I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 83

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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 83
What’s the best way to strike a princess from behind?
‘Perhaps by preventing the marriage from taking place at all?’
Or should I let the wedding ceremony proceed, only to ruin every plan she’s been scheming for in front of everyone?
Inside the returning carriage, Beatrice sank into serious thought. By the time she’d mentally run through a failed wedding ceremony three times over, a sudden question surfaced.
‘Why on earth is the princess going to such lengths?’
Like Valois, the princess had also grown up wanting for nothing within the imperial household.
‘It’s not as though she was starved of affection, nor has she ever been denied anything she desired. And objectively speaking, Kaerun is the most sought-after husband material in the entire empire.’
If this were a political marriage, she might resent it—but they were marrying for love. Moreover, it was the princess who had extended her hand first.
‘Though now that I think about it, I suspect she laid her trap even back then…….’
In any case, the princess possessed everything—save for the one thing she so desperately coveted: the Throne.
Even that hadn’t been wrested from her by force, as some of the more extreme traditionalist nobles claimed.
The late emperor himself had been the mother of the current sovereign, which meant the empire was far removed from any culture that excluded women.
Moreover, the current Emperor Elbarius was a man who valued rationality above all else.
‘The very fact that he recognized the necessity of magic and allied himself with Iyet speaks volumes…….’
In any case, there was only one reason why he had not designated the princess as his heir from the start.
She had failed to meet the required standard during the Coming of Age Ceremony examination.
‘The traditionalist nobles suspected favoritism because the emperor hadn’t made his reasons public, but the princess was different.’
She had heard the results and reasoning of the examination directly from Elbarius. And she had accepted his judgment and stepped back.
So Elodie had taken her current position.
Beloved by the entire empire, blessed by all—the First Princess of the realm, Elodie Alberos Edvain.
‘So why can’t I understand it? What does the princess hope to gain from the Throne? Is obtaining that seat truly important enough for her to betray everything she’s built until now?’
Even to the point of using her own wedding with Kaerun, someone she loves?
Suddenly, she found herself wondering what sort of desire—what yearning—could make a person so ruthless.
“Bea?”
She who had been lost in a chain of thoughts suddenly looked up.
Clyde, seated across from her, was watching her intently.
“What’s on your mind? You look so serious.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve been glaring at that window frame like it’s wronged you terribly.”
At Clyde’s question, Beatrice blinked before hesitantly opening her mouth.
“……I was thinking about Kaerun.”
“My brother?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you thinking about my brother?”
……What?
Beatrice’s expression turned incredulous at his entirely unexpected response, as she looked him up and down.
“Why am I thinking about Kaerun? What, are you jealous or something?”
“Yes, actually I am.”
“What are you talking about? Really, that’s ridiculous. Is Kaerun yours? Why would you be jealous of me?”
“No, I meant the opposite……. Never mind. There’s no point talking to you about this.”
“What?”
“So, my darling—why were you thinking about my brother?”
Beatrice, letting something pass despite her unease, murmured flatly while meeting Clyde’s gaze.
“Well, we’re going to sabotage this wedding, aren’t we?”
“That’s right.”
“But you don’t know what kind of person the princess is, or what she’s planning to do with this wedding ceremony.”
“…….”
“Won’t he be shocked?”
“He will be.”
He nodded listlessly before continuing matter-of-factly.
“But that’s still better than death. Especially when it means the death not just of himself, but of his entire family and relatives.”
“That’s true, but…….”
He watched her mumble while resting her chin on one hand, then reached out to gently tidy her wayward hair.
“Why did that thought suddenly occur to you?”
“Well…….”
Tracing through the threads of her thoughts to explain to Clyde, Beatrice shook her head as she spoke.
“I was just mulling over how to deal a blow to the princess, and various thoughts came to mind.”
“It must be quite a lot if you can’t put it into words.”
“Roughly—whether the princess really loved Kaerun, and if she does love him, why she’d use him as a means to that throne, and what it feels like to desire and crave something so intensely… things like that?”
She counted off her thoughts on her fingers before suddenly meeting his gaze with genuine curiosity.
“It just struck me suddenly.”
“I see.”
“Later, after we’ve dealt with the princess—is there something you want to do?”
“…….”
“Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it. The things I did with you right after the Regression were almost instinctive, you know? I just didn’t want things to unfold as they did before.”
That was the truth. She never wanted to experience death again, nor regret, nor helplessness, nor fear.
“But I realize I’ve never actually pictured what I’d be like after everything is over.”
Valois and the princess both had clear desires—desires they’d mobilize every means to pursue.
“So I asked. I wanted to know if you did.”
“……I…….”
Clyde’s mouth opened, then closed again.
He moved his lips as though weighing something, glanced away for a moment, then looked back at Beatrice.
Clyde held her image in his blue eyes for a long moment before suddenly asking a question completely unrelated to the topic.
“Bea, aren’t you hungry?”
“……Huh? Hungry? I’m not…….”
“Are you really not hungry?”
Beatrice nodded, an expression on her face suggesting she didn’t understand why he was asking.
She was being truthful. Beatrice had eaten very well at the Grand Duke’s Residence, earnestly and without any concern for anyone’s opinions.
At the look in her eyes questioning why he kept asking the same thing, he let out a small sigh and tilted his head slightly, offering her a smile.
“I’m hungry. I couldn’t let my guard down around the Grand Duke Alec, and I had to keep an eye on Valois Crawford as well.”
“…….”
Was he bragging that he’d done all the work alone?
Beatrice narrowed her eyes to discern Clyde’s true intention.
Ignoring her scrutiny, Clyde continued with his seemingly random suggestion.
“So let’s go eat together.”
“……Right now?”
“Right now. What about that hot dog place we used to eat at often when we were at the Academy?”
“……That…….”
“If you say we can eat at home instead, I’ll cry that my darling is too cold to me.”
“…….”
At his preemptive strike, Beatrice sealed her lips shut again. With an expression that said he’d expected exactly that, he shrugged and tilted his head, pouting his lips slightly.
It was an expression born from knowing exactly how effective it was on people.
“Besides, starting tomorrow you’ll be cooped up doing research.”
“That may be true, but…….”
“So spend some time with me beforehand.”
……What on earth was the connection between those two things?
Even as Beatrice thought this, she did not voice her refusal. Normally she would have thrown back a cushioning remark…….
‘What are you saying? You’re up to something, aren’t you? And didn’t I tell you not to weaponize your face?’
That’s what she would have shot back.
But today, somehow, she felt like she could fall for that suspicious logic.
‘……Why?’
This too was a mystery to her.
Beatrice felt her perfectly steady legs grow oddly ticklish, and she opened her mouth with calculated indifference.
“……Well, if you’re paying?”
“I’ll pay.”
“And the Apple-flavored Juice, too.”
Clyde readily agreed, theatrically placing a hand over his heart before signaling the carriage to stop. Then he jumped out and took her hand.
The sight was reminiscent of a student sneaking out in violation of school rules, or perhaps a man embarking on an elopement born of love…….
“Shall we go, my lady?”
“What are you saying, really.”
Beatrice hopped out after him lightly while clearing her throat. For some reason, her chest felt a tiny prick.
‘It must be from the sudden thrill!’

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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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