The fake princess hides her scheme

Episode 1

“Your Highness, Princess April, sole heir to the Duchy of Bristol.”

A banquet hall of overwhelming size that I had never seen before, chandelier lighting so bright it made me squint my eyes, and a carpet on the floor that looked too expensive for someone like me to walk on.

What was more frightening, of course, were the magic control barriers that stretched out from all over the place and formed like a dense spider web.

But I walked with my shoulders squared and my chin held high. I tried to ignore the heart beating anxiously under my luxurious dress and repeated to myself.

‘I’m a princess. I’m the sole heir to a very rich island nation. I don’t need magic.’

In reality, the only time I’d ever played a princess was once in a play at a daycare center’s year-end party, but what can I do?

I, April Bayswater, must do my duty today. As has been my life thus far, that is my way of surviving.

So I stood in front of the homework I had finally faced, planting my feet firmly on the ground. I lifted my eyes, which had been downcast, and glanced up at the biggest task of my life.

Crown Prince Calrissian Peñafort Lefebvre Justinia. A small star of the empire who will succeed the ailing emperor. Commonly known as Justinia’s Morning Star.

Wow, all the painters who have painted portraits of the crown prince up until now should reflect on themselves.

White skin that must have remained from a long indoor life, purple eyes sparkling above a sharp nose, and even the silver hair characteristic of the Justine royal family.

All the people of the empire who could speak and write had praised his beauty in the portrait, but when seen in person, the Crown Prince shone like the morning star itself.

They say he inherited the emperor’s chronic illness and nearly died several times during his childhood, but his face is too precious to die young.

Moreover, as an adult, he has become so healthy that he practices imperial philanthropy by not stopping any woman who comes to him or holding back any woman who leaves.

Of course, seeing it in person makes me think that it would be more beneficial to the public interest of the empire… … .

However, Grand Duke Artsen, the Emperor’s younger brother and right-hand man, seemed to be quite embarrassed by his nephew’s behavior.

So he declared that he would hold a month-long charity banquet to find a bride for the crown prince, and thanks to that, I am standing here today.

Thank you, Your Majesty. Could you spare me just one night out of all those nights?

There is something I must do by Your Majesty’s side.

I suppressed my pounding heart, held the hem of my skirt with both hands, and lowered my head obediently.

“I am April, Princess of Bristol.”

I was told to only speak briefly under the pretense that I was a foreigner, but Calrissian smiled warmly and held out a hand to me despite my clumsy greeting.

“This is Calixion. Welcome to Justinian.”

Clementine was diligently putting on makeup to make my face blush, talking about the prince’s tastes, but it was completely useless.

Is there a single woman out there who doesn’t blush when that man smiles?

Moreover, I’m a single person who has never been in a relationship because my life is tough!

I carefully held out my gloved left hand, and the man who was clearly the most handsome man in the empire reluctantly kissed the back of my hand.

Wake up, April.

You came here as a problem solver.

I barely managed to hold onto my sanity and smiled calmly.

“You can call me April.”

***

To explain how I got involved in this absurd play, I must first reintroduce myself as April.

I am Magician A, a member of a small troubleshooter guild in the countryside.

A very powerful magician who is more often called by her stage name A than by her real name, April.

Ah! What a curious coincidence that I have the same name as the Princess of Bristol.

Not at all in the Empire, but in Bristol, the name April is common? There’s even a flower with the same name, or something.

Anyway, what was even more amazing about my identity was that only a very small number of people knew that I was a wizard, namely my two best friends and my guildmates.

In short, I was a person who had a lot of money but no one knew me. Well, at least by the standards of the petit bourgeois.

The reason was that the requests that came to the Countryside Troubleshooter’s Guild were nothing special.

Catch a cheating husband and punish him, rob a slush fund of a bumbling nobleman who doesn’t pay child support, catch a serial thief at a convenience store, find a scoundrel who impregnated another woman, etc.

But after faithfully carrying out such a trivial request for five years, we were able to buy two houses each, an orchard, a carriage, horses… … whatever we wanted.

Thinking back to the shitty orphanage I lived in until I was 18, I didn’t even envy the emperor’s life these days.

That was certainly the case two weeks ago, when her best friend Milligent, who was also from the same orphanage and ran the guild with her, disappeared.

When Milligent first disappeared, we were so happy and optimistic that we became lazy.

“Isn’t Millie mad because you keep slacking off? Well, Millie deserves to be slacked off for a day or so.”

Likewise, my friend, the guild leader Raphael, spoke of me as if he were slandering me, and feeling guilty, I decided to wait quietly instead of going out to find Milligent.

But after three days, unable to contain his anxiety, he searched Milligent’s room without Raphael knowing.

There were a number of maps on her desk, a sight quite natural considering our profession.

But I was really anxious and made a forced argument.

“Millie, that bastard said he was going to beat Filius to a pulp one day, and it looks like he’s finally gone to put that plan into action. Or is he going to go get Dudley?”

Eventually, Raphael and I put aside our lip service to optimism and began to search for Milligent in our own ways.

But even after a week, Milligent did not return.

Fortunately, we had friendship necklaces, which were advanced magical tools that allowed us to confirm each other’s survival from afar.

When Raphael bought the necklace using the guild’s first few months’ earnings, I thought he was crazy…

If I hadn’t had the necklace, I would have died of worry about Milligent.

The magical necklace had a magical pendant that was activated by mixing a drop of each of our bloods, so if the pendant kept shining, it meant that all three of us were alive and well.

Even though the necklace still glowed, it was as impossible for Milligent to disappear without explanation and not return for a week as it was for the sun to rise in the west.

He’s not the type of person to just leave the guild to the two of us who are lacking.

The fact that these two reckless children, who often forget to eat, have been able to live like humans until now is all thanks to Milligent’s friendly care.

Even though Milligent was known as the quirky girl in the neighborhood, she was like a mother to us all our lives… … .

After ten days of our lives being devastated by the search for Milligent, who had seemingly disappeared into the ground, it finally arrived.

It was a large box, and inside was a small leather pouch and a request form.

While the guild master Raphael was reading the request, I opened my pocket without thinking and screamed.

“Oh my god, Millie!”

Inside the pocket was a single strand of thinly braided black hair, tied with a hair tie of small beads.

The hair tie was something I personally ordered and gave her as a gift when she came of age, and if you look closely at the beads, you can see Milligent’s initials engraved on them.

The hair was, of course, Milligent’s.

In front of me, who was shivering, Raphael opened the request form with a pale face.

“Look at this, April. If you want Milligent back, you have to accept the request.”

It felt like fire was flying out of my eyes, but I had to read that damn request to save Milligent.

The request was actually half-baked, but here’s how it started…