As I sat inside the carriage, I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer size of the royal castle.

Until now, I had only ever seen it from beyond the castle walls, gazing at it from afar.

The building was enormous.

And beautiful.

Even the plaza and gardens visible from here were nothing short of magnificent.

It was easy to imagine that the areas hidden from view were equally stunning.

So this was the royal castle.

As expected of the royal castle.

I was reminded once again that I lived in the greatest nation on the continent.

In every respect, our country was a superpower incomparable to any other.

I had studied that fact extensively at the academy, but despite living here, it had never truly felt real.

Perhaps that was because the Baum Viscounty was such a rural place.

It was far from the royal capital, after all.

A sigh of admiration escaped me unconsciously.

But in the very next moment, tension shot through my body.

I suddenly remembered my situation.

I was completely out of place.

This was not somewhere I belonged.

Why had I been summoned?

Seriously, why?

What had I possibly done?

As those thoughts swirled through my mind, the carriage came to a stop.

“If I remember correctly, this entrance is reserved for important figures.”

Father muttered blankly.

“Huh? Really?”

I immediately blurted out the question.

And rather loudly at that.

I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands.

Though it was far too late for that now.

I hadn’t even known there were multiple entrances.

Then again, a castle this large would naturally need several.

I still couldn’t believe I was standing in a place I had thought would never have any connection to my life.

My nerves only grew worse.

At that moment, there was a knock on the carriage door.

Right.

I needed to get out quickly.

The last thing I wanted was to run into other important people.

The door opened, and a hand was extended toward me.

I knew ladies were escorted when getting out of carriages, but I had never actually experienced it myself.

Still, eager to get out quickly, I reached for the offered hand.

Then my body froze.

The moment I saw the person’s face, my eyes widened.

I couldn’t move.

“Melissa?”

Father noticed my reaction and called out to me.

Nobles were not supposed to reveal their true emotions so easily.

In fact, I prided myself on being able to control my expressions perfectly at the Magic Academy.

Outside of my home, I had been a model student.

And yet—

‘Your Highness?’

The words never left my lips.

It felt as though I had forgotten how to breathe.

“Lady Melissa, it’s been a while.”

Smiling warmly, Laurel Bayleaf, the First Prince of the kingdom, spoke to me.

Prince Laurel’s smile was dazzling.

His pale golden hair and sky-blue eyes were as striking as ever.

Even at a time like this, I found myself thinking that the phrase “breathtakingly handsome” existed for a reason.

And Prince Laurel wasn’t merely blessed with good looks.

He was brilliant as well.

From what I had heard, his swordsmanship was exceptional too.

The phrase “excellent in both academics and martial arts” came to mind.

On top of that, he was kind-hearted.

Both nobles and commoners adored him.

I couldn’t understand why the First Prince of our kingdom was extending his hand to me.

More importantly, I couldn’t even comprehend why he was here.

Father also seemed deeply shocked by the prince’s appearance.

“Though when I say it’s been a while, we did see each other at yesterday’s graduation ceremony.”

Prince Laurel continued speaking with a smile as I stood there in stunned silence.

At the Magic Academy, Prince Laurel and I had been classmates.

That said, being classmates didn’t mean I had been able to casually talk to royalty.

There was no way I could.

I was only the daughter of a viscount.

During our school years, we exchanged greetings on occasion.

As the daughter of a rural viscount, I knew my place.

Although we had never actually spoken beyond that, I could never admit that every time I saw Prince Laurel, I secretly thought it was a feast for the eyes.

More than that, I was shocked that Prince Laurel even recognized me.

When he had called my name earlier, I had nearly fainted from surprise.

He knew my name.

He had never called me by it during our academy days.

And it wasn’t as though I did anything that stood out.

Besides, my appearance was entirely ordinary.

“Lady Melissa?”

My name was called again.

I snapped back to reality and looked at the hand Prince Laurel was still offering.

I couldn’t leave him hanging forever.

Feeling deeply apologetic, I cautiously extended my own hand.

With Prince Laurel’s escort, I stepped down from the carriage.

Carefully.

Very carefully.

I couldn’t afford any mistakes.

“Th-Thank you very much.”

I thanked Prince Laurel.

Inside, however, my heart was on the verge of exploding from nervousness.

My mind had gone completely blank.

I had no idea what was happening.

This entire situation made no sense whatsoever.

Just yesterday, at the graduation ceremony, I had thought that I would never see Prince Laurel again.

The shock was immense.

After all, he was the future king.

And I was a viscount’s daughter planning to become a commoner.

It was only natural to assume our paths would never cross again.

Several of the prince’s attendants stood behind him.

Among them was Lord Hearts, the heir of House Ease—the marquis family from which the Baum family branched off, and also our relatives.

Without thinking, I sent him a pleading look.

I was desperate enough to grasp at straws.

He had also been my classmate until yesterday.

Not that we were close.

Not that I had ever wanted to become close.

And not that I had forgotten how scheming he had been since childhood.

Still, there was no one else I could turn to.

Besides, Lord Hearts wasn’t the type to harm others unless they became his enemy.

However, once someone did become his enemy, he showed absolutely no mercy.

As the heir to a high-ranking noble house, I understood that such qualities were sometimes necessary.

After meeting my gaze, Lord Hearts turned toward Prince Laurel without changing his expression in the slightest.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting.”

At Lord Hearts’ merciless words, I nearly wanted to cry.

“You’re right.”

“I’ll guide them personally.”

“Lady Melissa, Viscount Baum.”

Prince Laurel said this with a bright and refreshing smile.

Meanwhile, I was still being escorted by him.

I had completely missed my chance to let go of his hand.

Unfortunately, it seemed my ordeal was far from over.

I desperately resisted the urge to clutch my stomach in distress.