Chapter 10: The Second Princess, Charlotte Bernstein 1

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Princess Charlotte Bernstein, the Second Princess. She was born into the royal family of the Kingdom of Bernstein, but having lost her mother at an early age, she had been treated differently from the other royals ever since. There was no difference in the content of her education. If she wished, she could also study martial arts or magic. The only real difference was that her instructors were all rather insignificant minor figures.

While the Crown Prince’s tutor had been the Captain of the Knights, her own was the master of a small provincial dojo. While others were taught by court magi, she was assigned an elderly provincial mage who had already retired from active duty. While others learned from professors who taught at the largest academy in the royal capital, she was instructed by the head of a small private school. With such blatant disparities, even a young child could notice. By the time she turned ten, she understood that she was being neglected.

And she was ignorant, but she was not incompetent. As she grew, she began to understand her own position. A princess with no parents or supporters. Dead weight with no value to be absorbed into any faction. Her elder brother, the Crown Prince, was highly capable and already all but confirmed as the next king, while the rival second prince opposing him was not particularly capable. Her own role as a princess was to become a pawn—someone her brother, once he inherited the throne, could use to forge connections.

At first, that reality crushed her.

Why had she been born? What was she meant to live for? What should she do? What was expected of her? In the extreme, she didn’t need to do anything at all. She only needed to exist there as a princess. That was the intended use of Princess Charlotte Bernstein, Second Princess, in the eyes of Crown Prince Leon.

She agonized over it. What should she do? How should she live? Simply existing was certainly an easy way to live. Compared to commoners who lived in poverty so severe they couldn’t even think about tomorrow, her life was practically paradise. But that was merely living.

Did her life have any value? Although she received royal education, she had not been subjected to ideological conditioning, and that absence caused her to think deeply. Above all, her instructors had a profound influence on her.

The elderly man who ran a small dojo in the provinces was gentle, but in his youth he had worked as an adventurer. They weren’t grand heroic tales, but stories of what kinds of monsters lived in this region, what kinds of plants grew there, what the local climate was like…

Her world expanded. The elderly mage, retired from the front lines, specialized in trivial, almost useless magic. Wind magic to avoid rain, fire magic that shaped lamp flames into butterflies or dragons, water magic that produced flavored fruit water to drink when thirsty. Having worked in a fortress for forty years, the mage had learned how to enjoy a modest, if boring, life within his means.

Her world swelled further.

And the teacher of the small private school in the provinces excelled at showing students possible paths forward. For the swordsman’s daughter who wanted to become a civil official but whose parents forbade it, he suggested clerical work in the knight order. For the girl skilled in magic but lacking the courage to fight, he recommended the urban infrastructure corps. For children with fighting spirit but no talent, he suggested apprenticing under adventurers. Using his connections and personal network, he sent people from the provinces out into the world and also showed paths for others to return to the provinces. Sometimes he even listened to people’s worries on the roadside without taking any money.

For Charlotte, life itself gained depth. What did she want to do? What should she do? What did she want? What did she want to become? What could she do?

After much thought, she chose to become an adventurer. A world of complete meritocracy. A harsher world than any status-based society, where everything was decided solely by how many requests one completed, regardless of birth or position. She begged her instructors and secured a position where she could operate without being identified as a princess.

The royal family had no interest in her, and nobles didn’t bother memorizing the faces and names of individual adventurers anyway. Only the Guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters knew the truth. The days she spent under a false name were golden days for her. 

She learned how much labor and cost went into producing even a single potion through medicinal herb gathering. By subjugating monsters that appeared in farmlands, she learned the hardships of farmers and once again realized just how privileged royalty truly was. When dealing with children, she was shocked to see them working from such a young age. She was left speechless by rude men who looked at her with vulgar eyes and casually groped her hips and chest.

Women and children could not walk the streets freely at night. Without protection, one could not even walk outside freely. What was the world? What was society? What were people?

In short, power was everything. After two years of working as an adventurer, she reached her conclusion. Power… Power was what mattered most. Her brother’s position as Crown Prince was power, as were the marquises, the Captain of the Knights, and the Chancellor connected to him.

The Esperanza Church was the same. She wasn’t particularly devout, but she didn’t doubt it either. It was simply something close at hand, and it possessed power. The Adventurers’ Guild was the same. It wielded power that a single kingdom could never hope to rival.

I have no power. No power to live in this world.

That power could be physical strength, skill, connections, or ability. The connections to major factions that ordinary princesses possessed. Compared to siblings whose biological mothers were marquises, how small and insignificant she was. It was no wonder the King, her father, had declared that he would “not favor her.”

Rather, Charlotte thought that this might be love. What would happen if the King gave a princess with no backing the same education as other princes and princesses? What if she then demonstrated exceptional talent? She would immediately be enclosed by a major faction.

She would be forced to side with the Second Prince and she could clearly see where that future led. Killing one’s own blood relatives(whether that term truly applied to her and her siblings or not) was something Charlotte abhorred.

I want power. Absolute power that won’t be swayed by anything…

Royalty, nobility, the Church. Even the Adventurers’ Guild that assisted them was not truly an ally. They cooperated only because her three instructors had connections, and even then, they would not actively help her. That was why she decided to continue, little by little, within the limits of what she could do and what would not arouse suspicion.

At the academy, she befriended noble daughters who did not stand out. A count’s daughter from a relatively weak house with no central connections. A count’s daughter who had failed in navigating academy politics and became isolated. A baron’s daughter who lacked the proper noble mindset and was bullied.

She deepened relationships with girls whose friendship would have no impact even if investigated. Friendships that wouldn’t hurt or itch no matter how much they were scrutinized. They spent time together at the academy, held tea parties after classes, and occasionally went out together. What began as utterly ordinary friendships eventually became comrades she felt she could trust.

Judging them trustworthy, she invited them into adventurer activities. Surprisingly eager for such un-noble pursuits, they began working together while hiding their faces and names.

The adventurer party 【Lily Garden】. Sneaking about and slowly building their strength… This was their youth. But… Power crushed the weak without mercy. A massive herd of Treehorns appeared in the shallow layers where powerful monsters should never appear. They fought while retreating, but when they lost their escape route and reached utter despair, a gigantic Forest Bear emerged from the depths of the woods. It shattered the Treehorns like toys, devoured them, and even pulverized the largest one with a single blow. The fangs and claws that did so then turned toward them.

Ah… The world is unjust…

Charlotte knew the world was unjust. That was why she wanted power to resist it. She could not obtain power as royalty because the King would not acknowledge her. She could not obtain power as a nobility either because her mother had been a dancer.

But as an adventurer… If she became strong as an adventurer, she would no longer be swayed even by nations. She wanted to be strong. She wanted power. She wanted to believe that even someone like her had meaning.

I don’t want to die…

Because she still had accomplished nothing. Barely managing to block a Forest Bear’s attack, Charlotte’s arm broke and she was blown away. She hoped that with that brief moment bought, at least someone else might escape.

She was going to die. She wanted to live longer. She wanted to visit the southern archipelagos she had only heard about. She wanted to experience the cultures of the eastern nations. She knew how vast the world was. She knew how deep it was. And yet… Because she was weak, she could not see it.

Anger at injustice. Longing for hope. Fear of impending death, despair at her own birth. Negative emotions flashed by like a dying vision. Muttering futile protests of “No, no,” she was slammed into the ground and her body was about to be cruelly scattered…

…But it wasn’t.

A mace swung at blinding speed. An impact erupted. She shut her eyes against the wind, and when she perceived the scene again, it was already over.

“You’re awake? You got lucky, miss.”

Charlotte grasped it. At the brink of death, she grasped fortune.

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Second floor of the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters. Charlotte had come to a small reception room. Her clothing was the same as always: an unremarkable mass-produced coat and light armor. Even the sword at her waist was a mass-produced item sold in shops. She possessed the skill to commission custom equipment, but she avoided standing out unnecessarily and thoroughly blended in.

“Suu… haa……”

It’s fine, it’s fine. Just give thanks. Simply express your gratitude.

She repeated deep breaths several times, and just when she thought she had calmed down, her body began fidgeting again. 

“……Haha. I’m really nervous. My heart just won’t settle.” 

Though minimal, she had received proper education. She never spoke in public settings, but she had attended ceremonies from the sidelines. Though meant for nobles, she had practiced standing still while many eyes were on her.

At the academy, she sometimes drew attention as a princess. Naturally, it was not good attention but gazes were gazes. Nervousness should had been familiar to her yet simply expressing thanks to her savior made her hands tremble.

“Finn Debyura-dono…………”

She spoke his name. Just that was enough to make her heart race. She knew what this feeling was. But she didn’t believe it truly was that.

This is still not that…… So she wanted to believe.

“You fool. He is your lifesaver. Do you intend to meet him with such frivolous feelings…?!”

The image was vividly burned into the back of her eyelids. A broad, dependable back, and a massive, sturdy shield. The explosion triggered at the end of a fully swung mace erased the threat in a single blow.

Power. The strongest power she had ever seen in her life. Absolute power that repelled approaching injustice with nothing but oneself.

Ah… How beautiful, how noble it was.

“………”

Thump.

Her heartbeat felt strangely painful. They hadn’t even had a proper conversation. They barely knew each other.

“C-calm down. I must thank him on behalf of everyone. I cannot allow myself to be rude.”

Princess Charlotte Bernstein, the Second Princess. Her standing within the academy was extremely delicate, and she had almost no interaction with high-ranking nobles. She wasn’t particularly popular with noble sons. The ones who approached her were men with ambition but lacking intelligence—hopeless nobles whose only merit was their lineage. Even during adventurer activities, men casually harassed her, and she had never associated with anyone who could truly be called a gentleman.

In short… She had absolutely no experience with men, nor was she in a position to flirt or seek them out.

“……Finn Debyura-dono…………”

She harbored no ambition. She sought no revenge. Charlotte simply wanted power. Power to live tomorrow, power to overturn unjust reality. Absolute, stalwart power that would let her live without relying on anyone…. She wanted it.

Until now, no one in her life had ever saved her. Her instructors had shown her paths but avoided interfering beyond that. The noble girls were companions walking alongside her, not people in a position to save her. That was why her encounter with Finn struck her so deeply.

Because for the first time, someone with the power to save others had saved her.

“……May I fall in love with you?”

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