The time when the sun goes down, princess Lobelia and many princesses, including me, headed to the princess's garden.
It was getting dark outside, but the garden was kept bright thanks to various magic tools, and it became like a secret garden in some sort of story.
Earlier, when I visited the garden during the day, it was completely different even though just the time had changed.
"Wow..."
Each of the princesses had a dreamy look on their faces because of the beautiful appearance of the garden. But I wasn't very impressed. Bitterness and misery Still lingered inside me, and I said to myself,
'It's just beautiful, nothing more, just a bit of an impression.'
The words of all the princesses weren't really audible to me because it was hard to find meaning in their conversations, which only listed simple gossip. Also, since I wasn't even familiar with them, I felt like I was the only one left out.
"By the way, Your Highness the Princess. How do you know Prince Ortaire?"
It was until someone put Physis on the topic of conversation. As soon as I heard about Physis, my nerves automatically turned to them.
Why is this happing to me? It has nothing to do with me, it's just about my fiancé, and also it's a marriage of convenience so it shouldn't matter to me. Then why?
Is it because of the misery and inferiority I felt while watching him?
"I met him a few days ago. Here, with Princess Rodenov."
"Aha… Anyway, you both were really amazing. Your Highness dancing with him earlier was so beautiful that I was in awe."
Hahaha. Yes, I knew it would be like this. In the end, I don't think the dance I did make any impression.
"It wasn't just that. When I was with Prince Ortaire, my heart skipped a beat because of his kind attitude. God, how can he be so cool?"
'Hahaha'
A mischievous laugh came out of me. You don't know him, so you can say that. You don't even know how horrible the one year was when I was with him.
I didn't want to be treated like a queen. So I tried to be satisfied even if it was just a normal arranged marriage. but… His attitude wasn't even that good.
The year I was engaged to him was a dreadful time. To have my prospective fiancé look at me with disgust and contempt was horrible beyond words.
An attitude that infinitely lowers the value of the person. The gross look of me reflected through his eyes brought my self-esteem to the bottom.
Recently, for some reason, he suddenly apologized to me and changed his attitude, but I know fundamentally, what kind of person he is. The past cannot be undone, and the mistakes committed cannot be covered again.
In the end, the insult he had done still remained in me and increased its size. Perhaps, in the future, I might never be able to show a good attitude toward him. How can you be with a person who denies your roots?
"Hahaha."
When I let out a blank laugh, the princesses questioned me curiously.
"I…Princess Rodenov?"
"Yes! Please speak."
Although they show an attitude of worrying about me, I could still read their rejection of me from their eyes.
The topic of Physis was suddenly brought up, and they only dared to mention his and princess Lobelia's dance.
All of them were pointing invisible knives at me. This was a woman's realm, so there was no place for monsters.
Physis's neat and compliant appearance must have played a part. That appearance must have aroused jealousy in them, and it was the attitude that told me that they would approach him after putting me down and taking away my place.
I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Perhaps, if they knew his true self, they would hate him too.
Do they think he will treat them kindly? The person I watched was not like that. He was a cold-blooded person who doesn't let anyone in his heart. The person who treats people out of necessity and out of interest is, Physis Ortaire.
He was like a beautiful poisonous plant. It captivates people with its enchanting appearance and gnaws people from the inside with its poison.
The envy and jealousy of those who don't know him just seemed ridiculous to me.
* * *
[Physis's POV]
The eyes which were directed at me were not good. The first was because I am a local aristocrat, and the second was because I danced with Princess Lobelia.
According to rumors, Princess Lobelia has never danced with any other men except for her younger brother, 1st Prince Rommel.
But since I danced with such a person, it would be natural for them to turn a blind eyes of jealousy toward me.
It took a while for the ferocious gazes to come to me, and soon they started completely ignoring me. And it wasn't long before I heard the voices of those whispering in the distance, they lowered their voices and they seemed to be complacent in thinking that they wouldn't be heard in such a noisy venue… But having awakened my mana, I could hear their words in great detail.
"A country boy like him dancing with Her Highness without knowing anything. It can't be that terrible."
"That's right. But anyway, it's just dancing. He has to marry that princess, Rodenov without fail, so can't we just skip that much?"
Such childish sounds were gradually increasing in intensity.
"Yes. He has to live with the monster for the rest of his life, so it would be okay if we could see him dreaming at least once in the center."
"I've only heard of it, but who would have known she would look so terrifying? If it were me, I would have bitten my tongue and killed myself."
"The horns on the top of her head were very attractive. It would be really cool if they were cut and polished. Oh, come to think of it, did I mention that Princess Esteban pays high prices for high-end handicrafts?"
"She is gathering all kinds of precious handicrafts and if it's the horn of Princess Rodenov…which is the only one in the world, so their value must be very high."
I understand their attitude. The romance they had dreamed of with the princess didn't come to fruition, and some bastard from the province took the honor. However, the way they expressed their jealousy was too sloppy and dirty.
They were insulting Adilun in order to bring me down. Only by doing so can they release their resentment.
Cursing at me didn't really appeal to me, but cursing at Adilun was different. The person who was hurt by me must not hear that kind of noise, because of me again.
Isn't it too much? In an instant, my brother's words came to mind.
'Defeat without remorse. I won't say anything about accidents like that.'
It's been less than an hour since he told me that, but it looks like I'm already in trouble.
I walked to the front of the guys who said they will just cut off Adilun's horn for crafts. When They saw me they started laughing at me as if they had noticed me too.
There was no need for an introduction. What would I do if I knew their names?
I just laughed with them and grabbed that guy collar who had been yelling about cutting Adilun's horns and whatnot. And threw him into the table.
Bang!
The table was smashed, his head hitting the ground intact, and a rather loud sound resonated. And this sound was clear.
And at that moment, silence hung over the venue.
"What is this!"
At the sudden occurrence, the guy who was exchanging low-level jokes about Adilun, by his side shouted in rage. Well, their common sense must have assumed that something like this couldn't happen.
But there was something they needed to know. Because I was a guy who deviated from their common sense.
I didn't care about his enraged cry and grabbed him too by the collar.
"Ouch! Wow! Hey, let me go!"
No answer was needed. I made him the same as the one who passed out next to me. I was dissatisfied with the weak material of the table, but the exciting noise it made as it broke, pierced my heart.
I buried their faces on the ground and leaned over to wake them up, so I slapped them on the cheeks several times, but the sudden shock was so strong that they hardly woke up.
This was a bit embarrassing. If they were so weak, I can't apply for a duel.
The chairman instantly became angry, and the knights of the royal guard began to approach me as if they had sensed a change, and the fathers of those who were on the ground began to approach me in bewilderment.
"What is this!"
Is he the father of an aristocrat who just fell into the ground? I looked at the old nobleman, whose face had turned red, and was staring at me like he was going to kill me.
And, as expected, my father and older brother, must have noticed this commotion too and with His Excellency, Duke Johannes Rodenov, started approaching me. My older brother seemed unconcerned, as if he thought that what he expected had happened, but my father was different.
"Physis. Why are you doing that all of a sudden?"
I smiled as if it was no big deal and told my father.
"They were talking nonsense, so I stopped them."
"What's nonsense, explain it straight!"
At the words of the old nobleman, I opened my mouth to tell them what they had said.