The Reincarnated Count's Daughter Is the Strongest as She Is Loved by the Spirits, Though She Is Only Wishing for Regular Romance!

On the day of the Crown Prince’s coming-of-age celebration, there was a Spirit King who tried to persuade me rather insistently to marry into his country when all the Spirit Kings gathered at Aaron’s Falls. That Spirit King happened to be the Wind Spirit King of Bejaia.

“We haven’t heard anything about that,” I said.

“What?! Seriously… My apologies. I was certain that it was already settled,” he replied.

Bejaia’s so-called hero seems to be more than just a frivolous man. Once he understood the situation, he immediately straightened up and apologized to the Crown Prince and my older brother Chris. But he completely ignored me. Bejaia has a strong culture of male dominance. While this entire world is somewhat male-centric, Bejaia is particularly distinct in this regard.

With the border conflicts against Pendelus, civil strife led by Nicodemus, and battles with Luftanen, Bejaia has been at war for over a decade. In such a country, men who achieve military success, strong men, are the ones who gain popularity. These strong men can marry multiple wives to ensure strong offspring. If one becomes a hero, they might have as many as five wives.

“In that case, would you kindly stay out of this? We will bring the Fairy Princess to Starke,” said the Crown Prince.

“I believe I’ve already refused that,” came the immediate response.

“Isn’t it a bit excessive for the Empire to keep such a valuable person, with the support of a Spirit King, locked away? They keep her away from other nations, don’t let her attend official events, and it’s practically rumored that she’s under house arrest,” Cyprian interjected, leaning forward and slamming his hand on the table.

Do I look like I’m under house arrest? I think I look healthy and lively enough. And besides, if anyone tried to confine me, the Spirit Kings wouldn’t just sit quietly.

“In any case, she will not be going to Starke. The Spirit King of Starke has already expressed his desire to keep his distance from her, which has been explained multiple times,” the Crown Prince stated calmly.

“How can anyone believe that nonsense?! You’re just keeping her locked away!” Cyprian shouted.

“Well, the Spirit King did say that,” Gaio remarked with a smirk, watching the exchange between Cyprian and the Crown Prince. Cyprian glared at him fiercely.

“Shut up. No one asked for your opinion,” Cyprian snapped.

“What do you mean? A country that acts like bandits, abducting girls with strong magic and spirit beasts from border towns, sure likes to act all high and mighty,” Gaio retorted.

“What did you say?!”

“And it’s not just border towns, is it? You even kidnap women from minority tribes. It’s about time you realized that such behavior only angers the Spirit Kings,” Gaio added.

Do they think this is their own private sitting room? I need to calm down. Today, I’m supposed to sit quietly and smile. There must be a reason why the Crown Prince and Chris-nii-sama are allowing these rude people to act up like this.

Regardless, this is an official gathering of representatives from various countries. Don’t they realize that they are currently damaging their country’s image?

“Silence, you barbarian who only knows war!” shouted the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness…” Chris began.

“What is it?! I—”

Cyprian, who turned around in irritation, realized the situation only when Guillaume, who had tapped his shoulder, subtly signaled him to look around at his surroundings.

“I… I simply wish to speak with the Fairy Princess,” Cyprian insisted, this time leaning towards me while banging his hand on the table. Behind him, Guillaume bowed apologetically. Given his sensible demeanor and his familiarity with spirits, perhaps the noble house of the Marquess of Norland consists of reasonable people. They might be different from the central culture of the Empire, just like us.

“Dia, he wants to hear your thoughts,” the Crown Prince prompted.

“Your Highness, what sort of gathering is this today? I was under the impression that I was here to celebrate Your Highness’s birthday. If that’s not the case, may I be excused?” I responded, deliberately lowering my eyebrows and tilting my head slightly to appear troubled.

I wouldn’t reveal my true nature in front of representatives from other nations. I had to act ladylike. Gracefully.

“Ah, yes, that’s right. There are still people waiting. Could you please return to your seats for now?” the Crown Prince requested, trying to wrap things up.

“Your Highness, today’s gathering is also for new academy enrollees. As Prince Cyprian is already past the enrollment age, wouldn’t it be better to have him in a separate room with the other guardians from other countries…” Chris-nii-sama suggested.

“I already said I’m enrolling!” Cyprian exclaimed.

While the Crown Prince was trying to smooth things over, Chris-nii-sama was adding fuel to the fire. He must be angry. But judging from the way the Crown Prince’s lips twitched as he looked at the agitated Cyprian, perhaps this was an intentional display to expose Starke’s arrogance to the other nations.

Compared to them, the representatives from the other three countries were conducting themselves more appropriately, watching intently, trying to gauge and bring back as much information as possible.

“I won’t be taking all the academy lectures. I just want to attend the spirit nurturing classes. Surely, as neighboring countries, you can cooperate a little?” Cyprian tried to argue.

“I’ve explained this many times already: only students who possess spirits are allowed to attend spirit nurturing classes. As for acquiring spirits, I believe you were given the relevant instructional materials,” Chris-nii-sama reiterated firmly.

“But we still haven’t been able to…” Cyprian tried to continue.

“In Starke’s case, attending classes won’t allow you to obtain spirits,” Chris-nii-sama stated bluntly.

“You can’t know that without trying!” Cyprian argued.

“We do. The Spirit King has already said so,” Chris-nii-sama countered.

After hearing Chris-nii-sama’s words, Cyprian shot a resentful glare at me.

“Wouldn’t the situation change if the Fairy Princess came to our country?”

“It wouldn’t.”

“I wasn’t asking you,” Cyprian snarled.

“You,” Chris-nii-sama interrupted sharply, “don’t you think you’re being a little too disrespectful? In front of the Crown Prince, no less. I suggest you return to your seat while we’re still willing to let this go.”

And with that, Chris-nii-sama entered full attack mode.

“I am a member of the royal family! How dare you—” Cyprian began to protest.

“I wouldn’t push it if I were you. In its current state, Starke isn’t in any position to wage war,” Gaio interjected, patting Cyprian on the shoulder. When Cyprian reflexively tried to swat his hand away, Gaio smoothly dodged and withdrew his hand with a smile, turning to look at me.

“The Fairy Princess doesn’t talk much, does she? She’s quieter than I expected. Just a cute little girl with strong magic?” Gaio mused, stroking his chin and studying me intently.

Hearing that, even Cyprian turned his gaze to me.

“I see. If she’s not officially betrothed, I don’t want to waste my time on a child. However, wouldn’t strengthening the ties between the Empire and Bejaia be beneficial for both countries?” Gaio continued.

“Hmm? Ah, yes, I have no objections to that,” the Crown Prince replied, nodding with a barely-contained grin.

It seemed he found their assessment of me absurdly amusing.

“There must be other noble ladies present here,” Gaio remarked, as if he had suddenly thought of something.

“Wait a moment, Lord Gaio. The Duke is specifically interested in the Fairy Princess…” Guillaume tried to explain.

“The Wind Spirit King’s misunderstanding isn’t my fault. Besides, my tastes lean more towards…” Gaio trailed off.

Hey! This isn’t a marketplace where you compare and pick out vegetables!

Starke is rude, but Gaio’s brand of rudeness is in an entirely different league. It’s starting to really get on my nerves. I’m seriously tempted to whack the back of his head with my fan.

“Oh, there’s a goddess over there!” Gaio exclaimed happily, striding towards one of the tables.

“What beauty. And so voluptuous,” he said, addressing Suzanna.

Oh boy, he just stepped on a landmine.

At that moment, I decided that I’d had enough.  

“Your Highness, I’m going to step out for a moment,” I said to the Crown Prince.

“Ah, just don’t overdo it,” he responded.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile.

In this case, “overdoing it” probably means not punching the Spirit King in the face.