Akuyaku Reijō (Kari) No Funtō

Chapter 23: The Daily Life of the Crown Prince (Ethan POV)

　After exchanging words with her that day, when I realized she was reborn as Rebecca, I consciously avoided contact with her.

　I would not see her until I was ready to end my engagement to Princess Aaliyah and receive Rebecca as Crown Princess.

　Although I had made up my mind to do so, I honestly missed Rebecca.
　Whenever I was in a difficult situation, I looked from the royal palace in the direction of the Royal Remus Academy where Rebecca spent her days.
Knowing that she was there and not being able to see her was harder than I had imagined.

　Now is the time to be patient.
When I am able to hold her in my arms, we will whisper our love to the point of boredom, melt into each other, and spend our sweet time alone.

　For Rebecca, who remembers nothing of her previous life, my love and attachment for what we had, in this life and the previous one, must be too heavy.
I couldn't even approach her until after we ended our engagement and my sincerity took shape.

　Even though I never met Rebecca in person, I was briefed about her from time to time.
　Conveniently, Rebecca is Garrett's fiancée.
As the equivalent of royalty, she had a royal guard attached to her.

　In the royal office assigned to me, I read through the report on Rebecca's condition.
　She is highly regarded by the teachers at the academy and adored by her schoolmates.
She seems to be taking it easy on those who approach her to take advantage of her status and good-natured personality, and she seems to be engaged in friendly competition with the hard-working young ladies who are ambitious and want to improve themselves.

　Of course, there are some people she doesn't like, but she seems to be able to get along with them without too much stress.

“I just have to stay away from them, and it can't be helped if they get involved with me.
　Does it upset me? No.
When I think about how important this person is to me, it doesn't matter.
　Eh? No way.
I'm not a saint, I'll get even with him later.
It's just too much trouble to deal with every single time.”

　She laughed cheerfully as she said that in her previous life.

　Rebecca also seems to usually ignore attempts to rile her and collectively fight back when a serious case arises.
　If you are in trouble on a daily basis, the atmosphere will deteriorate, and if you just let it slide, it will encourage the other party.
I guess she knows the importance of a good hit when the time is right.

　Every time I looked at the report, I found more favorable aspects of Rebecca, and my feelings for her grew even stronger.

　While I was at the palace flipping through the reports, I often went out with the members of the magic circle to defeat demons.

　There is magic in this world, and there are demons.

　When they appear in large numbers, they cause damage to neighboring villages, so we exterminate them, but we do not pursue them too deeply.
The fact that they exist is probably because the creator of this world thought that demons were necessary here.
There could be more trouble i we try to exterminate them.
　If they increase too much, we will hunt them, but if we can coexist, we don't dare touch them.  It is enough if we can live together without interfering with each other.

　The dream I had in my previous life, which was overly realistic, came in handy in this situation.
Otherwise, I don't know if I would have been able to bear the feeling of everyone’s life in my hands as I hunted.
　I am horrified to think if this would still be the case if the fighting were between human beings, since the other party is a demon without intelligence.
It was also a moment when I realized the importance of domestic leadership and diplomacy.

　Hunting demons is not an enjoyable job for me.
But the world of men is a meritocracy.
Of course, there is a pecking order based on status, but a decorated superior with a high rank is nothing but a target for ridicule.
Especially in an organization where military power is valued, strength is highly esteemed, as I am reminded by the members of this magic circle.
　This regular raid was also meant to be a performance for me to lead the magic circle.

　The other purpose of going out to defeat them was to receive reports directly from the spies I had released in the Kingdom of Xium under the cover of an expedition.
　This was not going to yield good results, partly because the intelligence was from within another country.
　If the matter was exposed, it would no longer be just my problem.
I had to move cautiously, not rushing to get results.

　I was born into this world and became attached to it on my own, and I have no objection to do my best for the country and its people.
Meeting the expectations of my family and those around me also gave me a sense of meaning to my existence.
　But that was only possible with Rebecca by my side.
　She was and still is the most important person in my life.

　The father of my beloved Rebecca, Marquis Howard, is clearly against giving his daughter in marriage to royalty.

　The Howard family has always had many love marriages, and if there are any marriages with the royal family, they are all derived from passionate love stories.
　Furthermore, perhaps because they do not like unnecessary friction, they are reluctant to hold important positions at court and tend to keep their distance from the center of the country.
Nevertheless, they give off a poor demonstration of their excellence from a position that is not tied to their position, and end up becoming powerful figures in the shadows and exerting a great influence on the court.

　The current head of the Howard family, like the previous heads of the family, does not cling to power.
　Moreover, if I want a daughter of the Howard family, I, as the crown prince, am in the most disadvantaged position among the royalty and nobility.
　The Crown Prince is allowed to have a mistress, and the Crown Princess must accept the mistress's child and adopt them, it’s an incredible system.
A marriage based on the premise that one's spouse does not love you is in direct conflict with Marquis Howard's desire to put his daughter's happiness first.

　Because of this foundation, Marquis Howard had no intention of giving up his treasured daughter to the royal family, but as a vassal, he could not ignore the wishes of the King and Queen.
As a compromise—probably with Rebecca's consent—a betrothal to the second prince was concluded.

　Given the above, in order for me to get Rebecca, my status as Crown Prince is nothing but an obstacle.
So, what should I do?
　It is very simple.
I would step down from my position as Crown Prince.
　I thought it was a good idea, but Garrett strongly opposed it.
I wondered what he had against being King of a country, but I didn't say anything because I would be blamed if I pried.

　Anyway, since Garrett was half crying and begging me to give him a break, the next best thing would be for me to marry Rebecca while I was the Crown Prince.

　In this case, the first problem is how Rebecca will accept the burden of being the Crown Princess.
　Hoping that she would stand beside me and make the decision to protect the country with me as the Crown Princess, I gathered the best instructors at the academy and had them proceed with the Crown Princess education without informing her of this.
　If Rebecca chooses to be the Crown Princess, half the problem is solved.
The other half, convincing Marquis Howard, would be my responsibility.
It won't be easy, but I'm going to make arrangements to take an oath to renounce the mistress system and bring in a plan to silence the old men of the court.

　On the other hand, what if Rebecca herself doesn't want to live in the stressful life of a Crown Princess or the mistress system for example?
　I didn't pray to be reincarnated with her in the same world, only to to be stopped short because of my title as Crown Prince.
　I had no hesitation in giving up my claim to the throne, no matter who would condemn me or whether my brother would cry about it.

　If I were to become a vassal, Garrett, the second prince, would inevitably become the Crown Prince.
　Garrett is now afraid of the succession to the throne.
If my brother were to rise as King, he would need to know that he has a lot of support, including from me.
　I have gathered some experts at the academy to mentor Garrett.
Aside from the succession issue, they will also be a positive influence in Garrett's life.

　Hopefully, we will reach a conclusion that will make everyone happy.
We are making steady progress in preparing for this and dealing with the possible uncertainties.

　Once my contract with Princess Aaliyah expires, I can beg Rebecca for her love.
And that day is another day closer.
　I finished getting ready for bed, thinking of my beloved, and returned to the cold bedroom alone.