Get Ahead of the Fallen Heroine and Make the Bull-Headed Man the Victim

40. This really has made the princess laugh in anger

Knowing that explanations would be futile, Valentina gave up on trying to explain.

Just as the knights were nervously unsure whether to resort to force, she immediately looked to the team leader, the knight captain.

“Alva, which noble family was the criminal disguised as me from?”

“…It’s the House of Marquis Clemens, Your Highness.”

Others had misidentified the situation due to misinformation, emotional influence, and Valentina’s own demeanor, but the team leader, being somewhat seasoned, quickly realized that the person before him was indeed the real deal.

He immediately placed his right arm across his chest and bowed to Valentina, signaling his subordinates to quickly sheathe their half-drawn swords.

The knights, now understanding, immediately followed the captain’s lead and bowed as well.

They were starting to feel tense in a different sense.

After all, if it had been another royal family, they would surely have faced difficulties, considering they had mistaken their object of loyalty for a criminal.

It was all the fault of those two overly excited noble sons; if they hadn’t shouted about seeing a criminal from so far away, they wouldn’t have been led astray.

The knights were now filled with regret; had they known, they wouldn’t have agreed to let those two families come along.

“…So it’s actually the House of Marquis Clemens.”

Hearing something even worse than she had anticipated, Valentina couldn’t help but sigh.

You see, the House of Clemens is one of the most powerful noble families in the kingdom, so it was no wonder they had sent a knight order to investigate.

“…Alright, let’s return to the scene. I’ll explain personally.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Though she felt a headache coming on, so intense that she wanted to bite some irresponsible evil god, Valentina still steeled herself and walked toward the knights.

“Uh…”

The two noble sons who had originally planned to arrest Valentina no longer had their previous arrogance, fearing they might catch her attention.

Fortunately, Valentina had no time to pay them any mind; after casually calling out their names to continue leading the way, she showed no intention of making things difficult for them.

—

The two looked at each other, realizing they had no other choice but to comply.

Thus, much like when they arrived, the group set off in the opposite direction.

This time, however, it was Valentina leading the way. Her recent forced training by Noah had instilled in her a certain temperament and leadership quality, making her presence at the forefront of the knights feel entirely natural.

And so, the group returned to their starting point.

— The marquis’s residence in the capital.

Like Prince Mori’s private estate, the marquis’s residence was equally grand. If there was any difference, it was that there were far more people waiting for her than she had anticipated.

When she revealed her identity as the second princess of her kingdom and requested to meet the marquis, who happened to be in the capital, it was not the marquis himself who emerged.

Instead, it was a total of six young nobles from different families.

From marquises to barons, seven or eight members of six prominent families stood in the hall, facing Valentina with no intention of greeting her.

The situation was clearly not quite right.

Even the two noble sons who had previously been anxious in front of Valentina now seemed to have found their footing, hastily making their way over and regaining their arrogance as if they had found a backing.

Their expressions as they looked at Valentina were filled with resentment.

Valentina was equally bewildered but had no choice but to hold her ground.

What else could she do? After all, it was Noah who had caused her trouble.

It was all her own doing.

“You all seem quite imposing, but I assure you, I am not an imposter; I am the genuine Valentina.”

In truth, Valentina knew they were aware of her identity, but she didn’t know how to start, so she began from there.

“Of course, we know it is you, Your Highness. We are indeed looking for you.”

The one speaking on behalf of the group was a handsome young man standing in the center, probably in his late twenties. He was the eldest son of the Clemens family, named Leonard.

If all went as expected, he would inherit his father’s noble title and become the next Marquis of Clemens, one of the leaders of the younger generation.

Leonard was the kind of man who always wore a sly smile, but at that moment, he couldn’t muster a smile; his expression was serious, even somewhat grim.

Thus, Valentina began to feel that the situation might be worse than she had anticipated.

“Is that so? Then what exactly is the matter? By the way, what happened to Mr. Raymond? Why isn’t he here with you?”

Valentina carefully scanned the young nobles standing opposite her and noticed that Raymond, Leonard’s younger brother—the very man who had spoken to her earlier that morning while walking in the palace—was not among them.

So she merely asked out of courtesy, not expecting Leonard’s already unpleasant expression to worsen, nor the reaction of someone among them to be so intense.

“Your Highness! How can you still bring up Raymond! It was you who ordered the thugs, who bear a striking resemblance to you, to attack Raymond and my brother Bowen, wasn’t it?!”

The first to respond before Leonard was a red-haired noblewoman, slightly older than Valentina. She looked extremely angry, completely disregarding her image as a lady, and unleashed a fierce tirade at Valentina.

“Eh?”

Now Valentina was truly at a loss.

What did that mean?

—

So, Bowen should be that plump nobleman’s son who was grabbed by the evil god by the throat last time, right? Why is his name appearing here?

Could it be that the evil god distorted the perceptions of those around, believing that the rioters at that time were her nearly identical doppelgängers?!

With a glimmer of understanding, Valentina’s face paled slightly from fright, and the young nobles, interpreting her reaction, reached a conclusion they had no idea how to substantiate.

“Just as I thought! Your Highness! That rioter was actually your doppelgänger acting on your orders, right? This is too much! We clearly did nothing wrong! Do you just want to steal the spotlight that badly?!”

As if seizing on Valentina’s weakness, Leonard immediately took the moral high ground, accusing her of being willful and turning them into villains for the sake of her reputation.

“Exactly! Your Highness, you should learn what it means to be a lady!”

“Wielding weapons is so unbecoming! You’re bringing shame upon all of us!”

At this moment, other noble sons joined in the condemnation.

Valentina had merely been thinking about Noah for a moment, and by the time she noticed, she was already being pointed at by a crowd.

Feeling that if she let them continue, she would surely be imprisoned as the mastermind behind it all, she quickly raised her hand to signal the noisy group to quiet down.

“Wait! Who told you that the rioter who looks like me is in league with me?!”

The princess felt that while the evil god was detestable, as long as she used her image to commit wrongdoing, it should be enough; there shouldn’t be any implication that the two were colluding. There might be some hidden truth behind this.

Unexpectedly, just by asking that question, she immediately received an answer.

And this time, the one answering her was a figure of even greater significance than the Marquis of Clements.

“Oh dear, isn’t it? Valentina, your acting skills are quite impressive! It’s just a pity, though, that your plan to paint the nobles who don’t side with you as the evil ones, and then to gain public favor by portraying yourself as the one upholding justice, has been completely exposed! Why not just admit it here and now!”

The voice came from the second floor, a young woman’s voice, melodious and enchanting, yet carrying an undeniable assertiveness.

She was a stunning blonde beauty, her cerulean eyes filled with confidence, exuding a noble aura that seemed to overshadow everything around her—a captivating beauty, like a moon surrounded by stars.

She was the true core of this group of noble sons, another princess, Valentina’s half-sister, Delia.

This was actually a trap set by Delia herself, with the obvious aim of diminishing Valentina’s prestige.

What she wanted was to see her arrogant sister’s expression of shock and discomfort at this moment.

Hmph! That’s right! You must realize you’ve been outmaneuvered! Even as you realize it, you must feel powerless and regretful! This is the price you pay for stealing my thunder!

Standing on the red carpet leading from the second floor to the first, Delia, in her white royal gown, looked like a queen, proudly fanning herself with an exquisite fan, looking down at her sister like a defeated dog, her mood couldn’t be better—she was absolutely delighted.

However, what Delia didn’t know was that while Valentina was surprised by her presence, the real reason Valentina couldn’t control her expression at that moment was Noah, who stood behind her.

Taking advantage of the fact that only Valentina could see him now, Noah laughed loudly behind Delia:

“Hahaha! Did you not expect this, Your Highness! This time, I’ve teamed up with this guy! Because I suddenly feel that the blonde princess is the true heir! And your sister is quite a beauty too, especially those hands adorned with exquisite white gloves—so charming, don’t you think? I suddenly feel that it might be nice to have her replace you as my plaything from now on!”

Of course, this was just Noah’s lie; Delia, the clearly wicked woman, couldn’t even reach Valentina’s toes.

But it was precisely this that would further infuriate Valentina and increase her aversion to him, so Noah didn’t care much about it.

“Ah, hehehe! Is that so? It’s you, dear sister!”

At this moment, Valentina had fallen into Noah’s trap, mistaking Delia for someone else targeted by the evil god.

Just the thought that Noah had chosen her sister Delia, who had almost no other merits besides her beauty, over herself made her heart sink.

—

Valentina was so enraged that she lowered her head and began to laugh.

That laughter was so chilling that it startled everyone else present.

Huh? Wasn’t Valentina, the illegitimate princess, always the one to respond to Princess Delia’s mockery and teasing with a forced smile or by retreating?

Then what was this terrifying aura that made one instinctively shiver?

—