Suna

“Why is the pixie trembling like that?” I unconsciously muttered.

“…She’s scared.” I heard an answer from beside me and turned to see Clairmont looking in the direction of my gaze. He probably heard what I said.

I passed my glance between him and the pixie. When he said it like that, the pixie did look terrified. She was floating at only one spot and silently looking down on the ground.

“…Hm.” I feel like asking her why.

“Do you think it’s possible for me to go there and talk to her?” I whispered to Clairmont. He raised an eyebrow before eyeing the surrounding.

“Let the king finish what he said first. When the party started, we can go there and you can talk all you want. You aren’t as keen in this situation, but do know that all eyes are upon us right now.” Clairmont whispered back.

I immediately shot my eyes to the people nearby. Like Clairmont said, all the people present inside the hall had their focus divided between us and Kuzan. Some shot glances at us while some just outright glared back in spite. I think I now know what the villainesses in novels felt when facing such situations filled with scrutinizing gazes and demeaning attitudes. It’s like you’re getting choked but at the same time, couldn’t ask for help. Though, if you have crazy stats like mine and is actually a dragon, these people’s deathly stares look like kids staring at you for not giving back their candies.

Still, does the pixie feel that way all this time? Her face is shrouded with a dark expression, and she looked like she wanted to run away but she couldn’t.

Fortunately, Kuzan’s speech ended soon after that. The two of us then assimilated into the crowd, which was comparatively easier than I thought because, yeah, no one actually cares about us nobodies in their eyes and focused more on forging bonds with other nobles or kissing Kuzan’s feet.

The two of us managed to reach the edge of the crowd. While Clairmont said that he would wait for me at the banquet table because he wanted to eat the desserts prepared, I shuffled to the pixie’s side, who doesn’t seem to mind me doing so as she maintained her wary expression.

“Are you alright?” I initiated.

To my surprise, the pixie was particularly shocked when I spoke to her first. It was as if she didn’t expect that I would talk to her. I mean, won’t people be mentally prepared at the very least for a reply if someone, who stood just beside them, were to strike a conversation? At least that’s what I would do if I saw someone standing close to me with a look on their face like they wanted to get to know me.

But the pixie genuinely didn’t expect me to speak to her. She fell silent for a good few second, with her lips hanging loose from each other.

“You can see me?”

Eh?

“I-I mean, won’t anyone?” I tried to hide the twitching at the corner of my mouth. Her presence is pretty apparent if I were to say so myself. And who wouldn’t notice a cute and small flying pixie in a room filled with humans and elves?

The pixie lowered her gaze as she clenched her skirt. “…Actually, no one here is able to see me.”

My eyes widened a bit. Now that’s a shocker.

“What do you mean by that? Me and Clairmont can see you just fine. And your presence is not that forgetful so there’s no way that people wouldn’t see you.” I tried to reason. In truth, I found her statement hard to comprehend. What does she meant when she said no one could see her? Was it in a literal sense that she is invisible in people’s eyes, or was it because everyone ignored her?

The pixie raised her gaze to meet mine. Then she eyed her surroundings, before flying past me. I followed her figure and saw a waiter, who was handing out drinks to the guests, nearby.

“Excuse me, mister.” The little pixie said, floating right in front of the waiter’s face.

No response. The waiter handed out the drinks to the guest like he didn’t see the pixie there.

“Excuse me.” The pixie’s voice became sadder. She then flew back to me after receiving the same reaction from the waiter.

“You see that, right?” The pixie stopped beside me; a sad look plastered on her face. “Except for you and the person named Clairmont that you spoke of, no one here is able to see me. No one, except for the king and his little sister.”

I fluttered my eyes. Wait a second, don’t tell me…

“Are you, you know, invisible by nature, or is there a specific requirement that one should fulfil to be able to see and hear you?”

The pixie pondered a bit. “…Are you perhaps implying to the laws of the world where beings with high affinity to spirits or beings with high level of Mana are able to see things unseen by normal eyes?”

“Yes! That one.” I snapped my finger. Though, honestly, I wouldn’t know that that kind of law ever existed if the pixie didn’t tell me. So that’s why this little pixie can’t be seen by people. Me and Clairmont might be able to see her because we are beings made of Mana ourselves, or at least, for Clairmont because he is a bona fide dragon. While I am not purely a dragon inside, I can still see her because of my Mana.

As for Kuzan and Elfina, maybe the spirits like them so that’s why they could see them.

The talk about pixies weren’t really depicted in the novel. That’s because, pixies aren’t really involved in anything related to the story. But to think the world building also includes pixies, huh? There’s more to the world of ‘The Villainess Is My Lover’ than what’s depicted.

Still, I never thought that the number of people who could see her were this little. There were elves among the crowds, and as far as my fantasy knowledge goes, elves are known to have high affinity towards spirits, so that goes by without saying that they should be able to see this little pixie.

“Well,” I began. “Won’t the elves be able to see you? Because, they are known to have high affinity for magic after all.”

The little pixie shook her head. “The elves, humans, nor other races present in this hall won’t be able to see me even if I reveal my presence.” She then raised her head.

“Didn’t you see that?” Her gaze latched upwards to the direction of the ceiling.

I followed her gaze and looked slightly upwards. I knew exactly what the pixie was talking about. There was a red and murky aura filling this hall. That’s why, even though the hall looks as grand as it could be, I didn’t really feel like commenting its structures or interior designs. Man, it stings the eyes the longer I looked at them, so I lowered my gaze back, and glanced at her.

“Greed and hatred had overtaken these people of the land. That aura is the proof of that. And that aura also makes it hard for us pixies to reveal ourselves, nor even mingle with the crowds.” The pixie paused for a bit. “Rustaval has been known to be the only kingdom in this continent to be able to house pixies, as people originally are able to see them. But as of late, more people lose the privilege to be able to see us all because of the increasing corruption. It saddens me to think that the country is slowly moving towards its destruction.”

Hey, don’t say it like that~ T-T

Don’t you know that the person standing right beside you is trying to save this place? Poor Elfina will be sad if her birthplace is destroyed by the time she returned.

Now that I think about it, where is Elfina? Is she still in that village where I left her? Makes sense if that’s the case. It’s only been a few days since the time I met Clairmont and the two of us headed to Rustaval to save this country. She might be on her way or something.

“What are you guys talking about?” Clairmont suddenly appeared, earning a surprised ‘whoa’ from me.

I grimaced as I said. “Don’t surprise me like that. At least tell me that you’re coming, or walk slowly so I can finish my thoughts and look at your direction as you walk to me.”

Clairmont shot me a scrutinizing look. “What are you talking about?”

If the little pixie wasn’t there, then I might start a glaring competition with Clairmont. The pixie looked at the two of us with a confused expression.

“Oh, right.” I motioned my hand to Clairmont. “This is Clairmont, the person I talked to you about.” Then I motioned to myself. “And my name is Suna. What is your name?”

The pixie went silent for a bit. “My name is Mielle. Mielle Kardova.” She said and smiled a bit at us.

“So, you were saying,” Clairmont suddenly pulled out a saucer filled with small pieces of cakes before starting to eat the cakes one by one. Just where did he get those? e_e “That this country is lost, right? Then why did you stay here?”

I raised my eyebrows, immediately coming to a realization. That question was actually listed among one of the questions that I wanted to ask Mielle. She was alone in this hall, no friends nor a partner to accompany her.

Mielle shot both of us a look before she said, “Because I am a representative for the pixie kingdom, I had to come for the sake of formality. The fact that I didn’t have anyone with me because I insisted on coming to Rustaval alone, because the thick aura is too much for them to handle, you see.”

I nodded. So, she is the representative of her kingdom, huh? What is she, a princess, maybe?

“So you’re a princess, huh?” I said that without thinking.

Mielle looked flustered when I pointed that out.

Eh?

Don’t tell me she really is?

“Yes, I am actually the princess of the pixie kingdom.” She shyly introduced herself.

I looked at her in shock before shifting my gaze to Clairmont. Compared to me, Clairmont looked rather nonchalant.

“Don’t tell me you know who Mielle is, Clairmont?” I glared at him.

Clairmont shrugged. “No, I don’t. All I know is that the pixie kingdom has several royal princes and royal princesses, but I don’t know their names.”

I then narrowed my eyes, before massaging my temple. Did I do something rude to her just now?

“I’m sorry if I offended you or anything just now. I didn’t know that you’re a princess.” I apologized. She looked a bit different from the princess that I imagined, but when negative aura didn’t surround her, she really felt like a royalty. Her soft gestures represent that.

“It’s okay.” Mielle tittered. Gosh, even her giggles looked so elegant. How is it possible for people to laugh that politely? If I started to laugh, I might as well look and sound like a demon.

“I saw you guys from afar when his majesty began his speech. You guys are the honoured SS-ranks, right?” The princess guessed.

I nodded. “Well, it just happens to be that way, I guess. I actually never expected myself that I would be an SS-rank.” Save the fact that I am a dragon. “And that the king would hold a grand celebration just for us.”

“Hmm.” The pixie pondered a bit. “It does feels strange that the king would host a grand ball just to celebrate you guys. It’s maybe because you guys are a rare occurrence in this kingdom, and a treasured source of power, that the king did as such. Though,” She then looked around. “It does feels rushed for some reason.”

Both me and Clairmont exchanged glances. How would Mielle react if we were to tell her that there are assassins among that crowd?

Suddenly my senses pinged.

“Clairmont, do you feel that?” I turned to him.

Clairmont heaved a sigh. “Well, of course. Though, they chose a pretty bad timing to make a move.” He then gazed down at me. “What do you plan to do?”

Mielle passed her gaze to the two of us, looking confused. “What are the two of you talking about?”

I broke into a wide grin and replied. “Princess, how about we go out and take a stroll or something?”