7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Vol. 5, page 3
They were even closer than they’d been in the royal box. It wasn’t like they were dancing or anything. Being joined at the hip with Arnold in front of others made Rishe restless.
“P-Prince Arnold, I can ask what Prince Dietrich’s business here is on my own.” Rishe watched him, uncomfortable to her core, and murmured, “If you would rather not be present for this, you could wait in another room…”
“Hey, Rishe! You’re talking about me, aren’t you? I can tell!”
Arnold ignored Dietrich, eyes falling on Rishe. “I’m not leaving.”
“Huh?”
“I’m staying here with you,” he said firmly.
Agh! Those almost sounded like the words of a faithful lover. Rishe’s heart banged against her rib cage. She lowered her gaze, deeply embarrassed. That was when Dietrich finally noticed how they were positioned.
“What’s with the way you’re sitting?! You’re not even married yet, and you’re holding her waist?!” Dietrich turned a brilliant shade of scarlet as he gaped at Arnold. “It’s…it’s obscene!”
“What?”
“Whoa!”
The force of Arnold’s short response catapulted Dietrich off his chair. There was an ice-cold bloodlust in Arnold’s voice that chilled even Rishe’s spine. And even after shutting Dietrich up, the malice did not recede from his eyes.
“Um, I feel like I have to apologize for this,” Rishe said to Arnold, nothing short of mesmerized as Dietrich shrank beneath his heavy stare.
“Why should you have to apologize?” The only thing soft and sweet about Arnold in that moment were the words he uttered to Rishe. Giving Dietrich another icy glare, Arnold unhurriedly opened his mouth and said, “So?”
“Ugh…” Dietrich recoiled from the short question. “I-I’m talking to Rishe right now, not you!”
“I’ve only allowed you to be here because Rishe desires to speak with you. Don’t forget that you’re not in a position to casually meet with the crown princess of this country.”
“Rishe isn’t your princess yet! It’s too early to treat her like she belongs to you!”
Arnold looked down at Dietrich with open scorn. “It seems you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a husband.”
“What?!”
“Rishe will be my wife, but she will not be my property. The only person whom she belongs to is herself.”
“Augh!”
“I do not intend to restrict Rishe’s actions in any way so long as they do not endanger her. The person I am not allowing to act freely here is you. Do you understand that?”
He really has always supported whatever I wanted to do. That’s the only reason we’re here.
With a voice so low it was like fog curling against the ground, Arnold said, “You will answer Rishe’s first question. What do you think you’re doing in this country?”
He’s really angry now…
He may have been crown prince of one of the most powerful countries in the world, but even Arnold usually spoke with more tact. At the very least, he wouldn’t have bossed royalty of another country around. Speaking with Dietrich really must have put a strain on his mental health.
Rishe got to the point to move things along. “I’ve actually been exchanging letters with Lady Mary, Prince Dietrich.”
“What? You have?!”
“She informed me that she has been devoting herself to your education since my departure from Hermity.”
Dietrich flinched in alarm.
Almost immediately after Rishe’s arrival in Galkhein, she had received a thorough apology from Mary in the mail. It contained pages and pages of regrets for the way she’d treated Rishe and the things she planned to do to make up for her transgressions. Chief among these was the matter of Dietrich’s future.
“Lady Mary told me that she would stay at your side and make sure you became a respectable person even if she did not become the crown princess.”
A strangled groan escaped Dietrich’s throat.
“I always had my doubts. I couldn’t imagine you’d withstand such an education even if it was coming from your beloved Lady Mary.” Rishe pinned Dietrich with her narrowed eyes. “Tell me, Prince Dietrich. You fled from Hermity, didn’t you?”
“O-o-of course not!” he spluttered.
“Keep your distance. Sit down.”
“Eek!”
Dietrich had sprung up with the force of his shout, but Arnold’s cold intimidation forced him back down to his seat. At the same time, Arnold pulled Rishe even closer—and Rishe’s heart almost leapt out of her chest.
“To even suggest that I would flee! Why, it’s outrageous!”
Forget that. Why does it feel like Prince Arnold is trying to protect me?!
Back on the couch, Dietrich frantically searched for the right words. “Mary is a very delicate girl! The way I broke off my engagement with you weighed too heavily on her! Suddenly, she started saying things like, ‘What we did to Lady Rishe was absolutely unconscionable! We must change to honor her magnanimous spirit!’”
Despite the distracting pounding of her heart due to her closeness to Arnold, Rishe said calmly, “Erm, please do not trouble yourself on my account. I do appreciate Lady Mary’s feelings, though.”
“You don’t know what she’s like now! Ever since then, Mary’s always got a textbook in her right hand and a thick cane in her left! And she smiles and says, ‘Let’s study hard again today, Prince Dietrich,’ while bending the cane!”
I kind of want to see that, to be honest…
In any case, it sounded like Rishe was right. “His Majesty the King and everyone else are giving Lady Mary their full support, aren’t they?”
“Gaaah!”
“I suppose you couldn’t handle the schooling, etiquette lessons, repeated attempts to teach you how to rule… Feeling as if there was nowhere else to go in Hermity, you came to Galkhein. Am I correct?”
The room fell silent. Arnold said nothing, but at this point he was eyeing Dietrich as though the man were trash lying by the roadside.
Rishe sighed. “Prince Dietrich. Neither Lady Mary nor His Majesty do the things they do out of cruelty. That was never my intention either. Any counsel I gave you was out of nothing more than a desire to support you. And you’ve—”
“Wh-who do you think I am?!” Dietrich shouted, interrupting her. “I’m not so far gone that I need people ganging up to teach me! I’ve always been told that I was very gifted! That I could do it if I tried!”
“But you never once did try, did you?”
“Ghk!” Dietrich clutched at his chest like something had struck him in the heart.
“‘You can do it if you try,’ is just another way of saying, ‘You can’t do it because you’re not trying.’ Tools that you never take out of storage may as well not exist.”
“Uuugh…!”
“Being in a situation where you’re able to try whenever you wish is a privilege.” She was more diplomatic when they were engaged, but right now, Rishe wanted to get this over with for the sake of Arnold’s mental health. “No matter how much they may have wished to learn, all the maids who work for me had to spend their youths caring for younger siblings. Have you ever imagined being in a situation where you were not even afforded the luxury to make an effort to learn something?”
“Guh!”
“Lady Mary was the same, was she not? She sought a marriage with an affluent partner for the sake of her family and thus made every effort to obtain acceptance into the academy. After all she has accomplished, have you even given any thought to how she devotes herself to you so completely ‘even if she does not become the crown princess’?”
“I-I—” Dietrich’s expression changed when Rishe brought Mary into the conversation. Nevertheless, he clenched his fists and squeezed out the words, “Wh-what do you know?! Even I tried for a few days after I was born!”
“Infants are not capable of that level of resolve.”
“That’s not the point! You’d never understand how I feel!” Dietrich shouted, red-faced. “Being born as the crown prince when I didn’t want to be, and always having you around!”
Rishe blinked at the unexpected revelation.
“You always, always stood in my way, Rishe! You scored better on tests, learned faster, and always had the adults’ attention!”
“What…?”
“They were my tutors, but you were the one who spoke with them like you were equals! When I brought you to the riding grounds, you won the horses over before I did! You could always run faster than me, and you destroyed me when we had sword matches!”
Rishe pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say.
“No matter how I tried, there was no way I could ever compare to you! Even I have things that I excel at. If only I hadn’t been born the crown prince, I would have been lauded for my abilities, I just know it… But since I was born the crown prince, why couldn’t I possess the skills you do?! Those feelings have always plagued me…”
Dietrich hung his head once more before the shell-shocked Rishe. She was further surprised when he began sniffling. She floundered, thoroughly uncertain of what to say to him, until Dietrich spoke again with a shaky voice.
“The truth is…I always wanted to be like you!”
H-he’s crying! Rishe was speechless. They’d grown up together for almost fifteen years, but she’d never once seen Dietrich cry. Maybe I went too far…
Panicked, she glanced over at Arnold. Of late, she’d been relying on him whenever she wasn’t sure what to do. She regretted this behavior, all too aware that she was taking advantage of his kindness.
I’m sure he’s just as thrown by this situation as I am. Rishe chastised herself for seeking his help, but he simply regarded her with a look that said he had no choice but to act.
“Very well. Leave this to me.”
“Huh?!”
Apparently, he’d picked up on just how stumped Rishe was. Is Prince Arnold really going to comfort Prince Dietrich? I suppose it’s possible he’s really a very kind person at heart.
Arnold turned to Dietrich and began, “No matter your reasons or circumstances…”
Hmm? That didn’t sound like the start of a comforting sentence.
“…it does not excuse annulling your engagement with Rishe and trying to banish her from her homeland when she was at no fault whatsoever,” he finished.
“Hrk!”
P-Prince Arnooold!
Dietrich crumpled into a sobbing mess. “Gah! I…I…!”
Yet Arnold struck mercilessly, peering down his nose at the crying Dietrich. “Do you even understand that stripping a noblewoman of her support system and banishing her to a place where she has no connections may as well be a death sentence?”
“A death sentence?!”
“To claim that you intended otherwise goes beyond mere foolishness. Moreover, to feign blindness to your own incompetence and heap the blame on Rishe’s shoulders is complete nonsense.”
“Ack! P-Prince Arnold!” Rishe stopped him, whispering into his ear, “Wh-why are you rubbing salt in his wounds?!”
“What? You mean you weren’t implying you didn’t mind if I struck the final blow?”
“Of course I wasn’t! You knew exactly what I was trying to say, didn’t you, Your Highness?!”
Arnold matched her volume, whispering back to her, “I have no reason to show this man sympathy.”
It’s exactly as you say! Rishe’s hand once again found her forehead.
“In fact, you’re far too lenient with him. This is the man who broke off his engagement to you, you know.”
“Well, my engagement to Prince Dietrich held no value to me. Why would I be upset about someone divesting me of something I didn’t want?”
“…Are you sure you’re not twisting the knife more than I am?”
Rishe and Arnold continued their whispered conversation, completely ignoring Dietrich at this point. Eventually, he started muttering to himself as well.
“I-If only I were born in a different situation, I would have been able to shine my brightest, I know it. I wasn’t born the crown prince because I wanted to be…”
Arnold rounded on him. “And do you think Rishe was practically born your fiancée because she wanted to be?”
“I-I…!”
Arnold recrossed his legs, observing Dietrich with pure disgust. “I have no choice but to ask—do you think the woman you envy so much has expended no effort in her life up until now?”
Dietrich averted his eyes.
Resting his chin in his hand, Arnold told him, “It’s been a mere two months since Rishe came to Galkhein. Yet if I bring her to a party, she knows the faces of every person in attendance and can even remember their preferred conversation topics.”
Rishe’s eyes widened in surprise.
“W-well, of course. Rishe has always had a good memory.”
“This is not a matter of simply having a good memory. No matter how insipid the conversation is, Rishe listens with complete sincerity. Moreover, she does her own research into the subject before the next time she converses with that person, even though this does not benefit her in any way.”
“Oh, Prince Arnold…”
“A rotten noble once asked her a question about an obscure piece of Galkhein history. She was only able to give him a well-thought-out answer because she sacrifices sleep to study this country despite the fact that no one expects her to.” Arnold’s blue-eyed gaze fell on Rishe. “She regularly supplies the barracks with fortifying food and drink. Even if it does not benefit her, if it will benefit me, she watches out for my Imperial Guards—many of whom she only has a passing familiarity with.”
I didn’t know he was watching me so closely… Rishe felt her cheeks heating up from the warmth of Arnold’s gaze.
“I can give countless examples of such behavior. I’m sure there are infinitely more that take place outside of my notice.”
“Y-you give me far too much credit, Your Highness. I’ve done nothing deserving of such high praise.”
“You should take more pride in the things you’ve built for yourself.” Arnold’s large hand cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. “Make him understand all the effort you’ve put in to serve as crown princess.”
“Ngh…”
It was true. Arnold’s examples were things Rishe did not do merely as part of her plan to avoid the war. Since she was appearing at parties as Arnold’s fiancée, she avoided any behavior that would sully his reputation. She’d learned about Arnold’s Imperial Guards because she wanted to know what sort of vassals he chose and how he treated them.
I’m doing these things simply because I want to, so it should feel strange for him to praise me for it, but…
Warmth blossomed in her chest all the same.
Arnold’s hand slowly drew away from her cheek. Rishe covered her face, hiding the flush spreading across it. She considered Arnold’s words even as her embarrassment tormented her. Dietrich’s reaction, meanwhile, was to double over and start groaning.
“Auuugh!”
Oh! That’s right! Prince Dietrich! This was no time to be going all weak in the knees. Rishe needed to get Arnold away from Dietrich immediately.
“Was I wrong…?”
She pulled herself together, considering her options. If things go the same way as in all my previous lives, then not even a year from now, Prince Dietrich will attempt a coup against his father and fail.
When she’d heard the rumors in her past lives, her chief response had been exasperation. It was far too pathetic an attempt to even be called a coup d’état. Dietrich had let his vassals incite him to action, but his traitorous plot against his father was discovered almost immediately. He had had no time to gather weaponry or leak state secrets. His coup ended without him striking a single blow against his father and without the king’s knights even getting involved. The way Rishe heard it, his treachery had been discovered so early, Dietrich had no time to even execute the plan—early enough that his only crime was plotting insurrection against the king.
Still, even scheming such a thing was a serious crime. Dietrich had been stripped of his authority as crown prince and placed under house arrest. The mantle of crown prince of Hermity had passed to Dietrich’s much younger brother.
He’s the exact opposite of Prince Arnold.
Arnold, who had seized the throne from his father in every one of Rishe’s past lives, met her eyes with curiosity.
In the fifteen years I was Dietrich’s fiancée, it was ingrained in me not to interfere with him. Even if I don’t stop him, the only thing he stands to lose in his coup is his status as crown prince.
Rishe groaned, deep in thought.
Today, Prince Dietrich is taking to heart remonstrations that would normally go in one ear and out the other… Is it due to Lady Mary’s efforts? Or Prince Arnold’s intensity? The way things are going, I might be able to help him.
That was when Dietrich’s head whipped up. “No—I’m…I’m not wrong! Hold your head up high, Dietrich!”
“Huh?”
“Now is the time to tell you the true reason I came to Galkhein before your sixteenth birthday!”
Rishe stared at him in a daze. He was being nonsensical, to say nothing of the fact that he sounded like he was crying. “My birthday?”
She was indeed going to turn sixteen nine days from today, on the thirtieth day of the seventh month. But what did that have to do with anything?
“Like Hermity, Galkhein forbids anyone under sixteen to marry. While you remain fifteen, you cannot officially be considered Galkhein’s crown princess-to-be!”
Dietrich’s passionate declaration only further confused Rishe.
“What, you don’t understand? I’m telling you I’m here to save you before you can be legally wed.”
“Save me? From what, exactly?”
“Why,” he cried, pointing dramatically at her, “from the engagement that you obviously do not desire!”
Rishe was struck speechless yet again.
“Really, I can’t believe my father! Offering up my precious childhood friend to a man known for his cruelty and brutality… It’s just too awful!” Though he was still sniffling, Dietrich seemed to have regained his confidence. “But I will not yield, not even before a nation as great as Galkhein! I’m here to save you while there’s still time!”
