The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 2.4

While I admired Hariella’s initiative, I also felt sorry for the members of the Lurupel County who must have suffered from this misfortune.

“…My goodness, it would have been rude enough for a count’s family to send a marriage proposal to a duke’s family, but if the recipients were wrong too, it must have caused quite a commotion.”

“Oh, you have no idea what a commotion it was.”

In this world that was obsessed with formalities despite being a fictional setting without real foundations, there were a few principles to follow even when bringing up the subject of marriage.

First, sending a marriage proposal without prior mutual agreement was only possible when the other party was a noble family of similar or lower rank than oneself.

If one wanted to propose to a higher-ranking noble, instead of sending a letter recklessly, they should first meet at events like banquets or tea parties to build acquaintance.

If the family in question also had intentions to engage their child, they would send a letter, and if not, there would be no response.

Those who were disappointed had no choice but to keep trying until there was good news.

“…Ugh, Mom and Dad must have been furious.”

“Yes, it was terrifying.”

Although it was a frustratingly inefficient rule, almost no family disregarded it.

Families that didn’t follow this principle would be labeled as uncultured and undignified.

I could imagine how Count Lurupel, who lived and died by appearances, must have raged at the time.

“It was so bad that His Grace replaced all the servants around you, Miss. Not only the knight who was guarding you at the time but also your dedicated maid and nanny all had to be dismissed.”

Anna smiled brightly, incongruent with the serious story, saying that thanks to that, she was able to become my dedicated maid.

At times like this, I see the traits of a minor villain in Anna too.

“Even now, His Grace trembles at the mere mention of the ‘Cal’ in Caledonia. So you must absolutely keep it a secret that I told you this story!”

“Of course, don’t worry, Anna.”

“Actually, this incident is completely taboo among us. Once, a servant who was caught by His Grace discussing this in the corridor was expelled from the mansion.”

“Really? Who was it?”

“James, you probably don’t know him, Miss. I heard he’s working as a miner in the village at the foot of the mountain now… Oh my! Look at me! It’s already this late!”

Anna, who was about to unpack a new bundle of stories, hurriedly laid me down on the bed.

She seemed to have just noticed that darkness had already fallen outside the window.

“Oh no! It’s long past your bedtime! I’m sorry, it’s my mistake.”

“It’s okay, I’m not sleepy.”

“Still, you should go to sleep now. Early to bed helps you grow taller. Sweet dreams!”

“Okay, you too, Anna.”

Anna carefully tucked the blanket over my body.

Then, with her hands full of my discarded dress, the nightgown she had torn, and the basin with washing water, she left the room with light footsteps.

My day had ended, but it seemed Anna’s day still had a bit left.

Well, since it was my first time attending a banquet, there must be quite a bit of work piled up.

It would take a while for Anna to finish all her tasks and return to her bed.

As soon as Anna’s footsteps could no longer be heard, I sprang up from my bed.

Then I bent down low and crawled under the bed.

“Contract, contract… Ah! Found it!”

The contract, which was crumpled to begin with, now looked like it was about to tear.

I sat at the table in one corner of the room and smoothed out the wrinkled contract.

Then I began to copy the contents of the contract onto a new piece of paper on the table.

Actually, this was my plan from the beginning.

The 3rd Prince was too young to know, but originally, contracts were supposed to be kept in duplicate, one for each party.

“Contract… Hariella something Lurupel… Oh right! I need to write the full name properly.”

I had gotten so used to calling her ‘Hariella something Lurupel’ that I mistook it for her real name.

I picked up a new piece of paper and wrote the name again.

This time, I could write it without a single mistake by copying the full name accurately from the 3rd Prince’s contract.

“Hariella Liberati Lurupel hereinafter referred to as Party A, and Saphirus Aiden Detemir hereinafter referred to as Party B, hereby enter into the following contract regarding their engagement…”

The 3rd Prince probably doesn’t even know what Party A and Party B mean, so I can just make myself Party A, right?

I arbitrarily decided who would be Party A and Party B.

Then I tried to neatly organize the contents of the contract written by the 3rd Prince according to the contract format.

However, a problem arose from the very beginning.

“Article 1 Purpose of the Contract… purpose… I don’t know what that little kid’s purpose is.”

I couldn’t figure out what the 3rd Prince’s purpose was at all.

Money? Honor? Love? None of the usual purposes for engagement seemed to be the right answer.

That chick-like little child couldn’t gain anything from this engagement.

“Well, the purpose isn’t that important anyway…”

After pondering for a long time to find out the 3rd Prince’s purpose, I finally gave up and filled in the blank arbitrarily.

“The purpose of this contract is to establish the necessary provisions for a happy engagement life for both parties…”

Actually, it’s better to refrain from using vague concepts like ‘happiness’ in a contract… but who cares? This is just a contract between eight-year-olds.

And writing it this vaguely might allow me to terminate the contract later if the situation becomes unfavorable, using unhappiness as an excuse.

Right now, the 3rd Prince might be a docile and naive little kid, but you never know how people with black hair might change, right?

“Oh, the 3rd Prince has blonde hair.”

Well, anyway…

Whether it’s black hair or blonde hair, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

After setting up a small safety measure, I continued to organize the remaining contents.

“Article 2 Contract Period… This contract shall be valid from the date of execution until the day Party B comes of age… Next, Article 3 Contract Contents…”

Fortunately, the contract written by the 3rd Prince was quite thorough, so filling in the other items wasn’t too difficult.

I smoothly copied the contract while simultaneously checking the terms proposed by the 3rd Prince.

“Must maintain the appearance of a faithful engagement relationship in the eyes of other nobles…”

Hmm, this doesn’t seem too difficult.

“Must keep it absolutely secret that Saphirus Aiden Detemir is the owner of Port Delique…”

This… I don’t know the reason, but it doesn’t seem difficult to keep, so pass.

“Must not publicly create other romantic relationships… Huh? What’s this?”

Doesn’t saying not to create them publicly mean it’s okay to create them privately?

Goodness, kids these days…!

Born in the land of Eastern courtesy and raised as a diligent Confucian girl, I couldn’t help but pause my pen for a moment, overwhelmed by this shocking revelation.