"Umm, this is Liana.

She’s seventeen and originally from the Kingdom of Kajin."

At Rise’s introduction, Liana bowed her head politely.

"And this is His Highness Crown Prince Mark Dawn of the Dawn Empire.

Uh, how old were you again?"

"Twenty-four!"

"Right, twenty-four.

Still single, no fiancée."

"I look forward to working with you!"

With a dazzling smile, the crown prince bowed casually.

Watching him, Liana thought he reminded her of something.

Ah, that’s it.

Gee, the watchdog the academy groundskeeper kept.

Even though he was a guard dog, he loved playing with balls, and whenever you approached holding one, his eyes would sparkle as he ran over.

Yes, exactly like that.

The moment she snapped out of that irreverent thought, the blood drained from Liana’s face.

Crown prince?

Did they just say crown prince?

"C-c-c-c-crown prince?!

Whaaaaat?!"

Startled beyond measure, Liana dove behind Dalkas’s back.

When Rise had called her to the adventurers’ guild saying he would introduce her to “that mage,” Liana had assumed the mage would be a noble like Rise.

In the Kingdom of Kajin, commoners could not become mages, so mages meant nobles.

But royalty?

That was beyond her imagination.

Dalkas, who had come along to accompany her, looked just as shocked.

"Ah, ah…

Why are you hiding, Lady Liana?

Ah, so you truly are the creator of that magic circle.

You’re cuter than I imagined."

In a flustered voice, the crown prince tried to peer around Dalkas to look at her, but Liana darted about like a small animal fleeing a predator, staying firmly hidden behind Dalkas.

Cute, yes, but still.

"Hey, Your Highness.

You’re scaring her with that pressure.

Don’t get so close to her with your nostrils flaring.

Hey, don’t try to touch her!"

Rise hurriedly stepped in front of Mark.

Though Mark had said to treat him like a normal adventurer inside the guild, was this really okay to say to him?

Would this count as lèse-majesté?

Rise glanced at the guard knights.

One of them frowned slightly, but made no move to intervene.

"…I apologize.

Lady Liana, could you come out?

I won’t approach you without permission again…"

Hearing Mark speak in such a dejected voice that it almost seemed to make a “shuun” sound effect, Liana cautiously peeked out.

Mark looked exactly like Gee the watchdog when he was refused a game of ball.

"All right, have you calmed down?

Ah, this is Mr. Fros, the profit manager.

He is here today as Liana’s legal representative."

An elderly man with refined manners bowed politely.

Having been told the negotiating counterpart was royalty, Fros had come fully prepared, determined to protect his client’s interests at all costs.

Yet, this chaos from the very start had completely thrown him off.

"Lady Liana.

You claim to be the creator of the barrier magic circle.

Is that true?"

Once everyone finally sat down, Mark asked her directly without any preamble.

Looking uneasy, Liana nodded slightly.

She wondered whether it was really okay to say so.

After all, officially, that achievement belonged to the crown prince of Kajin.

"I don’t doubt you, but for confirmation, I’d like to ask you a few questions.

That formula primarily follows the Elmar school’s structure, but parts resemble the mana deployment of the Nirais school.

Why is that?"

"That’s because…

If the entire structure followed the Elmar school, mana efficiency would drop, and unnecessary additional formulas would be required.

The Nirais school lacks output, but it’s known for its durability, so I thought I could incorporate that aspect."

"However, it’s long been accepted that combining two systems causes the spell to collapse.

How did you resolve that?"

"Um, in one of the Nirais school’s papers, there was a new method for formula fixation…

Ah, this one.

By applying this Nirais method here, and then expanding it like this—"

"Ahhh, I see!

So it settles into a form that minimizes interference with this formula!

Aaaah!

I finally understand!

How did you even think of such a deployment?!"

"Hey, Your Highness.

Sorry to interrupt you two while you’re getting carried away, but is the confirmation done?

That Liana really is the creator of the barrier magic circle."

Representing everyone else who had been completely left behind, Rise spoke up.

Mark, who had been furiously scribbling formulas onto paper, froze, then looked up and coughed.

"Ah, yes.

Anyone who can explain such a magnificent formula must be its creator."

At Mark’s praise, Liana’s cheeks flushed, and she lowered her gaze.

It was the first time anyone had praised her so honestly regarding the barrier magic circle.

Mark stared intently at her shy smile without blinking.

"Then, could our country protect Liana?

If the Kingdom of Kajin demands her return, can we oppose them?"

When Dalkas asked anxiously, Mark snapped out of it and looked away from Liana.

"Lady Liana.

Do you have documents regarding your status in the Kingdom of Kajin, your employment as a clerk, and your pay statements?"

Asked gently by Mark, Liana took the documents out of her storage pouch.

Fros, seeing the pouch for the first time, stared in shock.

"This is…

An employment contract as a clerk.

These conditions are terrible.

It isn’t permanent employment but repeated renewals of temporary contracts.

The employment period is undefined and can be terminated at any time by the employer.

Working hours are also undefined and can be changed at the employer’s discretion.

The salary is fixed, with no allowances.

Half is deducted as a ‘commoner tax’?

This rate is the same as that imposed on criminals or unregistered vagrants."

When Mark handed the documents to Fros, Fros shook his head and focused intently on them, frowning as he read.

"I’ve heard how badly orphans are treated in that country, but this is…

Utterly absurd."

"This resignation document is just as bad.

The severance pay that should have been deducted monthly is listed as nonexistent.

She’s treated as dismissed without cause.

We’ll have to reconsider how we deal with the Kingdom of Kajin.

That such irrationality is allowed against commoners…"

"However, perhaps it worked in Lady Liana’s favor that she was treated as a vagrant.

Thanks to that, she cannot be claimed as a citizen of Kajin.

If we register her as an imperial citizen here, that will firmly establish her status."

Scanning the documents, Fros mentally reviewed the laws of both the Dawn Empire and the Kingdom of Kajin, thinking about how best to protect Liana.

The glimpse he had just seen of her magical talent explained why Rise and the others were wary of Kajin.

Likewise, Fros had been called to ensure that the Dawn Empire would not exploit her either.

Protecting a concentration of talent like this from those in power was precisely the profit manager’s role.

It had been a while since he’d had such a challenging case, and his resolve sharpened.

"Indeed.

Lady Liana is already a citizen of the Dawn Empire.

If she is one of our people, it is only right that I protect her."

With a smile, Mark stood and swiftly took Liana’s hand.

"Eek?!"

"Yes.

Lady Liana, I’ll have a room prepared for you in the palace.

You can live there.

It will be connected to my own chambers.

You have nothing to worry about."

As he tightly clasped her hand, Liana screamed.

"Noooo!"

She shook off Mark’s hand, leapt up from her seat, and hid behind Dalkas again.

What was wrong with this man?

He had been amazing just moments ago, calmly reading documents and pointing out issues.

And now he had suddenly turned into a creep.

Liana glared at Mark.

"Your Highness!

What are you saying to our daughter before she’s even married?!"

Dalkas stood up protectively in front of Liana and protested fiercely.

"Huh?

Isn’t that just me saying I’ll take her as my wife?"

Mark said this with a perfectly serious face.

Everyone except Mark stared at him in disbelief.

"No…"

Liana murmured, clinging to Dalkas’s back.

Seeing her cry made Dalkas’s eyes sharpen dangerously.

"Don’t joke around!

I won’t give my daughter to you!"

"Since when did she become your daughter, Dalkas?"

At Rise’s comment, Dalkas puffed out his chest proudly.

"Liana has sworn sisterhood with my youngest daughter, Shanti!

That makes her my daughter!"

"Sisterhood?

What’s that even supposed to—

But, well, Shanti did always want a little sister.

If Apothecary Shanti has acknowledged her as family, we’d risk making the Apothecaries’ Guild our enemy."

Rise muttered under his breath, and Dalkas nodded.

"And if we make an enemy of Shanti, we also make an enemy of the Blacksmiths’ Guild, where her fiancé Andy belongs."

"And the Adventurers’ Guild wouldn’t accept such a one-sided decision either."

Rise and Dalkas nodded to each other.

Turning to Mark, Rise sighed.

"Your Highness, please give up.

Even for the imperial family, antagonizing two guilds and ours would be unwise."

"W-wait a moment!

Don’t reject my proposal so easily!

You all know the conditions for my official consort, don’t you?"

An orphaned commoner like Liana had no money, power, status, or fame.

What about her could possibly qualify her as crown princess?

Liana tilted her head.

Could it be…

"My chest?"

If there was anything about her that stood out, it was her slightly-above-average chest.

Even the crown prince of Kajin had recognized her more by her chest than her face or achievements.

At Liana’s words, Mark’s gaze dropped.

His eyes locked onto the alluring, softly rounded fullness.

Then he noticed Liana’s look of utter disgust and flushed bright red, hastily looking away.

"No!

Magic!"

Though denied, the equation was firmly etched into Liana’s mind.

Royalty equals big-chest lovers.

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