Miraculously, the spell she was looking for appeared as soon as she opened the magic book.

Flying spell. Quickly placing the dagger on the book and infusing it with magic, the dagger floated up in an instant.

Though it was a simple spell from the previous page, so it couldn’t wield great power, it could lift a small dagger.

“Sa, save me! Prince Gerald!”

The member of the extermination squad who was caught by Elding writhed and screamed, but Gerald was running away as fast as he could.

When his clothing got caught on Elding’s fang and tore, he tightly shut his eyes, bracing for his fate.

Thud. Something brushed past Elding’s hand. Blue blood splattered everywhere, and Elding missed the extermination squad member. The dagger, in turn, targeted Elding’s vital spot, causing him to stagger.

The extermination squad, not missing the opportunity, regrouped and finished him off with a spear.

Only after Elding fell did Gerald, who had run to the other side of the road, return with a triumphant face.

“See, what did I tell you? I said I could catch Elding with this spear.”

Holding up his spear, Gerald exaggeratedly pierced Elding’s already lifeless body again.

“Look at this fool, unable to move an inch before my spear.”

But the extermination squad members only looked at him with scared faces.

“You’re late, Your Highness.”

“We didn’t know your feet were that fast.”

Their words tinged with subtle mockery.

“The lightning rod in the next village doesn’t even need to run.”

“Goodness, I wish we had one in our village.”

At their barely audible criticism, Gerald’s face turned bright red.

“Wh, wha[sh]!”

Gerald began to stutter, but the extermination squad members ignored him and began to tend to their injured comrades. Fortunately, no one seemed to be seriously hurt.

Esmeralda sighed in relief and collapsed.

“Let’s go. We’ve dealt with the last Elding, so we can wrap things up here.”

Then Kirian appeared from behind.

“Your Highness!”

Esmeralda quickly stood up.

“Why are you so late?”

Not knowing her trembling fingers were still shaking, her words came out more reproachful than she intended.

“I trusted you because Her Highness said she could help so confidently.”

Esmeralda faltered for words a few times.

“She did quite well.”

At Kirian’s nonchalant comment, Esmeralda felt her cheeks burn.

It was the first time someone had recognized her.

She had always been treated as useless and incompetent, a coward who couldn’t make rational decisions.

Kirian still looked at her coldly, but Esmeralda thought he might not be as heartless as she thought.

She was sure that marrying the Duke, which her mother so desperately wanted, would be awful. But strangely, her heart beating faster didn’t feel so bad.

Kirian, still gazing at Esmeralda who was fussing around on the ground, wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but her pace was frustratingly slow.

“Well, I’ll depart first. Come by carriage.”

(This is a time marker.)

“Uh…….”

I stared blankly at the object in Esmeralda’s hand.

“That is…….”

Noticing my gaze, Esmeralda held up Kirian’s jacket.

“Ah, Duke Kirian lent it to me because I’m cold.”

Esmeralda’s cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Haha, Kirian isn’t someone who lends his stuff to just anyone.”

He was so fussy that he’d throw away even his favorite items if someone else accidentally touched them.

“He readily lent it to me?”

Esmeralda looked down shyly.

“I thought he was a cold person, but I must have misunderstood.”

“It’s not a misunderstanding…….”

My mouth fell open without realizing it.

He’s just being nice to you. Just like in the original work.

(Note: The characters’ names have been translated consistently with the information provided at the beginning of the request.)
“Weren’t you too harsh on your younger sister? There’s no one as kind as Prince Kirian.”

Esmeralda seemed to be completely unaware of Kirian’s true nature, just like in the original work.

Come to think of it, even in the original, various families were ruined because of Kirian, and they appeared in the newspapers one after another. But Esmeralda would laugh heartily and innocently ask a noblewoman, whose son had been dragged off to the coal mines, if her son had gone to study abroad.

What did Kirian say to Esmeralda, who asked about my wellbeing after I was beheaded? Did he say that I had gone to heaven?

Hearing that, the only one who would think positively that the princess hadn’t died but had entered the monastery would be Esmeralda.

“…… Esmeralda doesn’t know well, that’s why …….”

I ended up becoming a sister who earnestly covered for her younger sister, but after saying it, I felt inexplicably relieved.

“Sister.”

They say if you talk about a tiger, it appears, and Kirian came to me.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t eat with you last night. Shall we eat today?”

I didn’t feel like answering, and in the meantime, Esmeralda shyly offered her jacket.

“Thank you for yesterday, Your Highness.”

Looking at the jacket in Esmeralda’s hand, Kirian hardened his eyebrows for a moment and opened his mouth.

“But[—].”