25. Refusal

25. Refusal

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the little yellow-haired child’s words. The fact that a tiny child was wearing an academy uniform was surprising enough, but what came out of her mouth was even more so.

It wasn’t just me. Golden Sun also flinched violently after looking at the child, and Priscilla couldn’t close her gaping mouth. The other customers in the cafe were also staring at us with wide, round eyes.

“What?”

“I said, marry me!”

Even when asked again, the little one just repeated the same nonsensical words, asking me to marry her. No, perhaps she wasn’t a little one. She was wearing an academy uniform.

Right, it’s a fantasy world, so there could be adults who act like children. It’s not good to rely solely on my common sense. I should always think with an open mind.

Maybe there’s a culture in the Empire where people just approach you and propose. Even if it’s… woman to woman, perhaps. Hmm.

I looked at the child again.

Her golden hair, lustrous like silk, as if well-maintained. Her yellow eyes, sparkling as if they were made of pure gold. Her cheeks, soft and plump-looking, like my sister’s when she was little.

She was a child that no one in the world would disagree was cute. I felt a sense of satisfaction at her confidently pushing out her chest.

I reached out a finger and poked her chest.

“Heeek!”

How cute.

As I felt the soft, squishy texture, Priscilla exclaimed in shock.

“P-Princess?!”

Princess?

The word was too significant to ignore, so I looked again at the person I was poking in the chest.

A cute face.

Priscilla clearly pointed at this small, cute child and called her ‘Princess.’ Besides, the only people in her line of sight were me and this child, so she couldn’t have been calling someone else that.

But isn’t she too… small to be a princess?

I tilted my head and asked Priscilla.

“This kid is a princess?”

“I’m not a kid!”

The child retorted indignantly.

“I am Claire Lovennt, the Third Princess of the great Empire! So marry me!”

“….”

Putting aside the fact that she suddenly proposed marriage, I couldn’t believe that this small child was a princess, so I had to ask Priscilla.

“Is it true?”

“… Yes. Didn’t you know? It’s rumored that no one in the Empire doesn’t know her because of her height-“

Zap, the child glared at Priscilla, and Priscilla shut her mouth. Seizing the opportunity, I glanced at Golden Sun, who whispered, ‘You didn’t know?’ as if asking why I wouldn’t know.

… It’s possible not to know.

Anyone who spent 20 years swinging a sword in the snow would forget everything they knew. And I didn’t know anything in the first place, so it’s even more so.

Thank you, my sister, for diligently teaching me common sense even though I’m like this.

Anyway.

“… So, what is marriage?”

I still didn’t know what this child… the princess? Anyway. I didn’t know what this child’s words meant.

Who knows, maybe the marriage I’m thinking of is different from the marriage this child is talking about. It was enough to have experienced mistaking meanings with my sister when I first reincarnated.

“Are you worried you won’t be able to inherit the family? Then I’ll marry into your family! Is that okay?”

“….”

“You should be proud to marry a princess, you know?”

This seems to be the meaning I know. A man and a woman making a lifelong promise to each other… that very marriage.

But I’m a woman, and isn’t the princess also a woman?

Putting aside the fact that I was suddenly asked to spend my life with someone I just met, does the Empire even allow same-sex marriage?

I was completely ignorant about such matters. I didn’t even know if same-sex marriage existed in this world.

I was so focused on training that I couldn’t even think about marriage, and my mind was attracted to women, but my body was that of a woman. And marrying a man was mentally difficult…

It was difficult for me to date anyone, both physically and mentally, so I never delved into such knowledge or was curious about it, and naturally, I never asked my sister about it.

In conclusion, I don’t know how marriage works in this world. Therefore, as someone who knows nothing, I couldn’t speak carelessly to this child.

The child looked at me with sparkling eyes.

Priscilla, who was hugging my tail, asked.

“P-Princess. But why are you suddenly saying that….”

“It’s cool!”

“….”

This child seems to be fixated on something strange. And unfortunately, that ‘strange thing’ seems to be me.

… Even if people in this world could marry same-sex partners, I at least had no desire to marry this child.

Basically, marriage is about spending a lifetime together, and it can’t start so abruptly. I think I heard somewhere that such romance is just the fantasy of people who have never had a girlfriend, but who cares.

I gently shook my head, indicating my refusal to the child. The child then cried out in shock, as if seeing an unbelievable outcome.

“Why?! I’m a princess, a princess! Even if my claim to the throne is low, I’m still a princess! If you marry me, you’ll get all the power!”

“No….”

Honestly, power was of no use to me. I could barely wield the power of a Grand Duchess, so what would I gain by taking on the power of a princess? It would be like putting pearls before swine.

I’m a wolf, though.

Besides, there was something even more important.

“You’re… too small.”

“What!”

Yes, this child, the Third Princess, was too small in appearance.

Her height was like a child’s, and her appearance was the same. It wasn’t for nothing that I called her ‘kid’ in my mind.

Although her small body made every minor movement, like moving her hands and making expressions, exude cuteness, that was all. I couldn’t feel any romantic feelings towards a body like this.

If someone did, they should be locked up in prison.

Even though my mind was closer to a man’s, a body like this was too much. As I was lost in thought, the child trembled.

“Eek….”

“Sorry.”

I hope you find someone better next time.

However, as if she couldn’t give up despite my cold refusal, the child pointed at me and started shouting again.

“If you don’t marry me!”

“If I don’t?”

“I’ll throw you into Tartarus for the crime of insulting the Princess!”

The child looked at me, puffing out her cheeks. I glanced back and asked.

“Excuse me, what is Tartarus?”

“… It’s the underground prison in the Louer territory. They say all the heinous criminals captured since the Empire was founded are imprisoned there.”

Golden Sun answered my questioning tilt of the head. The Louer territory must be related to Priscilla’s family. It seems they have a large prison there.

Then the child said.

“You know that even the Grand Duke’s position can’t help if you’re caught for treason against the Imperial family, right? Even if you beg for forgiveness then, I won’t let you out! Isn’t that scary? If you don’t want to be captured, marry me!”

The child declared, and seeming pleased with her firm stance, let out a cute snort. However, that threat didn’t instill any fear in me.

“Why is that?”

“What?”

“What’s wrong with touching someone’s chest?”

“W-what?!”

Isn’t it common for women to do this? What kind of serious crime is touching a chest that it leads to being imprisoned for treason against the Imperial family? If that were a crime, my sister would have been imprisoned a hundred times over already.

Even if the other party is a princess, they wouldn’t hold such an absurd trial. It seemed she was desperately trying to threaten me because my refusal was so shocking.

“No… You touched my chest, you know? This is sexual harassment…!”

“Sexual harassment? What nonsense is that? Isn’t it?”

I looked at Golden Sun and asked. Golden Sun simply shrugged.

See? She’s saying this is a normal thing.

Seeing that her threat wasn’t working, the princess hesitated for a moment and then spoke again.

“St-still, marry me!”

“No.”

“Ugh….”

Ah, she’s starting to cry.

It feels like I’ve done something wrong. Because her appearance is so childlike, a sense of guilt, as if I’ve made an innocent child cry, crept up my back.

“Princess, you were here.”

Just as tears like chicken eggs were about to roll down, someone suddenly appeared behind the princess.

A woman in her adulthood with short black hair, wearing a maid outfit.

She appeared as lightly as a feather landing, placed her hands under the princess’s armpits, lifted her, and gave a slight nod in our direction.

“It seems the Princess caused a disturbance. I apologize.”

“Ah, no! This time, it wasn’t me….”

“Let’s go, Princess.”

“Hey!”

And she disappeared like the wind, with the same light steps as when she appeared. Along with the child.

The cafe was like a storm had just passed.

In the midst of that chaos, the three of us-Priscilla, Golden Sun, and I-silently resumed eating what we were eating. The milk, which had been warm, had already grown cold.

Ah, my milk. What a waste.

Well, such things happen in life.