Chapter 35

I heard a sound in the distance, as if someone had slammed their head against something with a loud bang. After a while, a dull pain began to throb through my head.

“Oww…”

I slowly opened my eyes, and a scenery I had never seen before spread out beyond the carriage window. There were many fields, overflowing with greenery, and every now and then, a refreshing breeze rustled the trees.

From somewhere in the distance, I could hear a sound that almost resembled music made from tinkling bells.

Holding the spot where I had hit my head, I slowly blinked. Maybe because I had been asleep, my mind still wasn’t fully awake.

I always fell asleep quickly in this carriage because it barely shook. Sure enough, Will was asleep too. When I happened to look straight ahead, I saw something unbelievable: Father and Mother were both asleep, each leaning on the other’s shoulder.

Father looked younger than usual while sleeping so peacefully and defenselessly, while Mother looked adorable.

What should I do? This was way too rare.

It was a shame there were no cameras in this world.

“Mm…”

Will shifted in his sleep and suddenly opened his eyes. After letting out a huge yawn, he blinked repeatedly as tears welled up in his eyes.

When he stretched, his shoulder gave a little crack.

“Mm… I slept sooo well…”

You were adorable when you talked with that sleepy little lisp, too.

I was internally squealing over my adorable little brother when Father suddenly snapped his eyes open. I was so startled that my shoulders jumped.

That awakening really suited the word “awakening.” Did he always wake up like that? It was bad for my heart.

“G-Good morning, Father…”

“Hm? Ah, Bell. I haven’t slept that well in ages.”

Father cracked his neck with a series of pops and started stretching, but Mother let out an annoyed groan and lazily opened her eyes.

Her unfocused gaze wandered around as she tried to let her eyelids fall shut again.

“Looks like you’re still sleepy. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

Father gently placed a hand on Mother’s shoulder, but she still seemed half-asleep. She gave a single nod before resting her head on his lap this time. She rubbed her head against him as she searched for the most comfortable position to sleep in.

“Isn’t she adorable? Cilly is at her weakest right after waking up.”

Will and I were both dumbfounded by how unusually honest Mother was, and we nodded repeatedly.

“We’re here.”

We arrived less than five minutes after I woke up. The place was an unfamiliar estate. It felt different from our own home, too. It was an old estate that seemed to carry the weight of a long history.

Even when Father gently tried to wake Mother, she wouldn’t wake up at all. We spent several minutes struggling with her after arriving at the estate, and somehow managed to get her awake. Most of it was thanks to Father. She didn’t even respond when Will and I talked to her.

What was wrong with her…?

“Father, where are we?”

“Ah, I didn’t tell you, did I? Actually, while we were passing through here, the lord of the territory invited us to visit. He’s young, but he’s quite a sharp fellow.”

Father smiled brightly.

“Come to think of it, I believe the Crillver family also has a boy around the same age as Bell…”

The moment I heard that, I froze completely.

Just like that. Completely out of nowhere.

I turned my head toward Father like a rusty tin toy, creaking as I moved.

“Father, what did you just say?”

“Hm? Ah, don’t tell His Highness.”

Father placed a finger against his lips and smiled awkwardly. I could practically hear him thinking, I forgot to report it to the Prince, but oh well. Though I didn’t think there was any reason to tell the Prince.

More importantly, wait.

I needed everything to wait.

God, please wait.

I secretly wiped my suddenly sweaty palms against my dress.

This was unbelievable.

Father had just said “Crillver.” There was no mistaking it. Absolutely none. My ears couldn’t be deceived when it came to this.

I clasped my increasingly trembling hands together, as if trying to hold them down.

No.

What was this feeling welling up inside me?

It was something between happiness and panic.

I couldn’t even put it into words!

Ah, thank you.

Being able to meet Lord Ashwad was truly a stroke of luck.

I had never been this happy about being reincarnated.

If possible, please let this be the beginning of our love story!

Then both the Prince and I would be happy, just like the scenario intended. Everything would go exactly the way I wanted!

I celebrated my victory inwardly.

I was still sleepy, but I was feeling incredibly energetic.

Once Mother finished fixing her makeup, we were finally allowed inside.

“Welcome to the Crillver family. Thank you for making the long journey. I am Arnold Crillver, head of the Crillver family.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Zeke Tybus, head of the Tybus family. It’s a pleasure.”

The young man who introduced himself as Arnold Crillver was indeed far too young to be the head of a family. He had the same bluish-black hair as Lord Ashwad, along with distinctive narrow, smiling eyes. The blue-green eyes that occasionally showed through were sharp, making him look like a fox who couldn’t be trusted.

“My wife, Cilly, my daughter, Bertia, and my son, Will.”

After Father introduced us, I bowed as gracefully as I could. Arnold smiled warmly and bowed his head in return before appearing to lead us toward the guest room.

Could this be my chance?

Wasn’t this exactly when I should ask about Lord Ashwad?

“U-Um!”

Perhaps my calling out to him had caught him off guard, because his narrow eyes opened slightly. Father also looked suspicious, but Arnold immediately returned to his smile and changed his tone as he asked what was wrong. I boldly asked him,

“I heard that you have a child around the same age as me.”

I caught a glimpse of Father looking flustered behind me.

Why was he so surprised? Father was the one who had told me.

Arnold continued smiling, but not a single muscle in his face moved.

“Are you interested, Lady Bertia?”

“Uh, well… I am a little interested…”

My voice grew quieter toward the end, and Arnold gave a low, teasing chuckle from the back of his throat.

“I’m sorry. Ashwad is currently out of the estate. He isn’t here.”

“I-I see…”

My disappointment was written all over my face.

As I drooped at the news that he wasn’t here, Arnold crouched down to meet my eyes.

“Are you more interested in my younger brother than in the Second Prince, who happens to be your fiancé?”

I froze at the words he whispered into my ear.

He had hit the bull’s-eye.

He had hit it dead center.

After all, I had just been thinking, The Prince and I will both be happy! There was no way I could argue against him after that.

When I stopped responding, Arnold gave a soft, alluring smile and whispered,

“Please do favor him.”

As expected, he was a fox who couldn’t be trusted.

I tilted my head, pretending not to understand.

Arnold smiled too.

No, he grinned.

Then he stood up and said, “Shall we go?”

Only after hearing Arnold’s words did I finally understand.

I might have just done something seriously bad…

I cautiously turned around.

Father was pressing his fingers against his brow and sighing.

I went pale, as did Father, while only Mother and Will looked like they had no idea what was going on.

“Um, Zeke? Bell didn’t do anything improper. She properly spoke from half a step behind the gentleman, and she didn’t interrupt him. I thought her behavior was perfectly appropriate.”

“No, that’s not it…”

Oh?

I had assumed Father was going to scold me for talking about another boy despite already having a fiancé, but apparently that wasn’t the issue.

As far as Mother was concerned, I was in the clear.

Well, then, that was a relief.

“Bell, listen carefully. You absolutely must not tell His Highness about this.”

“Huh? That there’s a boy in the Crillver family?”

“That too, but… you mustn’t tell him that we visited this estate at all.”

“What…?”

I let out a dissatisfied sound, only to receive a fierce glare from Father.

Please stop.

Father was terrifying when he got angry.

“…I understand.”

“Bell, do you dislike being the Prince’s fiancée?”

Father asked in an even quieter voice as we whispered among ourselves.

Honestly, I didn’t think it was a matter of simply disliking it.

In the end, it was practically a marriage arranged as part of the game. I wasn’t the one who had decided on it. Eventually, the Prince would end up with the heroine anyway, so I was ultimately nothing more than a temporary decorative fiancée.

Thinking of myself as nothing more than a placeholder for a certain period made sense, but there was still a part of me that felt a little bitter about it.

But what good would it do to say that?

What was decided was decided. There was no point dwelling on it.

That was why I had worked hard to become friends with the Prince, and we had managed to build a fairly good relationship.

I was even proud of myself for having been brave enough to act without hesitation back then.

I realized my thoughts were gradually going off track and hurriedly tried to come up with an answer.

“I…”

“Is something the matter?”

Arnold suddenly turned around and looked at us.

My words stopped.

“Since earlier, it seemed as though you were discussing something.”

There was some distance between us and Arnold. I had been speaking in an extremely low voice, and Father and I had been talking right next to each other, so I had assumed he couldn’t hear us.

But could he actually hear everything?

And why did he have to turn around at exactly this moment…?

“No, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Father immediately switched into his public persona and answered.

As expected of him.

“I almost feel as though I should join your conversation, seeing how close the two of you are.”

Arnold smiled sheepishly.

I couldn’t tell whether that was genuinely how he smiled or if he was making fun of us.

“If Lady Bertia takes a liking to my younger brother, then by all means, please do come visit our family.”

Arnold placed an oddly strong emphasis on “by all means” as he gave us a refreshing yet utterly untrustworthy smile.

It was that kind of smile.

The kind a person made when they wanted the backing of a prestigious family.

And somehow, the fact that it was so obvious was impressive in itself.

“I heard the Crillver family is also quite busy these days. That things have been difficult to manage this year because of the poor harvest.”

“Hahaha, you certainly don’t hold back. This way, please.”

Arnold smoothly brushed aside Father’s jab and led us toward the guest room.

A vein was practically popping out on Father’s forehead…

Wait.

Was he smiling?

He was wearing an incredibly dark smile.

Seeing my confusion, Mother quietly explained.

Apparently, Father loved this sort of maneuvering.

Or rather, this kind of probing and feeling each other out.

Seriously, what kind of hobby was that?

Liking this kind of psychological sparring was ridiculous.

“But I can’t complain, since that very skill was what helped him turn the Tybus family’s finances around.”

Mother smiled troubledly as she said that.

Come to think of it, I’d heard that our family had once been on the verge of ruin…

“My, Arnold. You’re quite an interesting fellow.”

“I’m honored by the compliment.”

Apparently, Father had taken a real liking to Arnold, because he was laughing cheerfully.

“But isn’t Lord Arnold incredibly fake? It seems obvious that he’s trying to get our family’s backing.”

Will quietly asked Mother that question over the sound of the two men laughing.

It was something I had been thinking too.

“Oh, dear. That’s exactly what he likes.”

Mother giggled as she hid her mouth behind her fan.

Will and I both tilted our heads suspiciously.

“Lord Arnold is baiting Zeke like that. It’s well known that Zeke is an oddball. They may both look like they’re laughing, but you never know what either of them is actually thinking. Lord Arnold has to keep up a somewhat interesting conversation, or Zeke will get bored with him.”

Mother laughed as though she found the whole thing amusing.

Arnold and Father continued talking in the guest room, and from the outside, they looked like they were simply having an ordinary conversation.

Every now and then, I heard things like, “What a joke,” or “You certainly know what to say,” but otherwise, it sounded completely mundane.

Beside me, Will stared intently at Father and Arnold, silently contemplating their conversation.

“Don’t worry about the gentlemen’s conversation,” Mother whispered.

I had already grown tired of thinking about it, so instead, I decided to learn more about the estate where Lord Ashwad lived.

I spent the rest of the time staring at the paintings on the walls.