The scarlet fairy and the ice blade - Chapter 0
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- The scarlet fairy and the ice blade
- Chapter 0 - The long -awaited discarding of engagement
“Bridget Maydel. I’m breaking off our engagement!”
It was in the midst of a party held in the central hall of the magic academy.
The people gathered there thought so as the third prince so abruptly declared.
Ah, that day has finally come,
The gazes of these well-dressed men and women were naturally drawn to a certain person. Of course, it was the young lady whose name the prince had called—Bridget.
Countess Bridget Maydel did not even realize that the attention was gathering on her, and her mouth was hanging open in an unsightly manner.
She was a young girl with a beautiful and well-proportioned face, albeit heavily made up.
Her fiery red hair fluttered like blazing flames, and her emerald-green eyes were slightly upturned. Her pink dress was adorned with ribbons and lace, and while the design itself was cute, it was somewhat childish and did not suit her mature appearance.
Before such a Bridget stood a pair of men and women.
One was Joseph Fillid.
The third prince of this country, the kingdom of Fillid, and Bridget’s fiancé.
The other was Lisa Celmin.
The daughter of a baronial family, she was a lovely girl with an appearance that inspired protectiveness.
The two beautiful people who were close together looked like two birds of a feather…. As such, Bridget, who was glared at by the two, seemed like a villain or something out of a story, and many of the students thought so as they watched the scene.
Today, on this occasion, Joseph had rented the academy hall under the pretense of a celebration for the exams, but that was just a pretext.
The party where many of the students in the same year were gathered was a stage prepared just to make Bridget a comical spectacle in front of everyone.
“Why… why, Prince Joseph!?”
Bridget cried out in a voice that seemed to break due to the shock. Suddenly, uncontrollable laughter erupted from among the students.
Joseph frowned at Bridget’s words. Joseph was usually known as a gentle young man, but his tone was rough, perhaps due to anger.
“You don’t need to ask why, do you? You know you’ve been jealous of Lisa, whom I’m close to, and have been secretly bullying her behind the scenes!”
A buzz ran through the hall. Bridget’s voice shouting “I didn’t do anything like that!” was abruptly drowned out… and as if on cue, Lisa’s eyes welled up.
“You’re really awful, Lady Bridget… I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Joseph hugged Lisa’s shoulders as she burst into tears. Unlike Bridget, Lisa looked good in a pink frilly dress and was looking at Joseph with flushed cheeks.
Bridget couldn’t forgive that, and she screamed.
“But, b-but Prince Joseph! I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Are you going to deny it at this point!”
“W-what evidence is there? What evidence is there that I bullied Baronet’s daughter Lisa Celmin!”
“I don’t need such a thing! Lisa wouldn’t lie to me!”
Bridget was speechless after being told that. Taking advantage of that, the students whispered to each other.
“I can’t believe she was bullying Lady Lisa …”
“I guess she thought she could do whatever she wanted because she was the prince’s fiancée.”
“The ‘Scarlet Fairy’ burns only with the flames of fierce jealousy… no, it’s terrible.”
Secretly—and yet at a volume that would reach Bridget’s ears—the conversations were exchanged. There were no sympathetic voices. That was because Bridget was disliked by many people.
Despite being a failed product who had made a contract with [Nameless], she became the third prince’s fiancée solely because of her family lineage. Moreover, her personality was the worst, as she was arrogant and haughty. On top of that, it was said that she had harassed a baron’s daughter, so there would be no one to defend Bridget.
Upon hearing such voices,
She finally realized that she had no allies in this place, did she?
Bridget’s expression was tinged with a quiet desperation. Rather, even if she ran out of this hall, there would be no one on this earth to support Bridget. Knowing that, the laughter surrounding her only grew louder.
Finally, Joseph pointed his fingertips sharply at Bridget, who was trembling and bowing deeply.
“Bridget, I’ll say it again. I’m breaking off our engagement.”
“…”
Bridget seemed unable to respond anymore.
Despite her pale complexion, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and somehow bowed. And so, as she walked toward the exit, almost collapsing as she did so,
Joseph said as if to finish her off.
“Don’t you ever get involved with me or Lisa again.”
For just a moment, she stopped in her tracks.
…Perhaps it was her last shred of pride, but Bridget left the hall without looking back.
――――After that,
Needless to say, the party became even more lively, filled with the cheerful voices of students laughing at Bridget until late at night.