Episode 24. princess and commoner

The Guardian Knights, who belatedly grasped the situation and rushed to the front of the student council room, were shocked to see Frill’s swollen left cheek.

“Princess Frill, what the hell is this… .”

“I fought with my sister.”

There was something curious about the unexpected situation, but it was clear that they had not fulfilled their duties as guardian knights.

“We will take responsibility for not protecting the safety of the princess, even with our weak lives. Please do not forgive the knight who failed his mission… !”

“Please don’t. It was I who sent you back.”

Because Mina might be afraid of the guardian knights wearing swords, Frill decided not to keep the knights around this morning.

Until now, no student had dared touch her body, and the knights complied with her decision, thinking that they might become an obstacle to her school life.

“My hand was injured while brushing off shards of glass. So you have no responsibility. Even if you guys were by my side, it would have happened like this.”

The bandage on Frill’s hand must have been the result of their complacency, but Frill, who had changed a lot somewhere, didn’t show it at all.

“princess… .”

“Guys, I have a favor.”

Auril will try to bully Sephia, who is protected by Frill. Because that’s the sister’s way of governing.

However, Frill wanted to protect Sepia. My sister seemed to think that it was presumptuous stubbornness against herself.

“You guys are knights. Didn’t you swear in front of your father that you would uphold justice no matter what?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, are you going to protect the innocent and the weak no matter what?”

“… .”

The knights following Frill stayed by her side without answering.

* * *

Gina quietly stood by Frill’s side, but she couldn’t hide the worry shown on her face.

‘I wonder what the hell happened.’

The princess came with a swollen left cheek and a bandage on one hand.

Princess Frill only said that she would tell me what happened later, and the Guardian Knights remained silent.

‘Looking at how you brought an injured student to the bedroom, laid him down, and covered him with a blanket. It seems to be related to that student… .’

Frill looked at Sepia’s sleeping face and continued to sigh.

‘I… .’

To the extent that Gina didn’t even notice that she was worried about her, Frill was suffering from an endless sense of shame.

‘How long have I been… . Did you live carelessly?’

Frill sensed how much people feared the imperial family, violently.

Even in front of Sepia, who was bleeding from being cut and stabbed by shards of glass, no one helped her out of fear of the authority of the imperial family.

The vomit-like sense of distance was terrifying, and in an instant, it seemed that everyone had ceased to be human and had become speechless beasts.

It was only now that I realized that the weight of the imperial family is approaching as a matter of survival that is heavier than humanity to other people.

Until now, he felt keenly how much power he had on his back, and how he naturally overpowered and suppressed others with that power.

That when Frill goes somewhere, everyone makes their way and gives way for her.

When Frill said she didn’t want to do it, no one could stop her.

Frill realized that all the thoughtless actions had been suffocating for them.

‘The stupid me has to come now… .’

Not the awe or heartfelt respect that a good and good emperor, my father, would have.

I’m just afraid… . Everyone was kind to her because they were afraid of the name of the imperial family.

When Sepia woke up, Frill didn’t have the confidence to treat her brightly. I was too sorry for that.

Although he was a member of the royal family, he was unaware of his position. He had never imagined that someone would go to the point of giving up on life under the weight of another member of the royal family.

‘If I had the heart to share even 1/100 of what I received as a princess with the people around me, wouldn’t I have discovered sepia in close to a year?’

‘No way. It’s my fault that Sepia ended up like this.’

Frill was also sorry for Mina.

‘I just wanted to learn more, but that must have been a big burden to Mina.’

‘What I wrote was not a handwritten letter, but an order… . What a surprise.’

I was so ashamed of my past self.

“princess… .”

“Yes, Gina.”

“I’m afraid to tell you this, since you seem not at ease… .”

“You must be afraid of me too.”

“Yeah?”

“no… . What? speak comfortably.”

“Actually, student Mina is requesting to see the princess.”

“Mina? You said you came to see me?”

Frill looked at the door with surprised eyes.

At the door that had not yet been closed, Mina stood half-hidden.

“Good afternoon. princess.”

When our eyes met, Mina bowed her head.

‘I must be burdened… .’

While thinking about that, Frill approached Mina, who was waiting for her.

“mina… ? what’s the matter?”

Seeing frills looking so gloomy, Mina made up her mind to be brave.

“princess.”

“yes?”

“Shall we take a short walk together?”

The content and tone of words that cannot be heard as a commoner talking to the princess.

Frill stared blankly at Mina’s smiling face.

“The weather is perfect for a walk right now.”

* * *

As Mina said, early evening in late winter was good for walking.

The two of them stopped for a moment and looked up together, and the sky shimmered in a pale scarlet like the scarf Mina was wearing, and Frill and Mina walked side by side along the promenade of Kiruna school.

“That’s Building 6 of the Agoge Dormitory where I live. If you go up all the way to the left from there, there is a road with pretty cafes.”

Frill was amazed at what Mina said.

“Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about this place other than Paideia and the main school.”

“You can find out more in the future. Would you like to go over there? The lights are pretty, so it’s a place where a lot of kids visit in the evening.”

“you… .”

Mina was fascinated by the frills.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?”

At that time, a cold wind blew on the fragile princess, Frill.

“It was scary. Initially.”

Mina wrapped her scarf around Frill. The frills on her cheeks flushed a bit, and the color changed to match Mina’s scarf.

“I was afraid of the princess before I saw her go through so much trouble for Sepia. I’m just an ordinary commoner girl… .”

When I look back, time seems to be passing by quickly.

The winter sun went down so quickly that you could see it disappearing, but instead, the beautiful street lanterns shone even earlier.

As the surroundings darkened, the things that Frill could see gradually disappeared.

The students who looked at her in fear, the knights who were chasing her from a distance to protect herself and Mina, the empty benches, and the unknown plants that hadn’t even wiped their eyes off gradually disappeared from Frill’s field of vision.

Drenched in dusk, all Frill could feel was Mina and the night sky illuminated by lanterns.

Frill felt at ease with that feeling.

“You are so wonderful, Princess. To be able to dedicate yourself so much to someone whose name you don’t know… . hehehe, honestly, I don’t think I would have gone that far if it were me.”

“Help the injured is what everyone should do… . How wonderful.”

“That is absolutely not normal. It’s a courageous thing.”

Mina continued to speak with a determined expression to Frill, who was taken aback.

“Among the things we take for granted, there are actually not many things that are properly followed. And Princess Frill fought with the third princess to protect the obvious.”

“… How did you know that?”

“When you returned to the health room, the situation was expected because your cheeks were extremely swollen.”

Scarlet lanterns illuminated the sparse streets in a circular fashion.

Mina recalled the memory of walking down this street with Professor Ian.

“Princess, in order to walk the path she thought was right, she faced an enemy stronger and more terrifying than herself.”

“To that extent… .”

“I think you resemble Professor Ian. It looks like that.”

Frill remembered.

Where did the courage to say everything I had to say and come back even when I was slapped on the cheek by my older sister, whom I thought I would never be able to overcome in my life, came from?

“I deeply respect Professor Ian from the bottom of my heart. Because he is the only person in Kiruna who can point out the problems of this school in front of many people gathered in the auditorium.”

Didn’t Professor Ian raise his voice about the things that must be done, even while risking his life?

“That’s why I also respect the princess who resembles the professor. Not as the Emperor’s daughter, but as a female student of the same age as me, being able to have that kind of courage.”

‘I bow my head in respect, not in awe. I will do my best to ensure that you will be rewarded for your precious efforts when you are the most beautiful.’

When Professor Ian bowed to me, I heard something similar.

Not because I’m afraid, but because I respect you wholeheartedly.

‘Is Mina saying that to me too?’

“I’m not the only one who respects the benevolent princess here. At that time, among those who only stood around Sepia, there must be people who were impressed by the princess’ actions.”

“mina… .”

“Would you like to go to Professor Ian to discuss this matter tomorrow? We are still in a very disadvantageous fight, but if you are a professor, you will definitely help.”

Too much happened today.

To hide his emotions, Frill’s heart was shaking so violently today that he couldn’t hold back the tears that finally came.

Mina shivered and patted the crying frill and said.

“When he returned to the health room, his expression was so bad that it hurt my heart. So I regretted it. I wondered if the fact that I only thought of the princess as difficult might have hurt her. You approached me so innocently and honestly, but I doubt even that… .”

“The candy, too, was really good.”

“Black… . Whoops. really… ?”

“It was really good. Princess, shall we go for a walk often?”

The scarf wrapped around the neck of the frill, carrying Mina’s warmth, was warm even when wet with tears.

* * *

‘Ahyoung, what kind of child was Sepia originally?’

‘I was just an ordinary student. An honor student who knows the mana science in the body.’

‘So, Sepia did well in school, but was suddenly captured by Akula and forcibly brainwashed?’

Should I say that this is a feature of the novel?

The motives of all the villains Ahyoung created were simple enough to be flat.

The vice president of the student council, Rize, is tired of the student council work, and loses her mind.

The vampire scion secretly mixed in with Kiruna was unable to overcome her vampiric desire and was corrupted.

Sein Saeparang, the second-in-command of the Rang tribe at Kiruna Magic School, hurts the people around him with an inferiority complex that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot overcome Ina Yeonparang.

Even in the episodes where Sepia appeared, all the evil deeds were released with just one explanation that it was because she was brainwashed.

‘To think that a child who had lived happily ever after had his heart stolen by an absolute evil being and became so dark… .’

It was to the point where I felt that Ayoung, who was writing, was cold-hearted.

‘Are you writing it like this on purpose?’

‘That’s not it. By the way… . Why is it so complicated?’

‘yes?’

‘Does someone really need a complicated reason to hate the world and do bad things? Most don’t.’

Ah-yeong’s self-deprecating voice made me pause for a moment, and when I think about it, it doesn’t seem so wrong, so I thought it was just that.

“Summarizing, you mean that a student named Louis Sepia was bullied and harassed as a group in the Paideia dormitory under the leadership of Princess Euryl.”

“Right, Ian. How can I protect sepia? If it’s an older sister’s personality, she’ll never leave me or Sepia alone. You must be thinking of somehow taking it away from me and harassing me.”

In the late evening, just before leaving work, the story that Princess Frill came out of nowhere and brought up was shocking in many ways.

Even before I came here, the circumstances of school violence that would have continued. It was different from the background of the novel Ah-yeong talked about.

Sepia’s school life was so terrible that every day was endangered.

‘Why did you hide this background from me? Intentionally? Or because you’re too lazy or shy to explain?’

“for now.”

Yes, you will have to think deeply about it later.

The person to focus on right now is Princess Auril. The person I knew as the student council president, a shrewd perfectionist who was supported and respected by the students.

This too was false.

‘Have I been possessed by another novel?’

It was confusing. I was so embarrassed that I had to doubt the settings of the novel that I believed to be true. but.

“I express my deep respect for the fact that you felt anger, not fear, towards Princess Euryl in that situation.”

“… I learned from Ian. I have nothing to praise you for.”

“no. It is never easy to remain unbent under fear. Even the knights who are taught to speak justice no matter what happens, most of them remain silent in front of a tyrant… . therefore.”

“yes?”

“I also want to lend my strength to the princess.”

Even in a situation where everything is blurry, one thing is certain.

There is a student who gave courage here, and as a teacher at Pyeongeun High School, Yohan Kim, he cannot just leave Princess Euril, the ringleader of the bullying.

If I could turn a blind eye to her misdeeds, which could happen in real school as well.

For my own comfort, if I avoid confronting Princess Euril head-on… .

When I went back to Pyeongeun High School, I couldn’t see the faces of my classmates.

Auril did something that could not be justified by anything.

If I compromise with her here, I will be broken as a teacher.

Also, the moment you stand by evil, Professor Ian as a cold-hearted and arrogant professor is also broken.

“However, we need time to sharpen this anger. First of all, how about sharpening the blade and preparing until the opportunity comes?”

Right now, neither I nor Frill have a solid footing in the school yet.

There must be many people who are influenced by Frill’s actions and who support her governing philosophy.

Even if it is difficult to engage in an all-out war with Princess Euril, who wields power as the student council president right now, all you have to do is gather people and prepare to fight.

If they reach out their dirty hands for sepia before then, even if they clash head-on with the student council, they will have to defend it somehow… .

Princess Frill, who seemed to be a flat and simple villain, nodded and said with a matured look in her eyes.

“I know that having the imperial family as an enemy is not an easy task. Thanks for being by my side, Ian.”