I Choose The Villain Duke

The prince paled. Miyu couldn't hear what Glenn whispered to the prince but she had a feeling it was a threat. He felt dangerous despite his smile. 

The prince looked like he couldn't move. Like he had turned to stone. His eyes wide and his mouth wide agape. 

Glenn laughed out loud.

"Why do you look so stiff, boy? We're all friends here, aren't we? Loosen up a bit, boy," Glenn said.

The prince did look like he was no longer frozen in his place but he looked wary at Glenn. He glanced at his mother for help but Celestinia was avoiding looking at her son. She looked terrified of the mysterious royal advisor too.

"So, when will the funeral parade be held?" Glenn asked with still an easy-going smile on his face.

"Funeral?" Miyu repeated.

"Ah, yes. I see that they haven't told you. Tsk tsk. The king is dead," Glenn said.

Celestinia and Vincent shivered. They absolutely looked terrified now. How did he know?

Miyu's eyes widened. Didn't the prince say his father was just unable to make it? She assumed he was just busy or something. Not dead! 

"You are going to hold a funeral parade for him, right? If not, one might think that you've been concealing the king's death, Celes," Glenn said with a dangerous glint in his jade eyes.

"O-of course. It's just that we've been in private mourning and we wanted to mourn for the king first before we declared his death to the public," Celestinia said nervously.

"Mourning, huh? Is wearing such lavish attire the trend in mourning now? Last I've heard, the relatives should be in all black but I see that the two of you do not even have an inch of black on you," Glenn pointed out while smiling with his eyes closed.

"S-such insolence," Vincent muttered.

"What's that, boy?" Glenn asked with a scary look on his face.

"N-nothing, S-Sir Jade," Vincent stammered.

"I expect the funeral parade to be held tomorrow, Celes. You've put it off far too long. The declaration of your newly summoned Saintess shall come after. As for me, I expect for a room to be prepared for me. You can do that, Celes?" Glen said in a manner that was more of a command than a question.

"Yes, Sir Jade. As you wish," Celestinia said.

Miyu was confused. Why was the queen being ordered around by this so-called royal advisor? Why was the royal advisor not addressing the queen and the prince with respect? Shouldn't the queen have higher authority than an advisor? And what is this bad feeling Miyu was having? The king was dead and the queen was hiding it from the public? This was getting stranger and stranger. 

"I'll take it upon myself to be the lady's private tutor. She will need lessons. Royal etiquette, Aderlan's history, and her duty as a Saintess. I can teach all of that and you don't even need to persuade me," Glenn said looking pleased at himself. 

"Y-You?! I mean, you don't need to bother yourself in teaching, Sir Jade. We can employ private tutors for the Saintess," Celestinia said.

"No, no, I insist," Glenn said grinning with his eyes closed.

"Truly, you don't need to be her teacher. It's such a trivial task and you're too important for that, Sir Jade," Celestinia said in a half-pleading and half-flattering manner.

"I insist," Glenn said still smiling, his jade eyes now open. His stance unbending.

"As you wish. Lady Miyu, please treat Sir Jade with the utmost respect," Celestinia said hesitantly. 

"Yes, Your Highness," Miyu replied.

"I've kept you for too long. You must be tired. You just died and now you're here in the palace," Glenn said.

Miyu flinched. "N-no, Miyu is fine."

"I look forwards to our lessons together, Lady Hikari or shall I call you Lady Miyu?" Glenn asked.

"Miyu is fine, Sir Jade," Miyu said demurely.

Glenn smiled. "Glenn is fine with me too, Miyu."

*

*

*

Miyu ate dinner in her room and she was bathed and dressed by the maids. Her wedding gown was taken away. The maids said it would be preserved in a glass case as the dress of the Saintess from her original world. She wanted to tell them she would rather have it burned but it would destroy her cute innocent image so she held her tongue.

"The moon is still the same," Miyu whispered.

Miyu was standing outside her room balcony. It didn't look like she was in anothee planet because the moon still looked the same. Somehow, the familiarity comforted her a bit. She was wearing a long light pink nightgown.

She didn't want to sleep naked ever again.

After what happened to her back in her original world, she wouldn't risk doing that ever again. The nightgown was made of a soft material anyway, so she could live with it.

She looked down the balcony. If she took her life again, would she be transported in another world again? Why was she even the one summoned here? She didn't even want to live.

"Don't do it!"

A figure suddenly jumped on the balcony and landed beside her.

Long green hair. Elegant jade eyes.

"Glenn!" Miyu exclaimed.

"You shouldn't take your life! If you don't want to live here, I can help you escape. Just don't kill yourself!" Glenn said with a look of desperation as he held her shoulders.

Miyu blinked. "Take my life? I wasn't."

"You looked like you were going to jump," Glenn said worriedly.

"No, I wasn't. I was just thinking of it but I wasn't going to jump," Miyu said.

Glenn breathed a sigh of relief and ran his hand over his hair.

"Why were you even thinking of jumping? You have a new life now. Are you that suicidal?!" Glenn asked with irritation now.

Miyu frowned. "No, I'm not suicidal now. I just wondered if I would go to another world if I jump again."

"Again?" Glenn repeated with shock.

"Ah yes, that's how I died in my original world. It was from the hospital balcony. I thought it would be quick but it actually hurt like hell before I finally died. It wasn't pleasant," Miyu said.

Glenn was quiet.

"By the way, how did you get here? This is the second floor! Are you an acrobat or something? Half-monkey?" Miyu asked. 

A smile curved up on Glenn's lips.

"No, not monkey. It's just one of my many talents," Glenn said then winked at her.

Miyu chuckled. "Well, I'm not that surprised anymore. If I got surprised by every magical thing here, I think I might get a quick death."

Glenn looked at her with disgust. "Sheesh. For a Saintess, you're quite the grim one."

Miyu laughed. "Well, I have you to teach me how to be the proper Saintess, don't I?"

"That's a lie. I just wanted to spend time with you," Glenn said with a serious face.

Miyu burst out laughing.

"You liar," Miyu said.

"You're a liar too," Glenn grinned.

Miyu's eyes widened. Sh*t. She forgot to do the cute act.

"You were quite different earlier," Glenn said, pointing it out. 

"I'm just tired now," Miyu said scrambling her mind to think of an excuse.

"I don't mind. This sounds more natural of you," Glenn said.

It was nice to have someone she didn't need to act cutely anyway. 

"Thank you. For a green-haired man, you're actually fun to talk to," Miyu teased.

"For a green-haired man?! Don't tell me you actually prefer that blonde prince!" Glenn said with a disbelieving laugh.

Miyu raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I? He's Prince Charming in the flesh. Well, he does have a scar but I'm sure that'll go away in time. He's rich and I have this feeling that I might just be the next queen if he falls for me."

"As the royal advisor, I can say that you are right. The Saintess is actually the prince's fiancée. I'm actually surprised that no one has told you of that," Glenn said.

"Oh," Miyu replied.

"Is that a good 'oh' or a bad one?" Glenn asked

"I'm just . . . stunned. I mean who marries someone they just met? That's just ridiculous. What if he got an ugly Saintess? Or what if the Saintess won't like him?" Miyu said.

"That's what happened to the last one," Glenn said.

"The last one?" Miyu repeated.

"Yes, the last one. Oh. They didn't tell you. You're not the first Saintess they summoned this century," Glenn said.

"What?! Then where is she? I haven't met her!" Miyu said.

"She's living with Duke Ashburn. She chose a duke over the crown prince," Glenn said.

"You can do that?" Miyu asked in disbelief.

"Well, no, but they kind of forced it. They became attached to each other. The queen and the prince tried to pry them off each other but they're inseparable so they gave up and summoned you," Glenn said.

Miyu rubbed her temples. "Oh god. What a mess."

"Right on that. Aren't you grateful you have a royal advisor by your side?" Glenn asked with a cheeky grin.

Miyu raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "And what's your use to me? A tutorial to this world?"

"Something like that. A confidante. Teacher. Maybe a friend even if you're into that," Glenn said wiggling his eyebrows. 

Miyu laughed.

"I'm not sure. We just met and you're highly suspicious," Miyu said.

"Well, yeah but you're the one who's ready to marry a prince you just met," Glenn said with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point but I wasn't really serious about that so that doesn't count," Miyu said with a shrug. 

"You're not serious about marrying the prince?" Glenn asked.

"Good grief. I just met him and I'm not even sure if I like him. Before coming here, I had just stormed in my ex-boyfriend's wedding," Miyu said.

"You what?!" Glenn exclaimed. 

"I was rejected which just makes sense now but before it didn't. I'm actually glad I didn't marry that lying basta*d. After that, I found out that my friend was the one who took nude pictures of me and created my scandal. Then I killed myself off," Miyu said.

Glenn looked disturbed.

"So you see, I'm not exactly in the right sense of mind right now. I was just suddenly transported here and I don't have any idea about how things run here. About marrying the prince, I might just do that if that's what I have to do to survive but you just told me the Saintess that came before me didn't have to marry the prince," Miyu said.

"So, what's your plan?" Glenn asked.

"I'm not sure. I might need the help of a green-haired royal advisor. Do you have any idea where I can find one?" Miyu asked.

Glenn grinned.

Miyu grinned back.

It felt like her new life would be fun . . . especially with this handsome green-haired man by her side.