Be My Princess: Prince Roberto

A Keepsake from the Queen

I had just been handed a letter. Across the top of the envelope were the words 'Nobel Michel Design Contest'.

What? This is... 

It was the ultimate design contest, which had given birth to many of the greatest designers of the day. Any designer would give their right arm to take part in it. But it could only be entered by invitation, so very few got that chance. I tore the envelope open in a hurry and the most unbelievable words jumped out at me. 

"No way... I've been invited to take part..." 

"What?" Prince Roberto says. "That's amazing! Just what I'd expect from my dear [Y/N]." 

"Congratulations." Alberto and the servant who had brought the letter both congratulated me. 

"Thank you... But I really can't believe it. If I won this contest, I would be able to get sponsored by all kinds of companies..." 

"That sounds so cool!" Prince Roberto says. 

"I see..." Alberto says. 

I continued, still caught up in the excitement and joy of being invited. 

"All of the previous winners of the contest are working all over the world now! This is basically just an amazing contest to take part in!"

Then Prince Roberto's face clouded over. 

"Then I guess you'll be leaving us if you win...?" 

His face was tinged with an unusual loneliness. I remembered a conversation we'd once had.

"Is there some time limit?" 

"That... I believe that is up to you, Prince Roberto, since you are the one hiring me." 

"Then I guess you've got until you ever think that you want to leave."

Alberto also seemed to have noticed the prince's expression. 

"Your Highness, you would be quite the boor to try to stop Miss [Y/L/N]." 

"And besides, there's no way I'll actually win! I just thought it would be a good chance to compare my current abilities to those of other designers!" I tried to sound as cheery as possible.

"Do your best." He looked straight at me as he said it. "Well, we should be going... Right, Al?" 

Prince Roberto left with Alberto as the servants bowed them away. 

There's no way... I could actually win.

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After that, I spent every free moment I had in my workroom. Even though I knew I wouldn't win the competition, I wanted to give it everything I had and see how far I could get. The qualifier for the first round was a woman's dress. I'd lost a lot of design sketches when my room had been flooded. I felt that loss even more acutely now, as I struggled to finish even one design before the deadline. I had to start completely from scratch and so I decided to overhaul my lifestyle, as well.

No more playing around. No more slacking off. All free time is for the contest. 

I spent every day repeating those words like some kind of charm. My heart and mind may have been willing to do the work, but I still couldn't come up with any good design. My heart and mind may have been willing to do the work, but I still couldn't come up with anything worth keeping. One evening, as I was staring down at the worktable in front of me, there was a knock at the door.