Chapter 5: “Liar! Weren’t We Supposed to Be Comrades?!”

Being reprimanded by Marquis Cecile actually calmed Viel down a little.

Now that she had time to reflect, maybe… she had gone a bit overboard.

She was the one engaged to Irene, and yet Irene shamelessly tangled herself up with those four other women—cuddling and clinging to them like they were lovers!?

Just thinking about it made her blood boil.

She didn’t really want to break off the engagement.

She just wanted to punish Irene a little, make her cry and beg for forgiveness… maybe pout with that cute face of hers and apologize.

But why wasn’t she doing it?

Why wasn’t she apologizing?

And now that the engagement was really broken off—why… why did she feel so unhappy?

“…Irene, if you just apologize properly, I can pretend none of this ever happened. You can still be the future Crown Princess…”

“No need!” Irene cut her off without hesitation.

“Your Highness shouldn’t lower herself to be with someone as morally bankrupt as me. It would only bring shame upon the kingdom’s nobility!”

She turned sharply and shouted to her maid:

“Laila, drive the carriage. We’re going home!”

Laila offered Viel a polite bow and snapped the reins.

“Wai—!”

Viel tried to say something more, but the horses neighed loudly, drowning her out.

“Fine! Go then! The kingdom won’t fall apart just because you left!”

She turned in a huff, stomping away—only to immediately slip and fall flat on her face.

When she looked down—

“…Who left a banana peel at the palace gates?!”

Ever since earlier, Viel felt like her luck was seriously tanking.

First the chandelier nearly crushed her head.

Now this?

It felt like some kind of witch’s curse had been cast on her!

“Mari, let’s go back.”

“We can’t, Your Highness! The carriage horse just choked on its feed and died!”

“???”

*****

The next morning, the skies finally cleared.

It was a crisp autumn day, the air fresh and the horizon cloudless.

Irene had finished packing her luggage.

With her personal maid and over a dozen guards in tow, she was ready to begin her journey back home.

Her mother had said it yesterday: “Go back home and cool your head.”

Which was basically a fancy way of saying: You’re exiled.

No one else from the family came to see her off.

She stood there alone—well, not entirely alone.

“Trash. Trash-sis ❤ You’re honestly hopeless, huh!”

The smug little gremlin who barely came up to Irene’s waist—arms crossed, grinning up at her as she boarded the carriage—was none other than her younger sister.

“Two and a half years as an adventurer and still an F-rank bottom-feeder. You’re seriously shameless. To think you’re from the same Raven family as me—it’s honestly disgraceful!”

The girl shook her head, sarcasm practically oozing from her every word.

“Just go live out your pathetic life in some countryside hovel. Don’t worry, little sister will take over the marquisate for you! Unlike my trash of a big sister, I won’t bring shame to the family—I’m a dual-talented prodigy, after all.”

“Aila, I’m counting on you to look after Mother for me, okay? You know she’s not great at taking care of herself. Remember to make sure she drinks warm water before bed, and her ankles get sore on rainy nights, so warm towels might help, and her medicine—”

“…Huh?”

Aila blinked, caught completely off-guard.

She stared up at her older sister, who was rattling off instructions like a seasoned housekeeper, calm and serious, completely unbothered.

You expect me to remember all that?!

Aila always thought her sister was someone with too much pride—

Even if she was publicly known as a useless loser, she always wore that confident smile.

Aila wanted her to snap back, to get angry, to shout “What do you know, brat?!”

But instead, Irene just… acknowledged it.

Admitted she was useless.

Accepted it, even.

She looked like she had given up on everything, like she was ready to flop down and rot away somewhere.

But Aila wasn’t having it.

Those so-called teammates of hers—how dare they air out all her dirty laundry the moment she left?

Didn’t they fight side-by-side for over two years?

Do they feel no shame?

Irene seemed fine. She looked like she didn’t care at all.

But Aila was furious.

That’s my sister!

Only I get to bully her.

No one else!

And more importantly—how could rumors spread this fast, overnight?

Aila was young, yes, but not stupid.

It didn’t take a genius to realize that some invisible hand was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Go ahead and go slack off in the countryside, sis.

Your genius little sister has a lot of thinking to do…

The disgrace who shamed the Raven family…

I’ll definitely find out who did this to you!

…Not that it had anything to do with you, of course, dear sister.

Aila wasn’t doing this out of concern for Irene or anything!

“Oh, right—Aila. In the drawer next to my bed, there’s a notebook I’ve been keeping all these years. It’s full of insights I gathered from all kinds of powerful people. I never really understood it myself, but… if it’s you, I think you’ll be able to make use of it.”

Irene’s voice called out one last time, her tone soft and filled with genuine care.

For some reason, it made Aila feel… a little irritated.

Why are you still worrying about me? I came here to mock you!

You really are the dumbest big sister in the world!

Annoyed, Aila waved her hand dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it already! Hurry up and go! Just look at you—nobody else from the family came to see you off except for me. Pretty obvious everyone’s in a rush to cut ties with you.”

Irene just smiled, unaffected.

“That’s fine. It’s not like I ever planned to get close to them anyway.”

With that, she turned to look at the Raven estate one final time, as though trying to etch it into her memory.

Her golden eyes lingered for a moment, then she sighed softly and let Layla take her hand, climbing into the carriage.

The maid cracked the reins.

With the whinny of horses, the carriage began its journey down the royal road toward the city gates.

*****

Inside the gently rocking carriage, Irene sat in silence.

No smile on her face.Her golden eyes shimmered not with hope, but with memory.

*****

It was ten years ago.

A summer dusk, the wind brushing past their cheeks.

Serena’s crimson hair fluttered in the breeze—its vibrant shade more brilliant than the sunset itself.

“Irene, I want to become the strongest adventurer!”

“…Oh.”

Even back then, Irene had already started to realize she was hopelessly talentless.

So her answer had been listless, lacking in energy.

But Serena turned around and smiled at her.

In the dusk-drenched world, she held out her hand.

“That’s why I need your strength, Irene! I want you to work for me—and I’ll decide which direction you walk in.”

“As long as you’re with me, I feel like I can do anything.”

“And also—”

She grinned, glowing like the sunset.

“I don’t know why… but whenever I’m with you, good things just seem to happen!”

As Irene gazed back on those memories, she couldn’t help biting her lower lip.

So in the end, all those promises… all those vows… they were lies, weren’t they?

Back then, she had fought—not for herself—but for Serena’s dream.

And reality?

Reality had cruelly proven that even “friendship” could rot away.

Lies. You said we were companions.

I believed you. I even tried to step away, thinking I was helping you all.

But you… you all hated me.

They probably wanted to kick her out of the team long ago.

That so-called “please don’t go!” at the tavern?

A show—nothing more.

Just for the reputation of an S-rank party.

The more she thought about it, the more the bitterness welled up inside her.

Slowly, a fire of resentment sparked in her chest… and it was spreading.

I did everything I could for them. I have a clear conscience.

Just then, the carriage jerked slightly, pulling Irene out of her thoughts.

She was about to ask what happened when Layla lifted the carriage curtain and stepped in with a bow.

“A large merchant caravan just passed through ahead,” she reported.

Irene didn’t think much of it.

“Tell them to keep going,” she said, sitting back down.

She leaned her head against the cushioned wall and let herself sink again into silence.

*****

At the rear of the road, not far from the trail, a figure in a violet robe stood quietly among the trees.

It was Helga.

Her pale purple eyes shimmered with emotion as she watched Irene’s carriage grow smaller and smaller in the distance.

She had come to see Irene…but hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her face.