78. Do you Hate Vince?
“Eh? The one who gave me this amulet wasn’t Nigel?”
Upon returning to the royal castle, I was told that shocking fact by Nigel.
“Yes.”
“Then, who…”
“It was Vince.”
Vince—Vincent.
I picked up the amulet around my neck and saw the ‘passing prayer’ in the crystal again.
“When I saw you exhausted and asleep in the library…”
While I was confused, Nigel continued to talk to me.
“I was going to wake you at first, but I couldn’t because of how deeply you were sleeping. Thus, I prepared a blanket. When I was about to return to the library, Vince handed me that.”
“Why would Vincent do that?”
“Who knows. It might have been because he was in good mood. This is what Vince said back then: ‘Give this to that girl. This amulet won’t make her pass the exam, but it should cheer her up.’ I asked him why, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
“He said such a thing…?”
After reading that letter, I had concluded that the amulet had been given to me by Nigel.
But who would’ve expected that Vincent…
“Hey, Eliane, do you hate Vince?”
“Eh?”
I, hate Vincent?
How do I say this?
I thought he was a cynical person. However, for some reason, I couldn’t hate him. He did intimidate me, though.
Did Nigel conclude something when he saw me freeze?
“As I said, he has always been misunderstood. At a glance, he has a rude personality. Because of that, he made a lot of enemies back in the academy. However…”
Nigel continued speaking with nostalgic feelings.
“He’s actually a gentle person. As a proof, slowly, all my friends began to like Vince. In the end, he made more friends than I did. Although, he was indeed ruthless to those he considered his enemy. But I don’t think he see you as such, Eliane.”
“He has a lot of friends? I’m sorry, but that’s hard to imagine.”
“That’s what everyone always says.”
Nigel chuckled.
I thought he was a sarcastic and vile person.
But what if I was judging the book by its cover?
Maybe Vincent meant to give me some advice. However, his bluntness caused the ‘advice’ to come out like that.
My aversion towards him was reversed.
“Nigel.”
The moment I said his name, did Nigel understand?
“Yes. Vince is about to leave the castle. If you wait too long, he might disappear.”
“Oh, thank you! I, I have something to say to him!”
I rushed to the gate without waiting for a reply from Nigel.
***
“Lord Vincent!”
I found Vincent at the castle gate and instantly called his name.
He slowly turned towards me.
“What is it?”
Vincent stared at me.
His servant also looked at me dubiously.
I rushed there without realizing. Therefore, the moment I saw Vincent’s face, I paled.
‘Duke of Ice.’
A person who had a ruthless personality and kept others at bay.
However.
“The amulet…! Thank you!”
I raised the amulet.
A person with a personality that cold wouldn’t gave given me such an amulet!
I mustered my courage and thanked him. Vincent looked surprised for a moment.
“…I see. You came all the way here to say that? Well, no problem. Was the amulet useful, even if just a bit?”
“Yes! Thanks to this, I was able to calm down and concentrate on the exam!”
“Then that’s good.”
With that said, Vincent approached me—
—and subsequently put his hand on my head.
Huh?
I stayed still. I accepted Vincent’s hand without resistance.
“It seems that you’ve misunderstood me, but I’m rooting for you and Nigel. However, I’m sure there will be some hardships going forward. Good luck.” Said Vincent.
His words were soft and warm.
The impression I had of him—in which he was cold and ruthless—thawed.
“Yes…! I’ll be a woman recognized by everyone!”
“Fuu. That’s the spirit.”
Vincent slowly retracted his hand.
At that moment, I saw it—
—the corners of his lips were slightly raised.
“Vince…”
Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw Nigel.
Apparently, he had chased after me.
“Do your best. After all, your territory is facing many crises.”
“Who are you to tell me that? Even if you didn’t say it, I would still show you how much I can develop my territory.”
“Well said.”
Finally, Vincent turned his back to us and went out the gate.
I stood rooted in place until I could no longer see his back.
“Eliane.”
Nigel put his hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll ask you again—does Eliane hate Vince?”
“No. I wasn’t good at dealing with him at first, but I don’t think he’s a bad person.”
Especially after that exchange we just had.
My impression of him changed a lot. I thought he had a cold personality, but on the contrary, he seemed to have a kind and warm personality.
Nevertheless…
“I don’t understand why he’s called the ‘Duke of Ice.’”
“In a sense, it may be a Vince-like nickname—as in, one easily misunderstood by people.”
I couldn’t disagree with Nigel.
***T/N: ISTG Eliane and Vincent had better development (not saying that it’s good tho) than Eliane x Nigel and that’s saying something…
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I think it would have been better if the engagement didn’t happen that fast. Just so we can retain the mystery of the ML xD. With all handsome guys appearing left and right that is. But what to do… Nigel seems to be the type who knows what he wants and act on it. ┐( -。ー; )┌
Good thing her actual fiancee isn’t the jealous type considering she simps for every good looking guy she sees. She was only dissatisfied with Vincent because he wasn’t kissing her ass and falling in line like a good harem member imo. So she put in a ton of effort to win him over while continuing to neglect her actual fiancee.
Why in the world does everything happen so suddenly in this novel. One chapter and suddenly her entire opinion of a guy changes due to him smiling and giving her an object indirectly…. where is the character in any of these characters?? I swear the ferir has more personality then all the humans combined.
I’ve been wondering. Where are Elaine’s parents? The Kingdom has gone to hell (literally, since there are demons there) why is Elaine not worried for her parents’ safety? I assume they’re dead long before this, either that or she’s heartless.
It was mentioned her family died (her mom) died before she became a saint.
Still not quite liking icy boi. He is and acts cold, but also tries to get involved in various issues, a move that doesn’t make him look good. Even if his intentions are good, the way he acts… imagine trying to do something, cooking studying or so, then an angry dude comes to aid you, is that really helpful?
Thanks for the chapter! Awesome translation! May God bless you!