Chapter 48

The Fate of a Despised Person

Heading to the library with Zack, Marcus, and Welno, I immediately picked up the book I hadn’t finished reading last time.

Tsaobera History, the Collapse of the Tsaobera Dynasty, and—

[The Woman Who Brought About Tsaobera’s Ruin].

Placing the book on the writing desk, I pulled out a chair and sat down.

I traced back to the previous page.

[Felicia Frenzel, in her lament, took her own life]

(…Right, right. Last time, I was so shocked by this that I screamed.)

While talking with Welno, Zack, and Marcus, Magnolia had come by.

I traced the page with my fingertip.

Before, I was utterly shocked to be recorded as having died by suicide, but upon calm reflection, I realized the reason.

[In her lament, took her own life]

There’s only one reason it would be seen that way.

That is,

‘Felicia. As expected, you—?’

‘Please, dissolve our engagement. I can’t bear it.’

(No doubt, it’s this…!!)

The conversation between me and Lord Felix right after Onee-sama pushed me down the stairs, and it was framed as me jumping in despair.

After that, I supposedly locked myself in my room for years, so this is undoubtedly the reason.

That conversation took place in a public area.

My fall from the stairs caused a commotion, drawing many eyes.

There were likely many nobles present at the scene.

For a while, my story—things like ‘jumping from the stairs in despair’ or ‘pleading for the engagement’s dissolution in grief’—must have dominated high society, or perhaps even all of Tsaobera.

From there, I became a recluse, and if that room became a sealed one—being recorded as Felicia dying by suicide in lament wouldn’t be surprising.

And now, I realized something.

(What the heck~~~!!)

I instinctively covered my face with my hands.

Who would’ve thought locking myself in my room would lead to ‘Tick-tock, see you in five hundred years~☆’!!

I was fine with that!!

I was!! Jealous of Onee-sama!! Suffering!! Thinking it’d be okay if I could dissolve the engagement even by stepping aside!!

But to think it would lead to a suicide narrative…

(To be recorded as dying from a broken heart over Lord Felix…)

Ugh, the humiliation…!!

I rested my chin on my clasped fingers.

But there’s nothing I can do about it now.

The past is the past. It’s not allowed to be changed.

(…Really? Maybe just a little?)

Thinking that far, I shook my head, stopping myself.

No helping it. It’s fate… no, I’ll rephrase that to life, since I don’t like the word fate. Let’s accept it.

I turned the page.

From the next page, the collapse of the Tsaobera Dynasty—something I didn’t know—was detailed.

[However, the charm cast by Arnold Abercrombie was incomplete, or perhaps it didn’t fully affect Felix. Felix eventually began distancing himself from Agnes and took noble daughters as concubines one after another.]

(Huh…)

My eyes widened at the unexpected content.

I followed the next lines.

[Felix took Eileen, the daughter of Earl Aaron Spender, as a concubine, but due to Agnes’s schemes, Eileen lost her life. This led Aaron to vow revenge against the royal family.]

(What…? …What??)

I wanted more details, but perhaps because it was written recently or because it was five hundred years ago, the information was sparse—presented in a bullet-point style, the text continued.

Afterward, Aaron secretly allied with comrades who had discovered new abilities and carried out a rebellion against the royal family.

The new power, namely the Five Elemental Magics.

At the time, the Five Elemental Magics were completely unknown, their existence barely recognized.

Faced with this unknown power, the royal family was helpless… and the castle was engulfed in a great fire.

The king and queen, along with Felix, the last crown prince of the Tsaobera Dynasty, were said to have perished in the flames.

“—”

I already knew the Tsaobera Dynasty had fallen, and I understood it intellectually.

Even so, reading the vivid accounts of people I knew—it shocked me more than I expected.

Continuing the book, Onee-sama’s whereabouts were unknown, and it was speculated she fled to a foreign land through the connections of the Frenzel Duchess.

And the book concluded with:

[The unparalleled villainess who brought about the collapse of the Tsaobera Dynasty, Agnes Frenzel.

Who was she, truly?

Was she a spy sent to destroy the Tsaobera Dynasty, or a femme fatale destined to lead all to ruin—

That is something we, living in the present, cannot know.]

“…Lady Felicia.”

At that moment, a voice from behind made me snap my head up.

Turning, I saw Welno looking at me with concern.

“It’s already lunchtime. Would you like to take a break? I’ve called out to you a few times, but you were so engrossed in the book…”

“S-Sorry… I was a bit shocked. To think such things happened after I was gone… It’s a bit hard to believe.”

It still feels like a dream.

Tsaobera’s castle, burning in flames?

Lord Felix… Onee-sama, what happened to them?

As I sat in a daze, Welno gave a wry smile and shrugged.

“The end of the Tsaobera Dynasty isn’t entirely clear. It’s ancient history, after all… The castle burned in a great fire, and no documents survived, it seems.”

“…I see.”

I’m still reeling.

Lord Felix and Onee-sama.

I strongly wished they’d both just disappear somewhere, didn’t I?! But…

To say their deaths—likely without a happy ending—would satisfy me?

(That’s…)

I clenched my hands tightly.

(That’s not true. Absolutely not.)

I left those two for my own sake.

But I never wished for their misfortune.

As I stared down at my lap, another voice came from behind.

“Lady Felicia. I have something I’d like to ask as well.”

It was Zack.

Looking up, I saw him with his navy-blue hair and thin-framed black glasses, gazing at me quietly.

“Was Agnes Frenzel truly a villainess?”