Side Manalease
Reuniting with Prim, I finally thought I could sleep peacefully.
Or, so I thought, but it seems I won’t be able to sleep well today either…
Why is that?
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s because you’re in love with the Ancient Human, Yamato Hydrangea Mikami, who married Lord Prim.”
When Marisa, an S-rank butler who is my lady’s maid, stated it so directly, I was extremely flustered.
“Wh-What!? M-Me!? In love with *that* gentle-looking guy!? No, no, no, no! Absolutely not!! Besides, he might get engaged to Yuri!”
I admit I’m interested in Yamato. He is an Ancient Human, and he is the man who defeated Prim, so I’m curious.
I heard he saved Feel and captured Retisencia’s spies and hunters. I also heard he saved Yuri.
He doesn’t look like it, but being fooled by appearance is something a third-rate hunter would do.
Countless hunters have lost their lives being deceived by appearances!
More importantly, Marisa, what are you saying!?
There’s no way I could be in love with someone who might become my sister’s fiancé!
And that I, of all people, am pining for *that* man…!
On what basis are you saying such a thing!?
“It’s quite simple. You’ve never shown this much interest in any man before. You were indifferent to the hunters of Float, and even to those of Holy Grave, weren’t you?”
It’s true that there are stronger men than me in Holy Grave, as well as in Float.
It’s not that no one approached me, but I became a hunter to become stronger, so I rejected them from the start.
“More importantly, Lord Prim is completely smitten! How could you, Princess, not be interested? That interest turned into admiration, your feelings for him grew, and finally transformed into love, didn’t it?”
…When you put it that way, I can’t say I have no inklings myself.
It’s true that Prim was head over heels, and Marquis Frederica and the other fiancées were also infatuated, so it’s not like I’m not interested. But that man is Prim’s husband, Marquis Frederica’s fiancé, and also a candidate for Yuri’s engagement!
Even if I were truly in love, that wouldn’t be permissible.
“Perhaps you are being considerate of His Highness Yuriana and Marquis Frederica, but what do you have to worry about? There are precedents, you know!”
Precedents?
Where would those be?
“It’s the twins from the Highwind family. Their real twin sisters are engaged to the same man, aren’t they?”
That’s true.
Lydia and Ludia, the twin daughters of Valentia’s strongest dragon knights.
It seems they got engaged only a couple of days ago, but it’s still a formal engagement without a doubt.
My mother is the First Queen, and Yuri’s mother is the Second Queen. So, while Yuri and I are blood-related, it’s only half compared to the Highwind twins.
Since those twins are engaged to the same man, there’s no reason I couldn’t be in that group, right?
…Hah! W-What am I thinking!?
“See?”
Marisa’s smug look grates on me.
But I am the second princess, and Yuri is the third princess. I can never marry the same man as her.
“I believe that depends on your perspective.”
“What do you mean?”
“What you’re concerned about is the succession rights, isn’t it? In that case…”
My succession rights are second.
I have no interest in the throne, but as a member of the Royal Family, I cannot say such a thing.
Currently, the throne is set to be inherited by Crown Prince Reinhardt, who is first in line. However, if something were to happen, I would have to ascend the throne.
If that were to happen, I would have to marry someone befitting a royal consort. My own will would not be reflected, and marrying a hunter would be absolutely impossible.
Therefore, Marisa’s idea was a blind spot for me.
It’s unlikely to be that simple, but there’s a possibility, and I don’t think Father or the ministers could ignore it.
I’m concerned about how Prim will react, but she seems to have accepted Yuri, so all that’s left is for me to explain things properly, and persuade her along with the other fiancées.
Side Yamato
The morning after we arrived in the royal capital, we were informed of the day’s schedule by the human woman, Lainna Perler, who is the Prime Minister.
“Your audience with His Majesty will be at 2 PM. Until then, His Highness Manalease and Crown Prince Reinhardt will be your hosts. Furthermore, the audience will include discussions for tomorrow’s ceremony.”
A ceremony?
I wasn’t informed of any such plans.
“Excuse me, what ceremony is that?”
“It’s a ceremony to praise your achievements, of course.”
They gave me looks that seemed to say, “Isn’t that obvious?” or “Why don’t you know?”
I don’t know because I wasn’t told, and I don’t understand what’s obvious!
“Do you understand? You and Lady Primrose saved Feel from Retisencia’s clutches? Furthermore, you saved His Highness Yuriana’s life, and even defeated many Anomaly Species and Catastrophe Species. If we don’t praise this, what should we praise?”
I had no room to argue…
“I see you understand. Then, I will continue. His Highness Yuriana wishes to be engaged to you, and His Majesty has approved it. His Highness Reinhardt and His Highness Manalease will also be speaking under the premise that you will be engaged to His Highness Yuriana, so you have no need to worry.”
Ah, so that’s also decided.
Well, I had heard it was highly possible, and I vaguely thought it would turn out that way, so I won’t stubbornly complain or drag my feet now.
“Regarding the audience with His Majesty, since you are all hunters, your usual attire is fine. There’s no need to wear dresses or anything, but if you wish, it’s perfectly fine.”
That’s a relief.
Especially for Raus and me, we don’t have formal wear. If they had told us to prepare some, we would have had to run to town.
So, after breakfast, we were led to the gardens of Amagi Castle, where Princess Yuriana, Princess Manalease, and Prince Reinhardt were waiting.
“We’ve been expecting you. I am Reinhardt Ray Amister, the First Prince of the Amister Kingdom and Crown Prince.”
A refreshing handsome elf prince greeted us with a smile.
“And these are my wives, First Crown Princess Elis and Second Crown Princess Maruca.”
The Elf and Aldily princesses bowed elegantly. Although, Maruca of Aldily seemed a bit awkward.
“Hahaha~, I’m sorry. I’m a hunter from humble origins, so I’m not used to this sort of thing.”
So said Maruca. She’s a current hunter?
Besides, isn’t it problematic in many ways for the Crown Prince’s consort to be a hunter?
“I appreciate your concern, but Maruca is also the sister of the leader of Trial Hearts, an organization I’m close with. Trial Hearts is a top raid guild in Amister, on par with Holy Grave. So, there won’t be anyone who would dare to lay a finger on her.”
So, that’s the connection.
“Prim, it’s good that you’re safe. Ed, you seem well too.”
“It’s been a while, Brother Rai. And Elis-sama and Maruca-sama too.”
“You seem well, more than I expected.”
“Yeah. Though I was surprised to hear you got married.”
“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”
Prim came to the royal capital to visit Princess Manalease. Ed has an acquaintance with the Royal Family due to Richard being the King’s master.
Marina also does, but Fiana is meeting them for the first time and is quite nervous.
“I knew Marina would marry Ed, but this young harpy girl is new, isn’t she?”
“Yes. But she’s a cute girl.”
“Eh? A-Ah, th-thank you…”
Fiana blushed crimson as she was complimented by the two Crown Princesses.
It looks like the conversation is heading towards revealing how they met.
“There’s no need to stand around and chat here. I’ve prepared seats, so let me guide you.”
Prince Reinhardt led us to a terrace set up in a corner of the garden.
Amagi Castle, as its name suggests, is built within a giant tree, and this terrace is also on the trunk. It’s built using a slightly protruding part, so the view is better than I expected.
Once we sat down, the women were busy revealing how they met each other.
Knowing it’s a minefield to butt into such conversations, we pretended not to hear and forcefully steered the conversation towards topics of hunting and strategy.
I heard later that Elis-sama is the third daughter of a viscount. She has two older brothers and two older sisters, so she decided to live as a hunter and came to the royal capital.
There, she happened to meet Prince Reinhardt, who was there to register as well, and they registered together. After that, they went hunting together several times.
Prince Reinhardt had requested support from Trial Hearts when he registered as a hunter. Through that connection, Elis-sama also acted with him often and joined their raids. The reason Prince Reinhardt chose Trial Hearts was because he was already in a relationship with Maruca, and had promised to make her one of his consorts.
Since Maruca and the leader of Trial Hearts are not nobles from common backgrounds, it wasn’t ideal for her to be the next king’s consort.
However, as the next king, heirs are also expected. So, His Majesty permitted Maruca to be the second consort. Then, the question arose of who would be the First Crown Princess.
To marry Maruca, he first had to marry a noble. That matter quickly spread among the nobles, and most families with daughters of marriageable age offered their daughters.
However, Maruca noticed that Elis-sama was in love with Prince Reinhardt and, moreover, was of noble birth herself.
Having gone on many hunts together and knowing each other well, and recognizing her as a rival for Prince Reinhardt’s affections, she completely ignored the many other consort candidates. She visited Viscount Oozebald’s residence, Elis-sama’s family home, and forcibly brought Elis-sama out.
Elis-sama, who had given up due to the status difference between the Royal Family and a viscount family, found that things changed when she was favored by someone. Maruca had no intention of accepting anyone other than Elis-sama, so His Majesty approved, and they got married.
In a way, it’s a Cinderella story, but Maruca is quite an unconventional person.
“I’m grateful to Maruca, but I still wonder if there wasn’t another way,”
So Elis-sama said, but that’s something you can only say later.
“And, as you’ve likely heard from the Prime Minister already, Father has approved your engagement with Yuri. The wedding will be about three years from now, but please cherish her.”
“Of course.”
I had heard it, but hearing it from the Prince himself confirms it. However, if the topic has come up now, it might be just the right time.
“Excuse me. Your Highness, the Grand Crafter’s Master has arrived with the ladies.”
“The Grand Crafter’s Master? Ah, he’s come to see Ed and the others. Please show him in.”
“Understood.”
I was about to hand over the Lapis Lazuli sword when my conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the Grand Crafter’s Master.
I haven’t been able to report to the Crafter’s Guild yet. But they must know that Ed and the others have arrived, so he might have gotten impatient.
