Dumped After My Engagement: Becoming a Military Noblewoman

Chapter 39

Rudo Orsema is the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Russell, known among those around him as always calm and composed, efficient and accurate in his actions, never neglecting effort, and especially valuing his younger siblings.

That is all true, but no one knows that he escapes to the frontier every year to avoid the selection of aides and fiancées. It's his secret way of relaxing and an ideal place for training.

Even his father, the king, is said to retreat to the fortress once every few years, to which Rudo simply nodded in agreement.

Rudo returned early from Ransheen Fortress to the Royal Capital and had been preparing for his enrollment at the Academy alongside his Crown Prince education.

Whether royalty, duke, or marquis families, no exceptions are made—everyone lives in the dormitory until they graduate from the Academy.

However, to avoid conflicts between nobles and commoners, the dormitory is divided by floors to some extent. Royalty and high-ranking nobles are given private rooms on the upper floors for security reasons.

Below the floors with private rooms, the rooms are shared by two people, where lower-ranking nobles and commoners live together.

Since the nation operating the Academy covers the dormitory expenses, room fees, food, and utilities are all free. However, this does not apply to high-ranking nobles using private rooms.

To avoid complaints from lower-ranking nobles and commoners about special treatment, those using private rooms must pay for the room fee and any interior decoration costs if they choose to change the furnishings.

Rudo admires the idea of sharing a room, but considering his position, he cannot be selfish. He has no preferences for the interior, so he leaves it to his attendants.

The uniforms and course materials have already been prepared, and the sword used in the knight course is a fine piece crafted in Taurus. As with the time at Ransheen Fortress, Altried will serve as his escort.

With only a few days left until enrollment at the Academy, the only remaining task was the most depressing—choosing a candidate for his aide.

For the past few days, he had been meeting with sons of duke and marquis families.

Since they were all candidates recommended by the royal family, they were well-prepared and mature, and he didn't know what criteria to use to choose among them.

That just showed how similar everyone was...

"Only three left. The one I'm meeting today is Floyd Armle...? That name sounds familiar."

As he tilted his head while looking over the prepared documents, Altried, who stood behind him, peeked at the papers and nodded.

"He is the second son of the Marquis Armle family. If I recall correctly, he is also Celestia's fiancé..."

"Celes's fiancé! You remembered that well..."

"I've done some research on Your Highness's aide candidates."

"I see, so he's Celes's..."

As he stared closely at the portrait attached to the documents, the words "He looks different than I imagined..." slipped from his mouth.

"Floyd Armle has a rather cute appearance, so if you were imagining someone like Fildé, that would explain your reaction."

"No, I shouldn't judge by appearances..."

Floyd looked so cute it made one question if he was really a man, and his appearance was completely opposite of Rudo's.

He imagined Celestia at the fortress and placed Floyd next to her in his mind, but it felt incredibly off.

"......Can he run for two hours every morning? He doesn't even seem to have basic stamina... Wouldn't he cry if someone splashed water on him?"

Celestia shows no mercy. If someone dares to whine, that beautiful face of hers goes blank, and she looks at them like trash on the roadside...

"......I'm not sure, but since the head and deputy head don't go to the battlefield, I think it's fine as long as he's passable."

"But if the fortress falls, next is the Rotish family's territory, right?"

"If that fortress falls, there really won't be any way to stop it..."

Nodding in agreement, he was prompted by his attendant and moved to the audience chamber.

As he walked down the corridor and looked out the window, the snow that had piled up had melted before he knew it, and colorful flowers were blooming in the garden.

Happy days pass quickly, and the days ahead would be terribly dull and unchanging.

"If only Celes were my aide... every day would be so much fun."

Even if Celestia enrolled in the Academy of the Royal Capital, she could not become the Crown Prince's aide.

Female heads of families are accepted, and many women work as bureaucrats in central government.

However, there isn't a single woman among the elite who surround the king.

Marriage changes factions, and during pregnancy, one must leave the center. If a woman passes the marriageable age, people start to suspect something is wrong, making it hard to remain single for life.

That's why it was just a muttered thought, a foolish wish.

"In that case, wouldn't a fiancée be better?"

Altried, walking behind him, said it casually, and Rudo frowned, thinking normally one would pretend not to hear that.

"She's the heir of the Rotish family, you know?"

"Ruget Lotish, the current head's younger brother, has two sons. If one of them inherits the family, there won't be a problem, right?"

"......That's full of problems. Celes has worked so hard just to inherit the family."

"We never know when war might break out. Even someone who becomes queen needs to be able to wield a sword."

"Mother has never even held a sword, though?"

"If it's the Rotish family, His Majesty the King would be pleased."

"I have no intention of marrying for Father's sake."

"Then—"

Rudo raised his right hand, signaling him to shut up, cutting off Altried's words.

Even if it was just a joke for the moment, it would become troublesome if the wrong person overheard. No matter how he tried to justify it, he had no intention of making Celestia his fiancée, so this conversation should end.

—Besides.

"Brother!"

"You're early."

"I just got here too."

Renato, approaching from the opposite side, spotted Rudo first and ran up to him with a sweet smile he only showed to family.

Last year, Renato had been mentally exhausted from suspecting everyone after being poisoned in the royal castle, but spending time in the distant Ransheen Fortress had helped him regain his original brightness.

"Is everything settled with Father?"

"Yes."

While Rudo was tiring himself with aide candidate meetings, Renato had been negotiating and persuading the king.

Rudo already knew the details, having heard them beforehand in the carriage back to the Royal Capital.

Unlike Rudo, being the Second Prince made such actions permissible.

"What about your aide?"

Sitting side by side with Renato on the audience chamber sofa, he checked the results of the negotiations.

"You're more interested in the aide than the military school?"

"Father values Fildé Rotish and the National Army. He'd be pleased if one of his sons entered the military school."

"I'm not enrolling just to make Father happy."

Perhaps because it resembled what Rudo had said earlier in the corridor, Altried let out a faint chuckle, and Renato shrugged.

"I plan to choose my aide candidate from noble sons belonging to the knight training."

"......Not the eldest, but the second or third son?"

"Currently, the highest-ranking one is the second son of a Count family. The others are from Baron families, but one of them, an eldest son expected to inherit his house, is also a candidate."

"Is he planning to become a soldier instead of a knight?"

"There are always some who'd rather enter the military school in a region where a former Marshal of the National Army lives than endure the awkwardness of attending the Royal Capital's Academy. Besides, starting this year, the former Knight Commander, Ivan Tsuery, who was once a Count, will be teaching at the military school."

"......I'm so jealous I could cry."

Honestly, Rudo would prefer to attend the military school over the Academy.

The training is tough, but the days are fulfilling. Every man dreams at least once of learning swordsmanship beside those two. There are no sycophants trying to read the Crown Prince's mood and flatter him. On the contrary, they might avoid him altogether.

The more he imagined it, the more envious he became.

"By the way, you said you wanted to attend the meeting for your own learning... but was it really necessary to specify the date?"

Rudo had just realized why Renato had chosen this particular time and asked with a wicked grin.

"......Because it was Floyd Armle."

There was a slight pause as he tried to dodge the question, but realizing it was pointless, Renato puffed his cheeks and answered plainly.

"You investigated him?"

"Yes. You can't win unless you know your enemy."

Rudo smiled wryly at Renato, who nodded as if it were obvious, and shook his head, thinking Floyd was unfortunate.

"Enemy, huh... but he's already engaged, isn't he?"

"It's a provisional engagement."

Just as Altried had suggested, there was no way Celestia would become the Crown Prince's fiancée.

After all, she was the first love of his precious little brother.

"Your Highness, it's time."

"Understood. My aide candidate will be entering now. The questions are already prepared, but you may ask additional ones if necessary. If there's time left in the audience, I'll allow you to speak with Floyd."

"Until then, I'll sit quietly."

With the audience preparations complete, he straightened his posture.

Rudo let out a deep breath, surprised at how nervous he was despite himself.

Even if he had a faint crush on Celestia, he didn't want to take away her dreams and trap her in the stifling royal castle for his own desires.

"Celes will choose. If you make her cry, even as her brother, I won't forgive you."

"I understand."

She is my one and only best friend, and that's enough.