Tying The Knot With The Crown Prince

Chapter 1

**1**

A flash of silver glinted as I brought the knife down, chopping the pork into evenly sized pieces. The soldiers were ecstatic to finally have some meat to eat. Just as I was about to show off another knife trick, I heard Darin calling from a distance.

"My dear General, why are you still here? The court's envoys have arrived."

He grabbed my arm and started pulling me along. "Hey, hey, hey, the knife..."

The quick-witted chef swiftly took the knife from my hand.

When we finally reached my main tent, Darin pushed me inside. "Hurry up and change into your impressive armor. The second half of the year's military pay depends on you, General!"

I couldn't help but shake my head. Darin was always so impatient. So what if people from Aresmore had arrived? What was the rush?

Perhaps sensing my indifference, Darin raised his voice. "General, your future husband is here too!"

What! I quickly changed into my armor and rushed out the door, muttering complaints about Darin not mentioning this sooner.

When I arrived, the first person I saw was the man at the forefront. Tall and handsome, he had to be my betrothed. I nodded in satisfaction, but then two people approached me, and the man spoke with disdain.

"Mabel, why would a proper lady like you come to Limont? You don't behave like a noblewoman at all."

The woman in his arms covered her nose. "Ugh, what a memorable smell."

I sniffed carefully. It was just the smell of raw meat. What was so bad about that? If she ever had to smell the blood on a battlefield, then she'd know what a bad smell was.

"Excuse me, who are you? Do we know each other well? If not, watch your mouth, or I'll have my men throw you out."

The two of them were furious, but I couldn't be bothered to deal with them. Bringing a mistress to the battlefield was just ridiculous.

I pushed past them and hurried towards my betrothed.

**2**

"Was the journey hard on you?" I asked.

Hearing my words, the man turned around, and I was even more taken aback. Wow, he was really handsome. Not bad at all.

The man glanced at the two fools from before, his voice puzzled. "Are you talking to me?"

Who else would I be talking to?

Seeing my exasperated expression, my betrothed laughed. "It's been a while, Mabel. You've changed quite a bit."

Darin had said the same thing, thinking I was different from the me before I lost my memory. But who cared? Whether I was the same or not, I was still me.

I grabbed my betrothed's hand enthusiastically. "Come, come, come. I'll personally show you to your quarters. You can stay in the tent next to mine."

He raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully but didn't refuse.

As we walked past the two fools, I vaguely heard the man calling my name. No matter, I just pretended not to hear.

When we reached the lodging, I explained how I had fallen off a cliff while chasing the enemy half a month ago and lost my memory when I woke up.

My betrothed looked even more surprised, with a hint of sudden realization. "Mabel, do you think your fiancé is me?"

"Isn't it?" I asked in return.

He shook his head. "Yes."

Chapter 2

1

At the welcome banquet, I arranged for my future husband to sit beside me.

Before I could even sit down, a man stormed in, his face full of anger.

"Mabel, what are you doing? I only wanted to take Nicola as a side piece, and you ignore me like this?"

I was puzzled. I didn't even know him, so why would I care about his side piece matters?

Just as I was about to kick him out, Darin approached me.

"You're mistaken, General."

"Mistaken? I, as a general, never make mistakes."

"I mean, you've mistaken the person. The one speaking is actually your future husband, Conor, the heir of the Elliotts' residence."

It felt like a bolt from the blue. I instinctively turned to the person beside me.

So he is...

He closed his fan and smiled lightly, "Mabel, I am Harold."

Harold, the crown prince of Ceymond.

I couldn't believe it and shouted out loud, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if I were blind, I wouldn't choose such a fickle man!"

The room fell silent, except for Harold, who chuckled.

Conor's face turned dark.

"Mabel! Don't even think about stepping into the Elliotts' residence and becoming Conor's wife!"

Nicola, standing beside him, showed a smug smile while pretending to persuade Conor not to argue with me.

What a joke. I am a dignified general, commanding an army of 300,000 soldiers.

Why would I care about being Conor's wife?

"That's for the best. Let's call off our engagement. Thank you for your understanding, Conor."

Conor's anger was interrupted, and he looked incredulous. "What did you say?"

It seemed he had not only a problem with his brain but also with his ears.

So young and already deaf, how pitiful.

Out of compassion, I repeated myself.

"I said, I no longer desire you!"

He turned red with anger, "You'll regret this!"

With that, he dragged Nicola away.

"Farewell, Conor. Today is indeed a day to celebrate. Bring forth the wine!"

Hearing this, Conor stumbled and almost fell.

2

Harold stopped me from grabbing the wine.

"You're not fully recovered yet. How can you drink?"

I was puzzled about how he knew. Following his gaze, I saw the bandage on my head.

Three days after waking up, I was already moving about energetically, almost forgetting that my head injury hadn't fully healed.

I put down the wine glass.

The military doctor, who had been watching me like a hawk, sighed in relief.

"Thank heavens, finally someone can handle this tyrant."

He then hopped away, looking very pleased, which made me feel an urge to strike someone.

Unable to catch the military doctor, I turned my gaze to Harold.

"Earlier, when I asked if you were my future husband, why did you say yes?"

Harold didn't let me drink but leisurely poured himself a glass.

When I couldn't stand it anymore and was about to explode, he finally spoke:

"Mabel, have you forgotten? We grew up together. When you were six, you said you wanted me to be your husband. How could that be considered lying to you?"

Harold smiled so openly that I felt embarrassed to accuse him.

"Well, that's true."

I looked him up and down, becoming more certain that I must have been utterly blind.

Ignoring the crown prince I grew up with, I liked a promiscuous heir of the Elliotts' residence.

I even insisted on marrying Conor, which infuriated my father.

My father had no choice but to arrange our engagement.

Darin said I received a letter from Conor, learning that he wanted to take a courtesan as a side piece.

This unsettled me, leading me to fall into an enemy trap and tumble down a mountain, resulting in my amnesia.

Thinking about it, Conor really was no good.

In Aresmore, no noble family would take a side piece before marrying a wife.

No matter, the old me is dead.

The new me has decided to start anew and cast Conor aside.

Chapter 3

1

A beautiful morning begins with a fresh start.

I planned to take Harold on a tour of the military camp today, fulfilling my duty as the host.

Who would have thought that stepping out would bring me face to face with Conor and Nicola?

The two of them were flirting openly in the camp, completely ignoring the passing soldiers.

Seeing