“Cédric, are you meeting women?”

‘Please don’t talk about it that way, how scary!’

“……She made an Imperial Decree.”

“My goodness, it is true.” Vice Captain Élisabeth put her teacup down and her eyes opened wide.

If someone like her, who was the closest to the Imperial Crown Prince out of all of us, did not know, then this matchmaking really seemed to be something only a very few people knew about.

We all somehow ended up sitting around a table in the training ground eating refreshments. I received the Sword of Wisdom from the Flaming Star from David and held it tightly. (‘I’m sorry I blurted it out.’ I made sure to mouth an apology as I received the sword. He smiled and shook his head.)

It could not be helped. If I didn’t hold onto it, the crown prince punk looked ready to slash the laughing Christelle at any moment.

“I thought she stopped thinking about it after it fizzled out last year. My mistake.”

“……”

‘It didn’t fizzle out, ma’am. Our main characters just need a long time to warm up!’

I held the Sword of Wisdom in one hand and almost angrily sliced a piece of gâteau Nantais with my other hand and put it in my mouth. I craved sweets from the stress of being unable to tell them about the proper way of life for these main characters.

‘I can’t even call the official couple an official couple…… Oh this is delicious.’

“Has the person been decided? Or is she planning on meeting a lot of them before making up her mind?”

“The latter.”

“Hmm.”

The young Countess, who claimed to be ditching work, reacted the most serious out of all of us about this wedding talk. Well, honestly speaking, I was taking it even more ‘seriously,’ but she seemed to want to try her best as the punk’s friend. Little Bacary and Sand, who were seated next to each other, just moved their eyes back and forth as if they were watching a ping pong match. David and Ganael calmly brewed some tea for the guests while Sir Johann looked as relaxed as if he was listening to people talk about the weather.

As for Christelle on the other side, she was still……

“Ah, congratulations, your Royal Highness. This is the greatest news of the Holy year of 1614. I will make sure to host your bachelor party.” She was wiping her tears away with a handkerchief while chirping away.

The crown prince’s eyes lit up in flames for a moment. I moved almost out of reflex.

– Clunk!

– Please hold back, your Royal Highness, you already did a lot earlier!

I hung onto his arm as I shouted. I had stuck to the MC’s leg like a barnacle earlier to beg but now it was the male lead’s arm. It wasn’t easy surviving as the second male lead between these two.

I put on as innocent a look as possible, and the punk looked down at me before puffing up his chest and standing up straight. The cold-hearted Christelle still continued to laugh quietly and even stealthily gave me a thumbs up. I barely managed to hold back from sighing.

‘She can act like this because she doesn’t know anything. I remember Eunseo told me something.’

‘Ah! In the beginning, I thought that there was no way this punk was the male lead. I thought the cover was a ruse.’

‘Isn’t the guy with black hair always the male lead?’

‘That’s just prejudice. I’m not going to breathe until I get a cover that shows hubby Jesse.’

‘Come eat first. The army stew is ready.’

‘Ahhh!’

……I didn’t know the inside story because I didn’t read the original, but I could tell based on the things I had heard. Even in the original, Christelle and crown prince Cédric took a long time to confirm their feelings for each other. They seem to have wasted a lot of time in the process. Even if they used their fists against each other and sometimes looked at each other as if they were looking at a cow or a chicken, that was the other reason I couldn’t give up on the main couple. I had faith that the right opportunity would light a flame between them. ‘It’s just that it is so slow. Even we took some time to get close to each other.’

“What do you think about it, your Royal Highness?”

That was why there couldn’t be any rivals in love until that happened. I became full of determination as I turned toward him. The young man drinking espresso peeked at me only with his eyes.

“About what?”

“Do you wish to get married?”

The punk gently scowled. The answer I received was something I could have predicted.

“My opinion does not matter.”

“But that does not mean that your opinion is not important, your Royal Highness.”

I nonchalantly said some things that he would enjoy hearing.

My reaction would have been different if this was him being matched with Christelle. But the current match was with some nameless young lady from the Duke’s House of Mendy. I had never met her before, but I was already feeling some hostility toward her.

My mouth seemed to have no thoughts about closing now that it opened. “You will have to get married at some point, but you may want to focus on other things first.”

“……”

“A desire for self-fulfillment is important. Wouldn’t it be sad if you missed the opportunity and regret it later?”

Everybody turned to look at me. The young Countess pursed her lips and her eyebrows twitched. Sir Johann slightly tilted his head. I had to think about whether I said something I shouldn’t have said, but I thought that this level of opinion was okay. It might be an overly 21st century thought process, but I thought I did pretty well in expressing it.

I was thinking about whether there was a better way to say it when the crown prince stared at me. ‘What is it?’

“……You must have had such thoughts as well when you ran away in the stable.”

‘Damn it. I was hiding pretty well but I guess I can’t fool the ether pig!’

“No, that… I got a bit flustered meeting you in such a place. I also thought that you might find it uncomfortable, your Royal Highness.” I urgently waved my hand and smiled awkwardly.

Christelle looked extremely entertained as she looked back and forth at the two of us. Perry, who had switched places with Demy, was rolling on top of my knees with joy while Vice Captain Élisabeth was eating mont blanc by the spoonful as if it was soup and rice. It would have been perfect if someone put some 3D glasses on her. ‘You guys are like this when I’m sweating my ass off?! But who can I really blame?!’

“Are you talking about yourself?”

“Why would I have been uncomfortable, your Royal Highness? I just avoided you because you seemed to be having a heavy conversation.”

“I recall you saying you wouldn’t avoid me any longer.”

“Oh, you know I don’t mean it like that, your Royal Highness. The mood……”

This guy even remembered what I had said when he was in his Sadie form. It wasn’t a fake promise, but seriously, what a scary bastard. I took another look and noticed that his carrot-colored eyes seemed a bit upset with me. He was oddly avoiding my gaze and the corners of his eyes were sharp. Although I had raised a younger sibling before, this guy was nothing like her, so I had no idea about how to console him. I decided to sincerely apologize first.

“My deepest apologies if you found it uncomfortable, your Royal Highness. But I thought it wasn’t the right time for me to interject in the conversation-”

“That is for me to decide.”

He growled. It was hard for me to maintain my expression as he had not been so hostile like this in a long time. But the punk suddenly turned his head away. ‘Wait, did you just get flustered?’

“Your Royal Highness.”

“His highness seems to want to help you, your Royal Highness.” The main character’s clear voice saved me at that moment. I saw a hallucination where a light as bright as a supernova was coming out of her from one side of the table.

My head turned extremely slowly.

In the almost blinding light, Christelle was supporting her chin with both hands as she smiled brightly toward me.

*

‘Yes, who else other than each other could step in to save the two of them? These two pretty faces with some screws loose in their heads!’

“Christelle.”

The man’s beautiful purple eyes sparkled with anticipation and hope. Christelle felt the boiling joy and instantly gathered everyone’s gazes. It was easier to do than even hiking the Sobaek Mountains.

“While I am ready to celebrate you at any moment, his highness seems to feel differently. There are always people like him. The people who feel sad that their friend will get married first. The people whose hearts suddenly feel empty. This is not weird.”

“Mm……”

“Based on what I have seen, it also doesn’t seem like you are happy about this arrangement either, your Royal Highness. If you were okay with it, you would not have let the conversation flow to this point. Vice Captain Élisabeth?”

“I agree.” The young Countess lifted up her silver spoon as she spoke with a somewhat solemn expression.

David then nodded his head, which told us everything we needed to know. Christelle sent a firm gaze, forcing Ganael and Sand to flinch and agree with her as well. Johann Geens praised her saying that it was an excellent analysis. As for Modeste Bacary, he had missed the timing to leave so he was still seated there without being able to return to his office.

The crown prince’s eyes were raging as he glared at his senior martial sister, but he didn’t show any expressions of disagreement. After confirming all of that, the corners of Christelle’s lips curled up.

Of course, it would be great for her if the crown prince punk went off and got married. Her time with the nice and kind prince would increase and she would, as an extra benefit, be able to receive his joy-inducing ether more frequently as well. Most importantly, she hated seeing this bastard’s desire to conquer and monopolize.

But what could she do? Christelle decided to act once more.

The reasons were: 1. She felt so terrible for the young lady who would have to live with this shitty dude. Just staring at his face all day would make the person full for sure, but she still felt sorry for the girl.

2. This guy had already once done something as crazy as finishing all of his work for a set time period once he decided to play with the prince. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t do such a thing again even if he was married.

3. Christelle needed something to distract her these days. She was happy spending time with her mother, grandmother, and grandfather, but sometimes, she was desperate for something to help her forget about her ‘father.’

4. The final reason… Prince Jesse looked as if he did not want to break up this band of misfits, including the fire fox. The crown prince seemed to feel the same way. Well…… She understood why they felt that way. Well, at least a little bit.

“So… When and where is the matchmaking taking place?” Christelle pulled a pipe candy out of her pocket along with the notebook she had packed to fit a concept.

The prince’s eyes opened wide and he looked delighted. He always seemed secretly delighted whenever she acted like this.

“For the upcoming Saturday feast, Duke Florian Mendy’s second daughter, young lady Bérénice Mendy, is scheduled to attend. Chief of Staff Laura Mendy is her aunt.” David explained as if he had been waiting for this.

Because Christelle had a notebook but no pen, Perry flew over to the prince’s gabag and pulled a pencil out of it. She gave the red panda a kiss on his forehead and started to write.

“The victim’s age?”

“She’s not a victim.”

“Ah. The age of the matchmaking partner? A short explanation of any information you may have on her as well, please.” Christelle lowered her voice and asked.

David looked calm but he seemed extremely excited. He looked as if he had been waiting for a day like today to come.

“She is eighteen years old. She is known to be a quiet and passive individual who prefers reading and writing her assessment of each book read instead of any outdoor activities. She is a regular person with no talent in mana or ether.”

“Ah……”

“Oh dear.”

“My goodness.”

“That’s too much. The parents of both sides went too far this time.”

The group started to chat and looked up at the crown prince. Cédric was quietly clenching his teeth.

He had looked uncomfortable since earlier. He wasn’t happy at himself for threatening the prince despite receiving an apology and he was even angrier at the fact that he did not manage to control his emotions. He thought to himself that such a result would not have happened if the priest did not avoid him. But hearing the prince showing a negative response to his marriage, he started to feel better, despite not understanding why. He was acting extremely capricious, like rain on a sunny day, even though his plate’s condition was fine. His mind felt chaotic because such a demeanor was not like his usual self. But thinking about it, he had been like this since last spring.

“Is there no way to cancel it?”

“It would be possible if his Royal Highness vehemently rejected it, but it would be an extremely dishonorable act toward the Duke’s House of Mendy. Her Majesty would not want this as they are one of her most loyal subjects.”

“That makes sense. It is too late to cut it from this side. In that case, it needs to be the reverse. He needs to be the one to be kicked to the curb. Hmm.”

“Do you think that is possible?”

Christelle mumbled and Élisabeth seriously asked. The prince, who had been quite focused, looked concerned as well.

“I don’t think his Royal Highness is someone who would be rejected like that.” He then peeked at the crown prince bastard’s face and body.

Christelle wanted to laugh her ass off because she could see his actions so clearly. How could his inside and outside match so much?

“Your highness. What kind of action do you think someone should take to be rejected?” So she asked a sudden question. The twenty-nine year old man looked extremely awkward.

“Uhh…… Shouldn’t he say rude things or do something terrible? Maybe he should say something like, ‘a believer and a priest falling in love is not a sin!’ like in ReSeHo… And…have an affair? Pour water on her face? His parents showing up, throwing some money toward her saying, ‘break up with my son?’

“Sooooooob.”

The Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard, who had lasted so well until now, almost sounded as if she was crying as she laid her head on the table. Christelle looked at Instructor Johann, who was magically still maintaining his poker face, and clicked her tongue. Actually, she couldn’t even open her mouth to do that. Her lips were turning white, holding back laughter that was coming from deep inside her stomach. Her nostrils were flaring up and her chin was tightening. Jesse Venetiaan in front of her was acting like the only relationships he had seen were in novels.

‘How the heck did he get the nickname of the Scoundrel of the Holy Kingdom? Is it just irony?’

……She barely managed to open her mouth.

“But at least one of the things you said is close to the truth. Affair.”

“Excuse me?”

The prince patted a divine beast as he blinked in confusion. Even a broken clock was right twice a day.

“A much better man than his Royal Highness, someone known for being gruff and scary, just needs to appear and steal the young lady’s heart away. Sweep her off her feet.”

“There is no way such a person exists……”

A big smile formed on the beautiful girl’s face. Christelle pointed the pipe candy at him. She made it so that he could not have any questions on the matter. The direction was clear as well. His pretty eyes slowly opened.

“No way.”

“Yes, you. A fabulous person who is handsome, tall, and good but also has wealth and fame. I’m talking about you. You!”

—
Translator’s Comments

Jesse, our little dunce. You the handsome awesome person.

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