My Fiancée Was Just Like Me After All! (Nope) (1)

I was toddling along behind the head maid. We'd left Mom and the Duchess back in the head of house's office.

'Man... that outfit really was....'

Even so, my mind kept replaying the shocking sight from earlier. Embarrassing and uncomfortable as it was, I couldn't exactly keep my eyes from straying.

And just as the Duchess had intended, my attention naturally shifted to the person I was about to meet: my fiancée, 'Kir.'

"Hey. Head Maid."

"Yes, Young Master."

"The person we're going to meet, Kir. My fiancée. She's ten, right?"

"Yes. Lady Kirschblüte turned ten this year."

"Huh. Interesting."

My fiancée was apparently the same age as me, ten. A bit of an anomaly, considering marriages in this world usually paired an older woman with a younger man.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

'If she'd been older, breaking the engagement might've been tough.'

Maybe it was because I'd spent the last while showered in affection by my sisters and mom. I'd developed a disposition where I couldn't really be harsh with anyone older than me. Just as my sisters had a soft spot for me, I'd grown a soft spot for them, so to speak.

So it was a stroke of luck that my fiancée was still young. If she were a kid and not a mature older sister type, I could bring up breaking the engagement easily enough.

...Right. My plan today was to meet her and declare the betrothal null and void. Strike while the iron's hot, as they say. Today, right now.

'Sorry, fiancée I've never even seen...! Let me apologize in advance! Go find yourself a decent guy who isn't me!'

I was busy internally apologizing for the blow I was about to deal her. Then the head maid's footsteps came to a stop in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a door.

"We have arrived, Young Master Yunes."

"Huh...? Shouldn't we knock?"

It was basic procedure for a servant to knock before entering a noble's room, yet the head maid was about to open the door without ceremony.

Feeling something was off, I asked, and she just smiled calmly.

"It is per the Duchess's instructions. You need not worry yourself over it, Young Master Yunes. Thank you for your concern."

'I wasn't concerned. Why would I be concerned about something like that?'

"Alright. You can head back. I'll let myself in."

There'd been some misunderstanding, but I let it slide; correcting her was too much of a hassle.

After shooing away the head maid, I pushed the door open with my shoulder...

And at last, my fiancée and I came face-to-face for the very first time.

-The door swung open.

"...!? Kyaaaaaa!"

"...?"

Though the first thing I saw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't her face, but her panties.

* * * * * *

"I-I'm so sorry. For showing you something you shouldn't have seen...."

Oddly, she'd been in her room holding the arabesque pose I learned from Sir Max—standing with one leg extended straight back.

Unlike me, her leg only went up about 120 degrees. Still, it was more than enough to let me see her panties.

To make matters worse, her lower body had been pointing straight at the door, so I'd caught an eyeful the moment I walked in.

She kept apologizing. But my reaction was lukewarm at best.

Because, well...

"U-Um, did you... hate it that much...?"

My fiancée, Kirschblüte, sitting across from me, kept glancing my way as if mortified. Kir for short.

Because her appearance was exactly that of a ten-year-old girl.

What was I supposed to think after seeing a ten-year-old's panties? I just thought, 'Huh, white,' and moved on.

"Forget it. I didn't think anything of it. And speak casually. Drop the formal speech. You and I are the same age. Oh, and I'm Yunes. Just call me Yune."

"B-But the Nordkirchen house is of higher standing...."

"I said speak casually."

"O-Okay then... Yune. I'll just... talk casually?"

She was stammering, trailing off at the end of her sentences, and her face was flushed red. I could easily deduce she had an extremely shy personality.

My very first impression of my fiancée, Kir, was exactly this:

'Jeez. What's with this girl?'

Women in this world didn't give a damn if someone saw their panties.

Case in point: during my time with Flare, I'd seen her panties plenty of times. She'd apologized for showing me something dirty, but not once had she been embarrassed that I'd *seen* her panties.

Yet here was this girl, still blushing because I'd caught a glimpse of her underwear. She'd even let out a shrill scream when it happened.

——Like a boy would.

'...Wait. Like a boy?'

That's when the nagging sense of dissonance I'd been feeling finally clicked.

No, think about it. Why would a noble young lady be practicing the arabesque in the first place? That's a dance men do.

Even her attire was strange. Sure, it was winter, but the Imperial Capital was relatively warm, and the indoor heating was more than adequate. So why was she bundled up like that?

Considering that in this world, men tend to cover up as much skin as possible, while women favor lighter clothing and outfits that show cleavage, her outfit was clearly bizarre.

Her whole appearance made her look like a woman desperately trying to pass as a man.

'Well. This could be good.'

But this was an advantage for me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My fiancée was unfeminine and mannish. That's exactly the type Mom would hate, right?

If I just said I didn't like her, Mom would surely take one glance and declare, "I will not give my son to a tomboyish wench like that!"

I smiled inwardly, confident I was about to land a critical hit.

'If I play this right, the whole thing might resolve itself easily.'

"You go by Kir, right? Kir. Why do you act so much like a boy?"

"Huh? Oh... That's just... my natural disposition...."

"Hmm. Honestly, I can't stand girls like you. I like proper, feminine women. Not mannish ones like you."

"...Okay."

Her face clouded over at my words, and she hung her head low. Soon, she began poking at the table with her fingertip.

"I'm sorry. That your fiancée is someone like this...."

"No. You don't need to apologize."

'Wow, she really is timid... Tch. I was trying to insult her on purpose to pick a fight.'

She seemed so crushed by a lack of confidence that I started feeling guilty instead.

Then she spoke up.

"If you hate it, I can try talking to my mother about calling off the engagement...."

"...!!"

Kir said it while looking down, as if she were the one who should be sorry. Hearing that, a bright smile bloomed on my face.

'Oh? What's this? Could she be...? No. She definitely is. She's one of my people. She's the same as me!!'

Then I understood why she'd been going around in such 'mannish' clothes and behavior. Just like me, she must have her own convictions.

A manly man who refuses to bow to the world's gaze and steadfastly upholds her own values. A free spirit who'd reject any engagement she hadn't decided on herself. My kindred soul.

Delighted to have found a comrade, I grabbed her hands and shook them vigorously.

"You hate being engaged too, right? Same here!"

"...!?"

"I mean, honestly. An engagement to someone you've never even met? Who wouldn't hate that? Man, what a relief. I was just about to suggest we break it off too."

"H-Hating it... is...."

"Hm? What was that?"

"...Nothing."

I thought Kir murmured something, but I couldn't catch it over her habitually faint, trailing voice.

Buoyed by the joy of meeting a same-age friend whose opinion matched mine for the first time, I raised my voice.

"Great to meet you! Let's do our best together! For our mutual freedom!!"

* * * * * *

Kirschblüte von Charlottenburg, Kir for short. The sole legitimate heir of the Charlottenburg Ducal House.

She stared at Yune in a daze as he grinned goofily in front of her.

'...Is this kid really a boy?'

She was self-aware that, for a girl, she was overly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠timid, easily embarrassed, and skittish.

To make matters worse, ever since the recent incident where she was nearly attacked, the Duchess had strictly forbidden her from going outside. Spending all that time cooped up in her room reading only worsened her introverted nature.

But Yune was her polar opposite; "brash" was the perfect word for his personality.

He'd suddenly grabbed the hand of a girl he'd just met for the first time, even if she was his fiancée. It was hardly proper conduct for a noble young lord... yet she didn't dislike him for it at all.

'Still, he's incredibly cute. I want to hug him.'

Because he was adorable.

For a girl who uncharacteristically loved dolls and dancing and had an insatiable weakness for anything cute, Yune, who looked like a tiny furball, was a perfect match for her tastes.

Of course, it wasn't romantic attraction so much as the kind of affection you'd feel doting on a cute pet. But what did that matter?

That was why she thought marrying him wouldn't be so bad. She didn't have much interest in men anyway. And if she had to marry someone, it might as well be a cute one.

She inwardly regretted the hesitant offer she'd made a moment ago to 'cancel the engagement.'

But she shook her head again.

'Even so. It's not like I like him as a man. Marrying him would just be unfair to him. And from the looks of it, he doesn't want to marry me. So this is for the best.'

She'd tried to rationalize her earlier statement that way, but...

"Ahh~ I feel all the tension melting away. I came here steeling myself, but I never imagined you'd be one of my people~. Ah, mind if I get a little more comfortable?"

"...!?"

Yune suddenly started undressing right in front of her. Her pupils shook violently.

But, utterly indifferent to her turmoil, he'd already stripped off his clothes without ceremony.

Ultimately, he was left wearing just a thin, short-sleeved top and shorts so brief his thighs were fully exposed—the kind of thing you'd only expect to see in a married couple's bedroom. He stretched his arms wide with a groan.

"Nnngh~. That stuffy formal suit was driving me crazy. I can finally breathe now."

Watching him, she realized that her belief that she'd had no interest in men had been a delusion.

Unlike her own body, his was underdeveloped, yet you could sense the distinctive seamless flatness of a male physique. The bare expanse of his skin. The slight prominence of his joints.

And then there was his completely hairless armpit. The clear outline of his chest, visible through the thin fabric. A flash of his pale stomach. His navel, teasingly half-hidden, half-revealed.

And when her gaze traveled lower, she saw those shorts, so short they were practically underwear.

Yune's provocative attire and pose awakened something inside her that even she hadn't been aware of.

'S-So that's a boy... He's completely different from me. Unlike my horribly bulging chest, his is beautifully flat. Unlike my lumpy hips, his are straight. And he smells so nice....'

She'd been staring at him slack-jawed ever since seeing a boy her age in such a dangerously bold outfit for the first time.

Somehow regaining her composure, she managed to speak.

"I-Isn't this a bit too soon for us? It's dangerous for a boy to be alone in a room with a girl like this, right?"

She'd voiced a perfectly common-sense statement, but Yune just tilted his head with a clueless expression.

"Huh? Why is it?"

"Th-That outfit... it's practically underwear...."

"What? Oh. Is that it? Are you saying that because you want to get comfortable too? Then why don't you take yours off? Bundling up in all those layers must be stuffy, right? Believe me, I know exactly how that feels."

"......."

Yet Yune nonchalantly suggested that she should strip down too. Hearing that absurd notion, she finally realized just how abnormal a guy Yune truly was.

'Could it be that he has no awareness of being a boy?'