I Will Not Allow Marriage (2)

I was searching for my destined partner.

Ever since I was little… it had been a dream I longed for.

“Erika. Always conduct yourself in a manner befitting royalty. Be mindful that you are constantly being watched.”

“Yes, Father!”

I was raised that way from childhood, living my life as royalty.

It was simply natural.

But when did it begin, I wondered?

When did living as royalty start to feel so suffocating…?

“……”

I watched the people passing by.

They did not possess great power like I did.

Yet they had freedom.

The freedom I desired so desperately that it felt within arm’s reach was something they held as a matter of course.

“…How unfair.”

I sometimes found myself thinking that.

I knew it was unbecoming of royalty, and yet…

I allowed myself to dream.

To be with someone purely because I wanted to, regardless of status or duty.

To meet someone I could truly open my heart to.

—Suddenly, the face of a certain man floated into my mind.

“That’s impossible.”

I rejected the thought at once.

True, some conditions might apply.

But he was unfit to be my destined partner.

I had resolved to join the Hero’s party in order to seize my fate with my own hands.

“…Huh?”

Before I realized it, I had strayed from the bustling main road and wandered into a quiet alley.

I had been here once before, long ago when I was young.

I thought I would not get lost, but…

“I’m lost.”

Of course.

I did not go out often, and the last time I visited was far in the past.

My memory was vague, and the city itself had gradually changed since then.

It was embarrassing to get lost, but I had magic—there was no real cause for concern.

If needed, I could always teleport back.

“Hey there, miss—being alone in a place like this is dangerous, you know?”

“—!”

They looked exactly like the kind of bad people one would expect.

One… two… three men surrounded me from the front and back.

The alley was narrow; dodging past them would be difficult.

“Would you please step aside?”

“Ehh? We finally found a pretty lady. How about grabbing some tea with us?”

“Or maybe we do something even more fun?”

“…Haa…”

I felt deeply disappointed by how far they were from anything resembling destiny.

Men like this probably existed in every country.

If I had to choose between getting along with them or the man who had crossed my mind earlier, the latter was far preferable.

“Move aside. There will not be a third warning.”

“Ohhh? You’re pretty feisty. I don’t hate that kind of woman.”

“Maybe we’ll bully you until you cry.”

“……”

One of the men reached out.

The moment he touched me, I was prepared to freeze him solid.

“Stop right there!”

“—!”

Before his hand could make contact, a clear, refreshing male voice halted them.

A blue-haired young man stood within my line of sight.

“Who the hell are you? This is a good moment, so don’t get in the way—”

The pick-up artist’s face turned pale.

Not just him.

The other men also stiffened when they recognized the man who had spoken.

I recognized his appearance as well.

“Being rough with a woman isn’t very admirable.”

“W-we weren’t being rough! We were just saying hello! R-right, let’s go!”

“H-hey, wait for me!”

“Eek! Why is he in a place like this?!”

All three men turned tail and fled together.

What utterly pathetic men.

If they were serious about winning someone over, they should have stood by themselves no matter the situation.

I let out an exasperated sigh.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I was saved.”

“Haha, it might have been the others who were saved rather than you.”

“That may be true.”

He smiled gently and walked closer to me.

I had suspected it, but there was no mistake.

I now understood why those men had run away.

“It has been a while, Prince Kaiser.”

“You remembered me! That makes me happy, Princess Erika.”

Kaiser Suer.

The first prince of the Suer Kingdom and the leading candidate to become its next king.

We had only met a few times at parties, exchanging brief greetings, but his blue hair was distinctive and easy to remember.

“What brings the prince to a place like this?”

“Just a walk. From time to time, I like to stroll incognito and see how people truly live.”

“The prince himself?”

“Yes. There are things you can only understand by seeing them directly—and sometimes you make unexpected discoveries. Like this reunion, for instance.”

I felt it too.

This was not arranged.

We had met here purely by chance.

As if—

“It feels like a fateful encounter, doesn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

It seemed we were thinking the same thing.

Yes—destiny.

I was being accosted by unsavory men, and someone happened to pass by and save me.

That person turned out to be a prince from a neighboring kingdom.

It felt like I was reading a story from a book.

“Why are you here, Princess Erika?”

“I am on a journey to defeat the Demon King.”

“I see. Then this truly was a coincidence.”

“Yes.”

Once the thought of destiny crossed my mind, I could not help but be aware of it.

Until now, I had never given it much thought.

We had only met at parties, exchanging little more than pleasantries.

And yet…

“If you’d like, would you care to visit the royal castle now? Since we’ve met like this, perhaps we could have some tea.”

“Yes. I was thinking the same.”

“We really are on the same wavelength.”

“Indeed.”

There was no doubt about it.

I felt it strike me like lightning!

He was my destined partner.