kscans

Chapter 146 - O-saki and the Emissary, Part Four

"Will that be enough, I wonder?"

Chihaya sipped his tea while relaxing in the monster carriage. He was likely talking about the dress the Little One had produced for Princess Meg. He didn't know what kind of person her fiancé was, but Chihaya couldn't begin to imagine what would happen when he saw that dress at the New Year's banquet. Princess Meg looked very beautiful in it, and it suited her well, but he had heard that her fiancé looked down on her and had been calling her plain.

Chihaya found those words unbelievable.

Princess Meg was a lovely person. Where did the word "plain" even come from? Even if that were true, if she were family, he wouldn't even notice. Shouldn't you praise and love someone so they can live a better life?

His eyes said it all.

The Little One gave a wry smile at her brother, who was tilting his head with a question mark and a gaze so sharp it seemed otherworldly as he listened to Princess Meg's story.

Right? It's unbelievable, isn't it?

The Little One and her group were just chatting idly, but they were unaware of the deep chasm in understanding between them and Vincent's side. This was something the royal family didn't know either.

The fact that Vincent had asked his father for the engagement to Meg because he wanted it.

The royal family had accepted it as a reasonable proposal from the grand duke's side, and the Little One, having heard it secondhand from the royal family, had no way of knowing Vincent's true feelings.

The Little One's initial impression of a difficult boy was overwritten in her mind as a misunderstanding after seeing the clothes he sent later. But in fact, her first impression was the truth.

Unaware of the dramatic scene that was about to unfold, he was visiting the royal palace today to see Meg.

"You are plain, but your embroidery skills are average. In that case, I may allow you to embroider my cloak."

"Is that so."

Vincent took the embroidery frame Meg was working on without permission and examined it. Then, he noticed something strange about Meg's demeanor. Usually, she would be delighted, saying things like "thank you" or "I'll do my best" through tears, but now she remained seated, impassive. Having learned that the hair ornament he had broken a few days ago was a gift from the queen, Vincent had rushed to apologize, but even there, he had only received a single glance from the queen's vacant eyes.

The strange atmosphere in the royal palace was clearly different from before.

I don't understand what's going on, but should I try to appease her a little?

Vincent looked gently at the princess he had admired since he was a child. It was enough for him alone to know her loveliness. Her outer appearance didn't matter. He had fallen in love with Princess Meg's inner self. In fact, a lovely appearance was a hindrance. There was no telling when some insolent fellow might appear. That's why he had deliberately sent her plain clothes that would make her blend in. Even if she became a wallflower, Vincent could identify her in an instant. No one would disturb the two of them. But thinking it would be unwise to incur too much displeasure, he placed the embroidery frame on the table and sat down in a chair.

"They say the flowers are at their best in the height of summer. Let's go on a picnic to the lake sometime."

Vincent proposed, looking gently at his beloved princess. However, his proposal was shattered by the princess, who lifted her face with a swish. Her fresh green eyes swayed with revulsion.

"No, thank you. Taking a plain person like me would only be an embarrassment to you, Vincent-sama. Please invite another beautiful young lady."

Leaving the speechless and stunned Vincent behind, Meg left the gazebo.

And so Meg's counterattack began.

Tea parties, evening parties, outings, and more. Vincent was flatly rejected no matter what he invited her to.

On every occasion, she would say things like, "Because I am plain," "You would be embarrassed, Vincent-sama," or "I have no dress to wear to such an event." Vincent was flustered as she hit him with a continuous barrage of retaliations that used his own past actions.

"That has nothing to do with it! You should just obey me!"

"And be made a laughingstock? You seem to be very happy when I am made a laughingstock, Vincent-sama."

Lately, Meg had not been wearing the dresses Vincent had sent her. She was clad in modest but brightly colored dresses. That was fine in the royal palace. She wasn't trying to appeal to other men, and the sight of the lovely princess was a treat for his eyes as well. But it was a different matter when she was in public. He wanted to make her wear clothes that would let her blend into the surroundings.

The rope of twisted love and jealousy was still coiled thickly within him.

"I am not making you a laughingstock!"

"You said I was a laughingstock, did you not?"

That was true. A princess who didn't even have the royal colors was a laughingstock. It was Vincent who had constantly told her to be modest, stay back, and not stand out.

"It is fine if you are inconspicuous by my side, is it not? No one will even notice you!"

"And then you would say to those who do notice, ‘I have a hard time with my plain fiancée,’ would you not?"

This, too, was true. Especially if the other person was a man, he had been so overtly jealous that it made those around him recoil.

"I am telling you it is fine even if you are plain! Why can you not understand?!"

"There are many who tell me I am cute. I simply do not feel any attraction to someone who tells me I am plain."

"Wha…?!"

Who is this person?!

Vincent was stunned. Oblivious to him, Meg continued to speak.

"I have endured it because it was a political marriage. …But I have stopped. If I am plain and embarrassing and cause you trouble, I will break off the engagement at any time."

The princess of Frontier had said that cute clothes are a lady's armor. That a bright mood gives you confidence and strength.

She was right.

Drawing encouragement from her favorite dress, Meg gave her fiancé a cold glance and turned on her heel with a hmph. Unable to take his eyes off the departing Meg, Vincent stared blankly at the door she had disappeared through.

And so, the fuse was lit for the no-holds-barred war between the rebelling princess and her fiancé.

However, the Little One, who had no way of knowing such a future, was answering her brother's question, counting on her fingers.

"Meg learned that she is loved by those around her, right? She has lots of allies, right? She learned to arm herself with pretty clothes and accessories, right? She realized that her partner is in the wrong, right? …There’s no way she can lose."

Chihaya sighed at his sister's bright, nipaa smile and gave a faint smile of his own. Dorfen, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke up.

"Setting aside the matter of the Torzebisont Kingdom, about the next kingdom, Sucaraba…"

Dorfen pointed to the map spread out on the table and frowned slightly.

"The Queen of the Sucaraba Kingdom is acting as a regent, waiting for her sons to come of age. According to reports from our covert ops, the atmosphere in this country is a little unsettling."

The Little One peered at the map with a "hmm."

The princes of the Torzebisont Kingdom were twelve and seven. By the customs of Arcadia, a royal before adulthood cannot be made crown prince. Therefore, after the previous king passed away, the queen consort has been conducting state affairs as queen. While women also have succession rights, as men are simply given priority, Meg had been removed from the line of succession because she was engaged and scheduled to be married off. Meg, who was scheduled to come of age next year, would not be made provisional crown princess. If people didn't know these details, some idiot might think of taking over the Torzebisont Kingdom by marrying Meg.

"Well, I suppose I'll stop by the Lord of the Forest's domain on the way and subtly fill them in on the details. If they know Meg can't be used as a pawn, they won't get any strange ideas."

"That is a good idea," Dorfen said, rolling up the map.

However, the Little One, who had underestimated how her own life always took a diagonal, half-twisted turn, did not yet know the future where Meg would break her engagement at the New Year's banquet and her right to the throne would resurface.

"I’ve arrived!"

"...Pardon?"

Nor the future where Meg, clad in the uniform of the Frontier Noble Academy, would come to study abroad in the same upper school as the Little One and Chihaya.

Not even the gods had predicted the world's plans that were beginning to move with Frontier at their center, pulling in the stunned Little One and Chihaya.

Cheers to the Little One's future, where only chaos is in store.