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… - 46

Chapter 46: A Confession from the Depths, the Promise We Made in the Forest

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(Alto’s POV)

It was dark. It was cold. I was within the sensation of everything dissolving. I had no feeling in my limbs. My memories were crumbling like sand.

Ah, so this is what it means to “disappear.”

Even my memories, even my regret, were fading. There was nothing left. Was everything really going to end like this!?

『Alto.』

Suddenly, I heard a gentle voice. A beloved sound that shook my soul directly. I opened my heavy eyelids. This was not a sterile server room. It was a beautiful garden, white flowers blooming everywhere. The sky was blue, and a gentle breeze was blowing. And within the sea of flowers, she was standing there.

“…Lilianna?”

She stood quietly, wearing not her usual hospital gown, but a pure white dress. Her translucent silver hair shimmered in the light. But in her amethyst-colored eyes, large tears had pooled.

“Alto… I’ve wanted to see you.”

“Where is this…?”

“This is inside your heart. …At the moment your life was about to fade, my soul called out and stopped you.”

Lilianna smiled sadly and stepped closer. I tried to reach out, but I realized my body had become semi-transparent. My disappearance was progressing.

“I’m sorry, Alto. …There’s something I’ve been hiding from you for a long time.”

Placing a hand over her chest, Lilianna began speaking in a trembling voice.

“I… I knew. From the very beginning.”

“Eh…?”

“Long before the day you entered the academy… I already knew who you were.”

She stared straight into my eyes. That gaze pried open the doors of my memory.

“Do you remember? Ten years ago, in that deep forest, the girl who was gravely injured and near death…”

I gasped. That day, buried deep in my memories. When I was six years old, I was still training in the forest. Deep among the trees, I found a girl covered in blood, collapsed after being attacked by a monster.

The memory returned vividly.

『(Heal)』

A holy spell that men were never supposed to be able to use. My infinite magical power became a faint light and enveloped her. Shattered bones reconnected, spilled blood stopped flowing, and fatal wounds vanished without a trace. The girl, not understanding what had happened, simply cried and stared at me. Flustered, I pressed my index finger to my lips and spoke quietly.

“Listen. What just happened is a secret. You can’t tell anyone. Not even your parents.”

Even as a six-year-old, I was desperate. If it was discovered that a boy could use healing magic, I believed I’d be turned into a test subject or disposed of as a heretic.

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

The girl wiped her tears, nodded desperately and then, looking straight at me, said this.

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

She was a strange child. Was that really something to say right after being forced to keep a life-or-death secret? Her torn clothing was of fine quality, clearly marking her as a noble’s daughter. Wanting nothing to do with her, I replied curtly.

“You don’t need to say things like that.”

Yes. That girl.

“That girl back then… That strange girl… That was you?”

Lilianna nodded deeply as tears streamed down her face.

“Yes. …Even as my consciousness faded, I never once forgot the warmth of the magic you cast on me.”

She clasped her hands in front of her chest.

“A boy who saved me from the brink of death with magic that men should never be able to use. …From that day on, you were always in my heart, never leaving for even a moment.”

“All this time…?”

“Yes. Even when you said you ‘didn’t need it,’ I couldn’t give up. After returning to the royal palace, all I wanted was to see you again. But with your status, you could never attend the academy.”

Lilianna looked straight at me.

“So I lied to my father, His Majesty the King. I told him there was an exceptionally talented fallen noble in the frontier. I hid the truth about magic, appealed to your swordsmanship, knowledge, and talent, and desperately convinced him to admit you to the academy under a special recommendation.”

“W–What!?”

My admission to the academy hadn’t been a coincidence. I thought it was because my abilities were recognized, but behind it all had been her guidance.

“Our statuses were different. I was already engaged. …I wasn’t allowed to tell you I loved you. So I brought you close as merely an ‘excellent student,’ just so I could be near you.”

Lilianna lowered her head, her voice shaking.

“I’m a selfish woman, aren’t I? I moved your life on my own, guided by nothing but my childish love… But I had no other choice. That’s how much I loved you.”

Unbelievable. I thought I had been toyed with by fate. But that wasn’t it. My path had been carved open by her earnest love. In a world where men couldn’t use magic, she still kept that “secret,” and found me.

“…You’re an idiot, you know that?”

I touched her cheek with my semi-transparent hand.

“You weren’t selfish at all. …Thanks to you, I got to meet you again.”

“Alto…”

“I’m sorry for saying ‘I don’t need it.’ …Because you called for me, I’m here now. Thank you for finding me.”

Lilianna collapsed into my chest as if breaking down. Warm. Her body heat made my fading outline grow clearer.

“I love you, Alto. …Please, don’t disappear.”

Her pure feelings reached the depths of my soul. At that moment… An inorganic noise I had never heard before echoed through my mind.

『Flag achieved. Biological authentication by protected subject ‘Lilianna’ confirmed.』

『…Compatibility 100%. Initiating final freeze program will now be deactivated.』

…What is this voice?

It wasn’t the Demon King’s voice. It was colder, more mechanical. An eerie sensation, like strings of text being forcibly listed inside my head, independent of my will.

『Awakening of time jumper ‘Alto’ approved.』

『Counter-code to administrator authority deployed.』

“None of this… Makes any sense…”

I couldn’t understand a single thing. Time jumper? Counter-code? I was just a reincarnator. None of it made sense. But logic didn’t matter anymore. Only one thing did. At this very moment, from deep within my body, a ridiculous power that felt like it could twist the very laws of the world itself was overflowing.

“Alto…? Your body is glowing…”

“…Yeah. I don’t really get it either, but power’s welling up.”

I pulled Lilianna tightly into my arms with the hands that had regained substance. There was no hesitation anymore. I didn’t understand the logic, but with this power, I might be able to defeat the Demon King.

“Thank you, Lilianna. Thanks to you, I came back. Wait for me. I’m going to defeat the Demon King.”

I leaned closer to her forehead.

“I love you. …Status and fate don’t matter. Things will be hard from here on, but I’ll make you happy. I swear it.”

Lilianna’s smile melted into the light. At the same time, my consciousness surged sharply back into reality.

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