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… - 3

Chapter 3: The Princess’s Ten Years, and the Preparation for Reunion

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

(Lilianna’s POV)

In the Royal Academy’s salon reserved for royalty. By the window there, I—Lilianna von Arclight—had already been gazing outside for a full hour. Today was the day the new students arrived in the royal capital and moved into the academy dormitories.

“Well, Your Highness. You seem especially restless today.”

A maid said with an amused smile as she carried over some tea.

“……Yes, I suppose so. There’s something I’m looking forward to.”

I replied while gently clutching the locket pendant at my chest. There was nothing inside it. I merely had prepared this pendant myself as a reminder of that promise, the secret promise I had exchanged with him that day. 

Alto……

Ten years ago. During an inspection of our territory, I slipped away from my attendants and entered the forest, only to be caught in a rockslide from a cliff. My arm was broken, my legs were covered in blood. At six years old, all I could do was cry and scream in terror of death. That was when he appeared.

“(Heal).”

He was a strange boy. Holy magic was something men were never supposed to be able to use. That warm light kept my life tethered to this world.

“This is a secret just between you and me…Okay?”

That serious gaze, unbelievable for a six-year-old. More than being saved, my heart raced at the thought of sharing a “secret” with him alone. And so, I made a vow.

“…Thank you. I want to be your bride someday!”

From that day on, my “fate” was decided. Not choosing someone for the sake of the country as a princess, but repaying my debt to that boy, Alto von Kirschwasser, and protecting him for the rest of my life.

From that very day ten years ago, the House of Kirschwasser fell into decline, tumbling downhill without stopping. His mother eloped with another man. His father was crushed by despair. The people of the Kirschwasser territory drifted away, until almost none remained.

I investigated all of it, using the power of the royal family. This time, it was my turn to help him. I clung to my father, bowed my head, and three years ago finally succeeded in granting land to the House of Kirschwasser. My father wore a troubled expression, saying that “my daughter has taken a strange interest in supporting a fallen noble house.”

And this year… I had completed every arrangement to have him, now sixteen, admitted to this Royal Academy by recommendation.

At last, I can meet him.

“…Princess Lilianna. What are you looking forward to so much?”

A smooth voice suddenly came from behind me. Turning around, I saw Leonardo von Falkenberg, the eldest son of a ducal house and one of my “potential fiancés,” standing there with a carefully manufactured smile.

“…It’s nothing at all. More importantly, shouldn’t you be focusing on your studies?”

“With Your Highness here, I can’t bring myself to concentrate on studying.”

…Men like this filled the academy. Peacocks parading sweet words, all vying to be chosen by the rare “woman” that was me. This academy was an “auction hall.” A place where women “appraised” outstanding men. If Alto were to be taken by another woman…

…That, I would absolutely never forgive. That was why I had summoned him to this academy in order to “secure” him before he caught the eyes of other women.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

I said, ignoring Leonardo as I whispered to the maid.

“When Alto von Kirschwasser-sama arrives, notify me immediately. Before anyone else.”

Alto…… Would he remember me, I wonder?

Ten years had passed. What did he think now of those words—“I want to be your bride”—from back then? While dreaming of our reunion ten years in the making, I continued to gaze restlessly out the window.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー