The grand hall of the academy was illuminated by a glittering chandelier. Both male and female students, dressed in formal attire, held hands as they waited for the orchestra to start.

A few months ago, she’d have been crestfallen at the sight, but now, she was soaring.

“Geo, I truly adore your outfit. It looks awesome.”

“Thank you. Lithia, in this entire world, you’re the most stunning.”

Geo wore a simple black outfit that matched both his black hair and deep indigo eyes. In contrast, Lithia donned a pure white dress that matched her hair.

“Lithia, your dress reminds me of a bridal gown. You look gorgeous. What a charming bride.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

This time, when Geo straightforwardly complimented her, she accepted it. After all, the happiness outweighed the embarrassment.

“—That’s it, Geo Wales. Unhand Lithia Album!”

Today, not only would she be able to experience the joy of dancing with someone, her partner was also him. She’d never been so thrilled!

“Did you not hear me? Like I said, unhand Lithia Album!”

“Wrong person.”

“Ha! This joke is in awful taste!”

—At that time, someone intervened between Geo and Lithia.

It was none other than the first prince of the country, Andrew Lafizard. Fury and disdain casted a shadow over his icy yet handsome countenance as he glared at Geo.

“Step aside, you’re in the way.”

Just like that, Andrew shoved Geo aside. Lithia was about to rush to the staggering Geo when Andrew gently caught her arm with an adoring smile.

“Geo—!”

“Don’t pay him any mind, Lithia. For now, I shall overlook that troublemaker.”

The other students, who finally noticed what had happened, started getting worked up. They began to distance themselves. Some of them could be heard saying, “No way…”, “Could it be, His Highness finally—!?”

“—Lithia, first of all, I’d like to apologize. I’m sorry for all the grievances I’ve caused you all this time.”

In the next second, Andrew bowed his head.

A member of a royal family bowing his head to a viscount’s daughter got everyone clamoring.

“…In truth, I’ve always been fascinated by your pure white hair and golden eyes. Yes, from the very first time we met, which was ten years ago… I’m sorry for lying all this time.” Andrew smiled wryly.

“Eek!” Lithia yelped and backed away.

“Please don’t be afraid, My Love. Please, believe in my love.”

However, just as Andrew was about to continue, the shattering of a glass could be heard.

“…No way.”

The voice belonged to Adora, the daughter of Duke Dreese. Her gorgeous visage was marred with hatred.

“—You are lying!!”

The scream of Orienne, the daughter of Marquis Hitchcock, followed.

In a fit of anger, she slammed her glass against the floor where it shattered violently.

“Your Highness Andrew, aren’t you in love with me—!?”

“No, it should’ve been with me—!!”

Both women yelled in unison. The two were the most eligible fiancée candidates for Andrew, and the two were often seen together with him.

“…Apparently, you misunderstood. Do you remember that a long time ago, during a tea party, Lithia once told me; ‘Please don’t mind me and have a good time with them?’ That’s the only reason why I tolerated your company. I don’t feel that way about any of you. On the contrary, you’re the ones who got swept away and insulted my Lithia a lot—!”

“T-that’s…”

“W-we were just—…”

The former fiancée candidates trembled. At the same time, the other female students who made fun of Lithia also cowered at indirectly being called out.

Lithia was also dumbfounded by those words.

Certainly, at the tea party she was invited to a long time ago, Andrew berated her appearance. During that time, the other girls also wouldn’t stop staring at her, so she told him to just go with them. After all, if he hated her ugly self so much, he would prefer to talk with cute girls, right?

Therefore, Lithia could see why those female students misunderstood…

“Aah, look at them all. Apparently, some girls fell for that. Most of us boys understood that His Highness was making his intentions clear, for she’s his first love.”

“After all, if another man even so much as approached Lady Lithia, His Highness’s gaze would get REAL scary!”

…On the other hand, the male students didn’t look very surprised. No, while they seemed caught off guard, rather than saying, “No way.” Like other girls, they said, “Finally.” For some reason…

“Don’t think your crime of disparaging the future princess will go unpunished. In the first place, you have the gall to think that you could get away with insulting my beloved!”

Andrew stood in front of Lithia as if to shield her from the girls who had insulted her until now.

Seeing his gallant figure as he shielded his beloved, the female students trembled from guilt while the male students looked at him in awe.

“—But you also banded together with them to bully her, though?”

“…What did you say?”

In the next moment, the heartrending romantic scene was interrupted.

“Your Highness is the same as them. Rather, you’re the one who was calling the shots. How many dozens—no, hundreds of times have you hurt her?”

“That’s… Of course, I won’t try to justify what I did. Hence why from now on, I shall protect her from any form of malice! I won’t let anyone hurt her! I swear to love her for the rest of my life!”

Then, cheers erupted from the male students.

Among the female students, there were also those who were aware of his true feelings and didn’t participate in the bullying. Said female students stared at the prince as if he were the male lead in a light novel and swooned.

“…So, for the crime of tormenting and hurting her so much, she shall now be repaid with your love? How does that make sense?”

“…You, it seems that you’re still unaware of your position.”

The prince, who had endured his first love for many years, finally decided to confess.

However, said grand finale was ruined by a certain male student with the inability to read atmosphere.

Other students frowned at him, while Andrew’s handsome face twitched.

“In what world does a victim get compensated with the love of her abuser? By your logic, the other female students who harassed Lithia should now fawn over her and get away with it!”

“What an outrageous thing to say! What would being loved by such people do!?”

“How is it any different from being loved by you?”

“Well, t-that’s, that’s because I’m different from them! You see, I didn’t mean to insult her, for I’ve always loved her!”

Other students looked down on how stubborn the commoner was being. After all, not only did he try to steal the prince’s lover, he was also a blockhead.

If not for the prince’s unyielding love and steady efforts, the fairy princess would’ve fallen in love with that commoner out of loneliness.

—But now, it was different, she’d been made aware of the prince’s true feelings.

Finally, the two were seeing eye-to-eye, yet still, that creep didn’t give up—the students had been rendered speechless.

…At the same time, there were some who agreed with Geo’s statement.

“…If he puts it like that, he has a point?”

“Furthermore, did you think I did all that simply because I couldn’t be honest with her?”

Meanwhile, Andrew grinned with triumph.

---

***T/N:

“In what world does a victim get compensated with the love of her abuser? By your logic, the other female students who harassed Lithia should now fawn over her and get away with it!”

THANK YOU GEO, THANK YOU!!!!!

“…Apparently, you misunderstood. Do you remember that a long time ago, during a tea party, Lithia once told me; ‘Please don’t mind me and have a good time with them?’ That’s the only reason why I tolerated your company. I don’t feel that way about any of you. On the contrary, you’re the ones who got swept away and insulted my Lithia a lot—!”

This… Considering that he always made sure to rub his two female companions on her face every time they met, I think this is just malicious compliance… Can you get any more toxic than this, brah? At this point, you and the Egypt are brothers.

…Yeah, I don’t know, you guys. I want to roast this guy but he’s already doing it himself. It’s official you guys, this dude never grew up since that time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so little regard towards other’s feelings…

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