“I know Mita is a jerk and has done quite a few things that damage the royal family’s dignity.” After the two of them sat down in a quiet spot, Antcana said with a complex expression, “However, I always thought you were completely sincere toward him in the past, without a single regret, and even willing to die for him.”
“Let’s not talk about things in the past!” The more Cynthia listened, the more humiliated she felt, and she hurriedly called a halt to it. “Skip this part.”
“Anyway, the point is, I always thought you were played for a fool by Mita and had no complaints at all.” Antcana took a deep breath. “Although behind your back I’ve already compared Mita to a wild dog on the street, I never dared to say it to your face because I didn’t want to quarrel with you over such trivial matters.”
Cynthia had never seen Antcana give such a long preamble before, and her heart grew increasingly uneasy.
Antcana continued, “Yet I had no idea whatsoever that after witnessing Mita’s actions, your mindset would actually undergo, actually undergo such an extreme transformation.”
“But none of that matters.”
“What matters is that you shouldn’t have fallen so low!” Antcana said sternly. “Cynthia! Give me a proper explanation right now! Exactly when did you go messing around in those plebeians’ places?!”
Cynthia, who was waiting to receive judgment: “Wait, this seems a bit different from what I anticipated.”
“Do you have any idea how vulgar and ugly the things you yelled at Mita yesterday were! If I hadn’t prepared a barrier magic in advance, your name would have already become infamous throughout the city of Gauss!” Antcana grew angrier the more she thought about it. “Such a fine model of the nobility, and yet you went and learned that kind of trash! If Carlo and Kelly hadn’t explained it to me, I wouldn’t have even understood what you were shouting, and those two bastards actually understood every single word! What on earth have you all been learning behind my back?!”
Cynthia’s current bewilderment was even greater than when she had just woken up this morning: “Hold on, Antcana, don’t curse. No, when did you pick up that kind of language yourself?”
“I learned it from the three of you last night.” Antcana crossed her arms, looking very indignant. “A bunch of individuals who don’t learn right, lacking a single shred of noble decorum, simply maggots on a pile of manure.”
“Then don’t go learning it either!” Cynthia interrupted Antcana in a panic. “And why did you pick it up so fast?!”
“Because I thought about it, and it actually seems pretty handy for cursing Mita.” Antcana said righteously. “You described it spot on; he is just a wretched, castrated, rutting dog.”
Cynthia reached out to cover her forehead, her mind on the verge of a breakdown: “Goodness, what on earth have I been saying? Ant, you’re a princess!”
“Can’t a princess use foul language to scold people?” Antcana was entirely unapologetic. “If you ask me, I have more right to curse than anyone else in this country.”
Cynthia was completely lost for words.
“You lot with tails growing out of your sides, you all curse so smoothly, and yet you didn’t think to bring me along!” Antcana continued airing her grievances. “I should just take a spear and poke you all in the rear.”
“Stop talking!” Cynthia suffered a complete breakdown. “Oh god, what have I done? Why didn’t that jerk Carlo stop me? What use is he anymore?!”
Antcana sneered. “Regretting it now? It’s too late for regrets. When I asked you before, you insisted on fobbing me off with some excuses I refused to believe, leaving me no choice but to get you drunk. But who could have guessed the secret you were keeping from me was that Mita is a disgusting piece of trash? Huh?”
Cynthia asked cautiously, “Yesterday, aside from cursing, did I say anything else?”
“It seemed to be mostly cursing Mita, mixed with a few curses directed at Fiona and Betty,” Antcana said. “Hard to extract any valid content, but it did teach me a lot of foul language.”
“Thank you for your hard work trying to extract content, and please, never bring up that foul language again, let alone repeat it out loud.”
“Roughly speaking, Mita is a useless piece of work, and even if he is blessed by the gods to win the war, he remains an indisputable degenerate,” Antcana recalled. “Yesterday you even solemnly declared that he would definitely get Carlo killed and then force a fragile girl like Lilica onto the battlefield as well.”
Cynthia’s heart leaped into her throat once more. She had thought she hadn’t said anything at all, but she had apparently spilled everything!
What made her simultaneously relieved and distressed was that Antcana clearly assumed she was just letting off steam by casting curses out of emotional distress.
Antcana went on, “You also said that you would be framed by Mita and exiled to a remote region, that your family’s peerage would be handed over to an illegitimate child, and that you would ultimately die of illness because you couldn’t afford medical treatment.”
Cynthia’s heart hammered like a drum, and she asked with a slight quiver in her voice: “Ant, you don’t believe any of it?”
Even though she had been promised earlier that they would definitely believe her, in the end, she still had her doubts.
“I do believe it.” Antcana looked at her close friend with a strange gaze. “I’m just a bit puzzled as to why you were so certain things would head toward the absolute worst-case scenario.”
Cynthia grew even more nervous. “I wasn’t cursing you guys, I just wanted to warn you.”
“To be frank, the scenario you described falls entirely within my range of predictions.” Although Antcana’s expression and demeanor remained as casual as ever, the words coming out of her mouth were terrifyingly heavy. “Regarding the kingdom’s political situation and the upcoming war, my staff and I have run over twenty different predictions, and the situation you described ranks as the worst next to a total defeat for the kingdom.”
Cynthia had never heard Antcana mention this before. “Why do you even have a staff?”
Antcana asked in return, perplexed, “I’m a member of the royal family, aren’t they?”
“But those are all men,” Cynthia said dryly. “And you’re a princess.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Cynthia.” Antcana couldn’t help laughing. “You’re still fighting to inherit your own family’s peerage, while I am at the very least a prominent heir to the throne in name. Why shouldn’t I?”
Cynthia was temporarily struck dumb. From its founding to the present day, Gogolos had always been ruled by kings, and there had never once been a queen. To her as a traditional noble, this was somewhat unimaginable.
“If Mita actually possessed outstanding ability and a sense of responsibility, I wouldn’t mind handing the country over to him,” Antcana said in a relaxed tone. “Unfortunately, not long after your engagement was finalized, I was already certain that he was a complete bastard.”
Cynthia felt as though she were meeting her close friend for the very first time. “Why did you never mention any of this to me before?”
“Perhaps you remember how infatuated you used to be with him?” Antcana slanted a glance at her. “Am I supposed to tell you all this and then wait for you to run off and pledge your loyalty to Mita?”
Cynthia covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry, I really won’t do that anymore, I swear.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it originally, but after last night, I believe you now.” Antcana’s expression turned somewhat more serious at that. “Listen to me, Cynthia, I don’t care how you found out about all this. I don’t care about these useless details; I just need you to promise me that everything you said is true.”
Cynthia turned serious as well. She straightened her posture and spoke with resolute determination: “I swear to the gods, every word of it is true to me.”
“Understood.” Antcana stood up, her face returning to that carefree, cheerful smile. “Let’s go to class, we’re already late.”
Cynthia returned to the Department of Magic classroom with a heavy heart.
Professor Andrei was standing on the podium, looking as though formal instruction hadn’t yet begun. The moment he saw Cynthia walk through the door, he took the lead in starting a round of applause: “Let us all congratulate student Cynthia on defeating Lady Saintess Betty and retaining her position as the head student of the Department of Magic.”
The vast majority of students in this room were Cynthia’s loyal supporters. Hearing the professor say this, they immediately began clapping and cheering enthusiastically, making for a very lively scene.
Cynthia felt a lingering sense of doubt. She had already served as head student for two years, and even when she won as a freshman, no professor had ever taken the initiative to congratulate her like this, let alone coming from Professor Andrei.
Professor Andrei held the highest prestige in the Department of Magic, yet he had always been known for staying clear of worldly affairs. Regardless of a student’s family background or academic performance, he genuinely treated every single student equally, remaining utterly unyielding even when facing Mita the crown prince.
Yet now he was taking the lead in offering congratulations, and deliberately tacking on the title “Lady Saintess Betty”.
Cynthia glanced sideways at Betty, who was seated in the middle row of the classroom. Sure enough, Betty’s head was lowered slightly, and her complexion looked exceptionally poor.
“Thank you everyone for the congratulations, but class is in session now, so we should focus on our studies.” Cynthia lifted the hem of her school uniform and gave a curtsy. “Whether it is myself or anyone else, we are all loyal defenders of the kingdom. Whatever achievements are won now pale in comparison to earning merits in the upcoming battle against the demon realm forces; safeguarding our country cannot be achieved without the efforts of everyone seated here.”
She then returned to her seat amidst the sound of cheers.
Up on the podium, Professor Andrei’s expression remained completely unchanged, maintaining that same gentle smile. “Alright, the celebrations end here, let’s begin the lesson.”
However, throughout the lecture, Professor Andrei did not let up his focus on Cynthia. Aside from the scheduled curriculum, he wove in a fair amount of advanced material that currently posed a challenge for the rest of the students, and when explaining it, he would toss in an extra remark: “Student Cynthia already answered this question yesterday, so let me just add a brief supplement.”
By the end of the class, Betty’s complexion had turned several shades of green and white, while Cynthia, who kept being singled out, looked equally sour.
What on earth was Professor Andrei’s problem? He was clearly trying to deepen Betty’s resentment toward Cynthia.
Sure enough, as soon as the class ended, Betty walked over with tears welling in her eyes and declared to Cynthia, “Don’t get too full of yourself! I only lost yesterday, but I will definitely surpass you next time!”
Cynthia took a deep breath, repeatedly chanting she is the Saintess inside her head, before finally squeezing out a smile: “Lady Saintess, for such childish provocation, how old are you?”