While being escorted by Prince Laurel, I walked through the royal castle.

It felt incredibly strange.

I had never once imagined myself walking alongside Prince Laurel like this.

At the academy, we had done little more than exchange greetings.

Even though we were students, I had been far too intimidated to speak to royalty.

If I somehow offended Prince Laurel, it wouldn’t just be me who suffered.

My family’s viscount house would pay the price as well.

At the academy, all I could do was admire him from afar.

Honestly, I had even worried that staring at him for too long might be considered rude.

The motto of House Baum is: “Become one with the background.”

And our family teachings are: “A wise man avoids danger,” and “Leave sleeping gods undisturbed.”

So during my years at the academy, I dedicated myself to becoming invisible.

Just like Father was doing now.

He had completely erased his presence.

It was magnificent.

Never before had I wished so desperately to reach Father’s level of mastery.

I was pretty sure I had already perfected the art of becoming a wallflower during my time at the Magic Academy.

I really worked hard.

Trying to escape reality, I took a moment to praise myself.

But Father.

Please help your daughter right now.

I’m so nervous I feel like I might collapse!

Damn.

No good.

Father had fully embraced becoming background scenery.

He wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.

Clearly, no rescue was coming.

And Lord Hearts had abandoned me instantly earlier.

That cold-hearted schemer.

I took a deep breath.

I needed to calm myself.

Then I glanced up at Prince Laurel, who was escorting me.

This was the first time I had ever seen him from this close.

He really was handsome.

He looked amazing even in casual clothing.

A perfect prince from every angle!

Well, he actually was a real prince.

Today, he seemed ten times more radiant than usual.

I almost felt like bowing in worship.

It seemed like I could receive divine blessings just by looking at him.

Maybe it was because I had only ever seen him in his academy uniform before.

That might have made the difference even more striking.

I still couldn’t believe I was walking through the royal castle while being escorted by Prince Laurel.

And this was my very first visit to the castle!

Maybe this was all a dream.

It didn’t feel real at all.

Though my overwhelming nervousness certainly did.

The corset I wasn’t used to wearing was uncomfortable and suffocating.

But somehow, looking at Prince Laurel made me feel happy.

Perhaps Prince Laurel himself was a divine being.

Or maybe I was about to die.

Maybe I had just used up every bit of luck I would ever have in my life.

While staring at the radiant Prince Laurel, I found myself thinking such ominous thoughts.

Ahem.

An exaggerated cough reached my ears.

Lord Hearts.

I had been completely captivated by Prince Laurel.

And I was absolutely certain I had been making a foolish expression.

My thoughts had also been racing like a runaway carriage.

The situation was so far removed from ordinary life that my emotions had become unstable.

Thank you, Lord Hearts, for bringing me back to reality!

And I’m sorry for calling you a cold-hearted schemer who abandoned me earlier.

That said, Prince Laurel’s golden hair was incredibly smooth, and his blue eyes were beautiful.

His overall coloring was soft and elegant.

This was royalty.

His eyelashes are so long!

I’m jealous!

And somehow, he smells nice too!

“Lady Melissa.”

“Yes? What is it, Your Highness?”

Prince Laurel suddenly called my name.

Though surprised, I managed to answer calmly.

Good job, me.

I was probably maintaining a proper lady’s smile too.

“I’m sorry for making you walk so far.”

Now that he mentioned it, we had been walking for more than five minutes.

The royal castle really was enormous.

The fact that it took over five minutes just to walk through part of the building impressed me all over again.

“I’ve been so captivated by my first visit to the royal castle that the walk hasn’t bothered me at all.”

As I answered, I silently congratulated myself on delivering a model response.

“And being escorted by someone as wonderful as Prince Laurel feels like a dream.”

A flawless follow-up.

Well done, me.

I had even managed to say it with a touch of embarrassment.

Had I finally achieved mastery as a noble lady?

Still, that had been close.

I had almost said, “The Prince Laurel I’ve always admired.”

That could easily have been interpreted as disrespectful.

I didn’t know Prince Laurel very well despite having been his classmate.

I couldn’t afford to say anything that might offend royalty.

He was sincere and diligent.

I had never once seen him behave unreasonably.

Even Lord Hearts had only ever spoken highly of Prince Laurel’s character.

Though naturally, he wasn’t about to badmouth his superior.

Then again, Lord Hearts was not the type to serve an incompetent leader.

If Prince Laurel were truly lacking, Lord Hearts would have distanced himself long ago while maintaining a polite relationship and pursuing another path.

That was the kind of person Lord Hearts was.

Having known him since childhood, even if only as a distant relative, I could confidently believe that much.

“I’m very happy to be able to talk with you like this as well, Lady Melissa.”

Prince Laurel said as he leaned slightly closer to look at my face.

This man definitely knew how attractive he was.

He seemed to have decided that, as someone connected to his aide Lord Hearts, I was safe to tease a little.

If I were another noble lady, I would absolutely misunderstand this.

What would he do if he gave someone false hope and caused a major incident?

He’s the future king.

A scandal involving women would tarnish the popularity he had built among the people.

Well, Lord Hearts was here.

And I had heard that his other attendants were equally capable.

They would probably eliminate any problem before it ever came to light.

Especially Lord Hearts.

He seemed exactly like the type who would excel at handling those sorts of situations.

And probably enjoy doing it.

Moving things behind the scenes was undoubtedly one of his specialties.

I briefly glanced at the scheming Lord Hearts before smiling back at Prince Laurel.

There didn’t seem to be any problem.

“Here we are, Lady Melissa.”

“My father and mother have been eagerly waiting for you.”

At Prince Laurel’s words, I sucked in a breath.

The Queen is here too?

Nobody told me that!

I turned and looked back down the long corridor we had just walked through.

Living in a place this enormous must be exhausting for Prince Laurel.

…Thinking that, I indulged in one final, desperate attempt to escape reality.