The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 4.11

“Are you just coming in now?”

Hariella’s brother seemed to have reached a similar conclusion as me. He asked in a friendly voice, his green eyes curving into crescents.

“Good evening to you too.”

However, the young duke So-and-so completely ignored the question directed at him.

Instead of paying attention to the one sending him friendly glances, he showed interest in me, who was standing there blankly.

He even had his back half-turned to Hariella’s brother.

“Uh, well…”

Right next to you, he’s pretending to be friendly with you… Can’t you see?

Flustered, I rolled my eyes and stuttered a greeting in response.

“Good evening… Well, yes, it is a good evening, I suppose…”

The young duke So-and-so had come to see me this morning as well.

Of course, I hadn’t met with him.

It was incredibly awkward to face someone I had turned away at the door just a few hours ago.

Feeling embarrassed, I turned my gaze to look at Hariella’s brother.

Despite being thoroughly ignored by the young duke So-and-so, he was smiling brightly without a trace of humiliation.

Even though he’s supposedly second to none in this world for having a strange personality, his attitude is still incomprehensible.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Hariella’s brother mouthed something to me.

‘…What is he saying?’

Of course, I couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying.

I furrowed my brows as I tried hard to decipher the code he was sending.

That lip movement is…

“Face?”

Is he telling me to compliment his looks? Suddenly? Is he saying I should compliment his appearance because the atmosphere is awkward?

But in my opinion, the young Duke So-and-so didn’t seem like he would appreciate compliments about his appearance.

I shook my head slightly towards Hariella’s brother.

Then, with a face that seemed to say he was dying of frustration, he moved his lips again.

“…Mirror? Building? Ah, swordsmanship!”

The young duke So-and-so, who had been generously pretending not to notice our antics right in front of him, raised an eyebrow.

“…Swordsmanship?”

“Yes. Swords… manship… Did you come from practicing? I mean, have you?”

I glanced at Hariella’s brother between my words. He gave a small nod.

“That’s right. I’m on my way back from honing my sword skills.”

The young duke So-and-so, who had been ignoring Hariella’s brother’s words, quickly answered me.

“Do you… train like this… every day?”

“Of course. As a knight, there shouldn’t be a day when one doesn’t hold a sword.”

“I see… That’s impressive…”

I continued the conversation, half willingly and half unwillingly.

The young duke So-and-so didn’t seem to mind my half-hearted attitude at all and his eyes sparkled.

“Have you now developed an interest in swords?”

The young duke So-and-so, his cheeks slightly flushed, grabbed my hand.

His hand was so large that it completely enveloped my hand up to the wrist.

“I believed you would surely show interest in swords!”

“No, that’s not it… More importantly, could you please let go of my hand?”

Hariella’s brother was looking at me and the young duke So-and-so alternately with fond eyes.

I wriggled like a loach and pulled my hand out of the young duke So-and-so’s grasp.

As if he hadn’t realized he had touched me, the young duke So-and-so looked visibly flustered.

“…I apologize.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, please allow me a chance to make up for my mistake.”

“…It’s really okay.”

Despite my protests, the young duke So-and-so’s fervent attitude didn’t subside at all.

He pretended to ponder for a moment, then exclaimed as if he had come up with a good idea.

“I know! How about we go outside together right now!”

“Go outside, you say?”

To do what?

The young duke So-and-so and I weren’t close enough to enjoy an evening stroll together.

“Right now is a bit… The sun has set, it will be dark soon.”

I expressed my refusal with a disgruntled look.

However, he seemed not to notice my displeased face.

“It’s not that dark yet. It will be fine. Come on, let’s go.”

“…Where are we going?”

“Where else? To the training grounds, of course!”

“…The training grounds?”

As his words continued, my expression soured more and more.

I could see where this conversation was heading.

Sure enough, the problematic line finally came out of the young duke So-and-so’s mouth.

“As an apology, I’ll personally teach you swordsmanship.”

“…Pardon?”

It seemed there might be a slight problem with the brain structure of the handsome young man before me.

How is it that every conversation with him always ends up being about swordsmanship?

Surrounded by two mentally unstable young men, I was starting to feel tired.

I took a half step back.

In response, the young duke So-and-so took two steps forward, his eyes shining like rubies.

Having no choice, I opened my mouth again.

“I’m afraid, no, actually I’m not afraid at all, but that won’t be possible.”

“Why not?”

“That’s because I don’t particularly want to learn swordsmanship. I told you before, have you already forgotten?”

I didn’t know how many times I had to say this.

By now, he should have understood, but the young duke So-and-so wasn’t deterred at all.

“But just now…!”

He tried to argue against my words.

“And!”

I rudely cut off the young duke So-and-so mid-sentence.

“I need to go to bed soon.”

“Already? It’s not quite bedtime yet, is it?”

“That’s your opinion, grown-up young… I mean, young duke. I’m only eight years old, you know.”

He seemed to have just realized that the top of my head didn’t even reach his chest.

“Children need to sleep a lot to grow tall. I plan to grow to about 2m, so I need to sleep sixteen hours a day.”

The young duke So-and-so looked a bit flustered. His eyes wavered slightly.

I spoke to myself clearly, as if for him to hear.

“Oh. I’m. So. Sleepy. So. Very. Sleepy. But. No. One. Will. Let. Hari. Go. What. Could. They. Have. So. Much. To. Say…”

The young duke So-and-so, looking even more perplexed, looked down at me.

I even made a show of yawning widely.

At that, the young duke So-and-so’s stiff shoulders drooped slightly.

“…I seem to have been rude.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll escort you to your room.”

“No.”

“…Then I’ll come visit again tomorrow morning.”

“That’s also a no.”

“…Have a good night.”

“Yes.”

The perpetually cold North…

The young duke So-and-so, with his childishly brilliant setting of not knowing love due to growing up in that desolate land, left first with dejected steps that didn’t suit his character.

“Wow.”

Hariella’s brother, who had been forgotten in a corner of the corridor, clapped his hands.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

I glared at him with the most vicious expression I could muster.

“I should.”

Hariella’s brother just shrugged, seemingly unbothered.

“But why are you still standing there?”

“I just remembered I have something to give you after a long time.”

“What? What is it?”

No matter how I thought about it, I had nothing to receive from him.

What could it be? Is it perhaps related to the real Hariella, not me?

I frowned, lost in thought.

Then Hariella’s brother approached me with a grin and…

“Hey!”

He kissed me on the cheek.

Knowing he had done something deserving of a slap, Hariella’s brother turned his back and ran away as soon as he removed his lips from my cheek.

“It’s a goodnight kiss!”

He shouted from the far end of the corridor.

Goodnight kiss… night kiss… kiss… ss…

His last words echoed in the corridor for a while.

“Aaargh! This is so annoying, really!”

I rubbed my cheek with the back of my hand until it swelled.

What kind of person is he?

Surely, there must be a curse on the blood of the Lurupel family.

Otherwise, there’s no way both father and son could be this crazy.

I vigorously wiped my cheek, which was on the verge of rotting, with the end of my sleeve.

Suddenly, I thought the original Hariella was amazing.

To only burn with jealousy towards the female protagonist amidst these main and supporting characters bouncing around in all directions… It was truly admirable.

It seemed that living as a villain in a third-rate romance novel was no easy task.

I returned to my room with a dejected sigh.

Somehow, I felt like I was going to have a nightmare tonight.