With The Fifth Loop, The Third Prince Has Been Added To The Cast. - Chapter 9

Being the third prince is a rather carefree position.

Born as the third prince of this country, I, Camus Reinfeldt, have always thought so.

My eldest brother, Crown Prince Cedric, was expected to become the next emperor from the moment he was born and has been raised under strict education.

He had a fiancée chosen from a young age, and she too has undergone strict education to become the future crown princess and empress.

Every action of theirs is restricted. Even from my position as a fellow prince, their daily life seems suffocating.

My second brother, Prince Philip, is expected to be a substitute in case something happens to Prince Cedric.

Although not as strictly educated as Cedric, he was still raised with considerable discipline.

He has no official fiancée yet, but several noble ladies are considered candidates, and it is expected that one will be chosen from among them.

However, as the third prince, I was not expected to do much.

As long as I possessed the basic knowledge befitting a prince, the rest was left up to me.

I had no fiancée, nor even any candidates.

My mother—though technically my stepmother—was said to be unusually kind only to me. She merely told me, “One day, find someone you love.”

Even among the sons and daughters of nobles, it is common for engagements or potential engagements to be arranged early due to family circumstances.

Despite being a member of the royal family, I was far more free and unburdened than those noble children.

One of those nobles was Lady Cheryl Atley.

She, too, was engaged from a young age due to her family’s circumstances.

I don’t know exactly when the engagement began, nor did I care at first.

I only knew that before she entered the Royal Academy, she had been engaged to Lord Franz Eldred, the son of a marquis.

Among nobles, it’s not uncommon for engagements to be made without regard for personal feelings.

While love marriages born from mutual affection and understanding aren’t impossible, they are quite rare.

Even so, once an engagement is decided, couples usually try to get along, knowing they’ll eventually be husband and wife.

But Cheryl Atley and Franz Eldred were… different.

They stood out, which is why they caught my attention.

At first, it was really just that.

Franz Eldred always seemed incredibly annoyed and tried to push Cheryl away.

Still, Cheryl Atley never gave up, always trying desperately to devote herself to him.

Seeing such a lady go unnoticed, despite all her efforts, struck me as pitiful. I often found myself watching them, thinking that since neither wanted this engagement, they could at least try to meet each other halfway.

“Lord Franz, I made a lunch for you. Would you care to join me…?”

“Shut up. Leave me alone! ”

A lady who even made lunches only to be coldly rejected…

It didn’t take long for their interactions to become well known at the Academy.

The poor noble lady, devoted yet unrequited.

I, like everyone else, came to see her that way.

But eventually, my gaze began to follow her naturally.

No matter how coldly she was treated, her feelings remained pure and unwaveringly directed toward her fiancé.

She sacrificed everything, endlessly working to earn his affection.

And I thought… if only that love were directed toward me instead…

Before I realized it, I couldn’t help but think that way.

One year after entering the Academy, I witnessed a moment I would never forget.

Beside Franz Eldred stood a girl who appeared to be a new student.

I later learned she was Cheryl Atley’s younger sister.

Franz was smiling at her—a smile he never once showed to Cheryl.

From a short distance away, Cheryl watched them with a sad expression.

Just seeing her face was enough to make my chest tighten.

The rumors of Franz Eldred and Cheryl’s sister quickly spread throughout the school, as expected.

Then, in our graduation year, news of Cheryl and Franz’s engagement being dissolved spread as well.

Since everyone knew about the younger sister, most people simply thought, “Of course.”

But I… I was just worried about Cheryl.

After all that effort to win over her fiancé, what was she doing now?

I was so worried; I searched for her desperately—and what I found was her cold, lifeless body.

I couldn’t forgive it.

Franz Eldred smiling happily with Cheryl’s sister, while Cheryl—who had tried so hard—died without ever finding happiness.

So, I used the power only I was allowed to wield.

I believed that this time, Cheryl would finally find happiness.

The second time. The third time. Even after endings like those, Cheryl never gave up on her fiancé.

She worked even harder each time, only for her life to end without happiness once again. Seeing that, I began to doubt whether what I was doing was right.

Still, I couldn’t give up on her happiness.

Then, in the fourth life, she finally gave up on her fiancé.

I was sure that this time, she would be happy—and yet, she still passed away without ever grasping it.

So I made up my mind.

In the fifth life, I would be the one to make her happy.

For the first time, I spoke to her.

Just having her look at me, to truly recognize me, made me tremble with joy.

From that day on, every moment was bliss.

Talking to Cheryl for the first time.

Recommending her favorite novels.

Calling her “Cheryl,” and being allowed to.

Hearing her call me by name.

Introducing her to a book I liked.

Borrowing a book she loved.

Receiving handmade sweets from her.

Eating her handmade lunch.

Every day was nothing but happiness for me.

But… I was the only one who felt that way.

The one person I had wanted to make happy—Cheryl—wasn’t happy at all.

Even in the fifth life, she was tormented by Franz Eldred, nearly dying without knowing happiness once again.

Barely managing to prevent that fate, I trembled with fear at the thought of losing her again.

Even this time, Cheryl had been hurt by Franz and her own sister.

I had been too caught up in my own happiness to notice and nearly let her slip away again.

Her wet, cold body overlapped in my mind with the Cheryl I once found cold and lifeless.

I held her close, trying to warm her, and renewed my vow:

This time, I will make you happy.

After I introduced Cheryl to my mother, things progressed quickly.

My mother was overjoyed that I had fallen in love, and in time, Cheryl came to love me too.

Her engagement to Franz was annulled, and Cheryl became my fiancée.

“Cheryl, I promise to make you the happiest bride in the world. So please… marry me.”

A year after graduation, on the day she became not my fiancée but my wife, I knelt before her.

With the resolve that I would never turn back time again—that this time, I would make her happy for sure.

“Yes!”

The Cheryl who nodded at me was the most beautiful bride in the world, mine alone.

And in that moment, I knew—

It was I who was the happiest of all.