Chapter 1

※The comic version is based on the story of the book version.

Please note that the story differs slightly from the web version.

"False Holy Maiden Presia! I will now, at this moment and in this place, break our engagement with you!"

Don't laugh, absolutely not.

It's almost working, so hold it in, I must...

While listening to the voice of the Crown Prince, my fiancé, Prince Elder, I was desperately trying to suppress my facial muscles.

This is the ballroom of the Orlassion Castle, located at the heart of the Orlassion Holy Kingdom.

Today, a birthday party for the Crown Prince is being held, and people from nobles to influential figures from the regions have gathered here.

And right in the middle of this glamorous party, I am currently being denounced.

"...Why?"

When I asked with a trembling voice, the Prince snorted and said,

I hope my trembling, bowed figure looks to everyone else like I'm in shock...

"Why? Stop pretending already."

At the back of the ballroom, there is a dais, and on it, a throne.

Above the throne is an arch topped with a plaster statue, and this arch is surrounded by griffins, making it a very grand throne.

However, the throne is empty.

Instead, in front of the throne, two beautiful men and women are standing.

One is a man with brown hair, my fiancé and the Crown Prince, Prince Elder. A handsome, eighteen-year-old adult male.

The other is a young girl with lustrous black hair.

Her name, I believe, is Himari.

She's a mysterious girl who came from another world not long ago.

Her round eyes are incredibly cute.

When I look at Himari, she hides behind the shadow of the Crown Prince, looking frightened.

"Even the entire nation now knows that you have been pretending to be a 'Holy Maiden' and have been doing as you please in the castle for the past ten years!"

"..."

I never claimed to be a Holy Maiden, and I didn't do as I pleased.

In fact, I repeatedly asked the temple to let me return to the orphanage where I used to live, and I only received simple Holy Maiden's clothes and plain food...

"The fact that the God sent a Holy Maiden from another world to the Sefinata Temple is well known to all."

That's right.

Himari came to this country about three months ago.

The temple suddenly glowed, and she was found lying in the prayer room.

At that time, there was a surge of monsters, and many people were injured.

She apparently had far stronger 'Holy Power' than I did, and she healed all the injured with her prayers. The shock of that moment is unforgettable.

So I thought,

Isn't Himari the Holy Maiden?

"This is nothing but God's salvation for our country, which has been tormented by a false Holy Maiden! 'Himari Harushima' standing here is the true Holy Maiden!"

Before I knew it, the people around me had parted, leaving me standing alone in the center of the ballroom.

"Not only did you pretend to be a Holy Maiden for ten years, but you also tried to kill Himari out of fear of being exposed as a fake!"

N-no, I didn't!

I didn't do it at all!

"…I have never done such a thing."

"Stop lying!"

The Prince, enraged, shouted.

"Can you still pretend after seeing this arm of Himari!?"

After a bout of shouting, the Prince brought Himari to the front.

Himari, with teary eyes, gently rolled up the sleeve of her dress.

Her wrist was wrapped in bandages.

"A few days ago, Himari was attacked by someone with a knife."

"..."

Oh.

"Himari, is the person who hurt you here now?"

Himari, clinging to the Prince, nodded.

Then, with a trembling finger, she slowly pointed at me.

The hall erupted in chaos.

"It's Lady Presia. Lady Presia attacked me with a knife. You're not fit to be a Holy Maiden..."

The noblewomen around us cried out in shock.

"Lady Presia, please admit your guilt. Apologize sincerely and show true repentance. If you do, we will not punish you..."

"Oh, how kind, Himari. But I cannot allow anyone who tries to harm you to remain in the palace."

The Prince shook his head, embraced Himari warmly, and then pointed at me again.

"For the crime of falsely claiming to be a Holy Maiden and the attempted murder of the future queen, I will break our engagement and judge you with my royal prerogative!"

Prince Elder shouted and ordered the knights to capture me.

Immediately, the knights who had been standing by rushed over and roughly pinned me to the floor.

"Return the holy forehead ornament as well."

The Prince jumped down from the dais.

The sound of his footsteps approached.

"This belongs to Himari."

──This was the moment I had been waiting for.

I never thought it would go so smoothly.

Clank.

The Prince touched the circlet embedded in my forehead.

At that moment, a cool sound rang out, and the pressure loosened.

As the Prince applied force, it smoothly slipped off my head.

Only the royal family could remove it.

I had been waiting for this moment for so long.

"Ah...!"

The moment the circlet was removed, my mind became suddenly calm.

The pain that had been all over my body instantly subsided.

The circlet, which had been forcibly placed on me by the High Priest to seal my magic, had been a torture device for me, causing intense pain.

"Aa... Aa..."

The pain was gone.

My magic was returning.

Power was surging through my body!

"Here, Himari. This is yours."

The Prince gently placed it on Himari's head.

The circlet glowed softly and settled on Himari's head, a reaction it never had when it was on me.

"Oh!"

The murmurs around us grew louder.

"Is this the power of the true Holy Maiden...!"

"It's something that never happened with Lady Presia."

"Indeed, Lady Himari is the true Holy Maiden!"

The room was filled with murmurs and applause.

Himari, with tears in her eyes, bowed before everyone.

The applause grew louder, enveloping the entire hall.

In the midst of this, I was dragged out of the room by the knights.

As I was being dragged away, the Prince called out to me.

"How does it feel? To have the circlet taken by the true Holy Maiden?"

"..."

"Pathetic, heretic eyes."

Good.

It was noisy around me.

I couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

How do I feel?

──It's the best, Your Highness.

Now I'm free.

I said nothing and was dragged by the knights into the dungeon of the castle.

I was thrown onto the cold stone floor.

Deprived of food, my emaciated body rolled across the floor with a thud.

"Just an orphan, you were never going to be a Holy Maiden."

"Trying to harm Lady Himari, you're going to hell."

The knights left, muttering these parting words.

The door creaked shut, and the room grew dark.

After confirming that the knights were gone,

"...Damn."

I muttered.

I couldn't hold it in any longer.

I lit up with a bright smile and screamed.

"Yaaahhhhhh!!!"

Finally!

The circlet that sealed my magic!

It's off!

It's off!

It took a long time.

Ten years.

Thank you, Holy Maiden from another world.

You are my savior.