Chapter 3

There was a reason things had ended up like this.

‘I mean, even if we agreed to persuade everyone as quickly as possible, it’s not like we wanted to act this recklessly.’

This wasn’t some game where two little kids threw a tablecloth over themselves and held a pretend wedding in the garden with wildflowers.

And it wasn’t as if time was so short that they had to resort to their last option immediately.

In other words, neither of them had been thinking:

“Let’s cause a scandal on the very day we propose.”

So…

***

“Beatrice Hartwell!”

“Uh… Huh? Mother? Father? Why are you both here…? Ah, hello to you too, Uncle and Aunt! I heard you were out, but you came back really early.”

“Of course we hurried back when we heard Bea was visiting. Let’s see… you seem even prettier than last week.”

As it happened, both sets of parents had gathered in one place…

“Bea! Have you been well? I was already delighted to run into your parents while out with him, and now I get to see you too after so long.”

“Your Highness…?”

“‘Your Highness’? That’s hurtful. I told you to call me sister when we’re meeting privately.”

And if she hadn’t unexpectedly run into that person here…

Beatrice’s eyes wavered slightly as she looked up at the woman warmly taking her hand.

Silver hair, the symbol of the Imperial Family.

Beautiful golden eyes.

An elegant and noble presence.

Elodie Alberose Edvain.

The Empire’s First Princess.

The fiancée of Kaelan Dalton, Clyde’s older brother.

And the very person Clyde and Beatrice had been talking about.

‘The person who destroyed both our families… and the one who killed me in the end.’

Like a locked door suddenly being thrown open, her final memories resurfaced.

Or more accurately, the final conversation she had heard.

“A child who has lost her family, relatives, wealth, and even… remains a risk factor?”

“Lady Elodie.”

“There’s no need to persuade me. Why hesitate now after coming this far? A sprout that could become a weed… should be cut down before it grows. Hold a funeral for her. There’s no need to report it separately.”

The fact that she remembered every single word proved how deeply the memory had been engraved into her mind.

‘…I wonder if they actually held the funeral.’

Using the ridiculous thought to chase away the tension wrapping around her body, Beatrice instinctively lifted the corners of her lips.

“Y-Yes, that’s right. It’s just… I have two older brothers, so calling someone ‘sister’ still feels a little embarrassing.”

She felt Clyde discreetly poke her side.

He had tried to hide it, but apparently her reaction had been obvious.

Before Beatrice could fully compose herself, Princess Elodie smiled sweetly and lightly tapped the bridge of her nose.

“You’re adorable. You’ve really never changed, Bea.”

“Haha…”

“That’s it. I think I’ll have to stay glued to your side for a while. If we spend enough time together, you’ll become more comfortable with me, won’t you?”

“Well, I didn’t mean that Your Highness makes me uncomfortable…”

“Of course, of course! I know that. I just want to become closer to you.”

The princess paused before glancing shyly at the man beside her.

“When I marry Kaelan, I’ll become a member of the Dalton family too. And honestly, Bea, you’re practically family to the Daltons already.”

“Mm…”

“So I’d like us to be as close as family too.”

Yeah, no.

‘At least in this life, I’d really like you to give up on that dream.’

Beatrice had absolutely no desire to become close to Princess Elodie.

Nor did she have any intention of allowing her to marry Kaelan.

Of course, nobody here knew what the princess would eventually do in the future.

The others merely watched the two women with pleased smiles.

Seeing the warm atmosphere around them, Beatrice remembered Clyde poking her side and forced out the friendliest voice she could manage.

“Wow. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“You feel that way too? That’s a relief!”

A tall, broad-shouldered man approached the delighted princess.

It was Kaelan Dalton, the eldest son of the Dalton family.

“You seem relieved now that you’ve finally said it. You practiced telling Bea that several times, didn’t you?”

“Kaelan! H-How can you say that? Bea will think strangely of me!”

Watching the princess scold Kaelan with a bright red face, Beatrice narrowed her eyes slightly.

‘Seriously, though. Why is she acting so friendly? Since when were we that close?’

Even before her regression, it hadn’t been like this.

The princess had always been polite, certainly.

But she hadn’t acted as though they were intimate friends.

‘Wait… hadn’t she?’

Beatrice paused and searched her memories carefully.

Come to think of it, there had been a period when Elodie had treated her almost like a younger sister.

‘Hmm… when was that? I remember thinking, “Why is she suddenly acting like this?” but I never paid much attention.’

In any case, she seemed to have acted that way right up until her wedding with Kaelan.

Looking toward the princess again, Beatrice rubbed her arm.

Seeing Elodie act as though she genuinely cared about both the Dalton and Hartwell families felt deeply unsettling.

‘If I keep looking at her, I won’t be able to control my expression. Better think about something else.’

For example…

Why was the princess being so friendly?

‘The answer is obvious.’

At first, Elodie must have wanted a good relationship with both families.

No, more than that.

She wanted a relationship that was practically familial.

Something had happened later that caused her to change course.

‘Wait a second. If that’s the princess’s position right now…’

At that thought, Beatrice turned toward Clyde and casually spoke.

“Hey. What do you think?”

The subject wasn’t specified.

But Clyde immediately seemed to understand what she meant.

After narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, he gave a small nod.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”

“Right? You think that person would support it?”

“Yeah.”

At Clyde’s confirmation, Beatrice’s eyes lit up.

They hadn’t prepared anything at all.

But no matter how she thought about it, this was the perfect timing.

The absolute perfect timing to push their marriage onto their families.

‘Right now, the princess wants to become close with both families. To her, this would look like a gift falling straight into her lap. And both families, her fiancé, and all the important adults are gathered here.’

She’d see it as a chance to catch two rabbits with one trap.

Never realizing that the very choice would someday become the chain that prevented her from destroying both families.

‘Damn, that was actually smart. Is this what being a genius feels like?’

Well…

Using regression as a cheat certainly helped.

Still, considering it was compensation for dying once, maybe it was fair.

Beatrice subtly examined the mood around her, waiting for the perfect opening.

And then it came.

The Duchess, who had been watching the four young people with a pleased smile, glanced toward Clyde and joked:

“The Hartwells and our family are already as close as relatives. It would be wonderful if Bea actually became family. Unfortunately, this boy can’t even make proper use of the handsome face I gave him.”

“Oh my, Evelyn. If Clyde became Beatrice’s partner, we’d be absolutely delighted as well. But Beatrice is such a…”

At those words, Beatrice and Clyde immediately looked at each other.

‘Now!’

The two instantly stuck themselves together like melted sugar glued to the floor.

Then, like merchants advertising a brand-new product, they spoke at the same time.

“Mother, we’ll make that wish come true immediately.”

“Mom, stop worrying about pointless things. I’ve already won her over.”

Ignoring the bewildered stares from their families, Beatrice raised the hand she had linked with Clyde’s.

“We’re getting married!”

“…W-What did you just say?”

“Seriously. Clyde’s completely crazy about me. He said if he couldn’t marry me, his family would collapse, society would collapse, the whole world would collapse. Then he cried while proposing, so I said yes. Right?”

“…That’s right. Haha.”

The two of them casually buried the truth beneath a mountain of lies and exaggeration.

Then they delivered the finishing blow.

“So anyway, let us get married. Um… preferably soon.”

“Considering the minimum preparation time required, how does one month from now sound?”

Despite the dead silence surrounding them, Beatrice and Clyde stubbornly continued their nonsense.

The plan had changed suddenly.

But honestly, was this ever something they could have solved with logic and reason?

And sometimes…

‘Sometimes shamelessness works better than reason.’

After all, the loudest person usually wins.