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Chapter 54 Part 5 – The second princess of Hydrangea, Margaret, invades.

Princess Margaret had made many appearances at various events as the face of the royal family, but since mother was not well acquainted with the aristocratic circle, she was completely unaware of it. The imperial guards that were accompanying the princess could not inform mother about the princess’s identity without her permission since she was on an incognito visit, so they were compelled to keep quiet, as I could tell from their apologetic faces. They probably wanted to warn mother. Bradd quickly supported mother from behind.

「It’s been a long time, Rufus. You didn’t come to the palace much, so I came over to play with you. I hope you will forgive my rudeness.」

The princess smiled graciously as she dropped her innocent little girl act and revealed her regal nature. Her aura, which overwhelms even the ladies who have fought in the royal palace, is tremendous. She no longer looks like a little girl that can be underestimated. By the way, 「Rufus」 is my alias when I pretend to be a man.

「I am sorry, Duchess. I told a lie. My mother, the queen, is still alive. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Margaret Alexandria Noel Hydrangea. I am deeply moved that you have been so kind to me without knowing I am a princess.」

Seeing that mother was trembling and trying to prostrate herself before her, the princess squatted down in front of her and softened the atmosphere. She held mother’s hand with both hands and spoke so with a smile. It was an amazing use of the carrot and the stick. Overwhelm her with the aura of a princess and then show an angelic smile toward her. Most people would fall for this.

Mother …… haaa, completely fell for it. Mother can see through the other party’s malice, but Princess Margaret has no malice. That’s exactly why she’s scary. Princess Margaret is capable of trampling down anyone, even those who are close to her, for the sake of achieving her goal without showing any malice toward them. It is rare to find someone with that kind of steel will.

「From now on, please call me by my name, Cornelia-sama …… No, please allow me to call you『foster mother』, as you said earlier. Please treat me as a member of the family from now on. We will no longer be strangers.」

I was stunned. What is this second princess talking about in the heat of the moment? Noticing my expression, Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret smiled at me.

「I have come here today to speak to you. Rufus, get engaged with me.」

I repeat, Rufus is my alias, the one I use when I’m pretending to be a boy.
Ah, I guess this is where today’s plot begins.
That’s a pretty heavy jab.
I knew Princess Margaret wouldn’t just come over for a visit.

The sudden bomb made mother forget to prostrate and she jumped up as if she were about to burst.
Her expression changed as she made a sudden outburst.

「That would not work!! Because my child is …… Muguu ……!?」

「Then, I’ll send Mrs. Cornelia to her room and brew some tea.」

「…… Muguu …… Mugogohh ……!?」

Bradd covered mother’s mouth with his hand to stop her from speaking and forced her to leave.
Nice follow-up.
I am supposed to be a boy externally.
If my mother said that I am a woman in front of the princess, I will have various restrictions and euphemisms placed on me, or I might get into trouble later. Mother is not good at this kind of thing. The two members of the Imperial Guard looked at her with a sorry look on their faces.

Sorry, it’s because mother is too honest.
…… I don’t want mother to see too much of the battle between a fox and a raccoon.
Because it reminds me of the days in my previous 「108 times」 when I was a ruthless queen.

With mother’s exit, Princess Margaret completely stopped hiding her true nature.
With a light signal from her eyes, the two members of the Imperial Guard who were escorting her moved back so far that they couldn’t hear our conversation.

「…… The maid just now is the son of the chief of the〈Lawless Crew〉, isn’t he? I hear he can read people’s minds and is also very strong. So it turns out he’s actually your personal knight. To be honest, I’d like to have him on our side …… The servants in this house are not normal. …… Are you aware that there is an opinion that this is too much power for one ducal family to hold? Other things are also on the radar, such as the silver mines in the duke’s territory and the trade network with foreign kingdoms. They think that the household of Duke Wendell has too much power and that it should be taken away and made into a kingdom-owned business. Not only that, they are even considering forcefully relocating your family to a different domain …… They are all so selfish, when it’s thanks to you that the Hydrangea royal family has regained its power. How dare they be so ungrateful and act like a hyena. Although they are my blood relatives, I feel truly disgusted.」

Hearing her words, I felt relieved and stopped feeling nervous.
This time Princess Margaret was not here to argue with me.
She was here to tell me about the crisis that was crawling toward my family in a roundabout way.
She even hinted that the main source of the problem was royalty.

We walked up to the white table in the greenhouse.
This place, filled with colorful flowers, is indoors and unaffected by rain and wind. It is a little hot and humid, but it is also a good place for a light cup of tea. It is very relaxing to have a cup of herbal tea here.
Princess Margaret used her hand to block my attempt to escort her by pulling up a chair.

「No need to do those kinds of things today. Normally I have no choice but to take it because it’s good manners for a gentleman to escort a lady. You know, Rufus. No, since it’s just the two of us now, I’ll call you Scarlet, your real name. I came here to have a serious talk with you. You can call me Margaret. And don’t use honorifics.」

The princess is one of the few people outside of my family who knows my gender and my real name. We are friends, although we do probe each other out due to our positions. …… We are friends, right? This is scary, so please go easy on me, considering that we are friends.

「…… Could it be that the Queen and the prince are plotting something?」

Princess Margaret nodded frustratedly at my question.
Ahh, so annoying, she said as she stretched out her arms and legs, shifting off the chair.
Margaret hid her head under the table.

「…… That’s right!! They were so grateful to you when the locusts almost destroyed this kingdom and you saved it. At that time, I was so moved that a genius greater than myself had appeared. The same was true for my mother and older brother. But as their power grew, all kinds of small insects started to come to them and they became obsessed with crazy ideas. Just so you know, father and the rest of the royal family have not forgotten how grateful they are to you.」

Margaret said annoyedly.
It made me feel embarrassed to be called a genius by a real genius.
I was only able to respond to the unprecedented catastrophe because of my knowledge of the previous 「108 times」.

Margaret shifted her back and began to sit up in her chair. Like the sun rising over the horizon, Margaret’s head with blond hair gradually rose over the edge of the table. When her eyes were visible, she stopped moving.

「I’m so embarrassed, I can’t even raise my face any more.」

She looked so cute, like a little animal, that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

「I’m not angry. People change their minds all the time. Compared to that, I’m more happy about my friendship with Margaret. It’s such a rare opportunity, so I’d like to talk while looking at the face of my lovely and sincere friend.」

「…… Scarlet is very farsighted. If it were your mother, she’d be distraught at how ungrateful they are. I wonder what kind of life you’ve led to reach such a state in less than 4 years old. You still have a lot of secrets you’re keeping from me, don’t you?」

Margaret put her bottom back on the chair where it was supposed to be and glared at me lightly.
I had no choice but to laugh and cover it up. If I told people that I was a queen that had been hated and killed by the people for 「108 times」 and that my life has been going around in a loop, they would definitely question my sanity. Well, even if they believed me, that would also be very troublesome.