The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 1.7

“Then where did Your Highness intend to go? Surely not just inside the hall?”

“N-no. I was just going to the t-terrace…”

“Ah, I see. It’s good I brought you here then. The terrace has stone flooring, it would hurt if you fell. At least here it’s dirt, right?”

“It’s a misunderstanding! I don’t fall that often!”

“Yes, of course.”

As if.

But saying that would be considered blasphemy, so I swallowed my words.

The 3rd Prince looked quite wronged.

“Then, can Your Highness tell me what business you have with me?”

“O-of course.”

“Ah, but first, we should sit down somewhere.”

I seated the 3rd Prince on a nearby bench. I was worried he might fall again.

Once seated, the 3rd Prince looked like he was about to cry.

“I’m so ashamed. I should have escorted you…”

The 3rd Prince mumbled softly, burying his face in his tiny hands.

“It’s alright.”

I answered with genuine sincerity. Because it really was alright.

I never expected any escort from this little kid in the first place.

But the 3rd Prince seemed very discouraged by his foolish behavior.

I started to hear small sniffling sounds.

Of course, it seemed the 3rd Prince was trying his best to swallow his tears. However, to my professional adult eyes, even such efforts were transparent.

“…Are you crying?”

“No, I’m not!”

“Ah, I see. Must be the wind then.”

I decided to wait quietly until the 3rd Prince had sufficiently dried his tears.

The 3rd Prince pressed his tiny palms against his eyes, diligently wiping away his tears.

To be honest, I couldn’t quite understand why he was crying. It’s not like anything particularly upsetting had happened…

But children are beings that burst into tears at the slightest poke, aren’t they?

Moreover, the 3rd Prince seemed to have an exceptionally delicate and sensitive personality even among children his age.

I felt I needed to be careful. One wrong move and I might really be arrested for blasphemy.

“…Do you need a handkerchief?”

“I’m not crying!”

“Yes, yes…”

This time I asked with genuine kindness and consideration, but the 3rd Prince started to sob even more pitifully.

Children’s hearts are truly incomprehensible.

Or perhaps… am I somewhat talented in wrongdoing?

Sigh, even I’m starting to fear the extent of my boundless talents.

I sat quietly, idly swinging my feet out of boredom.

For a long while, no words were exchanged between the 3rd Prince and me. Only the cool spring breeze passed between us.

The 3rd Prince finally managed to compose himself around the time my hair had become a mess due to the wind.

He brought up his business in a more settled voice.

“…Miss Lulupel, do you also know that I sent a marriage proposal?”

He was no longer stuttering.

Well done, 3rd Prince!

“Of course.”

I looked at the 3rd Prince, nodding with a seemingly proud expression.

His delicate features were flushed all over.

His bright yellow eyelashes, thoroughly wet, were particularly noticeable.

This kid, he’ll break many hearts when he grows up.

“…Are you going to reject it?”

“…Why do you think that?”

I asked back, a bit late, after having thoughts like a grandmother looking at her five-year-old grandchild.

In that brief silence I created, the 3rd Prince seemed to have attached his own meaning to it.

He hesitated to answer, his expression somewhat darkened.

“Be-because Miss Lu-Lulupel has someone she li-likes…”

Contrary to my earlier praise, the 3rd Prince stuttered again.

However, the 3rd Prince’s inadequate language skills didn’t even register in my mind.

More important was the unexpected topic he brought up.

“What? Me? Who do I like?”

“The, the young duke of Caledonia…”

“Cal, what? Cal, give me my money back?”

Who’s that?

Seeing my puzzled expression, the 3rd Prince mumbled his words.

“Cale… No, never mind. It seems I’ve been rude again.”

Despite dropping such a bombshell, the 3rd Prince seemed to have come to his own understanding, nodding slightly and pressing his lips together.

No, you need to explain, how can you just end the conversation on your own!

They say that stopping mid-sentence is the most frustrating thing in the world!

However, I couldn’t keep pressing after a member of the royal family had even apologized.

Cal, give me back my money, I said.

For now, I decided to record in my mind the name that came out of the 3rd Prince’s mouth.

I could find out about the identity of the young Duke Cal-something by asking the Count and Countess Lulupel or Anna.

To be honest, it wasn’t that I had no idea who this young Duke Cal-give-me-back-my-money might be.

Using my amazing deductive skills, there was a high probability that the name from the 3rd Prince’s mouth belonged to the male protagonist, the Northern Grand Duke something.

He was a Grand Duke in the story, so it wouldn’t be strange if he was a young duke around this time.

But to think that Hariella might have liked the Northern Grand Duke even before she turned eight.

This was something I had never even considered before.

“Young Duke Cal, give me back my money…”

“…It’s Caledonia.”

No matter how I thought about it, it was really a strange name.

Well, just looking at the novel’s title, one could tell the author’s naming sense.

<That Northern Grand Duke and the Baron’s Daughter Do Not Love Each Other.> At this rate, you could use the title for jump rope.

“Yes, anyway. I don’t know why you thought that, but I don’t have anyone I like.”

“…Really?”

“Of course, really. Why would I lie about something like that?”

The 3rd Prince narrowed his eyes as if doubting my words.

I, like someone with nothing to hide, straightened my chest and looked directly into his eyes.

I don’t know how he interpreted that gaze, but the 3rd Prince’s voice brightened considerably.

“…Then, will you accept my proposal?”

“Hmm…”

It was a question difficult to answer right away.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, it was certain that the 3rd Prince wasn’t a dangerous child.

He seemed rather more immature and fragile than other children his age.

But that wasn’t reason enough to accept the marriage proposal with the 3rd Prince. I needed a bit more certainty.

“If you answer my question.”

“…Alright! Ask me anything you want.”

“Your Highness, among all the noble young ladies, why did you propose to me specifically?”

Why does the 3rd Prince want to be engaged to Hariella so badly?