ALL NOVEL chapter 35
35. The Princess of Torment
After successfully defeating the serpent-shaped mutated monster, Valentina’s reputation among the people further improved.
The knightly leaders who previously thought the princess was merely playing house without any real skill began to actively invite Valentina to serve as a special coach for their knightly orders.
Even though her schedule was often packed, Valentina would still make time to meet with her childhood friend Clyde, who was working hard.
The time spent with her childhood friend was one of the few moments she could relax, so she cherished it greatly.
Although her stress had increased recently, she felt she could still bear it.
Moreover, her private tutor, Allen, who taught her history and magic, often sought her out for heart-to-heart talks, so she had no real complaints about her current situation.
…No, if she had to say, there was something. It had been nearly a week since she defeated the serpent-like mutated monster, yet the evil god had suddenly settled down and had not appeared before her again.
This left her with a strange sense of unease.
She wasn’t quite sure where this unease stemmed from.
At first, she thought it might be the worry that the evil god would suddenly appear again and throw her life into chaos, perhaps revealing to the world that she was actually a false princess transformed from a monster, and that the real princess had long since died.
While that concern wasn’t entirely unfounded, it didn’t seem to be the sole reason.
Was she worried that someone had managed to defeat the evil god?
No, that guy should have no one capable of defeating him besides the goddess.
Then was she concerned that the evil god was deliberately not appearing, secretly enjoying her anxious state, making her feel like a toy of the evil god?
Perhaps that was part of it, but it still felt like there was more to it.
How strange… what exactly was causing her unease?
Since she couldn’t discuss the matter of the evil god with anyone, not even Clyde or Allen, Valentina could only fret and ponder about the evil god when she was alone.
In the past few days, she would occasionally think of the evil god, but recently, her moments of distraction had increased.
Now, in the customary visit to the king and queen, as she prepared to leave the palace, Valentina, dressed in a light blue battle dress, walked along the corridor while gazing out at the scenery outside.
It seems like they are admiring the beautiful scenery, but in reality, they are contemplating the matters of the evil god.
Since this is in the royal palace, it’s not surprising to encounter other princes and princesses.
At that moment, the second prince, Mori, who had been summoned by the queen for a matter, happened to run into Valentina.
“Uh…”
Originally, Prince Mori had been displaying an impatient demeanor towards a sycophantic nobleman’s son beside him. However, upon realizing that his half-sister Valentina was approaching, his expression immediately soured.
His entire body tensed up, as if he had been bitten by a snake.
W-why am I running into this woman? I’ve been deliberately avoiding her lately!
Having been thoroughly taught a lesson and having witnessed his sister’s terrifying side, Prince Mori had been behaving himself more recently, no longer looking down on others as he once did.
From this perspective, one could say he had undergone some character correction, but the fear he felt towards his sister was deeply etched in his heart.
Now, it was too late to avoid her. Fortunately, Mori noticed that his terrifying sister seemed to be preoccupied with something else, momentarily unaware of his presence.
Good, I’ll just try to walk quietly along the inner wall and absolutely must not be noticed by her…
Prince Mori was as cautious as an adventurer entering a dragon’s lair, attempting to tiptoe past without making a sound.
If it were just him and his loyal confidante, Maid Martina, then nothing would happen, of course.
But unfortunately, the world rarely goes as one wishes; rather, it’s more often the case that things go awry.
“Oh my, isn’t this the Valentina, who is hailed as a hero by the commoners! You’re still as wild and rude as ever. Why not just switch careers to become an adventurer? After all, you seem more suited to be with monsters than with humans!”
“!!!?”
Since all the other princes and princesses held a hostile attitude towards Valentina, this nobleman’s son, standing with their faction, naturally shared the same sentiment.
Seeing this as an opportunity to show off, the nobleman immediately raised his voice to draw Valentina’s attention towards them.
Whether his mockery would have any effect on Valentina was uncertain, but it certainly caused Prince Mori, who was cautiously trying to avoid her, to change color dramatically.
“…Hmm? Ah, isn’t this my brother Mori and Lord Raymond, the third son of the Marquis of Clemens? Good day to you both. So, what were you just saying? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
Hearing someone call her name, Valentina turned to look at the three approaching figures. However, since she was only aware that someone had called out to her and hadn’t actually listened to the content, she politely asked what they had just said.
“Ha? Ha, hahaha! Oh dear, I didn’t expect this! Valentina, you really are something else, just like… uh?! Prince Mori?”
Thinking that Valentina was deliberately pretending not to hear, Lord Raymond, the marquis’s third son, was almost thrown off balance.
He couldn’t stand the fact that the illegitimate princess, who came from a lesser background, looked down on him, someone of proper lineage!
But thankfully, he held himself back and planned to organize his words to retort.
However, this time, the reacting Prince Mori certainly wouldn’t let him finish. Instead, he stepped hard on Raymond’s left foot, forcing him to shut up.
Raymond felt a sharp pain from the sudden stomp and looked at Prince Mori in confusion, only to find that he was clearly angry.
This left him even more puzzled.
What’s going on? Did he misunderstand something? Didn’t Prince Mori used to enjoy seeing them mock Valentina together?
“N-nothing, just a greeting. Valentina, don’t mind it. W-well then, I have something to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now!”
—
Prince Mori, who was now itching to pin Raymond to the ground and give him a good beating, suppressed his anger and immediately forced a smile at his sister before quickly disappearing from her sight at a pace that was just short of running.
Raymond, who had no idea what had just happened, was also followed by Prince Mori’s maid, Martina.
Martina, the maid who had once been instantly defeated by Valentina, didn’t mind the past at all. As she left, she bowed deeply to Valentina to show her respect and gratitude.
After all, although she had been left with a deep psychological shadow, the bad behavior of her master had indeed been forcibly corrected, and for this, Martina was very grateful to Valentina.
“???”
As the three left, Valentina didn’t realize she had been provoked, nor did she realize that Prince Mori was afraid of her.
Although she somewhat sensed Martina’s gratitude, she didn’t know the specific reason for it.
Could it be that Martina was grateful she didn’t continue to trouble Prince Mori?
Come on, that disgraceful guy is like a spineless stray dog on the roadside, at most a purebred stray dog. She wouldn’t bother to kick him for no reason.
But if the stray dog dared to bare its teeth at her, hehe, then next time she wouldn’t mind crushing his spine completely~
Influenced by Noah, the princess, whose character had become somewhat mature and tough, looked back at Prince Mori, who had already run far away, and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a sadistic smile.
“!!!!!?”
This inexplicably sent a chill down Prince Mori’s spine, even though he was already more than twenty meters away. He hurriedly started jogging to speed up his escape from the scene.
At this moment, the princess hadn’t noticed that she was already somewhat different from the impression people had of her.
Whether this was a good or bad thing depended on the person, but for Noah, who was watching all this from the side, it was undoubtedly a good thing.
It seemed that his training had already had some effect, but it wasn’t enough. It was time to continue the training journey.
Therefore, after deliberately leaving her alone for nearly a week, Noah suddenly appeared in front of the princess again.
“You seem really happy, Princess. What good thing happened? Tell me quickly, or I’ll have to amuse myself with you. For example, I could tell the world that the real you is already dead, and the current you is a fake.”
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