The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 2.12

“Wait a moment!”

“Yes?”

“How can you sign right away!”

“Is there a problem?”

“You should read it all before signing!”

“I did read it all.”

“Did you read everything carefully? Even this clause about not harming me?”

I hurriedly blocked the 3rd Prince and pointed to the bottom of the contract.

There, in red letters, was written a clause stating that Party B must not, under any circumstances, take actions that could threaten Party A.

Moreover, one line below that was even a note saying this clause must be observed even after the contract period ends.

I thought the 3rd Prince would at least mention this unfair clause once.

However, he just answered that he had read everything carefully and proceeded to sign the remaining copy of the contract.

“Once you sign, it’s final! I won’t back down even if you say otherwise later!”

“Yes, you don’t need to back down.”

“…Are you sure you read it well?”

“Don’t worry too much. Even without your urging, I was planning to try not to let any harm come to Miss Lurupel.”

“What? Harm?”

The condition I proposed wasn’t about not causing me harm, but about not intimidating me or doing anything that could endanger my life.

Saying he would ensure no harm comes to me was a bit different from what I had said.

That sounds a bit… like some problem is expected to befall the 3rd Prince himself, doesn’t it?

I frowned in confusion.

However, the 3rd Prince simply handed me the fountain pen without any further explanation.

“Now, Miss Lurupel, please sign.”

“Hmm…”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, okay…”

I tried to forget my uneasy feelings and signed in the blank space above where the 3rd Prince had signed.

Whatever the 3rd Prince’s circumstances were, it wasn’t my business.

In the original story, Hariella and the 3rd Prince were over the age of majority.

That meant there would likely be no particular issues with their safety during this engagement period.

For now, wouldn’t it be best to let things flow as they are, and then later, after that Cal-something young duke becomes the Northern Grand Duke, everything will work out if I just take care of myself?

If Hariella doesn’t take an interest in the Northern Grand Duke, there won’t be any problems for the male lead and female lead, or me and the 3rd Prince, right?

Unless this world has a setting where the original story’s force takes over and arbitrarily controls people’s actions after the original story begins, but that’s not something to worry about right now…

‘Strange. There’s no reason I shouldn’t sign… This contract is entirely in my favor.’

But I kept feeling uneasy.

I tilted my head and signed the remaining copy of the contract.

“…With this, the contract is concluded.”

“Not yet.”

“What?”

“Did you throw away the contract I gave you before?”

“No, I still have it…”

I hoped he wouldn’t ask about this either…

I hesitantly reached into my pocket and found a crumpled piece of paper.

I took it out and handed it over, and the 3rd Prince looked very perplexed.

“…Was there a problem with my contract?”

“No, that’s not it… Haha. It just ended up like this somehow.”

“…I see. It seems a lot has happened.”

The 3rd Prince stared blankly at his contract that had turned into a rag for a moment.

Then he soon peeled off something like a round seal that was attached to the crumpled contract.

“It’s alright. The important thing isn’t the contract, but this.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a seal with magic on it.”

“Magic?”

“Yes. There are several spells on it, but the most representative one is a magic that forces the parties to never break the contract.”

“Ah, I see…”

Wait a minute… Force?

This smells a bit like a fraud, doesn’t it?

I reached out belatedly, but the 3rd Prince, with an innocent face, was faster in attaching the seal to our new contract.

As soon as the seal and contract touched, my signature, the 3rd Prince’s signature, and the seal stamped on the seal glowed blue.

“…What kind of magic did you say this was again? Magic that prevents breaking the contract? What happens if you break it?”

“Why are you worried about that? Are you planning to break it?”

“No, that’s not it, but shouldn’t I know about it anyway!”

If there’s content intentionally hidden from the other party, it’s an unfair contract!

Of course, I hid something like a poison clause too, but this is different!

Even as I panicked, the 3rd Prince remained calm.

“That’s true. Well… If either I or Miss Lurupel violate the clauses written in this contract, lightning will probably strike.”

“Lightning? Where?”

“Of course, above the head.”

“Above the head…? You don’t mean above my head, do you?”

“No? I mean above the head of the person who broke the contract.”

The 3rd Prince answered with a smile like an innocent child.

Is something wrong with this kid’s head?

I tried to scratch off the seal attached to the contract with my fingernail.

But whatever it was stuck with, the seal showed no sign of coming off.

“Do you perhaps want the seal? Unfortunately, once attached, the seal absolutely cannot be removed.”

“But Your Highness easily removed it earlier!”

“That contract didn’t have signatures. After the contract takes effect, a protection spell is cast to prevent the seal from being forcibly removed.”

After hearing the 3rd Prince’s words, I gave up on trying to remove the seal.

Instead, I thought about tearing up the contract altogether.

However, no matter how much force I applied, the contract didn’t budge as if it was made of steel.

“Why won’t it tear? Don’t tell me this is magic too?”

“Yes. It’s a protection spell.”

“How can this be!”

“Isn’t it good that the contract can’t be torn? I don’t understand why you’re angry.”

The 3rd Prince blinked his violet eyes with an expression like an innocent chick.

He opened his cute beak-like lips and said,

“Don’t worry too much. Nothing harmful will happen to Miss Lurupel. This contract is entirely in Miss Lurupel’s favor.”

The 3rd Prince spouted nonsense with his chick-like lips.

He placed one copy of the contract in my hand.

When I hurriedly checked, it was the contract without the seal attached.

The contract with the seal had somehow ended up in the 3rd Prince’s possession.

When did he take it?

I, who had been holding the contract with the seal until just now, didn’t even realize that the 3rd Prince had taken it away.

The hand movements of this mere eight-year-old child were unbelievably fast.

What kind of kid is he really?

“There won’t be any difficult tasks. Miss Lurupel just needs to live as usual. Then, I look forward to our future together.”

The 3rd Prince clapped his hands with a bright smile.

Somehow, it felt like déjà vu.