Reincarnated in an Otome game as the ugly character in the background

Chapter 108: Christina, Sword Princess

I still remember it like it was yesterday.

My name is Christina Rosarina Hohenheim. The crown princess of the Elven Kingdom, Titania.

A beautiful place located in the surroundings of a forest which is under our care a big tree.

We call it the world tree, as well as the sacred tree.

According to the stories my mother used to tell me.

We elves are descended from her, the high priestess Anjelica.

She was responsible for creating life on this planet and for planting that great tree.

Before she died she charged her blood, my ancestors, to protect this place, in her exact words it was.

"This tree is the lung of this planet. You must protect it at all costs, if this tree perishes, all life in this world will perish as well."

Because of those words the priestess was born.

A woman who can hear the voice of the sacred tree and communicate with it.

Likewise, there is a guardian, his job is to take care of the priestess and the tree.

The surname Hohenheim is actually the name of my grandfather who was the guardian.

Rosarina is my mother's name.

Christina is the name my father, the elf king Oberon, chose.

A handsome man with long blond hair and green eyes.

My father said Christina meant "clarity" and "purity".

A very beautiful name for a princess, isn't it?

 Pitifully that name is a waste on me.

"Good morning."

"G-Good morning, Princess Tina."

Just like every day, the maids and vassals seem to be scared of me.

That's because my eyes, which should be the same as everyone else's, are black as night.

According to the royal doctor, these eyes are a curse. A strange disease that does not affect the patient's health or life.

I can see clearly, it's just an aesthetic problem, he said.

Then... why are you telling me this by turning your face away?

I know better than anyone.

It is repulsive.

The first time I saw myself in the mirror, I shouted "A monster is in the mirror".

My mother hugged me and told me there is no monster. Just my reflection.

That terrified me of course.

Just the thought that I would have to live 300 years with these grotesque eyes.

At my young age of five I knew what hell my life would be.

I turned ten and today I saw something terrifying.

"We are the scouting force of the Ideal Empire!"

"We order you this instant to leave this place and not to return!"

"We will give you three days and two nights to store your belongings and leave this country!"

"If you do not. we will use human power to raze this place to the ground!"

We elves were peaceful, we hunted only monsters that wanted to ruin our peaceful life.

One day, along came a species known as humans.

Unlike us they live less than a hundred years.

The reproductive desire of the elves is very low, we do not have so many children because only when we reach the age of 250 years comes our desire to leave descendants.

I looked at my father's face which was very angry.

This place was our home.

Where we were born, grew up and died.

The will that the high priestess inherited us.

And, above all, where my mother, who died of natural causes, rests.

No one wanted to leave this place and they were going to fight.

But on that same night, the humans showed us that despite living less time than us, their destructive power surpassed us.

A dragon attacked and the humans united to kill it.

I was horrified to see it. It was so brutal, they killed it as if it were an inferior being.

So... there was no choice but to heed them.

"Pull!"

We were on the hill.

My father was holding my hand.

It hurt so much.

But it hurt more to see what the humans were doing to the statue of the priestess and our homes.

A human messenger came earlier and told us that the head of this mission did not want unnecessary bloodshed... on his side.

That's why he wanted us to leave without unnecessary wear and tear.

What pained me the most to see, was how my mother's grave was lifted and dumped along with the others.

We burn our deceased and bury their remains in the ground so that saplings of the sacred tree will be born.

A sapling is a small part of the sacred tree which gives protection to the place.

My father told me that the reason they invaded our home was because the sacred tree releases a large stone known as an orb.

The orb has a lot of magical power inside.

Humans are greedy and they wanted that.

I wanted to cry.

I want to cry.

It is horrible what greed does.

It ruins the lives of others just for satisfaction and profit.

We left our land, but not before taking one last look at what was our home.

Twenty years have passed since then.

We became nomads and went looking for a new home.

Some stayed in other countries.

Others formed their villages.

Along the way many died or were kidnapped by slavers.

One day, as we unwittingly entered a war that was being fought, we were covered with them.

And also the first time I felt admiration in my life.

It was a man in shining armor which shone like the sun.

The man finished off his enemies in such an elegant and neat way that it didn't look like he was fighting but dancing.

When he finished finishing off the enemy boss, he approached us.

He asked us questions thinking we were hostile.

At the end of the interrogation he smiled and said.

"You have no home to return to. In that case come to our country to live, immigrants are welcome."

"Which country is that?"

"The Arklight Empire."

"It is a safe place for many fleeing, as we, the sword saints must protect all citizens."

"If you become citizens you can be protected."

The pleasant way in which the man spoke made my heart beat.

For the first time in my life I felt something to motivate me.

Was it longing?

Was it admiration?

Or was it something else?

We arrived at the Arklight Empire where we would live our new lives.

Thirty years have passed since then.

I turned fifty, in my former homeland at this age you were considered an adult.

My body ceased to be that of a child and entered puberty.

By human standards, I would be in my fifteenth year of life.

I entered the knight's corps.

I am the first woman to do so and also a demi-human.

Apparently no one had ever tried it before.

The reason for that is because there is a lot of racism in this country.

For the simple fact that I am a demi-human I am looked down upon.

Not to mention the fact that I am a woman, which these old men dislike very much.

I am currently under the command of the same man I admire.

His name is James and he is the current head of Attley Household.

He seems to be a very old lineage of knights, like that of my partner, a boy who is the future head of the Erzberger Household.

I will train very hard to be a sword saint like him.

Since they are all respected by the empire.

I already surpassed a hundred years old.

Currently it can be said that I would be over my twenty-fifth in human terms.

I achieved my dream, became a sword saint... there's only one problem.

It didn't do any good.

I thought they were going to respect me seeing how much I've strived and grown these decades.

I'm past the time limit to become a baroness, but they deny me under ridiculous excuses that, if I even mention it, the person who would hear it would end up angry.

To make matters worse, I have been given ridiculously obscene attire, making me feel like a streetwalker.

The other time while conducting a search of the male dormitories, one of my subordinates informed me that she found an obscene magazine.

I was very angry because the contents were of a female knight who is also an elf... who was being touched by tentacles.

Worst of all, I enjoyed the reading and then burned the book.

Loneliness in a grown woman like me is irritating.

I am very annoyed by this outfit, but the worst thing is that for years now, due to stress and eating only sweets and fats.

My breasts have started to grow to a very ridiculous size.

My butt too, the worst thing is that my cup size is the same as my age.

I have to order a bra in my size which also has to fit me tightly.

But I must leave that for later, today is special.

I am going to meet with the head of a baronet household who has asked me to be his son's sword mistress.

I believe that child's name is... Goredolph.

"..."

Several years have passed and today I am again requested.

This time I was called by her, a princess.

A beautiful little girl with strange rainbow colored hair stands in front of me.

The little girl stares at me in a slightly frightening way.

I am the terrified one.

I heard that this girl is the favorite daughter of the current emperor.

The girl smiled at me and held out her hand.

"You are very pretty, like an angel."

Those words were very beautiful, they were full of honesty.

I smiled back.

"Pleased to meet you Your Highness, I am the sword saint Christina."

"Christella?"

"Christina."

"Chrisleta?"

"... Just call me Chris if that's better for you."

"Chris! Chris! Chris! Chris!"

Her mother spoke to me.

"I'm so sorry to bother you Lady Christina, but... this child needs someone she can trust who can keep her by her side."

"The truth is... I think I won't be long in this world. And I'd like her to have someone who's a role model. And that's why I thought of you."

"I'm sorry to bother you with this."

It reminded me a little of me. I enjoyed being with my mother until the day she died.

If this woman ends up the same way, this little girl will cry for her.

My heart is weak, so I guess I will have to help her through whatever problems she has in her life.

After all, what could happen?

*Tears*

Christina was crying, the reason was because she was in a court of law.

After what happened in the village, it was normal for the imperial guard to arrive on the scene.

They immediately asked what happened and they all said the same thing.

"That woman went crazy and caused all this."

They found Christina hugging Razel.

They were all taken to the capital as this case is so big that it can't go unnoticed.

"Breaking news!"

"A sword saint went berserk and attacked a village!"

"The imperial palace won't do anything about it! What will happen to the victims?"

The tabloids would spread that news instantly if they were given the chance.

Christina upon arriving at the palace was separated from Razel and thrown into a cell.

In that cell were two sword saints guarding her.

One of them was a beautiful man with light blue hair and eyes, Lucius Erzberger.

And next to him was a man with flaming hair and a big smile, Goredolph Aintree. But he wasn't smiling at the moment.

"Instructor, is it true what they say?"

Because they feared she might escape, they placed the strongest of the empire to guard her.

Goredolph was asking his mentor questions, but she was not answering.

She was sitting in a fetal position with her back to him.

Lucius commented to Goredolph.

"Right now our comrade is under suspicion of treason. All we can do is wait for her punishment to be reduced."

"She has done nothing wrong!"

Goredolph shouted for Lucius to be quiet.

The atmosphere that was cool began to heat up.

His magical power was causing this.

"The instructor is not a criminal by any means, I know that!"

"Even if it's you, Lucius-san! I won't forgive you for speaking ill of her!"

Lucius was serious, he looked the same way at his partner who was angry.

"I'm not saying it in a bad way. I apologize if you thought so."

"But that doesn't change the fact that something happened and she's involved. I of all people don't want to believe that a person my own great-grandfather praised as a unique talent would be involved in such a heinous crime."

"Goredolph, you should understand that right now her life depends on the decision of the ministers and His Majesty the Emperor."

"I know that!"

Goredolph clenched his hands.

"I know... I refuse to believe that the instructor who took care of me in my childhood... and who trained me to be so strong to be recognized as a sword saint, is a woman capable of hurting innocents"

"I did."

Christina suddenly spoke.

The two of them watched her as she spoke.

She turned around a little and they watched her face.

"Everything you say is true... I hurt those people. I hurt the one I'm supposed to protect, this dark skin is proof that I had so much hate inside that it was released."

"Dolph, thank you for your support, but there's nothing to be done."

"Lucius, even if you are a bit(very) repulsive in the way you are. You are an excellent knight, no doubt your great-grandfather would be proud of you to see your resolve in believing in your fellows."

Footsteps quickly approached and the door was opened.

"Reporting!"

"His Majesty the Emperor, the Prime Minister and the ministers order the prisoner up now!"

"The interrogation is over and all that remains is to hear her side of the story!"

Lucius commented.

"It's taken them a whole day to do this."

Christina stood up.

"It's normal. I destroyed a whole town and they need to take action."

Goredolph wanted to say something, but she cut him down.

"It's okay. You've been very helpful being here for me."

"There is no better disciple in the world than one who defends his criminal mentor."

Lucius opened the door and grabbed her arm.

Goredolph bit his tongue and did the same.

Christina smiled and said.

"I really try to be strong, but it's impossible to do."

As her tears streamed down her cheeks, she climbed the stairs to her trial.

A large crowd was gathered in the courtroom, larger than usual.

The reason was due to only one person, Christina who was in the center of it all, with handcuffs on her wrists and kneeling while crying on the velvet carpet.

All of this was seen by several people, but only one person mattered. That person was very angry with her.

The emperor who always has a serious face, this time has a demon-like expression.

He is very angry.

He asked Christina from his throne on top of this pyramid.

"Christina, answer honestly... is it all true?"

The emperor has known Christina since he was a child, so it seems strange to him that she would behave like this.

To him, she is a woman worth having as a vassal.

But what he heard is something that destroys that image of her.

"... Yes, Your Majesty. It is real what you heard."

Christina said, all the surrounding people were left with the same shocked expression while muttering among themselves.

"Then it is real."

"I knew that a demi-human should not be trusted."

"This is bad for our image, that the sword of the empire is rebelling against us."

Christina was crying as she listened to all those cold words. The emperor continued with his personal interrogation.

"According to the information we have about elves, the dark color of your skin is something called dark elf, and it occurs when high elves like you fall into depravity, is that correct?"

"... Yes, Your Majesty. It is just as you say."

"So... does that mean you hate the empire?"

"..."

"Answer... Christina."

The emperor's tone of voice was very strong, she wanted to escape from there, but she could not disobey the emperor's orders.

"I... hate the bad people in the empire, not the empire as such, or its people. Only those who are horrible."

"I see. Certainly there is trash in our fair nation, in this case I will take it that you hate those who slandered you, as the emperor, I am aware of the gnats who spit in my name, but as I am the emperor I do not crush them, thus showing m superiority to them."

"Christina, if you really hate that scum, you would have simply ignored it and your hatred would not have existed."

"... It's not that easy Your Majesty, I really try to avoid their comments makes me"

"Christina, we are not here to talk about people you dislike. We're here to find out what to do with you."

"You confirmed that dark skin color is proof that you hate the empire. Even if there is a culprit, it doesn't change the fact that you attacked innocents, and even if you would have attacked a culprit, there was no order to do so, in both cases it is a crime what you did."

People who were not part of the ministers and even the ministers themselves were surprised by the emperor's wisdom.

They never expected a man who sits on high to be so impressive.

"To finish."

He said the coup de grace for Christina.

"Why did you attack people? This is different than the color of your skin."

"This is something you, a sword saint did. Answer Christina, why did you attack the people you swore to protect?"

In the stands were all the people concerned, including the girl and parents Christina cut down, they looked at her with a face of anger and contempt.

"She did it because she hates this country!"

"That's right, we can't rely on a resentful demi-human to take care of us when we're attacked from behind!"

"Your Majesty we implore you to punish that woman severely! This is treason against the empire!"

The word treason came out of someone's mouth.

No matter what they do or say, that word totally sank Christina.

She lifted her face, her nose dripping mucous and her mouth distorted from the pain of what she heard.

She opened her eyes and tears fell from them.

"... Yes, it is as Your Majesty says. I..."

"I did it because deep down I really resented this country!"

Christina damned herself for saying those honest words.

They all booed her, even threw papers they had in their pockets and took from the ministers.

Christina ducked her head to the ground, it was shame she felt.

She could not consider this an accident when her heart deep down was this resentful.

The emperor stared at her for a brief moment and then let out a long, but deep sigh.

"I came to an irrefutable conclusion."

"Wait father please!"

Livie rushed to Christina's side to defend her.

"Chris didn't do anything wrong! She was being controlled by something that guy had to do!"

When Livie and the others were questioned, they talked about what happened with Linhard.

How Olgren was involved and even Judal, who was about to be sent to the gallows but for revealing information about a certain revolutionary.

Hearing that Linhard was still alive upset everyone in the palace.

But more surprising is the fact that Olgren managed to get that far, but was stopped by Razel.

The emperor was furious, two pests were still alive, but they were annihilated.

Now he was looking angrily at Livie.

She tried to convince him, but now it was useless that.

"Livie."

"This is no time for your whims you idiot girl! We are on very important official business!"

"My title as emperor is at stake and I am capable of having my children executed if they get in the way of an imperial order! Do I make myself clear to you child!"

Livie was frightened.

She thought she could convince her father.

But both she and the others present were trembling at seeing how the emperor would not yield to a request from his favorite daughter.

"Take her away."

Knights came and took Livie from his arms and led her away.

"Wait please, fatheeeeeeeeeeer!"

"Chriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!"

As Livie was led out of the place, the undertaking continued.

"Resuming what I said before the interruption."

"..."

Silence flooded the place.

The emperor looked with a cold but melancholy gaze at Christina.

"I expected you to be under enemy control, but you never said so, until the end you are a human being who faces his deeds, that is the reason why I appointed you as one of the four swords of this country, but that is over."

"In the name of the emperor, I, Loic V, declare the traitor Christina as a traitor, therefore, she will be sent to the gallo"

"Wait, you can't go through!"

"Stop him!"

"It's too fast ahhhhh!"

Voices were coming from outside, someone was causing a commotion.

The door was kicked open and Razel entered the place.

He was blindfolded, Eli and the others were behind him.

The emperor glared angrily at Razel.

"You... it's not yet time for your award for defeating the traitor and saving the princess, what are you doing here?"

Razel walked until he was close to Christina and then placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Your Majesty, I come to save this woman. I declared her as one of my concubines long ago and I will not allow you to execute her."

Everyone was taken aback by Razel's interruption after he declared Christina as his woman.

Even Christina herself was in tears as she watched her brave hero come to her rescue.

There was only one person who was not surprised.

"You..."

It was the emperor.

"You dare to interrupt a court trial."

Who was very angry.

"A direct order from the emperor."

His magical power was increasing, his hair was rising and golden sparks were dancing elegantly around him.

"Do you want to die by my own hand? Are you mocking the emperor?"

"No."

Razel said that without kneeling.

That meant how serious he was.

It was a clear violation of the knight's code of respect as loyalty to the empire.

The emperor rose from his throne and in a split second stood in front of Razel.

He was very angry, his face showed that he was ready to kill Razel right now.

"Do you think you'll get away with wanting me to retract an imperial order?"

"Are you that eager to die?"

His hand grabbed Razel's jugular, he raised it as high as his hand could go.

"This is the second time you've tried to disrespect me and get away with it. The first time I let it go because it was funny, this time it's different maggot."

"This woman committed a crime of treason, death is the only thing she deserves."

"That's why I've come to stop this injustice."

"How do you say?"

The emperor's hand squeezed Razel's neck bit by bit.

Having his neck being slowly crushed, Razel was explaining to the emperor.

"Christina is innocent, she was under the influence of a drug that guy created. Which he released into the air, but it only affects demi-humans."

"Since there were no other demi-humans in the village, only her..."

Razel's neck was about to snap, the emperor was already compressing his muscles.

"That werewolf woman over there is also a demi-human, why wasn't she affected?"

"... She can't smell anything because her nose was snotty."

The emperor looked at Leila.

She understood that threatening look, so she pretended to sneeze and her nose slipped mucous.

Then she looked at Razel.

"Why didn't you report this when you arrived?"

"... My head was a bit in turmoil from the beating I took. I didn't remember that detail, sorry. I mean, I'm totally sorry Your Majesty..."

Razel started to get bloodshot eyes, the emperor's hand stopped and spoke to him.

"That sounds like a very makeshift excuse to me. But, that individual turned Olgren into a monster, it means he's not someone to be taken lightly."

"Therefore, I will believe this."

Everyone stood in awe of those words.

"But that doesn't mean the execution is removed. You only removed a plank from her ladder, she is still walking even to her end."

Indirectly the emperor said to him. "She cannot be saved by this alone, there must be something else that will retract my order."

Razel prostrated himself in a position of dogeza and said.

"Please. Use the wish you granted me weeks ago to save Christina's life."

"I ask it too Your Majesty."

Eli knelt down and pleaded for Christina.

"Use the wish of the future Duke and heiress daughter of Rosenberg Household please. Lady Christina's life is something we cannot afford to lose."

"Losing a sword saint is the same as losing a ducal house, a disgrace to us as encouraging our enemies to attack us."

The emperor stared at Eli. After a pause he said.

"You have become a good negotiator, child of the Rosenbergs."

"I beg to differ your majesty. I don't have the level to accomplish that without using the wish you granted me, even two wishes we could use for anything, we are using them to save our companion's life, it is most unfortunate that my eloquent abilities are only good for this."

The emperor burst out laughing.

"Gurarararararararara! You say that, but you know what to say to back this worm. You are certainly a woman with a great future in politics."

"If you were older, I would have engaged you to my heir."

"Though that's not important at all now."

The emperor turned away and then wearing the same golden glow returned to his seat.

"Very well, I will take the wish of both of you and not only spare Christina's life, I will also excommunicate her of all her crimes."

Complaints came toward the emperor, but with a loud stamp of his feet they all fell silent.

"But..."

His angry face did not go away.

"You must still pay, Christina, what you did is unforgivable. If I let you go, just as you are, my image as emperor will be tarnished, so I will give you a suitable punishment worse than death."

"Starting with this..."

The prime minister handed him the imperial scepter.

"From now on you will be removed as a sword saint, and, what is more, you will cease to be a knight."

"Nor will you be able to wield a sword of iron or steel in your life."

Christina's look that was one of happiness at being forgiven showed horror after hearing those words.

She wanted to be a knight.

A sword saint.

Now that that was taken away from her along with not being able to wield a weapon... her heart was broken.

She would be able to live... but at the cost of what kept her alive.

"Also, because you are no longer a knight of the empire, you will be stripped of your right to be a noblewoman after completing one hundred years of service. So dictates the law, and the law cannot be changed."

"Calm down. You are not the only one who will receive punishment."

The emperor snapped his fingers and at that moment, the man at his side disappeared.

"It's your turn, worm."

Razel was immobilized in a very simple manner.

(At what point did he do it?)

(Unlike the emperor who I could feel his magic power, this guy doesn't emanate a single one.)

Razel was caught by a man in red armor, wearing a helmet with long horns.

He was the twilight saint, the strongest living being in the whole empire.

The emperor looked uninterestedly at Razel before saying.

"You don't expect to leave just like that after disrespecting the emperor, do you maggot?"

"..."

"Because you committed two faults against me, you will be punished in this way."

"Choose now which limbs you want to lose."

"Your two arms?"

"Your two legs?"

"Or one arm and one leg?"

"There is also the option of losing your title of count and knight."

Razel without hesitation said.

"I-I choose the titles please."

"... What a quick answer."

He snapped his fingers and the red armored man left Razel.

Before anyone noticed he returned to the emperor's side in a very quick manner.

"All right. For your two offenses committed towards me I will take away your title of knight and count. You will go back to being the heir of a baron, I will not take away your position as a future duke because you have not committed another offense."

"We will immediately begin preparations to select another sword saint! We must not allow our enemies to believe that we are weakening!"

"You can all go."

At the end of the meeting, Christina was taken to her office, in it, she had all her personal items.

She was given a box, it looked like she was dismissed in the most dishonorable way possible.

She always disliked this place, it was small and had no windows.

But now it would be no one's.

She put away all her belongings and walked out of there, taking a last look around one last time.

As she closed the door and handed the keys to a guard, Razel and the girls arrived.

Christina stared at them and then apologized.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

"No. It's no trouble at all to save you, it was my wish to do so."

"..."

"Is something wrong?"

Christina didn't raise her face, it was embarrassing for her to say.

"I-It's just that... what you said a little while ago... that I am your concubine."

"You dislike me?"

Her cheeks flushed, she looked like a teenager being confessed to for the first time.

"It's not that... it's just that it still seems unreal to me."

Razel walked up to Christina, hugged her.

She was stunned before that embrace.

"I keep my promises. From now on you will be one of us, you will be part of our family. You don't need to worry about anything."

"... Yes."

Christina nodded at those warm words, she finally has someone to love her.

It was certainly a wonderful romantic moment... too bad Razel didn't realize the reality.

"Razel..."

"Razel-kun..."

Two hands were placed on his shoulders.

Eli moved closer to his ear, same Lily.

"Razel. do you want to explain this to me about Lady Christina being your new lover? When exactly did this happen?"

"Razel-kun is certainly a very bad boy and womanizer. We can't take our eyes off you for a second since you'll be off conquering women instantly."

Eli showed a face similar to that of a demon. Even horns were coming out of her head while Lily was showing a smile with her bright eyes which were black.

Eli said to Christina.

"I can't say this is something I expected, but if a sword saint will be with us. It's good for our knight corps."

"B-But I'm not a knight anymore."

"You are not a knight of the empire. To be exact from the palace, the imperial knights are called that exclusively by the palace, thus, if someone from the palace calls them that it is to show that they are united, but they are not exclusively from the palace."

"That's why you can still be a knight under the name Rosenberg."

"... Really?"

Christina was crying with happiness.

Eli and Lily dragged Razel off into the distance and a scream rang out.

And with all those problems solved and a new member of the harem, she ended that busy day.

Now we could start a new school year without any problems.