The Princess’s Love? (3)

A familiar voice coming from a short distance away.

Not just the voice, but the tone, the expressions in her words-everything about the red twin-tailed princess who suddenly rushed between Harold and me, blocking our path with her body, made it clear who she was.

-Thud!

“Huff, huff, huff….”

“…Princess Mezlen?”

“Haah, ha, haah… I, I knew this would happen…. Ha, haa, haa….”

“Princess Mezlen, are you alright? You hardly ever run, so why the sudden urgency…?”

“Huff, th-the, huff, th-thief, huff, cat-like, huff, huff….”

Princess Mezlen, who had cut between Harold and me, was gasping for breath as if proudly showcasing her extreme lack of physical activity.

While I wondered why she had suddenly appeared like this, Harold glanced at me, asking for an introduction.

“Hmm, who might this young lady be? Do you know her, Lillith?”

“This is Her Highness Mezlen Emilia Baltoria, who enrolled in the Academy this year, Professor Harold. She is a first-year in the Magic Department and entered alongside His Highness Antonio Robert Baltoria of the Swordsmanship Department.”

“Ah, the sister of that clear-eyed prince. Now that you mention it, I think I heard something about him having a twin sister born the same year.”

Given how rarely Harold remembered details about others, it was safe to assume he recalled Prince Antonio rather than Princess Mezlen.

Still, he did tend to remember those skilled in swordsmanship, no matter how indifferent he was to people in general.

“Y-you, huff, remember, huff, me….”

“…Perhaps you should catch your breath first. It seems a bit difficult to continue like this.”

“Haah, huff… Y-yes….”

Princess Mezlen had appeared with an oddly flushed face.

As soon as she positioned herself between Harold and me, she shot me a strangely hostile glare-one that felt oddly familiar.

‘I think I’ve seen that look before-like when Seraphine glared at Celista or Silena in the game.’

A sharp, almost venomous gaze, as if guarding what was hers.

Given that Mezlen shared the same imperial blood as Seraphine, it made sense that their expressions would be similar.

But the real question was-why was this princess suddenly giving me such a look?

“Since we’re within the Academy, I hope you understand that I can’t use honorifics with you as a professor. So, what brings you here so suddenly?”

“Y-yes…?! Ah, no… I mean, well….”

‘Wait, could it be…?’

Come to think of it, Mezlen had mentioned before that she seemed to have fallen for someone at the Academy.

A skilled swordsman, with deep eyes, likely a noble.

At the time, I assumed it was someone from the Swordsmanship Department, but looking back, she never specified that the object of her affection was a student.

If not a student, then someone affiliated with the Swordsmanship Department, a noble, and a named character in Luminor Academy…

‘…No way, seriously?’

Even as I considered it, the idea seemed absurd-but no other plausible explanation came to mind.

Fortunately, Mezlen’s reaction confirmed that my speculation wasn’t entirely off the mark.

“If you have no business, I’ll be on my way. It’s getting late, and dinner has already passed.”

“Ah, y-yes… S-sorry for stopping you so suddenly….”

“…….”

Mezlen… apologizing?

The same princess who always looked down on others, believing herself the most exalted being in the world, was apologizing to Harold after just seeing him like this?

‘This is practically a 100% confirmation.’

Even seeing it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe-but what could I do? It was already happening.

In modern times, people married with 20- or 30-year age gaps, let alone in a medieval fantasy setting. The current emperor himself had nearly a 30-year age difference with his last empress.

If I roughly calculated the age gap between Mezlen and Harold…

‘Mezlen enrolled this year, so she must be 19. Ethan is physically 21 but hasn’t aged for five years, making him around 26. Tanathia gave birth to Ethan about three years after graduating from the Academy, and Harold is the same age as Tanathia, so….’

…Is this for real?

A gap of two and a half, almost three, zodiac cycles?

Sure, Harold was a master swordsman, so his ki flow slowed his aging-but wasn’t this just shameless? And not just any woman, but someone like Princess Mezlen as his second wife?

Even as one of the Empire’s Three Swords, wasn’t this just too brazen?

“It’s late at night-I’m concerned about whether you can return safely, Mezlen. By the way, you’re a princess-where are your guards?”

“Ah, well… K-Kate sometimes disappears while on duty…! It’s really quite troublesome….”

“…Is it acceptable for a princess’s guard to vanish during duty? That seems a bit different from the imperial protocols I know.”

Well, it wasn’t about imperial protocols-Mezlen had likely made up the excuse on the spot.

In fact, Kate had probably been sent away on some annoying errand by Mezlen’s orders. Knowing the princess’s personality, she must have dismissed Kate the moment she spotted Harold, not wanting any interference.

So, Harold’s words were an unfair accusation-but if Kate didn’t want to suffer, she should’ve chosen a better master to serve.

“S-since it’s come to this, c-could you escort me for a while…?”

“Lillith, could you escort Princess Mezlen back?”

“Huh?”

“It’s late, and I’d feel uneasy leaving this young lady alone. But someone of your skill should be capable of protecting her.”

“…….”

Harold was clearly putting up an iron wall against Mezlen’s attempts to create a romantic mood.

Well, of course, there was no way Harold would ever get involved with Mezlen. It wasn’t just the age gap-it was an impossible story from the start.

Harold’s heart had always belonged to Tanathia-his wife’s place was forever reserved for her alone. No matter how persistent Mezlen was, she could never break through the love Harold had held onto for a lifetime.

Besides, if Harold had wanted to remarry, he would have done so long ago-the fact that he hadn’t in the fifteen years since Tanathia’s passing spoke volumes.

‘…Well, that’s how it is.’

Still, I could at least give Mezlen the chance to give up on her own.

Frankly, this spoiled princess needed a dose of harsh reality.

She needed to learn that the world didn’t revolve around her-and a heartbreak might be the bitter medicine to tame her willful nature.

So, just this once, I gave Mezlen a little nudge toward Harold.

“Wouldn’t it be better if Professor Harold escorted Her Highness instead of me?”

“Hmm?”

“Actually, I used up quite a bit of mana during our earlier spar, so I’m feeling a bit fatigued. Of course, I could handle a ruffian or two with just swordsmanship, but if there were any real threats to Princess Mezlen, I’m not sure I could guarantee her safety.”

“…Hmm, I see. Then I suppose there’s no choice. A princess could attract unsavory attention, after all.”

Since Harold was the one who had drained my mana in the first place, he had no choice but to nod at my flimsy excuse.

Of course, I still had over half my mana left-this was just a ploy to leave Harold and Mezlen alone.

Telling Mezlen directly that her love was impossible would only make her ignore me. It was better for her to make her move quickly, confess, and get rejected-that would be the most effective medicine for her.

“Which dormitory are you in?”

“Th-the Magic Department’s….”

“I’ll escort you to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory, then. Unless you need to stop somewhere along the way?”

“N-no… P-please do….”

“…….”

Somehow, watching their retreating figures, they looked less like potential lovers and more like a father walking his youngest daughter home.

All I could do was hope Mezlen’s heart wouldn’t be too badly broken as I turned toward the Swordsmanship Department dormitory in the opposite direction.

‘…I should avoid getting tangled up with Mezlen for a while.’

Getting involved in such complicated relationships was the last thing I wanted.