CH 3

This is a retranslation since copies of the early chapters have been lost. I'll translate as fast as possible, but please enjoy the updates for now.

「Whoooa…」

An outrageously gorgeous figure stood there.

He has got a straight nose and thin, ruthless-looking lips. His physique was slender but toned, and even through his clothes, you could tell that his muscles were well-proportioned.

His almost jet-black hair was long enough to touch his ears and nape, and the tips were seemingly bouncy and soft.

He boasted a well-defined outline everywhere, but what was most striking were those blue eyes he had.

His eyes were elongated and glacial, with the sharp streak of a blade.

They were notably beautiful, yet icy-cold.

The long eyelashes that cast shadows on his eyes accentuated the perfection of his appearance.

He was the living image of a work of art.

He was so beautiful that I almost felt giddy just looking at him.

(…Ah)

But then, he suddenly reminded Rishe of someone.

The dark-haired manm, on the other hand, looked down at Rishe with cold eyes and snorted.

「You’re charging forward at such speed. I thought you were a boar.」

It was a rude thing to say to someone you’ve never met before, but not so for Rishe. This wasn’t their first meeting to begin with.

「What are you doing here? The soiree in the banquet hall…」

「Ahaahhhh ーーーーーー !!!」

「?!」

The man backed away from Rishe, who screamed out of the blue.

His body responded with such alacrity, and he also grasped the hilt of his sword with his right hand.

「… What are you up to? For someone who looks like a mere young lady, you’re strangely bloodthirsty…」

「Emperor Arnold Hein!」

Rishe exclaimed. In response, the dark-haired man, Arnold, looked at her with astonishment.

Rishe was strangely murderous, because she had recently crossed swords with this man.

It was none other than him who killed her and ended her sixth life.

(So this guy was invited to tonight’s soiree as well…)

It made sense when she thought about it.

Arnold was a member of the royal family of a military state not far from the kingdom. Both countries were embroiled in war before. But now, they maintained peace on the surface and would occasionally establish contact.

The Crown Prince, Rishe’s former fiancé, would soon announce Marie, whom he fell in love with, as his new fiancée.

As Marie was the daughter of a commoner, the Crown Prince probably made arrangements in advance in order to present her to the neighboring kingdoms.

Arnold examined Rishe with interest.

「Do you know me? This is my first time in this kingdom, though.」

(Oh, no…)

Rishe was inwardly flustered, but she masked it with a smile.

Arnold’s homeland, the imperial state of Garkhain, iwas ruled by an imperial dynasty that abided by the code 『If you don’t have power, you are not royalty』, and if a royalty was weak, he’d be weeded out even if he had the right to succeed to the throne.

In such a military powerhouse, Arnold here would invade other kingdoms in five years time.

It was the same in my first and second lives, as well as my third and fourth. That was the case for the fifth and sixth loop, where Rishe herself stood on the battlefield.

(I’d rather not make an enemy of him if possible.)

Arnold might be the Emperor, but he was also the most skilled swordsman in the land.

What made him so formidable was that he exceled not only in swordsmanship but also in military strategy.

Now that I confronted him in this manner, I feel as if he could see through me in many ways.

(I must contrive some sort of an excuse.)

Rishe quickly drew her right leg back, pinched her gown and gracefully curtsied.

「I’m Rishe Ilmgard Wertsner. This may be our first meeting, but I’ve heard quite a lot about you.」

The corners of Arnold’s lips curled up as if pleasurably entertained.

「You have the footwork of a first-class swordsman. Your stance isn’t shaky at all.」

「I’m flattered. I just greeted Your Highness, a state guest, as best as I could for fear of coming off as rude.」

「You called me, 『Emperor』」

His reminder made Rishe realize her blunder.

「My father is still alive, and I am the Crown Prince at present. ―― Why did you make such a mistake?」

「W-Well…」

Crap.

What a terrible mistake. Could it be that he suspects that I know the future? No, I must be overthinking it.

While wrestling with such thoughts, Rishe realized the gravity of her slip-up.

(… There’s no need to fudge it with him, is there?)

I mean, it doesn’t matter what Arnold thinks of me. I’ll never see him again anyway.

I have some reservations about getting killed, but there is no point in complaining to Arnold, who is here now.

Despite branding him the Emperor impudently, Rishe would be banished tonight. This gaffe would not affect diplomatic relations.

In that case, she had one resort left.

After taking a deep breath, Rishe curtsied to Arnold once again; not with the curtsy of a noblewoman, but with the bow of a maid, apologizing to her master.

「My apologies, Your Highness. I may have been in a rush, but that doesn’t excuse my tactless blunder.」

Then she raised her head.

「Nevertheless, I really am awfully busy, what with my ex-fiance calling off our engagement and all. I’m terribly sorry, but I have to leave now!」

「…You’re engagement was called off?」

Rishe flipped up the hem of her dress and started sprinting again.

A lot of time was unexpectedly wasted, and she must beat the clock. She pushed the balcony door open and dragged the hem of her dress up.

She took off her shoes and tried to move to a nearby tree, but the ground was unexpectedly closer to the balcony than she thought.

(Oh?! This could work, right? I was going to jump to the tree, but… at this second story height, I can just jump down into the garden from here!!!)

She decided and moved almost simultaneously.

The moment she crossed the railing, Arnold’s eyes, which had been following her in silence, widened.

「H-Hey…」

Rishe jumped off the balcony, leaving behind a trail of her fluttering moonlit dress.