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Chapter 78 Part 7 – 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.

At any rate, the one whom I can’t forgive is Arnold’s frivolous and thoughtless older brother. He’s the enemy of women. Please don’t teach our Pisuke …… no, I mean, Arnold, those weird stuff.

…… Come to think of it, I heard that Arnold had an older brother who died prematurely in the previous 「108 times」. He was an aloof prodigy in archery on par with Arnold. So he’s alive at this point in time. But this incident completely ruins the image I had about him.

「…… Please excuse me. Scarlet-san. I apologize on his behalf. Arnold’s brother is not a bad guy, but he is intrinsically a hopeless failure when it comes to relationships with women. And yet, he’s always trying to teach Arnold with his weird philosophy of women ……」

All of a sudden, the carriage door opened and Seraphy peeked in.

Seraphy was also in his adult form. Instead of his usual captain’s uniform, his outfit had changed into an aristocratic attire similar to Arnold’s.

Ahh, the carriage had stopped moving since a while ago. This entire scene was like a play being staged inside a carriage, with characters appearing one after another from outside the door.

「Actually, the original plan was for Arnold’s older brother and I to go and help Scarlet’s group. He was very excited about the chance to make advances on the duchess, who is a prodigy in archery.」

Uwah, he’s a scumbag.

「Heh …… I’ll have to make him a target for my bow to make him experience it firsthand with his body whether I’m truly a prodigy in archery or not ……」

M-mother, your face looks really scary.

「Of course, Arnold and I desperately tried to stop him, but he didn’t listen. Luckily, a woman stabbed him in the thigh during a lover’s quarrel, which caused him to be unable to go on this trip …… Even so, he persistently tried to crawl out of the bed. So I tied him up with a rope and left him behind.」

Seraphy sighed. And Arnold nodded his head.

I was appalled. He’s the worst older brother. Unlike Arnold, who had proposed to women without really understanding the meaning of a proposal, he was seriously planning to make advances on my mother. You guys must be going through a lot of trouble in places I can’t see.

「So …… please don’t blame Arnold too much. I’m also partly responsible for this as it is my fault that I couldn’t stop his brother’s outrageous teachings.」

Seraphy bowed his head.

He was probably listening from the outside, and when he sensed that Arnold had been cornered, he hurriedly rushed in. Usually he would always ask before entering the room. What an amazing friendship.

「Seraphy, you ……」

Arnold was moved to tears.

「It’s okay, I can never repay you enough for what you have done for me.」

Seraphy also had tears in his eyes and the two hugged each other tightly.

「「My friend!!」」

Are you guys acting in a melodrama?
As always, you guys have a really strong friendship.

「…… At any rate, the adult Scarlet-san is breathtakingly beautiful. She is a sight for sore eyes. Of course, her little girl form looks extremely lovely as well.」

After that, Seraphy praised me. Normally, instead of greeting me, he would have praised me first at the beginning of his speech. But the fact that he put off the compliment until afterwards made my favorable impression of him rise even higher. Seraphy gave priority to offering a helping hand to his friend over raising his own reputation. He is a true man.

By the way, Seraphy doesn’t care about Bradd, Arnold, and my mother’s transformation, because 「Numerous strange things can happen in the sea」. It’s a useful line for all sorts of happenings. Well, he had seen my transformation done by the ruby before, and from his own transformation and our conversation, he probably had a rough idea of what had happened inside the carriage. Seraphy is a genius who knows ten things when he hears one thing.

Anyway, I was surprised to see how tall Seraphy became when he grew up. Moreover, he is also quite beautiful …… The orange-colored bangs still conceal the forehead wound on his face, but his eyes are more visible than before because of his height. The gentle green-colored eyes are like an emerald that makes girls madly want to monopolize them. He seems to have a complex about the scar on his forehead, but it is not as noticeable as he believes. Rather, I was tempted to say, 「Don’t worry about it. Your value will not be diminished by such a thing.」, but I refrained from saying it in case it would trigger an event flag.

Because my life was targeted in the previous 「108 times」, I couldn’t afford to care about his looks, but now that I properly look at him, I’m sure he’s popular with the ladies. And his godlike business acumen and ship-handling abilities are also a plus. For the young ladies at a marriageable age, he would be a super excellent property that they would kill each other to get. In fact, I hear that there are countless large companies that are trying to bring him to their side. Moreover, Seraphy is honest and erudite. From the time he was a child, he had commanded the world’s fastest ship, the Blanche, as it sailed on the endless sea, so he possesses a great deal of courage and ability to get things done.

His communication skills are also outstanding. Because he is a hard worker, he understands people’s hearts. He is also a skilled speaker and linguist, making him an excellent negotiator. He is quick-witted and well-informed, so there is no need to worry about being deceived by others. He’s a feminist, but he’s not only kind, he’s also strong enough to lead women when necessary, and he’s also capable of comforting them.

…… There’s really no end to his virtues.

He is an all-rounder with almost no shortcoming except for direct combat. The amount of diverse talents he possesses makes him one of the best in Hydrangea. Even the genius Princess Margaret calls him 「Mr. Genius」 and is eager to bring him into her faction as her future right-hand man. The children of thoughtless and idiotic nobles are no match against him, even when it comes to pedigree. Because his future prospects are extraordinary. Although he comes from a commoner’s background, if he wanted to, he would probably be able to acquire a title on his own in due course.

After all, my father, who is a harsh critic of people’s character, had said to me that marrying Seraphy-kun would be the happiest path for me. He is a man who is crazy in love with his wife, but his crimson eyes sometimes display the power of precognition. In fact, he seems to have survived many near-death crises thanks to it.

Actually, I already know this without my father telling me. My ‘Knowledge Cheat’ is most effective when I work together with Seraphy. Moreover, he likes me. At first, I thought he was only interested in my knowledge, but I’ve come to realize that he seems to be in love with me as well. Seraphy, are you a lolicon? Well, he is closer in age to me than Bradd is. He said that his dream is to build a happy family. There would be no other person as reassuring as him to have as a lifelong partner. Not only is he perfect, but he’s also lovable. He’s the ideal husband.

But, I wonder why …… I don’t dislike Seraphy, in fact, I like him, but when I imagine getting married to him, it makes me feel strangely guilty. It’s as if I stole the person that my younger sister has a crush on …… Even though I don’t even have a sister ……

Incidentally, the romance-lover Mary, who happened to be nearby, got very excited and asked my father, 「How about Bradd and the young lady!?」. Father furrowed his brow and seemed stumped by her question, then he replied that he had no idea. Well, after all he is a wanderer that works as a cross-dressing maid. Bradd, is your future all right?

「…… Umm, who are you guys ……? Why am I in a strange carriage with a roof over it? I was supposed to be on my way to a ball held at Countess Rosenthal’s mansion in the best uncovered carriage that my father-in-law and mother-in-law could provide ……」

The young mother shrank back in fright.
I knew it, she’s forgotten us.
It seems that along with her appearance, even her memories have reverted to the past.
Moreover, it turns out that her last memory was at the night of the ball that was held 14 years ago.

My heart was breaking at the sadness of my mother not remembering me and the awfulness of how my grandparents, Marquis Vygod and his wife, had treated my mother. An uncovered carriage. That’s a carriage without a roof over it ……!!

「…… They sent you off for a ball held at nighttime in an uncovered carriage. That’s terrible ……」

Seraphy was also at a loss for words. He immediately understood the meaning of their actions.

It’s unforgivable. Those people had intended to make my mother fall into a trap from the very beginning.

If someone who doesn’t know the circumstances hears about this, they would most likely wonder what the problem is as those are both carriages.

But this was like dressing up as best as you can for a funeral.