Your Majesty, Please Don’t Kill Me Again - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Terms:

리체: Richie

고르텐 후작: Marquis Gorten

뱅상 백작: Count Vincent

하멜 자작: Viscount Hamel

I didn’t recognize this man until I heard his name.

Louis Baden.

He’s definitely the bastard from that time. He is the Emperor’s obedient dog, who imprisoned my father and Lehan without an explanation, and became the Imperial Knights Guard’s commander without inheriting any titles. 1

I grinned broadly while concealing my clenched fists.

Scumbag.

I failed to calm down internally.

“Oh… thank you, Sir Baden.”

His face seemed a little doubtful with the sincerity behind my words.

He gave my chin a gentle rub.

“How did you know that I was a knight?”

He’s sharp. That is a challenging query.

This is our first meeting, and this dog doesn’t have a sword on him right now. There is no way I could have known that he was a knight.

I need to return to my room and hit my head again.

I apologized to myself for my error and for being gullible.

“The handsome boys are always knights!”

Louis smiled as I replied with my natural round eyes wide open to look cuter.

It appears that a young child’s innocent compliment didn’t offend him.

“My Lady, you are also incredibly adorable and pretty.”

“I know.”

Hmph! I deliberately raised my chin, not wanting to be courteous to him.

‘Oh, I’ve become a little rude.’

I turned to face him out of concern that my father would reprimand me, but he was still grinning. Maybe my kisses had a more significant impact than I had anticipated.

“Papa, I’m starving!”

“Yes. Let’s eat.”

My father gave me a gentle pat on the back and begged Louis’s forgiveness.

But when my father announced that we would be gone for a while, the Emperor’s ignorant bastard grinned and turned to face me.

“Now that you mentioned it, I am also feeling a bit peckish. Would you mind if I went along with you?”

It’s not like he’s requesting and expecting an answer.

While he doesn’t belong to an order, he is the Empress’ knight and will someday be Emperor Raspereich I’s sword.

His appearance would make you think he’s a decent person. With his witty attitude, even my secretive father was interested in him, so he was confident that intimidating a young child like me would be simple.

However, I snorted loud enough for him to hear.

He abandoned my father’s adoration for him and followed the Emperor’s orders, pushing my father and Lehan to death.

I shook my head when I suddenly remembered the future again.

With double meanings, I shook my head.

“I would mind, actually.”

I found it unpleasant.

Louis’s expression grew a little darker at my rejection.

I added a sneer because I was pleased that I had insulted him.

“I’d like to eat with my father, just the two of us. Thank you in advance for your understanding.”

Louis was softly staring at me, so I grabbed my father by the collar and pushed him a little away from the bastard.

My father didn’t say anything, but it was clear that he was aware of how I felt about the man. He gave him a brief greeting before leaving, which was impolite for someone with his uptight personality.

“Father.”

“Do you dislike him?”

“Yes! I don’t like him! I have a very, very bad feeling about that person!”

Father is willing to listen to the words of his young daughter, but he will pay no heed to the baseless defamation of another’s character.

Father is just that kind of person.

However, I know that he’s probably thinking of putting up his guard a little higher for Louis.

I jumped down at the table containing all my favorite food, deciding that I would take good care of my father.

“Wow. Marcel cooked admirably today, in my opinion.”

“Marcel?”

Father’s brows furrow noticeably.

Oh, Marcel was still employed as a kitchen helper at this point in time… right?

I shook my head quickly.

“Oh, no. It should be Cook Verno. I assume Marcel trimmed the potatoes.”

I sat in front of the table while pretending to have a speech hiccup 2.

It had been a long time for me, so I wanted to eat with my father, but he went to stay with his friends.

Well, it hasn’t been long for him since we’ve spent time together.

The noble girls close in age were gathered together for conversation while waving their hands enthusiastically as I arrived.

I grinned widely at the girl who I knew the best.

“Long time no see, Richie.”

“What do you mean? It hasn’t been long since we last saw one another.”

She got up from her chair and approached me after she handed me a miniature pint glass.

The girl’s blue wavy hair spread like rippling water before sinking.

I was reminded of Richie’s father when I gazed at her lovely face.

Marquis Gorten, who resembled a raccoon, is Richie’s father.

He was not a well-respected aristocrat like my father. Still, he was one of the people in positions of authority who narrowly avoided the Emperor’s madness with a few swift glances.

He was an old friend of my father’s that I looked up to like an uncle.

He was also a man who abandoned my father in such a cold and planned manner that their years together seemed irrelevant.

Remembering my last conversation with him…

I bent down to his knees and threw my outstretched hand towards him, his fierce face still fresh in my mind.

“Foolish wench.”

He spewed out an ugly phrase without compassion as he stared down at me, who was merely crying…

Richie, who was as ordinary as I was, could not have known the betrayal.

However, I can’t love her as unconditionally as I did before. She was a really close friend, though.

I took her hand as I felt sorry for our friendship’s flaws.

“What is it?”

In contrast to mine, which was slightly fat, Richie’s hand was razor-thin.

Come to think of it, Richie was skinny, as if she was about to be carried away by the wind, ever since she was a child.

I nervously opened my mouth and looked at her wrist, thin like a branch.

“Nothing… You know what, are you hungry?”

“How can we eat first when you are the main character of the day?”

Richie gently chuckled and said that she was only joking.

I quickly grabbed the cutlery and sat next to her.

Some of the young females smiled as if I welcomed them when I looked at them.

By seeing the characteristics of the young girls seated at this table, I was able to approximately classify the nobles who are currently friends with my father.

If it’s enough reason for their parents to attend my birthday celebration, it’s either because they have a close friendship with Count Bellua or they are trying to get along with him.

Only Marquis Gorten, Count Vincent, and Viscount Hamel are among my father’s close friends.

As far as I know, they are close to my father on the outside, and there must have been others he secretly trusted.

They could put in a few good words about my father to the Emperor, so I should do my best to appeal to them.

The noble ladies that were seated directly across me:

Richie, Marquis Gorten’s eldest daughter,

Marianne, the second daughter of Count Vincent, and

Sasha, a member of the House of Hamel.

This piece, which unknowingly focused on Richie and me, was entirely in accordance with my memory.

I searched the area for any links I might have forgotten.

Most are recognizable faces.

And their families all turned a blind eye to my family’s downfall.

My mouth was filled with a sudden sour and chilly smile.

Why did everyone turn against Bellua when the Emperor’s madness turned to rage? They even went as far as joining a twelve-year-old girl’s birthday party.

I didn’t notice an unfamiliar face until I turned my attention to the edge of the table.

A strange girl was lurking in a corner, crouched, and she had no connection to the past or the present versions of me.

I fixed my gaze on the kid and tried to make eye contact with the shy girl.

After a while, the girl raised her head as if she couldn’t take my gaze pouring down from above.

A round face covered in freckles is undoubtedly unusual.

Who is she?

“Please excuse my rudeness, but I don’t believe we’ve met before… May I ask what your name is?”

“Ah… I… I’m… I’m not an important figure equal to you, my Lady. Please speak informally to me.”

She was softly trembling. The girl appeared scared that she might be punished.

The table shook3 when the girl said she wasn’t a noble.

Marianne Vincent scowled vehemently while holding her index finger up to cover her nose.

“Pfft! I thought something smelled gross. How could a commoner dare to eat at the birthday party of a count’s daughter?”

The girl is met with an arrogant and critical glance.

I am well aware of these noble ladies’ inherent haughtiness and aristocratic pride.

But as I passed away, I felt the terrible betrayal of the nobles against those who fought for justice and morals.

The helpless inhabitants of Bellua were the group that raised the most objections to my father’s passing.

They approached Champagne carrying plows and pickaxes and shouted that the Emperor was mistreating everyone.

Without ever having the chance to fight back, they were all slain by Louis’ sword, the Capital Defense commander, or one of his lieutenants.

The Emperor was a gilded beast who was indifferent to his subjects.

Even those without knowledge of high-ranking individuals voiced their disapproval of my father’s death.

I concealed my shaking fists under the table because I thought the people, who were mourning my father’s passing with me, were the target of the girl’s harsh glare and disdain.4

I met the girl’s gaze as she swayed aimlessly, stared into my eyes, and smiled sweetly.

My stomach began to churn, and my smile became somewhat crooked.

“Marianne.”

Marianne was still holding her delicate hand over her nose when I shouted out to her as I turned to face the frightened girl.

She smiled warmly and moved her head toward me, hoping I would concur with her.

“Yes, Lady Lariette? Is there something you’d like to say?”

It was spoken in a gentle and intelligent tone.

She returned my call and left the girl with the impression that she was a noble person.

I couldn’t help but sneer, knowing that most of our education had been made up of pointless lies and vanity. 5

“Did you forget to rewash yourself? It seems like you just sprayed perfume to mask the stench.”

At my question, Marianne’s face became more gloomy.

She asked a bit foolishly with disbelief, “Excuse me?”

“You always wear a lot of perfume to cover up the smell of your sweat. The combination of sweat and strong perfume is a highly offensive odor… and is difficult to bear.”

“WHAT?!”

“As you know… I have a weak stomach. The smell of Young Lady Vincent is too strong right now.”

“That’s… that’s not mine.”

“No, Young Lady Vincent is absolutely the source. What a foul odor… Eugh… Blergh. It is definitely coming from your direction.”

I let out a small grunt and cocked my head to the side.

The unexpected insult caused Marianne’s face to become scarlet.

The other ladies shook their eyes and looked at me and didn’t know what to do; they didn’t console Marianne.

Since I am the main character here today, it is evident that everyone was cautious around my father since they knew that to please him, they must please me first.

Initially, it was these disgusting craps—people I thought were my friends.

Louis is a commoner. ↩️

Speech hiccup – misspoke ↩️

Not literally. It’s like, “OMG! She’s a commoner, but she dares to be on the same table as us?” ↩️

She felt like the little girl was like an image representing those who protested against her father’s unfair death, and Marianne, who made insulting remarks to the little girl, represents those trashy nobles that betrayed their family. ↩️

All these girls, including Lariette, are nobles from the Southern Territories of the Vellnelni Empire, and all follow the same old-fashioned ideal of being a ‘perfect Lady’ with perfect etiquette for the pride of the family. As one who religiously followed those ideals in TL1, Lari recognizes now that it’s all about appearances and lies. ↩️