Chapter 8

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The next afternoon, my family and I boarded a carriage to head to the castle.

While I am used to seeing castles due to my education as a princess, the castle of Stilier has a different charm compared to that of Lovarta. The castle of Lovarta had a feminine and elegant feel, whereas the castle of Stilier exuded a sturdy and robust atmosphere. It was a powerful and imposing structure, free of unnecessary decorations.

A little distance from the castle stood a plain cylindrical tower, which might have been used as a lookout in the past. Now, it was surrounded by ropes, clearly indicating that entry was forbidden.

We got off the carriage and climbed the fan-shaped stairs to enter the main gate. A tall, thin man in his forties, who introduced himself as the assistant to the prime minister, was waiting for us at the entrance. He had a rather plain appearance, the kind that would easily blend into a crowd. My brother was intently looking at his face.

Oh, that.

He’s probably thinking, "I used to look like that too." However, I think it’s better not to look at him as if he’s an old acquaintance. The assistant to the prime minister looks confused.

Guided by the assistant, we headed to the salon where my uncle was waiting. The meeting place was set in the salon instead of the audience chamber to avoid making us feel too formal. I think it’s wonderful that my uncle is so considerate!

When we entered the salon, the King and Queen of Stilier, along with a young man who appeared to be a prince and was about my age, were there.

...Is that the second prince? The first prince doesn’t seem to be here.

Given that the first prince, Rinalt, can’t become the crown prince due to some issues, he might be ill.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, it’s been a long time!"

My mother, who hadn’t returned to her hometown since her marriage, greeted the Queen of Stilier with a cheerful voice and they embraced. Yes, they seem to get along well.

"Clementine, you look well. I was worried because you never come back for a visit."

"Well, it’s not like I can easily visit a neighboring country across the sea."

My mother pouted and complained. Yes, that’s true.

Lovarta and Stilier are neighboring countries separated by the sea, but they don’t have much interaction. Their trade is minimal, and they are practically neighbors with no real relationship. If my mother, a duchess, were to visit her home country frequently, it might lead to unnecessary speculation. Therefore, she decided not to return unless absolutely necessary after her marriage. No one could have imagined that she would return in this manner.

By the way, my parents had a love marriage.

Even before I regained my memories from my previous life, I found it romantic that my parents met and fell in love. However, it feels a bit complicated when it’s my own parents.

I don’t want to hear about my parents’ romance.

But, even though I don’t want to hear it, my father talks about it with such enthusiasm that I have a general understanding.

Apparently, my father, upon hearing that a demon king had been born in Stilier, enthusiastically declared, "I’m going to defeat the demon king!" and left the country, ignoring my grandfather’s attempts to stop him. At the time, my father was a highly skilled magician, and he saw this as a perfect opportunity to test his abilities.

It was quite a bold move for the heir of a ducal family.

He met my mother, who had volunteered to assist her brother in the demon king’s defeat, fell in love, and proposed. Without my grandfather’s consent, they got engaged and, with the permission of the then King of Stilier, brought my mother back to Lovarta.

It’s quite surprising.

While my father was bold, my mother was a princess of a country.

I was shocked by their casual attitude, but this is a world that originated from a game. It’s probably a setting in the game, so I shouldn’t think too deeply about it. After all, this is a world where the future king can grip his sword and go on a demon king hunt.

After a while, my mother, who had been joyfully reuniting with the Queen of Stilier, introduced us.

"My husband, Arozelm, doesn’t need an introduction, I suppose. This is my son, Karlheinz, and my daughter, Wilhelmine. Is Wilhelmine the same age as Diethelm?"

The second prince’s name is Diethelm. Yes, unlike Rinalt, I’ve never heard of Diethelm. The handsome prince with a gentle face smiled and elegantly bowed.

"Nice to meet you, I am the second prince, Diethelm."

Wow, what a polite prince. He’s completely different from my ex-fiancé, Prince Marius.

...Marius always frowned and complained about me, saying I lacked charm and had a bad expression. While it’s not surprising given our relationship as an antagonist lady and a prince planning to break the engagement, it was annoying at the time.

After all, I am the daughter of the most powerful ducal family in the country, and I have royal blood from a neighboring country, with my grandfather being the king’s brother. The Lovarta royal family wanted me to be Prince Marius’s fiancée. When the royal family makes a request, there’s no room for refusal, so why couldn’t the prince at least try to be more friendly?

In games, being sweet to the heroine and cold to other women might be a way to make female players squeal, but in reality, it just makes you think, "What’s wrong with this guy? Can’t he even put on a friendly face?"

I, too, thought, "What’s wrong with this guy?" when I met him. I was really puzzled by why my past self used to squeal at his smiles on the TV screen. Even a hundred years of love can fade, and I haven’t even lived that long.

Well, when the only comparison is a terrible guy, a nice guy like Prince Diethelm shines. He seems to be the ideal prince, the kind who doesn’t break a lady’s dreams.

"Wilhelmine Felsenstein. It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Diethelm."

While secretly lamenting that I would have preferred to be engaged to this prince, I smiled.

Next to me, my brother greeted the Queen of Stilier, who commented, "Oh, what a handsome boy!" He beamed with pride. Yes, he’s probably thinking, "It’s great to be born handsome." How disappointing.

However, even though Wilhelmine is quite beautiful, my brother’s appearance is always praised when we stand together. Is it because of my slightly stern face or the tight braids? I often hear, "You’re beautiful but look stern." In contrast, my brother has a classic prince-like appearance that everyone would agree is handsome. I envy him.

After the introductions, we settled down for tea. The first topic was why our family left Lovarta. My mother had given a brief explanation in a letter, but my uncle wanted more details. We couldn’t say that we were all reincarnated from another world and had to leave to avoid destruction, so we had to be careful with our explanation. However, I’m not good at such complicated lies, so I left it all to my parents.

I just smiled and enjoyed the tea and snacks. Listening to my parents’ explanation, it seemed they settled on, "The Lovarta Crown Prince, Marius, broke off the engagement with our daughter, who was his fiancée, after being infatuated with a viscount’s daughter, Laura Gratzel, which made us angry, so we left the country."

Well, it’s not a lie.

We left the country because we were angry, but more importantly, to avoid destruction. However, we were indeed angry.

After hearing our explanation, my uncle and aunt were shocked and angry.

"What an unfaithful man! I’m disappointed, though I’ve never met him!"

"Yes, it’s unbelievable. Diethelm, you must never be unfaithful to your fiancée."

This revealed that Prince Diethelm has a fiancée. Well, he is a crown prince, so it’s expected.

I’m not disappointed or anything.

I did think, "It would have been nice to have a fiancé like Prince Diethelm, who is like the moon compared to a toad (Marius being the toad)," but I wasn’t aiming for him!

I’ve only been surrounded by evil handsome men (Marius) and disappointing handsome men (my brother), so I just had a tiny, tiny moment of infatuation with a flawless handsome man!

My uncle and aunt looked at me with sympathetic eyes, saying we didn’t have to return to Lovarta. I smiled back, even though I wasn’t hurt. I had predicted this, and Marius was a bad person from the start. There was nothing about him to like.

...He was only good-looking.

Sadly, I learned the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds firsthand. In two-dimensional worlds, you can squeal over good looks, but in three-dimensional worlds, the inside matters. Absolutely!

Even Prince Diethelm looked at me with sympathy, making me feel increasingly uncomfortable. Even if they think I’m hurt, what should I do when I’m not?

Seeing my discomfort, my mother came to my rescue.

"By the way, brother, how is Rinalt doing?"

The moment Rinalt’s name was mentioned, the salon’s atmosphere turned cold. My uncle closed his eyes as if in pain, and my aunt looked down sadly. Prince Diethelm pursed his lips and turned to his father.

"Father, Aunt is here. We can’t keep hiding it forever."

"...Yes, you’re right."

After a long silence, my uncle nodded.

"Clementine, Arozelm... and Karlheinz and Wilhelmine, we need to move to another room. Will you come with us?"

The casual atmosphere suddenly changed. My uncle, with a heavy tone, stood up, placed his hand on my aunt’s back, and slowly walked towards the exit.