Chapter 18: A Confrontation with Prince Arius

Hehehehehe—

Got it!

Allyrose, having successfully resolved the second incident, decisively left the assembly hall. She reasoned there was no point lingering in such an awkward scene, as the gathering would likely disperse within minutes anyway. Why stay to admire Vivian’s face, flushing red one moment and pale the next?

‘Pfft, I’m not *that* bad, am I?!’

As she stepped into the corridor outside the hall, taking a deep breath of fresh air, Allyrose was suddenly overcome by an extraordinary sense of exhilaration. It felt even more satisfying than when she had slapped Jennelle, the maid who stole the divine staff.

After all, this time, she had essentially slapped Vivian herself, which was far more gratifying than dealing with one of her lackeys.

Fortunately, having read the novel, Allyrose knew this part of the story intimately. She remembered every detail, from the start of the Holy Light test to the bishop calling her onto the stage as a mere foil.

In the original work, Vivian had leveraged this very situation to completely erode Allyrose’s prestige as the former student council president in the eyes of the students. From then on, the students at the school would only revere the True Saintess.

However, this time, having absorbed so much Holy Light energy, Allyrose had, in one fell swoop, swept aside the momentum Vivian had painstakingly built.

‘Ah, that felt good—!’

Lost in thought, Allyrose couldn’t help but stretch languidly, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.

Having stood for so long, Allyrose was quite tired. Just as she was about to return to her classroom to rest…

Suddenly, a slender figure slowly approached Allyrose, then deliberately blocked her path.

‘Hmm?’

The girl with long black hair looked up. Before her stood a handsome young man, about one meter seventy-five tall, with curly golden hair and delicate features. Dressed in splendid formal attire, his gaze was fixed intently on Allyrose’s face. Allyrose frowned, intending to simply walk around him and leave. However, the moment she tried to bypass him, the golden-haired youth immediately followed.

“Tsk…”

Having been blocked twice, Allyrose rolled her eyes. Simultaneously, she confirmed his identity in her mind. A moment later, she tilted her head and spoke softly.

“What is it? Not letting me pass? Could it be… you’re here to confess your feelings to me, Prince Arius?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Who would ever confess to someone like you?!”

Arius’s face flushed at Allyrose’s teasing, but he quickly composed himself. He then shouted at her in annoyance, as if to clarify something. After speaking, he let out a cold snort before continuing.

“Hmph, it seems you know who I am, Allyrose…”

“Of course, I do~”

Allyrose offered a helpless smile, then playfully retorted.

“How could I not recognize you, Prince Arius? The King’s second son, the kingdom’s Second Prince! If I couldn’t recognize such a distinguished person, then my more than ten years as a Saintess would truly have been for naught~”

“Hmph… at least you’re self-aware.”

Arius scoffed twice upon hearing this. After a moment, he spoke to Allyrose again.

“Since that’s the case, Allyrose, I won’t waste any more words. Let’s get straight to the point. I came specifically to find you to warn you! Hmph… I can understand trying to save face with petty tricks. But when things go too far, it’s not good! How could you even think of it, ‘one hundred levels’… who would believe that?!”

“Oh? Prince Arius, are you implying… you suspect my Holy Light level is fraudulent?”

Facing her aggressive interlocutor, Allyrose remained remarkably calm.

‘Of course, this is new plot content! Something not even in the novel, how intriguing~’

She simply tilted her head indifferently. Though she addressed him as “Prince” repeatedly, her tone subtly conveyed a sense of neither humility nor arrogance.

“Whether you cheated or not, you know it in your heart!”

Arius looked indignant, his eyes filled with disdain and revulsion for Allyrose. After a moment, he pointed at her and continued.

“Hmph, honestly, whether you cheated or not has nothing to do with me; I couldn’t care less. But… you went too far this time! Did you not consider the terrible impact of publicly humiliating Vivian in front of the entire school’s faculty and students?”

As he spoke, the golden-haired youth’s tone shifted from initial sarcasm to a loud accusation.

In response to his question, Allyrose merely blinked indifferently this time, then spoke softly.

“I didn’t cheat, you know. My Holy Light level truly is one hundred. Furthermore… wasn’t the testing stone brought up by your people? And Vivian was the first to test it. With your own people and your own equipment, Prince Arius, how exactly could I have faked my Holy Light level?”

“Tsk… who knows what methods you used! But Vivian trained so diligently every day for this test, putting in so much effort, just to achieve a breakthrough to level forty-five. She, a True Saintess, could only manage that. You… you’re her peer, how could you possibly achieve a higher level than her? Let alone one hundred!”

‘Alright, alright~’

Allyrose listened to his words with a hint of helplessness, muttering inwardly with even greater resignation.

‘Just as expected, he’s here for Vivian. This Arius…’

In the plot, Arius was supposed to be the second male lead, also secretly in love with Vivian. He, along with Tok and Jason, constantly revolved around Vivian, much like characters in an otome game.

Moreover, because he was the king’s second son, Vivian likely strung him along even more. Unfortunately, in the end, Arius also became a stepping stone for Vivian’s ambition, framed and left with a poor fate, similar to Allyrose’s own original predicament.

Currently, this prince was probably still in the “Vivian is so cute, so special, unlike other girls~” phase. In that case… Allyrose naturally couldn’t be bothered to waste words on him.

“Hmm… perhaps it’s because I do good deeds anonymously every day, helping old grandmothers cross the street, so my merit points are quite high~? After all, I’ve been a Saintess for over a decade; why say it’s impossible?”

Allyrose’s eyes narrowed in a mischievous smile. She continued to feign an innocent, ‘green tea’ demeanor. Whether Arius was charmed or not was unclear, but his face certainly heated up in anger.

“That’s utter bullshit!”

At that very moment, another person suddenly roared at Allyrose from behind, then charged directly towards her.

“Arius, this woman cheated! Quickly, arrest her and make her apologize to Vivian in front of the entire school!”

Allyrose turned her head and saw a flamboyant green-haired individual. She immediately rolled her eyes in annoyance, then let out a cold laugh and addressed him.

“Mr. Tok, what’s going on? You seem a bit agitated lately. Are you just going to arrest people without evidence? Can’t handle losing?!”

“What did you say?!”

“Stop!”