The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 4.2

But I couldn’t explain it like that. I closed my mouth, at a loss for words.

Perhaps interpreting my behavior in some way, the boy’s voice suddenly softened.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring a different healer, not that quack who said you weren’t injured. Of course, I’ll have that quack’s hands and tongue cut off and banish him from the estate.”

The problem was that while his voice was gentle, the content of his words was not gentle at all.

I was inwardly shocked.

Are you crazy?

Why cut off the hands and tongue of an innocent healer? What did the healer do wrong to be banished from the estate?

His words were too harsh to believe they were coming from a boy who looked as sweet as ice cream.

It was clear that this generation’s Lurupel had the blood of a villain flowing through him.

Or maybe the land of this estate was terribly unlucky. Perhaps some strange underground water vein!

Anyway, I couldn’t let an innocent person die just for my sake.

I urgently grabbed the boy’s arm.

“Br, brother!”

“…Brother?”

Is this not it?

“Dear Br, brother?”

“…Dear Brother?”

This didn’t seem right either.

What on earth did Hariella call her brother?

“…Our Hari isn’t calling me a lunatic!”

Fortunately, the boy provided the answer himself.

Hariella… unexpectedly, she was quite a discerning child…

Yes. Even to my eyes, the boy seemed not quite right in the head.

At first, it was just a fake illness, but now my head really started to hurt.

I pressed my hand to my forehead and called out to the boy.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Get out.”

“Alright. But I’ll still call for a healer.”

“Forget it and just get out! I think I’ll get better as soon as I don’t see you!”

Based on the circumstances, it seemed Hariella detested her brother with a passion.

Given their identical appearance, they really must be siblings after all.

I decided to just speak my mind as it came.

This must have been the right answer, as the boy smiled with satisfaction.

“Now that’s the Hari I know. But could you please say ‘get lost’ instead of ‘get out’ next time?”

“…Fine. Then would you please get lost?”

“Remove the ‘would you please’ too.”

“…Get lost, will you!”

“Alright. See you in the evening.”

The boy seemed quite satisfied that he had finally made me utter harsh words.

He waved his hand cheerfully with a smooth face.

His hands were so delicate that the phrase ‘jade-like fingers’ came to mind.

But with a personality like that, what good are pretty hands… No, what use are pretty hands and face alone?

After waving his hand at me a few more times, the boy left the room.

My head hurt.

The air in the room must have been polluted during the short time I faced the boy.

I rubbed the palm that had touched the boy’s arm vigorously against the blanket. A quick check showed that, fortunately, there was nothing unusual.

If I had stayed with him any longer, my hand might have rotted completely.

That’s just how brothers are, after all.

‘I should have known from the moment his name was Tako-something…’

This was my mistake.

Like Hariella or the 3rd Prince, Hariella’s brother also had a peculiar first name.

And that meant he wasn’t just a one-time minor character.

Given the circumstances, it seemed there were no normal male characters in this rotten third-rate romance novel world.

‘Ah, I’m tired…’

No matter how handsome they might be, I didn’t want to meet any more male characters.

I missed Anna.

Anna, the only pure zone in this world…

I hugged my pillow tightly and repeatedly called Anna’s name. Just then, a neat knock sounded.

‘Anna! It’s Anna!’

Anna was the only one who knocked on my door so politely.

“Come in!”

I greeted Anna with a welcoming voice.

However, the person who opened the door was not who I expected.

An incredibly handsome man, so beautiful that one might die just from stealing a glance, was entering my room.

Red eyes, steeped in melancholy beneath hair as black as ebony, captured my gaze.

Black hair and red eyes…

Suddenly, I remembered Hariella’s brother mentioning something about Cal-something young duke earlier.

Is he… that person?

Is he the male protagonist?

No, why is the male protagonist appearing here?

Something incomprehensible was happening!

I couldn’t even begin to guess why the male protagonist had entered my room.

The only thing I knew for certain was that this cycle of life was going spectacularly wrong.

My mind went blank.

After staring at the male protagonist with a blatantly rude gaze, I belatedly opened my mouth.

“…Wh.”

“…Wh?”

“…Who are you?”

The male protagonist’s eyebrow twitched. Though not clearly visible in his expression, he was probably bewildered.

Are you dumbfounded? To be honest, so am I… But still, I need to confirm your identity…

“…I’m Kallian Caledonia. I’m sure you’re not asking because you don’t know, though.”

There was an edge to the male protagonist’s words.

Well, if someone who had even proposed to me pretended not to know my name, I’d be bewildered too.

Anyway, this confirmed that the handsome man before me was indeed the male protagonist.

“…Ah, I’m Hariella Lurupel.”

“…I know.”

“I see…”

Our conversation ended in less than ten exchanges.

As expected of the male protagonist with the childish setting of not knowing love, born in the bleak North.

Well, it’s a virtue of a great male protagonist not to exchange more than ten words with any woman other than the female protagonist.

As a romance novel reader, I could understand him.

…But understanding is one thing, and frustration is another.

I don’t know about the female protagonist, but for me, a mere villain, this stifling silence was becoming increasingly unbearable.

After rolling my eyes like a shy child, I belatedly realized I hadn’t offered him a seat.

“…Um, please sit down.”

“I will.”

The male protagonist promptly sat on the chair.

This guy, even though he didn’t say anything, his legs must have been hurting…

“…I’m sorry for my poor hospitality. I’ll have a servant bring some tea. What kind of tea would you like?”

“That’s fine.”

“I see…”

Usually, when a host offers tea, isn’t it polite to accept it, even if just for courtesy?

The male protagonist had a truly sharp temperament. Is that why his name was Cal-something?

“Um, excuse me, Cal-some… no, what was it? Young Duke, what brings you to Lurupel?”

“…Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“I saved you when you were attacked in the mountains. No, that’s not quite right. It wasn’t I who dealt with the bandits, but you.”

“Ah…”

So that wasn’t a dream?

Surprised, I opened my eyes wide.