The Prince Is Dead, So Let’s Start Over Everything Again! - Chapter 4.6

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Count Lurupel’s anger wasn’t dulled even by his beloved youngest daughter’s greeting.

He was yelling like a five-year-old child who had been told they couldn’t eat more than two ice creams a day.

It was truly befitting of an extra noble to flare up in anger when things didn’t go his way.

“Sit down first, Hariella. And you should lower your voice too. It’s undignified to speak too loudly in front of the servants.”

Said Countess Lurupel, who had dismissed the servants.

Count Lurupel, who had been fuming as if steam might burst from his head, immediately deflated at the Countess’s rebuke.

I swallowed a sigh and walked to the empty seat. It was next to Hariella’s brother.

As I pulled out the chair to sit, Hariella’s brother greeted me with his eyes.

His round eyes were full of mirth. He looked completely unconcerned about whether his father was angry or not.

The Lurupel family’s dinner proceeded in a very subdued atmosphere.

I couldn’t tell if what I was chewing was a pebble or mashed potatoes.

“…Well, let’s hear it. Why did you climb the tree?”

It was Countess Lurupel who broke the silence in the dining room.

She spoke while I was chewing on boiled beans, a taste I couldn’t get used to despite having it three meals a day.

“Um, well…”

Having never actually climbed a tree, there was no way I could skillfully explain the reason.

I wracked my brain, which was not bubbling with creativity, to somehow come up with an excuse.

“I, I wanted to see the guests…?”

“You mean you climbed the tree to watch the carriages?”

“Yes… well…”

I decided to go with that explanation.

Countess Lurupel tapped the table with her fingertips, as if deep in thought.

“Was it perhaps His Highness who suggested it first?”

“Yes… well…”

I decided to go with that explanation as well.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that the 3rd Prince was the main instigator of this trouble.

“…I see. His Highness was probably waiting for Lady Ramier.”

“Yes… well…”

It seemed this palace was full of aspiring novelists.

Countess Lurupel arbitrarily assigned meaning to the 3rd Prince’s strange behavior that had never actually happened.

“It’s quite unfortunate. This morning, we received a letter from Lady Ramier. It said that she wouldn’t be able to attend the engagement ceremony.”

“The Lady can’t come? Why not?”

“Well, it only says it’s due to important imperial matters.”

It seemed that Lady Ramier’s important imperial matters didn’t include her son’s engagement ceremony.

“Come to think of it, I heard you visited His Highness’s room this afternoon. How was His Highness’s condition?”

“Not very good. He had a high fever, and he still hadn’t regained consciousness.”

I added some explanation about the 3rd Prince’s health condition.

Then Count Lurupel, who had been silent all along, hastily opened his mouth.

“The engagement ceremony! Do you think he’ll come to his senses by the day of the engagement ceremony?”

How am I supposed to know that?

I was dumbfounded, but since I was currently being interrogated, I quietly shook my head.

“I’m not sure. I hope His Highness wakes up as soon as possible, but…”

“…Aigh! They’re not even little children, why on earth did they climb a tree and cause this mess!”

Count Lurupel slammed his water glass down on the table.

He seemed to have completely forgotten that the 3rd Prince and I were only eight years old, so displeased was he.

Well, it could be understandable. From a noble’s perspective, we were nobles before we were children.

It’s not my place to say as a commoner by origin, but it seems nobles have their hardships too.

“You were behaving so well for a while, why did you cause trouble at a time like this, Hariella!”

Count Lurupel went on to the fourth verse after the first, second, and third. His face was turning various shades of yellow and blue.

With the palace full of guests, it was understandable for the Count to be sensitive about such an incident.

Even setting aside the engagement ceremony issue, this accident was a great shame for Count Lurupel.

A member of the royal family getting hurt within the palace grounds was tantamount to saying that the Palace Count had failed to fulfill his responsibilities properly.

“Don’t scold her too much, Father. What can we do about something that’s already happened?”

Hariella’s brother, who had been quietly focusing on his meal regardless of his father’s rage, joined the conversation.

“Takard! Don’t speak so nonchalantly!”

Count Lurupel, who had been taking out his frustration on the innocent water glass, shouted loudly.

“But think about it. When has our Hari ever caused this kind of trouble before?”

Hariella’s brother glanced at me with a slight eye smile.

It seemed to be some kind of signal, but I couldn’t understand its meaning.

“Before meeting His Highness, Hari was a quiet and mature child, wasn’t she?”

That can’t be right.

The Hariella before I possessed her must have been a lively child who feared nothing in the world.

Just considering the incident where she sent a marriage proposal to the young duke, one could guess as much.

She likely would have caused similar accidents before.

But Count Lurupel seemed to have already forgotten all the faults of his beloved youngest daughter.

Count Lurupel, who had been nodding with a puzzled face, flared up in anger again.

“That’s certainly true, but… what does that have to do with anything now!”

“If Hari is at fault for anything, it’s only for diligently getting along with the fiancé you and Mother chose for her.”

Hariella’s brother opened his mouth once again.

I looked at him in surprise.

His words sounded almost like he was reproaching Count and Countess Lurupel.

“Takard, mind your words.”

As expected, Countess Lurupel frowned and warned him.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I suppose I’m still clumsy at turning my thoughts into words.”

Hariella’s brother apologized docilely, feigning innocence.

“I just wanted to say that if our good Hari hadn’t met His Highness the 3rd Prince, she wouldn’t have caused any problems.”

However, he soon steered the conversation in a strange direction again.

According to his words, I was the only innocent one, and everyone else was at fault.

If you think about it, this was a kind of statement like “Our child is good, but she just met the wrong friend…”

Hariella’s brother was giving off the smell of a problematic parent.

“…Ahem.”

Count Lurupel cleared his throat, seemingly displeased.

He seemed to sympathize with his son’s words but was uncomfortable with the implication that he might also be at fault.

“…Rumors are problematic, aren’t they? Until recently, I thought His Highness the 3rd Prince was truly a brilliant person.”

At that moment, Hariella’s brother opened a way for Count Lurupel to escape from his contradiction.

“From now on, I shouldn’t believe rumors so easily. I’ve learned my lesson this time.”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

Count Lurupel quickly agreed with his son’s words.

“No matter how intelligent a boy is, a child is still a child after all.”

Count Lurupel, who had instantly transformed into problematic parent #2, uttered words that could get him arrested for blasphemy.

Although there were only four pairs of ears listening thanks to the servants being dismissed, it was still a dangerously inappropriate statement.

“Why don’t you be more careful with your words too?”

Countess Lurupel gently rebuked Count Lurupel.

However, judging by the mismatch between her words and tone, she seemed to agree with Count Lurupel to some extent.