The Happy End

“Himemiya Miyuki. I hereby annul our engagement.”

The male lead—the crown prince, Kuzuryuu Suoh, declared. His cold voice swept through the banquet hall, ruining the atmosphere of his own graduation party. Everyone present, be it the students or the teachers, all fell silent and stared at him in shock. The silver-haired prince ignored them, fixating his sharp golden eyes at the woman kneeling before him.

“I can no longer stand by and watch you harass your innocent sister. You’ve tried many times to harm her, even going as far as hiring people to abduct her. I will never take such a vicious woman like you as my consort!”

“How dare you?!”

The villainess—the crown prince’s fiancée, as well as the duke’s daughter, Himemiya Miyuki, screamed at him. She was being forced to kneel on the floor, her limbs restrained by the second male lead—the Royal Knight Commander’s son. Her flowing blonde hair had come undone, ruining her usual dignified appearance.

“Where’s your proof?! I’m the eldest daughter of the Himemiya Family! Even if you’re the crown prince, you can’t do this to me!”

“I have written proof and witnesses testimonies here.”

Suoh threw a bunch of papers in front of Miyuki, effectively silencing her with iron-clad evidence.

“Even worse, you also colluded with the neighboring kingdom to sell out critical information of our country. For the sins of harming your own sister and treason against the crown…”

Suoh’s golden eyes glinted coldly.

“…you shall be executed.”

Miyuki’s face instantly paled.

“E-Execution…? N-No…no! That’s a lie! I never colluded with anyone! You’re trying to frame me, aren’t you?! How can I have access to critical information in the first place?! Someone—anyone—please trust me!”

Miyuki desperately pleaded, her blue eyes darted all over the hall. But no one came to her rescue. Everyone averted their gaze, pretending they didn’t see her distress. Even her own followers forsook her to avoid getting involved.

“I think we’ve heard enough of you. Daichi, take her away.” Suoh nodded at the young man restraining her.

“Roger, Your Highness.” Kurosawa Daichi, the prince’s knight guard, hauled Miyuki to her feet.

But before she could take a step—

“P-Please wait, Suoh-sama!”

A shaky voice, accompanied by a small tug on Suoh’s sleeve, managed to capture his attention.

“What’s wrong, Akari?”

Suoh turned toward the heroine—me, who’d been standing quietly behind him this whole time, protected by his broad back.

“Suoh-sama…please, can’t you reconsider the punishment?” I clasped my hands together and gazed pleadingly at Suoh’s brilliant golden eyes. “Onee-sama is not a bad person. While it’s true that she harassed me a few times, she’s not the type to commit treason. Please…at the very least, please spare her life.”

“Akari…” Suoh pulled me into his embrace, eliciting a small squeak of surprise from my mouth. “You have such a kind heart. I would never dream of hurting your compassionate soul. Very well, in accordance with Akari’s plea, I shall reduce Miyuki’s sentence to exile.” He declared.

I couldn’t quite see Suoh’s expression as he said that, having been wrapped in his arms, but I heaved a relieved sigh all the same. Villainess or not, Miyuki was still my half-sister. I would never wish such a cruel punishment upon her just because she bullied me a bit.

“Thank you very much, Suoh-sama.” I whispered to him.

“Anything for you, my dear Akari.” Suoh whispered back, carding his fingers through my pink-colored hair reminiscent of cherry blossom petals.

“Ahem…Your Highness, perhaps you should release Akari now. Everyone is watching you.” Another male lead who’d been standing behind us, the youngest genius mage, Tachibana Hijiri, cleared his throat. His piercing black eyes were fixated on us, evoking a feeling of guilt.

“Ah, that’s right.” Suoh reluctantly released me from his embrace.

I bowed quickly to Hijiri, who’d helped me out of this situation. The mage simply nodded back, his slightly long black hair swayed with his movement. Then I turned to face my elder sister, who was glaring daggers at us. She didn’t seem so happy even after being told that her life would be spared.

“Onee-sama…” I took a step closer to her.

“Silence, you impudent woman! Don’t you dare call me your sister!” Miyuki screamed, her voice dripping with resentment and venom.

I gasped sharply, staggering back from the sheer pressure of her grudge. Suoh quickly caught my waist and pulled me behind him.

“Akari, be careful. She’s tried to harm you before. There’s no telling what she might do here.” Suoh warned me.

“No, Suoh-sama, please allow me to talk to her for the last time.”

I gently pushed his hand aside and took another step forward, until I came face to face with Miyuki.

“Onee-sama…why do you hate me so much?” I asked her.

Her sky-blue eyes, the same shade as mine, gazed back at me. It was the only similarity between us, who were born out of different mothers. Miyuki’s face twisted with pain and regret, before it morphed into an expression of disgust.

“Do you still need to ask? Is it not enough that you stole everything from me?! You’ve stolen my family, my position, and even my own fiancé!” Miyuki screamed at my face. “I hate your hypocritical smile, and the way you suck up to other people disgusts me! I hate you so much, I never want to see your face again! I wish Otou-sama hadn’t adopted you! No, I wish you hadn’t been born in the first place!”

“Himemiya Miyuki! That’s enough!” Suoh roared in anger.

“Knock it off! I won’t let you make Akari more sad than this!” Daichi yanked Miyuki away from me.

“Ah…I-I’m sorry…” I hung my head as tears started blurring my sight. Every word she said stabbed into my chest, filled with more hatred and grudge that I could ever imagine. I shuddered to think just how much she resented me all this time.

I didn’t have the courage to look up anymore, not even as Daichi dragged Miyuki out of the hall, nor when Suoh and Hijiri came to comfort me.

“Onee-sama…why…?” I shut my eyes closed, swallowing back my unvoiced question. “Then why were you so nice to me when we first met?”