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The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince speaks about his fiancee.

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*****

My fiancée is adorable.

Right now, Elly is eating a slice of cake from her absolute favorite tea shop, a brilliant smile sparkling on her face.

For whatever reason, her tastes lean quite mature, and the shop we're currently in isn't the kind of place that would typically bring joy to an eight-year-old girl. Its chic, dark-toned interior is certainly stylish, but it lacks even a shred of the "cuteness" a child of her age would usually prefer.

Yet, her eyes sparkle at the polished, heavy wooden counter table, she gushes with emotion over the exquisite beauty of the teacups brought to us, and she savors every bite of the fruitcake rich with brandy.

「Every single thing about this shop is so wonderful!」 she insisted with passionate enthusiasm.

With her cheeks flushed, speaking with a touch of excitement, Elly was simply adorable.

Ever since she and I began visiting, a stepping stool that feels entirely out of place with the shop's refined atmosphere has been set out for us. It’s a thoroughly handmade creation, looking for all the world like something put together through weekend DIY.

That was because Elly found it difficult to sit at the tall counter seats on her own.

When the owner set out the stepping stool saying, 「Here you go, little lady,」 Elly was immensely apologetic at first, worrying that she was ruining the aesthetic of the establishment.

Watching her bow repeatedly in deep embarrassment was also adorable.

The shopkeeper watched her with an affectionate, fond smile as well. (And why wouldn't he? Isn't she precious?)

Just the other day, as part of her education, Elly was entrusted with hosting a tea party for the very first time.

That being said, on a macro level, it fell under the umbrella of a "Court Tea Party Hosted by the Queen." The guest list was largely predetermined by royal protocol.

From that base, she had to select the attendees, draft the invitations, arrange the seating order, and ensure everything ran smoothly on the day itself. It was far from "just a tea party." It was a proper, legitimate political arena.

There are a particularly large number of noble children belonging to my generation.

This was due to a marriage rush surrounding the King's (then Crown Prince's) wedding, followed by a baby boom timed with the Queen's pregnancy.

Children of my generation, if male, stood a chance of being heavily relied upon as aides, and if female, as potential brides, elevating their entire families alongside them.

Since Elly is four years younger than me, she falls outside of that boom.

However, the generation just one or two years younger than me is exceptionally populous.

While having an abundance of talent is a fine thing, there are also many who harbor "unnecessary ambitions."

And it was one of those very individuals harboring "unnecessary ambitions" who caused a disaster at Elly's first tea party.

When I received the report, I stood there utterly dumbfounded and agape.

It seems that unexpected incidents occur far too frequently around Elly, to the point where I occasionally find myself unable to maintain a composed expression. Whenever I fail to keep my poker face, Elly's smile and gaze turn lukewarm (like a grandmother looking fondly at her grandchild), which I find rather annoying...

Still, I hope I can be forgiven for being rendered somewhat speechless this time.

For who could have ever imagined it?

That a young lady who happens to be the eldest daughter of the premier ducal house would engage in a full-blown "physical fistfight" with another noble lady at a royal tea party...

Could noble ladies not be proper noble ladies and exchange elegant verbal spars instead?

If it were a minor brawl between knight apprentices, hands flying wouldn't be unusual, but...

Apparently, Elly was watching the brawling ladies with a look that defied description.

Her Majesty the Queen told me about it with an amused chuckle: "The look in Elly-chan's eyes as she watched those two was the spitting image of my grandmother looking out at her garden."

(...So why on earth are you looking at them with the eyes of a grandmother, Elly?)

Does Elly look like a grandmother even from my mother's perspective?

And furthermore, it wasn't the look of someone looking at her "grandchild," but rather someone looking at a "garden." (Given the situation, I suppose I can't entirely fail to understand her feelings, though...)

One of the perpetrators, the daughter of the premier ducal house, is someone I know all too well, much to my chagrin.

That is because I happen to run into her in the royal palace with absurd "coincidence."

She calls out to me with a voice so sickeningly sweet it makes me want to rinse my mouth with tea: 「Good day, Prince Leonard.」

(I am really not fond of sweet things.)

She is an insufferable young lady whose arrogance glimmers through every word she speaks.

She seemed to harbor grievances toward Elly, but every single one of her subtle insinuations missed the mark so completely that she couldn't hide her small-time, petty nature.

Once, I bumped into her on my way back to the castle from the knights' training grounds.

A sudden gust of wind blew past us, yet I was astonished to see that her styled hair didn't dislodge by even a single millimeter.

It made me wonder if that wasn't actually hair, but rather some decorative piece crafted from metal.

A fool who believes, without a shred of evidence, that she is the one most suited to be the Crown Princess.

That is the entirety of my evaluation of her.

Mind you, I have already thoroughly investigated the adults who instilled such delusions in her. Those individuals are scheduled to quietly fade out from the royal palace in due time.

...Well, I said, "That is the entirety of my evaluation," but allow me to add that her hair does remain a point of curiosity.

Elly was gushing about her hair with unusual enthusiasm as well. According to her, even while engaged in a full-blown brawl, it was marvelous hair that didn't lose a single strand out of place.

「How on earth do they style that?!」 she had asked with overwhelming curiosity.

(...Please, Elly, I beg of you, do not imitate that hairstyle.)

(And please, stop cornering your maids to consult them about it. Maids, do not get eager and start researching hair-styling tools either.)

(Head of the Shadow Ops, do not ask me, "Shall we infiltrate the Duke's estate to inspect the young lady's room?" That is not what your job is supposed to be. And stop appearing so nonchalantly!)

(...Elly... you are using power entirely incorrectly...)

It has been three years since our engagement was finalized.

At our first meeting, I ended up doing nothing but being thoroughly astonished by her.

After repeated conversations, by the time six months had passed, I began to understand the girl named Elizabeth Macnagan a little better.

She was a person who far exceeded my imagination.

No, saying "exceeded" is slightly inaccurate. "A person beyond my wild imagination" would be more precise.

She had no interest in dresses, jewels, or flowers, nor did she care for luxury in the slightest.

When Elly once looked deeply troubled, claiming she had indulged in an outrageous luxury, I asked her about it. She confessed that she had purchased a collection of detailed battle maps from ancient history.

Granted, that *is* an expensive set of books. It costs roughly the same as a modest dress. They are large-format atlases, far too wide and thick to fit on standard bookshelves.

It is a work that I myself rely on during military tactics and strategy lectures. It appears frequently in history classes as well.

When I asked her why she bought it, she gave me a radiant, brilliant smile.

「I wanted to analyze whether there might have been a more efficient strategy where no one had to die!」

(Why?!)

「Also, romance!!」

(Romance?!)

Elly is close with Master Nathaniel, my academic tutor—so close that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them best friends now.

When I passed along her statement to Master, he nodded in agreement, saying, "Lady Elizabeth understands completely."

I didn't quite understand it myself, which gave me a strange sense of alienation and made me feel a little lonely.

To be completely honest, part of me didn't really want to be dragged into that circle, though.

Still, I didn't quite like the fact that Elly seemed to be having more fun with him than with me.

Because she was a girl four years younger than me, I initially tried to select simple, easy-to-understand words when speaking with her.

However, Elly noticed immediately and intentionally chose complex, difficult terminology in her replies. In doing so, she was letting me know: (I can comprehend up to this level, so there is no need to dumb things down.)

Once I understood that, conversing with Elly became exponentially easier.

Far from just easier, it became genuinely fun.

One moment she would declare, 「I believe even I could wield a sword!」 with the innocent sense of omnipotence typical of children her age, and the next she would be earnestly discussing the structural design of a practice sword with the knights.

Prompted by Elly's observations on that occasion, the swords issued to the knights were actually redesigned—a fact still fresh in my memory.

And yet, Elly is hopelessly clumsy.

Every now and then, she stumbles in places where there is absolutely nothing. Before she can actually fall, my guards or I catch her, so no harm comes of it, but it seems she can see invisible steps or ledges that no one else can.

「There was a tiny little bump right there!」 she would excuse herself with a flushed, pouting expression. Adorable.

When given a wooden practice sword just to try it out, she somehow managed to strike her own leg and leave a small blue bruise. Even though I was watching the whole time, I couldn't comprehend how that happened.

Naturally, Elly made excuses like, 「It was heavier than I thought...」 or 「Wasn't the sword a bit too large for a child's hands?!」

I'm sorry to break it to you, Elly, but that was a "practice sword designed specifically for toddlers."

When she expressed a desire to ride a horse, we set it up for her, but the horse completely looked down on her and refused to even take a single step forward. Even though we had prepared the smartest and most beautiful horse owned by the royal family for Elly—who insisted she wanted to ride alone—that was the result.

In the end, Elly gave up and fell fast asleep on the back of the horse, which had settled down onto the ground.

To the horse that refused to obey her, Elly voiced an absurd complaint: 「A horse that doesn't run is just a regular horse!」

Well, yes, I suppose that's true. But even if it runs, a horse is still a horse.

When I quietly asked the stable master about it later, he explained, 「Most likely, the horse was being considerate in its own way, realizing that if it moved, Lady Elizabeth would fall off. ...That one is a particularly intelligent animal, after all.」

Even horses treat her with delicate care; Elly's clumsy cuteness is off the charts.

After accumulating those heartwarming days (though personal opinions on that description may vary), a year passed since our engagement, and I was summoned by the King and Queen.

They asked me: 「Do you resolve to establish Lady Elizabeth as your future partner?」

While she had been designated as my fiancée, it was merely a provisional status, and an official debut had not yet been held.

That was because the assessment of whether she was truly suited for the position had not been completed.

Furthermore, my compatibility with her remained unknown.

One year.

Having spent that time with her, I came to realize that she was not merely intelligent.

Her knowledge and interests spanned a vast array of fields, she possessed a uniquely singular perspective, and yet she was never arrogant or boastful about any of it.

In appearance, she was as dainty and lovely as a fairy straight out of a storybook, yet the moment she opened her mouth, she said things that constantly astounded me. Furthermore, she possessed an unnecessary amount of drive and initiative.

She knew her place and never overstepped. Yet she never shrank back excessively, either.

I looked straight into the eyes of Their Majesties and nodded clearly.

「I desire Elizabeth to be my bride.」

Yes.

At first, she was simply a partner chosen under the premise of "this young lady will do."

But now, it was different.

It was no longer "she will do," but "it must be her."

Receiving my answer, Their Majesties nodded in satisfied agreement.

Two months later, a formal debut banquet was held to officially announce my engagement to Elly.

Well, since the main guest of honor was a child, Elly and I gave our greetings and departed early on. Watching Elly get so nervous that she almost walked with her right arm and right leg moving forward at the same time was adorable.

Prior to that debut banquet, I conveyed the reality of the situation to Elly.

「Once that banquet concludes, you will be officially recognized by every noble in the kingdom as the Crown Prince's fiancée. In other words, from then on, you will be treated as pseudo-royalty, and revoking the engagement will become practically impossible unless something catastrophic occurs.」

「Yes.」

Elly nodded with a serious expression.

Well, even without me pointing it out now, someone as clever as Elly surely understood.

Even so, I wanted to ask her.

「We decided this unilaterally and placed you in this position without asking for your consent. If you harbor any dissatisfaction, this will be your final opportunity. ...Will you consent to becoming my bride?」

Even at that point, breaking it off would have been immensely difficult.

Still, if Elly genuinely despised the idea, I was prepared to do whatever it took to undo it.

However, if Elly chose me of her own free will, I would protect her no matter what I had to stake.

Elly closed her eyes briefly, let out a quiet, deep exhale... *phew*... and slowly opened her eyes.

「So with this, my line of retreat is completely cut off, isn't it?」

Her voice was extremely quiet. It was not the voice of a six-year-old girl. It was the voice of a woman who had resolved herself.

「If your line of retreat is cut off, what will you do?」

The "retreat" she spoke of referred to canceling or undoing the engagement.

When I asked her, Elly smirked, curling up the corners of her mouth in a grin.

「If there is no retreat, then I have no choice but to carve a bloody path forward!」

It was a phrase so typical of her, with her love for military strategy and tactics. Dependable and powerful.

In all likelihood, a path would naturally open before Elly.

However—

「Then I shall carve that path. Won't you walk it alongside me?」

Truth be told, I wanted to shield her behind my back. But she would surely not welcome that. Couldn't she at least let me clear the way for her?

「No, Your Highness.」

At her quiet voice of refusal, I unconsciously narrowed my eyes slightly. But Elly gave a bright, lovely smile.

「Let us carve the path together. And let us walk it together.」

With a slight, competitive spark glinting in her eyes, Elly smiled. I will likely never forget that face for the rest of my life.

「If ever our paths should diverge, let us speak to each other often.」

「Ah... yes. I promise that to the very end, I will never give up on understanding you. ...Now then, my lady.」

I offered my hand to the smiling Elly.

「Would you grant me the honor of escorting you for the rest of my life?」

「For as long as Your Highness desires it.」

I impulsively clasped her small, gently offered hand in both of mine. Elly watched me, smiling gently.

That was the exact moment when the girl who had been like a cute little sister became my one and only beloved woman.

Elly is currently conversing with the shopkeeper about teacups with immense delight.

While taking care not to touch the antique cups the owner set out on the counter, Elly gazes at them intently.

The owner smiles warmly, telling her, "You are welcome to touch them if you like," but...

Don't do it, shopkeeper. You have no idea what Elly might do.

Having satisfied her heart's content discussing teacups and cutlery, Elly recklessly attempted to climb down from the chair without using the stepping stool.

Predictably, the moment she stepped down, she stumbled.

When I caught her, Elly offered her thanks with a slightly embarrassed and subtly pouting face: 「Thank you very much.」

Today, too, my fiancée is adorable.

*****

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