Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends - Prologue Part 1

“Kuna Leiria. I am disappointed by your numerous cruel actions against the saint. I will annul our engagement.”

──Since today’s party is a buffet, I thought I should eat as much as I can while I have the chance!

I wondered if I had finally received my punishment for thinking such things.

“Huh?”

I, the eldest daughter of Count Leiria, Kuna, stood alone in the center of the party venue, facing the prince of this country, his potential aides, and a sweet-faced girl.

Today is the end-of-term party at the Royal Academy of Nobility.

At this academy, the year is divided into three terms, and at the end of each term, a sort of fatigue-relief party is held.

I never expected something like this to happen on such a good day, and I was simply confused.

Standing before me were some prestigious figures.

The first in line for the throne of our Aluda Kingdom, His Highness Elmecius.

Sir Garde, the son of the commander of the royal knights and a knight himself.

And Belga-sama, the eldest son of the prime minister, known as the right hand of the current king.

And then there was Roy-sama, from the esteemed Grad family, known for producing exceptional magicians, who was already capable of the highest rank of ice magic. He was the one who just announced the annulment of our engagement.

The other three were watching us with keen interest.

“Roy-sama…? What on earth is the meaning of this?”

I asked calmly, trying not to panic.

Even so, exposed to the eyes of the crowd, my body was trembling.

The other students were also overwhelmed by the atmosphere, watching our exchange closely.

Roy stepped forward and exclaiming, “Kuna. I am disappointed in you. It was you who was bullying Meltia behind the scenes.”

“Bully Meltia…?”

“W-What is going on…?”

Suddenly, I locked eyes with a girl beside Roy-sama, her soft chestnut hair trembling.

She looked at me in fear.

As if to shield her from me, the lords move her back behind them.

Meltia—no, should I call her the Saint now?

I knew of her, but I had never spoken to her directly, and I don’t think we even recognized each other.

Baron Hail’s daughter, Meltia.

I had heard rumors about her from a few friends; she had recently been stirring up gossip at the academy.

Apparently, Meltia was the child of a concubine that Baron Hail had taken from the common folk, and she had lived as a commoner until now. However, she recently awakened to a light magic that purifies evil. A diviner revealed that she was a “Saint,” a being that appears only once in several decades.

Having become the Saint, Meltia transferred to this Royal Academy of Nobility to study the basics in order to save the country with her powers.

The four esteemed individuals in front of me were gathered to support her.

There were noble daughters who were jealous that a common girl was monopolizing the attention of the popular four. Perhaps because she was from the common folk, her rude behavior did stand out. Still, I truly felt grateful that such a precious figure as the Saint had emerged. I assumed I would have nothing to do with her and only watched from afar.

So then, what is this situation…?

“Roy-sama, what has happened…?”

I became sad and genuinely asked that question.

He had always been a calm and kind person.

Even though we were engaged by our parents’ arrangement, I believed we could build a peaceful home in the future.

“What do you mean, ‘what has happened’? Can’t you admit what you’ve done?”

“I haven’t done anything.”

As I conveyed this while trembling, he sighed.

It was terrifying to resist.

But there was one reason I couldn’t back down.

If I admitted my guilt here, many people would suffer because of it.

“Mel, may I share what has happened to you here?”

“…Yes.”

“It will be tough, but please bear with it for a moment.”

The Saint nodded, her eyes watery.

…Since when had they become close enough to call each other by nicknames?

“Since Mel enrolled in the academy, it seems she has been bullied because of her commoner background.”

“Th-That’s not true! I didn’t do anything…”

“Don’t lie. There are numerous testimonies here.”

With that, Roy began to list things I had no memory of.

He claimed I had told the Saint to leave the academy numerous times.

That I had deliberately stained her dress with ink.

That I had stolen her belongings.

And so on.

“The worst of it was on the day of this year’s school festival, when Mel, who was the lead in the play, was pushed down an empty staircase. Because of that, she suffered serious injuries and couldn’t perform in the play.”

Was the reason the saint had been keeping her arm wrapped in bandages all along because of that?

Startled, I blinked.

What a terrible thing to do. Not only does it go beyond injury—it could even be life-threatening!

…Wait, am I the one being blamed for this!?

“P-please wait! I have absolutely no memory of doing anything like that! Besides, we don’t even know each other!”

I looked at the saint as I said this.

She had tears in her eyes.

Shaking her head, she whispered something to His Highness.

Whaaat? Why isn’t she denying it?

“There’s also testimony that you were the one responsible,” Roy said quietly.

“…Testimony? That doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t even present at the cultural festival this year.”

When I said that, the atmosphere grew a bit tense.

Surely they could check the attendance records…

I often miss school.

That’s because my mother—no, my birth mother passed away from illness, and Father remarried, so now I have a stepmother, I guess?

My stepmother despises me intensely.

On days when she’s in a bad mood, I’m made to scrub floors and take over all the tasks the servants would usually do.

The servants are used to this by now, and whenever I’m at home, they leave almost all the work to me. Because of that, my school grades are terrible. I wasn’t very bright to begin with, so I couldn’t keep up with my studies.

Even today, I only came to school because if it was canceled, who knows when I’d face my stepmother’s wrath, and I’d be starving by now.

“…How can you prove that?”

“I was receiving packages at the estate, so if you check the receipt slips from the collection center for that date, it should be clear. Besides, the people in the Leiria household should also know I was at the estate.”

Even at my response, Roy-sama didn’t flinch.

He shook his head slightly, then said something shocking.

“There’s a witness.”

“No way! Who could it be?”

“Agnès!”

Suddenly, Roy called out.

When I heard that name, my body tensed up.

Stepping forward slowly was a beautiful girl with golden curls.

Agnès.

Agnès Leiria.

My stepsister…

“Give your testimony here.”

“Yes, Roy-sama.”

That beautiful girl spoke clearly.

“…I saw it. My stepsister was supposed to be absent from the academy that day, yet I saw her secretly following Meltia-sama.”

“W-what are you talking about…?”

“My stepsister frequently spoke ill of the Saint at home, even though Mother and Father tried to stop her. She openly criticized the Saint’s lineage.”

Agnès glanced briefly in my direction.

Her eyes were curved in a crescent shape.

“That day. My stepsister was secretly following Meltia-sama. I had a bad feeling about it. And then, my stepsister pushed the Saint down the stairs!”

The room burst into murmurs and commotion.

I was cornered, and my body started trembling.

I have to defend myself…

“Your Highness, Roy-sama, and everyone here. It was the fault of our Leiria household for failing to stop my stepsister. If punishment is due, let it fall on our entire family. So please…”

I didn’t miss the way Agnès, while trembling, still had a smile on her lips.

“…No, it’s fine. Agnès and the others, as people, aren’t involved. A criminal is someone who has committed a crime,” said the Saint.

She stepped forward and spoke.

“Kuna, I was hurt by the terrible things you did to me. It made me sad.”

“I… I…”

It was getting harder to breathe.

It’s wrong.

I didn’t do it.

“To judge people by their birth or status… that’s a very sad thing. It shows a poverty of heart, I think.”

At the young saint’s sweet words, the crowd let out a sigh of admiration.

The Saint looked at Roy-sama and bravely smiled.

“Rest assured, Roy-sama. No matter how much I’m criticized, I won’t give in. I will free you from her curse.”

“…Mel.”

“That’s what I believe it means to be a saint,” she said.

Roy-sama looked slightly pleased and the saint moved closer to him.

…Why?

Even though Roy-sama was someone I trusted…

“Oh, Saint-sama, you are truly so pure!” Agnès praised her.

The others seemed to follow suit, carried away by the atmosphere, honoring the saint.

“No… I truly didn’t do it…”

Just then, it wasn’t Roy-sama but His Highness Hermecius who stepped forward and declared loudly,

“We can’t trust the words of a beastkin, who is less intelligent than humans.”

“…!”

Ah, I knew it.

At that moment, I felt nothing but disappointment.

“A girl with wolf ears and a tail isn’t someone to trust, wouldn’t you agree?”

The prince smiled pleasantly as he said this.

“Roy, Mel, you’ve both done well dealing with such a creature.”

The kind-looking prince spits out such cruel words, and the saint smiled warmly and nodded in agreement.

“I’m so glad we were able to save  Roy-sama from an engagement with a beastkin!”

Everyone’s gaze in the room turned to me.

Kuna, daughter of Count Leiria.

I am not human.

I belong to a non-human race long scorned in this kingdom of Aluda—a beastkin.

And among beastkin, I am especially rare, a child of the white wolf clan.

I look mostly human, but I have pure white wolf ears and a tail.

Although the kingdom of Aluda, eager to keep up with developing continental cultures, has recently begun promoting racial equality, the nobility still places heavy emphasis on bloodlines and despises beastkin. My stepmother and stepsister are human supremacists, viewing me as an inferior creature.

The current king of Aluda supports beastkin, but his son, it seems, is a staunch discriminator.

“A marriage with a beastkin? Poor Roy-sama…”

The saint said this with a brave smile.

──Saint-sama.

Didn’t you just say that judging people by birth or status is a sign of a poor heart?

And yet, species discrimination is somehow acceptable?

If I were to lose this argument here, treatment of beastkin in Aluda would only worsen.

But being the coward I am, I couldn’t speak up, and my tail could only tremble with fear.

“I feel as though there’s something sinister attached to her.”

“Huh?”

“I can tell! This person is definitely bad!”

While I stood there in stunned silence, the conversation progressed quickly.

The prince shouted.

“Can someone capture this beastkin girl? Beastkin are violent, you know. She might put up a fight, so restrain her tightly.”

“Ow…”

The knight Sir Garde moved in.

Before I could escape, he seized me.

“L-let go!”

“Haha. Hold still, you filthy beastkin. Calling yourself nobility? You’re not even human.”

He roughly pinned me to the ground and in the process, I twisted my ankle badly.

This isn’t how anyone should treat a woman…

While I was reeling in shock, Roy and the Saint came before me and spoke.

“…I’m canceling our engagement. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”

Any last bit of warmth I held for Roy suddenly faded away.

…Who would want anything to do with you?

The Saint looked at me and smiled softly.

Then, she leaned happily against Roy, as if showing off.

“Take her away! Under my authority, I’ll see her punished!”

And so, I was falsely accused and condemned to punishment.

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TL Notes:

Kind of a typical “betrayed in the beginning by fiance and friends” plot, but it seems a lot more well written then others I’ve read. I even got angry translating it because I just hate when someone innocent is blamed for something they didn’t do. Also racists grrr (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )