Chapter 15

Once it was decided, the progression of events was swift.

The evening party venue was transformed into a dueling arena.

The royal castle servants were efficient with their work, quickly clearing away the banquet tables and food to open up a vast, spacious area.

It was practically tailor-made for combat.

And right there, the two gentlemen clashed instantly.

“Hah! Hyah!!”

Because it was conducted by nobles of this country, what unfolded was a magical battle.

The moment the curtain rose on the fight, Lady Adelina’s intruder-lover unleashed a relentless offensive.

The magic he unleashed was wind.

The razor-sharp, transparent blades would slice skin and cut flesh if taken defenselessly. Without defensive magic of one’s own, it could easily result in severe injury.

The Crown Prince remained on the defensive, failing to find an opening for a counterattack thus far.

Pushing Crown Prince Kistihart this far—was he surprisingly strong?

“Lord Beret is a hardworking person. With his older brothers around, it was already decided who would inherit the family. He understood long ago that he would never step into the spotlight.”

Before I knew it, Lady Adelina was standing right beside me.

And she had taken it upon herself to provide commentary?

“Even without recognition, he has diligently polished his magical power. It was that earnest dedication that drew me to him…! Unlike me, who just studied magic as my father told me to, never even knowing what I was working so hard for…!”

They really would gush about each other at any given moment.

…Anyway, I probably wouldn’t need this knife anymore. The situation had completely slipped out of my control.

That prince always manages to completely mess up my expectations!

“My, he’s actually driving back the Crown Prince?”

“Does the third son of the Civileton family really possess that much skill? Everyone always focuses on the eldest son and heir who is set to inherit the house…!”

“To think he is evenly matched with His Highness Kistihart, the greatest mage in the country…!”

Unintentionally serving as witnesses to the duel, the attendees of the evening party—the other Crown Princess candidates, the fair noble ladies, and their accompanying relatives—found themselves glued to the unexpectedly tense and gripping battle.

It certainly made for a spectacle…

However, that battle situation did not last long.

Perhaps growing fatigued from pressing the offensive so boldly, as magic fundamentally consumed a great deal of mental stamina.

The moment a lapse in the onslaught appeared due to exhaustion, the counterattack began, as if waiting precisely for that moment.

A flash of light emitted from the Crown Prince’s staff.

His specialty magic was light attribute.

Concentrated and focused light carried intense heat, burning right through its target.

Naturally, avoiding getting incinerated forced Lady Adelina’s lover to scramble desperately into a defensive guard, though each successive attack made his margins razor-thin.

And finally, he created a fatal opening he could no longer cover, getting instantly broken through in a flash.

“Uwaaaaaaaahhh?!”

“This concludes the match.”

The tip of the Crown Prince’s staff was pressed right against the nose of the fallen opponent.

The outcome was decided.

As expected, defeating the Crown Prince, the nation’s premier mage, was impossible.

Yet, what would happen now?

Having lost the duel, Lady Adelina—the prize—belonged to the victor… Crown Prince Kistihart, tearing the two of them apart.

What should they do?

If it came to this, I would have to take the blame upon myself just like our initial plan…

…The moment I thought that, my body froze.

Our eyes met.

The Crown Prince was looking right at me? It was almost as if he was telling me, “Don’t move.”

“With this, you have lost the qualification to marry Lady Adelina. She was previously my fiancée candidate.”

“Ugh…”

“However, I happened to greatly appreciate your fighting spirit.”

Hm?

With that single remark from the Crown Prince, the entire tide of the situation shifted.

“Your impatience to claim the lady you love proved to be your undoing, but once you learn to master your emotions, you will become an even more formidable opponent. A talented mage like you is bound to become a valuable asset to this country in the future.”

“What on earth are you planning…?”

“I figured that doing you a favor like this is a smart choice as a ruler. If you desire it, I am quite willing to hand over my fiancée candidate to you.”

It was as I suspected, then…

Did he mean Countess Adelina?

“Shall I grant you permission to marry Lady Adelina? In return, I ask for the lifelong loyalty of Beret, a capable mage—loyalty that surpasses the baseline obligation every noble is expected to render. …What do you say?”

“I-I swear it!!”

Lady Adelina’s lover dropped to his knees, raising his staff toward the Crown Prince.

That gesture was the absolute oath of fealty practiced by the nobility of this country.

“I will never forget this immense grace! For the sake of the Crown Prince, I shall fight against any and all enemies!”

“I-I too shall support my husband and devote myself to Your Highness!!”

Lady Adelina knelt right beside her lover, offering her loyalty as well.

The surrounding onlookers could do nothing but stare in stunned disbelief.

Myself included.

“It is settled. I… Crown Prince Kistihart, by bringing these youths’ romance to fruition, have secured the absolute loyalty of an exceptionally talented mage. A nation cannot be run by a monarch alone. The more capable and loyal subjects one has, the better, and true loyalty is not something that is simply offered in silence. Lady Adelina is a fair maiden, but I cannot possibly marry every single woman in the realm. Therefore, acting as a matchmaker for star-crossed lovers to foster social harmony is, in my view, the decision of a good ruler.”

Furthermore, the Crown Prince’s gaze shifted elsewhere.

“Count Fwanze.”

“Yes, Your Highness?!”

Summoned by name, a plump, middle-aged man leaped in surprise.

Being Count Fwanze meant he was… the father of Lady Adelina Fwanze?

“Lady Adelina is undoubtedly your pride and joy. You must have sent her to this evening party full of high hopes for her to seize the crown princess’s seat.”

“Y-Yes…!”

“However, the crown princess’s seat is not the only source of glory. Marquis Civileton’s third son, Beret, is an outstanding young mage who will surely become one of the premier magic knights in the realm. If he is adopted into your distinguished house as a son-in-law, your family’s social standing is guaranteed to rise.”

“Yes…!”

“You respect my judgment, do you not, Count?”

“…Yes.”

Given direct instructions by the Crown Prince, that old man hardly looked like he possessed the backbone to resist.

With this, the matter was concluded.

Lady Adelina would safely unite with the person of her heart.

And to top it all off, she faced zero public penalties. On the contrary, through this duel, Marquis Civileton’s son earned the reputation of being “the Crown Prince’s favorite,” giving his future career prospects a massive boost.

Rather than simply forgiving the two and letting them marry, the Crown Prince demonstrated his own prowess through a duel and then deliberately chose the form of “bestowing” her upon him to showcase his magnanimity.

It was an absolute win-win move from every conceivable angle.

…Hm?

Does that mean everything up to this point… went precisely according to the Crown Prince’s design?

Despite the unexpected trouble, the evening party concluded safely.

During the previous life’s iteration of this event, the two had been exposed in the worst possible way, resulting not only in their relationship being torn apart, but leading straight to ruin.

Compared to that, this was a stellar outcome: their love blossomed successfully, and their future prospects as nobles looked bright.

It was the best possible result.

As the evening party broke up and many of the nobles began heading home, I stood there in a daze until two figures came running over.

Lady Adelina and her lover.

“Thank you so much! It’s all thanks to you that everything went so well!”

Were they really coming over to express their gratitude?

Such upright people.

“I didn’t do anything. Everything was entirely thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince’s wise and brilliant judgment.”

“Before that, if you hadn’t stopped and rebuked us, we would have charged right into the Crown Prince’s presence without thinking and strayed down the wrong path entirely. You were the one who guided us to His Highness.”

Hearing that said with such unadulterated purity actually made my heart ache.

All I had done was try to atone for the sins of my past self.

Besides, the only ultimate solution I had managed to come up with involved slashing her face in the end.

The Crown Prince, who had pulled off a flawlessly perfect resolution, was simply playing in an entirely different league.

“You and His Highness the Crown Prince—we were saved by your joint judgment. You truly are a woman of remarkable brilliance.”

“Indeed, if someone as wise as you were to become the Crown Princess, you would surely support His Highness Kistihart and forge a prosperous reign. Though I am departing from the selection now, I will be rooting for you from the shadows to be chosen!”

Her lover—no, perhaps I should call him Lady Adelina’s fiance now?

They both joined in to praise me, but it was a completely misguided notion.

“I cannot become the Crown Princess. That was decided from the very beginning.”

“No way…?! An insightful person like you…?”

“Because I lack the single most important thing needed to become that person’s consort. Have the two of you ever heard the name of the ‘one with no magic’?”

The moment I dropped that moniker, both of them wore expressions of utter astonishment, stammering as if trying to say something before eventually falling silent.

“Um… even so, it remains a fact that you helped us. I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my days.”

“Do as you wish.”

With those final words, the two of them departed together.

Looking back repeatedly to bow their heads.

By now, most of the nobles had already left the party, and as I stood rooted to the spot, unable to bring myself to start walking just yet…

“It seems you still retain the heart to honor your benefactors. If you were the type to instantly change your attitude the moment you found out someone is ‘one with no magic,’ I was fully prepared to revoke my permission for their engagement after all.”

“!?”

A voice from behind startled me.

When I spun around, standing there was a figure of dazzling, radiant beauty…

“Your Highness Kistihart…!? “