Prologue: Once Again

“Hm? ...Eeeeeeeeek!” The first sound that escaped Lieselotte’s lips when she awoke was a deafening scream. The palace was ten minutes away from this Riefenstahl holding, yet I would not have been surprised if those in the royal court had heard her.

“I guess this was bound to happen. How else is a sheltered noble supposed to react when she finds herself being princess carried by a man—who happens to be her beloved fiancé, no less?”

“Plus, out of every possible point in time she could have woken up, Liese-tan just had to open her eyes when Sieg was in the middle of laying her in bed. She probably doesn’t have a clue how she ended up here, especially since she’s still drowsy. I say her state of confusion is natural.”

In contrast to the playful tones of Lord Endoh and Lady Kobayashee, I was panicking in a cold sweat. This situation could only be described as awful. Uh, oh, where do I start?

“How? Why? Your Highness? What did I do? Where, what, why?!”

I went ahead and finished placing her on her bed but then froze in place; her animated expression wildly swung back and forth as she muttered in confusion. Her father, Marquis Riefenstahl, looked at us with pity and sighed.

“You lost consciousness at the academy and His Highness carried you all the way here,” he said to his daughter. “I was the one to let him into your room. They say you collapsed due to general fatigue and lack of sleep, so please calm down, Liese. I don’t want you fainting again because of unnecessary excitement.”

“Oh...” Finally recovering some sense of calm, Lieselotte bowed her head to me. Still, her complexion didn’t look too much better as she spoke. “M-My sincerest apologies.”

The reason Lieselotte had passed out was because the Witch of Yore had tormented her with nightmares, weakening her. This villain’s final objective was to exhaust her psyche and take over my fiancée’s body.

While I didn’t know if the gods’ prayer or Lieselotte’s love for me was the cause, she’d stopped writhing in her sleep all at once while in my arms. The pair of deities then told me she was going to be okay as long as I loved her properly; still, this was no time to let my guard down.

“Liese-tan still doesn’t look too good,” Lady Kobayashee said in a sympathetic tone. “Hopefully, it’s just because she hasn’t fully caught up on her sleep yet. Whatever the case, I think it’d be best not to bring up what happened earlier. I don’t think fanning the flames of her fears is a good idea.”

For the moment, I decided to keep the knowledge I’d been given a secret from both Lieselotte and her father. Instead, I flashed her the softest smile I could muster.

“There’s no need to apologize, Lieselotte—I’m your fiancé. In fact, I should be the one apologizing for frightening you like this. You still seem under the weather, so I suggest you take this opportunity to rest.”

“Th-Thank you, Your Highness,” she said, bashfully looking down.

“Liese,” the marquis said, “I’ll go summon an attendant to undress you; I’m sure you won’t be able to relax like this. Your Highness, would you please stay by her side in the meantime? I think my daughter would be horribly lonely otherwise.”

With an awkward smile, he beckoned to Lieselotte, who was still clad in a dress. Following his meaningful gaze, I saw that her fingers were pinching my sleeve.

“N-No!” With a brief shout, she unhanded me. Seeing this, her father left the room with a grin. Left behind with me, Lieselotte violently shook her head and began piling on excuses. “Your Highness, please, this is a misunderstanding! This is, well... A dream! I saw a dream—a terrible one—that caused me to grow anxious, and... Of course, not to say that I’d ever balk when faced with a mere dream! In fact, there is nothing at all which can scare me, other than the thought of you leaving my—”

Deep into her stream of consciousness, Lieselotte rushed to cover her mouth.

“It’s literally not a misunderstanding at all,” Lord Endoh whispered.

“As expected, the only thing Liese-tan fears is the thought of being apart from Sieg,” Lady Kobayashee said. “Remember this fact, Sieg: as long as you’re by her side, Liese-tan won’t lose to that stupid Witch of Yore.”

I had no idea what “misunderstanding” Lieselotte was trying to refer to, but her love and cuteness were coming through in spades. As I sat there, trembling in awe at her adorable nature, Lady Kobayashee’s voice suddenly picked up.

“So it’s up to you to pamper her! Make sure she never feels lonely, so we can prevent her fated ruin! And while we’re at it, let’s take that personification of the root of all evil and beat her to a pulp!”

I swear it, I thought. Although I didn’t put it to words, my oath was sincere: I would not let Lieselotte be hurt. During the time I’d spent listening to the goddess, Lieselotte had come to her own interpretation of my silence and called to me meekly.

“You... You don’t understand, I...”

While tearful blushing still suited her adorable visage, I didn’t want to let her worry. I gently patted her on the head.

“It looks like you’re still a bit confused. Don’t worry, I’ll always be by your side. Well, today, I’ll leave as soon as the marquis comes back, so you can rest, but...we’re engaged, remember? Even if we’re apart for some time, we’ll never truly be separated. Isn’t that so?”

“Your Highness,” she muttered. All of the tension in her shoulders dissipated. “You... You’re absolutely right. I am your fiancée, after all.”

“Look at that reserved smile and those rosy cheeks, all from getting a head pat! Oh my gosh, this is the dictionary definition of cute! Ugh, they’re so precious!”

Strangely, Lady Kobayashee seemed to be in great pain. But as the goddess pointed out, Lieselotte was slowly regaining her usual pride. The conservative happiness that bled through was remarkably adorable; I could feel the atmosphere of the room lighten up alongside her.

As we exchanged smiles, I once again made my vow: I would never let Lieselotte’s terrible fate come to pass.