Caring for Cecilia, which I had assumed would take twenty-four hours, was unexpectedly wrapped up in just a few.
"Well, well. I never expected her immunity to improve so quickly."
After entering the room to check Cecilia’s condition, Shurian left her room with me, wearing a satisfied smile.
"Your Grace, you are remarkable. How did you know the young lady likes flowers?"
"Cecil... No, I learned it because the young lady frequently visited the greenhouse."
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hmm. No, it’s nothing... Ah, what a lovely time this is~"
"It is not what you think, Shurian. The young lady and I are merely bound by a contract..."
"Ahhh, what a lovely time it is~!"
I wanted to seize Shurian as she fled into the distance right that instant, but I held myself back.
"Haah."
Returning to my office and taking a seat, I recalled what had happened in Cecilia’s room earlier.
"My name...?"
"Yes."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"...Even if our engagement is contractual, we need to show others a certain degree of closeness between us."
"Ah, if that’s what you mean, don’t worry..."
"Then let’s practice. Go on, Your Grace?"
"What should I call you, then...?"
"Please call me whatever you find comfortable, Your Grace."
"...Cecil..."
"Ah."
"Lady Cecilia..."
"...Hngh."
"Lady Cecilia?"
Bang!!!
I slammed my head against the desk.
"I’ve lost my mind. Instead of helping Cecilia, who is already having a hard time because of this contractual engagement, I made things harder for her."
Even after searching through the relationship knowledge wiki compiled by the people I shared a family registry with—the source of most of my romantic knowledge—
I could find no clear solution to this situation.
"Seriously, what am I supposed to do?"
If our relationship went even a little awry, the mutual promise that was our contract could crumble, and it might seriously affect Cecilia’s mental state. On top of that, there was this unidentified endemic illness. It was one misfortune after another.
"Hoo. And to make matters worse, someone has targeted Cecilia."
It could be an individual or house using the initial S, or perhaps a smokescreen meant to make us suspect a particular house.
"Thinking about it won’t make things any better."
I had let my guard down this time, but there would be no next time. The moment they bared their teeth again, we would tear them apart. That was the way of the northern grand ducal house.
It was the motto of House Walterheim.
"It seems the information was properly leaked. Well, people are naturally more afraid of a mad wolf nearby than a lion far away."
House Walterheim’s eyes and ears had already infiltrated the houses that had betrayed the north. They had been warned that should they show even the slightest suspicious movement, it would not be merely them personally bearing the burden—their entire house would be exterminated.
"You must be pleased that they listened so well to your warning."
"Jester."
Jester set a stack of documents down before me, looking to be in high spirits.
"What good news has you looking so cheerful?"
"Hahaha. I am simply so delighted that the relationship between Your Grace and the young lady has progressed beyond a contract."
"I told you, it will not go beyond a contract."
"Ho ho ho ho. Things do not always go the way one intends. Before I married Shurian, I too promised that I would serve House Walterheim alone for the rest of my life. But look at me now. I am raising both a late-born daughter and an adopted daughter."
"Haah."
"One never knows what life will bring~"
"That is a matter for later. What about what I asked you to prepare?"
"Here it is."
What Jester handed me was a list of northern nobles entering the academy this time. I had already committed to memory the information on the second- and third-years, where Cecilia was enrolled.
I should choose someone from the second-years to protect Cecilia, but...
Were there really no one in the north with any notable talent?
"The north was at the height of its talent when the eldest young master and the younger young master attended. Though we nearly lost them."
"That really was close."
I had nearly been left to fend for myself. Even now, I thought defending Blackheart Castle and dealing with the central knights had been a masterstroke.
"Haah. Then Cecil..."
"Hmm~?"
"...Ahem! Since there is no one to stay by the young lady’s side at the academy, I suppose I will have to pay closer attention to her."
"Well, since Your Grace has dropped swordsmanship from your curriculum entirely, you should have more freedom than the other students, should you not?"
"That damned blade supremacism."
"Hahaha. Do not be too harsh. Most of those pigs leading the central faction have never experienced war. It is only the young people swayed by such men whom I pity."
"And it is deeply regrettable that the next heirs of our north were among those swayed by them."
Jester nodded with a bitter smile.
"Jester, I am different."
"Yes. Your Grace is different."
*
When her maternal grandfather summoned her for the first time in a while, Renata ran to him and threw herself into his arms with all the sweetness she could muster.
"Grandfather~"
"Oh my, Princess Renata has come to see me."
Marquess Baren Celestia stroked Renata’s hair as she nestled in his arms, then took his seat.
"Grandfather, why did you summon me so suddenly?"
"Ho ho. From now on, you must answer this old man honestly, Princess."
"Pardon?"
"Princess, have you ever thought of defeating the brother who came from the same womb as you and taking the throne~?"
"..."
Renata could not answer Baren’s question and lowered her head deeply. Had he found out? When had he found out? She had thought she had hidden it carefully enough not to be discovered...
"...Haah."
Baren put a cigarette between his lips and looked at Renata.
"Princess, where do you think the power you possess comes from? It comes from House Celestia, where I stand. As if it were not enough that Crown Prince Baron has been bewitched by a commoner, he charged into the north on his own and stirred up a hornet’s nest..."
Sizzle!!!
After extinguishing the cigarette in his mouth, Baren turned a sharp gaze on Renata.
"And in the midst of all that... rather than helping the brother who came from the same womb as you, you have been meeting with people carrying the blood of that damned Bison Candler and plotting together!"
"Hic."
"...Please come to your senses. It is already all I can do to look after your brother."
"I... understand."
"Leave."
At the firm order of dismissal, Renata left the room with her head lowered.
"Haah... So young... far too young."
Whether it was Baron, in love with a commoner adored by three men, or Renata, who wanted to push Baron aside and rise in his place, both were exhausting those around them with behavior beyond their station.
"Report."
"Yes."
The person who had concealed themselves behind the curtain approached Baren’s side.
"The assassination of Lady Roienthal failed... and that defective grand duke bastard seems to have caught wind of something. He has summoned northern nobles to his estate to speak with them. Truly... not a single thing is going according to plan."
"My lord, there is one more matter to report."
"Speak."
"We have received information that House Candler is establishing a smuggling route into the north."
"...Is that true?"
"Yes. It appears they intend to take advantage of the new winds blowing through the north due to the route opened by the Merchant Alliance."
"Tsk. Lady Roienthal did something unnecessary, and now House Candler has finally stirred its heavy backside."
"What shall we do?"
"As always, we must obstruct them from beneath the surface. Increase security along the roads leading north. And just in case, contact the northern nobles as well. Tell them to inform us immediately should they learn anything more."
"Yes."
Baren lit another cigarette. He had dreamed for so long of an emperor with Celestia blood flowing through his veins, yet countless unforeseen variables were ruining his plans.
"Hoo... Grand Duke... defective grand duke... I need to see just what sort of man he is."
*
The sight of myself in the mirror, dressed in an academy uniform rather than the black uniform of the northern army I usually wore, felt unbearably awkward.
"Ugh... Can’t I just wear my military uniform?"
"Ho ho ho. Officially, it is a measure intended to provide an educational environment free of discrimination, so what can we do? Look at the young lady."
Cecilia emerged from the direction Jester indicated, looking as beautiful and graceful as if she had stepped out of a novel’s illustration.
To possess that much elegance even in an academy uniform...
Crown Prince, what on earth were you thinking, throwing away such a beauty?
"Your Grace."
"My lady."
"Your Grace?"
Cecilia smiled faintly. Somehow, I felt an inexplicable pressure.
"Th-that..."
"Yes?"
"Good morning, Lady Cecilia."
"Yes! Good morning, Your Grace!"
"Urgh."
As I looked at Cecilia smiling like a flower in full bloom, I found myself thinking that perhaps this was not so bad.
If the price of my embarrassment helps Cecilia’s mental well-being...
"It is heartwarming just to watch."
"Jester, rather than merely admiring us, would you help us get ready?"
"Oh dear, I have been terribly indiscreet."
Jester chuckled and handed me a bag.
"Then off you go."
"If anything urgent comes up, I will come straight back through the teleportation gate, so keep the communication artifact active at all times."
"Do not worry."
"Lady Cecilia, if any problem arises, you must come back right away!"
"And if the academy food does not suit your taste, please summon us!!"
"We will take responsibility for caring for the greenhouse flowers!!"
"Yes! Everyone, I’ll be going now!"
It was probably just my imagination that everyone at the estate seemed to care more for Cecilia than they did for me, right?
"Your Grace!"
"What is it?"
Ran, who had been staring at me intently, smiled faintly.
"Could it be... that you are sulking?"
"I am not."
Hah! Do they even know who I am? I should be grateful they are taking such good care of Cecilia, that is all!
"He is sulking."
"Ran... stop it."
Rushe dragged her younger sister away with a deep sigh. As a result, I naturally ended up walking in step with Cecilia.
"Your Grace, have you ever used a teleportation gate before?"
"No. As you know, before I was summoned to the grand ducal house, I lived in a backwater even by northern standards."
"I see."
"Have... no. Have you used one before, Lady Cecilia?"
"Hehe. No, this is my first time too. It feels rather strange, sharing a first with Your Grace."
Another flashbang went off. Ugh! Was this purity, enough to blind me, truly that of a villainess from a romance-fantasy novel?
I don’t know anymore. Family Registry Mate Number One... I am beginning to wonder more and more what romance fantasy even is.
"Names."
"Pardon?"
Cecilia looked at me with a smile, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"Have you gotten a little more used to it now?"
"More importantly, how is your illness, Lady Cecilia?"
"Hehe. Ever since Your Grace called me by name, I have felt better as if by magic."
"Is that so?"
Hmm, now I was feeling rather greedy. Honestly, it seemed a little unfair that I was the only one calling Cecilia by name while she did not call me by mine.
"Lady Cecilia."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Will you still call me ‘Your Grace’ at the academy?"
"Uh... Shouldn’t I?"
"Would that not make us seem distant to others?"
"Pardon?"
"After all, I call you Lady Cecilia quite intimately."
"Uh..."
Watching Cecilia fluster, I grinned.
"So you should try it too."
"Try... what?"
"My name."
"...Pardon?"
"Come now, the teleportation gate is just ahead. Shouldn’t you practice at least once?"
"Uh... uh... uh..."
W-wait. I could see the early symptom of Cecilia’s endemic illness again—her face was turning red.
Damn it! I teased her too much!
"I’m joking~"
"..."
"Come on, let’s go!"
Ignoring Cecilia’s chilly gaze from behind me, I passed through the teleportation gate.
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