—Nevertheless, the winner of the magic tournament, who was also loved by his fiancée, sympathized with Sevan.

Riol then explained to the dejected Sevan.

“When your fiancée offers you some kind of reward and condition, she’s just trying to gain some time to further train you into a good king. To be precise, she wants to stall as much as possible. However, she’s probably aware that there’s a limit to such rewards, and that it’s time for His Highness to move on to a lady of the same age. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be putting so more effort into finding a candidate for His Highness’ queen during this period.”

“In short…?”

“Why don’t you negotiate with her for advance payment the next time she puts out any condition other than winning the magic tournament? Promise her to get an even better result than the condition. After all, her reward is going to be ineffective soon. I’m left wondering if you can achieve more than expected if you were to pursue immediate payment.”

After hearing the detailed explanation from Riol, light returned to Sevan’s eyes. It was worth trying—however, it also depended on what conditions Sophia put out next.

“Thank you! I will do it next time!”

“Godspeed to you.”

Although Riol was a powerful wall that stood high in the magic tournament, he was also a reliable confidant who always gave out useful advice for some reason. It seemed that Sevan still couldn’t match him.

“Well, there’s a better shortcut, without doing anything like that…”

When Riol muttered something to Sevan, who had extended his hand for a thank-you handshake, footsteps could be heard from the end of the corridor.

“Riol! I’ve come to pick you up!”

“Sharina, sorry for being late. Did you wait for me in the backyard?”

“No, I sensed that Riol is still in the academy building. So, when class ended, I rushed here immediately.”

“‘Sensed’?”

The one who approached them was none other than Riol’s fiancée, a girl with fluffy, strawberry blonde, hair. She happily talked with Riol while bringing a lunch box that might contain Riol’s portion.

“Oh, I apologize. Your Highness Sevan, are you in the middle of something?”

“No, we just finished. Sorry for bothering you during lunch break. I shall excuse myself.”

Sevan didn’t want to be a third wheel. After raising his hand, he turned his back on Riol and Sharina.

“Alright, see you later, Your Highness.”

The footsteps of the two gradually moved away. Before they vanished, Sevan turned around once again. Then, he saw the backs of the two. They walked hand in hand despite still being inside the academy.

“…Dammit…!”

After seeing that sight, Sevan turned towards the corner of the classroom and collapsed on the spot. Thankfully, it was a secluded area containing only an emergency exit.

He knew the continuation of Riol’s last words. The quickest way to get a reward from his fiancée without having to devise such a plan was to show that he cared.

“If only it could be done… I wish it could be done!”

If he could do that, he wouldn’t be having such a hard time. If he could do that, he wouldn’t need to go along with her plan. No wonder Riol had been loved by his fiancée from the beginning.

The battle of Sevan had just begun… but the path to his goal was endless.

***

“Is His Highness Sevan alright?”

“He has no choice but to come to his own decision.”

While holding hands, Riol and Sharina went to the backyard. It was a couple spot. Originally, no one went to that area. As of the present, it was recognized as a place for lunch dates at the academy. They stared at each other. Their recent concerns were exclusively pertaining to the third prince Sevan and his fiancée.

“To be honest, I understand where his fiancée is coming from. After all, in the past, I too was convinced that a person as nice as you would find the right person someday.”

“Riol…”

“However, as of the present, I can’t bear the thought of handing you to anyone anymore. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“…Of course! It’s a matter of course!”

Riol understood Sophia’s feelings because he too wanted to withdraw despite the fact that his love was reciprocated. There were many enemies in Sevan’s path. Instead of acting as a shield to protect Sevan, Sophia instead decided to become a distraction before ultimately withdrawing.

“I hope she knows that by giving up, she’d only hurt him and herself even more.”

“…Hmm, it seems that the tutor underestimates how much His Highness Sevan values her.”

“That’s right. Rather than taking a detour, he should do something about that first.”

He knew the solution—it was very simple, but also most effective.

“Because he chose to take a detour, he overthinks trivialities. He’s distracted by the prospect of the gains and the losses. He should just confess to her head-on rather than worrying about useless things.”

“It’s like what I did to Riol!”

“…Yes, and it worked.”

Sevan didn’t seem to realize that. No matter how much of an important student he was, no one would just sacrifice their marriage or their life afterwards. While she tactfully gave out punishments and rewards to him, she kept stubbornly avoiding to kiss him on the cheek for some reason.

“Shall I talk to His Highness Sevan? I’ll tell him that if you love someone, then he should go on the attack!”

“…That would just kill him with envy.”

It seemed that whenever the thought that Riol was both the champion and a man who was loved by his fiancée occurred to Sevan, he’d shed tears of blood.

Objectively, Sevan was the winner in terms of status and magic. Riol wouldn’t deny that. But the fact that Sharina loved Riol despite all that was what mattered the most.

“How difficult.”

“Indeed.”

Because Sevan didn’t have the courage to take a step forward, he kept taking detour after detour. While Sevan made those detours, Sophia only solidified her escape.

But they were always looking at each other—

—only at each other.

While eating sandwiches, Riol and Sharina thought that the future of the kingdom would be safe if the two were to cross path soon.

…If only there was a little, unexpected, opportunity.

---

***T/N: I’m just happy that this short series is going to continue…

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