The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 2.5

***

After that, I carefully examined the contents of the contract for a while.

Fortunately, none of the terms proposed by the 3rd Prince were harmful to me.

Still, just in case, I added a few more clauses.

The resulting contract was a little… no, quite a bit one-sided in favor of one party.

That party was, of course, me.

“Well, it can’t be helped. This is a matter of life and death for me…”

While I will never be concerned about the 3rd Prince’s life, who knows when he might suddenly become interested in mine!

I couldn’t help feeling like a scoundrel taking advantage of an innocent child.

But humans are bound to become selfish when it comes to survival.

After reviewing the two copies of the completed contract several times, I folded them precisely into thirds and put them in an envelope.

Although it’s usually better not to fold such important documents, it was unavoidable to carry them around while avoiding others’ eyes.

After carefully sealing the envelope, I hid it among the numerous books on the bookshelf.

At least to my eyes, it was perfectly concealed.

Having completed my secret mission, I lay back down on the bed.

Just then, Anna entered the room with cautious footsteps.

After checking that I was properly covered with the blanket, Anna immediately went to the adjoining room to sleep.

Using Anna’s steady breathing as background noise, I mentally organized the tasks for the next day.

‘First, after breakfast and a bath, I need to go to the 3rd Prince and get him to sign the contract.’

After that, I had to go to the Count and Countess Lurupel to express my wish to accept the engagement with the 3rd Prince.

It seemed tomorrow would be quite a busy day.

‘…But what if the Count and Countess Lurupel oppose the engagement with the 3rd Prince? They must have seen the 3rd Prince falling like a klutz too. Of course, if I put on an act, they’ll probably fall for it…’

I tossed and turned in bed, continuing with these needless worries.

Yes, those were truly unnecessary concerns.

It wasn’t just because I possessed acting skills that might appear only once in a century.

There were two reasons for this.

One of them was that the Count and Countess Lurupel were far more stubborn than I had thought!

***

To accurately express the emptiness and sense of betrayal I’m feeling right now, we need to go back in time for a moment.

To be precise, to the day when the marriage proposal from the 3rd Prince arrived.

Yes, the day after I had regressed to being eight years old again.

That morning, when I went down to the dining room for breakfast, the first thing I discovered was Count Lurupel’s gloomy face.

At that time, Count Lurupel was glaring at a carrier pigeon with a blue ribbon tied to its ankle, almost as if he wanted to fry it with his gaze.

“To think Hariella would receive a marriage proposal so soon…”

I can still hear Count Lurupel’s dejected voice.

Countess Lurupel, who was beside him, gently patted the Count’s shoulder.

“Don’t be too upset. Children are bound to leave their parents’ hands someday.”

“But Hariella is only eight years old! She’s still just a child.”

The Count and Countess Lurupel, busy talking among themselves, hadn’t noticed that I had sat down at the table.

Still, at least the servants acknowledged my presence, so I was able to receive my meal safely.

A young leaf salad with fruit dressing, pancakes with orange marmalade, scrambled eggs, and boiled beans.

These were the breakfast items for that day.

‘Hmm, the same menu in this round too.’

I cut into the pancake with a somewhat nostalgic feeling.

I didn’t bother counting, but I’m sure even the number of beans was exactly the same.

“I understand how you feel. But in my opinion, I don’t think Hariella will receive many better marriage proposals than this in the future.”

“Hmm, that’s true, but…”

While I was nibbling on my pancake, Count Lurupel maintained a serious expression throughout.

Come to think of it now, it was understandable.

Count Lurupel was the Court Count who managed Rudbeckia Palace, one of the 12 Imperial Palaces.

The position of Court Count is usually given to those who have earned the deep trust of the Imperial family, so if we were to be precise, it’s a slightly higher position than an ordinary count.

Still, a lord in a border area is just a lord in a border area.

Like most ordinary lords, Count Lurupel had no auxiliary titles other than his count title.

In other words, this meant there was no title to pass on to Hariella, the second child.

Although I had never met him, Hariella had an older brother.

His name was Taki… Tak… Take…? Ah, was it Taco something?

I had gotten into the habit of tuning out the Count and Countess’s boasting about their children, so now I can’t remember well.

It must be something similar to that name.

Anyway, that boy was said to be taking classes in Imperial Law and Territory Management at the Academy.

This meant he was already fully prepared to inherit the count title.

While the Count and Countess Lurupel were conservative nobles who believed only the firstborn son could inherit the title, they weren’t discriminatory enough to disregard the future of their beloved youngest daughter.

The proof of this was that I occasionally caught glimpses of them sitting in the study, putting their heads together to discuss Hariella’s future.

In this situation, the marriage proposal from the Imperial family must have felt like a godsend to the couple.

“…Indeed, as you say, the conditions are not bad.”

In fact, Count Lurupel’s expression softened not long after.

As always, he had fallen for Countess Lurupel’s persuasion.

Having changed his mind as easily as flipping his palm, Count Lurupel immediately began to calculate the pros and cons of this marriage proposal.

“No, it’s not just ‘not bad.’ The 3rd Prince’s score in the current marriage market is close to perfect.”

“Isn’t it? Although the possibility of him inheriting the throne is almost non-existent with two older princes ahead of him.”

“That’s also an advantage. It means that despite being of noble blood, he’s detached from central power.”

“Indeed. What use is central power to us? We have all this vast and fertile land under our control.”

Even as I chewed on the baby leaf salad with an expression like a cow grazing, the Lurupel Count couple’s materialistic conversation didn’t end.

They, who reigned like kings within their small domain, seemed to have little desire for central power.

What they craved was just one thing.

Honor!

They desired only the noble blood of the imperial family, which they couldn’t achieve with their own power.

“Certainly, Hariella won’t receive a better marriage proposal than this in the future.”

“Isn’t that right?”

At Count Lurupel’s agreement, Countess Lurupel’s face noticeably brightened.

She was very pleased with this marriage proposal. It wasn’t just this time; it had been the same in all my previous lives.

That’s why I had tried so hard to reject this proposal in the past.