The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 2.10

The 3rd Prince desperately tried to explain something, and when he realized I wasn’t listening well, he raised his voice.

“I-I thought Miss Lurupel was like an angel fallen from heaven, but I never had the shameful thought of wanting to bite her cheeks!”

The 3rd Prince shouted so loudly that the dining room echoed.

“……Pardon?”

I made a thoroughly disgusted face and slightly leaned my body backward.

I needed to stay calm.

To my eyes, the 3rd Prince’s thoughts seemed far stranger, but in this romance novel world, it might be different.

“……Hup!”

Hmm, I guess this thought was wrong too.

The 3rd Prince was so startled that his bottom almost left the seat, and then he quickly buried his face in his small palms.

It seems that even for a character in a romance novel, referring to someone as a wingless angel was an embarrassing thing to do.

“Oh my……”

A small exclamation was heard from somewhere.

Following the source of the sound, I saw servants gathered in small groups at the dining room entrance, whispering among themselves.

It seemed they had hurried over after hearing the teacup break, but stopped at the door upon hearing the 3rd Prince’s untimely praise of Hariella’s beauty.

“……Well, we’d better move somewhere else.”

I didn’t want to be their spectacle. Rumors spread particularly fast among servants.

I got down from my chair and trotted over to the 3rd Prince, who was frozen still without any movement.

Then I poked the 3rd Prince’s arm repeatedly.

The 3rd Prince’s arm was soft like a child’s, but its owner remained as motionless as a stone.

“Your Highness, are you going to stay like this? Don’t you want to play with angelic me?”

I teased him a bit, finding his embarrassment cute.

The 3rd Prince’s shoulders just trembled without a reply.

Don’t tell me he’s……

“……Are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!”

Oh my. He is crying.

I only meant to tease him a bit because I was annoyed at how he had recklessly encouraged the Count and Countess Lurupel, but the 3rd Prince started sobbing pitifully, shedding tears and snot.

Oh dear. I didn’t mean to make him cry…… Now I feel guilty for no reason.

I was flustered. It seemed I had quite a talent for evil deeds.

Come to think of it, I’ve always been good at everything since I was young. Talent is truly a terrifying thing.

“……Yes, you’re not crying. That’s impressive. Now, shall we go somewhere else before rumors spread that you’re a crybaby?”

“I’m really not crying!”

“Of course. If you’re not crying, you should be able to walk well, right?”

I tried to soothe the 3rd Prince in the gentlest tone possible while taking his hand.

The 3rd Prince, while diligently wiping his tears, didn’t refuse my hand.

He obediently stood up like a well-behaved child.

I carefully guided him out of the dining room, making sure he didn’t step on any broken teacup pieces.

As the 3rd Prince and I entered the corridor, someone called out to us. It was a man with an unfamiliar face.

“Greetings, Miss Lurupel. I will escort His Highness from here, so please send him this way.”

“Who are you?”

The man was wearing a uniform different from the servants of Rudbekia Palace. But he wasn’t a servant of the Lurupel mansion either.

I immediately recognized him as the 3rd Prince’s attendant, but I deliberately asked for his name.

The attendant, frowning, reluctantly bowed his head in greeting.

“Pardon me. I am Andrew, His Highness the 3rd Prince’s personal attendant.”

Hmm, Anthony. What a concise first name. An extra, I see.

The attendant went on to reveal that he was the second son of some viscount family.

Of course, it didn’t seem like important information, so I only half-listened.

“Then may I escort His Highness now? His Highness has other appointments after this.”

“Oh? What appointments?”

“Well, I don’t believe I have any obligation to inform you of that, miss.”

Could it be that this whatever viscount family is an incredibly grand house?

The attendant’s attitude was so impolite that it made me wonder.

Of course, being a prince’s attendant, he would have a decent background and high pride.

However, the 3rd Prince’s attendant was discourteous to a degree that couldn’t be understood even considering all that.

Where did this extra, who doesn’t fit the times, suddenly pop up from?

“Why don’t I need to know? You seem to be unaware, but I have a prior engagement with His Highness.”

“You, miss? What kind of engagement?”

“Well, I don’t believe I have any obligation to inform you of that.”

As I was engaging in a pointless war of words with the attendant, a sudden doubt made me look at the 3rd Prince.

The 3rd Prince, who should have been scolding his attendant for his rudeness, was hiding behind me, his body trembling slightly.

‘Huh? Is he scared right now?’

Suddenly, I remembered that in the original story, the 3rd Prince was a powerless puppet.

Come to think of it, I had never once pondered why the 3rd Prince was powerless.

Could it be that this little one is…? Some kind of mistreated prince?

“More importantly, how long are you going to block my way?”

“As soon as you let go of His Highness’s hand, miss……”

“I told you I have an appointment! Why are you making me repeat myself?”

Anderson…… no, was it Anchovy?

Anyway, the attendant with a name starting with ‘An’ looked down at me with eyes that seemed to find me laughable.

How unpleasant.

“If you’re acting like this because you haven’t received proper attendant training, should I lend you one of our spare hands? They’ve only been working for three months, but they’re surely better than you!”

I openly scolded the attendant, befitting a villain in a cheap third-rate romance novel.

I neither knew nor could use the roundabout noble speech.

That’s because I had never left the estate since possessing this body.

It felt a bit like… I was a naive rich daughter looking down on adults, but whatever.

In this world, there was nothing good about being looked down upon by subordinates.

I heard that the daughter of some territory’s lord slapped a servant for blocking her path.

If I had to say, I’m quite modern and ladylike in comparison.

“Well then, Your Highness. Shall we go play? You agreed to play with angelic me, didn’t you?”

The 3rd Prince trembled, looking back and forth between me and the attendant, then tightly closed his eyes and bumped his head against my back.

He was like a three-year-old who thinks they’re fully hidden if just their head is hidden. How cute.

Firmly holding the 3rd Prince’s hand, I decided to ignore the attendant and continue on my way.

Even as I started walking, the attendant didn’t move out of the way.

Since I didn’t change my course either, we were bound to collide.

I pushed past the attendant, putting as much strength into my shoulder as possible.

The size difference between us was almost like that of a wild boar and a sparrow, but strangely, he was easily pushed back.

He must have been underestimating me because I’m a child.

Hmph.

After sticking my tongue out at the attendant, I immediately climbed one step of the stairs.

Then I chose any nearby room and entered.

I was the only daughter of this court’s highest administrator, and beside me was the master of this court.

There was no place we couldn’t enter as we pleased.

“Great! We’ve found the right room!”

Since it would be troublesome to go far with the frightened 3rd Prince, I just chose a nearby room, and luckily, the place we entered was a playroom.

There couldn’t be a more suitable place for two eight-year-olds to go alone.