In the throne hall, Duanmu Huai stood with his arms crossed, watching the drama before him with great interest.
After hearing from Anne about what had happened at the banquet, His Majesty the King was, unsurprisingly, furious. He immediately convened a meeting, summoning everyone involved to question them about the situation.
Even in front of the King, those noble youths still swore up and down that everything was Miss Odelle's fault—that she despised Angela and had secretly ordered people to harm her, blah blah blah… Of course, just like when Duanmu Huai had questioned them, they couldn't produce a shred of evidence to support their claims.
As for the fathers and elder brothers of those noble youths, they were also furious. They knew this wasn't some childish quarrel. Their sons had conspired together to publicly destroy an engagement, and then, without proof, slandered the daughter of a Count. How would that look in the King's eyes? Wouldn't it make him suspect these brats were secretly plotting rebellion?
On the other side, Count Hashar wept bitterly as he begged the King for justice. Whatever the truth was, since Yard Urich had publicly declared the annulment, the engagement was void. Which meant that Miss Odelle could no longer be married at all…
Although the King was livid, he still calmed himself and began investigating and questioning carefully.
The heart of the matter was whether Miss Odelle had truly bullied Miss Angela.
The noble youths insisted they had seen and heard it with their own eyes and ears. They swore Miss Odelle had bullied Angela. They had no proof, but they declared they were absolutely not lying.
Miss Odelle testified that she had indeed spoken to Angela. After all, Angela was getting close to her fiancé. As the fiancée, it was natural for Odelle to ask her to show some restraint. But as for the bullying Angela accused her of—Odelle firmly denied ever doing such things.
Then came the testimony of Hannah, President of the Manaria Student Council. She confirmed that Odelle and Angela had quarreled in the academy, but these were harmless arguments. The Student Council had even mediated a few times. As for bullying, let alone attempted murder… they had never heard of it.
Thus the matter reached a bizarre stalemate.
What could be confirmed was that Odelle and Angela had indeed clashed. But on the question of bullying, the two sides' accounts were utterly opposed. Odelle swore she had never bullied Angela, and Hannah testified that the Student Council had received no reports of bullying.
But according to the noble youths, Angela was always bullied in secluded places where no one else could see—yet somehow, every time, they had "just happened" to witness it…
Heh, that was suspicious. With so many students at Manaria Academy, how was it always them who stumbled across these incidents?
As for why they hadn't reported it to the Student Council, the youths claimed that Angela had tearfully begged them not to make a fuss, saying that since they were all classmates, it would be wrong. She insisted it was just a small grievance of her own, nothing worth troubling others with.
Hmph, that reminds me of those melodramatic TV drama heroines, Duanmu Huai thought. Always crying, refusing to fight back, sighing about how it's their fate, until "true love" comes along…
Speaking of true love, Yard Urich was outrageous.
Even in the throne hall, he loudly proclaimed that he and Angela were true love, that he would never love anyone but her, and so on and so forth. His father was so enraged he slapped him several times in front of everyone, leaving the idiot's face swollen.
Anne and Guleya were at a loss for words. In this world, an engagement wasn't legally binding. It was more like a declaration of intent, a way for two families to express goodwill and give the young couple a chance to get to know each other.
If they got along, there would be a formal betrothal, then marriage.
If they couldn't get along, they could request to annul the engagement. Simply put, it was like two people realizing their relationship didn't work out and breaking up.
But to publicly break off an engagement at the engagement banquet itself—that was a blatant slap in the face. Such a move could only be born of hatred.
Duanmu Huai merely stood by, watching coldly, as if enjoying a live soap opera.
Fools.
Hearing Yard Urich preach about "true love," Duanmu Huai sneered. True love? Nonsense. If he weren't the son of a Duke, if he weren't handsome, would Angela care about him?
It was like those romance novels women adored—where the dashing hero was surrounded by beauties but somehow fell for an ugly duckling.
Wake up. That was all fantasy. A three-hundred-pound slob shouldn't expect some handsome guy to fall for her.
Likewise, a shut-in loser shouldn't fantasize about a fairy descending from heaven to marry him.
Read enough stories, and you start mistaking them for reality.
An ordinary man with no money or power dreaming of a noble lady falling for his "gentle heart."
An ordinary woman with no looks or pride fantasizing that a prince would fall for her because she was "different and interesting."
Strip away the illusions, and men and women were the same.
"What do you think?"
The King, weary from the noise, turned to Duanmu Huai. Duanmu Huai thought for a moment but didn't answer.
At that moment, a guard stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, Miss Lorena of the Holy Church and her companions have arrived."
"Let them in."
Soon, Duanmu Huai saw Lorena enter the hall, led by Olgis. And with her came someone he hadn't expected.
A young girl with short, light-brown hair and a pair of pure white wings on her back. Yes—if Duanmu Huai remembered right, she was the angel who had destroyed the demon attempting to summon the Lord of the Frozen Abyss in the Holy City. He had even exchanged a few words with her.
"This is Sahariel, Angel of Clear Skies, one of the Seven Archangels," Lorena introduced respectfully.
"When I received Miss Olgis's invitation, she was at the church, so I asked her to accompany me."
"That works well enough."
Hearing Lorena's introduction, Duanmu Huai relaxed. After he had broken the time loop in the Holy City, the world of Heaven was reconnected with it. So it wasn't strange for angels to come down again.
Besides, angels were mortal enemies of demons. If that woman truly had a problem, this angel would surely see it.
He gestured for Lorena and Sahariel to stand aside, then looked back at the hall. The quarrel was still raging. Suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Something doesn't add up."
"Hm? What is it, Sir Knight?" Anne asked curiously.
Duanmu Huai nodded and stepped forward.
"May I ask a few questions?"
Everyone fell silent. Even the King turned toward him.
"What do you wish to say?"
"Simply that something seems off about their accusations."
Duanmu Huai looked at the noble youths. They flinched under his gaze but quickly straightened, glaring back with hostility. To them, Duanmu Huai was the villain who had cast Angela into prison—their enemy.
"As I hear it, your claim is that Miss Odelle bullied Miss Angela because she couldn't stand her. And the reason… was that Angela was only a commoner."
Here Duanmu Huai frowned.
"But how do you know that was the reason? Wouldn't it make more sense that she was jealous of another girl getting too close to her fiancé? Did Miss Odelle ever once say anything like, 'a commoner like you can never reach so high'?"
"I—I never said such a thing!"
Odelle shook her head firmly, and Hannah vouched for her.
"Correct. Miss Odelle never expressed disdain for commoner students."
"Then it is strange indeed."
Duanmu Huai rubbed his chin, narrowing his eyes at them.
"If that's the case, why are you so insistent that Odelle looked down on Angela because she was a commoner? Are you worms living in Odelle's stomach, able to read her thoughts?"
"This…"
The youths faltered. But soon one of them stepped forward.
"Miss Angela told us herself. She said she knew her lowly status meant she shouldn't be so close to Yard…"
"Oh? So if her status weren't lowly, she'd be justified in stealing someone else's fiancé?"
"Uh…"
As expected. That woman was the problem.
Duanmu Huai sneered. From the start, something had felt wrong. And the moment they insisted Odelle hated Angela because she was a commoner, the flaw had shown.
It was simple. Manaria Academy had plenty of commoners, more than nobles, in fact. Yes, some nobles might look down on them, but to seize on this reason in particular was suspicious.
Wouldn't it be more natural to say Odelle was simply jealous, unable to tolerate another girl near her fiancé?
It was like blaming a lovers' quarrel on the social system—suspicious indeed.
Think about it. Yard had humiliated Odelle in public by breaking off their engagement. Word would spread quickly through the academy. And if people believed it was because Odelle despised commoners, what would the students think?
With that thought, Duanmu Huai made up his mind. He turned to the King.
"It seems we must summon Miss Angela here and speak with her directly."
Not long after, Angela was brought to the hall by guards. Perhaps because of her imprisonment, she looked pale and frail, as though she might collapse at any moment. Seeing her, the noble youths grew restless again—only to be silenced by their families.
"You are Angela Kelt?"
The King's question made the girl lift her head. She truly looked delicate and lovely, with fragile features and enchanting eyes. She had the appearance of a girl one would want to hold and protect. No wonder the noble youths thought she was the wronged party.
"I'll ask you directly."
Even the King's gaze softened as he looked at Angela.
"Are you in an intimate relationship with Yard Urich? Have you been romantically involved with him?"
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty."
Angela lowered her head, eyes sorrowful, but her voice flowed gently from her cherry-blossom lips.
"Lord Yard has taken good care of me in the academy, but I know my place. I would never have such presumptuous thoughts. Though I cannot say I have no fondness for him, I have never once considered destroying his engagement."
Her voice rang through the hall like a mountain spring, pure and refreshing, flowing straight into people's minds. Everyone found themselves captivated by her words. Even nobles who had moments ago been hostile now softened toward her.
Not right!
A chill ran down Duanmu Huai's back. He instantly realized the problem.
Just a few words, and she had turned the entire atmosphere in her favor. That was no normal ability!
This woman was not what she seemed!
At that very moment, Duanmu Huai saw Sahariel staring at Angela, her eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, utterly unmoved. Then the angel raised her hand. In the next instant, an arrow of light formed and shot straight toward Angela!
(End of Chapter)