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Chapter 43 Part 4 – We will once again challenge the nightmare ball that has driven mother to the brink of abandonment. Without realizing that Solomon is present there in the dark.

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Aquilegia

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The royal family, which had been on the verge of death after being surrounded by treacherous subjects who sucked all the juice out of them, came back to life. After that, most of the royal family became very fond of me. To prevent their name from collapsing, they had to rely on their treacherous subjects for funds to hold a single dinner party, so after getting freed from their misery and fear, they were more than happy to take my hand.

Yeah, I hate being poor.
It’s hellishly painful to bow down to someone who looks down on you and have to borrow their money with an ingratiating smile.
It makes you want to kill yourself when you are alone in your room.
I know exactly how you feel.
And for my plan of becoming a shut-in, this development has gone according to the plan.
It is hard for people to be hostile toward those who can benefit them.
It would be even more so since I saved them from the pain and humiliation of poverty.
I have made it clear to the royal family and the parliament that I have no intention of claiming to be the successor of the True Emperor.
For my own safety, I needed to be seen as a person of great value for the national interest to the current royal family and the parliament. That way, if they knew of any disturbing movements from the four princes overseas, I would be informed as soon as possible. This was because they would try to protect the human resource that was me. For this reason, it was imperative that the royal family is on our side.

I am now good friends with the royal family.
I am especially fond of the 10 year old second princess. She runs up to me with a big smile like the sun when she sees me and welcomes me. She is a very cute and clever princess. She is so clever that I am a little scared of her. …… When I made my social debut in my previous 「108 times」, she had already passed away prematurely and was never seen again, but if she had survived, I would never have been crowned queen. It is understandable that the king became weird after her death, given the way he doted on her. I guess he was hoping that her talent could overcome the situation of the blocked royal family. If the second princess becomes the queen, I think Hydrangea will be peaceful.

I’ve been straining all of my wisdom because I want her to survive this time, but …… the cause of the princess’s death wasn’t mentioned in the documents I read during my time as a queen. It wasn’t a proper death. I can’t allow such a good girl to die an unnatural death. I will definitely change her fate!! I vowed to myself as the princess embraced me.

…… Umm, Princess, I’m having a serious monologue here though, so can you please stop hugging me and rubbing your cheeks against mine?
Even if you look like an innocent little girl, your mental age is around mid-twenties, right? Besides, you should have noticed that I’m a girl …… b-but why are you looking at me with such moist eyes!? Help!! Help me!!

…… Haa, haa, I somehow managed to shake her off.
I remembered the horror of being approached by Alisa in my previous 「108 times」.

……I know very well from my previous 「108 times」 experience that if the current royal family is weakened, Hydrangea will plunge into a state of semi-civil war and a struggle for the throne will begin. With such an unstable situation in the kingdom, I cannot become a shut-in with a peace of mind. I cannot let the current royal family collapse.

In order to prevent that from happening, I fought hard.
Thanks to that, I was able to minimize the damage from the parade of national collapse-level difficulties that had doomed Hydrangea in my previous 「108 times」: a wheat shortage caused by locusts, the total destruction of potatoes due to a lasting disease, and riots caused by starvation in various parts of the kingdom. Because of this I earned the reputation of being an exceptionally loyal and capable retainer. The devious person of a turbulent age has become the capable retainer of a peaceful age.
Brad laughed at me every time we met, saying that I was the world’s hardest-working NEET aspirant.
You cross-dressing maid.
Should I reveal your gender to all the young men in the territory who are looking at you with such fervor?
…… That’s not going to work, he seems like he’s just going to blithely admit, 「Yeah, I’m a guy」.
I feel so sorry for the journey awaiting ahead of those young men …… Let’s stop thinking about this.

Well, for the time being, we avoided a future of national doom.
Fate is a fickle thing, though, so who knows how things will change again?.

There are many things I would like to say, but I am in a bit of a hurry right now, so I will gradually reveal the detailed story of the past three years.

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「…… Scarlet. Doesn’t this dress look a little strange?」

Mother looked at her reflection in the mirror and asked me anxiously.

Twisting herself around, she desperately tried to check even the folds of the skirt in the back.
She spinned around like a spinning top.
For a mother who is so composed when facing all kinds of things, she is morbidly meticulous.
The more she did that, the more the dress would be worn out of shape. Mary, who was in charge of dressing her, started running in panic and set up a series of mirrors to surround mother one after the other.

「Madam, you look very beautiful, and I think it suits you very well.」

Mary complimented and I agreed.

But mother said, 「…… It’s fine. You don’t have to flatter me. I know myself very well. Yes, I’m a piece of trash who doesn’t look good in a dress. I’m a disgrace to high society. Ahh, I’m so unconfident. I should never have been born ……」

She was so insecure that she looked as if she were going to sit down on the spot.
She hunched over and began to mumble.
The numerous mirrors around mother reflected her haggard bent-over figure.
…… It looks as if she’s performing some kind of exorcism ritual.

I sighed. Not because I was surprised.
It was because I could see how deep the emotional scars that mother had once suffered had been.
I had no choice but to use my hidden card.

「Mother is the one whom the hero, 「the Crimson Duke」, chose as his eternal companion. What could be prouder than that? Have confidence in yourself. …… Now then!! Think of this place as a ballroom!! Imagine that on the other side of the mirror, father has come to escort you!!」

Although I’m still not so sure about that duke who goes crazy when it comes to mother, but the effect he had on her was outstanding.
As if getting a burst of confidence, she suddenly raised her head, looked forward, and walked with dignity.
I was satisfied. She had the manner of a lady who would not be embarrassed wherever she goes.

「…… Wendell …… Ahh, my love ……」

Aaah!! Mother, there is no need to kiss the mirror!!
You are too absorbed in your world of imagination!!

My parents’ lovesickness is still going strong today.
W-well, this is a lot better than being depressed.
Seeing this, I’m sure it will work out ……right? …… I hope so.
To be honest, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy ……

Actually, we have to have a match tonight.
We are going to a field where dresses and women’s disposition sparkle and give off sparks.

In the past, mother was almost crippled by the cruel bullying of the 「red nobles」. I have been invited to the ball by one of the culprits. Along with my mother.

The name of the culprit is Countess Rosenthal.

She was the favorite mistress of the late king of Hydrangea and her influence is still strong.
Strictly speaking, she is not one of the 「red nobles」, but she has resolutely attached herself to that power.
She is beautiful, brutal, and has no mercy for those who stand out more than her.
She has her own private assassination unit and she is a dangerous person who will not hesitate to take down anyone who opposes her in the dark.
I was almost killed by her several times in my previous 「108 times」.
It was mainly because I got mixed up in Alisa’s mistakes …… but I’m not convinced.

That Countess Rosenthal invited me to a ball.
Of course, it can’t possibly be done out of good will.
She must have set up a trap and is waiting for us to make a fool of ourselves because she didn’t like my mother who had made a name for herself by defeating the demon dog Gallam and me who is called a child prodigy and was friendly with the royal family.

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