「Whoa! My son!!」
Who the heck?
The moment I opened my eyes and sat up, some random old guy crushed me in a hug.
It was the kind of full-power bear hug that said “try to fight back and you’re dead.”
『Say one wrong word and I’ll kill you. Just nod and stay quiet』 he whispered in a super low voice only I could hear.
So this is what they mean by a voice that could cut steel.
I didn’t want to die (again) without knowing why, so I obediently shut up.
I forced my insanely heavy eyelids open and silently watched the old guy make a scene.
Little by little, memories started coming back in blurry pieces.
Right. I died and became a ghost.
But why am I being threatened by some stranger old dude now? Let me try to remember and check.
My name is Takanashi Takumi. Pretty sure that’s right.
I’m the only son of a father who died in a machine accident at work and a mother who was his childhood friend.
Thanks to industrial accident compensation, insurance, survivor pension, and stuff, we had enough money for the two of us to live without worries.
But when a bunch of money suddenly came in, things got awkward with relatives, so we moved from our old town to a new one.
We only splurged on my birthday and Christmas. The rest of the time, Mom and I lived simply.
New town. New people. Unlike me who somehow fit in fast, Mom was shy around strangers, and it stressed her out a lot.
As I grew up, Mom got thinner and weaker.
Then in the winter of my second year of high school, she caught the flu, it turned into pneumonia, and she passed away.
With help from Mom’s younger sister, my aunt, the only relative who still visited us, we finished the funeral arrangements.
Everything was a first for me. I was technically the chief mourner, so I had a mountain of things to do. I pulled one all-nighter, then a second, and on the night I was heading into the third… a candle at the home altar caught something and the house went up in flames.
Half-asleep, I failed to escape in time and ended up following Mom right away.
That was how it was supposed to go, but instead I ended up a perfectly fine ghost and spent a good while floating around checking on everyone.
I finished saying goodbye to my classmates. No regrets left.
The two things burned into my brain forever are Sakakibara-san’s underwear situation and Nikaidou-san’s secretly huge chest.
Those I will never forget.
My mom’s and my funeral were handled by my aunt.
Our ashes were supposed to be buried together with Dad’s, all three of us in the same family grave.
I have zero complaints that Aunt inherited everything written in Mom’s will. As long as she visits the grave even once a year, I’d be perfectly happy.
So yeah, while I was wandering the living world as a ghost, I suddenly got sucked into something.
Like dust getting vacuumed up, zwoooop.
Next thing I know, this old dude is hugging the life out of me. Okay. Memory surprisingly clear.
Now I just have to wait excitedly for the old guy to calm down from whatever conversation he’s having.
By the way, the word 「marriage」 keeps popping up and it’s seriously bothering me… what’s that about?
-0-
「Sorry about that. The nobles are one thing, but the foreign diplomats were making a huge fuss」
「…Uh-huh」
We had moved from the original room to some fancy new one. The old guy who had been arguing loudly with a bunch of armored middle-aged men said that to me.
Well, I’ll hear the whole story later. Rude as it might be, my eyes keep darting around because curiosity is winning.
Honestly, the furniture and everything else in this room are overwhelming.
What is this place?
I thought the old guy’s clothes looked like a medieval king from the movies, but this room is so luxurious that if someone told me it belonged to a real king, I’d totally believe them.
That golden knight statue on the pedestal by the wall… is that actually solid gold?
I sit down on the chair I’m offered and end up face-to-face with the old guy at super close range.
The old man strokes his long beard that’s mixed white and gold, then opens his mouth with a grave expression.
「First, let me explain our relationship」
「…Okay」
「Yes. We are father and son」
「…」
I quickly glanced around the room to check for hidden cameras.
I know, I know. I was a ghost until five minutes ago, so looking for TV crews is already several kinds of wrong.
「Is something the matter?」
「Nah, just thought this might be a prank」
「A prank?」
「Never mind. Talking to myself」
「I see」
He let it drop easily, which saved me.
The old guy… no, my new Dad… nodded a few times and kept going while stroking his beard.
「You are my son, my third son, Argusta von Univance. The third prince of the Kingdom of Univance」
「A prince?」
Dad (who really is a king) nodded again and kept stroking his beard.
So my first impression wasn’t wrong. He actually is a king.
Which means… I have zero idea what just happened to me.
「Um… is it okay if I call you father-sama?」
「Yes. You used to call me Father, but… call me whatever you like」
「Then Father-sama. You do realize I’m not actually your son, right?」
「Of course I do」
The way he nodded so firmly somehow made me feel weirdly relieved deep inside.
Is this what they call royal dignity? It’s seriously impressive.
「So there has to be some reason you’re calling a non-son like me your son, right?」
「There is」
「Um… could you explain everything from the reason onward?」
「Naturally. But whether you listen to the whole story or not, there is one thing you absolutely must do for me」
「Something I must do?」
Because we were sitting with our knees almost touching, the king reached out and grabbed my hand.
It wasn’t that kind of hobby. It was just a super strong, almost threatening grip.
「Marriage. You will marry a certain woman. No… you must. This is an order」
「Huh?」
So to sum it up… I was a ghost, and the next thing I know I’m a prince with a forced fiancée?
That’s what just happened to me?
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