The heir to the Lumière Count family.

The young man called “Prince” by others—a title quite irreverent from the royal family’s perspective—they’d immediately behead him if he acted like this outside the territory, but they pretended not to notice since it was only within their territory—objectively had quite impressive specs.

A tall build, handsome face, and dignified voice.

He was skilled in dealing with people, a prodigy in academics, and while somewhat lacking in martial arts, he was interested in dance and theater, so his body wasn’t weak. After all, dance wasn’t a culture that weak people could easily enjoy.

However, this prince had one flaw: he placed a lot—no, quite a lot of importance on appearance.

Generally, noble marriages should consider political factors or family background rather than the individual appearance of the spouse, but for the prince, beauty was the absolute top priority.

When his father scolded him, asking if looks put food on the table, he proudly declared, “I’d rather be a hungry aesthete than a full-bellied pig!” — an expression that could be described as both idiotic and cool. Let’s skip over how some philosopher would have immediately wanted to bash his head in if they heard this.1

And now, this appearance-obsessed prince was feeling the bliss of his life.

Wow, she’s pretty. Really, incredibly pretty.

So much so that his language ability had somewhat decreased due to excessive happiness.

The woman’s skin was like white jade, her hair like silk, and her eyes and lips like jewels.

When their eyes met during the dance, she would smile gently, and seeing that made him feel as if a shiver was running down his spine.

This alone was already endlessly increasing the prince’s favorability, but this mysterious woman seemed determined to go all out, continuously launching additional offensives.

“I’m ashamed to say I can’t eat sour food well. So I’ve tried to eat bitter foods instead. I was frustrated at being treated like a child, you see.”

“The Lumière territory is a very beautiful and peaceful place. It must be thanks to the wise rule of you and your ancestors, Prince.”

Anyway, appearance was the top priority.

This was an unchanging, fixed ranking within the prince, but in other words, it meant he did consider other things as second and third priorities.

However, the mysterious woman was perfect even in these aspects.

Skilled dancing—the effect of harsh rote education—hobbies that perfectly matched even in minor details—she had already grasped the prince’s likes and dislikes and was just speaking accordingly—and rich culture and knowledge on top of that—the cheat sheet was great.

A fierce flame ignited in the prince’s heart.

It was a desperately intense will to make this woman his partner, no matter what.

The woman skillfully avoided questions about her family and name, but this elusive, mysterious attitude made the prince even more eager.

“Wow, Prince. Why are you only with her…!?”

“Sister, calm down, your face! Mind your face!”

Other young ladies, who had finally participated in the ball but couldn’t even hold hands with the prince and were just about to keep drinking beverages, gazed at the two with eyes full of jealousy and envy, but the prince, already smitten with the woman before him, didn’t care about such trivial matters.

As the night deepened and the clock hands approached midnight.

“It’s time to wake up from the dream now.”

When the woman suddenly cast a sad shadow on her face, the prince was startled and asked the reason.

“What do you mean? Wake up from the dream?”

“Ah, Prince. I am originally bound by a covenant with a wicked witch. That’s why I can’t tell you my name and status. I slipped out avoiding the witch’s eyes because I wanted to see the prince, famous in the principality, even just once, but if I stay here any longer, I’ll be discovered.”

The prince was momentarily flustered but soon spoke kindly, as if to reassure the woman.

“Don’t worry. Excellent knights are protecting this ballroom like an iron wall, so no witch, no matter how powerful, can threaten you.”

“No, the witch is truly a powerful being. I can’t put you in danger because of me. Please, let me go now.”

Ah! What a pitiful and noble heart!

The prince was moved. If he thought about it coolly, there were some flaws here and there in the setting, but he didn’t realize it as he was already blinded by love.

While they were arguing about whether to let the woman go or not, finally, the clock chimed announcing midnight.

And immediately after, the main gate of the ballroom fell backward with a loud noise.

Boom!

While those surprised by the loud noise were screaming or holding their breath while looking at the main gate.

“It” revealed itself.

Clank.

Clank.

A heavy, dull metallic sound that rang out with each step.

With human skulls hanging around its neck like a necklace, and its exact appearance unclear due to the ominous and murky black smoke covering its body, but the overall shape was close to that of a knight.

The mysterious black knight looked around the ballroom with a solemn movement, then directed its terribly fierce gaze towards the woman next to the prince.

While even the excellent knights, let alone ordinary guests, couldn’t breathe due to the pressure emanating from the black knight’s entire body.

The prince, who was relatively normal—because the black knight had deliberately excluded him from the pressure target—boldly stepped forward as if to protect the woman and shouted, “Who are you!? Do you know where this is to cause such a disturbance!?”

The answer came not from the black knight’s mouth, but from the skull necklace around its neck.

《We are the loyal servants of the great witch, and we are the ones who carry out the great witch’s will. Prince of the mortal world, this woman is the property of the witch, if you hand over the woman obediently, we will quietly return without causing any more disturbance.》

While others were paralyzed and unable to move their mouths due to the Tin… no, the black knight’s pressure skill, the prince, blinded by love, boldly shouted, “Don’t talk nonsense! How is this woman the property of a witch!?”

The skull answered as if it were obvious.

《That is because a special blessing resides in that woman. It is destined that the child born from her will surely become a great figure who will leave their name in history. All special and precious things in this world are the property of the witch, so isn’t that woman naturally the witch’s property as well?》

The prince was indignant.

“What kind of nonsense is that!? It’s just that witch unilaterally claiming so!”

《So, are you going to block our way now?》

“Of course! How could I live with my chest held high as the heir of Lumière—no, as a man, if I can’t protect even one pitiful woman receiving unjust treatment!”

At the prince’s bold cry, a hot flame also ignited in the hearts of the soldiers and knights who were supposed to protect him.

Even their bodies, which had been stiffened by the black knight’s pressure, became free as if melting from that hot heat. It was absolutely not because the Tin Knight had timely released the pressure.

The knight captain shouted, “Protect the prince!”

“Yes!”

Many soldiers and knights bravely rushed towards the black knight.

However, the black knight’s power was too great.

Pababababat!

The people at the ball, including the prince, no, even those who had rushed in themselves, couldn’t properly grasp what had happened.

The only certain thing was that the soldiers and knights who had pointed their swords at the black knight were subdued in an instant and were rolling on the floor.

The only fortunate point was that no one seemed to have lost their life or suffered fatal wounds.

《This time ended with a warning, but next time cannot be guaranteed. Now, prince of the mortal world. Hand over the woman. She is destined to be sacrificed for the ritual the witch will perform.》

“S-sacrifice?”

《Yes. But that’s none of your business.》

The prince gulped.

He couldn’t accept such an unreasonable reality where such a beautiful woman was destined to lose her life as a mere sacrifice.

However, the opponent was a being that easily subdued even skilled knights.

For the prince, who could handle basic swordsmanship but couldn’t be said to be very skilled, it was a monster he could never handle.

As he hesitated between his pride as a man, love, and reason.

Someone gently grasped the back of the prince’s hand.

“It’s alright, Prince,” the woman in the beautiful white dress spoke to the prince with a gentle smile on her lips. “Originally, I’m just a worthless girl who couldn’t even dare to associate with someone special like you, Prince. However, thanks to your kindness in trying to give a joyful time to not only those with power and wealth but all who live in this land, I was able to have this final dream of my life.”

“No, I, I just…”

The prince couldn’t continue speaking due to shame.

He had just loosened the participation restrictions thinking there might be pretty-faced people even among those without proper status.

He had none of the noble intentions the woman spoke of.

However, the woman quietly blocked the prince’s words.

At that benevolent smile, as if understanding everything yet still accepting, the prince’s heart ached once again.

The woman stepped forward towards the black knight on her own.

Her appearance was very dignified, but the prince, watching her closely, could tell.

That the woman’s back was trembling as if terrified.

The prince couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Ha!”

He drew his sword and swung it with all his might towards the black knight.

That swordsmanship, displayed in a semi-unconscious state, was more perfect than any attack he had ever shown before.

However, the difference in skill between the two sides was too great.

The prince’s sword strike was lightly deflected, and the returning kick mercilessly struck the prince’s stomach.

The prince, flying backward, hit a pillar and collapsed as if sitting down.

The prince tried to get up somehow, but his limbs didn’t move at all, only twitching.

It was the moment he resigned himself to death, seeing the black knight about to bring down its sword on him.

“No!”

The woman screamed and embraced the prince as if to protect him.

She had rushed over so urgently that one of her glass slippers came off, and she almost fell over.

The black knight’s sword, which was about to cut down the prince, stopped just a hand’s breadth away from the woman’s skin, and the black knight withdrew its sword and lightly struck the woman’s neck with its scabbard.

The woman collapsed, losing consciousness with a thud.

The black knight was about to leave with the woman in its grasp, but suddenly its footsteps stopped.

《Hmm. Well, well. It seems the witch has found your struggle quite interesting. The witch has said: if that woman is so precious to you, let’s make a bet.》

“Cough, cough. A, a bet?”

《Yes, if you, Prince, can find the woman somewhere in this land of Lumière within the next two days, it’s your victory. Then she says she will specially set the woman free. However, the woman can never reveal her identity first, and if you can’t find her within the set time, the two of you will never be able to meet again. Now then, please do your best.》

“W-wait. Wait…” the prince spoke desperately, but the black knight and the skull, as if they had already said everything they needed to say, left the ballroom with the unconscious woman.

The soldiers of Lumière tried to track him somehow, but not only the black knight but even the carriage and horses the woman had come in had disappeared without a trace, making further pursuit impossible.

What remained was only one glass slipper left behind when the woman threw herself to save the prince.

From the next day, the prince’s efforts to find the owner of the glass slipper began.

Footnotes

1. TL Note: Likely talking about Aristotle

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