Hearing the queen's words, everyone stopped eating and focused their gaze on me; they really seemed curious about this question at hand.

(Do I really have to talk about this here, in front of all these people?)

Not that I didn't want to answer the queen's question, but in front of so many people, it would really be a bit awkward to reveal how my first love was. Trying to escape this situation, I glanced at Aria, trying to ask for some help, but she also had a huge smile on her face as she looked at me. I glanced to the side and noticed that Emi was still eating. With a sigh, I decided to tell how it happened. If the person in question herself doesn't care, I will feel like an idiot if I bother that much about it.

"It happened shortly after I met Aria. As soon as I left the merchants' guild, there was a carriage with a sun-shaped emblem on the door... as soon as I could get a glimpse of who was inside, I saw Emi"

I said, getting embarrassed by the final part. Once they heard my story, everyone was silent for a few seconds before Asia commented.

"So, it was love at first sight?"

Asia asked, looking at me.

"Well... that would be one way to describe it... I guess"

I said, embarrassed.

(Ugh, saying that in front of the person in question is even more embarrassing than I initially thought it would be)

While that thought was going through my head, I hadn't noticed that there was another child looking at me with some intensity.

"Hey, how did you manage to faint your opponents in interclass training?"

Hearing this voice, I turned to the person in question, possessing blond hair and blue eyes. I quickly remembered seeing him the first time I came to the castle.

(If memory serves me correctly, he is the second prince)

I thought about how to answer him.

"If you punch relatively hard in that area"

I said, pointing to a specific part of my head.

"The force produced by the punch can reach the brain stem, and when that happens, you pass out"

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Hearing my words, the second prince seemed to become thoughtful.

"That's really something interesting to know. Where did you learn that?"

Prince Albert asked. Obviously, I could not say that I knew this thanks to knowledge coming from a past life.

"I have read several books since I was a child, some of them were medical books, so through them, I started to do my own research"

I said as calmly and confidently as possible. The king seemed surprised by my answer.

"Since you were a child? At approximately what age did you start reading?"

Asked the king, drawing everyone's attention. I noticed that even Emi seemed interested in this subject. Putting my hand on my chin, I started thinking about the subject.

"If memory serves me right, I learned to read at age 2, so I guess I started reading books at age 3"

I said, sure of my answer. As soon as I said this, I noticed everyone looking at me with surprise in their eyes.

"Something wrong?"

I asked doubtfully.

"It's nothing, and that... Emi started reading at the age of 4. Thanks to that, she has been considered the most gifted child on the continent to this day. I was surprised to learn that you managed to accomplish such a feat 2 years before her"

Said the king, sounding genuinely surprised. Listening to his words, I think I understood a little of what he meant. Certainly, it is a little surprising that a child could read at the age of two. Looking over, I noticed Emi gazing at me with a look of admiration.

(Did I do something to make her look at me like that? I mean, being able to read at the age of 4 is pretty amazing too)

"Fufufu, it's too early for you to be surprised, brother”

A laughing voice caught the attention of everyone at the table. As soon as we looked at the owner of the voice, we saw Aria with a mischievous smile on her face, resembling that of a child about to get into trouble.

"When Ren first appeared in the merchant's guild, I gave him a contract as a form of a test, and he was able to see through the contract by reading it only once"

Said Aria with a smile. To me, it looked like she was bragging about it, although I don't know why. As soon as they heard this, everyone looked at me with even more interest than before. By this point, I had simply accepted whatever happened.

"The more I hear stories about you, the more I am sure that you would be the ideal person to marry Emi"

Said the queen. As soon as she said this, I almost spit out everything I was eating. She really said it without any hesitation. Glancing at Emi, I realized that she still had her indifferent countenance. I assumed that she had heard about this before.

"Although I agree with you, this is unfortunately not possible at the moment, dear"

The king said.

"It would only be possible for Ren to marry Emi if he were a nobleman"

Said the king. As he said that, I remembered that at that time, nobles married through political arrangements. That would also be one of the ways I could marry Emi, but I really don't like the idea of marrying her without her feeling the same way I feel about her.

"If you had any significant achievements, it would be easy to grant you a title"

Hearing this, I was a little confused. I thought my innovative inventions would be enough achievements for that, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

"But things are a little different now"

Said the king as he looked at me with a gentle smile.

"If your plan works out, our country will achieve a significant victory against Storne. With that, I will have reason enough to give you a noble title"

Said the king with a smile on his face.