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Before I knew it, I had accepted the proposal of this angel-like prince — if it were any other noble’s daughter, or perhaps even Katarina before her memories returned, she would surely be elated at the development...
As for me, however, it was hard to believe that Prince Jeord had just planted a kiss on my dirt-stained hand. In fact, I should have rejected, saying something along the lines of “I am hardly worthy of you, Prince Jeord.”
Oh... Oh no! I was swept along by the flow and said yes by accident! Ugh! This was bad. I could no longer take it back! What do I do?!
In fact, even my house-servants and Jeord’s entourage seemed to be looking at us in a warm, congratulatory way! It was almost like Jeord’s overwhelming charm had caused everyone present to forget about the fact that I was in gardening overalls! Jeord... Truly fearsome.
Look! Even my father, who was almost out cold mere moments ago, is clapping!
Ah. My mother, however, is still unconscious.
Although I have no idea how we got to this point, I suppose I am now the official fiancée of Prince Jeord, third in line to the kingdom’s throne. In any case... I suppose I’ll have to try even harder at tomorrow’s swordplay and magic training...
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Jeord Stuart... that is my name.
I was born in a strange position — third in line to the throne. In this kingdom, the next king is chosen by the current ruling monarch. As such, I have a chance to become the next king of these lands, but honestly speaking, such a notion bores me. It seems like nothing more than a hassle.
To begin with, both my older brothers are extremely capable, and I often learned the ways of the sword from them. They are good rivals, and the next king in line should simply be one of them. I also have a twin brother. Due to his naturally weak constitution since his birth, he was fussed over by the nursemaids and our mother, and so I hardly spent any time with him growing up.
Such is my role in this unfortunate affair, with most of the attention spread between my two older brothers and my younger twin. Sometimes, it almost seems like the entire castle has forgotten about my very existence.
With minimal tutelage, I was able to master both the sword and my studies — while my tutors had much praise for me, what of it? It is meaningless to me.
I am good at reading the thoughts of others, and am well-loved by my tutors and superiors, gaining their favor with a simple, fabricated smile. Unlike my older brothers, I do not have much of a goal in life, and do not really experience hardship in most matters.
Each day was a requiem in boredom.
Amidst this boredom and repetition, however, I got dragged into quite the troublesome affair about half a year ago. To be precise, said event was the wedding engagements of my second oldest brother, perhaps spurred by my oldest brother’s engagement half a year ago.
None of that really mattered to me, however — no matter the number of announcements, they were all irrelevant to me... or so I thought.
Society’s nobles, not having much else to gossip about, immediately focused on the possibility of the third prince getting engaged as well. While I was a largely forgotten presence at the castle, I remained popular in noble society, having paid my dues and performed the tasks expected of my role. Not a single noble in the relevant social circles had anything bad to say about Prince Jeord, third in line to the throne.
As a result, a countless stream of potential brides were brought before me by their noble parents. This was, again, nothing but a hassle.
It was at this very moment that Duke Claes sent a missive to me, saying that he would be bringing his daughter to the castle on his next visit, and that he would very much like for me to meet with her; a common phenomenon. Noble parents commonly paraded their young daughters before me, expecting an offer of engagement if they should suit my tastes.
Due to the fact that Duke Claes wielded a significant amount of social and political strength, I could not exactly refuse — and eventually, the day arrived.
My first impression of the young Lady Katarina Claes was... as expected. She was a spoiled, prideful, arrogant, stupid young girl. She stuck to me like mud to the heel of a boot. Most annoying.
As a result of this selfish, self-induced behavior, she fell and hit her head. Truly troublesome. From what I heard, the impact had left a cut on her head, one that was deep enough to require stitching. You reap what you sow — that was what I thought as I heard the news.
Well, I supposed a formal visit was in order, and then that would be the end of this affair.
“Lady Katarina Claes seems to have taken quite a liking to you, Prince Jeord. Do you not think that she could simply demand an engagement from you, using this injury as a front?”
A statement from one of the servants... But yes, I can use that to my advantage. Honestly, this endless line of female suitors and nobles parading their daughters before me was irritating. Although I just wanted to pick a bride at random, the norms of noble society would not forgive such a thing.
There were various political factions in noble society — both my older brothers had political factions of their own, as befitting of their station. If I were to take a noble lady from the political camp that sided with my oldest brother, my second oldest brother would ask if I had some other intentions for siding with the other, and vice versa.
Conveniently enough, the Claes family was neutral, having pledged alliance to neither of my brothers’ camps. In addition, I now had an additional reason — that of accidentally scarring his daughter. It would be difficult for anyone to think that the third prince, having sided with Duke Claes, was aiming for the throne.
The girl was, of course, sufficiently irritating, but she did not seem to be a complete imbecile, and would probably be easily fooled. With all these factors in mind, I decided to pay a visit to Lady Katarina, eldest daughter of the Claes family.
Entering the recovering Lady Katarina’s room, what I heard betrayed my expectations...
“No, not at all. Please don’t worry about this, Your Highness. It is a small wound, one that can be easily hidden with my bangs! There is no problem at all.”
Katarina’s unexpected, almost ridiculous response struck me with considerable force, leaving me momentarily speechless. What is this girl on about? It was as she said — the scar itself was not big or prominent. However... this was hardly something a noble lady would say.
To think that she was just a spoiled little noble girl when I had first met her... Was her fever this severe? Even so, to suddenly go back on my elaborate plan was even more troublesome. Katarina, with a cheerful but somewhat dazed expression on her face, did not really seem to be listening as I described the details of the proposal.
Katarina Claes... I now found myself somewhat interested in the girl. Perhaps it would be wise to observe her for a little longer.
And so it came to be that I paid Lady Katarina Claes a formal visit, as is custom for marriage engagements. Katarina, however, presented me with yet another unbelievable sight — she was dressed like a commoner, standing in the middle of a patch of dirt.
When I asked what exactly it was that she was doing...
“I am currently communicating with the origins of my magic — the earth. I felt that the fastest and most efficient way to do so was to till the earth and work the fields, and so that was what I did,” Katarina responded, seemingly proud of the conclusion she had arrived at.
It was hilarious. I was ready to give it all up there and then, and simply laugh.
Suppressing my laughter with great effort, I lifted my head, my eyes meeting with Katarina. Her aqua-blue eyes stared straight into mine. Then I approached and knelt before her.
“Do you accept my proposal?”
“Oh... Um. Uh. Yes.” Answering without much of a thought, Katarina’s eyes told me all I needed to know — she was confused, verily so. The sight of her made me want to laugh even harder.
A young girl with brown hair and slightly upwards-slanting, almond-shaped, aqua-blue eyes. For the first time in my life, I felt strongly drawn to another person.
For some reason, I had a feeling that my painfully boring life of being surrounded by equally boring individuals... was about to take a very different turn.