned to normal, reflecting Liana’s beautiful appearance.

“…There isn’t much time left now.”

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Liana murmured in a voice that was just slightly, really slightly, lowered.