I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 81

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

After Regression, I Proposed to My Childhood Friend
Chapter 81
An awkward silence fell over the Reception Room, now empty except for the three of them.
Beatrice was on the verge of speaking, having just glanced at Clyde—who showed no intention of breaking the ice first—and drawn a deep breath, when
“Ah, ahem. Right then.”
Valois cleared his throat as if to dispel the heavy air, and extended his hand toward Clyde first.
He seemed mindful of his earlier words about “a mountain to be crossed.”
“Let me introduce myself properly, Clyde Dalton. Not the shell, but, well, the core of who I really am.”
“…”
“Ah, perhaps you’d rather not shake hands? I understand. Even if the essence is different, facing someone who tormented you can’t be easy, can it?”
Valois was unbothered by Clyde’s icily cold demeanor.
He simply nodded as if it were only natural, withdrew his offered hand, and continued.
“Which is why I actually prepared something from the moment I arranged this meeting with Beatrice.”
“Prepared?”
“Yes.”
He answered Beatrice’s question curtly, then retrieved something from a drawer in the corner of the Reception Room and placed it over his face.
It was a Paper Bag Mask—two holes punched out so he could see.
“…”
“What do you think? Not bad, right?”
It was absurdly ridiculous, yet he seemed entirely serious about it.
“There were other mask options in the running, but once I thought it through, I realized that Valois committed arson at a Masquerade Ball, didn’t he?”
“…Well, yes, that’s true.”
“So a mask probably wouldn’t be very effective either. It really wouldn’t help.”
Breathing out self-deprecating remarks as naturally as breathing, Valois turned his head back toward Beatrice.
“Ah, and Miss Beatrice—this might not be the right place to say it, but I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?”
“I tried my best to buy time, but it seems I didn’t stretch it out as much as I’d hoped. I suppose I was more impatient than I thought. Or perhaps the Princess was determined to push the two of you together no matter what.”
“…So the Princess was really keen on goading me into making a scene at the wedding,” Clyde muttered, sharp-edged and undisguised, before turning to Valois with a question.
His tone cut straight through without pretense.
“So what exactly did you promise the Princess in exchange?”
“…Ah, forgive me, but since you already know the truth, would you please distinguish between me and Valois when you speak? I mean, I am Valois, but it feels…”
She raised a hand somewhat uncomfortably to cut off his words, paused briefly in thought, then opened her mouth.
“Let’s do this instead. Going forward, when you address or refer to me, just call me Turner. In any case, to answer your question…”
She brought her hand to the Paper Bag Mask as if rubbing her chin, then spoke calmly.
“The Princess Elodie is like a rabbit that digs multiple burrows—she never commits to anything specific by her own word. Of course, the scope varies depending on who she’s dealing with, but this is what she told Valois.”
‘My dear brother. I have one favor to ask. At the wedding, will you become my Something Blue along with Beatrice?’
‘Ha! So you actually have the audacity to show your face to me, and now you want me to become your Something Blue? Sister, what are you trying to pull?’
‘Oh, don’t be angry. I really came with good intentions. If you become my Something Blue this time, I’ll let you destroy the source of your suffering with your own hands. Cleanly. You might even be able to return to society. What do you say?’
It was a promise ambiguous enough to be interpreted either way.
Frankly, one might wonder how anyone could believe such a vague agreement. And yet…
“But perhaps it was possible for Valois. That’s what we both thought, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s fine. I thought the same way.
As they say, only those who’ve tasted meat understand hunger. Valois has never faced consequences proportional to his actions in his entire life. So she doesn’t know how far she’d actually have to go in the worst-case scenario.”
“…”
“She commits arson out of spite, and after being caught, she can only get more angry—all because she never imagined for a moment that she might die in that situation.”
Because she was someone different from the ordinary rabble around her.
“So if it had been Valois, she would’ve accepted that offer. Of course, I would have demanded a guarantee to back up those words.”
Beatrice thought the same way.
If it had been Valois, she would have been desperate to escape this crawling sensation by any means necessary.
She’d already been punished unexpectedly for the arson and hadn’t even returned from the Marquis Territory yet.
Around the time Beatrice was thinking this, Turner—who had been gently adjusting the Paper Bag Mask—let out a soft laugh and spoke.
“But unfortunately for you, I’m not Valois, so I have no intention of accepting such a pathetic request.”
“Ah, come to think of it, I’m curious about something. Has the Princess ever mentioned what justification she’s using to make the two of us her Something Blue? There’s sure to be talk.”
“Tada. That’s precisely what this dinner invitation is for.”
Turner glanced between Clyde, who seemed to understand, and Beatrice, who was still confused, and began snapping her fingers as she spoke.
“Think about why the Count Hartwell couldn’t simply refuse my letter and visit.”
At those words, Beatrice’s brow furrowed slightly as she searched her memory.
“Why he couldn’t refuse… because I extended a hand of reconciliation?”
“Correct.”
Turner silently clapped her hands together.
“At this dinner, Valois formally apologizes to you, right? Then the Princess can use this ‘reconciliation’ as her justification to invite us both as her Something Blue.”
“…Oh!”
“She wanted to bless two people who’ve reconciled, or something like that.”
Something Blue was a herald of happiness brought to the bride.
It could be an object or an animal, but if a person took on that role, there was a saying that special fortune and blessing would follow.
“The most frustrating part of this whole plan is that whether it goes wrong and I shed blood, or succeeds and you shed blood, the Princess can still stand in the position of the ‘kind and gentle victim.'”
“Well… that does sound familiar.”
Beatrice nodded knowingly and suddenly turned to look at Clyde, then spoke.
“So, Clyde. What do you think? Still believe Miss Valois Crawford is acting?”
Clyde’s blue eyes fixed on the figure in the Paper Bag Mask—Valois Crawford, or whoever was claiming to be “Turner.”
Confirming someone’s true nature required time. It wasn’t easy to see through someone intent on deception with just brief conversation. But…
“…All right. I’ll believe both of you.”
Clyde decided to trust Beatrice’s instinct and the “Paper Bag person” standing before him.
He thought he understood why Beatrice had believed she was a Transmigrator that day.
“Hurray! Ah, I was really worried you’d refuse… Ah, if you’re still uncomfortable, you can keep watching me until you feel confident. I swear I won’t lay a finger on Miss Beatrice.”
The person before him was so utterly different from Valois Crawford that it was hard to fathom how she’d managed to impersonate her so completely.
Watching this person practically bouncing in her seat with genuine joy, Clyde opened his mouth, his tone still clipped.
“Before that, though—if you were planning to join forces with us, I’m curious whether you’ve thought through a countermeasure to the Princess’s schemes.”
“Ah!”
She let out a light exclamation at Clyde’s words, as if suddenly remembering, and quickly added,
“We need to find someone!”
“Someone?”
“Yes. When the Princess was coaxing Valois, she said there was ‘someone who would take the blame for your actions.’ We need to find that person…”
“Wait!”
At Beatrice’s sudden cry, both their gazes snapped toward her at once.
She quickly covered her mouth with both hands, embarrassed at the outburst, but her expression grew flushed as she opened it again.
“I… I think I know who that person is.”

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