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… - 22

Chapter 22: Reunion and a One-Year ‘Contract’

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(Alto’s POV)

The next day. I attended my lecture with heavy steps. Yesterday, the princess did not come to the underground archive. That fact left a far larger void inside me than I had expected.

What was I even expecting?

The words in the textbook slid past my eyes. To her, I was nothing more than a temporary way to kill time. She got bored. That was the end of it. Nothing more, nothing less. And yet—why did my chest feel so unsettled, when I should have felt relieved that the scrutiny was gone?

The lecture ended. Normally, this was the time when I would flee straight to the library. But today, I hesitated. If I went, she might not be there again. Seeing that empty seat felt unbearably painful right now.

…No. I should go.

I steeled myself, as if speaking to myself.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not going to see her. There are still books I haven’t finished reading in that underground archive. There is precious knowledge there that satisfies my intellectual curiosity.

I’m just going there to do my “usual studying.” Whether she’s there or not doesn’t matter. Yeah. It doesn’t matter.

I forced my face into a neutral expression and descended the library’s underground stairs as usual. I opened the heavy iron door.

Giiiii— the sound echoed through the space. No one was there. At the usual seat, only the half-read book sat alone.

Silence.

Only the smell of mold and dust filled my nostrils.

…Hmph. Just as I thought.

I forcibly convinced myself that the disappointment welling up in my chest was actually “relief.”

This is fine. Now I can focus on studying.

I sat down and opened the book. But no matter how I traced the printed words with my eyes, none of it sank in. When I realized that my ears were unconsciously straining toward the door, I clicked my tongue in self-disgust. That was when it happened.

BANG!

The iron door was thrown open violently, tearing through the silence. Clack, clack, clack!—hurried heelsteps approached. Startled, I turned around. She was there. Princess Lilianna stood there, breathing hard. Her golden hair, usually perfectly tied up, was slightly disheveled. Her cheeks were flushed, her shoulders rising and falling heavily.

…Did she run? A princess… All the way here?

“…Lilianna-sama?”

At my words, she looked like she might cry, but then smiled in relief.

“…Thank goodness. I was afraid you might not be here…”

She staggered slightly and braced herself on the chair beside me—the one that was usually hers.

“…I thought you wouldn’t come today either.”

I said it bluntly, without taking my eyes off the book. I hadn’t meant to accuse her, but the words that slipped out carried a sulky tone that surprised even me.

“I’m sorry. …Yesterday, something came up that I absolutely couldn’t avoid.”

“…I see.”

I didn’t ask for details. It was surely some lofty official duty, something that had nothing to do with me… Something I didn’t need to know.

When I sensed a slight tremor in her voice, I instinctively looked up. In her blue eyes was a color different from the intellectual sparkle she’d had until yesterday. It was a look of desperate resolve.

“Alto-sama. …I have a request.”

She leaned over my desk. Her hand grabbed my sleeve. It was trembling.

“Would you enter into a contract with me?”

“…A contract?”

“Yes. …One year. Just one year is enough.”

The sudden time limit made me frown.

“One year…? Why such a specific timeline?”

For a moment, her gaze wavered, but then she looked straight into my eyes. Her stare was serious, as if hiding something, yet not lying.

“Please lend me your ‘knowledge.’ Your wisdom alone, the kind that can overturn this world’s unreasonable common sense.”

“…For what purpose?”

“For myself. …And to carve open my ‘future.’”

She didn’t explain the concrete reason. But from the pain in her voice alone, I could tell she was being crushed by something enormous. Something must have happened yesterday. She didn’t say what, but I couldn’t help feeling that was the case.

“I can’t remain as I am. I don’t want to end my life as nothing more than an ‘ornament,’ protected by someone else. …With you, I feel like I could change that.”

With you.

Those words seized my heart in an icy grip. Every alarm bell inside me blared at full volume.

This is bad.

She was overestimating me. No, was she actually onto something? My “infinite magical power.” What if what she wanted wasn’t my “knowledge,” but the “power” I was desperately hiding? If I got involved in something like that, my life would be over. Either as a test subject, or something even worse… A tool. I gently but firmly removed her hand, putting my will to refuse into the motion.

“…You’re overestimating me.”

I said it coldly.

“There’s nothing I can do.”

“W-what…?”

“I’m just the only son of a fallen noble family. I have no magical power, no authority. All I have is a bit of oversized knowledge.”

I piled words on top of words, as if convincing myself.

“Change your fate? Something that grand is beyond me. …I don’t have that kind of power.”

I have no power.

I had to say it. If I nodded here, I’d be dragged into the spotlight as someone with power. That was what I feared most.

“You’re expecting too much, Your Highness. I’m not the hero you want.”

I closed the book and started to stand. I had to run. I couldn’t let myself be swept up any further in her heat.

“…That’s not true!”

Lilianna stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

“I’m not looking for a hero! I don’t care about magical power!”

“…!”

“What I want is your ‘perspective’! The way you calmly dissect things everyone gives up on as ‘common sense’—as physical phenomena, as rejection reactions—that unique weapon of yours is what I want!”

She was desperate and not once did she try to expose my lie. She needed me, not my power, but me as a person.

“…What’s in it for me?”

I asked in a trembling voice. I hated how weak I was for not being able to reject her outright. Seeing me hesitate, she smiled slightly mischievously… Yet sincerely.

“I will protect your ‘peace’ with everything I have. …Whatever you fear, whatever you want to hide… I promise to protect it all with my authority.”

…My heart skipped a beat. She knew. She knew I was hiding something. And instead of saying she’d expose it, she said she’d protect it. This wasn’t a threat. It was the offer of the strongest possible shield.

“And besides… You haven’t finished reading the forbidden books in this underground archive yet, have you?”

…A painful blow.

“And besides… I’ll also make sure you get delicious meals every day.”

I lost all strength and sank back into my chair. At this point, she was trying to feed me, of all things. Still, her proposal wasn’t something I could ignore. Wasn’t it safer, in the end, to hide my secret under the protection of a “co-conspirator” like her, rather than trembling alone?

…One year, huh.

My promise to my father was to “graduate quietly with excellent grades.” Getting involved with a princess would hardly be quiet. And yet… Something inside me screamed that I didn’t want to let go of her hand.

“…Alright.”

I answered with a sigh.

“But I have conditions.”

“…What are they?”

“Protect my ‘peace.’ …And don’t pull another ‘unannounced absence’ like yesterday. …At least think about how it feels to be the one waiting.”

The moment I said that last part, I regretted it. What a pathetic thing to say. But her face lit up, and she smiled as if flowers had bloomed in the underground archive.

“…Yes! I promise, Alto-sensei!”

In the dim underground archive, the princess and I entered into a strange, one-year–limited “contract.” The secret circumstances she carried, her “bet” with the king, were still something I didn’t yet know at the time.

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