Surprisingly, Arranged Marriages Start with Childhood Friends
In truth, Isabella Florence had secretly loved the Crown Prince, Sheint, since childhood.
Because of her frail constitution, she had been unable to leave her estate. It was Sheint who had constantly visited her under the guise of being her fiancé, keeping her company and talking with her.
Yet, Isabella could never bring herself to openly express her affection, desperately hiding her feelings instead.
Before he discovered romance novels, Sheint had maintained an attitude so indifferent she might as well have been talking to a lifeless doll.
No matter how much affection she showed, nothing ever came back, slowly pushing her to her absolute limit.
What is wrong with him? Why is he looking at me like that...?
Why was he staring at her now with a face practically dripping with fascination?
Unsettled by Sheint's sudden change, Isabella averted her gaze and hid her mouth behind her fan.
If she hadn't, she feared he might have caught the corners of her lips twitching upward.
"At any rate, step away from my fiancé immediately, commoner."
"Stop calling me 'commoner' this, 'commoner' that! You villainess!"
"Villainess?"
Hearing a combination of words she had never encountered in her life, Isabella frowned, sensing something was deeply off.
The distance meant others likely hadn't heard, but the girl truly looked as if she were possessed by something.
Normally, a commoner would never dream of challenging a noble's authority.
No matter how much Grancia Academy championed equality, rebelling against the class system was treated as nothing short of treason in this era.
"You're just jealous of me! Because I'm so much prettier and more beautiful than everyone else!"
"You? In those tattered, worn-out clothes, with hair that looks as dry and coarse as straw?"
"Yes! Because villainesses are just twisted like that!"
Isabella watched Alice puff out her chest with absolute confidence, utterly dumbfounded.
The girl's face was decent enough, but she was a shallow creature devoid of even a shred of dignity in her speech and actions.
If someone like her were to become the Crown Prince's wife, the populace would likely stage an uprising on the spot.
"Sheint, what should we do with this insane woman?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Personally, I think it's best to handle this according to the rules of Grancia Academy."
Sheint, who had been staring intently at Isabella before she knew it, quickly averted his eyes the moment their gazes met.
It was an expression Isabella had never seen on him before.
Why had the Crown Prince, who had seemed to lose interest in everything in the world since childhood, changed so much?
Is it because of that man? Or the Saintess?
Isabella snapped her fan open again to cover her mouth, casting a glance toward the man and woman standing behind them.
Do your best so you won't have any regrets, huh.
She recalled the words of the youngest member of the Baskerville family—one of the houses sworn to protect the imperial family—and the man widely considered the most skilled swordsman of his generation.
Until now, Isabella had tried her hardest not to show her feelings to her fiancé, Sheint.
She had loved him in secret since they were children, but the more she loved him, the more she was the one who ended up hurt.
She had been seriously considering giving up on this unrequited love and breaking off the engagement so he could find happiness elsewhere.
But what in the world was that expression on his face right now?
"...What do you think, Isabella?"
Like an awkward boy who had laid eyes on a beautiful girl for the first time, Sheint scratched his cheek with a finger, looking embarrassed.
"I think she should be sent to a monastery in the north. She dared to insult me, a Count's daughter."
"Wait, isn't that a bit too harsh? If the academy does that, who would ever feel safe attending classes?"
Because Sheint and Isabella had been childhood friends for so long, they spoke comfortably with each other, despite their status as Crown Prince and noblewoman.
Seeing a barrier that she, a blonde commoner girl, could never hope to breach, Alice scowled in deep dissatisfaction.
"Then what do you suggest? That woman kept trying to approach you, even though you have a fiancée."
"Personally, I think issuing academy demerit points is the way to go. If we follow the regulations, no one can complain."
Isabella gave a small nod at Sheint's words.
If they penalized her based on the academy's official rules, everyone would accept it, regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles.
As expected of Sheint Lionheart.
A mysterious figure who had shown nothing but perfection since childhood, capable of handling anything in the world with ease.
But that wasn't why Isabella had fallen for him.
It was because he had brought flowers from the outside world to show her when she was too sick to leave her estate, staying by her side to keep her company.
To Isabella, who had spent every day waiting for death, those small gestures of goodwill and kindness had been her salvation.
"Then we will handle this by issuing demerits according to the academy rules. Even if this place pursues equality, she must be punished for insulting me."
"Hmph, do whatever you want! The Crown Prince is going to end up as one of my men anyway!"
"...Ha."
Isabella let out a sigh of sheer disbelief.
This confirmed it.
This woman named Alice was completely out of her mind.
What kind of commoner would dare utter such insane words about owning the Crown Prince—the very sun of the Empire—and use bizarre terms to slander a Count's daughter?
It's best if we don't get involved with her as much as possible, Sheint.
Yeah, I agree.
They whispered.
Isabella leaned in close to Sheint, whispering softly so Alice couldn't hear.
This wasn't just a lack of tact; the girl was clearly unhinged and blind to reality.
"What are you two whispering about so secretly? Are you feeling threatened because I'm just too pretty?"
Alice smirked, looking at Isabella with a smug grin.
Objectively speaking, Isabella Florence was far superior in both looks and figure.
After all, unlike nobles who enjoyed an abundance of fine food and cosmetics, Alice was a commoner whose diet consisted of cabbage soup and who washed her hair with lye water.
She's definitely crazy, right?
Yeah. I thought she was strange ever since she insisted on using a magic broom despite not being able to cast magic. She might be plotting a coup.
Isabella and Sheint were in complete agreement.
Alice poured out a torrent of words and actions that would have been highly problematic even if she were a noble, let alone a commoner.
Watching her, the gazes of the two childhood friends turned ice-cold.
"At any rate, I will speak to the instructors and have them issue demerits for this incident. Consider yourself lucky, commoner."
Deciding it was best to avoid further involvement, Isabella wrapped up the matter for now.
And so, Alice, the original female lead, was issued one demerit point for approaching the Crown Prince and insulting Isabella, a Count's daughter.
Five points meant expulsion.
Isabella had wanted her expelled immediately, but the Crown Prince was reluctant to ruin the academy's atmosphere.
He argued that at Grancia Academy, which championed equality on the surface, commoners shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around nobles and be deprived of the chance to learn.
Even if you're the original female lead, I'm already a living, breathing person in this world. Sorry, Alice.
I remained silent as I watched Alice protest her innocence to the instructors.
All I had done was give Isabella a little tip.
It was inherently rude for another woman to interfere with a man who already had a fiancée.
No matter how much arranged marriages were treated as business transactions between nobles, the very fact that they were doing it meant they were high-ranking individuals.
In reality, it wasn't a case of two families forcing an unwanted marriage; it was closer to introducing two people of equal standing and letting them grow up together.
There's no way she doesn't know such basic common sense. Something is weird.
I shook my head as I realized Alice was, after all, the female lead of an otome romance fantasy game.
If impossible events didn't occur, there would be no reason for the Crown Prince and Alice to ever cross paths.
In romance fantasy, where emotional tension between characters matters far more than logical world-building, arranged marriages were merely plot devices—contracts designed to keep the leads apart until they finally found true love.
In reality, high-ranking nobles rarely had opportunities to meet people outside their circles anyway.
That was why they held social gatherings like the one before, to network and build connections.
Of course, I'm not saying arranged marriages are always happier than love marriages... but they aren't always about forcing two people who hate each other together, either.
I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword, reflecting on the common tropes and misconceptions of romance fantasy.
If I hadn't used a glitch, I would never have been able to defeat the Crown Prince, Sheint.
Defeating that massive pride of golden lions single-handedly was an absurd feat to begin with.
"Hahaha! That's why, you know, I could have actually emptied the entire imperial treasury just to fight you, Theodore!"
The Crown Prince laughed heartily, revealing the secret behind the golden lions he summoned.
Apparently, he was literally melting down his own wealth to create them.
"Is that true? It was certainly an impressive technique, but..."
Before I knew it, Astoria, the Saintess, was hovering near me as we walked toward our next magic class.
The Crown Prince on my left, the Saintess on my right.
It felt as though these two colossal figures, who held the fates of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom in their hands, were engaged in a subtle war of nerves over me.