Alex has never had friends before, so it’s a huge improvement to say this.

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But since we were beaten, some sort of camaraderie formed between us.

PR/N: I don’t know why but this makes me laugh.

I was worried about getting a strange flag, but I was willing to shake hands.

“Yeah.
Let’s be friends.”

“A friend.”

“What did you say?”

“No, nothing.”

Because he was mumbling in such a low voice, I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
He gladly accepted my hand and exaggerated his strength to crush it.

“My father made up his mind too since the head of Valentine came forward first, I think the Crown Prince’s coronation will pass safely through the parliament.”

“That’s a relief.
How’s the Queen doing these days?”

“It’s quiet at the moment, thanks to you what happened last time is known.”

He was a little thin, but seeing no signs of being slapped on the face, it seems that the bullying has stopped.

The wind blew Alex’s hair.
If my light blond hair resembles the early afternoon sun, his navy hair suggests the darkness of the deep night.

A large night sky where countless stars will be embroidered, colored blue at dawn.
I smiled as I looked into the red eyes that glowed moistly beneath.

“Thank you for coming here intentionally.
Would you like to go inside and have a cup of tea?”

“I’m here secretly today, so let’s have a taste of it next time.”

“You came secretly?”

“No matter how many countries one has, your father and your three brothers are a little scary.”

PR/N: :kekek: that’s so true.

Yeah, the men in our family are a little scary.
Not to mention my dad and my second brother; my first and third brothers are on my side too, but they pretend not to.

That was the end of our conversation.
I was able to sneakily see him off without being caught by my maid because I said I wanted to be alone with my sister.

That’s how we got on the same boat[1].

At the New Year’s ball, the year after Alex won the patronage of Duke Valentine.
The Emperor reached a conclusion on the problem he had been delaying.

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“I, Gregory III, the star of the Empire, shall designate my only son, Alex Hadram, as Crown Prince.”

With the appointment of Alex as Crown Prince, the order of succession to the throne, which had only been discussed, had been made official.
Under the Imperial Law, which does not yet recognize the succession of women’s titles, Alex will succeed if the Emperor dies.

And the Emperor announced one more important fact.

“I also formally recognize the right of succession to the throne of Prince Royal, Grand Duke Stan, son of Queen Lotte.”

The Emperor, who was unable to make up his mind, decided to capture both rabbits.

Even if Alex becomes Crown Prince, if anything happens to him, Stan will be crowned Emperor.

TL/N: Alex bb T – T

Perhaps Queen Lotte will try to kill Alex somehow.
No matter how much of a male lead buff you have, it’s a little dangerous.

“That’s what happened.”

“It would have been nice to enter the Palace together, Ciel.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

The original work began to twist slightly as I intervened.
I’m not sure why I woke up here, but one thing is certain.

The original Ciel was a really stupid kid.
She was loved by wonderful parents and had everything she needed, but she was unappreciative of her circumstances.

She was jealous of Clara and even bullied her.
No matter how big a person’s rice cake looks[2], I don’t intend to sympathize with her for being decapitated and killed in the middle of the story after bothering her sister, who was so nice to her.

Clara, as a pushover, resembles my sister.
My poor sister, who was so nice that she saved others and died alone in the fire.

Being nice to Clara now may be a consequence of my remorse for not being nice to my sister in my previous life, but everything is going well now.

In that sense, I like my current life very much.

It may be because I was an orphan.
After my sister died, I was left alone, and I had a difficult life.
I couldn’t even remember the face of my boss, who used to sneer at me for not having parents.

I have a family that loves me unconditionally.
Of course, not all families give such love.

A strong and sweet father, an elegant and beautiful mother, my brothers, who take my side, and a sister who only knows me[3].
I can do anything to protect this newly acquired family.

Please don’t let Alex’s sword face our family.
I held my sister’s hand tightly and agonized over what was to come.

 

5.
Unknown childhood friend

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Time passed and the spring of the year when I turned 15, arrived.

After a really long time, I got out of the mansion and headed for the Academy.
I wore a thick cape and hid my face as an apprentice wizard, not as the Valentine’s princess.

Merrill, my close maid, was unsatisfied with it.

“Lady, please, why are you covering such a pretty face?”

It’s often said that if you’re cute while you’re young, you’ll change once you get older, however, this did not apply to me at all.

Oh, there was something new.
Despite inheriting my mother’s beauty, my eyes gradually resembled my father’s overtime…

Rather than breaking the balance, everyone who came to the house complimented him, saying that my father’s charisma was reflected.

Grandfathers and uncles on the estate, the wizards of the tower, as well as the Valentine’s aristocracy.

Everyone is looking forward to my social debut, but I put it off again and again with all kinds of excuses.

“It’s because I don’t want anyone to recognize me.”

Five years after my encounter with Queen Lotte, I voluntarily chose to become a houseplant in the greenhouse.

Of course, the biggest reason is that I’m lazy, but for the five years after I made Alex the Crown Prince safely, my motto was only one.

That is, let’s not overdo it.

I’m not sure what will go wrong if I step up for nothing.
To be fair, I decided to live as calmly and carefully as possible because everything is perfect right now.

Judging from the circumstances so far, the fact that it is possible to advance what will happen seems to mean that it is also possible to postpone it.
My experiment, perhaps, was very successful.

My older sister, who should have been bullied by Ciel and should have entered the palace, is still living well at home until this year when she turned 19.

She went to social circles with my mom and studied hard at the end of last year, and finally received the official pharmacist certificate she had yearned for.

I’m proud of her.
Of course, I wasn’t just playing around.
After training, I improved my magic skills a little bit.

Once I arrived at the Academy, I showed the gatekeeper my ID card and pulled the cape on again.

My heart was pounding.
I went to the venue, enjoying the fact that no one cared about me.
I was already sitting in a crowded corner of the stands, busy identifying the name on the magic display.

“Louis Valentine! Get in!”

After the call, he sat with an arrogant face.

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Yes, today is the grading day.

Louis, who trained before me, will finally take a graded test to become a full-fledged wizard this year.

“Anyway, that guy.”

What should I do with that person waving at the audience on purpose[4]?

Everyone else doesn’t know, but I do.

This is not the first time he’s used magic in front of others.
For Louis, who has been developing his skills by dominating the back alley for several years, this test is nothing.

I know he’ll do well, but I came here out of concern for you[5].
Fortunately, so far, it’s going smoothly.

Rebel brother, please be quiet and take the test.

“The third son of Duke Valentine.
I’m looking forward to it.”

“That’s what I mean.
It would be great if he could show us he’s as capable as the young Duke Theo.”

Louis bowed his head at the judges’ words of outright comparison.
In fact, everyone here must be thinking the same thing.

Because my dad was so great and my older brother was a tough guy.
In particular, during Theo’s time, they called it the return of my father, Christopher Valentine, who was regarded as a legend.

Therefore, there seemed to be high expectations that Louis would do well.

Originally, all family members were supposed to come together to see it, but today, there was an unexpected funeral, so my parents had to go there.

In their parents’ unexpected absence, Theo and Clara were caught up with their schedules, and Issac was unable to cut training as deputy chief of the knights.

I came to watch in secret since no one was allowed to attend.
However, as I was covering my face with a cape, Louis, who was searching through the audience, accepted the test with a sullen expression.

PR/N: my poor baby!

“Then let’s get started.”

I thought Louis would do well without anyone coming to see him.
He has been training magic with me, so I know some of his skills.

Although he has less mana than I do, Louis has excellent manipulation skills worthy of being a genius.
If I’m a fastball style that hits mana cluelessly, Louis is a subtle and delicate change-ball style[6].

He has a bad personality, but he has a sophisticated ability, although Louis’s condition seemed to be odd.

“What’s going on?”

He hit the wrong target or broke his magic in the middle.
There’s a lot of talking today.
He used to be much better than this, but Louis appeared to be in bad shape.

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The disappointment began to grow on the faces of those who held many expectations.
What’s wrong with him? After the test, the examiners gathered and chatted.

The atmosphere became strange.
At first glance, it was obvious that he had messed up, so I rushed to the waiting room.

It should be easy for Louis to pass normally, but he’s been struggling today.

“What the hell is wrong with him?”

Louis’s rating was already released by the time I arrived downstairs.

“Louis Valentine, B!”

I was speechless at the shocking result.
He should be class A.
I can’t believe that Louis is in class B.

“What’s that?”

“Valentine’s son is in class B?”

Of course, those who thought he’d get an A were flabbergasted.
The surroundings became noisy and I hurried to find Louis.

“Louis, brother!”

I couldn’t see Louis no matter how hard I tried.
Only after a very long search, did I come across the black hair that I had seen many times.

“Ciel, why are you here?”

Louis looked at me, with eyes red from weeping.

PR/N: my baby!!!!

 

Notes:

[1] Similar to: “We’re in this together now”

[2] This metaphor is about how the things that others have are better than their own.
“No matter how much better the things others have look,”

[3] “Only cares about me”

[4] Flaunting his power

[5] Actually she says “I came here because I have an old woman’s mind.” Referring to her old soul, but I changed it to make it more sense.

[6] It’s baseball slang.
A fast ball is a technique that can be reckless, if not used well, but powerful; and a change-ball, also known as slow-ball, is when you trick your opponent into making them think the ball is close to the bat.