Recollection

There are some days that are good, and conversely, there are some days that aren’t that good. 

This day was one of those not-so-good days for Amy Northland, daughter of Count Northland.

First, her head had felt blurry ever since she woke up.

She felt like it was because of the dream that woke her up at dawn, but for some reason she couldn’t recall it; her mind turned foggy whenever she tried. The feeling of unease from the hazy dream grew throughout the day and settled heavily in her chest.

During breakfast she ended up thoroughly burning her tongue on hot tea. Then she couldn’t find the handkerchief she had been embroidering as homework. She would find out later that her brother, who had returned home from school for the weekend, accidentally took it back with him mistaking it as one of his own. But, for now, she had to endure the scolding of her governess.  

At lunch, the cook served liver paste which was one of the foods she couldn’t tolerate… but the deciding factor, for why this day was one of those no-so-good days, was the current situation.

Amy’s father, Count Northland, was the Director of Technology at the Bureau of Magic. He worked in developing magical tools, and would always come home late over a meeting, some research or testing prototypes, etc. But today, in a rare move, he came back home while the sun was still out.

For the Northland family, where everyone was in good terms with each other, such a thing was something that should be celebrated. 

However, when Amy was called into the study, and not the drawing room, she was met with the frowning face of her father while her mother stood next to him with a worried face of her own. Amy felt uncomfortable at the unexpected heavy atmosphere. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding when she looked at her parents.  　

The Count opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to. At his wife’s pointed glance he finally summoned up the will to speak… it turned out he had been asked to engage Amy to the Third Prince.

“The first two Prince’s are already engaged to candidates from the neighbouring kingdoms. So it is necessary for the Third Prince to marry within the kingdom to keep a balance within the Kingdom.”

“My dear, Amy is still only 10 years old.”

“I said the same thing. But her age still falls in the acceptable limit; in the end I couldn’t stop her from becoming one of the fiancee candidates.” The Count replied as he reluctantly showed her the portrait he had brought with him.

The Third Prince was 13 years old. It seemed like all eligible women from the age of 8 to 18 were considered as candidates. Apart from Amy there were still many other young ladies who had been nominated to be his fiancee. 

The intention was to spend time with each candidate through garden parties or tea parties, and take the time to assess each of them. As the Count explained the situation, Amy watched his mouth moving while his voice grew fainter and fainter until she could no longer hear him. Her consciousness was fixed solely on the picture of the 13 year old Prince. 

The boy in the picture had dirty blonde hair and light gray eyes shot with silver.

As a 13 year old child, his features were boyish with a childish look to them, but his appearance was elegant and refined, and she could tell he would grow up to be an extremely good looking man. 

…… Also, she had seen this face before. But, where had she seen it? And when?

Amy still hadn’t debuted into society and, apart from her family, she just had a few select friends.

Her brother, who was addicted to hunting magical beasts, sometimes brought his school friends over to visit. But all of his friends, although friendly, were ordinary looking. Looking at the picture, she felt like his noble aura would make her feel too awkward in his presence. So there was no way she could have met him before.  

On top of that, the Third Prince hadn’t entered society yet either, so she wouldn’t have seen him in magazines or newspapers either. Besides there are no image rights here, and there is no paparazzi so there was no way his picture would be… wait, what? ‘Paparazzi’?

“Oh! Amy!?”

It was like she had been struck by lightning. Her eyes rolled back and Amy fell to the floor in an unconscious heap.

And then when she opened her eyes the next day, it all came back to her.

The memories of her previous life, that is.

And her days as a normal high school student.

…… She had become one of those transmigrating light novel heroines!