Although Mia has a divine power that is so pure to the point she is called the incarnation of a saint, she was an unlucky character that could not be healed.
‘She helps others, but she cannot help herself. Do I help her or not?'
I quickly concluded that, in a situation where we were already face to face, it would be better to help her than to ignore her.
There is nothing good about being disliked by the heroine.
Then, when I reluctantly reached out to her.
"Lady Mia!"
At this ambiguous moment, Philap came running without stopping and I hardened like a stone, with my hand stretched out.
No, wait a moment.
This makes it look like I knocked her down!
"Mr. P-Philap."
Lifting Mia up like a princess, Philap stared at me furiously as if I were a bully.
"I've been wondering what you were up to because you were so quiet, but you were doing this kind of thing behind my back?"
As he screamed fiercely, my hands and feet suddenly cooled down and my heart thumped.
The reactions imprinted on Deborah's body were more intense than usual, and my head went blank.
Philap looked at the stiff me and snorted.
"That's right. There's no excuse for this. No matter how obsessed you are with me, I can't believe you pushed Lady Mia out of everyone's sight. You're a coward."
At this point, I really thought our good-hearted heroine would explain it for me; but she only said, ‘Mr. Philap.', in a dispirited voice.
‘Are you trying to stop him or encourage him?'
Perhaps because of the heroine's tactless behavior, I came to my senses for a moment.
I quickly pointed at Mia with my finger.
"She tripped on a tree root by herself and fell. I was trying to help her get up. Don't get me wrong. Hey, you, isn't what I'm saying correct?"
"Yes…"
Mia's eyelashes trembled softly, and her complexion became paler. Somehow it felt like I was coercing her answer.
"Are you telling me to believe you? Lady Mia, you don't need to take this woman's side just because you're scared."
God, isn't there a VAR here? Call the referee! The referee!
"Deborah. Don't you know you have been constantly harassing the ladies who admire me? If you're going to lie, say something plausible."
Philap struck me with a sharp energy as if he were dealing with the enemy forces.
I was suffocated by the pressure.
However, I didn't want to appear weak, so I clenched my fists as hard as I could and opened my mouth.
"I've told you twice now that I'm not lying. Are you so stupid that I have to say it a hundred times for you to understand?"
My words made the blood rush to his face.
I confronted him fiercely, with my eyes open.
"Deborah, I guess you seem to think the successor of the Montez family, who was chosen by the Spirit of Water and Fire, is easy enough to quickly understand and let it go? You're the easy one, being caught doing evil things. Apologize to Lady Mia."
As the energy he let out became stronger, it seemed that my body was crushed.
It seemed like I was going to disgracefully fall to my knees; but I gritted my teeth and stood up to him.
"Apologize."
"Why do I have to apologize for something I didn't do?"
"Right now!"
Then, when I was holding my ground.
The intangible pressure disappeared, and my vision was filled with a large body.
"That's enough."
The sunlight coming in through the leaves reflected brightly on the man's gorgeous blonde hair.
I looked up at the unexpected man and narrowed my eyes.
… Isidor Visconti?
"I can't believe you're oppressing a lady using force. I didn't know you were such a cruel person."
Isidor, who took off his round gold-rimmed glasses and effortlessly stuffed them in his pocket, hid me completely behind his back.
Only when the murderous look Philap was giving got cut off was I able to slowly catch my breath.
"Stay out of this, Isidor."
Philap's voice lowered like a beast.
The sound of teeth gritting could also be heard.
"You, if you keep doing that you will break all your molars. If you don't want to only eat porridge when you get older, why don't you calm down?"
"Get out of the way while I'm still being nice!"
"I will not move even when you're not being nice."
"Why are you suddenly interrupting and making me even angrier? This is none of your business."
"There is no ‘knight' that sees someone trying to subdue a lady with force and just passes by."
Philap hesitated when Isidor mentioned chivalry, the most important virtue to aristocratic men.
"How much did you see?"
"Since the moment you slyly boasted about having been chosen by both the water and fire spirits."
"Don't distort my words!"
"Why are you angry? I thought you were trying to be funny."
"You son of a…!"
Philap burst into rage and summoned the Spirit of Fire.
Even behind Isidor, who was acting as a shield, I could feel a burning heat on my skin.
"Seeing that you're trying to use your power, I guess I won with my words."
Isidor spoke in a light voice like a person on a picnic; but he contracted his back muscles, like a beast about to hunt, and slowly took out the sword that was hanging on his waist.
Immediately, there was tension between the two, as if the strings were pulled tightly.
"Mr. P-Philap, please…"
The tension, which had been continuing, anxiously, was feebly cut off by Mia's voice.
Perhaps because the fire emitted by the spirit was too much, she shook Philap's arm as if she were begging, dissuading him.
"Whoo."
Philap continued, breathing slowly as if suppressing his anger.
"This is really frustrating. Isidor, you. You're taking sides with Deborah, who pretends to be a lady you're supposed to protect; but isn't she a lady who torments weak young ladies behind the scenes? I absolutely must get an apology."
Isidor shrugged and opened his mouth.
"The person you're talking about is keeping quiet, so I don't know why you're making such a fuss. You, pink hair. Did Princess Deborah do anything to you that she needs to apologize for?"
"N-no…"
"I'm glad to hear that. Still, you should know your place."
"You, what are you talking about…!"
"If a woman from an unknown family dares to coerce Seymour, who stands side by side with my family, to get on their knees and apologize, then she doesn't know her place. Don't you think?"
As she heard his words, Mia Vinoche's face turned white.
On the other hand, Isidor showed off the pride that only a high-ranking aristocrat could have and held back a scornful laughter.
In the first place, I can't believe he is using social power to say that me apologizing to Mia Vinoche is nonsense.
I'm learning good things.
Huh? But I didn't do anything to apologize for.
"Isidor!"
Even though Philap screamed so loudly that my eardrums hurt, the man in front of me didn't even budge.
"Now that everyone knows that my name is Isidor, why don't you stop pestering me? If you have nothing to say, don't force yourself anymore and let us go our own ways. Don't you care about your princess' knees?"
Philap's expression wrinkled even more when Isidor pointed his chin at Mia's bloody dress.
Panting, he reluctantly turned around and lifted Mia up in his arms.
"Isidor, you will regret turning your back on me today."
"Hm. You speak as if we were ever facing each other."
"You're a son of a bitch that blabbers a lot!"
"I have a lot to say so I guess I will never shut up."
At Isidor's endless puns, Philap shrieked like a dinosaur gushing out fire.
After kicking a tree several times, venting out his anger, he moved away with big strides.
"He's got a lot of energy."
Isidor, who blurted out a short comment while looking at the base of the tree, turned his head in my direction.
"Are you alright?"
"… I'm fine."
Nothing bad happened. It's just ridiculous that the situation itself got so serious.
It seems like I have started a catfight.
When in reality, he's the one who did everything by himself.
"You look pale."
"Because my face is white like white jade even if I don't apply anything… Oh!"
I pretended it wasn't a big deal; but as soon as I took one step, my long legs, like those of a model, betrayed their owner's will and I staggered like a newborn giraffe.
Seems like my legs had lost their strength due to the murderous look Philap was giving me to kneel down.
"You're a terrible liar."
Snatching my arm, Isidor saved me from falling to the ground.
"I think you should go back for now and pull yourself together. I'll help you get to the carriage."
His mood was quite different from when he was dealing with Philap.
It certainly felt light, but there was a sign of coldness now.
He seems a little angry…?
Does his face look this cold when he doesn't smile?
"Unless you're going to crawl to the carriage, don't be so stubborn."
I hesitated for a moment, overwhelmed, and eventually leaned on Isidor's strong body.
Surprisingly, he supported me very carefully, as if dealing with something made of glass.
"… Why are you helping me?"
I asked, looking up at his face, which seemed to have been elaborately carved by a master artisan.
Isidor, who was a witness by chance, is a man that was always surrounded by people.
It doesn't seem like he isn't aware of all the rumors about me, so I don't know why he just took my side.
"Let's just say it's because of chivalry."
"…"
"What the Princess described as being nosy."
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