Chapter 30
Gasp, pant. I’m so tired now.
I grabbed whatever was at hand and threw it, signaling Herace.
“Herace! Quietly, quietly clean this up!”
Did my desperate plea reach him?
At the same time I heard a faint snap of fingers, the man who was lunging at me slammed into the wall.
Bang!
“Wh-what the…”
“The princess used magic?!”
I was gasping, breath catching up to my throat as my shoulders heaved.
“Hoo, it’s nothing serious, cough, just messing around. Cough.”
I started coughing uncontrollably.
“Ahem, may I have some water?”
“Yes? Y-yes, please!”
I took the water offered by the gentleman at the next table and wiped my lips.
“Um, Princess… your complexion…”
“I thought I would tire of waiting. Honey.”
A voice full of amusement suddenly interrupted.
Herace approached and blocked my way, then cleaned the mess on my hands made of bread, cream, and cookie crumbs.
“How could you run off without saying a word? It’s dangerous.”
“Staying still was driving me crazy. Better than collapsing from anger.”
I grumbled as I pushed my messy hair back.
“Well done. Thanks to you, I got to see an entertaining show.”
Herace chuckled, then nodded toward the side.
Only then did I realize what kind of trouble I had caused.
“What on earth happened…?”
“The princess…”
“Defeated the Cult of the Radiant Light…?”
People kept opening and closing their mouths as they looked alternately at me and the sprawled fanatics.
Following their gaze, I shut my eyes tight.
One was still screaming and rolling on the floor, another was knocked out with a cracked skull, and the last one was pinned to the wall, unable to move.
I, who had caused a ruckus as bad as the Cult of the Radiant Light’s own crimes, suddenly felt as if cold water had been poured over me, regaining some composure.
“I’m doomed…”
I had definitely planned to behave quietly, but the DNA of causing trouble engraved inside me had been activated.
“No. This isn’t my fault. Those bastards who took an innocent child hostage are the ones to blame.”
Leaving the stunned crowd behind, I approached the staff.
“Put the money in my name. I’ll compensate. I have urgent business, so I’ll be off.”
I grabbed the half-conscious cultist who kept pestering me, and with Herace, ran outside.
“If I chase after them now, I might find Margo!”
I started walking in the direction where Margo disappeared.
Back then, I had no idea…
That what I did with wild abandon would raise my status.
The next day, the empire was turned upside down.
It was because of an article printed on the first page of the newspaper.
The repeated atrocities of the Cult of the Radiant Light were nothing special, but if Princess Winter was at the center of it, the story was different.
“Cult of the Radiant Light Defeated! Siena Winter Becomes a Hero?”
“Princess’s Dangerous Provocation Against the Cult! Is It Courage or Recklessness?”
“Siena Winter Acts for Justice?! The Princess Who Rescued the Hostage Child!”
The video footage secretly handed over by a café employee caused an explosive reaction in the newspaper office.
The image of the princess smashing the cultist’s head and throwing cake was both familiar and strange.
“Where, you lowlife, do you dare cause a ruckus in such a precious place?!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The lively sounds echoed, causing some to cheer and others to frown.
Those who had their heads cracked by Siena unconsciously rubbed their scalps.
“Why do they take children hostage? Those trash!”
“Shut up. This used to be my territory!”
“Princess is right, isn’t she…? That’s where she always caused trouble.”
“She’s like an angry chimp mad that her territory is invaded.”
“She said she would behave quietly, but she hasn’t changed.”
While some still cursed her for being vulgar,
“Isn’t it strange? She always caused trouble, yet why is she so cool now?”
“Look at the cultists’ faces all covered in cake. It’s like a ten-year-old chest discomfort just got relieved.”
“When enemies, she’s a mad dog, but when on our side, she’s so dependable.”
“No matter what, Princess really saved our son. Even if we can’t thank her, let’s not insult her.”
When the mother of the child who was taken hostage added her voice, public opinion gradually swayed toward Siena.
And that story heated up even the Grand Temple.
“What are they all gathering for?”
Ethan tilted his head at the unusually noisy temple.
Approaching the crowd, Ethan frowned at a familiar silhouette.
“Siena?”
“Even you, Priest Ethan, recognized her right away. This is the video of Princess Winter defeating the Cult of the Radiant Light.”
“…Siena defeated the Cult?”
“Yes! And she thoroughly taught every single one of them a lesson.”
A fellow priest who had a hard time rescuing her winked and grabbed his shoulder to watch the video together.
Bang! Cheers erupted each time Siena smashed a cultist’s head.
“What is this…”
To think it would be confirmed she hadn’t joined hands with the Cult…
Siena. What on earth have you been doing?
Not only was it reckless for her to break cultists’ heads without fear, but the real problem was the demon doll attacking the men sprawled on the floor.
“The video is blurry enough so no one will notice…”
Naturally, ordinary people wouldn’t see it, and even those with sacred power like Grand Priests would barely recognize it due to the poor video quality.
Ethan glanced at fellow Grand Priest candidates like himself.
“They… have no idea.”
Well, those candidates were backed by noble houses, so it was natural they didn’t recognize it.
“Still, why is she so careless?”
But knowing the doll’s identity made Ethan’s heart race nervously.
“By the way, can the princess use magic?”
A priest beside Ethan asked.
“No way.”
“But the princess’s punches threw the cultists into the wall.”
The priest rewound the clip and showed it again, and indeed Siena looked like she was using magic.
“Her teacher must have helped.”
Although it wasn’t visible in the video, given the man’s strange obsession, she would never have been left alone.
“There must be a reason they hide themselves.”
Ethan decided to help them.
After all, they were on the same side.
“Come to think of it, she has been learning magic recently.”
“Oh! Princess Winter doing magic, how exciting! I hope she wipes out the Cult with that spirit.”
“Stop it. Even if the princess looks like that, her health isn’t good enough for such dangerous things.”
“But you never know. She always acts beyond our expectations.”
While everyone was interested in Siena’s progress,
“Calm down. Isn’t the opponent Princess Winter? Think about what she has done so far. There’s a saying, ‘Don’t burn down the whole house trying to kill a flea.’ If this spreads to the temple…”
“…”
“…”
Silence fell immediately.
Right. Siena had only regained her senses two months ago.
It was too short a time to cover up all the accidents she had caused over the years.
“Th-that’s true.”
“But since she did well this time, shouldn’t we at least praise her?”
The priests debated whether Princess Winter had really come to her senses or not.
Ethan blinked at the unfamiliar sight of a debate.
“Before, I would have cursed without reason… Still, she’s amazing.”
Siena was someone who could take control of those around her. Whether for better or worse.
Ethan raised his head and looked far away where someone might be waiting.
Would you know?
That a new wind was beginning to blow in the empire.
But not all was smooth sailing for Siena.
“Why is everyone so crazy about Siena?”
Irene couldn’t understand despite having seen the viral video.
That fiery temper, uncultured behavior and speech, irresponsible attitude that never thought of consequences.
This was the usual Siena Winter — so why could public opinion have turned so drastically?
Of course, some said once a mad dog, always a mad dog.
But it was also true that goodwill had started to bloom in people’s hearts.
“This is annoying! Everywhere I go, it’s ‘Siena, Siena!’ I hate hearing it!”
After quitting the club, she was acting all aloof and noble?
She had tormented Daphne with us, but now pretended not to care and tried to clean up her image — it was laughable.
“Not enough, she even tricked me?”
Recalling what happened at the café that day made her face flush again.
“How dare she call me a rat!”
Her pride was about to burst.
Even though both were daughters of dukes, they were treated very differently.
No matter how noble the Clasio family was, it couldn’t compare to the mighty Winter family.
Irene’s only consolation amid the subtle discrimination was Siena’s poor reputation.
Rogue, mad dog, wild child, accident-prone.
Listening to Siena’s nicknames far from elegance comforted Irene, and she felt superiority in how Siena swayed by her every word.
But now Siena’s reputation was changing, and that was the end of it.
“I thought I had dragged her down to the bottom!”
Shouldering a sigh, her maid carefully broke the silence.
“Then, why don’t you tease her a little?”
“Tease? How?”
“Well…”
