Chapter 56: Villainess Princess × Slave (19)

[ Host! This is the perfect time to complete the mission! ] the System’s frantic voice shrieked inside Lyra’s head. [ Throw him under the bus! Blame him for cutting the saddle strap! If you frame him right now in front of all these nobles and the Crown Prince, you will complete the emergency mission and earn massive villainess rewards! ]

Lyra stayed completely silent, her breathing shallow as the chilling wind swept across the royal pavilion.

She slowly turned her head, her dark eyes glancing back at Cassian standing quietly behind her.

Cassian met her gaze directly. His pitch-black eyes were cold, unreadable, and devoid of any hope. He stared at her, knowing pretty well what a spoiled, selfish princess like her would do in this situation. She would obviously save her own skin, shift the blame onto a powerless slave, and watch him get dragged away to be whipped or executed.

In his heart, Cassian let out a dark, bitter sneer. Of course... in the end, a royal snake is still a royal snake.

The entire courtyard waited in silence. Crown Prince Julian stood with a sinister smirk on his face, waiting for her to give the order to execute her personal guard.

Suddenly, the corner of Lyra’s lips curved upward into a bright smirk.

She turned away from Cassian and stepped right into Julian’s personal space, looking her dangerous brother dead in the eye.

"Imperial Brother," Lyra drawled smoothly, her clear voice carrying across the entire silent crowd. "You seem to be mistaken."

Julian’s amber eyes narrowed slightly. "Mistaken?"

"Indeed," Lyra said, tilting her head with an air of effortless grace. "Cassian is my personal guard. He was with me in the stables the entire morning, under the watchful eyes of dozens of royal servants. He had neither the time nor the quiet privacy to tamper with my saddle straps."

A quiet ripple of shock swept through the assembled nobles.

Both the System and Cassian were caught completely off guard!

[ H-HOST?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ] the System screamed in pure horror inside her mind. [ YOU ARE DEFENDING HIM?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! ]

Cassian’s pitch-black eyes widened ever so slightly. His rigid stance flickered as he stared at the back of her head in disbelief. She... she is defending me? In front of the Crown Prince?

Lyra didn’t stop there. She brilliantly handled the accusation, turning her piercing gaze toward the royal knights holding the cut strap, and smoothly shifted the whole blame right back onto Julian-without ever explicitly mentioning his name!

"Whoever tampered with my horse had to be someone with immense authority," Lyra declared casually, inspecting her fingernails. "Someone who could easily clear out the guard post, dismiss the head stablemaster, and walk into the imperial armory unnoticed to use a specialized royal dagger. After all... a common slave doesn’t carry a fine blade capable of making such a precise, clean cut through reinforced leather, does he?"

She raised her eyes, fixing Julian with a brilliant smile that dripped with sarcasm.

"Only a high-ranking royal figure with cowardly intentions could pull off such a sloppy trick," Lyra added, her voice smooth. "Don’t you agree, Imperial Brother? Whoever arranged this pathetic ’accident’ clearly feared that this princess would outshine them at today’s hunt. It’s truly a pity their childish plot failed so embarrassingly."

Julian’s breath hitched. His hands clenched tightly into fists inside his sleeves.

He understood every single hidden meaning behind her words crystal clear. She wasn’t just defending her guard- she was publicly calling him out as a cowardly, jealous idiot right in front of the entire imperial court!

She knows... Julian thought, a shock crashing over his mind. She knows I ordered the sabotage! And she just turned the entire situation against me!

A realization struck Julian’s chest like a lightning bolt. His delicate, foolish little sister-the girl who used to cry, throw stupid tantrums, and blindly obey his manipulation was no longer the dumb, easily controlled pawn she used to be! She had become sharp, calculated, and perceptive!

Julian’s charming smile completely shattered. He took a slow step forward, closing the distance between them until his shadow engulfed her small frame.

He leaned down close to her ear, his voice dropping into a sweet, yet chilling whisper that sent a goosebumps across her skin.

"How remarkably clever you have grown, my dear sister.." Julian purred softly, his breath burning icy cold against her neck. "It seems I will have to take much better care of you from now on."

Lyra’s entire body shivered from the intense malice lacing his words. Yet, she forced her spine to remain rock-solid, clenching her teeth and staring back at him without letting a single tear or whimper escape her lips.

Noticeably annoyed that he couldn’t elicit a pathetic reaction from her this time, Julian grew significantly more pissed. His jaw tightened into an iron line, his amber eyes burning with a dark fury as he abruptly stepped back.

Ding!

Suddenly, a loud, glowing red error window exploded right in front of Lyra’s vision!

[ EMERGENCY MISSION FAILED! ]

PENALTY ACTIVATED: High-level Neural Punishment!

EFFECT: Severe internal body pain and high fever will manifest immediately!

Ngh!

An unbearable wave of agony instantly shot through Lyra’s spine! It felt as if liquid fire was suddenly poured directly into her veins, her head throbbing with migraine. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead, and her core temperature began to skyrocket rapidly.

Lyra’s breath hitched in pain, but she desperately forced her face to remain expressionless.

Noticing the penalty taking effect, Lyra immediately took her chance to take her leave before her body collapsed in front of the crowd.

"If there are no further accusations, Imperial Brother, this princess shall return to rest," Lyra said coldly.

Without waiting for his response, she turned on her heel and walked away toward her carriage, leaving Julian standing alone in the center of the pavilion, enveloped in a dark, gloomy, and utterly humiliated mood.

Cassian stepped forward, falling into place half a step behind her as her loyal shadow. As he passed by the Crown Prince, Cassian cast a cold backward glance directly at Julian- a silent warning lingering in his pitch-black eyes.

Ding!

A bright blue screen flickered softly in the corner of Lyra’s blurring vision.

[ CASSIAN DRAVEN’S HATRED METRIC UPDATED! ]

Hatred toward Host: 74% ➔ 59%

[Fifteen points! His hatred metric had plummeted drastically into dangerous territory]

However, Lyra wasn’t in the mood to notice anything right now. The blue numbers, the System’s panicked screams, and Cassian’s intense gaze were all completely blurred out by the overwhelming agony racking her nervous system.

Her head felt like it was being split open with a hammer, her vision swimming with dark spots as her fever spiked to dangerous levels. She didn’t care about plot deviations, world missions, or villainess metrics anymore.

All she wanted was to reach her bedchamber, lock the doors, and fall onto her bed before the crippling pain completely broke her consciousness.

The carriage ride back to the royal estate felt like an endless nightmare for Lyra.

Sitting across from her inside the luxurious carriage, Cassian observed her silently. He noticed how her face had turned ghostly pale, how her delicate lips were trembling, and how her hand was gripping the seat cushions so hard her fingernails were practically digging into the fabric.

"Princess?" Cassian called out, his raspy voice unusually low and cautious. "Are you unwell?"

Lyra didn’t answer him. She couldn’t. Opening her mouth meant letting out a pathetic groan. She simply closed her eyes, leaning her burning head against the cold glass window, breathing in rapid gasps.

Cassian’s dark eyebrows furrowed tightly. Is it a delayed reaction from the riding adrenaline? Or... did Crown Prince Julian do something to her when he whispered in her ear?

The moment the carriage pulled up to the estate’s main archway, Lyra didn’t wait for the footmen to step down or open the door for her.

She shoved the carriage door open herself, stumbling out onto the cobblestone driveway. Her legs wobbled under her weight, but she forced herself forward, ignoring the surprised gasps of the surrounding servants.

"Her Highness has returned!"

"Your Highness, shall we prepare tea-"

"Out of my way!" Lyra choked out weakly, her voice raspy and burning.

She pushed past the maids, staggering up the grand marble staircase toward her private bedchamber.

Cassian followed her with swift, silent strides, his long legs effortlessly keeping pace right behind her. His pitch-black eyes never left her shaking back for a single second, an unexplainable knot tightening inside his chest as he watched her struggle just to stay upright.

Lyra reached her doors, practically throwing her entire weight against them to push them open.

"Leave me!" Lyra gasped out to the corridor guards in desperation, her breath burning hot against her lips. "All of you... get away from my room! Do not come near me!"

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!" the guards bowed hastily, backing away down the long hallway.

Lyra tumbled inside her bedchamber, turning around to slam the heavy doors shut.

However, before the oak doors could click lock, a large hand suddenly reached out, blocking the wooden frame from closing completely!

Lyra lifted her unfocused, pain-filled eyes.

Standing in the doorway, his tall, broad silhouette blocking out the corridor light, was Cassian. His eyes were searching her flushed, tear-stained face with an intense focus that made her heart shudder.

"Step back, slave..." Lyra whimpered, her voice breaking as a fresh wave of blinding, agonizing pain shot through her skull. Her body gave a helpless shudder right in front of him. "I said... get out..."

Cassian didn’t step back. Instead, he slowly pushed the door open, stepping inside the dark room and letting the doors click shut behind him.