Camille needed to establish himself as an aristocrat to survive. Even if he lost his position, he was willing to marry any troublesome young lady, even in the most remote locations, as long as his brother would give up trying to assassinate him.
“…(That person…}”
A black-haired half-elf girl he met at his study-abroad return party.
She had the beauty of a doll, and her golden eyes were joyful as she danced alone on the terrace at night. Her black hair fluttered in the moonlight, and her short crimson dress made her look like a moon elf.
The encounter was as brief as a dream, and Camille did not even know her name, but her image was seared into his mind.
When Camille heard that his fiancée was a dark-haired half-elf, he was excited to see her, but when he was told that she was only five years old, he was disappointed, even though he thought it was a selfish thing to do.
So, he subconsciously turned away from the half-elf who reminded him of her.
[We will meet again. As long as you don’t change.]
Whatever she meant by that, Camille stubbornly continued to ignore his fiancée, believing that they would meet again.
“Meanwhile, please take the opportunity to interact with Lady Carol. This is a “request” from the queen, who is concerned about your highness’ well-being.”
“…Yes, I will.”
The three most outspoken members of the faction that seeks to eliminate Camille.
The Marquis de Cadeau, the Prime Minister. The Duke of Prata. And the queen.
The queen, who wants her child to be the next king, is the most dangerous of these. If Camille did not do what she wanted, she would go after him at any cost, and if she had no more use for him, she would easily take the life of the girl to whom he was betrothed.
In his office, after the Prime Minister had left and the attendants had been dismissed, Camille sighed loudly and started to make plans to meet with his fiancée.
***
“Ca, Carol-sama. Can I really come with you to the castle?”
“Nn.”
I held her hand and tapped it reassuringly as Maia’s eyes swam around in the luxurious carriage.
Finally, the day had come for me to go up to the castle to meet my fiancée, the king’s brother.
Dirk was upset and wanted to follow me, but a carriage had already arrived from the castle to pick us up, and since only one attendant was allowed, Maia and I had to go alone. It was a hassle.
The knight who came to pick us up also had a bad attitude. He looked at me with a look that said, “Why is this thing here?” He smiled at Maia, but didn’t even escort me to the carriage.
But why do I feel indignation from him rather than contempt, unlike the nobles I have met so far? I didn’t understand, so I decided to keep my guard up for the time being.
After a while, we arrived at the castle…
“(Ah, Ca, Carol-sama…)”
“(Nn. It’s fine}””
Maia was frightened because the attendants who were guiding us looked at us as if we were their parents’ enemies.
There was no need for her to be frightened. If Maia were to be harmed, I would use freezing magic to turn them into ice dust.
Please be patient, OK…? Nothing was more important in this country than Maia and her family, so in the worst-case scenario, I’ll use my annihilation magic to turn the royal castle into a sea of fire and escape, you know?
My strength may not be at its peak yet, but even in this state, I could fight for three days straight.
I may sound belligerent, but if I were weak, I would not be unable to protect the things I needed to protect.
It would be best if I could be friendly with them, but it was better to be feared and avoided than to be attacked and harmed.
Perhaps influenced by the fact that I had recently been using only ice-type magic to avoid conflict, when I filled my entire body with magic power, the surrounding temperature dropped and my footsteps made frost flakes, which made creaking sounds.
As they sensed my magical power, the attendants guiding me turned slightly blue, and the mocking stares they had given me inside the castle turned away.
“…This way, please.”
“Nn, thank you.”
Nodding in response to the completely pale lady attendant’s words, I reduced the magical power that had been flowing through my entire body to about half and went through the door that I was asked to open.