Chapter 1: Reincarnated in a World of Inverted Beauty Standards

Cocolette

I, Cocolette Blossom, recalled the memories of my previous life when I was ten years old.

As I cried out from the deliriously high fever I suffered due to an illness I had contracted during an epidemic, a thought occurred to me—a desperate desire surged up from the depths of my soul: I can’t die like this! I wanted to marry an actual bishonen—a true hottie—this time around!

That wish cracked open the lid of memories from my previous life—where not once had I had a proper experience with love.

The me from my previous life had been a self-shipper; I had adored shojo manga, dating games, and romance novels in which I could imagine myself as the cute leading ladies and fantasize about being loved by their handsome heroes. During my student days, I had devoted my part-time job earnings to my favorite characters, and even after becoming a working adult, my salary had evaporated in the face of microtransactions. The money I’d poured into my beloveds should have been spent on going to parties or something—I could have met more people offline and found a special someone. However, I had become captive to the two-dimensional worlds where I could easily savor pseudoromances without being hurt.

That’s why this time around, I just had to get a gorgeous 3D man to fall for me!

My father later told me that on that night—the night I recalled my previous life—the doctor said I’d passed through the worst of the illness. It made me glad that on the inside, I was so terribly shallow. I think that the fervent oath I made became my reason for living. My thirst for heartthrobs had somehow saved me from bidding this world an eternal farewell.

▽

The me who had clung to life to catch my own dreamboat lived in a country similar to one from medieval Europe—the Kingdom of Cheriotte. I was a marquis’s daughter, a title that had felt so natural to me that I hadn’t thought much of it before I remembered my past life. It was incredible, really. What’s more—and this had also been so normal to me that I’d paid it no mind—was that I was beautiful beyond compare.

Upon looking into a mirror for the first time after regaining the memories from my previous life, I’d seen a gorgeous girl reflected in the glass. She had light petal-pink hair that flowed in gentle waves, and large, bright, doll-like eyes; her irises glistened with a yellow-green hue that perfectly matched a peridot gem’s. Her eyelashes were long and heavy, her lips and cheeks rosy, and her skin as pale as porcelain. She looked like a spring pixie—a flower princess.

“This is me now...?” I’d asked myself in astonishment.

Of course, my father and the maids had always fawned over me with words like “My Coco is so adorable!” and “Miss Cocolette, our pixie princess!” but I had just thought they were just spoiling me. It seems I had been wrong.

“Thank you, God, for granting me life’s easy mode with these specs!” I’d cried out. “I’ll use them carefully to marry a beautiful man! I promise you that!”

My future’s so bright! I’ll be a gorgeous celeb for sure! ♡

That’s what I had believed when I was ten, but life didn’t go that smoothly.

▽

“Now, Coco, I’m off to work. Since you’re still recovering, I want you to go straight to bed and rest if you feel even the slightest bit ill.”

“Yes, father. Be well while you’re out,” I replied.

“I’ll try to finish work early,” he promised.

My father was the only family I had in this world. Apparently, my mother had fallen ill after giving birth to me and passed away soon after. All of her portraits remained hung in my father’s room; she had been beautiful beyond compare, and I wondered if I would be like her when I grew up.

It was quite a mystery to me how my father could have snagged my mother, gorgeous as she had been. He had a wonderful personality, but...

I was ruminating on these thoughts when one of the maids, Amaretti, suddenly said, “Miss Cocolette, you so do take after your father! The Blossom father and daughter do make such a beautiful pair!”

I paused. “Excuse me? ‘A beautiful pair’?”

“W-Well, yes!”

I could not understand what Amaretti’s comment meant. After all, my father’s face was highly reminiscent of an orc’s. Naturally he did not have any tusks, but his head was rotund; his nose and mouth were large; his thick, prominent eyebrows sat above sharply tapered eyes; and he had a large build. He looked just like an orc from a game in my old world. Were I to stumble upon him in the middle of the night without warning, I would be gripped with fear enough to burst into tears.

I could understand why she’d said that I took after my father; I had inherited my hair and eye color from him, after all. But to say we both looked beautiful? Was my father...handsome...?

No, I concluded after a moment. I just could not convince myself that my father was in any way good-looking. Perhaps Amaretti simply preferred men like him, and orc gentlemen were her perfect type?

I had been a self-shipper for a long time, so even if I totally didn’t get the appeal of another person’s faves, it was easy enough for me to keep interacting with that person without rocking the boat. After all, one person’s trash was another person’s treasure.

“Thank you, Amaretti,” I replied. “As his daughter, hearing you praise father pleases me.”

With that I let the conversation continue, and as it did I concluded that the matter of my father being handsome was settled.

Yet soon after that the maids fell into a discussion about my father. Apparently Amaretti wasn’t his only fan.

“Working for Marquis Blossom’s estate is truly the best. After all, I get to wait on such a handsome man and his beautiful daughter!” said one maid.

Another maid squealed with delight. “I waited on the master during mealtime. Lucky me!”

“I’m so jealous,” said another, dejected. “I hope my turn comes soon.”

Naturally, I was suspicious. How in the world had the orc aesthetic become so mainstream? With that question in mind, I headed to our estate’s library to read up on Cheriotte’s culture.

What I found confirmed that this world’s beauty standards were somewhat different to those from my previous life. For women, things were the same—I truly was an outstandingly gorgeous girl here. The trouble lay with men.

To my amazement, Cheriotte lauded orc-faced men as the handsomest in the kingdom! Men with tough, monsterlike faces were considered beautiful; faces like my father’s stood at the top of the hierarchy. If a man had delicate or graceful features—which, in my previous life, would have been considered gorgeous—they were considered unsightly.

Moreover, Cheriotte was so severe in its beauty standards that homely people (again, those who would have been stunningly beautiful bishonens in my old world) were discriminated against. Just ignoring them was seen as virtuous, but it appeared especially delicate ladies and the like would occasionally foam at the mouth and faint at the sight of one.

To think I had reincarnated into a world with reversed beauty standards only for men... Would I actually be able to marry a hottie—my kind of hottie—in a place like this?

▽

The year after I remembered my past life passed quickly. I spent that year polishing and refining my outward persona. To explain in a bit more detail, I perfectly mastered the education, etiquette, and dances expected from a noblewoman. I also devoted myself to charity work at the church, and earned immense recognition as “Cocolette, the kindhearted maiden.”

All of this was to lay the groundwork to marry a bishonen. They were hated in Cheriotte’s society, and I was well aware that they were treated unfairly. If I were to get close enough to one of them that I could cultivate a loving relationship for the sake of marriage, I would need to first establish my own position as an angelic noblewoman with compassion for all of mankind.

It felt unnatural as all hell.

Well, I was just betting on karma—if I did good deeds, maybe I’d be rewarded with meeting a superhot guy? Anyway, this was all for the sake of snagging one of my own. It was the reason I painstakingly made sure I was always nice to orc-faced men and never abused my authority nor acted haughty in any way. Since I had been a pretty quiet girl before remembering my past life, the typical “villainess regains her memories of her past life and does a complete one-eighty personality change, thus confusing everyone around her” sort of thing didn’t happen.

I had always been the type of self-shipper who’d dreamed I could transform myself into a cute heroine, so I got used to my good looks pretty quickly. But having unparalleled beauty was no excuse for me to just sit around and take it for granted—I had to desperately work to maintain it (well, my maid Amaretti maintained it for me). But no matter how cute a girl was, if she could only play at being innocent and helpless or was just blatantly selfish, she would soon fall from grace. The only way not to waste pretty privilege was to skillfully wield it like a weapon.

Because of all this, everyone mistook Cocolette Blossom for a young girl who shone beautifully both inside and out—just as I had planned.

And today, finally, came a chance for me to gleefully reap the rewards of the hard work I had put into my persona: The Cheriotte royal family was hosting a garden party at the palace.

Not once in the past year had I met a single bishonen to my tastes. It didn’t help that the average eleven-year-old marquis’s daughter had a pretty limited day-to-day routine. And it definitely didn’t help that all the men I had met (such as relatives or my father’s acquaintances) were mostly orc-faced. Even a mediocre-looking servant boy was only an occasional sighting.

That was why I had been just waiting for this chance to meet a lot of boys at the garden party. The sheer number that would be in attendance meant I was bound to strike it rich—there had to be one to my liking.

“Oh, you look so beautiful, Miss Cocolette! I had heard that this is the best time of year to see the royal palace’s rose garden, but you are sure to outshine all those flowers. Ah, my pixie princess!”

“Amaretti, could you please return from fantasy land?” I inquired.

My maid had helped me change into a pretty dress that truly made me look otherworldly. I wore makeup to even out my skin, inoffensively so—appropriate for an eleven-year-old girl. My rose-pink hair was beautifully styled and practically shone in the light. I was wearing matching jewelry, but even those gems paled in comparison to the pixie-like presence my whole body was radiating. Amaretti had done a good job, as always.

Amaretti let out a dreamy sigh. “My miss is sure to win the heart of the second prince.”

“The second prince?” I echoed, tilting my head. Shouldn’t she be talking about the crown prince?

My father had told me that the purpose of today’s garden party was to select marriage candidates for the crown prince and the second prince—three for each of them. His Highness the Crown Prince of Cheriotte had been born to the queen consort, who hailed from a Cheriotte duchy, while His Highness the Second Prince of Cheriotte was son to an imperial princess from a neighboring country who had become the king’s royal concubine. The brothers were only six months apart in age and were born within the same year as I was, apparently.

“Oh, Miss Cocolette, I shouldn’t burden your pure heart with such boorish subjects,” Amaretti said, trying to deflect my question.

“What is the matter?”

“Second Prince Orkhart is supposed to be incredibly handsome!” she blurted. “They say he’s wonderfully amiable and manly!”

In other words, an orc-face. I felt my interest in him vanish into thin air.

Yet on the outside, I smiled gently. “Then I look forward to meeting him.”

There was no point in fighting against the dominion orc-like men had over society here. Instead I’d focus on rejoicing in my tastes to the utmost, even if I held a minority opinion.

I would meet His Orc-Faced Highness, and then swiftly separate from him. I was unmatched in my beauty, after all—he would fall for me if I weren’t careful, and then I’d become one of his fiancée candidates, and then I wouldn’t be able to find a bishonen.

With that in mind, I left the room.

▽

My father and I headed to the royal palace in a horse-drawn carriage. From his seat opposite me he gave me a thoroughly sloven look. Were we in my old world he would immediately have been stopped and questioned by police, but here in the Kingdom of Cheriotte, however, his smile was considered beautiful and sweet.

“You remind me of when I first met Clarissa. You’ve gotten more and more beautiful every day, Coco.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Clarissa was my late mother. While Amaretti said that I took after my father, from his perspective, I looked like my mother. Good.

My father, being both orc-faced and of high society, was apparently a popular man. However, he remained devoted to my mother and had no plans to remarry. He was also extremely sweet to me, his only daughter, and raised me with lots of love. I adored him from the bottom of my heart.

“Today is your first visit to the royal palace, so I have no doubt that you’re nervous,” he went on, “but your manners are impeccable, Coco. Just be calm and all will go well. Enjoy yourself.”

“Come now, father. Is it really all right for you not to urge me to secure my spot as one of the princes’ marriage candidates?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Our house is a neutral party, and I want my only daughter to freely pick her husband. But since my Coco is quite the pixie princess, I think it’ll be inevitable that one of His Highnesses will ask for your hand. At the very least we will have marriage talks with several high-ranking Cheriotte nobles and foreign royalty.”

“Oh, my,” I said, then added in a terribly quiet whisper, “I’m terrified that will happen.”

“Coco, please, don’t worry about the matter of marriage candidates,” my father continued. “Relax, enjoy the delicious snacks, and make sure you thoroughly take in the beautiful gardens and their flowers.”

“Yes, father.”

As he tenderly patted my head, I envisioned how wonderful it would be if a flood of proposals came in from bishonen.

▽

My father saw me to the palace, and from there I headed alone to where the garden party was being held.

The palace gardens were flooded with young lords and ladies my age. A standing buffet had been organized, tall tables here and there throughout the garden. Even though all the potential fiancées and retainers were nobles—the families of counts or even higher born—the sheer number of people was still incredible. With this many guests here, perhaps I really could meet a pretty boy.

I cheerily entered the area. In the same moment, the boisterous garden fell quiet as people took notice of me and reacted in quite various ways. Young ladies gaped at my beauty, while red-faced boys gasped aloud; the staff, spellbound, stared at me. Even the knights did double takes.

Sorry I’m the most gorgeous girl you’ve ever seen.

I walked slowly among the shocked crowd, looking for a dreamboat. However, aside from a small handful of mediocre-looking boys, the crowd was packed with orcs as far as my eye could see. From time to time, I saw a few acquaintances and exchanged one or two words of pleasantries with them before plunging back into the crowd of brutes. Surely at the end of all these monsters I would find my treasure.

I searched for some time more, and then, someone called out, “Announcing Their Highnesses, Crown Prince Raphael and Second Prince Orkhart!”

Orkhart? What a dreadful name, I thought as I turned my gaze toward the princes’ grand entrance.

Two types of cries rang out from around the venue—high-pitched cheers aimed at the second prince, and also...screams of terror. I also heard a few gasps, as if several people had all fainted at the same time. What in the world was happening?

After a moment the throng of people had shifted so that I could finally see the cause of the jumbled uproar: the two princes. The first I laid eyes upon was most likely His Highness Prince Orkhart. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and he was several levels more orc-like than my father—all right, actually, he was definitely Prince Orkhart. He must have been the cause for all the sweet cheers.

My gaze moved toward the crown prince—and remained glued to the blond-haired, blue-eyed angel who stood in front of me.

What a babe!

His Highness Prince Raphael had bangs that hung low enough to hide his eyes, with the rest of his hair—kept slightly lower than his shoulders—tied into a low ponytail. As befit a crown prince, he wore a magnificent outfit that sparkled in the sunlight, yet the expression that slipped out now and then behind his curtain of hair was incredibly dark.

Most likely, Prince Raphael’s appearance was the cause of all the screams of terror. While he was super-duper my kind of guy, the others here didn’t find him favorable.

Any fainted maidens or otherwise unwell persons were taken out of the garden. The remaining young noble boys and girls were pale. There were so many upset children crying that my ears were starting to ache. Of course not a single person would utter even a word of criticism, let alone any kind of verbal abuse, at a member of the royal family, but every child under the age of ten found it impossible to keep their poker faces up.

In contrast, a large, boisterous crowd had gathered around the second prince, who was greeting people one after the other. Young girls spoke to him with sweet voices, while boys noisily approached his side. Those who happened to be near Prince Raphael slipped away from him, heading toward Prince Orkhart.

A couple of boys brushed past me, speaking in cold voices to each other.

“So that’s the crown prince.”

“He’s just like everyone said.”

The words did not directly wish His Highness Prince Raphael ill will, but their voices dripped with malice and scorn.

Gradually a strange emptiness had formed around the crown prince. He now stood all alone, as if suffering through some ordeal.

So this was how the kingdom treated bishonen. And this was how he was treated even with his status as the crown prince—with all its powerful lineage and inherent authority included—protecting him.

Anger bubbled up in my chest. He might’ve been ugly in this world, but in my old world, he would’ve been considered no less than an unimaginably pretty boy! And anyone who hurt a pretty boy’s feelings deserved to die a thousand deaths, darn it!

I slowly approached His Highness Raphael. I could see surprised looks from the corner of my eye, but I ignored them. I curtsied in front of the crown prince, who let out a loud, audible gasp.

Finally, after a strained silence, he said, “I am Crown Prince Raphael Cheriotte.” His voice—a beautiful soprano still light and delicate with youth—enamored me instantly. “Please lift your head and tell me your name.”

I looked up. “I am Cocolette, daughter of Marquis Blossom. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

I flashed a brilliant smile, which astonished Prince Raphael. Even the other people nearby looked enchanted.

Hee hee hee, say hello to my trump card, orc-world edition! ♡

In a matter of moments, I’d made up my mind—I had to make this wounded angel mine. He was the prince I was destined to be with. This was the first time I had ever felt true love, even taking my previous life into account.

Prince Raphael’s reaction was too pure for words. His face reddened, then immediately paled, and he remained silent, too overwhelmed to speak.

By all means, the crown prince should have had a queue of people lined up to greet him, but I was the only person in front of him. He also didn’t look keen on greeting any of the other young noble boys and girls here. I had an excellent excuse to stay there with him. Still, the situation was about as comfortable as sitting on a bed of thorns; leaving this area would be best. I’d have to sweet talk him out of here.

“Thank you very much for inviting me to today’s garden party,” I said. “I had heard that the palace gardens were extraordinarily beautiful, so I’ve been looking forward to coming.”

“I-Is that so?” Prince Raphael choked out after a moment.

“Isn’t now the best time of year to view the rose garden? I would very much love to see it.”

He paused. “Yes, of course. Please feel free to roam the gardens, Miss Blossom. Th-The rose garden is over, um, across that bridge, so please...”

Darn it, Prince Raphael! Take me there! Invite meeee!

I shouted at him in my head, but the crown prince wouldn’t even meet my eyes as we talked—instead, he kept stealing glances at me from behind his bangs. I was so impatient for him to offer that we view the gardens together that I wouldn’t have even cared if he dragged me away for a sudden love scene behind some bushes, but it seemed he had absolutely no intention of offering me his company.

So, I held out my hand to him, tilting my head and giving him a teary-eyed look with my glistening peridot eyes. “I have never been over there before, so I fear I will get lost. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me, Prince Raphael?”

Prince Raphael’s face turned just about as crimson as possible, his lip quivering. Finally, he managed to get out, “If you’ll have someone such as myself...” He timidly took my hand; just like his voice, his fingertips were trembling. “Let me guide you.”

“Ah, you’re so very kind, Prince Raphael! You have my gratitude. ♡”

When I shamelessly squeezed his hand back, I thought I noticed the prince’s curtained eyes glimmering wetly.

▽

The rose garden was overflowing with dozens of different kinds and colors of roses, all in full bloom and emanating a soft, sweet fragrance. Butterflies and honeybees drifted about from blossom to blossom, while wild birds twittered in the distance. Sunlight slipped through the trees, lighting on branches and leaves with its warmth. There were few people around—probably because most of the others were swarming the second prince—so it felt like, for this brief moment in time, we were in paradise.

While Prince Raphael and I walked through the rose garden, guards followed us at a distance for our protection. His Highness had kept his mouth completely shut the entire way, so I took it as a good excuse to fully enjoy his side profile up close.

Prince Raphael’s golden eyelashes were so long and full that I could just tell that they could even hold up a matchstick. Of course, since he was a pretty boy, even his fingers and the shape of his nails were lovely. Even his perfume was perfectly pleasant—truly, the scent of a real-life bishonen.

Though Prince Raphael’s behavior hinted at a low self-esteem, he had perfect posture, walked elegantly, and exuded a dignified aura befitting royalty. I just knew he was putting in lots of effort. ♡

I was in the middle of enjoying my dreamboat watching when Prince Raphael glanced my way. He locked eyes with me, then immediately turned red—so suddenly that I wouldn’t have been surprised if some kind of popping sound had come with it.

How in the world can one boy be this cute?! Is he an angel? Oh, he must be an angel! That it’s—I love him! I’m in love with him! Marry me!

Without giving away even a hint of how overworked my heart already was, I tried striking up a conversation with Prince Raphael to develop our friendship.

“What a truly splendid rose garden,” I said. “I’ve never seen so many different kinds of roses all at once before.”

He did not respond.

“Ah, look at that rose! Its petals are so strange. Prince Raphael, do you happen to know what type of rose it is?”

Once more, he did not reply.

“Prince Raphael?”

Finally, he responded, which relieved me—if only a little bit. “Miss Blossom...” He said, hesitating. With a backdrop of roses behind him, the crown prince was dazzlingly beautiful, as if he had been screenshotted right out of a dating game. “Do you...have any siblings? Perhaps...a little brother?”

“Hmm? A little brother?” The unexpected question surprised me, and I shook my head. Perhaps Prince Raphael meant to open up our conversation by bringing up family? He and the second prince did, after all, have different mothers. “No, I do not. I am an only child.”

He was silent for a moment, until haltingly, he said, “Is that so? Um, have you ever suffered from a grave illness?”

“Yes, I caught the sickness from that epidemic about a year ago,” I replied. Just where is he going with these questions?

Prince Raphael nodded, as if my reply had helped him come to some sort of understanding. Still, he looked uncomfortable as he said, “Miss Blossom, I believe your family has remained neutral for many long years...”

Even uncomfortable, he’s still so pretty... Wait! Focus, Cocolette!Has he actually been misunderstanding me this whole time?!

“The tax revenues from the Blossom territory have been stable for a long time, so Marquis Blossom should not have any debts,” Prince Raphael went on. “I have met him before; at the very least, I did not think that he was someone who would so actively involve himself in the power struggles of the royal palace.”

“No!” I protested. “No, father is the last person who would meddle in a power struggle! Prince Raphael, I must inquire—why would you ask such a thing?!”

Did Prince Raphael think that my father had ordered me to get close to him?! Did he think I only wanted to become queen consort for power?!

But he wasn’t totally wrong to have assumed so; among the nobility, political marriages were an unavoidable part of life. Perhaps my desire to marry a gorgeous pretty boy for love was not only ridiculous, but also a sure sign I was far from a proper noblewoman. But still, the only reason I had approached Prince Raphael was because he was my first love, and for him to misunderstand me hurt deeply.

After a moment, Prince Raphael muttered, “Can you not see how dreadfully ugly I am?”

“That’s not true, Your Highness,” I argued. “That’s not true at all!”

“No, there’s no need for flattery,” he countered. “I know what people say about me behind my back—that I’m the unsightly crown prince, a monster, the grotesque prince, and the second coming of King Schwarz. My servants are reluctant to touch me, and even my own mother regrets giving birth to me. You saw what happened just a short while ago, Miss Blossom—those young girls collapsed at the sight of me! And though there are many children from the queen consort’s faction here today, not one of them approached me. Only you, the daughter of a neutral party, did...”

While Prince Raphael had been escorting me through the rose garden I had placed my hand on his arm. He looked at it now. “Do you wish to become the next queen consort of the kingdom?” he asked. “If so...then so be it.”

“No, I—”

“I have never once dreamed that a girl would touch or smile at me.”

“Prince Raphael, I happen to find your appearance very desirable!” I insisted.

“Your comforting words warm my heart,” he replied.

The hopelessness Prince Raphael held was rooted too deep—he simply wouldn’t believe me. I supposed his personality was a natural product of how he had been treated.

But if things continued like this, he would never believe me if I confessed my love for him. We had only just met, so I wasn’t yet deserving of his trust, and besides, there was also so much that I did not know about him. Yet the thought of this misunderstanding wedged between us was miserable. How could I convey my feelings for him?

Even though Prince Raphael was the true victim here, I was just about ready to burst into tears.

“Miss Blossom?”

“I-I...” I didn’t know how to continue. My lip quivered, and all I could do was stare at Prince Raphael; seemingly embarrassed, he averted his gaze.

A bittersweet silence spread between us—

“Brother! Brother! I’m pretty sure he went this way!”

From my head came the immediate RPG-style notification: A blond Orc King has appeared in the rose garden! Upon closer inspection, though, it was just the second prince, accompanied by a young noble girl.

The arrival of a third party eased my stress just a little. I knew Prince Raphael and I were only delaying the inevitable, but there was no time now to clear things up.

While I sighed with relief, Prince Raphael visibly stiffened, his shoulders becoming rigid. Does he perhaps not like his half brother? Well, most would get a complex from constantly being around someone with such an impeccably orc-like face. Of course, I still thought Prince Raphael was a hundred times more the perfect dreamboat over the second prince.

The second prince approached Prince Raphael with a radiant smile—but when he noticed me next to him, his jaw dropped, flabbergasted. Immediately, hearts appeared in his eyes.

Shoot, he’s fallen for me at first sight. Being beautiful can be such an ordeal.

“B-Brother,” Prince Orkhart began hesitatingly, “who is this young miss?”

“Cocolette, the daughter of Marquis Blossom,” Prince Raphael explained. “Miss Blossom, this is my younger half brother, Orkhart.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Orkhart, Your Highness,” I said.

“Ah, yes... You too,” Prince Orkhart replied. “Feel free to call me Ork—so long as I can call you Coco in return.”

“Certainly, Lord Ork.”

Calling him “Ork” was certainly on the nose, wasn’t it? Anyway, the second prince certainly came on strong; Prince Raphael had yet to call me by a nickname. But, seeing my chance, I turned toward the crown prince.

“Prince Raphael, you are also more than welcome to call me Coco.”

Prince Raphael paused before finally replying, “Coco, you...you may call me Raph.”

“Of course, Prince Raph! ♡”

I beamed. With newfound permission to use a nickname for Prince Raph, I was slowly closing the distance between us and winning his trust. Eventually, he would believe in my love for him.

Next, Prince Ork introduced the girl at his side. “This is Miss Lunamaria Kleist; the Duke of Kleist is actually the premier duke.”

Miss Lunamaria was a beautiful girl with straight, silver-blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. She gave off a somewhat cold impression, but—being as shallow as I was—I took one look at her and was totally smitten. How precious! The cool and gorgeous types are so lovely!

Miss Lunamaria, seemingly trying to keep herself from turning pale and wrinkling her brow, turned to Prince Raph. She did not meet his gaze, instead keeping her eyes downward as she introduced herself. “Prince Raphael, Your Highness. Thank you for inviting me here today. It is an honor to meet you.”

Prince Raph’s expression was completely different than it had been when it had been just the two of us. He had quickly adopted a calm expression, quietly cast his eyes downward as well, and nodded. “Please enjoy yourself today, Miss Kleist.”

She paused for a moment before answering. “I shall.”

Prince Raph, clearly noticing how Miss Lunamaria was trying to restrain her disgust, seemed to be fully aware of just how sincere she really was.

Miss Lunamaria then turned her gaze toward me, her eyes somehow simultaneously blank yet passionate. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Cocolette. I have heard rumors about Marquis Blossom’s daughter, and I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to meet you.”

“Oh my, what an honor,” I replied politely. “I hope that I meet your expectations.”

By “rumors,” did she mean my get-married-to-a-dreamboat-quick scheme? The one which had led to me being known as “Cocolette Blossom, the kindhearted maiden”?

The one who voiced my questions for me was Prince Ork. “Luna, what do you mean by that? I want to know what people are saying.”

When Miss Lunamaria looked at Prince Ork, her cheeks reddened adorably. Though her persona seemed to be a distinctly emotionless one, it looked like when her feelings did make an appearance, they spilled out everywhere.

“I have heard that Miss Cocolette is an ardent contributor to orphanages and the church, and often volunteers her time to console the sick and injured. They say that she is kind to all, regardless of social status or appearance; some have taken to calling her the ‘angel of love.’ The ‘angel of love’ is so beautiful, they say, that Marquis Blossom apparently hides her away so none but those closest to him ever see her.”

I had absolutely no idea about this stupidly tacky “angel of love” moniker, I thought. Embarrassed, I pulled out a fan, unfolded it, and hid my face behind it.

Prince Raph looked at me from the side. “I see,” he murmured.

Prince Ork nodded in understanding. “Those rumors are true, then. I mean, it’s plain as day after looking at how you treat my brother. I, too, have never met a girl more beautiful in both mind and body than you.”

“Ah, you praise me far too much,” I protested weakly.

The situation had become unbearable. The feverish gaze Prince Ork fixed on me made me want to run for the hills. What was worse, Prince Raph was looking at his brother in shock, while right next to Prince Ork, Miss Lunamaria seemed all of a sudden quite lonely.

“Brother,” Prince Ork said fervently, “let me have a chance with her.”

“Orkhart...?” Prince Raph replied.

Prince Ork stiffened his expression as he looked back at his elder brother. “It appears Coco’s beauty has completely captured me. Please, let me have a moment alone with Coco so I may speak with her one-on-one. After all, the party today isn’t just about finding marriage candidates for you—we’re finding some for me too. So I have just as much right to court her as you do.”

“Wh-What are you saying, Orkhart?!” Prince Raph exclaimed.

Prince Raph glared sternly at his brother, Miss Lunamaria gasped in surprise, and my eyes became as blank as a dead fish’s.

What in the world willI I do if Prince Ork prevents Prince Raph from choosing me as his potential fiancée?

“You should try talking to Miss Luna at least a little bit too, brother,” Prince Ork went on. “Not only does the head of the Kleist hold the title of premier duke, but the family is politically aligned with the queen consort as well. I bet she’s going to push Luna in as one of your marriage candidates. Luna, did Duke Kleist tell you anything?”

It surprised me that she might have her family pressuring her in such a way—after all, no matter how you sliced it, Miss Lunamaria had a crush on Prince Ork. I watched as she cast her eyes down, expression visibly pained.

“That may be true,” I said slowly, “but I do believe you should consider Miss Kleist’s feelings.”

“If you say I should consider her feelings, then surely you should consider my feelings for you, Coco,” Prince Ork countered, offering his hand when he said my name. “Just until brother and Luna finish their conversation. Take my hand.”

I hesitated. There was no way I could stick my nose into the Kleist family’s business. “Yes,” I replied finally, giving up and taking Prince Ork’s hand.

I found myself so depressed that I couldn’t help but turn and give Prince Raph a pleading look. But he just watched us walk away, his face ashen.

▽

“You truly are beautiful, Coco—inside and out,” Prince Ork murmured to me in a ridiculously lovey-dovey voice—like, really ridiculously.

We sat side by side on a bench surrounded by roses. The prince’s golden hair sparkled in the sunlight and swayed in the early summer breeze, while his blue eyes twinkled like sapphires nestled in his silky skin. The color of his hair and eyes were the only visual similarities he shared with Prince Raph. While I was used to orc-like faces thanks to my father, Prince Ork’s ugly mug had so much destructive power that it was throwing me off my game.

“I’ve never seen a girl act so normally toward my brother before,” the prince went on.

I hesitated. “How, may I ask, is Prince Raph usually treated?”

“You probably wouldn’t get it, Coco, since you’re so kind,” Prince Ork said before launching into his brother’s lonely tale.

Though it was customary for the royal family to live within the royal palace, due to his ugliness, Prince Raph had instead been isolated in a villa on the grounds from a very young age. The king and queen consort had not raised him with an ounce of love, and even now, Prince Raph’s days were occupied only by acquiring the education required of the crown prince.

“Brother really doesn’t have any friends—only me and his milk brother, Ford. Father doesn’t really concern himself with me or brother, so in a sense, he’s quite neutral toward him. The problem is Her Majesty. She’s pride incarnate, and simply can’t stand that her son is ugly. But the fact is that she hasn’t had another child, so she’s desperately trying to solidify my brother’s place as crown prince even as she terrorizes him.” Prince Ork grimaced. “Brother and I are caught up in this dispute over who will inherit the kingdom, but I really do respect him a lot.”

“Yes, Prince Raph is a marvelous gentleman,” I agreed.

The second prince might have looked like the king of all orcs, but it seemed like on the inside he was a sensible man. He was pushy, yes, but he was thoughtful too, and seemed to love his brother quite a lot. My opinion of Lord Ork improved. My taste in boys might have been quite shallow, but even I knew you couldn’t judge a person based on their appearance alone. There were people like my father: wonderful, even while looking like an orc.

“Brother is a truly magnificent person,” Prince Ork went on. “Not once did he run from all the constant hateful, humiliating glares—he just learned how to be the crown prince. I’m no match for him in his knowledge of our culture or things like manners, fencing, and horseback riding. Brother’s a genius, but despite that, no one ever gives him his due recognition. Why does our country have to be so awful toward him?” Prince Ork let out a deep sigh. “It haunts me to think that, if I weren’t around, he might not have had to endure such cruelty.”

“If you weren’t around?” I echoed.

“My mother is the royal concubine; she’s the former imperial princess of a neighboring kingdom,” he explained. “The queen consort is from a Cheriotte duchy and doesn’t think that the crown prince should have imperial blood in his veins. So not only does she find my heritage irritating, but—have you seen me?” With a soft snort through his nose, Prince Ork smiled languidly. “I’m sorry to say, but I was born utterly gorgeous. I’m absolutely the worst person you could compare my hideous brother to.”

Since Prince Ork was an extremely handsome man in this world, there was nothing else I could do but smile awkwardly in response. Prince Ork—perhaps misunderstanding something from my expression—lit up.

“Ah, Coco—you must think such topics are vulgar, since you strongly believe that appearances are only skin deep. You smile so kindly at my brother, after all, while it appears that I don’t even tempt you!”

“Oh, you speak too highly of me,” I replied weakly.

“Brother already seems fascinated by you. I’m sure he’ll name you as one of his marriage candidates.”

Each prince was allowed to choose three potential fiancées. Upon selection, the girls would be educated at the royal palace in the duties of the future queen consort. Once they were eighteen, the princes would choose who would be their brides.

Apparently, the women who weren’t chosen were given hefty amounts of money as compensation and were able to marry whomever they wanted. There were many past incidents of these unchosen women marrying not just high-ranking nobles or royals from other countries, but also their commoner lovers. Moreover, the sheer fact that they had been candidates to marry into the royal family garnered prestige and raised their social standing.

I’d love it if Prince Raph chose me, I thought, grinning on the inside.

“My brother is precious to me, so were there ever someone who loved him, I have always vowed to support him,” Prince Ork went on. “However, Coco—I, too, have fallen madly for you.”

“Prince Ork...”

“I will list you as one of my marriage candidates.”

I desperately wanted him to give up on that idea, since I had no right to refuse a nomination from a member of the royal family. I was absolutely sure there were tons of other girls who wanted Prince Ork to choose them—like Miss Lunamaria!

Prince Ork took my hand and gave it a polite kiss. “I implore you, Coco.” His pleading voice was overly sweet, reverberating in the space between us. “Become my bride.”

▽

Afterward, Prince Ork and I returned to Prince Raph and Miss Lunamaria. The two stood at an odd distance apart; Miss Lunamaria, pale-faced, held a handkerchief to her lips, while Prince Raph’s face was stiff. As soon as they saw us, their expressions changed, as if both were silently saying, We’re saved! Being alone together seemed to have been tantamount to torture for them.

“Prince Raph!” I called, waving my hand, and the crown prince briskly walked over to me.

Miss Lunamaria, even as expressionless as she was, still had the eyes of a puppy spotting her owner as she returned to Prince Ork’s side.

Prince Raph held out a trembling hand, which I took tightly in mine. I looked at him with rapt attention, and at once his cheeks burst with color.

“Orkhart,” he said at last, “Miss Kleist appears tired. Please see to her needs. Miss Kleist, I apologize deeply for making you keep company with me.”

“No, think nothing of the sort,” Miss Lunamaria replied. “It is my frailty that is to blame.”

“Brother, Coco, what will you do?” Orkhart asked.

“We’ll walk for a little while longer,” Prince Raph replied. More hesitantly, he added, “Coco, there is a beautiful fountain ahead. Would you allow me to show you the way?”

“Yes, please!” I replied with a nod, beaming. I wanted nothing more than for him to sweep me away to a dazzling world where it was just us two.

“Brother!” Prince Ork spoke up firmly just as the two of us were about to leave. He then proclaimed boldly, “Brother, I intend to choose Coco as one of my marriage candidates. I truly love and respect you, but when it comes to matters of the heart—when it comes to winning Coco’s affections—I shall call you my rival.”

Wait a sec, Prince Ork—what the heck did you say just now?! The sudden declaration of rivalry left me flabbergasted.

Prince Raph and Miss Lunamaria were equally speechless. For a few moments, everyone was quiet.

Eventually, Prince Raph—looking pained—stared back at his brother and nodded. The corners of his lips curled as he spoke, while his eyes, heavy with emotion, darkened considerably. “I see. That’s just how you’ve always been, Orkhart.”

▽

A huge spray of water burst upward from the fountain, cooling the immediate area while sparkling a rainbow of colors. Prince Raph and I stood side by side in front of the fountain, watching the water ripple. The air between us was incredibly heavy, with Prince Ork’s recent declaration of rivalry still lingering.

“What sort of conversation did you have with Orkhart?” Prince Raph asked. His words were polite, but his voice was steeped in bitterness.

“Our discussion was entirely about you, Prince Raph,” I replied. “Prince Ork is quite concerned about you.”

“That’s just like him.” Prince Raph laughed cynically. “He spoke quite highly of me, didn’t he? He had the perfect opportunity to woo you, and still...”

“He had much to praise you for, Prince Raph.”

“Orkhart is upstanding. Overflowing with confidence, earnest, and never afraid to challenge himself. I have always been most envious of him.” He paused. “I detest him.”

“Prince Raph...”

“Sometimes, I wonder what he would have been like if he’d been born ugly like me,” Prince Raph continued. “It’s in my blood—every now and again, a prince like me is born. The last time was King Schwarz, three generations ago.” Prince Raph didn’t speak for a moment. “But even if Orkhart looked like me, he’d probably be as gallant as he is now. No matter how hard I may try, I can never match him...”

Prince Raph’s final words totally flustered me. Does he like me?

And since touching him didn’t seem to bother me at all, he might even be thinking that I was more than capable of producing him an heir. Additionally my social standing was no issue, since I was the daughter of a politically neutral marquis, so all in all I fulfilled every condition necessary to be his bride.

But what Prince Ork had shared with me made me think that Prince Raph knew far too little about love. He just couldn’t believe I had feelings for him. And then there was Prince Raph’s inferiority complex to consider. He might end up saying something akin to “Orkhart is a better match for Coco than I could ever be” and nix me completely as a marriage candidate. I absolutely did not want that to happen, but how could I convince him to choose me?

All the brooding made my head spin, but suddenly, Prince Raph knelt down in front of me.

“Despite all of this, my heart is set on my decision.” He paused. “Coco.”

“P-Prince Raph?!” I gasped.

“Today, since the moment I witnessed your smile, my whole being has become yours. I know full well, milady, that someone as hideous as I is entirely unsuitable for someone as beautiful as you. But despite that, I still have the power to summon you to my side. My authority as crown prince allows me to deprive other beautiful nobles, and Orkhart, of you.” Prince Raph held out a hand to me. “Coco, if you would do me the honor of becoming my candidate for marriage...I would ask your permission to place a kiss on your elegant hand.”

Y-Yes! Somehow Prince Raph’s going to make me one of his prospective fiancées!

It was incredibly kind of him to say that while he had the authority to do whatever he pleased, he would rather ask my permission to name me his potential bride. It seemed that the prince I fell in love with at first sight wasn’t only wonderful on the outside, but the inside as well.

I smiled broadly and laid my hand atop his. “I have been yours since the moment we met, Prince Raph.”

He hesitated. “It does not matter to me what your intentions are.”

Sure enough, he still couldn’t believe that I genuinely loved him.

Prince Raph gently pressed his soft, slightly wet lips to the back of my hand for just a moment, as if he were carefully handling a priceless treasure.

And just like that, I became his marriage candidate.

▽

A few days later, a letter from the royal family arrived. It read thus:

“Cocolette of the Blossom Marquisate is hereby a candidate for marriage to both Crown Prince Raphael Cheriotte and Second Prince Orkhart Cheriotte.”

Huh?

What did “both” mean? Since the crown prince chose me, shouldn’t that have automatically voided Prince Ork’s decision?!

My father and I, utterly confounded, read the letter again and again.

✛

Raphael

I could still vividly remember my past life.

“Former Crown Prince Raphael Cheriotte! Despite being a member of the royal family, you have shown yourself to be an unprecedented, heinous criminal—a collaborator with the underground organization from the slums who attacked the royal capital and attempted an insurrection against the crown. For your crimes you shall be decapitated!”

I had raised my head as I was dragged to the square in the front of the royal palace, where a guillotine had been placed. Its blade was already soaked with blood, pools of it on the ground, glistening with fat. The severed heads of Raymond, Douglas, and the others who had been executed before me were lined up on a crude pedestal made of scrap lumber. A mountain of bodies had been laid in the corner of the gallows.

This is the end of us, huh?

Miserable and helpless, I had looked up at my half brother. Orkhart, from his seat overlooking the guillotine, had gazed at me with pain clear on his face. But the moment our eyes locked, a dark emotion had swelled in me, and I clenched my teeth on it so hard my mouth bled.

“Brother!” he had shouted. “I truly respected you, as if we were fully blood brothers! But yet why... Why would you...?!”

“I’ve hated you for a long time, Orkhart!” I had snarled.

Detestable. Yes, Orkhart. You’re detestable. I detest the fact that even though I am far more talented than you, your good looks guaranteed people flocked to you—they loved you and treated you far more kindly than they did me. I detest that you stole even my status as crown prince from me. I can’t help but detest you.

Unlike me, you had just about everything. A kind mother, three potential brides who adored you, and promising retainers. After entering the academy, you claimed you had found true love with the daughter of a baron who had once been a commoner. You threw away your outstanding marriage candidates and made her your queen consort.

Ultimately, no one had ever loved me, hideous as I was, and my relationships with my marriage candidates had gone nowhere. Without a wife, I couldn’t produce an heir; in the end I had been forced to hand over my title as crown prince to Orkhart. I’d had no choice.

From that point on, revenge had become my sole reason for living. I’d had no idea what else to live for.

I’d done whatever it took to get payback on Orkhart and this world that gave license to treat ugly people like insects. I’d gathered those who, like myself, were unsightly, and launched a surprise attack on the capital in an attempt to overthrow the kingdom. But our group had been no match against the sheer number of knights the palace deployed, and my revenge had gone unfulfilled.

Orkhart had not spoken for a long moment. He was crying. “Farewell, brother. I pray you die swiftly...and do not suffer.” Then he’d raised a hand, signaling to the executioner.

Until my very last moment alive, until the blade of the guillotine had fallen on my defenseless, exposed neck, I had silently cursed Orkhart with all I had.

I detest you. I detest you. And...I’m jealous of you.

I, too, had just wanted to be loved. All I had wanted was for people to treat me kindly—to treat me like they had Orkhart.

If I could be reborn, I want someone—even just one person—to love me.

The moment the blade touched my neck, I had felt King Schwarz’s legacy, the Golden Cross, slip off my chest.

✛

And now I was reborn, but once again was the hideous crown prince, Raphael Cheriotte.

I had large, frighteningly wide eyes; a high, weak nose; and thin lips that held no vigor. My face was so ugly that I had simply accepted as fact that everyone would furrow their brows at the sight of me. Even my own mother and wet nurse both hated me; so many of the ladies-in-waiting at the palace foamed at the mouth and fainted at the sight of me that the detached villa where I lived only employed male attendants and servants.

My current life was virtually identical to my previous one, and I wondered if that meant that Orkhart would, as he had once before, steal the title of crown prince from me—all for my not being able to acquire a wife.

Indeed, I heard people in the palace speak here and there about their children with a mix of affection and political intent. They would say things like “I greatly pity whichever young lady marries that hideous crown prince,” “We’ll only be sacrificing one of our daughters in order to tie ourselves to the royal family; that will be no problem,” “I’d rather not subject my daughter to that...,” and “Political marriages are just part of being in the nobility.”

Why on earth had I been reborn and forced to start my life over as myself? I didn’t want anyone rubbing it in my face anymore that I was unlovable. Love—both familial and romantic—was some sort of far-off thing to me, like a wild fantasy.

...Yet even still, I wanted to be loved. I wanted to be accepted.

Just one person would do—if just one girl would smile at me, that would do.

✛

With the help of Ford, my milk brother and personal retainer, I had finished getting ready for the garden party. And today, just as always, I looked as monstrous as ever.

“It doesn’t matter what garments I wear as long as I have this face,” I said. “If anything, Ford, wouldn’t it be better if I wore a mask? Far fewer maidens would faint at the sight of me, and I’m certain the medical staff would welcome the respite from caring for them.”

“But this is a garden party, not a masquerade...” Ford replied sincerely, troubled. For the past week I had been wretchedly complaining about the garden party—even up to the last minute—and yet he still put up with me.

In my previous life, Ford had also been my retainer and had served me until the very end. He had advised me against trying to overthrow the kingdom, and had sent provisions to me when I had been locked away in a dungeon, among other things. I still felt that kinship toward him even now.

“Let me at least put on something with a hood,” I pleaded.

“It is just a garden party; it will be over before you know it,” Ford assured me. “Or are you simply planning to accept Her Majesty’s choice of marriage candidates, Prince Raph?”

It had been the same last time too. I had agreed to the candidates my mother had chosen—Miss Kleist, Miss Wagner, and Miss Bartles. However, none of them had become my bride. But even so, I just couldn’t bring myself to choose my own marriage candidates this time around. It was better if mother chose them; if I chose them, it would imply that I felt some kind of affection for them—and no one wanted affection from me. If anything, me even implying some fondness for them might end up causing those poor girls to suffer.

I let out a sigh, nodding to Ford. “Mother will undoubtedly pick the daughters of the Kleist and Wagner duchies. How unfortunate for such beloved children to be sacrificed to the hideous crown prince...”

“Prince Raph, please refrain from speaking in such a manner,” Ford scolded. “I happen to know that you are quite the kind gentleman. I am sure that, once there is a maiden who learns of your character, she will undoubtedly open her heart to you.”

“Ford, do you really believe that there’s a girl out there who would spend enough time with me to learn about my personality?” I countered.

Ford remained silent.

I observed him through the reflection in the mirror. I figured he had above-average looks. His hair and eyes were deep green—a calming color on the eyes. And although he was five years older than me, his thick, slanted eyebrows made him appear younger. I couldn’t help but wish I looked at least a little like him.

I didn’t have to be beautiful. If I were at least within the scope of what was generally acceptable, I wouldn’t have to feel like going to a garden party would tear my heart to shreds.

I let out a sigh, then turned to Ford and lightly patted his shoulder. “If necessary, once I get married I’ll live the rest of my life under a mask. I’m sure my future wife will appreciate it.”

“Prince Raph... You know that I only wish for your happiness.” Ford looked as if he were about to burst into tears. He truly was a kind soul.

✛

I arrived at the garden antechamber and met Orkhart, who was already there. Although he was merely drinking some tea, he looked like a statue of some gorgeous hero. His azure eyes under his thick, dignified eyebrows twinkled brightly like stars, dazzling those around him. His large, bold mouth and even the pearly teeth behind his heavy lips were so perfect that my stomach roiled with anger. Our hair and eye color might have been the same, but between us there was a world of difference.

Orkhart caught my eye, smiling at me with a happy hum. In his eyes there was not even an ounce of abhorrence. He was truly a good person, inside and out, and that made a dark, wretched emotion rumble and swirl in the depths of my gut.

“Don’t be nervous, brother. Relax and have some tea.”

It was a moment before I could reply. “Thanks for the advice, Orkhart.”

Orkhart exchanged looks with a maid, whose cheeks reddened as she prepared more tea.

Just like in my past life, Orkhart was the center of activity. He had many servants and often met with his mother. The young sons and daughters of his mother’s faction sent him so many invitations to tea parties that he went out almost every day.

Orkhart was the only one who had everything I’d ever wanted.

Though the sight of me nauseated her, the maid still presented me with tea. To not drink it would probably tarnish me not just as the hideous prince, but the worst of the worst who had disregarded his half brother’s kindness. I stayed silent and sipped from my cup.

“As soon as I’ve finished greeting everyone, I’ll return to you and help with your introductions,” Orkhart said.

“There’s no need to worry about me, Orkhart,” I replied. “Don’t you have your own marriage candidates to find?”

“Brother, why are you acting like this has nothing to do with you? You have your own candidates to pick out too!”

“Unlike you, I don’t exactly have the luxury of choice.”

“What’s the point of giving up before the party even begins, brother?” Orkhart asked, giving me a worried look.

How petty must I be if even his gaze upsets me?

“Besides,” he went on, “what if today’s the day you meet your special someone?”

This was Orkhart’s most irksome habit—genuinely and sincerely looking up to me, worrying about me, and putting misplaced expectations on me as his older brother. I detested that about my half brother...and envied him greatly for it.

Orkhart was the personification of goodwill; of course everyone loved him. There would surely never be anyone who would wish him harm. If only he were the type to brag about his good looks and glare at me with repugnance; if he were, I could have salvaged at least a little of my self-esteem.

It shamed me to think this way.

“I’ll do my best to stay by your side during the party, brother. I’ll protect you,” Orkhart promised.

Through the window, glimmering sunlight streamed down on Orkhart. Just by merely existing, my half brother had smashed my already tiny sense of self-esteem into smithereens. In both mind and body, he was the real prince, glowing in more ways than one—unlike me, who was hideous inside and out.

✛

As soon as I stepped foot into the venue for the garden party, shrieks of terror filled the air.

“Aaah! A monsteeer!”

“Mother! Mother, save me!”

I turned my gaze away from the sight of all the girls who foamed at the mouth and fainted and the boys who burst into tears. This was why I hadn’t wanted to attend the party. All I could remember of this event in my past life was how desperately I had tried to hold back my tears.

I glanced at Orkhart. He was already surrounded by girls; through a gap among all the children, I could see him sending an anxious look my way. Ford, who stood at a distance away from me with the knights on guard duty, was also watching me anxiously and wringing his hands.

But this wasn’t the first time I’d been to this party. The cold looks from the children around me were suffocating, yes, but it wasn’t nearly as bad the second time around.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as I stared at the ground.

Abruptly, the elegant hem of a dress appeared in the corner of my vision. I timidly lifted my head, and when my gaze was generally eye level the young noble girl in front of me curtsied. Her head was down and her rose-pink hair hid her face, so I couldn’t see her expression.

This had never happened in my past life. A girl had never gone out of her way to approach me.

It confused me considerably, and an awfully long time passed before I realized I had to actually speak to her. When I did, fully panicking, she lifted her head.

“I am Cocolette, daughter of Marquis Blossom,” she said, her voice as lovely as a songbird’s. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She smiled, and at once her incredible beauty left me speechless.

Miss Blossom had large, clear eyes the color of peridots; light pink cheeks and lips; and delicate, pixie-like facial features. It was as if the goddess of beauty had personally taken great care to create a girl with her own hands before letting her walk among mortals.

I couldn’t understand why, but Miss Blossom’s eyes held no animosity in them, despite my ugliness; rather, they were fond.

I felt like I had just witnessed one of the wonders of the world—a wonder that went well beyond what a mere mortal like me could take. Miss Blossom had just captivated me fully, while at the same time her kind smile confused me. My chest felt full, my cheeks were flushed, my heart hurt, I felt like crying, and throughout still I was utterly disgusted by my own ugliness, but—but I just wanted to keep looking at her...

Suddenly, I recalled Orkhart’s words from earlier: “Besides, what if today’s the day you’re supposed to meet your special someone?”

And from deep inside me, a fiery love—one so strong that it even made me want to cling to Orkhart’s detestable words—had suddenly been born.

✛

I could barely recall going to the rose garden. Even still, it was the sensation of Miss Blossom’s soft hand that I had taken to escort her that informed me that this was reality and not a dream.

Oh, so this is what a girl’s hand feels like, I thought. The warmth of it nearly brought me to tears. I had never known the touch of my mother’s hand, nor could I recall holding hands with my milk mother; touching Miss Blossom’s hand, therefore, was the first time I’d felt warmth from any girl.

While we walked side by side, I surreptitiously peeked at Miss Blossom’s beautiful side profile—but it seemed that she had been looking at me the entire time, and instantly we locked gazes by accident. She gave me a tender smile, and my whole body blazed with red-hot bashfulness.

Why had I never come across this pretty girl in my previous life? I was sure that, should she have entered into high society, she would have been the center of attention.

She’s from the Blossom family, I realized.

I let out a soft gasp. In my previous life, Marquis Blossom had had no biological children. His beloved wife had died rather young, and the surviving memento of her in the form of their cherished daughter had lost her life during childhood due to an epidemic illness. Because of that, Marquis Blossom had adopted a child, but—

To find out what was different between my life then and now, I asked Miss Blossom several questions. She appeared puzzled, but answered them all nonetheless.

It’s as I thought, I realized. In my past life, Miss Blossom passed away in the epidemic.

For some reason, this time around she had survived the illness. That meant that Marquis Blossom had forgone adopting a child, and I was now able to meet his biological daughter. Miss Blossom was as gorgeous as a goddess; I couldn’t believe that she was here, much less smiling at someone as hideous as myself.

Why would such a wonderful girl talk to someone like...me...?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I tilted my head in doubt. I had been so caught up in my first stirrings of love that I hadn’t considered that I should be more suspicious of her instead. Why was Miss Blossom being so nice to me?

She didn’t seem to be pretending. Rather, when girls saw me, they often felt such visceral disgust that they normally couldn’t even smile at me.

Miss Blossom’s kindness toward me seemed to be genuine. But if so, what was the reason for it? If her kindness was borne of pity, she would be acting too cruelly, considering we were at the party that would help me decide my marriage candidates. She should have known that acting kindly to me today, right now, could mean that I might choose her as a contender. In fact, I was already leaning that way.

I then thought, Does Marquis Blossom wish to cozy up to the royal family?

The Blossom family managed their territory so reliably that they had the trust of both the royal family and the faithful citizens of their marquisate. The current marquis had adopted a neutral wait-and-see stance concerning the palace, where, currently, sparks were flying between the queen’s and the royal concubine’s factions. Perhaps something had changed concerning the marquis, causing him to order his daughter to get close to the crown prince...and if that were the case, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

I couldn’t even dream of something as naive as Miss Blossom simply loving someone such as myself. But if she had approached me with designs on becoming the queen consort, our interests were perfectly aligned.

I timidly inquired about Marquis Blossom’s intentions, and though she vehemently denied my words, she was terribly flustered while she did so. It seemed that she was awful at lying.

Finally, I couldn’t help but hesitantly ask her, “Can you not see how dreadfully ugly I am?”

“That’s not true, Your Highness,” Miss Blossom argued. “That’s not true at all!”

To everyone else, I was hideous, but here she was desperately trying to console me instead. Her lovely lies alleviated my pain, and it made me certain that she was diligently following her father’s orders. Whatever the Blossom family’s intentions were, this was my chance. If she would be mine, that was all I needed.

With these thoughts in mind, I faced her—only to hear my detestable brother calling for me in the distance.

✛

Naturally, I hadn’t anticipated Orkhart to name Coco as one of his marriage candidates. He could’ve had any girl he wanted, I thought angrily.

At any rate, however, history would repeat itself. Orkhart would once again enter the academy and meet that one baron’s daughter he’d claimed was his true love or something—he would come to his senses then.

But I have a bad feeling about that, I couldn’t help but think.

Even so, I was higher up in the line of succession than Orkhart, so unless something unprecedented happened, I would most likely wed Coco...even if her heart wasn’t in it. My chest panged with a sharp, sudden sting.

“Miss Blossom is quite the lovely young woman,” Ford said merrily as he helped divest me of my party attire. Apparently, he had kept a shrewd eye on Coco during the party and found her favorable. “It is my sincere wish that you find happiness, Prince Raph.”

“Thank you as always, Ford.”

“You must not give in to His Highness Orkhart even one inch, Prince Raph,” Ford urged. “Even if Miss Blossom’s heart leans toward him, as long as we receive a royal decree from His Majesty instating her as your wife there will be no problem.”

I paused. “I know.”

Even Ford, who wished for nothing more than my happiness, said such a backhanded thing to me.

I know. I know better than anyone.

I should never have entertained the thought, wonderful as it had been, of a beautiful, spring pixie-like girl such as Coco truly loving someone as hideous as myself.

Chapter 2: The Marriage Candidates

Cocolette

Today was the first time that I would meet the princes’ other marriage candidates. To begin, we started with introductions in the palace parlor. The first up to bat was twelve-year-old Miss Lunamaria of the premier duke’s family.

“My name is Lunamaria Kleist,” she began. “As of now, I am a marriage candidate for both His Highness Raphael and His Highness Orkhart.”

Apparently, she’d also been chosen as a potential bride to both brothers. I was rather relieved that I wasn’t the only one.

On the day that I had been notified that I was a marriage candidate to both princes, even my father had been surprised. “Surely someone miswrote this? I mean, the both of them?” he’d said, flustered, before going all the way to the palace to confirm the contents of the letter personally.

When he had come home without incident, he’d given me a tired smile and told me, “It seems that Their Highnesses both chose you, and both refused to give you up. I was told that because this process is still in the candidacy stage, it was judged that there would be no problem to have overlapping choices.”

“Ah, so that was the case,” I’d replied.

“By the way, Coco, which prince struck your fancy? Perhaps His Highness Orkhart?”

“Prince Raph, of course. ♡”

“I see. So you want to become queen consort, huh? I have no doubt you’ll make this country into a splendid one.”

For some reason, Father interpreted my response to mean that I was simply ambitious. I had made sure to vehemently insist that I was quite fond of Prince Raph, but I don’t think he believed me.

As I was thinking about this, the next girl introduced herself. “I believe you are all well aware of who I am, but my name is Mystère Wagner, marriage candidate to His Highness Raphael.”

Miss Mystère’s hair was styled in large, elegant black sausage curls, and she had a single beauty mark underneath one of her crimson eyes. Though she was eleven like I was, she was already rather voluptuous. I figured in a few years she’d be a pretty steamy babe.

The Wagners were a distinguished family in charge of a duchy and had produced a great number of prime ministers. The current prime minister was Miss Mystère’s father.

Since I was from a marquisate, my turn was next. “My name is Cocolette Blossom,” I began. “I am a marriage candidate to both His Highness Raphael and His Highness Orkhart. It is my sincerest hope to get along well with all of you.”

I smiled sweetly. Miss Lunamaria looked at me with a feverish gaze, while Miss Mystère was completely flushed in the face. My good looks were rather effective on girls too.

The last to introduce herself was a girl from a count’s family. “I am Violet Berga,” she said, speaking in a soft voice with a bit of drawl, causing her to stretch out some of her words. “I was chosen as one of His Highness Orkhart’s marriage candidates.”

Miss Violet was ten years old, with chestnut-colored hair that flowed in soft curls and light purple eyes. She was a beautiful girl whose features brought to mind a small, cozy animal. However, I had heard that everyone in the Berga family, regardless of gender, was educated in the military arts from a young age; there was a rumor that despite Miss Violet’s adorable appearance, she was a fighter through and through.

In any case, the breakdown for all of us was thus:

His Highness Raphael’s Marriage Candidates

Miss Cocolette of the Blossom Marquisate, as chosen by His Highness Raphael

Miss Lunamaria of the Kleist Premier Duchy, as chosen by Her Majesty

Miss Mystère of the Wagner Duchy, as chosen by Her Majesty

His Highness Orkhart’s Marriage Candidates

Miss Cocolette of the Blossom Marquisate, as chosen by His Highness Orkhart

Miss Lunamaria of the Kleist Premier Duchy, standing as her own nominee

Miss Violet of the Berga County, as chosen by the Royal Concubine

This explained why, although there were only the four of us girls, both princes had exactly three marriage candidates.

Be that as it may, I’d heard that Miss Lunamaria’s family was allied with the queen consort; yet here she was, having shoved her way in as one of Prince Ork’s candidates. Did the premier duchy really have that much power?

“Miss Lunamaria, I quite loathe you!” Miss Mystère suddenly yelled, causing me to choke on the tea I’d been sipping. “The Kleist duchy is aligned with the queen, is it not?! And yet I hear you went and cried to Duke Kleist so you’d be put in among His Highness Orkhart’s candidates! You are nobility—have you no shame?! Someone like you isn’t worthy to wed either of Their Highnesses!”

Miss Lunamaria was quiet for a moment before calmly answering, “Miss Mystère, if it is your wish to become His Highness Raphael’s queen, then by all means, please do. Granted, if it is within your ability to do so,” she amended. “Shouldn’t the Wagner family be delighted to have fewer rivals?”

“What I said was I have a problem with your attitude!” Miss Mystère retorted. “You have no loyalty to the crown!”

As Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria bickered, my coughing fit finally subsided. As I wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of my eyes, Miss Mystère looked my way. I instinctively tilted my head, and Miss Mystère once again went red.

“M-Miss Cocolette!” she declared, lip trembling. “J-Just so you know, I will be His Highness Raphael’s queen!”

“You will?” I asked, genuinely surprised. Was there someone besides me who saw Prince Raph for the beauty he really was?

As Miss Mystère continued, however, I realized that wasn’t the case. “The Wagner family has concluded that I am to become queen. Failure will not be tolerated. However, well...um...” She hesitated. “Miss Cocolette, you already have His Highness Raphael’s affections, correct? In that case, you must become his concubine and not his queen. My marriage to His Highness Raphael will be a pure marriage of convenience; you will bear His Highness’s children!”

In layman’s terms, she was saying: “I want power, but definitely not a physical relationship—so I’m going to force it on you instead.”

I could respect Miss Mystère for working so hard for her family at only age eleven, but this nagging habit of hers wouldn’t do her any good.

“You do realize that is not your decision to make, correct?” I replied. “And don’t you think it’s quite selfish besides? To be queen while forgoing the responsibility of bearing His Highness’s children?”

She all but growled in return before sputtering, “D-Don’t you also have His Highness Orkhart’s affections as well?! You aim for the queen’s seat when all you really want to do is marry His Highness Orkhart—”

“That part is not the case,” I interrupted. That really isn’t the case. Not at all!

As if to support me, Miss Lunamaria said, “In the first place, Miss Mystère, were you not the very first one to faint at the garden party the other day? I also heard that you were unable to greet His Highness Raphael at all. With such sensitivity how do you expect to fulfill the role of queen consort?”

So the one who had fainted first at the sight of Prince Raph was Miss Mystère. It would be absolutely impossible, then, for her to perform her queenly duties.

Miss Mystère’s shoulders trembled as she glared at Miss Lunamaria. “I do not want a shameless noble such as yourself talking to me!” She paused. “Miss Violet!”

“Yes?” Miss Violet replied leisurely in her quiet, breathy voice. She had been nibbling on a cookie, as if none of the previous conversation had concerned her in any way, shape, or form. “What is it, Miss Mystère?”

“I hereby give you my full backing to become His Highness Orkhart’s wife! You must not lose to the likes of Miss Lunamaria!”

“And what do you think will happen when someone from Her Majesty’s side supports a girl from the royal concubine’s side?” Miss Violet countered softly.

“It’s fine—our interests align!” Miss Mystère insisted.

Miss Violet chuckled darkly. “‘Shameless nobles’ this and ‘loyalty’ that, you say, Miss Mystère, but all you prioritize are your own personal preferences.”

Yikes! Miss Violet was smiling sweetly, but there was a darkness about her. Just as one should have expected from a member of the Berga county. What a terribly vicious girl...

The retort took Miss Mystère aback. “What in the world?! All of you are so impertinent!”

It wasn’t like I had been able to see into everyone’s heart of hearts from one conversation, but I could at least gather that I didn’t have a single rival for Prince Raph’s affections. All that remained was a battle with Miss Mystère over the queen’s seat, but I had no intention of handing over the position of Prince Raph’s wife to her. The idea of the man I loved being married to a woman other than myself was just plain awful—even if it were a marriage of convenience.

On the whole, however, I figured that Miss Mystère must have been having a difficult time too. No matter how hard she wanted to work for her family, she simply couldn’t stand the sight of Prince Raph—she physically couldn’t endure seeing him.

For Prince Raph to choose me as his queen, what I needed most was to forge a mutual love between us. He still didn’t trust me all that much, which meant that my feelings hadn’t reached him at all. One way or another, he needed to believe I truly loved him before he made his final decision on whom to marry. In my heart of hearts, I resolved to give it my all.

▽

A short time after the catfight, Prince Raph and Prince Ork arrived at the parlor.

Ooh! ♡ Prince Raph is just so hot today! ♡ I thought, openly ogling him, while beside me, as if on cue, Miss Mystère promptly fainted.

Attendants carried her out of the room, and it was decided that she would be brought straight home. All of this took place within a shocking five minutes. Miss Mystère really expects to become Prince Raph’s queen like that? I thought, and without quite meaning to, I began to worry for her future. A moment later, however, our meeting with the princes began.

Prince Raph took the seat to my right and tilted his head, looking worried. “From today onward, you are one of my marriage candidates. The education required to become queen will be intense; will you be able to work hard for my sake?”

“Of course, Prince Raph! ♡ I will devote my entire being to becoming your queen!” I replied happily.

He paused, seemingly embarrassed. “Thank you.”

My heart fluttered sweetly in my chest. Oh, he’s just so marvelous! ♡ No matter how hard it gets, I’ll absolutely work my butt off for him!

As Prince Raph and I gazed at each other, a new chair was placed to my left, in which Prince Ork sat down.

“Brother,” he began, “don’t monopolize Coco—she’s my marriage candidate too. And Coco, please don’t say that you’ll study just for my brother’s sake. You’ll work hard for me as well, right?”

“Oh, Prince Ork, you...” I said, trying to rein in my annoyance. As always, my outward persona was crucial here. I adopted a blank smile instead, while I screamed internally, I can’t just say no to a member of the royal family, but I really, really don’t want to marry you!

Beside me, Prince Raph’s expression stiffened. “Orkhart, you must realize that even if you want Coco for yourself, my line of succession to the throne precedes yours. It is my marriage that takes priority.”

“But when it comes to marriage, what matters isn’t the line of succession—it’s how Coco feels,” Orkhart pointed out to him. “Her love for either me or you is paramount. And I will fight you fair and square, brother, for her heart!”

A fight for my heart? I thought, confused. Hadn’t Prince Raph already won by a landslide?

Prince Raph’s eyes darkened as he glared at his half brother. “Orkhart, this is a political marriage. For someone as hideous as I, a girl must be able to touch me and bear my presence in order to marry me. You, on the other hand, can marry any girl you want; do not conflate the two of us.”

“But I don’t want just any girl! I want Coco!” Prince Orkhart insisted. “I love her! And so we shall battle for her heart!”

“And I want Coco too,” Prince Raph said after a long moment. “Besides, once you enter the academy—” He hesitated, shifting his gaze.

I suddenly grew concerned about the other marriage candidates and glanced over to them. Miss Lunamaria looked blank, yet her eyes watched Prince Ork anxiously; Miss Violet, on the other hand, nonchalantly requested a servant for another helping of tea. Neither of them gave any indication that they were going to stop the princes’ argument.

I suppose that falls to me.

“Prince Ork, may I speak to you for a moment?” I asked.

“Hmm? What is it, Coco?” Prince Orkhart replied.

“I believe your conversation is about which of you two I love, correct? If so, if I reject one of you, will the other graciously bow out of the competition entirely?”

“P-Please wait, Coco!” Prince Raph begged in a panic. It seemed that he didn’t think in the slightest that I’d choose him.

On the other hand, Prince Ork radiated confidence as he smiled. “Yes, of course.”

“Then, Prince Ork, I shall say my piece as clearly as possible: My heart yearns for Prince Raph!” I declared.

“Huh?”

“I love Prince Raph from the bottom of my heart,” I reiterated. “Therefore, Prince Ork, I humbly ask that you gracefully let me go.”

Prince Ork’s eyes were wide. He tipped his head. “To be frank, Coco...I just can’t believe you. I mean, you haven’t even known my brother for that long.”

“Surely time does not matter when it comes to matters of the heart?” I countered politely.

“Certainly, Coco, I understand that argument—I for one fell for you at first sight. But I don’t believe that meeting my brother just once or twice is enough to understand just how wonderful he is.”

“Prince Ork,” I continued, “Prince Raph is such a wonderful gentleman that upon first meeting him I became completely enamored. For you to say such things about your elder brother is, forgive my saying so, entirely improper, and you are now acting in an unseemly way at the conclusion to this competition.”

“No— But— But I just can’t believe you!” Prince Ork insisted.

Why isn’t Prince Raph saying anything? I looked at him then, only to find that he was entirely red-faced and holding his hands against his mouth.

Did my feelings get across to him? I wondered hopefully before prompting, “Prince Raph?”

Prince Raph smiled at me, his eyes wet with unshed tears. “Hearing you say you love me made me happy...even if it was just a lie.”

Oh come on! I didn’t get through to him at aaallll! He thought my confession wasn’t truuuue! I wailed silently in despair.

“I cannot believe you on words alone, Coco,” Prince Ork said. “After all, you could just say ‘I love you’ as many times as you want and not mean it.”

So both Prince Raph and Prince Ork didn’t believe my confession. Here they are blabbing on about whoever I love is the winner, but then I say so to their faces and they won’t even believe me?

“How about we do this?” Prince Ork suggested. “If, by the time we must determine whom we will marry, I can come to believe that Coco truly loves brother, I will accept my defeat.”

“But Orkhart, that would make it completely up to your discretion!” Prince Raph argued loudly.

“That’s right, brother—only my opinion will matter. If you truly love each other, shouldn’t it be easy for you two to convince me as such and make me forsake my bid for Coco?”

“And why should we do all this?!”

“Because Coco is my first love—my true love,” Prince Ork declared. “And this is by far better than letting you steal her away from me by royal decree.”

“Huh?” Prince Raph seemed astonished. “Your...true love?”

“I accept your plan, Prince Ork,” I said. “I will show you—and make you accept—that my heart truly yearns for Prince Raph. I ask that in that event, you remove me from your list of marriage candidates.”

“Understood,” Prince Ork replied.

“Coco, what are you—?” Prince Raph began, but I interrupted him.

“Prince Raph, when that time comes, please believe in my love for you!”

This world loathed bishonens, demonizing them as hideous. It would be impossible for me to have a happy marriage unless I could convince a ton of people that I sincerely loved Prince Raph. But if so I had no other choice but to convince them, Prince Ork and Prince Raph himself included.

A fire had been lit within me. This was not just a competition between the two princes; this wasn’t even just a contest between me and Prince Ork. It was also me versus Prince Raph. And I was going to win not just these battles, but also the war against Miss Mystère to become queen—and I was for sure going to take Prince Raph by storm!

Prince Raph watched me, his blue eyes flickering with bewilderment.

▽

Though several shots had already been fired, the most important thing I had to do to become queen was study.

I went to the castle just about every day, taking class after class with the other marriage candidates. The course load was severe; the education I had received at home to become a proper young lady simply couldn’t compare. We spent countless hours learning about politics, law, history, and foreign languages, and even during meals and teatime had etiquette lessons. We matched nobles’ names to their faces, and memorized their territories’ administrations and relationships with each other. Every day we were saddled with stacks of books to read for homework, with required reports on what we read to be submitted.

At any rate, I studied it all desperately. Strangely, as the other marriage candidates and I kept up with the immense course load, we steadily developed a sort of camaraderie between all of us. We were competitors, but in a sense, we were also fellow soldiers in the same war.

Instead of a regular greeting toward me, Miss Mystère would say, “I will be queen while you shall support His Highness Raphael as the mother to his heir!” However, as evidenced by the dark circles under her eyes, she was also working hard.

Miss Lunamaria had seemed to like me from the get-go, though that might have been because, despite Prince Ork being head over heels for me, her odds of becoming his wife would go up significantly if I were to marry Prince Raph instead.

I didn’t have any real connection with Miss Violet, but her adorable presence was a comfort to me anyway.

A servant approached at the end of today’s lessons—Prince Raph had asked for me. About two times a week, he would clear time from his own rigorous education to invite me to teatime. This twice-a-week treat from my fave boy never failed to completely erase my exhaustion from classes.

On the other hand, I didn’t see Prince Ork much. Almost every single day, he simply wasn’t in the palace, instead off at some noble’s estate for a tea party. Having to accommodate his mother’s large faction seemed to pose a real challenge; whenever we happened to see each other, Prince Ork would lament, “Had I known I would see you, I would not have packed my schedule so full!”

I bid my farewell to the other marriage candidates (Miss Mystère’s reply was “You must endeavor to keep His Highness Raphael’s affections with you for a long while yet!”), then followed the servant to the long gallery of the palace.

At the entrance of the long gallery knights stood on guard, but upon seeing me, they smiled, carefree and casual, before remembering they were on duty and announcing my arrival.

Ford, Prince Raph’s personal retainer, came at once to meet me. He was five years my elder and apparently also Prince Raph’s milk brother, with a fairly okay orc-face. He guided me the rest of the way until I was finally with Prince Raph.

“I bet you’re tired after today, Coco,” Prince Raph said in greeting. After several times taking tea together, he now spoke more informally to me. “How were your classes?”

“Prince Raph! They went well, thankfully!” Though I itched to rush right over to him, I frantically reined myself in and instead approached him gracefully.

Day after day, his face is still so lovely. ♡

I gazed at him, spellbound, and eventually he became so embarrassed he covered his face with both hands. “S-Sorry, Coco. I’m...still not used to you looking at me...”

“I apologize, Prince Raph; it was rude of me to stare at you so,” I replied. “However, I could gaze at your face forever. You have such lovely eyes.”

“Coco...!” he protested weakly.

No matter how many times I told him how much I adored his looks, Prince Raph didn’t believe me; he had demeaned himself far too much for me to sway him so easily. So, I had recently started praising specific things about him—like how his eyes looked like gems, how smooth and fair his hair was, how his skin was splendidly silky to the touch, and so on and so forth. My words seemed to reach him better this way.

Before long, Prince Raph lowered his hands, enough for his sapphire blue irises to peek out. “Your eyes are far, far lovelier than mine. So lovely I’m sure you see a much kinder world than other people do. They’re so lovely that perhaps even someone as hideous as I seems slightly less objectionable... I wonder if that’s why you’re so kind to me.”

“Well... If that is the case, then I have immense gratitude for my eyes,” I deflected, “for they let me look at my cherished prince.”

“I too thank the heavens for giving you such eyes that allow you to see the world with such kindness.”

We both blushed and gazed at each other.

“Erm,” Prince Raph began after a few long moments, “for now, let me show you around the long gallery.”

“Of course, Prince Raph. I look forward to it very much.”

After collecting ourselves, we walked around the spacious hall, admiring the many works of art hung on the walls. Prince Raph took the time to explain each one in detail to me.

“This statue is of a mythological goddess. Yet you are far more beautiful than she is.”

“Oh, Prince Raph...! Ah, and this painting is of a saint!” I said, pointing to a portrait of a holy woman. “I learned in my history class that though long ago there were many saints, now there are few; we have not a single one in our kingdom.”

Any statue or painting with a woman as the subject was absolutely gorgeous. After all, the standards for a beautiful girl here were the same as back in my old world. But my excitement plummeted as soon as we moved on to the statues of male heroes and historic kings. Even here, orc-faces were everywhere.

“These are the portraits of Cheriotte’s kings throughout the ages,” Prince Raph explained. “And each man is so gallant and marvelous.”

“...Oh, is that so...?” I replied.

I made sure to respond to his explanations to let him know I was paying attention, but really, I was much more interested in gazing at Prince Raph’s side profile than looking at the portraits of kings past. In my eyes, the best work of art in this whole world was Prince Raph himself. His blushing face after he caught me staring at him was priceless...

After a little while, Prince Raph pointed to a single, small painting. “And that is the portrait of the one-and-only King Schwarz.”

Haven’t I heard of King Schwarz somewhere before? I wondered before finally looking at the portrait.

What?! This guy was a total babe!

Now this was a work of art. The portrait in front of me was of a blond, incredibly gorgeous young king who just oozed sex appeal. He looked like what I imagined Prince Raph would grow up into, except with violet eyes instead of sapphire.

Wait, King Schwarz was the king three generations ago, right? Prince Raph must have told me that.

I gazed dreamily at the portrait. Oh, I really can’t wait to grow up so I can get all mushy and touchy-feely with Prince Raph—by then he’ll be such a handsome man! ♡

“There were more portraits of him,” Prince Raph said, “but they were deemed ‘highly upsetting to viewers’ as they depicted how ugly he was, and were all burned.”

“What!” I exclaimed. “How awful!”

“But to not want to see homely things is only natural.”

“Please do not speak in such a manner!” I insisted. “I happen to like King Schwarz’s portrait!”

In fact, I like it so much I want to hang it in my bedroom so I can up the chances of having sweet bishonen dreams every night.

Prince Raph did not respond directly to my outburst. “Coco, you must be tired after being on your feet so long. Let’s have some tea.”

“Thank you, Prince Raph,” I replied. “You are so kind.”

A table had been set up in the long gallery so visitors could view the art while drinking tea. After Prince Raph and I leisurely drank a cup or two, our conversation returned to King Schwarz.

“King Schwarz is the only one of the Atavistic Royals whose records remain,” Prince Raph said.

“Could you please explain who the Atavistic Royals were?” I asked. “I apologize that I’m not knowledgeable on the subject.”

“Your apology is not necessary, as they are not very well-known,” he replied. “They are related to the idea that the land my family currently presides over was once home to another country. One of my ancestors married their princess, and then founded the new Kingdom of Cheriotte. Nowadays, it’s sort of a fairy tale if anything, so it’s natural that you haven’t heard much about it.”

“Ah yes, that’s right,” I recalled.

“It was said that the royal family of that country was comprised only of incredibly homely individuals,” Prince Raph continued. “And so, every now and then all the way up to modern times, within the royal family ugly people like myself and King Schwarz are born.”

So there was once a time where royal bishonens like himself were a dime a dozen?! What the heck—that’s paradise! Why throw all that away just to make the Kingdom of Cheriotte?!

“There’s folklore that mentions other Atavistic Royals, but their records have been erased from the royal family’s archives. I imagine King Schwarz’s records remain because he abdicated less than a hundred years ago.”

My longing for this forsaken paradise nearly overwhelmed me, but I did my best to rein it in so I could continue the conversation. “I see... And what kind of king was His Majesty?”

“They say he was disliked because of his ugliness, but that he was a wise ruler who kept even an epidemic at bay.”

Apparently, King Schwarz’s father had died relatively young, and he’d ascended to the throne at fifteen. He’d had a handsome (aka orc-faced) brother much younger than him; King Schwarz had grappled with governmental affairs until his younger brother came of age at eighteen.

During King Schwarz’s reign, a new variety of plague had broken out across the entire continent. He had immediately taken measures to curb the flow of goods and people coming into Cheriotte to keep the disease from entering the country, while simultaneously dispatching a team of doctors to investigate the disease itself. In the end, the development of a wonder drug had kept the pandemic in check.

His actions during the plague earned him a high approval rating from both foreign countries and among citizens living in territories outside the royal capital. But within the capital, he was still despised—just because he was unsightly.

No matter how much King Schwarz had devoted himself to the country and the people, his ugliness barred him from obtaining any allies or genuine connections. Unable to wed, he had suffered intense loneliness, and by the time his brother had come of age, King Schwarz’s mental health had declined dramatically. As soon as he had abdicated the throne, he disappeared from the palace entirely. His exact whereabouts after that remained unknown, but it seemed that his legacy, the Golden Cross, was discovered in a rural church much later.

“What an empty life,” Prince Raph noted, gazing at his teacup. No—he was looking at his reflection in the amber tea, and deriding himself. “He worked himself to the bone for his country and people, yet no one ever loved him. I pity him.”

“Prince Raph...” I murmured.

“Until recently, I thought I’d end up much the same as King Schwarz.” Prince Raph looked up at me. After a moment, he continued. “Even if I became king, in the end I would still live heartbroken. That is the only fate left for those as ugly as I am.” He paused. “And then I met you, Coco.”

Perhaps King Schwarz was something like a mirror to Prince Raph; they looked similar enough that Prince Raph had been called the second coming of King Schwarz, and they also both had an orc-face for a younger brother. No wonder Prince conflated his own future with King Schwarz’s.

I had let my hand rest on the table, and Prince Raph reached over to place his hand on mine and give it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so glad I met you in this life...”

I put my other hand on top of his and returned his squeeze with an encouraging one of my own. “Now that I’m here you will never be lonely, Prince Raph! I will try my hardest to become your queen!”

He chuckled. “Thank you, Coco. That’s reassuring.”

Though my classes were immensely challenging, I took them seriously, and would continue to do so. And besides, I wasn’t alone—I had my war buddies right beside me.

At the end of all the toil, my beloved Prince Raph was waiting for me.

✛

Raphael

The biggest difference between my past life and my current life was Coco surviving her illness and meeting me afterward. But there were several other discrepancies.

The first was Coco’s father, Marquis Blossom. The other day, he had come to the palace with a question regarding the marriage candidates, and the man I had seen then was almost a completely different person from the one I had known before.

In my past life, despite his gallant, handsome features, Marquis Blossom had been cold and often cruel. The deaths of his beloved wife and cherished daughter had brought about a complete change to his personality—it had been said that after their deaths he had never smiled again. While he had treated everyone with an even, levelheaded demeanor and conducted his duties with the utmost efficiency, his inflexibility and lack of emotion had caused people to call him the “Marquis of Ice” behind his back.

But in this life, Marquis Blossom was a kind gentleman who thought only of his daughter. I supposed this was who he truly was. Thanks to Coco’s survival, his heart had remained whole.

The second discrepancy was in the marriage candidates. Because both my brother and I had chosen Coco, the lineup had changed considerably. In my last life, mother had chosen the daughter of the Bartles county as one of my marriage candidates, but now she wasn’t here at all.

Miss Bartles’s previous life had been utterly wretched. She had loathed being one of my candidates and had found a handsome paramour soon after entering the academy. While enrolled, she had discovered she was pregnant and run away with her lover.

However, she had been a blue-blooded noble through and through; she had been forced into a life of squalor with him and found it intolerable. I’d heard that in the end, she had abandoned her lover and jumped off a cliff, her infant child in her arms.

I hoped that this time around Miss Bartles would once again meet her lover, but have their marriage blessed by her family. Their acceptance should, at the very least, prevent such a tragic end from reoccurring.

Miss Kleist and Miss Wagner were once again my candidates for marriage, but sure enough, there was a key difference there as well: Miss Kleist had successfully become Orkhart’s marriage candidate as well as mine after begging her father for the boon. Previously, Miss Kleist had solely been my marriage candidate despite holding a candle for Orkhart; in the end, she had sought refuge in a convent.

While I had been alone with Miss Kleist during the garden party, we had had the following conversation:

“Your Highness,” she had said, “might you have affections for Miss Cocolette?”

I had hesitated before responding, “Yes.”

“What an incredibly wonderful occasion this makes. You know, I believe being able to be united in matrimony to the person you love is life’s greatest joy.”

“Thank you very much, Miss Kleist.”

“Your Highness, I know that Her Majesty undoubtedly intends to choose me as one of your marriage candidates to gain support from the Kleists, being that my family is the premier duchy of Cheriotte,” Miss Kleist had said plainly. “However, I must inform you that my heart is already set on another. I have adored His Highness Orkhart for a long time. Seeing that your affections are also elsewhere, Your Highness, I must admit that I do not intend to do what Her Majesty wishes of me. For my own sake, I will not give up hope of marrying His Highness Orkhart.”

“Miss Kleist...”

“I henceforth quite look forward to Your Highness and Miss Cocolette’s wedding.”

Even though Miss Kleist had kept her eyes cast downward to avoid meeting my gaze, her expression had been firmly determined. I was sure that should she repeat her life over again—and again and again—her feelings for Orkhart would remain as strong as they were now. This time, however, she was living more freely and boldly than before.

Perhaps the previous Miss Kleist had been thinking about the queen, her family, and even me—who seemed hopeless in terms of marriageability—and had hidden her true feelings, suppressing them only to suffer so much she’d reached a breaking point. With such overflowing love for Orkhart she must have found holding back her emotions impossible; she had had no other choice, then, but to flee to the convent.

“I pray that your first love comes to fruition, Miss Kleist,” I had replied.

With her eyes still fixed on the ground, she had nodded.

Just as she had declared, and regardless of appearances, Miss Kleist was now one of Orkhart’s marriage candidates. From the bottom of my heart, I was glad for her and wished her the best of luck this time around.

Incidentally, when it came to matters of appearances, Miss Wagner was just as hopeless as ever around the homely. In my previous life, she had always foamed at the mouth and fainted upon seeing me, and it had been judged that it would be impossible for us to marry and procreate. Honestly...I still worried about her future.

Regarding Orkhart, none of his marriage candidates were the same this time as they had been in my previous life. Last time he had chosen three girls on a whim after none had caught his attention at the garden party. But now he had fallen in love with Coco at first sight and picked her as his only personal choice. Because of this, his other candidates were Miss Kleist, whom the royal family could not ignore, and the daughter of the Berga family, whom the royal concubine had nominated.

I had very little recollection of Miss Berga from my previous life. After making her societal debut at a palace soiree, she had withdrawn to her territory. I was pretty sure I had only heard gossip about her after that.

And then there was the third discrepancy: King Schwarz’s legacy, the Golden Cross, was no longer anywhere to be found.

✛

“Prince Raph, is something the matter?” Coco asked, pulling me out of my reverie as we enjoyed some tea in the long gallery.

I pulled myself out of the ocean of my thoughts at once, flustered, only for my heart to once again race when met with Coco’s beautiful features. I couldn’t believe that such a pretty girl was here, sitting face-to-face and talking with me. No matter how much time passed, it still felt like a dream.

I couldn’t help but avert my gaze from her and vaguely mumble, “No, not really...”

Even though I was acting so shamefully, her smile was nothing but tender. “Your education as the crown prince keeps you busy, yet you still go out of your way to make time for me. When it’s just the two of us, please go ahead and relax.”

I hesitated, and though I smiled, I felt how strained it was as I replied, “I hope to be at least a little bit proper in front of you, Coco.”

No matter how much I tried to gloss over the stark reality of my ugliness, I could not avoid the fact that I would never be good-looking. Yet in front of Coco, I found myself trying my hardest to appear at least a little more decent than usual. I’m sure others would have found my efforts absurd. But every time Coco would kindly tell me that she liked me just the way I was, I couldn’t help but feel encouraged—I couldn’t stop scrambling to look better, even slightly.

I had chosen the long gallery for today’s teatime to confirm something. In order to search for the differences between my previous life and this one, I had spent some time in the library investigating. It was then that I realized that I had not found any accounts of King Schwarz’s legacy, the Golden Cross—a pendant that had been found in a rural church several decades after King Schwarz had run away from the royal family.

In my previous life, though there had been few books that contained descriptions of the Golden Cross, they had at least existed. Scholars had been unsure whether the Golden Cross found in the church was authentic or not, but proposed that, since its material and craftsmanship were of such high quality only royalty could possibly have afforded it, the argument could indeed have been made that it had belonged to King Schwarz. I also recalled this passage from another book: “An unbelievably hideous traveler suddenly appeared one day in a village and stayed there for several years.”

However, this time around all accounts of the Golden Cross had disappeared, as if by magic.

In my last life, the Golden Cross itself had hung together with King Schwarz’s portrait in the long gallery. It had certainly been an extremely beautiful pendant, fit to belong to the royal family.

After Orkhart had stolen the title of crown prince from me, I had decided to leave the palace once and for all. On that day, I had stolen the Golden Cross. I had thought it matched me quite well, since I was feared as the second coming of King Schwarz.

After leaving the palace, I had always worn the Golden Cross hung over my chest. It had been with me when society ostracized me and when I built the rebel army with my fellow homely countrymen. I had worn it when I gathered support and supplies and had led the charge on the royal capital. I had kept it when the knights captured me and locked me in the dungeon. It remained with me even when the guillotine had been locked around my neck. The Golden Cross had even shared my fate—when I lost my head, its chain had snapped too.

Suffice to say the Golden Cross was profoundly meaningful to me. But not only had information about it disappeared, but the actual pendant had vanished as well. Although I’d had a hunch it was gone before inviting Coco to tea, I still felt its loss, and couldn’t help but be a bit absent mentally during our time together.

Ford brewed me some tea, as my cup had already gone cold. I raised the cup to my lips, and the warm, tart tea slid down my throat. I let out a sigh.

“You are always the one inviting me to tea, Prince Raph, so I wish to invite you to my father’s estate for tea as well,” Coco said, kindly continuing the conversation. “It’s finally about time for the summer flowers in the garden to be at their best, and our chefs make superb confectionery. I would love for you to taste some.”

I should have been the one to try to make our chat more interesting, but I was terrible at socializing and was completely unskilled at conversation. And though my failings made me miserable, Coco’s cheerfulness nevertheless saved me.

“That sounds great. I would love to see where you live, Coco.”

“Then please let me know what day you are free, and I will make the arrangements!”

“All right. I’ll check my schedule afterward.”

“And now I can’t help but wonder what sweets we should have ready for you.”

Coco giggled, smiling happily—the sight was so dazzling it left me a bit bashful.

My previous life had only led to the guillotine. This life, however, already had many differences—where, then, would it lead me?

Wherever I end up, I hope this beautiful girl will be beside me, smiling.

Chapter 3: The Boy with the Vulpine Mask

Cocolette

I wanted to know more about that beautiful, unfortunate man called King Schwarz, so I used my break time between classes to go to the palace library. But even with the librarian’s assistance I was only able to find two books about him. A bit disappointed by our efforts, I still borrowed both volumes and brought them home.

The first book was about the royal family. In it, there were only a handful of lines about King Schwarz, covering his enthronement to his abdication.

The second book was the diary of a maid who had worked in the palace during King Schwarz’s reign. She had written a great many slanderous statements about him, such as “Just looking at him is repulsive. I would never want to be his personal lady-in-waiting” and “I saw the king from a distance, and was unwell the whole day.” It was likely that this journal had originally been preserved to document the life and work of women living in that era; ironically, it had instead become one of the few extant records pertaining to King Schwarz.

Prince Raph has probably read this diary too, I thought sadly. He had been called the second coming of King Schwarz; maybe he’d taken the bad-mouthing in this journal personally. Reading this would undoubtedly have been traumatic for him.

As I sat at my desk, I unconsciously let out a deep sigh.

“Is something the matter, Miss Cocolette?” Amaretti asked worriedly. She had been waiting in the corner to assist me the moment I had need of her.

I looked over my shoulder and gently shook my head. “It’s nothing, Amaretti. Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh!” she gasped. “You look so beautiful at this angle!”

I paused. “You are worried about me, right?”

“Of course I am, Miss Cocolette!” she insisted. “You must be exhausted from studying too much. I will prepare you some tea.”

“Thank you.”

While Amaretti was preparing tea, there was a knock at my door.

“Who is it?” I called.

“It’s me, Coco!”

“Oh, father! You’re home already!”

Amaretti opened the door, and there in the hallway stood my pink-haired, orc-faced father. I smiled broadly at him, and at once he pulled me into a hug.

“Welcome home, father!” I greeted. “What happened with the child?”

“It’s good to be back, Coco,” father said warmly. “And I brought the boy home without any problems.”

The child we spoke of would become the heir to the Blossom Marquisate. Originally, the man I married would have been taken into the family as a Blossom, given that I was an only child. But now that I was a marriage candidate to both Prince Raph and Prince Ork and would potentially marry into the royal family, we had to find another way for our family name to survive. So, father had decided to adopt a child from among our blood relatives.

I was really looking forward to having a new member of the family. The Blossom family’s lineage was made up of nothing but lovely-looking people, so I figured the boy father adopted would be a complete orc-face. Up until now my family had only consisted of my father and the servants; now, I was getting an adopted brother close to my age. That alone made me excited. Even if he was an orc-face, I was going to spoil him rotten.

“Coco, this is your new little brother, Raymond. He’s nine—two years younger than you.”

Behind father was...a young boy wearing a mask, a fox-shaped one decorated much like the style of Japanese ones from my old world. Actually, if I remembered correctly, there was a country to Cheriotte’s east that had a similar culture.

“Now the boy is a very distant relative, but his talents are best befitting a successor to the Blossom family. Despite the circumstances, Coco, I am sure you’ll dote on him.”

“Despite the circumstances?” I repeated. “What do you mean by that, father?”

“You’ll see. Now, Raymond. Take off the mask and say hello to your new sister.”

The boy had stood there clearly uncertain of how he should act, but at father’s prompting, he timidly removed his mask. And the person underneath—

“...I’m Raymond Blossom. It’s a pleasure to meet you...”

—had soft white hair, white eyelashes, and jade-green eyes. It was a young bishonen!

H-He’s so cute! Where did father find such a beautiful little idol?! If Prince Raph has the face of a holy angel, this boy’s beauty is far more refreshing and easygoing. Gosh, he’s so cuuuuuuteeee!

I smiled contentedly, without a single bit of deceit. “I’m Cocolette, your new sister. Let’s have fun together, okay, Raymond?”

After seeing my smile up close, Raymond’s pale skin was dyed pink in mere seconds. He opened and closed his mouth uselessly, then looked down at the floor and hugged his fox mask.

...Did my smile startle him too much? I worried. I have to be more careful with my beauty—I’m just too gorgeous.

Regretting how beautiful I was, I peeked at my adopted brother’s face. “Raymond?”

For some reason, Raymond’s eyes were red. He was sobbing.

“Oh, dear. What’s wrong, Raymond?” I asked, pulling him into a hug. He was just a little smaller than me.

Ah, young bishonens even smell nice too...

I patted Raymond’s white hair, but his tears only multiplied. Warm droplets soaked the front of my dress, and his hot breath only moistened it even more.

“Raymond?” I asked hesitantly. Bewildered, I looked to my father, but he just smiled and watched over the two of us fondly. I turned my gaze to Amaretti, but she was just absentmindedly taking in my beauty as per usual.

“S-Sister!” Raymond wailed.

“Now, now. It’s all right,” I soothed.

I didn’t yet know what burdens Raymond was carrying, but if he had been treated much like Prince Raph was—like some hideous creature—his life until now must have been terribly unlucky. If that was the case, then I would just have to spoil the heck out of him.

And this was how my new little adopted bishonen brother came into my life.

▽

Just as I had assumed, Raymond’s circumstances until now had been terribly heartbreaking.

Raymond was the son of Viscount Gerstell—the head of a branch family under the Blossom umbrella—and his commoner mistress. Though Raymond had been born ugly, his mother had been kind and had raised him with lots of love. Unfortunately, she had lost her life in an accident involving a stagecoach, and the viscount’s family had taken Raymond in.

From the very beginning, Viscount Gerstell’s wife and her children had bullied Raymond; they had even forbidden him from living in the estate, instead forcing him to sleep in a shed in the corner of the garden. All day long, he would earn his keep by helping the gardener.

That pretty much summed up the situation that my father walked into. In search of an heir to the Blossom estate, he had gone to the Gerstell residence to meet with the viscount’s younger sons, as the oldest Gerstell boy was already preparing to eventually inherit his father’s role.

All of the Gerstell boys were ambitious; each of them had told my father during their interviews that they absolutely wanted to succeed the Blossom line. Yet father hadn’t liked any of them. “Don’t you have any other sons at all?” he had asked, at which Viscount Gerstell had reluctantly produced Raymond.

Raymond had an astonishing cheat code for life: His memory was perfect. After reading or learning something once, he never forgot it. His mother had apparently figured that out early on, and had taken him to classes at the church on how to read and write. She had also borrowed books from her neighbors to expand his knowledge however she could.

Father had realized Raymond’s abilities then and there, and decided on the spot to take him in.

Life had left Raymond with little self-esteem, so I knew that my doting on him would be critical. I had always intended to do so even if Raymond had been orc-faced. But others had already hurt him badly; he needed to know now that the Blossom family in particular were his allies, that he was safe here, and that he could trust us.

In the beginning, Raymond had timidly told me, “I don’t want to be a bother,” so I made sure to approach him first and speak with him quite often. When I did, his expression would quickly light up, and he’d hug me.

And now Raymond would be the one to first reach out for my hand. Whenever I left for the palace, he looked rather lonely, and when I returned home he would light up with happiness, telling me at once what he had been up to at the estate while I was gone. He would ask me what classes I’d had that day, what I’d had for lunch, what I did for my break... His questions never annoyed me; he was just that cute.

Raymond depended on me. Every day, I patted him on the head and praised him for his progress while silently wishing that the wounds in his heart would one day be fully healed.

My father and the servants, seeing me so devotedly taking care of my new adopted brother, would often look at me warmly and say things like “Seeing you work so hard to be a good elder sister is quite the adorable sight.”

For the time being, Raymond only took his mask off when we were alone together. This way, none of the servants fainted, and life in the estate remained calm.

Incidentally, it was Raymond’s mother who had made him the vulpine mask. He said he wore it to protect himself from the ill will of others. His mother had made it in part to remember her own late father; she had designed it in the Japanese fashion because he had once worked in the country to the east.

▽

Today was the first time in a while that I had a day off from classes.

“Sister, you’re really going to play with me all day today?!” Raymond asked excitedly.

He had been asking the same thing all morning—actually, since yesterday. It was the first time that we would spend the whole day together, and he seemed as if he just couldn’t quite believe it was something that was possible for him to have.

“Yes, I am,” I replied. “There’s a large conference at the palace today, so my classes are on hold. Your own studies to become father’s heir have been paused too.”

“We’re going all the way to the lake, right?”

“Yes. It’s a lake on the outskirts of the capital. There’s a beautiful flower field nearby; it’s a wonderful place. I hear the chefs have prepared lots of your favorite foods for lunch.”

“Okay! I’m so excited!”

After we made preparations to leave, we boarded one of the family stagecoaches and made our way to the lake. It was a prominent tourist destination, and in the summer, the area was bustling with people fishing or in boats, all of them enjoying the cool air. People even came in the winter to skate atop the lake’s frozen surface. It was a place loved by both nobles and commoners alike.

It was Raymond’s first time going to the lake, and even though he wore his fox mask, I could tell he was in high spirits. He chattered on and on about wanting to go on a boat and try his hand at fishing.

“Would you like to go fishing with me?” he offered.

“Live bait...isn’t my preference,” I deflected. “While you go fishing, I’ll pick some flowers.”

“Would you at least please go on a boat with me?” he pleaded.

“Yes, of course,” I agreed. “I love going on boats.”

He giggled. “I can’t wait!”

The carriage arrived at our destination without incident. I could see plenty of people out and about at the lake—couples in boats, people fishing, and parents strolling through the flower fields with their children. Dotted around the lake were shops and cafes and all manner of tourist attractions, crowded with all manner of people.

“The Blossom Marquisate has a vacation home just ahead,” I told Raymond.

At the far end of the lake stood a forest home to several villas owned by nobility. The Blossom one had been built right beside the lake, and a pier jutted from the shore into the water. Some servants had come to the vacation home ahead of us to make preparations, so there was already a boat in the water, ready to use.

“Sister, look! A boat!”

“I see. Would you like to get in and go for a ride around the lake?” I offered.

“Yes, please!” Raymond agreed excitedly.

He and I, as well as an attendant serving as our oarsman, climbed into the boat.

“Miss Cocolette and my young Lord Raymond, please enjoy yourselves!” Amaretti called from where she stood on the pier with some other servants. All of them were beaming as they saw us off. “Lunch has already been prepared!”

“Everyone, please relax while we’re gone,” I said with a smile, waving.

Amaretti and the others all went red in the face, writhing at my cuteness. “Our miss is like the goddess of the lake!” Amaretti cried.

“Seems like they’re in high spirits again,” I noted. “Now, please launch the boat.”

“Very well, Miss Cocolette.”

Raymond and I exchanged glances, giggling while the oarsman vigorously rowed our boat forward.

I could see fish swimming between the aquatic plants in the incredibly clear water. Trees around the shore cast their shadows on the lake’s surface to make an incredible sight. Through the small holes in his vulpine mask I could tell Raymond was looking at the scenery around us as intently as he could.

“Surely you may take off your mask?” I asked.

It was just me and the male oarsman here; there were no girls near the boat. For some reason, women have a stronger negative reaction to ugly people...

The only other person I could see was a man standing among the trees, who appeared to be a servant at one of the villas, though his clothes were a bit dirty for a servant.

Anyway, since it was our day off, I thought that Raymond should at least be able to be somewhere he could remove his mask and freely enjoy himself as much as he wanted.

Raymond, however, shook his head. Slowly, he replied, “No. Being outside without a mask on is too scary for me.”

“Really... Well, I’m sorry. I would never force you to do anything,” I apologized, disconcerted. I hadn’t meant to trigger any of his traumas. “I just thought that you would be able to see the scenery better without it on.”

Raymond’s jade-green eyes softened and closed slightly; through the holes in his mask I could see a little of his face around his eyes. “I understand. You’re a compassionate person, just like my mom was. I never once thought you were trying to force me to do anything.”

“Raymond...”

“But to me, this mask is a good luck charm to help me connect to people a little bit. I get nervous without it.”

“Your mother made that for you, right? It suits you, cute as you are.”

At the compliment, Raymond squeezed my hand. “I’m really glad you became my sister...”

I smiled broadly and patted his head with my free hand.

▽

We returned to the pier after our boat ride to find that lunch was ready for us on the villa’s terrace. Once we were seated, we promptly dug in.

The terrace, with the sunlight filtering down on us through the trees and the beautiful lake spread out before us, was the finest place to be. Our chefs’ food was always delicious, but the added luxury of dining here made lunch even tastier. I had more of an appetite than usual, and Raymond heartily enjoyed his meal as well, wearing his mask at a slant.

Once lunch was finished, it was finally time for Raymond to try fishing.

A servant, acting as both guard and fishing coach, went along with Raymond and me to the fishing spot. Raymond immediately began fishing under our servant’s guidance, while I strolled about the area on my own.

Lovely flowers bloomed underfoot. Since I’m here, why not press some flowers? If only I had brought my flora reference book, I thought as I carefully inspected a nearby bloom.

Crack!

A sound erupted behind me, like something breaking.

Panicked, I turned around to see Raymond’s exposed face—his mask had broken. Our servant was already running into the bushes.

“Hey!” he shouted. “How dare you throw rocks at young Lord Raymond!”

I heard another voice raised in dispute. “Shut up and leave me alone!”

I hurried to where Raymond was sitting in the shallows of the lake. He sat dazed, his glazed eyes staring at the pieces of the mask in his hands. It had broken right in half.

To keep his body from growing cold, I hurriedly pulled Raymond from the water and made him stand. I put both hands on his shoulders and asked, “Raymond, are you hurt? What happened?”

“M-Mom... Mom gave me this mask...” was all he said.

It seemed like Raymond wasn’t injured, but the attack had shocked him greatly. His jade-green eyes were wide open and overflowing with large tears.

He held the pieces of the mask close to his chest and sobbed. “M-Mom gave me...this mask...”

I wrapped my arms around Raymond. His hands were clutched tight to the pieces of his mask. “Mom!” he wept. “Mommy!”

Words failed me. All I could do was stroke Raymond’s head and back, slowly and steadily.

▽

Our servant came back a short time later, dragging a somewhat dirty man behind him. The moment I felt like I had seen him before, I remembered—he was the man I’d seen in the woods from the boat. I had thought he worked at some noble’s villa...

“This man threw a rock from the bushes and broke young Lord Raymond’s mask,” our servant reported.

Finally, I understood what had happened.

“Why in the world would you commit such an offense?” I demanded.

At first, the man had been complaining to our servant in an attempt to get him to let him go, but when I spoke, he reluctantly turned toward me—then gasped, expression turning hazy as if he had fallen into a trance. My looks had netted another instant-kill.

“You were too far away to get a good look at before, but what a beautiful young lady you are. You look like an angel—no, a goddess!” he cried, trying to approach me even though he was restrained.

“Don’t you dare approach Miss Cocolette!” our servant yelled in a panic, holding the man back.

To be frank, the man took me aback. I adored my unparalleled beauty with all my heart, but the last thing I wanted was the obsessive fervor of a man who had just thrown stones at my little brother. I tried sending him a stern glare, but it didn’t seem to work.

“Such an elegant expression,” he said in wonderment, tears welling in his eyes. “I’ve truly met the divine!”

“Tell me why you threw a rock at my younger brother at once!” I demanded.

“Of course, miss! I’ll tell you anything you want, my goddess!” he replied enthusiastically. “Several days ago I was having a drink at the tavern when, you see, some noble asked me to break that kid’s weird mask. He said it was for a bit of revenge and paid me some of the money in advance. I followed the kid from the marquis’s mansion.”

“Who is this noble you speak of?”

“I didn’t get a name, but he’s going to meet me later at the same tavern and give me the rest of the money.”

“Is that so? Understood.”

“My goddess!” the man insisted. “If there’s anything else you need to know, only ask, and I will tell you everything!”

I gave some instructions to our servant, and together with the assailant—who kept wanting to talk to me—we all went back to the villa. Upon arriving, I asked some of our servants to assist Raymond with bathing and then changing his clothes; in the meantime, I urged Amaretti and the maids to prepare to return home.

With the broken pieces of the fox mask now in my hands, I looked at them and sighed. I came all the way out here to have a good time with Raymond, only for the day to be ruined.

I imagined it wouldn’t be too difficult to ask the man where the tavern was so we could arrest the noble who had ordered the crime. I was sure father would move quickly if I asked him for help—after all, the heir to the Blossom Marquisate had just been the victim of a malicious attack.

But in regards to the broken mask, there was nothing I could do.

Why had the noble who’d commissioned the crime deliberately wanted the mask broken? It was Raymond’s treasure, filled to the brim with memories of his mother. Had this mysterious noble known that, and ordered the crime to enact some sort of revenge on Raymond?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

And so, together with a despondent Raymond, we went home.

▽

The incident put my usually mild-mannered father into a rage. “This is a declaration of war against the marquisate,” he declared, smiling, a dark aura spreading around him. He looked entirely like the sort of terrifying orc mini-boss you might find in a game dungeon.

Father put in a request to the knights, who went to the tavern and easily arrested the true culprit behind the case.

Or should I say culprits—the ones who had come up with the plot were Viscount Gerstell’s children. They had resented Raymond, thinking that if it weren’t for him, any one of them would have been the heir to the Blossom Marquisate. But, Raymond’s existence aside, it was their lack of talent that had made my father reject them.

The Gerstell children had believed that with Raymond’s mask broken and his hideousness shown to the world, the Blossoms would reject him and throw him out on the streets. They had also known that the mask was a precious gift from Raymond’s mother, and that destroying it would wound him emotionally. The crime would kill two birds with one stone.

What the heck! Those people are the lowest of the low! I screamed silently. Their hearts are truly hideous! Terribly, terribly hideous! Why do such shameful criminals have to look down on Raymond’s appearance?!

In the end, it wasn’t just me who was angry, but my father as well—his fury went through the roof.

Viscount Gerstell, who had had no knowledge of what his children had been planning until after the arrest, came to our estate to apologize.

Before going to meet with him, father adopted a fighting stance. He turned to me and Raymond, who was still despondent over what happened. “Leave this to your papa, and wait in your rooms,” he said, thoroughly awe-inspiring, before heading to the parlor.

Well, if I appeared before Viscount Gerstell, my peerless beauty might make him all creepy and weird like it did to the man his sons paid to do the crime...

Instead of doing what father asked, I took Raymond with me out to the garden and peered furtively through the window into the parlor.

“Raymond is my beloved son, and now your family has hurt him,” my father was declaring, a stern expression on his face. “As both a father and as the Blossom marquis, I cannot forgive this. The Blossom family has now cut ties with the Gerstell family!”

Viscount Gerstell looked greatly panicked. He argued that because his children were not yet adults and that the crime was a matter of property damage only, what had occurred was just a minor offense and should be able to be settled with a compensation fee.

Father agreed that it wasn’t a crime considered severely punishable under the law—which was why he’d chosen to sever all connections with the Gerstells.

I imagined that by falling out of favor with the Blossom Marquisate, the Gerstells would be shunned from high society. After all, I was a marriage candidate to both princes. Were I to marry Prince Raph, I would become the crown princess, and eventually the queen consort. And who would dare approach people who had defied the queen consort’s family?

Viscount Gerstell kept trying to cling to the Blossom family’s support, but father drove him out of the estate. Then, father came right to where Raymond and I were—it seemed we had been found out.

Raymond seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Father faced him with a grin.

“Raymond,” he said, “you are the precious heir to the Blossom Marquisate. True, you may not be a handsome lad, but it’s what’s inside that counts, and you have a heart of remarkable purity. If something like this ever happens again, you are to let us know at once. After all, we are your family.”

“Y-Yes, father!” Raymond said. He seemed on the verge of tears and was desperately trying to blink them away. But the more he tried not to cry, the redder his face became. “Father, I-I’m very, very thankful that you chose me to become a part of this family...”

Father tenderly patted Raymond on the back to cheer him up.

After his fox mask had been broken, after the precious memory of his mother had been tarnished, Raymond had been so sad. But what had soothed his heart was one word from our father: “family.”

▽

After the incident, everyone in the Blossom estate got closer to Raymond. Father didn’t treat him as a mere successor but loved him as a son. The servants also took it upon themselves to hang portraits of Raymond unmasked throughout the residence in order to accustom themselves to his face. It helped the men considerably in getting used to Raymond’s looks, though the women seemed to still have some trouble.

Yet at seeing everyone’s clear efforts to try to accept him for who he was, Raymond could only beam happily.

“Raymond, it’s me,” I said before entering his room.

Raymond was at his desk; he turned around and said, “Sister, welcome home! I see you’re back from town.”

“Yes, I am.” After today’s classes had ended, I had gone downtown to pick up some items I’d ordered. “I have some things I’d like to give you,” I continued, pulling out two boxes that I’d hidden behind my back.

I handed them to Raymond, who tilted his head adorably as he examined them. “What are these for, sister?”

“You’ll know once you open them.”

Raymond briefly tidied up his study materials, then placed the two boxes on his desk.

“Open the white one first,” I instructed.

“Okay,” he replied, carefully doing just so.

Inside the white box was his fox mask—mended.

After father had cut ties with the Gerstells, Raymond had come to me with a request: to throw away the fractured halves of his mask.

“Holding on to the broken pieces would just be too painful,” he’d said. “I know that really, it’d be best if I threw them away, but...I just can’t do it. So please, sister, would you do it for me?”

I’d asked him many times if that was really what he wanted, and he’d been obstinate. He’d looked determined, then—he had decided to wholeheartedly prepare to become father’s successor. “I have you, father, my teacher, and the servants too. I don’t need to rely as much on my mother’s memory to live anymore,” he’d explained.

So I had taken the mask from him, as he had requested, and left it at a workshop to have it repaired.

Raymond, dazed, stared at the mask. “Why...?”

“Though it might have been repaired, as it was formerly broken, I was still advised that long-term wear is no longer possible,” I said, ignoring his question. “You should store it very carefully.”

“But I told you to throw it away...”

“Even if it’s unusable or broken, that doesn’t mean you need to throw it away entirely.” I placed my hands on Raymond’s shoulders. They were trembling. “Your mother gave it to you as a precious good luck charm, didn’t she? Even though you have a new family now, that doesn’t mean you have to throw away your memories of her.”

“Ah...” Raymond took the fox mask in hand and gently pressed it against his forehead. The tears he had been holding back from the moment he saw the mask now flowed freely down his cheeks and dripped from his chin onto the floor. “...S-Sister, why are you...so nice to me? I’m... I’m so ugly—I’m hideous! B-But from the start, you’ve...only ever been so kind...!”

“I have never once thought you were hideous,” I insisted softly. “From the moment we met you’ve only been Raymond Blossom, my adorable little brother. And besides, it’s natural for an older sister to dote on her little brother, isn’t it?”

I had always intended to accept Raymond as my adopted little brother no matter what he looked like. For him to be such a cute, good little boy who purely adored his older sister—it was inevitable for me to be twice as nice to him in return.

“Do you think I’d lie to you?” I asked, patting Raymond’s white hair.

He looked up at me. His jade-green eyes were glistening with tears, shining almost like they were beautiful gems. “...No, not at all.” Though his face was damp and teary from all his crying, the grin he gave me was one of the biggest ones I had ever seen from him. “Because you always look right at me and smile, just like my mom did.”

Raymond’s smile was so lovely that my heart instantly ached with intense agony—an agony I would take to my grave.

After that, Raymond gladly opened the second box and took out the other present. It was a separate mask, one that he could use whenever he wanted.

“I’m sorry the mouth looks a little odd,” I said hesitantly.

“Did you make this, sister?”

“I only painted it.”

The workshop I’d gone to to have the repairs done usually made brand-new masks, so I’d decided to order a fresh fox mask at the same time. The staff member had told me I could try my hand at painting it, so I’d done just that—resulting in the finished product having a somewhat crooked mouth.

But Raymond looked absolutely ecstatic. “Thank you, sister! Now I have another precious good luck charm!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

What a lavish life I live. I can’t believe I’m so close to such a cute, young bishonen—I can have my fill of him whenever I want!

◇

Raymond

I walked down the hallway in search of my sister, and as I passed the servants they turned to me and bowed. When I’d first showed up at the Blossom estate, they’d all seemed really confused by the mask I wore. Now, even if I wasn’t wearing one, they treated me as just another human being.

And now I was the confused one. After all, I’d always thought that the only time I could be “Raymond” was in front of my mother and no one else.

◇

When we had lived in town, our neighbors had done nothing but bully me because I was so terribly ugly.

The boys my age were always so mean to me, calling me “monster” or saying, “You’re just gross.” At times, they would even physically beat me. Any girls who saw me would look terribly sick and run away, and there were kids who would instantly foam at the mouth and faint. Adults were no better; they’d avert their eyes and gossip, saying things like “I know he’s hideous, but isn’t his dad a noble? Let’s not get involved with him or we might lose our heads.”

Not a single person had treated me as a fellow human being.

The only one to hug me and comfort me—love me—had been my mom.

Mom had been the most beautiful woman in town, with a heart even more pure and beautiful than her looks. That might have been why she caught the eye of my aristocratic “father,” but I don’t really know because that had happened before I was born.

“Father” was a good-looking noble who was very rich. He had already married and had a family, but he hadn’t been able to ignore my mother and had bought us a home and given us money to live off of. I thought “father” had really loved my mom.

But “father” hadn’t loved me; though I had inherited his white hair and green eyes, my face was as hideous as a monster’s.

Mom had loved me, at least. On days I’d been bullied and come home crying, she’d been waiting for me, a warm meal on the table, and she’d hug me and say, “Raymond, you’re my most precious treasure in the whole wide world. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

If I’d been hurt she’d tend to my wounds; if my clothes had gotten dirty she got me a clean set; and when I’d gotten worried about my future, she’d sought out a place I could study. And when I’d told her I wanted friends, she’d made the fox mask for me.

“This is a good luck charm, Raymond,” she’d said.

“A good luck charm?”

“As I made this, I prayed over it. I prayed that this charm would keep others from hurting you. It’s to help you make connections with others. And, it’s to help you meet kind people.”

I hadn’t responded for a moment. “Do you really think I’ll meet people like that?”

“I can’t know for sure, but you have to meet people to get to know them. Otherwise, you won’t know if kind people are out there,” mom had said with a bright smile as she gave me the mask.

“...Okay.”

If mom says so, then I hope it’s true. As long as I believe that there’s kind people out there who I just haven’t met yet, then even if I get hurt every time I try, I’ll keep meeting new people.

And even if I never meet those people, it’s okay—I have mom.

I was my mother’s son, and she raised me with lots of love and taught me how to be a decent person. That was why I’d decided to study really hard and take good care of her. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to give her any grandchildren, but I’d be there to look after her when she became a frail old woman, all the way until the end. If I could do that, I’d be more than happy.

“Thanks, mom. The fox face is really cute.”

She’d laughed. “I’m glad all my hard work paid off.”

When I’d put the mask on to show her, she’d patted my head and said, “It looks good on you!”

I never thought an accident would take my mother from me. It had been so sudden, so random, that I hadn’t even been able to cry.

◇

Living with the Gerstells had been harsh.

My “father” took me in after my mother died. But he didn’t do it because he loved me. Maybe I should have been more grateful that he did so because he didn’t love me. But I had just lost my mother; I hadn’t had the capacity to think about it anymore—to take in any more sorrow.

Lady Gerstell had taken all of my mother’s things and either thrown them away or sold them. “Since Viscount Gerstell bought these things,” she’d said, “they were never your mother’s property in the first place.”

I understood this logic when it came to the jewelry and dresses “father” had sent her, but it infuriated me when Lady Gerstell said the same thing about items “father” had clearly not bought: the sewing kit my mother had used since she was a child, for instance, or the pen that her parents had given her. It was because of Lady Gerstell that my fox mask was the only keepsake I had from my mother.

In the beginning, I had slept in the attic. There hadn’t been any windows, so the air had been stuffy and unpleasant. No one had cleaned the attic for years, so a thick layer of dust had covered the floor. Walking just a few steps in the space would cause years of uncollected dust to whirl up into the air and cause unstoppable coughing fits.

I had decided to clean it up myself, but when I’d asked the servants where they kept the cleaning supplies, they’d told me, “It is our job to do the cleaning. Your room shall be cleaned later, so we ask that you do not interfere.” But they hadn’t cleaned the attic no matter how much time passed; in the end, I simply gave up on sleeping there.

Just in case, I had asked “father” if there was another room in the house I could move to, but he was stubborn, and told me such a thing was impossible. After that, I’d roamed here and there about the estate in search of a place to sleep.

It had been difficult to find somewhere I could safely rest. If Lady Gerstell found me, she would send me back up to the attic; if her sons caught me, they would whip me. Even the boys in my old neighborhood hadn’t been that violent. Finally, I found the storage shed in the garden and slept there.

Little by little, the Gerstells had stopped feeding me. Eventually they had forbidden me to bathe. To solve those issues I helped the old man who worked the gardens in exchange for food, and I’d wash myself in the garden fountain in the middle of the night.

I’d long felt that staying at the Gerstell estate was entirely pointless, but still, I was only nine—what sort of work could I do? Even if I’d decided to live on the streets as an orphan, no one would give me any charity, for I was utterly hideous. And though my memory had always been a source of my mother’s praise, I’d had no idea what to actually do with it.

But living here with “father” also meant that I’d have no future. I could remember thinking back then, If I don’t have a future either way, then rather than stay in this stuffy place, I’d like to at least be somewhere I can actually breathe.

It was then that Marquis Blossom—father—came to the Gerstell estate and asked me if I wanted to be his son.

And my future had opened up.

◇

“Sister! So this is where you’ve been,” I said.

It wasn’t yet mealtime, but I found my sister in the dining hall. She was with Amaretti and the head chef, and all three were talking while standing over some sort of paper that lay stretched out across the table.

Sister turned toward me and immediately opened up her arms. I fell into her embrace, cuddling against her chest without hesitation.

Ahh, she’s just like mom...

“You’ve finished your lesson in manners already, Raymond?” sister asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “My teacher praised me for my work today!”

“Of course he did. You’re a sharp one.”

“What are you doing, sister?” I asked politely. “May I join you?”

“Yes, of course you can.”

Sister loosened her hold on me and prompted me to sit in the chair next to hers. I still wanted to cuddle, but I figured there would be time for that later, so I obliged her and took a seat. I was always happy when my sister hugged me, but sitting next to her and looking at her was good too.

Sister was really pretty. Mom had been a really beautiful lady too, but somehow, my sister was the kind of pretty that shouldn’t be compared to at all. Sister was like a painting of a goddess I’d once seen in a church, or a statue of an angel. Her pink hair was light and soft, her green eyes shone like gems, and she always smelled nice. She always smiled kindly at me too—she always had, ever since we first met.

I had been so sad after my mom died, and after the incredibly cruel treatment I’d had at the Gerstell estate, I hadn’t had the energy to believe father when he said he wanted to adopt me. I hadn’t even had any expectations about sister before I met her—I’d only hoped that she wasn’t the type to whip people.

And then father had asked me to take off my mask when greeting my sister for the first time. I had done what he asked; I’d long since stopped caring about what would happen to me.

“I’m Cocolette, your new sister. Let’s have fun together, okay, Raymond?”

I hadn’t cried at mom’s funeral, nor when Lady Gerstell had thrown out all of mom’s things, and not even when her sons had whipped me.

Sister was pretty, yes, but her smile was just like mom’s, kind and warm. It had felt like I was meeting mom again—that’s why I had bawled.

Thinking about it now made me really embarrassed.

“Anyway, Raymond,” sister said, pulling me back to the present. “Since you’re a boy close in age to Prince Raph, I’d like to hear your opinion on this.”

She pointed at the paper that had been spread out across the table. Listed on it were the names of sweets and their ingredients. It seemed like she had been talking with Amaretti and the head chef about what refreshments to serve during the crown prince’s upcoming visit to our estate.

“The head chef recommended that we have summertime snacks—ones with a fresher flair to them,” sister explained. “Things like fruit cocktails, jellies, yogurt cakes... What would make you happy to see on the menu, Raymond?”

“I don’t really know,” I said. “They all sound delicious.”

“You’re right... I feel the same way.” Sister was troubled, but smiled nonetheless.

Amaretti and the head chef looked amused by her reaction. As for me, I was practically bursting with joy just to be with them in such a warm and pleasant atmosphere.

I had a lovely sister who was always kind to me. I had a father who was a wonderful man, one who was proud to call me family. Even the servants here had been almost as upset as I was when my mask had been broken.

The Blossoms’ family was so much larger than the Gerstells’, and it was always filled with warm affection, like a clearing warmed by the sun. It made me feel whole.

I suddenly remembered something my mother had once said to me: “This is a good luck charm, Raymond. As I made this, I prayed over it. I prayed that this charm would keep others from hurting you. It’s to help you make connections with others. And, it’s to help you meet kind people.”

Hey, mom. Someone broke the fox mask you made me. I was so sad that I cried about it, but thinking about it now, maybe that was a sign that its job was done. I hope that’s the case.

“Excuse me.” My sister charmingly tipped her head as she spoke to the head chef. “Just how many kinds of sweets do you believe you’d be able to prepare that day?”

I watched my sister and thought to myself, Mom, I think I’ve finally found the kind people you hoped I’d meet.

✛

Raphael

Today was finally the day that I’d agreed to go to the Blossom estate for tea.

In my past life, I’d gone to the Blossom estate only a small number of times. And perhaps it was because all those visits had been in the evening, or because the people I’d met then had been so gloomy, but in my mind the estate had always had a terribly dark and desolate ambience about it.

When I got to the Blossom residence today, however, the milky-white stone mansion was incredibly vibrant, colored both in bright summer sunlight and deep dark shadows. The front yard was home to blooming summer flowers in numerous passionate hues, and the lawn was such a dazzling green that its freshness practically jumped out at me. The estate was not flashy—rather, it seemed suited as a locus of peaceful family life.

“Welcome to the Blossom family home, Your Highness.”

“Marquis Blossom,” I said in return. “Thank you for the invitation.”

The marquis had come outside to greet me. His shoulders were stiff—he seemed nervous—but his gaze was calm. As I’d thought, he seemed like an entirely different man from the Marquis Blossom I’d known in my previous life.

What was stranger was how even the stewards and servants of the household, lined up to receive me, looked at me without a hint of repugnance. One or two maids fainting at my hideousness by this point would have been normal. Ford, who had come with me, seemed to also find this curious, given that he was covertly examining our surroundings.

“My daughter awaits Your Highness in the garden,” Marquis Blossom said before leaving a steward to guide us. He had work to return to.

The steward led us through the mansion and then down to the garden. I found myself surrounded by even more plants here than in the front yard. It had a somewhat pastoral atmosphere; there was an ease here, unlike in the palace gardens, which the royal gardeners had carefully planned down to the last detail. There was even a swing tied to the largest tree.

Coco was waiting for me in the cool shade of another tree, where a table and chairs had been set up. “Welcome to the Blossom estate, Prince Raph!” she called, giving me a charming wave.

Coco wore a light and airy summer dress today, and—rare for her—her hair was pulled into an updo that exposed the bright, pale nape of her neck. I couldn’t help but feel bashful at the sight and diverted my gaze.

I’d seen Coco many times by now, but I still couldn’t get used to how beautiful she was. No matter what expression she wore, my heart fluttered—no matter what outfit she wore, I was captivated.

Actually, that day I’d eagerly put on cufflinks that were the same peridot color as Coco’s eyes, but—even though it was far too late to do anything about it—I was suddenly embarrassed by my actions. Gussying myself up would hardly change a thing for someone as hideous as me; all I would do was end up looking like an idiot. No matter how neatly I presented myself, there was no way I could possibly suit Coco.

My thoughts were going in so many circles that I couldn’t reply to her. So instead, Coco came to me.

She took my hand and tilted her head with a smile. “Prince Raph, surely you must be thirsty after traveling in this sweltering heat? Some iced tea has already been prepared—we have an orange-flavored blend, and quite a lot of it.”

“Ah... Ah, yes. Thanks,” I finally managed to say.

“I asked the head chef to prepare a myriad of refreshments for us today. And we shall have not just sweets, but a light meal as well.” Her gaze shifted to my wrist. “Oh my, Prince Raph. What’s this?”

She lifted my hand to her eyes and stared at my shirt sleeve—she had noticed my cufflinks. I was still too embarrassed to look at her, so I let my gaze wander away from hers.

Coco’s gaze softened. “I’m flattered, Prince Raph! Is this so you’ll remember me even in times I can’t be by your side?”

I hesitated before replying, “I couldn’t forget you for even a second, Coco.”

“Oh my, what passionate words, ♡” she said with a giggle, gently rubbing my peridot cufflink. It glimmered in the sunlight. “I would love to wear a gem the color of your eyes as well, Prince Raph. My fave’s special color...”

I heard the first part well, but since the last bit was murmured I couldn’t quite catch it. Still, I replied, “Then I shall have to get you one soon.”

Coco’s eyes widened in surprise. Then, she nodded, seeming shy. “How embarrassing. It feels as though I’ve pestered you into it. If I may be so shameless, however, I would love to wear something you picked out for me.”

“I’ve never personally picked out a gift for a girl before,” I confessed. “I may have bad taste...”

“No matter what it is, I will make it work!” Coco promised with pride.

I couldn’t help but believe her. No matter how terrible my fashion sense was, whatever item I chose probably couldn’t take away even a little bit from her overwhelming beauty.

Coco led me to the table, where a freckled maid served us orange-flavored iced tea. I took a sip. Then, as Coco explained the different foods laid out, I tried each and every one in turn.

While the royal chefs had better tools and ingredients with which to make their cuisines, I thought that the snacks here at the marquis’s home were much more delicious. I’m sure a large part of that impression was from the fact that I felt much more relaxed here than in the palace. And really, above all, the Blossom estate was only this joyous because Coco had survived.

I gazed at Coco as I bit once more into a snack—which, after meeting her, was the second wonder of the world I’d come across.

“Actually, Prince Raph, there is someone I’d like you to meet,” Coco said.

“Meet?” I echoed.

“As I am now one of your marriage candidates, father adopted a child to inherit the marquisate. So I have a new little brother—and he’s awfully adorable!”

Inheritance... Adoption... Little brother... It couldn’t be the boy Marquis Blossom replaced Coco with last time, could it—?

A sudden call interrupted my thoughts. “Sister! I’ve finished my lessons!”

“Ah, there he is, Prince Raph.”

My eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the boy who raced over to us. He had white hair, jade-green eyes, and was just about as ugly as I was.

There was no mistake—it was him.

In my past life, Raymond Blossom had been a boy as cold as ice. Yet now, for some unknown reason, he beamed warmly at us as he ran and jumped straight into Coco’s arms.

“Raymond, we have guests,” Coco chided gently. “You must greet Prince Raph properly first.”

“Yes, sister!” Raymond chirped, disentangling himself from her before standing up straight and turning his glittering eyes toward me. “Your Highness Prince Raphael, it is an honor to make your acquaintance! I am Cocolette’s younger adopted brother, Raymond.”

He bowed his head. As for me, it was all I could do to stare and mumble a vague, “Ah... Yes.”

He is far too different from how I once knew him...

✛

Marquis Blossom had seen Raymond’s genius when the boy was nine years old and subsequently adopted him into the family. The marquis’s aim in my past life had been an early retirement; he’d simply wanted to live quietly and alone where his beloved wife and daughter were buried. Therefore, in order to hand over the estate to Raymond as quickly as possible, his education of the boy had been brutal and brusque.

Though the marquis had taken in Raymond soon after the loss of his mother, he refused to show the boy any familial love and instead had treated him cruelly. The servants, too, had hated him due to his hideousness. With no one to support him, Raymond’s heart had gone cold.

In my last life, I’d first met Raymond—two years my junior—in the academy library. From the moment he entered the school he had stood out, for not only was he ugly, but he also had, for some reason, the odd habit of wearing half of a clearly broken fox mask over the left side of his face.

Raymond hadn’t just been the top student in his grade, but the top in the whole school. He had the incredible ability to remember anything; I’d heard that before entering the academy, he had read and memorized every single textbook the school assigned.

He’d rarely attended classes; instead, he’d spent all day long reading books in the academy library, which was second only to the royal library in how large its collection was. Throughout his four years at school he had tried to read every single book the academy owned. Our acquaintanceship had begun by chance when I’d gone to check out a book and we’d happened to make eye contact.

My friendship with Raymond had been a warped one. While we might’ve been tied together through a shared hopelessness brought about by our ugliness, there was one thing we would never be able to understand about each other: Unlike me, Raymond’s mother had loved him.

“My mother made me this mask. Someone broke it... Well, it took me a few years, but I got back at the man who did it and the ones who ordered the crime. I completely destroyed their family.” Raymond had laughed, an evil expression on his face.

“My mother used to call my mask a good luck charm,” he’d continued. “She’d said she’d prayed it would protect me from bad people and help me meet people who were kind... But it didn’t do that at all. Some good luck charm.” Still, he had stroked the broken mask tenderly as he spoke. “Despite all that, it’s the sole memento I have of my mother—the only person who has ever loved me. Even if keeping it means her death will always haunt me, I can’t get rid of it.”

He had plastered a smile on his face, but I couldn’t help but feel envious. After all, I had never even known what a mother’s love felt like.

What had happened to Raymond was terribly unfortunate; others had hurt him simply because of his looks. But even still, his mother had loved him.

I had been terribly envious—and disgusted with myself for feeling that way. At times being around Raymond had been nearly unbearable.

Raymond and I had continued our friendship after we both graduated from the academy. With both of us being so overexposed to the maliciousness of high society, I’d imagined that after leaving the academy we’d become even more misanthropic than we had been before.

At one soiree, Raymond—with his usual dark smile—had said this to me: “I haven’t cried in years. Not since my mother died. Even when I wanted to, the tears just wouldn’t come. I’m sure they’ve all dried up completely.”

He had said this right after a young noblewoman had fainted at the sight of us and caused an uproar. Having lost even the ability to feel remorse for causing such an incident, Raymond had continued with, “Forget about tears—I may not even be able to really smile anymore.”

Our hearts had become worn and exhausted, and so, we had cursed the entire world.

I think that was why Raymond had done what he did—why he’d sheltered me after I’d lost my title as crown prince and run away from the palace, and why he’d helped me build the rebel army.

Just before his execution at the guillotine, Raymond had quietly murmured: “I can’t wait to see you, mom...”

Until my very last breath, I had been envious of Raymond for having someone he could return to—someone who loved him.

✛

“Raymond truly is a brilliant child,” Coco said. “He can memorize anything he reads. The Blossom Marquisate will be in safe hands when he inherits it.”

“I’ll work as hard as I need to to make you happy, sister!” Raymond chirped.

“It won’t be just me you’ll make happy,” she insisted. “If you can use your brilliance to protect the Blossom territory, everyone will be delighted—father, the servants, and our people included.”

Coco patted Raymond’s head, and he beamed. So this is what it looks like when he truly smiles, I thought, taken aback. Though he was still an absurdly hideous child, this smile was leagues better than the one I’d seen him paste on in my past life.

“Raymond,” I began after a long moment. I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask, but I inquired regardless. “Are you happy Marquis Blossom adopted you?”

Raymond blinked curiously for a moment, but soon nodded, smiling innocently like the child he was. “Yes, of course!”

I felt not a bit of envy at his response; rather, my heart soared at his reply. Even I had enough compassion left in me to smile back at him, as if to say, “I’m glad for you.”

One by one, the hardships from my past life that I still carried were being lifted away—all because Coco had lived.

Chapter 4: Miss Mystère’s Misfortune

Cocolette

The Blossom family maids weighed on my mind as of late. Even now, they still couldn’t get used to Raymond’s face without his mask. Each one told me how unacceptable their behavior was and how hard they had tried to adjust, but in the end, their reaction to Raymond was still instinctively that of disgust.

For the time being, the maids were assigned work unrelated to any of Raymond’s affairs, but this tactic wasn’t a viable solution, especially once Raymond inherited the estate. In the meantime, I wonder if there’s any way I can help them get used to him...

This was what preoccupied my brain as I traversed the palace to my classes. As I walked down the hall, Miss Mystère came from behind me to commence a special surprise attack. There was a moment when I nearly stumbled, but my training as a lady had tempered my physique, and I gathered myself just in time.

I smiled gracefully at her as if nothing had happened. “Good morning, Miss Mystère. I see the weather today is lovely as—”

“Miss Cocolette!” Miss Mystère interrupted. “After our classes have finished for the day, I order you to accompany me! There will be no excuses!”

She then strode into the classroom where our first lesson of the day would be held, her black sausage curls glamorously streaming around her.

Would it have killed her to at least pretend to care if I had plans?

▽

After classes finished, Miss Mystère brought me to one of the palace greenhouses; it seemed she had gone through the trouble of getting permission to use this spot for our meeting. This greenhouse housed many plants, though it was home mainly to moth orchids, which bloomed with a dignified fragrance. All in all, it was a worthy stage for Miss Mystère.

A palace maid poured us tea. As I sipped from my cup, I waited for Miss Mystère to break the ice. She seemed to be deliberating over how to start the conversation—her crimson eyes wandered about the greenhouse and she fiddled with her fingers restlessly.

When Miss Mystère finally lifted her head, her face was beet red. “M-Miss Cocolette! I demand you teach me the trick by which you look upon His Highness Raphael’s countenance!”

I couldn’t answer for a moment. “Pardon?” I asked finally.

“Ever since becoming one of His Highness’s marriage candidates, I have yet to be able to even introduce myself to him,” she admitted. “At this rate, I am more likely to sully the Wagner family name than I am to become queen!”

Now that she mentioned it, the stakes were probably really that high for her. Since Miss Mystère fainted every time she saw Prince Raph, she had yet to have a proper first meeting with him. She was in rather dire circumstances.

Prince Raph didn’t seem to care much about it, but all the same, I knew that on the inside, Miss Mystère’s behavior toward his appearance fed the hurt and bitterness in his heart. My heart hurt too; I knew that Miss Mystère wasn’t that kind of hateful person, and I didn’t want Prince Raph to misunderstand that about her. After all, she was really just a gorgeous tsundere type—hard on the outside, but soft on the inside.

I wanted Prince Raph to have a circle of amicable companions he could turn to, and so nipping Miss Mystère’s problems in the bud was now my priority. And even if doing so resulted in the birth of an unshakable bond between Miss Mystère and Prince Raph, I had faith that I would still be able to come out on top and be queen. I was the most gorgeous girl I’d ever met, after all.

This might also help me figure out a way for the maids and Raymond to get along better, I thought.

“A ‘trick,’ you say,” I mused slowly, thinking. “I truly adore Prince Raph’s countenance, so I believe just imitating what I do may prove too difficult for you. I believe it would be better for you to find an entirely different method.”

“A-A different method?!” Miss Mystère echoed. “Do you expect me to seclude myself on a mountaintop and train my way out of this?!”

She really speaks before she thinks, doesn’t she?

“Ah, that is not what I meant,” I began, only for a newcomer to interrupt us.

“Coco! It’s been too long!” came the overly pleasant voice.

I turned to see Prince Orkhart, accompanied by a sea of servants, standing in the greenhouse entrance. Miss Mystère and I stood from our seats at once and greeted him.

“You two lovely ladies seem to be enjoying yourselves,” he said. “Is there room for one more in your secret tea party?”

With his usual broad, intense grin, Prince Ork kissed the back of Miss Mystère’s hand and then mine. My heart was unmoved.

Miss Mystère’s brow and cheeks, however, were completely red. “You mustn’t; my family is on the queen’s side,” she murmured, seemingly trying hard to control her fluttering heart.

The maids accompanying Prince Ork procured him a chair and prepared him tea; we, now a party of three, began our teatime anew.

“It truly has been too long, Coco,” Prince Ork reiterated. “How has your queenly education progressed so far?”

“Thankfully, it has been going well,” I replied. “However, Prince Ork, are you sure it is all right for you to have tea with us? You must be terribly busy.”

“Today, my dear mother hosted a tea party in the back garden. It just finished; I was returning to my chambers via this greenhouse. And I thank myself for choosing this route—for getting to see you, Coco, has made a wonderful conclusion to my day.”

Prince Ork’s gaze softened peacefully. Next, he turned to Miss Mystère.

“I believe this is the first time we’re properly speaking, Miss Wagner,” he began. “Have you been getting along well with my brother? Should you become his queen, Coco and I will be free to marry.”

Miss Mystère paused. “Well, um... I...” She hesitated, casting repeated glances at me.

I informed Prince Ork about Miss Mystère’s request for help on how to actually even look at Prince Raph.

Prince Ork put a hand to his chin, his brows furrowing in thought. “I must admit that my brother is not a looker.” He paused. “But I have never understood the outright abhorrence that everyone has for him.”

My eyes widened at those words. Oh?

“You do not find Prince Raph repugnant?” I asked.

“No, I don’t,” he replied. “I understand that he’s ugly, but that’s it. Whatever he looks like, he’s my brother, and I respect him regardless. To be honest, Miss Wagner, I do not understand why you feel the way you do.”

“My word!” Miss Mystère exclaimed. “Neither of you have a visceral disgust for the hideous? Unbelievable! This must be a state of mind that only the chosen few, the ones of both beautiful hearts and minds, can attain!”

“What is she talking about, Coco?” Prince Ork asked me.

“I have not the slightest idea, Prince Ork,” I replied.

I knew that Prince Ork was a boy with a pure heart, but that wasn’t why I could look at Prince Raph without any issues. Sure, I had been reincarnated as a gorgeous girl, but at my core I was a vain and shallow self-shipper—impure to the bone and filled to the brim with ulterior motives.

Anyway, this wasn’t a problem that could be solved with the kind of idealism Miss Mystère was spouting, so I suggested, “I think you should avoid looking straight at Prince Raph.”

“Would that not be impolite to His Highness?” Miss Mystère asked.

“Then I would point out that other ladies and gentlemen already tend to avert their gazes from him,” I said. “If you cannot look at his eyes, perhaps you may look at his forehead instead.”

In response to my advice, her brows knit together. “Will that go well...?”

“What if you try wearing a veil, Miss Wagner?” Prince Ork suggested.

“A veil?” Miss Mystère echoed. “Unfortunately, Your Highness, those are only worn for important ceremonies.”

“That may be true here in Cheriotte, but in the south, where my mother’s home country lies, the sun’s rays are quite strong. A veil is an everyday garment over there. If you cover your eyes with one, you might be able to get by without having to look at brother straight on.”

I considered Prince Ork’s words, then said, “You do have a point.”

Miss Mystère balled both of her hands into fists, as if resolving herself physically, then deeply bowed her head. “I will begin wearing a veil at once starting on the morrow, and I will endeavor to look at his forehead! Your Highness Orkhart, Miss Cocolette, I deeply appreciate your advice today. I promise you I will pay His Highness Raphael my respects—all for the Wagner name!” She beamed radiantly, her crimson eyes glittering.

Aaahh, she really is such a cutie! ♡

Miss Mystère was certainly going to be a bewitching babe one day, but for now, her youthful smile captivated me well enough.

▽

After teatime in the greenhouse had finished, Prince Ork accompanied me to the carriage depot.

His gaze was feverish as he said, “So I heard that my brother went to the Blossom estate the other day.”

“Yes,” I replied. “We treated him to some refreshments.”

Prince Ork didn’t speak for a moment. And then he stroked my hair. “Coco,” he said finally, giving me a lonesome smile.

How dare you touch me so casually! I snarled silently. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I’m Prince Raph’s woman, you uggo!

I hid my rage, forcing a smile as I swept aside his hand.

“May I visit your family’s home as well?” Prince Ork asked.

“Of course, Prince Ork,” I replied. “But only after visiting the estates of your other marriage candidates.”

He let out a short, strained laugh. “Touché. My first love truly is virtuous. You know, Coco, you’ve only charmed me all the more.”

Prince Ork took my hand and escorted me to the Blossom family carriage. I climbed inside quietly and sat down.

“Prince Ork, it is often said that first loves never work out,” I warned.

“Isn’t that something I should be saying to you and brother?”

“No. We are the only ones that saying does not apply to.” Before the carriage door was shut, I gave Prince Ork my best smile and declared, “Whatever fate has in store, I will twist it into a happy ending for Prince Raph.”

Prince Ork’s eyes widened in surprise even as his pupils shrunk to pinpricks. Yet still afterward, his smile was calm. “After all is said and done, my first love truly is virtuous.”

I said my goodbye to Prince Ork, then returned home to the Blossom estate.

▽

To make a long story short, the plan failed.

Miss Mystère, considerably fired up, had procured a high-quality black veil to wear while speaking with Prince Raph, but had tragically lost consciousness the moment she saw him. I—acting as a chaperone of sorts—had panicked, and Prince Ork, who had gone out of his way to make the time to check in on us, had been surprised as well.

For some reason, Prince Raph had been the only one who remained calm, quickly ordering Ford to look after Miss Mystère.

“I’m used to Miss Wagner’s bouts of fainting,” Prince Raph had explained, a faraway look in his eyes.

Did he meet her sometime before she became his marriage candidate? I had wondered.

That was how we ended up here, at our next strategy meeting. We were once again at the same greenhouse as before, but now, Prince Ork had joined us from the very beginning.

“A veil alone was not enough,” Miss Mystère said dejectedly. “My eyesight is 20/4, so I can see faraway objects extremely well...”

What tribe of hunters is she descended from to get that kind of eyesight? I wondered as I gently rubbed her back.

“Shall we think of another method?” I asked. “There must be some other means.”

“That’s right,” Prince Ork agreed. “There must be a way to properly obstruct your vision, Miss Wagner. We shall think on it.”

We churned out a number of ideas, including, but not limited to:

“What about two layers of veils?” Prince Ork suggested.

“Dark sunglasses, perhaps?” Miss Mystère said.

“You could introduce yourself to Prince Raph from behind a partition,” I posited.

“We may as well just have my brother wear a mask.”

Miss Mystère fumed. “As a loyal subject of the kingdom, I cannot allow you two to put a burden on the royal family!”

And so, from the next day on, we once again put our plans into practice.

Miss Mystère tried putting on a number of veils at once, yet still fainted upon meeting Prince Raph. She tried sunglasses and met the same result. She even tried reading glasses, but they were not a match to her prescription and instead gave her a massive headache.

I was sure that Prince Raph was having a difficult time assisting with our experiments, but Miss Mystère seemed to be the most frazzled one in the group.

“Were it not for the headache, I imagine the reading glasses would be the least objectionable option,” she said, poking at the reading glasses which sat atop the table. “When I wore them His Highness’s face was somewhat difficult to see.”

As had become our new custom, we sat in the greenhouse having tea. Incidentally, Prince Ork was not there that day, having apparently been invited to a tea party hosted by a family belonging to his mother’s faction.

I hesitated before asking, “Miss Mystère, why do you insist on trying so hard to do this? I must admit, I believe it would be...difficult for you to become Prince Raph’s queen. Of course, this is not an issue of your ability, but...”

“I know enough to realize that I am not suitable to be His Highness Raphael’s queen.” Miss Mystère let out a tired sigh. “However, this is the will of the Wagner family. Though... Unless I marry into the royal family and gain the power of queen...” Her words became so quiet that they were hard to catch. “...won’t be free...”

“Miss Mystère?” I asked for her to repeat herself, but she just sighed once more and didn’t answer again.

“If only there were some sort of magical glasses that would make Prince Raph’s face difficult to see,” I said instead.

Incidentally, there was magic in this world. However, this world wasn’t like one in the average light novel, where every noble could cast spells or people could partake in ceremonies at a church to discover their affinities. There were also no magic schools nor royal mages.

However, numerous folklore and legends remained in this world: the tale of a green witch living deep in the mountains, the story of a cursed castle built by an immortal wizard, accounts of a blind saint with mysterious powers, and so on and so forth. Some of these things did actually exist. Mystery tours of the cursed castle, for example, were very popular among nobles.

Put simply, magic did exist here, but very few people could use it, and therefore, it had no roots in everyday life. I’d heard that if a person with supernatural powers apprenticed under a witch or wizard for several decades, they would become a master of the craft. But that was only a vague rumor.

Miss Mystère’s expression creased with bitterness. “If we are discussing magic, I might have a lead...”

“Oh, my!” I exclaimed. “Miss Mystère, do you happen to be acquainted with a witch or wizard?!”

She hesitated. “Not exactly,” she answered vaguely. “There is no guarantee that he will lend us his support, but seeing as I am between a rock and a hard place... If I must tackle this issue head-on, I most certainly shall.”

Miss Mystère seemed to have made up her mind, but for some reason, her latter words were less a declaration and more muttering to herself.

With that, our teatime came to an end.

The next day after classes concluded, I was about to return home when one of Miss Mystère’s subordinates essentially abducted me, whisking me away to the Wagner family’s enormous estate without even a proper explanation.

Why can Miss Mystère never invite me to things the way a normal person would...?

▽

The Wagner residence was a luxurious mansion probably five times as large as my own home. From the front gate unfurled a long pathway ending at the mansion’s entryway, lined by stately bushes of fully bloomed black roses. After Miss Mystère and I exited our carriage, I immediately noticed a score of servants standing in a line at the front door, already prepared to greet us. Just as one would expect from the household of the prime minister.

Miss Mystère walked along, asking the servants to prepare tea before showing me into the estate.

“Miss Cocolette, I shall be introducing you to my brother. He is one year my elder.” She led me down a long hallway lined at even intervals with expensive works of art. As she spoke, her voice took on an increasingly evasive tone. “My brother refuses to associate with others and rarely leaves his room. Though he should be devoting himself to his studies to become the next prime minister, he seems to have no intention of doing that... He instead spends all his time researching magic.”

“Oh...”

So Miss Mystère’s brother was a total shut-in. That was some pretty heavy stuff.

Still, if he was interested in magic, he might be willing to help out his little sister with her current predicament. Gaining another ally here would be a big help.

“I cannot say with certainty if he will counsel us,” Miss Mystère admitted hesitantly. “But we must try.”

She pulled out of her pocket something resembling a master key, then knocked on the door at the end of the hallway. “Fiss!” she called. “It is me! Open the door!”

Miss Mystère knocked several more times, but there was no response. She banged on the door even harder to no reply. Next, she made to use the master key, but right in front of my eyes, something like a membrane of light abruptly appeared. The key snapped in half with a crack, sparks flying.

“Miss Mystère!” I gasped. “What was that...?”

“My brother’s magic,” she replied. “He’s prevented anyone from opening the door without permission.”

Miss Mystère seemed to find this unpleasant, but my reaction was exactly the opposite—such a spectacle excited me. This was real magic, of the kind that in my old life you could only see in the 2D world! All hail reincarnating into another world!

“Incredible!” I exclaimed. “I can’t believe I just saw real magic!”

All of my beloved favorite characters from my old world came into my mind: the prince who’d mastered light magic, the lonely bishonen everyone mistrusted for being a dark mage, and then the archmage who’d controlled the Association of Magic...

Ah, I loved you all so much. You were such babes! I can’t even remember how many microtransactions I dedicated to you all. And now I’m seeing your magic with my very own eyes, even if just a glimpse! This is amazing!

“Miss Mystère, I would like to see that defensive magic one more time!” I begged, beyond excited. “Please lend me that master key!”

And then, for some reason, the door suddenly opened from the other side.

“You could stop being so loud in front of my room.”

A boy with hair the same color and texture as Miss Mystère’s poked his head out of the room. His eyes were the same shade of crimson as well.

And he was also a dwarf-face.

Meeting a new monsterish-looking boy on top of losing out on my chance to see more magic made my shoulders slump dejectedly. I could only watch in vain as he caught sight of my face and immediately blushed.

▽

Miss Mystère’s brother was both the heir to the Wagner family and the future prime minister. He let us into the room, sat in an armchair, and crossed one leg over the other.

“My name is Dwarphister Wagner,” he said, in an arrogant, pompous tone.

If orc-faces represented the traditional handsome types in Cheriotte, then dwarf-faces were the so-called “cool” subgenre of men. What made them that way was the overall volume of their hair—facial hair included—and what made them absurdly cool was a bit of sullenness in their eyes and a smallish but rugged build. Ugh, I couldn’t understand it even though I was explaining it, but regardless, that was the gist.

Lord Dwarphister would probably grow up into the ultimate dwarf-face, complete with an imposing, tousled beard. In other words, completely and utterly not my type.

“My name is Cocolette Blossom,” I replied politely. “I am here today on Miss Mystère’s invitation. I am honored to make your acquaintance, Lord Dwarphister.”

He paused before finally replying, “I see.” He rested his chin on his hand, seeming rather bored, but his eyes revealed that he was observing me intently.

Miss Mystère, sitting next to me, leaned forward. “Fiss, I would ask for your counsel.”

“You’re asking for my help, Tear?”

I took little notice of the siblings’ conversation—I was preoccupied with handling my own surprise. To think that Lord Dwarphister’s nickname was “Fiss” and not “Dwarph”! Talk about a curveball! But now that I thought about it, I thought Miss Mystère had been yelling “Fiss” when we were still trying to get into his room...

“Magic that makes the crown prince’s face hard to see?” Lord Dwarphister said.

“Yes,” Miss Mystère replied. “Do you happen to have any clever ideas, Fiss?”

For some reason, Lord Dwarphister then glowered at me. “Are you also one of the crown prince’s marriage candidates?”

“By some miracle, yes,” I said humbly.

“So I’m guessing you can’t look at the crown prince head-on either, can you? That’s why you’re here hoping to borrow my power,” Lord Dwarphister said rudely. “You may as well give up on that right now. You’re not fit to wed the crown prince.”

Before I could respond, Miss Mystère shook her head and said, “No, Fiss. Miss Cocolette does not find His Highness Raphael repugnant. She is here as my advisor. I am the one who cannot withstand His Highness’s countenance, and at this rate, Miss Cocolette will be the one to become queen.”

“Wh-What did you say?!” Lord Dwarphister’s eyes went round with shock.

I nodded triumphantly. “I will be Prince Raph’s queen, not Miss Mystère. But despite our rivalry I find it absolutely heartbreaking for Miss Mystère and Prince Raph both that they cannot even greet one another. I, too, would like to ask for your cooperation, Lord Dwarphister.” I tipped my head to the side and gently pleaded, “Would that be all right?”

Lord Dwarphister immediately blushed, seeming flustered.

Looks like my pretty privilege is in perfect form today!

“I’ve never done it before,” he said finally, “but I can try.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Lord Dwarphister!”

“Truly, Fiss?!” Miss Mystère asked.

“I have one condition,” Lord Dwarphister said, pointing a finger at me.

Doesn’t he know that’s rude?

“Cocolette Blossom!” he continued. “Until I perfect the magic, you’ll be my assistant!”

“For the benefit of His Highness Prince Raph, I accept,” I replied.

If I can help make even one fewer person in this world faint at the sight of Prince Raph or Raymond, I’ll do it!

✛

Raphael

It had been busy around here as of late.

I already went through all the training to be crown prince in my previous life, so that was no problem. But since I also was researching King Schwarz’s Golden Cross in my private time, I had to be efficient with my schedule. If I weren’t, I would lose plenty of opportunities to meet with Coco.

Time with Coco was my solace. My twice weekly tea parties with her had become the norm, and if we happened to be at the Blossom residence, Raymond would join us.

Raymond’s perfect memory was, as expected, staggering. And since it would be such a waste not to help him grow, I brought along my own books to the tea parties so he could borrow them.

Raymond had been ecstatic. “Whoa, books on Cheriotte’s architectural history and flood management practices! Thank you so much, Prince Raph! I promise to work hard and be a good help to both the marquisate and my sister!”

All things considered, Raymond had developed quite the sister complex. Well, if one’s sister was Coco, that should probably have come as no surprise.

Speaking of Coco, as of late, whenever I met with Miss Wagner, she also happened to be there. It was strange, but the marriage candidates this time around got along quite well with each other.

In my past life, dealings between the six young prospective wives had been much more turbulent. Not one of them had met a happy end. All of mine had left, and all of Orkhart’s had been discarded.

Actually, all of Orkhart’s previous marriage candidates had craved his affection so much that they had sabotaged one another, to the point of organizing multiple assassination attempts on each other. But none of them could find proof of the other’s actions and so none of them had been removed from candidacy; furthermore, since Orkhart had chosen his candidates himself, he had been unable to simply ignore them. He’d seemed to be at his wit’s end. Perhaps that was why as soon as he’d entered the academy, he had lowered himself and fallen for an uncultured baron’s daughter with commoner roots.

But now, Orkhart’s marriage candidates were Coco, Miss Berga, and Miss Kleist. Coco wished to be my queen, while Miss Berga had done nothing so far to endear herself to Orkhart. Of the three of them, Miss Kleist was the only one trying to appeal to Orkhart’s affections; everything seemed very peaceful. Miss Kleist even seemed rather taken with Coco as well. Seeing the budding bond between Coco and Miss Kleist, simultaneously my marriage candidates as well as Orkhart’s, brought me much peace of mind.

And, for some reason, even Miss Wagner seemed to be trying to change.

Even though in my past life Miss Wagner had wanted to be my queen, she had fainted whenever she saw me. Whenever I’d seen her from afar, she’d been pale and looked poorly, and her health had only continued to decline as time passed. She’d gotten along with Miss Bartles and Miss Kleist about as well as a cat among dogs. Perhaps her continued blunders around me had only made her more anxious, causing her to lash out at whomever was near.

Recently, Ford had informed me that Miss Wagner had met with Coco numerous times for tea in one of the palace greenhouses. Apparently, Orkhart sometimes joined them.

Orkhart’s numerous attempts to get close to Coco annoyed me dreadfully, but no matter what, in a few years he would fall for the baron’s daughter. For now, he was just spouting nonsense about Coco being his true love.

On the days after the girls’ tea parties, Miss Wagner would always request to meet with me. She’d come wearing all manner of things like veils or sunglasses, then regardless would faint upon seeing me. From this series of events it was easy enough to deduce what she’d been discussing in the greenhouse with the tenderhearted Coco and Orkhart, the personification of justice.

Coco’s kindness was frankly delightful. And to Miss Wagner, too, I was deeply, sincerely grateful.

But still, no matter what, my long-held bitterness toward Orkhart never waned.

✛

I’d been frequenting the palace library as of late, reading book after book on the church to identify which rural chapel had found the Golden Cross. If I couldn’t find anything about it in the library’s collection, I figured I’d have to look into folklore next. At that point, I might have to ask Miss Kleist for help...

On another day of failed research Ford and I were traversing through the gardens back to the detached villa when suddenly the shrill voice of a woman reached my ears.

“This minuscule missive is all you have after investigating the Blossom Marquisate?! These pages hold not the slightest bit of useful information at all! How dare you waste my time?!”

I knew who the woman was just by her hysterical scream: Mary-Jewel, the Queen of Cheriotte—my mother.

Ford gave me a worried look. I placed my finger over my lips to signal silence, then snuck into some nearby bushes and peered out toward the far end of the garden, where a white gazebo had been built for visitors to enjoy the seasonal flowers.

Several servants stood there with my mother. She wore her shining indigo hair tied back, as well as the blue lipstick and eyeshadow that was her favored look; she never wore anything else. Altogether it made her look like an ominous, poisonous flower. She had a pretty face, but she wore a permanent pout that made it seem like she was perpetually uncomfortable no matter where she went. Mother’s skin was abnormally pale as well, but it was impossible to tell if it was because of her unique makeup or because of her health.

“Why on earth is that lady-killer of a marquis pushing his daughter onto that ugly child?!” my mother screeched. “He’s never shown any interest in the royal family before!”

“I will continue to investigate Marquis Blossom without rest,” one of the servants promised. “However, as of now I am unable to discern his ulterior motive. He continues to maintain a neutral stance in political affairs, manages his territory consistently, and doesn’t particularly stand out in high society—other than with his good looks...”

“Be silent, you incompetent fool!” mother snapped. “What do you mean, ‘I will continue to investigate’? Did you think you had a choice?! You’re so inept that you can’t even figure out the marquis’s aim, and here you are now flapping about with your flimsy excuses!”

Mother then collapsed her folding fan and struck her servant with it. The servant fell to the ground; they remained there, head bowed low. Sounding strained, they said, “I deeply apologize, Your Majesty...”

“Now then,” mother continued, “what about this rumored Cocolette? Is she another pawn for my use, like Lunamaria and Mystère?”

A second attendant spoke about Coco’s background—her grades in classes at the palace, evaluations from servants and teachers, and other things, such as her past charity work through the church. The amount of information they had been able to gather was incredible.

Mother hummed in thought, then said, “I can’t decide whether she’s a kindhearted fool or a wicked little wolf in particularly good sheep’s clothing. Continue your investigation.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Good. The audacity of that freak to trouble me to this extent...”

“Freak” was my mother’s way of referring to me.

“It would’ve been easier if all of his marriage candidates were my pawns,” she continued. “All that girl probably had to do was quirk a little smile his way for the freak to collapse in a stupor over her. This is why hideous boys weak to women are so useless—I’ll have to start the investigation over from scratch. I can’t believe all the trouble I have to go through for that freak!”

Mother clicked her tongue, then continued her tirade. “If the girl is simply a fool, then she’ll just be another one of my chess pieces. But if she really does have the stomach to butter up even that hideous boy, I won’t mind feeding her a nibble of my affection as I use her. And if she doesn’t...then I will not tolerate her!”

As my mother’s blue lips continued shouting hysterically, I slowly turned my back on her. I signaled to Ford, who was quivering in fear, and together we left the area.

I have to protect Coco.

My father chose my mother as his queen because of how terrifyingly competent she was. No matter how harsh her words were or how cruel she could be, his judgment of her would not change.

I had to protect Coco. I had to keep my mother from using her or from targeting her with her evil intentions.

And at that moment the memory of a young man suddenly sprang to mind. He had dark brown hair and a piercing gaze, with a rough-and-tumble attitude on top of that. But his strength—we had been allied in my past life, but if I had his cooperation now, would it be enough to protect Coco?

Oh, Coco, I want to see you right now so, so much. If you or Marquis Blossom wished it, I would give you anything. My power, my money, even my life. I wouldn’t even care if the entire Kingdom of Cheriotte crumbled around me—in my past life, that had even been what I wanted.

Each second until I could see Coco again would be one second too long.

▽

Cocolette

I was completely, utterly bored. I had nothing to do.

Today was my first day at the Wagner estate as Lord Dwarphister’s assistant. I’d come here jittery with excitement, full of thoughts about what my new role would entail, but in reality, there was nothing for me to do.

Except, however, to simply stay in Lord Dwarphister’s room and endlessly watch him as he sat at his desk writing something or other. Occasionally I made him tea.

To kill time, I read the titles of every last book on his shelf, one by one. The bookshelf was built into the wall and had a considerable amount of storage space. About two-thirds of the volumes Lord Dwarphister owned concerned the education required for the prime minister, while the rest seemed to be about magic. Not even the palace library had this many books on the latter—collecting them all must have been a huge undertaking.

“You got an interest in magic?” Lord Dwarphister asked suddenly.

My shoulders jolted in surprise. I had been looking at the bookshelf absently.

“Remember when we met?” he went on. “You were in front of my room making a huge racket about wanting to see magic.”

“A-Ah, yes, I did,” I replied slowly. At that time I had actually been remembering all my favorite characters using their spells. “Rather than an interest, I have a longing for it.”

Bishonen and magic really make a pretty picture. Prince Raph would perfectly suit divine holy magic. Tee hee! ♡

After a moment, Lord Dwarphister let out a long, nasally hum. “You’re a weird one.”

He pulled out a tome from amid a high pile of books on his desk, then held the volume out to me. “Why don’t you read this one? It covers rudimentary basics. Even a monkey could understand it.”

“Oh...” The scarlet book’s leather cover was incredibly worn; it must have been quite the antique. “I will borrow it. Thank you very much, Lord Dwarphister.”

“Got it. Just don’t get it dirty.”

“Of course.”

I began to read. It seemed that in this world, magic operated by loading mana into magic circles drawn by the caster, ranging in complexity from simple ones resembling mathematical formulas to intricate and mysterious ones in the style of mandalas.

“You want to try?” Lord Dwarphister asked.

“Huh?”

“Here, take this pen and paper. Draw a simple fire summoning circle. The model is on page six.”

Lord Dwarphister gave me the needed stationery, and, bewildered, I replied, “B-But I don’t know if I have any mana at all!”

“If you try it and it doesn’t work, then you don’t,” he replied simply.

I supposed he had a point, but it felt rather on the nose...

“That’s what I did and I was able to use magic. And now I’m studying it by myself.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah. Now you try.”

I did as instructed and drew the magic circle exactly like it was laid out in the book. Once I finished, I put my palm over the circle and sort of envisioned infusing it with power—but no fire appeared. Nor did anything else.

Lord Dwarphister let out a short huff. “Looks like you don’t have a talent for it.”

Although a part of me had already had a hunch, I was still quite disappointed by the result. Lord Dwarphister’s harsh words also made me feel down...not to mention a bit angry.

I looked up at him, full of reproach, only to find him smiling brightly. “Here, look,” he said, picking up the paper I’d drawn the magic circle on. In a flash, a small flame appeared, floating in midair. The fire was the same color as Lord Dwarphister’s eyes.

“So pretty,” I said, the words falling from my mouth without me realizing it.

Lord Dwarphister’s smile only grew. I was sure that if I were a normal young noblewoman, this would have been the moment that I fell head over heels for him. But his innocent, childlike smile only comforted me now.

“By the way, Lord Dwarphister,” I said, “may I ask what you have been writing?”

“I have been combining existing magic circles, trying to to make one that I will title, ‘A Circle to Remain Composed in the Face of the Homely.’ A normal mage would have a master to help them out, but I’m self-taught, so I have to look through my books to gather the right magic circles—ones that won’t rebound when used together, anyway. That’s the only option I have.”

“Being able to make an entirely new magic circle even though you are self-taught speaks highly of your talent, Lord Dwarphister,” I said, impressed.

He pointed to the worn scarlet book he had just lent me. “It was that book that helped me discover magic. I found it in a secondhand bookstore my father took me to.”

He went on to explain that he had been in town with his father as part of learning to become the next prime minister. They had stopped in at the secondhand bookstore, and while his father had taught him about how secondhand books were circulated commercially, young Lord Dwarphister had wandered around the shop before being drawn to a curious volume. When he’d picked it up and looked at it, he’d found something he’d never known before: magic.

“I was truly surprised,” he said. “I’d had no idea this field even existed.”

Lord Dwarphister had always liked to study, which was why he’d been fine with his father’s instruction in becoming the next prime minister. He hadn’t had any doubts about the path laid out for him—until he came across the field of magic and fell instantly for its charms.

“If I’d had no mana like you, I’d probably have quit right away,” he said. “But I do have mana, and I can use magic. So I just wanted to learn more. My absorption in the field was inevitable.”

Lord Dwarphister admitted that while he was still partaking in his studies to succeed his father, the time he’d once used to cultivate his social life or participate in philanthropy had steadily decreased in favor of his magical studies. As a result, he was almost always shut up in his room.

“My parents and Tear think it’s bad, but I just want to learn more about magic. I want to know about it.” His words were tinged with pain. “Tear may be a bit excessive at times, but she’s still my precious little sister. I know she cares about me. She’s trying her best to become the next queen so that the Wagner family won’t fall apart if I don’t become the next prime minister.” He paused, then continued, “I know my actions have hurt Tear and will keep hurting her, but I dream of one day leaving this house and finding a mage who will become my master. I know that as an older brother I’m a complete failure.”

So that was why Miss Mystère was so adamant about becoming Prince Raph’s queen... “I must say that throwing away a future as prime minister in this way is quite the waste,” I admitted.

Lord Dwarphister hesitated. “I at least understand the worth of the position. But magic—”

“No, that is not what I mean,” I corrected. “The prime minister would be in the ideal position to propose national projects related to magic, would he not?”

“Huh...?”

“Lord Dwarphister, rather than abandoning this path entirely in search of a single witch or wizard to become your mentor, why not—for example—try leveraging your future position to recruit as many witches or wizards as possible to work in the palace? If you create a well-structured royal magic division of sorts with excellent employee benefits, they might even come to you.”

A royal wizard was, after all, a pretty clichéd setup in the stories from my old world.

“This division could work on magic research, as well as educating the next generation of mages—continue in this way and in a few decades or perhaps centuries, Cheriotte might even be known as ‘the country of magic,’” I continued. “And it is the prime minister who is best capable of laying the groundwork for that future.”

“A royal magic division,” Lord Dwarphister repeated slowly. “The country of magic...”

“Lord Dwarphister, you have learned to control magic through independent study and hard work,” I reminded him. “Surely even while working as prime minister, you could become a great wizard under the guidance of a mage.”

“D-Do you really think so...? Me?”

“You should begin to perfect your studies now to succeed your father, as well as make more and more allies in high society—this will give you an advantageous position upon becoming prime minister. You are in the rare position of both access and authority; you should use these resources to your advantage as effectively as possible.”

As someone who had reincarnated into the body of an incredibly gorgeous noble, my personal creed was this: Cultivate one’s assets to the highest possible degree, and then put them to good use. If I wasn’t using my social status, power, or beauty, then what were they even for?!

Lord Dwarphister just listened, gobsmacked, until suddenly he clenched his stomach and burst out laughing. “Oh, ha ha ha! Cocolette Blossom, what you lack in mana you more than make up for in thinking on a grand scale!” He continued chuckling as tears spilled from his eyes; he mopped them up and even still giggled. “You’re right! What a waste to throw away this kind of position! I’m an idiot! Ha ha ha!”

His laugh was so loud that soon there was a fierce knocking on the door. “Fiss! What has happened?!” Miss Mystère called. “Have you finally gone mad?! Your laugh is far too boisterous!”

Lord Dwarphister opened the door to a surprised Miss Mystère and declared, “Tear, I’ve decided. I’m going to be this country’s first wizard prime minister!”

“Huuuh?!” Miss Mystère cried out. “What in the world are you talking about, you absolute moron?!”

“A wizard prime minister! It’s—”

“You have worried our whole family sick, and now all of a sudden you look so delighted with yourself! What is with you, brother?! You idiot!”

Lord Dwarphister and Miss Mystère squabbled for the rest of the day. The Wagner siblings really were so similar in their tsundere tendencies that they looked just like two kittens frolicking together.

Later, as I was about to board a carriage home, Miss Mystère stealthily whispered into my ear, “I do not really understand...but I believe my brother’s change of heart was thanks to you, right, Miss Cocolette? I...well... I am grateful.”

She smiled, seemingly embarrassed, but she really did look adorable.

In high spirits and proud of what I’d done, I headed home.

▽

Lord Dwarphister was readjusting a magic circle. “You really don’t need them? These glasses will let you look an ugly person straight in the eyes.”

He’d asked the question to me, but it was Miss Mystère, sitting on the sofa next to me, who answered. “I have told you this numerous times, Fiss: Miss Cocolette has no need for them. It seems she and His Highness Raphael are already quite close.”

“Is that right? You must have pretty bad eyesight, then,” he noted to me.

“Fiss, our family has an average eyesight of about 20/4.2. Anyone who isn’t a Wagner will, in general, have worse eyesight.”

He hummed noncommittally. “Is that so?”

Since Lord Dwarphister’s declaration that he would become wizard prime minister, every time I’d visited to assist, Miss Mystère had joined us. At the same time, she had stopped proclaiming her usual “I will be His Highness Raphael’s queen!” I figured that so long as Lord Dwarphister kept his eye on one day becoming prime minister, the Wagner family’s future was secure. She no longer had to push herself quite so hard.

But proclamations in no way meant that Miss Mystère had given up on properly speaking to Prince Raph, nor did it mean that she was neglecting her queenly education from the palace. She was incredibly loyal to the crown.

“Even if you fancy Miss Cocolette, Fiss, it is pointless,” Miss Mystère continued. “Miss Cocolette has already received His Highness Raphael’s affection. As a loyal subject of this kingdom, I intend to serve the two of them to the utmost of my ability, for both the royal family and the common people of Cheriotte.”

Lord Dwarphister pouted, sulking. “Well... It’s not like I have any strange feelings about Cocolette Blossom.”

Miss Mystère—quite the opposite of her brother at that moment—seemed to be in a good mood. “That is why you must hurry and finish the glasses, Fiss! As a loyal subject of Cheriotte I must properly introduce myself to His Highness Raphael as soon as possible!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Lord Dwarphister lowered his head like she was bothering him, but he still didn’t stop working.

Through our experiments with the veils and other items, Miss Mystère had decided that the reading glasses she’d tried were the least objectionable option. Thus, Lord Dwarphister was attempting to make a magical pair of glasses for her.

“By using this ‘make things invisible magic circle’ recorded in this tome, I can create one that will obscure only the faces of ugly people,” Lord Dwarphister explained. “It needs a lot of fine-tuning though, since it would be a pain if, for example, you couldn’t see the expressions your conversation partner was making.”

I took a look through the book in question. “All the same, it is quite curious that despite the few number of mages in the world, there are so many books on magic.”

“Ah, well, this isn’t well-known among the general public, but before the Lost Age, there were many people who had mana, like witches, wizards, and saints,” Lord Dwarphister said. “Ninety percent of the magic circles that are written in tomes were invented around that time. The few remaining mages today pass along that knowledge very, very carefully.”

“Lord Dwarphister, what is the Lost Age?” I asked.

“They don’t teach that in the marquisate? The royal family and the duchy always learn about it. Anyway, the Lost Age was a historical blank period—it is also known as the greatest mystery of the continent. It has been the subject of some scholarly research, but its truths are still as of yet unknown.”

He went on to explain that the Lost Age was an era long before ours that got its name from a total lack of surviving historical records. There were people around prior to the Lost Age—but that period did not seem to stretch nearly as far back as the birth of humanity.

Perhaps this is akin to what my old world would call biblical times, I thought.

Lord Dwarphister continued to explain that the reason for the complete lack of documents from the Lost Age was a mystery. However, the Forest Folk—an ethnic group who had lived on our continent long ago—had left behind personal memoirs describing a time when the world’s order had collapsed. This event had apparently almost caused the extinction of the human race. The memoirs themselves were long gone at this point, but anecdotes pertaining to the Lost Age and these writings remained in various places throughout the continent.

“Before the Lost Age, society was split into two countries,” he explained. “Humans governed the first country, while a king referred to as Rex Draconis ruled the other. His Majesty Rex Draconis held tremendous power and had numerous underlings in his sway. It’s said that with his might, he abducted many beautiful women from the human kingdom, one after another.”

Huh?! Wait—why do I feel like I’ve heard this story before?!

“To stop His Majesty from abducting any more women, humanity tasked a man named Heros with defeating Rex Draconis. At the time, there were many mages and saints in the world, and those who were especially outstanding among them accompanied Heros on his quest. Heros and his party journeyed to the neighboring kingdom and defeated the king’s minions one by one, earning Rex Draconis’s wrath.”

Lord Dwarphister then put on his own one-man show, playing the roles of both characters. I couldn’t listen to the rest of it without tears welling in my eyes.

“‘Heros! I won’t forgive you for laying a hand upon my four generals, Orc, Goblin, Dwarf, and Merman! You failed to appreciate the beauty of our kind and killed them!’”

“‘As if I give a damn what a monster like you says, Rex Draconis! I’m here to avenge the beautiful maidens you kidnapped! As I have judged your underlings I will judge you right here and now!’”

“‘You dare believe you can best me, human?! I detest how many beautiful women flock to you so easily! A curse upon you and all of humanity!’”

“‘That’s enough, Rex Draconis! Shut up and dieeee!’”

“‘I shall use all of my mana to smite you once and for all! Demon Dragon’s Last Secret Curse: Aesthetic Reversal!’”

Now that his one-man show had ended, Lord Dwarphister’s voice returned to its usual dispassionate tone. “And with His Majesty Rex Draconis’s final spell, the world instantaneously filled with white light. It’s said that the light broke apart Heros and his companions, and that world order collapsed and was made anew. However, the world as it was right after that event is still a mystery to us. You see how compelling and fun history can be?”

This isn’t fun at all, Lord Dwarphister!

What Lord Dwarphister had said was a chaotic mixture of subjective and objective viewpoints as well as several perspectives on both good and evil, so there were many things I didn’t understand. But at any rate, the most important point I did grasp was that I finally, finally understood why this world’s beauty standards were the way they were!

The ancient hero had lost, and a demon king had cursed this world out of his jealousy for how easily the hero attracted women—it was no wonder, then, that beautiful women were treated the same way I was used to, while for men the standards of beauty were flipped to favor those with orc- and dwarf-faces. Our current world was actually a postapocalyptic reality that Rex Draconis’s spell had made more convenient for monsters! What a tragedy...

“Excuse me, Lord Dwarphister!” I cried out, almost hysterical, coming closer to him. “Is His Majesty Rex Draconis still alive?! Do we know from where his spell originated?! I really wish to speak to the Forest Folk!”

Lord Dwarphister shrunk back from my abrupt intensity as he informed me of the worst: “I mean, it’s the story of the Lost Age—His Majesty Rex Draconis has long since passed away. And unfortunately, no one knows yet where his battle with Heros took place. As for the Forest Folk, they left this continent in ancient times by crossing the sea—”

“God damn it!” I yelled.

The sheer amount of shock I experienced made me dizzy and I wobbled in place, at the sight of which both Wagner siblings panicked and immediately assisted me in staying upright.

“Hey, are you all right?” Lord Dwarphister asked nervously.

“Miss Cocolette! You must compose yourself!” Miss Mystère insisted.

As the two looked after me, I thought, All the extreme reactions women, and not men, have to ugliness must also be because of the curse. And Prince Ork’s lack of reaction might be because he’s predisposed not to be impacted by the spell as much...

▽

Several weeks after my falling into a stupor over learning the truth of this world, Lord Dwarphister completed the magic spectacles, calling them the mite-misty glasses. It would blur the wearer’s view of an ugly person’s—and only an ugly person’s—face. Once blurred, the wearer would only be able to see things on the homely person’s face such as mouth movements and whatever else was needed to get a sense of their expression.

“How are they?” Miss Mystère asked. “Do they suit me?”

She smiled bashfully with the mite-misty glasses atop her nose. With her glossy black sausage curls, sparkling crimson eyes, and the delicate mole under her eye, Miss Mystère had such a bewitching air about her that she didn’t seem all of eleven years old—rather, she was just so sexy and cute!

“They suit you flawlessly, Miss Mystère!” I said.

She let out a chuckle of triumph, her chest puffing with pride. “Of course they do.” She then turned to her brother and, red-cheeked, put on a stoic expression as she said, “I am quite thankful for your assistance, Fiss.”

“Tear...” Lord Dwarphister looked nonchalant, but there was an air of embarrassment about him as he replied. “I should be the one thanking you, Tear... Sorry for worrying you so much.”

“As you should be, you idiot brother of mine!” Miss Mystère replied, but her expression radiated only pure happiness.

✛

Raphael

As I walked with an escort of knights down the hallway, my thoughts were in a whirlwind.

I had scanned through all of the books in the palace library pertaining to the church, but much to my chagrin, there hadn’t been any information on the chapel that had found the Golden Gross.

As I’d thought, from here on out I would need to ask Miss Kleist for support. Even if the information had been erased from books, it might have still remained in people’s memories. But if even the Kleist family, with all the power and knowledge of the premier duchy, could not obtain the information I needed, then there really might not be anything left to do...

I had left Ford in charge of tracking my mother’s movements; for the time being, it seemed like she hadn’t made any moves. No matter what mother might do to Coco, I would not let her exploit or eliminate the girl I loved.

In my past life, I had not once gone against my mother. Until my early childhood I had yearned for her love, but after that I simply avoided her. This time, however, was different—for Coco, I would go to war.

When I arrived at my destination, a knight opened the door for me and called, “Announcing the arrival of His Highness, Crown Prince Raphael!”

Inside was my beloved Coco, as well as Orkhart, Miss Wagner, and a beautiful black-haired young boy who seemed strangely familiar to me, as if I’d seen somewhere before. He wore glasses over his charming crimson eyes. I stared at him.

Could that debonair boy possibly be...Dwarphister Wagner...?

In the back of my mind, fragments of memory from my former life came to me—

“Prince Raph!” Coco said, pulling me out of my thoughts. With a start, I turned to her, and she continued, “Come now, Prince Raph. Miss Mystère would like to formally make your acquaintance!”

“Huh?”

Coco directed my attention to Miss Wagner, who was also wearing glasses. I had never seen her wear a pair before.

She was looking at me.

Miss Wagner was not fainting, nor was she pale—in fact, she seemed to have a firm hold on her consciousness. My mouth fell open at this incredibly unforeseen development, but Miss Wagner ignored my impoliteness and curtsied.

“Your Highness, I deeply apologize for taking such a long time to properly introduce myself to you,” she said. “I am Mystère of the Wagner Duchy. As a loyal subject of Cheriotte, I am honored to have been chosen as one of Your Highness’s marriage candidates. I shall serve you wholeheartedly!”

Not even in two lifetimes had I heard her speak without shrieking.

“Prince Raph,” Coco said, nudging my arm.

Finally, I came to my senses, though my hasty reply still sounded rather foolish. “A-Ah, yes... I am Raphael Cheriotte. Good to meet you.”

Coco giggled. “Did Miss Mystère startle you, Prince Raph?”

I paused, then admitted, “Yes. What’s going on, Coco?”

“We actually received assistance from Miss Mystère’s brother!”

The good-looking boy with the black hair stepped forward in front of me and bowed respectfully. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty. I am Mystère’s elder brother, Dwarphister Wagner.”

So it was him.

“Brother,” Orkhart called cheerily, taking control of the situation. “Let’s stop standing around and have some tea!”

But I was already digging up old memories of Lord Wagner.

✛

I hadn’t personally known Lord Wagner in my past life. But I had seen him around, and heard things about him too; he had stood out in the academy as one of the young men serving the baron’s daughter, Orkhart’s future bride.

Lord Wagner’s personal background before enrolling in the academy had been shrouded in mystery. Although gossip had always abounded about him as the next prime minister, he had neither shown his face at any tea parties nor seemed skilled at socializing in general.

His Excellency the Duke of Wagner had always said, “My son has a weak constitution; it’s quite difficult for him to leave home.” I’d assumed that growing up had improved the young Lord Wagner’s condition, as he’d always seemed healthy at the academy.

What had not improved were Lord Wagner’s grades.

It was at that time that Raymond—three years Lord Wagner’s junior—had entered the academy and easily taken his place as top student in the entire school. After that, Lord Wagner became dreadfully unsettled. His grades had fallen even further, and whenever he’d happened to meet Raymond on academy grounds he had taken the opportunity to heap mounds of verbal abuse upon him. By that point Lord Wagner had truly become an indecent, vulgar young man.

It was around that time that I’d happened to see him talking to the baron’s daughter: Pia Abbott.

The two had been cuddled together on a bench on the outskirts of the academy. I’d happened to be passing by and found it strange to see Orkhart’s beloved alone and cozied up to another man, so—in poor taste, I admit—I’d hidden and watched them.

Are they going to kiss? It would be the height of entertainment to witness the exact moment Orkhart’s so-called “one true love” shatters to pieces...

“I wish I’d never been born a Wagner!” Lord Dwarphister had cried out. “I don’t want to be prime minister. They’ve pressured me without end about this ever since I was small... It’s the last thing I want to do!”

“Lord Fiss, I know just how heartbroken you are,” Miss Abbott had declared.

“Pia...” Lord Wagner had whined miserably.

“You can be whatever you want to be, Lord Fiss. If you do not want to become prime minister, you do not have to. Please do not try to deceive your own heart. I think you are lovely just the way you are!”

“Pia, you’re such a kind girl...”

I’d held back a sigh as I watched this pair ardently gaze at each other and listened to their truly ludicrous conversation. “I wish I’d never been born a Wagner” this, “I don’t want to be prime minister” that—even his family’s expectations for him were just another subject of his complaints. Really, all he has to do is just give up on them.

The office of prime minister was not a hereditary one. If young Lord Wagner were to fall on hard times, some other brilliant person could take up the mantle easily—perhaps someone from a branch family of the Wagners, or even a person from a completely different house altogether.

No one is irreplaceable. Even I, the crown prince, have Orkhart, a spare waiting in the wings.

My mood had spoiled instantly with that thought, and so I had left without even bothering to check how the two were doing.

After Lord Wagner had graduated, he disappeared completely. I’d had no idea what had happened to him, nor had I cared.

In the end, Miss Wagner secured a husband for herself and became Duchess Wagner. But the Wagner family, long holders of the office of prime minister, had to cede the position to another family. As a result they lost the influence they’d once had, and their power had begun to ebb.

If the Miss Wagner I’d known in my past life had become my queen, the Wagners might never have lost that influence—but that was a hypothetical scenario. From the start, even I had never thought that the two of us could marry and share our lives together.

✛

“Mages?” I echoed, dazed. “Magic tools?”

Coco smiled cheerfully from where she sat beside me. Lord Wagner, who sat directly across from me, puffed out his chest.

“I have been independently studying magic for quite a while now,” he boasted. “These mite-misty glasses are a magic tool that I made so that my sister will have no problems while looking at you, Your Highness.”

I had a feeling he was omitting a lot of the explanation, but I assumed what he meant was that, basically, ugly faces like mine would be harder to see with the glasses on.

“That’s amazing!” Orkhart exclaimed. “So if more of these glasses could be made, fewer maids would faint at the sight of my ugly brother? It’s not a true solution to the root cause, but as a temporary relief from the problem it’s quite good enough!”

As always, Orkhart spoke without any filter on his thoughts whatsoever. While I assumed he had good intentions, he’d spoken too much just now.

“Your Highness, I humbly ask that you listen to what I have to say next without laughing,” Lord Wagner requested. He straightened his posture and looked directly at me. His expression was bright, much unlike how it had been in my past life. “I intend to become the Kingdom of Cheriotte’s first wizard prime minister.”

“And that is what, exactly?” I prompted.

“I am sure that magic would be beneficial to this country and its citizens,” Lord Wagner explained. “I want to attract wizards and witches to our kingdom, and then educate many of our own to become mages in service of the country. I intend for Cheriotte to one day be known as the ‘country of magic.’”

Certainly, the advancement of magic was a rare field. The possible benefits of magic to both our country and its citizens might make for an interesting conversation. But there was no precedent for this in our history—legislation would have to start from square one. The road would be incredibly difficult.

“That kind of grand plan would take decades if not centuries to fully complete,” I pointed out. “Do you understand how impractical that is, Lord Wagner?”

“I do. I doubt it will be resolved in my lifetime. I may not even live to see the seeds I would plant sprout, if they even do at all. However, if there is no beginning at all, the field of magic will continue to decline.” His crimson eyes glittered with determination. “Your Highness, I will work for decades to ensure you believe that what I’ve said here today is useful... And I will do so as your prime minister.” He put a hand over his heart and bowed his head deeply.

I stared at him and let out a short breath. “Let us think about this once I have successfully ascended to the throne and you have made it to the prime minister’s seat.”

In my past life, neither of us had made it to either position. I had no idea what would happen this time around.

Lord Wagner slowly lifted his head, then beamed. “Of course. That’s all I needed to hear.”

I glanced around at our companions. Coco and Orkhart looked happy, while Miss Wagner was grinning at her older brother. All three of them spoke simultaneously.

“Congratulations, Prince Raph!”

“Congrats, brother.”

“Congratulations to you, Fiss!”

It was so amusing that I couldn’t help but smile.

Coco, this life with you is full of so many unexpected, cheerful things.

▽

Cocolette

With Prince Raph and Miss Mystère’s introduction successfully completed, I was over the moon. Prince Raph and Prince Ork each had their own schedules to adhere to for the rest of the day, and so I went with the Wagner siblings to the carriage depot to return home.

Naturally we discussed the mite-misty glasses on our way back, praising each other for our magnificent invention and discussing how best we might sell it wholesale to the royal palace. Of course, I requested that the Blossom Marquisate receive preferential treatment when buying some glasses as well; this way, the issue with Raymond and our maids would probably be solved.

“At any rate, His Highness is quite the unfortunate gentleman. Even from our short conversation, I could sense his wisdom. It’s terribly easy to imagine how well he could rally the entire country behind him if he looked even just average,” Lord Dwarphister said, sincerely vexed. His discussion with Prince Raph had clearly left him with much to think about.

Outward appearances were incredibly important. In my old world, there was a saying that pretty much meant looks made up ninety percent of communication, and that first impressions were important. I’d also heard that a person’s outward appearance was the most visible part of their true selves. If I liked the way someone looked, I’d want to talk to them and get to know them; on the other hand, if something about their appearance made me uncomfortable, I wouldn’t even think about getting close to them.

Really, it was just like how I had no interest whatsoever in monster boys—it was just the way things were.

I still maintained that it was important to not be swayed only by a person’s looks, however. With just a few words, for example, I had gotten to know just how nice Prince Ork and Lord Dwarphister were. And I believed that the people of this country would also come to realize in their own way that boys and men like Prince Raph—people considered hideous—were in no way bad people.

“That is why we must mass-produce the mite-misty glasses, Fiss!” Miss Mystère insisted. “Every citizen in Cheriotte must have a pair!”

“No, Tear—you must realize that’s impossible,” Lord Dwarphister argued. “Right now, I’m the only one who can make them. Of course I’d like to have them mass-produced one day, but to do that, we will need to establish a royal magic division first.”

“What a marvelous thought, Lord Dwarphister!” I said. “Please do your best for Prince Raph!”

I’d suggested the idea of the royal magic division without much thought, but if having one would mean the mite-misty glasses could actually be made and sold in bulk, then Prince Raph’s situation would improve considerably. My past self deserved a pat on the back for that one.

“But when I actually met His Highness, I had a bit of an odd feeling,” Lord Dwarphister admitted. “He is simply wonderful as a person, yet I had such a strong visceral aversion to the sight of him that I would not want to be around him unless I were wearing the mite-misty glasses.”

“Now that you mention it, Fiss, it is quite curious,” Miss Mystère agreed. “When I meet someone the exact opposite of His Highness Raphael—that is to say, someone handsome, yet with a loathsome personality—I do not feel such revulsion upon seeing them that I faint.”

That would be because of Rex Draconis’s spell, but I doubt you two would understand even if I explained.

I paused. No—perhaps Lord Dwarphister might find a way to lift the curse if it came to his attention. After all, there was no doubt that the curse was magical in nature. And even if Lord Dwarphister himself couldn’t break the curse, the future royal magic division might.

The path in front of me suddenly seemed much brighter.

“You know, it’s almost as if Prince Raph has been cursed,” I said, promptly deciding to give Lord Dwarphister a hint (well, more like the answer itself).

Come on, Lord Dwarphister, pick up what I’m putting down! Prince Raph and the other “ugly” men are suffering under Rex Draconis’s spell! Sure, if you break this curse you and Prince Ork might be deemed completely hideous by society, but I’ll always be your friend!

Lord Dwarphister just laughed. “A curse, huh? Sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”

“Oh, Miss Cocolette,” Miss Mystère said with a fondness to her light scolding. “You are quite the dreamer.”

The Wagner siblings were treating me like I had my head in the clouds. But it’s true...

“However, this world has always been filled with mysterious things,” Lord Dwarphister murmured. “A powerful curse against the homely might not be so strange.”

I was just glad that he didn’t outright reject what I said.

◯

Dwarphister

When the Wagner family carriage left the palace, I let out a deep sigh.

“Oh my, Fiss. Is that the sound of a broken heart?” Tear teased from where she sat across from me in the carriage.

She tipped her head to the side, her face joyful. She was still wearing the mite-misty glasses I’d made. They were proof that all that self-study I’d done on magic had been, for the first time, actually useful to someone. I felt entirely satisfied, though somewhat embarrassed too.

“It’s not like that,” I said finally. “I never fancied her in the first place.”

Miss Cocolette of the Blossom Marquisate had unexpectedly burst into my cramped little world and understood me.

I had loved to learn since I was a tot. My parents had told me I’d be the next prime minister from a young age; they’d given me countless books and had called upon first-class tutors to homeschool me, configuring it such that I was in the perfect position to spend each day studying. It had been bliss.

Such a sophisticated education in a well-regulated environment would not have been possible if I had been born into lesser nobility. So I had been proud to be a Wagner, and believed wholeheartedly that I would become the next prime minister or anything else that I wanted to be—that is, until I had encountered magic.

I then devoted as much time as possible to magic, enjoying it immensely, even though it hadn’t been of any use in preparing me to become prime minister. I had been so absorbed in magic that first, I’d started sleeping less; then, I’d decreased the hours spent socializing; and finally, I’d even abandoned quality time with my own family.

Tear, my family, and the servants had all worried about me—I’d realized that much. I’d known that, but I hadn’t known what to do about it.

To me, magic had been no different than meeting my first love.

“How incredible! I can’t believe I just saw real magic!”

Those had been the first words I’d heard Cocolette Blossom say. Even though they’d been muffled by the door, I could hear how deeply excited she was, and that had shaken me to my core.

Even up until now, no one had ever actually tried to make me disavow magic. Though my family had worried about me holing up in my room all the time, none of them had ever told me to stop studying magic.

But until I’d met Cocolette Blossom, no one else had shared my passion and delight for magic’s mere existence.

“Miss Mystère, I would like to see that defensive magic one more time! Please lend me that master key!”

Believing her words true, I had lifted the spell and opened the door. Finding a girl as beautiful as a pixie on the other side had naturally rattled me. However, I hadn’t fallen for her as Tear liked to say. I had been elated, instead, to have met a kindred spirit.

Cocolette Blossom didn’t have any mana, but—just like me—she loved magic from the bottom of her heart. Every time her eyes went vacant and faraway while she talked about magic, she always seemed so happy...even though I’d had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

“Fight scenes between light and ice mages are so gorgeous—just the best.”

“Oh, but I still just cannot let go of the character who wielded dark magic. He adored the heroine who saved him despite his shadowy past...”

“The saint heroine is also a classic—wonderful too. She uses holy magic to achieve great things, and even gains the love of the opponents she defeats...”

But then she’d said something to me that had been like a divine revelation: I could utilize my future position as prime minister for magic. As prime minister I could help witches and wizards set down roots in Cheriotte, and then establish a royal magic division to help the country thrive.

The moment I’d heard her advice, I couldn’t help but laugh at my own narrow-mindedness. I didn’t have to choose between becoming a wizard or a prime minister—I could have the best of both worlds. I could be greedy. There was nothing wrong with that so long as the country prospered as a result...even though the road ahead for me would be severe and full of obstacles.

“Cocolette Blossom is not the type of girl who would be so shortsighted as to settle for being the bride of the future prime minister,” I said. “It would be impossible to marry her unless you were at least the next king of Cheriotte.”

After a moment, Tear giggled. “You do have a point there.”

When Tear had told me that Cocolette Blossom was one of the hideous crown prince’s marriage candidates, I had been surprised...but then again, in this meeting we’d just had with him, she had been able to look straight at His Highness and support him without any trouble. After that, I had understood: Cocolette Blossom was not just some beautiful noble. She was a girl who loved her country so strongly that she was prepared to marry even the ugliest boy in the kingdom.

Oh, Cocolette Blossom, my kindred spirit. You have brilliantly guided even me toward my future; if His Highness Raphael is who you wish to be king of Cheriotte, and who you wish to support as his queen, then I suppose I shall swear allegiance to him as well. All for the shining future of the Kingdom of Cheriotte.

“Good grief,” I added. “She’s quite the outrageous girl.”

“I must admit that I find Miss Cocolette’s company agreeable.” For Tear, who quarreled with those around her more often than not, her regard for Cocolette Blossom was truly a rare occurrence. “If a lady of great caliber such as she were to become queen, I have a feeling that our country would be in more than capable hands.”

“I think so too.”

Tear and I smiled peacefully at each other.

Chapter 5: The Starry Night Feast

Cocolette

Two good things had happened as of late.

The first was that our estate had acquired a supply of mite-misty glasses, which were very well received. The female staff could now approach Raymond without being hindered by their instinctive repugnance toward him, which led them to get to know him—and praise him.

“Thanks to these glasses, I’ve finally learned what young Lord Raymond is like!” one of the maids had proclaimed. “Though he is still a small child, he is quite brilliant—a truly worthy successor to Marquis Blossom!”

I was glad to see Raymond steadily gaining supporters. Humanity won’t lose to some demon dragon’s curse!

Of course, Raymond seemed happy too. He smiled even more often than I could recall.

“Sister, thank you so much for making such an amazing magic tool!” he’d told me.

“No,” I’d corrected. “It was my friend who made the glasses. I didn’t do anything in particular. I was only his assistant in name—really, I just gave him someone to talk to as he worked.”

Raymond had shaken his head. “Of course I’m grateful to your friend, but you’re the one who bought the glasses for me, sister!”

He’d hugged me then, his grin taking up nearly his whole face, and he had been sooooo cute! I’m so happy I helped with those glasses! For a bishonen’s smile I’ll do practically anything!

The other good thing to have happened was that Prince Raph had gifted me a hair ornament.

When he had first come to the Blossom estate for tea, I had carelessly remarked something to the effect of wanting to wear merch in colors to match my fave—in this case, Prince Raph. Perhaps because of that, he had given me a box. I had been shocked to find inside said box was a present: an extravagantly designed hair ornament made of gold, set with a large, rounded blue sapphire. It was far too expensive for me—I was only eleven, after all!

The trouble Prince Raph must have gone through to get this for me had me feeling terribly sorry, but all Prince Raph did was smile at me from behind his long bangs and say, “I had fun picking this out for you. So much that I wished I could find a gift for you every day.”

Getting something like this... No doubt he’s royalty, huh...

A popular sentiment in my old world was that you should make full use of a gift, otherwise you were wasting it. So, I’d decided to put my new hair clip into a heavy rotation with my outfits. Since I didn’t already have a suitable blue dress on hand, I had several made.

Gazing at all the new dresses in my fave’s special color neatly hung and lined up inside my walk-in closet left me grinning. My heart was full—for each and every dress practically screamed that I was Prince Raph’s girl. I had collected accessories and clothes in my faves’ colors in my previous life too.

That was the reason I was heading to the palace today dressed in blue, with Prince Raph’s sapphire clip in my hair.

Our first lesson this morning was on guessing tea brands—in other words, tea tasting. The taste, color, and smell of tea varied greatly based on a number of factors, origin and time of harvest included. Such knowledge of tea would be invaluable for a queen to have when entertaining guests.

The class was organized in the form of a tea party. We students drank from our cups and guessed the brand of tea, then our teacher gave us the correct answer and lectured us on both how best to brew it and what snacks went well with it.

We were in the middle of listening to one such explanation when suddenly, Prince Raph appeared in the classroom.

“I beg your pardon for interrupting the class,” he apologized. “Would it be acceptable to borrow Miss Kleist for a few moments?”

What does he need Miss Lunamaria for? I wondered, perplexed.

✛

Raphael

The moment I finally had a break in my schedule I went to Miss Kleist, only to discover her in the middle of her queenly education. I asked her instructor for permission to excuse her, intending to bring Miss Kleist for a short briefing out in the hall.

However, since they were right in the middle of a teatime-esque class, I was instead led inside the classroom and right to a chair. Their teacher had to prepare the next batch of tea leaves, so I decided to talk to Miss Kleist while he did so.

Sitting at the table were Coco, Miss Kleist, Miss Wagner, and Miss Berga... I realized then, perhaps somewhat belatedly, that this was the first time that I was having tea with all of my marriage candidates at the same time. It went without saying why the Miss Wagner of my past life hadn’t spent time with me, but Miss Bartles too had refused to meet with me; in fact, she had boycotted seeing me entirely. Not that I had been angry at her for it.

I apologized to the girls for interrupting their lesson, then continued, “Miss Kleist, I would like to enlist the help of your family. Would I be able to make a request of you?”

Miss Kleist paused, then replied, “You may. Whatever information you may need, we will humbly present it to you, Your Highness.”

The Kleist Premier Duchy had risen as the head of the nobility through the power they held in their vast information network. They could sniff out a wide range of particulars—corruption among the nobility, street gossip, even folklore—and then manipulate those resources to enormous profit. I had heard that they even had informants in surrounding countries.

I assumed, then, that for a family in possession of such power that it wouldn’t be too challenging for them to locate the chapel where the Golden Cross had been discovered. Furthermore, Miss Kleist was unrivaled in her adoration for saints; she would be a valuable fount of knowledge in information pertaining to the church. Was that, perhaps, why she had taken such a liking to Coco, since Coco did so much charity work herself?

“I’m looking for chapels where pendants, crosses, and other ornaments with connections to the royal family have been found,” I explained.

As folklore was mostly passed through the ages orally, it was inevitable for stories to change incrementally as they were recited from one person to another. Even the characters in them, or how they ended, could vary. Since I doubted the item I knew as King Schwarz’s pendant, the Golden Cross, maintained that name in other locations, I had only explained the big picture to Miss Kleist.

Miss Kleist blinked her ice-blue eyes and nodded emotionlessly. “Several legends and rumors have already come to mind. I shall properly examine our intelligence before submitting a report, Your Highness.”

“Thank you. I leave it in your capable hands.”

“You have my word.”

With our conversation now ended, Coco spoke up. “Do you have an interest in the church, Prince Raph? If it would please you, perhaps you would like to join me for the Starry Night Feast next month? I plan to help at the church I frequent for charity work.”

“The Starry Night Feast?” I repeated. “I had not realized it was that time of year until you mentioned it.”

The Starry Night Feast was held every year at the beginning of winter. It was a holiday during which we gave thanks to God for the previous year’s harvests and prayed for safe passage through the incoming harsh winter. Churches throughout the country held bazaar-like festivities before holding Mass in the evening.

“I cannot participate in Mass, but I may be able to spare some time for a visit during the day,” I said. Nevertheless I was sure that I could have Ford review my schedule for that day and make some adjustments to arrange enough time.

“Then please do!” Coco said, delighted. “My family puts out baked sweets at the bazaar every year. It’s quite fun, and all the proceeds we make go to the church.”

“Really?” I replied. “If the Blossom family’s chefs are making those sweets then I have no doubt they’re popular.”

“They do, of course, but father and I help as well. This year we also have Raymond.”

It was rare for a noble to cook and rarer still for a whole family of them to participate. The Blossoms were truly close-knit.

“That does sound quite fun,” I said. “It’s settled, then—I will make an appearance at the bazaar with my sights set on the delightful Blossom family’s booth—and their baked goods.”

“Splendid! I shall make your share myself!” Coco promised.

Miss Wagner then spoke up. “Miss Cocolette, I would like to participate as well! And not just in the bazaar—I would like to try my hand at baking! Also, I would enjoy the opportunity to visit the Blossom residence at least once!”

“Now that you mention it, I have yet to invite you to my home, haven’t I?” Coco mused.

“You have not, despite your frequent visits to the Wagner estate! It’s quite rude!” Miss Wagner insisted.

“My deepest apologies, Miss Mystère. I shall inform you of the particulars soon, then.”

“If I may...!” Miss Kleist began, interjecting herself between the two’s friendly conversation. Miss Berga, all the while, was leisurely sipping her tea as if none of the discussion concerned her at all.

Despite her face still set in its usual blankness, Miss Kleist’s cheeks were flushed red, and she gave the impression that she was mustering all her courage to speak. “I-If I may, Miss Cocolette... Would you permit me to join as well?”

“Oh? Miss Lunamaria?” Coco said. While Miss Kleist trembled, Coco tilted her head to the side in adorable puzzlement.

I gazed between the two of them with the sudden hunch that yet another person’s destiny had changed.

▽

Cocolette

The Starry Night Feast was similar to what people in my previous world called Christmas. For commoners, the day was spent at the bazaar, shopping, before attending Mass in the evening and then going home to have a special dinner.

For nobles, the holiday had a strong connotation with charity work. One could simply donate to the church, of course, but every year, my family set up a food stall at our church’s bazaar to sell local specialties found in the Blossom territory. Selling handmade baked sweets during the Starry Night Feast was a custom of ours.

Our food was always rather popular; every year, we quickly ran out of sweets despite my father, the servants, and I together all making tons in advance. I was very grateful to Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria, then, for helping out with the preparations this year.

The two of them were here today at the Blossom estate, though for some reason, Lord Dwarphister had also come along with his sister. Raymond and I rounded out the group; all of us wore aprons for the occasion.

“Now then, young ladies and lords,” said the head chef. “Let us begin.”

Today, we would be making pound cakes and cookies. All of the ingredients had already been measured out, so all we would have to do was follow the head chef’s instructions in other things, such as mixing batter and pouring it into specific molds. But even these were unusual activities for nobles.

“This brings back memories,” Raymond said happily. “I made cookies with my mom before.”

“That sounds so lovely, Raymond,” I replied. “I hope today becomes another good memory for you.”

“Me too. But I won’t slack off!”

He beamed at me, and I beamed back.

The Wagner siblings came closer to us. They were both wearing a pair of the mite-misty glasses. When Raymond noticed the two, he gasped.

“Excuse me!” he said. “But my sister informed me that you were the one to make the mite-misty glasses, Lord Wagner! The maids and I have really gotten to know each other thanks to those glasses, so thank you very, very much! You know, Lord Wagner, I think it’s just amazing that you can use magic!”

Gosh, he’s such a good kid! I squealed silently. He was just so cute that I had to physically press both of my hands over my heart.

Lord Dwarphister blushed at the sudden compliment, and even Miss Mystère’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“H-Hmph, I see, you’re certainly well-mannered, aren’t you?” Lord Dwarphister asked before pausing. “Your name is Raymond, correct?”

“Yes! Raymond Blossom!”

“All right, then. I shall grant you the privilege of using my nickname. You may call me Lord Fiss.”

“Thank you, Lord Fiss!” Raymond chirped.

“Now, Raymond, Tear! To me! Let us commence this so-called ‘baking’!”

“Yes, Lord Fiss!”

Raymond and Lord Dwarphister, now quite well acquainted, headed to one of the counters. Miss Mystère watched them as if something rather strange and beyond a simple exchange had just occurred.

She stealthily leaned in toward my ear and whispered, “It seems Fiss is rather overjoyed that Lord Raymond praised him for his magic,” before following the two.

I had thought I would get to enjoy baking sweets with Raymond today, but it seemed Lord Dwarphister had just thoroughly beaten me to the punch. But as long as Raymond seemed happy, I was content.

“Well then, Miss Lunamaria,” I said at last, turning to the girl who had been standing still and silent beside me this whole time. “Would you mind working with me?”

She nodded slowly in response.

Raymond, Lord Dwarphister, and Miss Mystère were making the pound cakes, so it was left to me and Miss Lunamaria to make the cookies. First, we would have to mix the ingredients in bowls. Miss Lunamaria and I went about it the old-fashioned way, by hand, but next to us Lord Dwarphister’s group was using wind magic to do the work.

What the heck? That’s amazing—it’s just like a hand mixer!

“That’s incredible, Lord Fiss!” Raymond cried out, while the head chef joined in his excitement by claiming, “With something like that, baked goods could easily be mass-produced!”

Though Miss Lunamaria and I were stunned at how quickly the pound cake team was able to make their batter, we continued our steady work on the cookie dough.

A short time later, father came into the kitchen. The first thing he did was thank Lord Dwarphister for the mite-misty glasses.

“Young Lord Wagner, you have saved my estate,” he said. “As a father and as Marquis Blossom, I give you my heartfelt thanks.”

He then gave a deep bow. Raymond and the Wagner siblings looked so overjoyed that tears welled in their eyes. “Master!” the servants cried, deeply moved. But this was just like my father; he could be a real player when he wanted to be.

For some reason, even Miss Lunamaria’s eyes grew wet. “Miss Cocolette, you and Marquis Blossom are alike not only in appearance, but also in the purity of your hearts,” she praised.

Even as I thanked her for the compliment, the fact that she said “alike in appearance” stuck in my mind.

Father accepted an apron from a servant and joined the cookie team. Thanks to him, our work went along much more efficiently, all the way until it was time to bring out the cookie cutters.

I’ll use the prettiest heart-shaped ones we have to make Prince Raph’s cookies, and the second-prettiest for Raymond’s, I decided.

However, the heart-shaped cookie cutters were already in my father’s hands. “I’ll use the prettiest one for Coco, and the second-prettiest for Raymond. Don’t forget, papa loves you!”

I couldn’t speak for a moment. Finally, all I could say was a deadpan, “Oh my, father. How delightful. Thank you so much...”

I somehow managed to give him a smile, but really, I had broken out into a cold sweat. I don’t look anything like father, orc-face that he is, I told myself, but we do sort of show affection in the same way...

In the end, I chose a flower-shaped cookie cutter, while Miss Lunamaria picked one resembling a star. Raymond and his group finished their pound cakes soon enough and assisted us with our cookies by decorating them with toppings of nuts and jams.

With that, we had successfully finished preparing the sweets for the bazaar—all that remained was to trust the head chef with the actual baking in the wood ovens.

▽

On the day of the Starry Night Feast, Raymond and I went to one of the many churches in the royal capital. The preparations for the bazaar were already underway in the plaza in front of the church. There were some merchants already set up, with fresh fruits, vegetables, and processed products lined up at the front of their stalls, while some vendors’ wives had laid out their prized handcrafted accessories to sell.

“It’s really lively already, isn’t it, sister?” Raymond asked, the enthusiastic atmosphere in the plaza already clearly infecting him, even under the fox mask I had painted for him.

I took his hand so he wouldn’t wander off. “First, we should go give our regards to the pastor.”

“Yes, sister,” Raymond chirped.

Amaretti and a guard escorted us toward the church proper, while the other servants went to work setting up our stall.

The pastor was at the entrance of the church having a brief meeting with some nuns. At our arrival he smiled gently and greeted us, and I promptly introduced him to our new heir, Raymond.

“May we ask for the Blossom family’s help once again this year to distribute food?” the pastor asked humbly.

“Yes, of course, pastor,” I replied. “When there is a break over at our stall, I will head over to assist. I intend to have Raymond help as well.”

“My goodness,” the pastor said. “I am very grateful for your help, you two.”

Food distribution was the bazaar’s main focus. The nuns cooked soup in a large pot using vegetables and other ingredients donated by local farmers; that soup was then rationed out with bread. Every year a huge line of people formed for this particular meal.

I helped out with the distribution every year, which was just one of the many good deeds I had stacked up to earn my reputation as “Cocolette, the girl who is nice to everyone.” Honestly, the work was hard, so much so that at times I could cry, but it was born out of my burning desire to someday canoodle with a bishonen. Even though I had Prince Raph now, there wasn’t any real reason to quit volunteering, so I intended to assist the church this year as well.

Raymond and I parted ways with the pastor and headed to the Blossom Marquisate’s area of the bazaar. An impressive stall had already been set up, with merchants from our territory displaying our local specialties.

Raymond, taking up his mantle as heir to the marquisate, spoke to the vendors, checking their merchandise and arrangements. Though I figured he was just doing what father had taught him, I noticed how smoothly he answered questions on any manner of topics, from the Blossom Marquisate’s local specialties to the exact numbers and specifications of the physical donations and monetary proceeds the bazaar had brought in in recent years. Not once did he refer to a document or any kind of reference. He really does have a ridiculous cheat code...

I did a final check of the baked goods I had made the other day with everyone. They were all individually wrapped in cute paper bags, which were tied closed with bright ribbons; the color indicated the type of sweet that sat inside.

“Amaretti, where are the pastries to give to Prince Raph and the others?”

“Miss Cocolette, we put them aside over here!” Amaretti replied.

She brought over a basket. Inside were four sweets that had been wrapped in extravagant paper bags not used for the for-sale items. Prince Raph’s contained a flower-shaped cookie; Miss Lunamaria’s cookie was star-shaped; and the Wagner siblings’ bags each contained a pound cake.

As soon as I was done checking, the bell that signaled the start of the bazaar rang. The guests who had already been waiting at the entrance to the plaza all rushed to their preferred stalls—and soon, a crowd of people had formed in front of the Blossom booth.

My unmatched beauty was the perfect gambit for attracting customers, so I promptly went to stand out front, smiling sweetly. At once any nearby customer was smitten and instantly went berserk for our stock.

“I’ll take this!”

“Ten of these, please!”

“I’d like to buy the whole store, please!”

To keep the riot in check, Raymond quickly established a purchase limit on our goods for sale. Thank you, Raymond, I praised him silently. You’re such a natural at this that it’s hard to believe you’re only nine...

After a short while, a call of my name alerted me to the arrival of the Wagner siblings.

“Miss Cocolette! We are here!” said Miss Mystère.

“Hey, Raymond!” Lord Dwarphister called. “I’ve already made that thing for you.”

Without delay, I handed over the pound cakes to the siblings. Miss Mystère seemed incredibly happy, and Lord Dwarphister looked pleased as well. However, Lord Dwarphister left the pound cake in his attendant’s care, exchanging the bag for a somewhat large box the attendant had been carrying, and hurried over to speak to Raymond. He showed Raymond its contents.

“What are they talking about?” I asked Miss Mystère.

“While we were baking at your home the other day, Fiss spoke with your head chef and came up with an idea,” she explained. “He has made a new magic tool.”

“Oh, truly?”

“I believe it combines wind magic with whisks so one may mix dough more easily.”

So he did make a hand mixer, just like one in my old world! Next year’s baking ought to go much more smoothly now.

Lord Dwarphister seemed delighted as he spoke to Raymond. “Touching this spot makes the whisks spin automatically. The user is in complete control of the speed of the whisks, fast or slow.”

“I knew we could count on you, Lord Fiss!” Raymond chirped. “This is an even better magic tool than what the head chef asked for!”

They negotiated a fair deal for the purchase, both coming away satisfied.

Afterward, the Wagner siblings walked around the bazaar. They still planned to join their family for Mass at the church they usually attended, so after saying goodbye, we saw them off.

Our next visitor was Miss Lunamaria. In her large white overcoat and with her smooth silver hair fluttering in the cold winter air, she looked like an ice pixie come to life. She was so pretty that passersby kept gazing at her, captivated.

“It is good to see you, Miss Cocolette,” she greeted me.

“And you as well, Miss Lunamaria,” I replied. “Welcome to our booth.”

I handed over her wrapped-up star-shaped cookie, and her eyes sparkled—she seemed delighted despite her blank expression.

After a moment, she admitted, “To be honest, this is my first time at a bazaar.”

“Oh my—really?”

“Every year for the Starry Night Feast, my family only attends the Mass before going out to dinner. To me, it is a very quiet holiday, so all this feels very strange to me.”

“Then will you be walking around the bazaar for the first time today?”

She paused. “I would like to, but do not quite know where to start.”

A maid and guard accompanied Miss Lunamaria, so there was no worry that she would be robbed. However, she was a sheltered girl; she must have been feeling daunted at the prospect of exploring the area.

With that in mind, I went to consult my own maid.

“Amaretti, I would like to show Miss Lunamaria around the bazaar; will you be all right here at the booth without me? I would also like to bring Raymond.”

“Understood, Miss Cocolette!” Amaretti replied. “We shall take an early break.”

And so Raymond, Miss Lunamaria, and I went walking around the bazaar. Before leaving I made sure that someone would come to get me if Prince Raph came to visit. It was at times like these that I missed cell phones.

Could I convince Lord Dwarphister to come up with some kind of magical equivalent?

“Whoa! Sister, look! Those candies are shaped like animals!”

“What are those, Miss Cocolette...? Skewered fruits dipped in chocolate? I have never seen them at a tea party before...”

“I think those are secondhand books for sale! May I go take a look at them, sister?”

“Oh my goodness! Miss Cocolette, they are selling all these portraits of His Highness Orkhart here?! Is this heaven?!”

Raymond’s and Miss Lunamaria’s eyes glittered as they took in the bazaar. Raymond had acquired a huge stack of old books, while Miss Lunamaria, though initially puzzled by her very first concession snack purchase, comfortably bought Prince Ork portraits to her heart’s content (incidentally, there were no portraits of Prince Raph for sale—didn’t they know there was a demand for them?!).

“Miss Cocolette, Lord Raymond, thank you so very much for today. Today was the first time I could properly get a glimpse of how commoners live.” Miss Lunamaria paused. “Despite being a marriage candidate for the princes, I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived my life thus far based only on the information provided to me.”

Taking in just one festival and calling it “how commoners live” didn’t seem like the most reasonable conclusion to me, but I supposed nobles really were just that removed from it all.

Miss Lunamaria paused before adding, “I am still a long way behind you, Miss Cocolette. However, I will continue to endeavor to stand beside His Highness Orkhart, and someday become a lady who will surpass you.”

She smiled ever so slightly, practically exuding the charm of a maiden in love, before giving a small wave to me and Raymond and leaving.

Prince Raph had yet to arrive at the bazaar, so Raymond and I decided to go help with the volunteer work.

A huge pot of steaming soup sat in front of the church, and an already long line of people stood by waiting for a helping. The nuns and church orphans were distributing food as fast as they could, but sure enough, they were overwhelmingly short-staffed—many people in line seemed visibly irritated by the extended wait time.

“It’s my time to shine,” I declared. “Raymond, will you help out in the back getting more bread?”

“Okay, sister!”

As soon as I took my turn on soup duty, the customers’ prickly attitudes instantly changed. Cries of “The angel is here!” and “It’s Miss Cocolette, the angel of love!” rose into the air as they tried to burn the image of my beauty into their minds for even a second longer.

While I had their attention, I pulled upon memories from my former life—specifically of when I was a student and worked part-time at a restaurant—to deftly distribute the soup. Thanks to that and the efforts of the other helpers, the stalled queue started moving smoothly again. But there were still fierce complaints in the air: “I want to wait longer so I can look at the goddess!” and “Oh no, it’s almost my turn!” were common sentiments.

Still, I was grateful that for the time being, there was no major trouble.

But perhaps that passing thought had been a warning; suddenly someone in line started to shout angrily.

“What’re ya cuttin’ for, jerks?! Get’n line and wait like the rest of us!”

“Shut up, you eyesore! What’s wrong with cutting in front of someone as gross as you?”

“What’d ya say?!” the first voice said. “If ya wanna fight, ya got one!”

“All right, bring it on, ugly!”

Another person laughed loudly. “Let’s get ’im, bro! Putting a few dents in ’is face might make ’im easier on the eyes!”

“Come at me, jerks!” the first voice yelled. “I’ll turn the tables on ya real quick!”

The people near them shrieked, and the line broke apart instantly. This was a job better suited for the knights working security for the bazaar, not the daughter of a marquis—but! “Eyesore” and “ugly” meant that I was about to see a first-rate bishonen! Close by was a rare specimen in need of protection! No way could I stand by while a hunk was in a pinch!

So, I hurried over toward the bishonen. The young men surrounding him stopped their brawl at my arrival and turned matching shades of red, their mouths dropping open practically on cue. They couldn’t take their eyes off me. It really does help to have a pretty face.

“For your rudeness in cutting in line, none of you men will be receiving any free food,” I declared. “You will quietly surrender yourself to the knights at once!”

My good looks had bought enough time for the knights to appear on scene. Even still, the young men stared at me in a daze. One said, “Well, the little angel’s angry. We better do what she says ♡” while another apologized with, “Sorry we started a fight, angel ♡” before they surrendered to the knights without an ounce of resistance.

With them gone, the only one left was a boy—likely the bishonen victim—crouched on the ground. Though it was already winter, he wore short sleeves that revealed countless scrapes and bruises on his tanned skin. His dark-brown hair was dried out and muddied. At first glance he seemed like a stereotypical street urchin from the slums.

I leaned in front of him and held out my hand. “Now, let’s get those injuries looked at. Can you stand?”

“Don’t touch me! I don’t need your noble sympathy!”

The boy smacked my hand away. He turned to scowl at me—and then his expression froze when he saw my face.

“Huh...?” he whispered, dazed. “A goddess?”

It seemed like he hadn’t noticed my beauty until now.

But neither had I gotten a clear look at him until this moment, and I was overcome instantly by my own surprise.

Wowee! The edge of his lip is bleeding and he’s dirty all over, but look at those gold eyes—he’s the wild type for sure! He’s a bishonen on the level of a foreign actor! He’s incredible!

I took a breath, trying to still my beating heart, then once more held out my hand. “I will make sure you get your share of food later. For now, let’s get your wounds looked at.”

The wild-type bishonen didn’t answer, but slowly, he took my hand.

Doing lots of good deeds really does come back around! There can’t be any problem with this many bishonen in the world—they’re a feast for the eyes!

I helped the boy up, then left the line for food distribution with him and went to a bench behind the church. I instructed Amaretti to fetch a first aid kit; while she was gone, I introduced myself to the handsome boy.

“My name is Cocolette Blossom. Please tell me your name.”

He hesitated. “Douglas. Don’t got a last name.”

I observed Douglas closely. I couldn’t get a good grasp on his age, given how malnourished he was, but I figured we weren’t that far apart in age.

“Douglas, do you have any parents or guardians?”

“Nope. Always been an orphan.”

“Do you live in an orphanage?”

He hesitated again. “C’mon, miss. No orphanage would take in a demon-looking kid like me.”

Douglas laughed in a hoarse voice, turning his golden eyes toward me in something like a glare. His gaze was complicated, somewhere between confused and about to burst into tears.

“Ya got bad eyes or somethin’, miss?” he asked. “Usually a girl sees my face and just starts screamin’ and cryin’.”

“There is nothing wrong with my vision,” I assured him. “Neither is there a demon in front of me—I only see an injured boy.”

Douglas furrowed his brow, the complex look in eyes becoming even more intricate and strange. He opened his mouth to say something, but someone interrupted him.

“My beloved Miss Cocolette!” Amaretti called, clutching a first aid kit. I took the kit from her while she covered Douglas’s shoulders with a blanket she’d also brought.

“Now, let’s treat those wounds,” I said.

I was used to nursing the sick and wounded as part of the charity work I’d done. I’d also taken a couple short courses in life-saving medical aid in my past life, so performing some first aid was no problem for me.

Whenever I applied disinfectant or bandaged his wounds, Douglas’s whole body stiffened, almost excessively so. But every time I asked him if I had caused him pain, he shook his head. It seemed that perhaps he simply wasn’t used to being touched in a nonviolent manner.

“Sister, are you all right? I brought soup and some bread...”

Raymond, carrying a tray laden with food, appeared just in time for me to finish treating Douglas. I thanked Raymond, then encouraged Douglas to eat. Douglas took the tray but eyed Raymond suspiciously.

Raymond, realizing that Douglas had taken notice of his fox mask, promptly took it off. “Nice to meet you! I’m Raymond Blossom—Cocolette’s little brother!” he declared proudly.

He was so cute that I just had to pat his head, and he happily curled up against my shoulder.

Douglas’s eyes widened at how close we were. “Are ya serious...?” he whispered.

“Go on—eat it before it gets cold!” Raymond encouraged.

Finally, Douglas began to eat. After taking his first mouthful, he seemed to realize just how hungry he was—he slurped down the soup, then scarfed down the bread in two massive bites. Seeing how he ate clearly showed me just how hard his day-to-day circumstances were.

Thinking carefully, I asked, “Douglas, may I ask how old you are?”

He didn’t answer immediately. “Fourteen.”

“What are your days usually like in the slums?”

“Same as the other homeless kids there,” he said. “Every day we fight each other over scraps and drink muddy water. If yer any good at stealin’ ya can get a little more and a little better stuff to eat. Then we find an okay roof to sleep under, then get beat and chased out by whatever guy lives there.”

Hmm, I see, I see! What we had here was a character who followed a certain fabled plot: A rich noble girl rescues an orphan with a bitter past, and he swears eternal fealty to her as her vassal. The two fall into a master-servant relationship, but there’s a high chance that they’ll suffer in their romantic feelings for each other. Eventually, they overcome the differences in their social status and live happily ever after!

Having a wild-type bishonen as a servant would be just amazing. Of course, I already had Prince Raph, so my relationship with Douglas wouldn’t develop into anything romantic.

Imagine Douglas with that face and a butler uniform! Heaven on earth! He could say things like, “Milady, I have prepared your tea” or “Are you tired, milady? Shall I set out your favorite aromatherapy oils for you?” or even “Milady, have you been lacking in bishonens lately? If that is the case, you may look upon my face for as long as you wish.”

If Douglas were one of my servants, he wouldn’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter a single day in his life. He would surely become a good friend for Raymond as well. Plus he’d be a feast for my eyes! So, in conclusion, taking in Douglas would kill three birds with one stone.

Okay, I’ve made up my mind! Father is soft on me, after all, so he won’t be opposed.

“Hey, Douglas, if you are okay with it...” I began slowly. I didn’t want to be transparent with my ulterior motives, so I concentrated on making sure I sounded appropriately serious and concerned for him. Just as I was about to ask if he would like to work at our estate, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“So you were here all along, Coco? I had heard that you were helping distribute food, but I was surprised when someone told me you went somewhere else again.”

“Prince Raph?!”

I turned around to see someone standing with a hooded robe hiding his face. The boy’s voice was unmistakably Prince Raph’s, and his golden hair hung down from the gap in his hood. Ford stood next to him.

I stood from the bench and started toward Prince Raph—but for some reason, he suddenly lowered his hood, revealing his face, and stared, surprised, at Douglas. His blue eyes flickered fiercely.

“It can’t be... You’re—”

Prince Raph’s lips moved soundlessly, but I thought he might have tried to say “Douglas.”

✛

Raphael

Although the Starry Night Feast was mostly hosted by churches, the royal palace was still a whirlwind of activity. Servants rushed about, preparing for both the evening Mass held at the central church that the royal family would attend and the subsequent banquet, which would be attended by some of the highest-ranking nobles in the country. To maintain order, palace security had dispatched knights at every church throughout the capital, and some unforeseen trouble of some sort had every civil servant aflutter with nerves.

My schedule for the holiday was tightly packed. Honestly, I should have started dressing up and such for Mass and the banquet from the moment I woke up in the morning, but I knew that no amount of polishing could improve my appearance. Instead I hurriedly put on a robe and headed into the castle town.

“Please, Prince Raph—we must return to the palace at least two hours before Mass,” Ford urged worriedly.

“I understand, Ford,” I replied.

“In all honesty I would like as much time as possible to get you ready...” he fretted.

“And I’m always telling you that even if you had all the time in the world it wouldn’t matter,” I pointed out. “So, we’ll go with the minimum amount needed.”

“Goodness—but that won’t do...!” he protested, on the verge of tears.

The two of us boarded a carriage, a small one with little ornamentation so that we wouldn’t stand out in the castle town. I also warned the guards to be careful not to act too conspicuously.

As I expected, the festivities had the castle town practically overflowing with good cheer, and the streets were congested with stagecoaches and people alike.

I peered cautiously out the window, watching the smiles on the citizens passing by. Parents held their children’s hands to keep them from wandering off, while young people shopped at food stalls. A street performance captivated every child in the vicinity, making their eyes sparkle, and every couple I saw snuggled each other, filled with happiness. Even from within the carriage I could hear laughter, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Now that I’m thinking about it, Prince Raph, isn’t this the first time you’re seeing the public up close as they enjoy the Starry Night Feast?” Ford pointed out.

“I believe so.”

As Ford had said, I had never seen this before. Even in my previous life, I had spent holidays like this with my head down, thinking only of how to avoid being seen. I don’t think I had ever seen—nor even thought about—how the people of my kingdom spent the Starry Night Feast.

“It seems like they’re all smiling,” I noted quietly.

“Yes. It looks like they’re having fun,” Ford agreed.

Did I really try to destroy all this back then? Had I really been so lost in my suffering and how jealous I was of Orkhart that I wanted to try to destroy these smiling people, their lives—their whole country...?

But even now, I could feel smoldering deep inside me a flame that could very well burn down the entire country. Within as well was a dark thought: that nothing and no one mattered except for Coco.

I withdrew somewhat into my robe and took a long, deep breath from under the fabric. The hatred inside me hadn’t yet disappeared—I didn’t regret what I had done in my past life. But that didn’t mean I was arrogant enough to cast aside the guilt I felt.

There was a bitterness in my mouth, and I swallowed it down.

✛

The church Coco had informed me of stood out among the other buildings due to its beautiful rose window. Ford and I, with an escort, dropped by the Blossom family’s booth. Apparently, Coco had gone to help distribute food; one of the estate servants guided me toward the area.

Out of curiosity, as we passed through the bazaar I couldn’t help but look around. I was startled to see that a stall selling portraits of Orkhart had their stock practically flying off their shelves—it made me so mad that I clenched my teeth.

When we arrived at the spot where the nuns were distributing food, someone let us know that Coco had gone behind the church to tend to a wounded person. When we arrived at the back of the church we found Coco sitting on a bench. Raymond sat next to her; their ever-present freckled maid was also nearby, as well as a few guards. On Coco’s other side sat the injured person, but since Coco was between me and him, I couldn’t see his face.

I called out to Coco. She at once turned around, beaming, and stood from the bench—and it was then that I saw the boy.

“It can’t be... You’re—”

Douglas.

Wrapped up in a blanket and malnourished as he was, Douglas didn’t look three years my senior. Yet still I recognized him—his dark brown hair, golden eyes, and the hideous face that had earned him the moniker of “demon” were unmistakable.

On the day of my execution, Douglas had been the first one to be decapitated. I couldn’t believe that here, at this moment, I was meeting him for a second time.

At the look of frozen shock on my face, Douglas was simply puzzled.

✛

After listening to the account of the recent brawl that had occurred in the line for free food, and of Douglas’s own current circumstances, I made a decision that I hoped would one day help protect Coco.

“Douglas,” I began, “I have a proposal for you.”

“Yeah?” Douglas paused, then corrected himself: “Yes, my prince?”

During our earlier conversation, Douglas had been flabbergasted upon learning that I was the crown prince. Now he was speaking to me, if somewhat clumsily. His brusque nature was exactly the same that I had encountered in my past life.

“Would you like to work for me?”

“Huh?!” Douglas barked.

“Prince Raph?!” Coco gasped. She then tilted her head, muttering, “But what about the plot...? My exclusive vassal...?”

I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but her baffled expression was still rather cute.

“M-My prince,” Douglas began. “I can’t work for ya. I’ve never learned anythin’, and I’m an orphan!”

“Douglas, I’d like you to become my knight,” I explained.

“Huh?!” he barked again, flustered. “What the heck—why a knight?!”

Because I knew the previous Douglas, and I need that strength. Besides, Coco had already begun to change my fate, and Raymond’s, the Wagner siblings’, and Miss Kleist’s as well.

Douglas, I want to give you the chance to avoid tragedy.

“I mean, I guess I’m sorta strong,” Douglas continued. “But ain’t no way I can be a knight. And ya gotta have plenty a’ knights ta protect ya even without me... Right?”

“What I want is a knight who will never betray me. And I have a feeling that you and I can come to an understanding.”

I pushed aside my long bangs, revealing my eyes and letting Douglas get a good look at my face. He fell silent, a deep empathy forming in his eyes.

He firmly closed them, just once, then immediately opened them to look at me, not an ounce of hesitation in his expression.

“Got it. Yer the first guy who’s ever needed me—er, my prince. I’ll come with ya...sir.”

“I shall be counting on you, Douglas.”

“Uh-huh.” He paused, then amended, “Yes, sir.”

I looked over at Coco. Her eyes were sparkling, and her cheeks were flushed.

“A wild-type knight is just perfect,” she murmured incomprehensibly, trembling just as cutely as a rabbit. I couldn’t help but smile.

✛

It was decided that we would bring Douglas back to my villa at once, but because of that, I wouldn’t be able to stay at the church for long.

“I’m sorry, Coco. I wanted to enjoy the bazaar with you,” I said.

“Please do not apologize, Prince Raph!” she replied. “I think your idea to train Douglas as a knight is truly marvelous! I’m really, really, really looking forward to seeing how impressive he looks in the knight uniform. Ah, incidentally, those outfits are white, right? Right? And besides, there is always next year’s Starry Night Feast—I look forward to it all the same!”

Coco didn’t show any signs of displeasure nor dissatisfaction with me, and neither did she ask me my true intentions for making Douglas a knight—she simply accepted it.

What a truly generous soul.

My heart squeezed sweetly.

Coco then handed me a paper bag. “It’s a cookie in the shape of a flower,” she explained.

“Thank you, Coco, for baking this for me,” I said. “I’m happy to receive it.”

“Of course,” she replied.

I opened the paper bag, and indeed a sweet, buttery aroma wafted out. The cookie inside was shaped like a cherry blossom, which I believed was the Blossom family crest.

“It looks quite well-made—as beautiful as something the palace would make,” I praised.

“Our head chef is quite the baker,” Coco explained. “Miss Lunamaria and I made the dough and cut the cookies. Father helped as well.”

“Sounds like it was quite the event.”

“It was! Raymond and Lord Dwarphister got along swimmingly. Raymond never fails to make me so happy to be his big sister.”

“Oh? Raymond and Lord Wagner...?”

That was interesting. In my previous life, the two had been feuding rivals.

Raymond was currently breaking apart his own cookie he had received from Coco. “My sister made this for me,” he said to Douglas. “It’s very delicious.”

He offered half to Douglas, who seemed to have let his guard down; he wore a carefree smile. “Thanks,” he said after a moment.

“Prince Raph, please enjoy,” Coco gently urged.

“Thanks,” I replied before taking a bite of my cookie. It crunched and crumbled in my mouth, the simple taste blooming on my tongue different to what I ate regularly at the palace. Knowing that it was Coco’s homemade cooking made it even more scrumptious.

“This is incredibly delicious, Coco.”

“I’m glad it suits your tastes, Prince Raph!”

“I will savor the rest of it,” I promised.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ford checking his pocket watch—the signal that it was time to go. I was reluctant to part from Coco, but duty required my return to the palace.

“Now then, Coco,” I said, “I will see you again at the palace. Goodbye to you as well, Raymond.”

“Of course. Prince Raph, Ford, and Douglas, please travel carefully,” Coco replied.

“Goodbye, everyone!” Raymond called.

As I boarded the carriage, Coco and Raymond stood together and waved. I couldn’t help but grin at the close pair of siblings and gave them a short wave in return.

The carriage set off. I looked over at my new companion Douglas, seated in the other seat across from me but looking quite uneasy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was his very first time riding a stagecoach. But though there were many bad roads and rough spots even within the royal capital—some of which we had no choice but to go over—Douglas never moved an inch, even as the carriage shook and rattled.

His bodily awareness and physicality is indeed quite high...

✛

The underbelly of society had hardened the young man I’d known in my past life. Douglas’s early childhood had been spent in the slums as an orphan, where others had loathed his hideous face and called him “Douglas the Demon.” Every day had been an encounter with violence, from anywhere and everywhere; to survive, he’d fought back, and eventually, he’d gained enough skill to become a bodyguard for a crime syndicate.

I had met Douglas when I’d been hiding in the castle town. We’d only needed one look at each other’s disgusting faces to understand our shared pain.

Douglas had taught me a great many things, one of them being how men like us were persecuted, our lives ruined over our hideous looks. He once took me to a bar where these men often gathered, and their grief was so similar to what I, a crown prince, had experienced in the royal palace that I could never write off their experiences as someone else’s problem.

Though the emotions of one individual might have been insignificant, when people group together, their shared emotions only grew stronger and stronger in power. When a number of citizens smiled at each other at the Starry Night Feast, the energy of the cheery atmosphere they created could intoxicate them; when miserable folks downtrodden by life got together, their sorrows swelled.

“This country was already bad under the last king, but ever since the new one was crowned it’s gotten even harder for us to live!” one man had declared at the bar. “The government’s at a standstill so nothin’s comin’ into the capital! And now everything’s more expensive!”

“There’s no cash flow for contractors so one by one they’re goin’ bankrupt. I can’t find any work at all! Nothin’ good’s comin’ for us!” another cried out.

Just before I had left the palace, Orkhart’s coronation and wedding ceremony had been held. At that time the entire country had been in a celebratory mood—it was likely that no one had expected the kingdom to become so unsettled in less than a few short years.

The first issue was that no one had ever educated Orkhart to be crown prince. Despite that, he had been given the crown anyway. Perhaps the kingdom’s upper echelon had expected me, the former crown prince, to support Orkhart from the shadows. Instead I’d promptly left the palace. He had had support—his queen, the girl from the baron’s family—and it had been her duty to assist him. With these factors laid out, of course there was no way Orkhart’s rule had gone smoothly.

With these men, who have been persecuted for their ugliness just like I have, I am going to end this rotten kingdom.

I’d decided to raise a rebel army. I’d funded it using Raymond’s and my private assets, while Douglas had used his familiarity with the underworld to secretly inform other homely people to gather weapons and arm themselves. With time the scope of our plans had steadily increased, and our resistance had grown more and more violent.

“Ya ever gone and wondered why ya were born, but nothin’ came to ya no matter how much thinkin’ ya did?” Douglas had asked me once.

We’d been in the midst of occupying the capital’s lifeline—its waterworks facility—with plans to blow up the floodgates. Douglas, a truly powerful man, had stood among a sea of personnel he’d knocked down himself. He’d told me he was self-taught, but regardless, the strength and swordsmanship he’d acquired just by surviving in the underworld had been truly astonishing. If he had been given proper sword training at a young age, he might’ve become truly unstoppable. Time and again I had lamented that such a talented man had been left to fester in the slums.

A loud explosion had sounded somewhere outside the waterworks facility. Outside the window I could see the floodgates being destroyed, one after another.

“Whole life I’ve been treated as nothin’ more than a bug,” Douglas had commented. “Feels good to leave my mark like this. Shows I really lived here in this country.”

“You’re right, Douglas,” I had agreed. “Let’s leave the biggest, deepest marks we can, shall we?”

“Yeah!” he had cheered. “Now, Raphael, signal that jerk Raymond for me. We need more support at the floodgates.”

“Got it. Do we have enough gunpowder?”

“Loads. See ya later!” he’d said before heading off toward the floodgates with a large, heavy stride.

Even on the day Douglas had ascended the scaffold to the guillotine, his gait had remained the same large, heavy stride as always. His tone had held the same light cheeriness as before too, as he’d called back to us, “Well then, guess I’m the first one headin’ off to hell. See ya later!”

✛

I want to save you, Douglas, I couldn’t help but think now that I’d met him at a much earlier point in our lives this time around. The impulse gave me pause—surely, it was Coco’s influence that made me even able to think about wanting to save someone.

Douglas was walking with that same large, heavy stride toward the future, and I now believed with my whole heart that those steps should not take him straight to the guillotine—for that was not what he deserved.

This time, for sure, I will reach out my hand to you.

▽

Cocolette

After watching Prince Raph’s carriage leave, Raymond and I returned to help with the food distribution. Now that noon had passed, the line had calmed, and the nuns insisted we take lunch.

After we ate, we enjoyed the various events taking place around the plaza, and in the evening after his work had finished, father joined us. Together, all three of us headed into church for the beginning of Mass.

The pastor appeared, and after expressing his gratitude to everyone for another successful bazaar, he began his sermon. Apparently, tonight he was speaking about Saint Cecelia the Blind.

“Since birth, Cecelia was without sight. However, in place of her vision, Cecelia held the power to create miracles,” the pastor began.

The story of Saint Cecelia the Blind and the extraordinary power she held was incredibly famous throughout the Kingdom of Cheriotte. I had even recalled the existence of the blind saint when speaking to Miss Mystère about magic once.

The tale went like this:

As an infant, Cecelia had been abandoned in front of a church. She was picked up by a nun, who discovered her blindness and assumed her parents had forsaken her because of it; she thus decided to raise the baby in the church.

Cecelia grew into a young lady, beautiful in both body and mind. Though she was blind, she lived on the church premises with no issue. It was there that she decided to train as a nun.

Without a doubt, she had the power to create miracles; she could sing songs to give the joy of life to the living and the peace of restful sleep to the dead, and her touch could revive withered crops and heal the wounded and sick.

I believed that Cecelia must have been a true saint—in other words, one who could use holy magic.

Cecelia continued in that way until her eighteenth birthday; after that, her holy magic gradually began to decline. Even her physical health began to suffer—yet Cecelia recklessly continued to use magic for the good of the people without consideration for herself.

I wondered if perhaps the reason her body had been burdened like that had been because—since her blindness had prevented her from drawing magic circles—she’d kept forcing herself to cast holy magic. Lord Dwarphister had taught me the workings of magic, but I had neglected to ask him about casting spells without a circle.

Then one day, a young man appeared before Cecelia. He startled her, for she had never before met someone with a soul so numb with cold. She sang for the young man, encouraged him, touched him with her hand, and even sat close to him, but despite all she tried, her holy magic could not heal his heart.

Cecelia then asked the young man, “How can I alleviate your sorrow? Would my last moments on earth be enough to save your soul?”

“No brief moment of comfort can drive away the hell I have lived all my life,” he replied. After a moment of hesitation, he continued. “If you would, Cecelia, please give your life to me. I want not your blessings, but you yourself. I wish for you to be my wife and spend the rest of your days at my side.”

Cecelia agreed to his proposal, and the two were wed. She then lived the rest of her short life together with the young man. It was said that even on her deathbed, she used holy magic one last time for her husband.

“And so, she was an extraordinary woman,” the pastor said. “The exalted Cecelia lived only for the people; in the end, she was given the title ‘the Blind Saint’ and is still loved to this day. Let us each live each day as she did: with pure hearts, loving our neighbors, and always extending a helping hand.”

With that, the pastor wrapped up his speech and offered up a prayer to God. Those of us attending prayed as well, and thus, Mass finished.

We would soon return to the Blossom estate to enjoy a delicious dinner. I was sure father planned to give me the heart-shaped cookie he’d made then.

“Sister! Father! Today was really fun!” Raymond said gleefully.

“You have worked very hard, Raymond,” I praised, taking his hand. “You did an excellent job.”

“The servant in charge of our stall today has told me much the same. Raymond—you did very well. Thank you,” father said.

“It’s all thanks to your lessons, father!” Raymond insisted. “Plus, the servants and vendors were all very helpful.”

“Is that so? Wonderful,” father said. He kindly patted Raymond’s head and then mine. He smiled, looking incredibly content. “Now then, shall we return home?”

“Let’s, father,” I agreed.

“Yes!” Raymond chirped.

High above our family, the stars twinkled and glittered in the sky. That night truly befit the name of “Starry Night Feast.”

Chapter 6: The First Chapel Inspection

Cocolette

As the new year began, so too did the first snow of the season fall on the capital.

During the winter, our lessons in queenly education were on hold. Miss Mystère, Miss Lunamaria, and Miss Violet had all taken their vacation time to return to their families’ respective territories. In an ordinary year I would have done the same; however, this year I had decided to remain at the Blossom estate in the capital, while father and Raymond had gone together to the land that comprised the Blossom marquisate.

It was Raymond’s first trip as well as his first time to our territory, so as his older sister, I really should have gone with him. But since Prince Raph would remain in the capital, I hadn’t wanted to leave. And so even though my queenly education was on hold, the tea parties Prince Raph and I shared still continued.

Raymond had become so impressive that I couldn’t believe that it hadn’t even been half a year yet since father adopted him. In the beginning, he’d mostly stuck close to me, but now—thanks to the mite-misty glasses—he had good relationships with our servants and was even becoming close with Prince Raph and Lord Dwarphister. Father was satisfied with Raymond too.

Boys sure grow fast. Raymond may be a little cutie for now, but before I know it he’ll be a full-on idol-type bishonen. I can’t wait!

Of course, I wasn’t just waiting on Raymond to grow up—I was counting the hours until Douglas and my beloved Prince Raph did as well.

▽

“Here we are, Miss Cocolette.”

“Thank you very much, Ford,” I replied, smiling.

Ford, blushing, nodded happily. “I am sure your support will do much to encourage Prince Raph and Douglas.”

Ford had just led me to an indoor training hall; he directed my attention to the center, where Prince Raph and Douglas were in workout clothes, facing each other and using training swords to practice their swordsmanship.

Clank! Clank-clank! The imitation weapons crashed together. Douglas hounded Prince Raph with powerful swings of his sword, while Prince Raph used his nimble poise to repel Douglas’s blade.

And what a feast for the eyes it was! There was no other way to put it! On one side was the exceedingly beautiful Prince Raph, while on the other was his wild and rough knight Douglas! Every time Prince Raph moved, his low golden ponytail would swing sexily—and despite the winter chill, bewitching beads of sweat glimmered on Douglas’s skin!

I clasped my hands together as if in prayer, spellbound as I watched the two bishonens practice.

The two exchanged blows for another ten whole minutes before Prince Raph finally scored a point off of Douglas.

Oh, Prince Raph, you’re so gorgeous and a skilled swordsman... You really are the perfect prince! ♡

Douglas had fallen to his knees, trying to catch his breath. Prince Raph first swept aside his long, sweaty bangs, then reached his hand out to Douglas to help him stand. I could feel heat bloom under my skin, no doubt reddening my skin. What a gentleman!

Prince Raph turned to me and smiled. “Welcome, Coco. I’m sorry I took so long to say hello when you went out of your way to come here with all the snow.”

“Please do not worry about me!” I insisted. “I was more than happy to watch you perform so gallantly, Prince Raph!”

“You’re as kind as ever, Coco.”

I gave Prince Raph and Douglas each a handkerchief. Prince Raph gladly took his, but Douglas was more timid about it, reacting a bit like a shy, wild animal. Is he still keeping his guard up?

Douglas was currently an apprentice knight and lived in the knights’ dorms on the palace premises. When he wasn’t practicing with Prince Raph, he trained under the supervision of senior knights.

When we’d first met, Douglas had indeed been a street rat, but after only one month under Prince Raph’s protection, he had cleaned up and now looked much more like a fourteen-year-old boy. I supposed it was clear proof that living in the knights’ division was a vast improvement of his circumstances. I hope he continues to grow up well, and becomes the brawny wild-type knight I know he can be!

Douglas hesitated. “Miss Cocolette, I...” It was extremely apparent that he was doing his best to speak as politely as possible. “I shall wash the handkerchief and return it.”

“Am I not always telling you that there is no need for you to do such a thing?” I pointed out. I had already given him plenty of handkerchiefs. And since all of them had been made with designs suited for men, there shouldn’t have been any reason for him to feel embarrassed using them in front of others. “I am sure you must sweat a lot during your training, Douglas. Please use them freely.”

“But...” he protested weakly.

Perhaps he felt awkward about constantly receiving things from me. And since he hadn’t yet mastered the particularities of modest speech, he probably didn’t know how to properly voice his concern.

“You may repay me by becoming a splendid knight: one who, above all, protects Prince Raph,” I said.

Douglas hesitated, then nodded, with clear reluctance. “Yes, Miss Cocolette.”

“Personally, Douglas,” Prince Raph added, “I would ask you to become a knight whose first priority is to protect Coco. I know how to defend myself.”

“Oh, Prince Raph...!” I cooed.

Douglas, with a serious expression on his face, nodded at Prince Raph’s words.

It’s a maiden’s finest dream for a bishonen prince and a bishonen knight to protect her! Oh, the moment all these pretty boys are grown up will be when the world becomes a real paradise!

▽

Spring approached, and with it the thaws began. Snow melted from the capital roads, and carriages were once again able to travel in safety. One after another, other nobles gradually returned to the capital from the estates in their territories—including father and Raymond.

I had been the one to choose to spend the winter with Prince Raph, but though I had known it would only help him grow, I had still worried greatly about Raymond’s first visit to our territory. I had been much like an anxious mother whose child had left home for their first slumber party.

“Welcome home, Raymond!” I greeted him the second he came in through the front door.

“I’m home, sister!” he called.

Still in his traveling clothes, he hugged me tightly right there in the entranceway, beaming up at me from my arms. It had been so long since I’d seen his jade-green eyes; they sparkled like polished gems.

“How was your first visit to our territory?” I asked. “You didn’t get hurt or sick, did you? Did anyone bully you?”

“I was fine!” he chirped. “But, well, several things did happen...”

“What?!”

“The children there said things to me like ‘You’re too ugly to have taken after the marquis or Miss Cocolette! There’s no way you’re the heir!’”

“Someone needs to reprimand them, and harshly! No—I shall do it myself!”

“Wait, sister! There’s more!” Raymond insisted. “I beat them!”

“You what?!” When did Raymond learn how to fight?! I stared down at him in shock, and his eyes narrowed impishly.

“I beat them at card games, sister!”

“Card games?”

He explained that father had taught him how to play as part of a noble’s social life. Furthermore, Lord Dwarphister had let him in on some off-color tricks—namely, how to cheat. He had promptly used those skills to win against the children in our territory.

“Cheating at old maid and poker is easy,” Raymond went on. “And if I play memory, I never forget the cards after I see them!”

I couldn’t help but cover my face with my hands. My pure, angelic Raymond—without any evil intentions of his own—was heading down the wrong path... Since he was a noble, it was not entirely inappropriate that he should learn these skills, but...still... I was a little—no—I was very shocked.

“Eventually the other children realized I was better than them!”

“That’s wonderful, Raymond,” I said, a little faintly. “I’m amazed that you were able to resolve their bullying on your own.”

“Lord Fiss taught me that I should settle matters with something I’m good at,” Raymond explained. “So, I did my best as his protégé! Of course, I also worked hard as the Blossom heir!”

I laughed. “Is that right?”

My head was filled to the brim with all kinds of thoughts. I took a deep breath to calm my heart. Boys needed to socialize with other boys, I reminded myself; I couldn’t impose my feelings on the matter on Raymond. Life couldn’t be lived in pure innocence, after all. To a certain extent, this was a necessary evil. Right.

Despite these thoughts, I really, really wanted to punch Lord Dwarphister.

▽

Miss Lunamaria also returned to the capital from the Kleist territory without incident. She had a report for Prince Raph, so the three of us arranged to have tea.

“Your Highness Raphael, here are the results of the investigation that you requested of me some time ago,” Miss Lunamaria said. She handed over a few documents to Prince Raph, who began to read eagerly. “It is a list of chapels with pendants, crosses, and other ornaments with connections to the royal family. We have researched everything, from the records in these chapels to rumors shared among the public, with this list compiling the most likely candidates.”

“This list is quite long,” Prince Raph noted.

“It is,” Miss Lunamaria agreed. “Though our focus was on pendants and crosses, there were a great many other ‘ornaments,’ such as rings and tiaras.”

“Is that so? Thank you very much for your investigation. Now then, would you be so kind as to start with accounts of the pendants and crosses?”

“Yes, with pleasure.”

Miss Lunamaria then launched into detailed descriptions of each item she had found, from stories in the southern territories about chapels with items such as engraved pendants, a locket with the portrait of an orc-faced youth inside, pendants made of gold, and rosaries donated from royal family members of generations past. She really had been quite thorough.

“Understood,” Prince Raph said once she finished, putting away the documents. “Thank you for your hard work, Miss Kleist.”

“I am honored to have been of use to you, Your Highness,” she replied.

“Have you found what you were looking for, Prince Raph?” I asked, finally speaking.

He hesitated. “Not yet, but now thanks to Miss Kleist I have quite the promising lead. I do not know, however, how well the information we have obtained will hold up to reality. I want to see whatever I possibly can in person to verify things with my own eyes. Would you like to come with me, Coco?”

“Yes!” I blurted immediately. “Of course I do, Prince Raph!”

Yes! A date with Prince Raph! I’m so happy—I’ve never been on a date, even in my past life!

“I think I’ll have Douglas accompany us as our escort,” Prince Raph mused.

“As he is still an apprentice, will that be all right?” I inquired.

“Yes. It will provide him with much good experience. I will also call upon other veteran knights to assist. Keeping in mind the resumption of your classes, we shall go on just one inspection, and since this trip is somewhat impromptu, we should go to a chapel within the capital limits.”

“If that is the case,” Miss Lunamaria began before recommending the chapel where the locket with the orc-faced portrait inside was.

That was the least interesting place I would have picked, but whatever. So long as it was a date with Prince Raph I was happy to go wherever.

Teatime then commenced as usual, while on the inside I daydreamed about my first ever date.

▽

At long last, the day of my first date—or, as it was officially known, Prince Raph’s first chapel inspection—arrived. I eagerly spruced myself up, chose a dress that was fitting for a trip and not too showy, and then waited for Prince Raph’s arrival. He was supposed to come from the palace to pick me up so that we could head to the chapel together.

Finally, a carriage emblazoned with the royal coat of arms and guarded by knights on horseback passed through the gates of our estate.

Mixed in among the knights was Douglas, wearing a white uniform but with different ornamentation than the others’. As he rode his horse he looked solemn and serious, his eyes carefully surveying his surroundings. His face in profile is just so sexy!

Just as I was silently paying my respects to Douglas’s handsome face, Douglas—perhaps sensing my passionate gaze—looked over his shoulder and saw me, at which he awkwardly bowed his head. I waved my hand back at him, overjoyed.

Prince Raph descended from the carriage. “Hello, Coco.”

“Well met, Prince Raph. ♡”

I had been waiting vigilantly for his carriage right at the threshold of the estate entrance. Beside me, father and Raymond, as well as Amaretti and the other servants, all bowed their heads to Prince Raph in unison.

“Please look after my daughter today, Your Highness,” father said politely.

“Prince Raph, next time you simply must come inside and stay longer,” Raymond insisted chipperly. “I’ll be waiting!”

They saw us off as Prince Raph escorted me into the carriage, and I made sure to wave to everyone from the window once the carriage began to depart.

With that, we were off to the chapel. From the Blossom estate, it was only about a thirty-minute ride by carriage.

The small church seemed old, with thick ivy growing on its outer walls and wooden planks nailed into windows that must have once contained glass. If I were to speak kindly of the place, I would have said that I could feel the weight of history here; without platitudes, however, I would have said that the small chapel we had arrived at had the perfectly creepy atmosphere of a horror film from my old world.

“This place is still being used, is it not...?” Prince Raph quietly asked Ford.

Ford, tears in his eyes, looked up at the church and nodded.

In terms of a first date, this really was high up there on the difficulty scale—but I was all right. After all, Prince Raph and his outrageously beautiful face were with me. So long as I was next to him, anywhere could be a lovey-dovey date spot.

A knight tapped on the chapel door. It didn’t seem that strong of a knock, but the hinges squeaked in a sinister whine. Then, with a creaking so loud that I thought the door might simply fall off, the entranceway opened.

A happy-seeming elderly couple—the pastor and his wife—came out, followed by upward of twenty orphans. While every child wore patchwork clothes, their garments were clean, and each child sported a lively expression.

“We are honored to have you here, Your Highness Raphael,” the old man said. “I am Gray, the pastor of this church. This is my wife Canaria, and these are our children.”

Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria both wore thick glasses, but neither seemed to have any particular reaction to Prince Raph’s appearance. Perhaps their prescriptions were outdated...?

The orphans, however, had quite the response to Prince Raph’s and Douglas’s faces: As soon as they saw the two, they immediately bawled and clung to their guardians.

“Ms. Canaria! There’s a scary kid here!” one yelled.

Another wailed tremendously before pleading, “Save me, Pastor Gray! I’m scared!”

“There’s two demons?! But I don’t wannaaa go to helllll!”

Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria calmly set about soothing the children.

“Now, now,” Pastor Gray said. “There are no demons here. The crown prince has graced us with his presence today.”

“That’s right, everyone,” Ms. Canaria agreed. “Remember: We must be courteous to guests.”

“But Pastor Gray! You and Ms. Canaria have old eyes! You just can’t see the demons!” one of the children protested.

“That’s right!” another agreed.

Things were getting far too out of hand, so I walked to the front of our group. An otherworldly beauty taking center stage should stop all this crying, I figured.

“Hello, everyone,” I greeted. “Today we’re here to look at a locket with a beautiful portrait inside. Would you kindly show me where it is? I would be ever so happy if you did.”

I smiled, and the boys, of course, became entranced—actually, even the girls did too. They all smiled happily, their tears forgotten in an instant. They all started babbling one after another.

“Whoa... It’s an angel!”

“Wrong! Can’t you see she’s a goddess?”

“She looks like a princess out of a picture book. She’s so pretty!”

“I-I’ll show you the locket, Princess!”

“No you won’t—I’ll show her!”

“I wanna go too!”

The children all rushed up to me at once, guiding me into the chapel.

Concerned about Prince Raph, I looked behind me. He was clearly sad, but seemed somewhat relieved too. I imagined it pained him to distress so many children with his appearance. I finally felt at ease, though, only when Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria started to show him around themselves.

The outside of the chapel was considerably old, and the inside was in a similar state of deterioration. Each step down the wood-floor hallway produced a creak, and the children were quick to warn me of the various dangers we took with each step.

“Don’t step on that spot, Miss Goddess. That floorboard’s rotten.”

“Alfred fell under the floor the other day. We only just covered up the hole with scrap wood some neighbors gave us.”

We came into the heart of the chapel. Although the building was falling apart, the rosaries, candlesticks, and the statue of a goddess were all beautifully polished. The pulpit had even been decorated with lovely wildflowers just on the verge of blooming. Despite how poor they were, I could see the efforts they made here and there to make the place even a little bit prettier.

“I imagine this church receives very few donations,” I murmured after a moment.

“As soon as they have even a little money, Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria bring home a new kid!” one of the children explained.

“They go to the houses of abused kids and beg to take them in,” another added. “They’ve even gone to the slums to get babies. That’s why our church is so poor, but I like it here a lot!”

“Me too!” chimed in a third. “Sometimes my parents didn’t feed me for days, and they hit me too, but none of that happens here! Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria are super nice!”

The pastor and his wife were certainly wonderful people, but at this rate, they would never save up enough money to actually repair the chapel. The situation as it was now was far too hazardous. And really, what did the two of them even think about the building’s total dilapidation?

“Have any of you been hurt?” I asked. “Perhaps one of you stepped on a nail in the floorboards?”

“No one has had anything really bad happen,” one replied. “Only small cuts and the like.”

“That’s ’cause we’re in a church and God protects us!” one boy chirped.

Are you kidding me?! Letting the chapel collapse on itself because they believed God would protect it was nonsense!

Flustered, I asked, “Is that what Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria told you? That the church could stay old like this and things would be fine because God is protecting you?”

The children shook their heads no.

“So they didn’t tell you that?”

“Well in the first place, they’re old and got really bad eyes,” said one of the boys. “They don’t notice the church is all beat-up and stuff. And they’ve never stepped on any nails. If there are any holes, the older kids go bang-bang-bang with a hammer and fix them up.”

“They don’t even notice that the windows got all smashed and that they’re really covered with boards,” added another child. “They’re just old, though.”

So in short, Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria just don’t realize that there’s even a need to renovate... I should let Prince Raph know.

While I had been pondering a number of issues, the children and I had finally reached the room where the locket was kept. Prince Raph, Pastor Gray, and Ms. Canaria came inside as well, although they were a little behind us.

They opened the wooden box that they had been storing the locket in. And, as I had predicted, I found it to be of utterly no interest to me.

It was made of pure, shining silver that had been shaped with finely detailed work. Even I, a noble, could recognize that a splendid piece of jewelry sat before me. However, opening the lid of the locket revealed the portrait of the youth inside: an orc-face who went above and beyond all other orc-faces.

The children, entranced, peered at the portrait. Several of them commented dreamily about the boy.

“What a Prince Charming...”

“He’s always socool every time I look at him!”

“I want to marry a boy like him someday.”

Prince Raph was listening to Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria talk about the locket. I moved closer to him—I desperately needed a pretty-boy refill.

Prince Raph seemed confused that I had suddenly drawn near to him. “Coco?”

I took his hand. After all, this whole affair was a little bit like a date, and I wanted to properly savor that feeling. But I also remembered that we were, actually, performing an inspection.

I leaned in close to his ear. “Prince Raph, I just heard this from the children...”

I spoke to him in a hushed, concerned tone about how the pastor and his wife seemed to not have noticed that the chapel was in dire need of repairs.

At first, Prince Raph had blushed at how abruptly I had come close to him, but as I spoke, his expression slowly became more and more serious.

“So that’s the case,” he murmured, nodding. He quickly ran his gaze along the walls and floors, checking the wear and tear of the building. “This church doesn’t need to be repaired—it needs to be rebuilt. I’ll put forth a budget from the palace.”

He turned back toward Pastor Gray and Ms. Canaria and brought up reconstructing the chapel.

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed a thing,” Pastor Gray said. “My sight just isn’t what it used to be.”

“Holes in the floorboards, you say?” Ms. Canaria added. “Oh, my—how dreadful. I’m glad the children haven’t been hurt.”

“First, we will contact the church headquarters, and then dispatch a government official from the palace to formally inspect the building’s condition,” Prince Raph began.

The three continued onward with their discussion, which happened to finish at a moment that perfectly coincided with the end time we had allotted for the inspection. Prince Raph and I thanked the elderly couple, and Ford presented them with his own small donation. Then, with the children swarming me, we made our way back to the chapel entrance.

“Come back and visit us again, Princess!”

“I told you, she’s a goddess!”

“Please marry me when I become a grown-up!”

“Princess, will you be my friend?”

The children’s chatter made me smile. I hope this place quickly becomes safe enough for them to live in.

Cra-crack-cra-crack!

Suddenly, a loud, crunching sort of sound—like something falling from the ceiling—thundered over our heads.

“Aaaah!”

“Get away!”

“The ceiling is caving in!”

A fissure cracked its way across the dilapidated ceiling, causing parts of the ceiling to break off and fall away. Wood chips of various shapes and sizes plummeted toward us. In a panic I threw myself over the children closest to me.

The nearby knights immediately rushed to our aid, shielding us with their bodies. Among them, I saw Douglas shelter the youngest of the children. Prince Raph, Pastor Gray, and Ms. Canaria also crouched down, letting the knights protect them properly.

When the sound of splinters hitting the floor finally stopped, we immediately exited the chapel. The children clung to the pastor and his wife, wailing up a storm of their own but seemed unharmed. Luckily, the knights seemed to have come away with only minor injuries; I let out a sigh of relief that Prince Raph, Douglas, and Ford were all okay.

“I’m so glad you’re all right, Coco,” Prince Raph said when he saw me.

“You as well, Prince Raph... I do not know what would have happened to us had the knights not been there to shield us.”

“Agreed—they truly saved our hides. I will have to present them with awards later.”

Prince Raph and I went to the knights and thanked them personally. Without missing a beat, several of them replied along the lines of “There is no need for gratitude, Your Highness; minor injuries like these happen all the time during training.”

Prince Raph turned to Douglas and tightly gripped his hand. “Douglas, thank you for protecting those children.”

Douglas blinked repeatedly, as if a little puzzled.

I put my hand on top of the two boys’, then gave my best smile. “Thank you very much, Douglas! It seems you are already a splendid knight.”

A few nervous children then came over to Douglas.

“Mr. Demon...” one boy began quietly. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Thanks...” Another child seemed to not quite know what to say, and ended up phrasing her apology as a question. “I’m sorry for crying when I first saw you?”

The last boy was much more chipper. “Thank you for saving us!”

Douglas’s golden eyes widened in surprise. At last, he nodded and said, “Sure.”

Afterward, there were many things to do, like getting in touch with the church headquarters and finding a temporary shelter for the elderly couple and the orphans to reside in. Douglas’s puzzled expression didn’t change until Pastor Gray, Ms. Canaria, and the children said goodbye and we left the chapel behind.

✶

Douglas

I woke up in my bed. The reality of that surprised me every single mornin’—after all, just a few months ago I’d been an orphan.

I looked ’round at the four-person dorm room used by apprentice knights. Two sets of bunk beds hugged the walls, with four locked cupboards in the middle for each of us to store our stuff. I didn’t put much in mine: my stipend, clothes, and a ton of handkerchiefs. Nothin’ else.

It was early mornin’ still so the room was dark, and the early spring chill pierced me to the bone. But compared to the freezing winters I’d gotten through by the skin of my teeth, this was heaven. The popular places like the dinin’ hall and lounges had fireplaces too, so I could even go there to get warm.

Not wantin’ to wake the other guys in the dorm, I quietly got out of the bunk bed and changed into my apprentice uniform. Might as well get some trainin’ in before breakfast.

✶

I’d been born in the slums. When I was still a kid my ma abandoned me somewhere, leavin’ me all alone.

I couldn’t remember her all that much. She’d been young, maybe early teens, and though her face was fuzzy in my head it seemed like I’d always annoyed her for some reason.

I don’t think she really knew my dad. Pretty common thing for girls in the slums—sell yer body to whoever, then sell off any kids ya had to slavery. That musta been her plan too, but then I’d been born with a face too ugly to pawn off.

Ma shoulda just left me to die, honestly. But maybe ’cause of how young she’d been she just hadn’t known what else to do. Sure, she’d neglected me, but every once in a while she gave me milk, and when I started gettin’ my teeth, she even gave me moldy bread on a whim sometimes. It’d been a sloppy way to handle a kid—ya couldn’t call it parenting—but either ’cause I was just naturally tough or just had straight up dumb luck, I survived.

Now I couldn’t remember when ma actually left me. I could say when I noticed she had: I was sittin’ under the eaves a’ some building, so hungry I could hardly see. All I knew then was that I needed somethin’ in my belly, so I pulled up some grass and ate that. Maybe it’d rained, ’cause there was a muddy puddle I stuck my face into and slurped up too. I think maybe I was around four, then.

Before long, I’d figured out by myself how to dig through the trash. Soon enough I also figured out that there were guys bigger than me who’d claimed the dump as their turf, and that if they found me, they’d beat me up.

Eventually I could pick through the garbage without gettin’ found out. But sometimes, if they saw me anyway and came at me, I could sometimes stand up to ’em and hit ’em back. I got to stealin’ and swindlin’ too, and ’fore I knew it, I’d made it past ten, and folks called me “Douglas the Demon” for my ugly mug and my strength both.

And then one day—that fateful day—I headed out to the festival at the church.

Had no clue what people were celebratin’—just knew that it was a day anyone could show up and get food. Ain’t no way I was passin’ up the chance to get a proper meal for free.

I walked from the slums to the nearest church, hungry as usual, then got in line for the food distribution. I was waitin’ when several older guys, maybe in their twenties or so, cut right in front of me, starin’ and snickerin’ at me too.

“Whoa!” exclaimed one of ’em. “This guy’s super ugly.”

“Short sleeves? In winter? Gotta be poorer than dirt,” said another. “Ah, I get it. He’s from the slums.”

“Hey, ugly. We got places to be, so just let us go this once. At least then you’ll be a little bit useful to people.”

“Eyesores like you are a drain on society. How ’bout you do something with your life and get a job?”

I got real hot inside from how angry I was, so angry I brawled ’em just as I woulda in the slums. I pounded my fists against the guy who looked like the leader, just whalin’ on ’im, and ignored his flunkies’ attempts to butt in. If I got rid of the boss first, the rest’d be easy.

Maybe it was our difference in size or how I hadn’t had much to eat inna while, but they started gettin’ more blows in on me. One of the lackeys kicked me in the side; my body gave out and I fell. That’s when they started wailin’ on me.

Shit, that hurts! Why’s it gotta be me?! Why’s my whole life been like this?!

It was all I could do to to curl up and try protectin’ my head—

“For your rudeness in cutting in line, none of you men will be receiving any free food. You will quietly surrender yourself to the knights at once!”

I thought I heard the high-pitched voice of some girl. The knights came too, arrestin’ the men surroundin’ me.

And then the palm of a small hand appeared in front of me. It was a girl’s, clean and soft—clearly some pampered princess who’d never known a hard day in her life.

Rage swelled in my stomach once again, and I knocked her pale hand clean to the side, hurling whatever words I could think of. I didn’t want her touchin’ me; no matter what, she’d regret ever reachin’ out to me the moment she got a good look at my face.

I’d seen other busybodies like her before. Self-important freaks, all of ’em, just getting high off their righteous acts of self-sacrifice. None of ’em had ever taken me seriously.

Fine, then. Look at my mug and scream. Foam out yer mouth and fall right there for all I care.

I lifted my head—only to see a girl with pink hair and soft pea-green eyes like plant sprouts. She was as beautiful as a goddess.

Is today’s festival for her? That why she’s come down to earth? I thought that for a second, and seriously too.

The girl seemed surprised too when she looked back at me, but there wasn’t a lick a’ hate in her eyes. She held out her hand again. I couldn’t think of anythin’ else to do, so—still too shocked to say nothin’—I took her hand.

With that, my livin’ hell came to an end.

✶

The girl’s name was Cocolette. She touched me without even a bit of hesitation and took care of my wounds. More than once I thought she might not be all there in the head.

A bit later, her little brother came over and introduced himself. Had a strange mask on, and he took it off to show his own ugly mug. But Cocolette just gave him a gentle little pat on his head.

Ahh, I thought at last. She was used to ugly faces since she had one in her own family, so she’d been able to keep her cool when lendin’ me a hand. I could sorta understand then.

But then the crown prince arrived, and I got surprised all over again.

✶

Even slum orphans like me had heard the rumors of the ugly crown prince. There was one about how the incredibly handsome king’s firstborn son was so ugly that some thought he was from another realm. Another said anyone who looked him in the face would get nightmares every night so bad they’d eventually go crazy and lose their minds.

I’d heard every now and then from the guys back in the slums that liked to call me Douglas the Demon that those rumors about the crown prince didn’t seem too different from what I looked like.

“Ya got a face that could curse anyone just by lookin’ at ’em, same as that hideous crown prince.”

“Ya really do got an ugly mug. Shame ya weren’t born a royal like that hideous crown prince, eh, Douglas? Then at least ya would’ve gotten a cushy life.”

I’d always had mixed feelin’s ’bout the crown prince. I was jealous, ’cause even though the guy was s’posed to be pretty nasty-lookin’, he was still royalty just ’cause he got lucky with who his parents were. But I pitied him too, seein’ as even the street rats in the slums were raggin’ on him.

Jealousy and pity. Plus, I had this faint kinda expectation that maybe if the ugly crown prince became king, he could change this rotten part of the country. I’d never even met the crown prince, never even seen ’im at a distance, but I still had all kinda jumbled up thoughts about ’im.

I didn’t believe it when I did meet ’im. And then, he even took me in—asked if I wanted to be his knight. Like givin’ me a job’s the easiest thing in the world.

When he took me to his villa at the palace, the ugly crown prince—His Highness Raphael—said, “I know we have just met, and this may seem strange for you to hear me say, but: I will always be your stalwart ally.”

I could only see his blue eyes a little, since he had those annoying long bangs hidin’ ’em. But he looked dead serious.

It took me a sec to answer. “Why’re ya tellin’ me that?”

“Because I know that you will become my stalwart ally.”

“What kinda answer...?” I started, but he kept speakin’.

“Besides, you also appreciate the kindness Coco showed you, do you not?”

Someone’d told me that that girl from earlier might marry His Highness Raphael someday. I’d had no clue that people with no bias like her even existed in this world. On top of me bein’ ugly, I was an orphan—she was far outta my reach. There wasn’t even half a hope for someone like me to catch her eye.

“I want to protect Coco,” His Highness Raphael continued. “I have many enemies, and I’m certain that she will become embroiled in conflict. In those times, I want as many people as possible defending her. It’s something I believe you can do, Douglas.”

“Your Highness...”

His Highness Raphael smiled at me, holdin’ out his hand. I relaxed my shoulders and gripped his hand in return.

“Violence is all I’ve got...and I’ve no clue if that could protect someone,” I admitted. “But...”

“Go on.”

“I’ll do what I can. After all, ya said ya need someone like me, Your Highness, and that girl—Miss Cocolette—being kind to someone as ugly as me too... I’m real happy.”

“Thank you, Douglas.”

For the first time, people had been kind to me, had needed me, had hopes for my future, and were relyin’ on me... I couldn’t help but be happy. I was sure people could see and think I was just like some stray dog that just got attached to whoever fed it scraps—but that was just the kinda person I was.

His Highness’s giant, bulging eyes narrowed kindly. “I look forward to working with you, Douglas.”

That caught me off guard, and it took me a sec to reply. “A-And I look forward to working with you too.”

I’d been on the verge of cryin’. I’d had no idea that havin’ a place to belong could be real comfortin’.

✶

“Good morning, Douglas!” Miss Cocolette called, waving.

Mornin’ trainin’ had begun and I was runnin’ laps ’round the palace. Miss Cocolette had just climbed outta her carriage, and I—rattled—hurried over to her and bowed. The gesture was still pretty awkward, though.

“Miss Cocolette,” I said.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your training,” she said.

“Do not worry, Miss Cocolette,” I replied, doing my best to speak politely. “Are ya here for teatime with His Highness?”

“I am. Prince Raph let me know that he wishes to eat some more of my family’s sweets, so I have brought some today.” She lifted the lid of the basket she held, then handed me a baked good wrapped up in a paper bag. “Here, Douglas—I’ve brought one for you as well.”

“Th-Thank you!”

“This is for your hard work during the chapel inspection a short while ago. Prince Raph was quite pleased with your efforts. The children also sent along a letter of thanks; they are quite grateful to you.”

Miss Cocolette’s words reminded me of the chapel inspection. It was the first time I had been actually useful to people. I’d never thought people would thank me like that. Even today I still had this awkward, embarrassed feelin’ deep in my chest from it.

“Again, I apologize for interrupting,” Miss Cocolette continued. “See you later, Douglas. Good luck with training!”

“Ah, t-take care!” I said.

Miss Cocolette left, and the way she fluttered her hand as she waved was really pretty and graceful, like a butterfly... Not to mention she was pure a’ heart too, given how she could smile even at me. I understood why His Highness had said he wanted to protect her.

And nothin’ would make me happier than puttin’ my strength to good use.

“All right,” I said to myself. “I’ll work hard and do just that.”

I put the bag she’d given me in my pocket, then went back to runnin’ laps of the palace. I ran, the headwind all ’round me dense with the smell of spring.

▽

Cocolette

It had been roughly two weeks since the first chapel inspection, when the derelict roof of the chapel had caved in over our heads. The church headquarters—with exceptional quickness—agreed to repair the chapel, with the palace providing funds for the project.

“It seems that they’re making a fuss over the incident since their crown prince happened to be present,” Prince Raph said cynically. Personally, I adored that wicked expression on his face. ♡

“Then we have you to thank for the pastor and the children being able to live in a new chapel all the sooner,” I pointed out. “The children especially must be quite grateful to you.”

Prince Raph didn’t reply for a moment. “If my authority could be used for the good of the people this time around, I think I would like that.”

He’d spoken as if he knew of a time his authority had been used to the people’s detriment. His profile, cast in shadow, seemed so sad—it perplexed me.

I bundled his hand between both of my own and smiled, trying to cheer him up. “The authority you hold is very powerful, and also difficult to wield. But if you use it correctly, it can become an amazing asset to protect you, your country, and your people.”

Just like I used my unparalleled beauty to protect myself and the people around me, so too could Prince Raph use his authority to protect himself and his citizens.

He hesitated, then softly said, “Will I really be able to do that this time? To do things right...?”

Hearing him say “this time” made me feel a bit uneasy. But he seemed so serious, so anxious, as he looked at me—I couldn’t sweat the little details just then. I couldn’t let a bishonen be sad!

“I am here for you,” I assured him. “When I become your wife, I will support you. That way, you will use your authority correctly.”

“Coco...” For a moment, his brows furrowed as if he were about to cry—but then he smiled. “You’re right. I’ll do everything I can to ensure we both arrive at that future—with you as my queen.”

Although we did not know it at the time, the rebuilding of the chapel would later be recognized as one of Prince Raph’s most distinguished achievements. From that event alone the citizens’ opinions of him would improve, as they believed the hideous crown prince had acted to protect the common people.

▽

My queenly education began once again.

On my way to the classroom I glanced out of one of the hallway windows. The cherry blossom trees in the palace garden were dotted with red buds—soon the flowers would start to bloom.

Cherry blossom flowers were the Blossom family emblem, so we grew many of the trees in our own garden. Once they’re in full bloom,I would love to invite Prince Raph over to view them with me.

Just after the thought crossed my mind I saw a girl walk along the garden promenade. She had soft, curly chestnut hair, sparkling purple eyes, and was of small stature. It was, of course, Miss Violet of the Berga county—the girl recommended by the royal concubine to be one of Prince Ork’s marriage candidates, and who was one year younger than me.

Contrary to her adorable appearance, she had a belligerent temperament and was versed in hand-to-hand combat. I had hardly spoken to her at all. And after receiving a verbal smackdown from Miss Violet during their initial catfight, Miss Mystère hadn’t shown any inclination to talk to her either. As for Miss Lunamaria, I had a feeling that the Kleist heiress didn’t speak to anyone aside from me.

Huh...? I thought after a moment. If I’m recalling this correctly, I believe Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria haven’t spoken since they first quarreled.

Just as the gut-wrenching realization started to fluster me, a sudden, strong breeze blew in the garden.

The wind unfastened one of the purple ribbons in Miss Violet’s hair and carried it away. The servant boy at her side leaped into the air at once, catching it in one grab in a show of impressive reflexes. He seemed to be about Miss Violet’s age or perhaps slightly younger, with deep purple hair and eyes. His face was mediocre.

The attendant handed the ribbon to Miss Violet, who grinned happily and instead bowed her head to him, as if suggesting he tie it back in her hair for her. And though his face flushed red with embarrassment, he still reached out and—with very unpracticed hands—put the ribbon back in her hair.

Once done the servant bowed his head and apologized over and over again about how ill-shapen the ribbon looked, but all Miss Violet did in reply was smile. Then, the two headed toward the palace gates.

I tilted my head in puzzlement, watching until I could see them no longer.

Has that attendant always been with Miss Violet?

Chapter 7: The Second Chapel Inspection

Cocolette

After classes ended for the day, I made my way to Prince Raph’s villa. It was rather far away from the palace, but its surrounding greenery and general atmosphere of tranquility more than made up for that. And, more than anything, it was Prince Raph’s private space. Merely thinking that I was on my way to the remote paradise of a handsome prince made my steps all the lighter.

“Coco! What a coincidence!”

I was halfway there when a sugary-sweet voice hailed me, and I couldn’t help but startle. I looked toward where the call had come from and, sure enough, there was the accursed, world-famous heartthrob Prince Ork. Miss Lunamaria and several maids were with him as well.

“It is good to see you, Prince Ork,” I said. “And you as well of course, Miss Lunamaria, despite seeing you so recently in class.”

“Thanks. I’m glad to see you looking well, Coco,” Prince Ork replied.

“You did admirably in our lessons today, Miss Cocolette,” Miss Lunamaria noted politely.

Prince Ork looked at me with lovey-dovey eyes, as usual. He seemed to have grown somewhat since we last met. I hadn’t seen him at all during the winter, so perhaps any possible changes he had undergone were simply just more noticeable to me.

“Heading to my brother’s royal villa as well, Coco?” Prince Ork asked. “Luna and I are going there too; would you like to come with us?”

I was about to ask whether Prince Raph had also invited Prince Ork and Miss Lunamaria when a few far-off voices sounded out.

“Prince Ork! Is she your third marriage candidate? If so, then please introduce her to us—we’re part of your faction, after all.”

“We acknowledged Miss Berga and saw the value in Miss Kleist. But Miss Blossom is from a neutral faction. It is highly doubtful whether she will really be of use to you, Prince Ork.”

“Just how worthy is she of the second prince of Cheriotte?”

The three boys who approached were extremely eager to pass judgment on me. All three were in possession of considerably high-level orc-faces, though of course still inferior to Prince Ork’s. They could have been sons of a high-ranking noble house, but I couldn’t remember meeting them at the garden party where I had met both princes. Of course, they likely didn’t know what the daughter of Marquis Blossom looked like either.

Being condescended to didn’t sound fun, so I preemptively flashed the boys a beautiful smile. “How wonderful to make your acquaintances, gentlemen. I am His Highness Raphael’s marriage candidate, Cocolette Blossom,” I greeted, making it clear that I was not Prince Ork’s girl in the slightest.

But my self-introduction seemed to not have been heard by the three young noblemen—rather, they were flabbergasted at how beautiful I was. A rapid change of heart, but inevitable; I was far too pretty to be their enemy.

“Sorry about them, Coco,” Prince Ork said. “They’re from my mother’s faction. They’ve gotten into the habit of worrying far too much over me, and it’s made them treat you so rudely. Boys, apologize to Coco properly.”

Yet when they finally spoke next it was not in apology, but in delusional mutterings of worship.

“What a beautiful girl!”

“An angel has come down to earth—no, a goddess!”

“Miss Cocolette truly is suited for Prince Ork...”

Rather than wait for the three to come to their senses, I said, “Prince Ork, the apology you extended on their behalf will suffice.”

“Thank you for being so lenient with them, Coco,” he replied. “Boys, give us some space. And it’s past time for you all to be heading home, I think.”

One of the maids politely ushered the boys away. I tipped my head, puzzled.

“I believe that was my first time meeting those gentlemen. Were they not in attendance at the garden party?” I asked Prince Ork.

“They did come, but left immediately after it started. It seems like the sight of brother made them hysterical.”

It was no wonder I didn’t remember them.

“I should get around to purchasing them some pairs of mite-misty glasses as well,” Prince Ork continued. “Then they’ll be able to understand how truly wonderful brother is.”

It was then that I noticed all the maids with Prince Ork were wearing mite-misty glasses.

He went on to explain, “Thanks to Fiss’s invention, my staff is comfortable even if I visit brother frequently. You see, before these glasses I wasn’t able to check in on him as much as I would have liked. And since my meeting today with the boys ended early, I decided to stop by and see brother. I met Luna on the way and brought her along.”

“I see!” I replied.

The three of us continued on toward Prince Raph’s villa. Along the way, Prince Ork told us about how he had spent the winter in the Empire of Portania, his mother’s home country. The empire was south of Cheriotte and enjoyed temperate weather year-round, never experiencing even a day of snow.

“My older cousin was making a big fuss about wanting to see snow. Perhaps I’ll introduce you two to him one of these days,” Prince Ork mused.

Since the royal concubine was a former Portanian princess, and her elder brother was the current emperor, it was safe to assume Prince Raph’s cousin was the current prince of Portania.

“By the way, Coco—this is an invitation to tea from my mother.” Prince Ork produced a high-quality envelope embossed with the palace coat of arms from his breast pocket. “I’ve already given one to Luna, but forgot to give this to you. It seems mother wants to meet all of my marriage candidates. There’s no need to fuss over it; it won’t be a formal affair.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

Prince Ork’s mother, huh? I wondered what sort of person she was.

▽

When I entered the villa’s parlor, Prince Raph’s face brightened happily, but stiffened the moment he saw Prince Ork come right behind me. In this case, it appeared, absence had not made the heart grow fonder.

I sat next to Prince Raph, while Prince Ork and Miss Lunamaria took the opposite sofa. Ford quickly served us tea.

After pulling himself together, Prince Raph began the conversation. “Miss Kleist, Coco and I went to inspect the chapel you recommended to us the other day. Some unforeseen circumstances occurred during our visit, but we managed to protect the citizens living there. I wanted to thank you.”

Yet Miss Lunamaria seemed downhearted by Prince Raph’s words. “I deeply apologize, Your Highness. For a structural collapse to occur at the place I recommended you visit... I should have done a preliminary investigation myself ahead of time. I am deeply relieved that you are unharmed, Your Highness.”

“Do not worry, Miss Kleist. The incident was not your fault.”

Certainly, for Miss Lunamaria to suggest the crown prince visit a chapel and then have that same prince narrowly escape said chapel would undoubtedly invite suspicion that she had just orchestrated an attempt on Prince Raph’s life. But as a member of the queen consort’s faction she had no reason to kill him; even if she didn’t want to marry him, that rationality would still not hold up given that she knew I wanted to marry him.

Miss Lunamaria also didn’t seem to be the type who would assassinate Prince Raph in order to make Prince Ork the crown prince. After all, she truly loved Prince Ork, and Prince Ork truly idolized his older brother. I couldn’t imagine Miss Lunamaria would do anything that might make him dislike her. The incident at the chapel must have simply been bad luck.

“That had to have been terrifying, brother,” Prince Ork noted. “I’m quite glad no one was badly injured. Though I did hear from Luna that because of the incident, the people have been speaking more highly of you. I’m glad that they’re finally learning just how wonderful you are.”

“Oh my—they’re praising Prince Raph? Is that true, Miss Lunamaria?” I asked.

“Yes, Miss Cocolette,” she replied. “Word has spread that he put his life on the line to protect his people.”

Prince Raph hesitated. “I was not the one who did that; the knights were.”

“The knights were there because you were, Prince Raph!” I insisted. “There is no problem with being praised for this deed!”

“Is that true...?”

Prince Raph seemed somewhat reserved, but really, all of his subordinates’ achievements could have been considered his own. In all honesty, I wished for more positive recognition to pile up, bit by bit, so he could gain more allies!

“Whatever the case, chapel inspections sound fun,” Prince Ork said. “You’ll have to let me join next time!”

“Orkhart...” Prince Raph paused. “The chapel inspections are a personal project. I am not doing them for fun.”

“I understand that! But it shouldn’t be a problem to let me join you just once, right, brother? Besides, I’ve never gone with you before on any sort of investigation!”

Prince Ork clasped his hands together and looked at Prince Raph with upturned eyes. Charmed at once, Miss Lunamaria and the maids cooed, “Oh, how lovely our Prince Ork is!”

Though monster boys were thoroughly not to my taste, I understood how they felt. A begging bishonen was the pinnacle of cuteness.

Prince Raph took a while to respond. “I will not allow your schedule to take precedence. If you are to come on an inspection, you must adjust your plans to match mine.”

Prince Ork nodded in satisfaction. “Got it! Let me know as soon as you’ve scheduled your next one, brother!”

Miss Lunamaria spoke up next. “Excuse me, Your Highness Orkhart...”

“What is it, Luna?”

“If Your Highness will be participating in His Highness’s next inspection, then I would humbly request to accompany you, if you would let me.”

“Brother, you wouldn’t mind if Luna joins us, would you?”

Prince Raph yet again took a moment before replying, “Do what you like.”

“Thank you, brother!”

Prince Raph sank listlessly into the sofa, holding his head with both hands as if he had become completely exhausted from one second to the next. The sight was somehow both amusing and pitiable at the same time, so I patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Prince Raph peered at me from between pieces of his long bangs. “The next inspection may be rather boisterous, but would you like to come along still, Coco?”

“Of course!” I chirped. “Wherever you go, I will follow.”

Prince Raph smiled, as if relieved. “Thank you.”

▽

Ever since I had recognized the discord between marriage candidates, it had been weighing heavily on my mind.

I had been observing Miss Lunamaria and Miss Mystère the past week and, sure enough, I had not seen them have a true conversation. While they did use me as an intermediary for communication, they seemed reluctant to have a direct exchange with each other. Well, I can understand why they’d be this way after their first meeting went like that...

But when I had first met Miss Mystère, she had been at her wit’s end, determined to become Prince Raph’s queen consort despite fainting at the sight of him—not for herself, but for her brother and the good of the Wagner family as a whole. On the other hand, Miss Lunamaria might have also been in the queen’s faction, but she had leveraged her family’s status to become a marriage candidate for the boy she personally fancied; Miss Mystère probably thought of her as a spoiled heiress.

However, Miss Mystère’s circumstances had changed. Lord Dwarphister was now devoting himself to his prime minister studies, and, thanks to his magic, Miss Mystère had built a favorable relationship with Prince Raph. So long as she remained on the list of Prince Raph’s marriage candidates in the queen consort’s faction until he turned eighteen, she would be fine. If she achieved that, she could protect the Wagner family name, receive significant monetary compensation, and still garner highly desirable marriage proposals.

But did Miss Mystère still dislike Miss Lunamaria?

Of course, Miss Mystère probably still didn’t approve of how Miss Lunamaria conducted herself, considering which faction both girls belonged to. But ever since Miss Mystère’s situation had changed, I hadn’t seen her lash out at her fellow marriage candidate.

Furthermore, Miss Lunamaria did occasionally give short responses to Miss Mystère, but she didn’t try to pick fights. In fact, since the majority of her focus was on Prince Ork, she didn’t seem to care much about Miss Mystère in general.

This wasn’t me trying to give some silly lip service about how you should try to get along with everyone, even people you didn’t like; I just had this nagging suspicion that Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria had the potential to get along much better than they did now. After all, as fellow marriage candidates, we were all going to spend much, much more time together in the coming years.

▽

“So, Coco, you would like Miss Wagner to come along on the next chapel inspection?” Prince Raph summarized.

“Yes. Would that be too much of an inconvenience for you?” I worried.

He paused. “No. Rather, the more people there are, the less likely I will have to concern myself with Orkhart.”

“So just to confirm, I may invite Miss Mystère?” I asked hopefully.

“Yes. I see no problem with it.”

“Thank you so much, Prince Raph! I will ask her immediately upon the morrow!”

The cherry blossom trees in the Blossom garden were in full bloom, so I was with Prince Raph and Raymond at our estate to view the flowers. As usual, Prince Raph had brought a large assortment of books for Raymond to borrow, and Raymond had already begun to delightedly read them. We were also making plans regarding the next inspection.

By the time Amaretti had come to deliver us a fresh set of sweets, we had already hashed out most of the logistics. Prince Raph picked up a freshly baked macaron, looking at the cherry blossoms above us. The blossoms shed one after another, with some of the light-pink petals fluttering in the wind to caress his cheeks, while others came to rest atop his blond hair, gently tied in a low ponytail. He seemed otherworldly, a pixie or a fae king, something which ruled among the flowers.

I couldn’t help but clasp my hands together, prayerlike, overcome by the surprise collab between Prince Raph and the cherry blossoms. Goodness gracious Prince Raph, you’re beautiful! You’re too beautiful! Thank you for being born here with your flawless face! Say the word and I’ll do anything you ask me to!

“Oh, Coco.” Prince Raph looked fondly at me. “You have a petal in your hair.”

“Huh?”

He reached out a hand and gently plucked it from my hair. But another petal landed on me, and another, the cherry blossoms falling endlessly like light rain. In the end, Prince Raph laughed in amusement.

“These blossoms must adore you. The petals keep only falling on you.”

“That simply isn’t true,” I pointed out. “There are plenty of them on you as well.”

“I’d say there are still more on you. After all, you look just like a pixie princess, presiding over the flowers.”

“Oh, Prince Raph, you flatter me. ♡”

Around this time every year, father called me things like a “cherry blossom pixie princess” or his “spring goddess,” so I was used to hearing such compliments. But when such praise came from Prince Raph, I felt a completely different kind of joy.

“You know, Prince Raph, you seem to me much like a fae king of the flowers yourself.”

That immediately flustered him. “C-Coco, a compliment like that is more suited to Orkhart than myself...”

“To me, this compliment is for you in particular!” I insisted.

He hesitated. “Th-Thank you, but that’s enough...”

In this world so thoroughly cursed by Rex Draconis, getting Prince Raph to think more positively about his appearance was no easy task. But I really, really want you to know that I think you’re the most attractive guy in the whole world. I hope one day you’ll accept that I do love you.

As I enjoyed a peaceful moment under the cherry blossoms, I had a front-row seat to Prince Raph’s bright-red, embarrassed expression.

▽

Today would mark the second chapel inspection. Though it was not yet time for everyone to meet, Prince Raph, Miss Mystère, and I were already gathered in the palace entry hall. Ford was discussing something with the stagecoach drivers, and the knights—the apprentice Douglas among them—were taking roll call.

“Oh my, Miss Mystère, your necklace!” I exclaimed. “The crimson gem is quite lovely.”

Miss Mystère let out a low, haughty laugh. “You have quite the discerning eye, Miss Cocolette. Fiss gave me this pendant, you see. Though I must admit that the gem itself is an imitation.”

“It’s the exact same shade of red as your eyes. I imagine it would be difficult to find a jewel this hue in nature.”

Though that’s what I said, Duke Wagner’s family was so distinguished that they could likely track one down easily. At any rate, the imitation gem Miss Mystère wore sparkled beautifully.

During our chitchat, Prince Ork and Lady Lunamaria arrived just in the nick of time. And right behind them was Miss Violet, accompanied by her attendant.

Prince Raph’s brows furrowed at the arrival of these unforeseen additions. “Orkhart, what is the meaning of this?”

“Brother, you’re already here! Sorry we’re late,” Prince Ork replied.

“That’s no matter—you’re just in time,” Prince Raph said. “But I did not hear anything about Miss Berga joining us on the inspection today. Why is she here?”

“Right. I figured since Coco and Miss Wagner were coming, it would be a shame for Vi to be the only one left behind. So I invited her! You said I could do what I liked, right, brother?”

Prince Raph put his hand to his forehead as if he had suffered a sudden headache. I could hear the clearly suppressed rage in his voice as he eventually replied, “I certainly did say that to you. But did it ever occur to you to engage your common sense and grant me some kind of prior notice to this change?”

“I worried you might get angry with me,” Prince Ork admitted offhandedly. “Besides, Vi is just one more person—that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. I mean, at all the tea parties I’ve been to, unexpected visitors have never been a big problem.”

“You’ve only been able to get as far as you have because the people around you care for you and assist you,” Prince Raph pointed out harshly. “This is not a tea party, but an inspection. Selfishly increasing the number of attendees without prior notice jeopardizes every aspect of our preparations. Both the palace employees and the knights will now have to adjust their respective plans without the proper consideration or time they should have been granted. Let me be clear: The moment you invited Miss Berga is the moment I should have known about it.”

Prince Ork seemed to finally understand what he’d done; he rushed to Prince Raph in clear panic. “Brother, I apologize... You’re right; I was careless. I didn’t even think about the people below our stations. I’m truly so sorry...”

Something about Prince Ork’s face at the moment—he seemed much like a hapless puppy, totally dependent on its master—must have brought out Prince’s Raph protective instincts. I didn’t understand how, but at any rate it seemed to have been a super effective hit.

“Good-looking bastards are all the same,” Prince Raph eventually muttered in anguish. Then he went on more strongly, “You will be more careful next time, Orkhart.”

“Yes, brother, I will! Thank you!” Prince Orkhart brightened considerably before backing away, the puppy forgiven by his master once more.

Next, Miss Violet, led by her attendant’s hand, approached Prince Raph. “I apologize deeply for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness Raphael. Should my presence prove too vexing for the situation, I shall withdraw at once. I leave it up to your discretion.”

Despite the leisurely airiness of her voice, Miss Violet’s offer to withdraw from the excursion was skillfully done. Though she was both a year younger than myself and looked sugary sweet at first sight, she was leagues more put together than Prince Ork. Even when looking at Prince Raph she wore a perfect poker face.

“There is no need for you to apologize whatsoever, Miss Berga,” Prince Raph assured her. “Ford, I’d like for you to make the necessary arrangements for her to accompany us.”

“There is no issue, Prince Raph,” Ford replied. “We have prepared three carriages; there is more than enough room.”

“Thank you, Ford. Apprise our fellow travelers that Miss Berga will be accompanying us.”

“As you wish.”

Preparations were completed, and I was to board the same carriage as Prince Raph, Miss Mystère, and Ford. Prince Ork, Miss Lunamaria, Miss Violet, and the Berga attendant would ride in the second carriage. The third carriage would house the servants and our luggage, while the knights were to escort us on horseback.

When Prince Ork realized that he and Prince Raph would be separated, his expression turned quite lonely. “I won’t do such a foolish thing again, brother,” he promised. “That way next time you and I can ride together.”

Prince Raph took a moment to reply. “I just hope you learn from it. The royal concubine did raise you rather freely, after all.”

“There’s no point in blaming my mother. I need to grow up myself.” With that, Prince Ork escorted Miss Lunamaria into their assigned carriage.

Once we had all boarded, the stagecoaches set off for the chapel. The trip would take about two hours.

I was seated next to Prince Raph. I decided to use the time to try asking him about a topic that had been on my mind for a while.

“Prince Raph, what kind of woman is the royal concubine?”

“The royal concubine, huh...” Prince Raph smiled faintly—and ironically. “Well then, how do I put this...?”

Miss Mystère sat across from us. Seeing her prince at a loss for words, she provided a helping hand. “I would say that the royal concubine is subservient to nothing and no one. She is free from a noblewoman’s pride, of a concubine’s position—she is even free to wear what she likes.” Miss Mystère paused. “I can understand why so many people would find that charming.”

“It is as Miss Wagner says,” Prince Raph agreed. “The royal concubine is the embodiment of ‘freedom.’”

“Oh, is that so?” I replied. “I look forward to meeting her then, as she has invited me to tea.”

Was the royal concubine as carefree and irresponsible as her son? While I had said I was excited to make her acquaintance, I was also a wee bit scared...

A short while later, our carriage left the capital limits, and our surroundings unfolded into a tranquil scenery, the pale spring sky spreading endlessly above us as we passed forests and prairies. The cherry blossom trees had all lost their flowers by now, but I could see fresh, vivid green leaves in their place.

Here and there houses dotted the fields and pastures of the land, and as we traveled I saw farmers plowing the soil and planting seeds and sprouts, herds of livestock, and hunters wandering about with their rifles slung over their shoulders.

The Kingdom of Cheriotte was home to many species of large and terribly violent fauna. They easily devastated residential areas and were prone to attacking farm animals, so hunters had to maintain constant vigilance.

I had never really paid much attention to wild animals before, but now that I knew about the Lost Age, I had a myriad of thoughts about them. Far in the distant past, Rex Draconis and his many monstrous underlings had inhabited the land, but during the Lost Age their kind had virtually perished all at once. In the innumerable years since then, evolution must have resumed—if the fauna was left unchecked now, and became larger and more violent, could they eventually become monsters too?

In the end, those were only hypothetical musings. Still, I really hoped that Lord Dwarphister worked hard; I wanted him to establish a royal magic division at all costs.

▽

At long last, our carriage arrived at the chapel.

We had come to a church at the heart of another territory. Standing at the entrance to the building were the pastor and several nuns, as well as the count who governed the area and his family. Every single one of them seemed warm and welcoming.

But when Prince Raph descended from our carriage, the atmosphere chilled instantly. The nuns all seemed about to faint where they stood, and the pastor, along with the count’s whole family, went pale. Several people put handkerchiefs to their mouths as if trying to hold back a sudden and severe nausea.

This again, I thought tiredly. That demon dragon’s curse sure is a pain.

“Prince Raph!” I called as I stepped out of the carriage, putting on an exceptionally beautiful smile before clinging to his arm. I just had to show off to the people around us—and to Prince Raph himself—that I was here to support him. And of course, my goddess-like beauty should also balance out the repugnance others felt toward him.

Indeed, thanks to my pretty-girl powers, the staggering nuns managed to regain some of their composure, while much of the color returned to the faces of the pastor and the others.

“Thank you, Coco,” Prince Raph said quietly, understanding my intention. He stroked my hair, a gentle look coming to rest on his face. Softly, so low that only I could hear, he said, “I’m quite all right; these sorts of reactions are but a trifle.”

Such a stalwart heart... I’m in love all over again!

Once everyone had disembarked from their carriages, Prince Raph—undaunted—spoke to those gathered for the visit. “I thank you for receiving us here today on our inspection. I am Crown Prince Raphael Cheriotte. Over there is my younger brother Orkhart, and the ladies accompanying us are our marriage candidates. We look forward to working with you today.”

The church attendants and members of the county still didn’t seem to have fully regained their composure, but they responded politely to Prince Raph nonetheless.

The pastor was the first to speak. “Y-You as well, Your Highness; I am humbly pleased to serve you. I am the pastor here, and have been for many long years. I have heard that you wish to view the engraved pendant we keep here—the one which originates from the royal family. I will show you the way.”

“Afterward, should it please you, I and my family wish to guide you around some of our territory,” added the count. “We have also prepared lunch at our estate!”

“I appreciate your consideration,” Prince Raph replied. “However, there are now more people with us than we had previously informed you about. Is this all right?”

“Yes—the more the merrier!” the count said at once.

With the pastor and nuns leading the way, we all entered the chapel. It was of modest size, but possessed a long and storied history. On display there was even a statue of a goddess that in my old world would no doubt have been designated a national treasure. Of course, unlike the last church we had visited, the building was a solid, well-maintained structure.

Prince Ork escorted Miss Lunamaria, whose usual expressionless mask had disappeared in favor of a bright-red look of excitement as she attentively followed along to the pastor’s history lesson. Even Miss Mystère was in high spirits; she pinched the hem of my dress to grab my attention and said, “Hey, Miss Cocolette! Look over there! It’s a statue all the way from the time of our first king!” I was delighted too—we were all having fun, like children on a field trip.

When Prince Raph finally set his eyes on the engraved pendant, the pastor began to explain where it had come from.

Around a hundred and fifty years ago, a large wildfire had razed the area. The princess, feeling sympathy for those affected, had donated some of her jewelry to them; the engraved pendant had been one of her belongings. What a lovely princess she must have been.

For some reason, when the pastor finished speaking, Prince Raph seemed a little disappointed.

“Is something the matter?” I asked him.

“No... It’s nothing.” He gave me a strained smile and did not say any more on the subject.

I then noticed the Berga attendant escorting Miss Violet. She smiled adorably and whispered something into his ear, causing his face to turn bright red. It really did seem like—

“Coco, it’s about time for us to depart for the count’s estate.” When I didn’t answer right away, Prince Raph gently pressed, “Coco? Are you all right?”

“Oh, yes. I was just in a little bit of a daze,” I said.

“I see. You know, it is quite the beautiful day.”

“It is.”

With the chapel inspection officially over, we once again boarded our carriages, this time making for the count’s estate.

▽

Lunch began as soon as we arrived. Our meal had been made with freshly harvested spring vegetables, along with many preserved ingredients, like root and pickled vegetables, cheese, and sausage. Unlike in my previous world, here it wasn’t possible for me to have fresh fish all year long. After all, this is what happened when the season changed from winter to spring and there was no technology that could accommodate the drastic changes in climate. Could further development of magic bring along something like a refrigerator...?

All of the dishes were delicious. As we ate, Prince Ork glanced at the count’s servants, looking deeply guilty. It seemed to me that somewhere inside him, he felt immensely sorry for changing the size of our party and forcing others to accommodate his whims; when the meal finished, Prince Ork went up to the count and his family, bowed neatly, and apologized.

After lunch we were served tea while the count regaled us with tales of his territory’s history, as well as educated us on its topography and industry. He kept up an eager back-and-forth with Prince Raph; he seemed to have adjusted to Prince Raph’s looks admirably. The man had an incredible poker face.

The count then invited us on a short tour around some of his territory. We once again boarded our carriages, then went out to see some of the territory’s wheat storage facilities.

Unsurprisingly, during the tour shrieks arose here and there at the sight of Prince Raph, but I clung to his arm, smiled radiantly, and dispersed the attention from him. Several people even worshipped me—bawling all the while—but their ecstatic histrionics were far better than the outward loathing they showed Prince Raph.

Finally, we headed toward the vast farmland, where a number of farmers were plowing the fields and sowing seeds. There were hunters here as well, rifles at the ready, keeping watchful eyes on the woods and underbrush where wild animals might be lurking.

“Would you like to experience it for yourselves?” the count offered.

All of us were given aprons, boots, and gloves to try out farming. Once we had put those on, we were given small seedlings. Farmers had already dug out holes; all we needed to do was place the seedlings in the earth and cover them with soil. Such spoon-fed agriculture was easy beyond compare, but it suited the nobility.

And for children who had never even touched topsoil before, this was probably the perfect introduction. Prince Raph seemed to find great interest in planting his seedling, while Prince Ork was having a great deal of fun. Miss Lunamaria’s eyes sparkled, Miss Mystère looked delighted, and Miss Violet was working together with her attendant. They’re practically glued together! Wait, I want to do group work with Prince Raph too!

We all planted our seedlings without any particular problems. We were in the midst of saying our goodbyes in preparation to return to the capital when Miss Mystère suddenly let out a shout.

“What in the world are those?! They’re flying straight toward us!”

I looked toward the distant mountain she pointed at...but saw nothing. All of us, bewildered, looked back and forth between her and the sky.

“Goodness—can none of you see them?!” she huffed, pouting—which was quite attractive to me in and of itself—but to us she was saying total nonsense. After all, with a vision of 20/4 she could see things from an absurd distance, but this time her brother wasn’t here to interpret what she saw for us.

A minute later, however, the hunters started to panic.

“It’s true!” one called. “The young lady was right—there’re strange birds comin’ this way!”

“It looks like a big flock!” another yelled.

Flying finally into my range of vision came enormous birds—I imagined that if they were to evolve just a little more, they would be just like the mythological roc. The murder of fowl practically covered up the sky. So in this world even the large birds of prey gather together...

The hunters fired numerous times at the creatures, but the bullets didn’t seem to strike any of them. As if mocking their efforts, the birds swooped down onto the freshly tilled farmland and began snatching up the bugs and seeds to snack on. Soon their ravenous appetites started to devastate the fields.

“Coco!” Prince Raph yelled, taking my hand. “Run—it’s too dangerous here!”

At that moment, Miss Mystère ran up to us. “Your Highness! Miss Cocolette! I will protect you! Everyone else, please come to me! You as well, Miss Lunamaria!”

When the rest of us had gathered close to her, Miss Mystère started fumbling with the pendant around her neck. The crimson imitation gem began to glimmer, and suddenly a dome-shaped force field formed around her.

Startled, I looked at Miss Mystère, but she merely puffed her chest out with pride and flashed a radiant smile.

“This pendant is actually a magic item that Fiss made—he calls it the ‘Aurora Shield’! Anyone can use it to deploy defensive magic, but it only works once. He gave it to me only to use when absolutely necessary, though I never imagined I would be using it quite so soon.”

“Lord Dwarphister truly continues to do amazing work,” I breathed.

That must have been why the gem was only an imitation. I was glad to see clear evidence that he was continuing his magical studies. I suppose this time I’ll let him off the hook for turning my little brother into a card shark.

Miss Mystère, Prince Raph, Prince Ork, Miss Lunamaria, and I stood underneath the dome-shaped shield, as well as Ford, the royal servants, the count and his family, and the farmers. The range of Lord Dwarphister’s magic was quite impressive.

One of the enormous birds flew our way, but blundered into the barrier. Unable to come any closer, it gave up and flew off to a different plot of land.

Rather than watch it leave, everyone gazed curiously at the mysterious barrier and the gleaming, aurora-like curtain it cast around us. Prince Ork even touched the inside of the force field, but the light merely rippled like waves in water.

“Miss Mystère,” Miss Lunamaria choked out abruptly, voice tenuous. Glancing over at her, I saw her gripping the hem of her dress with both hands as she turned to face the young Wagner daughter.

Miss Mystère menacingly swept aside the black sausage curls resting on her shoulder. “It’s not as if I wanted to rescue you, Miss Lunamaria. However, had I not, there would have been much trouble between our houses.”

Miss Lunamaria did not answer for a moment. “Yes, I understand, Miss Mystère. Even so, I thank you deeply for rescuing me.”

“W-Well! Your gratitude is completely unnecessary! I...” Miss Mystère’s crimson eyes fluttered and shook behind her glasses, and her face was beet red as she shouted, “I...a-absolutely despise you!”

I couldn’t help but smile faintly at her antics. She just couldn’t be upfront about her feelings, could she?

Miss Lunamaria quickly nodded and then bowed before returning to Prince Ork’s side.

Prince Raph, who still held my hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. “Coco, look.”

I turned to follow his line of sight.

Douglas, wearing his white apprentice uniform, was on the other side of the barrier, wielding his blade and fighting alongside the senior knights. Making full use of his nimble body, he cut off the heads of the giant fowl ransacking the farmland one by one. There was a grace and power to his movements, as if he were dancing with his sword instead of fighting. It was gorgeous to watch.

At the sight of such a brave bishonen in front of me, tears welled in my eyes. I had to burn this into my memory.

Misunderstanding why I was crying, Prince Raph anxiously tried to reassure me. “Douglas will be fine. He’s more than strong enough to handle those creatures; you don’t need to worry about him.”

I didn’t really feel the need to correct him, so I simply nodded.

The knights steadily killed the fowl on the ground, but there remained others circling in the sky. The hunters continued to shoot at them, but they seemed to have much trouble bringing down continuously moving targets—not one of them could successfully hit a single bird.

“Sir,” came an airy drawl. “Would you please give me that gun? I cannot stand to watch such poor marksmanship any longer.”

Outside the force field, Miss Violet veritably ripped away a rifle from one of the hunters. The man panicked, unwilling to just take back the weapon from a young noblewoman, but Miss Violet simply readied the firearm without seeming to give a single hoot about him.

BAM!

With a single shot, Miss Violet felled one of the giant fowl. She continued to fire off shots in succession, every single bullet finding its mark in another massive bird. It was an astonishing, superhuman feat, and we were all rendered speechless.

“I’m out of bullets,” she drawled softly.

“Here you are, Miss Violet,” said her unremarkable-looking attendant, handing her a shotgun that he had taken off another of the hunters. He then collected her rifle and promptly reloaded it. It was impeccable teamwork.

Seeing their fellow flockmates dropping like flies, the remaining birds abandoned their farmland banquet and fled back toward the mountain.

With that, Miss Violet and the knights finally stopped, and the rest of us sang their praises to no end.

▽

And so, the day’s inspection had ended without a single person injured. I was in a great mood—Prince Raph had seen the engraved pendant, I had seen Douglas’s brave swordsmanship, and Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria had actually had a conversation!

What was more, one of the count’s family members told me—a beaming smile on their face—that the meat from the enormous felled birds was rather delicious, and the feathers could be used to make various goods.

Prince Ork laughed brightly. “Good as ever, Vi! A brave showing, fitting of the Bergas!”

“You honor me with your praise, Your Highness Orkhart,” Miss Violet said, pinching the hem of her dress as she gave a slight bow.

The girl was full of mystery after mystery.

Chapter 8: Teatime with the Royal Concubine

Cocolette

“Hey, you hear ’bout what happened in that one count’s territory? Sounds like that hideous crown prince went on an inspection there an’ got attacked by a flock of some ravenous ravens.”

“Them birds are a big ol’ pain—I’ve heard that in the small villages with not enough hunters they just ruin whole fields. The ugly crown prince got into a pickle, seems like.”

“Well actually, sounds like he brought a ton a’ knights and a master markswoman. The girl alone shot down a ton of ’em ravenous ravens.”

“The hideous prince brought a master markswoman on an inspection?! He’s a pretty prepared guy, ain’t he?”

“I’ve only ever heard people talk ’bout how bad he looks, but it sounds like the crown prince is surprisingly great.”

▽

Unaware of the rumors that were rapidly spreading among the public—rumors that would have likely left Prince Raph baffled and saying something like, “But it was all just a coincidence”—I was with Miss Lunamaria during a break between our classes, advising her about her troubles in love.

We sat facing each other on sofas in a spare room set aside for the marriage candidates. Miss Mystère was at a desk in the corner, studying, the scratches of her pen against paper filling the air as she wrote.

Incidentally, Miss Violet hardly spent any time at all in the waiting room when we had break time. Perhaps she was in the garden once again?

Miss Lunamaria took a short while to speak. “If I may, I have a question to ask of you, Miss Cocolette.”

“Please go ahead.”

“What sort of dress do you plan to wear to the royal concubine’s tea party? It is just that I would wish for mine to not be similar to yours in color or design...”

Right, the tea party that the royal concubine had invited us to was right around the corner. Though I had heard from others that she was a free-spirited woman in a myriad of ways, I still didn’t know what to expect of her. Since she was Prince Ork’s mother, perhaps she was particularly purehearted?

“I’m having a green dress made to match my eyes,” I explained. “I thought I might also wear the hair clip that Prince Raph gave me.”

Really, what I wanted to do was wear a blue dress to clearly signal that my heart belonged to Prince Raph, but unfortunately, Prince Ork also had azure-colored eyes. I had to put that idea aside for now; the last thing I wanted was for the royal concubine to mistakenly believe that I longed for Prince Ork.

Miss Lunamaria’s shoulders relaxed, as if my answer soothed her. “Every color suits you, Miss Cocolette. I am sure you will look wonderful in green.”

“Are you planning to wear a sapphire blue dress?” I asked. It was my way of subtly asking if she planned to match Prince Ork’s eyes.

Miss Lunamaria’s cheeks turned red, and she nodded.

Aww. ♡She’s so cool, but when she blushes, she’s so adorable. ♡

“Since having tea with the royal concubine is such a rare opportunity, I thought to coordinate with His Highness Orkhart’s colors,” Miss Lunamaria admitted softly.

“Such a color will suit you to the utmost, Miss Lunamaria! I eagerly look forward to seeing you in it on the day of the tea party!”

“Thank you.”

With her silver hair and ice-blue eyes, Miss Lunamaria would look far better in a sapphire blue dress than I, with my pink hair and pea-green eyes, would. Well, in truth I hardly cared if the color even suited me—I simply wanted to wear it because it was Prince Raph’s color!

At any rate, it seemed that all Miss Lunamaria had wanted was to check what outfit I planned to wear. She really was a maiden in love.

“You truly adore Prince Ork,” I noted.

Miss Lunamaria fiddled with her fingers. She might have been a year older than me, but it was at times like these that she felt much younger. “Yes... I first met His Highness when I was seven and have longed for him ever since.”

“Oh my!”

Here comes my first-ever girl talk in this world! I thought excitedly, but then, after a moment, I paused. Wait a second.

Being both unpopular with men and a self-shipper in my past life, I’d of course talked with other geeks about our beloved male characters before. But had I ever gossiped about real-life boys...? Was this my first time ever having an honest-to-goodness dish session?

Flustered, I quickly straightened my posture as Miss Lunamaria continued.

“Since I was little, I have had a particularly stiff visage,” she said. “As a noble, it shames me to admit that I cannot smile, nor can I easily express other emotions on my face. My family is gracious and approves of this flaw of mine, but others do not. I was once invited to tea and then criticized for being unable to even force a polite smile. It was then that His Highness Orkhart stood up for me.”

She explained that he had patted her shoulder and given her a kind smile. “Luna,” he’d said, “you don’t have to smile if you don’t want to. Even if your face doesn’t show any of your emotions, I’ve still got the gist of what you’re thinking.”

“He really cheered me up back then,” Miss Lunamaria admitted softly. “His Highness is my first love, and I have been devoted to him since that day.”

To be frank, I’d bet that ninety-eight percent of people could take one look at Miss Lunamaria’s expressionless face and know what she was thinking and feeling in that moment—her eyes were just that expressive. But what really mattered here was that when she’d been in a pinch, Prince Ork had rushed to her aid with the perfect blend of timeliness, sympathy, and tenderness. He’d saved her heart that day. Good for you, Prince Ork! You get a gold star for that one!

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who thought this, because behind me, Miss Mystère called out, “Really! How charming!”

She trotted over to us and tightly clasped Miss Lunamaria’s hands, her eyes glimmering behind her mite-misty glasses.

“Miss Lunamaria, I’m afraid that I mistook you as a delusional girl who had carelessly let her heart be stolen by good looks! But I see now that I was wrong. Your love for His Highness Orkhart comes from much more than that! As a member of the queen consort’s faction, I cannot condone your actions—but I now see you as a lady who devotes herself wholeheartedly to love!”

Miss Mystère seemed deeply interested in gushing about love with Miss Lunamaria, and her compliment apparently made the Kleist noble shy.

“I apologize from the bottom of my heart for my hostile attitude against you until now,” Miss Mystère went on. “I had no idea how serious your feelings for His Highness Orkhart were. From this day forward, I, Mystère Wagner, am your sincere ally in your quest for love, Miss Lunamaria!”

“There is no need to apologize for the past; I also spoke out of turn. Besides...” Miss Lunamaria hesitated. “It is the truth that my actions prove me unfit to be in the queen’s faction. Regardless, it warms my heart to have you as an ally, Miss Mystère.”

“I’m so glad for you!” I said, grinning at the two pretty girls. For the two of them to have naturally gotten closer without me having to force some sort of common ground between them made me ecstatic.

And then, how should I put this...? Miss Mystère’s idea that Miss Lunamaria was just a shameless hussy for handsome men had been, of course, wrong; for it was I who had been the shallow one all along. In this life and in my past life too! Oho ho ho!

▽

“And so, Miss Lunamaria and Miss Mystère are getting along now!”

I had come to the indoor training hall to see Prince Raph and Douglas. We sat in the corner, where a dedicated rest area had been set up, and over tea I had updated Prince Raph of the two girls’ reconciliation. Since they were both his marriage candidates, I’d thought it right to tell him.

At my update Prince Raph’s eyes went round with shock, even as he continued to dab the sweat on the nape of his neck with a handkerchief—he always looked so dreadfully sexy after training. “Miss Kleist and Miss Wagner, you say? Becoming friendly with each other...?”

“Yes,” I replied. “All three of us chat during our breaks now.”

Dazed, he murmured, “That’s astonishing.”

For a moment, he stared off into space. His expression was complex, as if he were remembering something from the past. He looks absolutely lovely like this too! I gushed silently.

“Is that true, Coco? Great to hear that Luna’s got another friend!”

I looked toward the middle of the training hall, where that smooth male voice had come from, and saw Prince Ork practicing with Douglas. The prince, wearing workout clothes and shining with sweat, vigorously brandished his practice sword. He had already fallen to his knees numerous times in defeat to the other boy, but his expression maintained the same delight he’d had from the start. Undiscouraged, he pestered Douglas for rematch after rematch. Cheering for him—each waving with both hands—were his ever-present maids.

I hesitated, then turned to Prince Raph. “Since when has Prince Ork been training with you, if I may ask?”

Prince Raph’s expression stiffened. “I would say right after our latest chapel inspection... He barged in here uninvited and went on and on about how strong Douglas was that day.”

“Ah, is that what happened?”

“Orkhart has gone out to so many tea parties and the like that he has only taken the bare minimum of fencing lessons. I don’t know if he really needs to know swordsmanship, truthfully, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to train here.”

Seeming to have heard us, Prince Ork turned around and exclaimed, “Of course I need to know, brother! I cannot be weak if I’m to be your future aide. If ever push comes to shove, I have to be able to protect you!”

I paused. “He’s going to be your aide?” I asked Prince Raph.

“That is not, and has never been, my intention,” Prince Raph insisted.

“What did you say, brother?!”

Prince Ork then suspended his training match with Douglas and headed our way. Grabbing a handkerchief from a maid and dabbing at his sweat with it, he took the seat facing Prince Raph.

“I intend to assist you in the diplomatic realm, brother. Why else do you think I attend dinners and tea parties almost every single day? It’s to make connections!”

Prince Raph did not answer for a moment. “That’s what you were doing?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, that’s what I was doing!” Prince Ork shouted.

Prince Raph stared at Prince Ork as if seeing a yet-unknown creature for the very first time.

Prince Ork continued. “Brother, you have always been far and above without peer. But we both know your only weakness is in diplomacy. And so it falls to me to help you. Since I am also of the Portanian Empire by blood I shall have a far easier time fostering relations with that country than you will.”

“I see,” Prince Raph said at last. “I hadn’t expected you to think that far ahead.”

“I’m still the second prince, brother—your spare,” Prince Ork pointed out.

“Yet there is still far more for you to learn if you truly wish to play that role.”

Ducking his head dejectedly like a scolded puppy, Prince Ork eventually said, “From now on I will work much harder.”

The look Prince Raph turned on Prince Ork was complicated. Though he did not like Prince Ork, he could not completely reject Prince Ork’s brotherly love for him. I imagined that was because Prince Raph himself was starving for affection.

Hunger breeds fear, after all. The reason Prince Raph could not outright refuse Prince Ork’s adoration was the same reason he doubted my love for him: He was terrified he would one day lose both of us and be deprived of affection once more.

In my heart I hoped that Prince Ork would persist in pecking at Prince Raph’s weak points until he won him over someday. Then, at least, their sibling relationship would improve.

▽

After saying my goodbyes at the training hall to head home for the day, Douglas escorted me to my carriage. We arrived at the depot just as a stagecoach was departing the palace.

“Is that Miss Violet’s...? Ah, it is the Berga family’s carriage,” I realized. I tipped my head quizzically. Did she have some sort of errand here that kept her at the palace until late?

“Miss Cocolette,” Douglas began. He had vastly improved his capacity for using polite language. “Are you referring to the young lady who so masterfully employed those hunting rifles during the last inspection?”

“Yes, the very same,” I replied nodding. “That heroic young girl’s name is Violet Berga.”

Douglas turned his gaze toward the carriage. It had already passed through the main gate, leaving only a cloud of dust dancing in its wake.

“Um, are noble gals normally that tough ’n’ stuff?” he blurted. “An’ are ya actually good at swordsmanship or somethin’, Miss Cocolette...?”

Witnessing Miss Violet’s prowess on the battlefield seemed to have left Douglas at a loss for what noblewomen were really like.

“No, Miss Violet is... Ah, rather, they say that all members of the Berga family, regardless of age or gender, are quite strong. From a young age they apparently train in a whole range of martial arts, and their county is considered one of Cheriotte’s most vital defenses.”

Douglas’s golden eyes glittered, and the edges of his lips relaxed into a grin. “No way,” he whispered in awe. “What an awesome gal. Gotta get stronger. No way can I let her beat me.”

I hadn’t understood why Prince Raph had instantly hired Douglas to be his knight upon first meeting him. Perhaps he had only needed one look at him to intuit just how much Douglas would appreciate learning the military arts? That’s Prince Raph for you—discerning as always!

“Are you enjoying your training, Douglas?” I asked.

He thought for a moment, turning aside so his face was in profile. “I can’t say for sure if I am,” he said, doing his best to return to polite speech. “But...”

“But?”

“For the first time, I feel like I’m using my strength for what’s right.” He balled both his hands into fists before opening them once more. His expression was quite peaceful. “I think becoming a knight was the one of best choices I’ve ever made.”

“And to that, I would say that you must be doing the work you were meant to do.”

Grinning broadly, Douglas turned back to me. “I will protect you and His Highness Raphael both, Miss Cocolette!”

“Thank you, Douglas.”

It was then, exposed to Douglas’s utter contentment, that I realized how happy I was that he hadn’t become my exclusive vassal. After all, had he not become an apprentice knight, I would never have been able to see his best, most marvelous smile.

▽

Douglas saw me off and I boarded a carriage for home. Upon entering the spacious entrance hall of our estate, I was met by both our household angel Raymond as well as Amaretti, who were there to greet me.

“Sister! Welcome home!” Raymond chirped.

“Welcome home, milady!” Amaretti said. “You must be exhausted after your lessons today!”

“Thank you, Raymond, Amaretti. I’m home.”

Once I’d given my overcoat to Amaretti, Raymond came forward and extended his hand to escort me farther into the estate. Just a while ago I’d been leading this child around by the hand, but now he was steadily growing into quite the splendid gentleman! My little brother is becoming such a dazzling young man!

“Dinner has already been prepared, sister,” he informed me. “Let’s hurry to the dining hall.”

“Thank you, Raymond,” I replied. “How was your day?”

“Lord Fiss came to visit this afternoon!”

“Oh, Lord Dwarphister?” I hope he hasn’t been teaching Raymond anything strange again... “You’ve become good friends with him, haven’t you?”

“I would be ecstatic if he considers me a friend!” Raymond exclaimed. “Lord Fiss is so cool and refined, and knows so much. He’s of such high social standing but is still so friendly to me. And it’s because of his glasses that the maids actually talk to me now. I hope to be as cool a gentleman as he is one day... I know that with my looks it’s impossible. But if I could at least become someone who is as helpful as Lord Fiss is, I would be happy.”

“Now, now, Raymond—don’t you realize how incredible you already are? Look at yourself in this very moment—you are doing your very best to match me stride for stride. It is such things that make you absolutely marvelous.”

Raymond giggled bashfully. “It was Lord Fiss who taught me how best to escort someone. I don’t know when I’ll need to, really, but his exact words were, ‘Even if you’re ugly, you should still know how.’”

“That’s right,” I agreed. “When it comes time for you to marry I’m sure you’ll need to know exactly this. There’s no harm in learning now.”

Rex Draconis had cursed all bishonen born in this world, forcing Raymond to belittle his own appearance. But curse or no curse, that was no reason to think Raymond would never one day love and be loved in return. If Lord Dwarphister could help Raymond expand his potential, then as Raymond’s older sister, I would be incredibly grateful.

“Anyway,” I went on, “I’m glad that you have such a wonderful friend.”

“It’s all because you invited Lord Fiss to our estate!” Raymond thanked me.

Not quite. He just tagged along with Miss Mystère of his own accord, I thought, but I decided not to say a bit of it out loud.

▽

“By the way, Coco,” father said as we enjoyed our private family dinner that night, “it seems that the dress you’ve had made for your tea with the royal concubine will arrive tomorrow.”

“Thank you for the update, father. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

“Well, just relax and have fun. After all, no matter what dress you wear that day, there is absolutely no way anyone will upstage the royal concubine.”

I tipped my head, bothered by his words. “What do you mean, father?”

“Oh, have you not met her at the palace before?”

“No, I have not. But Prince Raph and Miss Mystère informed me that she is a free woman subservient to nothing and no one.” A sudden thought came to mind, and I asked, “There is something I may ask of you, father. Why did His Majesty not make the former imperial princess of Portania his queen consort? The current queen is formerly of a duchy, is she not? That means she is of lower rank than the royal concubine.”

“Ah, as for that—it’s simply a matter of whom His Majesty married first,” father explained. “During her time as a marriage candidate, the queen consort thoroughly demonstrated her usefulness, resulting in His Majesty choosing her as his bride. It was two years later, while we endured difficulties with the Portanian Empire, that His Majesty married then-princess Lady Saravia as a gesture of peace. As he already had a queen consort, he made Lady Saravia his royal concubine.”

I understood father’s summary of the matter. Since Prince Raph’s and Prince Ork’s birthdays were only about six months apart, I had thought that His Majesty had married his brides relatively soon after each other—I had been wrong, apparently.

Father hesitated briefly before adding, “Even if things hadn’t occurred this way, I imagine it would have been difficult for Lady Saravia to carry out the queen consort’s official duties.”

“But she is a former imperial princess...” I said delicately. Is she just not particularly smart?

Father, correctly understanding what I’d left unspoken, shook his head. “There are many among the imperial family of Portania who have extreme dispositions. They are the type to only do what they like, when they like.”

“By ‘extreme disposition,’ do you mean Lady Saravia is hot-tempered?” I asked.

“Lady Saravia is very gentle,” father assured me. “But she has quite strong personal preferences. Regarding matters pertaining to herself, she will never compromise. But Coco, there’s no need for you to worry—she will not be unreasonable. Relax and enjoy yourself at the tea party.”

“I will, father,” I said, though hesitantly.

So she is not like Prince Ork? I suppose I won’t know until I meet her...

▽

On the day of the tea party between Prince Ork’s marriage candidates and the royal concubine, I arrived at the castle in my brand-new, leaf-green dress. Amaretti had put my hair into a complex weave and fastened it in place with the blue sapphire hair clip Prince Raph had given to me. Nerves racked my body, but I was doing my best; as long as I wore merch of my fave boy I could be braver than I thought I could be.

“Miss Cocolette,” Miss Lunamaria greeted me. “Your dress suits you quite well.”

“Thank you, Miss Lunamaria. You look stunning yourself.”

“Th-Thank you,” she replied shyly, blushing red. As she’d told me she would, she wore a dress the color of blue sapphires, the hem of which was embroidered with magnificent golden thread. The gold ornament in her hair was also of elegant craftsmanship.

“You are fully wrapped up in Prince Ork’s colors,” I noted.

“Yes... It is somewhat embarrassing to be so blatant, but I decided to be daring,” she admitted softly.

Despite Miss Lunamaria’s lack of expression, I could tell that she was terribly nervous—even though we were both quietly waiting in an antechamber, her breathing was audibly elevated from her normal serene demeanor.

I patted her shoulder to calm her down. “If Prince Ork were with us now, I’m sure he would be praising you.”

She paused. “You are right. His Highness is such a kind gentleman; I do think he would commend me for my efforts. But Miss Cocolette, that is not why I’m nervous.”

“Then why...?”

Brows furrowing, Miss Lunamaria’s gaze shifted to the other person waiting in the room with us—Miss Violet.

As usual, Miss Violet wore a purple dress, and her hair was tied in the ribbons I’d seen her wearing the other day. She sat on the sofa, seeming small and quiet, as beautiful and sweet-looking as a sugarplum. She spared us not a single glance, instead whispering to the attendant who stood at her side.

“Currently, His Highness Orkhart’s affections lie with you, Miss Cocolette,” Miss Lunamaria went on quietly. “But when His Highness Raphael chooses you as his bride, His Highness Orkhart will be without recompense. I effectively have only one rival for his affections, and that is Miss Violet, who came recommended by the royal concubine herself. Considering my family is in the queen consort’s faction, I’m certain the royal concubine won’t think highly of me at all...”

“Miss Lunamaria...”

Her voice filled with heartbreak. “Miss Violet is so charming. How could I possibly win against her...?”

I was tempted to tell her that she had good reason to not worry so much about Miss Violet, but since I didn’t want to tell her anything I couldn’t say for certain, I decided to say nothing, and just gently rub her shoulder.

“Even on the day of the chapel inspection, Miss Violet handled those rifles with such ease—yet I was of no help at all...”

“It’s all right, Miss Lunamaria,” I said. “The average noblewoman cannot even use guns—Miss Violet is simply an exception to the rule!”

Miss Lunamaria continued to despair. “And Miss Mystère was the first one to see the danger, then protected us with that magic necklace she wore...”

“Miss Mystère has a visual acuity of twenty over four, and Lord Dwarphister was the one who gifted her that necklace—thus, she is also an exception!” I pointed out. “And I shall be first to point out that I was of absolutely no help to anyone that day!”

“Not so, Miss Cocolette,” she assured me. “After all, you will become His Highness Raphael’s wife. Just the fact that you could be there next to him makes you an exception as well.”

W-Wait, so all of us marriage candidates are “exceptions” except Miss Lunamaria?! Even me?!

I trembled in turmoil, at a loss for words. It was then that a servant came to guide us toward where the tea party would be held.

▽

If the Kingdom of Cheriotte’s culture could be compared to medieval Europe’s, then the Empire of Portania’s was similar to that of countries like Turkey and Morocco. Brightly colored exotic furnishings—which I assumed had been imported from the Portanian Empire—decorated the royal concubine’s salon in golds, turquoise blues, vivid pinks, emerald greens, and more. On the table in the center of the room, sweets sat next to tea that steamed with a spicy aroma that my nose couldn’t quite adapt to. It seemed we would be having spiced tea today.

It also appeared that Prince Ork’s marriage candidates weren’t the only ones who had been invited—the three boys I’d rendered harmless with a smile, the ones backing the second prince, were also there. As soon as they saw me, they went metaphorically head over heels, hearts lighting up in their eyes.

As for Prince Ork himself, he and the royal concubine were already in their seats, seeming quite relaxed.

I tried to keep a level head as I made my approach. But the moment I saw the royal concubine, I was flabbergasted.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, her tone relaxed and casual. “I’m Saravia, the royal concubine and Ork’s mom. Good to meet you all.”

Lady Saravia’s skin was a sleek dark brown characteristic of the people of Portania, but her orange hair—short in the front and shorn even shorter at the back of her head—belonged only to the royal family. She was a beautiful woman, and she wore men’s clothes.

From my queenly education at the royal palace, I had learned that the Kingdom of Cheriotte and its southern neighbor the Empire of Portania had often been at war with each other. At the time I had thought much of the conflict was for relatively silly reasons, but in any case, the two countries had eventually agreed to a treaty and made numerous mutual reparations.

And one of those reparations was Lady Saravia herself. Clad as she was in men’s clothing, with her long limbs free and scandalously crossed, she was completely unfit to be a proper lady—but as a gorgeous gentleman, she got a perfect score.

It was then that I understood both Prince Raph and Miss Mystère’s ambiguous description of Lady Saravia as a “free woman,” and father’s observation that it would be quite difficult for her to to perform the duties of the queen consort. They had all been referring to her preference for cross-dressing.

Lady Saravia first turned to Miss Lunamaria and smiled. “I assume you’re the Kleists’ daughter?” she asked, and Miss Lunamaria began to introduce herself.

What a beautiful woman! My shallow heart pounded at Lady Saravia’s refreshing smile. She even spoke like a man!

Lady Saravia then turned to me. “I know who you must be—the young lady Ork fell for at first sight, right? Goodness, but you’re quite the pretty one. Please speak; I’d love to hear your voice.”

“My name is Cocolette Blossom,” I replied. “I thank you very much for inviting me to tea today.”

“I believe Ork called you Coco, right? I’d like to call you that too.”

“Nothing would make me happier, Lady Saravia.”

“So, Coco,” Lady Saravia said, voice laced with simple amusement and watching me with curious eyes akin to those of a young boy. “I hear from my pride and joy that you won’t give in to his advances one bit. Is that true?”

“I am honored to have been chosen as one of His Highness Orkhart’s marriage candidates,” I admitted. “But my heart yearns for only one: His Highness Raphael.”

Lady Saravia did not answer for a moment. “Wow—you actually had me speechless for a second there. I’m surprised a girl like you actually exists.” She let out a light laugh, then turned her gaze to her son. “Coco here is quite the tough cookie, Ork. What’s your move?”

“I’ve done nothing but fight with my whole heart, mother! And I’m going to continue to do so!” he chirped.

“Such an honest boy...” she replied. “That’s both your strength and your weakness.”

“So you will assist me in my endeavor, mother?”

“What kind of shameful nonsense are you going on about? My son gets the girls he likes by himself.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Prince Ork said with a sullen pout back at his mother. Lady Saravia, seeming to find this amusing, just patted his blond hair.

Seeing the way mother and son interacted, I now understood how Prince Ork had come to be so frank and why he was used to being adored. He’d grown up with Lady Saravia loving him, the servants idolizing him, and numerous nobles all waiting upon him hand and foot. For him to have developed such a pure heart in this kind of environment, and not one entirely rotted by arrogance, was actually kind of incredible.

But as for Prince Raph... My chest ached at the thought of him growing up so close to yet so far away from Prince Ork. Just how much loneliness has tormented my beloved? I wondered, unconsciously putting a hand over my heart and squeezing it into a fist.

“You’re not just a pretty one, Coco, but your poor taste in boys is actually rather interesting too. I like you,” Lady Saravia said. “Whether you end up my daughter-in-law or not, I want you to come to me if you have any problems.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Saravia.”

My taste in men is superb, I’ll have you know! I spat silently, refraining from screaming the words aloud as I bowed my head. It seemed that my introduction had come to an end.

Finally, Lady Saravia turned to Miss Violet. “Hey, Vi,” she said, her tone quite friendly. “Been a while.”

“It has. I have quite missed you, Lady Sara,” Miss Violet replied with a comfortable, lovely smile, her airy accent extending the vowels in Lady Saravia’s name. “Your clothes today are quite charming as well.”

At the pair’s apparent closeness, Miss Lunamaria’s eyes flickered nervously. I was sure seeing the mother of the boy she loved get along so well with her rival troubled her greatly...

Lady Saravia chuckled. “Thank you. I had them made when I went home for the winter. I really do like the colors we use down there.”

“They suit you very much,” Miss Violet noted.

“Anyway, Vi, it’s been a minute, so you must have some news to share with me. About your new attendant, perhaps?”

“Ah, it is quite embarrassing.”

Cheeks burning red, Miss Violet gently beckoned to her purple-haired attendant, who had been waiting nearby. Apparent nerves made the attendant move with uncharacteristic stiffness as he came to stand beside Miss Violet. Miss Violet gently touched his arm, as if to silently encourage him.

Then, she clearly declared, “Lady Sara, let me introduce you to my boyfriend, Salvador.”

“M-My name is Salvador, fourth son of the Ince Barony,” the attendant said, still tense. “I have served Milady Violet since I was young, and transferred to the capital estate this spring. It is an honor to meet you, Lady Saravia!”

Salvador bowed quite vigorously. Meanwhile, Miss Lunamaria’s mouth, as well as my own, had fallen open at the revelation that Miss Violet—Prince Ork’s marriage candidate—had just introduced everyone to her boyfriend.

I mean, honestly, I had suspected that the two were secretly dating. But for Miss Violet to announce that fact plainly to Lady Saravia—the woman who had recommended her as one of Prince Ork’s marriage candidates?!

Surely Prince Ork’s fangirls/maids and his young noblemen friends would be angry, let alone Prince Ork himself—he must have been simply bewildered. Lady Saravia herself had to be unhappy as well; with this development it was as if Miss Violet had just kicked her endorsement to the curb. I just couldn’t wrap my head around this, and so I nervously took stock of the room.

The three boys were of no use to me—they were still mooning over my looks—but Prince Ork’s servants were looking on favorably. “Ah, so it’s that young gentleman?” said one, while another added, “He seems quite kind; Miss Berga wouldn’t choose anyone less.”

What in the world?!

I looked to Prince Ork next to find that he was watching Salvador keenly. It seems that Prince Ork hasn’t yet given up on me, I thought after a moment. So perhaps he doesn’t mind if one of his marriage candidates actually has a boyfriend...?

The most vital piece in this situation, Lady Saravia, chuckled. “So you’re the boyfriend I’ve been hearing about! Vi fondly sung your praises when she spoke about you, but I didn’t expect you to be so normal.”

Going by her cheerful smile and playful ribbing, Lady Saravia seemed to have no ill will about what had just happened.

“Oh, but Lady Saravia, do you not see? Salvie isn’t ordinary in the least,” Miss Violet insisted in her soft drawl. “Why, he’s one of the most outstanding members under the Berga umbrella—he’s already brought down a one-eyed bear all by himself.”

“It’s not battle prowess we’re talking about here,” Lady Saravia pointed out. “With how much you went on about this Salvador, he sounded like a regular Prince Charming—it made me think he had to be at least as handsome as my Ork.”

“Lady Saravia, please, I implore you to take a good look at my Salvie. Have you truly ever seen another gentleman as beautiful as him? His eyes and hair are as glossy as fresh grapes, and he has such a kind face...” Miss Violet gushed softly. “He’s simply a work of art.”

“Please stop, Milady Violet!” Salvador insisted as politely as he could while panicking. “I am just ordinary—there is no way I could compare to His Highness! And for that matter—milady, just what sorts of stories have you been telling Lady Saravia?!”

“Only a little bit of the truth,” Miss Violet said. “I just told her that you’re the most beautiful gentleman in the world.”

“But that is not the truth! Not at all!”

Lady Saravia erupted into laughter. “Well, love is blind!”

The others also looked on warmly at the cute couple. Prince Ork even joined in on the conversation.

“How did you meet Vi?” he asked Salvador. “And when did you two realize you liked each other?”

Prince Ork was not just accepting of this development, but was actively getting invested in their love story. What the heck is going on?!

A fragile, hesitant voice whispered from beside me. “Miss Cocolette, please excuse me, but...could you explain what is happening...?”

I turned to Miss Lunamaria. She seemed utterly bewildered, as if she was trying to desperately understand the situation but just couldn’t figure things out.

I answered her with the only thing I knew for certain: “Among all the marriage candidates for His Highness Prince Ork, you have no rivals in love.”

Miss Lunamaria’s legs gave out. I hurried to support her before she could fall.

“Congratulations, Miss Lunamaria,” I told her.

“A-Ah, yes... Thank you,” she whispered back, sounding relieved from the bottom of her heart.

Her ice-blue eyes glittered like a lake bathed in the rays of the morning sun.

▽

It was only afterward that Prince Ork explained to us the particulars of why Miss Violet had been chosen as one of his marriage candidates.

“Oh, right! Luna, Coco, I haven’t told you two about Vi, have I? Mother picked her to be my bodyguard.”

The Berga family’s territory shared a border with the Portanian Empire. Despite the numerous conflicts that had been carried out under orders from the Kingdom of Cheriotte, the Bergas had maintained trade with the empire. As a result, Lady Saravia had been friendly with the Berga citizens since she was young, and was an acquaintance of the Bergas herself.

But then when disputes had arisen once again, Lady Saravia had married into the Cheriotte monarchy as the royal concubine—that is, as a political hostage. Sympathizing with her plight, the Bergas had decided to support her.

As for the reason Miss Violet had taken on the bodyguard position, well, that was because both Prince Raph and Prince Ork had picked me as their first choice for a marriage candidate. The queen consort wanted Prince Raph to remain as the crown prince, and she seemed to think of me as a valuable asset who could one day provide her son with an heir—and she would not let Prince Ork snatch me out from under her nose. Lady Saravia, concluding that her own son’s life could be snuffed out at any time, had requested help from the Bergas and subsequently inserted Miss Violet among the marriage candidates, with her true role as Prince Ork’s bodyguard kept mostly hidden.

“And you really agreed to such a dangerous assignment, Miss Violet...?” I asked hesitantly.

“The reward was too great for me to refuse,” she replied in her airy drawl.

“The reward?” I repeated.

“Yes. You should know about it too, Miss Cocolette. The marriage candidates who are not chosen to become the princes’ fiancées are provided with monetary compensation. The girl may also marry whomever she wishes—be that foreign royalty, upper nobility, or...even a commoner. Such has happened in the past.”

Oh! I did remember that story!

“My Salvie may belong to the Ince Barony, but he is their fourth son. So, my family is against my marrying him someday—they say it would be akin to marrying a commoner. My parents and three older brothers are practically tormenting me with this.” Miss Violet sighed, as if fed up. “But once I have finished guarding His Highness Orkhart under the guise of being one of his marriage candidates, I’ll take all that money and have my marriage to Salvie officially recognized by the royal family. By then my family’s objections will be irrelevant!”

Smiling as sweetly as a sugarplum, she took Salvador’s hand and squeezed it, which made Salvador flush instantly.

“I love you, Salvie,” Miss Violet said to her boyfriend. “I’ll do whatever I can so we can be together. So, please stay with me and support me along the way, all right?”

“Of course, my beloved Milady Violet!” Salvador promised tenderly.

Ignoring the lovey-dovey atmosphere the couple exuded, Lady Saravia poked Prince Ork’s cheek. “You didn’t even explain this all to the girl you chose? What a lapse in judgment, my boy!”

Prince Ork tipped his head and asked, “Was it really so important to tell her, mother?”

Beside me, Miss Lunamaria covered her face with both hands.

“Miss Lunamaria, are you all right?” I asked.

After a moment, she replied, “Yes. I’m just...very relieved.”

Lady Saravia chuckled.

I imagined that whatever anxiety Miss Lunamaria might have been feeling now was nothing compared to when she’d thought she had a rival for Prince Ork’s affections. Since there would never be another person in this world other than I who would pursue Prince Raph, however, I could only guess at how she felt.

“It truly is a good thing, isn’t it?” I noted.

“Yes,” Miss Lunamaria agreed.

There was no way we could know that in just a few years’ time, a certain baron’s daughter would appear and become a formidable rival for Prince Ork’s affections, igniting a battle which would not only involve Miss Lunamaria, but swallow me up too.

✛

Raphael

“And so, Miss Violet has been Prince Ork’s bodyguard all this time!” Coco announced, clapping her hands together and leaning over the table in her excitement.

Listening to Coco’s account had at last allowed me to understand why Miss Berga had been chosen as a marriage candidate. I see—her role is to protect Orkhart against any would-be assassins my mother might send his way. That kind of shrewd thinking from the royal concubine is no surprise. In truth, I was envious of Orkhart for having been guarded so preciously, but far more pressing was the regret I felt over my mother’s own actions.

In my past life, I’d had virtually no contact with Miss Violet Berga.

In Cheriotte there was a royal academy which children from the nobility and even particularly prestigious merchant families normally attended from the age of fourteen until graduation at eighteen. On campus, it was said that all students were declared equal, but in reality the academy was treated by the students as a networking site to prepare for their futures. Everyone brownnosed members of the royal family, while up-and-coming merchants would frantically find new patrons and young ladies would prowl behind the scenes for potential husbands. At the academy, one could never forget one’s place. How one spent one’s time there and what grades one graduated with determined one’s initial position in high society afterward.

And in my last life, Miss Berga had not even attended the academy, despite its significance and prestige.

Although she hailed from a family with a high-ranking county located far from the capital, she had neither looked for a future husband nor networked and made any personal connections. Many malicious comments had circulated about the situation, with a number of people wondering if there was some very good reason after all as to why Miss Berga hadn’t been offered to anyone as a wife.

I had only caught a glance of Miss Berga once, when she had made her formal entrance into high society.

On the night of the party commemorating His Majesty’s ascension to the throne, I had found myself on the balcony with the stairs that led down to the palace gardens: my usual refuge. Music and orange lamplight had spilled out of the ballroom, as had laughter—in the heart of which had, as always, stood Orkhart.

I’d tried in vain to pretend like I hadn’t seen him and instead gazed at the gardens, which looked indistinct as they dissolved into the darkness. Truthfully there had been nothing interesting to see out there, but looking at it had been leagues better than looking at what was inside the palace. And as the night deepened, the cool air had intensified the fresh scent of the nearby trees and flowers, calming my rough heart.

“Wait!” had come a sudden call. “Please wait, Milady Violet!”

“No, I will not!”

Melded into the shadows as I had been, the young noblewoman who appeared on the balcony had taken no notice of me. Her high heels had clacked against stone as she ran down the stairs into the gardens, her curly chestnut hair swaying wildly behind her.

A servant had run out onto the balcony in pursuit. He also did not notice me. “Where do you intend on going?! Your father was just about to introduce you to an esteemed gentleman!”

The noblewoman had stopped right at the edge of where light from the palace lamps could reach, and turned to face the servant. Her face had been distorted with despair. “Please, Salvie,” she had begged. “Do not say I should marry another man. I could not bear such words. Not from you.”

The servant had hesitated. “But Milady Violet—”

“What should I do?” the noblewoman had anguished. “What can I do? All I want is to live my life with you...”

“Milady...”

“What do I do...?”

The servant had come down the stairs, and when he was close enough, the noblewoman had reached for his hand. Their shoulders quivering, as if both of them were crying, the two of them had disappeared into the dark depths of the gardens.

I had only discovered much later that the noblewoman had been the debutante Miss Berga. After that night, she’d returned to the Berga territory and stayed there, never returning once to the royal capital. I did not know what sort of life she’d led.

With the news of Coco’s story now in mind, the servant accompanying Miss Berga now must have been her lover—and one from a lower social standing, at that. As to whether the couple I had seen in my past life had been happy, if they had eloped like Miss Bartles or even gone to an abbey to devote themselves to God, I couldn’t say. I couldn’t even imagine.

All I could say was that the current Miss Berga seemed to have found a way to live together with her love.

“I really do hope that Miss Violet can marry Salvador someday,” Coco said, smiling as if conjuring the couple’s wedding ceremony in her mind.

At the sight of Coco’s smile I felt love bubble up inside me, until it filled my body completely. I nodded. “Me too. I sincerely wish for their happiness, from the bottom of my heart.”

With the conversation about Miss Berga over, Coco—who had taken a sip of her tea—suddenly peered at the documents lying by my hands. “An assignment for your princely education, perhaps?” she inquired.

“No—it’s Orkhart’s,” I said.

“Huh?! Why would you have Prince Ork’s homework?”

“Orkhart told me that he’d like it if I reviewed his work and pointed out where he’s lacking, so he can better prepare himself to be my aide someday. I was looking over these papers before you came.”

“Oh, my. Prince Ork really is serious, isn’t he?” Coco noted.

“He has a good memory, and his grades aren’t bad,” I had to admit. “Though for every outing he goes on, his lessons are stalled as a result. What I had grasped at ten years old, he is only now beginning to learn at the age of eleven.”

Coco tutted.

Even in my last life, he was far too leisurely about his education as a prince... “I should suggest to Orkhart’s instructors that they revise his curriculum,” I said, suddenly feeling fed up.

Coco giggled adorably. “You know, Prince Raph, you’re acting more and more like a big brother every day.”

“Please don’t say such a thing, Coco,” I begged.

▬

Elsewhere

Incidentally, while Coco and Prince Raph were having tea, a secret conversation was taking place within a room in a certain mansion.

“It is Miss Cocolette who is most suited to be Prince Ork’s wife! Are there any objections?!”

“Of course not. Since the beginning, Miss Berga has only been Prince Ork’s bodyguard—she was never truly in the running. Miss Kleist isn’t a bad candidate, but Miss Cocolette is in another league entirely. Just her beauty would make her more than fit to marry Prince Ork, but her grades in their queenly classes are wonderful as well.”

“As expected. Miss Cocolette is a perfect noblewoman already.”

The speakers were the three young noble boys from Orkhart’s faction—the boys who had fallen instantly for Cocolette’s smile. The Kingdom of Cheriotte already discriminated against the homely, but these boys came from a family that was even more particular—even severe—about physical appearance.

In short, the boys wished to be ruled by a handsome king. They believed that so long as their monarch was beautiful, his citizens would automatically feel his sense of authority and wish to work in service of him, thus allowing the government to run smoothly. Such was why they believed that Second Prince Orkhart should become the next king; in the face of his physical magnificence, the fact that he was the child of a concubine from a foreign nation was a trifling matter.

When Orkhart had made his singular choice of a marriage candidate, the three boys had nervously wondered what the girl was like—but they’d eventually discovered that their fears had been for naught. Orkhart did possess working eyes, after all, and he had picked a splendid young noble lady.

Cocolette Blossom’s family might have been a neutral party, but being that she was the daughter of a marquis, her social standing was impeccable. She was compassionate; no matter how much they’d dug into her background, they’d only heard good things about her. Above all, she was so outstandingly beautiful that she could stand side by side with Orkhart and still hold her own. It would be quite difficult indeed to find someone who would be opposed to their union.

Just imagining Orkhart and Cocolette standing together in happy, holy matrimony had the boys brainlessly spellbound in glee. Such a gorgeous king and queen consort reigning at the top of the country would surely bring happiness to every single person they presided over—the three boys truly and sincerely believed these things.

“But I do have one worry,” said the first boy. “Miss Cocolette herself said that she wishes to marry the ugly crown prince. Why in the world would she choose such a hideous specimen? Just the sight of him makes me want to hurl.”

“Even that young noble who just wanted to marry him for his power seemed to hate the very sight of him,” agreed another. “I’m sure Miss Cocolette merely pities him and his ugly looks, and is intending to sacrifice herself for the good of the kingdom.”

“I see. It tracks, considering Miss Cocolette’s immense compassion. She is the ‘angel of love,’ after all,’” said the third.

“You know, the ugly crown prince’s reputation has been improving lately—and I don’t like it. Should Miss Cocolette actually become his fiancée, then Prince Ork’s hopes of ascending the throne will go down the drain...”

“Then we just have to get Miss Cocolette to understand the situation before that hideous prince snatches her away. Once we tell her there’s no need for her to sacrifice herself—that in fact, the kingdom would prosper should she marry the second prince instead—she’ll pick Prince Ork herself.”

The other two young noble boys voiced their agreement to this proposal.

“That sounds great. We should persuade her!”

“But how do we get in contact with Miss Cocolette? She is quite busy with her classes, and even if we send her a letter, it’s unclear when we might be able to meet with her. If we try to meet her coincidentally at the palace, there would be other people around. It would be hard to get in a proper, private conversation with her.”

“That’s certainly a problem. I suppose we’ll have to take a few difficult measures...”

The boys looked at each other, then began hatching a plan.

Chapter 9: The Abduction

Cocolette

After I discovered that Miss Violet was Prince Ork’s bodyguard, my private lovey-dovey time with Prince Raph was reduced considerably—all because Prince Ork was visiting the detached villa more and more frequently.

“Brother! I did my assignments—take a look! My instructors praised me, see!”

“I’ve officially taken up fencing! Brother, Douglas, would you cross swords with me?”

“Brotheeer! Coco! I bought a cake from a popular patisserie down in the castle town. I hope you like it! Why don’t we invite Luna and Vi so we can all eat it together?”

“What—another chapel inspection?! Let me come along!”

Prince Ork just kept appearing out of nowhere. In fact, I would be on my way to have tea with Prince Raph just to find him already there sipping from a cup. When I wasn’t paying attention, he would show up right at the end of my private teatime with my beloved. And if I wasn’t careful, he would sit down—right next to Prince Raph. Just how much of a brocon is Prince Ork...?

In the beginning, Prince Ork’s random appearances had often made Prince Raph grouchy. But now, he seemed resigned to his brother’s frequent intrusions and only sighed before accepting his presence.

In the meantime, Ford was getting along swimmingly with Prince Ork’s maids, and now offered us a variety of teas and snacks that were in vogue. Prince Ork also often brought along Miss Lunamaria and Miss Violet, and I—then feeling sorry for her being potentially left out—would call for Miss Mystère to join us. Training with Douglas continued, and on Prince Raph’s request, Lord Dwarphister even came to the palace to negotiate the sale for an improved version of the Aurora Shield. Even Raymond began visiting the villa, accompanying Lord Dwarphister as his protégé.

The day Prince Raph and I had gazed at that beautiful portrait of King Schwarz in the long gallery was already long behind us. But I wouldn’t consider our current situation bad in the slightest.

“Miss Cocolette, whyever are you not paying attention?” Miss Mystère asked me, pulling me out of my deep thoughts. “His Highness Orkhart has gone through the trouble of bringing us tea from the Portanian Empire; are you going to just let it run cold?”

Beside her, Miss Lunamaria gently put out another tea cake for me. The three of us continued to enjoy our tea, and I turned my gaze toward the center of the indoor training hall.

Prince Raph and Prince Ork faced off against each other, while on the other side, Douglas and Miss Violet competed. Still wearing a dress, Miss Violet wielded a weapon similar to a naginata. Her boyfriend Salvador stood along the wall, cheering for her. Despite the fact that most everyone was sparring against each other, together they painted quite the harmonious scene.

After looking around at everyone once more, I looked back at Prince Raph. His ponytail swayed furiously as he hounded Prince Ork with strike after strike—he really looked just like a brave hero, fighting fiercely against an orc king. Aaahhh, he’s just too beautifullllllll!

With his azure eyes sparkling energetically, I couldn’t help but think that he had changed considerably from the tormented boy I had first met at the palace garden party. He had been so isolated back then; Prince Ork had maintained his distance out of respect for his maids, and Prince Raph had been alone, without anyone like Raymond or Douglas who could understand and empathize with his suffering. He hadn’t even had any of Lord Dwarphister’s magic tools for help.

It would have been impossible for me to support Prince Raph all by myself. After all, he would one day become the King of Cheriotte. Perhaps I could have done it if he were a simple commoner, though. No—I’m sure I could have helped him single-handedly if hideousness had left him merely jobless and without friends; I could even have protected him from malicious people on my own as well.

However, Raphael Cheriotte had been born as the country’s crown prince. He needed as many allies as possible to fulfill his responsibilities. And now, he was slowly, but surely, building up the number of people he could trust.

This wasn’t the time to pout about not being able to have tea with him and him alone. I had to maintain a dignified air so that one day I could become his tried-and-true fiancée!

Ka-chak!

With a sudden clanking sound, Prince Raph sent Prince Ork’s imitation sword flying.

I stood from my chair and applauded. “As expected from my dear Prince Raph. ♡”

Miss Mystère stood as well and clapped alongside me, while Miss Lunamaria hurried to grab a first aid kit and rushed to Prince Ork’s side.

“Coco, Miss Wagner, thank you for your support,” Prince Raph said, pushing back his long, sweaty bangs.

Having never really gotten a chance to look at his lovely pale forehead, I found myself dizzy with temptation.

“Is something wrong, Coco?” he asked.

“I think your charm has intoxicated me...” I murmured.

“What are you talking about, Miss Cocolette?” Miss Mystère asked, genuinely seeming not to know what I meant.

Ignoring her, I handed Prince Raph a handkerchief. He gave Miss Mystère a faint, ironic smile as he used it to wipe away his sweat.

“I was thinking it’s about time to schedule the next chapel inspection,” Prince Raph said. “Would you like to help me with preparations, Coco?”

“Of course!” I chirped.

Prince Ork and the other marriage candidates might join us on this outing. Douglas would of course guard us, and Lord Dwarphister and Raymond seemed like they might finally come along this time. If everyone went on the inspection, it was sure to be a lively one. And more than anything, I wanted Prince Raph to have fun.

With these carefree thoughts buzzing in my mind, I had no way of knowing that I was in imminent danger.

▽

On that day of yet-unknown peril, I boarded a carriage at the Blossom estate and headed out toward the palace along the usual path. From the window, I could see the usual three mounted guards near the front and rear of the stagecoach, vigilant as always.

The pendant around my neck swayed with the movements of the carriage. I put my hand over it, giggling. “I’ve really got to take care of this new necklace Prince Raph gave me. ♡”

Strictly speaking, the jewelry was actually a magic tool—an upgraded version of the Aurora Shield that Miss Mystère had, which had proven so useful on our last inspection. Her pendant had been made with a crimson gemstone, while mine had a blue one. Just looking at it glitter made me giddy.

Speaking of jewelry, the purpose of Prince Raph’s chapel inspections was to look for pendants and ornaments originally from the royal family, right?

What exactly is he looking for?

Suddenly, the stagecoach shook violently.

I gasped. “Wh-What?!”

Peeping from the window, I saw that a strange group on horseback had surrounded the carriage. Each member wore robes with hoods so deep that I couldn’t see their faces.

“Halt!” yelled one of the guards. “Don’t come any closer, you shady scoundrels!”

With no regard for his words, the strangers advanced. Without any other escape route, the driver led the stagecoach down an abandoned byway he had observed just moments before. Meanwhile, the guards and robed men all drew their swords and clashed—but outnumbering the three guards significantly, the strange group quickly defeated them.

Still, the driver of the carriage urged the horses faster. “Milady Cocolette, my sincerest apologies!” he cried out. “We were surrounded before I even realized what was happening!”

“No need for apologies!” I replied. “Do you know who those men are working for?!”

“No, not at all! But I see that another carriage is following behind them!”

“This must be going all according to their plan,” I realized. “Can you take another path and shake them off?”

“I am so sorry, Milady Cocolette, but they’ve already caught up with us!”

I paused. “I see.”

I tightly grasped the pendant that hung over my chest. I would use it as a last resort.

After that, the carriage was forced to stop on a backstreet far from the palace, and the robed men captured the driver at once. Then the villains came to the stagecoach door, hoping to drag me out. The door was locked, but there was nothing to stop them from breaking it down with force.

Looks like it’s time to use the defensive magic, I realized. Hunkering down inside the Aurora Shield’s barrier would keep the men from laying even a single finger on me. After a few hours, my family and friends would surely question why I hadn’t shown up at the castle and come looking for me.

With that plan in mind, I made to activate the pendant just as the stagecoach following the robed group finally arrived on the scene, and from inside several people disembarked. When I saw from the window just who exactly had come out of the carriage, I cried out in astonishment.

“You were behind this?!”

In my shock, my hand fell away from the pendant. And then, with the worst possible timing, the robed men broke through the carriage door.

And that was when I was abducted without even getting to deploy the Aurora Shield.

✛

Raphael

“What? Coco still hasn’t shown up for classes yet today?” I asked.

I had been in the midst of swordsmanship training with Orkhart and Douglas when Miss Wagner, Miss Kleist, Miss Berga, and her valet Sir Ince had appeared, all with pale faces. I’d been about to ask them why they’d shown up here when they should’ve been in the middle of their lessons when they’d informed me that Coco had yet to arrive at the castle.

“I have already been in contact with the Blossom estate,” Miss Mystère explained. “Miss Cocolette boarded her stagecoach and departed for the castle at the usual time. She has long departed from her home! The Blossom servants have searched along her usual route but found no signs of the carriage!”

“I have the Kleist family informants searching for information on her carriage as we speak,” Miss Kleist added.

The moment I heard Coco was missing, my mind went blank.

Had she suffered an accident and been brought to a hospital? No—perhaps mother’d had some hand in this? Had some radical, obscenely devoted to Coco, kidnapped her out of some vile desire to keep her all to themselves? There was no end to my fears; my emotions, previously frozen in shock, ignited and nearly got the better of me.

But upon seeing Miss Wagner stamp her foot in irritation and Miss Kleist trembling and pale, my hot head started to cool. I wasn’t the only one worried about Coco. Even Orkhart and Douglas had overheard and now wore wan expressions.

I took a deep breath. I gave Coco an Aurora Shield. If push comes to shove, she should be able to deploy its defensive magic. What I need to do now is put the necessary pieces together to prevent anything worse from happening to her.

“Miss Wagner, please send for Lord Dwarphister. I have need of him,” I instructed. “Ford, check my mother’s movements. Douglas, call for the knights.”

Orkhart spoke up next. “Brother, I’ll search for Coco too! Give me orders!”

“Of course. I was intending to,” I replied automatically, surprising even myself.

At some point—despite how much I should have despised Orkhart, despite how tremendously jealous of him I still was—I had come to rely upon him. Somehow, I had come to approve of him, and found a place for him in my heart.

This, too, must have been another change in me brought about by Coco’s influence. If it hadn’t been for her, Orkhart and I wouldn’t have had all these chances to get to know each other better.

I bowed my head to the others. “I must ask for your assistance, everyone. We must find Coco.”

Numerous gasps sounded around me.

“Brother, please do not bow! Of course we’ll help you and Coco!” Orkhart said.

“He is right, Your Highness!” Lady Wagner agreed. “As your loyal subject, you may trust me with whatever you may need!”

“I will do my best for you and Miss Cocolette as well,” Miss Kleist added.

In her soft drawl, Miss Violet said, “I will help, Your Highness.”

“And I’ll give my all for ya a’course! Er—of course,” Douglas declared.

“Prince Raph, I have always been your loyal retainer—ask whatever you wish of me,” Ford urged.

I’ve gained...so many reliable allies, all when I wasn’t looking.

With everyone’s encouragement echoing in my ears, I raised my head.

✛

Ford, who had gone to check on my mother’s movements, was the first to return from his mission.

“The queen consort has been on duty today in place of His Majesty. She doesn’t appear to be involved in the incident,” he reported, putting her off the list of suspects.

Douglas brought several knights back and was in the midst of explaining the situation to them when one of Miss Kleist’s informants arrived. He explained that they had discovered guards collapsed on a deserted street, with a carriage from the Blossom family a fair distance from them.

“After we took in the wounded guards for treatment, we found the stagecoach hidden in a secluded, remote spot, with a handful of people set in a perimeter around it,” he explained. “We brought them down, then found the driver trapped inside the carriage. We’ve taken him into our protection. The men assigned to guard the carriage have been taken to the palace dungeons.”

So it hadn’t been an accident, but an abduction. But for what purpose did the culprit snatch Coco away? If they were after a ransom, we would have found a note by now. If the perpetrator were one of her crazed fans, chances were high that she had already been sequestered elsewhere. There was also the possibility that her life had been put at risk to prevent her from marrying either myself or Orkhart.

“What was the condition of the Blossom guards? Have any of the watchmen you’ve apprehended said anything?” I asked.

“Though the driver and the guards sustained only minor injuries, they are all under major shock from Miss Cocolette being taken right in front of them,” Miss Kleist’s informant explained. “They are resting in the palace infirmary. The watchmen have refused to speak.”

“For now, I’d like to see them all. We’ll start with the watchmen.”

“Understood, Your Highness. I shall escort you to the dungeons.”

I and all the others followed him, hurrying to the palace depths.

I had not been to the dungeons since I myself had been locked up there in my previous lifetime. The place was filled to the brim with horrid memories, stank of mold as it always had, and went on in a cold cascade of endless stone walls. In the far back were rows of cells complete with iron bars, in one of which a group of men—the watchmen—were locked inside.

I grabbed the iron bars, suppressing my rage, and demanded, “Why did you kidnap Coco? Where is she? Is she safe?”

The men didn’t answer. When they saw my hideous face, their expressions furrowed, and they all looked away.

“Oh?” Miss Berga exclaimed in surprise behind me. “I’ve seen all of you before. At Lady Sara’s tea party. You all serve the boys backing the second prince, don’t you?”

“Is that true, Miss Berga?” I asked.

“Yes, Your Highness, I swear it,” she replied. “I made sure to take stock of all the members of Lady Sara’s faction, even those of the lowest rank.”

Orkhart seemed the most surprised at Miss Berga’s words. “Wait—you mean those three kidnapped Coco?! But why?!”

“I do not know the reason, but I believe it unlikely that these servants acted on their own,” Miss Berga said. “We need to determine if this is the rash act of three boys or if this is part of a larger orchestration by the head of their family. Salvie and I will go to their estate. Perhaps we will find Miss Cocolette somewhere within its walls.”

“Okay Vi, I’ll go with you!” Orkhart declared. “After all, they’re from my faction—I have to take responsibility for this...”

“Understood,” Miss Berga drawled with a nod, and she, Orkhart, and Sir Ince departed the dungeons.

I continued to question the prisoners, but they refused to give out any pertinent information. I left them to the knights, then headed to the infirmary to speak to the Blossom estate guards and stagecoach driver.

The men were all in considerably low spirits, but readily answered my inquiries. Their testimony confirmed what time the kidnapping had occurred, although none of them knew where Coco had been taken.

We returned to the villa once more to find that Miss Wagner had come back with Lord Dwarphister and Raymond in tow. It seemed Raymond had been visiting the Wagner estate when Miss Wagner had called upon her brother for assistance.

“I heard sister has been kidnapped! Please, Prince Raph, let me be of some assistance!” he begged.

His stark urgency was palpable. I nodded, granting his request.

I turned to the Wagner heir. “Lord Dwarphister, Coco should be wearing the Aurora Shield I purchased from you the other day.”

“Say no more. I will start searching for Cocolette Blossom’s whereabouts,” he replied.

The improved version of the Aurora Shield also included new detection magic. I had made sure to explain that part to Coco and asked her to carry it on her person wherever possible. However, Lord Dwarphister was currently the only one who could use the magic to find her, which is why I’d had him come to the palace.

Lord Dwarphister spread out a map of the capital, then began to draw magic circles in the white space of the map, at each of the four corners of the paper. Once complete, he held his hand out over the map, putting his mana into it. After a moment, a single point on the map began to glow red.

“Your Highness, that is where Cocolette Blossom—or her Aurora Shield, at the very least—should be,” he explained.

“Thank you for your assistance, Lord Dwarphister.”

Whether that was actually where Coco herself was or just a clue to where she could be, this development brought me relief, if only for a brief moment. I frowned immediately upon looking at the spot on the map—for it was in the slums.

Maps of the royal capital were mostly drawn with large, long-standing buildings such as the palace, churches, noble estates, and major stores taking up the main focus. Small-scale shops, everyday citizens’ homes, and the like often changed, so they were drawn in simplified figurations. Given the difficulty of sending a survey team into the slums, it was never rendered on maps, and instead was often left blank.

I thought for a moment. Though I had lived in the slums for a while in my previous life, that was a time period which was still in the future—I didn’t know the geography of the area at present. “I suppose we’ll just have to head over and search the place with a fine-tooth comb.”

I really wanted to deploy a large-scale search with the knights, but Coco was still only a candidate for marriage. The number of people I could mobilize was limited. Still, tracking down a missing person with only so many resources, and in the slums—an area no one was familiar with—would take an ungodly number of hours. We couldn’t afford to take so much time, especially when we didn’t know what the culprit’s ultimate goal was.

“Please wait, Your Highness! I still know my way ’round the slums! Even if there ain’t no map, I can guide y’all—I mean—I shall lead the way!” Douglas declared, brimming with confidence.

That was right: Douglas had grown up an orphan in the slums. Certainly he would be familiar with its present layout.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Douglas. Truly.”

I instructed Miss Wagner and Miss Kleist to wait at the palace, explaining that the rest of us, along with several knights, would be heading to the slums. Both young ladies paled.

“But Your Highness, you are the crown prince!” Miss Wagner protested. “There is no way of knowing what kind of danger awaits you in the slums—you should not go!”

Next to her, Miss Kleist nodded repeatedly, as if agreeing with Miss Wagner’s admonishments.

I was grateful for their concern. Even I was aware that what I was about to do was far from what a crown prince should do.

But this crown prince had a spare, and my Coco didn’t.

“Should I have to, I will use my own Aurora Shield,” I reassured them, showing the girls the imitation pendant I wore, its pea-green color similar to a peridot’s. “Please believe in your brother’s extraordinary power, Miss Wagner.”

The two girls pouted, still disapproving, but their shoulders had lost their tension. They had already given up on dissuading me.

“Fiss!” Miss Wagner shouted. “If His Highness’s Aurora Shield is faulty in any way, you’ll have to answer to me!”

“Your Highness,” Miss Kleist said softly, “should anything happen to you, His Highness Orkhart will be stricken with sorrow. Please take care.”

With that, the two finally backed down.

Lord Dwarphister leaned to whisper in Raymond’s ear. “Tear’s a scary one.”

▽

Cocolette

I was brought to a large, old building on the outskirts of the slums. The entrance hall, corridors, and main reception room were filled with furniture and artwork covered in white cloth. After passing through those areas, I was led to a small, relatively clean room.

“Our family bought this mansion to serve as a warehouse,” said one of my captors. “I’m rather embarrassed that there are so many things here still. But we had this room tidied up especially for you, Miss Cocolette, so please relax.”

I did not reply, but what I really wanted to say was, “Who the hell would be relaxed after all this?!” Still, I held my tongue—I didn’t want to risk provoking anyone. After all, my hands were currently tired behind my back at the wrists; there was no way I would be able to activate my Aurora Shield.

The small room they’d led me to was certainly clean, at least. There was even a comfy-looking couch. It was difficult to sit down with my hands tied behind my back, but I did manage to settle down somehow.

I chose my next words very carefully. “I would like to hear your reasoning behind all this. Just what sort of abhorrence do you hold toward me that would cause you to enact this abduction?”

“Abhorrence? Heavens, no! There is not a soul in this world that could bear any ill will toward you, Miss Cocolette!” one of the culprits replied.

I had known from the beginning that he—and the other two—held no animosity toward me. After all, they were the ones who had instantly fallen for my beauty: the three young noble boys who supported the second prince. I had intentionally used the strong term “abhorrence” to try and throw them off their game.

I had never seriously suspected that they meant me any harm, which was why I had been so severely surprised when I’d discovered they were the culprits. Thanks to them, I’d flubbed the timing on activating the Aurora Shield and been captured. Jeez...

Still, my pendant had a tracker in it, so all I had to do was wait for Prince Raph to come find me. Once I was late for class, Miss Mystère and the others would realize something was wrong and make a report to Prince Raph.

While I was waiting for help, I might as well get some information out of these stooges.

Summoning my pretty-girl power and honing in on the frightened, abducted damsel angle, I let pearl-like teardrops form in my eyes. “Then...why did you kidnap me? You’ve given me a terrible fright...!”

“Ah! Please don’t cry, Miss Cocolette!” one boy urged. “All we want is for you, Prince Ork, and all of Cheriotte’s citizens to be happy!”

What the heck are these kids talking about? Me, Prince Ork, and the citizens? I thought, bewildered. The scale they were talking about was too large for me to understand right away what they were trying to get at.

The boys, however, brimmed with self-confidence as they started to explain themselves.

“Being the angel of love that you are, Miss Cocolette, your compassion compels you to marry the ugly crown prince out of pity!” said the first. “You believe you need to sacrifice yourself for Cheriotte!”

Huh?

“But it’s all right now, Miss Cocolette!” said the second. “You can marry Prince Ork! No—you should!”

Then the third declared, “Nothing would make all us, and the subjects of Cheriotte, happier than if His Majesty were succeeded not by the hideous crown prince, but by another handsome gentleman! Miss Cocolette, you are so terribly kindhearted, but rather than becoming the wife of the ugly crown prince, you should marry Prince Ork! The two of you together will have double the beauty, and the citizens will be even happier to see it!”

“Miss Cocolette, if you really care for the people, please choose Prince Ork as your husband!”

So these boys...shipped Prince Ork/Cocolette?

I could see on their faces how much they wanted me to go along with their pairing—and I understood them so much that it hurt.

Though it was often said that a good personality was the number one quality for a person to possess, in real life, so many things and events came with fine print—specifically “For good-looking people only!” So really...your fave’s appearance was important.

But would these boys just shuuuuut uuuuuup with their overbearing preaching?! Citizens this, Cheriotte that—they were basically just saying, “Why do you like that minor character so much? Choose the popular one instead! He has tons of official merch so you’ll have more fun with him anyway!”

I liked Prince Raph! And I loved his face sooooo goddamn much that I would devote my entire isekai’d life for him!

Full of pure rage, I moved—and with a snap, I broke the bindings around my wrists. Perhaps the bindings had been sloppily tied, or perhaps I had awakened the kind of physical strength one might discover in oneself when in the midst of a life-and-death scenario. I didn’t know.

But now I could activate the defensive barrier. And when I grabbed my pendant, I did exactly that.

One of the boys let out a wordless scream before crying out, “What is this beautiful light?!”

“So the angel of love can produce a divine candescence...!” sighed another.

The third dreamily said, “To be expected from Miss Cocolette. ♡”

“You’re wrong! This is magic from a tool invented by Lord Dwarphister!” I howled at them from within my protective dome of light. I had to clear these boys’ eccentric misunderstandings ASAP. “And you know what would bring actual happiness to the citizens of Cheriotte? A well-to-do kingdom with a robust social security that will permit them to live their lives without worry! And even if your idea was true, and the beauty of the king and queen really was more important than all those things—”

I took a deep breath and pushed back my glossy rose-pink hair, showing them just how gorgeous I was.

“—then I will become even more beautiful! So beautiful that not a single subject will have even a second to look at Prince Raph because they’ll be too busy gazing at me! After all, it is the honorable duty of the queen consort to cover what weaknesses her king may possess! And I’m only eleven—my potential is simply staggering!”

At my anger, the boys tipped their heads.

“You would go so far for that ugly prince? Why...?” one of them muttered, bewildered.

“Because I love Prince Raph, obviously! No matter what you boys say, I will not abandon my fave!”

My decisive declaration left all three boys visibly shaken. It was obvious that they had never considered that I might love Prince Raph.

Having said all that was necessary to say, I turned my back on my confused captors and hunkered down within the barrier.

✛

Raphael

“So this is how the slums look now...” I whispered to myself.

Next to me, Douglas tipped his head curiously. “Now?” he repeated.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” I replied. “Now that we’ve arrived, Douglas, what do you intend to do? Do you have a specific location in mind?”

“Miss Cocolette’s driver said, ‘Milady was taken away in the culprits’ stagecoach,’ so first, I’m thinkin’ we gotta search through a big ol’ buildin’ where you can park carriages. There aren’t many places like that in the slums, ya see. If we meet any residents along the way, I intend ta ask ’em about anything they saw.”

“All right. Your plan is apt. Shall we get going?”

At my remark, Douglas promptly took the lead, guiding us into the slums. I followed, and then came Lord Dwarphister, Raymond, Ford, and then the knights.

The slums now seemed much preferable to the future-past in which Orkhart had ruined the kingdom. Perhaps in this lifetime, there was something I could do for the people here...but now wasn’t the time for that—Coco was my first priority. Without her, there wasn’t a future in which I could become king at all.

After a while, a small, thin boy appeared on the deserted street. He looked at us distrustfully at first, but when he saw Douglas, he started. The two seemed to be acquaintances.

“Whoaaa, if it ain’t Douglas the Demon! Haven’t seen ya in a while—didn’t know if ya were alive! And dang, ya’ve gone ’n’ smartened up. Those guys behind ya’ve got some ’spensive-lookin’ digs... Huh? Why’re the knights here?!”

“Ah, I remember you,” Douglas said. “Yer that small fry that tried ta snatch my grub when I lived here. Well, whatever—I don’t care ’bout that ol’ stuff no more. I train with the knights now.”

Douglas took a step forward, and the boy yelped with fright.

“W-Wow there, Douglas, ya really seem ta’ve climbed yer way up.” He laughed nervously. “Good on ya, yeah? Well, I gotta get—”

“Heeey, think ya could answer a question a’ mine, as a congrats on me movin’ on up in the world?” Douglas pushed.

“If I know it, I’ll tell ya—anythin’,” the boy promised in a rush. “Please just don’t arrest me or nothin’ for somethin’ that ’appened way back!”

As luck would have it, the boy had been in the right place at the right time—he’d seen a carriage go into a large building on the outskirts of the slums. We’d gotten the information we’d wanted.

“It seems highly likely that Coco is in that building,” I noted. “Let’s hurry.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the others chorused.

✛

When we came close to the building in question, I sent the knights ahead to scout. Upon their return I learned that guards had been placed at the front door, rear entrance, and in the yard.

“Ideally we would also have knowledge of the building’s interior layout, but it seems impossible,” I said. “Even a floor plan would have been quite useful.”

Raymond raised his hand. “Prince Raph! Actually, I’ve memorized the inside of that building!”

“What? Why would you even know such a thing, Raymond?” I asked.

“It was in one of the books you lent me!” Immediately, he started to rattle off what he remembered from one of the passages of architectural history. “‘Shaoran-style architecture was popular among the merchant class about fifty years ago. After coming through the entrance, one would immediately find themselves in a large room used to discuss business...’”

As he spoke, he took out a notepad and began to draw a rough sketch of the building. He seemed completely ignorant to my astonishment. “There might be some slight discrepancies between what I have here and the building itself, but rest assured that this is the general room arrangement for the majority of these kinds of homes.”

“A-Ah, yes... Thank you, Raymond. Your memory truly is impeccable,” I said.

He giggled. “Well, I’m glad I can finally be useful!”

“Way to go, Ray!” Lord Dwarphister praised, while Douglas and Ford looked impressed.

With a rough layout in hand, we proceeded to formulate a plan. The knights would storm the main entrance and engage the guards there to serve as a distraction, while I, Douglas, Lord Dwarphister, Raymond, and Ford would enter the estate through the rear entrance, which should be short-staffed by then. Once inside, we would look for Coco and incapacitate any opposition we encountered on the way. Lord Dwarphister and Raymond, lacking proper swordsmanship skills, would be using several Aurora Shields in lieu of weapons.

“Hey, Ray,” Lord Dwarphister said. “Obviously you can stay inside your own barrier if you want, but you can also throw an Aurora Shield at your opponent and trap them inside that way too, since they won’t know how to disable the shield.”

“Whoa! You really are a genius, Lord Fiss!” Raymond praised.

Lord Dwarphister gave a self-important chuckle in reply. “Of course I am. After all, I shall be the first in a long, glorious line of wizard prime ministers.”

We put our plan into action immediately after finalizing it. I, Douglas, and the others went to stake out the rear entrance, while the knights headed to the front door and began their assault.

Soon, the guards stationed at the rear entrance began to panic.

“Hey, we’ve got a problem! There’re knights at the front door!”

“What?! Have we been found out already?!”

“I don’t know, but we gotta help!”

They rushed away, with Ford noting upon their retreat, “How careless of them to not leave even a single guard in reserve, isn’t it, Prince Raph?”

“You’re right, Ford, but at least their carelessness makes things more convenient for us,” I agreed. “Now, Douglas, go ahead and break the lock.”

“Understood, Your Highness!” Douglas said.

He grasped the doorknob, then broke the door with a distinctly unpleasant snap. With that, we headed inside—then immediately ran into trouble.

“Huh?! Intruders from the rear!” yelled a guard.

“Dammit! Everyone went to the front. We’re outnumbered!”

It seemed like our diversionary tactics had worked. The goons approached immediately, unsheathing their swords to slash at us, but Douglas easily mowed them down. Ford and I took down whomever he failed to fell.

I couldn’t help but be surprised at Ford’s swordsmanship skills—fair, considering his position—to which he shakily replied, “A poor retainer I would be if I couldn’t at least protect you.”

Another guard appeared from our blind spot, but Lord Dwarphister and Raymond threw an Aurora Shield at him, easily trapping him inside its barrier.

With no more enemies in sight, we proceeded farther into the mansion. We didn’t get lost; the rough layout of the building that Raymond had drawn was actually quite accurate.

After a while of walking through silent hallways, we heard voices coming from a nearby room, and stopped behind the door.

“Saying that I’m distressed would be putting it lightly,” said the first person. “What do we do? I never imagined Miss Cocolette would be this obstinate.”

The second person replied, “Do you think she’s telling the truth? That she really loves the ugly prince?”

“I’m quite sad that she won’t come out from under that dome of light,” sighed the third.

It seemed Coco and the culprits were in this room. From what they were saying, Coco was sheltered within her Aurora Shield. But that wasn’t enough for me; I needed to see that she was safe with my own eyes.

“Douglas,” I said. “We’re going to gain control of this room, then rescue Coco.”

“Understood, Your Highness!”

Douglas then kicked down the door, and we stormed the room. Miss Berga’s conjecture had been correct—the culprits we found inside were the three young nobles in Orkhart’s faction. They had been his close aides during my previous life, but to think they would become kidnappers this time around... They really had come down in the world.

There was no need to turn our swords on them. The moment the boys saw me, Douglas, and Raymond, they turned pale and instantly burst into tears.

“Mommyyyyy! Save meeee!”

“Too many scary uglieeees!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please forgive me! Just don’t come any closer!”

It would seem that their greatest fear...was ugly people.

Their reaction stung, and I nearly looked away in shame—but at some point, Coco had deactivated her defensive barrier and moved to stand behind the boys. Bonk-bonk-bonk went their heads as she hit them, striking so hard all three lost consciousness upon impact. She was...surprisingly strong.

For just a moment, I thought I saw a truly terrifying expression on Coco’s face, but when she turned and hurried to me—distraught, eyes shimmering with unshed tears—all I could feel upon seeing her was the strong desire to keep her safe.

“Prince Raph! I was so scared, but I just knew you would come and save me, so I waited for you!”

“Don’t cry, Coco,” I said. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“Prince Raph, would you please hold me, and comfort me?” she pleaded, insistent. “I’m still shaking with fear...”

“Uh... Huh?”

“Thank you so much, Prince Raph. ♡♡♡” Though I hadn’t yet agreed, Coco—seeming extremely forlorn—threw her arms around me and clung to me tightly, burying her face in my chest. “Ahh... Prince Raph. ♡”

To separate from her now seemed unspeakably cruel; there was no way I could move. But for someone as hideous as me to dare hug her back? There was nowhere for me to even put my hands.

Even though I’d said I would make Coco my queen someday...in the end, I was still fearful that she would reject me.

While I wavered, Raymond, Lord Dwarphister, Douglas, and Ford swarmed us, rejoicing all at once that Coco was mostly unharmed.

“Sister!” Raymond cried out. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Honestly, Cocolette Blossom, you even had me, your fellow-minded magic-lover, worried,” Lord Dwarphister scoffed. “But I’m glad that my Aurora Shield provided such prompt assistance. Don’t forget to thank me.”

“M-Miss Cocolette, are ya all right?! D’ya need a handkerchief? Here’s one ya gave me a while ago.” Douglas pulled out a small cloth. “Ah—don’t worry, I made sure ta wash it!”

Ford gasped. “Miss Cocolette, your wrists! They must have been bound tight. I’ll treat them right away!”

Their cheer encouraged me; while of course I still couldn’t hug Coco back, I could at least pet her hair. “It’s all right now, Coco. You have all of us backing you up, after all.”

“I know, Prince Raph. ♡” Coco looked up at me, her smile unfolding like the petals of a budding flower.

✛

Once the knights finished taking control of the building, I had them carry the three still-unconscious boys out of the mansion. I planned to have them taken to the palace, where they would be subject to questioning. Normally after such an incident I would report to my father, but since my mother was filling in for him today, I supposed I would have to speak with her instead. She would determine a fitting punishment for them.

In the midst of moving the boys, however, they woke up. Once they saw my, Douglas’s, and Raymond’s faces, terror shook them all to their cores once again and they began to cause a ruckus.

It’ll be a pain and a half to get them all the way to the palace...

Just when I was at a loss for how to proceed, a stagecoach came in through the mansion’s front gate. Emblazoned on the side of the carriage was the Berga family crest; Miss Berga and Sir Ince disembarked, followed by Orkhart.

“Brother, Coco, are you all right?!” Orkhart asked at once, his expression worried and pale. “Are you hurt?!”

Miss Berga, meanwhile, said, “We hurried over as quickly as possible after meeting the boys’ parents. They were not involved whatsoever; in fact, they were even kind enough to inform us of the most likely location Miss Cocolette would have been locked up.” Then, her drawl as soft as ever, she praised, “I see you’ve arrested them already. Bravo, Your Highness!”

Orkhart, seeing for himself that we were all right, was moved to tears. “I’m so glad you two are okay...!”

He turned to the three nobles. When they saw his face, they all stopped crying, as if the sight of him was a relief. Perhaps to them my half brother’s looks were simply that captivating—or perhaps they thought their exalted second prince had come at last to rescue them.

But contrary to their expectations, Orkhart started his rebuke. “How could you three do something so evil?!” he snapped. “You’ve not only injured the Blossom family’s guards and driver—you’ve subjected Coco through a terrifying ordeal and caused my brother nothing but trouble!”

“B-But we only had good intentions,” the first stammered. “Prince Ork, with you as king and Miss Cocolette as your queen, the two of you together would bring so much beauty to the people that they would be overjoyed to serve you!”

The second quickly agreed, “Y-Yes, that’s right!”

“If only Miss Cocolette had understood,” the third added. “Then everything would have gone—”

“Quit speaking such foolish nonsense!” Orkhart scolded. “Bringing joy to the people? Don’t you realize how many people you’ve already subjected to the very opposite of joy?!”

With their hypocrisy so clearly laid out for them to see, the boys looked aghast.

“And furthermore, my brother is important to me!” Orkhart continued, roaring. “How many times have I told the three of you that I believe he is the one who is best suited to inherit the throne?! Not me! And even if Coco chose me over my brother because of what you did, Iwouldnot be happy!”

The three young noblemen, now thoroughly despondent, immediately blubbered apologies, their heads drooping with remorse.

“W-We’re so sorry, Prince Ork!”

“I never once considered that both Prince Ork and Miss Cocolette would love His Highness the crown prince so much...”

“We were so shallow!”

Exasperated, Orkhart retorted, “If you’re going to apologize, apologize to brother and to Coco!”

I patted my half brother’s shoulder. “Orkhart, let’s leave judgment to Their Majesties.”

He paused, then relented, “All right, brother. I understand.”

And thus, the boys were arrested and ultimately sentenced to recuperate and reflect at home, in their family’s territory. This was, in effect, a complete banishment from the royal capital, and with it, any possibility they could become elite nobility.

✛

With the downfall of Orkhart’s closest allies, the scope of the second prince’s faction shrunk, with the remaining members softening their position toward me. Subsequently, mother’s mood improved significantly; I hoped that she would continue along this line and not involve Coco in any of her strange schemes.

Setting myself aside, Coco—traumatized as she had been by the incident—seemed admirably normal the next time she made an appearance at the palace.

Before she was set to return to classes, I hosted tea at the villa. Miss Wagner and Miss Kleist, both misty-eyed, threw their arms around Coco.

“I was so, so worried for you during that whole incident, Miss Cocolette!” Miss Wager cried out.

“I as well,” Miss Kleist added. “I was quite terrified that the worst had happened to you...”

“Miss Mystère, Miss Lunamaria, I caused you both so much distress,” Coco replied, her smile full of affection for them as she bravely comforted the two young ladies clinging to her. “It is thanks to your efforts, along with everyone else’s, that I was able to be saved so quickly. Thank you so much. Truly.”

And then Orkhart brought in an enormous cake, the likes of which I’d never seen, to treat us all. “The members of my faction made this as an apology for causing so much trouble!” he explained.

Coco and the other marriage candidates were of course elated, and Lord Dwarphister and Raymond—whom I’d invited—both had sparkles in their eyes at the sight. Douglas and Ford seemed to be refraining from eating the dessert, so I encouraged them to partake. Meanwhile, Miss Berga was feeding Sir Ince with prompts of “Nom nom, Salvie, ♡” so I left them alone.

“Prince Raph, let’s do what Miss Violet and Salvador are doing!” Coco insisted. “Here, nom nom. ♡”

“C-Coco, that’s rather embarrassing!” I protested weakly.

Coco looked straight at me, her peridot-green eyes seeming to hold absolutely no repugnance whatsoever for the ugly crown prince that I was.

I really...really wanted to believe in her feelings for me. I didn’t want to think that behind such a kind smile was a lie.

And yet I kept telling myself, She just desires to be Cheriotte’s queen consort. None of her compassion or affection is real. I was putting up walls, trying to keep myself from being hurt—all because I hated myself. All because I was the ugliest person in the world.

Even though my relationships with my marriage candidates had improved, even though I had accepted Orkhart, even though I now had allies to support me, even though I had a better reputation among the people, and even though the opposing faction had mollified their stance toward me—it was I, still, who was the only one that couldn’t accept my appearance.

“Aw,” Coco laughed, shoving a piece of cake into my mouth. It was terribly sweet.

Chapter 10: Saint Cecelia and Lutz the Traveler

Cocolette

Two years had passed since the abduction, and I was now thirteen.

My queenly education had grown steadily more strict over time, but to keep from burning out, we would occasionally all take a break from our studies by going on other chapel inspections.

On one such trip we researched the local territory and discovered that a newly built sluice gate had blocked the water from a vital river going downstream; Prince Raph resolved that rather large controversy. On another occasion, Douglas and Miss Violet made a spectacular showing when a robbery took place at the church we’d visited. Miss Lunamaria, on a separate excursion, discovered that one lord had provided us with fraudulent documents. And when a child got lost in the mountains near the church we’d been inspecting, Miss Mystère rode a flying magical device much like the Möwe air glider made up by that one famous director back in my old world; from up in the sky, she used her natural 20/4 vision to find the youngster. Lord Dwarphister bought a workshop on the brink of bankruptcy and turned it into a studio to develop magic tools. When a lord was utterly perplexed at his crops’ lack of growth, Raymond taught him what best flourished in his soil, resulting in an increased tax revenue for the entire region.

Really, a lot had happened.

Incidentally, my and Prince Ork’s pretty faces were quite useful in practically every circumstance and situation. When the two of us smiled, it didn’t matter if the people looking at us were good or bad—they all fell in line.

Such pleasant, boisterous days had gone on and on until, suddenly, I realized that in the coming year I would be old enough to enroll in the royal academy. Miss Lunamaria and Lord Dwarphister, being fourteen, had already started attending.

With the two of them so busy with their schooling, I lamented their absence and wondered aloud to Prince Raph about if they’d be able to attend our latest upcoming inspection. His response took me by surprise.

“Huh? You say neither Prince Ork, Miss Mystère, nor Miss Violet will be accompanying us this time?” I repeated.

“It appears that way,” Prince Raph replied with a nod.

Prince Raph was also thirteen now. His bangs were still as long as ever to hide his eyes, and those sapphire beauties that peeked out at me from time to time hadn’t changed either. If anything, he had grown taller, and his face had matured slightly; and for as much as he had grown, his gorgeousness had powered up just as much.

Getting to watch Prince Raph so closely as he grows up is just the best... ♡ Dear God, thank you so much for reincarnating me here right next to him!

“Orkhart’s cousin will be visiting from the Portanian Empire, so he will not be able to join us,” Prince Raph continued. “And as Miss Berga is his bodyguard, she will accompany him. As for Miss Wagner, she informed me that Lord Dwarphister has sprained his ankle and she will be nursing him.”

“Aw, that’s a shame to hear...” I replied, then brightened. “Ah, but this means that this next inspection will just be the two of us. It will be the first time in quite a while!”

Prince Raph smiled wryly. “True... You know, you always have been unique in your delight about spending time alone with me.”

“Not so fast,” I warned. “Prince Ork would be just as overjoyed as I am about going somewhere with just you.”

Prince Raph paused. “Do not lump yourself together with him.”

As we continued to chat—wishing Lord Dwarphister a quick recovery, pondering the kinds of souvenirs we could buy everyone during the inspection, and so on—I eagerly looked forward to my long-overdue next date with Prince Raph.

▽

Prince Raph wasn’t the only one who’d gotten prettier with time—my own beauty had skyrocketed to a new level.

When I told my captors two years ago that I would become “so beautiful that not a single subject will have even a second to look at Prince Raph because they’ll be too busy gazing at me,” I had meant it. I did yoga and resistance training to tone my body, enlisted Amaretti’s help in maintaining consistent beauty treatments, and had instructed our head chef to keep nutrition first and foremost in mind when making my daily meals.

These efforts had caused me to grow rapidly taller, gain slender arms and legs, and start to swell at my chest and hips. Of course, my skin and hair was glossy and well moisturized too. I would be forever grateful toward Amaretti and the head chef.

That was how there was no girl out there who could compete with my gorgeousness at thirteen. If flowers were sentient they, too, would have been too embarrassed to even try blossoming next to me.

On the day of our date, I gracefully took Prince Raph’s arm and smiled sweetly as I descended from the carriage, earning the rapt gazes of the chapel attendants and cheers from attending lords and other nobles. It was like I was an idol greeting my enthusiastic fans right before a concert. No one paid Prince Raph any mind—I was so beautiful that he neatly faded into the background.

I’d had a pretty face when I was eleven, but when I’d been with Prince Raph back then, people would always notice him first and completely become shocked and appalled with repugnance. As his shield, I had been rather weak.

But now, just like today, people’s gazes trained on me before ever turning to him! I’d stood in front of the mirror and studied the angles that made me look the most gorgeous—and really, I’d worked so hard! Where’s my compliment already?!

Just as I was thinking that, Prince Raph stealthily whispered into my ear, “You’re as popular as ever, Coco. With you at my side, everything’s so much easier.”

His sweet smile made me reflexively put a hand over my heart. “Aww, ♡” I sighed, just so utterly in love.

This boy had a pretty face, a kind heart, and was heir to the throne—and did I mention he had a pretty face? If there was any reason not to love him, I truly couldn’t find any.

“Coco, is something the matter?” he asked, worrying over me due to my suspicious behavior. “Do you not feel well?”

“That’s not it, Prince Raph. You’re just so lovely, I almost thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” I replied, glossing over my behavior by making the most of my good looks and turning my gaze up at him.

He suddenly turned, slowly averting his eyes and saying, somewhat sadly, “You tell me such kind lies, Coco.”

“Prince Raph...”

“Now, let’s get going with our inspection. We’ve made our hosts wait for us long enough.”

At Prince Raph’s urging, I reluctantly strode forward.

Being thirteen meant that it had already been two years since I’d met Prince Raph, and in those two years his circumstances had changed drastically. He’d made friends with Raymond and Douglas, who, being similarly perceived as homely, keenly understood his complex surrounding his appearance; he’d established amicable relationships with his other marriage candidates, Miss Mystère and Miss Lunamaria; he had Prince Ork, Lord Dwarphister, and even Miss Violet to support him; and—of course—I remained his unconditional supporter.

Even still, nothing could be done about his sense of self-worth. At the most fundamental level, Prince Raph just couldn’t believe that others adored him. No matter what words I said to him, nor how I acted, he remained certain that it was impossible for others to love him.

As I watched Prince Raph begin to speak with the chapel staff, I wondered, What will finally free him from his loneliness?

▽

The chapel we were inspecting today had been where Saint Cecelia had served during her lifetime. Of course, since I had heard about her so many times during Mass, upon hearing her name I instantly remembered the story about how her birth parents had abandoned her due to her blindness and how she had trained as a nun.

Having been born with mysterious powers as well as a kind heart, Cecelia had spent much of her life saving troubled people. However, those same powers had shortened her lifespan considerably.

One day, a lonely traveler had appeared before her. To heal his broken heart, Cecelia put aside her training as a nun and married the man. They led a short but joyous married life together, and after Cecelia used the last of her power for her husband, she passed away and joined God above. No one in today’s generation knew exactly what Cecelia’s last miracle had been.

When I had told Miss Lunamaria—saint otaku that she was—that we were going to the chapel that the famous Cecelia had worked in, she’d seemed terribly jealous. But since the territory was two weeks away from the royal capital by carriage and she was too busy with school, she hadn’t been able to come.

I psyched myself up—I would have to give it my all on this trip so that I could properly tell her all about it when I got back.

We proceeded with the inspection without delay. Many handrails and slopes had been installed inside the chapel to help ease Cecelia’s day-to-day life, and many of the furniture pieces had been deliberately constructed with rounded, smooth corners.

As always, Prince Raph was curious about pendants and ornaments, and he listened at length to the pastor speak.

“So,” Prince Raph said, “the traveler gifted the cross to Cecelia?”

“Yes, he did,” the pastor replied. “Lutz—ah, that was the name of the traveler who became Cecelia’s husband—might have originally been a nobleman. It is said that when he came here, he brought many decorative items that had never been seen in such a rural area. Apparently, whenever someone struggled to provide for themselves, Lutz would sell one of his treasures to buy food for them. The man was absurdly ugly, but... Er, I’m sorry, uh—at any rate, it’s said that he was a good guy with a pure heart.”

“Are there any documents remaining that pertain to Lutz, the traveler?” Prince Raph asked, ignoring the blunder.

“No. This was a long time ago, so we do not possess any documentation or heirlooms that would provide more information about him... Ah, but the home he lived in with Cecelia remains, as do their graves.”

“Would you please guide us there?”

“Of course. However, the landlady keeps the key to their house; it may take a little while to make the arrangements,” the pastor explained.

“We do not mind waiting.”

From Prince Raph’s side I looked up at him, only to notice that he seemed in active contemplation. The way he puts his finger on his chin is so sexy. ♡

Prince Raph noticed my gaze and looked my way, giving me a somewhat strained smile. “Sorry for changing our schedule so suddenly, Coco. If you find these matters dull, do feel free to go to the lord’s estate ahead of time and get some rest.”

“Do not worry about me. I will always remain by your side so long as you’ll have me,” I replied.

He paused. “Thank you.”

He stroked my hair, his azure eyes gentle and soft. Until the preparations for us to continue onward were ready, I would enjoy this time with Prince Raph to the fullest.

▽

Our next destination was the home of Saint Cecelia and the traveler Lutz. A few fields spread out around the house, and an old chicken coop and wooden fence to pen grazing livestock still stood nearby. I imagined that Lutz had accustomed himself to his new life here and spent the time providing for himself and Cecelia.

The landlady—quite the small, elderly woman—stood in front of the entrance to the home. She politely bowed her head as we descended from the stagecoach, and as we drew closer, she looked up, full of awe. And when she saw Prince Raph’s face—

“Lutz!” she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening. “I can’t believe it’s you!”

A local government official, who was now the one guiding us around instead of the pastor, flustered. He shook the elderly woman’s shoulder. “What are you talking about, ma’am? This gentleman is His Highness Raphael, the crown prince of Cheriotte.”

“And what’re you talking about? You whippersnappers these days are useless! Can’t you see Lutz looks like himself well enough?” the landlady argued.

“Ma’am, don’t you remember that the only ones left who know what Cecelia and Lutz looked like are elders like yourself?” the official replied. “They had already passed away by the time I was born.”

“Don’t treat me like some geezer!”

“Anyway, ma’am,” the official went on, “Lutz died a very long time ago. His Highness Raphael simply cannot be him.”

“But Lutz here looks exactly like him, I’m telling you!” she insisted.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to persuade her otherwise, the official gave up and instead leaned in closer to me and Prince Raph, whispering, “This must just be some kind of joke the senior citizens are passing around. I shall hurry up and borrow the key so we may look around inside.”

“Actually, I find myself rather interested in the madam’s stories,” Prince Raph replied. “Would we be able to invite her inside as well?”

“Really? All right.”

With an expression that read, Suit yourself, the official borrowed the key from the landlady and opened the front door. We stepped over the threshold one by one, ushering the old woman inside as well.

At once we were hit with the stagnant air lingering inside the house, and the guards accompanying us promptly opened the windows to allow for ventilation. Thanks to the landlady coming in to clean the home periodically, it was tidier than I’d expected, but it was still dusty.

“Can you breathe all right, Coco?” Prince Raph asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. And yourself?” I replied.

“I’m also okay. I’ve been in far worse circumstances before,” he said with a wry smile.

What does he mean by that?

Beside me, the old landlady called out to Prince Raph. “Hey, Lutz, remember that old scrape on the wall? Uncle Will put it there when he got drunk and swung the fire poker all ’round. Fella’s gone and passed away, though.”

“So, madam,” Prince Raph replied, “did Lutz really look just like me?”

“Now you’re saying this crap, Lutz?” the landlady complained. “You know you’re Lutz, right? No one could forget a face as ugly as yours.”

“Did Lutz’s eyes happen to be purple?”

“Purple...?” the old woman echoed as she mulled it over. “Well now, it has been a long time since I saw you last—can’t remember the color too well. Coulda been blue, coulda been purple.”

As they spoke, a sudden memory flashed in my mind: A man who looked just like Prince Raph, but with purple eyes... A traveler... And that’s right—there were no records of what happened to him after he left the capital—

“Prince Raph,” I began slowly, but my heart beat quickly. “Well... Do you think Lutz the traveler could be...?”

Prince Raph looked up at me. As if reading my mind, he nodded. “Maybe. But we do need to find some sort of evidence to support the theory.”

His eyes darted around the room. Spurred on by his actions, I also started to look around, excitement building up within me. Our outing now seemed much more like a treasure hunt than an inspection.

✛

Raphael

The home Cecelia and Lutz had lived in was cramped and dusty. Since in my past life I’d often lived in poorer conditions—such as sleeping outside or taking refuge in the slums—I was still all right, but I worried that a young, highborn noblewoman like Coco might struggle just being in a room like this.

It seemed, though, that my concern was for naught; she was observing the room with an innocent look of curiosity in her eyes.

“If Lutz the traveler really was him, it would mean a historic breakthrough, Prince Raph!” she exclaimed. Her smile was an instant relief, and my worry melted away at once.

It had been about two years since I first met Coco, and over that time I had not seen her pure heart fade even a bit. She remained close to my side, and smiled as gently at me as she always had.

And in contrast, I had only gotten uglier.

At thirteen, Coco’s body had started to become more developed and mature, and I often found myself quite discomposed at quite unexpected moments at the sex appeal she exuded. More than before did people fall victim to her beauty—Orkhart was still just as zealous about her as he was when they first met.

Yet even now, Coco remained at my side—and I still had absolutely no idea why she wanted to wed me, the ugly prince crown prince that I was.

I’d first thought that she simply wanted to become the queen consort, but Marquis Blossom didn’t seem to have any political ambitions, and neither did Coco. She did not aspire to a higher social standing, did not want more power, and did not display interest in accessing the royal coffers. And she was already fully aware that she was a shining jewel, beautiful even without the embellishments of high nobility or authority.

Unable to find any other merit for Coco to marry me, hideous as I was, I kept wondering why. I knew I should have just asked her directly, but had yet to actually do so.

The act terrified me. If I asked her, I risked losing her, and if I did lose her I simply wouldn’t know what to do afterward. A life without Coco would surely be...even more hellish than my previous one.

As my thoughts continued to wander, the knights and government officials searched the home and found Lutz’s personal items, then brought them back to us. The numerous objects they retrieved included scholarly textbooks that were too technical for commoners to read and a pair of cufflinks made with black pearls of such high quality that even upper nobility would have been hard-pressed to get ahold of them.

Why are such valuable items simply lying around in an old vacant home in the countryside? Did no one here know what any of these objects were truly worth? Even local thieves might not have known what they were looking at had any of them broken in here and searched.

Coco picked up an old book that Douglas had found and peered at its pages. “Oh? Prince Raph, the words in this book...”

“Is something the matter?”

She looked up, a troubled expression on her face. “I believe it’s written in the classical style, but unfortunately I have not studied it yet. I cannot read it.”

“The classical style?” I repeated. The girls hadn’t yet begun to learn it in their queenly education classes, but I already knew it.

I took the old book from Coco and opened it up to find that it was, indeed, written in the classical style. During the time Lutz had been alive, this form of our language had already long fallen out of common use. The mere fact that he had learned it meant that Lutz had to have been born to the upper echelons of nobility, since they were the only ones who received the education necessary to learn such a skill.

“Are you able to read it?” Coco asked.

“Yes.” I took a moment to inspect the words within the book. “It seems to be Lutz’s diary.”

I went on reading the diary for a while longer, and by then I was convinced.

“Lutz really was our monarch from three generations prior—King Schwarz.”

✛

Due to his hideousness, Schwarz had been hated by those around him even from early childhood.

After the untimely death of his father when Schwarz was only a young boy, he had promptly ascended to the throne without even being given proper time to grieve. Though relentlessly devoted to his people, his day-to-day life as king had been full of struggle; no one loved, wanted, or desired him. His only hope was for his young, handsome brother to quickly come of age and take his place.

And when the day of his abdication actually did come, Schwarz realized how empty his whole life had been. Once he was no longer king, even his most loathsome followers—“pathetic sycophants,” as he called them—openly shunned him as nothing more than a freak.

Schwarz left the palace behind and went out on a journey. Freaks belonged far away from people, he thought. Such a masochistic mindset led him to look for a quiet place to live, and he decided that he would hide himself away deep in the mountains.

But his journey was fraught with hardship, and as the days passed Schwarz grew more and more distrustful of other people.

Even spending one night at an inn was an extreme trial for someone as ugly as him. He had funds aplenty, but the moment he offered it he was met with scathing replies like, “There’s no way a disgusting guy like you could have earned this honestly. Who’d you steal that from?” In the end, his savings were stolen from him by rogues.

After that, Schwarz donned a robe with a deep hood and continued on his journey. Letting others see his face for even a moment brought about suffering: Children would burst into frantic tears, women would foam at the mouth and faint, and whatever village he had finally managed to reach would chase him out.

The wretched, endless misery was unbearable. Schwarz cursed the hideous face he had been born with, vowing to never forgive the people he so detested for mistreating him.

Then, upon reaching the chapel of a certain rural town, a beautiful novitiate nun spoke to Schwarz. “Dear traveler, why does your heart cry so?”

Schwarz could not see his reflection at all in her eyes. She was blind.

The feelings that surged within Schwarz at that moment were almost impossible to put into words. The fact that the young, vibrant maiden in front of him had shown no signs of horror at the sight of him lit him up inside with intense emotions that were far too strong to even be called joy. Without warning, tears flooded down his cheeks.

In front of the blind woman, he was not a freak, but just a man.

Schwarz introduced himself as Lutz, and the woman replied that her name was Cecelia. After their first meeting, Schwarz rented a home near the chapel and came to visit Cecelia every day.

Cecelia was a maiden devoted to others. Her hands held a miraculous power which could heal the sick, call rain to dry lands, and bring one last restful sleep to lives that could not be saved. She had helped many troubled people.

And Schwarz fell for the tenderhearted woman more and more.

But day by day, Cecelia grew paler and thinner, until finally she was forced to remain in bed for long periods of time. Out of worry for her, Schwarz incessantly asked her what was wrong until, at last, she explained that her power came with a cost.

The shock was so much to Schwarz that, in that moment, all he saw was darkness.

“Yet your heart is the one thing I can’t seem to heal,” Cecelia said. Sadly, she asked Schwarz, “How can I alleviate your sorrow? Would my last moments on earth be enough to save your soul?”

Schwarz picked up her small hand off the bedsheet and gripped it gently, pleading, “No brief moment of comfort can drive away the hell I have lived all my life... If you would, Cecelia, please give your life to me. I want not your blessings, but you yourself. I wish for you to be my wife and spend the rest of your days at my side.”

As pale as Cecelia was, her cheeks still reddened. “I will,” she said, voice quivering as she nodded.

In her wedding gown, she was a vision of pure beauty.

Though Schwarz and Cecelia’s married life together was short, it was incredibly peaceful and full of joy all the same. Although Cecelia was unable to bear children, she would occasionally be able to see into the future, and then start fretting about those who would one day share Schwarz’s blood.

“Your kin,” she said. “They worry me terribly.”

“I haven’t married anyone other than you, Cece,” Schwarz replied.

“That’s not it, Lutz,” she insisted. “Your younger brother’s...grandson, I think. I think that boy...”

She trailed off, and Schwarz said, “I’m sure my brother’s family will be fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about, Cece.”

She paused. “I pray you’re right.”

“Now, you really need to get your rest,” Schwarz urged.

“...Okay.”

But it seemed that Cecelia couldn’t help but worry about the future. When her health at last gave out, she mustered the last of her strength to transfer what was left of her miraculous power into a gold cross. Among all the jewelry Schwarz had given her, the gold cross was her most beloved piece.

“Lutz, please hide this in the chapel,” she begged him. “One day it will surely find its way to the person who needs it most. And to make sure it does, I placed some of my power in your diary, for you to write about the cross for the sake of your future kin. In his ‘second time,’ I’m sure all records of this will have disappeared from other books.”

“Cece, why have you gone and shortened your life again?!” Schwarz demanded, distraught.

“Please, Lutz,” Cecelia insisted. “This cross will save one of your family...”

“Even though no one can save you now, you’re trying to save a child who won’t even be born for years to come...?”

“Because he will be of your blood, Lutz. And even your blood is dear to me.”

He wasn’t able to answer for a long moment. “All right. I’ll do as you wish.”

After Cecelia had passed, Schwarz hid the cross in the chapel she had grown up in. And just as she had said, the cross was found decades later and placed in the custody of the royal palace, lauded as King Schwarz’s last legacy—the Golden Cross.

▽

Cocolette

And so, that was what had been written in the diary.

Prince Raph and I had left Lutz and Cecelia’s home and gone to pray at their graves. Afterward, Prince Raph had told me the long tale about what had happened to King Schwarz after he had abdicated the throne.

“So King Schwarz ended up all the way out here, and finally found love,” I noted.

“Yes, he did,” Prince Raph agreed, nodding. He seemed clearheaded and calm, as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Prince Raph had always been close to King Schwarz, in a sense, having been scorned as his second coming. I imagined Prince Raph must have been pleased to know that King Schwarz had eventually found happiness after leaving the palace.

“I am curious about the Golden Cross that Saint Cecelia left behind,” I admitted. “Is it still at the palace? And what did she mean about protecting Lutz’s future kin...?”

“The Golden Cross doesn’t exist in this world anymore,” Prince Raph said. He spoke calmly, but in his eyes there was a strange sense of resolve. “I used the Golden Cross...in my past life.”

“Your...past life...?” I echoed.

“You may not believe me, but I’ve died once before,” he explained.

Huh?

Wait, did that mean that Prince Raph had reincarnated like I did...? No way!

✛

Raphael

King Schwarz had been despised for his hideousness, but in the end he had known love. That fact comforted me in a way I hadn’t thought possible.

I also felt like I’d learned just about everything I’d wanted to about the Golden Cross. The grandson of King Schwarz’s younger brother whom Saint Cecelia the Blind had worried so much about was, in fact, me—the “second coming” of her husband. I was sure that the Golden Cross, imbued with her power, had tried to save me from a life of ruin and performed a miracle to give me a second chance.

But I didn’t think this was a do-over just for me. Saint Cecelia’s power had also saved Coco, who was supposed to have died from the epidemic when she was eleven, so that she could stand beside me as my queen.

As soon as I’d realized that, all of my hesitation toward Coco completely disappeared. I was going to ask her, clearly and directly, why she wanted to become my wife. And whatever her answer, I was going to believe in the kindness that she had always shown me, because—no matter what—I loved her.

And I would tell Coco the truth. She might think that I was a nutcase for saying I had died once before and was currently doing my life over, but...so be it. I wanted to be close to her heart. I wanted her to know me. I wanted us to truly, properly understand each other.

Overflowing with these feelings, I told her, “I died as Raphael Cheriotte once before, and now I am walking through life for a second time.”

Initially, Coco’s cute lips opened up in flabbergasted surprise, but as I told her about my first life, she gradually began to nod along, as if my words made sense to her. She even said a word or two during my telling to show she was following.

When I finished, she suddenly slapped her hands over her face and sobbed out, “Killing such a precious bishonen is just too awful...! The least they could have done was conscript you into forced labooooor!”

“C-Coco?” I stammered, not knowing what she was talking about whatsoever.

At my panic, Coco quickly looked back up at me. The tip of her nose was red as she cried, and even though it was inappropriate of me to think so, she looked terribly cute.

“Your past life was really awful, Prince Raph!” she sobbed.

“You believe me?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Even though it’s so absurd?”

“Of course I do!” she insisted. “I mean, I remember my last life too!”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s a little different because you went backward when you were killed, and I came to another world entirely when I died,” she went on. “But at any rate, I also reincarnated. I don’t need much to believe in one—or even two—second chances at life!”

“Huh?!”

Coco began to explain her own past life to me, and it was my turn to become absolutely bewildered.

She had memories of living in a completely different world—a world permeated with incredibly strange beauty standards. To my amazement, ugly men like myself, Raymond, and Douglas were considered “handsome,” while good-looking boys like Orkhart and Dwarphister were “ugly.” What strange values they have there...

“So,” Coco continued, “I decided that I wanted to marry a pretty boy here, but I didn’t meet a single one... I hated this place.”

“Pretty boy...?” I repeated.

“And then came the day of the garden party at the palace, and I got to meet you, Prince Raph! You were just like an angel! I realized then that God hadn’t abandoned me!”

“Me, an angel...?”

Coco pressed both hands against her pink, flushing cheeks. She seemed embarrassed, but incredibly happy.

Finally, I realized that not one of Coco’s words was a lie, even though some of them were saying things I didn’t quite understand.

“So in short, Coco, you want to become my queen...?” I’d never thought that the day would come when someone as ugly as me would say such a nerve-racking line.

Coco, however, nodded and smiled radiantly. “I do! I’ve adored you since the moment I laid eyes on you! How many times have I told you that I just love your face?”

Saint Cecelia, did you really mean to grant me such an impossible miracle?

The thing I had hated most in the world was my ugly face, but the strange values Coco had inherited from the memories of her old world caused her to adore my appearance, truly and sincerely. So often I had lamented this second life, wondering over and over why I had to repeat what had just been a relentlessly grueling existence from start to finish, but now I knew. Now I was saved.

Spurred on by sudden passion, I embraced Coco tightly. “Ooh, ♡” she cried out cutely, immediately throwing her arms around my middle.

Two years ago during that horrible kidnapping incident, Coco had forlornly clung to me, but I hadn’t been able to return the embrace. I had been too afraid of touching her when I was so ugly.

But now, I was properly hugging her. I understood now that even I could be loved by others. I had shut myself up inside a cage called loneliness, and I’d finally gotten out.

“Thank you, Coco. And I’m so sorry for not believing how you felt about me until now.” I took a slow, deep breath, and then said without an ounce of fear, “From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I too loved you.”

Coco’s cheeks quickly flushed pink again, and her peridot-colored eyes glittered just like gemstones. “My, Prince Raph, you finally understand how I feel for you! I’m overjoyed. ♡”

As she stood there in my arms, a truly happy smile rose to her lips. Yes... She truly was lovely.

“I think the greatest tragedy of my first life is that I never met you,” I admitted.

“So the reason I lived through the epidemic must have been because of Saint Cecelia’s miracle,” Coco mused. “Surely my memories of my old world are because of her too.”

“Yes, that may be it.”

There was still a mountain of problems ahead of us—Orkhart still hadn’t given up on Coco, and then there was my mother to consider. But this was how Coco and I had finally, properly managed to discover our mutual love for one another.

Afterward, we prayed once more at Lutz and Cecelia’s eternal resting place—prayers filled with the kind of gratitude that couldn’t be put into words.

Afterword

Dear DRE NOVELS readers, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Sankaku Mikaduki. Thank you so much for obtaining a copy of my book Miss Blossom’s Backward Beauty Standards: Give Me the Ugly Crown Prince!

Backward Beauty is the first light novel I’ve ever written, so I took the opportunity to fill it up with lots of things I like. As a result, this work became full of various elements, like the reversal of beauty standards only for men, reincarnating into another world, getting a second chance at life, and dating games (the next volume will have a dating game factor in it!).

I’d always wanted Coco and Raph to be realized someday, so I submitted my entry to the Drecom Media contest and ended up getting the second-place prize. I never imagined that I would get promised multiple light novel volumes, a manga, and a voice-over drama for Backward Beauty. This is an incredibly lucky work.

To adapt Backward Beauty into a light novel, I reread the web version for the first time in several years... Even I, the author, couldn’t make heads or tails out of many of the sentences. I’m still amazed that Drecom was kind enough to give an award to this work, like??? I admire their open-minded generosity as a company greatly.

Anyway, this light novel is mostly a rewrite of the web version. It’s two hundred percent easier—and more fun—to read!

I would like to thank riritto-sensei for being in charge of the illustrations despite their busy schedule. Every character has such a lovely design! I’m filled with emotion at Coco’s cuteness, Raph’s beauty, and Douglas’s and Raymond’s wild and idol bishonen looks, respectively! I was so happy that you captured Mystère and Dwarphister’s sibling vibes!

Thank you so much for providing an absolutely flawless design for Orkhart, the biggest obstacle for the novel! His design was so difficult that our editor even gathered opinions from within the company. Everyone, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for your cooperation.

Thank you so much to all of the readers, our editor, riritto-sensei, and everyone else involved in this book!

Volume 2 is planned to be the school arc. I hope you keep cheering for Coco, Raph, and their amusing friends as their story continues! I appreciate your continued support!

With that, I hope to see you all again soon.