The Invincible Aloof Yandere Princess Falls in Love with Her Younger Court Mage's Fatherly Warmth! ~She Clung to Him So Much That the King Fired Him. When He Made Marriage His Official Reason for Resigning Under Royal Order, the Light Vanished from the Princess's Eyes~ - Volume 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Resignation and a Lie

He let out a sigh.

He could not hold back the sigh. He never thought things would turn out like this.

He walked through the palace toward the princess’s office and sighed once more in his mind.

He had been appointed the youngest court mage ever at sixteen, and only six months later, he was already about to lose the job.

His Majesty had looked at him with clear dislike. From the king’s point of view, he was just some suspicious nobody getting close to his extremely capable only daughter.

Even though the king himself had ordered him to serve as her magic tutor, neither the king nor he had expected the princess to grow so attached to him.

“Well, getting fired is getting fired. Nothing I can do about it.”

He muttered that, and his heart felt a little lighter. He did not care much about appearances, and he was not worried about finding another job. It sounded like they would give him a generous severance package, too.

It was a shame that the good relationships he had finally started building would all reset, but he had no strong reason to cling to them.

“So the only problem left is that I have to give the princess a fake reason.”

The king was a parent, too. He clearly did not want the princess to know he had fired him and end up hating him for it. Maybe he worried that if the princess—who at eighteen was already deeply involved in state affairs—turned against him, his own position might become shaky.

Still, having to lie felt wrong.

“But if it’s a royal order, I can’t exactly refuse.”

If he ignored it, he could be charged with a crime in the worst case. There was nothing he could do about that either.

While he was lost in those thoughts, he arrived at the princess’s office.

He sighed again. He had spent all that time coming up with excuses, but in the end, as long as he had a decent reason, he had no real resistance to going along with it—he really was a person without much backbone. His teacher had pointed that out, and he did want to fix it.

Oh well. This time, at least, it was not something he could change with his own will. He would just get the unpleasant part over with quickly and move on to the next chapter of his life.

With that decided, he knocked on the door.

“Excuse me. It’s me, Albert. Do you have a moment, princess?”

Almost instantly, without any pause,

“Come in.”

He accepted the permission and entered without hesitation.

“Pardon the intrusion… Whoa! Princess?”

“Gotcha. Were you surprised, Albert?”

“Of course I’m surprised when you suddenly pop up right in front of me like that, princess.”

Her long silver hair gleamed, and her cool beauty stood out. The princess who usually looked bored in every situation and coldly scanned her surroundings with disdain was now standing just behind the door, wearing a playful yet slightly shy smile.

He smiled back without thinking and said,

“I didn’t hear a sound. How did you do that?”

“Magic. I floated just a little and moved.”

“Even so, I didn’t sense the usual magical power that comes with casting. You’re putting my lessons into practice perfectly.”

“Yes. I decided I would keep practicing anything Albert tells me until I can do it without fail.”

That really makes me happy.

This particular technique is not popular with the other mages. They say there is no problem if a little magical power leaks out during casting.

But leaked magical power can reveal all kinds of information, like what spell was used.

“Albert.”

“…Hm? What is it?”

“If I did it so well that even Albert couldn’t notice, then I want my usual reward.”

She looked straight at him, her cheeks turning a little pink with embarrassment.

No one who calls her the cool beauty would ever imagine her saying something like this. The king probably fired him because he hated seeing this side of her.

But since he was already getting fired anyway, there was no need to hold back.

“Then, could you lower your head a bit, princess?”

“…Okay.”

It was the role-play she wanted, so he deliberately changed the way he spoke. Since she was almost the same height as him, lowering her head made it easier for his hand to reach.

A commoner from a farming village like him treating a princess of the realm this way would normally be terrifying, but he was used to it by now.

He gently reached toward her glossy hair that seemed to bounce the light and—

“Good girl. You worked so hard even though you’re busy. I’m proud of you as your teacher, Killriera.”

“Nn… Yes, I worked hard. I finished my work quickly so that at night, in my room, all alone—”

“Oh? You really are studious. Killriera has talent and still works this hard.”

“Yes. I wanted you to praise me… Nn.”

He kept stroking and stroking.

It felt smooth and wonderful to touch. He could not see her face, but he could tell somehow that the princess felt good too.

“Ah… slurp.”

She just drooled a little. He would pretend he did not notice.

All right, that should be enough.

“Okay… there. That’s it!”

“…Already over? Isn’t that too soon?”

“It’s not too soon. Other people might come by, so please be happy with this much.”

“Mmm, fine…”

He gave a soft, wry smile. She really was such a spoiled girl—so different from her usual self. Thinking that this might be the last time he saw this side of her did make him feel a little sad.

But this was a royal order. As someone who served the nation, he could not refuse.

With that in mind,

“So, Albert,”

The princess fixed her tousled hair with her fingers and started the topic for him.

“What did you come here for today? Our magic lesson is supposed to be tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. Today is something else. I have a report to make.”

“A report? What is it? Oh, then sit down. I’ll pour some tea.”

She turned to head toward the cabinet.

He stopped her.

“It’s all right, princess. I won’t take much of your time today. It will be quick.”

“Really? You don’t have to hold back. Then shall we just talk standing?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

She probably had no idea that this would be their last conversation.

Feeling a slight pang of guilt, yet carrying the weight of the royal command,

he told her.

“Effective today, I am resigning from my position as court mage. I am getting married to a woman who lives in another city.”

“……………… ———… Huh?”