Chapter 4

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: The Loyal Knight

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After that, I cried so hard I nearly passed out.

More precisely, I pretended to.

The night before the wedding, with the dress ruined and the bride fainting, the Delphin ducal residence descended into utter chaos.

I hoped the wedding would be outright canceled or at least postponed, but my luck didn't extend that far.

Ludwig had somehow managed to procure a perfectly serviceable wedding dress.

"Good. With this, tomorrow's ceremony should go off without a hitch."

"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."

I swallowed curses like "Damn it!" and forced a pitiful smile of relief.

Evangeline had watched the scene with a rigid expression before slipping away, and Ludwig had offered some half-hearted comfort before leaving, clearly fed up.

Then Annie, the maid I'd given my secret orders to, entered the room with a cold towel.

Only then could I finally smile for real.

Worried my voice might carry, I lowered it to a whisper.

"Did you do it properly, Annie?"

"Yes! Just as you instructed!"

Annie nodded vigorously, beaming with pride.

Right after my regression, two people were absolutely sure to visit me tonight.

And Annie was one of them.

When she'd come earlier, I'd given her a "certain" task.

Then I'd screamed to summon everyone.

"Leave this box in Evangeline's guest room."

I'd made as much racket as possible to boost the odds of her mission's success.

And I'd planted a seed of suspicion in Ludwig's mind.

"Someone who wants to sabotage tomorrow's wedding is right nearby."

I'd only spoken the plain truth.

The one who wanted to ruin the wedding was me, standing right there.

But Ludwig had no choice but to suspect Evangeline.

No one would want the ceremony to fail more than his mistress.

And if a knife—clearly marked with traces of the slashed dress and veil—turned up in Evangeline's room? What then?

Even then, could Ludwig avoid suspecting her? Avoid rebuking her?

Absolutely impossible. I'd stake my puffy eyes on it.

I let out a soft sigh.

"Haa. Perfect."

"Your eyes are so swollen the night before the wedding—what are we going to do, miss?"

"It's fine..."

Honestly, if it meant canceling the marriage, I'd gladly ruin my face.

But this is Ludwig we're talking about—the man who dragged me back and forced the wedding even after I fled with another man. No sense expecting something this minor to stop him.

He was after the Delphin family's lands and fortune from the start.

Father's death had come far too soon.

No, now wasn't the time to lament the hand I'd been dealt.

I couldn't derail the wedding with anything ordinary.

So I'll just have to make something extraordinary happen.

Annie grumbled under her breath.

"That's why I kept telling you the Ruth Marquis's Daughter was no good."

Anyone I'd trust with a secret mission like that had to be reliable—and Annie was.

The daughter of my late wet nurse, she'd been my milk-sister.

One of only two people who never betrayed me across my previous three lives.

She'd died multiple times trying to protect me.

Annie whispered triumphantly.

"I'm just glad you're finally suspicious of her."

"Yeah. I'm always grateful for you, Annie."

I clasped her hand tightly over the cold towel on my eyes.

This time, I wouldn't let this warmth slip away in vain.

I gauged the time and sent Annie back to her room.

The reason was simple.

The second person sure to visit me tonight was on their way.

I hadn't deliberately summoned Ludwig or Evangeline, so they wouldn't come.

But no matter how the situation changed, two people always sought me out in my room.

Annie, whom I'd just dismissed... and...

Knock knock.

A knock at the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"May I come in for a moment, miss?"

"...Yes. Come in."

The door opened, and a sturdy-built man entered without a sound.

I murmured his name softly.

"Sir Beltein."

He was the only knight in the Delphin household who never betrayed me.

And the very man who'd helped me flee in my most recent third life.

"Ludwig only wants to marry me for my title. Please, take me away from here, Sir Beltein!"

The Delphin family commanded dozens of knights.

But most were loyal not to me—the direct heir—but to my fiancé, Ludwig.

The reason was straightforward. Three years ago, after Father's death, the Emperor had become my guardian.

And the Emperor had chosen Ludwig as my betrothed.

In effect, he'd handed the Delphin dukedom to his nephew.

Naturally, over those three years, they'd served Ludwig as their lord.

Sir Beltein was the sole exception—the one who never forgot his loyalty to me.

He'd advised me time and again.

"Miss, Grand Duke Ludwig is not a man you can trust."

"And his relationship with the Ruth Marquis's Daughter seems far from innocent."

All of it true.

But in my foolishness, I hadn't believed him.

I'd scolded him, tried to push him away.

Even so, he'd come to me the night before the wedding to persuade me one last time.

"Grand Duke Ludwig doesn't love you—he wants the Delphin power and legitimacy. It's not too late. Call off the engagement..."

He and Annie were my only true allies.

A man who'd spoken from the heart, purely for my sake.

Sir Beltein was the same this time.

He knelt before me and offered his earnest counsel with all his heart.

"Miss, I know you won't want to hear this, but for your sake, I must speak. Please reconsider while there's still time."

"......"

"That dress didn't end up like that by accident. And Grand Duke Ludwig isn't even trying to find the culprit publicly. How little respect must he have for you..."

Truth be told, I already knew.

Why Ludwig wasn't aggressively pursuing the one who'd ruined the dress.

He probably suspects Evangeline's the prime culprit.

If her involvement came out, his own dirty laundry would go public too.

I'd hidden the evidence in her room myself, but I had no desire to see it all aired openly.

I just wanted to sow more discord between Ludwig and her.

Having no inkling of my schemes, Sir Beltein pleaded with every ounce of conviction.

"Think it over again—for your own sake above all."

"......"

No matter how many regressions, this man stayed unwaveringly honorable.

Throwing away his life to save a vulnerable woman in peril—the daughter of his former lord, no less.

The noblest knight of them all.

I felt profoundly grateful... and guilty.

Especially after what he'd suffered in my immediate previous life...

Remembering the horrific end he'd met because of me, I slowly shook my head.

Sir Beltein mistook it for a rejection of his advice.

"Miss!"

I knew it—he'd follow any request or order I gave.

In his last life, he'd fled with me, endured every slander, and died a brutal death. And still, he'd never held it against me.

His sacrifice hadn't saved me from Ludwig.

It had only been a meaningless loss.

Not this time. For my sake... and his.

I answered calmly.

"It's too late, Sir Beltein. The wedding's tomorrow, and Ludwig would never agree to a breakup."

"Miss!"

I rose slowly. He seemed to notice something off.

"Why are you dressed for going out?"

This was my bedroom, bedtime long past.

Yet here I was in simple outing clothes—the sort a commoner might wear.

Instead of accepting his plea, I gave him an order.

"Sir Beltein. As the Delphin's sole direct heir and your lord, I command you—escort me tonight."

"......"

He stared at me blankly for a moment, then dropped to one knee and saluted as a knight.

"I obey."

This was my fourth life, but this was the first time I'd seen Sir Beltein like this.

It hit me anew.

Back then, I was just a girl he needed to protect—not his true lord.

But that would change now.

Sir Beltein was the strongest knight in the Delphin household.

Which meant he could slip me—the awkward baggage—out of the mansion without drawing eyes.

The same had held true in my past life when he'd helped me escape.

That's exactly why I'd asked him to escort me.

If I'd tried alone, I'd have been caught halfway.

He led me through sparsely populated paths.

Crossing the garden, we happened to pass beneath the terrace of Evangeline's bedroom purely by chance.

Crash!

A loud shatter rang out as a pathetic little jewelry box smashed against the terrace floor, splintered, and tumbled down into the garden.

Thud!

Thanks to that, a paper knife lay stabbed right in front of my feet.

This is...!

The very blade I'd used to shred the wedding dress.