Chapter 4

"Good morning, Prince Lazulis. How are you feeling today?"

A few days later—when Garnet, undeterred, came to visit early in the morning, Lazulis made a face as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.

"…Why are you here again?"

"I am your fiancée, Prince Lazulis. It's only natural for me to be by your side."

"I don't care, just go away."

"Breakfast is ready. Please come to the dining room."

"…I don't need it."

"Your Highness is a bit on the small side, so you must eat properly…"

"Mind your own business!"

Lazulis tried to send Garnet away, but Garnet held her ground. This was the first stage of her revised strategy, and she couldn't afford to stumble here.

—"One of the heart-pounding scenarios… 'The childhood friend who wakes you up in the morning!' Even though the young lady is not a childhood friend but a fiancée, it should be adaptable. 'Good morning, breakfast is ready♡' will knock any prince off his feet!"

According to Sara, who was well-versed in romance, men are particularly moved when a close female friend wakes them up in the morning. While Lazulis's reaction didn't seem to confirm this, she couldn't back down now. The futile staring contest between Garnet and Lazulis continued, and it was Lazulis who gave in first.

"Fine, I'll go to the dining room if that's what you want!"

Relieved, Garnet followed her fiancé, who marched ahead with large strides.

Garnet was determined to get close to Lazulis and nurture him into a prince worthy of the throne. As his wife, she would support him by his side. However, even if he grew up well, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be swayed by someone like Isabelle. Just like her former fiancé, Narcissus.

This time, to eliminate such possibilities, Garnet decided to charm Lazulis. She needed to make him so infatuated with her that he wouldn't even think of being unfaithful.

However, having been engaged to Narcissus since childhood, Garnet was a complete novice when it came to matters of the heart. She needed to start by learning the basics of romance. Whenever Garnet learned something new, she began by reading extensively on the subject and ingraining the knowledge in her mind. Whether it was the cultural education required of a princess or matters of the heart, the approach was the same.

On the day she was dismissed shortly after meeting Lazulis, Garnet went to the city with her maid, Sara, and bought a large number of books on romance. She studied them thoroughly and devised various strategies to make her small fiancé fall for her.

—"Prince Lazulis is definitely a tsundere type!" Sara had said. The books also mentioned that the key to winning over a tsundere is persistence. She couldn't give up just because he rejected her a little.

In addition to charming him, she also needed to focus on his education. First, she had to help him grow physically.

—He's about a fist shorter than the average height. He should be entering his growth spurt soon, so he needs to eat more and grow taller from now on…

As she watched her small fiancé's head march ahead, Garnet quietly envisioned her plans for the future.