I Want to Fall in Love After Getting Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, but My OP Older Brother Won’t Leave Me Alone!? - Chapter 162
Translated by: ShinigamiTori
Chapter 162 ? Sweet Sixteen 3
Yet, while I stood there dumbfounded, both the prince and Julius remained unfazed. Could this really be his usual behavior?
“?too, I suppose. Ah, that’s right, I should properly introduce myself as well.”
After speaking what felt like a month’s worth of words for me, the prince’s brother finally closed his mouth, and the prince responded quietly.
“Rene is a close friend.”
“Eh… T-Theodore-sama?”
“I see, I see! How splendid! It’s a pleasure to meet you, I am Algernon Lindgren, the second prince of this kingdom. I’d like to thank you for always taking care of Theo.”[1]
“Oh, no! I’m the one who’s indebted to?”
“It’s rare for Theo to introduce a friend like this, so I’m really happy. Lady Lene, please continue to take care of Theo from now on. Oh, and who do we have here? If it isn’t Julius Wainwright! I haven’t seen you since the evening party the other day, I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Could it be that the sister you mentioned before is Lady Rene here?”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Who would have thought that your sister and my brother are classmates and this close? This must be fate. You know, Julius and I both attended Heartful Academy??……”
The prince’s brother’s rapid-fire chatter shows no signs of ending, and I’m struggling to find the timing to respond.
I barely have time to process the fact that the prince called me “Rene” for the first time and introduced me as a friend—a “close friend,” at that.
Prince-san, your character is too strong. In the end, I was swept up in his pace and couldn’t even introduce myself.
Julius and the prince’s brother are apparently two years apart, and he was Julius’ senior at Heartful Academy. Which would make the prince’s brother the same age as Alexia-san, Yoshida’s older sister. It’s a pretty impressive generation.
“… Could it be…”
Then, I realize something. Perhaps the reason the prince is so quiet is due to his brother’s impact.
The prince’s brother is three years older than him, and it seems they’ve been close since they were young and spent a lot of time together. Being around someone who talks as fast and as much as his brother since childhood would naturally make anyone quieter. It couldn’t be anything else.
“—So that’s how it was. Ah, I ended up keeping you for so long, my apologies. Please, enjoy yourselves.”
“T-Thank you very much.”
At last, the talk comes to an end, and with a charming, radiant smile, the prince’s brother walks away. He was like a tempest.
“…………”
“He’s a very pleasant person. I was really happy to be introduced as a close friend.”
“…………”
“Oh, I feel the same way, of course.”
After that, the three of us continue our walk again, with the prince still holding my hand. Everyone we passed by bowed respectfully to the prince and greeted him, reminding me once again that he truly was a prince.
Eventually, the prince stopped in front of a large door. As the door slowly opened, the moment I caught sight of the situation behind it, I froze like a statue.
“?Huh?”
The spacious hall has been transformed into a dazzling party venue, with food and cakes lined up beneath a sparkling chandelier.
“Why is everyone…”
And standing there were Therese, Yoshida, Willy, Reinhardt, and Arnold-san.
In front of my friends dressed in glamorous, colorful dresses and tuxedos, my mind went completely blank.
“Rene, happy birthday!”
“Hmm, happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday, Rene-chan!”
“Happy birthday, you look cute today.”
“Happy birthday! We’re the same age now!”
While I stood there speechless as they each showered me with words of celebration, Julius presented me with a large bouquet of flowers.
“Once again, happy 16th birthday, Rene.”
It was then that I finally understood.
Everyone had gathered to celebrate my birthday and had organized a surprise party for me.
“……”
I’m so overwhelmed by this dreamy, miraculous occurrence that I can’t control my emotions, my eyes become moist, and my heart is full of joy.
Plop, plop?the tears keep falling from my eyes.
“… Hic, h-huwaah… T-Thank… hic…”
I want to thank them, but I can’t get the words out. Soon, Julius takes out a handkerchief and wipes away my tears.
Yet the tears don’t stop, they just keep on overflowing, and I don’t know what to do. This wasn’t just crying—it was a full-blown sob.
As I cried to the extent that it was almost embarrassing, everyone smiled at me with warm, kind expressions.
“We definitely talked about how you would cry, but I never expected you to cry this much. Look, even your nose is running.”
“Ugh… sniff… T-That’s because…”
“With such a reaction, all the effort we put into preparing this and gathering here was worth it, wasn’t it?”
“Hahaha, Rene-chan, you’ve easily exceeded our expectations.”
Seeing them laugh, knowing the surprise was a big success, warms my heart.
??I had once wished to spend my birthday with my beloved friends.
However, things like this aren’t something you invite people to yourself, and I didn’t want to make everyone worry about gifts and other things, so I kept my birthday a secret from everyone.
That’s precisely why I couldn’t even envision being celebrated in such a way.
“E-Everyone, thank you… This moment is definitely going to appear in my life’s final moments…”
“That’s a bit much.”
I found myself laughing at Yoshida’s composed retort, saying, “That’s true.” Still, this was genuinely one of the happiest and most fulfilling moments of my life, both in this life and the previous one.
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s sit down, shall we?”
Still sniffling softly, I followed Julius as he led me to the table where everyone was gathered.
We decided to start with a toast, and non-alcoholic champagne was passed around. Sitting at the head of the table, I looked around at everyone’s faces once again and then bowed my head.
“I-I sincerely appreciate everyone for gathering here today for my sake.”
“Oh, come on, don’t make it so formal! Happy birthday! Yay!”
Willy raised his glass and laughed, which made me smile as well, and I stretched my hand out holding my glass.
“Right, everyone, thank you so much for today!”
When our seven glasses clinked together, it made the most wonderful, joyful sound.
Translator Notes:
1. There’s a mistranslation in the previous chapter, the raws said that he’s just ‘a prince of the kingdom’, not exactly the ‘Crown Prince’. Because it turns out that he’s the second prince in this chapter, I wasn’t sure if the Crown Prince’s the first son or the second one, so I corrected the previous chapter’s translation. ?
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