I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 28

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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 Regression, I Proposed to My Childhood Friend
Episode 28
Beatrice noticed Clyde standing in that slightly tilted posture of his and quickly averted her gaze.
“Ah, I’m just a bit…….”
“A bit?”
“A bit tired right now…….”
As she rubbed her shoulders deliberately and let her words trail off, Clyde smoothly picked up the thread.
“Why wouldn’t you be? You jumped out a window in the dead of night saying you’d investigate, ran into a ruffian and got dragged off to prison, then threw yourself at Orharkon bare-handed to prove yourself at that gathering. Of course you must be exhausted.”
“…….”
It was clear he was deliberately listing these things to provoke her, but Beatrice simply pressed her lips shut.
Once he’d laid it all out, her record shone so brilliantly that even ten mouths wouldn’t have had anything to say.
‘I should have taken acting lessons instead of maid training from Kaya.’
Or undercover training, perhaps…….
“In any case, since you’re tired, I’ll keep this brief. Or would it be more comfortable to talk in your room?”
“Good heavens!”
What kind of thing was he saying!
Beatrice quickly waved her hand in protest.
“Didn’t you marry not long ago? A room would be absolutely improper!”
“Oh, you’ve misunderstood. I had no intention of going anywhere alone. How could I possibly do such a thing when I have a wife who is the most lovely, adorable, and beautiful, not to mention utterly charming?”
“…….”
“Of course, my wife Beatrice has the gentlest heart, soft as silk, thoughtful and kind besides—the sort of person no one would suspect of such things. Still, the very essence of love is not to let your one and only other half worry over even the smallest trifle.”
Ugh.
Beatrice barely restrained the urge to squeeze her eyes shut.
She’d realized he was now testing her with shameless flattery instead of provocation.
Without missing even the subtlest shift in her expression, Clyde took a step closer.
“Then let’s keep this brief, direct, and here where people can see. Miss Kruger, you…….”
“Didn’t the Marquis say earlier that he’d tell you where he’s staying? I heard the Downe Marquis estate has a simply exquisite garden!”
Cutting off Clyde’s words, Beatrice rushed through the praises the Marquis had boasted of.
“What was it he said? There’s quite a deep lake, and the training grounds are spacious. Even his son loves it greatly. I’m terribly tired, but suddenly I felt like I wanted to see it. There are so many people here and I’m getting a headache……. Would you come along too, Sir Dalton?”
She’d meant to say they shouldn’t talk here—a rebuke wrapped in polite words, a suggestion to go together.
Clyde understood her meaning with ease and nodded lightly.
“Thank you for the suggestion. I was hoping to get some fresh air myself. Shall we go now?”
“……Y-yes!”
There was no avoiding the confrontation now.
Gritting her teeth, Beatrice managed a smile. Clyde returned it, facing her directly.
Still with that infuriatingly handsome smile of his.
* * *
At one end of the Corridor connected to the Outer Garden.
Once they’d reached the quiet, sparse expanse where few people passed, Clyde stopped.
And positioned himself naturally in front of Beatrice.
It had the effect of pinning her against the wall, though that hadn’t been his intent.
Beatrice had been trying to maintain distance from him, and this gap had simply happened as a result.
Clyde, with one hand in his pocket, looked down at her slightly.
The soft afternoon sunlight scattered gently, tracing his shoulder and profile as it fell.
To anyone watching, it was a sight too beautiful to look away from…….
‘……Ah, I’m done for. If things get serious, I won’t be able to escape like this.’
All Beatrice could see was how difficult it would be to secure an escape route.
It was a reasonable concern.
He stretched out his arm slightly, bracing it against the wall, and without any preamble threw a curveball.
“Beatrice, what are you doing here?”
“…….”
Beatrice’s eyes wavered for an instant.
She’d expected him to ask about her identity and had prepared to deny everything, but he’d cut straight to the point like this!
“Um, well, ah? Beatrice? Who’s that…….”
Damn!
Her stammering denial came out far too clumsily.
A man who knew she’d married wouldn’t possibly not know his own wife’s name!
Clyde’s smile deepened slightly.
He noticed her habitually fidgeting with her glasses and leaned down slightly, opening his mouth again.
“You were fiddling with them before too. Did you cast Magic on those glasses? Your appearance doesn’t look like you at all. Did you make them yourself?”
“……No, that’s not it.”
“Not? Then they must be the Empress’s work or your father’s. The head maid took your side, so it’s probably Her Majesty, with high probability.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying! I’m not a person named Beatrice!”
Beatrice herself realized how hollow her own words sounded.
The match had been decided the moment Clyde held her close and spoke to her informally.
Yet having come this far, admitting it openly felt like a blow to her pride.
Beatrice blinked unnecessarily and added more.
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m Leia Kruger! I came to help Head Maid Nao with administrative duties during this assignment. This misunderstanding is going to cause problems!”
“Misunderstanding…….”
Clyde murmured the word she’d uttered, then calmly opened his mouth.
“I’m afraid I don’t believe it’s a misunderstanding. I doubt there are two people in the world who charge headfirst without hesitation when an idea strikes them, and who have the habit of meeting my eyes whenever something’s wrong.”
“…….”
“But if you insist it’s not true, very well. Miss Leia Kruger, shall we prove it this time, just as you did in the conference room?”
“……What do you mean to do?”
“Simple.”
He planted one leg to block her escape route and leaned in even closer.
At a distance close enough to recall what had happened in her room not long ago, Beatrice’s shoulders tensed.
Clyde’s hand brushed her cheek and reached for her glasses.
The instant Beatrice realized what he was about to do and moved her mouth to protest——
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
A coldly measured voice cut between them.
Both reflexively turned to see a man with deep navy hair standing at the end of the corridor.
With a coat draped over one arm as if he’d just returned, he fixed the two of them with a precise gaze from silver-grey eyes.
As he narrowed his eyes slightly to assess the situation and caught sight of Clyde’s face, he walked over without hesitation.
Then, quite naturally, he wedged himself between them, blocking them apart.
“I’m not entirely sure what’s happening, but it seems rather inappropriate. Would it be acceptable for me to take this person and step away for a moment, Sir Clyde Dalton?”
“……You seem to know who I am.”
“Yes. I saw you from a distance once when I accompanied my father to pay respects to the Emperor. But even if not, it’s hardly difficult to know you in the Empire. Word of your marriage to Miss Beatrice of the Hartwell Earl House has spread even to our territory.”
Our territory……?
At that curious phrasing, Beatrice’s eyes widened slightly.
Looking more closely, she could see a considerable resemblance between this man and the Marquis.
“……Could this be the son the Marquis couldn’t stop talking about…….”
Whether or not he heard her murmur, the man lowered his gaze slightly and wore a thin smile.
“Father’s been his usual ridiculous self, I see. I’d appreciate if you called me Cassian. But for now, I’d rather we sort out this situation than exchange pleasantries. What do you say, Sir Dalton? Shall we postpone our introduction for later?”
“…….”
Clyde’s blue eyes passed over Cassian’s silver-grey ones and landed on Beatrice.
Reading hesitation in the unfamiliar-coloured eyes behind the large, heavy-looking glasses, he eventually stepped back.
This was a matter between him and Beatrice, not something to trouble her with in front of a stranger.
“Of course. Let’s speak again later. You as well, Miss Kruger.”
“So you are Miss Kruger. Shall we go?”
“What? Yes? Or rather…….”
Just as she was considering what to do, she saw Clyde give a slight nod to the side.
It meant: we’ll talk later.

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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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