Blame It on the Man

His eyes widened, and he looked everywhere for his little blue sister---

"It's alright. I'm here, the mighty prince is here to save you now."

Ronin gritted his teeth. Of course, it's him.

It always has to be him to ruin his good mood!

"B-But the ghosts.... Huhuhu....." The tiny Belladonna was sobbing over a nice patch of grass....

With Cermin Drychspiel hugging her.

"I'll protect you from the ghosts. Though I'm no Ghostbuster or anything. My sword will probably be able to slice through them." Cermin smiled sheepishly.

Belladonna looked horrified. "No! The ghost possessed my brother--- I mean, my servant's brother! You must exorcise him, not slice him with your sword!"

"Okay, okay! I won't slice anyone now. Jeez...." Cermin scratched his head.

(This girl is really hard to comfort.) He thought in his head.

Ronin was clenching his fist so hard to the point of drawing blood, and he was about to stomp towards them...

"But t-thank you, Your Highness. I was so alone and scared inside that toolshed, and worried about what was happening outside."

"No problem!" Cermin exclaimed, patting her back. "I'll do anything for a cute girl like you."

Ding!

A holographic screen appeared along with Kai's robotic voice.

[You have succeeded in ruining Cermin Drychspiel's mission.

However, you are only 75% successful, as Belladonna's impression of him was not decreased, but even increased.

V-points gained: 750 ]

"What happens to the other 250 points?" Ronin asked, but already knew the answer.

[It will go to Cermin Drychspiel.]

He clicked his tongue. "Don't give out the points. It's not over yet."

[Oh?] Kai said mildly intrigued.

"I can take back those 250 points easily." Ronin grinned devilishly, and continued walking towards the two children embracing at the corner.

Belladonna's eyes widened and let go of Cermin immediately. "B-Brother Ronin! Are you alright? Are you no longer possessed? What happened to the evil guys?"

"The ghosts are on our side, Bella. They protected us and possessed me to save us." He smiled at her. "Unlike this boy over here..."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Cermin asked, confused.

"Bella, didn't you hear the ghosts earlier? Do you want me to remind you everything they said as they turned my body into a vessel?" Ronin kneeled to her eye level.

"The reason why they appeared was that someone stole the marker for our house, and caused the chaos that had befallen us."

"Whoah, that's crazy!" Cermin said dumbly. "And who stole this marker? You gotta make him pay!"

Ronin smirked at this. Sometimes, Cermin's stupidity has benefits....

Because this would make the revelation all the more easier, since he doesn't know how to defend himself.

"Your Highness, did you forget what you used to hit those pies earlier? That big wooden pole, with the zigzagging shape of lightning at the top?"

Cermin pressed a hand over his chin. "Yeah, I do remember that...."

Belladonna became even more horrified, and pushed Cermin away. "Y-Your H-Highness, it was you..... You made a terrible mistake..."

"Huh? What do you mean, baby blue?"

Ronin cringed at this pet name, but continued his acting. "That pole you took was the marker, Your Highness."

Cermin's eyes bugged out as if it was going to go out. "O-Oh, shit..."

"You are the reason why the ghosts of the ancestors appeared. In fact, you are also the reason why this disaster happened."

He turned to Belladonna. "Who made everyone toss their food and ruin your clothes earlier? Who inspired Zeuxis to start that pie fight? Who helped him ruin your party?"

Belladonna was no longer holding on to the prince as Ronin delivered all these questions that served as accusations.

"It was him, Bella. He is all to blame. He did not save you... He was the one who ruined everything."

Cermin stood up from the shock. "Hey, that's not really fair! I was just having fun, I didn't mean for all this to happen---"

"Brother Ronin is right." Bella also stood up slowly, gritting her teeth. "Since you came to our house, you brought nothing but trouble. I did not like you from the start, but now..."

"I hate you! I do not want to see your face ever again!"

Ding!

[Succesfully changed Belladonna's impression of Cermin Drychspiel.

Total V-Points: 1000 ]

He also heard Cermin grumble in his head. (What!? I lose my 250 H-points??? Oh, come on!)

"You heard the little mistress of House Zafeiri, Your Highness." Ronin placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, grinning smugly.

"Your presence is unwanted. I am sure her father would also not like it if he figured out that you were the root of all the chaos that ensued in his abode."

He mischievously added: "And you saw how scary his sword and fighting skills are, right? I would hate to see you get sliced by it."

Cermin chickened out immediately at this. "F-Fine! I'm sorry! I won't bother you blue people again!"

He bowed his head at Belladonna and then dashed off to run to his carriages to escape.

Belladonna sniffled. "You were right, brother. The prince was no good. I should have avoided him like you told me, but I was so scared so I took his hand when he opened the toolshed door."

"Bella, I want you to hear something very important." Ronin patted her head. "Men like that are no good. You see how the nobles judged you and called you a freak earlier, right?"

"Yes. They're very cruel." She rubbed her eyes.

"From now on, you have to be strong against those people. You can't show them that you're weak, because they're just going to take advantage of you. Men only want one thing."

Her eyes widened at this. "What is it? Was it what Zeuxis said?"

"Zeuxis? What did Zeuxis say?"

Belladonna became shy and whispered something to his ear, to which he made a disgusted look on.

"No! I was going to say power, but yeah some men do want that from women.... But you're not supposed to know that yet!" He rubbed his forehead. "You're too young, let's take it one step at a time, okay?"

"Men want power. And you're a very powerful woman. If they manage to dominate and control a girl like you that can bring hailstorms like that, they would use you like a trophy, a symbol of their power."

"Never let that happen, okay? Don't be fooled by boys like Cermin that looked good at first glance, when they're all just power-hungry monsters that will treat you like an object."

"All men are power-hungry monsters..." Belladonna repeated, keeping this in mind. "Then what about you, brother?"

Ronin grinned, lying through his teeth very easily.

"I'm one of the few exceptions. You can trust me."