Chapter 19
The Prince Starts Over After Dying!
I couldn’t help but think—maybe this was the true nature of the Third Prince.
The unguarded self that even he didn’t know—the one without any masks or pretense…
“I will not hold Lady Lurupel responsible for this,” he said, still wearing a faint smile as he approached me.
“Well, that’s very generous of you,” I replied with a sarcastic laugh, still far from forgiving him.
The Third Prince, however, seemed utterly unbothered.
Instead, he revealed his true intentions without hesitation.
“In return, I’d like your help with something.”
“…Pardon? Help? With what?”
“We’re accomplices now, aren’t we?”
Accomplices? What accomplices!
The prince had turned me into a criminal!
Completely dumbfounded, I stood there with my mouth hanging open.
“No one in this castle must ever find out that I’m studying magic. Or that I’m the son of a witch. This must remain a secret between only the two of us.”
“I see. But… can’t you just leave me out of it? I mean, I didn’t see or hear anything.”
“Of course not.”
Was his breakfast pumpkin soup or something? He was absurdly firm for someone with such a gentle face.
“Article 13, Clause 1: Both parties shall keep all important matters discovered during the contract period strictly confidential. ‘Important matters’ are defined as anything that either party wishes to keep secret.”
That was one of the confidentiality clauses the prince himself had insisted on—so that I’d keep his ownership of Delique Port secret.
“Article 15, Clause 1: Both parties shall do their utmost to fulfill the terms of the contract.”
“…‘Utmost’? I wrote something that vague?”
“Yes. That’s what you wrote, Lady Lurupel.”
When I gave him a suspicious look, he handed me the contract.
…Does he carry this around with him all the time?
Anyway, when I checked, sure enough—the word ‘utmost’ was written there in clear ink.
Now that I thought about it, I’d added a few ambiguous clauses on purpose, just in case I needed leverage against him later.
Unbelievable.
I’d been outwitted by my own cleverness.
“…So, Lady Lurupel, will you now show me your utmost effort?”
The prince clapped his hands cheerfully.
Apparently, that was his habit whenever things went his way.
If this kept up, I was going to develop a phobia of clapping.
The thundercloud over my head had long since vanished, but the chill on my neck remained.
The “utmost effort” the prince demanded of me was utterly ridiculous.
“My lady! What book did you and His Highness read today?”
“Huh? What was it again… Does Mommy Squid Love Daddy Squid?”
“…It’s Mother Duck Loves Her Ducklings.”
“Well, close enough.”
“Not even close! My lady, you never memorize anything properly!”
“I’m just busy, that’s all. Look at me lately—reading in the morning, preparing for the engagement ceremony in the evening… I’ve never worked this hard in my life!”
The task the Third Prince dumped on me was absurd:
I was to take part in his ridiculous puppet show of an act.
Every morning after breakfast, I headed to the library, where I’d spend the morning “reading” with him.
Of course, that was just the official story.
In truth, I usually ended up lying on the sofa, napping.
Meanwhile, the prince either practiced magic or explored the library from top to bottom.
Gradually, he spent less time practicing magic and more time searching through the shelves.
From the way he muttered about “magic stones,” I gathered that’s what he was looking for.
Not that something so rare would be buried in a random library, of course.
“…What are you doing?”
Most of the time, I ignored his incomprehensible behavior.
But when he stuck his head into the fireplace, I couldn’t help but ask.
Instead of answering, he countered,
“Are you curious?”
“Yes.”
“Are you prepared to keep the secret with all your heart?”
“…On second thought, no. Let’s pretend I never asked.”
And that was how our days usually went—pointless, aimless, but oddly peaceful.
The prince told me my “role” was to act as a sentinel of the library.
At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.
“A sentinel? Me? Do you see these arms? I might be good at many things, but brute strength isn’t one of them.”
“Is that so? Funny, my attendant who bumped into you last time ended up with a broken leg.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
The prince only smiled faintly and said nothing.
Now that I thought about it, that rude attendant—Anchovin or Andrun or whatever—hadn’t been around lately…
…Surely a coincidence.
“In any case, I do expect you to serve as the library’s guardian, Lady Lurupel.”
He explained that his servant had once tried to enter the library without permission—before I came along.
“And why does your servant keep suspecting you, Your Highness?”
“With utmost secrecy—”
“…Never mind. I didn’t ask.”
Seeing each other every day, the prince and I became surprisingly close within just a few days.
Still, I never tried to pry into his secrets.
That bit of distance between us felt just right.
If possible, I wanted things to stay calm and uneventful forever.
…But of course, that was impossible for someone cast as the villainess and the secondary male lead.
Five days before the engagement ceremony.
The Third Prince finally caused trouble.
I stood before the scene of his latest “achievement,” utterly speechless.
“…What… what is this?”
“A secret passage!”
“A se-secret passage?!”
“It must have been built in case of war! I’ve read about it, but this is my first time seeing one!”
He had found a hidden passage inside the library!
One of the many bookshelves concealed its entrance.
“Lady Lurupel, please stay here in case someone comes looking.”
“Wait—are you saying you’re going in there?”
“Of course!”
“Of course?! How do you even know where it leads? What if you get lost?”
I did everything I could to stop him,
but he didn’t listen in the slightest.
Honestly, he was such a child sometimes.
Before I could stop him, the prince stepped into the dark passage and pushed the book back into place from the inside.
The door began to close.
“Wait—fine, I’m coming too!”
There was no way I could let a kid wander into danger alone.
And so, unwillingly, our little cave adventure began.
The passage was narrow, long, and dark.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem particularly dangerous.
I held tightly onto the prince’s hand as we moved carefully forward.
If some monster or assassin were to appear, I was the only one who could protect this reckless boy.
“How far do you think this tunnel goes?”
Every word echoed eerily through the corridor.
The atmosphere was heavy and unsettling.
I had a bad feeling about this.
But unlike me, filled with dread, the prince’s voice was bright with excitement.
“It probably connects to the mountain near the palace.”
“A mountain?”
“It’s an escape route, after all.”
“Ah… of course…”
Why were we suddenly going hiking?
That didn’t fit his personality at all—
from what I’d seen, the Third Prince was not the adventurous type.
“What are you planning to do in the mountains, then?”
“Not the mountain. The village beneath it.”
“The village?”
“Yes. I want to visit the market.”
“Is there something you want to buy?”
The Royal Court of Rudbeckia had everything imaginable.
Whatever he needed, there was no way it existed only in some mountain village—
unless, of course, it was illegal.
“…You’re after a magic stone, aren’t you?”
“You catch on quickly.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! No way! We’re going back, right now!”
Magic stones were precious imperial resources.
Their mining and distribution were strictly monitored by the crown.
Trading them privately was a serious crime.
He’d joked about being “accomplices,” but now he really was trying to make me a criminal!
“You can go back first, Lady Lurupel. Frankly, I think that would be best.”
Unbelievable.
He was hopeless.
There was no way I could just abandon him and leave.
If the prince got himself into trouble, my fourth life might be in jeopardy too.
And I wasn’t about to fail this life as well.
Desperate to dissuade him, I tried again.
“If you need a magic stone, can’t you just summon a merchant later?”
“Then it would be reported to the palace.”
“Wouldn’t Madam Ramiel be happy to hear that you’re learning magic?”
“She would not.”
“But Lurupel isn’t exactly rich in magic stones, you know!”
“That’s something only the miners would know.”
Wow.
He was stubborn as a bull.
Honestly, I’d have had a better conversation talking to the wall.
At least the wall wouldn’t argue with me
