Ghislan POV
I am Ghislan Risent. I was born a son and heir to the Earl of Risent.
My father works for the Ministry of Science and Research, one of the most difficult ministries to enter in the Kingdom of Beizelm, and he is the director of the Ministry.
I’ve always admired and respected him.
So I naturally wanted to join the same ministry as he did, and I studied hard to achieve this goal, reading the most difficult books.
Then, for some reason, the adults around me began to call me a child prodigy.
I didn’t care about being called a child prodigy; I was focused on my studies.
If I didn’t understand something, I could ask my father and he would answer it, and I kept increasing my knowledge.
I did ask questions of other people, but most of them were incapable of answering my questions at all.
So I felt that I was wasting my time talking to them, and I didn’t bother to get involved.
But one day when I was four years old, my father was invited by the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Heinz to be her tutor.
Why would a duke’s daughter ask my father to teach her how to study? But I’m sure they’ll get bored and stop doing it anyway. The girls I know…at first they come up to me asking me to help them study, but then they get bored and say they want to stop studying and to come play with them! I got fed up with all those stupid women and told them coldly to never see me again.
When I remembered that, I thought that father would be released from tutoring soon anyway.
But I was very wrong, and when he returned home from the Duke’s house, he spoke to me with a very excited look on his face.
“Ghislan! Lady Cecilia was amazing!”
“Father, please calm down.”
“This is how I stay calm! Cecilia-sama was an extraordinary person, just like you, with an extraordinary amount of academic ability!”
“What?”
“She was a young lady, and at her age and with those grades…she has a very exciting future! So I took the initiative and asked the Duke to request that Lady Cecilia be admitted to the Royal Ministry of Academic Research in the future.”
Did he…did he come all the way up here just for that?
“Oh, she’s that good.”
I felt a sickening feeling welling up in the pit of my stomach at your father’s words, and I bit my lip hard and shut up.
“I’m sorry, Ghislan. Of course I know you want to join the Ministry of Science and Research, and I’m looking forward to you joining.”
“…”
“I’m really sorry, I was out of line…Ghislan, would you like to see Lady Cecilia? Maybe the same brilliant minds can talk to each other?”
“I mean, no way!”
“Oh, I see…Lady Cecilia didn’t want to talk to you either for some reason…”
I don’t know how she did it, but I didn’t like this Cecilia, the Duke’s daughter, who was approved by father, and I didn’t want to see her ever again.
After that, father started to tutor her in earnest and balanced his work with it, and he gradually stopped looking after my studies, and I grew even more unhappy with her.
I was forced to attend a ball hosted by the royal palace to make my debut in society.
And there was Prince Kaiser, the first prince of the Kingdom of Beizelm, who was also making his debut at the ball.
That prince had blond hair and blue eyes, a handsome face, and a sweet smile, and in the blink of an eye he was surrounded by noble sons and daughters, especially the daughters.
However, I felt that the smile on his face looked suspiciously fake, and I watched with cold eyes as the foolish sons and daughters of the prince did not notice such a smile.
So I said the minimum amount of greetings to Prince Kaiser and quickly slipped out of this boring ball and went home.
In the end, I had no interest in Prince Kaiser, who I had never seen before, and I didn’t think I had anything to do with him, but he influenced me in an unexpected way.
After his debut as a socialite, father decided to teach Prince Kaiser a lesson in royal studies.
And because of this, he didn’t have any more time to teach me.
Father says that Prince Kaiser is a smart man who could do well if he tried, but it seems that he has a habit of skipping school, and when it’s time for Father to study, he often disappears.
So on the day he went to teach Prince Kaiser, he came back tired and in a bad mood.
As I listened to him, I didn’t have a good impression of Prince Kaiser.
A year later, the annual ball was held at the royal palace to mark his debut as a socialite, but I had no intention of attending the ball, so I spent that time in my room studying.
And the next day, father went to the castle to teach Prince Kaiser how to study, as usual.
But when he came back, I found that he had a complicated look on his face.
“Father, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just that…Prince Kaiser has chosen a fiancée, and…”
“Well, he’s a prince, and isn’t it normal for him to choose a fiancée early?”
“Yes, but…it’s Cecilia.”
“…Wow.
I replied emotionlessly to father’s words, but inside I was filled with mixed feelings.
Cecilia…you mean the Duke’s daughter who father is still tutoring, right? So she and Prince Kaiser got engaged to each other…well, there’s no problem with her status, but she’s just a noblewoman after all. As I recall, the ball yesterday was her debut as a socialite, so she probably made her eyes at Prince Kaiser and fell for him. It’s a bit of an annoying thing, but still, I admit that she never got tired of father’s classes…
For some reason, I felt both disappointed and disgusted at the same time.
“If Cecilia is married to Prince Kaiser in the future, then she won’t be allowed to join the Ministry of Science and Research…”
I watched him in silence as he looked so disappointed and depressed, but then I had made a decision.
And a few days later, when he was leaving home to tutor the duchess, I stopped him.
“Father! Please take me with you!”
“Ghislan, what’s going on with you all of a sudden?”
“I…I’d like to meet the Duke’s daughter.”
“But you’ve been wanting to avoid seeing Lady Cecilia for a long time…”
“I’ve changed my mind. Please, Father!”
“…All right. It’s the first time you’ve ever asked to meet a stranger in person. Okay, I don’t have time to let them know in advance, but I’ll take you with me.”
“Thank you, Father!”
So I got into the carriage with my father and drove to the Duke’s house.
When we arrived at the residence, father greeted the people in the house and immediately went to the daughter’s room and opened the door after knocking.
After knocking, he opened the door.
Wow, what is this room…it’s all pink and white, it’s full of frills and ribbons…it’s certainly a room that women would like…but why do I feel such a disappointment?
I looked at the girl, who for some reason stopped, feeling confused and annoyed by my own feelings.
…I admit that she is indeed very good looking. But it’s not what I was expecting. I’d heard from my father that she liked studying, so I thought she’d have a more intelligent face…but she looks more like a fluffy, stupid woman with no interest in studies at all
When I thought that, I was disappointed in my heart and bluntly told her my name.
However, the Duke’s daughter was looking at me intently with a stunned expression for some reason.
As I watched in disbelief, she hurriedly gave me a lady’s bow and said her name.
Then, seeing her, I lost interest in her altogether.
After all, you’re just an idiot daughter too, right?
When I concluded that, I asked my father in disbelief if the woman was really such a person that he would approve of.
And when I glanced at her, she was looking at me with a stupid face.
I was dismayed to see her face and tried to tell my father that I had come all this way only to waste my time and that I wanted to leave.
But then the woman turned to me and said,
“It’s not fair to call someone an idiot just because of how they look without checking them out. Are you really the one who is so great that you are called a child prodigy?”
I stared at her with a stern look on my face, which made me cringe.
But she, without hesitation, continued to say more ridiculous things about me.
I was annoyed by this and glared at her even more, while I also fought back with her.
While we were arguing, my father intervened and said,
“Calm down, both of you. If you doubt Cecilia-sama’s abilities so much, Ghislan, why don’t the two of you take a test together?”
I was surprised by father’s words, but I immediately thought that this was my chance to show the Duke’s daughter my abilities and silence her.
The Duke’s daughter also agreed with my father, but it seems that she wanted to beat me, and she wanted me to apologize if she could prove that she was better than me.
“If you can’t prove that you are better than me, then this is a good opportunity for me to tell you to take father out of your tutoring program.”
That way, I would have more time to spend with him and he would be able to teach me and help me study again.
But the girl listened to my words, pondered for a moment, looked at me with a satisfied look on her face, and then…
“…Oh, you’re just jealous that I am taking time away from your father.”
She said such a thing.
I didn’t expect to be pointed at, and I blushed while denying it without thinking.
Then seeing my face, she turned her smiling eyes to me.
“…Stop it with those eyes.”
I couldn’t stand the sight of her eyes, as if she could see through everything, and I turned my head away, miffed.
What the hell is this woman?!
But I couldn’t look at the her face for a while.
Then she instructed to bring in two desks and a chair in this room, and we took our seats at each of the seats to take father’s test.
The content of the test is also quite difficult because of father’s design, but it’s easy for me because I’ve been working hard every day to study.
Then, when I saw the Duke’s daughter who was taking the same test at a seat a little away from me while solving the problem easily, her expression was very serious and not the same as the idiot woman who had been talking to me earlier. I couldn’t help but look as I stopped moving my pen.
Then father cleared his throat and looked at me, and I got upset and concentrated on the test.
I managed to clear my mind and finished writing all the answers within the time limit, and handed the answer sheet to my father.
Well, I couldn’t review it properly because I lost a bit of time due to something unexpected…but it should be okay.
That’s what I told myself as I waited with a relaxed expression on my face for father to finish grading.
When he finished grading, he came back downstairs and praised us with a very happy smile on his face.
To be honest, I wasn’t the only one who got praised, but I was still happy to receive praise from him.
But soon, he showed me my answer sheet and pointed out my mistakes, which made me feel very low, but I found out that I had made only one mistake.
However, the duke’s daughter didn’t seem to care about my words and while I was wondering about it, she said a word of denial from somewhere unexpectedly.
“…Ghislan, it’s you who should be disappointed.”
When I was puzzled by this, father showed me her answer sheet and told me that she had answered all the questions correctly.
As I stared at it in disbelief, the Duke’s daughter smiled at me and said, “It’s a shame, isn’t it?”
With a suffocating look on her face, I quickly took her answer sheet from father to check it, and I was astonished.
Well, a perfect answer shete…I can’t believe it.
I looked at the Duke’s daughter with that feeling and muttered to myself.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m inferior to the one I thought was a stupid woman…”
“There are a lot of people like that out there.”
“…”
I was unable to say anything to her.
She also told me with a serious expression that I shouldn’t be the same as I am now, and told me not only to study, but to also socialize with people more.
These words made me think that I need to change my way of thinking.
Then she told me to apologize because I had proven myself.
I hesitated to apologize because I had forgotten all about it, but I had no choice but to give up and say I was sorry.
But the Duke’s daughter insisted on calling me by my name, too, as she had promised, and I finally and reluctantly called her Cecilia.
“Yes, well done!”
Cecilia smiled happily as she looked at me.
At that moment, my heart jumped loudly and I was hit by an incredibly intense palpitation.
What are these palpitations?! Shit, it’s painful! But I can’t look away from Cecilia’s face …and then there’s me, who wants to spend more time with Cecilia! What the hell is going on? …Oh, right! When did I… fall in love with Cecilia before I knew it? But since when… ah, surely when father first told me about Cecilia, she had unconsciously taken up residence in my heart, and before I knew it, she had become an object of interest. So today, when I first met her for the first time, I was disappointed that she wasn’t who I thought she was. But I was relieved to see that he seemed to be exactly who I thought she was. But… I’ve realized this feeling, but I’m not brave enough to let Cecilia know my feelings yet!
I was aware of my own feelings, and I noticed that my face was flushing, but I disguised it to Cecilia, who asked me if I was worried, by telling her it was my imagination.
I reluctantly promised Cecilia that I would come back to study with her, and I was able to do just that.
I left the Duke’s mansion with my father, unconsciously unaware of the happy look on my face, and suppressed my desire to still be with her.
Then in the carriage on the way home, father spoke to me with a complicated expression.
“Ghislan, you will have a very big obstacle ahead of you, but stay strong. I’m in no position to help you, but I’m cheering you on.”
“Huh…?”
I didn’t understand what he meant, and I gave him a puzzled reply.
So the next day, I went to the Duke’s mansion alone with a book that I thought Cecilia would like.
Cecilia was stunned at my arrival, but her eyes lit up when she saw the contents of the books I had brought with me.
I’m still glad I brought it with me. I got to see such a cute Cecilia!
I sat down next to Cecilia, who was sitting on the couch and began to read a book, and I sat down next to her and began to read as well.
I was quietly reading with a happy feeling, feeling Cecilia next to me, when suddenly the door to Cecilia’s room opened and Prince Kaiser entered the room.
Furthermore, Prince Kaiser gave me a sharp look.
I was sick of that gaze and similarly turned my gaze on Prince Kaiser.
Then Prince Kaiser asked why I was here, so I said I was here to study with Cecilia and, conversely, asked why Prince Kaiser was here.
“You are studying with Cecilia?…I’m Cecilia’s fiancé. What’s so funny about coming to see my fiancée?”
“I…Shit, I’d forgotten about that.”
I clicked my tongue, and with a disgusted look on my face, I remembered a fact that I had completely forgotten.
Come to think of it, Cecilia got engaged to this Prince Kaiser, right? And…from the look on Prince Kaiser’s face, he must like Cecilia. Oh, I see, that’s why when I heard from father that Cecilia was engaged, I was irresistibly angry and wanted to see her. Oh, I see, that’s what he was talking about!
I remembered father’s words in the carriage on the way home and finally came to an understanding.
I was thinking about this when Prince Kaiser took Cecilia in his arms from behind and pulled her away from my side.
I’ve been thinking about this, but Cecilia’s face, which is being held from behind, looks like she doesn’t want to be hugged from behind, and I realized that it’s not a mutual love affair.
Relieved about that, Prince Kaiser realized that we were calling each other by name, and forced Cecilia to call him by his name.
I didn’t want him to be called by his name, but Cecilia reluctantly did so.
I was disgusted by this and noticed that Prince Kaiser’s arm was loose, happy to hear Cecilia call his name, so I quickly grabbed Cecilia’s arm and pulled her off of Prince Kaiser and hid her behind me.
“…Prince Kaiser, I do not approve of your engagement to Cecilia.”
“…I don’t need approval at all from someone like you. But this is a decision that you can’t overrule by yourself. Instead, give me Cecilia back.”
The word “like you” by Prince Kaiser reminded me of the difference in status, and when I wasn’t careful, I grabbed Cecilia’s arm from behind me and tried to take her, then glared at Prince Kaiser.
The difference in status doesn’t matter! I’ll take care of that for sure! So I definitely won’t give Cecilia to Prince Kaiser!
With that in mind, Prince Kaiser and I stared at each other as we grabbed Cecilia.
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