Her tragedy is the invitation to a tea party, something His Majesty mentioned at the debut ceremony.

As a rule, you can’t refuse a tea party hosted by royalty.

But Chris thinks of something there.

Tragedy struck out of nowhere.

* * *

“A tea party…”

The invitation to the tea party His Majesty had mentioned at the debut ceremony actually arrived.

The host is Prince Alex.

This is the worst.

“Father… I want to refu—”

“You can’t refuse.”

Father cut me off flatly.

“We can say I’m not feeling well.”

“Christina… go properly.”

“…Understood.”

And so I ended up having to attend the tea party hosted by Prince Alex.

* * *

On the day of the tea party, I prepared in my usual outfit.

“M-My lady?! Why do you look like that?! Today is a tea party with Prince Alex!”

“I know. That’s why. I need him to properly see what I normally look like.”

“Ah, what a disaster! If the master and madam find out…”

That’s right and by bad luck today (lucky for me), both of my parents have gone together to the territory and are absent.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry, Marie. I’m going to have him see the real, everyday me properly and get him to treat the engagement talk as if it never happened.”

“W-What?! N-No way! Ah, I need to contact the master and madam at once… but it won’t be in time… ah, what should I do?”

Ignoring Marie’s fluster, I quickly headed out in the outfit I’d wanted to wear at the debut ceremony, a black two-piece suit with a blue ribbon tie.

The driver waiting outside also paled when he saw me, but once I got into the carriage and said “Go,” he couldn’t exactly refuse and drove off.

Before long (our house is incredibly close to the royal castle, after all), we arrived and I stepped down from the carriage.

At the entrance, a guard was standing there, presumably waiting to guide me.

Since he was standing there blankly and didn’t guide me, I decided to speak to him first.

He probably didn’t realize I was the guest invited today.

After all, he was surely told “A ducal young lady is coming.”

“Excuse me. I am Christina Fitzering Rosenschwert, invited today to Prince Alex’s tea party.”

“…Eh… Ehh?!”

Startled by my appearance (I clearly look like a noble young lord), the guard hurriedly began guiding me, flustered as he said, “This way, please.”

Sorry for startling you, but this won’t happen again from now on, so please forgive me.

The tea party had been set up in a gazebo in the castle’s inner courtyard.

“This way, please.”

“Thank you.”

I walked through the garden as-is and headed toward Prince Alex, who was standing in the gazebo.

At the moment he turned his eyes toward me, I placed my right hand on my chest and bowed.

“…Who are you? This is a private tea party and I invited only one young lady.”

Seriously, a one-on-one tea party? Give me a break.

“Yes, I am Christina Fitzering Rosenschwert, invited today.”

“…Huh? …Ha? …What are you saying…”

“I am the Christina invited today.”

“What are you saying? Lady Christina, whom I met the other day, was—”

“A girl with platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes… correct.”

“Ah, yes. A very beautiful young lady, nothing like you.”

“We are the same person.”

“Huh?”

“I am, without a doubt, Christina. I have changed my hair and eye color with magic.”

“…Why would you do that?”

“Because I intend to live as a man and become an adventurer.”

“…A man?? A man?! A-Are you a man??”

“No. My sex is female.”

“T-Then why??”

“To become an adventurer, being only female increases danger and causes various inconveniences. So I decided that, starting now, I would learn male behavior, live as a man and continue living that way.”

“W-What is that supposed to mean…”

You’re so shocked you’re dropping the act, Your Highness.

“Even when I had my audience with His Majesty before the debut ceremony, I met him in this form.”

“Huh? My father knows you look like this? He’s seen it?? And he still said I should absolutely take you as my fiancée?? What is going on??”

“Who knows. Someone as insignificant as me couldn’t possibly guess at the profound thoughts of a wise and gracious king.”

I do think he’s finding it amusing though.

“…A-Anyway, I understand that you’re Christina. Sit down.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hm?”

“I thought that once Your Highness saw me like this, you would refuse the tea party.”

“I-I mean, you came all this way. At least have a cup of tea before you go.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I bowed deeply and sat in the seat opposite him.

“Even if you changed your hair and eye color with magic… you look like a completely different person.”

“Even I think I’ve disguised myself quite well.”

“…”

When I answered proudly, he made a sour face.

“Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Please tell His Majesty to treat the engagement between us as if it never existed. As you can see, I am not suited to be a queen or a prince’s consort. Before things reach the point where I shame Your Highness, please…”

“You hate the idea of being engaged to me that much?”

“Huh?”

What does that mean? You’re the one who’s supposed to hate it.

“If someone like me is made your fiancée, it will be a disgrace to the royal family and, by extension, to this country. Please tell His Majesty before things become serious. Tell him, I can’t take someone like that as my partner.”

“I don’t particularly…”

Not understanding his intent, I tilted my head and for some reason he flushed while bluntly spitting out the words.

“I don’t particularly mind you.”

“Huh?”

Oops, no good, I nearly let my real voice slip.

“N-No, that’s impossible. Your Highness, why would you say such a thing?”

Prince Alex suddenly signaled with his eyes and hand movements to the guards and maids standing nearby, ordering them to leave and clearing everyone out.

As I stood there confused, he let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll speak normally, so you speak in your real way too.”

Still not understanding, I stayed tilted like that and he sighed again.

“I want to hear your true feelings.”

“True feelings? I’ve only been saying the truth.”

“That’s a lie. Do you think I’m such an idiot that I can’t see through that? Just talk normally.”

“…Fine.”

After I kept tilting my head at him, he finally started speaking, looking resigned.

“I can tell you’re lying. Even about the engagement, my opinion and feelings were never really considered from the start. If that’s the case, then from the limited options, I want to choose at least something myself. There were several other people recommended as possible fiancées. But I thought being with you would probably be less exhausting.”

He really just spilled his honest thoughts.

Well, that makes sense. A prince has this and that decided for him and probably can’t decide much for himself.

Even more so than me.

Fine. I’ll speak normally.

It seems he’s already figured me out anyway.

“…Understood. Then I’ll talk normally.”

Since I suddenly switched from halting speech to speaking smoothly, Prince Alex again made a shocked face.

“S-So that’s the real you.”

“Yes. Since Your Highness ordered me to speak normally, don’t accuse me of disrespect, alright?”

“I-I won’t!”

“Then, once again, why do you want someone like me as your fiancée? No matter how you look at it, I’m a boy.”

“Th-That’s… true. But your original appearance is the one from the debut ceremony, right?”

“Yes. But I will never look like that again from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a pain.”

“Huh?”

“It really is a pain. It takes hours to style long hair and you pile on all those gaudy decorations and your head gets heavy. Dresses are the same. They’re decorated to the point of absurdity, so they’re heavy, they catch on everything, the hem gets stepped on, you feel like you’re going to trip, it’s the worst. Shoes too, made of stiff material that isn’t suited for long walking, so your feet hurt, they’re hard to walk in and they’re heavy because they’re decorated for no reason. And on top of that you wear all that jewelry jangling everywhere, it’s annoying beyond belief. Am I a chandelier or what?”

“Pff!! …S-So that’s how it is…”

My remark made him snort.

“Men’s clothes are comfortable and great in that regard. Basically it’s a two-piece, but because it’s a two-piece it’s easy to move in. The lower garment isn’t dragging long either and it’s easy to move. Shoes, well, for social settings you still have to wear stiff ones, but they’re far easier to walk in and lighter than women’s shoes.”

“I-I see?”

“Also, I plan to become an adventurer in the future and leave this country, so please treat our engagement as if it never existed.”

“W-What? You’re leaving the country??”

“Yes. I’m going to buy a house in another country and live there alone quietly and unobtrusively, without standing out.”

“Why?!”

“What do you mean why?”

“Why are you leaving this country?”

Hmm… I can’t exactly say it’s because I might be dragged into the game’s forced mechanics as the villainess, so I want to cut off as much involvement with this country’s nobles and royalty as possible.

“I’m someone who will eventually leave the ducal house. But I’ve decided to live as a man, so of course I’m not considering marrying some noble young lord as a ducal young lady at all. If that’s the case, I’d end up staying unmarried and squatting at my parents’ home forever. That would cause trouble for Father and my older brother who will inherit and, more than anything, it would affect the ducal house’s reputation. If that’s what it will come to, then I thought it might be better to leave on a journey and be treated as missing…”

“That’s insane!! How does that follow?!”

“Because living as a man is absolute for me. It’s not something I can compromise on.”

“You want to live as a man that badly?”

“Yes.”

“Even though it might be hard?”

“I’ll be fine. I can live even alone. Well, when I get old and my death is near, I’ll go somewhere deep in the mountains where no one comes while I still have the strength and quietly die there. Then I won’t trouble anyone with things like funerals and burials.”

When I answered with a big laugh, Prince Alex, for some reason, started getting angry.

“Don’t say stupid things!! There’s no way that should be allowed!”

“Huh? Why?”

When I tilted my head, genuinely not understanding, he made a blank face.

“Why?? You’re a ducal young lady! And you’re the daughter of the Rosenschwert house, which inherits the royal blood most strongly. Even if you’re in another country, anyone who learns your identity could easily try to use you. And someone connected to the royal family dying alone in the mountains is a joke!! That would be smearing mud on the royal family. Why don’t you understand that?!”

“Ah, it’s fine. When I leave the house, I won’t take anything related to the ducal house with me. And when I leave the country, I won’t be leaving as Christina either.”

“Huh?”

He looked openly confused, like what is this idiot saying.

“I will absolutely not cause trouble for the ducal house or the royal family. So, Your Highness, please treat me as if I never existed from the start and abandon me.”

“You really… what are you even saying…”

He looked like he truly could not understand.

Well, it would be hard to understand. Within the common sense, recognition and knowledge he’s built up through his life, there was never any existence or thinking like mine.

“I’m truly happy that Your Highness is kind enough to try to understand me even a little. But you don’t need to show that kind of consideration toward someone like me. There should be far more things Your Highness must care about. I selfishly insist I want to be a man, dress like this and learn swordsmanship and martial arts and even my behavior is completely male. Something as crazy as me is, no matter how you look at it, not someone who should stand at Your Highness’s side. Not as queen and not even as a prince’s consort.”

“You know you’re strange and yet… why…”

“Our conversation is looping. Because I’m going to live as a man.”

“…You’re learning swordsmanship?”

“Yes. I’m learning swordsmanship and martial arts. I’ve only been learning for two years, so it’s nothing special.”

“Two years?!”

“I started learning at five.”

“Since that age?! Since that age you wanted to be a man?!”

“Yes.”

“…Just what… happened to you?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“Liar! Don’t lie to me!”

“There really wasn’t anything special. When I thought about the future, I had a strong desire to live freely and after thinking about it from every angle, I arrived at the idea of becoming a man and living as an adventurer and I simply thought that was closest to my ideal.”

“……”

Prince Alex fell silent and started thinking.

The tea that had been served felt like a waste, so I downed the slightly cooled tea in one gulp.

It’s bad manners, but since he cleared the room and no one’s watching, I’ll call it safe.

“…In this country… can’t you be free?”

“It would be difficult. Just as Your Highness will live your whole life bearing the title and position of First Prince as long as you remain in this country, I too will live bearing the title and position of being the daughter of the Rosenschwert ducal house, the closest to the royal family. I know that throwing everything away and becoming free is extremely selfish and self-indulgent and I also understand that choosing freedom always comes with responsibility, big or small. Understanding all of that, I still chose this way of life.”

“I see…”

“So please, treat the engagement between us as something that never existed.”

“That’s separate.”

Huh?

What?

Did I mishear?

“Um… separate?”

“Yes. Separate. That and this are different.”

“Huh?? No, they’re the same, aren’t they??”

“No, they’re different.”

This time it was me who frowned, completely unable to understand.

“Um… what are you saying, Your Highness? This is me, you know?”

I pointed at myself as I asked.

“Yes. You.”

“Your Highness… do you have a taste for men?”

“No! That’s not it!! For one thing, even if you’re dressed as a man, you’re still a woman.”

“Ugh… I seriously don’t get what you mean.”

“For now, from what we talked about today, I understand you a little as a person.”

“I-I see.”

“But the engagement is separate.”

“Your Highness. Even if I really were chosen as your fiancée, when the time comes I will throw everything away and leave the country. If that happens, it will be Your Highness who is mocked not only within the country but also by foreign nations as the prince whose fiancée ran away and you’ll be humiliated. Naturally, I, the cause of that situation, would definitely be executed for disrespect, so I’ll run for my life.”

It would also smear mud on Father and the ducal house, but my life is on the line too.

“It’s fine. That won’t happen. I’ll never let it.”

Hey, is this also the game’s forced mechanics?

What is this, seriously?

If that’s how it’s going to be, then no matter what happens, I’ll escape abroad and run from the condemnation ending!!!

* * *

And so, the tea party ended in an incomprehensible, unresolved parting.

What on earth was that…

* * *

Her plan to have the engagement talk withdrawn in a blank slate somehow failed spectacularly.

If anything, it ended as an incomprehensible non-resolution (laugh).