I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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After My Regression, I Proposed to My Childhood Friend
Chapter 15
The Neria Palace, where Empress Iyette resided, came alive with energy for the first time in ages.
“Oh, Beatrice! We’ve been waiting for you. I hope the journey wasn’t too taxing?”
“It’s been so long, Kaya! I just sat in a carriage the whole way—nothing difficult about that. Besides, I’m full of energy!”
“Hehe. Still bright and cheerful as ever, I see. Just a moment. I’ll inform Her Majesty at once.”
“Come now, there’s no need for all that ceremony. You knew I was coming today, didn’t you?”
“Of course. She’s been looking forward to your arrival. Why, she’s still in the reception room selecting refreshments as we speak.”
Well then!
Beatrice waved off the lady-in-waiting with a dismissive hand.
Then, as though entering her parents’ chambers at home, she flung open the reception room door with a beaming smile.
“Iyette!”
Had Earl Hartwell witnessed it, she would have earned herself another blow to the back.
It wasn’t enough to ignore imperial protocol—she’d also dropped all formality and addressed Her Majesty by her given name without permission!
Strictly speaking, according to the laws of the imperial court, it could have warranted punishment, but it didn’t matter.
Beatrice was the youngest child with two older brothers.
She possessed an almost supernatural sense of just how far she could push her behavior before crossing a line.
“Beatrice? My goodness, I wish I’d known you were coming so early—I would have prepared more thoroughly!”
Look at her: no scolding, only delight as the Empress spread her arms wide.
Beatrice swept her into a tight embrace and, unusually for her, indulged in some affectionate wheedling.
“I missed you so much, Iyette, so I hurried over!”
“You little thing!”
“I’m serious! I practically flew here—see how my hair’s come loose from running?”
“Yes, yes, I can tell. You must be exhausted from rushing. Come, sit with me.”
“I will! I want to sit right beside you!”
Had Beatrice’s mother, Earl Hartwell, and Claude seen her now, they would have rubbed their eyes in disbelief—surely this wasn’t the same person?
Of course, the Empress, not seeing her every day, would have had no way of knowing.
Beatrice brewed the tea with her own hands for the Empress, then clapped lightly as though suddenly remembering something.
“Oh, that’s right! I brought a gift for you, Iyette!”
“A gift? For me?”
“Yes. It’s nothing particularly grand or expensive, so I’m a bit embarrassed about it…”
She took the box from an attendant and set it on the table, then lifted the lid with a sheepish smile.
What emerged was a Niton Flower, distinguished by its fluffy, wool-like petals.
More precisely, a beautifully decorated Flower Box adorned with Niton Flowers and charming ornaments.
“This is…”
Simple though the gift was, as Beatrice had said, the Empress touched the flowers with hands full of affection.
The Niton Flower was a bloom found only in her homeland, the Bereta Kingdom, and moreover, it was her very favorite.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen a Niton Flower. But how on earth did you know I love these flowers?”
“I found out from Father, actually. He mentioned they bloom so fluffy when infused with abundant Mana, so I did my best to cultivate them properly.”
“They’re truly lovely. I’m so pleased to see you’ve already become so skilled at handling Mana, Bea.”
“Mm…”
Truth be told, she hadn’t poured her own Mana into them directly—she’d simply rearranged the greenhouse to channel abundant natural Mana to that spot.
Beatrice hesitated for a moment about whether to tell the truth, then decided to hold her tongue.
The homeland of Empress Iyette and her father, Jedrik, was known as the Bereta Kingdom—a realm celebrated as a Magical Tower Kingdom.
The Empress herself was counted among the elite magical prodigies from that land.
‘If I mention I rearranged the greenhouse, she’ll probably ask why I went to such trouble.’
Instead, Beatrice smiled vaguely to gloss over the question, and the Empress, laughing brightly, continued in a playful tone.
“At this rate of progress, it won’t be long before you could help me with my work alongside your father!”
Wait—could it be?
Seizing the opening, Beatrice smoothly picked up her thread.
“Are you perhaps referring to the Fusion Healing System, where Magical Healing and conventional medicine work in tandem? I heard you recently began a trial run of it.”
“My, did Jedrik tell you that much? Yes, indeed—it’s a project I personally designed.”
The Empress, looking rather pleased, began laying out details about the Fusion Healing System.
“Healing Magic shares many common elements with Sacred Magic, you see, so it’s easier for imperial subjects unfamiliar with Magic to accept. And furthermore…”
“Mm.”
The way she explained without being asked reminded Beatrice so much of her father that it was almost familiar.
Whether alchemists or mages, those from the Magical Tower Kingdom all seemed to share this trait.
‘Still, I’m grateful I can see this now.’
In her past life, she’d been too blind to notice such things—matters that involved people she cared about and those close to her.
‘And by the time I came to my senses, everything was already over.’
The same held true for the Empress’s current work.
‘The Fusion Healing System ultimately failed during the trial phase.’
The reason was painfully clear: during the trial, Countess Sharon’s daughter had died.
‘This incident affected far more than I initially realized, but… I suppose that matters less now.’
Preventing the collapse of this Fusion Healing System was the first step Beatrice had conceived toward obtaining her title.
‘Originally—before Claude’s involvement clouded my intentions—this was the goal I pursued anyway.’
Though now, admittedly, the Douner Marquessate concerned her more.
It was then, as Beatrice mulled over these thoughts, that the Empress released a light sigh and spoke something close to a murmur.
“Honestly… lately, the more I think about it, the more it seems like the number of patients contracting unidentified illnesses is increasing. It’s not just a feeling—something genuinely seems to be causing it, so I wanted to prepare in advance.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. That wasn’t meant for you, Beatrice—just thinking aloud. Forgive me; pay it no mind.”
The Empress waved her hand lightly and offered Beatrice some refreshments, but there was no way Beatrice could let that remark pass.
‘Patients with illnesses of unknown origin…’
Something sparked in her mind.
‘What if all these patients with unidentified illnesses are actually suffering from the same disease, and the cause simply hasn’t been discovered yet?’
And what if Countess Sharon’s daughter, who had died before the regression, was also one of these unidentified patients?
‘Didn’t she just speak of creating the Fusion Healing System as though it were a kind of precaution?’
If so, the hypothesis Beatrice had just formed was very likely to be correct.
‘And because the illness is of unknown cause, it would have been easy for the Crown Princess to act.’
Now that she thought back on it, the claim circulating through high society and the newspapers—that the team member’s fatal mistake caused the death—made no sense.
A mage as talented as the Empress would never have let that slide without intervention.
‘…The more I lay it all out like this, the more suspicious that illness seems. It’s almost as if it were a curse.’
Wait. A curse…?
As Beatrice recalled her conversation with Claude, something sparked in her mind once more.
A hunch struck her. There had to be some connection between the “cursed Douner Marquessate” and this “unidentified illness”!
‘Because right now, the most suspicious place in the empire is also the place where the Crown Princess must have been involved.’
It felt as though a light had suddenly blazed before her eyes.
‘If anything, it’s as if destiny is pushing me toward the Douner Marquessate!’
What could she do? She’d already noticed this crucial connection.
After a brief moment of consideration, Beatrice raised her hand and asked the Empress.
“Um, Iyette! Have you ever heard any talk about the cursed Douner Marquessate?”
“The Douner Marquessate?”
“Yes. There are sinister rumors about it. Something about people disappearing or dying, and haunted dolls appearing everywhere, or so they say.”
Of course, at this point in time, rumors of the Marquessate being cursed had not yet spread widely.
But Beatrice chose to mix a little embellishment into her tale—all for a brighter, happier future!
“I didn’t know anything about it at first, but when I learned that Claude and Crowell’s dispatch was to the Douner Marquessate, I looked into it and discovered all this.”
“Certainly, the rumors do seem suspicious.”
“Yes. But listening to what you said just now, it all came back to me. If so many unexplained phenomena are occurring in a place like that, wouldn’t an unidentified illness be spreading there too?”
“Hmm…”
“I have a feeling there might be a clue there.”
“That’s a reasonable thought. Bea, are you interested in this sort of investigation and inquiry?”
The Empress’s question brought a nod from Beatrice.
“Of course! Actually, the moment I heard about the curse, I thought it seemed related to Magic and tried to go along, but I was refused.”
“Mm? Usually, dispatch missions like this are long-term assignments, so families often come along. Why were you turned down?”
“They said it was too dangerous.”
“My goodness!”
The Empress laughed like a girl at the answer, which was far more endearing than she’d expected, then slipped on a playfully mischievous expression.
“Bea, do you still want to go?”
Shall I help?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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