Prologue: Remembering the Past
LIFE can be rather unpredictable. Some days are inexplicably wonderful, while others are completely unremarkable.
On this particular day, Amy, the daughter of the Earl of Northland, was having a very “off” day.
It all started when she woke up feeling rather disoriented. Amy had a hunch it had something to do with a dream that roused her around daybreak, but when she tried to remember the details, it was as if they were obscured by a thick layer of fog. That murkiness was the only thing she could discern.
At breakfast, Amy accidentally burned her tongue on tea. And later, despite searching far and wide, she could not find the handkerchief she had worked so hard on embroidering for a homework assignment.
It was later discovered that the handkerchief had been accidentally put in her brother’s luggage, which he had taken back to his dormitory at school, but Amy was gently scolded by her governess all the same.
As if that wasn’t enough, Amy’s least favorite dish, liver pâté, was served for lunch… But the worst was yet to come that very evening.
Amy’s father, the Earl of Northland, served as the director of technology at the Institute of Magic, an organization under the direct control of the royal palace. His work involved developing magical tools. Every day he would come home late—after endless meetings, research experiments, and prototype tests—only rarely arriving before sunset. The Northlands, however, were a very close-knit family, so the earl’s return from work was typically a very welcome time of the day.
But on this day, Amy was summoned to his study instead of the living room. When she arrived, she saw her parents standing before her—her father frowning, her mother looking puzzled. Amy fidgeted uncomfortably in this unusually solemn atmosphere and felt overcome with a terrible premonition.
The earl’s gloomy silence persisted until he began to speak after several pressing looks from his wife.
The earl told her he had received an announcement that Amy was selected as a candidate to become the Third Prince’s fiancée.
“The Third Prince’s two older brothers have already been betrothed to noblewomen from neighboring kingdoms,” he continued. “So it appears that, to restore the balance of political power in the royal family, the Third Prince must marry someone a little more…local.”
“But, my dear…Amy is only ten years old,” her mother interjected.
“I expressed that concern as well. But she falls within the age range they set forth, and they wouldn’t budge an inch… There wasn’t anything I could do.”
The Third Prince was thirteen years old. It seemed that ladies as young as eight to as old as eighteen years of age had been allowed to qualify as a candidate to become the prince’s future bride, and that even the daughter of a marquess had joined their ranks.
“The royal palace is planning a tea party as we speak so the prince can meet the candidates in person,” the earl reluctantly explained as he unveiled a portrait of Amy’s potential suitor, Edward Leo Luducia, the Third Prince of Luducia.
Amy gazed upon Prince Edward’s dark-blond hair and bright silvery-gray eyes.
At thirteen, the prince still had a soft youthfulness lingering in his facial features, but their elegance and symmetry were clear evidence of the handsome man he would one day become.
The face was oddly familiar to Amy… But where had she seen it before…? And when?
Amy’s attention was entirely drawn to the picture—her father’s voice seemed to gradually become distant.
As Amy had not formally debuted in society yet, she had few friends, and everyone she had met were acquaintances of the family. Her older brother had sometimes brought over friends from school—ones he had bonded with over a shared passion for hunting magical beasts—but they had all been rather friendly and unpretentious. She never remembered any of them looking quite so intimidating…or so royal.
The Third Prince had not officially debuted yet either, so Amy couldn’t have seen his portrait before in the society pages.
Plus, Amy thought, it’s not like there are any paparazzi here, so it’s not as if I’ve seen any invasive, candid photos of him floating around—
Wait… What’s a “paparazzi”?
“Amy?!”
As if Amy had been struck by lightning, a bright white light filled her vision, and she fainted on the spot.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐾🐱🐾
WHEN Amy came to, she remembered…
She remembered her previous life.
Her life as an ordinary high school girl in Japan.
Never in a million years had Amy ever expected she’d be reincarnated! What was she, some sort of heroine in a light novel?!