The Fiancee Who Betrayed Me Is Obsessed With Me

3 – Engaged to the Princess of a Hostile Nation (3)

“Wha-what?”

“What’s wrong, Yuuna?”

“It feels like there’s something… inside my dress! Ahh, it’s tickling, Ben!”

Returning late from watching the creatures with Yuuna, we were both covered in dirt.

We arrived home late and got scolded by my mother, but we still exchanged smiles.

Whether my mother sensed our newfound closeness, she stopped her reprimands.

Instead, I decided to take Yuuna to her room first. Just as she was about to enter,

“I think something’s… in there?”

“Please, get it out! It’s scary!”

Perhaps her newfound trust in me made her tear up and show vulnerability. She held up her skirt.

Though a bug seemed to have entered her dress, it was difficult for me to intrude into such a personal space.

“Even so, putting my hand there is a bit…”

“Just do it! I hate this feeling!”

“Okay, okay, just a second.”

I carefully reached in and caught the intruder. To my surprise, it was soft and furry.

“I’ve got it! But…”

I pulled out one of the glowing creatures and showed it to her.

“Eek, eek!”

“Is it a squirrel? Yuuna?”

“Eek, eek… Oh, oh? A squirrel?”

What had gotten inside her dress was a squirrel.

It seems it had followed her from the forest, sneaking into her dress.

The squirrels seemed particularly fond of Yuuna, clinging to her so fervently that one had been inadvertently left behind.

“What should we do? It seems it followed from the forest.”

When I tried to hand the squirrel to her, it squirmed in my hand but calmed down immediately in her embrace.

There was definitely something about Yuuna that the squirrels liked.

“Oh, what should we do? It’s too late to take it back…”

“Well, it seems to like Yuuna. How about keeping it? It looks like it doesn’t want to be separated from Yuuna. I don’t think King Helia would mind?”

“Can… can I really?”

“Of course. Many nobles are eager to have squirrels.”

It seemed best if she kept it.

Considering how much she loved squirrels, it would be great to keep seeing it in the kingdom.

Squirrels have a fairly long lifespan, so it would likely keep her company until she was much older.

“Then… shall we? hehehe.”

“Yes. That’s great.”

“Thank you so much, Ben! I’m so happy.”

“You should thank the squirrel. It chose you.”

I smiled, watching her joyfully embrace the squirrel.

Seeing her smile like this, I would have regretted not becoming friends.

She was my fiancée, the princess of the neighboring kingdom, but beyond all that, Yuuna was simply an irresistibly likable person.

She perfectly embodied the word “lovable.”

“Ben, what should we name it?”

“A name? Hmm… What would be good?”

She’s thinking of a name right away.

I hadn’t thought of one, but women tend to be detail-oriented with such matters.

“How about ‘Benny’? Since we met thanks to Ben!”

“Oh, that fits well. Sounds good.”

“Great! Benny! You’re Benny now!”

“Chirp chirp!”

The name is Benny. It felt weird since it reminded me of my younger brother, but as long as Yuuna was happy, it was fine.

Benny seemed to like the name too, hopping about happily on Yuuna’s shoulder.

We continued our conversation until one of Yuuna’s maids came looking for her.

Before our conversation, I hadn’t realized how well we clicked.

We didn’t share hobbies or a culture, but as individuals, we were in sync.

We were considerate of each other and communicated well.

It would have been sad if our relationship remained awkward. We were such good friends after all.

I was grateful and happy to have grown closer to her, especially because of a squirrel.

And the fact that I was going to marry someone like her.

Our relationship, which started off on the wrong foot, rapidly improved and we became best friends.

Our time together increased, and every moment with her was happier than the last.

She must have felt the same since she was always smiling with me.

—

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed since Yuuna and I first met, and we were both 15.

Thinking back to when we first met, we had become so close that it was laughable.

As expected, Yuuna was lovely and affectionate. She was like that with everyone.

Her demeanor towards me was sweet and cute, but there was a single moment when she was as cold as before.

“We’re already 15.”

“Yes, already.”

In the three years, Yuuna had become even more beautiful.

Her chubby cheeks remained, but she had grown into a lady.

I had also grown taller and bulkier in these three years.

My facial features were becoming more masculine.

I still had a delicate appearance, but I felt I had grown enough to protect Yuuna.

When we first met, our heights were similar, but now she came up to my shoulder.

Thanks to that, I had one more reason to tease her when we met.

“The wedding is in two years, right? It’s been three years, but there’s still a lot of time left.”

“…”

I still wanted to marry Yuuna.

I didn’t quite understand the feeling of love yet, but I was sure I wanted to be with her forever.

At 15, we were still young. We could take our time with love.

I felt that wanting to be together forever was enough. I wanted to promise eternity to Yuuna.

Objectively, Yuuna was beautiful.

“… Do you still not want to marry?”

“… No, it’s not that I don’t want to. But we can’t.”

But Yuuna didn’t seem to feel the same.

She wouldn’t tell me why and just kept saying we couldn’t get married.

Did she really dislike me? That didn’t seem to be the case.

It was hard to believe that the affection she showed when we were together was fake. She had also told me that I was her most precious friend.

Is there a difference between a friend and a lover?

But we had already promised to marry in front of both kingdoms. Why keep saying we can’t?

Honestly, I didn’t understand.

“Sigh… Do you dislike me that much?”

“It’s not that… We just can’t get married.”

“Why not?”

“I… I don’t know.”

It was frustrating.

No matter how much I asked, she wouldn’t tell me the reason. Considering our future together, it was maddening.

It was always like this.

The topic of marriage was always frustrating, but I just sighed deeply and moved on to the next topic.

After all, it was a fact that we had to marry.

Unless one of our kingdoms was destroyed, we had to marry.

Eventually, as time passed and we became adults, she would tell me.

With that thought, I always pushed away my feelings of resentment and smiled at her again.

“Ben!”

“Syria?”

While enjoying tea time leisurely in the kingdom’s garden with Yuuna, a familiar young lady approached from a distance.

Always walking faster than others, yet maintaining the dignity of nobility.

Transparent silver hair reflecting a faint purple hue in the sunlight.

“What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you!”

“Well, just having tea with the princess. What brings you to the palace, Syria?”

“Oh, I came with my father. So, what were you two talking about?”

My childhood friend, Syria.

She casually sat down at the tea table.

The servants promptly brought her a cup of tea.

“Just… talking about our future? The wedding’s in two years.”

“Didn’t the princess say she doesn’t want to marry you?”

The three of us were the same age, so becoming friends wasn’t difficult.

As Yuuna and I grew closer, she naturally got to know my childhood friend, Syria. The two of them seemed to bond quite well.

To be honest, from my perspective, it didn’t seem like Syria was that fond of Yuuna.

But given Yuuna’s inherently gentle nature, they seemed to get along better than expected.

“What… Well, that’s how it is.”

“Are you an idiot? Girls don’t like guys who are too pushy, you know?”

“I’m not being pushy. I just talked about things we should discuss. The futures of our two kingdoms are at stake. It’s only natural!”

“Alright, both of you, stop fighting. Syria, stop it. Ben doesn’t mean harm.”

Yuuna, who had been watching our argument, laughed softly and intervened.

“But, princess, you also said you won’t marry. Doesn’t that mean Ben lacks appeal as a man? I heard you like muscular men.”

“I don’t necessarily have such a specific taste.”

“Yuuna, I’ve been working out a lot lately. Always have. Want to feel my arm? My bicep is thicker than your face now.”

Proudly, I rolled up my sleeve to show off my well-developed arm.

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While it wasn’t thicker than Yuuna’s face, it was certainly a remarkable muscle compared to our peers.

The result of relentless weight training after hearing about Yuuna’s preferences.

“I’ve also been training hard in swordsmanship every day. Still won’t marry me?”

“Um… No!”

“Ha! Told you, you’re not her type, dummy! Just give up on her!”

“Ugh!”

Laughing and chatting, the three of us spent our time together.

Apart from Yuuna’s constant refusal to marry, those were genuinely happy moments.

And since we were destined to marry anyway, I didn’t dwell too much on that issue.

I simply thought that by sharing such joyful times and by working out to become stronger, one day Yuuna would fall for me.

We were young and didn’t understand love yet.

One day, when the time was right, I believed Yuuna would come to love me.

In retrospect, those days, when I was tirelessly striving without really knowing anything, were perhaps the happiest.