The Villainess. That was what Isabella had been called at the academy where the noble children of the Fourth Kingdom gathered. She’d been born into the House of Lightwise, an influential noble family which had opposed the Stuart royal family for generations in a bid to grasp greater political power. That explained why her entire family were seen as villains from the royal family’s perspective. Furthermore, even back then, Isabella had been beautiful enough to turn heads. She’d been one of the fairest in the entire academy, in fact. It was only natural that she’d been shunned and suffered harassment.
Isabella, however, hadn’t retaliated against the harassment. “Let’s forget about it and get along. I’d like to be friends with all of you,” she’d say. She’d understood that everyone who attacked her had their own complicated reasons. After all, none of them had gotten to know her one-on-one. She’d believed, if she approached them with an open heart, they’d come to understand each other.
“You’re Alicia from the House of Haschwalth, right? Let’s be friends!”
In that way, Isabella had reached out to other isolated children even during her own hardships. She’d been a lighthearted, good-natured, and hardworking girl. She’d treasured the bonds between people, trusted them, and tried to approach everyone without bias. Her bright and warm disposition had eventually made her popular with those around her.
“I believe in people. Everyone has a kind heart in them,” Isabella had declared without hesitation. She’d climbed her way to the top of her class while wearing her heart on her sleeve. Before long, she’d amassed an entourage of great friends who supported her, and she’d started enjoying her academy life to its fullest.
One day, her reputation had reached someone two years above her at the academy—the first prince and direct successor to the throne. He’d taken a fancy to her good looks at first glance, so he’d called for her to stop in a hallway. Then, without warning, he’d grabbed her hand and kissed her.
“There’s a soirée at the royal castle tonight, and I’ve decided to invite you. Go on, thank me,” the first prince had whispered in a sugary voice. Despite being a man, he’d had quite the beautiful face, with almond-shaped eyes that had stared into Isabella’s.
“Such insolence! How dare you treat me like that?!” Isabella had said, scolding him in a loud voice. Her nearby friends had been petrified with fear. She didn’t seem to realize she’d scolded the future king.
“Hey, I like this chick,” he’d said, a surprisingly favorable reaction. Since he’d been next in line for the throne and said to be the most handsome man in the kingdom, no woman had ever treated him like that before.
After that incident, the first prince had made passionate advances on Isabella. Despite his pompous behavior, he’d revealed himself to be an honest and virtuous person, which had charmed her. The two of them had ended up falling in love, vowing to spend their futures together. Regrettably, the royal family hadn’t welcomed their marriage due to Isabella’s origins.
The king had personally commanded Isabella to participate in the subjugation of the demon army. Despite the hard times the Titanomachy had caused, conscripting the daughter of such a prominent noble family had been a ridiculous act. The House of Lightwise’s social status had been high enough to rival that of the royal family. It had been obvious that the true aim of the royal family had been to tear the first prince and Isabella apart, and then have her die in battle.
“I’m sorry, Isabella. I’m powerless until I succeed the throne,” the first prince had said in frustration.
“No, this isn’t your fault. But what can I do?” Isabella had been at a complete loss.
“This could be your chance, Isabella,” Joseph, the third prince, as well as Isabella’s classmate and one of her many friends, had said. “You can prove yourself in combat and rack up military achievements to increase your prestige. You can become a woman so worthy of the next king that no one will be able to voice their opposition to your marriage. Of course, you’ll have to return from the war alive for that.”
At that, Joseph had pointed to their academy friends behind him. “We’ll help you out. We’ll form a party and fight with you on the front lines.” The others had nodded along.
“Everyone...”
Isabella’s gratitude for her academy friends had been deep, and together, they’d left for the battlefield.
Many in Isabella’s group had already shown excellent results in the use of magic at the academy, and the same had remained true in battle. They’d performed remarkably. Isabella, in particular, had improved her lightning magic by leaps and bounds. Although she’d had support, she’d been the one who accomplished the magnificent feat of crushing one of the Seven Black Stars at the end of a grueling battle. After that, Alan had taken down Beelzebub, closing the gate connecting the human world and the underworld, sending the demon army back where they came from.
Isabella and her comrades had made their long-awaited triumphant return to the royal capital. Since she’d defeated a member of the Seven Black Stars, one of the greatest military achievements possible, her engagement to the first prince would be acknowledged, and they’d live happily ever after. The girl who’d been called “Villainess” would go on to obtain the greatest happiness thanks to her integrity, kindness, and earnestness.
Alas, it did not come to be. Something quite different had awaited Isabella upon her return.
“What? The king was assassinated?!” Isabella had been shocked to her core.
For generations, the kings of the Fourth Kingdom had placed strict emphasis on security, meaning they’d lived under guard, around the clock. As a result, no king had lost their life to an assassin in the kingdom’s long history—until then. It had been especially shocking because the late king hadn’t been particularly social outside of his royal duties. He’d really only associated with those close to him.
Worse news had awaited Isabella and her friends. The military police of the Humanity Defense Coalition—which had held significant authority at the time—had appeared before the first prince.
“Your Highness, classified defense documents concerning every human nation have been discovered in a hideout previously used by the demon army. We have reason to believe you were the one who sent those documents. You are hereby under arrest. Your defense will be heard in the coalition’s court.”
“Wh-What is this?! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Thus, the first prince had been court-martialed. He’d been charged under coalition regulations, the highest order of humanity’s rules that exceeded even the kingdoms’ constitutions, and found guilty of the gravest crime of all: treason against humanity. Soon enough, he’d been sentenced to death.
The Humanity Defense Coalition had concluded that the first prince had planned his father’s assassination because the late king had doubts about passing on the throne to the prince. On top of that, they had evidence he’d formed a secret agreement with the demon army. In exchange for providing the demon army with classified information on humanity, the Fourth Kingdom’s royalty would reign while the rest of humanity was enslaved after the demon army’s victory. Capital punishment had been deemed the only acceptable verdict for such betrayal against humanity as a whole.
This is absurd! Isabella had thought.
She’d known the first prince better than anyone. They’d whispered sweet nothings to each other every night, and she’d listened to him sleep-talk as she gazed at his defenseless sleeping face. Despite his somewhat arrogant behavior, she’d been certain the first prince had cared about his people more than anyone else, and he’d respected his father deeply. Under no circumstances had he been the type of person to plot an assassination against his family or sell out his own kind.
However, although Isabella had been a hero, she’d still just been the daughter of a noble family; her protests had fallen on deaf ears. The first prince’s execution had been carried out, and the Fourth Kingdom had soon begun calling him “History’s Vilest Prince.”