Leon's POV
We returned to the party hall to find the atmosphere thick with a strange tension.
The nobles retreated to the edges of the room, making way for the fuss unfolding in the middle of the floor.
"What in the world is going on?" I asked Olivia.
"At first it was just a light argument, but…" Marie cowered in the center of everything, surrounded by the five love interests. A new blond-haired, blue-eyed elf servant was also by her side. Well, well. So game-mechanic Kyle finally showed up.
Angelica stood in front of all of them, her voice trembling with anguish.
"Why won't you listen to me?! I… Everything I've done has been for the prince!"
The prince stared back at her coldly. "I can't bear to listen to your excuses. It's that simple."
"Wait! You know exactly what kind of person that girl is. Why are you so accepting of her?!"
Olivia whispered to me. "Um, Miss Angelica saw Marie kissing a boy who wasn't the prince, and she got angry. Then the prince told her it wasn't worth getting upset over."
So he had no problem with Marie getting handsy with other men? What an open-minded prince. I'd never be comfortable with that.
Marie, still in her school uniform, hid behind the prince's back. She played the defenseless victim well; no doubt, it made the men surrounding her want to protect her. Angelica, on the other hand, shone brilliantly in her gorgeous red dress and flawless makeup.
The two stood in stark contrast. While Marie had five high-born men and a handsome slave standing in her corner, Angelica had no one.
Brad stepped forward. "It's pathetic seeing the daughter of Redgrave House reduced to this. Look around you. Not a single person here approves of your behavior."
Angelica scanned the hall. Her followers, who had happily reaped the benefits of aligning with her up until this point, wouldn't look her way. But while her former entourage eschewed open hostility, other students, who disliked Angelica, grinned triumphantly.
"Do you even know what that woman has done?" Angelica asked angrily.
"It's not just one of you. She's—" "We already know," said Chris Fia Arclight, the boy with light-blue hair.
Angelica gaped. "What?!"
Marie trembled as if in fear when Chris glanced back and smiled at her.
Normally pleased to be the solemn, sword-wielding type, he rarely showed such emotion. The ladies standing on the sidelines blushed.
It's his looks, isn't it? It's gotta be his looks. Yep, it's definitely his looks.
"Marie saved me," Chris said. "She listened to all my worries. And now, I want to protect her."
It took some crazy self-confidence to blurt out that confession in front of half the student body. I had to respect him for that.
"Stop beating around the bush," Greg chided. "Be frank and say you like her."
Jilk put a hand over his mouth to hide a grin. "You have a point. Marie is an incredible woman. Though, I think I am the one who loves her the most."
Speechless, Angelica stared at His Highness.
Prince Julius had a sullen look. "No matter how close we are, Jilk, that's uncalled for. I'm the one who loves Marie the most."
The girls in the crowd squealed in unison, shrieks ringing off the walls.
"Did you hear that?!"
"I want one of them to say that to me!"
"I'm so jealous! I probably don't feel as bad as the duke's daughter looks, though."
They snickered, but if you looked closely you would notice, that only the daughters of Counts and bellow laughed, But the upper echelon, Nobels knew what kind of mess this was.
The Prince betraying the Daughter of his strongest supporter in the race for the crown,
The Sons of Houses which should lead the Kingdom in the future acting like Idiots, yeah it was a real shit show for those who knew what to look for.
Angelica's eyes fell to the floor as she fisted her hands. "Am I to understand you won't be ending this little farce once we graduate, then?"
The prince looked away. "There's no one else like her in the world. I didn't hate you before we enrolled, Angelica, but I won't go easy on you if you try to hurt Marie."
Scornful feminine laughter echoed in every corner of the hall.
"Did you hear that? It's all over for you now, Miss High-and-Mighty."
"That means their engagement is basically over, right?"
"I always hated her, to be honest."
"Is this how a girl feels when she sees a harem?" I wondered aloud. "I think I'm in physical pain."
"Is something wrong, Leon?" Olivia asked, cocking her head to the side.
Daniel and Raymond stared at the fallen duke's daughter in shock.
"Uh, is anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah…" Raymond agreed. "She looks like she's about to commit murder."
I thought Angelica mostly looked resigned, as if she'd completely given up. The light that had once burned brightly in her eyes had extinguished and darkness crept in to take its place.
But suddenly, she flung out her hand, tossing something at Marie.
"Huh?" Marie stared, dumbfounded, as the object softly smacked against her, then plopped to the ground.
A white glove