Chapter:2
1. The Greatest Romantic
Carmen Noah de Lailarc was incredibly handsome.
That had been true ever since he was six years old, and it hadn’t changed a bit.
Usually, boys that handsome are arrogant and full of themselves, but Carmen wasn’t like that at all.
He was very polite and proper. I realized that within just 10 minutes of meeting him.
When Carmen politely said, “Hi. You must be Chelsea. Nice to meet you,” I didn’t answer. Instead, I grabbed his hand and said,
“My prince!”
Carmen looked uncomfortable. After a moment, he nodded slowly.
“Uh… close, but I’m actually a prince, not a king…”
“You’re so handsome!”
I said with sparkling eyes. Carmen flinched and took a step back, but I was still holding onto his hand. He glanced down at our hands.
The elegant smile on his pale face wavered a bit.
“Th-thank you…”
He said. I widened my golden eyes and blinked. Adults always said my big, clear eyes made me look smart and pretty. I wanted Carmen to think I looked smart and pretty too. I could tell from his shaken eyes that it worked. He looked flustered. Ha! I smiled proudly to myself.
In that short moment, I tried to think of something romantic and poetic to say that might impress him.
“Your eyes look like the autumn sea.”
“…Thanks.”
“Your hair shines like the summer sun.”
“Thanks.”
“Let’s get married.”
“Tha—what?”
He had started to say thanks but froze with a confused look on his face. I was too excited and started shaking our joined hands up and down. Carmen just stood there, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say something.
But I couldn’t hold in my excitement and ran straight to my parents.
“Mom! I’m going to marry Carmen!”
I only whispered it into my mom’s ear, but everyone sitting around the table—my parents, Carmen’s mom, and even the resting maids—heard it. They all smiled warmly and approved of our “marriage.”
That was when our marriage began.
…Well, I wish I could say that. But of course, even I wasn’t that extreme. Still, we did become officially engaged and started meeting regularly.
* * *
Noble and royal children are usually taught by private tutors. If there’s anything they want to learn, their parents invite a teacher to their home.
That also means they spend most of their time stuck inside the palace or mansion, so their world is small.
But since they eventually need to join society, lacking social skills is a problem. That’s why having playmates is important.
When noble kids start talking well, parents usually introduce them to other kids. If the parents are friends, the kids often become friends too. All these kids come from families of similar rank, so they can support each other in the future.
My Rodrang family was a marquis household with a long history. We had a rich territory, an old castle, and my grandfather was a war hero. So, all my friends were from rich or noble families too.
Like the children of Count Glam, who owned the biggest bank in the capital, or the children of Duke Praon, from a famous wizard family. They were all well-fed and carried themselves with pride.
But Carmen stood out the most.
He was different from kids our age. Unlike those who always bragged about what they’d learned or could do, Carmen was calm and mature. He didn’t try to compete with me or go on and on about himself.
He seemed to enjoy listening to others more. So if you wanted to know about him, you had to ask lots of questions. That made me even more curious.
To sum it up, Carmen was mature.
I even thought he was older than me. But it turned out he was the same age as me and my childish friends. I was so surprised that I ran up to him and said,
“Carmen! Did you know? We’re the same age!”
“Really…? Is that true?”
As I expected, he looked shocked. I didn’t think he’d be that surprised, though. I happily held out my hand.
“Looks like it’s fate!”
That was a phrase I always said back then. Like how people find common ground when becoming friends, I thought lovers should do the same.
After hearing it a few times, Carmen got used to it. He took my hand like it was a habit now. As I smiled proudly, he looked me up and down and muttered,
“You’re smaller than Carol.”
Carol was his only full-blooded sibling—his younger sister. She was two years younger than us, so she was five back then.
I was offended. For kids, two years is a huge difference. I used to call Carol “a cute baby” when we met and treated her sweetly. But now Carmen was comparing me to her? That really hurt my pride.
“My big sister and brother are tall, so I’ll grow a lot too! I’ll grow super fast at the academy.”
“Haha!”
Carmen laughed out loud. Then he looked at me like I was adorable and patted my head.
“Sure, go for it.”
His blue eyes squinted with a smile. When his hand touched my head, I was startled. That’s how my older brother treats me. And it was also how Carmen treats Carol.
I blankly touched the top of my head where he had patted me.
That whole day, I felt weird inside. I thought Carmen saw me differently than my friends—but maybe he didn’t. Or worse, maybe he saw me just like he saw his little sister!
It had already been over a year since we met. I thought about this a lot on the way back home in the carriage.
How could I leave a strong impression on Carmen?
I wasn’t worried he would betray me as his fiancée. But I wanted him to think I was special. Just like how I thought he was.
Luckily, I knew what Carmen liked and admired. He loved animals. I remembered the look on his face when I brought my familiar, Camembert (a.k.a. Cami). His eyes lit up like the summer sun!
But Cami was no longer with me.
Familiars are bound to their summoner through a contract. The summoner gives them magic, and in return, the familiar pledges loyalty.
But I didn’t have much magic, so I could only keep the contract for six months. When it ended, Cami left me.
“Alright…”
I muttered, leaning on the carriage window.
First, I needed a new familiar. But what kind…?
As soon as the carriage arrived home, I jumped out and ran straight to my sister’s room.
My sister Flora was training every day to enter Hebram’s Royal Military Academy. Once a week, she’d go hunting to take a break. She hadn’t gone this week yet, so I figured she’d be itching to go.
“Sis! Take me hunting tomorrow!”
I burst into her room. She had just finished showering and was in a bathrobe, drying her short black hair.
Her maid jumped in surprise and scolded me for not knocking.
My sister smiled and asked,
“Why all of a sudden? Are you going to hunt now?”
“Yeah! There’s something I want.”
“What is it?”
She reached out her arm to me. I climbed into her lap and giggled. She looked even more curious and asked again.
“Tell me. What are you going to hunt?”
I covered my mouth with both hands and whispered like it was a secret.
“A hawk.”
Carmen said he wanted to become a knight. Knights like hunting dogs and hawks. I thought hawks were cooler than dogs.
I imagined a hawk flying through the sky, its loud cry echoing, its shiny brown feathers gleaming in the sunlight. My heart raced with excitement.
