Chapter 7: The Second Prince's Situation (Garret POV)
My name is Garrett Lendor. Second prince of the Kingdom of Lendor and a student at the Royal Remus Academy with my fiancée, Lady Rebecca Howard.
Perhaps it is because of my earthly magic power that I am described as secure, stable, meek, mild, and sometimes quiet, but I am also regarded as having exemplary abilities as a member of the royal family, whether it is in my studies or in my mastery of magic and magical power. Apparently, I am one of the most talented members of the royal family of all time.
However, compared to my older brother, the Crown Prince, and my fiancée, Rebecca, I inevitably come off as a slacker.
Don't get me wrong. I like them. I also respect him.
My older brother, a brilliant and charismatic man, has always been proud of me; when I was a child, he taught me how to use a sword, ride a horse, and study. When I think back on it now, I must have been an annoying little brother, but my older brother never showed any displeasure as he went along with my selfishness and took good care of me. Thanks to him, my siblings get along very well.
Rebecca, my fiancée, and I are getting along well, although we are not romantically involved. Her family background is impeccable, and she has the intelligence behind her soft smile and the determination and strength of someone who stands up for others in her beautiful amethyst eyes. And yet, she is not conceited, and has everything a man of the royal family could want in a queen.
Originally, I was supposed to be the one to protect the lady, but somewhere in my heart, I must have only thought that way. When the announcement was made that the royal family was to watch over the saintess candidate, Miss Charlotte Silva, for her "saint awakening" and support her if necessary, I couldn't deny that my heart was racing.
(the saint part is boring as shit) A saintess candidate is a woman who possesses the holy magic from a light attribute among those who possess magic power. In order to officially call oneself a saint, it is essential to be "awakened," and awakening means that the holy magic has taken root. However, it is not always the case that one becomes a saint upon awakening. There are some saint candidates who fall into darkness upon awakening. Just as light and shadow are two sides of the same coin, this is because the power of holiness is reversed and they become trapped in evil.
The mere existence of a saint is a national benefit. The candidates were treated respectfully.
Until now, saint candidates had been registered in temples regardless of their status. At the school, they would inevitably have more opportunities to come into contact with the impurities of the world. The reason for this was that they feared that their holy magic would be ruined.
Recently, however, research has shown that whether one awakens as a saint or falls into darkness depends on one's own qualities, and not on one's environment. As a result of this research, the school decided to accept saint candidates, and the first was Miss Charlotte Silva.
As a side note, a saint is "a person who has manifested holy magic" and is not required to be a virgin as mentioned in stories. Many of the previous royal generations had also married saints. For this reason, it is thought that there was pressure from the court to make a saint (who is currently in the candidate stage) my consort if possible.
The Kingdom of Lendor is a monogamous kingdom, so it's hard to say whether the pressure was purely for the sake of the country to make the saint the prince's wife, or whether it was to make Rebecca a wife for their own sons.
Miss Charlotte is a pretty woman. Rose-gold hair, white skin. Her aquamarine eyes shine and her pink lips are adorable.
"Your Highness Garrett, I am Charlotte Silva! Please call me Charlotte!"
I was a little surprised when I was called out with a smile when I met her for the first time. It is a violation of etiquette to call out to someone of a higher rank. The conversation starts when a higher ranking noble speaks first and gives their name, but I didn't think she knew such common sense. Then, Rebecca hit the nail on the head when she guessed that her influence on the court was already there.
"Good day, I'm Rebecca Howard. The eldest daughter of Marquis Howard and fiancée of His Highness Garrett. You must be Baroness Silva. It pains me to say this when we have never met before, but for the sake of your reputation … I suggest you wait for His Highness to approach you first."
Thinking about it, Rebecca and Miss Charlotte probably didn't get along from the moment they first met. Rebecca's point was a very common one for a noblewoman, and in fact, it was very useful advice for Miss Charlotte's future. However, the more Rebecca pointed things out to Miss Charlotte, the more stubborn she became and the more out of control she would become.
It had been about six months since Charlotte's entrance. After seeing her through a series of lessons, I made a decision. Rebecca's sincere advice was of no use to her, and in fact, she was being treated like the main bully of the underclassmen. In this situation, it would be better for both of them to keep their distance.
"Rebecca. You need to leave Miss Charlotte alone. There's no need for you to get involved."
"Your Highness Garrett … I agree, but as a senior, I have a responsibility to mentor the underclassmen. In addition, she is a little too familiar, no, too friendly, which has led to a number of strained relationships with engaged couples and lovers.
"All right. I'll take care of it.
I was exhausted and ended the conversation abruptly.
The teachers' evaluation of Miss Charlotte was that her grades were not very good, but her class attitude was serious. The problem was her occasional eccentricities in her private life. Many of them were baffled by this.
At best, she was innocent and friendly, with no sense of status barriers, but at worst, she was unprincipled and rude, not caring about the rules of aristocratic society.
The children of aristocrats are not very resistant to such foreign elements. It was decided that the student council should take her in while the wounds were still fresh and minimize the damage.
It was only at the beginning that the student council members warmly watched over Miss Charlotte. Not long after, she became known as "Fushigi-chan"(eccentric girl) because of her eccentric behavior.
When the verbal attention and guidance from Rebecca ceased, Miss Charlotte began to complain that she was being harassed.
She said, "My personal belongings are being broken and stolen. It must be Lady Rebecca's doing!"
Even without doing so, Rebecca, as a Marquess, has the power to beat Miss Charlotte to death. I guessed that it was probably a form of paranoia.
However, bad news travels alone, regardless of the facts. Rebecca's reputation would be ruined just by hearing such a story. Since it would be troublesome to cause a fuss, I gave her what I had in stock and asked my aide to prepare what she needed to order.
At this point, it was really a matter of character and not something that could be solved by school education. In fact, it would have a negative impact on the other students. However, since it would affect the future acceptance of saint candidates at the school, it was decided that her transfer would take place at the end of the school year, after the graduation ceremony.
In the meantime, Miss Charlotte's requests continued.
"I couldn't go to the party because Rebecca spilled her drink on my dress.” "Someone ruined the dress I was going to wear to the graduation party …"
It seems to be true that she couldn't go to the party, and the dress that was ruined had a large section cut out of the back, which certainly would not allow her to attend the graduation party. She didn't seem to be in a good financial situation, so I told myself that it was my last act of service and let her arrange the dress.
Evan, Brandon, and David, the main members of the student council, had been complaining a lot. They are my friends, and I expect them to work with me as my aides in the future. They couldn't handle the strange girl and ended up consoling each other.
"Miss Charlotte is so demanding with her skinship, it's baffling … I've been worried that Samantha might find out.
This was Evan's lament. He seems to have a lot of compassion for Lady Samantha, even though the engagement was decided between the families.
“Me too. I'm sick to my stomach that Sophie, the girl I was finally able to court, thinks I'm goofing around with Miss Charlotte.”
Brandon's head was in his hands as he said he felt sick to his stomach.
“I can't believe I have to take care of a woman who is so dumb she won't even take my sister's advice.”
David, who was in the throes of a sis-con outburst, even clicked his tongue. He is the most temperamental of the group, although his outward appearance shows no such pretense to Miss Charlotte herself.