Volume 5 Chapter 216, Love Interests At That Time_ 2 (: Seaweed)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Ash

 

“Hmph, mgh!”

“Huh?!”

 

As I closed the door, she blasted her first through the door with a voice unbecoming of a Royal Princess.

Groping around to find the look on the inside, she successfully unlocked the door, then withdrew her hand and opened the door from the other side with a clang.

 

“Oh! It’s been a while, Ash.”

 

With the same smile as before, as if the last 10 seconds hadn’t happened, she repeated the same words she had said earlier. Behind her were Char and Ecul, looking even more uncomfortable than earlier. Their expressions seemed to say, “I understand how you feel, but…”

 

“… It has been a long time, Your Highness Scarlet. So you have returned to the Kingdom.”

“Yeah, it’s been about a year.”

Scarlet Randolph.

Even taller than Mary (169cm), the Second Princess was 6 years older than us (22 years old) and would be more appropriately described as lively than ladylike.

In the kingdom where people usually married in their teens, she was a tomboy, who didn’t marry anybody like the first prince, and traveled around the world as an adventurer, slaying monsters with her own hands.

 

“That dress suits you beautifully. The way you wear that red dress, matching your hair, truly earns you the praise that ‘within the kingdom, you are the only person who can wear red as well as the Queen.”

“Even if you compare me to my Mother, frankly, it’s hard to move in a dress so I’d like to take it off.”

“… Please at least put your Father, the King, at ease at the start of the year”

“That’s exactly why I’m dressed like this, aren’t I?”

 

… Evidently, she seemed to prefer trousers to skirts. This year, she had been acting more free-spirited than ever before during the new year holidays, causing the King to worry and the Queen to frown.

 

“It’s been a while, Scarlet.”

“Yeah, long time no see, Vermillion. Wow, you’ve grown taller.”

“Yes, you too, Scarlett… I am glad you’re doing well, but please stop destroying the doors. If Father finds out, he will start getting more headaches.”

“Ahaha, what are you talking about? There is no way my younger Brother’s valet would try to stop me, a Princess, from entering the room, so naturally this door was broken from the start, and I just walked in. Right?”

“… That’s right, it was already broken.”

 

Vermillion looked his usual calm self, but there was also a hint of resignation in his expression.

By the way, the door to this room had been imbued with magic powers to protect against assassins, and was made sturdier than normal doors. It certainly wasn’t so flimsy that it could be penetrated in one hit, but it didn’t seem to matter to her.

Since Lady Scarlet graduated from the academy, I’ve had few chances to see her, so I’d even forgotten such common sense.

 

“Well then, pardon me. Oh, and no need for tea or anything.”

“Understood.”

 

Lady Scarlet moved quickly despite wearing a dress, and before Char or I could think to do anything, she sat down randomly on a chair in the room, and although it was hard to tell because of her dress, she still crossed her legs.

Following her, Char and Ecul also entered the room, and Ecul closed the broken door.

 

“So, what business might you have with me? You’ve even brought Char and Forsyth Family’s son along.”

“Well, there’s a lot I want to say, but… hey, Vermillion, you…no, you guys seem to have been doing a lot of interesting things while I was away from the kingdom.”

““…“”

 

That smile made us, all the men in the room, straighten our backs, giving us a bad feeling and preparing us for what was to come.

…Yes, the fact that she took the trouble to come t0 us means that she must have had a good reason for it.

Even when I dug through the old memories, when she came with a smile like this, nothing good came out of it. I suddenly remembered the time I ran away with Vermillion and Char and closed the door on reflex. In addition, Vermillion also looked like he wanted to run away at that moment.

 

“Your Highness Scarlett, we—“

“Oh, it’s fine, Ecul. My Little Brother, who had no interest in anyone other than his childhood friends Ash and Char, let alone the opposite sex, has found a girl in his class he’s so infatuated with. Obviously I’m happy about it.”

“Is… that so?”

 

Ecul tried to take the initiative and speak first, wanting to be the first to receive criticism, but Lady Scarlet interrupted him with a smile, saying she was happy.

Ecul, who had less opportunities to interact with her than we did, was taken aback, but we knew that this smile meant more than that, so our expressions didn’t change.

 

“It’s not like I’m angry about your broken engagement because I liked Violet or anything. To be honest, I didn’t really like her that much anyway. It doesn’t really matter if the girl you like is a Commoner or not. If you’re willing to stand up for yourself no matter the difference in social status, I’ll support you.”

“Then why…?”

 

Hearing it stated so plainly, we also started having doubts like Ecul, but our expressions remained unchanged.

I’ve known for a while that Lady Scarlet didn’t hate Violet, but she didn’t like her either. As for the difference in social status, Lady Scarlet has always lived like an adventurer, so I wasn’t really worried about that…

 

“Man, she’s a really good girl, that Mary Sue. She’s well-behaved, good at both academics and sports, and she can even use alchemy magic. Plus, she’s beautiful, has a great personality, is a great cook and very charismatic. I’ve never seen anyone like her.”

“That’s true. I also think she’s a wonderful woman.”

 

Ecul pushed up his glasses and looked proud for some reason.

 

“Yes, yes, I understand why you would want to get with a girl like that. After all, even Silva who’s not here… I think that was his name, got involved in the duel because of her, right? Man, I would have loved to have seen that. You guys have excellent magical and physical abilities, and you guys engaged in a duel with some talented kid from the outside that Violet called in, right? I’m sure it would have been a fun duel even just to watch.”

 

Lady Scarlet nodded, arms crossed, and declared that she had wanted to watch the duel with a look that seemed delighted.

Ecul looked a little relieved seeing that smile, but…

 

“So, you guys, how is it that even after doing all that neither of you is dating Mary Sue?”

 

Hearing those words, everyone froze in their tracks.

 

“… I was skeptical when I heard this from the butler and the maid of the Valentine Family, but judging from you guys’ faces, it seems to be true… hey, Vermillion.”

“… Yes, Scarlet?”

“And Ash, Char, Ecul. I have something I’d like to say to you all.”

“What is it, Your Highness Scarlet?”

“… As a knight, I will respectfully accept your words.”

“Y-yes, me too.”

“You probably don’t want to hear this from me, who lives freely despite being a royalty and doesn’t know the full circumstances, but…”

 

Lady Scarlet glanced at us, smiled broadly and described us in one sentence.

 

“You bunch of useless losers!”

 

None of us could say anything back.