Chapter 76: The Feeling Of Being Invisible

Whenever a child turns wild, the fault lies with the people around him.

That’s Euphemia’s belief, and she’d held it since before most of the nuns’ grandmothers were born.

There were no bad children, only bad influences.

She’d heard the rumors about the Fifth Prince all the way up the mountain.

Wastrel, Brothel-goer, Scoundrel.

And now that she was sitting beside him, she could see the proof herself, in the careless slouch and cheeky grin.

A child doesn’t turn out like this alone.

Someone raised him, spoiled him, and that someone was standing over her chair right now, smiling with a vein throbbing in her temple.

’It’s her. It’s definitely her.’

Euphemia took a sip of water and settled deeper into her seat to get comfortable.

"I have no interest in leaving this chair."

"...Pardon?" Minerva said.

"Especially for a woman who calls him her dear stepson, yet can’t teach him proper manners."

"..."

Now the room is silent as Adonis stopped chewing.

Before he could say a word, a slender arm wrapped around his head and pulled him in.

"Mmph?!"

His face sank into something warm and soft. Euphemia held him against her bountiful chest and began stroking his golden hair with a sweet smile on her face.

"You poor thing..."

Her voice was gentle and never once changed pace.

"Led astray by such an unholy woman, and at such a tender age. It isn’t your fault, little one. A child is only a mirror of those who raise him, and you were handed a very crooked mirror. It pains me to think of it. Truly, I feel so terrible that I might lose sleep tonight. And if you must be obsessed with Minerva, then you can shift that obsession to me. Fufu~ ?? I will give you the best treatment possible. Is that clear?"

"...Eh?" said the whole table.

Father Rill’s spoon fell out of his hand.

"...Eh?" said Adonis, from somewhere inside the Mother Superior’s chest.

And Minerva said nothing at all.

Her rave hair lifted off her alabaster shoulders and imagined two wings of blood folded behind her, and their edges thinned into blades. She’s a thought away from decapitating the holy mother right here, at the supper table, in front of the orphans.

...Scrrrch! A chair scraped hard against the floor.

Someone shot up from the table, stormed out of the small house, and slammed the door behind them.

Everyone turned, but Euphemia and Minerva were still at each other’s throats, and when Euphemia saw the empty seat across the table as her inexpressive eyes widened.

"...Noelle?"

Adonis was already halfway out of his chair.

Then, a hand stopped in front of his chest.

Prussia had stood up without him noticing. She glanced at the two women, then leaned in and whispered.

"Stay here. Someone has to stop those two before they blow this place apart. I’ll go after her."

Adonis looked at the crimson wings.

At the the way Euphemia’s fingertips reached for her hilt.

...She’s not wrong, so he sat back down.

"Alright. Please take care of her."

Prussia nodded and slipped out the door.

So Adonis did what he had to do.

It took ten minutes, one promise to attend Euphemia’s morning sermon, and one promise to make time for Minerva. By the end, the blood wings vanished and so did the holy light. Euphemia sat back down with her hands on her lap, calm as ever. Minerva dragged a chair to his other side and sat with her arms crossed.

The children had assumed it was a show, so Litha clapped.

Behind the house, Prussia found Noelle sitting on a large boulder near the edge of the yard.

Noelle’s face was plain, perhaps blank. It’s hard to tell she’s mad but the way her eyes trembled, ever so slightly, and the look was obvious to Prussia; she was betrayed, and angry, but doesn’t know who to be angry at.

She walked closer, awkwardly, then she sat down beside her on the boulder.

Neither of them was speaking.

"...You like the prince too, hm?"

Noelle turned her face away.

"It’s none of your business."

Prussia smiled mildly.

"It’s fine. You don’t have to hide it. I like him too, so I know exactly what you’re feeling."

"...Huh?"

Noelle finally looked at her. Around that time, Adonis had finally pulled the two ladies apart. He’d slipped out the back door and was now hiding behind the corner of the house, pressed against the wall.

Prussia sighed in defeat.

"I’m no expert at this. Sighs~ I understand. It’s easier for me to beat up my suitors than to have an earnest conversation with the man I like."

Noelle, who’d been looking away like Prussia wasn’t even there, now had every bit of her attention on her.

"And with Adonis, it’s harder. I like him. I really do. But my pride lets me down every time."

She stared at her hands.

"It feels like being invisible to someone you care about. You’re there, in their life, and they barely notice you. They don’t even understand what you feel."

Noelle couldn’t take her eyes off her.

Prussia couldn’t look back. Her ears were blushing, she’d never said so much about her feelings in her entire life, and it was embarrassing.

Behind the corner, Adonis’s face had gone solemn.

Prussia stared at the ground.

"For me, being around Prince Adonis is... loneliness. It’s being overlooked. It’s wanting to matter to someone."

Noelle opened her mouth to speak, then she held herself back, and cleared her throat proudly. Even now, she couldn’t let anyone see her weakness.

"If that is how you feel, then why don’t you simply tell the prince?"

Prussia’s eyes narrowed like they were about to water as her hands gripped her short, layered skirt.

"...Because I feel he’d laugh at me."

"Is that really the kind of man the prince is? One who’d laugh at a woman’s heart? Or take it for granted?"

Her face sank into a frown.

She’d hoped, just a little, that he was different. But it’s always like this... any time there’s a man she fancies, he’s either more interested in her mother, or something is terribly wrong with him.

This time it’s both.

Prussia rose to her feet and dusted off her attire.

"Well, to be fair, I was extremely rude to him and his family when we first met. If this is his idea of payback, I’m completely fine with it, you know."

She tucked a few wild black bangs behind her ear.

Then she smiled, with an affection and a warmth she’d never known in her life.

"No matter what he does to me, there’s a feeling I’ve never had with anyone else, except him. So no matter what, I’ll keep loving every bit of him."

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you’ve successfully turned Prussia into a Losing Heroine! She’s now eligible to return investments that will yield 100x rewards!]

Behind the corner, Adonis didn’t move.

Any other time, he’d be cheering inside.

Another losing heroine, means another big reward, but he didn’t feel that way at all. His face, his entire being was drowning in indescribable sadness.

Prussia helped Noelle down from the boulder.

"Forget all that for now. Focus on yourself."

Noelle nodded hesitantly, they walked back toward the house together, and neither of them noticed the dark corner they passed.

Adonis’s back was against the wooden wall. He slid down it until he was sitting on the damp ground, covered his face with both hands, and her breaths were heavy.

"What is wrong with me..."

He dropped his head into his palms.

’I’m a hypocrite.’

There was no difference between him and the author of this sickening story. That author made these women suffer for the sake of a protagonist. And how did he react when Mariella became a losing heroine? He’d been happy... proud.

And now Prussia, who loved him so much, who’d just poured her heart out behind a house, and the first thing in his head had been the reward.

’I told myself if I were ever in this situation, I’d take care of the losing heroines. Yeah right, what a lie. I’m not the same person who’d first transmigrated into this novel. Somewhere along the way, my desire to survive outweighed any other genuine feeling I had for these women.’

These were real people, with real feelings, and he couldn’t even treat them like people. He held his head and lowered it, with a level of self-resentment he’d never felt before.

"...I hate myself."

...

The next morning, the carriages were lined up outside the orphanage, and everyone was climbing in for the ride back to the capital city.

"Master! Master, over here!"

Alpis was waving at him with her whole arm, and Prussia stood quietly beside her, hands behind her.

The Fifth Prince was about to head over when someone stepped right in front of him.

It’s Queen Minerva, smiling alluringly.

"So, will you be joining my carriage, Little Fifth? It’s quite boring without you there..."

"I won’t be returning to the palace for a while. I really need some time alone."

...Hm? Minerva folded her arms and tilted her head.

"Oh. Well, that’s fine then."

Her raven hair stayed perfectly black, it bothered him more than any tantrum would’ve.

He walked over to join his companions.

"Adonis, you seem quiet today..." Prussia said.

"Ahaha. No, I’m just tired."

The carriage rolled down the mountain road.

He sat between the two of them. There’s Alpis who was curled up against him with a sweet smile, and Prussia sat straight with her eyes out the window.

The carriage was worrisomely quiet, then Adonis rested his hand atop Prussia’s strong hand.

"...!"

She jolted.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Prussia’s cheeks colored itself red with warmth.

"Y-, Yes. Yes, I’m fine."