Chapter 6

"Ha... As expected, God is cruel..."

This world is unfair.

I have tried to behave properly and live each day earnestly, yet everything I wanted was taken by my older sister.

Even when I aimed to become a holy maiden, it was the same.

My older sister received a lot of guidance from the magic teachers before I did, and she was easily recognized as a holy maiden by the royal family, as if mocking my failure.

And now, even the Prince Eric, whom I admired, is no exception.

"Jill, what's wrong? You've been sighing a lot lately."

Philip, the heir of the duke's family.

He is a very kind person and listens to my troubles with genuine concern.

After consulting with him several times, for some reason, he broke his engagement with my older sister and proposed to me.

At that time, I was happy—but ever since my older sister went to the palace with Prince Eric, everything seems to have lost its color.

"Lord Philip... Why did you tell Prince Eric that my older sister, Lea, was bullying me? Because of that, my older sister went to the palace with Prince Eric—"

"No, Jill, you told me that Lea was bullying you. You said she had a bad personality despite being a holy maiden. So, I told the prince. I thought he would definitely reprimand Lea because he has a strong sense of justice."

Philip speaks as if I were a nasty woman who spread rumors about my older sister being a bully. I just wanted him to hear that I am not as capable or lucky as my older sister.

"So, Lord Philip, are you saying that it's my fault that Prince Eric and my older sister, Lea, are together? Sniff..."

"Huh? You're crying!? Why!?"

If Philip hadn't told Prince Eric those lies, my older sister wouldn't have gone to live in the palace with him, and I wouldn't have been plagued by inferiority—sniff...

"Sniff... Sniff... In the first place, if Lord Philip hadn't broken your engagement with my older sister, everything would have been fine. Didn't you think it was pitiful for my older sister...?"

"Wait a minute! When I proposed, you cried tears of joy!"

"Y-You're being too loud...! I had to be happy, or I would have been mean to Lord Philip... Sniff... Sniff..."

Philip's sudden harsh tone made my heart race. I never thought he would be so scary... I thought he was a kind person...

"You're right. Someone like me, who can't even become a holy maiden and is incompetent, doesn't deserve Prince Eric. Ugh... Just imagining it makes my chest hurt..."

"Hey, hey, don't tell me... Jill, do you like Prince Eric more than me!?"

Philip is being mean to me again.

I can't answer that question.

If I say the answer out loud, Philip will be hurt, and he might even get angry.

So, I could only remain silent...

"..."

"Your silence means that's true. Prince Eric is handsome and a prince, after all. Being the heir of a duke's family is nothing compared to him. You think he's a better match for you, don't you?"

"That's not what I said at all...! You misunderstood my older sister too... This is too much! Sniff..."

Philip imagines the worst about me and tries to make me look like a nasty woman again.

Why can he say such cruel things?

Where did the kind Philip go...?

"Ugh! This is too much trouble! Then, as you wish, I'll pretend our engagement never happened! Compared to you, Lea is a much better woman! She was capable enough to become a holy maiden and didn't bully her sister! I will marry Lea!"

Philip, with an angry expression, suddenly said he would break our engagement.

I've never been spoken to so harshly by a man before, and it was terrifying.

What? R-Really, you're going to abandon me?

S-Such... If even Philip abandons me, what will I do...?

Why is God so cruel to me?

As Philip left my presence, all that remained was a feeling of utter misery—this is too cruel—.