Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

367  Ring n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

With the entrance of the prince's entourage alongside Edith, Christine stepped in and faced the group. Influenced by the thickness of the tension, the bystanders voluntarily stepped aside from them and made space for them to interact.

"Yout Imperial Highness, it seems like you brought that woman along with you." "Cut to the chase, Christine." Annoyed, Edward coldly stared back at her. "What do you want to do this time? Shamelessly harass Edith in front of this huge crowd?" "Edward, I am scared..."

"Don't worry, Edith, we are here to protect you."

Edith timidly said before she cowered herself behind the prince. However, other than her feelings, the crowd noticed something that they did not expect. "Did you hear that...?" "She called Prince Edward by his name..." "Are they really that close?" "I don't think I ever heard Lady Christine say that thing..." The crowd gossiped with each other, hearing that the crown prince allowed Edith to address her casually. As the students got mixed opinions about it, Christine was clearly annoyed with it. But she knew she had to keep her cool.

"Like I said many times before, I did not order them to do anything to Edith. It was their own choice, and I have nothing to do with their actions." "Stop acting innocent," the prince said.

As they were in the middle of the argument, I looked behind, and I saw Big Sis approaching our spot. "It looks like they are going to settle the matter right here, right now," she said as she crossed her arms. "But I don't think the table will be in favor of Christine." "You think so?" I burrowed my brows. "Even though she already has your side?" "I don't want to have pessimistic thoughts, but her chances of winning this battle are undoubtedly low, even with our assistance." "What are you two talking about?" Iris asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Oh, it's nothing, Iris. Please don't mind us."

As my sister and I were discussing something, Iris could not help but inquire about it. It was not like she had nothing to do with it, but it was something that me and my sister discussed with some other parties, so we did not disclose the details to her.

The thing that we were talking about consisted of a few things. One of them was that yesterday, Christine personally approached Big Sis and asked for her assistance regarding her issues with Prince Edward and Edith. Big Sis could not respond to her request immediately since she had many things to consider. Helping Christine could be interpreted as our family, our country, having sided with the Grise Archduchy against the imperial family. But I did hope this case was entirely isolated within the academy. However, the relationship between the Grise family and the royal family was at stake. The outcome of this issue could potentially impact the internal affairs of the Dixon Empire. After hearing Christine's reasons and the things she had to offer in exchange, my sister eventually accepted her request. The reason why my sister accepted her request was because of the other matter my sister and I discussed several nights ago. Aside from Christine, someone else from the prince's side approached me in particular. I expected him to sway me with tempting offers, but he had his own plan other than the prince's. "—That's enough, Christine!" Suddenly, Prince Edward's angry voice snapped me back in time. I looked at the scene and saw Prince Edward stepping in front of Edith as if to protect her. Seeing that, Christine's face distorted, and she finally erupted. "I'm enough of this, Your Imperial Highness!" Christine's voice spread wide throughout the hall. "Why are you so attached to that girl?!" "Because she understands me," the prince simply responded. "At first, I wasn't serious about her because I was forced to get along with a random first-year student as a punishment for losing a game with my friends. But the more I spent my time with her, the more I understood her and reconsidered my opinions of her. Before I realized it, I had fallen in love with her." "Edward..." Edith looked up at him. "So that was why you suddenly approached someone as plain and insignificant as me that day..." "I apologized for playing with your feelings, Edith, but because of that, I was able to meet and know you. Destiny was indeed sometimes playful." "Oh, Edward." Prince Edward and Edith faced one another and then held hands. A portion of the crown was thrilled, thinking they were like characters from tales that defied all odds. However, there was someone who was obviously not happy about it.

"Enough with this nonsense!" Christine swung her arms as if bugging off their intimacy. "Do you really know what kind of person she is?! There have been reports and witnesses that she has been going out with your friends as well!" "We are aware." The prince smiled. Christine turned pale in disbelief. "What...?" Not only she, but the whole crown gasped upon hearing the prince's nonchalant revelation. Their woah echoed in the hall in unison.

"Lady Christine," Celeste stepped forward. Actually, it was me who first showed motives toward her. She has been so kind and thoughtful of me, and now I know how His Imperial Highness feels."

"I feel the same way as well," Warren seconded, repeatedly bobbing his head. "She shows me what love truly feels like. I am certain her love is more genuine than my fiancee does." (Isn't your fiance...thirteen years old?) I pondered as I raised a brow. After Warren expressed his feelings, everyone shifted their attention to Francis, expecting his turn to confess. But his response was not what they had expected. "I apologize for breaking the trend, everyone, but I do not see Edith as a romantic interest," Francis said while putting on an awkward smile. "But as His Imperial Highness's close friend, he has my full support." Christine was lost for words upon hearing what they just casually revealed. She then stared at Prince Edward, to which he responded with a hard look. "Do you hear that, Christine? These are how we truly feel." "Your Imperial Highness...how can you just accept that thing?" Christine was clearly appalled. "How about us? How about our promise to rule the empire together? You should know that this facade wouldn't last until that long..."

"Stop your delusional thoughts. We aren't children anymore. Everything changes in a matter of time. You cannot force things according to your selfish plans." Just then, Prince Edward leveled his left arm with his chest horizontally. The moment he did that, Christine immediately realized what he was about to do. It was clearly written in his eyes that he meant every single word that came out of his mouth. "We are done, Christine. I am calling off our engagement." Almost immediately, Prince Edward pulled out an orichalcum ornament from his left ring finger. Christine was taken aback by that, and she could not utter a word. Soon after, he threw his engagement ring on the floor. Clink. Clink. Clink. Christine could not let go of her eyes on the bouncing ring as it got nearer to where she was standing. One more final bounce, and the golden piece of metal ultimately stopped right in front of her. Not knowing how she would react, Christine fell on her knees and locked her gaze on the ring.