Apparently, Her Highness Princess wants to keep her relationship with me a secret (what does she even mean by 'her relationship with me'?) - 2-13

2-13

Number Nine (Emma Princess POV)

It was by sheer coincidence that Emma Satie Roman first heard of him, that too in rumours.

It was her servant Rose, who had grown up with her like a sister, told her about it.

A existence of a shop which listens to the most innermost hidden worries of an individual. There, there are people who will solve those troubles in exchange for money.

Both Emma and her servant Rose were starved for entertainment.

To ease the boredom of their dull daily lives, Emma gave Rose a small amount of money and sent her to the shop. At first, it was just mere curiosity.

Then, Rose told Emma about him.

The young man who listened to Rose’s troubles was, to her surprise, was a noble. He spoke at length about various topics, just as Rose had wished.

For Rose, who dreamed of leaving the country and traveling the world, the noble’s stories of faraway lands and dreams sounded like fairy tales. The way Rose excitedly spoke of her conversations with him made Emma want to meet him herself for once at least.

“—Wait, Itose-kun! How did you… know this!?”

A week of attending in the Westminster Academy, imposed by the Roman King.

It was the fate of the Roman royal family to attend one of the Four Great Academies. Among them, Emma chose the academy of strength.

Courage—Shrewsbury School.
Strength—Westminster Academy.
Knowledge—Buckswood.
And lastly, The Riddlesworth Hall.

Emma Satie Roman, who lacked a magical quirk, chose Westminster Academy of Strength. As what she sought was strength.

But shortly after enrolling, she realized the harsh truth. Witnessing her peers’ magical quirk knowing that she has none, crushed her inside.

“…”

Itose Orgot remained silent.

“I see… So you’re not going to tell me, do you. So? Where are your companions? Surely you’re not alone now, are you?”

“I’m afraid I might disappoint you, but it’s just me.”

“The ones after us belong to Marquis Greyjoy’s men, you know? Are you trying to get yourself killed…?”

“Princess Emma, please don’t go outside. Right now, this is the safest place after all.”

In the depths of her despair, Emma had come to a realization.

By conventional means, she could never graduate from Westminster Academy.

Emma, who stopped attending the academy, dedicated herself to relentless studying in hopes of proving she could graduate without ever setting foot there again.

“Princess Emma, till the time you’ve been in Westminster, I’ve been watching you constantly these past few days at Westminster. You have the power to draw people towards you. That is a talent by it’s right.”

While trying to get out of the carriage, onto the place he could still hear a great commotion ongoing, he stops on his tracks. With his hand on the door handle, he turns around.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I don’t know if I’m the right person to say this… but I think you’d be happier attending Westminster daily.”

“…Don’t act like you know me? Just what exactly could you possibly understand about me? If you’ve been in disguise all this time, then you must have heard what that Marquis Greyjoy said.”

Inside the Roman Royal Castle, Emma never stood in the spotlight.

After all Emma Satie Roman—born without magical quirk—was a defective princess.

“I have no magic quirk. There’s no way I could survive at Westminster as someone who doesn’t have a magic quirk. Once they find out about my secret, everyone will abandon me.”

Emma regretted her decision.

Why did someone as weak as her, chose Westminster. If she’d picked one of the other three schools, she could have found a different way to go through with it.

“Princess Emma, I will graduate from Westminster… as with the top position.”

“…What are you even getting at, all of a sudden?”

“Everyone says it’s impossible for a baron household like me to graduate from Westminster. But I have no will to give up.”

Emma also had heard the rumors about it too.

Two boys from a baron family had managed to advance at Westminster, making headlines. In combat training, they kept winning match after match, drawing immense hatred from their Westminster peers.

“It’s impossible. The history of Westminster will never allow a baron’s household to graduate. Furthermore, in order to graduate as the top, you need the recognition of your current peers. No matter how hard you try, there’s no way a baron will ever be accepted…”

It only took a few days at Westminster for Emma to understand.

The sheer hatred focused around the son of a baron, Itose Orgot. Also, the amount he received from the other boys was far beyond ordinary.

To Westminster students, barons were nothing more than pebbles by the roadside.

“—Princess, are you alive?!”

Suddenly, the carriage door flew open, letting in the cool night air in.

One of Marquis Greyjoy’s men spotted Itose Orgot inside the carriage and froze in shock.

“You, huh!… Who the hell are you!? Where’d that servant go!?”

From that moment on, Itose Orgot’s reaction was swift.

In an instant, the man got squarely hit on his chest, and went flying, tumbling onto the hard ground. He was only kicked though.

The man, caught by that surprise attack, got thrown onto the hard ground

“There’s an intruder hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!”

The man howled for his companions. In response to that man’s voice, the other subordinates of Marquis Grejoy noticed something strange going on. As the loud commotion outside fell silent, replaced by an ominous tension. Emma also shrank back in fear.

“Iron Princess, you are only permitted to change the details of your request once.”

Yet, Itose Orgot, who was asked by Emma Satie Roman to play as her boyfriend for one week remained calm and composed, looking at the trembling Emma who had collapsed onto the carriage floor.

“What do you want me to do?”

“…Destroy everything.”

“Understood. But you should have said so from the start… That you hated this engagement.”

After he muttered the later part softly, he stepped out of the carriage, into the night.