Chapter 1

"Princess Justine de Elmerins Lauches. I will have to return the engagement with you to a blank slate."

In the center of the head of the household's room, a young man with shimmering silver hair and ice-blue eyes sat, looking displeased. Despite his unusually young age of 19, he exuded an intimidating presence, perhaps due to his upbringing since childhood. This young man, who had suddenly become the head of the household after losing his parents, was Lord Ryouk Bartelink, the Margrave.

His handsome face glared coldly and disdainfully at Princess Justine... in other words, me.

The cause of his anger was likely that the fourth princess (to be repetitive, me) who had come to marry him to enhance the prestige of the young margrave was an outrageous girl. She was reputed to be beautiful, but she was haughty and merciless, and loved luxury above all else. Initially, he had been lenient, thinking she was just struggling to adjust to the unfamiliar life, but his patience finally snapped when he heard that she had caused a maid to suffer severe burns because she didn't like the temperature of the tea.

(That's right. After that, I was immediately sent back to the capital.)

The nobles and influential people who had been called to witness the meeting looked at me with disappointment. The room, with its dark colors and heavy curtains, was as silent as a funeral. The 'me' from the previous life, who didn't understand anything, was overjoyed at the prospect of returning to the capital and hadn't thought about what would happen afterward.

(Not to mention, I didn't even cause the maid to suffer severe burns!)

At that time, I was angry at being suddenly ordered to marry someone in a distant land. I had complained incessantly without trying to adapt to the unfamiliar life in the border region, and I had been extremely careless.

But now, it's different.

"Let me just ask, do you have any objections?"

In the previous life, I had answered that I had none.

I didn't care about the baseless accusations or the twisted misunderstandings. I firmly believed that if I could return to the capital, I would be able to resume my usual life.

But the correct answer is not that. It would be absolutely disastrous if this engagement were to be broken off.

(This moment will decide everything!)

With all eyes on me, I knelt on the floor and bowed my head.

The 'dogeza' style, the highest form of apology in the far eastern country!

"O... Oh, merciful Lord Ryouk Bartelink! Please, just once more, give me a chance! If you show me your kindness, I will serve the Bartelink territory with all my heart! No, I will devote myself to it with all my might! I will apologize for all my rudeness, so please, please, do not break off the engagement!"

Pant, pant, pant.

In the head of the household's room, which had become even more silent, only my heavy breathing could be heard.

(I... I did it! I've never had to humble myself like this before, but I think I did a good job, right?)

When I finally looked up with a satisfied expression, I will never forget the stunned look on Ryouk's face when our eyes met for the first time.

◇◇◇

Five minutes before the engagement was to be broken off, I suddenly remembered my previous life.

The memory of our separation, the return to the capital, and the moment of my death.

(I've been sent back in time...?)

I don't understand why this happened.

In my memory, I was sent back to the capital and then died. When I came to, I was standing in that same place and time.

(Why didn't I remember this earlier? At least before we reached the territory!)

After a long silence, Ryouk finally spoke, his words cold: "The princess seems tired. Have a doctor called for her."

I had expected him to be moved by my sincere apology and for us to reconcile, but that didn't happen.

(Well, thinking about it, I would have ignored any amount of groveling and crying too.)

By the way, the apology I gave was based on one that had been directed at me in the past. At least, the forced return to the capital was avoided, so that's a good start.

"Still, to break off the engagement with a princess like me. You sure know how to surprise me, despite your calm appearance."

Normally, breaking off an engagement with a royal princess would be unthinkable. However, the Bartelink territory was the northernmost border region of the kingdom, far from the capital and other cities, and extremely cold.

Indeed, most noble daughters from the cities could not adapt to the vastly different environment, and the wives of successive heads of the household had either been divorced, separated, or even fled to convents. In recent years, only the daughters of wealthy merchants or military noble families, who were particularly determined, had come to the Bartelink territory.

"Therefore, I would like Princess Justine to come here first in the form of an inspection, and only after spending sufficient time in the territory and reaching mutual agreement, will we formally enter into an engagement."

Ryouk, who had been pressured into the engagement, had explained the many tragic divorce stories to his father and proposed this. Despite the rich resources of the Bartelink territory, which he valued, Ryouk's father was concerned about his beloved daughter's well-being and readily accepted the proposal. This was also why he had accepted the engagement's cancellation so easily in my previous life.

(But if I can't avoid this engagement being broken off, everything will be over! ...By the way, how do I get people to like me?)

The next morning, in bed, I munched on the sweets I had brought with me, deep in thought.

At first, I had been disappointed by the simple baked goods of this land, having been used to rich pastries with plenty of butter and cream. But once I returned to the capital, I found that the simple, deep flavors of these baked goods were strangely nostalgic.

"Ugh, it's so hard to suddenly start making efforts I've never made before."

I am a princess.

I've never cared what people think of me. Everyone praised me and tried to please me. If I complained about something, they would turn pale, rush around, and immediately prepare something new to my liking. This had been the norm since I was born, and I had never questioned it.

As I groaned and rolled around, the maid, Anne, entered without waiting for permission. How many times do I have to tell her not to enter without permission?

There were no maids from the distant capital, so all the servants around me were originally from this castle.

"Excuse me, how are you feeling, Princess Justine... Oh, how disgraceful!"

The young maid with wavy chestnut hair, Anne, screamed when she saw my bed covered in crumbs. The other maids who had followed her in looked at each other and whispered.

What's the big deal?

"It's fine. We're going to change the sheets and make the bed anyway. Lying in bed and eating sweets is the best. If you don't believe me, try it once."

When I kindly suggested this, the maid glared at me as if I were something dirty.

No one had ever dared to treat me like this before, but this was the border region. The prestige of the royal family didn't compare to the respect for the margrave, who protected the territory every day.

"We would never do such a vulgar thing. Oh... how lamentable. Lady Flore would never have thought of such a thing."

(Ah, yes, the usual Lady Flore!)

My mood plummeted.

The viscountess, Ryouk's childhood friend and mutual love interest, who had always been mentioned by the maids in my previous life, making me feel terrible. Everyone said she was an excellent lady, full of compassion and education, and that she should have been the one to marry Ryouk. Despite her fate being twisted by a royal order, she had withdrawn without a word, a kind and modest lady.

Yes, wonderful, really admirable.

But that's not my fault.

"If you have time to talk nonsense, finish your work and leave."

Anne's face changed, and she began giving orders to the other maids, despite her trembling shoulders. Finally, the dressing began, and I sighed at their lack of consideration... Wait, wait a moment.

(This is just like the last time. I managed to avoid the engagement being broken off yesterday, but I wasn't told that it was completely canceled...)

It was my turn to change my expression.

This is bad. I had thought I had reflected deeply, but I ended up acting the same way... This won't do. I need to change and become a good girl!

"Wait, I went too far, Anne. I wasn't acting appropriately as the margrave's fiancée. Thank you for telling me."

If I suddenly became meek and thanked her, would she suspect something? But with the engagement cancellation looming, I didn't have time to wait for the right moment.

Anne looked extremely shocked at my words.

"What!? What did you just say?"

"Also, Emmy, Hanna, Hilda, Laura, Sandra, Nora. Thank you for always taking care of me. I don't recognize you, are you new?"

"Why... why...?"

"I'm really grateful. Without you, I wouldn't even know how to change my clothes."

"Why... how do you know our names?"

Huh?

Is that a point of concern? I had never called them by name before, but is that so important?

"Because you all greeted me on the first day."

I hadn't secretly investigated or anything. I just remembered it clearly at the time.

"Surely not just from that! We only greeted you once, and there were over 20 of us at the time..."

"As I said, I can't do anything without you. It's only natural to remember your names after being taken care of so much."

Anne started fidgeting after hearing my words.

"But... surely you didn't care about our names, did you? You didn't think it was necessary to remember them..."

Anne seemed uneasy, and the other maids were also acting strangely.

What? Did you really think I didn't know your names and was being taken care of? I was about to say that it was only natural, but then I realized that other nobles might not do this.

(Come to think of it, the reason other people don't call the servants by name is that they don't remember them...)

The moment they realized I knew everyone's name, the maids, who had been aloof, suddenly became meek. They seemed to be receiving it very positively, but wouldn't they think that I might harass them individually or something?

...They probably wouldn't. From my experience, the people in this land are simple and kind, for better or worse.

(...So, maybe I should just be honest and express my gratitude without overthinking it.)

In the capital, it was strictly forbidden to speak casually to servants. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I smiled at Anne.

"I thought it was obvious, but it seems it wasn't. I always notice what you do. Especially you, Anne, you're the one who arranges the flowers so beautifully every day, right? You put bright, seasonal flowers in the living room and subtle, calming ones in the bedroom. Your sense of style is excellent, and I look forward to it every day."

"..."

Anne's face turned red.

That day, Anne and the other maids seemed to take a little more care of me than usual.

(Well, I should have said this earlier. Even the 'me' from the previous life was grateful, even if she didn't say it.)

For the first time, I realized that I might have been at a disadvantage.

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