### After I Proposed to My Childhood Friend Following My Regression
#### Chapter 3
There was a reason why things had unfolded this way.
‘No, even if we agreed to persuade them as quickly as possible, did we really have to act so recklessly?’
It wasn’t as if two little kids were wearing tablecloths over their heads and playing house with wildflowers picked from the garden!
Furthermore, the situation wasn’t so dire that we had to resort to such a last-ditch effort.
In other words, it meant that neither of us had even considered the idea of “doing the deed on the very day of the proposal.”
So…
“Beatrice Hartwell!”
“Oh, oh my? Mother? Father? Why are you two here… Ah, hello to you too, sir and madam! I heard you were out, but you’ve returned quite early!”
“We had to hurry back once we heard Bea was visiting. Let’s see, don’t you think she looks even prettier than last week?”
Just in time, the parents from both families were all gathered in one place, and…
“Bea! How have you been? I was delighted to run into these two while out on a date with my dear, but I’m truly happy to see you as well after so long.”
“Your Highness…?”
“What do you mean, ‘Your Highness’? You’re hurting my feelings. I told you to call me ‘Sister’ when we’re in private.”
If only we hadn’t run into ‘that person’ so suddenly at this very spot!
Beatrice’s eyes wavered slightly as she looked up at the person who had familiarly taken her hand.
Silver hair, the symbol of the Imperial family, and beautifully shining golden eyes. An elegant and noble aura and posture.
‘Elodie Alverose Edvain.’
As the First Princess of the Empire, she was the fiancée of Clyde’s older brother, Caelen, and at the same time, she was ‘that person’ the two of them had discussed.
‘The person who ruined my family and Clyde’s family, and who killed me in the end.’
As if a locked door had been flung open, the final memory surfaced in her mind. Or, to be precise, the last conversation she had heard.
‘That this child, who has lost her family, her relatives, her wealth, and even… is still a risk factor…’
‘Your Highness Elodie.’
‘No need to persuade her. Why would there be any reason to hesitate now? It’s only right to… cut away the sprouts that might become weeds. See to the funeral. There’s no need to report this separately.’
Judging by how she could recall every single syllable, it must have been a truly vivid memory.
‘…I wonder if she actually held the funeral.’
Dismissing the tension that had wrapped around her body with that idle thought, Beatrice habitually pushed up the corners of her mouth and opened them.
“Yes, that’s right. Well, since I have two older brothers, the word ‘sister’ feels a bit awkward, so…”
She felt Clyde secretly poke her in the side. She had tried hard to hide it, but it seemed it had been noticeable.
However, before Beatrice could even compose her expression, Princess Elodie smiled lovingly and tapped the bridge of Beatrice’s nose with her finger.
“You’re so cute. Bea, you really haven’t changed at all!”
“Haha.”
“I can’t have that. I’ll just have to stick by your side for a while. Once you get used to being with me, you’ll feel more comfortable with me than you do now, right?”
“Um. I didn’t mean to imply that Your Highness makes me uncomfortable…”
“Oh, of course, of course! I know. It’s just that I want to get closer to you, Bea.”
The Princess paused for a moment, glanced shyly at the person beside her, and spoke again.
“Once I marry Caelen, I’ll be a member of the Duke family, too. And honestly, Bea, you’re practically family to the Duke family already.”
“Hmm…”
“So, I’d like to be as close to you as I am to family, if I can.”
I doubt that.
‘At the very least, I hope you’ll wake up from that dream in this life.’
Beatrice had not even the slightest intention of getting close to Princess Elodie. Nor did she have any intention of letting her marry Clyde’s brother, Caelen.
Of course, those who had no way of knowing what the Princess had done in the future were watching the two with satisfied expressions.
Confirming the warm atmosphere around them, she remembered the sensation of Clyde’s poke to her side and squeezed out her voice as affectionately as possible.
“Wow. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You think so too, Bea? That’s a relief!”
A tall man with a sturdy build approached the delighted Princess. It was the eldest son of the Duke family, Caelen.
“Seeing you smile like that, I suppose you can finally set your mind at ease. You’ve practiced saying that to Bea so many times.”
“Caelen! Oh, how embarrassing to say such things! What will Bea think of me?”
Watching the Princess argue with Caelen with a face flushed bright red, Beatrice narrowed her eyes slightly.
‘No, but seriously, she’s acting so friendly it’s giving me goosebumps. Since when were we this close?’
Wasn’t it not even this much before the regression? Even if she had maintained etiquette, I don’t recall her acting this chummy…
‘Wait, no, was it?’
Beatrice hesitated for a moment and carefully traced her memories. Come to think of it, it seemed there had been times. Times when the Princess had doted on her like a younger sister.
‘Hmm… when was that? I just brushed it off back then thinking, “Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?” so I don’t remember well.’
Regardless, it seemed to have been that way right up until the wedding with Caelen.
Casting her gaze toward the Princess, Beatrice rubbed her arm. It felt entirely unnatural that she seemed to genuinely harbor goodwill toward the Dalton Duke family and the Hartwell Count family.
‘Hmm. If I keep watching, I won’t be able to keep my expression in check. It’s better to think about something else.’
For instance, why the Princess was acting so friendly, or something like that.
‘The answer is obvious.’
At first, the Princess had also wanted to establish a good relationship… no, a “family-like relationship” that went beyond that with the two families. She must have changed her course later, though I don’t know what happened.
‘Oh, wait a minute. If that’s the Princess’s current stance…’
Having thought that far, Beatrice turned her head toward Clyde and blurted out.
“Hey. What do you think?”
It was a sentence without a clear subject, but Clyde seemed to grasp her meaning immediately. He narrowed his eyes as if thinking about something, then gave a slight nod.
“I think it’s not bad.”
“Right? You think ‘that person’ will push for it?”
“Yeah.”
At Clyde’s affirmation, Beatrice’s eyes sparkled. We hadn’t been able to make any proper preparations, but no matter how she looked at it, this was the perfect timing.
The optimal timing to force the two families to accept their marriage!
‘To the current Princess, who wants to be on good terms with both families, we must look like a windfall that rolled right into her lap. Especially since this is a rare occasion where the elders of both families and the fiancé are all present…’
She’ll think it’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone. Little does she know that that choice will come back to haunt her when she tries to ruin both families later!
‘Ha, I was pretty smart just now. Is this what it feels like to be a genius?’
Well, even if I did use the shortcut of regression.
Thinking that it was a fair price to pay for her life, Beatrice surveyed the surrounding atmosphere. She was looking for the right moment to bring it up.
That was when it happened.
The Duchess, who had been watching the four of them with a satisfied expression, cast a sidelong glance at Clyde and made a joke.
“The Hartwell Count family and our family are as close as kin, after all. It would be wonderful if we could truly welcome Bea as family, but he can’t even make use of the handsome face he was born with, honestly…”
“Oh my, Evelyn. If Clyde were to become Beatrice’s partner, we would be overjoyed as well. But Beatrice is so…”
Hearing the words of the Duchess and the Count, the two of them met each other’s eyes simultaneously.
‘This is it!’
Beatrice and Clyde stuck to each other like sugar stuck to the floor, then opened their mouths at the same time like merchants advertising a new product.
“Mother, we shall make that wish come true right now.”
“Mom, don’t worry about such useless things. She’s already fallen for me.”
Beatrice naturally took in the gazes of her family, who looked as if they were wondering what on earth she was talking about, and raised their joined hands.
“We’re going to get married!”
“…W-what did you say?”
“Yeah, I mean, Clyde said he was dying of love for me, didn’t he? He was crying and proposing, saying that if it weren’t for me, his home would collapse, society would collapse, and the world would collapse, so I said yes. Right?”
“…That’s right, haha.”
Having glossed over the truth with agitation and fabrication, the two of them drove the final nail into the coffin.
“So, we’re saying, let us get married. Uh… in the near future.”
“Considering the minimum preparation time, how about a month from now?”
Even in the atmosphere filled with silence, Beatrice and Clyde stubbornly stuck to their nonsense.
It was a sudden change of plans, but wasn’t it difficult to persuade them with logic and reason anyway? And sometimes…
‘Sometimes, being shameless works better than reason.’
Usually, the one with the loudest voice wins.
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