"No, the pleasure is all mine. My name is Sai Reschelburg. It is an honour to finally meet you in person. I have heard of Your Highness's refined demeanour and I see the rumors fail to live up to the actual thing." I hurriedly replied and prayed that I did not stumble anywhere. We both raised our heads and instantly, the assessment began.
Skin fairer than snow. Hair darker than night. Big, round eyes that would have been cute if not for the sharpness in them. Her figure was still that of a child but it looked like she had training in martial arts. Magic is currently unknown for now but I'll classify her as a mid rank threat in battle for now.
Over the past three years, I kept on practicing my martial arts and even upped the intensity. Normally that would be impossible as it placed too much strain on the body and could even cause severe damage but that was nothing with my magic involved.
Rather than saying it closes wounds, it would be more appropriate to say it recovers and restores them.
It doesn't simply accelerated the healing process, it copies the cell structure of a being and converts the healing magic to mass and creates new flesh and blood with it.
In theory, you can even use it to create a complete and perfect clone of a person.
"Lord Sai!" I flinched as I looked at the girl in front of me.
Cursing myself for getting lost in my thoughts, I smiled and apologised.
"Excuse my unsightly behaviour. I was simply entranced by Your Highness's beauty." I decided to borrow my father's move and delivered it in the most suave way possible.
I'm not bragging but I think I have pretty good facial features. Framed by my white hair with a little lock of reddish pink, in it, I think I could probably make an average girl fall in love with me at first sight.
"You have a way with words, Lord Sai." She smiled and I frowned internally as I knew my attack didn't have any effect.
This girl... She knows what she's doing.
"You must be tired from your journey home. I have prepared a room and food for Your Highness so if you would indulge us." I clapped softly and an elderly maid received Katarina's luggage from her lady-in-waiting and took them to their room.
"Then if you will excuse us." Katarina bowed slightly and left. When she was out of sight, I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding and leaned against the wall.
Honestly, fighting a thousand monsters won't even compare to acting ten minutes as a noble. And I know because I've done something similar before.
"Good world out there, young master." Ars, my personal butler said as he handed me a wet towel and I used it to wipe my face as we walked back to my room.
"All in a day's work- is what I'd like to say but unfortunately, she's staying for three." I sighed and made up my mind to spend as little time with her as possible.
I don't know the reason why, but something about her just puts me on guard.
"I don't understand what you don't find pleasing about her. From the rumors I've heard, she seems like quite the nice girl." Ars said as we walked into my room.
Ars closed the door behind him and I snapped my fingers and activated the soundproofing barrier and sat down on my bed.
"Ars, what exactly is a fiancée?" I looked at him and asked in a serious tone.
"Erm, it's a woman who is to be married?"
"Exactly. As my fiancée, there would have been some emotional fluctuations in her eyes even if she managed to conceal her body's when meeting me. Plus, she's just seven years old. Seven year old kids can actually all mature but they are still kids inside. Naturally, I'm no exception." Ars nodded as though he still didn't get it and I sighed and continued to explain.
"When you look at someone as a partner, you check out their manners, speech, dressing, etiquette and the likes. When she looked at me, she started judging how much use I could be to her. Like she was shopping for a tool. An adult doing that would be alright, but she's just a child." I explained and looked at the expression on his face as he finally started to get it.
I haven't told anyone apart from my parents that I was reincarnated so everyone else just thinks I'm a really smart kid and I had no intention of dissuading them from that thought.
But from what I could see, Katarina was not a reincarnated soul. If she was, she would have been able to hide the gleam in her eyes better than what I saw.
Well, I just have to send her on her way and find a way to break the engagement later. My influence is still little now but it should be enough to do something later if I work on it.
...
"Princess, what is your assessment of Sai?" Maler, Katarina's maid and lady-in-waiting, said as the two of them settled in the room provided to them.
"He's an interesting person." Katarina put a finger to her lips as she recalled the way he presented himself to her earlier.
"What is your first impression when you saw him?" She threw a question to Maler very much like the way Sai did.
"He seemed like a well mannered gentleman." Maler responded unsure of what her liege was getting to.
"That's exactly the impression he wanted to give. Inside, he wanted nothing more than for us to leave as quickly as possible."
"Really?" Maler was surprised and she searched her memories for any signs of what she said but came up blank.
"You don't get it, huh. Well, it's something I only noticed because of my magic." Katarina raised a finger and a formless strand of mana extended and danced in the air.
"Ruler magic, the ability to influence, use, and command others. As a benefit, it allows you to sense the emotions of people you perceived as your subjects. Its effect are limited but it's effective if your target has no idea about it." Maler nodded as she realized what Katarina used.
"He may have had the perfect acting down, but his emotions clearly said he wanted nothing to do with us. In other words, he sees us as nothing more than nuisances. Quite a rude way to view a princess and a fiancée don't you think?" Although it was a question, Maler knew not to answer it. If there was anything she wanted to say, it was...
"Princess, you're smiling." At her servant's words, Katarina raised her hand to her lips and found them curled upwards and giggled.
"Maybe it's because I've found a new toy." She muttered and looked out the window as though searching for something.
"Sai, please do your best to entertain me."