kscans

Chapter 145 - O-saki and the Emissary, Part Three

"Nyu?"

The explanations of magic and how-tos of the situation would not be finished in a day or so. After sending off the reluctantly protesting father-son mage duo, the Little One was taking a leisurely stroll through the Torzebisont royal palace today as well, intending to relax. Then, she heard the sound of arguing from somewhere.

Feeling curious, the Little One advanced on her belly through the untrodden shrubbery.

After a short while, she came to an open lawn, where she saw small figures in a gazebo.

"I am telling you, it does not suit you! You are plain, so you should be more modest!"

The boy declared this with no consideration for her feelings. He had a handsome face with red hair and blue eyes, but his expression was twisted with irritation.

"…I, I am sorry."

The other person was a girl with chestnut hair and green eyes. She had a gentle appearance and stood there looking out of place.

Both were around the age of adulthood, and the boy, while chewing on a bitter pill, threw something at the girl and quickly walked away. The girl with chestnut hair picked up the fallen object as if it were precious and began to sob.

"Why…? If you dislike me so, why can’t you just leave me alone?"

From her muttered words, the Little One mostly understood the situation.

Ah, he’s the type who can’t be honest. Later, this will become part of his dark history, and he’ll writhe in his heart over it. So young.

It’s a common adolescent phenomenon. The rule of being unable to be honest with the person you like, and instead resorting to behavior bordering on harassment.

But this was not good. It seemed that boy had broken something important to the girl. Unable to leave the quietly crying girl alone, the Little One revealed herself as nonchalantly as possible so as not to startle her.

"Is something the matter?"

Startled by the sudden appearance of a child, the girl hastily hid her tears.

"Please forgive my unsightly appearance… It is nothing."

While not a stunning beauty, the girl had a lovely face. To call this plain, just how high is the facial deviation score of the people around you, the Little One felt like grabbing that boy by the scruff of his neck. Hiding her murderous thoughts, she gently reached out and touched the object the girl was holding. She enveloped the thin, trembling fingers with both her hands, looked up at her, and smiled with a cute tilt of her head.

"You seem to be troubled by something. If you would be so kind, would you please tell me about it?"

Pressed by her warm smile, the girl haltingly began to speak.

She was Princess Meg, the third princess of the Queen of Torzebisont. Among the royal family, who had flaxen hair close to gold and sky-blue eyes, she was the only one with chestnut hair and green eyes, a trait she inherited from her late father. The Queen apparently doted on Meg, the only one of her five children who resembled her father.

"This was a hair ornament for my coming-of-age ceremony, a gift from my mother. …I was planning to have a dress made to match it."

Meg hung her head with a clouded expression.

The boy from before was Meg’s fiancé, the only son of a grand duke. His name was Vincent. He had always disliked Meg for not having the royal colors and had complained about her plainness. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't insult her with the equation of plain equals homely, so he was a handful.

Well, you know.

Childish vanity. And now, unable to correct it, he was flailing. The Little One could picture it clearly.

She couldn’t help but let out a dry smile.

"I know that such an elegant item does not suit me. But it feels as though my mother’s feelings have been trampled. …It makes me sad."

The Little One looked at the princess, who was weeping bitterly, with a gentle gaze and wondered what to do. Most likely, Vincent was unhappy with the hair ornament and the dress that were being prepared without his input. He probably felt excluded from the celebration of a major milestone in her life.

The Little One had more than enough experience with such things.

For her baptism, school entrance ceremony, and New Year’s celebrations, she had received gifts from Romel and many others. She had been tormented by the decision of which to wear.

They just gift me accessories as a matter of course. My big brother, my daddy. Even Adonis, Zack, and the entire royal family joins in.

It’s a luxurious problem to be so loved that you get fed up, but as the one in the middle of it, she felt like complaining.

Vincent, who was at an age where he couldn’t be honest, must surely want to give her something as well.

That was the Little One’s fond thought, but it was practically her default setting for situations to take a diagonal, half-twisted turn.

"This is…"

The Little One had become acquainted with Princess Meg and had been consulting with her on various matters. The day after the incident with the hair ornament, she saw the gift that arrived from Vincent and her mouth fell open in disbelief. The dress on the torso was a drab outfit of brown with beige lace and ribbons. Furthermore, the hair ornament was a forgettable piece with gray flowers and black lace. For Meg, with her chestnut hair, it was a color scheme that could only be seen as a form of harassment, like camouflage.

"Does that man lack any sense of aesthetics?"

The Little One muttered without mincing her words. Meg gave a wry smile and answered with a touch of sadness.

"This is normal. He has only ever given me such clothing and accessories… so… my mother tried to preempt him. Though it ended up being broken."

She heard that ever since their engagement, his gifts had been nothing but such plain things. He would say that flashy clothes did not suit her plain coloring. That it was unseemly. That she should know her place. He had been pushing servant or old woman-like accessories on her. Because the other party was a grand ducal family, the royal family, with the queen having succeeded the late king, could not speak out strongly and had let it slide. However, the coming-of-age ceremony is a major event in one’s life. It is an important occasion that also serves as a debut into high society, and it is no exaggeration to say that its success determines one’s future. The queen, thinking she could not let this go, had preemptively gifted Meg the elegant hair ornament. It was a mother’s love, thinking that if the hair ornament was decided, the matching dress could not be plain, but that too ended in vain due to Vincent’s outrageous act. The grand duke was the late king’s younger brother. He was also the head of the family his daughter would marry into, so even the queen could not say anything rash.

The Little One tapped her cheek with her finger, ton ton ton, and her eyes narrowed sharply.

"I accept this challenge."

Seeing the girl’s lips curve into a grin, Princess Meg felt a shiver run down her spine for some reason.

And half a day later.

"This is…!"

Meg was at a loss for words. The queen, who was also present, had her eyes wide with admiration.

"I threaded red and black decorative cords through the lace at the neckline and hem, and since the stomacher on the chest was plain, I added embroidery. The rest are Tsumami-zaiku flowers, a specialty of Frontier’s neighboring country. What do you think?"

The plain brown dress that had been on the torso, which would have blended into its surroundings, had been reformed into an elegant outfit accented with black and red. On the left breast was a large, layered peony of red and black. Around it, small flowers of the same color were scattered, and several dangles swayed gently. The hem of the dress was also decorated with many flowers, and dangles swayed from the scattered small flowers as well. The opposite of Kyoto’s "hannari," this pursued the "tsuya" of Edo, a contrast of red and black based on brown. The hair ornament also featured a large peony. With many small flowers and dangles, it was a gorgeous outfit that created a sense of unity. The mother and daughter of the Torzebisont Kingdom were speechless.

"How magnificent… Are you sure? To give us such a wonderful item?"

"Of course. Please allow me to present this as my gift of celebration. Then the grand ducal family will have no room to complain."

She had only taken apart and used some of the many sweets and crafts that had been brought for goodwill. Her fiancé had tried to fill a maiden’s blossoming youth with insults and curses.

Anyone who would throw a wet blanket on a young lady’s big moment should go to hell, nyo. Yup.

The Little One is always on the side of girls.

She had only remodeled the gifted outfit. If they had a complaint, they could take it up with Frontier. She penned a roundabout letter to that effect, gave it to the queen, and the Little One and her group left the Torzebisont Kingdom.

Later, it was a charming episode when a protest-like letter from the very indignant young master of the grand ducal family arrived in Frontier, causing Romel to hold his head in his hands.

It is just a side note that since that incident, the slightly tougher Princess Meg began to treat Vincent coldly.

"I am saying this for your own good, you plain thing!"

"Is that so. Then, so as not to show you my unsightly face, I shall excuse myself."

Vincent hastily stopped Meg as she tried to leave the room with a swish.

"I did not say such a thing!"

"You find my plain self annoying, do you not? You are welcome to get fed up with me and go home."

Overwhelmed by her cold gaze, Vincent was filled with frustration. He had been the one to say it. That she was plain and homely. That she should not dress up because it was embarrassing. He had never imagined such a counterattack.

It was too late to regret his past self. And he was at an age where he could not be honest.

"Know your place! If I do not take you, you will be nothing but a spinster! You should just quietly obey me!"

"…In that case, please leave me be. A spinster? How wonderful! I shall study abroad! I am utterly fed up with a life of being pushed around by you! I am the third princess, after all. Marrying into another country would also be an amusement."

He was her political fiancé anyway. If so, she wouldn’t mind finding another partner.

Right now, Meg was wearing clothes she liked, with hair ornaments she liked, and was greatly enjoying her life. She had broken free from the days of suppressing herself and, with the queen’s support, had decided to fully enjoy her freedom.

The Little One had told Meg.

Come and visit anytime.

The princess of Frontier had gently encouraged her to enjoy her youth. Advised that she was allowed to live as she pleased, the scales fell from Meg’s eyes. Because I am a princess. I must make a marriage that benefits the people. I must fulfill my duties and responsibilities. She had been blind. To be liked by her in-laws, by her fiancé, she had suppressed herself, enduring and enduring until it became normal. She hadn’t understood the queen’s concern, hadn’t heard the words of those around her, and had simply deluded herself into thinking that as long as she endured, there would be peace.

Even though no one had wished for such a thing.

The queen had only been considerate of her in-laws because she had thought Meg wished to marry Vincent.

At the New Year’s coming-of-age ceremony, seeing Meg in her resplendent form, Vincent had immediately started shouting at her.

"How unsightly! Dressed so gaudily, have you no awareness as a princess! You look like a back-alley prostitute!"

The queen and others were speechless at the string of outrageous insults. Then, her eyes narrowed sharply, and she curved her lips into an elegant smile. She was, for better or worse, the supreme ruler of the Torzebisont Kingdom. Vincent, who had been insulting Meg as he pleased, had let his guard down and committed the blunder of insulting a princess in front of the queen.

"To say such things in my presence… Grand Duke, since when did your son become greater than the royal family?"

The grand duke, who had come along with Vincent as his escort, hastily bowed to the queen and apologized profusely.

"My apologies. It is my lack of oversight."

"Why are you apologizing, Father? It is Meg’s fault for wearing a dress that does not suit her."

Vincent felt no remorse at all. It was Meg’s passive attitude that had made this normal. She now understood that her appearance of being at his beck and call so as not to be disliked had made her fiancé so arrogant.

"Prostitute was going too far. However, a princess should be frugal and follow the customs of her marital home, should she not? Her living expenses are paid by taxes. Such a flashy outfit will be laughed at by those around us. Including myself."

He continued with a string of insults. His own attire was luxurious, befitting a high-ranking noble, yet he forced a one-sided frugality only on Meg.

Hearing this, the princess remembered the words of the people around her. Meg was also a member of the royal family. She had her own private manor and a public allowance. She had money she could use without asking anyone’s permission. Vincent was probably afraid that this would decrease.

It was her head lady-in-waiting who had voiced this cynical opinion.

"It suits you."

"You are truly beautiful!"

"How many years have we waited to be able to dress you up like this…"

The ladies-in-waiting, who cursed and resented Vincent’s treatment, praised Meg in unison for her decision to dress up, some even on the verge of tears. Her mother had also nodded repeatedly with a beaming smile, looking satisfied.

Meg, who had been brainwashed by the insults of the fiancé she had been with since childhood and had known only how to suppress herself, finally understood the feelings of those around her. The inferiority complex that had been ingrained in her. She brushed it off and looked at her fiancé with a steady gaze.

"Then let us break the engagement. There is no need for you to marry someone you dislike."

Flipping the hem of her dress, Meg headed for the hall alone.

From here, her furious comeback began.

After laying bare all his past actions to the grand duke, Meg petitioned the queen for an annulment. The queen agreed, and the grand duke, faced with a list of his son’s countless insults, could not object. Unbeknownst to the stunned Vincent, discussions were held between the royal family and the grand ducal family, and the engagement was nullified.

It was Vincent who panicked at this.

As the only son of a grand duke, he had been raised to believe it was natural for him to marry into the royal family. Meg’s two older sisters were already married. She was the only princess he could marry. Moreover, if it became known that the engagement was broken due to the royal family’s displeasure, his future prospects for marrying into a family of equal status were hopeless. His only option would be to buy a bride from a lower-ranking family. For him, who was supposed to have ties to the royal family, such a humiliation was unforgivable, and he repeatedly sought reconciliation, leading to his current daily visits to the royal palace.

"I will not allow you to marry into another country! And studying abroad is out of the question! Women have no need for academics!"

"Then please convey that to my mother. If I do not receive her permission, I will give up on studying abroad. Please, go ahead and advise her that women have no need for academics."

Her former fiancé-sama smiled sweetly.

He knew full well that he could never say such a thing to the queen. As Vincent’s face turned bright red, Princess Meg enjoyed a long-awaited sense of satisfaction.

The Little One had saved a maiden in distress.

However, the Little One did not yet know that in the near future, the lives of these two would intersect once again.