Chapter 20: Arcana II (part 1)

“What crime did I commit?”

“L-Lady Reina?”

“Discrimination is disgraceful. Even if someone is a commoner and unfamiliar with aristocratic manners, I believed that should never be an excuse for indulgence.”

“Calm down, Lady Reina. If we just talk this through, then obviously—”

Sophia tried to steady her breath, attempting to calm Reina.

But Reina wasn’t listening.

“For one to be strong, one must be strict. Those with talent should guide others, not enable their ignorance. That was the belief I upheld as a noble of the Empire. I thought I could hold my head high under that conviction.”

The night was dark.

Neither Sophia nor Reina exchanged another word.

Reina had approached Sophia uninvited, speaking in a stream of anguish.

In her right hand, she held a silver knife.

“But all I ever received in return was contempt… isolation… ridicule. My life became filled with negativity. No one ever listened. Everyone pointed fingers.”

Reina stood before Sophia, truly seeing her for the first time.

“Hey, Miss Sophia. Please… answer me. What did I do that was so terribly wrong? You’re a saintess. Surely, you would know.”

“Reina, let’s go inside. Come into my room, and we can talk—”

“So you don’t know either.”

Reina slowly raised the knife toward Sophia.

Her once-dreamy, violet eyes were gone.

The light in her gaze had completely faded—leaving only despair.

***

Suddenly, I remembered the last time Reina visited Sophia.

In the original story, Reina was described in many ways. But one detail remained unchanged—her eyes.

Her eyes were always described as shining. That description never disappeared.

“…Young Master Ike?”

Reina called my name.

Joy should’ve been the first thing I felt, seeing her after so long.

But instead, a deep anxiety clung to me.

“It’s been a while,” she said.

I didn’t want to reveal what I felt.

Maybe it was because I’d been so focused on the plot of the book, my expression remained stiff.

“The last time we met was about three years ago.”

“Yes.”

I glanced around. No one was nearby.

For some reason, it made me want to speak freely—like we used to, when we were alone.

“So much time has passed already.”

Reina smiled calmly.

I wished she could speak more openly, but I knew that was impossible now.

She didn’t have that freedom anymore—not in her position.

That realization made my chest ache.

“You’re busy with public duties every day?”

“Yes. After all, I’m expected to become the Crown Princess. I have to work hard.”

To my surprise, once we started talking, it felt just like before.

Reina even brought up topics first, like she had so many stories waiting inside her.

“I missed a perfect score because I made a mistake on a question about light-attribute magic.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Still, I think second place is impressive. I placed seventh—even with help from my brother.”

There were so many things I wanted to ask her.

Why did you stop replying to my letters?

Why didn’t you come to the banquets or balls I attended?

But I already knew that asking would shatter this fleeting, comfortable moment.

So I decided to enjoy it.

I trusted that, someday, she would be the one to tell me everything.

“How is your relationship with His Highness?”

“I’d say it’s going well. We spoke just last month.”

Reina smiled, covering her mouth gently.

It didn’t look like a lie.

Since she couldn’t meet me, I assumed many things had changed. But I doubted the Crown Prince had truly opened his heart to her.

His eyes—whenever I saw them—never seemed to change.

“Then… why didn’t you come to the entrance ceremony?”

Sensing that nothing good would come of mentioning the Crown Prince, I changed the subject.

Besides, Reina couldn’t bridge that gap alone.

In the original story, despite striving to become Crown Princess, Reina was never accepted—and met a tragic end.

That’s why… it’s my role to help her.

“The entrance ceremony… I just didn’t want to go. I felt like I’d regret it if I did.”

“Regret?”

“It was just a feeling. Maybe it didn’t make sense. Even if it did, it would’ve been foolish anyway.”

I didn’t quite understand what she meant.

“What does that mean—”

Then—

“Oh?”

A voice interrupted.

I turned around and saw a girl standing there.

“I wasn’t the only one to find this place, after all.”

And suddenly, I remembered.

This spot was often where Sophia and the Crown Prince would meet.

“Hey, I’m also a freshman. Do you mind if I sit with you?”

In the original story, this was the moment Reina and the female lead—Sophia—first met.

It was also the start of the worst impression.

Sophia looked at us with an awkward smile.

‘Please.’

How many times had I prayed?

More desperately than during the finals of the Knight Competition—

“….”

“Ha ha ha.”

Reina narrowed her eyes, half-lidded, glaring at Sophia, who had just asked to sit with us.

About three years ago—Reina and I had gone to the market on an errand for mother.

That’s when we first met Sophia.

Sophia had run into me while rushing somewhere, and Reina, seeing that, had been furious.

Thinking back, it’s no wonder they didn’t have a good impression of each other.

But that was more than three years ago.

There hadn’t been any contact since. And that encounter lasted only a few minutes.