PROLOGUE
Looking at all of the dresses I have, I select the one that allows me to be who I want to be.
The silver embroidery on the pure white silk radiating a bluish glow showed off her white skin,
and the diamonds studded on her dress glittering like stardust complemented her beauty. With the
pair of shoes, earrings and necklace exclusively made for that specific dress to complete the look,
Leticia - third child of the current king and first princess of the Kingdom of Sommevesle - walked in
long strides within the castle one afternoon as if her high heels were nothing and with her smooth,
shiny golden hair bouncing with every step.
Leti, who was exceptionally beautiful today, had her steel blue eyes - reminiscent of the winter
skies - focused on one point.
“Is... is there anything wrong, Princess!?” The retainer, who was surprised with Leti"s extravagant
dress, asked the approaching princess. But Leti ignored both the retainer"s question and the
penetrating looks directed at her. She simply continued walking straight towards her goal with three
guards added to her entourage.
“Where is Duke Barchet?” Leti asked a random knight as she reached her place of destination,
the camp of the Royal Chivalric Order. She smiled sweetly and watched, amused, as the knight blushed.
“Ah… if - if it is Duke-senpai, he is over there…”
“I see. Thank you,” the princess said as she moved towards the direction the knight pointed out.
Her steps were graceful but quick, and they were silent.
‘I have found you…’
As soon as Leticia saw the tall, black-haired lad with blue eyes, she took a deep breath and called
out in a clear and beautiful voice, “—Duke Barchet!”
The princess’ voice echoed throughout the clear skies. The knights in the camp were startled and
looked at Leti. This might still be inside the castle, but as this was a camp for knights, hearing a
woman’s voice was rare. To add to that, the woman was Princess Leticia; they would, of course,
become tense in case something happened.
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“—oh, Your Highness, Princess Leticia,” said a surprised Duke, the princess" target and a member
of the Royal Chivalric Order. Princess Leticia, with her chin held up high, walked towards Duke.
‘Duke Barchet – the oldest son of Baron Bachet’s family and the 6th knight of the Royal Chivalric Order. He is
a close friend of the first prince, Prince Friedhelm, but his family’s allegiance is with the second prince, Prince Guido.
He really is my only choice.’
The beautiful princess’ stare was sharp and piercing. Even Duke could not help but admire her
eyes, admiration that was enough to make him want to fall back. But he was a knight highly esteemed
within the Order and also said to be the best knight among them; he could not back down, so he
glared back at the princess with the same intensity.
“I order you to be my knight. Accept the first seat in the “Knights of the Round” gratefully.
Hurry up and bow down to me.”
The words of princess ended the glaring contest and were so unexpected that Duke was
dumbfounded for a moment.
“So… if I heard, you’re ordering me to be your knight, right?” Duke asked this not only because
the invitation—or rather, order—surprised him; it was more because the image he had of “Princess
Leticia” was different. He a.s.sumed from the stories he heard that the princess was a sweet and gentle
young lady, hurting because of the strife between her two older brothers. But the person in front of
him was not even a little bit similar to what he had imagined.
“Yes, you heard me correctly. I was even thinking that once you take your seat as the First Knight
of the Round, I will grant you the t.i.tle of ‘Duke’ to give truth to your name.”
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Duke’s name, the same as the t.i.tle, had always been his complex. He was often teased because of
this since his family’s rank was only that of a Baron.
While deep inside his heart he was already cursing, ‘this b.a.s.t.a.r.d, no, this b.i.t.c.h,’ his reply did not show
any bit of his emotions.
“I’m sorry, but I decline your offer.”
“Is that so? I think I am ent.i.tled to know the reason, am I not?”
The princess unexpectedly gave up easily, but her condescending att.i.tude, acting all high and
important, irritated Duke more. ‘Well, she really is high and important, but still…’
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“It just means that even I have the right to choose who will be my master.”
“So in other words, you’re saying that I am not qualified to be your master, is that so?”
“Yes. Since I’d rather not be known as the ‘Leftover Princess’s lover.’”
Leti’s eyes flared up the moment she heard “Leftover Princess.”
Leticia Elle Kreutzer, the third child of the king and the first princess. Her mother descended
from a prince’s family; thus, she was originally in a position close to the throne compared to the other
princes and princesses. However, when her mother died when she was seven years old, she left
Cattleya Castle together with her brother, Prince Leonhardt, since it was full of her mother’s memories.
Since then, they lived peacefully in the Royal Villa and took a step back from the battle for the throne.
The two excellent princes from different mothers were already in the lead of the race for the
throne, so the first princess, simply living peacefully with her younger brother, was left behind.
However, because the two princes were so excellent, if either one would be the next King, it was
rumored that a civil war would be inevitable. So the current king, hurt by the dispute between his two
sons, devised a plan to prevent a civil war from happening. Thus, on the seventeenth birthday of the
first princess, he announced that his successor would be neither Prince Friedhelm nor Prince Guido,
but rather Princess Leticia. This was how the name “Leftover Princess” came to be. It was an alias
given to the princess who received the leftover crown from her two exceptionally excellent brothers.
“I understand your point. Anyway, I only came here to declare war with you, so I shall take my
leave now for today.”
“Today?”
“Yes, today. I have no intention on giving up on you, so you’d better use this time to finish any
preparations you need.”
With that, Leti gallantly turned around and walked away with her long, soundless, elegant strides
without even glancing back.
‘What’s with that att.i.tude?’ thought Duke as he watched the princess walk away. He was just irritated
that it seemed like he was seen as someone who would easily say ‘yes’ if he were invited to take the
first seat in the Knights of the Round.
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“…Duke-sempai, that girl a while ago…”
“Huh? Ah, that was your future queen. Ordering me out of the blue to bow down my head to
her… Who does she think she is?”
“Um…the future queen? But isn’t she so beautiful? It was my first time seeing a girl that beautiful.”
Duke, sighing on the side, thought that Astrid – his blushing and excited junior, was somewhat
amazing.
“You heard us, right? So you should know that even though she looks like a beautiful princess,
she is also high-handed, domineering woman who does not have even an ounce of cuteness in her.”
“But I still think she is great, being able to order sempai to bow down and all.”
“I wonder why I feel like an idiot when I am talking with you…”
Soon, Duke’s comrades in the Order started gathering around him and he was sure that they
would attack him with questions on what just happened.
While Duke was being hara.s.sed by his fellow knights, the princess, whose offer was refused, went
back to her room and released all of her anger by attacking her pillow.
“What’s with that guy!? He really is that idiot Friedhelm’s best friend. One of these days, I’ll make
you cry because of treason!”
Leti lifted the pillow high up above her head and threw it hard to her bed, but the bed was so soft
that the pillow landed on it without a thud. If Princess Leticia were alone, she would have thrown a
fit, but her pride as a princess—no… her pride as the next queen—could not forgive herself if it were
known that she was extremely irritated that she failed in her invitation. She clenched her teeth and
resisted the impulse to act unbecoming for her station.
“’Leftover Princess’? Fine! I’ll make it the best compliment of the kingdom!”
Leti once again lifted the pillow and threw it back to the bed with all her might.