I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 73.

I crossed my arms and asked, and everyone looked at each other, and the woman who had spilled wine on my clothes earlier spoke up.

‘The authors were arguing that the academy shouldn’t accept girls, and we were arguing back.’

According to her, the fight had escalated as the upstart forces of flowering rebelled against the still patriarchal, male-dominated aristocracy.

‘Flowering. There’s an up-and-coming group of thinking people?

This was my first time entering the social world, so I lacked information, but thanks to this, I was able to understand the current situation of the social world.

The current social scene is in a state of transition, divided into liberals and conservatives.

I’ve seen this in politics everywhere, but I didn’t expect it to be like this in social circles.

‘They think women should be free to study, have careers, and build their own lives, rather than be tied down to looking good, getting married, and raising children. They don’t want us to do that.’

‘Hmm. How can a woman say she won’t marry, you.’

The shaven-headed middle-aged nobleman added a small ‘yo’ at the end as he eyed me.

I listened carefully, then shrugged.

‘Well, whether you’re a girl or a boy, you marry if you want to, and if you don’t, you don’t. Do you have to force yourself to do it?’

‘I guess so.’

‘Anyway, you only live once, so you should do whatever you want. If you want to make it pretty, do it, if you want to live comfortably, do it. It’s not like someone else is going to make it for you.’

It was obvious, but many people didn’t understand this obvious statement.

‘In a nutshell, it’s like this: I don’t live my life for anyone else, so they shouldn’t interfere. Who cares what I do? I should do whatever I want to do.’

‘……!’

‘If you want to study, do it, if you don’t, don’t. If you want to be a knight, do it; if you want to live like a paragon of ladyhood, do it.’

‘But keeping up appearances is what the vested interests demand……!’

‘Why do you think that?’

I said, genuinely not knowing.

‘I mean, if some people want to hold a sword, some people want to hold a paintbrush, and some want to wear make-up and decorate.’

Several of the pretty young ladies nodded at my words.

‘…….’

‘Don’t hold others to your standards, and don’t tell them they want to do is wrong because if it’s something you want to do, you’re going to do it anyway, even if others don’t.’

That’s how it was with me. If I like something, I do it. If I like it, I do it, even if it ends up being a killer or a meal.

Even if I failed, made mistakes, or collapsed, I did it because I wanted to, so I may have regrets, but I have no regrets.

‘What? I’m thinking, when did I do that again? I have no regrets, but it’s a shame…….’

Anyway, I had to wrap things up, so I shook off my thoughts and looked back and forth between the drunken middle-aged man and the rebellious Youngae.

‘You both seem to be very black and white, but there should be some grey in the middle. You can’t say that one side is always right. Shouldn’t we respect different opinions?’

After I finished speaking, I was smiling broadly when someone grabbed my hand.

The sensation brought me back to reality, and when I blinked, a woman with an impressed face was holding my hand with both hands.

‘You look great, big sister……!’

‘Go, suddenly, big sister?’

‘Oh. My mistake. I’m late with the introductions. I’m Carina Melixia, princess of the Duchy of Melixia.’

A princess? The daughter of the house that threw the banquet? The socialite flower I was supposed to finally get to know?

I stared at Carina, her eyes twinkling at me in bewilderment.

She has Duchess Melixia’s signature navy-blue hair and bright sky-blue eyes.

Karina whirled around and gestured to her surroundings.

‘I can’t stop marveling at the saintly lady’s words, everyone, please give her a round of applause!’

‘Wow, that was a great speech, Sister!’

‘Sister, you are wonderful!’

‘What a young man. He’s more alert than the rest of us.’

‘A step up from those who shouted bloom, who call her a wicked woman.’

‘They don’t call her a saint for nothing. She is the favorite of the gods.’

Applause erupted from all sides, and I was dazed. The conservative nobles stood dumbfounded, looking on.

‘What, what the hell is going on? I can’t follow.’

‘What the hell, you’ve made a good impression on the nobles. Congratulations, Sierra.’

‘Congratulations, Saint.’

I looked at the people cheering me on, still dumbfounded by Iros and Diane’s congratulations.

So this means I did well, right? Things worked out, right?

As I turned around to say, ‘Uh-oh,’ Karina approached and summoned the Water Elemental King.

‘El, could you please clean the clothes of our honored guest?’

‘Haha, don’t bother, do you think I’m a water elemental king doing laundry at my leisure? If it weren’t for the descendants of Shai, I’d crush this little guy!’

‘Come on.’

‘Alright, alright, I’ll have to step down from my position as Spirit King.’

Grumbling, the Spirit King snatched up the wine staining my dress, dissipated it without a trace, and returned to the Spirit Realm.

I turned to her with a dumbfounded look on my face, pointing into thin air.

‘Uh. So what just disappeared…….’

‘That’s Elaim, the Water Elemental King, my contract elemental.’

I’d heard that Duchess Melixia had been a contractor to the Fourth Elemental King five hundred years ago, but I never thought that talent was still being passed down.

Life is unfair. If there is a Spirit King, even if there is a war, Duchess Melixia will be at least as strong as me.

‘Of course, we should recruit someone of his caliber. The more talent we have, the better. Besides, he’s powerful.

I smiled brightly and gently, stepping closer to Karina and bowing slightly.

‘Thank you for getting the stain out of my dress, I’m Saint Sierra Elgraton, but feel free to call me Sierra.’

‘No. It was my mistake, so I’ll take responsibility for it, so please call me Karina, too! Sierra, are you still new to socializing?’

‘Yes. I’ve been in the temple almost every day.’

‘Then you don’t know many people, do you mind if I introduce you to some of my friends?’

‘I would be very grateful, Karina.’

‘Go over there! Anyone who’s as awake as you are will be welcome.’

Hmph. The pumpkin rolls over to me. I grinned from ear to ear and followed Karina to meet the people who would be my backup (?).

Beside me, of course, were Iros and Dian.

The combination of the two men’s good looks and my radiant beauty had people mesmerized and letting their guard down.

When I reached Carina’s friends, they greeted me as if they had been waiting for me.

‘Your speech was impressive, I am Yussel, Duke of Ygrette.’

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Ygrette.’

‘I’m Adrian, Duke of Gridderhill.’

‘It’s a pleasure, Sierra Elgraton.’

‘I’m Joran Sharpe, Marquess of Sharpe, and I’m probably the first woman in the Cyanine Empire to be made a marquess.’

‘Hahaha. That’s nice, Marquis. Iros Elijah, the guardian sword, and Diane, the shield.’

‘Oh. So you’re the Guardians I’ve been hearing about.’

Iros and Diane greeted the others in unison.

They were the sons and daughters of the House of Han, obviously friends of the Princess.

They’re duchesses, dukes, and marquises now, but in a few decades, they’ll be knighted…….

‘A solid foundation for my old age!

Yes, they are. They must be seized.

They are the ones who shout for reform and progress, so if you ask them to help you catch the anti-human horse forces, they will do it with open arms.

They’ve infiltrated the conservatives and are in a position to fight them.

‘You have to build a rapport, engage, and take a slow and deliberate approach.

It’s like trying to catch a fish in the water, and if you spook it too quickly, it might run away.

‘This makes me feel like a villain.’

And these people in front of me are innocent sheep.

I’m smiling and about to get down to business, to get to know them, and then – bam.

Interruption.

‘His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Fritz Ronsel Cyanin Luga!’

‘……!’

Who? The Crown Prince? Why is he here?!

I quickly jerked my head around and covered my face.

But for some reason, the echoing footsteps seemed to be coming this way.

When the footsteps stopped, she heard a familiar voice.

‘A saint?’

‘Oh, shit.

It was a million decisions about whether or not to greet him when Iros spoke from beside me without turning around.

‘You’ve got the wrong one.’

‘Well, a pale blonde woman with rare pale pink hair who carries a knight’s sash isn’t a saint, and as far as I know, there’s only one such person in the Cyanine Empire.’

The crown prince smiled and spoke with conviction, causing the group of Princesses Karina to stare at me in disbelief.

I grunted in pain as they asked why I was hiding my identity, then turned and bowed to the crown prince.

‘Hmph. I didn’t want to see His Highness the Crown Prince, but I do.’

‘Of course. Nice to see you too.’

The crown prince smiles at me, a shameless, smirking, but it’s a human smile.

‘We had a bad breakup last time,’ he says, ’so I’m going to have to play it cool and pretend I don’t know you. I’m not sure if you heard me when I made it clear that I’m not interested in you, or if you didn’t hear me.

Still, the crown prince is difficult.

How can he say he loves me when he killed his own family and destroyed me?

He’s so slow.

‘Were you talking about something important?’

‘We were about to.’

‘Did you dance then?’

‘…….’

Is this guy trying to ask me to dance?

I glanced up at Eros out of habit.

‘Hmm. I see you’ve got a lump in your throat. Haha.’

Ever since he saw me kissing the Crown Prince, Iro’s jealousy and hostility towards the Crown Prince has been at an all-time high.

I mean, he could be about to pounce on him, or something.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the crown prince greeted him sarcastically, and Iros smiled menacingly in return.

‘Good to see you, Lord Iros. I was a little sick yesterday. Thanks to whom?’

‘You should have been sicker, but it’s a shame to see you so well.’

‘The more I look at you, the less I like you.’

‘I agree. The day you and I are compatible, my stomach will turn and my intestines will twist.’

The crown prince and Iros exchanged some unintelligible code that only the two of them understood.

‘So, Saint.’

Me, me? Why am I suddenly called out?

‘Let me ask you again, did you dance?’

‘That’s…….’

I opened my mouth to tell the crown prince that my first dance was with Iros, but he beat me to it.

‘We’re about to go out and dance Your Highness, because the first dance was supposed to be with me.’

‘Is that so?’

Invisible sparks sparked and crackled between Iros and the crown prince.

Caught in the middle, I stood with a look of liberation on my face, while Carina and her friends watched us intently with a look of excitement on their faces.

‘Ah. Life……. I knew it would work out.’

I smirked, secretly cursing the god of destiny somewhere in the pantheon.

When I’m out with him, I want to go home so badly, hahaha.