The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 2.6

That’s right.

In my past lives, I had never once accepted the 3rd Prince’s marriage proposal.

In the first regression, I rejected it in a daze, and from the second regression, when I realized this was inside a novel, I deliberately rejected it to twist the original story.

So what changed this time…

‘Honestly, I’m not sure.’

How would I know if anything changed when I was always cooped up in the mansion?

Now I think it was a foolish thing to do, but back then, I was too depressed to do anything.

How could I not be depressed when everything I had built up struggling in an unfamiliar world turned into bubbles due to these inexplicable regressions?

Even in the first regression, when I tried to go home, from the second regression onwards, I just stayed in my room sleeping all day. How did the Lurupel Count couple comfort me when I was in such low spirits then…

‘Comfort, my foot. Those people probably didn’t even know I was depressed then.’

To the Lurupel Count couple, what mattered was their image of loving their daughter, not Hariella as an individual.

That’s why even now, after four regressions, they still felt distant to me.

“But there’s one thing that bothers me.”

“What is it?”

“The mother of His Highness the 3rd Prince. Isn’t she from a fallen noble family?”

“At the same time, she’s the best grand mage in the empire, isn’t she?”

“Hmm…”

“As you know, Madame Ramiere is exceptionally skilled even among the imperial mages. She also has the deep trust of Her Majesty the Empress. For someone like that, background isn’t an issue. And…”

Countess Lurupel’s words continued until only tasteless boiled beans were left in my dish.

Her story was almost equivalent to the volume of an entire book.

The title would probably be something like “The Biography of Madame Ramiere”.

I had felt it before, but it seemed she was a great fan of Madame Ramiere.

I had heard so many stories about Madame Ramiere from Countess Lurupel that now I could recite Madame Ramiere’s life story fluently.

“…So as long as Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince are firmly in place, no one will find fault with Madame Ramiere’s background.”

“Certainly, that’s true. There won’t be any unnecessary involvement in succession disputes either.”

“Yes. And that’s not all, is it? His Highness the 3rd Prince is known even outside the palace as an intelligent and beautiful young man. There’s no one better suited as a match for our Hariella.”

“That’s true too.”

Count Lurupel seemed almost entranced by Countess Lurupel’s words.

He looked as if he would nod without any doubt even if Countess Lurupel were to call beans peas.

“Then, as you say, we should accept this marriage proposal…”

Wait, what about my opinion?

Tired from the long conversation and mechanically eating the boiled beans, I was startled and stood up, hitting the table with my fist.

It wasn’t the first time the Lurupel Count couple ignored my opinion, but I still couldn’t get used to it.

“Wait a moment, Dad!”

You don’t know how urgent my voice was when I stopped Count Lurupel then.

‘Come to think of it, something similar happened in the first iteration too.’

As if to prove their origin from an orthodox noble family, the Lurupel Count couple were extremely self-centered.

They didn’t know the obvious fact that when deciding their daughter’s matters, they should also consider their daughter’s feelings.

It wasn’t because they were particularly bad people. It was just the kind of people they were.

Not knowing this fact, in the first iteration, I had quietly waited for the Lurupel Count couple to ask for my opinion.

That’s how I ended up almost getting engaged to the 3rd Prince.

At that time, I didn’t know this was a world inside a novel.

But I knew enough that I had to prevent an engagement with a child I had never even seen.

So I pretended to be sick for over ten days to somehow overturn the engagement.

I couldn’t leave the bed and couldn’t eat properly. It was a struggle like no other.

But now, I was Hariella something Lurupel of the 4th iteration.

Persuading the Lurupel Count couple was something I had long since mastered!

“What’s the matter, Hariella?”

At my call, Count Lurupel turned to me with a puzzled face.

To win the battle against the Lurupel Count couple, I chose to target Count Lurupel first.

Despite his bear-like build, he was an easy person to handle.

Count Lurupel’s weakness was that he was completely immersed in the role he had created for himself as ‘a wonderful father who loves his young daughter’.

Even normally, he would melt like ice cream on a summer day at a single phrase like ‘Dad is the coolest in the world!’ or ‘When Hari grows up, she’s going to marry Dad!’.

“I, no, Hari…”

I even spoke with a lisp, trying hard to ignore the rising sense of skepticism.

There was no method more effective on Count Lurupel than this.

“Hari. Doesn’t. Want. To. Get. Engaged. Yet. Because…….”

Adding a drop of my amazing acting skills here─

“Because. Hari. Promised. To. Marry. Dad.”

Count Lurupel, exaggeratedly clutching his heart, drifted off alone to a land of dreams and fantasies.

For reference, in this life, I had never made such a promise.

But Count Lurupel seemed to lack the energy to question the truth of my words.

Having defeated the mid-boss in one shot, I immediately moved on to tackle the final boss.

The ultimate decision-maker of the Lurupel Count family. That was none other than Countess Lurupel.

Count Lurupel was essentially a figurehead.

He was so easily swayed that he would flip-flop like a piece of paper at a single word from Countess Lurupel.

It must be thanks to Countess Lurupel that the territory under Lurupel’s rule was running without major issues.

“Hariella, engagement is not something you can decide to do or not do as you please.”

Countess Lurupel was a kind yet firm person.

Usually, people with such personalities tend to be the most stubborn.

But of course, there was an appropriate strategy to deal with her too.

I secretly bit my tongue to make tears well up in my large eyes.

Befitting her status as the only villainess in this novel, Hariella had a face that was drop-dead gorgeous.

Since possessing Hariella’s body, I had been reaping the benefits of her excellent looks.

When this poignant beauty combined with my outstanding acting skills, even the most iron-clad person would easily fall for it.

“Cough.”

“Hariella!”

“Cough cough. Getting. Engaged. To. A. Stranger. Hari. Is. So. Scared. That. It. Feels. Like. I’m. Getting. A. Fever. Cough cough.”

Moreover, Countess Lurupel had a fatal weakness.

She was extremely sensitive to Hariella being ill.

It was a fact I accidentally discovered in my first round when I pretended to be sick as a last resort.

I later heard from Anna that when Hariella was just born, there was a severe famine in the territory.

A daughter born at a time when there wasn’t enough to eat properly, and who was also constitutionally weak.

Because of this, Hariella was always Countess Lurupel’s sore spot.

Well, thanks to that, feigning illness always worked well for me.

……No, isn’t it too villainous to describe someone else’s painful past as a fortunate thing?