Chapter Text
Blood, that’s all I can see for a while when I fall headfirst into a rock in the garden. I remember running into Prince Jeord before I slipped up. Dammit, I hope I didn’t also hit him, being clumsy in your first impression is the easiest way to lose my chance in a promotion interview. Hitting the interviewer just straight up guarantee it.
Wait, who’s Prince Jeord? The Kaiser’s son was called Wilhelm, right?
The memory slowly coming back to me. My name is Katarina Claes, an 8-year-old living in a kingdom called Sorcier. I’m the only daughter of Duke Claes and was pampered rich with maids and butlers at my beck and call. In fact, I was on a social mission with my father to the monarch’s castle when I fall in love with the third crown prince.
But that memory clashed heavily with another, far more gruesome recollection. I remember the front, Rhine and Tiegenhoff. I remember bombing myself in Norden and getting shot in the Dodo Strait. I was just fighting the Bloody Valkyrie on the coast of Normandy if I remember correctly. I can hear Visha called out to me to break off the engagement, but I need to cover the retreat of my Kampfgruppe.
I also remember a time, a place, of peace and law and order. A highly civilized place that I’m proud to call home, and one I miss so dearly. I can’t quite recall what the place name is, only that I consider myself successful when I lived there. It’s all ruined, however, by some guy dressed in a toga. Wait, is that correct? That choice of clothing seems to clash with all my memories so far. Who’s dressing in a toga in the 21st century?
As my consciousness fade in and out I noticed that people are calling out my (?) name, all asking me if I am okay. Of course, I’m not! In fact, I can clearly feel that I’m currently suffering from particularly bad blood loss. I wanted to sigh, who’s in charge of this place? Why don’t they already perform first aid or at least carry me to the medical unit? You expect me to believe a sovereign’s palace doesn’t have a dedicated doctor on stand-by? I’ll make sure to write a letter of complaint to someone if I survive this.
Ugh, I can feel my awareness quickly escape me as drowsiness from losing blood hits. I can’t stand it anymore. Everything is fading to black, I can see my eyelids closing on me. Before I completely go unconscious, I felt a tugging on my lips forcing me to say something, but I can neither hear nor understand it, only that I know I mouthed a strange sentence.
‘Deus lo vult’
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I find myself waking up in an opulent bed in a familiar room. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, because I know this wasn’t my room. I remember now, my name is Tanya von Degurechaff, the Argent, and Devil of the Rhine. Previously I was a salaryman in Japan who due to the unfortunate short-sightedness nature of some people tragically died in a train accident and met a man who calls himself god. He reincarnates me as a little orphan girl stuck in a world going mad and soon I found myself being a military officer fighting all-around 2 continents in a war that I’m slowly losing on. The memory is a bit fuzzy the more recent the timeline is, I don’t know if that was simply because I hit my head or the corrupting memory nature of the artifact the man gave me has made me forgot some of my time there.
Subsequently, now I’m here. In a body of one Katarina claes, sole daughter of Duke Luigi Claes and patriarch of Claes family. I don’t know how or why I currently occupy this body, I don’t think I even ever heard of Claes family or Sorcier state before. Was it one of the constituent states of the Empire? Saxe-Anholt, Saxe-Braunschweig, Saxe-Saxon,...no, there’s no such thing as Sorcier. If that’s the case then where am I?
Well, it’s not like I can do much right now. My body is warm and I can feel my joints is hard to move. I have a fever, a bad one, even if I don’t have the headache that usually goes a longside it. I should just rest, for now, god knows I’m way overdue for my entitled 2 weeks’ vacation from being an ace of aces anyway.
----
As the fever eventually subsided, and I was better able to stay awake for more than a few minutes, I could finally sit up in bed. It was at that time that I received an unexpected visit from the third prince himself. Since I was still largely bedridden, the prince visited me in my chambers instead.
“Hello, Lady Katarina. I hope you are doing a little better.” He greeted me from beside my bed.
Ugh, a surprise visit from a superior always heralds bad omens, be it in the form of order or reprimand. Exploring Katarina’s memory, I found out that she was as vapid as she was empty in her head. Did she do a mistake when I visited the palace? I don’t think she broke any convention or anything, Katarina’s mother seems to be very thorough in training her progeny manners expected from her station. Still, I remember, somewhat vividly, that she had a “love at the first sight” with him. Honestly, children these days are so scary. I don’t think she even experienced puberty just yet, so how did she already receiving the primal call to mate?
“Lady Katarina?” He called me out again. Damn, I must have been silent for too long on trying to process this. I smiled and nodded at him to show that I am paying attention, but he must have me figured out that I was completely blanked out in my thought earlier since he began to repeat himself.
“As I said earlier, I do apologize, Lady Katarina. To think that I was careless enough to have scarred your face...” the prince said, lowering his head as he did so.
Now I don’t really know the norms of this ‘Sorcier’, but I know that it is universally agreed that when your superior apologized to you, you are supposed to apologize back and take the supposed mistake lightly so that the two of you can quickly put the incident under the water and resume normal operation. Then again, it was completely Katarina’s fault that she slipped on some dry pavement of all things and fell headfirst into the floor, so I don’t know why the prince is apologizing. In fact, she should count herself quite lucky that she didn’t accidentally cause the prince to fall as well. The consequence of injuring a crown prince is never taken lightly.
“Please raise your head, Prince Jeord. I am fully responsible for my actions in this matter — in fact, I should apologize for inconveniencing you and the kind people at the castle...” I lowered my head in return. He seems to be taken aback by this gesture, his blue eyes and golden hair seem to be literally pushed by my apology.
Good, I don’t know what to do if he was insulted instead, so I try to genuflect as genuine as possible. I was worried if I don’t sound apologetic enough. It’s not technically my fault, so it’s hard to feel guilty about a mistake I did not commit.
I of course had experienced such a thing before. I once apologized for my junior’s problem back when I was still a salaryman. But in the office, there’s an unspoken agreement that you can’t exactly hold accountable completely for your subordinates' fault, otherwise, the managers would be the most sinful existence in the building. So it stands that when you’re apologizing for your junior, you don’t need to sound like you’re actually guilty too. You just need to promise to fix whatever it is they messed up as soon as possible.
“So I truly apologize for my actions back in the palace. If your majesty accepts, I and my family are more than happy to reimburse any cost my accident has caused for the castle.” Well, only Claes family really. But Katarina is still a minor and cannot be held responsible just yet. It also means I’m a minor...again. Remembering that made me depressed, with the only silver lining knowing that I still have Katarina’s parents to pay for her gaffe so I don’t need to be in debt from day one.
“Not at all, my lady. If I had been more careful and observant about my surroundings, I would not have bumped into you, and perhaps you would not have ended up with a scar on your beautiful face. Please accept my humble apologies,” he said, bowing his head deeply.
So we’re playing ping-pong now? I almost sighed. Truly prince, you are making a big mistake. You should know that first and foremost, I’m Japanese. Nobody is going to beat a true Japanese salaryman on being polite!
“No, not at all. Please don’t worry about this, Your Highness. It is a small wound, one that can be easily hidden with my bangs! There is no problem at all,” I said with a business smile on my face.
Prince Jeord’s expression, however, froze into a mask of shock and disbelief. I looked around. The prince was not alone in his reaction — all the servants in the room had similar looks plastered across their faces. A truly awkward atmosphere permeated the room.
...I begin to panic, is showing forehead a faux pas here?
“...My lady, even if you are not overly concerned about your injury, society would not view it so. In fact, this very injury may negatively impact any future engagements, or deter potential suitors”
Oh. OH. I completely missed that. Right, Katarina is an actual aristocrat! Of course, she’s expected to marry someone later on as that’s her only filial duty in her life. Now I have the third prince apologizing to me it would look like I’m going to blackmail him for this! I need to fix this before the royal family thinks I’m threatening them!
But before I can begin to rectify the misunderstanding, Prince Jeord already continued to talk, “So to make amends, I’m here to ask you to be engaged with me to save your honor until your wound has healed. Lady Katarina, is that acceptable to you?”
With great effort, I keep up my business smile that I have plastered on my face instead of dumbly staring at him like he suddenly grew two heads on her neck. What is he saying?
“I’m sorry, prince Jeord. But can you repeat that? I think my hearing is still affected by the fall.”
“Of course. Lady Katarina, will you accept my proposition to have you be my fiancée until your wound healed?”
Worst possible outcome! Now I have the third prince offering to be my fiancé until my wound is healed, that would mean he will stop after it does! I don’t think high society would be kind to the “ex-fiancé of the royal family who only gets engaged because she stupidly falls to the ground and blackmails the prince with it”. My marriage chance would be devastated!
Punishment. This is a cruel and unusual punishment. This should straight up be illegal. Damn you, sadistic prince, how could you just ruin someone’s life like that? Being an unmarried noblewoman might as well make you a pariah!
Okay, calm down. No use to cursing the prince, not to mention it’s probably illegal due to things like Lèse-majesté law. I need to figure out how to get out of this betrothal. Time. I need time to know what Sorcier is all about and adjust my battle plan accordingly. Right now I’m currently in enemy territory with no intel whatsoever, so logically it’s time to retreat.
“Well, your majesty, engagement is a highly significant legal contract between two people. Considering we’re both minors, maybe we can have this discussion with our guardian present? I’m sure it would also be prudent for the bride-to-be to meet her in-law first. Indeed, it is most unfortunate that I missed meeting His Majesty the king on my previous visit.”
See how I dodged your insane proposal? I didn’t say I don’t want to be engaged with you because I found it completely inhumane, but because I have no legal power to agree to anything without my parents' consent. Not to mention by mentioning the king I now have an excuse to avoid the whole arrangement by deferring to the King’s busy schedule, a total Salaryman answer!
“Of course, I would come again in a more formal visit.” Wait no, why would you be the one who visits me, what about the King? “Well then. I will visit once more after you are in better spirits, Lady Katarina. Do take care.” He bowed, looking like the very image of a sincere, lovable eight-year-old prince with an impossibly good look if he wasn’t just straight up sentencing my social death sentence. He exited my room with his entourage following behind him, leaving me to finally open my mouth in agape.
.
.
.
How did it come to this?!