Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

368  Realization

"Is this for real?!" "His Highness Edward is breaking off his engagement with Lady Christine?!" "There's no way this is real..." "I never thought their relationship had stagnated that much." The entire hall was filled with the sea of students' murmurs of shock and disbelief after Prince Edward abruptly ended his engagement with Christine. Although many were feeling betrayed, there was a portion of the student body that disliked Christine and found the annulment amusing. "Serve her right. She has been too authoritative the whole time."

"She has become so high and mighty that she always gets on my nerves." "What can you do now, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?" "It is really pathetic to be defeated by a baron's daughter." They sneered at Christine as they stared down at her lowest point, even though Christine was the daughter of an archduke. The roles between her and Edith had been reversed as soon as the prince chose Edith over her, which meant the students could disregard her social status and make fun of her misfortune.

My sister and I found their scorns irritating, but there was nothing we could do about it. As far as we were concerned, Christine's life in the academy and in the outside world had begun to crumble. "It's pissing me off." My sister frowned as she could not stop tapping her outsole on the floor relentlessly. "Why do people have to treat her this badly? It is not like it's her fault." "Keep your cool down, Sister," I said. "I feel the same too, but it's not the right time to act. Remember the plan." "... Alright, I'll be patient."

Actually, we were going to execute two different plans. One was from what Christine had instructed us to do once reaching a certain point, and the other was the plan that Big Sis had no idea of. But no matter the plan I would follow, I was making sure that it would benefit us, especially my sister.

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore! Thus is the best time to leap into action." But before she could take a step, I immediately grabbed her arms and prevented her from executing the supposed plan. Since I was superior to her in terms of strength, she could not budge me. She was furious, so I engaged in a telepathic conversation with her so that we could talk in private.

(It's not the right time yet.)

(What are you doing, Raphael?! Let me go!)

(I won't let you do that, Sister.)

(Huh? Are you betraying her?!)

(... I am sorry, but please understand me, Sister.)

(Fuck off!)

"Why are you holding your sister, Raphael?" Iris noticed us and asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Right, Sister?" "...Yeah." "If you say so..." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Your Imperial Highness, you can't do this to me!" Christine's voice rang out. "I did everything for your sake!" "For my sake or for your own gain?" the prince coldly responded. "You only want the title of empress so that you can boss around everyone while enjoying all the privileges and power." "You are wrong, Your Imperial Highness! I would never do such things...! Everything I do is for you and the empire!" "Stop it, Christine." Edward regarded her with disdain. "We all know that our engagement was arranged and a measurement to maintain the relationship between the Grise and the royal family."

"It all happened because that woman ruined everything!" If only she did not enter into our lives."

"If I did not meet her, I would have been under your thumb for the rest of my life. But not anymore. Edith freed me up from this prison and showed me what freedom feels like." Christine stared at the crown prince, but he seemed to choose not to respond to her anymore. After saying that, Prince Edward turned to Edith and then gave her a reassured smile. "This is the proof of how much I love Edith." Soon after, His Imperial Highness Edward held Edith's hands, and then she raised her heels. They drew their faces closer, and then their lips met. "Oh, my goddess!" "They are making out!" "Ugh! I am jealous! How lucky of her!" The crown erupted as soon as Prince Edward and Edith kissed, but mostly consisted of girls' thrilled squeals. Meanwhile, Christine was mortified, and she seemed on the brink of despair. Once they broke the kiss, the two of them looked down at Christine while wearing a grin.

"Why Your Imperial Highness...why...?" "I don't want to disrespect ladies," Warren stared down at her. "But it is pathetic to see an archduke's daughter diminish this much." "Have you looked in the mirror these days?" Celeste sneered. "Look at yourself; see for yourself how awful you are. Your followers do not support you anymore."

"It's pointless, Christine," Francis said. Please accept the annulment. I hope you soon understand that this is for the sake of all of us." Hearing scornful voices, Christine gritted her teeth and tightly clenched her fist in anger and frustration. "For the sake of us, my ass! There's no way I can accept this...!" she said as she looked at them furiously. "Do you all really think you can escape all the consequences of this nonsense?!"

"We are well aware," the prince calmly said. "It is true that it might have caused turbulence within the empire's internal and external affairs, but no matter what obstacles and hardships we would cross, we would overcome them confidently in the name of love." "You would go as far as that for me, Edward?" Edith asked.

"For you, Edith," he responded with a smile.

"Let me join your journey, too." "Don't forget that I am here." "I will always have your back, Your Imperial Highness." "You three as well?"

Warren, Celeste, and Francis gladly embarked upon His Imperial Highness's journey with Edith. However, that struck the final nail in the coffin within Christine's heart. "I see." She then lowered her gaze. "If you love her that much and would do anything for her, then there is nothing I could do." As if all of her strength suddenly disappeared from her, her whole body went limp like a puppet that had lost its strings. Surrounded by the cheers and sneers, Christine realized that all her efforts were in vain.