The Loser Lord Who Kept Getting Sweet Revenge and Somehow Rose to the Top - Chapter 14: Total Defeat Filthy Childhood Friend

Chapter 14: Total Defeat Filthy Childhood Friend

“Ha-haaa! Tea-spraying, lying idiot woman! Go home! Go home!”

Linna had rolled up some papers and was smacking them like a drum, chanting “go home” at Talia.

Honestly, trying to rein her in is pointless—this mansion runs on her chaotic free spirit. She’s just built different.

Kiriko, meanwhile, was glaring at Talia like garbage while her hand slid toward the hidden weapons in her maid uniform. Gou had already dropped into a battle stance.

Wow, the sibling murder intent is off the charts! Chill!

And Comet—seriously, stop charging up your breath attack. Vaporizing Talia indoors will annihilate the whole place.

Why is everyone here so damn bloodthirsty?!

“H-How cruel… this is too much! Is this really how a childhood friend should treat me?!”

“Childhood friend? More like filthy childhood friend.”

My deadpan correction made Talia burst into tears, collapsing face-first onto the floor.

“I have no one left! Nowhere to turn! At this rate… I’ll die!”

“Oh nooo, how tragic.”

“Uwaaaaahhh! You monster! All I did was make one little mistake—just forgive me already! Isn’t that what a real man would do?!”

“That ‘one mistake’ was fatal. And if you’re bawling this hard about it now, then tell me—why’d you betray me in the first place? You must’ve had some kind of reason, right?”

“T-That’s… b-but… because…!!”

Talia kept clinging on with endless “but, but, but…” excuses, trying to worm her way into staying.

At this point, was brute force the only option? Should we… dispose of her? Deal with her? The air was growing tense.

Then—BANG! The parlor doors slammed open.

Everyone turned at once—me, Talia, the attendants, even Comet—toward the intruder.

Standing there was a beautiful girl in a dress, striking a perfect pose: left hand on her hip, right hand thrust dramatically forward.

…Uh, who?

Oh, right—she was that girl I’d always seen at His Majesty’s side.

“First, allow me to apologize for barging in unannounced! Since many of you are surely wondering, ‘who on earth is this?’—permit me to introduce myself! I am Creambelt Bride, daughter of His Majesty the King!!”

…So I was right. She really was a princess.

Not that I’d been keeping track—His Majesty had so many kids, and as a countryside noble, I had no reason to memorize every name and face. Still… what was a princess doing here, of all places?

“Lady Shakara! Your shameless attempt to crawl back into Lord Sean’s life will not succeed. Why? Because one of the most powerful ladies in the kingdom is about to formally propose marriage to him!!”

“Eh…?”

…Huh, wait. What?! That’s brand-new information to me.

I glanced at the maids—blank stares. Looked to Gou—he shook his head too. Nobody knew anything about this.

So, cautiously, I turned back to the princess and asked…

“T-This super high-class lady you’re talking about—who is it?”

“It is me! …Or are you saying I, Creambelt, am not a super high-class lady?”

“W-Whhaaaat?!”

No way. You’ve gotta be kidding me. Why the hell is the princess suddenly—no, not suddenly. Thinking back, every time I visited the royal castle, she did keep staring at me… Still, this is the first I’ve heard of anything like this! My brain short-circuited, and I couldn’t help but scream.

“Wait, hold on—why me? We’ve never even spoken, have we?”

“I could never forget. It was back when I was still in primary school… and you, Lord Sean, were attending knight school. I once saw you then—alone in the schoolyard, attempting high jumps far higher than your own height. Attempting something utterly impossible, yet refusing to give up… That image never left me. And when I learned your engagement had been broken, then heard of your recent brilliant achievements, I knew this was my chance. I begged Father to let me become your fiancée.”

High jump… oh yeah, that was a thing. To ride Comet, I needed to train like a proper dragon knight. So I’d spent hours doing nothing but jumping practice. Never thought anyone would be watching, though.

“And so! There’s no way I’d waste this once-in-a-lifetime chance! I, Creambelt Bride, will give my all in love!!”

“Heh, I see. Well then—there’s no competition, is there? On one side, the princess of this kingdom. On the other, a count’s hand-me-down who dumped her man, betrayed him, and married some other guy before crawling back when it suited her. Yeah, sorry, match over. Curtain closed!!”

The princess’s fiery declaration made Gou clap his hands and burst out laughing. Gou, buddy, maybe dial it down a notch?

Meanwhile, Talia—still kneeling on the floor—was trembling, stuck between humiliation and despair.

Seeing her like that, Linna’s lips curled into a wicked grin. Then, with a sudden frog-like hop, she slid across the floor and landed on all fours right beside Talia. Her nose flared, her face way too close, and she let out a manic laugh, showering Talia with pure mockery.

“That’s the face I wanted to see! That jealous, miserable face!! Hyahahaha!! BUWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!! …Next up… it’s that useless bastard Shakara’s turn… Fwheheheheheee~!!”

Whoa, Linna. That’s not the kind of face a girl should ever be making. Pure villain-core energy.

But surprisingly, Talia wasn’t going down without a fight—she actually tried to snap back. Brave of her, I’ll give her that.

“Guh… b-but I have all those years we spent together! Deep down, I’m sure Sean still wants to—”

“Silence, common noblewoman! This is the Tourmaline household! We do things differently here!!”

Linna cut her off with a thunderous roar, and the sheer pressure of it made Talia flinch.

Satisfied with that startled reaction, Linna leaned back, flopped dramatically onto the sofa, and—staring up at some invisible point in the air—bellowed with wild abandon.

“Ngaaahhh!! The might of House Tourmaline is just too hugeee!! (MAXIMUM REALNESS!)”

I had no clue what that was even supposed to mean, but either way, the desperate mood Talia had been trying to build got completely shattered by Linna’s antics. Honestly, her ridiculous over-the-top weirdness has saved me more than a few times like this.

“…It’s all thanks to everyone. Really, thanks a bunch.”

At my words, Linna struck a smug pose, chin tilted high as she glared down at Talia with the smuggest “Doya~” face imaginable.

Seriously, what are you, Linna? I can’t stop laughing.

Doya face.