The Villainess' Fate Defying Story - Chapter 23

Daisy was at a loss as to where she had been taken from the last place she saw Rize and the others.

She knew that if the girls were to pursue Rize, they would choose a place with few people.

A place away from the crowded cafeteria.

“Near the medical office, the courtyard…”

What came to mind was the large two-tiered fountain in the courtyard where she had coincidentally made an appointment to meet the Prince today.

She felt that Rize’s mental strength would not be too bothered if she was just ganged up on and blamed by a large number of people.

Normally, that would be enough to scare someone and make them run away, but knowing Rize’s personality, she wouldn’t be outwitted or overwhelmed by them…

But she had a bad feeling that wouldn’t stop, and she didn’t have time to listen to Rita and Rina’s account of what happened yesterday while looking for Rize.

It was also difficult to concentrate on imagining the scene in her head while putting in the exchange with Jake.

…She was seen by someone on her way back to the dorm with him…?

They were originally like walking lights, especially Jake with his flashy colors.

He would attract a lot of attention from the students if he returned to the academy dorm, and there were many girls who came from the girls’ dorm, even though they were fewer than the boys.

If they were found out, they would be hung up for sure.

She shook off the unpleasant imagination from her head and headed for the deserted courtyard.

“Kahh…kahh…”

A choking voice came from near the fountain.

There were no less than ten girls there, none of whom had any direct contact with Cassandra.

Three of them held her head, shoulders, and back and pushed her into the fountain, repeating the process of grabbing and lifting her.

The area around the girl was soaked with water.

No way…you’re kidding me?

Water torture? What are these young ladies from good families doing?

As Cassandra was frozen in shock, Rina let out a scream and turned pale.

Her legs were trembling and she looked like she was about to collapse.

Cassandra used her own body as a shield to hold back Rita, who had bloodshot eyes and a furious face, trying to break into the scene.

“Please calm down, I’ll go there.

Rita-san, please don’t do anything!”

She had heard that yesterday, Rita had kicked a man who had grabbed Rina’s arm with all her might.

If she did the same thing here, the slender young ladies would not get away with just breaking their ribs.

She couldn’t let a murderer appear in this academy, so she desperately restrained her, who looked like a mad dog ready to pounce.

The girls grabbed Rize’s chestnut hair and dunked her head into the fountain, short and long. They had a terrifying expressionless face as they continued to do so.

Cassandra saw that Rize’s hand, which was holding the edge of the fountain, was gradually losing strength, and she had no choice but to step forward.

“Stop it, you girls! What on earth is this!”

At Cassandra’s voice, the girls finally loosened their grip on Rize’s body.

Rize coughed painfully. She seemed to have no strength in her arms and lay down on the spot, spitting out a lot of water from her mouth.

…She was speechless at the sight of her, and felt a rage that she didn’t even understand herself.

“Oh, Cassandra-sama, good day to you”

A girl with a cute voice like a bell smiled sweetly.

She looked at her with a curious gaze, and the girl bowed her head gracefully.

“I was just disciplining a rude dog who didn’t know her place.

Would you like to join us, Cassandra-sama?”

She was the one who led the girls here.

She didn’t do it herself, but used her followers to torture someone she didn’t like with water.

She shuddered at the act that didn’t seem human.

“Why do you do such a horrible thing!

What do you intend to say to the many people who admire you, Countess Miranda-san?”

“Oh, I’m honored that the future queen remembers my name.

You’re from Marquis Rendall’s family, even though it’s in the countryside, so it’s only natural that you know me.”

Her eyes became sharp.

“……Haa, haa”

Rize was still having trouble breathing, even after spitting out all the water in her stomach. She sat down with her back against the edge of the fountain.

She was conscious, and not injured.

But how terrifying it must have been.

To be ganged up on and attacked by other women, who were powerless themselves…Cassandra didn’t even want to imagine what it would be like if it happened to her.

But the eldest daughter of the Welles Count family was the ringleader, and this was quite troublesome.

She was the daughter of a Count family that had ties to Marquis Lombardo’s family. She was one year older than Cassandra, and they were on opposite sides.

“Rize-san…

What did that scholarship student do to you?

Depending on the situation, this may not be something that can be settled privately.

You should follow Sirius-sama’s guidance! Such a love affair problem in the academy…”

What a horrible sight, what kind of face should she report it with?

Compared to what they were doing, the boys’ fight that was about to turn into a brawl was nothing more than a cat playing with a toy!

“Ohohohoho! Love affair, you say!?

What nonsense are you talking about?

This is just a proper discipline for an ignorant person who doesn’t know her place.

Isn’t it our duty to guide those who don’t know the rules?”

She was a true lady.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed in a splendid style.

She had long copper-colored hair, with a large red ribbon on top of it.

She was a doll-like lady who was cute if she kept quiet, but she ruined it with a laugh that rivaled Cassandra’s.

“Cassandra-sama, do you know?

She, yesterday, came back with Jake-sama from somewhere, looking very happy.

That’s unacceptable, don’t you think, to ignore everyone else?

Someone has to teach her if she doesn’t have any sense of her place.

…I just did your duty for you, you should be grateful, not blame me.”

They were all daughters of nobles who had some influence from Lombardo, big or small.

She didn’t know if they really wanted to do this, but she understood that they couldn’t disobey the Countess’s orders.

She desperately restrained Rita, who was trying to run to Rize, with one arm, and Cassandra faced them firmly.

She felt sorry for them, it wasn’t a feeling she couldn’t understand.

Her parents were pushing her to the Marquis as his bride candidate, but it was futile.

Jake himself didn’t seem to be looking for a partner, and he would be annoyed if they followed him around.

Everyone was impatient and irritated, and when a unknown commoner girl came in and walked side by side with him, it was beyond their limit.

They couldn’t accept it.

It was different from the admiration for an idol, it was a big problem that stood in their way in reality.

She had memories of her previous life, so she couldn’t do what they did, but if…

If there was a girl student who talked to Prince Arthur affectionately without her knowing, she wouldn’t be able to stay calm.

But she was his fiancee, a publicly recognized existence, so she could claim her rightful rights.

They didn’t have that.

They had no choice but to silence and distance her by force.

Rize was a commoner, but she had nothing to lose in the first place. She didn’t have any status to lose from the start.

No matter how much they tried to bring her down with schemes and tricks, Rize was a commoner who lived in the unrelated Count Seska’s territory, and they couldn’t reach her.

She was a troublesome existence in a way. And because she was a scholarship student, her rights were guaranteed by the king himself.

If she didn’t listen to them telling her to stay away from Jake, they had no choice but to eliminate her by instilling fear in her body.

…Rize probably didn’t nod even when they cornered her.

“Do you know?

This scholarship student always, always, looked at us from afar with a glare.

She had no right to be near Jake-sama, it was ridiculous.

She acted as if she was mocking us.”

She sighed in the direction of the grass.

“I understand what you want to say, Miranda-san.

But in this matter, you have no reason.

You should apologize to Rize-san.”

If they were willing to accept that, they wouldn’t have done this in the first place.

She had to silence her or it would really become troublesome.

This situation, if she made a mistake, she might even be suspected by Sirius and Ralph.

She can’t overlook it.

“I heard about the other day’s incident.

If you are going to blame Rize-san’s actions based on that, I will have to report everything to Jake-sama.”

“Do you have to report such trivial things?

You may be the fiancee of the Prince, but you’re just from a country Marquis family.

But I don’t think Jake-sama will be interested in what we did.

It’s useless, he’ll just treat us both the same.

Oh, if you want, I can mention your name too.

We “taught” this girl together, you know.”

Stop it! If he even suspects that she did such a thing to Rize…

She might be expelled the next day if Sirius misunderstands things!

She felt dizzy imagining such a future, but she endured it.

The battle of the young ladies over Jake.

How fierce it must have been under the surface.

It was like a death match that even Jake himself couldn’t stop, let alone interfere with.

If this wasn’t a game world, the Countess who won there would have raised her victory cry and claimed herself as the rightful fiancee.

It was a horrible story, but it was also their way of expressing their love for Jake.

She felt a little sorry for Jake and the others who were followed by such scary love.

But to threaten Cassandra as well.

She was a very determined lady, and really scary.

She had to settle this situation properly.

She gently touched Rina’s shoulder, who was speechless and standing still in shock.

“Did you know that these three scholarship students were attacked by a thug in the plaza the other day?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Cassandra glanced at Rina’s leg.

The Countess sneered and dismissed it.

“Yes, it was Jake-sama who happened to be there and saved them from the thug.

Unfortunately, Rina-san was injured, and Rita-san, who was upset by her injury, hurried back to the dorm with her.

Jake-sama was worried about Rize-san, who was left alone at the scene, and offered to accompany her.

Why do you blame Rize-san?”

She pointed at Rina, Rita, and Rize, in order.

“……Because she is a person who doesn’t know her place.”

“Then do you want to say this to Jake-sama?

You should have thrown away the commoners.

You should have left the scholarship students who were attacked by the thug and returned alone.”

“I didn’t say that!”

She flushed and fumed.

Miranda knew well that he was particular about being a knight.

…He apologized later for trying to belittle Cassandra and losing sight of his righteousness.

He bowed his head.

He was even grateful to Rita for pointing out the sobering fact that he was accused of “bullying the weak” and “not being a knight”.

He cared so much that he didn’t mind bowing his head to a commoner.

It would mean indirectly denying his right action.

Then the story would change completely.

“I didn’t know there was a thug…”

It could also lead to blaming him for what he did as a knight.

She realized that possibility and clearly panicked.

“……Miranda-sama”

One of her followers whispered in her ear.

She bit her lip and glared at her.

The man who tried to do something outrageous was seriously injured, and he should have been taken to a nearby hospital.

Information about the security around the academy would circulate as well.

It wouldn’t be strange if they knew that a girl student was attacked by that man.

And that Jake helped her, and then accompanied her back to the dorm.

If they blamed her for that…

“Do you blame Rize-san for accepting Jake-sama’s offer, which was natural as a knight?

Are you saying that she should shame him?

That’s some education you have.

I can’t do something like encouraging behavior that lowers the value of someone I admire.”

Well, actually, it wasn’t Jake who sent the man to the hospital, and the situation wasn’t so serious that he had to take her to the dorm.

But in front of everyone, it would be a very negative image for Jake, who was known as a knight by name and face, to leave a woman alone.

He wouldn’t be able to stand on the windward side of a gentleman, and if he had an enemy, he might be pointed at behind his back.

They might think it was good because of their jealousy, but they wouldn’t want Jake to know that.

“If she met him as just a classmate in the square and then came back together amicably, it would be too much for Rize-san.

Rize-san would have declined to go with him.

If by any chance Rize-san invited him, I understand why Miranda-sama is outraged and indignant.

But this case is different, isn’t it?

He just did his duty as a knight, and you blame him for that?”

Rize had no reason to be punished by them for this.

She just followed his proposal from his job and role.

It would be much more disrespectful to refuse and tarnish his position.

She didn’t know how much Rize understood the situation.

But at least this time, the conditions were special.

“……Th, that’s…

That’s why, this girl!

She should have refused his offer properly!

She took advantage of Jake-sama’s kindness, and she was so brazen!”

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head exaggeratedly.

Please stop it, she said.

She raised both her hands to calm her emotions.

It wouldn’t be good for her to dig into this matter too much.

If she refused, she might have also ruined Jake’s face.

“As I said, the incident the other day was caused by Jake-sama protecting the scholarship students by chance.

He felt responsible as a knight and escorted Rize-san to the dorm.

Someone misunderstood that as a sneak attack?

It’s a complete misunderstanding, Rize-san had no intention of neglecting you.

Shouldn’t we praise Jake-sama’s actions, and end this matter?”

“That’s…that…”

They lost their momentum and looked at each other.

They probably concluded that it was bad for them to make a fuss about Jake’s behavior that suited his position.

She had to get Miranda and her group out of here quickly and take care of Rize.

…She had been too cautious in case they really made a mistake in their excitement.

She felt sorry for Rize, she had to apologize later.

That was when it happened…

“……Wait, please…Cassandra-sama…”

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

Rize, who had been unfocused until then, stood up like a ghost.

She had a tired expression.

Her blue eyes had a dull light.