My name is Irene.
I was born the eldest daughter of a Viscount in the Demon Kingdom.
I always assumed I would eventually marry into a suitable house, yet a partner has still not been decided.
I wonder why that is?
"Well, isn't it because you beat the living daylights out of every suitor who comes your way?"
"Calling it 'beating them up' is quite rude, Father. It was a formal duel. I simply wish for a husband strong enough to protect me. Is it so wrong to desire that?"
"If that is how you feel, could you please stop training? It causes all sorts of trouble for the family when you’re the strongest person in the house, you know?"
"What a strange thing to say. Strength is a necessity for the nobility of the Demon Kingdom. Was it not you who taught me that, Father?"
And so, I trained my swordsmanship to the absolute limit.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. Back then, you were so small and cute that I couldn't bear the thought of giving you away. I spoke without thinking."
"And now?"
"Please, just get married already."
"I'm not yet at an age where you should be this worried, surely?"
As members of the Demon Race, we don't obsess over age. Granted, people might start to talk if I were still single at a hundred or two hundred, but I am only twenty-one.
"In the world of the nobility, it isn't unusual to be engaged or even married in one's teens."
"Well, that may be true, but..."
I didn't have a fiancé. I did once, but I sent him flying.
"Just get married and set my mind at ease. I don't care about social status anymore. I won't even be angry if you pick a commoner. At this point, the fact that anyone is willing to take you as a wife is a miracle in itself."
"Father, it truly touches my heart when you shed such sincere tears... but if I may say so, I am quite confident in my looks."
That wasn't a lie, either. It was often said that as long as I remained silent and still, I was a beauty seen only once in a century. If I put my mind to it, I was sure suitors would be falling over themselves to marry me.
"And when are you ever silent and still? Even when you're asleep, you move so much I mistake the noise for someone rampaging through the house."
"Perhaps a few times a year."
"Irene, that’s just another way of saying 'never.'"
Ah, Father had taken on the look of a man who had attained enlightenment. This conversation was going to be a long one. I needed to make a quick escape and return to the academy.
That was the only place where I could truly cut loose. My only complaint was that no one there could defeat me... but since I’d been away for so long dealing with marriage interviews and the like, perhaps a worthy challenger or two had joined the ranks.
Hehehe. I was looking forward to it.
I was defeated.
Should I call it an "instant kill"? I had won matches before without letting my opponents land a single blow, but to lose without being able to do a single thing myself...
And my opponent was a mere boy. A beastman, was it?
I see, I see.
...Very well. I shall acknowledge him as my husband.
Wait, where did the boy go...?
Ah, there he was. In the middle of our conversation, what was he doing...? He was busy blasting Robia, the academy's top magician, into the distance.
...This was bad. Very bad. Robia was the kind of woman who, much like myself, swore she would only marry someone stronger than her. Looking at her now, it was already too late. Those were the eyes of a woman completely in love.
But I wouldn't allow it. I saw him first.
"How many soldiers can we gather immediately?"
Appearing as if in response to my voice was our house's pride, my butler.
"If students are sufficient, perhaps twenty. If you require regular soldiers from the Viscount house, I have only two on hand, but I can gather thirty by tomorrow."
"I can't wait that long. Use the twenty students to secure him. Afterward, I will negotiate for him to become my husband."
"Forgive me, Milady, but capturing him with twenty students is impossible. You were away, so you likely haven't heard, but that boy appears to be an acquaintance of the God of War, Galf."
"The God of War?"
I saw Lord Galf’s power myself in Shashato City. His strength was utterly beyond reason. Even before the fight began, I knew I stood no chance. If Lord Galf weren't already a married man, I would have begged him to be my husband.
"About two months ago, he came to visit that boy—or more accurately, the three beastman boys, including him. I was observing their swordsmanship training, but unfortunately, I was spotted..."
"By Galf?"
"My deepest apologies."
"No, I suppose that’s to be expected of the God of War."
"...Actually, my apologies. The one who noticed me was the boy. Lord Galf simply chose to overlook my presence."
Now I want him even more.
However, if he has the God of War backing him, we can't afford to use crude methods. I assume it's doubtful our regular soldiers would be a match for him anyway?
"Indeed."
"Then we need a plan."
"Leave it to me. I shall ensure your search for a husband is a success, Milady."
And so, my life at the academy became quite colorful.
"Wait, he’s a teacher?"
"Milady, I must ask you to stop picking fights with strangers so abruptly."
"Don't complain; it’s how we met, isn't it? A teacher and his student... Yes, I see no problem with that at all."