I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 75

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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 75
“What, what, what?”
Beatrice sprang from the bed and quickly rubbed her eyes with her palms. She wondered if she was still half-asleep, caught in a dream.
Of course, rubbing her eyes like that didn’t change the scene before her.
“Miss, if you rub your eyes so roughly, you’ll hurt the delicate skin around them.”
……
Speaking like a proper butler, Clyde gently dabbed the corners of her eyes with a soft handkerchief.
Unable to process this sudden and bewildering turn of events, Beatrice simply stared up at him, dumbfounded.
“You… this… why…”
She hadn’t stammered this badly even when she first learned that Valois was a Reincarnator.
At the sight of her gaping mouth, struggling for words, Clyde gave a light shrug of his shoulders.
“I didn’t expect you to be so surprised.”
He continued speaking calmly as he handed her a glass of water to calm her nerves.
“My wife said she wanted to see me as a Servant, and she even got an official document stamped by Her Majesty the Empress. I thought it would be a shame to let that go unused.”
“…No, that’s…”
“Or do you dislike it?”
Beatrice’s gaze met Clyde’s as he tilted his head slightly, awaiting her answer.
His upright posture, brimming with confidence, and the slow blink of his eyes were already answering his own question—there was no way she could dislike this.
That smug, utterly certain expression was deeply infuriating.
“…No.”
Not that she was planning to refuse him!
Clyde’s eyebrows flicked upward as if he’d known exactly what she would say, and he explained lightly.
“Then just accept it. This is my way of apologizing.”
“…Apologizing?”
“For getting angry before I even heard your side of the story that day.”
…
As Beatrice listened to Clyde’s apology, her eyes blinked somewhat rapidly.
‘…So Clyde Dalton is saying he chose to become my Servant because he’s sorry?’
Perhaps because she wasn’t fully awake yet, his words felt increasingly unreal.
If it had been Cassian or Kaelon Dalton saying this, she might have found it uncomfortable and strange, but she would have accepted it. Their personalities were capable of such things.
‘But Clyde?’
After all the fights they’d had over the course of hundreds of encounters, to do this so suddenly?
‘Though I suppose his anger this time was somewhat different from usual.’
Beatrice pondered his true intentions for a moment, then quickly shook her head.
Well, what did his intentions matter anyway?
The important thing was that the power to command even that Clyde Dalton with a single finger had fallen into her hands.
“Fine then! If that’s the case, in recognition of your sincerity, I’ll reduce a week’s worth of duties to just one day.”
“How generous of you, Miss.”
Watching him naturally place one hand over his heart, Beatrice let out a small admiration.
His posture was beyond reproach, the Black Three-Piece Suit fitting him perfectly, the White Gloves immaculate, his hair swept back neatly, and that serene smile befitting a proper Servant—there was nothing her eyes could tear away from.
‘I thought it would suit him, but… it feels different from usual somehow.’
How could she describe it?
Like a romantic novel from those young lady and butler love stories that circulated at the Academy back in childhood?
Even though she knew it was still that familiar Clyde Dalton, her heart somehow felt as if it might flutter without warning.
It was a ridiculous notion, but seeing him dressed like this, such a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
If she captured this image with an Obscura and sold it, wouldn’t several of the old-school nobility bend their principles and loosen their purse strings, whether through magic or otherwise?
‘A handsome face can sometimes unite the world after all. The pity is that it happens to belong to Clyde Dalton…’
Beatrice was indulging in these meaningless flights of fancy when—
He naturally dampened the handkerchief with warm water and wiped her hands clean before pouring her Black Tea, asking her softly.
“Miss, what are your plans for today?”
“Today, I…”
Today she actually had no significant appointments.
She’d cleared her schedule thinking that if she failed to persuade Clyde, she would chase after him instead.
‘Hmm, what should I do?’
An open schedule and the opportunity to command Clyde to her heart’s content arriving at the same time was nearly miraculous.
As Beatrice was carefully considering what to do, she suddenly recalled a conversation she’d had in passing with Princess Elodie.
‘Are you really consulting with Kaelon about the wedding today too? Do you have that much to discuss?’
‘Oh, well. Truthfully, it’s something I could leave to others, but I can’t rest easy without handling it personally. It’s such an important day, after all.’
‘I see…’
‘So I got in touch with Kaelon urgently. I thought we’d look at dresses together, and confirm the personnel needed for Distinguished Guest escorts. Oh, and we’re also visiting the jewelry craftsman.’
‘The jewelry craftsman?’
‘Yes, I’m planning to distribute small ornaments as gifts to the guests who attend. Oh, that reminds me—what kind of jewels do you like, Beatrice? I’ll make sure to choose something you’d enjoy.’
In truth, it had been an ordinary conversation.
This was the Imperial First Princess’s wedding, after all. It was hardly strange that the bride herself would take a personal hand in the preparations.
But just as Clyde had harbored a certain distrust of Valois, Beatrice too held a particular conviction about Princess Elodie.
‘Princess Elodie doesn’t move without benefit.’
Everything she did and said had a reason.
‘And she plans very carefully to maintain an appearance that is clean and blameless.’
Even the Downer Marquis Territory hadn’t been prepared hastily.
She’d partnered with the Temple, investigated and exploited the habits of Monsters in the Darkness Mountain Range, spread Lumener, and quietly consumed people bit by bit.
Each action, viewed separately, seemed to happen ‘by coincidence’—she had moved with great precision.
‘That kind of habit doesn’t change easily, even when circumstances become urgent.’
In other words, the more she mulled over actions she’d casually overlooked due to more pressing concerns, the more she wondered whether they harbored hidden intentions.
After a brief moment of thought, Beatrice called out to Clyde with narrowed eyes.
“Clyde.”
“Yes, Miss. You called?”
As Beatrice fell deep into thought, he set down the comb and looked at her, faithfully performing his duties as a Servant.
Beatrice marveled briefly at how thoroughly he was taking to his morning attendance, then shook her head and opened her mouth.
“Did you ask Kaelon about the wedding when you returned to the Duke’s House?”
“It seems the hastening of the wedding continues to weigh on your mind, Miss.”
“Of course it does. Why are you acting like it doesn’t bother you?”
She’d never seen such an amusing fellow. Beatrice raised her eyebrows and gave him a questioning look.
“Do you happen to have some idea about it?”
“Mm.”
“You do! What is it? Tell me!”
Supporting her as she bounced from the bed, he wore a dignified smile at the corners of his lips.
“Since you ask, there is one thing I would like to request of you, Miss.”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes. If you have no other pressing engagements, would you perhaps consider touring the city with me today?”
With those words, Clyde naturally extended his hand toward her, his other arm held behind his back.
The practiced grace of his slightly bowed posture and the ease in his upward gaze were masterfully done.
Masterfully enough to bring a flush to Beatrice’s ears in an instant.
…
“Miss?”
At his gently coaxing call of that title, Beatrice’s body stiffened, and she came to her senses.
As a noble lady, such an escort was nearly routine—yet somehow, just now felt different from usual.
Placing her hand upon his, Beatrice muttered softly.
“What is it really… you startled me.”
“Mm? Miss, what did you just say…?”
“Never mind! Let’s go!”

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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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