I Just Wanted to Call Off the Arranged Marriage With the Princess—Someone I Could Never Possibly Be a Match For—But for Some Reason, She Took a Liking to Me and Is Now Closing in on Me
In the salon within the mansion, my mother and Her Royal Highness the Princess are engaged in lively conversation.
“Was Lucian a bit of a rascal when he was little?”
“Oh yes, he used to run all over the place. He hasn’t changed much even now, though. I wish he’d settle down a bit more.”
If that were all, I probably wouldn’t have thought much of it, but since the person speaking is Her Royal Highness the Princess—who hopes to be engaged to me—it strikes me, as the person involved, as a rather complicated scene.
I feel like the moat is being filled in at an incredible speed. The pace is like a river swelling during a downpour. I can’t help but feel it’s only a matter of time before it overflows.
It’d be nice if there weren’t any mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues! I wish I could crack a joke like that, but I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for it. Just watching them makes my heart race and leaves me feeling restless.
Suddenly, Her Royal Highness the Princess looked up.
“Lucian.”
“……Good morning.”
Even though I’d properly greeted her, my mother’s scolding came flying at me from the side.
“It’s almost noon—what do you mean, ‘good morning’? You should get up earlier.”
“But I was tired.”
“‘But’ is no excuse.”
Morning… or rather, I’m already exhausted from getting a lecture this early in the day. And with Her Royal Highness the Princess watching with such amusement, I’m mortified.
There’s probably nothing I’d rather not have seen than a typical mother-son exchange.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Huh? Are you leaving already?”
The moment I arrived, Mother stood up.
As soon as I spoke, she shot me a piercing look, as if to reprimand me.
“It’s not ‘already.’ I finished my business ages ago and was just waiting for you. Make sure you keep Princess Iris company properly.”
“Yees”
When I replied casually like that, she gave me a sharp tap on the head as she walked past. Realizing my attitude had probably been a bit too bad, I sat down in the spot where Mother had been sitting.
The Princess narrowed her eyes as if watching something amusing.
“I showed you a boring side of things, didn’t I?”
“Not at all.”
Her Highness the Princess shook her head slightly from side to side.
“It felt like a mother and son, and I thought, ‘They really seem like a family.’”
“Isn’t that normal?”
“It’s rare among the nobility, isn’t it?”
Maybe she’s right.
Sipping the fresh cup of tea the maid had just brewed for me, I let my thoughts wander to typical noble parent-child relationships.
“There’s actually a pretty clear hierarchy… maybe?”
“Right?”
“But isn’t that the case in Your Highness’s family too?”
“No way.”
She gave a wry smile and flatly denied it.
“If you’re talking about His Majesty, that’s just a pose. He does it because he knows people like him better when he acts approachable. When it’s just family, he’s strict.”
“Huh, I can’t really picture that.”
“Because he’s His Majesty.”
The fact that she doesn’t call him “Father” might be due to that kind of boundary. If that’s the case, then perhaps our family really does have a relationship that’s unusual for nobility.
A sense of family that’s free from calculations of gain and loss…
“But right now, I’m about to be sold off to that family, aren’t I?”
“Ahaha!”
She seemed to find that amusing.
The princess, who was the buyer, covered her mouth and laughed. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I suppose this fulfills Mother’s order to “entertain Her Highness the Princess.” I’ll just have to accept that.
I let out a sigh and reached for the remaining pastries, but my nose was suddenly flicked with a finger.
“Huh? Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s name.”
name?
“……Iris?”
“Mm.”
It seems I got it right. She nodded with satisfaction.
I suppose “Your Highness” would be fine, but Iris seems dissatisfied with it. During the matchmaking meeting, she mentioned something about hating stiff, formal speech, so maybe she doesn’t like being treated like a princess either.
“Either way is fine,” I say, popping a pastry into my mouth. Hmm, sweet.
“Here, take this.”
“……Here comes a document that doesn’t seem to fit a tea party.”
“I’m just glad you’re happy.”
“Which face was I looking at?”
“This one.”
And with that, she pressed her nose against mine. Does this princess want to turn me into a pig?
It’s annoying having her flutter her nose in front of my face like that, so I reluctantly wiped my hands on the tablecloth and took it.
A single sheet of parchment.
I’d been harboring a slight anxiety that she might say something like “official engagement documents,” but apparently that wasn’t the case. Still, my brows furrowed as I looked at the contents.
“……An enrollment form?”
What’s more, my name was signed on it. Still frowning, I looked up to see Iris, her elbows propped on the table, moving her bud-like lips as she spoke.
“Let’s go together, to the academy.”