Chapter 42
42 – The Suspicious Princess
“Love and lifelong companionship aren’t things to joke about so casually.”
John froze after hearing Dillin’s words, then gave him a strange look. Without thinking, he reached out—one hand touching Dillin’s forehead, the other pressing against his own.
“…What are you doing?” Dillin asked.
“One of us must have a fever,” John said seriously. “Either I’m so delirious I’m hallucinating, or you’re burning up and spouting nonsense. One way or another, one of us isn’t walking out of here today!”
“It’s only been a few days, and you’ve gone from a raging cuck to a chaste paladin. Something’s definitely off!”
“Cuck? That was never the case. Don’t start with that.” Dillin swatted his hand away.
Truth be told, he was a little surprised at how strongly he had reacted to what was mostly a joke. It was like it had touched a nerve, a line he hadn’t known was there.
Maybe he was just overtired—his nerves a little frayed. Or maybe, as John suggested, he still hadn’t truly moved on?
“You said earlier that there was someone else besides Estrid who’s popular on campus?” Trying to cover for his momentary lapse, Dillin cleared his throat and picked up the conversation.
“Ha! I knew you’d be interested.” John patted Dillin on the shoulder.
“You really need to brush up on campus lore. The other person whose popularity rivals that of Estrid is—”
CLANG—!
A deep, sonorous bell echoed through the arena.
Had the match started already?
Dillin blinked, glancing down at the book still open on his lap. He hadn’t realized so much time had passed.
Although it was officially a match, the main purpose was data collection and testing. It wasn’t a ranking battle, nor a real combat assessment, so there were no fancy introductions or emcees—just the referees were present.
“Time’s up. Arena 23, first match: Brynn Kaido versus Felicia Zorsa.”
“Ohh, here we go!” John’s eyes lit up when he heard the names. He stretched his neck like a giraffe, eager to see.
“Who?” Dillin, unusually, tore his gaze away from his book and immediately spotted the glamorous girl walking into the ring.
She stood tall and radiant at the center of the arena—a girl with noble amber hair and golden-orange eyes. She wore an elegant high-waisted dress, her proud chest thrust forward, exuding the presence of a queen who looked down upon all. Every movement radiated effortless confidence.
Her twin tails flowed like a cascading stream, the ends brushing her flawless, slightly soft white thighs. Knee-high leather boots accentuated her long legs.
Despite being casual wear, the outfit gave the impression of a princess dressed for a grand ball—she stood out like a pearl among pebbles.
Arms folded, her exquisite features embodied the very definition of “graceful elegance.” Her chin was tilted just so, golden eyes seemingly gazing down upon everyone present. The curve at the corner of her lips wasn’t arrogance, but a natural, unshakable confidence—one that said she would never lose.
“That’s Felicia Zorsa, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Belyr. They call her the ‘White Lily Knight.’”
“She’s the second most popular student after the ‘Silvermoon Princess,’ Estrid,” John added with a sigh. “It’s a shame, really. If not for that, she’d probably be even more popular.”
Normally, John would’ve been all over a girl like that. But this time, all Dillin could see in his eyes was regret.
That piqued Dillin’s curiosity.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You really don’t know?” John looked at him in disbelief. “Man, do you live under a rock? What do you even do all day? Don’t tell me you’re one of those ‘books and nothing else’ types.”
“You see,” he continued, looking around like he was checking for eavesdroppers. Then he picked up a small twig from the ground and started bending it—not breaking it entirely, just enough to make it crooked.
“Get it?” He waved the bent twig in front of Dillin.
“Nope.” Dillin tilted his head.
“Ugh, fine. Listen closely. That princess? She doesn’t like men.”
“She’s free to like whoever she wants, isn’t she?” Dillin still looked confused.
“Argh, no, I mean—she likes women, alright?!”
“…Do you guys have any proof of that?” Dillin asked after a pause.
“Of course we do. It’s common knowledge. You’re way out of the loop, man.”
“Just because something’s ‘common knowledge,’ that gives you the right to speculate on someone’s sexuality without evidence?” Dillin frowned.
“You think she doesn’t know what people are saying behind her back? And yet she’s never denied it—not once. Isn’t that basically admitting it?”
“And besides, who’d dare spread baseless rumors about a royal princess? People say Felicia’s into girls because—well, actually, it kind of involves you.”
“Me?” Dillin was baffled. “I don’t even know her.”
“Not directly—more like… indirectly. You see, Felicia once sent a love letter to your old f— I mean, to Estrid.”
“…”
“Yup. Princess Felicia is in love with Silvermoon Estrid. Everyone on campus knows that,” John said, watching Dillin’s expression carefully.
“At the end of the day, love is love,” Dillin finally said. “If she truly has the courage to pursue someone despite everything, I think that deserves some respect.”
“Well, yes, but… there are rumors that her private life is a bit… messy.”
“Hm?”
“Some say the princess has, uh… a pretty strong appetite. Like, she can play ‘poker’ with five pure-hearted girls in one night and still be bouncing around fresh as a daisy the next morning… Of course, that’s just a rumor. No one knows if it’s true. But I mean—it sounds kind of believable, right?”
“…”
This time, Dillin looked at Felicia with a faint trace of distaste in his eyes.
Primitive, base behavior. A pathetic indulgence in desire. Disloyal in love, yet still with the gall to pursue someone else publicly.
Of course, it was just a rumor. But if it were true, it would be… revolting.