".....Rid Archie......Do you want to be my partner?," said Princess Irene.

  "What? Partner?," I said, a little surprised.

  "Yes," said Princess Irene.

  "What did Princess Irene say? Become her partner? Hmm but it doesn't seem like a couple, it could be another partner like a sparring partner or something," I thought.

  "Hmmm partner huh, I don't know what kind of partner Princess Irene wants to ask me to be. So can Princess Irene explain in more detail what kind of partner she wants to ask me to be?," I said.

  ".....," Princess Irene was silent.

  "Princess Irene?," I said.

  "Was what I said wrong, Leandra? Because Rid Archie seems still confused by what I said," said Princess Irene.

  "Well that's because you only told Rid to be your partner. The meaning of being a partner is very broad," said Leandra.

  "Why don't you just get straight to the point, miss. Just tell Rid to be your lover," said Lily.

  "Hmmm is that so," said Princess Irene.

  "So it turns out to be a lover," I thought.

  "I'll say it one more time.....Rid Archie, do you want to be my lover?," said Princess Irene.

  "Wait a minute, your words surprised me a little, Princess Irene," I said.

  "What surprised you a little?," asked Princess Irene.

  "About your words, what's the point of asking me to be your lover?," I said.

  "Hahaha well it's natural that Rid would be surprised, if I were in Rid's position, I would also be surprised if I got a request like that from one of the Duke's daughters," said Lily.

  "What Lily said is true. But, even though you said you wanted to ask me to be your lover, I don't think you said it because you love me, you must have a reason for doing this, right?," I asked.

  "......," Princess Irene was silent.

  "It seems like you've been found out," said Leandra.

  "How did you know Miss's real intention, Rid?," asked Lily.

  "Well, it's easy, Princess Irene immediately said she wanted to ask me to be her lover, but she didn't tell me about her own feelings. Generally, when someone wants to have a special relationship with the opposite s*x, that person will express their feelings first before they will say their goals, such as wanting to date or become lovers," I said.

  "Yes, that's true, I didn't think you would realize something as trivial as this," said Leandra.

  "Because of that, I don't consider Princess Irene's words as a declaration of love but as if there was another meaning to her words," I said.

  "If Princess Irene's request to be a lover was said to another man, it seems like that man wouldn't realize something as trivial as this and would immediately accept it because who would refuse to be the lover of a Duke's daughter, but it seems like you're different, Rid," said Leandra.

  "Don't compare me to other men," I said.

  "Hahaha so how is it miss? Isn't it better if we just tell you the real reason why you asked Rid to be your lover?," said Leandra.

  "......," Princess Irene was silent.

  After being silent for a while, Princess Irene spoke.

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  "Okay, you're right Rid Archie, I have a reason to ask you to be my lover," said Princess Irene.

  "I want you to be my lover to cancel my participation in 'Matchmaking Battle'," said Princess Irene.

  "'Matchmaking Battle' ?," I asked confusedly.

  "'Matchmaking Battle' is a matchmaking battle between the daughters of the Dukes to compete for the prince. The prince being fought over in the 'Matchmaking Battle' is none other than Prince Charles. And the daughters of the Dukes who are entitled to participate in the 'Matchmaking Battle' ?are the daughters of the Duke who do not yet have a partner and are not far from Prince Charles himself. The Duke's daughters who meet the above criteria are Miss Irene and Princess Amelia. Indeed, the exact time has not been determined, but the 'Matchmaking Battle' between Miss Irene and Princess Amelia will be held after they both graduate from the academy," said Leandra explaining.

  "Is that so," I said.

  "Well, I already know about Charles being matched with Princess Irene and Princess Amelia because Charles sometimes acts differently when talking about Princess Irene and Princess Amelia who recently met him, so I couldn't help but read his mind and finally I got information about this. But I only know that much, it seems I have to ask again to get more complete information," I thought.

  "'Matchmaking Battle', is this a routine event held by the San Fulgen royal family?,' I asked.

  "Let me explain this," said Princess Irene.

  Princess Irene volunteered to explain further about the 'Matchmaking Battle'.

  "Currently, my father, meaning Duke San Lucia, is not on good terms with the other three Dukes due to some problem. The King of the San Fulgen kingdom, King Albert Estella San Fulgen, intends to help so that the relationship between the four Dukes becomes harmonious again. He knows that among the four Dukes, there are those who have daughters the same age as the prince and those daughters also do not have partners, one of them is me as the daughter of Duke San Lucia. On that basis, King Albert suggested that a 'Matchmaking Battle' be held between me as the representative of San Lucia with the daughters of the other three Dukes who are currently represented by Princess Amelia. With my participation, it is hoped that the relationship between Duke San Lucia and the other three Dukes will improve," said Princess Irene.

  "I see, but if Princess Irene intends to cancel her participation in the 'Matchmaking Battle', doesn't that mean that Duke San Lucia refuses to improve his relationship with the other three Dukes?," I asked.

  "You're right, but my father has allowed me to cancel my participation if I find a suitable partner at this academy. My father realized that the reason for holding the 'Matchmaking Battle' is very illogical. Why should the daughters of Dukes who are not on good terms have to fight to win the prince? Wouldn't that fight only make the relationship between the Dukes worse?," said Princess Irene.

  "Yes, you're right Princess Irene, the reason for holding the 'Matchmaking Battle' is very illogical. Or maybe there is another purpose for holding the 'Matchmaking Battle'," I said.

  "My father also thinks like that. That's why he allowed me to cancel my participation in this event. The signs that I canceled my participation were already visible when I didn't want to chat with Prince Charles or Princess Chloe. If I were close to the royal family, I would be considered very enthusiastic about joining the event because I was trying to get close to the royal family who would become my family if I won the 'Matchmaking Battle'. That's why I chose to stay away from them," said Princess Irene.

  "Is that why you're avoiding the prince because of your cold nature, Princess Irene?," I said.

  "My nature has nothing to do with it. Since the San Lucia family is very close to the royal family, I feel bad if I ignore Princess Chloe and Prince Charles who try to chat with me. But I have to do this to give the impression that I'm not trying to get close to the royal family," said Princess Irene.

  "Is that so, is this 'Matchmaking Battle' already known to the public?," I asked.

  "So far, only the families of the Dukes know about the 'Matchmaking Battle'. This event has not been announced to the public," Princess Irene said.

  "Is that so," I said.

  I paused for a moment and then started talking again.

  "So Princess Irene, you asked me to be your partner so that you wouldn't join the event, right?," I said.

  "That's right," Princess Irene said.

  "In other words, you just want a fake relationship so that your participation in the event can be canceled," I said.

  "That's right," Princess Irene said.

  "If that's all, aren't there many other people who are suitable to be your fake partner? There are many of them who may have high status in the eyes of society, for example nobles, although they can't be compared to you who are the daughter of a Duke. But isn't that better than choosing a commoner like me? I have no status or anything, I'm just a commoner from the village. Even if this relationship is fake, I still don't feel suitable for it," I said.

  "You're right, but I don't choose my partner based on that. I'm looking for someone who has greater abilities than me who can be my partner, who makes other people think it's natural for me to pair up with that person. And I think, you are the right person for that, Rid Archie," said Princess Irene.

  I was silent hearing that.

  "You are great. You got perfect scores on all the academy entrance exams and you also got 1st place on the entrance exam, higher than the rank I got. Isn't it natural that I want to pair up with someone who has greater abilities than me? Plus you even managed to defeat Prince Charles and duel with an Elevrad leader," said Princess Irene.

  I was still silent hearing that.

  "So how about it Rid Archie, do you want to be my lover?," asked Princess Irene.

  -To be continued