Engagement?

World Era 1901.

Now that another year had passed and I turned eleven, school life was going smoothly. There was an incident last year where I almost got kidnapped, but no one suspected it was a kidnapping. It was considered nothing more than an accidental mishap, and I was said to have luckily survived without serious injuries.

‘Mother was really worried.’

Thankfully, it ended as just an accident. If it had escalated into a kidnapping case, Mother would have suffered even more. In the meantime, my younger sister, who was given the name Charlotte, was growing up well. She was zero years old last year, so now at one year old, she waddled around steadily.

Mother liked it when I played with my little sister, and since I found her cute too, I often spent time with her in the evenings after school. In this situation, a new driver and escort were also assigned, but unlike before, there was absolutely no conversation.

What happened before was rare anyway, and even if another kidnapping attempt were made, I now had enough ability to escape, so I went to school without worry and passed the time. At this rate, I truly believed I would spend my childhood without any major problems.

But then, one summer day when I was eleven, Mother came to me and said something completely unexpected.

“What? Engagement? Me?”

“Yes, your fiancée has been decided.”

“But I’m only eleven?”

“You’re still young, but they say your turn has come.”

I knew well that royal descendants often have their engagements arranged at quite an early age. Still, this felt a bit too soon. I had heard that my older brothers had already gotten engaged or married, but I didn’t expect my turn to come this quickly.

“I can’t believe it’s already time for you to be engaged. Time really flies.”

As she spoke with teary eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder, Why did this have to happen to me? Honestly, it was annoying. It felt like an unnecessary burden had suddenly been dumped on me. My dream was to become an adult as soon as possible and take Mother—and now even my little sister—away from the royal palace.

‘It’s not really something I can control though…’

I was still only eleven, and it was unthinkable to refuse something decided by the royal family. I figured they’d probably force it through regardless. That made me wonder—what kind of family would pursue a political marriage with the royal family?

Judging by Mother’s expression, it didn’t seem like a foreign house. It must be a domestic noble family, but not one of the most powerful ones. After all, I was just the ninth prince—no truly powerful family would aim for a political marriage with me.

“Who am I getting engaged to?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention. It’s the Count Nudelria family. It’s a very old and noble house.”

“The Count Nudelria family?”

Hearing it was a count family, I thought it made a decent amount of sense. As a prince, being engaged to a viscount or baron family would have felt beneath me. For the sake of royal pride, they probably wouldn’t consider anything below a count.

‘They say sometimes engagements with lower families happen, but only when those houses are famously distinguished and reputable.’

“The Count Nudelria family has produced excellent naval commanders for generations. Even now, the count himself is said to be an admiral in charge of the 9th Fleet.”

“The 9th Fleet?”

Suddenly, I remembered something Armin once said. It was about the country’s fleet structure—each fleet was centered around a battleship as the flagship, accompanied by cruisers and destroyers. And the 9th Fleet, if I recalled correctly, was one of the lower-ranking fleets.

‘Wasn’t it nicknamed the “scrap fleet”?’

Indeed, it was mostly made up of older ships that had been built long ago. Since they were old, they likely broke down easily and were the weakest in terms of combat capability. Now I understood why I was being paired with the family of the admiral in charge of such a fleet.

‘It’s just for appearances. Since he’s an admiral, they want to make sure he doesn’t have any rebellious thoughts.’

What was more ironic was that I was the 9th prince, and the other party was from the family of the admiral of the 9th Fleet. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had deliberately matched us by number.

‘And just like that, I’ve ended up getting engaged.’

Looking at Mother’s expression, she seemed genuinely pleased. Perhaps in a situation where she couldn’t expect any support from her own family, she saw the admiral’s family as some sort of reliable backing. I didn’t know what kind of girl I’d be engaged to, but I figured it was best to meet her and judge for myself.

‘I’ll know what kind of person my fiancée is once I meet her. Come to think of it, maybe Armin knows more about that family?’

I decided I’d ask him the next time I went to school.

A few days later.

Some time had passed when Ian officially heard from the royal family that the engagement would proceed. Though it irritated him slightly that they didn’t seem to care about his opinion, he figured it was fine—it was just an engagement after all.

‘A formal political marriage would only happen once I come of age anyway.’

You could have your coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, so there was still plenty of time left. In any case, in this situation, I was finally able to receive a visit from the Count of Nudelria and the girl who would be my fiancée.

Leni had dressed me up in all sorts of outfits—clearly putting in a lot of effort. It felt like overkill. But I understood. After all, this would be my future in-laws, and they were a somewhat influential family. It made sense to pay attention to appearances.

‘I doubt that family will pay much attention to me though.’

Since I’d been attending school, I had already met Armin and gotten information from him about the Count Nudelria family and its head. From what I’d heard, the admiral and family head wasn’t particularly power-hungry. He was said to be a diligent man who quietly focused on managing the fleet entrusted to him.

‘He’s probably just someone content with his current position.’

Being in charge of a so-called “scrap fleet” likely meant that his house’s influence had greatly declined over the years. He was now doing his best just to maintain the family’s legacy by holding onto the admiral position given to him by the kingdom.

‘Didn’t they say he had been blamed for several defeats in the past?’

More precisely, it would be accurate to say that his ancestor suffered a major defeat during naval battles with other empires while competing for colonies on the colonial continent. As a result, they lost a significant portion of their hard-earned colonies, showing just how serious the consequences of that defeat were.

‘He’s barely holding on to his position now—so that’s why he’s marrying me off.’

“I am Count Roderich von Nudelria. It is an honor to meet the Ninth Prince.”

“I am Ian di Polia. The honor is mine as well.”

Finally face-to-face, Count Nudelria stood tall and broad-shouldered. His face was covered with thick brown facial hair, which made him appear rather imposing. Dressed in a naval uniform and wearing an admiral’s hat, he looked every bit the admiral he claimed to be.

For reference, the uniforms of the Polia Kingdom were generally a mix of white and red. Anyway, standing beside him was a young girl. She had the same brown hair as her father and looked younger than me.

‘She was said to be eight, right? So, we’re three years apart.’

So young, and yet she already had a fiancé. It might have been considered normal for the time, but it still felt uncomfortable. What would such a young girl understand about being engaged? She was probably dragged here just like I was.

“Is this young lady perhaps…?”

“Yes, indeed. This is my unworthy youngest daughter. Michelle, greet His Highness Prince Ian.”

“Ah, hello. I’m Michelle von Nudelria.”

Holding her skirt, she gave a polite bow, but it was clear she was extremely nervous.
Considering she had only just started elementary school, it made sense for her to be anxious in a setting like this. As soon as she finished her greeting, she quickly bowed her head again and hid behind her father.

“Oh dear, Michelle, that’s very rude of you.”

“It’s fine. She must be feeling shy.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No need to thank me. I heard you are a naval admiral?”

“Yes. His Majesty entrusted me with a valuable fleet.”

“Sailing the seas itself must be quite a feat. I’ve heard that even moving one warship requires the efforts of many navy soldiers.”

“Are you perhaps interested in warships?”

Seeing the sparkle in his eyes, I gave a forced smile and quickly shook my head.

“There’s a classmate at school who’s very interested in warships. I’ve picked up a few things from listening to him.”

“You have such a fine peer, then. An interest in warships is quite admirable.”

I couldn’t help but think he’d get along better with Armin. Then I glanced at Michelle, who peeked at me from behind her father. She was quite pretty. She’d probably grow up to be a beauty. Not the type to become famous just for her looks, but still charming.

‘A girl who fits my current status perfectly.’

If she had been breathtakingly beautiful from an early age, she would probably have been matched with one of my older brothers instead of me.

“I suppose I’ve been inconsiderate. Why don’t you have a conversation? Michelle, speak with His Highness.”

“Yes… Father.”

Though Count Nudelria gently urged her forward to talk, she clearly wasn’t ready to have a proper conversation. For now, it seemed enough just to have met and seen each other’s faces. Just as I thought that, she spoke to me.

“Um, Your Highness?”

“Yes, Miss Michelle?”

Though she was young, she was still a noble lady, so I addressed her with proper manners. Startled by my response, Michelle hesitated, then cautiously pulled something from her pocket and spoke.

“Would you like a candy?”

“Hmm? Candy?”

“Uh, do you not like candy?”

“No, I like candy. Haha!”

Seeing her innocently offering the candy, I was reminded again that she really was just a child. For some reason, it wasn’t a bad feeling. I took the candy. Maybe because I was still young myself, I often craved sweet things.

I unwrapped the candy and popped it into my mouth—it was just as sweet as expected. Michelle looked delighted. Meanwhile, Count Nudelria appeared visibly relieved. He had worried that the Ninth Prince might have a harsh or unpleasant personality.

It was widely known that the royal family of the Polia Kingdom had a reputation for bad temperaments, so he had been concerned. But after meeting me, he felt I was different from the rest of the royal family. I didn’t seem bad. Of course, people can only be truly understood over time, and no one knows how they’ll change in the future.

‘I hope he stays the way he is now.’

“Miss Michelle, would you like to see my little sister?”

“Your sister, the princess?”

“Yes, she’s really cute.”

“Oh, I’d love to see her.”

“Count, may I take Miss Michelle to see my sister?”

“Yes, go ahead. I’ll wait here. Hoho.”

With the count’s permission, we left the drawing room and headed to the room where my sister was. Honestly, I just needed a reason to get away. We had nothing to talk about, and no real way to interact.

‘It’s a relief I have a little sister. Otherwise, what would I have done?’

Since they had come from afar, I couldn’t just send them away without spending some time together. Count Nudelria would likely soon be having a conversation with my mother. Whatever that was about, it was clearly adult business.

Anyway, we entered the room where my sister, being cared for by Leni, was playing. Michelle seemed genuinely happy to see her and played with her well. We spent about half the day like that before she returned with the Count.

A few months later, I was able to formally hold an engagement ceremony with Miss Michelle of the Count Nudelria family. It wasn’t an extravagant ceremony. Held quietly in the garden of a small concubine’s quarters, it was a modest event attended even by my maternal family, the Tarshos County.

In truth, the engagement changed nothing. It simply formalized our relationship. We didn’t see each other often. It was just a ceremonial arrangement—something the world could recognize outwardly.

And so, time continued to flow once more.