Chapter 277: A Personality That Should Not Be Revealed

Chapter 277

A Personality That Should Not Be Revealed

"Hey!"

"Nara, let them go," the deep voice of the man beside her made Nara stop. She clenched her fists in anger. She had hoped to create more conflict between the students and the villagers for her amusement. But, well...this was enough for now. The students had shown their selfishness in front of the village chief’s son. It seemed that the villagers’ hatred for them would never diminish.

Ellie shook her head slightly at Nara’s pointless antics. She didn’t understand what Nara hoped to gain from this. True, Nara received a lot of attention from the villagers, which might one day become a strong support base for her as a priestess. But she shouldn’t forget that it would take a long time to become a priestess.

Wouldn’t it be better to win over the students instead? Nara’s good deeds might make them want to include her in their group and help her complete the third-year missions for graduation. Why put herself in a position where no one wanted her? Was she so confident that Professor Lily would support her until the end? Did she trust that professor that much?

The students avoided passing through the group of villagers who were gathering forest produce until dusk. They themselves had no choice but to stop their efforts to clear the rocks and instead gather food to survive. Nadia’s group arrived first, bringing back a significant amount of small game. However, they still had leftover meat from the previous day, so there was no need to use the fresh meat.

Tonight’s dinner was another simple meal like the night before. Grilling meat and eating with friends under the night sky brought them closer together. Ellie sat not far away, with Wint joining the others but still attending to Ellie as her knight. It seemed that since becoming her knight, he had stopped making double entendre, and his new goal made Ellie much more comfortable.

Of course, the Femon family was also much more at ease...

The villagers today had only gathered a small number of vegetables for their meal. Their share depended on how much work they did for the village. Many families received nothing, while some got only a single mushroom. Ellie checked on the boy who had approached her that morning and found that he had eaten all the food at home, leaving his mother and sister with nothing. This family’s condition was dire, but the mother’s pride was still unyielding.

Ellie sighed in despair. As breakfast arrived...the students’ food was still meat, just like every day in this village. The large amounts of meat made the villagers’ mouths water, and finally, Nara stepped forward to represent them as everyone expected since last night.

“Everyone.” Nara came standing in front of the group cooking meat. The delicious aroma was making not only villagers’ mouth water, but also Nara’s.

“................” Silence. No one responded. Last night, they had discussed what to do if Nara tried to stir up trouble. They concluded that Nara was not worth arguing with and decided to act as if she didn’t exist. So, when Nara approached as expected, everyone acted in unison.

Nara looked around in confusion. In this group of over a hundred students, no one paid her any attention. It was impossible that they hadn’t heard her. At the very least, someone should have glanced at her to see why she approached them here, but they all ignored her presence.

“Hey! Did you hear me?” Nara tried again, but instead of getting a response, she saw some students snickering to themselves.

It seemed pretending Nara was invisible was amusing to them, and it made Nara furious. She clenched her fists and put on a sad face.

Her eyes scanned the area and landed on Vida and Ellie, who were sitting not too far away. Ellie was still enjoying leftover grilled pork from last night, wrapped in crispy vegetables and sent it into her mouth deliciously. Nara smiled to herself and slowly approached the two. Seeing this, everyone paused their activities. Ignoring her was no longer an option.

Thud!!

Unexpectedly, Nara knelt before the 2 duchesses. Many villagers, secretly watching, almost rushed to help Nara stand, but some held them back. They knew Nara was doing this for them, and as she was one of the students, if she acted alone, Professor Medik wouldn’t intervene. But if the villagers got involved and tried to snatch food, Professor Medik, who sat observing, might step in immediately.

Many knew of Professor Medik’s capabilities, having witnessed his handling of the massive rock with their own eyes. Even those who hadn’t seen it had heard enough to fear him. If not for their fear of the students’ magic power, the villagers would have driven them away long ago and sent a complaint to the palace.

“Ellie, Duchess Vida, please represent us and help the villagers in need.”

“Even though I’m not from this village, our mission is to help those affected by the war, right? So...for families that lost their men, could you help them? Just 1 piece of meat per family is enough. We have so much meat; if we share with everyone, it’s still plenty for us, isn’t it? Please share them, it doesn’t have to be a large animal, just small game will do.”

“Ellie, you came from a poor family too, didn’t you? How did you feel when you only had boiled water and vegetables to eat? It was torturous, right? Living each day unsure if you’d survive the next, right? And how did you feel when you received help? It felt like a blessing from the gods, didn’t it? So...I’m begging you. Because we’ve been poor, we understand better than anyone else.”

“Ellie...don’t forget where you came from. Show compassion when you can. Help them. We’re not born nobles, so we know how hard life can be! You...if it weren’t for the Eldest Young Lord falling in love with you and wanting to marry you, you’d still be living the same way!”

Nara played her sad part, and many people, hearing that Ellie had once been poor, exclaimed in disbelief. The students already knew about Ellie’s past, but the villagers did not.

"What? That student was once just a poor person? Then why does she act so high and mighty now?"

"Hah! Just someone who got lucky and now pretends to forget her roots."

"Disgusting. She looks down on us, but she was just a poor person before."

"I suspected it from the beginning. Her manners look like those of commoners like us. She must be enjoying being called my lady."

"Miss Nara is much better. She understands because she once struggled like us. That girl was once like us, suffering. Now she pretends she doesn’t understand others."

"Disgusting woman. Just by seducing one man, she becomes a noble lady who doesn’t need to care about anyone else.”

“She looks so plain. Maybe she’s just a plaything of the nobleman. Who knows when she’ll be discarded? I pray for her downfall. If I ever hear she’s living miserably, I’ll travel to her village and give her 1 handful of rice."

The crowd’s murmurs grew louder. Ellie raised an eyebrow at these words. She felt she had endured enough. Initially, she didn’t intend to say anything, but after hearing Nara provoke such anger, Ellie decided she couldn’t let this pass.

If Nara wanted a fight, then let’s see how she fares against an ex-office worker!

"Nara...you still don’t get it, do you?" Ellie stood up to her full height, walking over to Nara, who was still kneeling. This only emphasized how much higher Ellie was.

"You keep saying I was just a poor person. You say I was just lucky to become the Eldest Young Lord’s lover, right? Do you think those words are funny, hmm?" Ellie smiled calmly, as if those words didn’t hurt her at all.

Professor Medik had been concerned since hearing Nara insult his student. He wanted to step in, but if he did, it would make all the students, including himself, seem truly against the villagers. Since Nara seemed to be representing them, Medik didn’t want things to escalate to that point. If he could calm them down a little more, he would do it. So, seeing that Ellie didn’t seem saddened, he remained in place.

He hadn’t expected his student to stand up and fight back herself...

"Ellie...you might not like these words, but it’s the truth. I just wanted to remind you to think of others because you were once like them," Nara still didn’t understand why Ellie was smiling. Shouldn’t she be angry at having her old wounds exposed? Then, why...

"Hmm? Why do you think I wouldn’t like those words, Nara?"

"Why? Because you’re afraid everyone will mock you for your lowly origins before becoming a duchess..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s why I said you don’t know anything," Ellie clicked her tongue loudly. Her demeanor was completely different from the quiet, reserved girl before. This not only surprised Nara but also shocked the surrounding students. Some who had seen Ellie’s fierceness before could only swallow nervously at the sight of this dual-personality girl.

The one most interested in Ellie wasn’t Nara, the students, or the villagers secretly watching. It was the village chief’s son, standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the gate. He licked his lips once.

Previously, he had been quite interested in her. Now...by chance meeting her again, his interest remained undiminished!

“Y-You, what do you mean by all this?”

“Hmph! I’ll explain, Nara, since you still don’t get it after all this time... That stuff about me being a poor village girl before—I’m not bothered when people tease me about it. If anyone wants to say I was poor, stupid, or anything else, let them. Because in the end, I’ll just reply, “Sorry, but now I’m a duchess of the Setter family, someone you lowly people must respect.”

“So why should I be ashamed of my origins? I should be proud that someone of such humble beginnings made the Eldest Young Lord fall head over heels. Perhaps...if I were born into a noble family, I wouldn’t have garnered as much attention.”

“That’s why I love it when people say, “I’m just lucky.” It’s that luck that sets me apart from you.” Ellie pushed her finger against Nara’s forehead hard enough to make her head snap back.

This was a masterful performance learned from the dramas of her home country. In other countries’ dramas, villains might be subtle and realistic, but...where’s the satisfaction in that?

Nara had annoyed her to no end, provoking her anger like this. It was time for her to experience the fierceness like that of “Kik Suwatjanee[1]!”

“E-Ellie, you...” Nara really wanted to ask if Ellie was possessed by a demon, so drastically had she changed. However, after Ellie’s push sent her head snap back, Ellie sighed, crossed her arms, and returned to her usual calm demeanor.

“Alright...let’s talk some sense now.”

“...........” It wasn’t just Nara who couldn’t keep up. The other students and villagers also couldn’t keep up with Ellie’s sudden change in mood, leaving them speechless and mouths agape.

Ellie didn’t want to go to such extremes but it was necessary to snap the heroine out of her delusions. Thinking she could easily bully others—such naivety should be abandoned...

“First, I won’t deny the things you say that I once had a difficult life, eating boiled water and vegetables to survive. But before my parents died, they worked hard to spare me from suffering. They risked their lives in the forest every day, working until their hands were calloused. Even though I was a girl, I helped my parents dig and plant crops. And yes...every bit of food I ate came from our hard work, not from begging others.”

“Now the villagers are in trouble, saying they have no men to help their families, so they need to ask for food from us? Didn’t my father’s death mean the same thing? Back then, the ones who had to struggle were my mother and me. It means that we, who were in the same situation, couldn’t ask for help from anyone and had to fight on our own.”

“What I’m trying to say is... do they really want to beg for food from others? If so, why don’t they dare to ask for it themselves?”

“Why did they send you? Don’t they know that you had no part in hunting this meat? It’s the “life” and “effort” of the other students here. What are they thanking you for? What are they begging from you? What do you offer them besides “shamelessness”?”

“Taking credit without working, without risking danger—is this the villagers’ way of thinking? I truly want to ask, is everyone that shameless?” Ellie finished speaking to Nara and then looked at the others. Those who were hiding couldn’t pull back in time and felt a stinging on their faces, as if being slapped forcefully, especially the mother who had scolded and beaten her son so he wouldn’t go asking for food, now standing and hoping for a favorable outcome. So...why did she beat her son!?

[1] Thai actress who normally take on a role of villain in Thai drama. Her expression when displaying anger has become memes.