Jimi de Medatanai Watashi wa, Kyou de Owari ni Shimasu!! Chapter 1:
"The Academy's Anniversary Party is also the Place of Judgement"
[Part 2]
"Miss Elaine always waited for the moment when there was no one else around to make fun of me, saying that I should transfer to a school that was up to my standards, that I was a nuisance and that I should leave the academy because of it. Once, I accidentally dropped Miss Elaine's ink and she ordered me to clean up the spilled ink with my dress; I was so frightened that I did what she asked, and she has not stopped spilling her ink on my skirt on purpose ever since. There was a time when, after a rainy day, she ordered me to wipe the muddy floor with my dress, so I had no choice but to drag my hands and knees across the muddy floor while making sure I wiped the floor perfectly. The worst thing she did to me was when she sent someone to attack me the day I wore that new dress that Frederick has given to me after seeing how dirty my clothes were because of her. That time Evan was with me, so he helped me a lot, but I was really scared..."
At first glance, anyone who saw how her body trembled while she recounted all those events could certainly feel sorry for her. But everything she was saying, was all just lies.
It was the other girls who mentioned those acts, but it was I who made sure they did nothing of the sort. Besides, those things were never mentioned when she was present; we always talked about the subject when she was out visiting his Highness the prince. Perhaps, someone else heard about it and told her directly.
To some degree, it's true that I can perfectly understand why the other high society girls used to say all those things behind her back. Because in the first place, besides the fact that she was originally a commoner, no one could accept that she entered the academy without first taking an entrance exam; that is also the reason as to why she was not able to keep up with the other nobles' lessons.
I would never say it out loud, but personally speaking, if I were to enter a school and was not able to keep up with the current course, I would prefer a thousand times then to leave and take a course that suits my knowledge. It was almost as if an elementary school student was forced to take a high school course out of nowhere. An ordinary citizen only learns to read, write, add, and subtract; that would be a freshman course. And, if one wanted to study beyond that, you had to pay expensive tuition.
The children of wealthy merchants often attend this kind of advanced classes. But children like Sandra who needed to work to live, often go straight into the world and become adults at an early age.
And as for the ink incident, something completely different happened. I'm sure there were even more people in the classroom when that happened. At this rate, people will stop believing my words even if I'm the one telling the truth. At this rate, they would never want to talk to me again. This was beginning to look like a confrontation with royalty itself, and nothing good can come out of something like this.
The rest of my friends, except for the same ladies who moments ago were defending me, turned to me with eyes full of disdain, their frown more pronounced showing their disgust for me.
The boy named Evan she mentioned was the second son of the captain that lead a group of elite knights; a group of royal knights named Findlay Squadron. Both his father and my father have been great friends ever since their days at the academy.
Before my engagement to his Highness the Prince was made official, Evan was to be the man I was to marry; although that too, only remained as a spoken agreement between our parents. From a very young age, we were aware of such an agreement, thus making out love blossom little by little from our youth. Evan is an amazing kid with a promising future because, like his father, he wished to become a great Knight. Being childhood friends, we always got along well; or we did until Sandra transferred to our school. Without realizing it, there came a point in our relationship when he began to hate me, even loathing the fact of having to talk to me. I don't know the exact reason as to why things turned out like this, but now he hates me. And even though we had known each other for a long time, I'm disappointed to see how much he's changed because of the woman he fell in love with.
"I don't know who you heard all that from, but I never said anything of the sort. I also don't remember asking you to wipe the ink from the floor with your dress. Even you're aware of that, aren't you, Miss Sandra? I promised I'd never say anything about that incident so you'd keep your honor, and I plan to keep that promise, but it's no good to lie. I'd also like to add, and this I swear to God, but I've never sent a ruffian or anyone else to harm you. Lor Evan is the one who is always by your side taking care of you instead of your bodyguard, right? Then he will know if what you say is a lie or not. Lord Evan, what the lady says, is it the truth? You are the one who will become a great Knight in the future, so I trust that what you will say will be nothing but the truth."
I looked at Even as I tried to get back to my feet; I couldn't afford to sit on the floor in an unfashionable way forever. It was at that moment that I realized that, the moment I was pushed to the floor, I twisted my ankle, making the act of standing painful.
Sandra held Evan's sleeve a little roughly, giving him a tearful look that could easily charm and make a man show that protective side of his. When I thought that he would just come at me with strong steps, from one moment to the next, he held me by the hair, and with the same strength, he pushed me back down again. And while doing so, Evan swore out loud.
Unable to avoid it, an expression that showed the pain I was feeling at my ankle was more that reflected on my face, causing me to collapse completely on the ground, not being able to bear the pain. To protect my ankle, I ended up falling into a somewhat awkward position; at the suddenness of the movement I could hardly put a hand in between to hold myself up, but that didn't help much since my knees received the direct blow, the sensation of it rumbling even to my ankles. The pain was so much that I just wanted to scream, but there were so many people around me that all I could do was grit my teeth hard enough to bear it.
Because he was holding down my head, my previously well-groomed hair was now a mess. It fell right in front of my face, and while I found the situation more than frustrating, I was grateful that my hair covered my face so that, at the very least, the other people would not be able to see my face writhing in pain.
"It's true that you sent someone to hurt her! And you did so twice! The first time, that person was smart enough to get away from me. But the second time I was able to catch him and when I questioned him, he confessed that it was you who asked them to do it. In one of his pockets, I found a note with your handwriting that had instructions and advance payment for him to commit such a misdeed. You act like an ordinary person and pretend to act honorably, but in the shadows, you are a horrible, cowardly woman who is capable of sending other men to harm a frail woman! We might be childhood friends, but your actions have completely disappointed me! I was not there to witness the scene were you throw ink on her dress, but I saw the stained garment. And also, I have encountered several times Sandra crawling on the muddy floor while cleaning it with her dress while crying. I heard her tell all about it to his highness the prince with tears on her face that it was you who ordered her to do so. If you were so bothered by the fact she spent time with his highness, you should have told him directly instead of going against her!"
The way Evan was saying all these things made me think he wasn't lying. But if all that was true and Sandra went through all of it, then that means the real culprit is still out there.
Do you really think I would be capable of doing such a horrible thing?
"I didn't do anything. I don't even know what you're talking about... What do you even want me to do...?"
"Tell us the truth. It was also you who released the men I caught, wasn't it? Sandra says she saw you untie the ropes that had him tied up and ran out of the room while I was out calling the guards. You don't have an excuse anymore."
This was the first time in a long time that Evan had a cold look on his face. Normally he never showed his feelings when he was in front of a large group of people, but now all one could see reflected on those cold eyes was all the anger he felt towards me. No matter how much I say otherwise, my words will not reach him. It made me so sad, that now I just wanted to cry.
"What are you talking about...? When did that happen? I can even prove that I had nothing to do with it. If you could just tell me exactly when that happened, then I..."
Prince Frederick, hearing my words, suddenly took the cup that Aaron held in his hands and in an act of anger, threw it in my direction.
"How stubborn you are! The evidence was left in the room, and it was Sandra who said she saw you running away with those ruffians!"
Most of the drink contained in the cup fell to the ground; but as Evan was in front of me, the cup hit him first on the back and then fell against me. The moment it hit my shoulder it broke, the little wine left in it leaving red spots both on my chest and the skirt of my dress.
For a small fraction of a second, Evan's gaze changed and he showed a worried expression; a somewhat fearful one. But the moment our eyes met again, the grip of his hand increased and pushed my head even more against the ground, wanting to prevent our eyes from meeting ever again.
Evan, didn't you hear anything I said? I never thought you'd be able to do something like this to me. No matter how many times I say I don't remember doing anything they say, no one seems to have any intention of believing my words. And the fact that even my words were not able to reach my best friend, made me fall into a deep sense of despair.
Maybe this is what they mean when they say that everything gets dark in front of your eyes. Despite being someone I considered my best friend, I am surprised that you are able to believe that I could commit such a cruel crime. The you, who has a great sense of justice and always seeks to be there to protect others.
In the end, I'm the one who became the typical young villainess from the stories who always seeks to torment the heroine? In your eyes, is that the way my current appearance looks like?
Using your strength to hold a young maiden to the ground... That's an act that goes against the Knights etiquette, isn't it?
[End of Chapter 1]
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Translator Note:
Hello there, how's everyone doing?
If you've reach until this point, then thank you! I'm still new about novels translation, so please bear with me a little bit. I'm working both the Spanish version and English version of this novel, so uhm, I'm sorry if the English version ends up being like a literal translation of the Spanish one. I'll try to improve my grammar a little bit more (and if someone wishes to help me out, then please ;w;).
Thank you so much for giving this story a chance. There are a lot of chapters left, so let's give our best!!
Best regards,
xxZeiNxx
That Evan guy seriously pissed me off. I want to punch him so badly 😡
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