The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 4.1 - You said he was the Northern Grand Duke who doesn´t know love!

“Aaagh!”

I woke up screaming from my bed.

I had an extremely bizarre dream.

It was like a scene taken from some third-rate martial arts movie.

“My lady! You’re awake!”

The 5th cycle of life also began with Anna’s voice.

As soon as I woke up, I lifted the blanket to check my body.

My hands and feet seemed to have shrunk by a speck compared to yesterday, or maybe not.

Anyway, I was about to think I had regressed again…

“Huh.”

But it was too bright outside the window for that to be the case.

“Anna, what time is it now?”

“It’s two o’clock! You slept for over sixteen hours! You have no idea how worried this Anna was, my lady!”

Anna, with tears welling up in her eyes, hugged me tightly.

What on earth is going on here?

I wanted to ask about the situation, but Anna spoke first.

“Ah! This is not the time! There’s someone who has been waiting for you to wake up!”

“Huh? Who is it?”

“Hehe. Please wait a moment! I’ll bring them right away!”

Anna left the room with a face full of excitement.

She, who never ran saying it was undignified, was actually taking quick steps.

Watching Anna’s excitement back, I became curious about the identity of the guest who had been waiting for me to wake up.

Shortly after, someone knocked on my door.

“Hari! My lovely little kitten! May I come in for a moment?”

Judging by the strange nickname, it seemed to be Count Lurupel.

“Come in.”

But isn’t the voice too different? The tone also seems oddly gentle…

Although I had some doubts, I allowed Count Lurupel to enter without much thought.

However, the person who opened the door and entered was not Count Lurupel.

“Hari! I’ve been waiting for you to wake up! How are you feeling?”

“…Who are you?”

Really, who are you…

I slightly moved back and looked the guest up and down.

The guest was a very cute boy.

His pink curly hair that looked as sweet as cotton candy and his light green eyes like fresh verdure gave off a pure impression.

Indeed, this empire has a bright future… but wait, isn’t this Hariella’s older brother? He looks just like her!

“That’s too much, Hari. Are you still angry with your big brother?”

It seemed to be the correct answer.

The boy looked down at me with a sulky face.

“Um, well… Please sit down first.”

“Hari! Are you going to use formal speech with me now? While I’m glad you’re growing up, I feel a bit sad too.”

“…Sit down.”

“Alright, thank you.”

The boy brought a chair over and sat down smoothly.

The way he pulled the chair was very natural as if he had done this often.

This was the first time I had met Hariella’s older brother.

Count and Countess Lurupel had practically confined this child to the Imperial Central Academy.

They said it was for his studies, but in my opinion, it was because of unnecessary competitiveness.

The heir of a nearby Count’s estate also attended the same academy.

Count Lurupel wanted to prove that his son was superior to that child.

Hariella’s brother had to focus on his studies without even having vacations due to his father’s pressure.

That’s why I hadn’t had the chance to meet this boy until now.

‘What was his name again… Taki? Tako? It was Ta-something…’

If I had known I would meet him like this, I would have at least remembered his name.

“But why are you here, no, when… I mean…”

“You can ask slowly. Let me guess what our princess is curious about?”

Is he perhaps not her real brother?

Hariella’s brother was so strange that such a thought crossed my mind.

Generally, between siblings, exchanging more than two words would rot their tongues, and if they accidentally touched each other, that part of their flesh would fester.

My real brother… no, the relative born from the same parents used to call me ‘hey’ or ‘that thing’.

“I met Duke Caledonia at the academy.”

While I was scrutinizing the boy with suspicious eyes, he suddenly brought up an irrelevant topic.

“Huh? Who?”

“Hmm… Sadly, it seems our Hari isn’t very interested in what I’m saying.”

“…No, I am. Keep talking!”

Geez, he’s so obsessed with informal speech.

I’ve seen people hinting at using formal speech, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone hinting at using informal speech.

When I changed my speech style, the boy continued with a satisfied smile.

“When I met Duke Caledonia at the academy, I was really surprised too. I never dreamed he would enroll.”

“Yeah, I mean, I see…”

“I thought this was truly a God-given opportunity. So I diligently followed Duke Caledonia around. He’s the third most favorite man of our Hari, so I thought I’d try to score some points.”

“…Third?”

Why third?

Wasn’t that Cal-something young duke Hariella’s first love?

I tilted my head in confusion.

“…I thought I was first, Father was second, and Duke Caledonia was third… Was I wrong?”

It seemed this boy was slightly off his rocker.

Otherwise, there’s no way he could utter such crazy words.

Where in the world is there a sister who likes her own brother?

“Hari? You need to answer, you know?”

The boy urged for a response with an awkward smile.

However, I refused to open my lips. At this, the boy’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

He crossed his arms, steeped in doubt.

“…This is really strange. Whenever I say this, our Hari always throws a tantrum saying ‘Go away’… This isn’t like our Hari at all.”

This is bad.

It seemed that the Hariella in the boy’s memory was quite different from how I was acting now.

Suspicion was evident on the boy’s face.

I was perplexed.

Throughout my four cycles of life, I had never been suspected in this way.

Anna, Hariella’s closest confidant, was the type to accept anything easily.

Sir Peter, the guard knight, was naturally oblivious.

The other servants barely even made eye contact with me.

So there was no need to consider them.

The only place I had to be careful was in front of Count and Countess Lurupel.

But even deceiving the Lurupel couple wasn’t that difficult.

The Count and Countess were surprisingly ignorant about Hariella’s personal tendencies.

Thanks to this environment, no one had ever realized that I wasn’t Hariella.

‘What should I do? How should I act to be more like Hariella?’

I didn’t know what kind of person Hariella was before I possessed her.

I hadn’t bothered to find out.

Of course, living as Hariella, I sometimes gained information about her. But that was all.

So I had no idea how to act in this situation.

“Ah. Ow. My. My head. It hurts.”

Unable to find a suitable excuse, I improvised by pretending to be in pain.

I clutched my head and collapsed onto the bed.

“Hari! Does your head hurt? Should I call for a healer? How much does it hurt?”

Hariella’s brother rushed to me.

I coughed lightly and answered in a dying voice.

“…A, a little?”

“A little? You’re in so much pain and you say it’s just a little?”

“…A little more? …Ah, very much!”

“This is serious! I should definitely call a healer!”

“He, healer? No, there’s no need for a healer…”

It would get better as soon as you leave…