Chapter 20: Questioning the Mad Prince

‘Never again.
If it means going through something like that again, then…’

I am Aeria Laris.
With pink-gold hair inherited from my mother and fresh green eyes inherited from my father, I am the daughter of the Laris Marquisate, one of the top one or two noble houses in the kingdom.
A distinguished family that has produced many queens throughout history.
Naturally, ever since I was little, I too was constantly told that I was destined to become a future queen.

But honestly speaking, what a joke.

After replacing me with that hollow-headed girl, I would never want to become the wife of that idiot prince who condemned my greatest rival.

“Faustina!
Cain, why did Faustina collapse!?”

Of course, the Laris Marquisate was invited to the tea party hosted by Her Majesty the Queen.
The Queen’s birth family, the Hwarin Ducal House, and the Laris Marquisate have long been political enemies.
Even so, my mother, the Marchioness Laris, and Her Majesty were friends back at the noble academy.

When Father started making a fuss, Mother told him, “If you keep being so noisy, I won’t bake you cookies anymore.”
Since Father proudly declared Mother’s cookies to be the best in the world and looked forward to eating them once a week, it was extremely effective.

Ignoring Father as he tearfully permitted our attendance, Mother smiled beautifully at me and my brothers.

I am surely different from ordinary people.
I remembered my previous life.
What I did, what I saw, and how I ended—it was all etched clearly into my mind.
I don’t know when I remembered.
I remember everything from the time I was a baby.
Because wishing for that was my own choice.

The one who collapsed right before my eyes was the person who had forced me, in my previous life, to taste bitterness again and again.

In my previous life, I clung obsessively to the position of Crown Princess for the sake of the Laris family.
For Father, and for Mother—though now that I think about it, Mother did say there was no need to force herself to care about becoming queen.
But no matter what, I was always evaluated as second best, after Faustina.
Faustina, who inherited the unique bloodline found only in the Wittgenstein family, was the Crown Prince’s fiancée and the leading candidate for Crown Princess.
As a ducal daughter and future Crown Princess, she was flawless.
I was always second place.
I was so frustrated that I harassed her countless times, only to be repaid double every time.

The one who rushed over with a deathly pale face after Faustina collapsed was the Duchess of Wittgenstein.
I hate that woman.
Faustina was broken partly because of that idiot prince, but the root cause lies with this woman.

I knew it.
That the Crown Prince’s affection was not directed at his fiancée, but at her younger sister.

Once, I mocked Faustina, who was ignored by the Crown Prince, saying, ‘You’re the elder sister, so do something about that hollow-headed girl.’
Honestly, coming from me—someone not even worthy of his notice—it was pointless.

I regretted saying it.
I thought she would either explode in rage or show her desperation.
But instead—

“…There’s nothing I can do anymore.
I’m already…”

Those lifeless eyes, filled with resignation, were something I only ever saw that one time—and the last time we met.

Faustina tried to eliminate the hollow-headed girl in her desperate desire for the Crown Prince’s love, only to be stopped by the Crown Prince himself, then banished from her family by the duke’s mercy.
Before that, when I forced myself to meet her and speak to her, her appearance that day still haunts me.

“Bring a doctor at once!
Take her to the infirmary!”

Sensing something was wrong, Her Majesty ordered the knights who had rushed over to carry Faustina to the infirmary.
Faustina’s face was flushed red, her breathing ragged, clearly in distress.
The duchess tried to follow the knights, but then saw the hollow-headed girl crying in a dress stained by a spilled drink.

After hesitating for a moment, she entrusted the hollow-headed girl to her eldest son and ran after the knights.

This is no longer a tea party.

“Fauna…”

I approached the eldest son, who murmured Faustina’s name anxiously.

“Excuse me.
The… lady crying over there—is she your younger sister?”

“Ah, yes.
That’s right.
Thank you.”

Judging by his weak response, would he have never remembered if I hadn’t pointed it out?

I wanted to know the details myself, so I approached the scene.

“Elvira, what happened?
What went on?”

“I-I’m sorry.
It’s my fault.
I was talking with my friends and wasn’t paying attention.
When I turned around to take some cake, my arm bumped into her, and I spilled the juice…”

The one apologizing was a young lord of the Hwarin Ducal House.
A nephew of Her Majesty the Queen.
If I recall correctly, his name is Cloud.
He looks soft, and even his name sounds fluffy.

“I understand the situation.
Elvira, if you stay like this, you’ll catch a cold, so go ask the castle staff to help you change.”

“B-But… my dress…”

“There are plenty of spare dresses.
I’m going to the infirmary too, so come later.”

“…Yes.”

Something must have happened on the way here.
Seeing the hollow-headed girl sulking, I let out a weary sigh.
Escorted by a maid arranged by the Queen, she went inside the castle, and the eldest son headed to the infirmary.
Left behind were nobles unrelated to the Wittgenstein family.

The ladies whispered anxiously about Faustina’s abnormal condition.
I knew it too.
Faustina was absurdly sturdy.
Even in the dead of winter, she stayed fine after being doused in cold water.
Meanwhile, I caught a high fever and was bedridden for days as retaliation.

Although Faustina hadn’t collapsed back then, Elvira screamed loudly enough to cause a scene, leaving Cloud visibly shaken.
Watching him slump after being reprimanded by the Duchess of Hwarin reminded me vividly of my previous memories.

“It was Faustina last time too, wasn’t it?
The one who ruined Lady Elvira’s dress.”

“!?”

A voice spoke right behind me without warning, making my heart nearly stop.
My lifespan probably shortened just now.
Trying not to show my racing heartbeat, I turned to look at the one who had stepped beside me.
He wore an innocent smile, yet his inner thoughts were utterly unreadable.

“Should I greet you the same way you greeted Faustina and say ‘long time no see’?”

“…No, Your Highness.
That won’t be necessary.”

Prince Neige laughed—no, sneered softly.

He beckoned me over, and I followed him away from the crowd.
Everyone was focused on Faustina, so no one noticed us leave.

He led me deep into the garden and stopped in an area filled with white roses.
When he turned to face me, I glared back, forcing myself to stay strong under his gaze.

“What a scary face.
No need to be so on guard.”

“That’s impossible.
I haven’t forgotten a single thing you did.”

“You make it sound like I did something wrong.
Well, by normal standards, I suppose I did.
But so what?
Along the way, some people became unhappy.
Yet because of that unhappiness, everyone ultimately found happiness in the end.”

“Happiness?”

He nodded at my repetition.

“That’s how stories go.
No matter how painful things get in the middle, everyone ends up happy in the end.
A happy ending.
Is there really any need to complain?”

“There certainly is.
A happy ending?
Don’t make me laugh.
Then why did things end the way they did?”

When I pressed him, he frowned in displeasure.

“It was unexpected for me too.
I never imagined it.
I loved him dearly, but… for just that one instant, he became the person I hated most in the world.”

The way he spat those words overlapped with my final memory.
Why we now walk this life again with memories of the past—
I don’t know.
Though this mad prince surely does.

If we don’t know, then we should struggle not to repeat the same fate.

Prince Neige smiled beautifully.

“Aeria.
Do you want to become Crown Princess?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.
I never want to be involved with you outrageous brothers again.”

“Ahaha.
I see.
But that won’t be possible.
Even if it hasn’t been formally announced, most nobles already know.
That Faustina is my brother’s fiancée.”

“It’s an unspoken agreement.”

“Yes.
But because Faustina collapsed today, there’s now a chance she could be removed as the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
She already collapsed once before, on the day she met my brother.”

“!?”

Not just today—she collapsed before too?
Then perhaps that was when she regained her memories.

“If that happens, the royal family will have no choice but to let Faustina go.
The next person likely to be chosen as my brother’s fiancée would be you, Aeria.
This tea party is officially for children’s交流, but in reality, it’s also to search for fiancée candidates for the two princes.
My brother has Faustina, but there’s always a chance.
And since that chance just occurred, the most likely candidate is you.
Your abilities are exceptionally high.”

“…”

“You and Faustina are both fools.
If you didn’t want things to repeat, you could have just held back.”

Though his words mocked us, his emotionless face looked… sorrowful.

Thinking Faustina had no memory and had been reset, I couldn’t hold back either.
Under the pretense of serving the Laris family, I devoted myself desperately to noble etiquette and studies, even mimicking queenly education.
All to knock her down from the position of Crown Prince’s fiancée when we met again.

‘Never again…’

But Faustina remembered.
And despite remembering, she still tried to be worthy of the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

“…She was starving.”

“…”

“Faustina was starving for love.
Even knowing that the more recklessly she acted, the more people would distance themselves.”

“From what my brother tells me, it sounds like Faustina is now avoiding him.”

“Unless we hear it from her directly, we can’t be sure.
But the reason she takes queenly education so seriously is probably—”

‘If I keep trying, someday Mother will praise me.
Someday His Highness will acknowledge me as his fiancée.
That’s what I believed.’

Those were Faustina’s words when I last saw her.

Perhaps she herself hasn’t realized it.
If her past memories have become an unconscious trauma, then it makes sense why she can’t hold back.

“Hey, Aeria.”

“What is it?”

“Are you on my side?”

“…Your Highness.
If Prince Bernhard and Faustina’s engagement is annulled, can you promise that you won’t repeat what happened before?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question.”

Despite saying that, he smiled in good spirits and swore he would keep his promise.

“My brother can just fall in love with Lady Elvira again.
Fall in love, and… hehe… ahahaha.”

“…”

“Ahahaha…
…From the outside, how does laughing at memories look?”

“Like you’ve lost your mind.”

“Then I’ll only do it in front of you.
You’ll be the only one who knows I’m crazy.”

I don’t want that role.

“Shall we head back?
I can hear your brothers calling for you.”

“…Yes.”

As I returned to the venue where my brothers’ voices echoed, I never heard the words Prince Neige muttered behind me.

“Even if it ends the same way as before, I don’t really mind at all.”