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Chapter 84 Part 3 – When the rose of winter bloom. Feelings of first love that transcend time ……

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The ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ is a dance with a theme of a girl’s love.

The first stage is the first love of childhood.
The second stage is forbidden love.
The third stage is a life-burning love.
The fourth stage is the fulfillment of love.

The overall bright tone of the song reminds us of a girl who tries her best with a smile on her face at all times.

However, when Mary heard this song for the first time, she said, 「…… It’s a very sad song. I feel like it’s telling the story of a woman who is trying to hold back her tears and act cheerful on purpose. Because, no matter how hard it is, she can’t continue to survive if she just cries ……」.

I actually felt the same way.

When I said this when I was a young lady in the previous 「108 times」, I was ridiculed by my rivals in the battle for the throne. They said, 「Scarlet-san’s sensitivity is so peculiar」, and so I kept my thoughts to myself.

And, surprisingly, my mother was of the same opinion as us.

「In that case, I’m sure I’ll be able to dance the ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ even though I’m not a good dancer. Because I can understand it. After all, that’s the way my best friend lives.」

Mother smiled as she took Mary’s hand.

Indeed, Mary who overcame the sorrow of losing her beloved son, Joshua, and cheered others up with a smile was perfect for the image of the ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ dance that my mother and I had in mind.

「…… Madam …… You are the one who has overcome that terrible ordeal. You deserve that image more than me.」

I was overwhelmed with emotion and nodded my head in agreement to what the tearful Mary said as she held my mother’s hand.

Friendship between women is a good thing.

…… By the way, I asked Mary to practice the ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ as well, but the results were not good. After repeatedly falling down, Mary ended up covered in bruises. How strange, it’s rare for me to make a miscalculation when it comes to dancing ……

「Amazing!! As expected of my master!!」

Arnold’s excited shout pulled me back from the flashback scene.
The light musical melody resounded in the ballroom glittering with gold ornaments.

Arnold was right.

The way mother danced with Countess Rosenthal was far more outstanding than during any of the practice. It greatly exceeded my expectations. I felt ashamed of my ignorance. It is true that there are people who are stronger in the real performance than they are in practice, or rather, I am also one of those people.

If I think about it, my mother had such a strong heart that she had even fought against the demon dog Gallam in a one-on-one fight. She had fought so hard that she came close to defeating Gallam single-handedly. It was only that her unnecessary inferiority complex and her social phobia had been holding her back. Once she made up her mind, there is no way that she would fall behind in a mere ball.

「Look at the stunned expression of those red nobles. They look like pigeons that have been hit by a peashooter. Serves them right!!」

Arnold was proud.

The scornful laughter that came out of their mouth at first when they made a spectacle of my mother was now silent. Dumbfounded. That expression is perfect for the current state of the red nobles.

This ballroom is a lavish display of sculptures and paintings. However, no one is going to look at those masterpieces now. The stone goddesses and the painted angels would be greatly displeased. The stars of the show tonight and the ones who will be the sole focus of the audience’s attention are my mother and Countess Rosenthal dancing in the middle of the ballroom. They spun around and left the sculptures and paintings behind. The skirts of their dresses spread out and the two large flowers fluttered on the stage like little birds.

The first stage was already halfway through.

So far, no mistakes have been made.

Who would believe that this mother had been a shut-in for 10 years? She still has plenty of energy. Her one-legged jump was so high that it made me feel a little nervous that the hem of her skirt would go up to her knees.

「…… You know, master looks extremely young. What’s going on? Have my eyes gone crazy because I support her too much?」

Arnold, who has been watching mother intently, asked me timidly.

「No, rather than being described as young, she looks the same age as us. Besides, that nasty countess is also ……」

「Don’t worry. Your eyes haven’t gone crazy. Mother, you’ve done great to come to this level ……」

I was deeply moved.

When the ‘Thunderbolt’ series is performed at a godlike level, the dancer’s inner self is strongly revealed in accordance with the theme. It even affects the imagination of the audience.

The commotion spread like ripples. The acrimonious red nobles forgot their criticism and stared in a daze at my mother and Countess Rosenthal. ‘Entranced’, that word is the perfect way to describe their state. The first stage of ‘Thunderbolt Polka’ is childhood love. Everyone in the room saw a vision of my mother as a young girl with a carefree smile running around the fields and mountains.

「You dance pretty well.」

Countess Rosenthal followed closely and praised my mother, who was dancing cheerfully around the stage.

Countess Rosenthal’s dancing was also pretty great. She was nonchalantly holding the reins of my mother, who was prancing around like an energetic pony, so as not to let her overdo it. This is because the dance can be unseemly if the female part appears to be leading. It is proof that she knows the female part well enough to be able to anticipate my mother’s actions.

I can somewhat understand now why Countess Rosenthal didn’t compete against mother by setting up different partners for each of them. It is because the level difference between them is not large enough to facilitate a proper ‘Thunderbolt’ dance competition. So, by taking on the male part, she let my mother carry the flowers.

And, although it’s hard to believe, I was beginning to realize that this was the true nature of Countess Rosenthal. She would sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She is a strong and kind-hearted girl, like a town girl who cares about her family.

「…… No way ……!?」

I trembled in surprise.
Because there was something that flashed like a revelation inside my mind.

That appearance of hers perfectly matched the memories of a girl named Rona that my father had spoken about with tears in his eyes.

The image of a brave young older sister who risked her life to protect her younger brothers and has the same hazel eyes as Countess Rosenthal ……!!

My reason denies it.

No way, that’s absolutely impossible!! There is no way that Countess Rosenthal, who father hated so much, is that Rona who should have passed away!! How is it possible for the daughter of a poor man to become the favorite mistress of the previous king!? And if I count backwards from her rise to power, she managed to do that in less than 10 years!?

However, it is precisely because it is impossible that my perceptive father could have overlooked that possibility ……!!

And my intuition told me that this astonishing truth was the correct answer.

I had been wondering about this for a long time.

When father was young, he was ostracized by the previous king of Hydrangea because of his similar appearance to the True Emperor. He was expected to die in battle and was sent to the harsh battlefields many times. However, there was always an escape route casually prepared somewhere. It was as if someone knew the thoughts of the previous king in advance and made preparations meticulously.

After verifying that fact, I also tilted my head in confusion many times.

I thought that the three old warriors were the ones that had made the necessary arrangements, but there was no way they could have done such a thing unless a close aide of the previous king leaked the information to them. And the previous king, who was full of distrust and did not get along with the queen or the prince of that time, would have only allowed a limited number of people to be so close to him. For example, like ……!!