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Chapter 44 Part 3 – The luxurious carriage runs under the moonlight. And then all sorts of motives begin to stir.

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Aquilegia

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「….. A dependable Scarlet is the pride of Wendell and I. But don’t forget. You are also my dear daughter. You can do everything on your own, but you need to be pampered once in a while by your mother.」

She tapped her knees.

Uoohh!! An invitation to sit on her knees!! And a compliment!!

I hid my face, which had gone completely bright red, with my hands in a panic.
I couldn’t fully hide it. A little girl’s hand is too small ….. In a panic, I thrusted my hands into the hidden pockets on my dress and pulled out a handkerchief. I put it over my face. Mmm, I look like I’m dead.

No, mother, I appreciate your feelings, but the skirt is inflated with a light framework. No matter how light I am as a little girl, it’s too dangerous to sit on your knees. It would be a disaster if the dress had a dent in the shape of my buttocks before the important ball.　　

Usually, mother don’t even wear a corset to tighten her upper body, let alone panniers to extend the width of the skirts. Well, there is also the fact that mother has a slim waist, even without wearing those things.

Even so, mother is able to maintain a slight forward leaning posture because of the muscular strength she has developed through archery. It is not because she is accustomed to sitting like a lady. The dress that is inflated by the framework forces her to sit in this way, and she must be exhausted just by sitting down. I cannot burden her in a jolting carriage.
Besides, it is a little embarrassing for me, someone with 28 years of experience, to sit on her lap.

I jumped into my seat and snuggled up next to mother.
She looked a little disappointed, but I hoped she would forgive me.

And as I was rocked in the comfortable carriage, the exhaustion from working hard every day finally kicked in and before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep ……

The sound of horses’ hooves different from our carriage woke me up, the carriage had long left Wilhelm’s territory.
This is …… the terminal town of the main road where the the three territories intersect ……!!
Once we cross the forest on the left from here, we will enter the territory of Countess Rosenthal.
From here, traversing the forest to the left, we entered the territory of Countess Rosenthal.
It seems that I unknowingly slept for hours.

I jumped to the window.
I looked at the scene passing outside the carriage.
My hands are sweating.
I wondered if Countess Rosenthal had set this up.

In my previous 「108 times」, I had been repeatedly attacked by Countess Rosenthal’s assassins.
That dangerous Countess Rosenthal, who has her own private assassination squad, could have summoned mother and me from the safe ducal residence and struck us down in the dark.
It might be a bit troublesome if she targets our eight horses with projectile weapons …..

What caught my eye and made me nervous was the flashy red and blue colors of the body armor, vivid even in the moonlit night. Wearing sallet helmets and saddles decorated with cloth of the same color as the armor, the knights were approaching quickly. They easily carried a heavy lance under their arms. A small flag swayed at the tip of their lances.

I was released from my tension and plopped down.

Thank God. They are not assassins. They are our acquaintances. And very reliable, too.

「…… We, the Hydrangea Imperial Guards, apologize for coming here without informing you beforehand!! In compliance with the king’s order, we shall guard the Duchess and Scarlet …. Mnnn, I meant to say Viscount Wilhelm. This really brings back memories of that time when we descended the cliff.」

The knight announced their arrival in a loud voice that sounded like that of the captain.
His voice echoed through the carriage, even though the carriage’s windows could not be opened or closed.

He just said my real name ……

They are the members of the Hydrangea Imperial Guards, the strongest guards in the kingdom.

Each one of them has the ability of a leader of an ordinary Knights Order, and they are our comrades-in-arms who stood together against the demon dog Gallam. The person pulling up near the carriage now has a particularly close connection with us. He is one of the two people who held onto the demon dog Gallam, even when they were vomiting blood, in order to support mother.

His Majesty must have sharp ears. I wonder when he found out about the ball.
But he shouldn’t move the Imperial Guards, the last stronghold of the royal family, so carelessly.
I think I’d better ask them to leave for now.
There doesn’t seem to be any problems on the road, and the attendants and Bradd riding together with us are enough of an escort.
Riding this luxurious carriage and being escorted by the eye-catching Imperial Guards would make us extremely conspicuous, in a bad way.

I smiled and gently pointed with my fan in the direction of Bradd in the coachman’s seat and the attendants standing outside in the back of the carriage. The Imperial Guards is top notch. They must have sensed the extraordinary strength of the attendants.

Perhaps my feelings were clearly conveyed, the knight of the Imperial Guards gave a thumbs-up.

「Don’t worry!! The thieves have been eradicated!! In the woods ahead of us, we spotted some suspicious-looking people who seemed to be waiting to ambush your carriage. Once we asked about their identity, they immediately attacked us. We turned the tables on them before coming here.」

I was about to smile in relief when I got shocked by the outrageous reply he gave me with a smiling expression.
I looked closely and saw that the tip of their lances were stained with blood.
It seemed that trouble had already occurred. And it was solved immediately.

Those assassins are indeed unfortunate that they encountered the most powerful Imperial Guards of the royal family.
The assassination squad that almost killed me several times in my previous 「108 times」 was treated like a baby by the Imperial Guards, who were trained by the demon-like three old warriors. But even if they had ambushed our carriage, Bradd and the attendants would have been waiting for them. In any case, they would be stuck with a tiger at the front gate and a wolf at the back gate. They have no choice but to give up and say that they were the ones that did the wrong thing.

I joined my hands together in my heart for those pitiful assassins.
They had probably spent their whole lives doing all kinds of bad things, but there was no point in blaming the dead.
Condemn the offense, but not the offender. I pray that they don’t rest in peace.

My faithful and merciful heart was shattered by the loud laughter of the imperial guards running alongside the carriage.

「….. Hahaha!! Finally, you are going to raid Countess Rosenthal’s mansion!! Such a fun thing, we’d love to be there to assist you!! No, no, there is no use in trying to fool us!! No need to turn us down!! His Majesty has asked us to be as accommodating as possible! Once we heard that you were planning to execute revenge for the madam, there were so many applicants that wanted to participate, it was difficult to select them!!」

Haa!? That’s not true!
Why is the story of going to the ball replaced by the story of a raid!?

I panicked. My child’s voice could not penetrate the loud sound of the running carriage and reach outside. I had no choice but to spread my ten fingers as wide as I could and shake my head frantically.

I don’t need an escort!! Please go back!!

The knight of the Imperial Guards nodded deeply.

「I understand!! I’m not bringing 10 men, I’m bringing twice as many, 20 men!!」

You don’t understand at all!! Why are we having a cryptic dialogue filled with misunderstandings!!

As he said, about 20 imperial guards came running up to the carriage with smiles on their faces. I was so stunned that I forgot to keep my balance and smashed my forehead against the window with all my might. Perhaps because of the body language from when I was a baby and couldn’t communicate, since I became a little girl, my overreaction has become too much and has reached the level of an entertainer’s actions. If this continues, my pearl-like skin will be covered with scars.

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