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Chapter 78 Part 2 – The fortune teller ‘Mother’ appears. The 「True History」 is starting to be revealed little by little. Our love story is beginning to move. Carrying various emotions, the curtain rises on the night of the dance ball.

「You know, Sca-chibi.」

「…… What!?」

「……It’s true that you’ve become very beautiful, but why do you have such a scary expression on your face? It’s such a waste. You’re cute even when you were a child, but you look the best when you are smiling. So, come on, smile a little. …… You see, it’s just as I thought.」

T-This guy is doing it again. He’s not embarrassed to say such lines ……!!

I hate this!! I hate that my naive maiden heart actually felt happy from hearing such lines, which made me smile unconsciously!!

But!! A capable woman will not be discouraged. She will fight back!!

「Hey, I’m not a little girl anymore …… Hmm, do you like my smile that much? Is that supposed to be a pick-up line? Well, it’s only natural for a man to be captivated with me, the most beautiful woman in Hydrangea.」

That’s a lie. I’m not that narcissistic. …… But bluffing is important in a match. Take note of this, Bradd. This is a girl’s love gun, the 「Do you like me?」 attack. Kukuku, I can already imagine his horrified face. And now for the finishing blow!!

「…… However. If you want to take me as your wife, I demand that you love me, not only the most in Hydrangea, but the most in the world.」

I pointed a finger at him and declared so. I will not sell myself cheaply. How’s that? You must be terrified, right? You have to love me the most in the world. That means that you’re going to have to tell me that you love me at least 1,000 times a day. It must be as shocking as being told at a bar that your bill is 50 million yen. Tremble with fear.

「…… Haha, I can’t imagine what it would be like to love you the most in the world. But I bet every day would be a lot of fun with Scarlet as my wife. Although it would be full of hardships and I would have to risk my life to get permission from that dangerous father of yours, but I think it would be worth it.」

「Hoaaaa!?」

Is this guy a hero!? Is his heart made of orichalcum!? I tried my best to make that bluff, you know.

…… Besides, I was just joking.

How could he smile and say that without batting an eyelash?
It makes me blush even more.

I want to be praised because I’m a girl too. But I have a cold side to me that even I myself hate. Due to the duties that I had to do as a queen, I have experienced a lot of psychological warfare and am used to acting shrewdly. Failure to discern the true intentions of my diplomatic partners could result not only in the loss of my footing, but also in the loss of the lives of my retainers and subjects. Which is why I could be smiling on the surface but be cold-heartedly suspicious on the inside. It’s a thorny ice filter to keep me from taking people at their word.

But Bradd’s words of praise penetrated my heart like a warm sunshine. My intuition as a woman is telling me that his words are trustworthy.

Hmph, this guy will definitely become a womanizer without even realizing it. But your tricks will not work on me who has an iron self-control.

I wanted to give him a cold look, but I wasn’t able to do it. My heart suddenly began to thump like an alarm bell. I panicked. …… Could it be that I’m having arrhythmia at such a young age!? Lately, I have been eating too much delicious food to explore new cuisines. But something seems off. That’s right. I’m sure it’s a bug due to my brain getting terribly confused whether to do the trauma shout or light-heartedly smack him because the usual good-natured young Bradd is speaking to me with the face of the adult Bradd who had killed me so many times when I was a queen ……!! T-The other possibility is that ……!! No!! My heart is definitely not fluttering because of Bradd!!

No, wait a minute. This …… feeling of nostalgia erupting like a magma is ……

‘…… Yes!! This is the real Bradd’s smile that I loved so much!! The one who always protected me!! And encouraged me!! I’ve always wanted to see it again. Finally, my dream finally came true ……!!’

Suddenly, a blazing sense of joy enveloped my entire body.

Uwahh!! That surprised me!!

「……!?」

My heart nearly stopped at the shock of suddenly hearing a loud voice. The ceremonial dress of the〈Lawless Crew〉fluttered inside my mind. Her red eyes with strong will and sadness contained in it were looking in this direction.

…… I knew it!! It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen ‘that girl’!!

Another version of me that’s not from the previous 「108 times」. The mysterious girl whom I don’t remember and whose appearance is only visible to me. ‘That girl’ finally appeared again after a long time.

My consciousness and ‘that girl’s’ consciousness had overlapped just like during the battle against demon dog Gallam. ‘Her’ emotions and memories engulfed me like a tsunami.

‘…… But I ……’

As if the sense of joy from seeing the adult Bradd’s smile again was a lie, suddenly, a feeling of indescribable sorrow and regret clutched my heart.

‘…… I don’t have the right to say that I love his smile …… Because I ……!!’

I was overwhelmed by ‘her’ overflowing emotions.

Stop it!! ‘You’re’ switching too fast from one extreme to the other!!

One moment my heart is fluttering, then the next moment my heart is bursting with negative emotions. My heart is getting too busy. Please make up your mind whether to feel happy or depressed. My minimalist chest is on the verge of exploding. What if it’s going to negatively affect my future development!?

‘…… Because I ……!! I …… left Bradd, who was so kind to me, to …… die ……!!’

‘That girl’ was weeping.

Ehh!? Didn’t ‘she’ say something terribly disturbing just now?

…… The memory of the burning castle suddenly came into my mind.

This is the beginning of ‘that girl’s’ theater of memories.

Eh? Isn’t this the castle where I resided when I was the queen in the previous 「108 times」? But unlike the previous times when I was in financial difficulties, the castle has been furnished in a much more luxurious way …… Could this be the castle during the time when ‘that girl’ was the queen? Isn’t this unfair? …… Uwah, this is the artwork of a very famous painter. Since it’s going to be burned anyways, can I just take it away? After all, ‘she’s’ also me. ‘She’ probably wouldn’t treat me as a complete stranger, right? Maybe an acquaintance? What’s ‘hers’ is also mine ……

What a pity. I couldn’t touch the painting. Well, this is inside ‘that girl’s’ memory, so everything inside is unable to be touched. Tapestries and expensive carpets are on fire. The ceramics are broken and shattered. What a waste. I shed tears of frustration. This one is worth 1,000 gold coins and that one is worth 3,000 gold coins ……!! I want to take it home, even if it’s already half burnt. The missing pieces will be well hidden and decorated to enhance the bluff of Duke Wilhelm’s mansion.

I have a feeling that I saw ‘that girl’s’ shocked expression, but I’m sure it was just my imagination.

‘Will you please be serious ……’

Y-You don’t have to say it so tearfully …… I always try to live my life seriously ……

Intense love, sorrow, anger, despair. All of the swirling emotions are swallowed up by the light of the Ruby.