Home/The Prince died, so we're starting over!/ch15

Episode 15

I tried to scrape the emblem off the contract with my fingernail.

But whatever it was attached with, the emblem showed no sign of coming loose.

"Did you perhaps want the emblem? Unfortunately, once attached, it never comes off."

"But you took it off easily just now!"

"Because there was no signature on that contract. Once the contract takes effect, a protective spell prevents the emblem from being forcibly removed."

Hearing the Third Prince's explanation, I gave up on removing the emblem.

Instead, I decided to simply tear the contract apart.

But no matter how much strength I used, the contract wouldn't budge—as if it were made of iron.

"Why won't it tear? Surely this isn't magic too?"

"Yes. It's a protection spell."

"How can this be allowed!"

"Wouldn't it be better if the contract doesn't tear? I don't understand why you're angry."

The Third Prince blinked his violet eyes with an innocent, chick-like expression.

Parting his beak-like adorable lips, he spoke.

"Don't worry too much. Nothing that could harm you will happen. This contract is entirely in your favor."

The Third Prince spouted nonsense with his chick-like lips.

He placed one copy of the contract in my hand.

I hurriedly examined it—it was the copy without the emblem.

The copy with the emblem had somehow ended up in the Third Prince's possession.

When had he taken it?

I'd been holding the emblemed contract just moments ago, yet I hadn't even noticed him snatching it away.

An eight-year-old's sleight of hand was unbelievably fast.

What on earth was this child?

"There's nothing difficult for you to do. Just live your life as usual. Then, I look forward to working with you."

The Third Prince beamed and clapped his hands.

Somehow, the gesture felt strangely familiar.

---

After signing the engagement contract with the Third Prince—feeling half-scammed in the process—I didn't see him for a while.

Because it wasn't only the Count and Countess Lulupel who were overwhelmed by the suddenly scheduled engagement ceremony.

My days passed in a blur, so hectic I hardly knew how time was flying.

I'd naively assumed that Hariella and the Third Prince's engagement ceremony would be about as grand as a neighbor's dog's birthday party—I couldn't have been more wrong.

Combining the servants of the Rüdebekia Court and the Lulupel household, there were at least several hundred.

With that many hands, I'd thought they could at least spare enough to let one eight-year-old laze about...

But as always, things were never that simple.

In any case, three weeks was an absurdly short time to prepare an engagement ceremony.

Proof enough was Anna, who upon learning just one week later that my engagement ceremony was in three weeks, screamed and scratched her cheeks with her nails.

"Excuse me? Three weeks? When three months is barely enough, you say three weeks? Surely you're joking now? Oh, my lady, please tell me I misheard. Please!"

"Sorry to say, but your ears are working fine, Anna."

"That can't be! This is ridiculous! It must be the devil's work!"

It wasn't the devil's work—it was the Third Prince's work.

But saying that would be lese-majesty, so I kept my mouth shut.

Anna crouched in the corner of the room for a while, refusing to face reality.

I could only look down at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Three weeks, three weeks... How can I get a dress made in just three weeks? Oh no, Anna. Don't think such weak thoughts. You can do it. No, you must do it..."

Dazed, Anna muttered eerily as if possessed by a ghost.

The words themselves were positive, but her tone was utterly tragic.

Standing across from her, awkwardly trying to comfort her, I suddenly noticed something strange in her soliloquy.

Dress? What dress?

"Huh? A dress? Are you ordering another dress? Why? We have piles of dresses you haven't even tried on yet!"

Every word that came out of my mouth seemed to have a question mark attached.

I even furrowed my brow in confusion.

After all, we had a mountain of dresses that had been ordered under the pretense of preparing for the Third Prince's welcome banquet.

Many of them had never even been worn.

Unless the seasons changed in three weeks, ordering more new clothes was a terrible waste.

But Anna, upon hearing my words, gave me a look that said she was about to die of frustration.

"But we haven't made a single dress that matches the violet sapphire!"

Anna lifted her head and pouted.

"Sapphire? What sapphire?"

"The one His Highness the Prince gifted you... Ah! Perhaps you haven't heard yet, my lady?"

"Heard what?"

"There's a tradition. In Letitia, when a couple gets engaged, they gift each other a gemstone the color of their eyes. The woman wears it as a necklace, the man as a brooch, on the day of the ceremony."

"Really? What a strange custom."

"I've heard that when the first Emperor proposed to the Empress, he gave her a blue diamond matching the color of her eyes. It's been a tradition ever since. Isn't that romantic?"

Anna explained with dreamy eyes, but I wasn't particularly moved.

Knowing that Anna, who loved love stories more than anything in the world, would launch into a long tale about the first Imperial couple, I hurriedly changed the subject.

"So the Third Prince gave me a sapphire?"

"Yes! I heard it's a rare sapphire—very large, with a vivid violet luster! One of the maids who knows about these things told me, so it must be true. She said she saw His Highness handing the sapphire to the mistress from a distance."

"Really? When did he give it? He's quick with his hands too..."

"At breakfast this morning! It must have been before you arrived at the dining room."

"Aha. So that's why Mama and Papa were in such a good mood."

I'd inadvertently solved a question that had been nagging at me.

But it only made me feel worse. So in the end, it's all about money, is it? These rich folks sure do love their jewels...

Though they weren't even my real parents, I couldn't help feeling a little hurt—and I couldn't quite understand why.

"The master has probably given His Highness an emerald by now. They must be in a hurry to get the setting done within three weeks. ...Ah! This is no time to stand around! We need to call the seamstresses too!"

Anna rang the bell in the room to summon a servant and ordered all the seamstresses in the territory to be brought in.

Good heavens.

How many seamstresses were in the territory, and she was calling all of them?

The servant looked visibly flustered, but chose to hastily carry out the order rather than talk back.

"Then I'll go see the mistress for a moment! To have a dress made that pairs perfectly with the sapphire, I need to know how she's planning to have the necklace set!"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Yes! I'll be right back!"

Anna greeted me with a spirited, energetic bow and hurried out of the room.

It was hard to believe she'd been so depressed just moments ago.

While Anna was out, I decided to take care of my own business.

Which was, for instance, hiding my copy of the contract in a secret place in the room.

After pacing around the room searching for a good hiding spot, I ended up folding it neatly and slipping it inside a book again.

Even after I'd hidden the contract, Anna showed no sign of returning.

Wondering what to do in the meantime, I decided to take a bath.

I called a servant to draw the water and enjoyed a long, leisurely soak by myself—something I hadn't done in a while.

When I returned to my room after bathing, hell had broken loose.

The seamstresses Anna had summoned had set up camp in my room.

They'd spread out their patterns and fabrics across the floor, awaiting Anna's inspection.

"My lady! What do you think of this design?"

"Good."

"And this one?"

"Excellent."

"Oh! I think this design is quite nice too!"

"Fantastic."

Anna selected dozens of designs she liked and asked for my opinion over and over.

With one hand holding a sketch of the sapphire necklace and the other holding a dress design, she chattered on about what matched better.

Naturally, I couldn't tell one from another.

As time passed, more and more seamstresses arrived. I wished I could just faint on the spot.

"Oh dear. My head suddenly hurts so much. Must be the dust from the fabric."

"Oh no! My lady! I'll call a healer right away!"

That day's commotion ended only when I displayed my flawless acting skills.

But the same situation repeated the next day.

And now, time had passed, and the same scene was unfolding before my eyes once more.

"My lady, how was the one you tried on earlier?"

"Good."

"And the one before that?"

"Excellent."

"Oh! I think the first one you tried on could work with a few alterations! What did you think of that one?"

"Fantastic."

"Oh, honestly! My lady, please stop being so vague and help me choose!"

Some of the faster seamstresses had already produced samples.

Anna insisted that clothes must be tried on to know, and she wanted me to try every single one.

Needless to say, the seamstresses of this world weren't particularly skilled.

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