Villainess and the Stalker - Chapter 13 - Empress

Chapter 13 : Empress

「…. And then, to the next guy. You see that black haired guy with some white streaks in it who has just entered?He’s the 1st prince of this kingdom, Raphael Primum Helios.」

After he said that to me, Conrad then turned his attention to a certain youth coming inside, prompting me to look in the direction he was looking. Sure enough, there were some white streaks amongst his black colored hair.

And when one looked at his eyes, they certainly could feel the strong will dwelling within those golden eyes.

The reason for that strong will might be because of his pride as the 1st prince of Helios Kingdom who would lead this kingdom in the future.

Meanwhile, Conrad continued on.

「That hair color has been passed down from generation to generation in the royal bloodline of Helios Kingdom. There is a story behind that. It is said that a long time ago, the first King of Helios subdued phoenix as his summon beast and was gifted with that kind of hair color as proof of their contract. Since then, the rightful heir of the royal bloodline always has one part of their hair dyed in ashen color. Though it is said the 1st generation King’s hair was pure white…in any case, your hair color had to basically resemble the 1st in order to inherit.」

Conrad said while smiling, looking at my silver hair.

「Sure enough. Well, my hair color is silver though…」

「That’s right. There’s another version of that story that said the color of the 1st King’s hair was silver, not ashen white. Well, I think this matter is unrelated to you though.」

「… Naturally.」

I didn’t know whether he noticed the slight pause I unconsciously made before I replied or not, but Conrad had already moved on, cautioning me when a woman entered the assembly hall.

「Woopsie, here we come… Our Empress, Miss Maria Di Lino. Her Empress’ aura is as impressive as ever…」

Following Conrad’s line of sight, I saw a black haired beauty with gem-like red eyes make her entrance.

Whether it’s her glossy black hair, elegant appearance, the way her eyes were looking straight ahead or even the way she walked without any hesitation, all of it were befitting of the title of a textbook example of a noble lady.

But, what did he mean by… 《Our Empress》?

I looked at Conrad, contemplating that question, when suddenly, he looked back at me with a mysterious smile on his face, pointing at Maria with his chin.

So, I turned to look in Maria’s direction, still puzzled…

「… The heck is that!?」

Flocks of female students were swarming around Maria who was advancing slowly and gracefully. Many of those female students had things such as gifts or flowers in their hands.

Upon a closer look, I saw a few attendants following behind Maria, bringing along the gifts or flowers that she had just received. I had to say, “WOW!”.

Conrad then apprised me.

「It’s because today is the first regular morning assembly for Maria as a member of the student council. Well, it’s…more like a way to flatter her than a sincere congratulatory gift honestly.」

「Flattering her? If I’m not wrong, this Academy…uh, at least “Inside of this Academy”, everyone should’ve forgo their status “outside of the Academy”, right? Even if they try to fla-…oh right, they might have thought about building the connection for the future but still…」

「Well, that’s pretty much the gist of it. There’s nothing to lose in flattering her while they are still in academy or even after she graduates. Actually, a lot of students have similar consideration.」

「The reason? 」

「First and foremost, Maria Di Lino is the daughter of Duke Di Lino. And when it comes to Duke Di Lino’s house, they’re one of the big shot nobles, the pillar of Helios Kingdom. In this matter, isn’t it rather natural for the other students to build a good relationship with her? 」

「Yeah, you’re right about it.」

「In addition, Miss Maria is also engaged to a certain person. And that person is a big shot too… Who do you think that person is? 」

Conrad asked, seemingly proud of himself, but I could guess the rest from the conversation so far. Or rather, I couldn’t think of anyone else who had a similar or higher status than Maria. From our conversation so far, he’s the only one who was fit to become her fiance.

「A… Royalty, right? Come to think of it, you have introduced His Highness Raphael as well, but…」

「You got a sharp intuition. Your guess is correct. Miss Maria is His Highness Raphael’s fiancée. And from his hair color, it’s very clear to everyone that His Highness Raphael is the direct descendant of the royal bloodline… You might even say that he is the future King of Helios. Thus, that will make Miss Maria, the future Queen…the most prominent woman in this Kingdom.」

「I see now… So that’s the reason why they are trying to flatter her. And her “Empress” moniker is also derived from her future prospect.」

「Well… Oops, though her moniker is like an open secret, make sure to never say it in public if you don’t want to go through a painful experience. Oh, and the things I told you just now, about the Student Council members, is just between you and me.」

「Well, even I understand that mu-…. Eh? 」

Soon after I heard the information about Miss Maria from Conrad, the girls around Miss Maria suddenly became boisterous.

Upon a closer look, I found a girl just fell right in front of Miss Maria.

In front of her was a broken flower pot and potted plant, the soil inside the flower pot was scattered on the floor, and part of it was smeared on Miss Maria’s dress.

The group of the girls, who were being noisy until a while ago, stood in silence, surrounding Miss Maria and the fallen girl.

「…. O-oioioioi, that girl is… in danger right.」

The moment Conrad said those words, a voice resounded in the ceremony hall.

「…. Insolent girl! How dare you leave such stains on Maria-sama’s dress! ! 」

Someone amongst the girls, who was surrounding Maria and the fallen girl, suddenly said those words.

And just like chains of explosion, the other girls started to say various abusive words to the fallen girl.

「My goodness… How dare you put a stain on Maria-sama’s dress! 」「If I’m not wrong, this girl is a peasant… She’s done for.」「No, she isn’t just a mere peasant right? I mean she went as far as bringing a potted plant to this kind of place after all, she don’t even know common sense」「A lowly peasant like her who doesn’t even know about manner shouldn’t be allowed to attend this prestigious academy at all…」

The girls kept throwing abusive words one after another. They didn’t even consider this Academy’s philosophy and just went on with their vicious words.

Though the words that criticized her choice in bringing a potted plant to this place was one that I had to agree with. After all, bringing a bouquet of flowers was a better choice than what she brought. At the very least, a bouquet of flowers wouldn’t cause this kind of horrible accident even if something went wrong.

Nevertheless, it didn’t mean that I agree with the way those girls were abusing their fellow students. Really, while I hate to stand out from the masses, I couldn’t just let those girls go on with their abuse on the fallen girl, so I was about to stand up from my chair, but then…

「… Be quiet.」

A cold voice resounded in the ceremony hall.

It was Miss Maria’s voice.

After that, she looked around her surroundings, looking just like an Empress before her subjects. However, her words and demeanor immediately stopped the cruel words that were heaped on the fallen girl.

I’ve to say that, looking at her demeanor and action, she was really suited to become an Empress, and by now, I can tell that her moniker wasn’t just for show.

While thinking that, I saw her approaching the fallen girl, whose face was turning pale, and spoke to her after confirming that no one else was talking.

「Do you hear me?… Go back. And bring back the soil and flower along with you.」

「Y-Yesh….. M-My apolog—-! 」

「If you have time to apologize, you better do as I tell you. Well then… ALICIA! 」

A girl went forward quietly with 「…. Yes」 when Miss Maria called a name.

Miss Maria then said.

「Let’s go back to my room to change into a new dress. As for the soil and the flower pot… Keep them beautiful till I return.」

When she said the last part, Miss Maria turned to look at the fallen girl as if she was glaring at her. Soon after, she left the Assembly Hall.

After her figure left the assembly hall, the still atmosphere in the Assembly Hall became lively again.

And though the swarms of the girls looked dumbfounded for a while,

「Okay, everyone back to your seat! We’ll start the regular morning assembly after Miss Maria returns! 」

Those girls were brought back by the voice of Student Council President, Alan, and went back to their own seat.

Meanwhile, I, who was already halfway from standing up from my chair, when I saw the series of events, slumped back to my seat.

「…. What a woman.」

Though I said those words to myself, Conrad heard me and then spoke the following words to me.

「Well, now you know why we call her “Empress”. Well, though she was publicly scorned like that, Miss Maria’s action might have saved her after all, since the other girls who surround her seem to have lost their interest in her.」

Upon a closer look, no one was looking at the flower pot girl who was gathering back the scattered soils and flowers on the floor with her hand. So, no one noticed her when she put the scattered soils and flowers back into the flower pot and left the Assembly Hall in a hurry, as if she was escaping this place.

While I was curious about her expression during that time, I had no way to know since her back was facing me.

Honestly, I wanted to chase after her, but then I realized that I had no idea what I would do after I caught up with her. And really, what was supposed to be the first day of my enjoyable Academy life had become a mess since I ended up witnessing a depressing scene.

Was what the me of that time felt from the bottom of my heart.