Princes and Princes (2)

Valtoria V of the Argentia Empire had four wives and nine children.

No, to be precise, they ‘had’ existed.

Five Princes and four Princesses were born from his four wives.

It was clear at a glance that this was a sufficient number of imperial descendants to ignite the flames of an Imperial Succession Conflict. In fact, within the world of 『Luminor Academy』, that power struggle was ongoing.

Of course, even with four wives, there was always a First Imperial Consort and a firstborn son, so even if the wives didn’t get along, there was normally no reason for conflict to extend to the children’s generation.

The existence of Valtoria V’s First Imperial Consort, his first wife, and their firstborn son, Prince Phillipson, had prevented the emergence of such a rift until a few years ago.

While there wasn’t a complete absence of a vetting process, given the possibility of an incompetent ruler ascending the throne if the position was passed to the firstborn son, the qualification exam to become Emperor was, in fact, at a level that any scion of the Imperial family could easily pass.

If multiple imperial scions passed the qualification exam, it was usually a given that the position of Emperor would be passed to the eldest firstborn son, regardless of how much better other scions performed on the exam.

And Phillipson, though barely, passed the qualification exam and obtained the qualification to become Emperor.

Of course, considering the game’s story, inheriting the throne in such an ordinary manner would be quite uninteresting. More importantly, this kind of succession wouldn’t allow the Main Heroine, Seraphine, to become Emperor.

Therefore, in 『Luminor Academy』, the assassination of the firstborn son Phillipson and his first wife, the First Imperial Consort, during the first part of the story marked the beginning of a fierce Imperial Succession Conflict among the imperial descendants.

Since all of them were, after all, of imperial lineage and possessed varying degrees of ambition for power, a full-blown power struggle was an unavoidable reality.

Thus, among the remaining eight children, all except the youngest Princess, who was too young, were forced to enter the succession competition regardless of their own will.

Among them, exactly four individuals were most sensitive to the succession competition at the current point in time.

The Second Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Prince and Third Princess.

Among these, the Third Princess was Seraphine, the Main Heroine of 『Luminor Academy』, and also the only Collaborator among the Imperial family who wholeheartedly assisted the protagonist.

You might ask what the other three imperial family members, who were supposed to join the competition, were doing?

What else would they be doing? They simply continued living as usual, as if they had no interest in the succession competition from the start.

The Second Princess Lushetia, the Fourth Prince Machart, and the Fifth Prince Antonio.

These were the types of characters in the story who had no interest in the imperial succession. To be precise, they were the kind of people who were content with simply living as members of the Imperial family rather than vying for the throne.

There’s no need to even mention Machart, who spent his days in debauchery with Noble Ladies, relying on his looks and family name.

Lushetia, Seraphine’s older sister by the same mother, who was only interested in a luxurious lifestyle.

And Antonio, who was among the youngest competitors but fundamentally lacked any ambition for the imperial throne.

Making Seraphine Emperor, despite the interference of these three, was also one of the main storylines of the work.

…So, why am I suddenly rattling off the family relations of the Imperial family and Seraphine?

Well, of course, it’s to talk about Antonio, the protagonist of today’s banquet.

The Fifth Prince, Antonio Robert Valtoria, who originally had no significant impact on the Imperial Succession Conflict in the original work, and despite being of imperial lineage, had no particular role in the story.

Honestly, even today, he was merely the host of the banquet, and I had no particular intention of meeting him separately to talk…

But because of the absurd act he just committed, I, too, was naturally drawn into Antonio’s affairs.

“I fell for you the moment I first saw you at the Imperial Palace two years ago! So please, I beg you, promise to marry me!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

At Prince Antonio’s remark, which made the hall go silent, Ethan and I were speechless, watching the scene in disbelief.

Even Seraphine and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, who were talking a little distance away, were looking at the scene with similar disbelief, which suggested they were also quite flustered by the situation.

Besides them, the surrounding Noble Scions who had been noisy, and even the Servants bustling about inside the Banquet Hall.

Everyone was waiting for the answer from the person involved in Antonio’s sudden public confession.

…Just in case, I wasn’t the person involved.

At first, I almost mistook this Prince’s sudden confession as being directed at me, but his gaze was clearly fixed on the other Noble Lady beside me.

Even now, hearing the name of the recipient of his confession, I honestly wondered if I was still dreaming.

“Please accept my heart, Agnes Elizabeth Blaze-yang!”

“……What?”

…If this was a dream, it was definitely a nightmare.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Approximately one hour before Prince Antonio’s public confession to Agnes.

The Prince’s birthday celebration banquet was proceeding in a relatively uneventful atmosphere.

After Machart approached me once at the beginning and then moved away, there was no further encounter or argument with him.

Firstly, the Banquet Hall was quite large, so it was difficult to accidentally run into him unless he specifically intended to approach. Moreover, for some reason, I had a feeling that Machart was deliberately avoiding my vicinity.

While we, on our part, also moved along paths that didn’t overlap with Machart, it seemed he also had no desire to encounter me again.

Perhaps it was because I had given him the impression of being a troublesome woman, unlike other Noble Ladies.

If that was the reason, it was fortunate in many ways. It meant that Machart no longer had a reason to approach me.

Getting involved with a character destined for ruin would only make me tired.

“I sincerely thank you for attending my birthday banquet today. Though I may be young, as a Prince of the Argentia Empire, I also…”

After that, I listened to Prince Antonio’s speech, which clearly sounded like someone else had written it, and chatted casually with Ethan in a corner.

After some time, Agnes also slowly made her way over to my side.

“……”

“Oh, Agnes-yang. Have you met all your friends?”

“…Yeah.”

It was clear that she had subtly slipped away after Seraphine became busy talking to other nobles once the main banquet began.

If her affinity had only risen to a normal level, she probably would have stuck with the Hero instead of me, but seeing her come to me suggested that even that hadn’t gone well.

It seemed the previous incident with Natalie was still making things awkward between the Hero Party and Agnes.

This wasn’t a good sign, especially since she would have to live as part of the Demon King Subjugation Force with the Hero for several years after graduating from the Academy.

‘She’ll join the Hero Party somehow anyway, because of the Elizabeth Family’s issues.’

Still, if she was going to join, it would be better if they joined on good terms. If it was too awkward, it would be difficult to coordinate in actual combat.

However, if they became too close, there was a possibility that Agnes might fall for the Hero, so maintaining an appropriate distance was important.

Anyway, she was a friend who always made me worry, even from our first meeting.

“What are you drinking? Alcohol?”

“Ah, yes. It’s just a light cocktail.”

“…Light? Really?”

“Just in case, I should mention that it would be better if Agnes-yang didn’t drink. It’s just my intuition, but I feel like Agnes-yang might be a lightweight.”

“……I know.”

Contrary to her stubborn personality, she surprisingly readily admitted that her alcohol tolerance wasn’t very good.

Perhaps her wariness of alcohol had increased due to the Natalie incident. Or maybe she had secretly tried drinking alone where no one else could see her.

Unlike Natalie, Agnes tended to retain vivid memories when she was drunk, thanks to her excellent mind.

The winter break was long. If she had experienced getting tipsy in a situation I didn’t know about, she probably wouldn’t even think of touching alcohol at a public event like this.

“Lady Blaze, speaking of which, I heard you’re taking a few classes with Lily this semester too.”

“…Lily? Ah, ahh… you mean Lillith, right? Yes. I understand.”

“Could you tell me what Lillith is like during class? I also take two classes with Lillith, but both of them are more about physical movement than theory. I’m curious what Lillith is like in the classroom.”

“…She’s just normal. She listens diligently and takes notes diligently. And in the Monday afternoon lecture, she sometimes dozes off a little, as if she’s tired.”

“It must be because the morning lecture is Magic Swordsmanship. Lillith’s dagger skills are improving day by day. Recently, her skills have gotten so good that I can even spar with her sometimes. Of course, I do apply a slight Handicap…”

“…Tell me more. What’s she like in Magic Swordsmanship class?”

“…Is there really a need for the two of you to talk about the person right in front of them?”

The two of them continued their conversation without much awkwardness, as if they were strangely on the same wavelength. Although it felt like most of the conversation’s topic was biased towards one side.

Ethan had liked me since he was very young, so that was understandable, but I wasn’t sure why Agnes suddenly took an interest in my private life.

Perhaps she was still grateful that I helped her make a contract with her first Flame Spirit.

I thought Prince Antonio’s birthday banquet would end after some appropriate socializing without any major incidents until then.

But a major incident that would turn the hall upside down suddenly occurred.

“Ah, there you are. I’ve finally found you, my Mademoiselle.”

“…Huh?”

“…Yes?”

“……”

Prince Antonio had appeared before Ethan, Agnes, and me, who were deep in conversation.

Ethan showed a slightly heightened sense of wariness due to the recent Machart incident, but showing proper etiquette to the Prince was the priority.

…If he were to suddenly hurl insults at him again, like he did with Machart, the atmosphere would turn hostile once more.

“Greetings, Prince Antonio. I am Lillith Blackwood Rosewood, the eldest daughter of the Rosewood Family.”

“…I am Ethan Richard Blackwood, the eldest son of the Blackwood Ducal Family. I am also Lillith’s fiancé.”

Ethan immediately followed my introduction with his own, so as not to highlight my Baronet Family background.

As I secretly felt grateful for his consideration and pondered how to deal with Antonio, the Prince, who had made such an uncharacteristic, oily remark like “my Mademoiselle” from the very first meeting, surprisingly responded calmly to Ethan’s and my introductions.

“Ah, yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lillith-yang. Prince Ethan.”

“Ah, yes, the pleasure is mine…”

“…The pleasure is mine as well, Prince Antonio.”

“So… I haven’t heard the name of this beautiful young lady here…”

“……?!”

“……?!”

At Prince Antonio’s expression of “beautiful young lady” towards Agnes, while I stood right next to her, Ethan and I simultaneously turned our gazes to her in surprise.

Of course, the most surprised was Agnes herself, who heard those words directly from Antonio.

“……Me?”

“Yes, my Mademoiselle.”

“Ah, Agnes Elizabeth Blaze… is my name…”

“Ah, how can even your name be so beautiful…!”

…No, it’s just a normal name.

Antonio’s appearance, completely different from his original character, almost made me think I was mistaking him for someone else.

Looking at his hairstyle and eye color, it certainly seemed to be Antonio, but…

As I racked my brain, unable to figure out where things had gone wrong this time, Antonio’s ‘confession’ to Agnes continued.

“I fell for you the moment I first saw you at the Imperial Palace two years ago! So please, I beg you, promise to marry me!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Please accept my heart, Agnes Elizabeth Blaze-yang!”

…The story returns to the beginning.