“—I thereby declare the daughter of Viscount Lula Oz—the miraculous and wonderful saint of this kingdom, my fiancée.”

The moment he entered the venue, Prince Freddie delivered that announcement.

Almost immediately, the party venue burst into cheers.

Amidst the applause of congratulations, Prince Freddie and Lula passionately stared towards each other.

It was akin to the happy ending of a story.

I should have also been applauding the scene.

However, as I desperately mustered a clap, I found my heart turning cold.

“…Lady Daisy, would you dance with me?”

When I was staring blankly at the harmonious dance of the first prince and the saint, Ryan extended his hand towards me.

“You’d, dance with me…?”

“In the duke’s household, it’s customary for an escort to offer a dance.”

In truth, an escort should have only accompanied me to the entrance.

However, Ryan’s mischievous smile alleviated my sorrow.

“Lord Ryan, thank you.”

Once Prince Freddie and Lula’s performances were over, the aristocrats were allowed to dance as they pleased.

Thus, I danced with Ryan.

Until now, besides Prince Freddie, I had only ever danced with my dance instructor. Ryan took my every movement into consideration and matched my pace, so it was very easy to dance with him. Not only that, during the dance, he graced me with a smile and pleasant conversation.

That was actually the most enjoyable dance I ever had.

…Perhaps, Lord Ryan is a better dancer than even His Highness Freddie—

—I swiftly dismissed the thought.

After the dance was over, Ryan—the son of a duke—went to greet the surrounding nobles. However, as he was worried about me, he intended to stay by my side the entire time. Feeling self-conscious, I had to decline.

Despite having had my engagement annulled, some still came to convey their greetings to me, the daughter of a marquis. Surprisingly, I had a somewhat leisure experience with them.

…All that time, I had only been a part of Prince Freddie’s life.

As a result, I never knew a life beyond that.

“—Lady Daisy! I truly wanted to apologize to you, Lady Daisy!”

That peaceful time came to an abrupt end with the sudden appearance of Lula.

Keep in mind that even if she was Prince Freddie’s fiancée, she had just barged into a conversation between higher-ranking aristocrats. Moreover, she didn’t even offer her greetings. Amidst my astonishment, I realized that my surroundings began to buzz.

“…Lady Daisy, are you mad at me?”

Regardless of whether or not she paid any to her surroundings, Lula continued to speak.

Reluctantly, I responded to her.

“Lady Lula, that isn’t the case at all.”

Perhaps finding my answer unsatisfactory, Lula raised her voice.

“You must be! Is it because Lord Freddie chose me over you?”

…Until a while ago, some aristocrats had been keeping their eyes on me. Not only that, Lula was the protagonist of that party. Therefore, it’d be safe to assume that her remark just now was heard by many.

I desperately suppressed the urge to sigh.

“…Lady Lula, if you insist on having this kind of conversation, I suggest we move somewhere else.”

However, my suggestion, which was for her own good, fell on deaf ears.

“Lady Daisy, I’ve always admired you! Not only is your rank higher than me, but you’re also utterly beautiful and educated! It must be because the marquis invested a lot of money on you, right?! Thanks to being born in such a blessed environment, both your education and etiquette are impeccable! Moreover, your dresses and jewelry are always top-notch, as expected of a marquis’ daughter! Truly, you and Lord Freddie are meant to be together! For a long time, I’ve always believed that!”

“…No, I—”

“—Compared to you, I’m just a shabby viscount’s daughter! While a lot of people have praised me for being ‘cute’ since long ago, I’m sure they’re just being nice! Besides, if it’s Lady Daisy, you must be used to such praises, right? The same goes for both your dresses and jewelry! Even though a lot have told me that they suit me, compared to the high-class items that Lady Daisy is used to wearing, they’re just a bunch of baubles! Oh, but look! Today, my entire ensemble was gifted to me by Lord Freddie!”

“Is that so…?”

“Fufu, that’s right! He said he’d like for me to wear his color. Come to think of it, up until recently, Lady Daisy too had been wearing blue dresses. Oh, I see you’re wearing a pink dress today.”

“…Indeed.”

“Lady Daisy, are you paying attention to what I said? You look out of it… Oh my, you’re angry with me!”

“I’m not, though…”

“…After all, I, myself, have to wonder why Lord Freddie chose me—me, out of all people! I mean, the only thing I can do is perform miracles! It’s nothing big! Basically, all I needed to do to cure Lord Freddie’s illness was to pray. Even so, Lord Freddie chose me. Over his fiancée of many years, he chose me. Lady Daisy, why do you think that is? You’re the daughter of a marquis, right? Then, won’t you explain to me the reason why Lord Freddie chose me over you?”

“Well, ask His Highness Freddie yourself…”

“For you see, I’m nothing more than a saint!”

“…”

“Therefore, I’d like to apologize to you, Lady Daisy. You were his fiancée for a long time, right? Hence, I’d like to apologize for being chosen over you. I’m truly sorry, Lady Daisy. …Lady Daisy? As I thought, you’re really angry with me—…”

Lula finally noticed that I had grown silence.

Just when I was thinking about how to follow up on what could be called Lula’s blunder, Prince Freddie came.

“Lula? What’s wrong. I was surprised when you suddenly disappeared.”

“Lord Freddie! It’s nothing, I merely wanted to apologize directly to Lady Daisy…”

“I’ve already spoken to Daisy, so there’s nothing for Lula to worry about.”

“…Lord Freddie.”

“Lula…”

After staring at each other for a while, the two headed for the center of the party venue to dance once again.

“…Even if they’re no longer engaged, he didn’t even spare a word of greeting to Lady Daisy.”

“…Lady Lula’s remarks can’t be overlooked.”

“…Was His Highness Freddie such a rash fellow.”

Listening to the whispers of the surrounding aristocrats who had witnessed the entire conversation, I secretly trembled as I envisioned a future where I became a concubine just as Prince Jake warned.

---

***T/N: That THING ain’t a saint, she’s a KAREN and a THOT, that’s what she is. Look, my Thot Slayer MK. 2000 agrees with me //brandish sword

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