Time continued to flow.
The nobles who had pre-ordered their tickets gradually left their territories, one by one, for the New Year’s banquet to be held in the capital. Viscount Bjor also departed his territory.
Of course, they left their private soldiers within the territory.
They excused this as being for the management of the magical beasts, but if that were the case, it would have been sufficient to use personnel from within the Evergarden territory rather than their own private soldiers. Thus, it was nothing more than a kind of safety measure.
The presence of private soldiers from other territories inside the territory while the lord was away was, of course, not a pleasant situation. However, Freya readily permitted it.
And now, the time had finally come for the Evergarden Earldom to move to the capital.
“Ugh! I’m going to die, I’m going to die.”
Rosaria, who had boarded the carriage heading to the capital, had been complaining incessantly from the moment she got on, though they had traveled far enough that the Evergarden territory was gradually disappearing from view.
“Ugh, this is so annoying!”
“Why are you making such a fuss since earlier, you brat?”
“Yeah, Rosaria. It’s distracting, so please be quiet. I’m reading a book.”
At first, Dariann and Felix had simply been listening, but as irritation slowly began to build, they frowned and glared at Rosaria, who continued to grumble.
“Seriously, Mom and you guys. Can you really say that after seeing what I look like right now?!”
The reason was Rosaria’s attire.
Rosaria usually wore pants and outerwear that were easy to move around in, both at the academy and within the territory.
She had no desire to look good for the boys, and they were incredibly uncomfortable.
As a result, her personal maid, Bennet, was initially at a loss, but now that she had adapted, she naturally only lightly tied Rosaria’s hair and was accustomed to ironing the same type of athletic uniform for her to change into.
However, she couldn’t possibly show up at the New Year’s banquet hosted by the Emperor of the Empire looking like a wild horse.
Not only would countless nobles frown, but she might even be kicked out. Therefore, before departing, she received a makeover with the help of her maids.
Moreover, Rosaria had recently been a tomboy, always covered in dirt and grinning like an idiot in the training grounds every day.
So, everything from the way her hair was tied, to the brooch on her chest, to the belt around her waist, was meticulously adjusted, put on, and taken off. Rosaria felt like she was being treated like a doll.
After going through that process, the current result was revealed.
A black dress that suited her black hair perfectly.
Each wrist and the hem of the skirt were adorned with incredibly thin, handmade frills, and numerous jewels hung from her skirt like stars in the night sky.
A red ruby that matched her red eyes was on her chest, and her hair was tied up in an elaborate style and adorned with all sorts of ornaments.
Her face was covered with powders and all sorts of things that were good for the skin, and each strand of her hair was scented with rose-scented oil, making her nose tingle.
Being in the carriage wearing such uncomfortable, awkward, and uncomfortable clothes made her feel restless.
And on top of that.
“I have to ride in this outfit for four days? Just kill me instead!!”
She couldn’t even stand wearing this outfit for an hour, but the fact that she had to sit in this carriage for over four days made Rosaria scream.
Normally, she would have flown there in an instant on Tene, but they couldn’t just come alone to this New Year’s banquet.
They had to show that the head of the family and their family were visiting as representatives of the family.
So, they brought a splendid carriage and numerous servants, as well as private soldiers (of course, they couldn’t enter the venue and had to wait outside, it was purely for show).
The setting took too long to do in the capital, so Rosaria was fed up with the schedule of heading straight to the capital from the territory.
If she messed up even a little, the maids would immediately rush over to powder her face, touch up her hair, and adjust her clothes.
“It’s easy for Mom and you guys to say that because you’re wearing comfortable clothes! You have no idea how I feel!”
Rosaria turned her eyes to Dariann and Felix in that situation.
Unlike her, the two men were dressed more formally than usual, but they were still wearing pants and suits, so they were much more comfortable than Rosaria.
“Hey! Do you know how uncomfortable this is? It feels like the clothes are going to burst if I move even a little!”
“Then, do you want Mom to try wearing this?”
“…Should’ve been born a man if you didn’t like it. Heh!”
“It’s not like I wanted to be a woman!!!!”
“Ugh, so noisy. Rosaria, it can’t be helped. And look at Dad. He’s the same, but he’s not complaining at all.”
“Haha…”
As Rosaria made a fuss, driven mad by Dariann’s provocation, Felix pointed out Freya as if he was fed up.
Freya was also a woman and the Countess, so she would have paid more attention to her appearance, not less.
A more voluminous dress and numerous jewels than usual.
And more than that, the clear cleavage of her ample chest was so beautiful that it instantly stunned the men who looked at her.
“I’m used to it now, so it’s okay. Rosaria is not used to it, so it can’t be helped that she feels uncomfortable.”
“Hey! That’s because Dad is weird!”
“Oh, Rosaria?”
“Well…Dad is not really a dad, but more like a mom. Oh, I don’t mean that he looks like Mom, but that he’s feminine—”
“Daughter…?!”
“So, you’re saying I wasn’t feminine?”
“Mom was like a man even when she was in the modern world.”
“Hmph. Who cares? I gave birth to you guys, so that’s enough. Anyway, my husband is a bit feminine, isn’t he?”
“Honey?!”
However, Freya was so well-suited to it that the three realized that the comparison was wrong, and Freya was overwhelmed by their reaction.
“Should we just change our titles at this point? How long can you keep calling me Mom?”
“Um…well…we’ve already been calling you Mom and Dad for over 20 years, so it would feel too awkward to change it now.”
“Besides, if we change the titles…that means I have to call him ‘Oppa’! No way! Absolutely not!”
“…Oho? This is going to be interesting? Try it once? O…ppa…Ooooooppppaaaaa—”
“Is this girl crazy?”
“Ack! Did you hit me?! You hit me?! I won’t let you get away with this! You’re dead!”
“What is she saying…! You’re just my younger sister…! Ack! Wait, my hair!! My hair, my hair!!! That’s cheating!!!”
“Oppa, get your hand off my cheek!”
“Can’t you guys be quiet!? If you’re going to fight, go outside and duke it out!”
“Is that something a mom should say? Ah! Aaaah!!! Hey! My hair!! It takes hours to fix this!!!”
“Just die today…!”
“Kids, kids…? Please calm down…? Honey?! Don’t just laugh, stop them!!”
Three hours after leaving the Evergarden territory.
The inside of the carriage was already noisy.
“So, those guys are coming now, right?”
[Yes, they’re saying they’ll be here for this New Year’s banquet.]
A man asked as he soaked in a bathtub, the ripples spreading with the splashing water, while talking to a crystal ball.
“I don’t know what to make of it. Is it really necessary to test the waters like this?”
[Use the word ‘prudence’ rather than ‘necessary’.]
“Geez…I guess being stuck in a snowy territory every day has frozen my brain solid?”
“Aren’t you and ‘that person’ too scared? Aren’t those guys also possessors like us? Shouldn’t we just ask them directly about their intentions, and if we don’t like the answer, chop them off-isn’t that our way?”
[‘That person’ seems to be interested in this Elixir production, so don’t do anything unnecessary.]
Even though the bathtub he was soaking in and the place itself were extremely noble, the man’s tone was very cheap and lacked any semblance of courtesy.
However, his outstanding appearance, which matched his golden hair that was soaked and glistening in the bathtub water, was worthy of praise.
Jin Boreas, who was talking to the man through the crystal ball, did not see any reason to continue this conversation.
[Carry out ‘that person’s’ orders faithfully.]
“Tsk, if that pretty face was in front of me, I would have punched it without thinking. Oh, right, you’re coming this time too, right? I should take a look at that pre-tty face.”
[…..Ending the call.]
Click-
“What? Hello? Aish, this bastard, really…Tsk…!”
Crash-
As Jin Boreas unilaterally cut off the communication, the man threw the crystal ball in his hand to the floor as if he was annoyed.
In an instant, the expensive crystal ball, worth about 150,000 dinars (approximately 220,000 USD), became trash.
And a moment later.
Knock knock-
[Excuse me. Third Prince. I heard a loud noise, may I come in for a moment?]
“Ah, please do.”
Click-
“Sorry, I accidentally dropped the crystal ball.”
“I will clean it up immediately.”
Following the man’s permission, the attendants immediately entered the bathroom.
“Thank you for always working so hard.”
“It’s nothing, Your Highness. Such words are too heavy for a mere servant like me, so please take them back.”
“How can I do that! You are one of my precious people! Don’t say such things.”
“I am honored, Your Highness.”
The man, who was cleaning up the fragments of the crystal ball that had been broken by the man’s outburst, expressed his gratitude with a completely different atmosphere that was hard to believe was the same person who had just been annoyed with the crystal ball.
Dignity and kindness, which had been nowhere to be found until just now, were overflowing.
He was the Third Prince of the Obina Empire.
And the man Rachel was convinced was the murderer of the Ninth Prince.
Ganix Obina.