I finally put the wedge in.
“Something terrible will happen soon because of what you are planning now.”
“Something terrible?”
“This is something you absolutely do not want. The snowy mountains of Ronheim will once again be stained with blood.”
And you will be killed by Andrea while trying to protect Ronheim.
I omitted the rest.
Because I thought talking about the person's death would only cause unnecessary backlash.
Instead, I added a detailed explanation.
“If you sell that gold mine to Count Elbern to raise money to train your army.”
There was no significant change in his expression, but I could tell from the moment of silence that he was surprised.
Because he heard the plan, he already knew from my own mouth.
“Count Elbern will use that place to join hands with Andrea. The Count doesn’t really want the gold mine. He wants to station troops there. He may look naive, but he’s a cunning man.”
“Let’s assume that’s all true. Why would Count Elbern do something like that?”
“Because Andrea, who will get rid of me and become the next Emperor, hates the Marquis.”
If Andrea spent a lot of time around me trying to drive me crazy, that means I spent a lot of time around Andrea, too.
I knew a lot more about Andrea than I thought.
Andrea had a strange dislike for Callius.
It was clear that he had no particular contact with Callius and that Callius was often in his territory or on the battlefield, so they had no reason to even encounter each other.
'In my past life, Andrea tried to kill Callius whenever he had the chance.'
That was one of the two reasons I chose Callius.
I looked up resolutely at the man in front of me.
'I will save this man with my own hands.'
From Andrea, who is desperate to kill Callius by any means possible, bring him back to life by any means possible.
My goal in this life is to hinder everything Andrea wants to achieve and take away everything Andrea wants to have.
As a first step towards that, I planned to save him by marrying the man Andrea hated so much.
'If I were to marry Marquis Rodrian, Andrea would jump up and object.'
I wanted to see Andrea's fiercely distorted expression quickly.
Callius tilted his head.
“Weren’t you on good terms with the Prince?”
“There are ‘rumors’ about that, I suppose. Just like there are rumors that I’m crazy and that you’re a cannibal.”
“...”
I stared at Callius with a noble face.
“You’d better choose me, Marquis.”
I said confidently.
But Callius was not easy.
“If what the Princess says is true, then why would you want to marry me in exchange for a useless gold mine?”
His sharp eyes looked deeply into me as if he wanted to know my thoughts.
“What will the Princess gain from this marriage?”
It was an easy question.
I answered without hesitation.
“I want to leave this place.”
I couldn't help it if he didn't believe how important it was to me.
I looked at him with stern eyes.
“I feel like you could take me as far as possible.”
At those words, he smiled strangely like before.
“If you want to escape as far away from here as possible, Ronheim is the place to go.”
The word 'escape' came out of his mouth.
I could tell from those words that he trusted me.
At that moment, Andrea's attendants were seen coming out of the banquet hall.
It was clear that he was looking for me.
I spoke urgently to Callius.
“If you’re thinking about taking this deal, come see me.”
Now there really was no time.
Because some of Andrea's servants were seen coming into the garden.
“Then that’s it.”
He caught me as I turned around, hiding in the shadow of a tree.
“Let me ask you one more question. Why does Your Highness desire that gold mine?”
I answered vaguely.
“I want to make a flower garden.”
"...flower garden?"
“As I said, I really like flowers.”
If that is the case, then in the future it will be a flower whose value cannot be compared to gold.
The hand that was holding me loosened.
Soon, something wrapped around my shoulder. Before I knew it, he had taken off the outer garment he was wearing.
“...?”
I looked up at him, taken aback by his unexpected kindness, and he spoke calmly.
“Your clothes are wet.”
Was it an illusion that the atmosphere he was in as he spoke felt warmer than before?
“Oh, thank you. Yes.”
Since I hadn't thought ahead about how to act in this situation, I greeted him stiffly and ran away.
I headed towards my palace, using the shadow of the wall, where the moonlight could not reach, as a shield.
From behind, Callius could faintly be heard laughing quietly, as if he found it ridiculous.
After Chloe left, Callius stayed behind for a while, staring blankly at the spot where she had left.
“I heard rumors and was worried that you weren’t doing well.”
A smile spread across his lips as he recalled the determined expression on her face when she said she would create a flower garden.
It was a completely different attitude from the ominous atmosphere she had been giving off just a moment ago.
“You’ve grown up to be a fun person, Chloe.”
The things Chloe said were amazing.
How did you know all that?
And what is the matter with her?
At first, he was wary, thinking she was trying to threaten him by taking advantage of his weakness, but when he heard her trembling voice, his extreme wariness seemed to have been for nothing.
“You're shaking. Who’s going to eat you?”
He lowered his gaze slightly, still with a smile on his lips.
A look of slight regret was hidden between the eyelids.
“It’s disappointing that you don’t recognize me.”
After parting ways with Callius and leaving the garden, I hastily buttoned up my coat collar in the strong wind.
The clothes he took off were so big that they were almost like a blanket to me.
It was still late summer, so the wind wasn't that cold, but my body, which is particularly sensitive to the cold, quickly lost body temperature even in the lukewarm wind.
The hem of my wine-soaked skirt swept around my legs, making my hair stand on end with the cold.
'It's a good thing my pajamas are thick.'
The clothes that Callius gave me helped, but the thick pajamas also helped me stay warm.
I'm probably the only one who wears such thick pajamas this season.
Thanks to that, I was able to quietly go out without having to call the maids and fuss over changing clothes.
If I had worn summer pajamas, my body would have been transparent, and I wouldn't have been able to go out in just my pajamas.
'There's no way the maids Andrea had hired would have let me leave in the first place.'
Andrea was worried that his mentally unstable sister might endanger the dignity of the royal family.
So, even though I was a Princess, I didn't even have a maid, let alone a servant girl, so I was very thankful that they gave me my own maids.
The maids stayed by my side and watched over me without leaving me alone for even a moment. It was truly a noble devotion.
'That's why it was so hard to sneak out.'
The surveillance was so strict.
I was proud of myself for breaking through that and sneaking out to the banquet hall.
'I wonder how Andrea will react when he hears that I showed up at the banquet hall.'
I gritted my teeth as I thought of Andrea.
My heart ached at the feeling of betrayal, of being deceived by Andrea, whom I thought was the only person I could rely on and follow.
“I won’t go through the same thing as an idiot. And... I’ll get revenge.”
I will make you feel the same pain and misery that I felt.
It was when I was making that pledge.
“What happened at the banquet hall that made you use such a brutal word?”
A young voice was heard from behind the pillars of the corridor.
He was a skinny boy who looked to be about 12 years old.
The child was dressed in shabby attire that was completely out of place in the palace, and he was carrying an old sword with several nicks on its blade.
Despite having the appearance of a young child whose facial features had not yet fully developed, he was a handsome young man with a promising future.
The boy's smiling face sparkled with confidence as his beautiful golden eyes sparkled.
I knew the boy.
It was my old friend, Karl, who had a body that never grew.
"Karl."
He was horrified to see my wine-stained pajamas.
“Are you okay?”
I smiled bitterly and nodded.
I don't know how he sneaks into the palace every time, but Karl would sneak into the palace through a secret passage that only he knew about and become my conversation partner.
From the time we first met when I was ten, until the day I died.
He was the only friend who was by my side, and no one knew about it.
“Everything went according to plan. This stain was part of the plan.”
Spilling a drink on my pajamas was inevitable to naturally separate from Callius.
“I felt strange because people were staring at me so much. I thought if I sneaked in when they were distracted, no one would notice.”
“Wasn’t that a bit naive?”
“It was just wishful thinking.”
“The hopes were too high. How could people just pass by a Princess who appeared in her pajamas?”
I shrugged.
“Everyone says I’m crazy anyway, so isn’t it normal for crazy people to do crazy things? This outfit suits me just fine.”
Karl smiled mischievously.
“That makes sense.”
Then he asked in a subtle and serious voice.
“But what if Marquis Rodrian rejects you?”
Karl knew what I was planning.
But knowing that doesn't mean I know the reason why I made that plan.
'Even if it was Karl, I couldn't confess that I had regained my memories of my past life and returned from the dead.'
If I said that, even my only supporter, Karl, might think I was crazy.
From Karl's perspective, it must have seemed strange that I suddenly changed my mind and declared that I would consider Andrea an enemy, but I was grateful that he supported me without saying anything.
Karl supported me without asking or questioning because he hated Andrea.
“He can’t refuse me.”
Because he must have been tempted by my offer.
'Because he's probably in desperate need of a helping hand right now.'
Karl didn't seem convinced, but he just let it go.
“But why that guy? Marquis Rodrian is someone you don’t even know properly.”
“Well...”
“...?”
Another one of the two reasons I chose Callius.
“I like his face.”
“Ugh!”
Karl distorted his face comically.
I chuckled at the sight of his expression.
“That’s why you’re going to seduce that man?”
“Isn’t that possible?”
“Haven’t you heard what Andrea’s maids are gossiping about? That man bathes in the blood of the people he’s killed on the battlefield. That’s why the smell of blood never goes away from him.”
“Is that a special skin care regimen? His skin looked good earlier. It looked smooth.”
Karl opened his mouth as if it were ridiculous.
That sight was so cute and funny that I let out a small laugh.
“Sorry, I was just joking. I don’t really care what people say. You know. People only believe Andrea’s words and gossip about me being crazy.”
Karl nodded in agreement with what I said.
“Well... Yes, then what does it matter? It’s not just because of the face, is it...?”
I stared blankly at Karl's face.
“That guy looks like you.”
“Something terrible will happen soon because of what you are planning now.”
“Something terrible?”
“This is something you absolutely do not want. The snowy mountains of Ronheim will once again be stained with blood.”
And you will be killed by Andrea while trying to protect Ronheim.
I omitted the rest.
Because I thought talking about the person's death would only cause unnecessary backlash.
Instead, I added a detailed explanation.
“If you sell that gold mine to Count Elbern to raise money to train your army.”
There was no significant change in his expression, but I could tell from the moment of silence that he was surprised.
Because he heard the plan, he already knew from my own mouth.
“Count Elbern will use that place to join hands with Andrea. The Count doesn’t really want the gold mine. He wants to station troops there. He may look naive, but he’s a cunning man.”
“Let’s assume that’s all true. Why would Count Elbern do something like that?”
“Because Andrea, who will get rid of me and become the next Emperor, hates the Marquis.”
If Andrea spent a lot of time around me trying to drive me crazy, that means I spent a lot of time around Andrea, too.
I knew a lot more about Andrea than I thought.
Andrea had a strange dislike for Callius.
It was clear that he had no particular contact with Callius and that Callius was often in his territory or on the battlefield, so they had no reason to even encounter each other.
'In my past life, Andrea tried to kill Callius whenever he had the chance.'
That was one of the two reasons I chose Callius.
I looked up resolutely at the man in front of me.
'I will save this man with my own hands.'
From Andrea, who is desperate to kill Callius by any means possible, bring him back to life by any means possible.
My goal in this life is to hinder everything Andrea wants to achieve and take away everything Andrea wants to have.
As a first step towards that, I planned to save him by marrying the man Andrea hated so much.
'If I were to marry Marquis Rodrian, Andrea would jump up and object.'
I wanted to see Andrea's fiercely distorted expression quickly.
Callius tilted his head.
“Weren’t you on good terms with the Prince?”
“There are ‘rumors’ about that, I suppose. Just like there are rumors that I’m crazy and that you’re a cannibal.”
“...”
I stared at Callius with a noble face.
“You’d better choose me, Marquis.”
I said confidently.
But Callius was not easy.
“If what the Princess says is true, then why would you want to marry me in exchange for a useless gold mine?”
His sharp eyes looked deeply into me as if he wanted to know my thoughts.
“What will the Princess gain from this marriage?”
It was an easy question.
I answered without hesitation.
“I want to leave this place.”
I couldn't help it if he didn't believe how important it was to me.
I looked at him with stern eyes.
“I feel like you could take me as far as possible.”
At those words, he smiled strangely like before.
“If you want to escape as far away from here as possible, Ronheim is the place to go.”
The word 'escape' came out of his mouth.
I could tell from those words that he trusted me.
At that moment, Andrea's attendants were seen coming out of the banquet hall.
It was clear that he was looking for me.
I spoke urgently to Callius.
“If you’re thinking about taking this deal, come see me.”
Now there really was no time.
Because some of Andrea's servants were seen coming into the garden.
“Then that’s it.”
He caught me as I turned around, hiding in the shadow of a tree.
“Let me ask you one more question. Why does Your Highness desire that gold mine?”
I answered vaguely.
“I want to make a flower garden.”
"...flower garden?"
“As I said, I really like flowers.”
If that is the case, then in the future it will be a flower whose value cannot be compared to gold.
The hand that was holding me loosened.
Soon, something wrapped around my shoulder. Before I knew it, he had taken off the outer garment he was wearing.
“...?”
I looked up at him, taken aback by his unexpected kindness, and he spoke calmly.
“Your clothes are wet.”
Was it an illusion that the atmosphere he was in as he spoke felt warmer than before?
“Oh, thank you. Yes.”
Since I hadn't thought ahead about how to act in this situation, I greeted him stiffly and ran away.
I headed towards my palace, using the shadow of the wall, where the moonlight could not reach, as a shield.
From behind, Callius could faintly be heard laughing quietly, as if he found it ridiculous.
***
After Chloe left, Callius stayed behind for a while, staring blankly at the spot where she had left.
“I heard rumors and was worried that you weren’t doing well.”
A smile spread across his lips as he recalled the determined expression on her face when she said she would create a flower garden.
It was a completely different attitude from the ominous atmosphere she had been giving off just a moment ago.
“You’ve grown up to be a fun person, Chloe.”
The things Chloe said were amazing.
How did you know all that?
And what is the matter with her?
At first, he was wary, thinking she was trying to threaten him by taking advantage of his weakness, but when he heard her trembling voice, his extreme wariness seemed to have been for nothing.
“You're shaking. Who’s going to eat you?”
He lowered his gaze slightly, still with a smile on his lips.
A look of slight regret was hidden between the eyelids.
“It’s disappointing that you don’t recognize me.”
***
After parting ways with Callius and leaving the garden, I hastily buttoned up my coat collar in the strong wind.
The clothes he took off were so big that they were almost like a blanket to me.
It was still late summer, so the wind wasn't that cold, but my body, which is particularly sensitive to the cold, quickly lost body temperature even in the lukewarm wind.
The hem of my wine-soaked skirt swept around my legs, making my hair stand on end with the cold.
'It's a good thing my pajamas are thick.'
The clothes that Callius gave me helped, but the thick pajamas also helped me stay warm.
I'm probably the only one who wears such thick pajamas this season.
Thanks to that, I was able to quietly go out without having to call the maids and fuss over changing clothes.
If I had worn summer pajamas, my body would have been transparent, and I wouldn't have been able to go out in just my pajamas.
'There's no way the maids Andrea had hired would have let me leave in the first place.'
Andrea was worried that his mentally unstable sister might endanger the dignity of the royal family.
So, even though I was a Princess, I didn't even have a maid, let alone a servant girl, so I was very thankful that they gave me my own maids.
The maids stayed by my side and watched over me without leaving me alone for even a moment. It was truly a noble devotion.
'That's why it was so hard to sneak out.'
The surveillance was so strict.
I was proud of myself for breaking through that and sneaking out to the banquet hall.
'I wonder how Andrea will react when he hears that I showed up at the banquet hall.'
I gritted my teeth as I thought of Andrea.
My heart ached at the feeling of betrayal, of being deceived by Andrea, whom I thought was the only person I could rely on and follow.
“I won’t go through the same thing as an idiot. And... I’ll get revenge.”
I will make you feel the same pain and misery that I felt.
It was when I was making that pledge.
“What happened at the banquet hall that made you use such a brutal word?”
A young voice was heard from behind the pillars of the corridor.
He was a skinny boy who looked to be about 12 years old.
The child was dressed in shabby attire that was completely out of place in the palace, and he was carrying an old sword with several nicks on its blade.
Despite having the appearance of a young child whose facial features had not yet fully developed, he was a handsome young man with a promising future.
The boy's smiling face sparkled with confidence as his beautiful golden eyes sparkled.
I knew the boy.
It was my old friend, Karl, who had a body that never grew.
"Karl."
He was horrified to see my wine-stained pajamas.
“Are you okay?”
I smiled bitterly and nodded.
I don't know how he sneaks into the palace every time, but Karl would sneak into the palace through a secret passage that only he knew about and become my conversation partner.
From the time we first met when I was ten, until the day I died.
He was the only friend who was by my side, and no one knew about it.
“Everything went according to plan. This stain was part of the plan.”
Spilling a drink on my pajamas was inevitable to naturally separate from Callius.
“I felt strange because people were staring at me so much. I thought if I sneaked in when they were distracted, no one would notice.”
“Wasn’t that a bit naive?”
“It was just wishful thinking.”
“The hopes were too high. How could people just pass by a Princess who appeared in her pajamas?”
I shrugged.
“Everyone says I’m crazy anyway, so isn’t it normal for crazy people to do crazy things? This outfit suits me just fine.”
Karl smiled mischievously.
“That makes sense.”
Then he asked in a subtle and serious voice.
“But what if Marquis Rodrian rejects you?”
Karl knew what I was planning.
But knowing that doesn't mean I know the reason why I made that plan.
'Even if it was Karl, I couldn't confess that I had regained my memories of my past life and returned from the dead.'
If I said that, even my only supporter, Karl, might think I was crazy.
From Karl's perspective, it must have seemed strange that I suddenly changed my mind and declared that I would consider Andrea an enemy, but I was grateful that he supported me without saying anything.
Karl supported me without asking or questioning because he hated Andrea.
“He can’t refuse me.”
Because he must have been tempted by my offer.
'Because he's probably in desperate need of a helping hand right now.'
Karl didn't seem convinced, but he just let it go.
“But why that guy? Marquis Rodrian is someone you don’t even know properly.”
“Well...”
“...?”
Another one of the two reasons I chose Callius.
“I like his face.”
“Ugh!”
Karl distorted his face comically.
I chuckled at the sight of his expression.
“That’s why you’re going to seduce that man?”
“Isn’t that possible?”
“Haven’t you heard what Andrea’s maids are gossiping about? That man bathes in the blood of the people he’s killed on the battlefield. That’s why the smell of blood never goes away from him.”
“Is that a special skin care regimen? His skin looked good earlier. It looked smooth.”
Karl opened his mouth as if it were ridiculous.
That sight was so cute and funny that I let out a small laugh.
“Sorry, I was just joking. I don’t really care what people say. You know. People only believe Andrea’s words and gossip about me being crazy.”
Karl nodded in agreement with what I said.
“Well... Yes, then what does it matter? It’s not just because of the face, is it...?”
I stared blankly at Karl's face.
“That guy looks like you.”
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