For Her Happiness Alone
Back in his own dormitory, Boris hurled the grimoire from his arms onto the desk.
"Damn it. What the hell was that just now? The Roeyental duke's daughter's mana—even Master gave up on her—and it stabilized like that?"
In the long, long history of magic, there had always been those born with vast mana and, at the same time, imperfect vessels to contain it.
Boris's master, the Sage, had sighed over Cecilia. A girl who might have become a great mage, if only her vessel had been sound.
He ground his teeth.
A girl who, in another life, might have stood where Boris stood now—that was Cecilia Roeyental.
"Don't make me laugh."
There was no such future, Boris muttered. He still remembered the mana rampage Cecilia had caused a year ago.
Protecting Elysia when she was caught in it—somewhere along the way, he had come to love her in earnest.
"To keep this place… and to protect Elysia…"
Cecilia Roeyental was an obstacle. Boris's gaze fell on the grimoire on the desk.
"More… I need more power…!"
"Thank you for escorting me, Your Grace."
In front of the entrance to the girls' dormitory, Lan and the maids bustled behind Cecilia, carrying the clothes they had brought from the dress shop.
"And clothes like these on top of that… I'm so happy."
"They're nothing special compared to what you wore in the Roeyental duchy."
"No!"
Cecilia shook her head vigorously and stepped right up to me. The scent that drifted from her left me momentarily light-headed.
I barely managed to gather my wits and look forward—only to find Cecilia's purple eyes sparkling up at me.
"It's the first time I've ever received a gift from someone who isn't family."
Her fiancé and he never once gave her a present? That damned Crown Prince Baron can go die.
Cursing Crown Prince Baron inwardly, I scratched my head.
"Next time…"
"Yes?"
"Please look forward to your birthday gift."
"…Ah."
Barely suppressing the urge to touch those flushed cheeks, I turned and started walking toward the boys' dormitory.
"I'll be going, then."
Fleeing the scene, I glanced back at Cecilia. She was staring at me with a dazed expression; when I gave a light wave, she waved back as if nothing could make her happier.
"Really…"
It was hard to believe she was a year older than me—she was that cute.
"Ahem. Your Grace?"
"…What is it."
Ruche had somehow drawn up beside me, watching me with a meaningful little smile.
"What sort of magic did you work while Lan and I were away, that you've grown so close to Her Ladyship?"
"Nothing special happened."
"For 'nothing special,' it feels rather…"
"Rather what."
"The distance between you two keeps shrinking. It looks dangerous."
"…"
"It's a contract. Isn't it a relationship that's meant to be broken eventually?"
Faced with the reality Ruche had pointed out, I frowned slightly and looked up at the sky.
"Tch."
"Your Grace."
"Never mind. You're right."
These feelings of mine were nothing but selfishness. I would not do anything that might hurt Cecilia.
"I suppose I need to stay cold-headed."
"…Is there truly no option of a real engagement?"
"There isn't."
"Why not?"
"The North… is too dangerous."
"That is…"
Could Cecilia endure a life where her husband risked his life on the battlefield day after day?
No—she wouldn't. A breaking point would surely come.
I have no way to stop her mana rampages. I would only make them worse.
Today was the end of it. Tomorrow I would simply put these feelings away and treat her as I should. Controlling one's heart was one of the survival skills I had learned while living in the Nam family—I was used to it.
"You carry far too much alone, Your Grace."
"Hah. A little late for that."
I had decided it the moment I chose to survive. I would never endanger the person I cared for just for my own happiness. That was both my selfishness and my wish.
If you want the woman you've fallen for to be happy, you don't keep her at your side. That's all there is to it.
"More importantly—the matter I asked you to handle?"
"Hahaha. Handled without issue. Just as you said, a little pressure on the headmaster and the academy staff, and they came around."
"Well done. Let's head back."
When Cecilia entered the dormitory, her roommate was already settled in the room.
"Hello. I'm Cecilia Roeyental. We'll be sharing this room for the year—I look forward to getting along."
"Um… so, h-hello…"
The girl who approached with a shy expression had something youthful and untouched about her—a pure quality that was hard to define.
…What? I was told she was a young lady from Crown Prince Baron's faction?
For a noble daughter of the capital and a member of Baron's faction, her attitude was far too friendly.
"I-I'm Lucil Jerehmy, from the North! It's an h-honer and a joy to meet Lady Cecilia, the Grand Duke's fiancée…!"
She bit her tongue and mangled the pronunciation; Lucil flushed and bowed her head.
"I-I'm so sorry! I g-got nervous and my words…"
"It's all right. But you said you're from the North?"
"Yes. From the Jerehmy barony in the North…"
"Um… as far as I knew, my original roommate's information was different."
"Ah—I heard the academy granted a request from His Grace's side."
"What?!"
Cecilia sank into her seat with a startled look.
"His Grace…"
Heat rushed into her cheeks, and she covered them with both hands so no one would see.
"Yes. He strongly insisted they take measures for his fiancée, who needs peace and stability."
"Ah…"
"Um, are you all right?"
"Yes… I'm fine. If I get a little air on the terrace, I'll be better in a moment…"
She opened the terrace door, and the cool night wind struck Cecilia's flushed cheeks.
"Haa."
With a brief sigh, Cecilia began to feel the sound of her own heart.
Thump. Thump.
A pleasant resonance, and Victor's face filling her mind.
"…Why are you so kind to me, Your Grace…"
It was unfair of him to give her his heart like this over a mere contract.
"How… how should I repay him."
She had received far too much. And what she could give in return was far too little. She could not even turn to her family, the Roeyental ducal house, for help. All that stood here was one powerless girl.
"That can't be right."
Cecilia shook her head. She recalled the Victor she had seen at the manor. He was the sort of man who smiled and accepted anything given for his sake—a flower crown made by a young maid, ordinary sweets brought by the gardener's wife—he had taken them all with thanks and a smile.
"That's right. Cecilia, what matters is the thought you put into him. And if it's something I can make for him…"
Returning to the room, Cecilia pulled a treatise on magical tool crafting from the bookshelf and opened it.
"Found it…"
Wherever he was, she needed to be of use to him. And to that end, the first problem to solve was—
"Found it… a magical tool that tracks another person's location…"
She needed to always know where Victor was. This was a gift for that purpose, Cecilia murmured to herself.
"I wonder… if His Grace will like it?"
The second day of academy life. Students of every year, first-years included, were walking to their respective classes.
"Hmm."
I sat blankly on the bench in front of the dormitory, waiting for Cecilia.
"Your Grace."
"Mm."
"For someone who spoke so coldly yesterday, you're being rather warm, aren't you?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. This is something I'm doing because of the contract."
"Yes… of course you are."
Watching Ruche look at me as if I were pathetic, I considered writing a letter to Jester back at the manor to report her insolence—when, from far off—
"Ah, Your Grace."
A little white puppy came running—no, Cecilia. I nodded.
"You've arrived."
"Did I… keep you waiting long? I'm sorry."
"Not at all. I only just got here."
"Um… you really don't have to come find me like this."
"Isn't that what the contract is for?"
"Yes… that's true."
Cecilia's expression dimmed a little. She was probably fretting over what lay ahead.
I'm worried whether any of her second-year friends are still left who would stand by her…
"Cecilia!!"
"Ah."
A girl who had suddenly come running from the front beamed and threw her arms around Cecilia.
"No word all through the break—don't you think that's a bit much?"
"Sorry… Chloe. Everything was such a mess, I just…"
"Sheesh… do you have any idea how worried I—hmm?"
Platinum hair grown long enough to reach her neck fluttered as the girl walked up to me, stared hard, then nodded to herself.
"Don't tell me?"
"Mm. Your Grace, this is my friend, Lady Chloe Rista. Chloe, this is my fi… fiancé, Grand Duke Victor Walterheim."
"It's an honor to meet you, Grand Duke Walterheim!"
"The honor is mine, to meet the young lady of Count Rista's house, of whom I've only heard rumors."
"Ahaha… what sort of rumors, exactly?"
"The reputation of a prodigy with the makings of an outstanding knight is widely known even in the North."
"Heeheehee… is that so?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Chloe Rista was the villainess who stood against the heroine, Elysia.
Though, really, isn't she just a pitiful girl whose fiancé was stolen…
Well, that was how romance fantasy went. I decided to let it slide.
"Still, I never expected the two of you to be so close."
"Heh. I'm not great at getting along with young ladies, you see."
"Then…"
I was about to ask whether that meant she got along even worse with a born young lady like Cecilia—
"Ahem. Well, you know how it is. Fellow sufferers of the same fate, we just hit it off… ahaha."
"Ah."
A miracle alliance born of two fiancé-thefts that, in the original, should have happened at different times, exploding all at once.
"I see… an odd combination, and yet somehow it suits you."
"Right?"
Chloe laughed and pulled Cecilia into her arms.
"Ch… Chloe."
"Mmm. Cecilia's herbal scent has gotten even stronger."
"My… scent?! Y-Your Grace, no! I-I don't smell like that!"
"You don't know, do you, Your Grace? Cecilia's fragrance."
"I do."
"…What?"
"Huh?"
"I couldn't put it into words before, but herbal scent… that fits perfectly."
"Right?! You know your stuff after all!"
"W-wait a moment—wh-when did you smell me…?"
"Yesterday…"
"Yesterday—ah… aaaaah!!!"
Cecilia suddenly dropped her head and bolted.
"P-please excuse me first!!"
"Ce… Cecilia? Wait!! Your Grace, I'll take my leave as well."
"Lady Chloe."
"Yes?"
"…Please look after Cecilia."
Chloe stared at me blankly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Leave it to me! While Your Grace is away, I, Chloe Rista, will protect Cecilia!"
"Yes. I'm counting on you."
"…Oho."
"What is it?"
"No, no. I see how it is—so that's why, hmmmmm!"
Leaving Chloe to run off with a somewhat sly smile, I arrived at the first-year Class B classroom.
When I opened the door, every gaze swung toward me.
"…Hmm."
Ignoring them, I returned to my seat and looked at the place beside me—only to find Princess Louisilla sitting there, trembling from head to toe.
"Wh… why am I… here."
"…"
"Eek."
With a seatmate in this state for the next year, academy life was clearly not going to be easy.