Arranged Marriages Start with Childhood Friends
Contrary to the common tropes in romance fantasy novels, arranged marriages actually garnered surprisingly few complaints.
Since they required a mutual understanding between two families, the prospective couple usually grew up as childhood friends under the guidance of amicable parents.
Even if it were a strict contract marriage meant solely for political gain, spending over a decade in each other's pockets almost always sparked some form of affection where none had existed before.
"Are you really just going to stand by and watch another woman approach your fiancé like that?"
"..."
"No matter how much Grancia Academy preaches equality, it is highly inappropriate to impose on someone who is already betrothed."
"That is true," Isabella agreed with a small nod.
Even from where we stood, we could see Alice, the original female lead, trying to force-feed the Crown Prince a potion to heal him.
No matter how strained Isabella's relationship with the Crown Prince might be, seeing another woman behave that way with her fiancé had to be unpleasant.
"So, do you want me to step in and get between them?"
"Yes. That is what an engagement means in noble society, is it not? While it is an alliance between families, I also know the two of you share a special bond."
"Which is precisely why I am leaving them be. Sheint won't give that woman a second glance anyway."
"...Excuse me?"
I was temporarily lost for words as Isabella let out a soft sigh. She knew another woman was hitting on her fiancé, yet she was choosing to ignore it? Why on earth would she do that?
"Sheint has been like that since we were children," Isabella explained, seeing the unconcealed confusion on my face. "He was a boy who had absolutely no interest or curiosity in anything in the world."
"When he picked up a sword, he grew strong enough to defeat a sword master within a single month. When he studied magic, he reached the absolute limit of human circles in no time at all."
"Which means..."
"Yes. Sheint Lionheart is such a genius that he simply cannot comprehend ordinary people like us."
A look of sheer exhaustion crossed Isabella's face. Since she had known the Crown Prince since childhood, her assessment was likely accurate. Still, it felt incredibly harsh. I decided to probe a little deeper.
"Don't you think he has changed a bit recently?"
Even though I spent most of my time shut away in the Baskerville estate, I had heard plenty about Crown Prince Sheint from my father and older brothers. Information was currency in noble society, and they had shared these details to prepare me for my eventual debut.
"...I wonder. It is hardly child's play, but he does seem to have taken up the odd hobby of playing matchmaker for men and women."
"Lady Isabella, with all due respect, aren't you being a bit too harsh on His Highness?"
I gently chided her, noting the sharp edge to her words. Although she was a count's daughter betrothed to the Crown Prince—making her social standing far higher than mine as the third son of a marquis—Grancia Academy was, at least superficially, a place of equality.
"My, are you telling me I am in the wrong?"
"Yes. I am a Baskerville, after all."
I was a sword meant to protect the Empire. If anyone posed a threat to the Crown Prince, the next in line to the throne, I had to act—no matter who they were. As my father always said, a sword has no need for thoughts.
"Not a bad answer. I was wondering what I would do if you took my side, or the Saintess's."
Isabella snapped her fan open, her eyes crinkling into a smile. She had likely been testing me. Even though the Baskervilles were the shield of the imperial family, rumors were currently circulating that I had aligned myself with the Holy Kingdom. She was checking to see if my loyalty to the Empire remained intact.
"Sheint has always been that way. No matter how hard I tried to get close to him as his fiancée, he remained cold."
Isabella let out a heavy sigh as she looked toward Sheint. Even if it was an arranged marriage, they had known each other since childhood. It was only natural that she would develop feelings for him. But if every single one of her attempts to grow closer had been rejected...
"It was like dealing with a doll devoid of emotion. To be honest, I still think Sheint is just acting."
"Acting...?"
"Pretending to understand emotions, I suppose. It is quite common for people to seek in others what they lack in themselves."
Isabella's words held a kernel of truth. Recently, the Crown Prince had suddenly started donating to orphanages and hosting social gatherings to bring people together.
"Even if I were to step in right now, I do not believe anything would change."
Isabella looked like someone who had completely given up. While Gideon and Honore cleared the debris from the collapsed classroom, Alice had used the chaos to slip close to the Crown Prince. Yet, looking at them, Isabella did not even seem jealous.
"...Even so, you should do everything you can," I said, clenching my fists.
I believed it was far better to struggle with all one's might than to give up before even trying. Even if I had failed to do so in my own past.
"At the very least, you shouldn't leave yourself with any regrets, my lady."
"Your eyes tell me you aren't lying. But..."
Despite my attempts to persuade her, Isabella still hesitated. Perhaps it was too much to ask someone to change their lifelong attitude based on the advice of a person they had only met today. But right then—
"Still, I believe that is something we must stop."
Astoria, the Saintess, interjected in her characteristically low, husky voice, stepping between Isabella and me. "No matter how ignorant I may be of worldly affairs, I do not believe it is right to behave that way toward a betrothed man."
"Why would you, Saintess..."
"I saw you trying so hard to persuade her, Brother, and I wished to offer my support."
Astoria looked at me through her veil. Even though the Saintess was completely invisible, she wore heavy robes that covered her entire body, making it easy to tell which way she was facing and where she was heading.
"...If Lady Astoria feels that strongly about it, then it would be foolish of me to remain stubborn."
Isabella yielded to the Saintess's gentle rebuke. With her pale skin, slender wrists, and fragile appearance, the count's daughter looked like someone who detested conflict and emotional exhaustion. Yet, she was now stepping forward to protect her fiancé.
"Excuse me. If you have no business here, would you mind disappearing from my sight?"
Folding her fan with an elegant snap, she spoke as a thicket of conjured roses bloomed behind her.
Sheint, the Crown Prince, found the unfolding situation rather peculiar.
"Who are you?"
"I do not believe I am under any obligation to share my name with a commoner."
His fiancée, Isabella, had stepped directly in front of the blonde broom-head of a girl, delivering those very words.
"But I was told that everyone within Grancia Academy is equal, regardless of status..."
"Ah, so there actually was a fool naive enough to believe that."
In truth, Isabella was right. No matter how much Grancia Academy claimed to be a sanctuary of learning where status did not matter, one could not simply erase the bloodlines determined at birth. Even within the academy, nobles and commoners associated in separate circles and lived in different dormitories.
She's pointing out the hypocrisy of our superficial equality. As cold and calculating as ever.
Those were the words Sheint used to describe his childhood friend and fiancée. She had been a sickly girl who rarely left her estate and had no friends. Seeing her stand tall before him now filled him with a strange sense of novelty.
"It is highly offensive to watch a commoner—who normally wouldn't even be allowed in the Crown Prince's presence—touching his wounds so familiarly."
"And who do you think you are to say that?"
"I am the Crown Prince's fiancée."
"It's just an arranged marriage! You were forced into it for political gain, even though neither of you wanted it!"
"Ha. I suppose a commoner's intellect can only stretch so far."
Isabella scoffed, utterly dumbfounded by Alice's outburst. Did this girl not value her own life, shouting like that while surrounded by threatening, magically conjured rose briars? She was even carrying on about how they had been forced into an unwanted marriage.
"You seem to be under a bizarre delusion. The Crown Prince and I have been childhood friends since we were young. We are not the bitter enemies you seem to think we are."
While it was true that adults arranged these matches, the children's opinions were usually consulted and respected. Even if marriage in this era was a powerful tool for social climbing, the groom in question was the Crown Prince of the Empire. Most people weren't even qualified to be candidates, and families with bad blood would never be joined. Why was she spouting such nonsense? Isabella could not comprehend Alice at all.
"Isabella, you seem a bit different today."
"...Be quiet, Sheint."
In that moment, Sheint felt a novel sensation as Isabella stood up for him. When their eyes met, she blushed and hid her face behind her fan—a gesture he found surprisingly cute. Normally, having known her for so long, he would never have felt this way about his childhood friend, regardless of her gender.