Get Ahead of the Fallen Heroine and Make the Bull-Headed Man the Victim

70. Only by Losing Can One Learn to Cherish

Valentina could no longer remember how she had walked back to her room.

She still found it hard to accept what had happened earlier.

Of course, if she were to think about it rationally, she knew.

Because she could no longer willfully manifest the dragon’s essence as she once did.

What had once felt as simple and natural as breathing or blinking was now utterly impossible.

Yet, even with a rational understanding of what had transpired,

it did not mean she could accept it emotionally.

It had all happened so suddenly; she had never imagined things would end in such a strange conclusion.

Not only had the troublesome power of the dragon vanished, but the dark god also seemed to have stated that it had no intention of binding her any longer.

What did that even mean? Was it tired of her and planning to never show up again?

“…Ha, what is this? Suddenly appearing before someone and then just as suddenly disappearing—truly an annoying god from start to finish.”

Sitting on her bed, Valentina placed her hands, which had been staring at, on her lap and lifted her head to the spot where Noah had once appeared, letting out a laugh.

But that laughter was filled with bitterness and displeasure.

Valentina was actually very unwilling to let it end like this, because she hadn’t been able to do anything to the dark god—neither to repay a debt of gratitude nor to seek revenge.

In the end, she felt like a toy that had been played with and then easily discarded.

“…Hmph, what’s the big deal? I should be the one laughing for getting rid of you! You, foolish dark god, should just go find a foolish woman instead!”

As if Noah were truly in her room, the princess pouted at the air, crossing her arms and turning her head away in a display of displeasure.

…

But this was ultimately just a one-woman show.

She knew that the dark god might never appear before her again, and naturally, it wouldn’t listen to her complaints.

So, after less than a minute of putting on a brave face, the princess, who had forcibly injected herself with energy, immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, her spirit utterly drained.

Her delicate, enchanting face was filled with the unwillingness to accept that it had ended like this.

“…Is it really over?”

Murmuring the same words for what felt like the hundredth time, the princess could no longer transform her eyes into those of a dragon; they were filled with disappointment.

Was it her fault?

Should she not have said she didn’t need the power of the dragon?

But the dark god had toyed with her feelings so many times; surely, it wasn’t too much to complain just once.

And even though she had said she didn’t need the power of the dragon in a fit of emotion, she had never claimed she didn’t need the dark god.

No matter how emotional she got, she had never said that.

In fact, the thought of the dark god simply disappearing altogether had never even crossed her mind.

Defeat, revenge, sealing—these thoughts she had entertained, but never once did she wish for the evil god to vanish.

Yet that was the reality, just like how her beloved mother had suddenly left her, the evil god had also disappeared without a trace.

“…Is that so? Will I never again see that annoying figure?”

It seemed that the princess had finally come to accept the situation, and she gently parted her lips to reveal the cruel truth.

But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of those words; they had cost the princess a great deal of emotional turmoil.

For the moment she spoke them, it meant she was, in fact, preparing to accept the reality.

“Guh…”

Yet even knowing she should accept the truth, her heart could not bear such a turn of events. Thus, the princess bit down hard on her lower lip, her expression reflecting the unwillingness of a complete failure.

—A defeated dog.

Once, when she had seen her half-sister Delia utterly defeated and left speechless, Valentina had felt a genuine pity for Delia, who seemed like a pitiful golden-haired loser.

But now, it seemed she had also become a defeated dog, completely losing to the evil god she had never once triumphed over and would never have the chance to defeat in the future.

This humiliation and unwillingness would likely haunt her, no matter what victories she might achieve in the future.

“Ugh…”

Just thinking about it made the princess’s vision blur. She didn’t know how to describe this complex feeling; it was as if her heart was blocked, making it difficult to breathe.

Just like Princess Delia and Prince Mori, who would reflect on themselves after suffering heavy blows, Valentina, sharing the same father, fell into a state of self-isolation due to her defeat.

The princess curled her legs, which had been resting on the ground, up onto the bed, burying her face, which was showing a shameful expression, deep between her knees.

For only by curling up like this could she feel a little better.

The once-regarded noble and dignified princess was now no different from an ordinary girl.

……

From noble mtl dot com

After an unknown amount of time spent in isolation, the princess’s emotions gradually began to recover. She slowly lifted her slightly reddened eyes to gaze out at the azure sky.

It was a sky that was completely different from her heavy heart, bright to the point of being irritating.

Surely under this sky, the evil god was doing to other women what he had done to her.

Just thinking about it made the princess’s previously slightly improved mood plummet once more.

“Is that so… I actually hoped to be watched over all the time…”

In her despondency, the princess finally became aware of her own feelings.

She wanted the evil god’s attention to be solely focused on her, not to spare other women from his clutches.

She simply wished to be the center of more gazes.

Though many looked at her, the ones who truly focused on her were probably just her childhood friend Clyde, her private tutor Mr. Allen, and the evil god.

In the eyes of others, she would forever be ‘Princess,’ even among her siblings and her own father.

Only in the eyes of these three was she ‘Valentina.’

“Speaking of which, it seems like he has never called me by my name, has he…?”

The more she thought about it, the heavier the princess’s heart became, to the point where she could no longer muster even a bitter smile. She let her gaze fall, her eyes unable to hide the loneliness within.

She intended to shift her focus from the window back to the space between her legs, retreating into her shell once more.

However, just as she was redirecting her gaze, the princess suddenly noticed what seemed to be a letter resting on the chair tucked inside her writing desk.

The letter had likely been there since her return, but due to her scattered attention at the time, she had completely overlooked it.

So why did she notice it now?

Of course, it was because any letters sent to her would be neatly placed on the desk by the maid, typically pressed under her favorite adventure novel to prevent them from being blown away during cleaning or ventilation.

In other words, the letter resting on the chair was very likely not delivered by the maid.

So who could it be? Who had the ability to slip a letter in without anyone noticing?

“!!!”

Realizing the answer, the princess hurriedly sprang up, like a traveler lost in the desert for days finally spotting an oasis, and rushed toward the chair.

But due to her excitement and the numbness in her legs from squatting, she nearly tumbled and crawled her way to the vicinity of the chair.

She looked utterly disheveled, her beautiful silver hair tousled from her rolling about, but she didn’t care; she eagerly reached for the envelope on the chair.

Before she could fully grasp the letter, a line of black text caught her eye.

[To the Princess—Ah? Wondering why I didn’t write the sender? Well, if I don’t, what are you going to do about it?]