Prologue: The Maid and the Princess

“Welcome back, Master,” a warm voice greeted me as I returned from the library to the Rodell Earl family’s mansion.

“I’m home, Siana.”

Standing there was a girl with glossy silver hair flowing down her back, dressed in a neat maid’s outfit. Siana, a fifteen-year-old girl the same age as me, had been hired by my father as my personal maid in preparation for my upcoming enrollment at the Noble Academy.

She was incredibly enthusiastic about her work. When we posted the job notice on the town bulletin board, she arrived at the mansion in less than thirty minutes, insisting, “I absolutely want to work here!” Despite claiming no prior experience as a maid, she somehow knew everything about being one. She handled every task perfectly—those I asked for, and even those I didn’t, always addressing anything that might trouble me.

“Master, were you at the library again today?”

“Yeah, studying in advance for what I’ll learn at the Noble Academy.”

“As expected of Master! I was worried you might be out flirting with girls or something, but it seems I had no reason to fear!”

I’ve never done anything like that, so why would she even worry about it…?

More importantly.

“You praised me, but you should take a break sometimes too, Siana.”

“N-no way…! I’m just someone who meddles a bit in national policy…!”

National…?

Siana’s words made my thoughts pause for a moment. But having spent several months with her, I could pick up on her slip of the tongue and understand her intent.

“By ‘national,’ you mean the mansion’s garden, right?”

“Eh…? Oh, yes…! Exactly! I just tend to the garden a little, so compared to Master, I’m nothing…!”

Siana was generally capable of anything, but she occasionally had slip-ups. I thought that was one of her charming qualities.

On top of that, for some reason, she’d been incredibly fond of me since we met. To reciprocate her affection, I made sure to spare no effort in my daily endeavours.

“Even tending the garden is impressive.”

“Is it…?”

“Yeah. The people who make the land prosper are those like you, who work with their hands.”

“What a wonderful perspective…!”

Then, closing the distance between us with sparkling eyes.

“As expected, Master isn’t just suited to be a lord—he’s fit to be a king!”

“M-me, a king…?”

I’m barely managing what’s in front of me… For someone like me—

“That’s way too heavy a burden.”

“No! I believe Master will one day become a splendid king!”

I knew she admired me from the bottom of her heart. But sometimes she said these grand things, and it always caught me off guard.

“…To become a king, I’d at least have to marry one of the kingdom’s three princesses, but I doubt any of them would want to get engaged to someone like me.”

“That’s not true! There must be someone who’d want to be engaged to Master!”

“If I were from a ducal family, maybe, but as an earl’s son, I don’t think so.”

“…Master, I’m going to step outside for a bit!”

“Eh? S-Siana!?”

Saying she was going out, Siana ran off and actually left the mansion.

◇

“—Ojou-sama, where are you planning to go?”

A tall girl, her entire body covered in a black leather hooded coat, spoke to Siana.

“I’m going back to the royal castle to make Father approve my engagement to Lux-kun right now.”

“As usual, you get reckless when it comes to Lord Rodell, but that’s unreasonable.”

“You won’t know until you try.”

“You’ve tried one hundred twenty-nine times, and all have failed.”

“So what? If it takes a thousand tries to get the engagement approved, I’ll just do it a thousand times.”

“Ojou-sama, please be reasonable—”

The girl stopped mid-sentence and vanished the moment the mansion’s door opened.

Lux peeked out from the doorway and asked.

“Siana…? You ran out so suddenly. Did something happen?”

“M-Master…! N-no, it’s nothing!”

“Really…? Then let’s head back inside together.”

“Yes!”

With Lux, who hadn’t noticed anything, Siana returned to the mansion.

—This is the love story of a kind-hearted boy and the princess who yearns for him.

◇

The Noble Academy, where I’ll be attending in about a week.

In a single phrase, it’s about learning how to prosper in a territory as a noble.

What must be done to make a territory prosper?

What do the people of the territory need?

The kingdom’s rules must be upheld.

A place to learn things like land management and commerce, which are hard to study alone.

That’s the Noble Academy.

To make it easier to absorb what I’ll learn there, I’ve been studying in advance. I’ve been using the library a lot lately, but today I was studying in my room instead.

“Master, may I have a moment?”

A voice came from outside the door. It was Siana’s.

“Yeah, you can come in.”

When I told her she could enter, Siana came to my side.

“Is there something you need from me?”

“No, I just came to see if there’s anything I can do to assist you, Master!”

Siana anticipates and resolves issues before I even have a chance to ask. On top of that, she sometimes checks if I’m struggling with anything.

“Thank you.”

After thanking her for her kindness, I continued.

“I’m not really struggling, but if I had to say, studying military strategy is a bit tough.”

“For someone as kind and gentle as Master, such dangerous things don’t suit you…”

If possible, I’d rather there never be a time when military strategy is needed. But as someone born a noble, I can’t afford to say such things.

“I don’t think it suits me either, but there are lectures on it, and I need to learn in case of emergencies.”

Hearing my words, Siana furrowed her brow for a moment but quickly regained her composure and said.

“Lectures… It’s almost time for Master to start attending the Noble Academy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. The standards seem high, so I’m a bit nervous.”

“Master is polite and brilliant, so I think there’s nothing to worry about!!”

“R-really…? But aside from classes, I have two other concerns.”

“Concerns…?”

I didn’t want to worry Siana unnecessarily, so I hadn’t mentioned it before, but since I brought it up, I might as well tell her.

“…Some of the people I’ve met from ducal or marquess families were overbearing, so I’m worried about getting along with people like that at school.”

“Overbearing toward Master…?”

Frowning, Siana continued to ask.

“Do you remember their names?”

“No. I’d remember if they were kind, but…”

I trailed off, unable to recall.

Seeing me, Siana spoke in a gentle tone.

“That’s so like you, Master.”

But then, with a sharp look in her eyes.

“If anyone acts overbearing toward you in the future, please tell me their names.”

“Yeah, got it.”

If there’s someone like that, it might affect Siana, my personal maid, too. For safety’s sake, it’s probably best to share that information.

“And, Master… What’s your other concern?”

“Oh, right. Actually, Father told me to find a fiancée during my three years at the academy.”

“…Pardon?”

“He added that mutual feelings come first, but if possible, to consider their rank as well.”

“W-wait a moment… A fiancée?”

Siana seemed unusually shaken. It’s no surprise she’d be startled hearing about an engagement out of nowhere.

“I think Father wants to feel reassured that I have someone like that soon.”

“So… You’ll be looking for a fiancée at the Noble Academy. Is that right?”

“Yeah. I feel bad for Father, but I plan to look based on personality alone.”

Not forcing it, but ideally getting to know someone naturally would be perfect.

“But… whether I’ll meet a woman like that, I’m a little worried.”

For some reason, Siana froze, her body and gaze completely still.

“…Siana?”

When I called her name, Siana bowed, saying, “My apologies, Master,” and then.

“I’ll go tend to the garden, so please excuse me…”

“Okay, thanks.”

Without waiting for my full response, Siana left the room.

“…I wonder what’s wrong?”

◇

Siana opened the mansion’s front door, stepped outside, and looked up at the sky. Like her current mood, the weather was cloudy.

“…Haah.”

“—Sighing like that, is something wrong, Ojou-sama?”

Right after her sigh, the tall girl in the black hooded coat spoke to her.

“Lux-kun said he’s going to look for a fiancée at school.”

Then, she turned her gaze to the girl.

“You heard it too, didn’t you, Violet?”

The tall girl in the black hood—Violet—nodded and replied.

“Yes. Considering Lord Rodell’s age and status, it’s only natural.”

“‘Only natural’?! It’s not!”

Raising her voice, Siana spoke with unconcealed frustration.

“At this rate, Lux-kun will end up marrying some other woman…! I have to do something, anything, to move things forward with him…!”