Surprisingly, an Arranged Marriage Starts with a Childhood Friend (1)
"Damn, that was a close one..."
Gideon Caliber and Oner Dreamwalker broke out in a cold sweat as they stood between the Crown Prince and Theodore.
Just what kind of attack was that to gouge out the earth and snap trees like twigs?
Even with two of Grancia Academy's instructors stepping in to block it, they hadn't been able to completely mitigate the damage.
"What kind of technique was that...? It didn't look like any family swordsmanship I know," Oner slurred, adjusting his giant hat.
"Beats me. He raised his sword high like he'd received a divine revelation, and then all hell broke loose," Gideon grunted.
It was a sight unseen even by Gideon Caliber, a veteran of countless battlefields.
The strike, a chaotic blend of fire, lightning, ice, and earth energy, had completely swept away everything in its vicinity.
"Ha, hahaha! Incredible. How on earth did you do that? Even I've never seen an attack like that before!"
Sheint, the Crown Prince, was laughing even as he lay sprawled on the ground after an attack that could have easily killed him.
For the first time in his life, he had suffered a decisive defeat.
Born as the Crown Prince, he had spent his life learning and mastering countless arts, hearing nothing but praise of his genius from everyone around him.
Because of that, he rarely found anything interesting, and there was no one he could truly call his equal.
But just now, such a person had finally appeared.
"You're the best! You're absolutely the best, Theodore!"
Sheint burst into a hearty laugh as he looked up at Theodore, who, unlike him, was standing firmly on his own two feet.
Originally, he had only intended to play matchmaker for two single people at the social gathering.
He never expected things to take this kind of turn.
"This is why the world is so interesting! There are still so many things I don't know!"
"You say that, but it looks like the roles of the winner and the loser have been reversed."
"Of course it's your victory. Anyone who watched this duel would think the same!"
Sheint grinned as he looked at Theodore, who was extending a hand to help him up.
Even if it was a technique he had never seen before, Theodore had struck him head-on with his sword, fair and square, without resorting to any dirty tricks.
"So, is that a power bestowed by the Lord? Seeing how well you've been getting along with the Saintess lately, it wouldn't surprise me!"
"...I'll keep that a secret for now."
"Right, if it's divine power, that certainly makes sense!"
Sheint's legs were trembling so much he couldn't even stand without support, but his mouth didn't stop moving for a second.
In truth, Astoria was chosen by the Lord, and it was difficult for an ordinary person to even get close to her.
If someone the Lord disliked tried to approach the Saintess, the deity would twist fate itself to prevent any contact.
For this reason, the Saintess was like a flower in a greenhouse, inevitably naive to the ways of the world and the schemes of the imperial court.
That's why I took an interest in Theodore and tried to set him up with the Saintess... but to think I'd witness something like this with my own eyes.
If not for Theodore, Astoria might have remained unmarried for the rest of her life.
Realizing this faster than anyone, the Crown Prince was trying to build a bridge between the two clueless individuals.
"Brother Theodore, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Even now, look at that. Anyone could see that Sheint was the one who was seriously injured, yet Astoria, the Saintess, was only worried about Theodore.
He didn't know exactly why she had taken a liking to him, but it was definitely a good sign.
"Please look after His Highness the Crown Prince first, not me."
"Ah, yes! Of course!"
Only after Theodore gave her a look did Astoria finally turn to the Crown Prince and begin channeling her healing magic.
Even then, she kept stealing glances at Theodore, checking to see if anything was wrong with him.
Not wanting to ruin such a heartwarming sight, the Crown Prince stood up before his injuries were fully healed.
"You truly are the Saintess chosen by the Lord! To think you could heal such a severe injury in an instant!"
"Pardon? But your injuries aren't fully healed yet..."
"It is fine! Hurry and look after Theodore instead of me!"
With a slightly unsteady step, Sheint walked back to his seat and sat down.
Indeed, thanks to the Saintess's divine healing, even a brief moment of treatment was enough for him to pull himself together.
"I'm fine. I'm used to this level of injury..."
"But you have bite marks and scratches from a lion! You're bleeding profusely!"
"A bit of spit will fix this right up."
"Be quiet and hold still. You'll reopen the wounds."
The gentle, devout Saintess spoke in a cold tone.
Although her face and expressions were invisible due to her transparent body, she was likely furious right now.
I really wonder how he managed to wrap the Saintess around his finger.
Sheint rested his chin on his hand, watching the two bicker with a pleased expression.
After all, people only bickered when they shared a certain level of intimacy.
Seeing the Saintess heal him despite her anger proved she didn't dislike him at all.
"So, what was that power just now? Did you perhaps receive a revelation from the Lord..."
"Of course not. It was just a stroke of luck."
"To call it mere luck... the Lord did command me to attend this academy with you."
"That's a completely different matter."
Ah, so there was a divine revelation.
That explained to some extent why the Saintess was so obsessed with Theodore.
Still, it felt like there was a deeper secret.
"Your Highness, are you truly alright?"
At that moment, a presence made itself known right beside him.
"...?"
Sheint looked in confusion at the blonde girl who had boldly approached him.
He had definitely seen her somewhere before.
Since introducing oneself in noble society meant establishing an acquaintance, he remained silent.
Just how out of her mind was this girl to act so familiar in front of him, the Crown Prince?
"Ah, my name is Alice! I'm the girl who worked as a cleaner at Your Highness's social gathering before!"
Ah, the broom girl from back then.
The Crown Prince maintained his silence and signaled his surrounding guards not to move.
She was the culprit behind the previous incident.
He had heard she couldn't even handle magic properly, yet had stubbornly insisted on using that specific broom.
Granted, it had served as the catalyst for Theodore and the Saintess to get closer, but she still seemed highly suspicious.
He had heard from others that she had been thoroughly disciplined so she wouldn't repeat such behavior.
"At any rate, I believe this could be considered attempted regicide."
Alice said this, referring to the duel that had just taken place.
Technically, she wasn't entirely wrong, but since he, the Crown Prince, had requested the duel himself, he could easily overlook it.
"Your Highness's life was in danger. We must arrest that Theodore guy and investigate him..."
"Who gave you permission to speak so casually about my safety?"
"...Pardon?"
Sheint spoke with irritation, having heard enough.
He had finally met someone who could defeat him, and he had found an interesting couple to watch right beside him.
Why was she trying to ruin such a good mood?
"Even within the academy, Theodore is the son of a marquess. A commoner like you has no right to speak of him so insolently."
"B-but Your Highness was gravely injured! I have a potion here, so please use it to recover..."
"Are you telling me to drink a potion of unknown origin and ingredients?"
The Crown Prince was thoroughly disgusted by every single action of this blonde commoner, who was sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
The potion Alice pulled from her pocket was of such low quality that its maker was completely untraceable.
Demanding the Crown Prince drink such a thing was closer to attempted regicide than anything Theodore had done.
"That wasn't my intention! I was only worried about Your Highness..."
"It was a fair duel that I requested. It is far better than scurrying over to an injured person to exploit them."
The Baskerville family had protected the imperial family for generations. No matter how hard Theodore fought, he would never have actually killed him.
What was her motive for approaching him and trying to drive a wedge between them?
Crown Prince Sheint caught a glimpse of the faint madness lingering in Alice's eyes.
"Lady Isabella, shouldn't you go to His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"...Who are you?"
"I am Theodore of the House of Baskerville."
After the duel ended, I watched Alice approach the Crown Prince and decided to seek help from someone else.
After all, I couldn't just stand by and let this country fall into the hands of such a foolish woman. I had to make my move.
Isabella Florence.
The daughter of Count Florence, a noblewoman with black hair and red eyes who resembled a thorny rose bush, stared at me.
"I am Isabella. And why, pray tell, should I go to His Highness right now?"
Isabella introduced herself in return, acknowledging my greeting, and I got straight to the point now that we were officially acquainted.
"Aren't you His Highness's fiancée, Lady Isabella? I heard you two have known each other since childhood."
Isabella Florence was Sheint's fiancée and the childhood friend who knew him best.
If we wanted to shake off Alice's attempts to get close to him, Isabella was the perfect person for the job.