The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 3.3

But even so, I still couldn’t understand.

“What else is strange?”

“How can he fall every day? Isn’t it because he fell today that the servants saw the book titles?”

“That’s true, but… Well, I think the books might have been too heavy for His Highness.”

“It’s just a few thin storybooks.”

“But His Highness has a much, no, slightly smaller build, right? It might be disrespectful to say this, but I actually think it’s impressive that His Highness can walk around on those thin legs.”

“Ugh…”

Suspicious point number three.

The 3rd Prince falls in the corridor without fail every day. And only when eyes are watching!

No, why doesn’t anyone suspect anything when it’s this suspicious?

It was truly maddening.

“Well, let’s stop talking about His Highness, and how about you go to sleep now? You need to sleep early to grow tall.”

“…Alright. Good night, Anna.”

But maybe, just maybe, am I being overly sensitive?

Sometimes when I lay alone in bed, such doubts would arise.

The suspicion that Anna’s reaction was normal, and I was the one overreacting.

I alone knew that this world was a world inside a novel. This was both a blessing and a curse.

Thanks to knowing the truth, I could prepare for the future, but at the same time, I had to constantly doubt reality.

If I didn’t know that the 3rd Prince was the sub-male lead of this novel, perhaps I too would have thought of him as just a cute and pitiful boy, as Anna did.

‘…Well, instead of just thinking about it, I should confirm it myself.’

Whether the 3rd Prince was a suspicious child, or if I was looking at him through colored glasses, was a problem I couldn’t solve just by pondering alone.

I forcibly closed my eyes, suppressing my uneasy feelings.

They said the 3rd Prince visits the library as soon as he finishes breakfast every morning.

If that’s the case, I needed to go to the library before him and hide.

“…Anna.”

“Yes?”

“Wake me up early tomorrow.”

“How early?”

“About an hour earlier? I want to stop by the library for a bit after breakfast. So, you must wake me up early, okay?”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

I could hear Anna trying to suppress her giggles from the adjacent room.

These days, Anna was under the mistaken impression that I was suffering from a severe first love for the 3rd Prince.

It was absurd.

How old did she think I was to be in love with an eight-year-old kid?

No matter how much the 3rd Prince grew, he would always be just a little kid in my eyes.

But since it was easier to get information about the 3rd Prince if I let Anna continue her misunderstanding, instead of offering an explanation, I quietly tried to fall asleep.

The next day, I woke up earlier than usual and carefully made my way to the library, trying not to be noticed by others.

On the way, I encountered a few servants in the corridor, but strangely, none of them seemed to notice me.

‘Ah! Could it be!’

Could it be that I also have a talent for erasing my presence?

Phew, where does the limit of my talents as a woman end?

If a person is too perfect, they lose their human touch…

I couldn’t believe the new talents I was discovering every day.

I was momentarily lost in self-admiration when I heard the library door opening and quickly hid under a table.

“Will you be reading books here again today?”

“Yes.”

“Please don’t wander off anywhere else, and make sure to return before mealtime.”

“I understand.”

I could faintly hear the 3rd Prince talking with someone outside the door.

Judging by the annoying tone, it was undoubtedly that servant, Anchobin or whatever his name was.

The servant gave a few more instructions to the 3rd Prince, then closed the door and left.

The more I saw him, the more obnoxious that servant seemed.

The 3rd Prince stood still by the door for a moment, then entered the library.

He walked around the library, picking books with familiarity, then settled at a table near where I was hiding with his chosen books.

I quietly poked my head out and read the spines of the books the 3rd Prince had chosen.

<Eek! The Devil is Too Scary!>, <We Got a Puppy at Home>, <Mama Duck Loves Baby Duck 2>.

…Wait, why is there even a second volume of that book?

Anyway, just as Anna had told me, all the books the 3rd Prince chose were children’s picture books.

‘What? So it really was just childish taste after all?’

Somehow, I felt deflated.

I let out a small sigh and started to crawl out from under the table.

I was planning to sneak out on the opposite side of the 3rd Prince.

At that moment, the 3rd Prince suddenly started looking around, rolling his eyes.

He perked up his ears like a rabbit, becoming alert.

Did he notice me?

It would be a bit embarrassing to be caught hiding under the table…

I lay flat on the floor.

And I even held my breath to erase my presence, trying not to catch the 3rd Prince’s eye.

The 3rd Prince looked around a few more times, then carefully pulled out a thick book from under the chair cushion.

The gold-embossed letters on the cover of the book in the 3rd Prince’s hand glittered.

<Introduction to Basic Magic>.

‘Magic? Why magic? Was there a setting where the 3rd Prince learns magic?’

As far as I knew, even in this world where magical items were frequently used, magicians were rare.

There were only two types of magicians.

Either those chosen by the magic stone or descendants of witches.

Either way, they were equally hard to come across.

Magic stones were not only rare but also very difficult to handle.

That’s why the very few people who could cast magic using the power of magic stones were called ‘those chosen by the magic stone’.

Witches were even rarer than that.

Witches born with special blood possessed magical abilities far superior to those chosen.

However, witches lived in their own closed society, so sometimes ordinary people didn’t even know of their existence.

‘…Oh! Come to think of it, wasn’t Madame Lamier the palace magician?’

As I recalled information about magicians, I naturally remembered Madame Lamier, whom Countess Lurupel talks about so often and in such detail that it’s as if she’s reciting a biography.

At the same time, I realized one fact that I had been considering insignificant.

Madame Lamier was one of the top magicians in the empire.

‘…But that doesn’t mean the 3rd Prince can use magic.’

This third-rate romance novel world was very one-dimensional, and there were often cases where the world was neatly divided as if measured with a ruler.

Among these, the most representative were divine power and magical power.

Only men could wield divine power, and only women could wield magical power.

Naturally, all priests were male, and all magicians were female.

Why on earth was the 3rd Prince so diligently reading a magic book that would never be of any use to him no matter how much he studied?

No matter how much he tried, unless he was a woman, he could never learn magic…

Yes, unless he was a woman…

‘…Wait a minute.’

Could the reason why the 3rd Prince became Hariella’s puppet be…?

Suddenly, an unexpected possibility rushed through my mind.

‘…No, the author wouldn’t be crazy enough to include such a twist, right?’

However, this fresh idea that seemed plausible at first glance had to end its life as soon as it was born.

Because if I were the author, I wouldn’t have attached such a bizarre setting to a perfectly normal supporting male character.

Well, unless the author had a secret goal of being heavily criticized and living a long life…

Otherwise, the probability of the 3rd Prince being a girl could be said to be zero.

‘Then what is it? Why is the 3rd Prince reading a magic book?’

Seeing how he was trying to hide the fact that he was reading a magic book, it didn’t seem to be out of simple curiosity.