I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 66

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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
Chapter 66
In the end, Valois Crawford remained bound to the window frame, alone in the Reception Room with Beatrice, exactly as she had demanded.
“…….”
“…….”
In the space where silence pooled like still water, Beatrice studied Valois intently.
By now, even she was curious.
What exactly did she want to say, to have caused all this commotion from the Entrance Hall to the Reception Room?
Valois, who had seemed moments away from pouring out words, surprisingly did not open her mouth easily.
Instead, she closed her eyes tightly, then opened them slowly, choosing her words with deliberate care.
Beatrice watched her with a lukewarm expression—a look that lasted only briefly.
With an air of resolve, Valois met her gaze directly and drew a shallow breath before speaking.
“I’ll be direct with you. Think I’m mad if you want, treat me as delusional if you want—but since this is important, I really need you to give me an answer.”
“…….”
“Did you experience Regression? Or did you undergo Possession?”
“…….”
“For the sake of mutual trust, I’ll tell you first—I’ve undergone Possession.”
“……Pardon?”
This was already the third time. The third time her mind had refused to understand.
Once when she received Valois Crawford’s letter, once when the maid announced her visitor, and now.
Taking Beatrice’s reaction in stride, Valois—or rather, whoever claimed to be Possessed within Valois’s body—continued speaking.
“I was hit on the head on my way home and lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I’d become Valois Edvain Crawford.”
“…….”
“But things seemed off as they unfolded, so I looked into it and found that I apparently lost consciousness while committing arson at a ball and being subdued. And as punishment for the arson, I’m supposed to serve in penance at the Monastery.”
She paused, as if realizing something, before adding to her explanation—her expression utterly unlike anything Valois would wear.
“Ah, I have no complaints about the punishment Valois received. Honestly, I’m grateful I didn’t possess her just as her neck was being slit, and I even saw going to the Marquis Territory as a chance to escape. It failed, though.”
……Escape? Failed?
Those words struck her mind like a hammer, and her thoughts, which had stuttered to a halt, began moving again—slowly, methodically.
The first thing that came to mind was the suspicious behavior of Valois that Cassian had mentioned, and the contradictory actions that had troubled her.
‘She suggested setting up dolls, so why was she sneaking out at midnight to destroy them?’
‘There were signs that Miss Valois attempted to escape the Marquis Territory several times. She even stole money and weapons from the clinic.’
If what Valois said now was the truth, then all the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place.
And yet…….
‘Possession? Such a thing actually exists?’
She’d only read of it in ancient alchemical texts—and even then, in rare research notes about reviving the dead.
Beatrice blinked for a moment, considering whether such a thing was possible, then quickly shook her head.
‘I’m hardly one to doubt the impossible, having experienced Regression.’
If Regression existed in this world, why not Possession? Everything had a cause, even if the mechanism remained undiscovered.
As Beatrice mulled this over and found her own acceptance, Valois—interpreting her silence as doubt—began to lay out her words in a plaintive voice.
“To be honest, I had no intention of coming here and confessing like this. I wasn’t even planning to get near you. I don’t know if you’re a Regressor or a Possessed, but since things have gotten this messy, wouldn’t it make sense to run far from this damned game? Especially when the body I’m Possessed in belongs to a woman with uncontrollable rage—a lunatic of legendary proportions!”
Her grievance seemed to grow as she spoke, and Valois—bound by the window handle—twisted her face in distress.
Watching her, Beatrice found herself exhaling in astonishment before she could think.
“Wow, I really…….”
“……Pardon?”
“Never thought I’d actually see Valois Crawford make that face in my lifetime…….”
At Beatrice’s words, Valois’s expression turned lukewarm as she looked at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to treat your confession lightly—it’s just that seeing you make that expression is incredibly shocking.”
“……So you believe I’ve undergone Possession? Are you also Possessed?”
“No, that’s not it. I… I experienced Regression.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
With that brief acknowledgment, an awkward silence fell between them.
Though they had inadvertently come to share the truth, the two were not exactly intimate with each other.
‘I wish I could ask something, but I don’t know much about Possession, so I’m not even sure what to ask…….’
It was Valois herself who broke the silence that dragged on helplessly.
“Anyway, the reason I ended up coming here despite promising not to get involved is because of Princess Elodi. You received a letter from Princess Elodi, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes. The one asking for help at the wedding?”
“Right. It won’t be in the letter, but when you meet her, she’ll definitely ask you to be ‘Something Blue’ at the wedding. Because she asked me the same thing.”
Valois looked at Beatrice with eyes that asked if she understood what that meant.
Meeting those eyes, Beatrice nodded. She didn’t know all the details of the plan, but she could guess what the Princess was thinking.
To the Princess, Valois was already a damaged expensive tool. If she could be used, she’d be repaired and deployed; if the situation called for it, she could be discarded as a pawn.
Either way, at least once she could be used to strike at an opponent.
‘The problem is, I’m the one in position to be struck.’
As Beatrice grimaced, guessing Elodi’s intentions, Valois opened her mouth again.
“At first, I was just going to refuse. Everyone knows Valois has a rotten disposition, and even though she made mistakes, she wouldn’t have good feelings toward the Princess for not stopping her from going to the Monastery. So I thought refusal would seem natural.”
“And then?”
“I’d be damned, ugh……. Sigh. There’s a reason I can’t explain in detail, but because of what happened in the Marquis Territory, I’m in a position where I can’t leave right now. That’s why I came to you.”
If there’s no other viable way forward no matter what, then better to lay everything bare and try to join hands—come what may.
“I think you and I could be on the same side, at least for this. What do you think?”
On the surface, it was certainly a natural line of reasoning—save for one detail that gave her pause.
‘What comes after? Even if she and I join hands and move in secret, in the end she’ll be discarded, won’t she?’
Escape?
‘But judging from how she can’t act out because of what happened in the Marquis Territory, that doesn’t seem easy either. What method does she have?’
Beatrice narrowed her brows slightly and studied Valois carefully.
She wasn’t particularly worried about Valois—how to put it…….
‘What if this is all calculated too?’
Of course, she didn’t think she’d tell Princess Elodi about Possession or anything like that. She didn’t seem like the type to reveal that she herself was a Regressor either.
‘Given the Princess’s temperament and the traditional nobility, it would be wiser not to reveal it.’
But it was possible to gain advantage without revealing the truth—by giving reassurance that they’d join hands, then betraying her side according to Elodi’s plan.
‘But why go this far in the first place? If safety is the concern, wouldn’t it make more sense to stay on Princess Elodi’s side right now?’
No, wait. This woman had just called herself ‘Possessed.’
How did she know the situation had changed if not through Regression? And how did she suspect I’m a Regressor?’
Beatrice kept turning things over in her mind, and then a thought came to her.
Just ask her directly.
“I don’t quite understand, actually. Harming people isn’t easily done…… but wouldn’t it just be simpler to execute Princess Elodi’s plan flawlessly?”
That seemed easier and safer than revealing whether she was Possessed or a Regressor.

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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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