With The Fifth Loop, The Third Prince Has Been Added To The Cast. - Chapter 2.2

Unlike Prince Camus’s touch, this grip was painful, and I let out a small gasp.

“Lord… Franz? ”

I didn’t understand why he was here at all. But one thing was very clear—he was furious.

“What are you doing? ”

His voice was so low and frightening; it reminded me of when he had killed me. I couldn’t stop shaking.

“I… I don’t really—”

“Answer me! What are you doing here?! ”

As his voice grew louder, so did the pressure on my arm. It hurt so badly that I couldn’t hold the cupcake anymore, and it fell to the floor.

Each one was wrapped, so it wasn’t ruined completely, but it might have gotten a bit squished.

“Let go of her, Franz Eldred! ”

“This is between us. Please don’t interfere, Your Highness.”

“Even if you’re engaged, treating a delicate girl like this—how can I ignore that as a prince of this country? ”

I was shocked that Lord Franz would talk back to Prince Camus like that—but even more surprised that the prince stood up for me.

He could’ve easily turned a blind eye and walked away, blaming it on a lovers’ quarrel.

But instead, his words only seemed to make Franz even angrier. His grip tightened, and I was nearly at my limit.

“Let go of her already! ”

Prince Camus forcefully pushed Franz’s hand away, and I was finally freed.

“This is serious. Let’s get you to the nurse’s office right away.”

I looked down and saw a bruise forming where I had been grabbed. It was red and swollen.

The pain was still there, but what struck me more was the way Prince Camus looked at my hand—his face looked like he was hurting.

“I couldn’t possibly trouble you, Your Highness… I’ll go alone.”

“I’m worried. If you don’t mind, I’d like to go with you. Besides…”

He stopped speaking there, then picked up the cupcake I had dropped.

I accepted it without thinking.

“If possible… I’d love to eat this together later. Maybe while we talk about books or something…”

I think his face looked a little red as he said that.

“I’d love that. Please, let’s eat together.”

“Wait!”

“What now? ”

We were about to leave together for the nurse’s office, but Lord Franz called out to stop us.

Thanks to Prince Camus, I had started to feel a little calmer—but now that peace was starting to slip away again.

Prince Camus stepped between me and Lord Franz, as if to protect me.

“As her fiancé, I want to speak with her. Please don’t interfere, Your Highness.”

“So even though she’s injured because of you, you’re saying we should ignore her condition and just let you talk to her? Why should I let a cold fiancé like that speak to her alone? ”

Franz fell silent.

And honestly, Prince Camus was right.

Lord Franz was the one who left a bruise on my hand—yet he didn’t show a single hint of concern.

The only person who cared, who wanted to help me right away, was Prince Camus. He wasn’t even my fiancé. He is the prince.

Maybe he would’ve done the same even if I were someone else—but still.

“Let’s go.”

Prince Camus gently took my hand and led me away.

This time, Franz didn’t try to stop us.

We sat down in the garden and finally ate the cupcakes. The nurse had taken care of my bruise, and the pain had mostly faded.

Excited that I could finally enjoy the cupcake properly, I unwrapped it.

It was the fifth time I’d made one—but the first time I actually got to eat one. It was soft, a little sweet… and honestly, I thought I did a pretty good job.

“Mmm, delicious! You’re really good at making sweets, Cheryl.” It looked like Prince Camus enjoyed it too.

Happy with his reaction, I took two bites, then three. And suddenly, I realized something.

Wait… was it okay for a prince to eat food made by someone like me this easily?

Shouldn’t someone taste-test it first, just in case?

“U-Um, Your Highness… I know it’s a bit late but…”

“Hm? What is it? ”

“Are you… sure it’s safe to eat? ”

“Yeah! It’s really tasty! ”

That wasn’t quite what I meant.

But Prince Camus just kept eating happily. He was even faster than me—he might finish first.

Of course, I hadn’t put anything bad in it. I’d never harm him.

But still, I had this silly fear that someone might be watching us, and the moment he finished, I’d be arrested for feeding something homemade to royalty.

“What’s wrong? Something bothering you? ”

“N-No, it’s nothing…”

He looked at me curiously while I kept glancing around, nervous.

Not wanting him to think I was acting weird, I tried to focus on eating too.

“It really feels like a dream… getting to eat sweets made by Cheryl.”

Prince Camus looked so touched—almost dramatically so—as he finished the cupcake.

Even though I knew he was a prince and probably said kind things like that to all noble girls, his words still made me happy.

Happy enough that I almost said, “I’d love to bake something again for you.”

No one had ever been this happy over something I made, not even once before.

***

Lately, my conversations with Prince Camus weren’t only about books anymore.

We started talking about school, other interests, little things from our day…

Time spent with him always felt peaceful and warm.

And I had changed too.

In my past lives, after Claire enrolled, I hadn’t read a single book. Even now in my fifth life, I had only read the ones Camus recommended.

But recently, I started looking for interesting books on my own.

Searching for stories I hadn’t read before—and reading them—was something that made my heart race with joy.

Maybe that’s why…

When I saw Lord Franz and Claire chatting and laughing together, I didn’t feel sad or bitter anymore.

I just… felt nothing.