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Chapter 71 Part 1 – Mother and Countess Rosenthal. The destinies of two people who had misgivings with each other are intersecting again after time had passed.

Good evening everyone.
My name is Scarlet, the main character of this story.

Scarlet Ruby Noel Lingard.

With flaming red eyes and red hair.
And a deep crimson ruby hanging on my chest.
Moreover, the dress I’m wearing tonight is also red.
…… Please call me the red rose of high society.

I’m almost 4 years old. Although I pretend to be a boy, I’m a true lady.
There are some unavoidable circumstances that caused me to have to do this.

But today is a masquerade ball, so I can be all dressed up. Which is the reason why I’m currently inside an eight-horse carriage heading to the venue under the moonlight.

This reminds me of my days as a young lady in the previous 「108 times」.
I was praised as the Jewel of Hydrangea.
Beautiful, cultured, graceful, and elegant.
A rhododendron when standing. A peony when sitting. And a lily when walking.
I must have captivated many men.
How nostalgic. Those brilliant and dangerous nights.

…… I’m sorry. Half of it is a lie.

It’s true that I was praised.
But to be honest, I didn’t really have any luck with men.
It was because I was in the middle of a fierce battle for succession to the throne and also because there was a stupid girl who threatened every gentleman who approached me.

「Scarlet-sama, when are you going to get married with Alisa? Let’s practice the kiss ceremony.」

A little girl with naughty thoughts, blond hair, and blue eyes clung to me.
She leaned coquettishly against me and interrupted my flashback scene.

That’s right, it was all her fault.
Alisa Diamondi Noel Fontaine

The plague that I thought I would never have to deal with again in the 「109th time」.
And yet, once again, she had her sights locked on me.
I wonder if she has some kind of cursed tracking function.

I do want to be a red rose.
But I don’t want a yuri (lily) development ……

I don’t discriminate against any form of love.
There is a reason for why I don’t like it.
In the future, this stupid girl is going to follow me around continuously.
And I will be busy cleaning up after her.
Even though I am not her parent or husband.

…… It’s not a baseless worry. I am sure of it.
After all, I’ve experienced it so many times to the point of loathing in my loop life.

Moreover, this girl named Alisa.
As the 「Maiden of Salvation」, she will kill me, the 「Queen」.
And it is a development that will surely happen.

No matter how much I took care of her.
This must be exactly what it means by the saying, 「repay kindness with enmity」.
She is a thousand times worse than cuckoo chicks.

I sighed, and for the umpteenth time, I gave her an educational lesson.

「Alisa. Stay. Kiss only on the cheek. Not on the lips.」

I have to discipline her at the very least.

But even after I pulled her off and made her sit across from me, she kept coming back like a yo-yo while crying and threatening me, 「Scarlet-sama doesn’t like Alisa!? Then Alisa is going to jump out of the carriage」. I really can’t handle it anymore. I feel like a kitten I picked up by accident has turned the tables on me and taken over my house. I should never have picked up this girl.

Meanwhile Bradd, the one I can always count on in times like this, was playing the role of a coachman and was not inside the carriage, mother was smiling at us as she thought it was just a game between children, and Seraphy timidly said 「I’m not sure about riding together in a lady’s carriage without permission from her family ……」. So I had no choice but to struggle on my own.

Well, I could understand why Seraphy and the others reacted like that.

Who knows how furious the wife-obsessed Duke would be if he knew that my mother was wearing clothes prepared by a guy other than himself and that guy was sitting on the opposite side in a narrow carriage with their knees coming in contact …… It would definitely be frightening. Even I, his daughter, tremble when imagining that scene. Let’s not wake up a sleeping lion.

「…… Anyway, Alisa. Can you remember anything else about how you ended up being captured by the demon dog?」

I asked the same question several times already.

Because Alisa’s stumbling response to that question doesn’t make sense at all.
She was asleep and then the next thing she knew, she was being held in the mouth of a big dog that was running.
Then she got startled and passed out. When she woke up, her fated prince (She’s talking about me, but I absolutely refuse to be called that!!) was there.

Alisa!!
You’re omitting some of the 5W1H!!

I wanted to yell at her like that, but I’m dealing with the empty-headed Alisa, who has nothing but flowers inside her head.
Not to mention that she is now a three-year-old child.
So, I gave up on gathering information.
Knowing when to give up is an essential part of being a good woman.
Sometimes it is necessary to have a merciful and patient heart …… Uwaaahhh!?

After looking at the scenery passing through the window of the carriage, my legs nearly gave out.
I was so shocked that my soul nearly jumped out of my body and I could have ascended to heaven.
I almost gave a nostalgic baby shout.

A huge white thing was flying alongside the carriage.
And a child with golden eyes like a wolf was peering at us intently.
The child’s brown skin made his eyes stand out in a glaring manner..
It was a bit like a horror story.
But that is not a ghost.
It‘s something much worse.

「…… Masterrr!!」

His wolf-cut black hair fluttered in the air.
His voice was so loud that it could be heard through the window as he waved his hand.
I got so annoyed by his smile and shiny white teeth.
On the other hand, mother responded to him with a smile.

I put my fist to my forehead and sighed at this new source of worries.
I’m getting a headache.

His name is Arnold.
He is one of the 「Five Heroes」 in the previous 「108 times」.
As the Hunter of Darkness, he had shot me to death numerous times.

He is currently accompanying us beside our carriage by hanging on to his flying partner, the white owl.
The picture was too surreal.
I never saw him doing this in the previous 「108 times」, but with Arnold’s current child weight and the ridiculous size of the owl’s wings, I suppose it’s entirely possible.

「Scarlet!! Will you get married with me!?」

I nearly fell off the seat.

There’s no way that’s possible!!
You’re still a child and I haven’t even turned 4 years old yet!!

In the first place, I’m currently pretending to be a boy.
If I got into a same-sex marriage, the church will definitely keep their eyes on me.
Please don’t create any more enemies for me.
My dream of becoming a shut-in is getting further and further away.

Alisa puffed up her cheeks, took my arm, and asserted her territorial rights.

Hey, that includes you as well, you know?

「If we get married, I’ll be able to spend every day practicing archery under master Cornelia!! That’s going to be the best future ever!! I’m so looking forward to it!!」

Don’t look forward to it.
And don’t go on with that story on your own, you self-conceited character.
If such a wretched future actually comes true, the stress will make a hole in my stomach.

How problematic, he ended up having his sights locked on to me in a different sense from the previous 「108 times」.

I mean, your real love is my mother, right?
I’m being treated as a garnish for sashimi, not as a wife.
A marriage where my mother is on better terms with my husband than me sounds extremely hellish.

I’m curious about what kind of expression Bradd had when he heard this proposal, but unfortunately I couldn’t see it because the passenger seats and the coachman’s seat are separated from each other.

…… Oh, I don’t mean to be weird.
It’s just that he swore to be my knight.
He can’t possibly have no reaction at a time like this.
Yeah.

「…… Having that genius Arnold as my son-in-law? Then I would be able to teach him all of Melville’s archery techniques ……」

M-Mother!?
Don’t get carried away by that self-conceited character!!
I can’t really explain in detail, but he’s my natural enemy!?
You never know when he might betray you.
Not only will you help the enemy, if you teach him Melville’s secret techniques, he will really become an untouchable monster!!

I screamed inside my heart.