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Chapter 84 Part 4 – When the rose of winter bloom. Feelings of first love that transcend time ……

As if agreeing to my thoughts, the ruby ​​hidden on my chest glowed warmly.

「……!!」

Distracted by my thoughts, I did not pay attention to my mother’s dance.

「Mother!?」

By the time I realized it, it was already too late.

Mother made a mistake when landing on her left and right foot!!

With her feet in that order, she’ll end up colliding with Countess Rosenthal’s feet!!

「…… Oh my, I’m sorry.」

The countess sneered as she lightly pushed mother with her shoulder.

Their feet narrowly crossed each other at the last minute and they switched positions.

「I wonder if it’s such a rare occasion for someone who grew up in the mountains to be in such a glamorous room. It’d be in your best interests to stop being so stupefied.」

The red nobles burst into laughter at the contempt directed at mother.

Those simple-minded idiots.
To the casual observer, it would have looked like Countess Rosenthal had done a malicious interference to mother.
But that was ……!!

「Even an idiot like me can see that she is helping my master who made a mistake.」

At my flickering glances of concern that he might start rampaging again, Arnold smiled wryly.

「It seems that my eyes were blind. That countess is deliberately acting nasty, but she’s on my master’s side. Tch, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense.」

Unbelievably, the hostility in those sharp golden hawk’s gaze had completely disappeared.

That’s right. Because of his straightforward personality, he tends to act intensely when he has the wrong impression. However, Arnold’s ability to see through a person is essentially the best amongst the five heroes. This guy sees the truth through the shared vision with his large owl partner. In the previous 「108 times」, I also had my disguise uncovered many times and I went through a hard time due to it. …… Even when the castle fell, he easily saw through the disguises of the maids who had escaped earlier. But he didn’t say anything to the men of the rebel army and just silently let them go. He’s a violent guy, but he’s kind-hearted.

And ……!!　

My heart was filled with a strange emotion.

The Ruby of the True Emperor is telling me that my conjecture is right.

It’s unbelievable, but Countess Rosenthal has always protected father from the tyranny of the previous king, just as she had just done to mother. No matter how much father hated her, she always remembered the favor she received. That’s why she climbed up to the position of the previous king’s favorite mistress. It is probably the result of her blood-soaked efforts.

That person is Rona after all.

The Ruby of the True Emperor further strengthened the heat and light it was emitting. It even leaked through the fabric of my dress. I held my chest with both hands so that others wouldn’t notice.

The image of a large man with drunken eyes wearing an extravagant outfit suddenly popped inside my head. His countenance is bad, but there are parts of him that resemble the current king. It is the previous king of Hydrangea that I’ve seen from the portraits. He is leaning back on the throne in an arrogant manner and harshly shouting at his retainers. He was unreasonably demanding them to leave my father in the middle of the enemy lines and have the whole army pull out. Unable to raise any objections, the retainers turned pale and ingratiatingly humbled themselves. Because if they oppose his words, they will be executed. He is the exact image of the tyrants depicted in paintings.

The throne was set on top of a ridiculously high staircase. I have only seen such a scene in a play. It is a legendary-class foolish mistake that the previous king stepped on his mantle and fell down, which resulted in a serious injury. That was the reason why the previous king passed away. It’s a hilarious story. I heard that monkeys and whatnot like to climb high places. Then the young Countess Rosenthal standing next to the previous king leaned coquettishly against him and whispered in his ear.

「…… Your Majesty. Are you going to kill that rude Crimson Hero and put him out of his misery now? You are a merciful man. I would like to see him suffer more. For example, I heard that this place is hell in this world ……」

She named the conflict zone at the time.

「Don’t you think it would be a shame to miss the stupid look on the face of the Crimson Hero, who was so relieved to be called back, when he learns that he would be sent to an even more dangerous place?」

Countess Rosenthal showed an arrogant smile as she said this. The retainers kept their faces down and their clenched fists trembled in indignation. Is it really okay for the fate of the hero of Hydrangea to be toyed with by such a vixen?

But I can understand now. Countess Rosenthal was trying to save father by putting on the mask of a wicked woman. She constantly hid the tears of blood dripping inside her heart. Even though she was maliciously gossiped about as a poisonous woman, she endured that loneliness all by herself.

Her image overlapped with myself who was unable to gain the public’s understanding and was condemned as an evil and treacherous queen.

The vision of the past that the ruby showed me suddenly wavered and quickly vanished.

I returned to reality.

However, the dancing figure of Countess Rosenthal in my field of vision was still blurry.

「Here, use this.」

Bradd casually handed me a lace handkerchief.

T-Thank you. I like that kind of consideration.

「The tip of your nose is getting red. Blow your nose. Ah, you don’t have to give it back. Since it’s dirty.」

I hate that kind of delicacy.

Bradd burst out laughing at my sulky look.

「…… Haha, I feel more at ease when you’re angry, laughing, and making all kinds of faces. Smart people tend to keep their feelings to themselves. Don’t forget that I’m always by your side.」

…… I know. He’s always teasing me, but when I’m in trouble, Bradd is always there to help me. But Countess Rosenthal had no one. In order for her to rise from zero to the position of countess, unless she has a special talent, she has to use a woman’s weapon of sex appeal and go around powerful men. With such a way of life, she would not be able to let her guard down because she was surrounded with enemies.

When I saw Countess Rosenthal escorting my mother with dignity, my heart ached with sorrow. Originally, she shouldn’t have the character to flatter men.

…… Judging from father’s story, it seems that there was a faint romantic feeling between Rona and my father. That may have been Rona’s first love. If so, what kind of feelings did she have as a woman to have given herself to men she did not like in order to protect her first love?

And then I realized.

There was a sense of déjà vu in the steps of Countess Rosenthal. That’s my father’s dance. To be able to imitate the already difficult ‘Thunderbolt’ to that degree. She has probably been chasing after my father’s back for a long time.

「…… That countess is a sad person. I can understand it somehow. But we shouldn’t cry with pity over the life that a person with convictions has chosen for herself. All we can do now is watch over her way of life. Don’t you agree?」

Seeing my depressed expression, Bradd patted my head and admonished me in an encouraging manner.

「…… Countess Rosenthal is putting her soul on the line for the dance with Cornelia-san. The ‘Thunderbolt’ dance is quite the intense one, and yet she’s not sweating at all. She must be in a very bad state, but she’s using her willpower to prevent it from showing. I did blood flow manipulation on her, but even walking must be hard for her. She’s an amazing dancer.」

「Yes, I was surprised too. She’s nothing like her infamous reputation as the poisonous scorpion of the imperial court. That’s the expression of a woman ready to sacrifice herself for her beliefs. She is a woman worthy of respect.」

Seraphy also chimed in, while Arnold had a sullen expression.

「Tch, you guys have already realized the countess’s true intentions, haven’t you? Even master has also realized it. I’m the only one who’s outside the loop. It feels awful to think that I’m on the same level as those red nobles who are being so spectacularly deceived.」

We laughed bitterly, but that didn’t lower our opinion of Arnold. Rather, it was the opposite. A person who can admit his own immaturity so quickly is a person of great capacity.