In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 16

Chapter 16: Resonating Intellects, and an Unexpected ‘Attraction’

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(Alto’s POV)

The oppressive air of the underground archive completely changed with her arrival. The smell of mold and dust was overwritten by the noble fragrance of white lilies that clung to her, and even the dim lamplight began to look like staging meant solely to illuminate her golden hair.

“…This passage here… The calculations don’t add up.”

Princess Lilianna indicated a section of the aged manuscript with her white fingertips. The two of us sat side by side, sharing a single desk. The distance between us was only a few dozen centimeters. Every time she moved, the faint sound of her clothes brushing together and her sweet scent scraped against my nerves, making it impossible to feel at ease.

“…Which part?”

I deliberately kept my tone businesslike as I peered at the formula she was pointing to. It was a description related to trajectory calculations for an ancient mass weapon.

“…Ah, this here. With the mathematics of that era, the variable for ‘air resistance’ is missing. That’s why, if you correct it using current magical equations…”

I scribbled a corrective formula smoothly onto the parchment in front of me. I fell into my usual habit without realizing it. In front of knowledge, no matter who the other person was, I always reverted to being a “seeker.”

“…I see.”

She stared intently at the equation I had written, then narrowed her beautiful eyes.

“Attenuation due to friction… If you interpret it as a physical phenomenon, that does make sense. I was only thinking in terms of magical thrust, so an error crept in.”

…!

I froze, my pen stopping midair in surprise. No way, did she understand it? In just that instant? Without knowledge of physics from my previous life, this equation should have been incomprehensible to people of this world. And yet she immediately grasped the essence, saying, “I was only thinking in terms of magical thrust.”

I found myself staring hard at her face. I had thought the royalty of this country were nothing more than decorative figures lounging atop their magical power. But what was in her eyes was neither vanity nor the idle pleasure of killing time. It was the same thing I had—pure, intense “thirst for knowledge.”

“…You’re amazing, Alto-sensei.”

She lifted her face and smiled. The moment I saw that smile, my thoughts stopped for an instant. It wasn’t the “perfect smile of a princess” she had shown until now, nor was it a mocking grin meant to toy with me. It was like a child who had found a new toy… Or a student who had just solved a difficult problem. An unguarded, open, genuine smile from the heart.

Thump.

My heart made an unpleasant sound. I found myself thinking she was beautiful. Her profile illuminated by the lamplight. Her blue eyes sparkling with intellectual curiosity. That overwhelming beauty burned itself into my retinas—not as an object of fear, but as pure “beauty.”

What am I thinking?

Alarm bells rang immediately. She was a princess, a ruler who had enclosed me as her “toy.” This “understanding” and this “empathy” were nothing more than things being rolled around in the palm of her hand. And yet, the conversation didn’t stop.

“Then what about the power source of this ‘Iron Castle’? Magical stones alone wouldn’t provide enough output.”

“…Most likely a direct supply from the ley lines of the land. Please look at this diagram.”

“My! It’s like a vampire floating in the sky. …But yes, that does seem correct.”

…This is fun.

I didn’t want to admit it, but the conversation flowed smoothly. For the first time since coming to this academy—no, for the first time since being born into this world—I had found someone with whom I could discuss knowledge “as an equal.”

Even my father hadn’t been able to understand my “deductions,” yet she accepted them effortlessly and returned them with even sharper insights. It was frustrating, but her intellect was the real thing. Not just magical power. She was a monster in the intellectual field as well. 

Suddenly, her hair slipped softly and brushed against my shoulder.

“…!”

I recoiled as if electrocuted.

“…What’s the matter?”

She tilted her head in puzzlement, and I found myself thinking (honestly) that she looked cute.

“N-no… It’s just… You’re a little too close.”

Wiping cold sweat from my brow, I shifted my chair just a bit. This was dangerous. This was a trap. Not only binding me with fear, but approaching me with the face of an “understander,” trying to slip into the gaps in my heart. That was how she intended to take control of everything about me. My knowledge, my emotions, even my soul.

What a terrifying person.

I told myself that the reason my heartbeat was speeding up was “fear.” It had to be. It wasn’t that I had been captivated by her smile, nor that I had found my time with her pleasant.

“…Let’s stop here for today.”

I closed the book as if fleeing. If I stayed here any longer, it felt like something would collapse irreparably.

“Oh? Already finished?”

She lowered her eyebrows, looking genuinely disappointed. Even that expression seemed like a perfectly calculated act or rather, I had to make myself see it that way.

“…There’s a curfew at the dormitory.”

“I see. …That’s a shame.”

She stood up and looked down at me.

“But it was a very meaningful time. …You’ll keep me company again tomorrow, won’t you?”

That wasn’t a question. It was a confirmation. I had no right to refuse.

“…As you wish.”

I answered shortly, bowed once, and burst out of the underground archive. All the while, I could feel her gaze on my back. As I ran up the stairs, I realized my cheeks were burning hot and clicked my tongue.

Damn it. This is throwing me off.

That princess might be trying to break me in a way even crueler than turning me into an experiment subject. In the empty hallway, steadying my ragged breathing, I shook my head as if to fling away the “heat” I had left behind in that underground archive.

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