Haunted Duke’s Daughter - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lilia could only sigh . Whatever she said, it would fall on deaf ears . They were utterly convinced that they were the ones in the right . Lilia’s irritation only grew . It was as if her past self were standing right in front of her . Under her breath, Lilia whispered, it’s about that time, and moved her gaze alone toward the classroom door .

At the same time, the door opened, and the teacher came in . The Prince followed soon after . It was plain to see that they were both bewildered by the bizarre atmosphere that had fallen over the classroom .

Lilia shifted her gaze back to Sera .

“This is a good opportunity, so I’ll declare this plainly . ”

Lilia raised her voice so that the Prince could hear her clearly as well . The Prince and the teacher looked over to Lilia . In the corner of her eye, she could see them both frown as if to say, what are you doing this time?

“I…have lost all interest in that foolish prince . ”

Not even trying to hide it, Sera’s eyes opened wide in surprise . The Prince was also at a loss for words, but his face quickly started turning red .

“To be honest, I don’t even want to imagine being by that idiot’s side . ”

The Prince’s eyes were still as he started moving over to where Lilia was . Taking note of that, Lilia brandished a smile at Sera .

“…!”

Sera froze in her seat, and the Prince’s footsteps came to a stop . Lilia looked down on Sera and uttered a quiet declaration .

“As for you, I no longer need you by my side . ”

Lilia withdrew her gaze from Sera, and fixed her eyes on the Prince . The Prince glared back in response .

“Why you, running your mouth like that all you want…”

“Oh my, aren’t you suffering under some misunderstanding here?”

Cutting through the Prince’s words, Lilia posed that question cheerfully . Before the Prince could say anything further, Lilia took the scrap of paper on her desk, holding it out to him .

“What’s this?”

He took it in confusion, reading the words written on the note . In that instant, the Prince’s expression was dyed in one of rage .

“What the hell is this?!”

The prince shouted and scrutinised his surroundings . Everybody averted their eyes from his gaze . In the same moment, Lilia cheerfully filled him in .

“Your Highness . This note was written by Sera Valdia, who is sitting right here . I borrowed the note from Tina . ”

“What did you just say…?”

When the Prince glared at Sera, she sent a pleading glance to those around her, looking as if she might cry . But nobody dared meet her eyes . They’ve already realised that there’s nothing they can do for her now .

“I’ll leave this one’s punishment up to you, Your Highness . ”

Lilia’s voice echoed throughout the now utterly silent classroom . The Prince quickly came back to his senses and levelled another glare at Lilia .

“That’s right, you…what you said just before was too…”

“I have no intention of retracting my words . ”

Dumbfounded, the Prince couldn’t speak, so Lilia continued where she left off, saying after all,

“It’s your responsibility to protect Tina . It’s none of my business who you fall in love with, but your show of favour toward her will also attract hostility from your surroundings . Do try to understand that . ”

“That shouldn’t…”

The Prince’s words stopped there . Without saying anything more, his gaze fell to the scrap of paper in his hand . Lilia didn’t hide her sigh .

“Your Highness . You cast me away and chose Tina . After going that far, if you aren’t even going to protect that girl… what are you trying to accomplish?”

The Prince raised his head . He looked as if he were about to say something, but in the end, he couldn’t seem to put it into words . Lilia averted her eyes from the Prince and spoke,

“Looking at you up close, you really are nothing but a foolish prince . ”

Leaving the Prince with those icy words, Lilia left the classroom at a slow, deliberate pace .

—You’ve suddenly got some free time, huh?

—So it seems .

After she left the classroom, Lilia wandered around the school building aimlessly . As she walked, she replayed the scene in the classroom in her mind over and over again .  I’ve sure gone and done it again, lamented Lilia as she wallowed in regret . Sakura laughed and told her it would be fine, but no matter how you look at it, her actions would do nothing to improve her public image . Even Lilia could understand that now .

—I wonder what’s going to happen to that girl .

—If you’re talking about Sera, she likely won’t be able to remain at this academy . She probably won’t be driven out, but after making His Highness an enemy, I doubt there’s anyone willing to lend her a hand .

Talk of what happened today will spread quickly . And then, everyone will refuse to acknowledge her presence . They’ll treat her as if she wasn’t even there . Without anyone to talk to, Sera’s life at the academy will become a lonely one . What she does after that is up to her . However, given Sera’s personality, it’s likely she’ll flee from the academy .

—Hey, Lilia . So this is just an idea, but…

—What?

—That girl; Sera, was it? Take her under your wing .

Lilia’s feet came to a halt, and she dubiously raised her eyebrow . When she asked Sakura why, she said:

—It’s just a feeling, I guess . I mean, in the first place, she did all of those things for your sake . If you teach her how to behave properly around her surroundings, I’m sure she’ll become a good person .

—Even though I’m the one that backed her into a corner?

—-Well, that’s…yeah . After all that’s happened, I think you really did go too far… But I think it might actually be alright . If you try talking to her this weekend, I’m sure she’ll cling to you desperately .

Lilia had misgivings about the way Sakura wanted to go about it, but decided to believe in her and follow her plan . Lilia had known all three of those girls since she enrolled in the academy . Though Sera is reaping what she sowed, it would be a lie to say that Lilia had no thoughts of finishing her off . By the same token, she couldn’t say she didn’t feel some small desire – truly, only the smallest inclination – to help Sera .

—Yup . I have to say, it’s hard to tell how you really feel . I mean, your feelings toward Sera are so weak…

—To be perfectly honest, I don’t care one way or the other .

—And that’s exactly what makes you Lilia, damn it .

Confusingly, Sakura muttered, We’ve got a long road ahead of us, huh…With no destination in mind, Lilia started heading toward the library .

Lilia entered the usual library room with Ray’s permission, and listened to Sakura’s lecture as usual . And then, Ray said:

“I heard that Mistress Lilianne and His Highness The Prince got into a quarrel at last night’s party . ”

Lilia couldn’t help but freeze after hearing the words Ray uttered . But Lilia immediately pretended nothing was wrong, and lowered her gaze to the book in front of her, pretending to read . Lilia tried to put on an air of calmness, but her stiff expression betrayed her . Ray didn’t seem to notice her expression, fortunately, as he was busy reading through the textbook in front of him .