Chapter 2

Lovely was an excellent word to describe her. Her velvety hair was the color of the night sky; her downcast eyes had a certain appeal to them. She was less sophisticated than many of the other guests, but it was impossible to take your eyes off her. No one who saw her could possibly fail to take note of her. Given her beauty and origins, she had become the subject of considerable attention. The reason I knew so much about her was because she had caught the attention of my fiancé, Prince Algard, too. Originally, our betrothal had been meant as a political alliance, at the request of the king. Perhaps that was why I had never felt any infatuation for my future husband. There was no denying that we had both allowed ourselves to go along with the arrangement out of a sense of duty and responsibility toward our country. Perhaps that wasn’t a good foundation for a relationship. Lady Cyan certainly possessed a certain charm that I lacked. She had many genuine virtues—charm, the appeal of youth, and an earnestness that made one want to take her under their wing. Even when rumors began circulating that Prince Algard was attending to her needs, I hadn’t worried. I knew she’d had trouble adjusting to life at the academy, due to her humble origins. Perhaps, I thought, Prince Algard had been taking care of her for that reason. And that in and of itself was fine. How could I reproach him for coming to the aid of a fellow student? And yet Prince Algard and I were still engaged to be wed, at least back then. That was why I had given her some candid advice about her excessive communication with a man who was soon to be married. That had been my only point of contact with her. Which was why I had no idea what Prince Algard meant when he said I had acted outrageously toward her. “If you are referring to my exhortations toward Lady Cyan, I have no intention of harming her! Why on earth are you doing this now? And here of all places?!” Rather, I felt as though I was the victim of Prince Algard’s short temper. Our engagement had been decided by the state. It couldn’t be overturned by the will of any single individual. And moreover, it was inappropriate of him to come out with something like this during a festive occasion. After all, the nobles who would one day become his vassals were here at this evening party, too. I couldn’t understand why he had acted this way, as he surely must have realized all this for himself. “Prince Algard. If you don’t mind me asking, has His Majesty approved of this?” “I’ll have him approve it later.” “Why do you want to call off a marriage arranged by your own parents?! Do you understand what you’re doing?!” “I won’t allow my father to interfere, or my mother! I will decide my own path, by myself!” he snarled. My breath caught, and I shook my head. I could hardly comprehend what he must have been thinking. “But there are rules that must be upheld! Please, Prince Algard, think about what you’re doing! When did you become so clueless?!” “I’m clueless?! If anyone is clueless, it’s you, Euphyllia! You’re obsessed with your ambition to become queen! You aren’t worthy!” “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about…!” I tried to muster my strength to explain myself, but Prince Algard was being utterly hostile toward me. “Lainie has been subjected to bullying, the theft and damage of her personal belongings, and even an assassination attempt! I’ve been investigating these events, and what do I find? You were responsible for them all!” I honestly didn’t have the faintest knowledge of these accusations. I had never done anything of the sort. But before I could put in a word of defense— “I can testify to her misdeeds. I’ve seen her plotting against Miss Lainie on a regular basis!” declared one of the young men standing behind Prince Algard. I ground my teeth. “Navre Sprout, Moritz Chartreuse, and Saran Meckie…!” These three were the sons of some of the most notable families in the country. Navre Sprout was the son of the commander of the Royal Guard, responsible for protecting the capital. He had dark-green hair that looked black in lower light and sharp honey-colored eyes that were now narrowed and glaring my way. Beside him was the nervous-looking Moritz Chartreuse, with his silvery hair and bewitching purple eyes. He was the son of the count presently presiding over the Ministry of the Arcane. Slightly behind these two was Saran Meckie, so beautiful that his appearance alone could often prompt a sigh from unsuspecting onlookers. He wasn’t a noble, but rather the son of an influential merchant family, and he had been enrolled at the academy as a special student. I caught my breath. Each of these three individuals was particularly popular here at the academy. I stared back at them, almost biting my lips. I knew they were Prince Algard’s followers, and I had often seen them interacting with Miss Cyan. But only now did I realize they had framed me for tormenting her. “Lainie may be a commoner, and her behavior at times may be a little unrefined, but Lady Euphyllia has gone too far with her abuse,” Navre accused me in a strong, indignant tone of voice. “Indeed, indeed. I always thought she was too cruel in her reprimands. And to think, she even had others do her bidding to avoid getting her own hands dirty!” Moritz added with an exaggerated wave of his arms. There was clear contempt in his eyes as he stared me down. “Lainie has been trying so hard to fit in… She might not have your status, but we’re all of the same flesh and blood.” Saran shook his head in feigned disappointment. I felt the stern gazes of those around me all turning my way. My breath caught for a moment, and then I protested. “I only ever offered Miss Cyan advice! I don’t remember ever trying to harm her!” “So arrogant, Lady Euphyllia! The daughter of our venerable duke, our honorable queen-to-be! You have forgotten yourself in your noble status!” Moritz shouted back harshly. Murmurs of sympathy were rising inside the hall. I glanced around in disbelief. “But I never instructed anyone to do anything to her! I’ve never once wanted to tear down Miss Cyan!” “You’re disgusting, Lady Euphyllia! Using others to bring a young lady to tears!” Navre bellowed. But I had never given any instructions like that. I wanted to ask them who exactly had supposedly been involved in this plot, but I doubted my accusers would even deign to answer that question. Why in the world was this happening? The suspicion and resentment were already spreading around me through the hall. I tried to explain again that I hadn’t done anything they were accusing me of. And yet my throat tensed, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Only my lips quivered as I traced the words. “I’m sorry, Euphyllia.” “Prince Algard…” “Repent! Apologize to Lainie for what you’ve done, Euphyllia Magenta!” What did I have to apologize for? I didn’t understand any of this. I didn’t even know what I had done wrong. I knew I had to plead my innocence, but my voice dried up, and I couldn’t get a single word out. I had suffered so much ridicule and scorn just to get to where I was today. For better or worse, my position as the fiancée of the next king had made me the subject of considerable attention. I had never thought of myself as weak. In fact, I always tried my best to stay strong. I had always done all I could to perfectly embody the expectations people had for me. But was I…was I really conducting myself the way everyone expected…? Once that shred of doubt had wormed into my mind, the strength bled from my knees. No one was listening to me. Nothing I said made any difference. I had always believed that if I simply behaved the way I thought was right, good things would naturally follow. But this wasn’t at all what I had wanted. This wasn’t my first encounter with misfortune or disadvantages. This wasn’t the first time I had been confronted by people trying to trip me up with malicious intent. But these people weren’t malicious, from what I could tell—their actions seemed to be motivated by deeply held beliefs. I couldn’t understand that. That was why I was so shocked, why my knees were buckling, why I had been left wondering—how could this happen? I felt as if my legs were about to give way as reality sank in. …That was when the air in the hall began to change ever so slightly. “…Huh?” I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Prince Algard glanced suspiciously toward the window from which the sound had emanated. How should I describe it? It was like something was tearing through the air with great force—and screaming. “AaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHH!” It was screaming. And the next moment, something came smashing through the window. “…Huh?” I stood there petrified, all but forgetting I had been about to lose my strength. Something had come crashing through the window with such momentum that it rolled across the floor until it came to a stop between Prince Algard and me. The tension in the air had been completely obliterated. Everyone in the room, including those who had dived out of the path of whatever had just joined us, was watching on in dumbfounded fascination. “Ow… Lost control there. I guess I still need to do more research.” A beautiful girl stood up before us, brushing away the shards of glass sticking to her clothes with one hand. She was wearing a jacket and trousers for ease of movement—attire that wasn’t at all suitable for this social setting. And yet she positively emanated charm. Her childish face was stained with soot, but her sense of grace remained unmarred. Or would it be more accurate to say her appeal came from that energy and vitality? I could only gaze at her, utterly captivated. She picked up a device lying at her feet—broom-shaped but not quite a broom. Her eyes were a pale green, reminiscent of fresh verdure, although there was also a silly winsomeness about her. And the color of her hair took everyone’s breath away. It was platinum in color, just like Prince Algard’s—proof of royal blood—and as she shook it, it struck me as even softer, even sunnier than his. “You…!” Prince Algard’s voice was trembling. His expression had changed from one of astonishment to one of indignant rage. In response, the girl who had become the center of all this commotion raised a hand in casual greeting. Then she spoke, her voice so cheerful that her earlier nervousness might as well never have been. “Ah, Allie…! Am I interrupting something?” “S-Sister!” Prince Algard cried. Princess Anisphia Wynn Palettia, the Kingdom of Palettia’s famed troublemaker, flashed her younger brother a refreshing smile. In the Kingdom of Palettia, there dwelled a certain princess. She was the most powerful and troublesome girl in the history of the kingdom, its strangest and most eccentric denizen. She was the bane of the royal family and had earned herself a great many less-than-complimentary titles. Her name was Anisphia Wynn Palettia. Her peculiarities and outlandish deeds seemed to grow exponentially by the day until none were surprised by whatever fresh disturbance she was responsible for. It was said she could use the wind to carry herself into the sky and soar over the castle walls. It was said she had burned herself all over while trying to heat up water for a bath. It was said she had completely annihilated a monster that had been interfering with the construction of a new highway to the royal capital. And it was said that her eccentricity had broken the king’s heart when she declared she had no intention of marrying. There were a great many anecdotes detailing Anisphia’s strange deeds, so much so that if anything in the city seemed amiss, it was only a matter of time before it was discovered that she had some involvement in it. She truly was the Princess Peculiar—a self-centered eccentric, part fool, part genius. But people described her another way, too—as a genius who loved magic more than anyone, but whose love was unrequited. Anisphia Wynn Palettia—a princess who lacked the gift of magic, a gift that came as a matter of course to every other member of the royal and noble ranks. And unable to use magic, she had become the heretical progenitor of the field of magical science, or as she called it, magicology. Er, this could be a little awkward… I—Anisphia Wynn Palettia—found myself standing before a group of well-dressed children, the sons and daughters of various noble families. I had just crashed a party, I was quite sure. The stares being directed my way were uncanny. To be honest, I felt ill at ease. Had I just made another major blunder? It had been so long since my last one, too. I had been conducting a nighttime test of my latest magical device, when I had thought it would be so lovely to reach up to the heavens to try to grab a star. That, however, had caused me to lose control and sent me crashing through a window. That mistake was going to get me in trouble, wasn’t it…? I checked my Witch’s Broom, which helped me fly, for any damage. Luckily, it wasn’t broken. I would have cried if it had been. At least it was only my reputation that had been injured! Everything was fine! Glancing around again, I laid eyes on my younger brother, Allie! Hmm. I knew he didn’t like me very much, so this interruption had probably left him utterly infuriated. Huh? I’ve never seen her before. Why is he hugging that girl so protectively? And everyone seemed to be sneering at the girl who was actually supposed to be engaged to him. Huh? What was going on here? Curious. “Hey, Allie,” I said. “Why are you holding that girl? Miss Euphyllia is by herself over there.” “…Th-this is none of your business!” Ah, he was angry all right. I had expected as much, but he was glaring daggers at me. I mean, there was a lot of bad blood between us, but this struck me as something else. It was all well and good for me to be a failure when it came to being a member of the royal family, but for him, our future king, to be standing beside someone other than his betrothed, our future queen consort? Unsure what to make of this, I turned my gaze to Miss Euphyllia. “Er, Miss Euphyllia? What’s going on? Is that girl going to be his concubine or something?” Euphyllia was a daughter of the ducal Magenta family—and a particularly beautiful young lady. Her exquisite beauty had been the subject of admiration from many people. Her hair was a pale silver in color, as though it had absorbed the light of the moon, and so delicate that I’m sure it would be soft to the touch. Her skin was fair and smooth, and her pink eyes made me think of roses. With her sky-blue dress, she stood out even amid everyone else at this flowery social gathering. “Huh…?” Turning my attention away from my brother, I called out to Miss Euphyllia, who seemed to be in a daze. All at once, her expression paled, and she averted her eyes. “Huh? What’s wrong?” “No, it’s just…” Euphyllia, too? Her reaction was very unexpected. I had always seen her as someone unafraid of expressing her thoughts, even to adults—which was why I had often thought she would make such a good queen. Nonetheless, it looked like she was on the verge of breaking down in tears. Had my sudden entrance through the window scared her that much? …No, there had to be some other explanation. Noticing where she was standing, and the way everyone was hovering around her, an idea sparked in my memory. At that moment, it all came together for me. “…Ah, I see. So my brother started making false accusations and broke off your engagement?” “—?!” Euphyllia lifted her gaze, as if to ask how I could have possibly known. Her eyes were darting around in shock; her expression, normally as firm as an iron mask, was undergoing a marked transformation. Huh. How about it? I remembered such stories from my past life, but to think that this sort of thing could actually happen! The world was a strange place. Although, I wasn’t one to talk. Oh, the irony. “Hmm, from what I can see, Miss Euphyllia does look rather friendless, no?” “Er, um, how?” “Hmmm… All right, that settles it!” It wasn’t good to bully a girl. I didn’t know who was in the right here, but either way, it was time for some external arbitration. Someone needed to be Miss Euphyllia’s champion, especially given that she had no other allies. I had no idea what the situation was or who was in the wrong—but even if it turned out later that Miss Euphyllia had been at fault, I doubted anything bad would come to me from defending her now. “Well, Miss Euphyllia? Let’s go. I’m kidnapping you.” “…Huh?” “I’m kidnapping Miss Euphyllia, so you can’t hold her responsible for any of this! Come on, let’s go now!” “Huh…? Er…? Wh-what…?” “So that’s that, Allie! I’m taking her home with me! We can have a family discussion later!”