1 Best Friend Prince and his Retainer.

(O3O)/ – Here is the first chapter of something cute!!!

(OwO) – Thank you, Manifest, for recommending me this novel. I hope you all like it as much as I did.

(-.-) – But this isn’t all. Today I also have a recommendation for you guys.

(O3O)/ – The name of the story is I.S. and it’s from the same author of Upside Down!!!

(OwO) – As of now, the tags are: Gender Bender, Modern and Slice of Life.

(O-O) – This story is a bit unique, so I recommend you guys read the synopsis and the first 3 chapters, before taking your conclusions….

(-.-) – Anyway, that’s all for now.

(OwO) – Enjoy the chapter∼♥

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“You were born for the sake of Prince Vincent… you were born to be his retainer….”

A retainer has to play many roles, in order for them to keep their position. They have to protect their master, they have to be their master’s playmate (if necessary), they have to compliment their master constantly, they have to help raise their master’s self-esteem, and many other things.

However, amongst retainers, there are those who are chosen for that position before they are even born… and that’s why I, Lenoir Miller, am here today.

From the moment that I was born, I was already destined to be Prince Vincent’s loyal servant. In other words, my life revolved around making sure that he lived the best life possible. That was, quite literally, the sole purpose of my existence… so it’s obvious I would try to play all of my roles as best as I could–

“Leno…!!! Why…!? Why did you jump in front of that spell…!?”

–Even if it meant I had to jump in front of a Feminization Curse to save my best friend.

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In this world, there are many branches of magic, and one of them is the infamous black magic, or more commonly known as curse magic. This specific branch of magic is rather unique, in that once you unleash your spell on someone, or something, that spell can never be broken… which is a bit nasty, if you ask me.

“Are you sure your body is really okay, Leno…?”

Today, Vee, also known as Prince Vincent, came to my house to see how I was doing.

After my sudden sex change, he dispatched a royal doctor to the Miller residence to inspect me and see if there were any more abnormalities with my new body.

In a way, the results of the inspection were way more positive than I expected, seeing that there was nothing wrong with me, aside from the effects of the curse.

Well, the only problem though, is that the doctor just finished inspecting my body, so I was sitting on my bed, while only wearing a nightgown.

But Vee didn’t seem to mind my new appearance that much, after all, he still brought me a beautiful flower bouquet in appreciation of what I did for him.

(As expected of my best friend… the bouquet is huge…)

Aside from having to deal with his eccentricity all the time, I considered myself really lucky to be Vee’s retainer, after all, he was a ridiculously good guy. He’s literally the best employer I could’ve asked for.

“Thank you for the flowers, Vee. The doctor said that, aside from the effects of the curse, there is nothing wrong with my body, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Skyford Kingdom, that’s the name of the country that Vee’s father, the hero, founded after he unified the whole continent.

This country is literally one of the most prosperous countries out there, so it’s no wonder everyone wants a connection with the royal family.

Just by being on friendly terms with them, you’d gain a boost on your social standing.

And to make my job even harder, Vee is super handsome, and cool, and strong, and intelligent, and… well, you got the picture.

The amount of bad-intentioned people that try to get close to him everyday, while we’re on the academy, is no joke. I have to fend them off all the time.

(\\\B-but I’m not doing it to monopolize him, you hear me!? I-I’m Vee’s retainer, so I have to look out for him! Yeah, I’m just doing my job!\\\)

About my job, well, I guess you could say I’m really lucky for having this position, after all, I only became Vee’s retainer because my parents are close friends with his father.

I don’t think such a plain and boring guy like me would ever get the chance to stand by his side if that wasn’t the case….

However, it’s not like I’m jealous of Vee’s high specs though. In fact, I’m proud to say that I was born to be his loyal servant! I admire him a lot for being as intelligent and popular as he is… even if the person himself doesn’t like all the attention that he receives.

Because of how popular Vee is, the people around him, specially the women, are always fighting each-other to get his attention.

The amount of catfights that the two of us witnessed, throughout the years, was enough to make anyone distrustful of women.

Heck, they even ripped each-other’s dresses in front of us to eliminate the competition!

Talk about a scary bunch.

It’s no wonder Vee started acting cold towards women after seeing that everyday.

The only problem with him acting indifferent towards them, is that some of his more hardcore fans started acting a bit weird. I’m not going to enter into too many details, but it was actually one of his fans that launched that curse spell at Vee. She even said, “If I can’t have you for myself, then no one will,” while she casted the spell, can you believe it?

“Thankfully, the curse spell wasn’t anything serious, like instant death… I just can’t understand why that girl wanted to turn you into a woman, Vee.”

After I said that, Vee sat down on a nearby chair with a serious look on his face, before saying–

“–I heard from the knights working on her case that she was indeed planning on using instant death, but since she couldn’t find the right catalyst for the spell, she ended up going with that feminization curse instead. I think she wanted to turn me into a woman so that I would lose my right to inherit the throne, however, that’s just my speculation.”

“I see… to think she’d go that far… that’s kinda scary, huh…?”

“Hey, uh, what about you, Leno? Now that you turned into a woman, you can’t inherit the Miller household anymore, right?”

“Well, I have an older brother, so I wasn’t really planning on succeeding my father anyway. I’m more worried about you though. It would’ve been a tragedy if that curse hit you. I’m glad I jumped in front of that spell to save you, Vee.”

I never applied for marriage because working for Vee is way more important to me than inheriting the Miller household, so there’s nothing to be sad about me becoming a woman. Losing a great king in the making because of a curse would’ve been way, way worse.

“That’s not the point I’m trying to make! Listen, I-!”

“No, you’re the one who needs to listen. It doesn’t matter how much you care about me, at the end of the day, I’m still just your servant. I’ve been by your side for as long as I can remember, Vee. I know you have the potential to be a great king, so don’t you dare stare at me with that guilty look on your face. I knew exactly what would happen to me when I jumped in front of that spell, and I’ll never regret that decision.”

“Leno….”

I think I’ll never get tired of spending time with Vee. Even though he’s a prince, he still cares enough about someone like me to even feel sad. That’s why I want to be by his side. Vee is the son of the hero king, so I’m sure he’ll make this country an even better place. And when that happens, I want to be his support.

(But… I guess I won’t be able to realize that dream, huh…?)

“Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I guess you don’t need me anymore, huh? I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to serve you, Vee. However, with me now looking like this, it would be better for you to find someone else to be your retainer, right?”

Even though I said all that, I can’t help but feel a bit sad that we’ll have to part ways. But it’s not like I can continue being Vee’s retainer either, since he doesn’t really like being around women. The least I can do now, is study really hard so that one day, with enough luck, I can become his personal maid.

However, nothing could’ve prepared me for what Vee was about to say.

“But I don’t want to part ways with you, Leno….”

Hearing that from my best friend made me so happy, that I almost cried when he squeezed my hand with that sad look in his eyes.

“\\\Then, uh… I can become your personal maid… if you want…\\\”

After I said that, Vee stared deeply into my eyes with a serious look on his face, then he shook his head, and said–

“–No, I don’t you as my personal maid, Leno. You’re my best friend, and my number one ally, so I’ll take responsibility for what happened you. Please, marry me.”

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“Wait, wait, wait! You want to marry me!? Isn’t that a bit too much, even for a bad joke!?”

“No, I wasn’t joking. In fact, I’m quite serious about this.”

Vee quickly stood up right after saying that, then he started heading towards the door with a confident look on his face.

(T-this is bad…! Really, really bad…! My intuition is telling me that I’ll regret something if I don’t stop Vee from exiting the room right now! I have to do something before it’s too late!)

Because we’ve been together for so long, I know that it’s nearly impossible to change Vee’s mind when he’s set on doing something. But I couldn’t just let him go through with that stupid Idea, so I jumped out of bed and tried to hold him back with everything I had. However, to my surprise, my new body was way weaker than I expected.

(Ugh…! This body is too weak…! I can’t hold him back…!)

Seeing that there was no way I would be able to stop Vee with this new body, I then got in front of him and blocked the door.

“Stop that, Leno. We’re not kids anymore, so let me through.”

“I-I can’t do that! If I let you through, you’ll do something that we’re both going regret later!”

I just wanted to block the door, but now that I’m standing in front of him, Vee’s tall figure is actually a bit menacing. However, I know that he’d never do anything to hurt me, so I just shook that feeling off and continued staring straight into his eyes.

“I’m going to do something that I’ll regret later? Did you even stop to think about what’s going to happen with you, now that you’re a woman, before saying that, Leno?”

“Eh…? S-something is going to happen to me? What are you talking about?”

When he saw the confused look that I had on my face, Vee frowned. But it’s not like he was angry with me, or anything like that. He was just in a bad mood because I didn’t understand what he was trying to imply.

“You’re a woman now, right? That means your parents are probably going to marry you off to a man that you don’t even know, in the near future.”

“Ah…!”

(I almost forgot about that!)

Marrying someone that I don’t even know, is a bit too much even for me. Moreover, that person will be another man, so I’m not sure if I can really do that.

No, wait! Maybe that’s why Vee said he wanted to marry me! He probably wants to help me by making me one of his concubines!

“As a prince, I can chose whoever I want to marry. But that’s not the case for you, Leno. At this rate, you’ll have to marry another man… and I don’t want that to happen.”

After hearing that, I was convinced that my theory was right. Vee was indeed trying to help me–

“I see…… well, if that’s really the case, then I don’t mind marrying you, Vee.”

“Really!? Then-!”

–However, I couldn’t bring myself to accept his offer.

“But you’re royalty, remember? You need a successor, so even if you marry me, I’ll only become a bother for you in the long run. Not to mention that some of your other wives might not understand my situation, so it’s better if we don’t do this.”

Marrying Vee would be the same as me pulling his leg. I don’t want to make his other wives jealous of our close relationship. However, instead of agreeing with me, Vee just stared at me with a confused look on his face, before saying–

“–But I wasn’t planning on marrying anyone else other than you though…?”

“\\\Huh!?\\\”

(\\\T-this guy…! Is he trying to mess with me!?\\\)

“I mean, I feel way more comfortable around you than when I’m around other women, so it has to be you, Leno. I don’t think I can marry anyone else, aside from you.”

I never thought that Vee’s aversion towards women would get so bad, that he’d even consider marrying me, an ex-male, of all people. In a way, that’s kinda sad.

“B-but a crown princess needs to receive special education in both politics and manners to become the next Queen, right!? T-there’s no way I’m qualified for that!”

“Don’t try to run away by making such a cheap lie on the spot, Leno. I know that you’re as qualified for that position as it can be. Besides, if you don’t know something, you can just learn it later. It’s not like the world will end if you’re not perfect.”

“Ugh…!”

I tried to persuade Vee, but his reply shot my argument down instantly. Well, in a way, he was kinda right though. Deep down, I always feared the thought of Vee replacing me with someone even more competent and intelligent, so I studied really hard to keep up with him.

I can’t help but feel a little depressed every time I remember all those sleepless nights that I spent studying, however, I don’t really regret doing that, after all, I got even closer to Vee because of my unwavering determination.

(But that’s not the problem right now! I have to make Vee give up on marrying me…!)

“I-I don’t think the people will acknowledge a cursed guy as their next Queen though…?”

“What are you talking about? If anything, the people will see our marriage as a beautiful love story. The loyal retainer was cursed while protecting the prince, and then they fell in love, married and lived happily ever after, or something like that. See? It’s like a fairy-tale, right?”

“Ugh…!”

Every time I tried to make an excuse as to why we couldn’t get married, Vee rebuked me with a sound argument. I should’ve known that it’s impossible to make him change his mind. There’s no way I can win against Vee in a wits battle. He’s not the crown prince just for show.

As I stood in front of the door without knowing what to say next, Vee stared at me with a confident look on his face, before saying–

“–If you don’t know what to say, then let me through. It’ll be less tiring for the two of us if you just admit defeat.”

“……….”

Since I know him well, I know that Vee was just teasing me right now, but from someone else’s point of view, that probably would’ve sounded like he was forcing a girl to do what he wanted. Thankfully though, there’s no one else here aside from us two, so after letting out a tired sigh, I started pondering if I should move out of the way, or not.

However, before I could tell Vee my answer, I remembered something really important.

“W-wait a moment… if you’re only going to marry me, t-then who’s going to be the mother of your children, Vee…?”

“Huh? It’s you, obviously.”

“\\\\\\Y-you…! I was a guy not so long ago, you know!? B-besides, it’s impossible for me to m-make children with my best friend!\\\\\\”

“Well, I don’t really mind that you used to be a guy. You’re cute, so that won’t be a problem for me.”

“\\\\\\T-that’s because you’re still a man! From my perspective, this is really weird! I-I can’t do that with you!\\\\\\”

After hearing what I said, Vee let out a sigh, then he stared at me with a troubled look on his face, before saying–

“–I see… so you mind is still that of man… convincing you is going to be difficult, huh?”

Since he couldn’t do anything about my preferences, Vee decided to back off for now. But there was something about his proposal that was bothering me a bit, so I decided to question him about what was on my mind.

“I know that you have a problem with women, but… are you sure you’re okay with me? Even though I turned into a woman, I’m still your childhood friend. Things will probably never go back to normal if it doesn’t work between us….”

I asked that just to make sure Vee wasn’t going to make an irreversible mistake, however, he didn’t answer me right away. He just stood there, eyeing me from top to bottom.

To tell the truth, the serious look on his face made me fidget a little bit. I was only wearing a nightgown right now, so I couldn’t help but feel like his gaze was a bit lewd.

But I soon scratched that out of my mind.

Vee was already tired of seeing women in revealing clothes trying to seduce him all the time, so it’s obvious he wouldn’t look at me with those kinds of eyes… or at least, that’s what I thought.

“To be completely honest with you, I don’t think I can see you as the old Leno anymore. You’re so cute, that I can barely contain myself to not attack you. Besides, you’re someone important to me, Leno, so I want you by my side no matter what.”

“\\\I-I see…… but, uh, are you sure you’re not just feeling guilty over the matter of the curse…?\\\”

“Maybe that’s part of the reason… but I’m sure I won’t ever regret marrying you, Leno.”

“\\\B-but… that is…\\\”

I know that, above all else, Vee is worried about me. He doesn’t want to see me being married off to another household, so he took it upon himself to take care of me from now on.

However, I couldn’t help but worry about our friendship. If we regrets this decision later, our relationship will be irrecoverable… and that’s something I don’t want to happen.

As soon as he noticed the conflicted look on my face, Vee grabbed my hand, and then, with the sweetest smile that he could muster, he said–

“–I know this is not how you imagined your first confession to be like, but please, believe me when I say you’re irreplaceable to me, Leno.”

“Vee….”

“I really can’t think of anyone else I would want to spend the rest of my life with, aside from you. So, uh… could you at least give me a chance to change your mind..?”

I am a man.

Vee is my best friend and my liege.

I know that I’m not supposed to have romantic feelings for him–

“\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\”

–But I can feel my face burning bright red right now. (Tl/n: Welcome to the rainbow side of the force, my friend.)

When I was a man, I always admired Vee and thought he was really cool. But now that I’m a woman, I can’t help but feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest! I’ve never felt like this before, so I don’t know how to answer him!

After panicking for a bit inside my head, my pride as Vee’s retainer won over my pride as a man, so I answered him truthfully without hiding anything.

“\\\\\\To be honest, my heart is beating really fast right now! You sounded really cool when you said that, Vee! I don’t mind giving you chance!\\\\\\”

“\\\R-really!? Then I’ll do my best to make you fall in love with me!\\\”

“\\\O-okay! Do your best!\\\”

And just like that, we decided to postpone the marriage until I fell in love with Vee.

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“I promise I’ll make you fall head over heels for me, Leno! Just you wait!” – Is what Vee told me, before exiting the Miller residence.

To tell the truth, we’ve been friends for so long that, at first, I was a bit reluctant in accepting Vee’s proposal. However, after what happened in my room, I wasn’t so sure anymore that marrying him would be a bad thing.

And, as I expected, my parents were over the moon when they heard the news.

“Dear! Prince Vincent proposed to Lenoir! They’re going to get married!”

“To think he would chose our son–I mean, our daughter to be his bride! What a glorious day! This deserves a celebration!”

My parents were one of the first nobles to join the hero’s side while he was unifying the whole continent. But they didn’t do that in hopes of getting something in return. My parents did that because they respected the hero a lot.

In a way, their blind devotion towards Vee’s father is borderline to fanaticism, so you can imagine how happy they are right now, knowing that their “daughter” is going to marry his son.

Honestly, I’m a bit creeped out by how much they are celebrating my engagement to Vee.

“Haaah∼, I don’t even want to imagine what they will do if I really become the next Queen….”

Well, there’s no point in worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet, so the best I can do right now is brace myself for what’s to come.

*Sigh*

In the quiet of my room, I, Lenoir Miller, started preparing for my new life as a woman.

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(O3O)/ – Here are the extra illustrations for the chapter!!!

Lenoir Before:

Vincent and Lenoir After:

(OwO) – And don’t forget to join the discord.

(O-O) – Link’s HERE….

(-.-) – See you all soon.

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