Even Though I was the Real Saint, I was Exiled—Which Means my Country is Finished Translation

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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