Long ago, this world was ruled by darkness. As a result of prolonged drought, also monsters that roamed and looted almost all over the continent, people were starved to death. Battles over the few remaining resources were inevitable. Large kingdoms destroyed small kingdoms, seizing their lands. But before long, the unstoppable monsters devastated everything. In the face of the almighty power of these creatures, even the greatest kingdom was defenseless and was annihilated. The world was on the verge of destruction.

When everyone had lost hope, a group of people appeared. One was the Beloved Child of God, a man who has God’s Protection that makes him invulnerable from anything. One was a Mage, a woman who has a wondrous ability to manipulate nature with magic, an ability that was thought to have been long lost. Alongside a pair of knights of brother and sister, they traveled to save the world. With extraordinary powers like miracles, they eradicated monsters, brought the rain down to stop the drought, and saved people from starvation. After successfully becoming the Hero who saved the world, the Beloved Child of God established an empire where humans could live in peace.

600 years later, Howlan Empire, the empire founded by the Hero, was the greatest and most influential empire on the entire continent. With the knowledge inherited from the Mage, the technology of the Howlan Empire became very advanced. Agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, industry, transportation, communication technology, health and medicine; the Empire excelled in all fields and no nation could rival it. Even so, there was almost no opposition or conflict that occurs with other nations. This was because Howlan Empire was always blessed with a wise emperor.

Howlan Royal Family always upholds the welfare of people, both within the Empire and other nations. Although they could monopolize the technology, the Empire happily shared them with other nations instead, through education. Many students from around the continent would come to the Empire's Royal Academy to study every year. They were the ones that will spread the knowledge and later would bring prosperity to the people. This all was possible thanks to the continuous support of the nobles, especially Bellux Family, the descendants of the Mage.

I'm Eira, the only daughter of Bellux Family. My father was the 8th generation family's head, Grand Duke Francis von Bellux. And today was my 13th birthday as well as my debut party into the world of nobility.

The grand hall was decorated with pink and red roses, along with the rolling coils of luxurious golden satin which glittered under the glow of a magnificent chandelier. A variety of delicacies and sweets were served on long tables with white tablecloths. And in the middle of the room, a giant 5-level birthday cake was placed on a round table. There were at least 100 invitees; the hall was crowded. A lot of people swarmed me, spouting congratulations and praises. But to me, all of them sounded like a bunch of bugs buzzing. You can quit your flattery. I know I am anything but cute, I wanted to retort. I mean, I could hear their thoughts as clear as a bell.

"Happy birthday Lady Eira! Your dress is so cute, it looks good on you!" (Wow. Look at that! Did she think pink would suit her? It's just making her look more and more like a pig! Hahaha!)

No, absolutely not. Grandpa forced me to wear this.

"Congratulations on your debut, Lady Eira! You are stunning today!" (What's with that heavy makeup?! Pfft! Doesn't she know that light makeup is the trend right now? She's so pale it's scary!)

I do know, but I don't like wearing makeup, to begin with. I'm sorry that my face "terrified" you.

"Lady Eira, congratulations. I always knew that you'd become a fine lady." (Is the Bellux Family going to be okay? With this kind of girl as the sole successor, their future surely is not a bright one. How pitiful. But their lineage and resources are outstanding, maybe I can try to persuade Grand Duke Bellux to get her to marry one of my sons.)

Yeah, I'm worried too. Maybe I should tell Father to not destroy you.

Because of this annoying ability, I've been in a lot of trouble since I was little. When I was around 3 years old, I started to hear whispers from my surroundings. At first, I was confused as no one other than me was able to hear those whispers. I thought a ghost was haunting me, so there was a time when I locked myself in my room and refused to see anyone because I was so scared.

Instead of stopping, those whispers sounded louder and clearer as I got older. Then I began to be able to differentiate them and realized that those sounds were the thought of people around me. I was very young then, it's a shock when I learned what other people think of me. Because of that, I became a troublesome child. I would throw a tantrum out of nowhere one second and became dead silent for a few days the next. When I remembered those days, even I agreed that I was a maddening brat. But now I've grown accustomed to it and even made a habit of retorting to their rude thoughts, in my mind.

Why didn't I just say it out loud? Because I didn't want my already-bad reputation to become worse. After all, a lot of people had been mocking me, calling me by a nickname of "Boar Princess" behind my father's back. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I got another nickname like "creepy pig" or something, and ended up dragging the family name down even more. That's why, as much as I wanted to choke that old man just now, I had to agree with him.

Ever since its founding day, the Empire had been blessed by the existence of the Beloved Child of God and the Mage. Every generation, a Beloved Child of God would be born into the Royal Family, and a Mage would be born into the Bellux family. But for some unknown reason, they stopped a few generations ago. The last Mage in the family was alive 4 generations ago, he was my grandfather's grandfather.

As expected, the Bellux family lost a fair amount of power because of it. Well, although the identity of the Mage had been kept as a secret since before it happened, some nobles still caught the wind of it, and rumors started spreading. Now after 4 generations, they still have their respect towards our family all thanks to my grandfather and father.

Conrad von Bellux, my grandfather, didn't have a miraculous ability like the Mage, but he was a strong warrior and a wise general. Combined with our abundant knowledge about magic technology, he became a swordsman with a unique fighting style.

Although now humans could live in peace, the threat of monsters didn't vanish completely. They still roamed in deep forests, wasted lands, and the ocean; there were still people suffering because of their attack. That's why, once every 2 years, Howlan Empire would dispatch one of the 3 great armies to travel around the continent to hunt monsters.

Conrad was only a captain of a small unit consisting of 10 soldiers in the 3rd Army at the time when it's their turn to go. But the 10 months expedition turned into a death march when they had to fight against a fire dragon 2 months after their departure. Many soldiers were severely injured, few even lost their lives. But that's considered lucky of them, as dragons could easily wipe an army alone. It seems they could win with minimal casualties, all thanks to Grandfather's unusual yet brave strategy.

Since that accident, he got promotion after promotion along the way. His carefree and straight forward attitude made him well-liked not only by his subordinates but also by the Commander. In the end, they could safely finish the expedition, mostly because of his great contributions. The family who didn't know anything, were all surprised when he returned as 3rd Army Vice Commander while he left as merely a unit captain. The Emperor gave him honor, and even the Commander of the 3rd Army officially declared him as the next Commander. Since his appointment, he had gone into many battlefields and saved countless lives, earning him the title of "Savior from Bellux".

I didn't quite remember how Grandfather was before his retirement, but I did hear many stories about his heroic deeds. Still, it's hard for me to relate the brave heroic general then to that idiot doting gramps now. I mean, all I could hear every time I'm with him were: (Eira Dear, you're so cute today as well!) (Oh my God! How can my granddaughter be this adorable? It's a sin!) (Eira is so beautiful it's a waste to marry her off to those dumb boys!), etc. Come on Grandpa, you're the only one that thinks someone who resembles a pig wearing a platinum blond wig is cute. I guess love is blind, no matter what kind.

My father, Francis, was different from Grandfather. He wasn't a warrior-type person, but more of a scholar-type person. In fact, he was a true genius. He might not be able to use magic but his knowledge and understanding about it was far greater than Grandfather's and was said even more than Great Grandfather's who was the Mage himself.

Since he was a baby, Grandmother often read him various books. Francis was said to be a lively kid, but he went all quiet when Grandmother read for him. His eyes glued to the book like he was absorbed into it. It's evident that he was indeed a smart boy, so only a few were surprised when he began talking and reading fluently even before he could walk. But that's just the beginning. He finished gobbling up all the books in our humongous library in no time, then said he wanted to enroll in the Royal Academy when he's 12.

Rules stated that one can enroll in the Royal Academy when reaching the age of 15. And before that, you must finish the Elementary School then Secondary School, and also pass the entrance exam. Father was supposed to go to the Secondary School at that time, but he deliberately wanted to skip it and go straight to the Royal Academy. Grandmother had tried to stop him, but he wouldn't budge. So, Grandfather gave him one chance to take the entrance exam with special permission. If he passed, he could enroll in the Academy. If he failed, he would go to the Secondary School without complaint. But just passing the exam won't do, he had to be one of the top 10 examinees with the highest score while going against nearly 1000 people who came from around the continent to take the exam. With that kind of impossible condition, many were bound to believe that he would fail. Yet far from that, he's not only passed the exam, he also ranked 1st with a perfect full score. Thus no one opposed him anymore, and the Royal Academy's record broke with the entry of its youngest students in the Empire's history.

Father entered the Academy in this kind of "grand" entrance, so of course, the whole Academy knew the name of Francis von Bellux, son of Conrad von Bellux the "Savior". Many were curious but a lot also envious. Being the youngest child, it seems many tried to bully Father, especially the senior students. No one succeeded though. And in the end, those who tried to do so became Father's loyal companions instead. I was a bit interested in how he did that, so I asked him once. But his smile as he said "you wanna know~?" was very scary, so I refrained myself. Well, it's useless though, because I could hear his thoughts: (There are a lot of methods from an easy one to some extreme things. But my dear Eira doesn't need to know about that… yet.) Father, your face!! It's scary!! What're you?! A mafia boss?! I guess my father wasn't some nerd, but a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Anyway, three years passed quickly and Father graduated from the Academy as the best student. He already caught the Emperor's attention since the day he was accepted into the Royal Academy, so the Royal Palace gladly requited him as a Civil Officer. Since then, nobody could stop him. He climbed the political ladder smoothly, and in only 5 years, he successfully became the youngest Prime Minister in the Empire's history.

Could you believe it? He became the second most influential person in the Empire when he's only 20. That broke Grandfather's record when he became the 3rd Army Commander when he's 27. Well, all of the former Commanders got into their position in their 30s, while the former Prime Ministers in their 40s-50s, so yeah, they were "monsters".

Father's achievements as Prime Minister were especially remarkable. He was able to solve various problems that had not been able to be resolved, and he also made many new policies that led to economic improvement and increased the welfare of middle and lower class citizens. The Emperor was also very pleased by him, to the point he wanted Father to continue being the Prime Minister as long as possible, even after he passed down the throne to the Crown Prince. Well, the Emperor didn't say that out loud, but I clearly heard his thoughts. Unfortunately, Father already decided that he would retire when he's 40. Looks like he had told the Emperor about this, that's why His Majesty looked a bit anxious earlier tonight.

So, Father and Grandfather were the reason the Bellux Family still has its dignity intact. But now, all of that would go down the drain with me. I hated that. I didn't want to ruin my family, so of course, I tried to change and polish myself to become a Lady worthy of the Bellux Family's name. But no matter what I do or how hard I exert, all in vain. Even though I made much progress in etiquette lessons, dance lessons, music lessons, and mastered many topics in both general and magic technology, I couldn't stop being unfriendly to people because of this stupid power of mine. And it only became worse as lying and empty pleasantries seem to be a default for most nobles. I also tried to slim down by living a healthy life and training in swordsmanship under Grandfather's guidance. But even though I've been training for 3 years, my body didn't show any changes and my weight didn't move an inch. So to this day, I'm still stuck being the fat and ugly "Boar Princess".

"*Sigh*~"

"That's a long sigh. Are you tired, Eira?"

A worried voice called out to me. As soon as everyone heard his voice, they immediately went silent, then took a step back while bowing down. As everyone was making way, a handsome blue-haired boy walked up to me. He was only a year older than me but he looked more mature and his distinguished aura was clearly visible.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I am fine."

(Look at that. How impudent of her to talk to His Highness the Crown Prince casually like that.)

(Even though this is your birthday and debut party, you shouldn't act so high and mighty, Boar Princess.)

(She should be thankful that His Highness was willing to come. His Highness is so kind, he must pity her.)

(She is lucky that she's born into the Bellux Family. But unfortunately, it's a curse to the family instead. Heh.)

As soon as I bowed and replied to the Crown Prince, the envious bunch started to harass me in their mind. But it was still good that they didn't dare to say it out loud.

(What? Why does she look this way?)

Because you're just thinking something extremely rude about His Highness.

(Does she just glare at me? So creepy!)

Yes, I do. If it's creepy, then stop thinking about some trash like that.

Really, some of those nobles were only good at bad-mouthing and back-stabbing. I was just glaring at them for a bit and they all were cowering.

"Eira? Are you really alright?" (She doesn't look pale, but she must be tired after all, with all those party preparations from this morning. Besides, she doesn't like being in the crowd like this.)

The Crown Prince, His Highness Raymond Quillan von Howlan was as kind and sincere as ever. He's always thinking about other people first and never talked or thought rudely even to people he doesn't like. But that didn't mean he's stupid or an airhead prince. He's the next line to the throne after all. Well, one could say that he's already a true gentleman despite him being still young. We had been friends since we were babies, so I already thought of him as an older brother.

"I really am alright, Your Highness."

"That's good. Here, come with me. His Majesty and Grand Duke are calling for us."

His Highness extended his hand to me while smiling as if he was escorting a high-class lady. The adults all amazed by his perfect posture and manner while the young ladies all swoon by his cute yet handsome smile.

Day after day, you become more and more dazzling, don't you, Brother Ray? But at this rate you'll be accused as a womanizer again if you're not careful, you know. Even your way of speaking… Hm? What's that? What did I say? Why do I… This scene, I feel like I've seen it before? Ah, it's 'that' again huh?

"Eira?"

"!! Yes. My apologies."

Looks like I went into a daze, I was surprised when His Highness whispered to call me. I quickly took his hand, then we walked to the seats of honor on top of a small pedestal, where His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress sat in wait for us. Father and everyone else in the family was also there. Once they saw us walking closer together, His Majesty and Her Majesty stood up, they seemed delighted. Father, Mother, and Grandmother looked calm, only Grandfather who looked a bit dissatisfied.

Okay, what's this? It seems I also have seen this scene before. No way. I don't have any good feelings about this. ...I want to run away.

Seeing the Emperor and the Empress rise from their seats, everyone in the room instantly quieted down with all their attention focused on us, who just stepped on the pedestal together, hand-in-hand.

The Emperor put on a warm smile as he congratulated me once again. I bowed respectfully at him to thank him for his kind words just like before, and he looked satisfied looking at my calm reaction. I might look calm on the outside but inside I want to dig a hole then hide in it. I desperately burned my brain for a way to escape, but this seems impossible without harming my family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we are all gathering here to celebrate Lady Eira von Bellux's 13th birthday and her coming of age as an adult entering the aristocratic society."

Before I could think of anything, the Emperor already turned to the crowd and began his announcement.

Oh my god, what should I do? I feel very terrible about this…

"We are delighted that Lady Eira has grown to a splendid and capable young lady. We believe that Lady Eira will become an even more wonderful lady in the future and that she will be a great leading figure in this Empire."

No, I am not, and will not. Your Majesty, please don't say anything anymore… You are making a mistake…

"Therefore, for the sake of the future of our Howlan Empire, We hereby declare the engagement of the Crown Prince, Raymond Quillan von Howlan, and the first daughter of Grand Duke Bellux, Eira von Bellux, as an official commandment of Emperor Amadeus II."