Home/The Prince died, so we're starting over!/ch27

Episode 27

Anna stared at me with wide eyes.

"Tell him to go back..."

"Excuse me? How can you do that! You said he came because you'd given him a hint yesterday!"

"Yes..."

Having moistened my dry throat, sleep washed over me again. I slowly blinked my heavy eyelids.

Anna hurriedly shook my shoulder.

"You can't go back to sleep! I know you're tired, but you still have to greet your guest!"

"Just tell him to leave now... He'll go without a fuss..."

Just as the Something-or-other Young Duke had come as he said he would, I intended to not receive him as I said I would.

Of course, I bore no grudge against the Something-or-other Young Duke.

I just didn't want to see him right now.

"...Are you really, really sure you want to send him away?"

"Yes..."

"For real?"

"Yes..."

Anna fidgeted, looking back and forth between me and the door.

"I'm going back to sleep... Don't wake me for breakfast..."

Yawning deeply, I buried my face in the pillow again.

"Oh, honestly..."

Anna let out a troubled sigh and headed for the door.

Listening to her footsteps gradually fade away, I drifted back to sleep.

---

I woke from my second sleep several hours later.

Having received important news from a servant, Anna shook me with urgent hands.

"My lady! My lady! Wake up! His Highness the Third Prince has regained consciousness!"

The moment I heard Anna's words, all sleepiness vanished.

I sat bolt upright.

"Anna, hurry! Let's go see His Highness right now!"

"Oh, you need to change your clothes first! And brush your hair!"

"What if he loses consciousness again while we're taking our time?"

"Surely that won't happen! Now, put on your socks."

Anna answered confidently.

But by the time I finished getting ready and arrived at the Third Prince's room, he was already asleep again.

"Would you like to wait inside until His Highness wakes up?"

The Third Prince's attendant suggested gruffly. He was a new face—neither the anchovy-like one nor the one from the day before.

"Yes."

I nodded gladly and moved to enter the room.

"Um, just a moment, my lady."

But Anna stopped me first.

"I'm terribly sorry, but... I don't think you'll have time to spend at His Highness's room today."

"What? Why?"

"Because you have a backlog of engagement preparations to catch up on..."

Anna scratched her cheek apologetically.

She seemed to feel guilty that I couldn't see the Third Prince.

"The engagement ceremony? Is it still going ahead as planned?"

"I'm not sure of the details, but... the master has ordered that preparations continue as scheduled, now that His Highness has regained consciousness."

Anna lowered her voice to a whisper so only I could hear, apparently worried about the Third Prince's attendant.

Even so, thinking about the engagement ceremony while the prince was still unwell—Count Lulupel was certainly something.

"Hmm... When did His Highness fall asleep?"

"Not long ago. Perhaps about half an hour."

"Then it'll be a while before he wakes up."

In the end, I had to leave, saying I'd come back in the evening.

As I obediently turned away, Anna visibly sighed with relief.

She hurried her steps and led me back to my room.

"Is there a lot to do?"

"A fair amount. First, the dress you'll wear for the ceremony has arrived, so we need to try that on. Also, the wedding vows have been slightly revised, so you'll need to memorize them again. Lastly, we'll need to review the guest list once more."

"Ugh, I'm already exhausted..."

As soon as we reached the room, Anna brought out a mountain of bundles from somewhere.

Though she'd said she wasn't sure, it seemed Count Lulupel had already decided to proceed with the engagement ceremony as planned.

If he'd announced that he was pushing ahead with the engagement right away, he would have drawn criticism from everyone around him—so he was holding back.

The fact that a flood of new tasks arrived the moment the Third Prince regained consciousness was proof of that.

'Well, it's not like I don't understand Count Lulupel's feelings...'

Holding an engagement ceremony with a sick Third Prince was clearly unreasonable by anyone's standards. Count Lulupel must have known that too.

But postponing the ceremony wasn't an easy decision either.

Most of the guests had already arrived at the Rüdebekia Court.

Delaying the ceremony meant adjusting the schedules of all those people.

Of course, everyone would likely cooperate willingly for the sake of a prince's engagement.

Since that would also put Lulupel in their debt, the guests would graciously nod along.

But Count Lulupel's proud pride would never allow that.

"My lady, could you raise your arms? Let's start by trying on this dress."

"Yes..."

I thought postponing the ceremony would be the wiser choice. But there wasn't much I could do about it right now.

So I obediently went along with the preparations.

Perhaps because I'd taken the entire previous day off, the workload had piled up like a mountain.

I was so busy that I ended up not seeing the Third Prince that evening either.

Instead, I went to see him the moment I opened my eyes the next morning.

Arriving at the Third Prince's door, I knocked politely, but there was no answer from inside.

'Did I come too early?'

After a moment's hesitation, I gently pulled the door open. Inside was only the Third Prince.

"What? Where did all the attendants go? Are they slacking off?"

Having confirmed there were no attendants, I strode into the room.

The Third Prince was still lying in bed, sleeping like the dead.

I pulled a chair nearby and placed it beside his bed.

Then I sat down and waited for him to wake.

"Ugh..."

Fortunately, the Third Prince woke up not long after. A tiny whimper escaped his lips.

"Your Highness! Are you feeling more alert?"

I called out to him with a cheerful voice.

The Third Prince, his pale yellow lashes fluttering, slowly opened his eyes.

"...Lady Lulupel?"

"Yes, it's me!"

"Lady Lulupel..."

And then, out of nowhere, he burst into tears. His violet eyes filled with pitiful tears.

"Why are you crying? Does something hurt? Shall I call a healer?"

I rose to summon a servant.

But the Third Prince grabbed my sleeve with a weak, dying-chick grip.

"I, I..."

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"I was wrong..."

Still half-asleep, the Third Prince offered a disjointed apology.

It seemed he felt terribly guilty for not listening to me.

"It's okay. So don't cry."

I readily forgave him and patted his head.

Children were bound to make mistakes as they grew.

Even though the Third Prince had caused some trouble, as a seasoned adult, I wasn't about to hold it against him.

When I was his age, I'd jumped off the top of a jungle gym and broken both my legs.

Back then, I thought wearing a cape made you a hero.

My mother, who had rushed to the emergency room, looked like she was about to burst with frustration when she saw me.

But she didn't get angry or hit me.

She just told me that if I got hurt from my own mischief, I'd only be hurting myself, so I should be careful from now on.

Eight years old was that kind of age.

An age where you can't properly distinguish what you can and can't do.

Making mistakes, getting hurt, and learning about yourself—that was the task of every eight-year-old in the world.

"...Don't forgive me so easily."

But this little one, who thought he was all grown up, was still wallowing in self-reproach.

The Third Prince kept shedding tears like a chicken's droppings.

Fortunately, I had a handkerchief Anna had tucked into my pocket.

I pulled it out and handed it to him.

"Would you like to blow your nose?"

At that, the Third Prince started crying even harder with a sadder face.

"...Lady Lulupel is too heartless!"

The Third Prince whined in a nasal voice.

"Excuse me? Me? Heartless?"

I had to think twice about whether I'd heard him correctly.

No! Where else could you find someone as kind and considerate as me!

"...I knew you'd just brush it off like nothing happened. Getting angry is only possible when you care enough to be invested."

The Third Prince kept chirping with his chick-like beak of a mouth.

From beneath his wet lashes, his watery eyes spilled out sorrow.

"Why would I not care about you, Your Highness?"

That was an utterly absurd thing to say.

If anything, of all the characters in this novel, I had shown the most interest in the Third Prince.

I couldn't understand where he got the idea that I was heartless.

The Third Prince looked up at me with a confused expression, tears streaming down his face.

He seemed deeply wronged.

"Lady Lulupel... you don't even know my name!"

The Third Prince cried out, roughly wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"Me?"

"Lady Lulupel... hic, I know you memorize the names of people you don't care about half-heartedly."

Between sobs and hiccups, the Third Prince kept voicing his complaints.

Just moments ago, I'd been accepting his apology—and now I found myself being interrogated.

"Why wouldn't I know your name, Your Highness?"

"Then what is my name?"

"Well, it's Sa..."

"Sa?"

"Sa..."

Sa-what was it again?

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