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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Fiancée
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Lellia wanted to spend at least her mealtimes away from the boys.
So that day, having woken up early on her own, she hurriedly washed up and headed for the dining hall.
“Hmphm.”
Shaking off the pests who had been clinging to her for days put her in such a good mood that she even started to hum.
Lellia entered the dining hall and sat at an empty table. Despite the early hour, a few other children were already eating.
After she sat and waited for a moment, a servant soon brought her meal.
It was a fresh salad with blanched beef, warm bread, and a savory soup brimming with mushrooms, vegetables, and chunks of meat.
*If I had my way, I’d never go back. I’d live here forever.*
Being served three square meals a day was the best. What’s more, they were perfectly balanced for nutrition.
A light breakfast, a hearty lunch, and a splendid dinner.
Plus, you could come and get more food whenever you wanted. Eating five meals a day wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
*I have to eat as much as I can here and get healthy.*
She hadn’t eaten much as a child, so she had to eat well now to grow. Once she returned, she wouldn’t be able to eat properly again.
Lellia began to eat heartily, and thanks to her focus on the food, she didn’t notice the stares from the other children.
“That’s her.”
“I heard they call her their boss?”
“They say she’s the Crown Prince of Auraria.”
“So cool…”
A group of girls whispered as they watched Lellia.
Then, just as Lellia had finished her meal and was having the dessert and drink a servant had brought, it happened.
“Hello?”
“……”
Startled, Lellia turned her head.
A pretty girl was sitting in the seat next to Lellia, smiling.
*She’s pretty.*
Lellia thought to herself before returning the greeting.
“Hi.”
“…You’re the Crown Prince of the Aurarian Empire, right?”
“…Um. Yeah.”
Lellia tensed for a moment.
*Could she be a noble from the Aurarian Empire?*
When the temple had gathered the young royals in the neutral zone, they had calculated the average age of the children from each nation. Then, they had requested that children from the most common age group be sent.
The Emperor of Auraria had screamed his head off when he realized his son’s age was a perfect match.
“Those bastards at the Creutz Temple! Those goddamn sons of bitches!”
But after it was decided that Lellia would be sent, he became very calm.
Having regained his senses, the emperor reviewed the list of nobles’ children to be sent with Lellia. First, any child who had seen the real crown prince’s face could not be sent.
Fortunately, he had been overprotective, keeping the prince by his side since he was young, so not many children knew his son’s face.
The emperor had carefully selected only the children of the lowest-ranking nobles to send with Lellia.
Even knowing this, Lellia avoided the girl’s gaze, just in case.
She didn’t want to show her face too clearly.
*Still, the crown prince and I have similar hair and eye colors…*
It probably wouldn’t become a major issue later.
Besides, if she just stayed safe here and returned, the current emperor and crown prince would be dead anyway.
“I’m from the Nicean Empire. My father is Count Cherdes.”
“Oh, really?”
Realizing the girl wasn’t from Auraria, Lellia’s face brightened as she looked at her again.
When Lellia gave her a radiant smile, the girl’s face flushed for a moment.
“Uh… um. I just wanted to be friends with you. You’re usually only with those boys.”
“Ah, those guys?”
“Yeah… they all call you their boss, don’t they?”
“Well, that’s just…”
Lellia shrugged nonchalantly as if it were nothing. For some reason, she felt like a cool guy…
*Even if I am just a grade schooler.*
Lellia felt a little pathetic for her momentary pride, but she didn’t let it show and smiled at the girl.
She didn’t care about the four boys she had taken as her subordinates, but she wanted to manage her image with the other children.
An image that was a little gentle, yet serious and righteous?
“Um, but.”
“Yes? If you have a question, feel free to ask anything.”
“Hasn’t Sir Griffith ever mentioned me?”
“Huh?”
“Well… you see, Sir Griffith is my fiancé.”
“……”
Ah. So that’s what this was about?
Lellia thought for a moment before speaking.
“I don’t really have deep conversations with him. I don’t really… dine with my subordinates.”
“I see…”
Just then, the large doors of the dining hall burst open.
“Boss!”
She could see Calix approaching from a distance, waving his hand. And the other three boys were with him.
*They’re already up. The pests.*
“W-well, let’s talk again next time. Bye.”
The girl sitting next to Lellia jumped up in surprise, then got up and left.
The other girls who had been waiting for their turn to talk to her pouted in a corner.
“You brat! Why’d you leave by yourself! We were so worried when you weren’t in the room!”
Calix said as he came closer, slapping Lellia on the back.
*Make up your mind, either call me boss or call me a brat…*
The four boys sat down on either side of Lellia and across from her. It felt like she was being surrounded.
“Boss, who was that girl just now? Don’t tell me you’re trying to get a girlfriend?”
“……”
Romeo asked, raising an eyebrow, while the others fixed their gazes on Lellia.
“A giiirlfrieeend?”
Calix jeered, looking like he was about to burst out laughing.
“B-Boss… i-is it true? A-a girlfriend…?”
Oscar stammered, interrogating Lellia.
Lellia ignored the two of them, frowning as she glared at Griffith.
Griffith, perhaps because he already knew the girl’s identity, acted nonchalant.
*Look at this shameless brat.*
Lellia shrugged.
“Would it be a problem if she were my girlfriend? She’s none other than Prince Griffith’s fiancée.”
“Fiancée? You have a fiancée?”
Calix looked at Griffith with an expression that said, *You?*
“…Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a fiancée?”
Romeo asked in a tone of disbelief.
“I don’t.”
“…Really?”
Everyone looked surprised at Calix’s answer.
“I-I… d-don’t either…”
Even Oscar said the same.
*Only the ones hated by the emperor don't have fiancées.*
Lellia clicked her tongue inwardly.
Romeo’s bright blue pupils were shaking uncontrollably.
“You really don’t? Then what about you, Boss? You don’t have one either?”
“Huh?”
Uh… right. Did the crown prince have a fiancée?
*That emperor, who’s crazy about his son, would have probably picked one out already… But he’d be incredibly picky, so maybe not yet…*
The four of them stared at Lellia, waiting for her answer.
In the end, Lellia found a wise solution.
“Uh… I think I heard Dad talking about something similar. But since I’m so frail, he didn’t tell me beforehand so I wouldn’t worry. I probably have one? Or maybe not.”
It was the ‘I don’t know’ tactic.
At Lellia’s words, the four boys nodded as if that made sense.
“But you’re frail? You look a bit sickly, but you’re strong, aren’t you?”
Calix said, nudging her arm.
“…Hey, if the priest hadn’t healed me that day, my arm muscles would have been torn to shreds. If you asked me to carry you again, I couldn’t do it, not for the rest of my life.”
“Tch…”
“You should be grateful. Huh? How badly must I have wanted to save you to muster up that kind of superhuman strength?”
Calix clamped his mouth shut at Lellia’s words.
The five children present, including her, roughly knew what had happened that day.
At the very least, they knew that a wolf had appeared and that Lellia had carried Calix down the mountain.
However, only Lellia, Calix, and Griffith knew that the person who had summoned the wolf was connected to the Emperor of the Ascad Empire.
After that incident, Calix and Griffith had wondered how Lellia had known about it in advance.
Unable to tell the truth, Lellia had vaguely explained it away by saying she “sometimes has prophetic dreams.”
“Boss. You would have done that for me too if I was in danger, right?”
Romeo asked after a moment of thought.
“…Huh?”
At Lellia’s blank expression, Romeo got angry.
“Ha. Are you hesitating right now? I was the first one to become friends with you, Boss! Don’t you remember? Are you dense?”
“Ah, I remember! I know! Of course, I would have.”
Lellia answered, annoyed, and Romeo smiled as if to say, *That’s more like it.*
“B-Boss… then what about, what about me?”
“Oscar? For you, I’d carry you around every single day.”
*You’re smaller than me, so you’d be light.*
At Lellia’s answer, Oscar brought a fist to his mouth and giggled.
*So cute. Like a fairy.*
Lellia stroked Oscar’s silver hair. He was really like a little brother.
Come to think of it, she and Oscar had different eye colors, but they had similar silver hair. It wouldn’t be strange if they became sworn brothers.
On a sudden whim, Lellia said to Oscar.
“Oscar, now that I think about it, our hair color is so similar, people might think we’re brothers.”
“D-do you really think so?”
“Hah! Brothers? What a joke! You sure say things that could cause a storm of blood between our two nations.”
“Sometimes I just want to shut you up, Boss.”
Calix and Romeo chimed in.
Lellia scoffed with a *Hmph*.
Then she looked at Griffith, who had been silent all this time. He was the only one here who hadn’t asked, *You would have saved me too, right?*
It was obvious he was afraid of hearing her say no.
After all, though Griffith had been trailing Lellia with the others these past few days, he had been distant with her.
*How annoying…*
Watching the servants bring their meals from a distance, Lellia casually threw a comment at Griffith.
“Griffith, for the record, I would have done the same for you. At least you wouldn’t have cried and thrown a fit about being carried, unlike Calix.”
“Hey! Who cried and threw a fit!”
Ignoring Calix’s shriek, Griffith bit his lip hard.
“…I didn’t ask.”
He said, trying to sound tough, but Lellia acted as if she didn’t care.
Soon, the servants set their meals down on the table. Lellia got another one as well.
“Let’s eat, guys!”
Lellia exclaimed cheerfully, then nonchalantly began her second breakfast.
