If you asked Kane right now, “Who is the most difficult woman you’ve ever had to deal with in your life?” Kane would answer without hesitation: Enya.
That yandere with flexible boundaries, Enya— no matter if you look to the past or the future— will always be the hurdle Kane finds hardest to overcome.
But if you asked him who he found the most difficult to deal with before Enya, he would say— Vanessa von Silithes.
At twenty-one years old, the third Princess of the Kingdom of Silithes, a third-year student at Kassel Academy, Student Council President, and simultaneously the Knight Commander of the Royal Knights— a legendary and extraordinary woman.
Yet, her most famous identity is still Kane’s fiancée.
It’s not just because Kane, as her fiancé, is infamous; more importantly, it’s because this engagement was something Vanessa herself personally requested from the King.
A wealthy heiress redeeming a good-for-nothing young master with her love… If you’re expecting that kind of story, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.
Although Vanessa isn’t as extreme as Taliya, she too is an absolute stranger to the opposite sex, having been devoted to swordsmanship since childhood.
Yet, constrained by her royal status and duties, even if only in appearance, she must fulfill her responsibilities as a royal.
At a suitable age, she has to marry into nobility, and that is exactly why Vanessa chose Kane.
The man is weak, the woman is strong;
Noble in status, but lacking ambition;
Able to provide the greatest possible support, yet with no desire to vie for power.
Kane is simply a match made in heaven as Vanessa’s betrothed.
To this day, as long as Kane closes his eyes, he can recall the scene when he first met Vanessa and their engagement was decided.
At night, in the lavish, resplendent palace, candles were lit, and a candlelit dinner for two was quietly held in the Duchess Mansion.
Her long, jet-black hair was braided and coiled atop her head.
She wore a blue-and-white silk gown with lace trim, a camel-colored long skirt below, her long, taut legs sheathed in flesh-colored stockings, and black high-heeled boots on her feet.
Her fair skin, like round dewdrops glistening in the sunlight after a spring rain, shone with a soft luster.
There were no superfluous accessories on her, yet she exuded a natural, queenly grace that seized the gaze of all who saw her, drawing them in irresistibly, making it impossible to escape.
That day, the always stoic and cold Vanessa, who had always dressed in men’s clothing, for the first time wore an outfit befitting a woman to meet Kane.
And that was also the day Kane’s heart skipped a beat, filled with a powerful urge to procreate.
She not only proposed the engagement herself, she even dressed up for me.
She must really like me!
Kane’s thoughts weren’t just wishful thinking.
Just as he said, Vanessa had specially dressed up, and for a man, no less. Such an honor—Kane was the only one to ever receive it.
At that moment, Kane even imagined: if Her Highness the Princess drank too much and didn’t return home that night, and he accidentally walked in while she was bathing, then, as emotions ran high, the two of them would be swept up in passion, doing this and that, and that and this— things that would definitely be censored.
He would have a bright future ahead.
Then, Kane’s daydream ended.
“I’ll marry you, but I hope we won’t pry into each other’s private matters. If you want me to bear you an heir, I will. If it’s a boy, you’ll raise him; if it’s a girl, I don’t want you to have too much contact with her. Also, if you want to take concubines, I don’t want to see them— it would be troublesome, and I might not be able to stop myself from dealing with them…”
As soon as the candlelit dinner began, Vanessa directly shattered Kane’s romantic fantasy.
Perhaps, there is something unique about Kane that made her choose him as her fiancé, but that’s all there is to it.
But the most outrageous part was what she said after dinner, just before leaving the mansion.
“As for having children, I don’t know much about it, but the sooner the better. Are you fast enough?”
Kane: ???
Hahaha, did you hear what she just said?
She asked if he was fast.
She actually asked me if I’m fast?
Fast? Of course not!
What do you take me for, a giraffe? Hypertension— done in a second.
If this world had test tube technology, Kane suspected she wouldn’t even bother with this formality of marriage.
From that day on, Vanessa successfully claimed the top spot on Kane’s list of most difficult women.
And now, Kane never expected that the daydream he once had would actually come true here…
A moist, fragrant aroma lingered at the tip of his nose. Wisps of hazy steam drifted up from the edge of the pool, and from either side, golden lions could be heard with the gentle rush of flowing water.
In the mist-shrouded pool, Vanessa’s black hair was coiled atop her head, her entire body submerged in the water.
On the snowy mountains half-floating above the surface, only her delicate, white shoulders were visible.
The girl’s cool-toned skin, perhaps flushed from the high temperature around her, made her breathtakingly beautiful face take on a hint of warmth, giving this famously aloof girl an air of shy intoxication.
Fragrance filled the air, her cheeks blushed like blooming peach blossoms.
It was undoubtedly a scene of beauty unparalleled in the world— even the famed Venus de Milo, with her broken arms, would pale in comparison before this girl.
This image, so completely unlike the girl’s usual demeanor, struck Kane with immense force.
He didn’t know what kind of expression he was making, but he was well aware his heart was about to explode.
For a moment, he even forgot the crisis he was facing.
Only when the woman’s icy voice rang out did Kane realize something was terribly wrong.
——Wow.
Just as soon as you could say it, a chill of extreme cold gathered above the girl’s delicate hand as she raised it from the pool.
Vanessa suddenly lifted her lotus-white arm, sending a violent splash through the spring water.
As the droplets rolled down her arm and fell into the pool, creating ripples, a sharp Ice Sword formed in her hand.
Her fingertips, seemingly stained with nail polish, gripped the ice blade tightly.
One hand held the sword, the other covered her chest. With the sword in hand, her sharp gaze flashed like a blade, and she pointed the sword at Kane:
“Who are you? Who sent you… Is it you?!”
“?”
What do you mean, me?
At that moment, the tip of the sword was only 0.01 centimeters from Kane’s throat. He was already preparing to tell a lie in a quarter of an incense stick’s time.
But… listening to her familiar tone, could it be she recognized him?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
His disguise was flawless, and Vanessa wasn’t Enya—she wasn’t hopelessly in love with him. How could she possibly recognize him?
It had to be Taliya who mentioned his identity as Kun’er, that must be it.
Kane was certain.
He immediately said ‘shyly’:
“This must be Princess Vanessa, right? Kun’er has long admired your name, it’s an honor to meet you.”
Kane greeted her enthusiastically, even extending both hands and lowering himself as much as possible.
Surely, given how tactful and understanding he was, and considering they were both ‘women,’ this little matter of barging into the bath would certainly be forgiven.
“……”
“?”
Yet what greeted Kane was an eerie silence.
Vanessa’s emotionless eyes quietly stared at him.
In the white-misted, tranquil environment, the chilly air made one’s heart tremble.
Uh, what’s going on here… Kane wondered, just as he was about to open his mouth to ask.
Vanessa spoke:
“Kane, what did you just call me? Princess? You actually called me Princess?!”
Kane:?!
Was it his imagination, or did Vanessa seem really angry… Wait, no, what did she just call me?!
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