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… - 4

Chapter 4: The Auction Hall and the Princess

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(Alto’s POV)

The journey to the Royal Capital took several days by shared carriage. I had long since eaten all the bread the villagers had given me, and toward the end I survived on nothing but preserved jerky. Carrying my father’s expectations and the villagers’ (slightly off-target) encouragement on my shoulders, I finally stood before the main gate of the Royal Academy.

…It was huge. That was my honest impression, as someone with memories of a past life. Was it a castle? No. If anything, it might have been flashier than the royal palace itself. The maintenance costs alone could probably buy a hundred territories like ours, belonging to a fallen noble family.

I straightened the collar of the clearly outdated uniform my father had given me—well cared for, at least. From the moment I stepped down from the carriage, the air was different. Dense, penetrating “appraising” gazes stabbed into my entire body.

This was the academy my father called “the pinnacle of knowledge.” But my memories from my “past life” described it with a different word.

…This place is an auction hall

As far as the eye could see, both men and women were dressed in the finest noble attire… Especially the men. They were desperately advertising themselves like peacocks. Men from the Knight Course flaunted their unnecessarily well-trained muscles. Men from the Magic Course lit small flames at their fingertips to show off their magical power. Men from the Civil Service Course, whose only asset was their looks, walked around surrounded by entourages. Every last one of them was desperate.

They were frantically appealing to the rare “princesses,” trying to prove how high-performance a “possession” they were. And the “women” who chose them… They folded their arms like judges, hid their mouths behind fans, and appraised the men.

“That gentleman is apparently a legitimate husband candidate from a ducal house.”

“Oh my, but his face… I prefer that knight over there.”

…This is the worst.

The scene flashed back in my mind, the moment my mother abandoned my father and ran off with that “handsome guy.” In this world, this kind of thing was deemed as the fire of“youth,” and “passion.”

I pulled my hood deeper over my head so no one would notice me. My goal wasn’t to join their ranks in a place like this. I would hurry to the dormitory and hole myself up in the library. Keeping close to the walls, I looked for the reception desk for new students. Fortunately, it seemed there were no eccentric people who would openly speak to someone like me, a fallen noble, and one admitted by recommendation at that.

“Let’s see… Alto von Kirschwasser, right?”

The man at reception glanced at my letter of recommendation and flipped through the paperwork with visible annoyance.

“Your room is over there. …The old dormitory, the very end.”

The key and map he handed me clearly pointed in the opposite direction from where the elite students were heading.

…This was exactly what I wanted. The old dormitory. Poor sunlight, rumored to be haunted, a dilapidated building. The place farthest from the powerful people’s “auction.” For me, it was the best seat imaginable.

Dragging my heavy luggage, I finally reached my room in the old dormitory. It was dusty and smelled of mold. But it was quiet. I tossed my only bag onto the bed and lined up several thick books on the desk—the symbols of “knowledge” my father had entrusted to me.

“…All right. First, cleaning, and—”

Just as I opened the window to let in some fresh air, I noticed something. The courtyard was strangely noisy. It wasn’t like the earlier “auction” though. This was a quieter, taut kind of heat.

I gently peered down into the courtyard through the gap in the window and there she was.

At the center of the academy. The greatest “featured item” of this auction house and its strongest “buyer.” A girl with platinum hair gleaming in the sun, attended by several followers. This girl was the first princess of this kingdom, Lilianna von Arclight.

Even from afar, it was obvious she stood at the apex of this academy’s “common sense.” Men devoted everything to be chosen by her. She held the right to “choose” all men. For some reason, the princess looked restless, glancing around repeatedly.

…Ah, I see.

She was appraising how valuable the new men were. I quietly closed the window. I drew the curtains, erasing her figure from my sight. I wanted nothing to do with her. My “secret” was something that absolutely must not be known, especially by her. For my father’s sake, and for my own, I would spend three years in this room, holding my breath and doing nothing but “studying.”

I swore that firmly to myself.

(Lilianna’s POV)

In the Royal Academy’s salon reserved for royalty. By the window, I—Lilianna von Arclight—returned my teacup to its saucer with irritation.

Clink. 

A hard sound echoed. It was the day the new students were arriving, and yet it was already past noon. In the courtyard, I could see the extravagantly dressed male newcomers desperately appealing toward the room where I stood.

How foolish.

I thought.

The men I desired were not among them.

“…Is he not here yet?”

At my mutter, a maid answered cautiously.

“He is a fallen noble, and admitted by recommendation from a remote region. There may be carriage delays. We can only ask that you wait a little longer…”

“I understand.”

I did understand. I had waited ten years already. There was no reason I couldn’t wait a few more hours. And yet, my heart refused to settle. Unconsciously, I gripped the locket pendant at my chest. The mysterious boy who had saved my life that day.

Alto…

When his father was granted territory three years ago, how overjoyed he had been. When I read that report, I was as happy as if it were my own matter. And then, the recommendation letter to this academy. All of it was not to bind him to me, but simply to repay my debt to him and to fulfill the vow we made that day.

“I want to be your bride someday!”

Even if he had forgotten me entirely, I didn’t mind.

I would be the one to protect him. In this academy that resembled an “auction hall,” I had to secure him myself before other hyena-like women could appraise him. That was why I had prepared everything perfectly. I had ordered the finest special room prepared for him in the new dormitory.

Once he arrived, he was to be guided immediately—“Alto von Kirschwasser-sama, by order of Her Highness the Princess, to the special suite.” With this, the other women shouldn’t dare make a careless move.

“…Your Highness. You seem quite restless.”

That familiar, cloying voice came from behind me. Turning around, as expected, I saw Leonard—one of my fiancé candidates—standing there with a fabricated smile.

“Good day, Duke-sama. I am merely observing the movements of the new students.”

“Oh? Your Highness personally? Then perhaps there is an exceptionally ‘fine specimen’ among them?”

What an irritating man. He might have sensed that I was giving Alto special consideration. Just as I was about to retort, the salon door was knocked, and the head maid entered in a fluster.

“Your Highness! We have a problem!”

“What is it? Such a commotion. …Don’t tell me, is it him?”

The head maid leaned close to my ear and whispered.

“Alto von Kirschwasser-sama has just been confirmed to have arrived.”

“Why!”

At last!

My heart leapt. This was the moment I had waited ten years for.

“Bring him here at once—no, escort him carefully to the special room in the new dormitory that I prepared!”

When I gave the order, the head maid somehow looked utterly troubled.

“Well…”

“What is it? Speak.”

“…Kirschwasser-sama, immediately after completing reception procedures… Uum…”

“…Um?”

“…He entered a room at the very end of the old dormitory.”

“…What?”

For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what I’d just heard. The old dormitory? That moldy, supposedly haunted, nearly condemned wreck?

“This must be a mistake! Move him to the new dormitory at once!”

I was speechless. All my preparations for welcoming him had completely missed the mark. Why had such an error occurred? It felt less like a simple mistake and more like something deliberately planned by someone else. Behind me, I heard the ducal man let out a snickering laugh.

“Oh? Were you waiting for someone, Your Highness? Perhaps a man you wished to meet?”

I glared at his sarcasm. If that was the case, there was only one thing left to do. Someone was maliciously interfering with our reunion.

“…I will go myself.”

“Your Highness!? You must not! A princess personally greeting someone—!”

Ignoring the maids’ attempts to stop me, I headed for the salon doors. I had waited ten years. There was no way I could endure waiting any longer.

Just wait, Alto.

The gears of our “destiny” had finally begun to turn today…

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