Villainess and Demon Knight 1.1 - 1.5 and 10.5
Intermission 1.1
I laid my gaze upon her as she lost consciousness, currently fast asleep.
Her bright green eyes were now closed, her cheeks were wet, and her eyes were swollen as she cried herself to sleep.
Her body was drenched with sweat, her limbs were limp and thrown about as if she was dead. However, I could see her chest rising and falling, the proof that she was alive.
The love of my life was finally by my hands.
I had to endure it for a long.
I had to endure the urge to tell everyone that her graceful figure that drew the attention of all eyes, and her gentle but cheerful smile were mine.
I desperately resisted the urge to kill the Second Prince and the other men who were able to look at her and stand next to her without reserve. Even when I was their guard.
I endured and endured, working my way for this moment.
Now that I had Cecilia, all the hard work was worth it.
I made her swear half threateningly, messing up her reasons, but the oath was still properly engraved on her. The vow would not be made without mutual consent, and it would not be engraved unless she accepted ‘Lucas’ wholeheartedly.
That made my heart leaped.
From now until death did us part, I was the only one who was allowed to touch her.
I had been aware of this since I could remember.
That there was something wrong with me.
I couldn't feel any emotion at all, even though I had a sense of joy, anger, sadness, and sorrow.
My parents, siblings, and servants still gave me plenty of affection, even though I was a strange kid who could only laugh and cry on the surface. I couldn’t feel those things emotionally.
I felt bad about it and didn't want to cause any trouble, so I did my best to acquire the skills necessary to be the son of a Duke.
Then I realized that I was even odder than that.
I was five years old when I was given the wooden sword.
When I put the sheath on my left hip, my body stood up straight instead. It supposed to be leaning to the right, being unbalanced.
I still remembered having such a strange feeling.
I was a fast learner, but my martial arts skills were unbelievable.
I only listened to one thing, but I could easily do fifty more.
The more I did, the more I learned.
My teachers were horrified at how much I was improving, that I changed teachers every half month. When I was 10 years old, my father asked His Majesty to take me under the tutelage of Andreas Weber, the famous Master Swordsman who was also the Vice Commander of the Royal Knights at the time.
He, Andreas, was a demon...
No matter how strange of a kid I was, the training of the Royal Knights was hellish on my 10-year-old's body.
But if it weren't for that training at the Royal Knights, I probably wouldn't have met her.
When I was 13, my body had gradually become accustomed to the training. I was able to do sword training with other knights by that point.
At that time, the Second Prince's fiancée had been chosen, thus Andreas brought the then eleven-year-old Cecilia to the training grounds. Being the Prince's fiancée meant that she was quasi-royal, and so she was to be matched with a member of the Royal Knights, who would guard her later.
Taking advantage of my opponent's blind spot, I rushed to my opponent's side with my wooden sword at a full strength.
But my strike was instantly warded off from underneath. The pressure causing me to drop my wooden sword as I couldn't hold onto it anymore.
I could hear a grunt from my opponent, but I already turned away as I held my hand which was soaked with blood.
It didn’t matter if my opponent was an adult and I was a child. It also didn’t matter if there was an overwhelming difference in physical strength and build. The moment I let go of the sword, death was what awaited me.
I needed more training. That was what I thought as I moved my numb hands, looking for my flying wooden sword. That was when I found her next to Andreas.
I was still embarrassed to remember it now.
Just how long had they been watching me?
Andreas called me over to his side and I saw the girl. She leaned to the top of the fence with tears running from her green eyes. She looked very concerned.
Her amber-colored hair was braided as an older lady would, and she looked as beautiful as a spring fairy in her lavender dress.
I answered harshly when she asked if I was okay. I was too embarrassed for showing my unattractive side to such a beautiful girl that seemed to be around my age.
Also, I was annoyed since I was being treated like a child. Andreas slapped me on the shoulder and said something unnecessary.
"He's been trained by the Order since he was 10, so this is not even an injury. He may be like this now, but eventually, he will surpass me and become the best Knight in this kingdom. In the not-too-distant future, he may even be able to guard Miss Klein."
Why did he arbitrarily deciding my future? I turned, looking at her to deny my teacher's words.
"You are such a hard worker. Actually, I was worried if I wouldn't be fit to be the Princess Consort. But you're right, I will never know unless I try first. I'm going to be a splendid Princess Consort that you can protect! I look forward to meeting you in the near future, Luke-sama!"
The way she shunned her anxiety and looked straight ahead in an instant was very vivid.
As if the tears that had been running down her cheeks were a lie, she clasped her hands together cheerfully. My eyes were glued to her peach lips which uttered the promises she made, with her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. I could only give a small nod to that.
I didn't even remember what we talked about afterward and how we parted.
I just couldn't believe that I, an emotionally deficient person, had fallen in love at first sight. Despite it being an insignificant promise, it set the path for my future.
Driven by an urge that had never occurred to me before, and I swung my sword devotedly.
I wanted to see her. I wanted to be near her. I wanted it to be my job to protect her.
Cecilia, who was being educated at the Royal Castle as a candidate for the Princess Consort, always came to the castle three times a week. The only way I could see her at that time was to secretly peek at her profile from the small pond where I could see the hallway where she was passing through.
However, as expected of the Royal Knights, I got caught even when I had been peeking at her from a distance and trying not to show signs of myself as much as possible. As this was a great opportunity for others to bring me down, the Knight started to purposely guard Cecilia in a way that hid her. I was getting irritated when I could only see her once a week.
That's why I provoked the Knight who hid her by practicing on him until they couldn’t hide from me.
When he saw that I was getting caught much lesser I was, I got lectured by Master Andreas. He was smiling bitterly at me.
"You've never been frustrated and very composed no matter how many times you've been caught, but was it so shameful to be caught in front of Miss Klein? Lucas, she’s a candidate for Princess Consort. Even when you're the Duke's son or…. having the right to the throne, she's someone you shouldn't reach out to."
He told me to pull myself together. To not dream of something that wouldn't come true. He said I would only hurt Cecilia and myself. He murmured all of that softly.
I knew even when he didn't tell me that.
She was the Princess Consort candidate, and I was just the holder of the right to the throne.
But why does that matter?
Cecilia was mine. I wouldn’t give her to Felix, the Second Prince, or anyone else.
If it was wrong for me to only hold the right to the throne, then should I become the Prince?
Only then, Cecilia would be mine.
Intermission １－２
Mia from the Meier household was once almost kidnapped.
Her brother Adolph and I were childhood friends and we used to hang out together. I happened to be there, at the park where Mia was almost dragged into a carriage.
I was already trained in the Knight Order by then and was able to resist the kidnappers, but they threw me out of the carriage and tried to keep Mia alone. Mia fainted immediately as she was a young miss, being carried to the carriage with her limp body. As expected, carrying a 13 years old girl while escaping was not possible for my 11 years old body. I was about to contact the Patrol Knight when I heard the kidnappers talking.
"Shoot, you got the wrong one. She's a blonde! We were asked to get the amber-haired one! What the hell are you on?"
"I said sorry already! But it doesn't matter, we can sell her for a good price. There are a lot of perverts out there who would love to keep and train a young miss like her."
When I heard amber hair, I was reminded of her figure as she walked down the hallway on her way back from the Royal Castle.
Her lustrous amber-colored hair flowing down her back...
I felt something crept down my back.
I halted, promptly throwing one of the thicker sticks in my hands into the wheel that was about to start moving.
The man was about to close the door of the carriage when he was struck by a blow to his stomach. The man groaned and fell out of the carriage.
I used the fallen man as a stepping stone and swung the stick at the other man on the coach's seat.
"W-wait…!" He pleaded as I swung the stick down with the intention of killing him, thinking that I couldn’t go easy on him with the small chance of him escaping.
However, the long stick snapped as the man on the coach's seat tumbled down. I reached the stick I had thrown into the wheel because my current weapon was too short while peeking inside the carriage to see the other man pointing a dagger at Mia with a trembling hand.
When I entered the carriage unbothered, the man spoke something with his teeth chattering.
He said they weren’t aiming for Mia but a girl with amber hair, so he would let her go unharmed if I left the carriage.
He seemed to think that I would let him go if Mia was unharmed. There was no way I was going to let the kidnappers who were after a girl with amber hair go.
I almost laughed at his assumption, but I kept my lips tightly pursed and decided to stay away from the carriage and wait for the man to come out since Mia's presence was a little distracting.
I looked at the man who came out in fear, while I applied the body-strengthening technique I had recently learned from Master.
I was aiming for the moment when he went up to the coach's seat when I suddenly saw the sunlight on Mia's hair as she was held up by the dagger.
Her flowing hair glistened in an amber-colored glow. Blood rushed to my head as I was reminded of her again.
I didn't really remember how I moved from there.
The only thing I remember was that I wanted to crush his limbs so thoroughly that he would never think of kidnapping again.
Gazing at the unconscious kidnappers, I carried Mia away and was about to leave when a patrolling knight, apparently summoned by Adolph, rushed in and took Mia to the guard office from the disastrous scene.
In the end, I was questioned by the knights but was not charged with a crime, as they were a famous criminals. And for some reason, my Master, Andreas, came to pick me up at the guard station, and beat me up for going too far.
Furthermore, for the following week, I was almost killed by Master from the training he gave. Since then, I swore to myself to have more composure in the future, and even if I would be half-killing anyone, I would do it without being detected.
I think that experience was very useful for me.
It was not often that a fool made a move on a candidate for princess consort, it was rare but they exist.
Men who thought that all women would fall for him just because he had a title, came from a good family, and conventionally attractive usually made that mistake. It was such a man who messed with her.
He was always surrounded by ladies in the social circles of the Royal Capital, and he also seemed to have a good relationship with a widow who was famous for her beauty and gained some influence from it.
He must have gotten carried away and approached Cecilia, a candidate for Princess Consort.
Princess Consort candidates were always required to attend the Royal Soiree held at the Royal Castle.
On that day, I was sent to guard the soiree through my connection within the Chivalric Order and was keeping a close eye on Cecilia.
He greeted her in a coaxing voice, looking at her with an intended gaze, and even tried to touch her hand without consent.
I was thinking about finishing him off.
As I slid a dagger from my cuff into my palm and was about to take a step toward them, Cecilia slapped his hand away with the fan she was holding.
She glared at the stunned man, looked at the fan she used to slap him with disgust, and handed it to the waiter who was standing by. Then, she told her escort knight that she was leaving, and left the hall without making a commotion.
After that, he was so pissed off that he tried to touch Mia, who happened to be attending the soiree with her father, Count Meier.
He was probably trying to repair his broken pride with Mia, a girl Cecilia's age. It would have been better if he had just kept his broken pride and kept quiet.
I couldn't stand the thought of him messing around with Cecilia again after repairing his pride, so I chased after him as he entered the break room.
This time, I was careful not to get caught.
I tied him up so that he wouldn't resist, blocked his view so that he couldn't see that it was me, and then tried to ‘persuade’ him.
I broke his finger joints so he wouldn’t able to lay his hands on her again and asked him to agree not to come near her again. He nodded repeatedly, drooling and crying all over the place.
As I was about to turn back in relief, he asked me, "Why are you doing this to me?"
"She's just a candidate for Princess Consort" the man muttered in frustration.
Cecilia was ‘only’ a candidate for princess consort? ‘My’ Cecilia?
I immediately turned back my heels and forced his mouth open, pressing the cigar he was smoking onto his tongue.
He let out a muffled scream, but I didn't care, "Do you want to die?" I asked, as the man passed out involuntarily.
I slapped him on the cheek, but he wouldn’t wake up, so I had no choice but to leave him there. But for some reason, Master called me and told me what happened after.
The man was also messing with quite a few unmarried ladies, some of whom had been tricked into getting pregnant, and he had hired thugs to blackmail them into having abortions. This was the reason why he was reported a long time ago, and I was told that he was dealt with privately within the Order.
I could only reply, "I see," when he told me what had happened to the man, but he pulled me into the arena with a smile, his veins visible on the forehead.
I was still trained to death.
It was hard to deceive Master. I decided that next time I would get someone to do it for me.
As a result of my careful observation of Cecilia, all but one of the men who had laid hands on her were gone.
However, as she became more beautiful and fair every day, it was a natural consequence that Felix, the Second Prince, finally turned his gaze to her. When his eyes began to be filled with lust, I was in a hurry.
Their personalities didn’t match, and they barely spoke to each other, but for Felix who only thought about women as his night dolls, her feminine body would arouse his desire.
I was losing my patience, as I had been looking for a woman that Felix might like and set them up behind the scene just so that he wouldn’t notice Cecilia.
If I didn't do something, Felix might make a move on her. If that happened, my efforts would be ruined and I might never be able to have her.
Just when I was tormented with frustration, Mia approached Felix.
I was sleeping with a cold, my imagination went wild and this is what it came to be.
I had nothing to be sorry for.
It was one of those feelings where I felt sorry but I didn't regret it at all.
Intermission １－３
Every time Mia went to a ball, she captivated many of the aristocrat’s sons.
In particular, Thomas Muller, the Chancellor's son, Maximilian Wagner, the son of the Knight Commander, and Michael Haase, the son of one of the most powerful cardinals in the Church. They were the most influential ones around Mia, and they used their money and power to her advantage.
Apparently, she led them for an opportunity to speak with the Second Prince, Felix.
Initially, her father, her mother, and her brother Adolph admonished Mia.
Thomas and Maximilian both had fiancées, and Felix was engaged to the daughter of Marquis Klein after the Royal Family initiated their betrothal. It wasn’t surprising that the daughter of a mere Count would be accused of interfering in a relationship that was already close and intimate.
The dignity of the Count's family had been damaged, and invitations to tea ceremonies and balls had stopped arriving from all the houses above the rank of Marquis.
When an aristocrat’s daughter was unable to socialize in high society, it would affect her reputation. Moreover, the financial situation of the Count's family will gradually decline.
At first, I warned her about it because she was Adolph’s sister, and Adolph was getting anxious about it, but Mia didn't listen to me at all. And for some reason, she thought I warned her because I was in love with her and was being jealous.
"I like you, Lucas-sama, but only as a brother. I...love Felix-sama. I love him. He told me that I'm prettier than Cecilia-sama. Please, now that I'm finally able to talk to Felix-sama... please don't interrupt me and watch us over with kindness?"
"Oh, Michael is here to pick me up! We're going to take a walk around the lake. I have to go!"
I got goosebumps since I didn't know what she meant...
Adolph and I were dumbfounded for a while as Mia flopped her feet and ran off in an unladylike manner. Anyway, I couldn't understand most of what Mia was saying, but I was curious about the last part, "We are going to take a walk around the lake."
Adolph must have noticed, too, "Hey, Lucas. Mia said she is going with everyone. … Everyone?" he stammered.
I suppose that was true.
The Count's family, no longer invited to social gatherings, first put Mia on house arrest. It seemed that Thomas and Felix had received invitations and came to request Count Meier for Mia as a partner, but no matter how much power their family boasted, someone with any title was better than unproven minors like them.
The Count politely refused to compromise with them and tried to wait for the rumors to die down.
However, Michael, who was going to be a priest and had no fiancé, started visiting her to take her out.
At first, he lied about Mia's illness and got away with it. Then, he slipped in his servant to let Mia know in advance that Michael was coming.
From there, they came to ask for Mia again and again, and at the same time, the young miss of Meier house, the Second Prince, and his people were spotted everywhere in the city.
If it had been just the three people, it might have been manageable, but now that the Second Prince was in the mix, the rumors became too big to squelch, and stories of Felix's infidelity and Mia's unruly behavior as an unmarried young lady enliven the social scene every day.
Adolph let out a big sigh.
It would be convenient for me if Mia continued to stick with Felix, but for Adolph and the rest of the Count's family, it would be a terrible nightmare that they could only lament.
The Royal Family would feel that Count Meier objected to the engagement, and the Marquis of Klein, who currently boast power no less than the dukes, would feel as if the Royal Family, who proposed the engagement, disrespected their daughter and mocked the marquis household with an ignorant little girl who knew nothing about manners or rules.
The Marquis of Klein cherished Cecilia as his daughter in his own way, but he would not keep quiet if the marquess household was to be made fun of even more than that.
With the Royal Family and the Marquis family staring down at them, Count Meier's fate was hanging by a thread.
Looking at Adolph's melancholic face, I decided to involve him in my plan.
When Mia refused to listen to him and the invitations gradually stopped arriving even from those below the rank of count, he realized that there was nothing he could do.
So I went to talk to Crown Prince Leon about my plan.
The royal family was troubled by Felix's behavior, and they had already begun to consider getting rid of him, which was more convenient for me than I had expected.
After explaining the current situation, Leon stared at me in silence. When I returned his gaze without saying a word, he smiled a little sadly.
"I know how obsessed you are with her, Lucas, but I didn't think you'd get rid of Felix."
At Leon's harsher-than-expected words, I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I am not getting rid of him"
"Well, that's true. I've heard that some stupid woman called Mia approached Felix without knowing her place. Felix got what he deserved. But still, as a brother, I feel complicated about it."
"I am just talking to myself, forgive me." He said
Leon looked away as if giving up, before looking somewhere in the distance.
For me, it didn't matter what happened to Felix, but for Leon, who grew up with him as a brother, it might be a hard decision. I didn’t really understand, because I had never been moved by anything other than ...... Cecilia.
A slight silence drifted through the room, and as I waited for Leon to open his mouth, he looked up determinedly with a small sigh and looked at me.
"The engagement between Felix and Miss Cecilia from Klein household shall be called off. This is a decision that could not be overturned, even if Felix should change his mind. The fact that the royal family initiated the engagement is now widely known, and the Marquis of Klein, who has a great deal of influence, cannot afford to lose face. Cecilia would have mixed feelings about it, but it's hard to get a young lady who is that educated as a princess consort. Her betrothal to Felix will never happen, but her position as princess consort will remain the same. .."
Leon looked at me as he said so.
When I was about to say something in a gushing thought, Leon gave me a deliberate look of dismay.
"I'm really amazed by you. Even when you have the right to inherit the throne, you may be suspected of rebellion if they found out you are aiming for the King. If we wait a little longer, the hero crest will be inherited along with Commander Weber's Eckesachs, right? There is only one person who can use the Eckesachs. The kingdom cannot ignore the wishes of such a person, so why not wish for it through gifts and rewards?"
"Gifts?"
"Wait, that was just one example of it. Why are you so angry?"
"It's because you call her a gift. I will not allow you to joke about gifting Cecilia to me."
"All right, put the killjoys away! I'm cooperating with you this time around. You should be a little nicer to me."
Why should I be nice to anyone other than Cecilia and my family?
In general, this cooperation had its advantages for Leon. In the future, I would take over Felix’s role, who would soon be gone, and perform official duties, so his burden would be much less than now.
When I stared at Leon silently with that thought, he let out a blatant sigh. He was mumbling something about "This man is my brother from now on... I feel sorry for myself..."
"See you at the party," I said and closed the door behind me as the discussion was over. I heard Leon mumbling something, but I didn't pay attention to him and just left.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked down the hallway.
I had finally come this far. Felix would undoubtedly announce the annulment of the engagement at the graduation party. Among his circle to watch out for was Thomas Muller of the Chancellor's family.
Because she wasn’t stupid, I didn’t know what she would do after getting her engagement with Felix broken.
Let's use Mia. Let's get her crying, clinging to Thomas…
I walked on, thinking about the plan.
Intermisison １－４
I never thought Mia would send Cecil to a brothel. I guess you couldn't really tell a woman by appearance. I thought absently as I stroked the mark that appeared on her fair skin.
The oath mark that was glowing just a moment ago had now lost its light and was just red and swollen.
Realizing that I had used too much power in carving the mark, I used my hand, which was stroking her previously, to gently heal Cecilia's lower abdomen.
Considering her current state, I healed her whole body from what I had put her through.
Color returned to her slightly pale face and lips, and I couldn't help to lean in and give her a kiss. I let out a wry smile for wanting to touch her so badly.
When I purposely made her say what made her feel good and induced her shame, she stared at me with tears in her eyes, looking embarrassed.
"You don't want it to hurt, do you? The more comfortable you feel, the easier it will be on your body." When I said that, she shook her head reluctantly, but leaned her body against me.
I wanted to make her crave me, so I kept stopping what I did just before she came. When she couldn't take it anymore, Cecil started moving her hips while saying, "Luke-sama, don't tease me..."
I fondled her soft, womanly buttocks and used the bunk to thrust her hips from below. She immediately rose.
"Hyaaaaaaa!!"
She yelped. I mercilessly gouged her inside in the middle of her coming, fueled again by her soft scratch to my back, which didn’t even leave a mark. She shook her head as her large bright green eyes were wide open.
"Stop… don’t…"
She was so adorable and unbelievably sensual as she panted, I could feel her body twitching. My longing heart cried out for this girl to be mine right now. Driven by this emotion, I continued to thrust my hips and violated her.
"I can't anymore... I'm going to fall apart…!"
As she sobbed with pleasure, I shot my cum into her again and again.
"Have mercy, Luke-sama,"
She said as she clung to me. As her body was taking a toll from being overly aroused, I took this moment to whisper to her, "Tell me that you are mine, Cecil. I want to hear you swear from your own mouth. If you do, I'll finish it."
"Luke-sama… Luke-sama… Cecil is only yours…so..." I couldn't help but laugh as she mouthed the word, "Have mercy."
As soon as she climaxed, I carved the mark of ‘Lucas Harpst’ on 's lower abdomen so that she would never be taken away again.
I brushed her tangled hair away from her cheek and kissed her small open mouth. She didn't move an inch. I let out a long sigh and calmed myself down, thinking that she would not be conscious for a while.
I could see the sensuous sight of white liquid overflowing from her unconcealed crotch. Trying desperately to keep my rational mind from reaching out to her again, I quickly wiped her body with a warm cloth and wrapped her in a clean sheet.
I heard a knock on the door, timed so well that I thought they must have heard the noises inside.
"Lucas-sama, I am bringing you a change of clothes."
"Just put it over there."
“Yes, sir.”
I could sense a disconcert in the voice. He entered the room quietly as I pulled down the gauze of the canopy and stepped into the dimly lit room.
A slender young man, slightly older than me, silently took the clothes I handed him and replaced it with a new one. Seeing him glancing at me, I opened my mouth,
"What is it, Finn?"
"Pardon…?"
"You're upset."
".."
The young man called Finn was neither surprised nor came to help me change, who was dressing myself incredibly fast for a mere duke's son. He began to collect the tattered clothes on the floor.
Finn ignored my question, but I didn't blame him. I quickly threw on my coat, shrugged, and called Finn as he headed for the wall.
"Clothes… and a blade?"
Just as I muttered, "Isn’t that a dress?" Finn pulled the blade from the dress, turned around and threw it at me.
I easily stopped the dagger that was thrown precisely at my throat with two fingers, and looked at the blade with a wry smile and apologized, "I crushed the blade… my bad."
Finn’s eyes widened looking at me, his Master.
"How can you destroy the most durable dagger that just arrived? I didn't buy it for you to stab a mere dress! And you're ruining the brand new suit!!"
“What the hell are you doing in this brothel?” said Finn, my Squire in an angry low voice.
I had no words to reply to Finn as to why my suit and blade were ruined. I gracefully raised his hands and apologized, "I'm really sorry," and Finn let out a big sigh.
"So? Are we on schedule?"
"Yeah. Where are Hannah and the others?"
"They just arrived at the brothel. I've already talked to the owner of the brothel, so I think they are waiting for us at the entrance."
"I'll be waiting for you downstairs," he said as he handed a woman's nightgown and a simple dress to me. "Please come as soon as possible and please don’t be careless, Lucas-sama," he said to remind me, before closing the door quietly.
Smiling wryly at Finn, I gently opened the canopy and looked at Cecilia, who was sleeping.
I hesitated and gently unraveled the sheets to reveal her breasts, which jiggled immediately, causing heat to gather in my crotch and making me grind my teeth.
Taking a deep breath, I chided myself for having this desire to have her immediately even though I had already cummed several times. I quickly dressed Cecilia and picked her up.
As I thought when I was holding her, she was too light.
Her body was so slender that I felt like I could break her. I was concerned about the future, wondering if she would be able to handle having a child.
When I imagined losing Cecilia, my arms tightened around her, causing her face to push against my chest as I held her. Her brow wrinkled lightly while she closed her eyes, so I called her softly.
“Cecil?”
She smiled gently and leaned against me as if she was relieved.
I headed downstairs, worrying about how thin she was. But it would not stop me from making out with her. I made plans in my head to make her more durable in the future.
T/N
There's a random change of third person speaking at the second half of the chapter. I was about to leave it be but it looks so strange that I fixed it all to be Lucas POV.
Also, I am fully recovered now :D I'm so happy I can eat solid food. The next chapter will be out tomorrow!
10.5
I was 10 years old when I was offered by the Royal Family to get engaged to the Second Prince, Felix-sama.
My father said that when His Majesty first asked him about it, he refused.
If I, the only daughter, left the house, my family would have to adopt a child from a branch of the family. Using that reason, my father said I would have to choose a younger man instead of having a fiancé of the same age.
T/N I don’t really understand the logic but, alright?
But after His Majesty repeated his request, my father finally gave in just before I turned 11.
I visited the castle with my upset father, met His Majesty and Felix-sama, the Second Prince, and was left together with him. Although I wondered what I should do.
More than that, due to Felix-sama’s high-handed attitude, I remembered wondering what I was going to do about my father when I got home.
I was taken to a pavilion where we could admire the blooming flowers, but I was not escorted nor offered a chair.
Felix-sama sat down sluggishly in his chair with a cumbersome expression on his face and told me, as I bowed to introduce myself again.
"Just because I'm a royalty doesn't mean my fiancée can't be of my taste… your face is okay, but you're plain, very conservative and your appearance needs some work. Work hard to keep me out of trouble, okay?"
T/N Original text saying that her head and body are stiff/hard. I was like wtf does that mean and couldn’t find any connotative meaning from that so I assume he means her way of thinking and fashion is out of date/conservative.
I froze with a lady's smile on my face. I thought I was rather the opposite,
It was true that I didn't have a very pretty face, and I was less sensitive to fashion than the other girls in my family, probably because my father thought it was a good idea to educate me about territory management in between my education as a lady.
Even so, today's outfit was a dress specially made for the Marquis family, so that I would not be ashamed of being a candidate for the Princess Consort.
My mother and the maids said I looked beautiful and mature rather than cute and lovely, but I guess it wasn't Felix-sama’s taste. I didn't do enough research.
Well, that was okay...
He said I was conservative and my appearance needed work. I still understand about being conservative, but what did he mean my appearance needed work?
Also, it was not exactly a friendly afternoon tea anymore, was it? I was still standing, but there was tea in front of me, so it was still an afternoon tea, right?
Or was it a tea show-off party? How novel. It might work when you invited someone you weren’t fond of, but it was clearly against etiquette.
Thinking of all the trivial things in my brain, I tilted my head and stared at Felix-sama with a thin smile on my face.
"You are… hmmm Cecilia, right? How old are you?"
"I am eleven…"
He just got it whispered from the court lady beside him. So he didn’t even remember my name?
As I struggled to raise the corner of my mouth that was about to drop, Felix-sama, who was completely not concerned about the increasingly unpleasant atmosphere, scanned my body from top to bottom and then dropped the bomb.
"The Marchioness of Klein has a womanly figure but you... oh well, you look like this since you are still eleven."
What did he say?
Just what on earth he was on about?
…
.......
He was the Second Prince of this kingdom and also my fiancé...
Why was my future so dark? I wanted to cry and yell at my father right now.
Also, who taught this prince to be such an idiot? Whoever it was, come out right now!
As I screamed in my mind, the court ladies were having cold sweats, and the knights guarding me was looking pale. Felix-sama only snickered at me for not saying anything back.
"I appreciate the fact that you don't talk back, but at least try to be a little more womanly next time, okay? If my fiancée is this plain, I might find myself looking at other flowers in the future."
He then told me that I should polish my face and body if I wanted him to favor me while he waved one hand at me as if I was in the way.
The Second Prince's imposing remarks about infidelity despite being here to celebrate our betrothal caused the Head Court Lady to hastily return to the castle, while the ladies on the corner of the room had their lips trembled, and my attendant and guards began to emit an eerie atmosphere.
The flower-filled courtyard turned into chaos.
"I will do my best with your words in mind," I sighed and bowed my head to Felix-sama, who ignored this uncontrollable situation and ate his cake without manner.
All the court ladies and knights around me were impressed by my curtsy, which was well done for an eleven-year-old.
They witnessed it, that the young miss from Marquis' household, who had been offered to marry into the royalty, did not cry or upset when she was cruelly mocked by her fiancé. Instead, she remained polite to the end.
It was truly a shame to see how vulgar the Prince we serve was.
I mean, I knew it the moment I met Felix-sama.
That I was chosen solely because of his behavior.
What I was expected to do was not to receive Felix-sama's favor, but to assist him, to warn him at times, and to support the Crown Prince and this kingdom together as the Second Prince’s wife.
I had to make up for everything that Felix-sama lacks.
That was what I was expected to do being his fiancé, the Second Prince's Consort.
That day, the shine of this world suddenly faded away, and I felt as if heavy shackles had been placed on my feet.
It was only after that day that I was told I was to be introduced to the members of the Royal Knights who would be guarding me since I was the second prince's fiancée.
I didn't know if it was because my teacher couldn't stand the fact that I was already exhausted after only a few classes due to the depth and density of the education that I had started as a Princess Consort candidate, or if it was just an idea that came to her.
Suddenly, Andreas Weber, the Vice Commander of the Royal Knights, arrived just before the end of class. I was led directly by Weber-sama, who smiled cheerfully and said that His Majesty and my father had already given their permission, so I followed him quietly.
He was sticking out from all the tall knights.
He was thin and slender in comparison, and his tiny body could have been blown away at any moment.
The young boy was hopping around, grasping tightly on a wooden sword that was several times thinner than the wooden swords held by other knights.
I was glued to the boy's eyes as he fought in a sword training against a grown man - a knight of the Royal Knights, a select group of elite knights who were said to be stronger than the Black Knight in personal combat.
No matter how many times he was knocked down or blown away, he got up and looked ahead. Every time he was knocked down, he paused for a moment and tried to move his sword a bit to see why he had failed. He was not complaining or lamenting about the overwhelming difference in strength, but that he was thinking about how he could get around with his flexible body and the skills he had.
Before stepping forward again.
My heart tightened at his step, which showed no fear or trepidation.
My hands began to sweat as he and the Knight gradually began to prolong their blows.
But the difference in strength was still great. He was defeated by the Knight's full blow when he attacked the Knight's side, which had probably been in the Knight's blind spot. The counter-attack happened in an instant, causing his wooden sword to fly out of his hand.
"Ah… damn."
It was the Knight who cursed out, but I was more concerned when he turned around and hung his head while holding his palm for a moment. I looked at him with tears in my eyes as he clenched his palm to make sure it was fine.
Did he hurt his hand…?
At the same time when I thought he should be treated, I realized that I couldn't use healing magic. For some reason, regret crept into my heart. If I had learned to heal injuries, I could have been useful. If only I was able to heal him, or anyone else who was hurt.
It wasn't long before the desire that arose in a corner of my mind led me to what I would later call my hobby of consoling people.
He was scurrying around a bit before suddenly turning his gaze at me.
When Weber-sama raised one hand, he walked towards us with his eyes widened a bit, along with an unpleasant atmosphere.
As he picked up the wooden sword that was close to me, I stared at him with a bit of nervousness. When my gaze met his golden eyes that were glittering in the sunlight, I gasped.
Golden eyes belonged to the royalty.
Who was he...? I was surprised and looked closer at him.
He had light brown hair and a well-put-together yet ordinary face. He also had light brown eyes, a common color in the Kingdom of Bern.
Perhaps it was just the light making it look golden, but for some reason, it bothered me. He looked away from me. When I was wondering if he would look at me again, Weber-sama introduced me to him just like he was helping me out.
"Cecilia-sama, his name is Luke. And for whatever reason, I'm training him as a knight in my care. Luke, this is Miss Cecilia Klein. She came to visit the Order as the fiancée of the Second Prince, Felix-sama."
“...”
The boy called Luke gave me a silent knight's bow in a reluctant manner and then quickly looked away.
For some reason, his actions made my heart ached. I couldn't help but open my mouth.
"Uhm… is your hand okay…?"
"My hand?"
"From training earlier…"
"Ah, I'm good."
"Hey, Luke, Don't talk to her rudely."
Wham!
I froze in shock as Weber-sama’s fist landed on his head with a loud sound.
What was that? That was strange. So that was how it sounded like when you hit a human head?
"Ouch…"
"You are in the presence of the Princess Consort candidate. Be more knightly."
That looked hurt, but his face was perfectly normal. I didn’t think it would only hurt that much with that loud sound. It was even at the level of him mumbling a few words. Also, Weber-sama's strength was unbelievable! He grabbed him by the collar and his legs were floating!
"Put me down!”
The boy was flailing, flustered like a cute cat. Hmmm... knights were great, weren't they?
Then, as I was slightly confused with all the surprise and excitement, Weber-sama apologized to me.
"Cecilia-sama, I'm sorry to startle you. But he's been trained in the Order since he was 10, so this is not even an injury. He may be like this now, but he will surpass me and become the best Knight in this kingdom. He may even be assigned to guard Cecilia-sama in the future."
Weber-sama let go of his hand and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy looked very displeased, though...
But, that was what I thought too. My mouth naturally opened as my heart was getting excited.
"You are such a hard worker. I was worried that I am lacking as the Princess Consort candidate. But, I will never know unless I try. I'm going to be a splendid Princess Consort who you can protect! I look forward to meeting you in the near future, Luke-sama!"
Yes, I wanted to be a great Princess Consort who could be protected by knights like him one day.
If I wasn’t willing to learn, I wouldn’t be able to see any result. It was pointless to lament without making an effort at all.
I couldn't face people who were trying to support me by always looking down, distracted by the burden I was carrying.
I should acquire more than what was expected of me in terms of education and etiquette.
Because one day, in the near future... I wanted to stand in front of him as a person he could be proud of.
Also, let's not skimp on the beauty.
I would look prettier by putting on makeup, and get a plump body like my mother by not being picky about food. A body that would send any man in this world into a whirlwind of excitement! At that time, I could say, "Geez, Felix-sama!”
I was planning about my future as I rode in the carriage.
But, let's get Father to apologize first.
That engagement was not happening. Absolutely not. I was going to complain about what he had done to me.
Then… I’d ask him to learn about healing magic.
It wasn’t the power to fight, but the power to heal those who would fight for me. It would surely be useful for anyone, or perhaps 'him'.
I remembered him nodding his head to my one-sided promise, embarrassed with a little blush on his cheeks.
His hair was unkempt from the dust, and both his face and body were stained with sweat and dirt. Most visible parts of his skin were covered with bruises and there was even some blood around the edges of his mouth. Even though he looked like a wreck...
He was the finest looking boy... compared to the gentlemen I've ever seen.
When he nodded, I remembered that his eyes, which had narrowed slightly when he looked at me, still looked like sparkling gold. I wondered why my heart was beating a little faster, but I could feel colors returning to the world that had faded away.
T/N
This particular scene is repeated so much, I didn’t bother to get back and see the exact translation I did for their conversation… pretty much the same but I’m still sorry for my laziness ;-;
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