The S-Class Hunter Doesn't Want To Be A Villainous Princess - Chapter 18

"I hope my eyes aren't deceiving me."

"Are those two dancing?"

"Weren't they enemies?"

The figure of the Crown Prince Ishir and Renee Marchius are dancing!

The atmosphere at the party quickly became noisy.

But there was one person who remained silent.

It was Cedin Anshirad.

And Cyril approached him.

"I'm sure you're interested in my sister, right?"

Cedin's face darkened at those words.

Oh, was it a slip of the tongue?

Cyril quickly recovered.

"Just kidding, just kidding."

"...I heard you've reached the mastery level of sword expert. Congratulations."

Cedin offered a polite greeting.

"Oh, it's not something I did."

"...Yes?"

"Is Renee saying anything?"

"Are you saying that Renee is the one who raised you to the mastery level of sword expert?"

"Well... sort of."

Cyril awkwardly laughed and took a sip of champagne. At that moment, people started approaching him one by one.

"Cyril, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"What's the matter? You should come to me first..."

"Come on, just a moment. Can you please wait in line?"

Cyril's complexion turned pale as people crowded around him. Cedin was left alone, looking towards Renee.

The secret to raising intermediate sword expert to the mastery level. He had never heard of such a secret before.

If it was true, it was understandable that all the nobles were flocking to him. Not just the nobles, but people from all over the continent would undoubtedly come.

It wasn't that Renee couldn't handle it, but he was genuinely worried.

'Whether it's a lie or the truth, it will be a problem.'

How will she handle it? He wiped away the flowing champagne, pondering the question.

"Are you enjoying the party?"

Renee greeted the guests from a distance and then returned to Cedin.

"Young Lady... I heard about it."

"Oh, really?"

"What happened? Is there really such a secret?"

Renee stepped on a champagne fragment that had fallen from Cedin's shoe. It scattered in all directions, making a cracking sound.

"Are you curious too?"

For some reason, Cedin felt a hint of mockery in Renee's question, and his face turned red.

"You'll find out soon. Whether it really exists."

However, Renee didn't speak with mockery. She spoke with bitterness.

"Lady Renee."

Cedin tried to stand next to Renee, but someone beat him to it.

"Could you give me a break today, Anshirad?"

"..."

Ishir pushed Cedin aside lightly and stood next to Renee.

Cedin couldn't say anything and had to step back.

'For the Young Lady, rather than just a knight... The Crown Prince would suit her better.'

Cedin regretted turning down his first title.

Ishir looked back at Cedin triumphantly and placed his hand on Renee’s shoulder.

"Your Highness, aren't you planning to withdraw your hand?"

"It's necessary for our operations."

"This is absurd. Move it before I fracture each of your five fingers."

Renee frowned when she noticed him standing next to her.

But she didn't show any more reaction. As he said, it was time for the operation to begin.

'I'll just be patient.'

She gently struck the champagne glass with a teaspoon, drawing the attention of the crowd.

However, such an action was unnecessary. 

The moment Ishir's hand rested on Renee's shoulder, all eyes were on them.

'... I hate to admit it, but it's working.'

She shot a glare at Ishir, who nonchalantly draped his arm around her shoulder.

This audacious man.

Then, she announced in a hushed tone.

"You've been waiting for a long time. Now, let me explain why you all are here."

And, of course, the motive behind her summoning them from afar.

"Most of you are here to congratulate my brother, Cyril, on reaching the mastery level of sword expert. So, I would like to raise a glass to Cyril first."

Renee winked at Cyril and raised her glass.

Cyril forced a smile and bowed his head.

"Many of you are curious about something today. Especially how Cyril went from intermediate to the mastery level of sword expert, two levels up."

She glanced at Cyril and Cedin, then continued speaking.

"I heard a rumor that there is a secret behind it."

In truth, she was feeling terrible at the moment.

It was natural for people to prioritize their own interests, but could there really be no one who asked about Renee?

'All this time, people blamed Renee not because they were genuinely concerned about Lianne, but because they needed someone to blame.'

Because Renee was weak. They wanted to trample on her somehow. She glanced at the glass shard under her foot.

To be precise, she was a glass shard like this. Transparent and beautiful, but easily broken.

"That rumor is true."

But some things don't just get trampled on, they leave behind dangerous remnants like this.

"Is it really true?"

"But how could such a thing..."

"It must be a lie!"

As her words spread, the murmurs of the crowd grew louder.

Renee enjoyed the waves of chaos, not speaking for a while. Until someone dared to ask her directly.

"Well then, please share that secret with us."

"Why should I do that?"

"...!"

Her firm refusal caused even greater uproar than before.

"You can't share that secret with just anyone. Isnt it? This is an opportunity to enter the 'mastery level'."

"Certainly, if Lady Marchuis's words are true, I agree that they cannot be shared with just anyone. But shouldn't you first explain why we should believe you?"

According to what she learned from Cyril, reaching the mastery level in this world is truly an extraordinary achievement.

If it were a commoner, they could easily become a noble in an instant.

'But then why has Cedin been a knight all this time? He's a sword master.'

'Originally, even the Empire wanted to grant him a Marquis title. But Anshirad chose to remain a knight. And not just any knight, but a wandering knight.'

'What? Why?'

From Renee's perspective, she couldn't understand why someone would reject such a fortunate opportunity. Of course, she didn't have any ambitions for honor, but she wouldn't refuse if it was offered to her.

'I don't know either. You should ask him directly.'

'I was planning to do that.'

The more she looked at Cedin, the stranger he seemed. Renee deliberately ignored him and pulled Ishir closer, standing him by her side.

"Lady Marchius...?"

"You will prove it to them. That what I said is true."

There was a moment of silence at her words. But that silence was just the calm before the storm. As soon as someone broke the silence, the crowd swarmed towards Ishir like a swarm of bees.

"Your Highness, is that statement true?"

"So, Your Highness became a sword master thanks to Marchius?"

"What is that secret technique?"

"Have you seen it yourself?"

Ishir calmly dealt with each of them, smiling at them one by one. Even Renee, who was used to dealing with people, was amazed at his skill in handling them.

"Now, please stop bothering Your Highness and focus on me again. I'm not saying that I will completely hide the secret technique. I am willing to share it with a select few. However..."

She paused there, enjoying the suspense. Making eye contact with Ishir was a bonus.

"However..."

"I will only accept those who are willing to meet my conditions."

"What are those conditions?"

"The truth."

Renee spoke in a very soft voice. But even so, there was not a single person who didn't hear her words.

Truth.

Is there anything as chilling and terrifying as those words? She smiled as if she were the embodiment of truth.

"Only those who are ready to speak the truth, come to me. Then I will take responsibility and pay the price."

People hesitated, unsure whether to believe Renee's words, but they reluctantly stepped back. Amid this chaos, there was someone who didn't miss the opportunity.

"Oh my, Lady Marchius. Are you lying again?"

She approached.

Renee turned her head towards the owner of the voice.

There was someone she had been continuously observing but never showed it outwardly.

Talia Cyprus.

'She appeared in my diary five times. Mostly as someone who provokes or instigates Renee.'

She doesn't know what her intentions are, but she's quite clever. She was silently observing Talia.

"Lies lies every time she opens her mouth. Isn't that Lady Marchius? Why is everyone so easily deceived?"

Talia's words caused the people who were approaching Ishir and Renee to turn around.

Finally, they remembered Renee's actions up until now.

"Even His Highness, how could he be deceived by Lady Marchius again? But please stop deceiving us so easily."

"When did I ever lie? Talia Cyprus."

"You said you had nothing to do with the death of Lianne, but in fact, it had a significant connection. It was mentioned in the will."

It was the first time Lianne's name was mentioned at the party. The moment her name was mentioned, everyone froze.

"That's strange. I never said it didn't matter."

"...Yes?"

"I've always been like that. I am the one who sent the assassins. Don't you remember that Lady Talia of Cyprus herself relayed those words to others, right?"

Talia looked taken aback. Of course, she would be, because what she relayed was indeed true.

People looked back and forth between the two with interest.

Until now, Renee had been on the receiving end, which was not entertaining, but this time she was quite impressive.

"That was in the past, and this time, the real death has nothing to do with it...!"

"Did you hear it yourself? Did you personally hear me claim that I had nothing to do with Lianne's death?"

"...."

Of course, she didn't. Renee was immediately thrown into the underground prison after Lianne's death, so how could she have heard it?

"I'm curious. When did you hear those words? When did you hear me claim that I had nothing to do with Lianne's death?"

Of course, she must have heard it before. It must have been when Renee confessed to Lianne that it wasn't her who made numerous assassination attempts.

And she did it secretly.

"I must have been mistaken."

"No, it wasn't a mistake. Talia Cyprus is a very intelligent person, so she wouldn't have been confused about that. Right? You heard it directly. The moment I said I had nothing to do with Lianne's death."

"I made a mistake. I apologize to all of you. I must have been confused for a moment." 

Talia regained her composure and spoke firmly. She even apologized to the people around her with a cute gesture.

Even though Renee was the one who should have received the apology.

[The <Lord of Vicious Blood> is preparing the Blood-Stained Dagger.]

[The <Queen of Waves and Healing> says the boiling water is ready.]

[The <Emperor of Temptation> suggests using <Beelzebub’s Smile> to make her gain a lot of weight.]

"I'll accept your apology. Now, could you please keep your mouth shut so you don't make any more mistakes?"

[Cyril Marchius's favorability has increased by 30.]

[Cedin Anshirad's favorability has increased by 50.]

[Ishir von Lambdish's favorability has increased by 100.]

'What's with them again...?'

Why does their favorability increase every time she insults someone?

<BACK> <NEXT>