CH 9

There is a moment in time when we all face our destiny.

That was the day she, Lady Lisa, met her destiny.

“It is inexcusable that you would kill your own sister in a fit of jealousy. It was foolish to have someone like you as my fiancée.”

Lisa has had a fiancée since she was young.

The man was the son of a great nobleman with a more respectable history than her own family, and even though she felt she was not fit for him, Lisa desperately tried in her own way to live up to her family’s expectations and to be accepted by him as much as possible.

However, as if to ridicule her efforts, a tragedy occurred.

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than to make your sister miserable, don’t you think so? Watching a concubine’s daughter be loved more than her sister, a main wife’s daughter!”

When she was a child, her father brought home a pretty girl. She was far more fanciful and brilliant than plain-looking Lisa.

Anna, her step-sister, was a crybaby, but Lisa always tried her best to be her big sister.

After sixteen years of trying, the day before yesterday, Lisa was thrown in jail for trying to kill her sister in a state of incomprehension.

“The guilty must get punished. You are guilty of a serious crime, for you tried to lay your hands on my beloved Anna. I will have you executed at once.”

Lisa couldn’t say anything back to him as she was just stunned.

She hated herself for being unable to say anything and just kept shedding tears while stuck in this situation.

At the same time, she let resentment grow in her heart to the point where her fingernails dug into her skin, causing her to start bleeding.

‘If there is a next life, I will surely take revenge on you…’ 

By that time, the cloud of resentment had already taken over her heart, and she would never forget the hatred.

“Lisa! Hang in there a little longer. I’m here with you. Everything will be fine!”

Her friend came to see Lisa every day.

She was the only one who supported Lisa in this situation where she had no one to trust.

She said she would seek help from someone she blindly believed in, Haishin, but unfortunately, Lisa had no interest in him, and she was only familiar with his name. She did not know much about him.

But soon, those days of clinging to despair and a little hope came to an end.

It was as usual. 

Her hateful little sister appeared in front of her prison cell with a mocking expression.

“Ya-ho~ Onee-sama. How does the cold ground feel?”

“… Anna.”

“Kufufu! You look great, onee-sama. So ungraceful… so ugly. But it feels so good! It’s the kind of look a shabby woman like you deserves.”

“…”

Unlike Anna and her beautiful dress, Lisa’s clothes were in tatters, appropriate for a prisoner. Even now, it was too cold to sleep at night.

“You ain’t going to say anything? Ahaha! I know it’s because you can’t say anything to a noble like me! But don’t worry, it will all be over soon. Your execution will save you from this agony.”

“… Don’t be stupid! It’s all… your fault!”

The things that accumulated up to now come out in the form of words, but no matter how much she shouted, it only pleased Anna.

“Well then, Onee-sama, let’s meet again at the scaffold, shall we?”

With an ugly smile, she walked away… as always.

But then the door leading to the prison, where only two people were supposed to be, opened with a loud noise, and someone entered.

“Ara…”

“…?”

Two people appeared. They were the diplomats from the royal city of Sistol stationed in the Principality.

They looked at Anna… and then at Lisa, and nodded to each other and opened their mouths to say this.

“Miss Lisa, your execution has been called off for the time being.”

“What?”

“Haa..?”

As Lisa and Anna were surprised, one of the diplomats took the key and unlocked Lisa’s prison cell.

“Can you stand up?”

“Y-yes…”

Lisa wondered if this was all staged by Anna, but the stunned look on Anna’s face told her it wasn’t.

Unsure of what was going on, Lisa was dressed in warm clothes and ate her first proper meal in a long time to fill her empty stomach.

“… Delicious, so delicious… I can’t hold it anymore…!”

And then she cried, as those were the tears she hadn’t shed in a long time.

Her tears had dried up from despair, but she was happy to get back to her normal life.

She hadn’t met her family, her fiancée, or her sister yet, but Lisa never wanted to see any of them ever again.

“Miss Lisa, may I?”

Then that diplomat appears at her doorstep.

And the fact that she heard was a shock to Lisa.

“Anna has a demon eye…?”

“Yeah.”

What a surprise, Anna seems to possess demon eyes.

A mesmerizing demon eye can make others lose their perception, manipulate them at will, and make them prisoners to their own will.

“It is said that demon eyes can manifest at any time. However, it is unforgivable to try to have someone with it executed. She would have normally been the one executed instead, but since your father protected her, Miss Anna will be released on the condition that she loses her eyes and gets placed under house arrest.”

“… I see.”

How much pain does it really entail to have their eyes carved?

However, Lisa was somewhat pleased for Anna to be in such a state. It was a shame she wouldn’t get executed, but she’ll never see the light again and won’t be able to go outside… because she’ll have to suffer that pain until the day she dies.

“… Hehe.”

She felt bad for laughing at that woman.

But that was to be expected, considering what she had done to her.

“We couldn’t help you sooner, and we didn’t even know you were in that state because it was a national issue.”

“Ah, that’s given.”

Then the diplomat explained how Lisa got saved.

“It all started when a friend of Miss Lisa’s told Haishin-sama about it.”

“Haishin…sama?”

The diplomat’s appearance became slightly suspicious, and she spoke as if on cloud nine.

“Yes, that’s right. In order to resolve the situation regarding Miss Lisa, Haishin-sama raised the issue. Soon, in response to his call, Princess Maria, Saint Alphana, and many others took the lead in this unprecedented decision.”

“Ha, haa…”

I see… How is that even possible? Lisa was still unable to grasp the whole situation.

The diplomat’s appearance became more and more heated, and it was clear how much importance she placed on Haishin’s existence.

It was like watching a friend who couldn’t stop talking about their favourite character from a movie.

“After all, Haishin-sama is so wonderful… so amazing! To think that even in such a distant country, Haishin-sama’s influence is so great… Ah, what is this feeling? I’ll have to spend the rest of my life following him! I must witness Haishin-sama’s accomplishments, no matter how far and wide it goes!”

“…”

It was a really crazy look on her face.

But Lisa was not expecting this at all.

That figure was going to be her future self.

She does not yet know that she will become a fervent believer in him who saved her life and changed her destiny of death beyond the boundaries of the countries, to the point that even her friend will become mortified.

***

Well, it was some time after the matter got settled in Principality.

Kanata went to the academy, as usual, sometimes spending his time being annoyed by the noble students and sometimes being looked at with jealousy by other commoner students.

“Hey, wasn’t it kind of hectic today?”

“I guess so. I don’t know why the teachers are in some meeting…”

Such words reached his ears as he plopped down at his desk, but he wasn’t particularly interested in them, so he didn’t think to ask.

As he was doing so, his homeroom teacher came in with a tired look on her face.

“Ah~… Good morning, everyone. There’s a new person joining our class for a while starting today.”

The classroom erupted at his words.

Kanata even wakes up his body because it is rare.

He had never revealed his true face to the world before, but he decided not to in consideration of his future.

“However, the person is an important figure in our kingdom and is also a close friend of Princess Maria. In other words, she has a close relationship with the royal family. She has never shown her face in public before, but she has decided to do so from now on for the sake of her future.”

It seemed that someone in a rather dastardly position was joining this class, and immediately, the atmosphere became tense.

The teacher gave the signal, and a girl entered the classroom.

The girl was so beautiful that both boys and girls were fascinated by her.

“… Eh?”

However, Kanata was the only one amongst them who showed surprise towards the girl.

She’s a short girl, but her violent style is a sight for the eyes, and it seems the top of her uniform shakes every time she walks.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alphana. Though I am still young, I am ordained as a saint.”

Saint. The words startled everyone in the class.

Especially when it comes to Kanata, he can’t help but stare at her in disbelief.

The girl called Alphana was the same girl Kanata once met on the street.

However, there seems to be… a lot of speculation as to why someone like her is in his class.

[Postscript]

I think Alphana is cute.

She is a strong lady of action.