The Reincarnated Young Lady Will Finally Grasp Happiness This Time! - Episode 7

“You had lunch with Prince Ryan today, didn’t you? Do you understand what that means? I am the leading candidate to be Prince Ryan’s fiancée. I would like you to stop sitting with him without my permission.”

I spoke to Lady Ria in as gentle a voice as possible.

“You say I need the ‘permission’ of Lady Lastor, the leading candidate for the prince’s bride, but I am not in a position to refuse a direct request from His Highness.”

…This is outrageous.

She has no intention of respecting my wishes as a duke’s daughter. If she won’t listen to reason, I might have to take action myself.

As I was thinking this, Prince Ryan entered my classroom.

He must have come to deepen our bond. It was unfortunate that he avoided my invitation for tea, but he made sure to acknowledge me, letting me know that he sees me.

As expected, the prince is very kind, even to a lady who only possesses light magic.

Come to think of it, he told me to ask my father about Lady Lidis.

What does that mean?

When I returned home, I knocked on my father’s office door to ask him about it.

“Father, it’s Marina. Do you have a moment?”

“Come in.”

I quietly opened the door and entered the office, where my father and the butler were busy working.

“Father, I’m sorry to bother you while you’re busy. Earlier, Prince Ryan told me to ask you about Lady Lidis.”

Both my father and the butler twitched slightly and stopped what they were doing to look at me.

“Marina, what do you mean? Why did Lady Lidis’ name come up? Tell me everything.”

My father’s voice dropped a level. I told him about Lady Ria Notes, the marquis’ daughter.

Of course, I also mentioned that I had lunch with His Highness and that I had warned Lady Ria.

My father immediately made a bitter expression. The butler furrowed his brows and remained completely still.

“Marina, so Prince Ryan really said that to you?”

My father asked me again, as if to confirm.

“Yes, Father.”

“I’m sorry, but you must withdraw from the selection for the prince’s bride.”

“Why, Father!? Our family’s rank is not a problem, and I am the one most suited to be Prince Ryan’s wife!”

I pleaded desperately.

“…”

My father looked at me with a sad expression but said nothing, which only made me more frustrated.

“Why? I am the one most fit for the royal family! Lady Lia is just someone who can use light magic—she has no real value!”

“…It was fourteen years ago.”

My father spoke with a pained look on his face, as if he had made up his mind.

“Huh?”

He began to speak. Seeing his expression, I somehow felt that I had to listen, so I stayed silent.

“Lady Lidis Sultan, the daughter of a count, who could use light magic… died. Lidis and I were engaged when we were fifteen, and we were supposed to marry when we turned twenty. But despite being engaged, I had a relationship with Aira.

A month before the wedding, I found out Aira was pregnant and confessed everything to Lidis. Neither family could cancel the wedding at that point.

Or rather, they chose not to.

Lidis cried silently, looking as if she were in pain, but she never said a word. Or perhaps, she couldn’t.

She had been forcibly adopted into the count’s family and had no freedom to make her own choices.

Taking advantage of her silence, I planned to make Lidis my formal wife while keeping Aira as my mistress.

I did not see Lidis even once before the wedding day. And even during the ceremony, I never looked at her.

Now, I regret it. She had done nothing wrong, and yet I treated her terribly.

When the vows were exchanged, she pulled out a knife and stabbed herself in the chest. The entire hall fell into chaos. As she collapsed, Aira sneered and said,
‘She was just a baron’s daughter who happened to have light magic. A lowly commoner has no worth. Lorenz is mine. What a pointless death.’

Light magic users had always been rare, but from that day on, not a single child with light magic was born.

Some believe that Lady Lidis’ death caused it.

It is our fault—Aira’s and mine.”

“That’s ridiculous! Lady Lidis’ death has nothing to do with you!”

My father looked at me with an unusually stern expression.

“It’s easy to blame others. Back then, nobles saw possessing a light magic user as a symbol of status.

A baron was forced to give up his child, and she was taken in as a count’s daughter. When she died, the king took the matter seriously and forbade nobles from monopolizing light magic users.

A baron was threatened into giving up his child, and I—a duke—treated her poorly and let her die.

We used our noble status to drive an innocent girl to her death.

Marina, do you intend to do the same? You should be grateful that Lady Lia Notes has awakened to light magic.

To be a royal bride, one must be beloved by the people. Judging a person’s worth by their rank is unacceptable.

I will personally inform Prince Ryan that you are withdrawing from the selection. Do not cause any more trouble. Do you understand?”

“Father! Acting like a high-ranking noble is only natural! If I don’t, I will be crushed! I just want to be Prince Ryan’s fiancée. What’s wrong with eliminating obstacles!?”

I protested, but my father sighed, showing no intention of listening.

“Take her away.”

At his command, the butler forcibly removed me from the office.

“Do not let her leave her room until her house arrest is lifted,” he ordered the guards.

When I tried to leave, the guards stopped me.

“What is this!? No one understands! Prince Ryan and I are meant to be together!”