Chapter 195: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (59)
Chapter 195: Dragon's Eye, Human Heart (59)
Cien’s mind went blank at the Saintess’s provocation.
No words came to her. Fragments of thought drifted aimlessly, failing to form a coherent sentence.
In truth, Cien inwardly agreed with the Saintess’s point. No matter how much her desire to see Ian took precedence, Cien still possessed a sense of shame.
Was that not why she bowed her head every time she arrived at the temple?
She had no right to monopolize Ian. No, far from a right, she didn’t even have the qualification.
After all, the very reason Ian had been hurt was the Princess herself.
Realizing this once more, the Princess’s pale gray eyes shook violently. Her vertically slit pupils were forcing the emotions of others into her mind against her will.
It felt as if red-hot skewers were piercing her optic nerves.
It was the first time in her life she had felt such fierce hostility and hatred.
Cien couldn't even properly grasp the source of that rage. She could only gasp for air, barely managing to let out a ragged breath as her throat tightened.
The wrath of a woman who had nearly lost the man she loved was that terrifying and intense.
Those burning light-pink eyes held a color so vivid it felt almost provocative. The Saintess’s lips spat out her emotions once more.
“To be honest, I don’t like you constantly visiting. Of course, you’d feel grateful and sorry. But you see, there are plenty of people out there besides you who feel grateful and sorry to Ian, aren't there?”
Her voice was sharply edged, a stark contrast to the refreshing smile she wore. The timid Cien could only stammer again, unable to offer a proper response.
Tears welled in her eyes; she felt as if she might burst into sobs at any moment.
But she endured it.
Cien was the one in the wrong, so she had to make an excuse or beg for forgiveness somehow.
It was a spinal reflex of a judgment, one that could almost be called an obsession.
“Th-that… I, I mean… there’s a bit of a m-misunderstanding…….”
“……Misunderstanding?”
With a scoff, the Saintess finally let the hand that had been brushing back her bangs drop.
Her silver hair cascaded down, showcasing her unrealistic beauty. It was a celestial sight that would normally draw gasps of admiration, but Cien could not stop her body from trembling.
The Saintess’s mouth was smiling, but her eyes were utterly cold.
That exquisite contrast tightened the noose around Cien’s neck.
The surging waves of emotion suffocated Cien like a thick, heavy liquid.
“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, misunderstanding… I like that. Wonderful.”
As the Saintess took a step closer, Cien let out a small hiccup and took a step back.
Eventually, unable to hold back any longer, dew began to gather in her eyes. Of course, for the Saintess, whose thread of reason had already snapped, any shred of mercy had long since vanished.
“Even after hurting his family on top of Ian, all you have to do is say ‘misunderstanding’ and that’s it? And now you’re acting as if nothing happened, nursing Ian with such devotion and playing the part of a lover?”
Cien shook her head in shock at the Saintess’s icy voice. A few tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't have the mental capacity to care.
It felt like such an absurd thing to hear.
The lover of Sir Ian—it was something she had never even dared to imagine.
How could she harbor such feelings after committing so many wrongs? Cien hurriedly pieced together a desperate excuse.
“N-no…! H-how could I ever dare to…….”
“Then why do your eyes look like that?”
Her words were cut short, and Cien stared blankly at the Saintess.
What’s wrong with my eyes?
The Saintess let out a long, annoyed sigh, making her irritation crystal clear. She pressed a hand to her forehead.
“You. You’ve been staring at Ian every day with the face of a girl who’s fallen for a dashing knight. Anyone can see you have the face of a female in heat.”
“……A-a female?!”
It was a vulgar expression she had never heard in her short life. Cien’s eyes widened, and her slender hands flew up to cover her mouth.
Regardless, the Saintess merely twirled a lock of her hair with her index finger, looking indifferent.
“Yes, a female… Well, the Princess is at that age, so I suppose I understand.”
“I-it’s not like that!”
Cien shouted with a face flushed bright red, but the Saintess continued to ignore her as she had been doing.
Instead, the corners of her mouth twisted upward.
“Ian is off-limits. You know that, don't you?”
As the atmosphere turned frigid once more, Cien’s momentum withered, and she faltered. Her pale gray eyes, darting around nervously, were still moist with tears.
Before she knew it, the Saintess had taken another step, and the distance between the Princess and the Saintess was now mere inches.
They were close enough that the Saintess’s whisper could soak into the Princess’s eardrums.
“……Because you aren’t a princess. You’re a bad dragon.”
It was a single sentence that instantly froze Cien’s trembling heart.
With those final words, the Saintess slowly backed away, distancing herself from Cien. She stared at Cien with a look of distaste for a moment longer before turning her gaze back to Ian.
It was the polar opposite of the look she had given Cien.
Seeing those light-pink eyes swirling with affection, worry, and pity, the Princess fell silent.
She understood instinctively.
That was the look she had been talking about—the ‘face of a female.’
Cien didn't even have the right to look at Ian with eyes like those.
She had thought she was content until now, but at that thought, her chest tightened so painfully that the Princess pressed a fist against her heart.
It was painful and agonizing.
It was then that the Saintess’s mouth spat out an order to leave.
“Get out.”
The Saintess didn't even look at the Princess as she spoke. She was merely looking down at Ian with a yearning expression, as if swimming through frozen time.
Cien grew anxious at that firm tone.
“I… b-but, just for a moment…….”
“Get out.”
In the end, a dejected Cien had to turn around and falteringly walk away. Then, the Saintess’s voice pierced her ears once more.
“And don’t come back. To be honest, you’re in the way.”
Cien’s footsteps came to a dead stop at that low warning.
She turned back, looking frantic. With a voice that sounded desperate, she protested through her tears. For someone like Cien, this required immense resolve.
There was so much she wanted to say.
Outside, there were only people who hated her now. Every time she faced their emotions, Cien was wounded, and the scars from her childhood deepened.
But she could endure it somehow.
Because Cien had found the ‘real’ thing she had longed for so much. As long as she could see Ian, nothing else mattered; she would smile even if her heart was dripping blood.
But now, they were trying to take away the last ‘real’ thing Cien had left.
It wouldn't have been strange for her to raise her voice and argue. That was how terrifying the fear Cien felt was. A rage like a death rattle from her soul surged up her throat.
If even Ian was gone, she would crumble.
Just as she had in her childhood.
It was a sort of survival instinct. Cien held that determined gaze until she met the Saintess’s eyes as she looked down at Ian.
And her breath stopped.
In the Saintess’s eyes as she looked down at Ian, there was a faint shimmer of moisture. Cien had never once heard that the Saintess had cried.
She was such a strong and benevolent woman.
Only then did the words the Saintess had spoken pierce her heart like daggers, one by one.
I don’t even have the qualification. Right.
I don’t even have the right to do that.
Strength drained from her body, yet Cien, unable to bring herself to give up on Ian, wept, her tears falling in heavy drops.
In the end, the only protest that escaped her lips was a faint sob.
“B-but…….”
There was no answer to her sobbing.
The world was not Cien’s nanny. There were no problems that could be solved by crying. Realizing that fact once again, the Princess had to turn away weakly.
Only bleak despair could be felt in her heavy, trudging footsteps.
After Cien left, the Saintess leaned against the bed as if collapsing.
She placed a hand on her forehead. Between her lips, regret flowed out along with a heated breath.
“……I shouldn't have done that.”
First love drives a woman mad.
There were no exceptions to that truth.
The clear sky had turned a gloomy shade before anyone noticed.
The pitter-patter of falling rain added a background track to the somber scenery. The sunlight, hidden by dark clouds, could barely penetrate, blurring the boundary between day and night.
A melancholy shadow fell over Cien’s pale gray eyes as she left the temple.
Weather has a profound effect on human emotions. At the very least, it was enough to plunge the already miserable girl’s mood into the abyss.
Cien opened the luxurious umbrella her attendant had prepared in advance. The navy-blue umbrella, embroidered with gold thread, looked at a glance like something only the high-born would use.
Of course, Cien felt no sense of incongruity as she opened it.
It was a privilege she had enjoyed as a matter of course since the day she was born.
As a member of the Imperial family, she had received countless benefits like the very air she breathed. There was no reason to make a fuss over a single umbrella now.
And so, Cien stepped forward without a thought.
Her footsteps on the rain-soaked stairs made splashing sounds, and the area in front of the temple was deserted due to the downpour.
It was a relief, actually.
She had no desire to show such a dejected appearance to anyone. The Princess sighed deeply in spite of herself, wiping the moisture from her eyes.
It was then that the two girls encountered each other.
A rain-soaked pointed hat caught her eye.
Despite the heavy rain pouring down, a woman stood there without even an umbrella.
The pointed hat, unable to withstand the moisture, was already drooping, and raindrops dripped from the clothes covering her small frame.
She was a girl with a lovely, doll-like appearance.
Her blue eyes, which complemented her brown hair, were staring blankly at the ground. Her complexion alone was enough to convey her depressed state of mind.
Cien couldn't help but pause for a moment upon seeing the girl.
Her identity was easy to guess. She was one of the geniuses produced by the Lainella family, a figure so famous that no one among the Academy’s fourth-year students didn't know her.
Elsie Lainella.
She had heard rumors that Elsie and Ian shared a special bond. As if to prove those rumors, Elsie had been standing in front of the temple every single day since Ian was hospitalized, waiting for him.
Even on a day like today, with the rain pouring down.
Cien hesitated, unsure of what to say, before lowering her head and quickening her pace.
She had realized that no matter what she said, it wouldn't be a comfort.
Elsie’s emotions were reflected clearly in those pale gray eyes. Cien could only remain silent in the face of the flickering despair and depression.
If asked whose fault it was, she didn't have the confidence to give a proper answer.
So, Cien tried to move past Elsie, ignoring her.
That would have been the case, if not for the small voice that rang in her ears as she passed the girl.
“……Must be nice for you?”
Cien’s footsteps came to a halt once again.
She slowly turned her gaze, looking a bit surprised. Beside her stood Elsie, glaring at Cien with eyes as cold as the chill of the raindrops.
“I said, it must be nice. Selfishly causing trouble… selfishly being saved, and now selfishly visiting him in the hospital.”
At that vivid hostility, Cien opened and closed her mouth.
If it were the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, she could understand, as they were of similar rank. But the Lainella family was a member of the Imperial nobility; she hadn't expected her to show such blatant hostility toward a member of the Imperial family.
And above all, those deep blue eyes staring at Cien.
The sight of the girl trembling, her fists clenched and teeth gritted, gave off a chilling aura in itself. Cien could only look miserable once more.
Inside the temple, outside the temple, no matter where she went.
She was surrounded by nothing but enemies.