Margaret felt her mind go blank for a moment.
Did she hear that correctly?
"Shitty, you say?"
Forgetting even to greet the princess, she asked, her voice as cold as ice.
Even to her own ears, her tone was incredibly cold.
"Yeah, it's really shitty... Huh?"
Raiden, who was nodding at Margaret's question, seemed to realize something was wrong and turned around.
And in that instant, their eyes met.
"...."
"...."
Raiden's face stiffened, his complexion gradually turning pale.
The same went for Ariel and Lucy, who were next to him.
"Lady Phyler...?"
Raiden stammered in surprise.
Margaret clenched her fists.
"It's shitty, you say?"
"N-no... that's not..."
"Shut up."
"......"
Raiden closed his mouth at her sharp retort.
Margaret glared at him, biting her lip.
-Rip...
Her lip, which she had been chewing on since earlier, finally tore, unable to withstand the force.
The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
Margaret stared at Raiden with cold eyes.
Something was overflowing inside her.
"I'm sorry you dislike me so much, Young Master Lishite."
"That's not..."
"How much do you hate me to use such a vulgar expression as 'shitty'?"
"No, it just slipped out..."
"So much so that your true feelings slip out unconsciously?"
"......"
Unable to refute Margaret's continuous attacks, Raiden lowered his head, accepting defeat.
The air around the carriage stop was heavy.
The only sound that broke the suffocating silence was the ringing of a bell, signaling the imminent arrival of a carriage.
-Ring-a-ling...
As the carriage pulled into the stop, Margaret turned and headed towards it.
And just before she got on,
"You're the worst."
Without looking back, Margaret muttered those words and boarded the carriage.
Raiden and his companions could only watch in stunned silence as the carriage carrying Margaret disappeared into the distance.
***
"Ha..."
The first to break the silence at the frozen carriage stop was my sigh.
I grabbed my throbbing head and slumped down on a bench.
"Does this even make sense..."
This wasn't some cheap drama, so why was Margaret there?
Thanks to her, I missed the carriage, and the mood was ruined.
As I scratched my head with a groan, Lucy, who was next to me, nudged me.
"Raiden..."
"Yes...?"
"That was Lady Phyler just now... right?"
She had an incredulous look on her face.
Perhaps Lucy was seeing this cold side of Margaret for the first time.
After all, Margaret was the idol of the second years, a girl who was smart, kind, beautiful, and warm to everyone.
"I... I've never seen Margaret talk like that..."
"M-me neither... I bumped into her a few times with you before, and she was definitely..."
I smiled wryly at Lucy and Ariel, who were both in a state of panic.
Damn it, the field trip hadn't even started, and it was already like this...
What was I thinking, calling it "shitty" in front of her?
I scolded myself, tapping my forehead.
As I sat there blankly, drumming my fingers on my forehead like a monk striking a wooden fish, Ariel, who was glancing at the bulletin board, pointed to the bottom of the group list and asked,
"By the way, brother, do you know who Golden Boy and Violet are?"
I answered her indifferently.
"There's this guy named Golden Boy, he's a bit... special. I think he might have hit his head when he was younger."
"Golden Boy is his name? What a peculiar name."
"Tell me about it..."
I didn't know until a few weeks ago either.
That Golden Boy guy's real name was, in fact, Golden Boy.
Was this... right?
Why was there a name like 'Golden Boy' in a fantasy world?
It was like someone in my previous life being named 'Blindingly Bright Shining Sunlight'.
Maybe the author who wrote the original story was Korean...
I don't know.
My head was spinning.
Ariel mumbled with interest at my answer.
"Oh... That's an interesting name. I'd like to meet him some time..."
"Absolutely not."
I cut her off firmly.
Ariel meeting Golden Boy?
Not before my head gets chopped off... no, not even after that.
"He's a bad person."
"Really?"
"Yes, so you shouldn't try to meet him, okay?"
"Hmm... If you say so, brother, I understand!"
After a moment of contemplation, Ariel nodded.
I patted her head at her obedience.
"Good girl."
"Hehe..."
Ariel giggled and leaned into my touch.
She purred like a cat for a moment before asking another question.
"Brother, then do you know who Violet is?"
"Ah, Violet is... wait, what?"
"Huh...?"
I looked down at Ariel, wondering if I had misheard.
She blinked at me as if wondering what was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
"Did you just say... Violet?"
"Yeah, she's in your group, right?"
I followed Ariel's gaze.
The name 'Violet' was clearly written on the list.
The impact of Margaret and Golden Boy being listed above was so strong that I must have missed it.
I stared at the name for a moment, frozen.
"Violet... is in the same group...?"
"Hmm? Do you know her too?"
"......"
Of course, I did.
Perhaps better than anyone else in this world.
After all, the girl named Violet...
Was the mid-boss that appeared in Volume 5 of the original novel, 'Sorrow-erasing heroes'.
"Violet, the Purple Monster..."
And at the same time...
She was the character I adored the most in the original story.
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Thanks for the chapter
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