kscans

Chapter 68 - The Foreign Prince and Little One

"What in the world are you!"

"Yes?"

With his eyes wide and a pathetic look on his face, the prince of Donautil yelled at Little One.

They were in the elementary division. In a first, grade classroom, no less.

What’s a first, year from the middle school division doing here?

Since the grade badge incident, he had been persistently following Little One around. He tried to summon her at the dormitory, only to find out the twins didn’t live there. He tried to call her out at school, but was blocked by her royal, privilege escorts. He tried to fabricate a crime and claim to be a victim, but failed due to the surveillance footage from the magic tools.

In fact, his harassment of Pacesta was exposed, and he ended up receiving a stern warning.

Nothing was going right.

Moreover, the stern warning came with a bonus, disrespect towards the twins was the same as disrespect towards the Frontier royal palace. If it went too far, a report would be sent to Donautil, and he would be forcibly deported.

The prince, finding himself isolated and without allies, had been charging at Little One every day to complain.

"What do you mean? I am Lady Jorje of the Count’s house."

"Then why are you being treated like royalty?"

"The King and Queen are my guardians. It is due to that relationship."

Little One repeated the same story, weary of it. She was playing dumb, knowing full well that this wasn’t what the prince wanted to hear.

"I’m saying!! Why is an upstart count’s daughter under the guardianship of His Majesty the King?!"

The prince was already on the verge of tears.

Apparently, he had looked into Little One’s background. It had been a while since she’d heard the word ‘upstart’. Not since the incident with Alistair.

"Who knows? Perhaps because I am Prince Romel’s fiancée?"

Tired of his daily complaints, Little One dangled a reason he could easily accept in front of him.

"Prince Romel’s? You?"

The prince pictured the Romel he had met before studying abroad. He had been a quiet and gentle man. But...

"Isn’t the age gap too large? Well, it’s not an impossible story."

As expected of royalty. He seemed to understand political marriages and falls from grace.

"That is our affair. ...Your Highness, isn’t it almost time for class?"

The prince glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Crap! Well, see you later!"

Don’t come back.

With a graceful smile, Little One saw the three of them off and sighed.

"Prince Romel’s fiancée, huh."

"That’s surprising. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl with such ambitions."

"No, the girl has nothing to do with it. Engagements are decided by the parents."

Chattering amongst themselves, the three headed to class. In Frontier, whose culture was completely different from Donautil’s, they were having a hard time. While Frontier had a European, style culture, Donautil’s was Ottoman Turkish. From their demeanor to their food and clothing, everything was too different, and they still weren’t used to it. The three of them, learning etiquette, manners, and studies from scratch, were in the beginner class for most subjects. Their study abroad was set for three years, so they had one year left. The prince wanted to master magic by any means necessary and return to his homeland.

"That girl wasn’t afraid of the water," one of them muttered, and his two school friends nodded.

"Not only was she not afraid, she was like a fish."

"You’d be hard, pressed to find a soldier who can swim that well."

Although the people of Donautil were familiar with water, women rarely swam. At most, they would walk as if floating. It was to wash off sweat in the humid country, but since their baths were steam baths, there were water baths provided there. So, women rarely used rivers or springs. Originally, women and children were kept deep within the house and rarely seen by others. The prince had never seen a swimming woman before.

Her young form, gracefully riding the water. Her rich black hair, spreading out in the water.

She was beautiful.

The image of the young lady, dripping with water and glittering in the summer sun.

Without noticing the quickening beat of his own heart, the prince headed to class.

"Huh? He came again?"

"Yeah. Well, when I told him I was Romel’s fiancée, he seemed to sort of accept it."

Chihaya, who had been away from his seat, looked at his exasperated sister with a complicated expression.

Isn’t this the usual thing again? Hiro can make anyone, even dogs and cats, attached to her.

Chihaya’s premonition, which he pondered with a groan, came true. A few days later, a goodwill ambassador from Donautil was coming, and the prince came crying to Little One.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Be my partner! I have to prove I’m doing well, or they’ll take me back home!"

Apparently, if he couldn’t respond properly at the reception banquet for the goodwill ambassador who came once a year, his study abroad would be revoked. Donautil had been against the prince studying abroad from the start, and if he hadn’t been the fourth prince, he wouldn’t have been here now.

It was because he was a prince far from the throne that his study abroad was reluctantly permitted.

"Last year, I couldn’t use much magic and I wasn’t used to the culture here, so I was on the verge of being taken back. If it’s the same this year, they’ll definitely send me home without question."

Last year, Romel and the King had interceded on his behalf, respecting the prince’s wish to stay, and he had escaped the crisis.

The prince hung his head with a tragic look on his face.

The twins exchanged glances, conversing through eye contact.

‘Hiro? Let’s just ignore him.’

‘No, no, no, nii-ni, that’s too mean, don’t you think?’

‘Who cares about this guy.’

‘Well, yeah. But...’

The prince looked like a drenched puppy. It was hard to believe he was the same person who had bullied Pacesta. He must be that desperate.

When asked about his grades, he was intermediate in martial arts, arithmetic, and languages, and beginner in everything else. His studies weren’t bad, but his etiquette and magic, related subjects were a disaster.

"Hmm. There’s nothing for it but to get used to it, nyo. Nii-ni, help me out?"

"Hiro, you again..."

Although their relationship was closer to fighting, the prince had no one else he was close enough to to ask for a favor besides Little One. From that alone, it was clear that this prince was isolated at the academy. Judging from his arrogant attitude up until now, Fatima, Theodore, and the others had likely not interacted with him beyond what courtesy required.

It was tough not having anyone to confide in.

And then, a mysterious girl appeared.

The prince had opened up to Little One, who spoke her mind without reservation, regardless of his royal status, and had confronted him head, on from the start. Because they had been at odds from the beginning, they had spoken their minds to each other without mincing words.

When he found himself in a pinch, it was inevitable that the person who came to his mind as someone who might help was Little One.

There was one month until the goodwill ambassador arrived. In that time, the twins intended to drill Romel’s spartan training into the prince to get him into shape.

"Watch and learn, listen and learn, nyo. For now, we’ll attend classes together. Do your best."

The prince’s eyes widened at the little girl’s bright smile.

Nyo?

The atmosphere of the count’s daughter before him changed. The graceful young lady from before was gone, and in her place was a girl laughing cheerfully like a child from the city.

Is she a cat? Was she putting on an act?

The prince’s chest filled with excitement, feeling something in her that resonated with him. Little One looked back at the prince and tilted her head cutely.

"Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What is it?"

She’s starting from there?!

He had been so curious about her that he had looked up not just her name but her entire background.

The prince almost collapsed, but on second thought, it was his own fault for not introducing himself. Mustering his spirits, he smiled cheerfully.

"It’s Marrow. Marrow de Carelliesha. A pleasure, Lady Jorje."

"I’m Chihiro, nyo. It’s a Kilfan word, so it’s hard to pronounce, right? You can call me Hiro or whatever is easiest for you."

Kilfan?

He had heard of it. It was a country on a mysterious continent that had vanished into the sea overnight. A renowned country that possessed outstanding technology and had invented and created many things. That country was now building a new nation in northern Frontier. He wanted to visit it someday, but while studying abroad, his studies came first, and once he returned home, he probably wouldn’t be able to travel abroad for a while. His disappointment must have shown on his face, because Little One looked at the prince and grinned.

"Are you interested? If so, shall I take you to the Tanabata Festival this year?"

The Tanabata Festival was becoming a specialty of Kilfan. Many people flocked from Frontier, and it had become a lively festival every year.

Marrow’s face lit up. His eyes sparkled with overflowing curiosity.

"First, we have to fight off that ambassador. If it goes well, your reward will be the Tanabata Festival, nyo♪"

Little One watched Marrow nod enthusiastically, full of motivation.

The carrot and the stick are the basics of education.

It was probably better than the spartan nation that had only the stick.

And so, the great Marrow remodeling project by the twins began.