The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 01 Prologue

She looked over the letter that the butler had informed her about and read the words written on it.
She sighed unexpectedly at the contents.
Hearing this, Martha's face, who was preparing tea next to her, distorted in worry.

"Princess, is this not good news?　Something about His Highness....."

"Oh, no, it's not. This news itself is a good one. His Highness says he's fine."

"Oh!　I'm glad to hear that!　I'm really glad I think....."

I can't really say to her what is the matter... I sighed again in my mind.
In the letter, it says that His Highness, who had gone missing, was found safe.
That was a delight for me, and the moment I read it, a relief spread like a grasping of the chest had been removed.
The problem is the sentence that follows.

--His Highness seems to have fallen off a cliff and his memory is fuzzy.
It will take some time for them to return, as they will be accompanied by a town girl who saved and nursed him.
I didn't think it was going to happen...
Lucia read the last sentence and took a big, deep breath as if to calm her mind.

There is a novel that is being talked about on the streets these days.
It's a fairy tale modeled on a Prince of a certain kingdom and a common girl.

The Crown Prince was a popular figure in the kingdom, and he has a childhood friend who has been engaged to since childhood, and they get along well.
One day, the prince went on an inspection tour on the outskirts of his kingdom and was lost in a storm.
The prince loses his way back to his squire in the pouring rain and collapses in the forest.
It was a town girl who lived nearby who saved the day.
She took the prince home and nursed him with devotion.
Thanks to her care, the prince was feeling much better and stayed at her house.
It was in those moments that love sprang up between the two of them.
The prince falls in love with her, who nurses her with devotion and smiles like a flower.
Even the town girl was infatuated with the kind and nice prince.
Finally, the prince's time to return to palace comes... Leaving was as painful as being ripped apart, but the village girl tried to smile for the prince's sake.
The prince took her hand in such a way and knelt on the spot, he then looked up at her and told her emphatically.
"I cannot go back home without you ...Will you marry me?"
Startled by the suddenness, the town girl quickly tried to pull her hand out.
However, the prince would not let go of his hand.
The eyes staring at the town girl were serious, filled with strong determination to never let her go.
The girl was troubled and nearly fainted-- and finally, she nodded a "Yes" with her head.
"I'm getting married," he murmured in a small voice.
Thus, the prince and the village girl were united and lived a happy married life.
It's all good and happy.
With the story of an ordinary village girl marrying a prince, not only the nobility but also the common people were fascinated about this story.
Moreover, even though it is partially modified, it is a story that really happened, everyone wants to dream about it.
But as a practical matter, I know it wouldn't work out so well.
This is because the first prince of this country - Arthur Diering - is engaged to the marquess Lucia Harmonie.
It's an engagement that ends in an overly passionate courtship from the prince.
Arthur and Lucia became engaged when they were only five years old. It all began when the Queen and the Marquise, who were friends, met at a tea party.
Lucia, prompted by her mother, greeted a boy her own age with a frowning smile.
"I'm Lucia Harmonie. How do you do?"

"..."

"..."

He didn't reply to the greeting he tried so hard to give back an answer spite of his embarrassment.
Lucia looked up at her mother anxiously.
The Marquise stroked her daughter's cheek, Lucia was in a good mood again and smiled broadly.
Arthur, on the other hand, was forever staring at Lucia in disbelief.
The Queen patted her son on the back and urged him to greet her. There, Arthur finally made his move.
Fluttering, he approached Lucia and hugged her in his small arms. The two of them stare at each other at great close range.
"Lucia will you marry me?"

"Huh?"

"What are you talking about??!"

It was a sudden courtship.
On top of that, perhaps because he was so nervous, he chewed some important lines.
The young Lucia didn't understand the meaning of marriage and just shook her head.
It was the Queen who was surprised by her son's sudden outrage.
She hurriedly put her hand on her son's side, lifting him up and trying to pull him away from Lucia.
The queen put all her strength into her arms, but his body did not lift.
Arthur hugged Lucia with surprising strength of will.

"Lucia, will you marry me?　No?　Tell me you're getting married?"

"What's marriage?"

"It's a promise that we'll be together forever. I want you to stay with me forever."

"Always?　...Arthur, your hand hurts."

Even while Arthur and Lucia are having a conversation, the queen is trying to pull them apart.
Arthur put all his strength into his arm, never letting go.
Inevitably, Lucia's upper body began to tighten, and Lucia's face contorted in agony.

"It's painful. Arthur, get your hands off me."

"If Lucia says she's going to marry me, I'll let her go."

"Are you sure?　Let go?"

"Hey!　Wait a minute!　Don't you dare say that!"

The queen, sensing the danger of her son's unusual behavior, panics and tries to stop Lucia.
However, Arthur's tightening force became stronger and stronger, and finally Lucia couldn't stand it anymore.

"All right.Marry- You- Arthur?"　"I'll do! I'll do!"

"Oh!　Oh my God!"

"Oh, dear..."

Hearing Lucia's statement, the Queen held her head and the Marquise put her hand on her cheek.
In addition to the fact that it's possible to get a lot more than just a small amount of money.

"Ugh!!!"

"Oh, dear!"

Arthur presses his lips against mine, Lucia takes it in stride.
Incidentally, Lucia froze, not knowing what it meant.
Her upper body is being deflected more and more because Arthur pushes himself forward.

Just as Lucia's spine was about to reach its limit, the Queen struck her son on the top of the head with a hard blow.

"You're an idiot!"

"What!!!!"

"Oh, dear."

The relentless blow has caused Arthur's lips to part as expected. So the Queen picked Arthur up and pulled him away from Lucia.

"Ah!　Put me down!　You've gotten me away from Lucia!"

"What the -- are you doing?"

"Just when I thought I was going to ask her to marry me, Lucia-chan came to me and kissed me...! I'm in love with Lucia!　I was taught to kiss any woman I fell in love with!"

She felt dizzy from her son's outrageous statement, and the hand holding her son loosened without thinking.
In the meantime, Arthur escaped from the Queen's hand and held Lucia's hand, who was still stunned and unable to accept the impact.
While sitting on the couch in a daze, the Queen gazed at Arthur.

"Who told you that....?"

The queen's voice was quivering as she asked.
But strangely, there is a fighting spirit in his eyes, as if she already knew the answer.

"It's your father!"

"Who else can be?....!"

I guess you can't fight against blood after all.
Knowing the answer, the Marquise smiled and took a sip of the tea that had completely cooled down as she sat on the sofa in front of the Queen.
Yes. The present queen was similarly treated to a similar thing when the present king was a prince and settled for his betrothed.
The Marchioness remembered the event so well that she knew the ending by the time Arthur came to embrace her daughter.
Fortunately, my daughter doesn't want to do it, so I think it's a good thing.
Lucia, the daughter in question, doesn't properly understand the meaning of marriage or the meaning of a kiss.
Finally waking up from the shock of the kiss, Lucia felt that Arthur, who was latching on, was now starting to get in the way.

"Arthur, what was that all about?"

"That was a kiss. It's what people who marry each other do, so Lucia shouldn't do it with anyone but me."

"Hmmm. I didn't want to do it with Arthur because I didn't feel good about it."

"Don't?　Don't you dare say that!"

"Let go of my hand. Get away from me."

"What the ---　If Lucia said that to me...!!!!!!!!"

It's a good thing that you're able to get a good deal more out of it.
All the while, Lucia tries to pull her arm out, but of course, Arthur doesn't let go of her arm.
Rather, they've been putting all their strength into it.
Reluctantly, Lucia gave up on pulling her arm out and walked towards her mother. Surprisingly and meekly, Arthur followed.
She gets up on the sofa and sits quietly next to Lucia, who asks the Marquise for sweets.
He then stared at Lucia as she began to chew on the cookies, giving her a look that said he had an idea.
The hand stretches out to the cookies on the table. He takes a chocolate chip cookie and offers it to Lucia.

"Lucia"

Lucia looks at the cookies offered to her and Arthur's face. Then he tentatively held out his hand.

"Thank you..."

A hand that retracts at a moment's notice. Lucia's hand chasing after her. Arthur's hand that escapes it.
They stare at each other wordlessly. It was Lucia who broke the silence first.

"You're not going to...?"

"No way. I'll give it to you."

"Why are you backing out then?　I can't reach the cookie."

Arthur's cheeks loosened at the sight of Lucia pouting her lips in frustration.
He lifted the cookie again and brought it to Lucia's mouth.
"Lucia, sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart."
"Uh...?"

When Lucia opened her mouth defenselessly, Arthur quickly thrust a candy into her mouth.
Lucia rolled her eyes in surprise, but chewed on it.
Seeing that Lucia's mouth was wriggling, Arthur quickly prepared a second piece.
When he made sure to swallow, he was offered a second cookie.
Lucia stared alternately at Arthur and the cookie for some moments.
Eventually, she opened her mouth in an adult manner.

"!!!"

A touched Arthur politely gives Lucia a cookie.
Controlling Arthur as he tries to get another cookie, Lucia tells him she wants a drink.
Arthur gleefully picked up a glass of fresh juice.
The queen clenched her fists and clenched her teeth in frustration as she watched Arthur take care of Lucia.
He looked as if he could hear the gritting of his teeth at any moment.

"Oh, shit. That's a sight I've seen somewhere....."

Yeah, really. You seem to be looking at His Majesty and Lady Irena.

"I never thought this would happen...!"

He is an old boy who doesn't know that it's love yet.
I was completely caught off guard, thinking about this, the Queen sighed.
It's His Majesty's child, and I should have taken the possibility of that happening more seriously.
I know it's no use thinking about it now. But I never thought it would really come to this.
With the way His Highness is acting, it's going to be difficult for him to withdraw.

"Well... I don't want to imagine what it would be like if I ripped it off...."

"Fortunately, we're not out of balance in terms of status. That's good."

"You're right. ...wait. That's very positive, isn't it?　Is that good?"

The queen looks at the Marquise, who is drinking her tea with an unconcerned look.

"I don't know what to say to myself, but I'm sure my son has a promising future in terms of status and looks."

"But if you keep this up, they're sure to become a troublesome love."

When she said that, the Marquise laughed with a troubled look on her face and put her hand on her cheek.

"It would be more painful to get His Highness to change his mind. It would be more peaceful to sacrifice my daughter to be his fiancé, when I imagine the great damage that would be done.　"

"Did you just say 'sacrifice'?　Did you just call your own daughter a sacrifice?"

"It's your imagination. And I'm sure you remember Lady Irena, too.　What did you go through when you resisted?"

With that being said, the Queen's face contorted.

"When the King asked me to marry him, I quickly refused because I had never thought of marrying into royalty, I said it once and for all... and what began was a great capture that involved the whole country. I used to feel as if I had become a criminal."

"The royals are a loving clan, after all. If we give them a sacrifice, they'll work hard, and the people will be able to live with peace of mind."

"I thought you said it was a sacrifice.　Is that what you think of me?　Come on!"

The queen asks the Marquise with great vigor, but the Marquise only smiles bewitchingly and does not answer.
Lucia and Arthur were enjoying their tea while the delirious queens were left behind.

Thus, Lucia and Arthur's engagement was concluded.