With The Fifth Loop, The Third Prince Has Been Added To The Cast. - Chapter 4.1

I had thought that day would be a one-time thing, and yet—ever since then, Prince Camus and I have eaten lunch together every single day.

Watching His Highness look forward to the contents of my lunchbox each day naturally made me put more effort into preparing it.

What kind of dishes would he enjoy?

Thinking about that, I began to challenge myself with new recipes, with help from the servants.

That, too, has become one of my recent joys.

“Hey, don’t get carried away.”

Ah, it’s happening again, I thought.

In this life, every time this man appeared before me, there was always anger in his eyes.

***

“Lord Franz… What do you mean by that?”

“You’re engaged, and yet you act so friendly with His Highness. Aren’t you ashamed!?”

…You have the nerve to say that?

Those words almost burst from my lips, but I managed to swallow them. 

Aren’t you the one spending every day with your fiancée’s younger sister? And much more intimately than the relationship I share with Prince Camus.

Despite that, you likely plan to break off our engagement someday, yet you think I don’t have the right to be close to another man? What an utterly selfish person.

Wishing she could say those words to his face.

Why, even after reliving my life countless times, had I kept hoping he might look my way?

“Aren’t you heading to the dining hall with Claire now, Lord Franz?”

“Claire is your sister! She’s going to be family. That’s completely different from a total stranger!”

How many people actually believe that?

No one at this academy would see someone ignoring their fiancée while doting on her younger sister and think, Oh, he’s just treating her well because she’s family.

“Every single day, the lunch you made for me, you’re offering it to His Highness instead—”

“I did not make it for you!”

I surprised even myself with the volume of my voice.

I’d never raised my voice like that to Lord Franz before.

He looked shocked—but truthfully, so was I.

“This is a lunch I made for Prince Camus. He said he wanted to eat it again tomorrow, so I tried to think of dishes that would make him happy. I worked hard, imagining what he might enjoy most.”

Back when I was making lunch for Lord Franz, I never thought about it that deeply.

Maybe in the beginning, I did.

But the more I thought about it, the more painful it became when he didn’t eat it. So I started making bland, safe menus with no personality.

But now, I think of Prince Camus every day, recalling the dishes he especially liked, thinking things like, If he liked that, maybe he’ll enjoy this next time too.

I’m gradually learning his tastes, and now I think I can almost fill the entire lunchbox with things he enjoys.

“So, there’s not a single dish in here made for you, Lord Franz!”

“You insolent girl, speaking that way to your fiancé—!”

I flinched and instinctively closed my eyes, thinking he’s going to hit me.

But the blow never came.

I grew anxious, thinking maybe he was waiting to strike the moment I opened my eyes, but eventually, I dared to peek—

“Prince Camus!?”

There he was—gripping Franz’s raised arm, stopping the strike.

Franz’s face had gone completely pale.

“Franz Eldred, you really never learn, do you?”

“Even if she is your fiancée, there’s no excuse for raising your hand to a woman.”

“N-no, Your Highness, this isn’t what it looks like—”

“Oh? Then what is it? If I hadn’t stopped you, Cheryl’s cheek would be swollen right now, wouldn’t it?”

Was it my imagination, or did Prince Camus’s grip on Franz’s arm tighten just then?

He kept holding Franz’s arm in silence for a while, then—perhaps because Franz had nothing more to say—he tossed it aside with a cold, disgusted look, as if discarding trash.

Franz tumbled backward and landed hard on his rear, but Prince Camus didn’t even glance his way. 

Instead, he turned to me with a gentle smile, so kind I almost doubted that frosty look from moments before had ever been real.

“Sorry I was late. Because of that, you…”

“N-no, please don’t apologize!”

If anything, I’ve lost count of how many times he’s stepped in to protect me from this mess between me and my fiancé.

There aren’t enough words in the world to thank him properly.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Placing my hand in his outstretched one had become a natural part of our routine.

As I walked alongside Prince Camus toward the courtyard for lunch, I realized just how accustomed I’d become to this new normal.

“I’m so happy. To think this bento was made just for me…”

The moment he said that as I opened the lunchbox, I felt my face flush with heat.

“You… heard me? ” 

“Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. But I was really happy.”

Hearing those words, my face grew even hotter, and I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at Prince Camus. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I offered him one of the items from the bento.

“This… I thought Your Highness might like it, so I tried making it for the first time. Please, if you’d like, have a taste.”

“Really? You made it for the first time? For me? I’m so happy! ”

Saying that, His Highness—without even having it tasted for poison—just ate it.

Granted, there probably wasn’t any official food tasting happening in the first place, but even so, that was far too careless.

“Delicious! Yeah, I really love this!”

“Your Highness, I should have tried it first, in case…”

“It’s fine. This is something you made just for me. I wouldn’t want anyone else tasting it first.”

“But if something were to happen to you…”

“Even if it were poisoned, I’d still want to eat it.”

Just when I thought I had calmed down, my face grew hot again. I was sure my face must be bright red right now. As I thought that, I noticed His Highness had taken another bite of the bento, and I

looked up again.

“What’s wrong, Cheryl? If you don’t eat, I’m going to finish it all myself, you know?”

“It’s not that… it’s just that I haven’t eaten anything yet…”

“Forget about poison-tasting. It’s totally fine.”

Did that mean he trusted me?

Or maybe he realized that even if I tasted it right before him, symptoms might not show up immediately anyway, and it wouldn’t mean anything.

I had a lot of thoughts, but as I watched His Highness eat so happily, all of them faded away.