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Chapter 77 Part 5 – The prelude to the ball. Alisa clashes against the Light Bat Tribe. Then, I reminisced about the night of 「Thunderbolt」.

「…… That training was absolutely ridiculous though. You’re the type that wouldn’t count the 1,000 practice swings done in advance as training, aren’t you? She must have been traumatized by it. You’re just like your father in that you overdo things. You’re definitely his daughter.」

Hey, don’t let go of the reins, especially when you’re driving an eight-horse carriage!! And don’t you lump me together with that wife-loving, ruthless duke!! In the first place, what the heck is he doing when mother is in a pinch. Seraphy contacted his business trip destination with a carrier pigeon, but they said that he had already left. I guess he must have gotten wind of the dance ball on a wild hunch, but if he can’t communicate with us, he’s useless. If he can’t even play the role of being my mother’s knight, he’s nothing more than a dangerous martial arts expert. He has zero value. Rather than the Crimson Duke, he should be called the Useless Duke. Let’s just ignore that red-eyed devil.

I have more of my mother’s blood flowing in me!! Us, mother and daughter, will be lovey dovey!! Let’s get through this dance ball together. Don’t you agree, mother!!

「…… My daughter is scary ……!! I’m sure I’ll make a mistake …… Even inside my dream, the dance steps appear and criticizes me ……!! The waltz is …… The Galop dance is …… The Mazurka dance is …… The Polka dance is …… The Minuet dance is …… The Gavotte dance is …… The Polonaise music won’t stop ringing inside my head ……」

M-Mother!?

「You see. If you cram too much in, it might backfire and she’ll start to wonder if she’ll be able to handle it.」

Bradd jumped into the carriage through the skylight.

As I said, don’t let go of the reins ……

Bradd quickly put his hand on mother’s neck, controlled her blood flow, and calmed her down.

Could it be that I was too focused on wishing that everything will go well and so cornered my mother to this extent?

「…… And Sca-chibi, you should calm down as well.」

I was so upset that I was about to cry.
But at that moment, Bradd patted my head.

「Cornelia-san doesn’t want to disappoint Sca-chibi who worked so hard to teach her. Especially since she is your mother. That’s why she got scared right before the dance ball. It’s not that her heart had become depressed. Isn’t that right?」

Mother shyly covered her face and nodded.

I took both of her hands in mine and held it over my head. Then I desperately appealed to her.

「Mother, even if you make a mistake, my opinion of my mother will not change. For me, mother will always be the best mother in the world!!」

「Even someone like me can see that the mother-and-daughter bond between Cornelia-san and Sca-chibi will not be broken by something like that. That’s why, Cornelia-san, you just have to look forward resolutely as you always do. Sca-chibi will take care of the rest. Besides, Seraphy and the others will do their best to support you. And of course, I will too.」

Bradd winked mischievously.

Even though you’re a cross-dressing maid, you always take the cool scenes. But anyway, thanks for the help.

「…… I’m sorry for showing you an unsightly side of me. I’m the happiest mother in the world.」

Mother wiped away her tears and hugged me with a smile.

「Hey, don’t hold back at times like this. If words aren’t enough, express it through actions.」

「Mother ……!!」

After being prompted by Bradd, I hugged my mother with all my strength.

Even though we had just gone through a fierce battle, mother smelled sweet, instead of sweaty. At this moment, let’s forget that I’m 28 years old on the inside. Because I love my mother so much. I can’t fully describe how I feel about her even if I spend the whole night talking about it.

「Hey!! There’s something strange going on outside!! What’s going on!?」

Suddenly the door of the running carriage opened and Arnold rolled in, causing the two of us who were hugging to jump up.

That surprised me!!

Come to think of it, Arnold was being carried alongside the carriage by his partner, the white owl.

「What the heck!! The scene in front of my eyes is getting distorted …… Uwah!?」

With his brown skin turning pale and his golden eyes wide open, Arnold shouted and was slammed against the wall as the carriage came to a sudden stop. My mother and I were also thrown from our seats, but Bradd quickly caught us and saved us from crashing into the wall.

「Are you okay!? Sca-chibi, Cornelia-san!! Sorry, Arnold. I couldn’t make it in time to catch you as well.」

He apologized with an apologetic expression.

Even if it’s Bradd, it seems like it was impossible for him to catch three people at the same time, including my adult mother. After all, he only has two hands. Meanwhile, Alisa is …… She’s clinging to me like a live sharksucker …… She’s still sleeping with snot bubbles coming out of her nose. I wish she had just flown out of the window of the carriage.

But well, when the muscle-brained Arnold was hit in the face by Matzo’s iron fist in the previous 「108 times」, all he said was, 「Hey, hey, old man Matzo, what the hell happened to your prized iron ball!? Where is it!?」 He is a battle junkie who would close off one of his nostrils and blow the nosebleed out of the other nostril while making a request, so he should be fine. He is a peculiar archer with more durability and stamina than a warrior.

And as I expected, even though he had hit the wall squarely in the face, he energetically jumped up like a frog.

「Master Cornelia!! Are you okay!?」

…… Hey. How can you heartlessly ignore a helpless little girl and only care about a fully-grown, adult woman.

But your voice is so thick and deep. Just as it is, you already have a tough and scary face, if you start sounding like that while you’re still a young boy, people will be scared of you. You should think a little bit about your image.

I was about to give Arnold a cold look, but then I got so shocked that my eyes were about to pop out of its sockets.

Arnold was so concerned about my mother and rushed over that I soon came face to face with him. …… No, that’s not the right way to describe it. But how can I put such a huge surprise into words?

Standing there was the familiar brown-skinned, golden eyes, wolf-cut Arnold. However ……. seeing that gaze of his that reminded me of a bird of prey, I let out a scream at the top of my lungs.

「Hogyaaaaaaa!?」

The traumatic memories erupted and burst inside my mind.

The guy who had shot me to death so many times in the previous 「108 times」, the adult Arnold was looking at me with eyes wide open in surprise. No, that’s not it, he wasn’t looking at me.

Beside me, mother gave out a small moan and wriggled. It was a very dainty voice saying, 「…… Mnn」.

「Ogyaaaahhhh!?」

I let out a cry of surprise again.
All I could do was change the scream a little so that it wouldn’t be repetitive.

「…… Um …… Who are you people ……?」

Mother timidly asked the question with a hint of anxiety. She looked very young, as if she was in her late teens ……

She had a bewildered expression that was typical for a young girl and what she was wearing wasn’t the dress that she had prepared for today’s ball. The dress was a dazzling green color with more refined decorations …… It was the dress that my mother once showed me. The memorable and precious dress from when she and my father had their first kiss!! The real one was lost on the night of bullying 14 years ago and what I saw was a replica of it, but I would never mistake it.

What the heck is going on!?
Arnold became an adult and mother became young!!

It was only then that I realized that the eye of the True Emperor’s Ruby had opened wide. White light gushed out and dyed the interior of the carriage in white.

「…… Sca-chibi …… That appearance is ……」

Bradd let out a voice of astonishment as he held me under his arm.

And when I looked up, I gasped in surprise as Bradd and I stared at each other at a distance so close that our lips nearly touched. Because standing there was ……!?

「…… Master Cornelia!! You’re too cute!! I’m in love with you!! Please marry me!!」

Hey, Idiot Arnold!! What the heck are you doing!! Why are you proposing to a married woman!?
Are you trying to ruin my family!?
Ahhhhh!! Because of Arnold, I don’t have enough time to talk about me and Bradd!! It can’t be helped then!! It will have to continue in the next chapter!!