It matched exactly as described in ‘Fake Saint’. The warm atmosphere of the banquet shattered completely. Riden looked around at the confused crowd with manic eyes and laughed.

“Hahaha! Once Richard dies, my position will be mine again!”

“Your Highness First Prince, have you gone mad?”

“Of course not. I am perfectly sane.”

Unlike the horrified nobles, he remained calm. Soon after, figures covered in pitch-black clothes emerged from every corner of the hall. They also emanated an ominous aura.

“Everyone, stay away from my brother!”

Following Richard’s command, the nobles moved far back. Riden immediately charged at his younger brother.

While the male protagonist blocked the rampaging villain, Riden’s hidden subordinates prevented others from helping and harassed other nobles.

Kana looked at the young ladies who were close to Letie. They all stood stiffly, trembling. It made sense they were scared since Letie only had healing abilities and the others had no power at all.

‘Originally, the sub male leads would assist the male lead in fighting the villain while protecting the female lead…… but Ethan is busy protecting the surrounding people, and Kiriel is just stuck by my side, so this is a mess.’

Fortunately her star rating hadn’t dropped, but if something happened to Letie, she would be in trouble. Kana released her spirit energy while staying close to Kiriel and urgently called out to them.

“Lady Letie, ladies! Quickly come this way!”

“Yes.”

Letie and the ladies hurriedly ran to Kana’s side. The dagger that Riden’s subordinate aimed at Letie was deflected by the fierce wind she summoned with spirit magic.

‘Is Alderaan doing alright?’

Thanks to having the reliable Kiriel by her side, Kana had some leeway to look toward her industry friend. He too had drawn his sword and was busy blocking Riden’s subordinates while protecting those around him.

Just then, she spotted someone trying to sneak up and attack from behind him.

Kana took out a dagger from her ring’s subspace and imbued it with spirit energy. The blade glowed sharply with the power of wind.

“Lord Alderaan, duck!”

Alderaan reflexively ducked at her shout. Simultaneously, the dagger Kana threw pierced the chest of the enemy rushing at him.

He confirmed the collapsing subordinate of Riden and called out to his industry friend who was wielding Nubes.

“Thank you!”

Instead of replying, Kana responded with a smile. Even in this urgent situation, they didn’t make any mistakes with honorifics and speech.

Kiriel muttered while strengthening the barrier further.

“Something’s off about the First Prince and those subordinates too. It feels like there’s some monster energy mixed in……”

“Actually, I saw His Highness the First Prince holding a dark-colored magic stone and red alodel earlier during the banquet.”

Letie, who had seen Riden up close during the banquet, carefully revealed. Kana pretended not to know and added to her words.

“A corrupted magic stone and a plant used to drive monsters…… Could it be related to those suspicious subordinates?”

“Probably. The aura rampage definitely looks like a rebound and side effect from curse-type magic.”

Kiriel nodded while manipulating mana. Letie clenched her fists and watched Richard fighting fiercely with her brother with anxious eyes.

“We should help Lord Richard……”

“Your safety comes first, Lady Letie. Let’s focus on staying safe while healing His Highness the Crown Prince when he gets hurt.”

Kana comforted the worried female protagonist. The other ladies huddled close to her and agreed. Kiriel chimed in while freezing the charging subordinates solid.

“Miss Kana is right. We need to take care of the subordinates first. It’s not easy to deal with since there are so many people here. Causing trouble at a banquet deliberately is quite vicious.”

“Indeed. Even those who can handle aura aren’t able to use their powers properly.”

The movements of those who could handle aura, including Ethan and Caliman, were more passive than usual. Kiriel sighed.

“Can’t be helped. Magic and spirit arts are the same, but aura is especially destructive. There have to be restrictions when trying to move without harming the surrounding people.”

“You’re right. We’re constrained too, so I can’t say anything.”

Kana was also using spirit arts more delicately than usual.

By the time everyone worked together to take down all of Riden’s subordinates, Richard was also finishing up by inflicting internal injuries on Riden.

Liriel and Seria came out to assist the male protagonist in place of others whose movements were restricted.

Liriel’s binding magic wrapped tightly around Riden, and Seria’s earth spirit magic using earth spirits knocked him down and fixed him to the ground. The fierce aura that had been surging from Riden suddenly subsided.

“Ah, no!”

Riden’s face contorted in despair as he struggled.

In ‘Fake Saint’, there was a setting that when someone comes out of a rampage state, they can’t use their power for a while. The aftermath was even worse when artificially inducing the rampage.

He who had been overflowing with power instantly became powerless. The Emperor, who had been taking shelter under the protection of shadows and guards, came forward and issued an angry command.

“Arrest the First Prince.”

Imperial knights rushed in and dragged Riden away. The Empress collapsed with a deathly pale face before being helped away by her ladies-in-waiting.

After expressing gratitude to Kana and Kiriel, Letie first examined and healed Richard’s condition, then healed the injured alongside her family members.

While Dain and Duke Serade also participated in healing, Cordelia who had lost her healing ability after falling into her own trap could do nothing.

She stood there blankly while receiving suspicious glances and hearing whispers from around her before staggering outside.

Kiriel looked around and spoke,

“Fortunately the situation was resolved well.”

“Yes. Thank you for protecting me.”

“Don’t mention it. I only did what was natural.”

He exuded dignity befitting a major character from the protagonist’s side. Even as a prickly-type sub male lead, his appearance of protecting as many people as possible in a crisis was quite cool.

“Still, you’re amazing. I wasn’t hurt thanks to you, Lord Kiriel.”

“Yes. I’m glad you’re safe. I would have been really upset if you got even a small scratch.”

Kiriel gently replied while fixing her shawl that had slipped down. Kana felt warm inside and smiled softly.

By the time everyone had barely recovered their composure, Richard, who had received Letie’s healing, ended the banquet on behalf of the Emperor and Empress.

“I apologize for causing trouble to everyone who came with joyful hearts. We’ll conclude this winter banquet here.”

“Yes.”

Everyone dispersed and left. After exchanging farewells with her acquaintances, Kana left the palace together with Kiriel.

* * *

The empire and social circles were in an uproar over what happened at the winter banquet.

Due to the flood of protest letters to the imperial family from nobles who were harmed in the incident, Riden’s punishment became severe.

At the same time, all his past actions came to light, and he was ultimately sentenced to death after being stripped of his status as prince.

Cordelia, who had been his partner at the winter banquet, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes of cooperating with him and attempting to frame Letie.

The Serade family stripped Cordelia of her title and completely abandoned her without seeking any leniency. Demoted to commoner status, Cordelia had no way out.

In ‘Fake Saint’, Riden meets Letie in prison after she was sentenced to death and dies lonely like her half-sister from before the regression, so there was no need to pay more attention.

Currently, Kana was in the Short family greenhouse, having been invited by Olivia along with Letie and other ladies from the same faction.

Sitting together in a circle, they exchanged greetings and compliments about each other’s attire. She too occasionally added comments while sipping tea.

As the conversation reached a lull, Olivia opened her mouth with a meaningful expression.

“The more I think about this incident, the more surprising it is. Who would have thought those two would end up like that?”

“Indeed. They say birds of a feather flock together…… Both used curse-type magic and suffered the rebound before falling from grace.”

Bianca eagerly picked up her words. Della glanced at Letie while fidgeting with her teaspoon.

“Lady Letie and His Highness the Crown Prince suffered needlessly because of their involvement.”

“Ah, I was very shocked then but I’m better now. It was a dangerous incident but somehow everything was resolved well.”

Letie’s expression was peaceful. Though she probably felt both relieved and strange inside. Kana didn’t show it and threw in an appropriate line.

“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered well from the ordeal.”

“I’m grateful to you too, Miss Kana. Thanks to you blocking that attack, I’m able to sit here now.”

Her golden eyes were full of goodwill. Evie, who had been quiet, nodded and added,

“That’s right. Miss Kana was so cool and reliable then.”

“I’m a bit embarrassed. Lord Kiriel did most of the work.”

Kana gave an awkward laugh. Though she had worked hard too, objectively speaking his contribution was the greatest. Evie looked at her steadily.

“You’re being modest. After all, you were the one who decided to protect us and reached out first, Miss Kana. The Tower Master helped because you did that too.”

“That’s right. What matters is having that will and actually providing help.”

“Now I understand why Count Nuer praised you. My heart fluttered every time you wielded your fan.”

They showered her with passionate praise. She smiled awkwardly while waiting for this situation to end.

As the heated atmosphere subsided, Letie put down her teacup and spoke.

“Ah right, come to think of it, I have news to tell everyone.”