My name is Garrett Rendel. I am the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rendel. Right now, I am a student at the Royal Lemres Academy. My fiancée, Rebecca Howard, studies there too.
Maybe it is because of my earth-affinity magic. People say I am dependable, stable, and gentle. Sometimes they even say I am quiet. Still, people say I have the skills to be a good royal. In my studies, my magical power, and my learning of spells, I do well. They say I am one of the best royals from the last few generations.
But when people compare me to my brother, the Crown Prince, or to my fiancée Rebecca, I always end up looking like I am not good enough.
But do not get me wrong. I love them. I also respect them. My older brother is very smart and charming. I am proud of him. When I was young, it was him who taught me how to use a sword, how to ride a horse, and how to study. When I think about it now, I was probably an annoying little brother. But he never showed it. He let me be selfish and gave me lots of love. Because of him, we get along very well.
As for my fiancée Rebecca, we do not love each other in a romantic way. But we get along well. Her family line is very good. Behind her gentle smile, there is intelligence. In her beautiful amethyst eyes, there is the strength of someone who wants to help others. And she has no arrogance about her. I think she has everything a man from the royal family could want in a queen.
Normally, it should be me who protects a woman. I suppose somewhere in my heart, I believed that. So when I was told to watch over the “Saint Awakening” of Saint Candidate Charlotte Silver and help her if needed, I could not hide my excitement.
A Saint Candidate is a woman who has light-affinity holy magical power. To become a real Saint, “Awakening” is needed. Awakening means bringing out and strengthening that holy magical power. But not every Awakening makes a Saint. Some Saint Candidates fall into darkness during the Awakening. This is because light and shadow are two sides of the same coin. Sacred power can turn dark and become something that demons control.
A Saint, just by existing, helps the country. Because of this, people were always very careful with Saint Candidates. Until now, no matter their social rank, Saint Candidates were kept under the temple’s care. Going to the academy meant more contact with the “dirt” of the normal world. So there was worry that their precious holy magical power would be wasted. But recent research showed that whether a Saint Candidate becomes a Saint or falls into darkness depends on her own nature, not on where she is. Because of this finding, the academy was allowed to accept Saint Candidates. It was Charlotte Silver who was the first.
Just so you know, the word “Saint” means someone who shows holy magical power. And, unlike what old stories might say, you do not need to be a virgin. Many royals from different generations have also married Saints. Because of all this, I think there was pressure from the court to marry a Saint, even if she was only a Candidate at that time.
Since the Kingdom of Rendel allows only one wife, I cannot tell if this pressure was a real wish for a Saint to become the prince’s wife for the country’s good, or a plan to put Rebecca in the royal family.
Charlotte-sama was a lovely young woman. She had pink-gold hair and pale skin. Her aquamarine eyes were bright, and her pale pink lips were charming.
”I’m Charlotte Silver! Please, just call me Charlotte!”
On our very first meeting, she came to me with a big smile. I was a bit surprised. It is bad manners for someone of lower rank to speak to someone of higher rank without being spoken to first. The talk is supposed to start when the higher-ranked person speaks and introduces themselves. She could not be so ignorant of such basic manners. Just as I began to think that her influence at court had already reached that level, it was Rebecca who spoke up sharply.
”Good day. I am Rebecca Howard. Eldest daughter of the Howard Marquis family, and fiancée to Garrett-dono. You must be the Baron’s daughter from the Silver family. I am very sorry to say this when we have only just met. But for your own reputation, it would be best to wait for His Highness to speak to you first.”
When I think back, I suppose Rebecca and Charlotte did not get along from that very first meeting. Rebecca’s correction was completely normal for a noble. And, if anything, it was truly useful advice for Charlotte’s future. But the more Rebecca explained things, the more difficult Charlotte became. She was simply impossible to manage.
About six months passed since Charlotte joined the academy. After watching all of her “guidance,” which was really just scolding, I made a decision. Rebecca’s honest, heartfelt advice had done no good at all. Instead, people were treating Rebecca as the leader of a plan to bully a younger student. So at this point, for everyone’s sake, it was better to create some distance.
”Rebecca. Leave Charlotte alone. You do not need to get involved.”
”Garrett-dono… I understand what you are saying. But as an older student, I have a duty to guide the younger students. Besides, she can be a bit too friendly. And there have been people whose relationships with their fiancés or lovers have become strained.”
”Understood. I will handle that.”
I was tired, so I ended the conversation quickly.
The teachers’ opinion of Charlotte was: “Her grades are not great, but she is serious in class.” The problem was her strange behavior outside of class. Many people found this confusing.
Maybe it was because she grew up in the countryside. Charlotte was free-spirited. At best, she was innocent and natural. She acted like class differences did not exist. At worst, she was arrogant and rude. She was a person who did not care at all about the rules of noble society.
The children of nobles had little resistance to such outsiders. So I decided that the best thing was to take her under the student council’s care while the damage was still small. The student council members watched over Charlotte warmly, at first. But before long, her strange behavior gave her the nickname “the Mystery Girl.”
Once Rebecca stopped correcting and guiding Charlotte with words, Charlotte began to complain that she was being hurt. “My things are being broken or stolen! It must be Rebecca-sama’s doing!” Even without doing such things, Rebecca was a marquis’s daughter. She had more than enough power to completely destroy Charlotte if she wanted to. It was probably a case of persecution delusion.
But rumors grow on their own, no matter what the truth is. Even just a whisper of such a story would damage Rebecca’s reputation. Since making a fuss would only cause more trouble, I gave Charlotte whatever I had with me. For things that needed to be ordered, I told a servant to get them.
By this point, it was clearly a matter of her nature. It was not something that school education could fix. If anything, she was having a bad influence on the other students. So plans to send her to the temple began to be made in the background. But because it would affect the future acceptance of Saint Candidates at the academy, the transfer was set for the end of the school year. In other words, after the graduation ceremony.
Even during that time, Charlotte kept complaining. “Rebecca-sama spilled a drink on my dress, so I could not go to the party.” “The dress I was going to wear to the graduation party was ruined by someone…”
It seemed true that she had not been able to go to the party. And the dress she said was ruined had a large cut in the back. She could not wear that to graduation. She did not seem to have much money either. So I told myself this was my last act of help and arranged for a new dress.
Complaints were also coming from the student council’s main members. Evan, Brandon, and David were my friends too. They were also important people who would become my helpers in the future. And now, they were having to comfort each other. They all found it impossible to deal with the Mystery Girl.
”Charlotte is way too touchy-feely. It is really uncomfortable. I am always on edge, wondering when Samantha is going to find out.”
This was Evan’s complaint. Even though his engagement was arranged by their families, he clearly cared about Samantha.
”Same here. I finally managed to win Sophie over. And just thinking about her misunderstanding that I am all over Charlotte makes my stomach hurt.”
”This is terrible for me too. I have to take care of some dim-witted girl who ignores even my sister’s advice.”
David, whose love for his sister was showing, even clicked his tongue. In public, he never showed this attitude to Charlotte. But among the group, it was him who had the shortest temper.
”Just hold on. It is only until graduation.”
Such talks had become normal.