“—AND so, I’m going to sell strawberries!” Amelia declared.
The man in his prime scrutinized the princess, who stood with her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest with pride. He skeptically furrowed his brows. “Pardon?”
“Ideally, I’d like them to have some kind of added value too!”
Hearing Amelia’s announcement, the only servant of the Fifth Palace, Helt, shook his head while dragging out a long sigh. Even though Amelia had gone out of her way to head to the gates of the Fifth Palace, where Helt was, she didn’t get a very supportive reaction for some odd reason.
The man politely said, “You have spent many years of your life in confinement, and your long-awaited chance to venture into the outside world—your participation in the debutante ball—was revoked. I can empathize with your sorrow. Now, I would have understood if you were discouraged about the fact that you couldn’t see your fiancé, the young lord of House Klein, but… How in the world do strawberries come into the picture?”
Amelia inclined her head quizzically. “Didn’t I just explain? I reincarnated into this world, which is the world of an otome game, and it’s gone through four time loops.” She’d gone through all that effort to give him a lengthy and detailed explanation. Had he even been listening?
It was only after four entire timelines that Amelia had finally recalled the fact that she had reincarnated into this world after her previous life in Japan. Though it sounded surreal, considering how many times the same series of events had repeated, she had no choice but to believe that this was indeed her second life.
Recalling how Prisca had used the words “otome game” and her actions until now, she must be a fellow reincarnator—and the heroine at that.
Amelia first caught sight of Prisca by sheer coincidence. It had been during the ball held in celebration of the king’s birthday. Unable to grow accustomed to the showy and glamorous venue, she’d been resting in the recesses of the garden out of fatigue when Prisca and a young man had come along.
The young man, apparently the son of a viscount, had asked for Prisca’s hand in marriage, and after he left, Prisca had fiddled with her necklace with a sigh. “If I have to marry someone, I would have preferred a more charming man,” she muttered. “Oh, if only I could turn back time and start over.”
Not a moment later, Amelia’s vision went stark white. The next thing she knew, she’d returned to one year prior.
At first, she’d relived the same year, utterly lost about what had happened, until eventually, the ball on the king’s birthday came around again. Intrigued, she’d taken cover in the garden just like the first time and waited to see what would happen.
Not long after, a boy claiming to be the son of the knight commander arrived with Prisca. He asked for her hand in marriage, and Prisca whispered she wanted to start over again, and then Amelia returned to one year ago.
This cycle repeated again. And again.
The son of the prime minister in the previous loop and the son of the high priest in the loop before that hadn’t seemed too interested in Prisca herself, but they’d proposed to her in the end. It appeared that the heroine’s influence was astounding, just as one would expect.
Helt sighed again. “Yes, yes. I have heard all about it, my princess. I can’t say I really understand the reincarnation or otoh-may game part, but the point is, Princess Prisca has special feelings for the young Lord Klein, is that right?”
“Huh.” Amelia quirked an eyebrow. “So you were listening. What was with that reaction then?”
Luke Klein, the son of Duke Klein, was Amelia’s fiancé. Four years ago, when she was twelve, she’d met the boy in person and was betrothed to him. She hadn’t interacted with him since, but to Amelia, he was her cherished first crush.
Judging by the demeanors of the men who had proposed to Prisca before, they hadn’t exactly adored her from the bottom of their hearts. They’d seemed like they’d given in to some kind of force that made them express their affections.
It was particularly true in the case of the prime minister’s son in the previous time loop. Disgust had bled into his mannerisms, and he looked like he was even trying to leave the area. Prisca had clung to his arm, forcing him to stay. The pair had then drawn closer to each other, and to Amelia’s shock, he’d proposed to her the next second.
Anyone would conclude that his actions weren’t of his own free will. Even if this world truly went round for the sake of the heroine, Prisca, forcefully making Luke go against his own wishes was simply awful.
On top of that, Prisca had said that Luke was the last on the list. If she wasn’t going to reset the timeline again, it would mean that Luke and Prisca would get married.
A determined fire burned in Amelia’s eyes. “The thing is, I want Lord Luke to find happiness with the person he loves of his own will. …It doesn’t matter even if it isn’t me.”
If she led her life the same way as all the previous time loops, Prisca would definitely turn Luke into her trophy.
Amelia was up against the heroine that the world revolved around, and she was even a princess to boot. Believe it or not, she would even turn out to be a saint in the near future. A girl with no support structure like Amelia couldn’t hope to hold a candle to such an opponent with lukewarm measures.
Helt cocked his head. “It is true the saint often appears in the royal bloodline, but if I were to be frank, I can’t say that Princess Prisca has the aptitude for such a role… On that topic, your mother, the fifth consort, was a saint. Isn’t there the very real possibility that you are the next saint instead?”
“If Prisca sets her sights on Lord Luke, as his fiancée, I’ll become what’s typically called the villainess noblewoman or a rival in love. Positive and attractive attributes like the saint status likely belong to the heroine.”
Typically, rival characters came equipped with everything you could imagine—exceptional looks, exceptional clout, and exceptional wealth. Their only flaw would be their personality.