Chapter 20.1
Let’s go back in time. . .
To discuss the two conditions for restoring the princess’s hair to its original state, we moved to a hotel owned by Diark. The hotel, which mainly caters to lower-ranking nobles who do not have townhouses in the capital, has a soundproof conversation room that is perfect for confidential talks. The six of us, including myself, Theodore, Diark, the princess, Bella, and Chrysler-san, entered the room. It would have been better to have Verde’s escort with us, but we decided that it was enough to trust Theodore alone since the content of the conversation was sensitive.
Bella and Chrysler-san’s kol looked anxious and wondered why I was here. . .but I asked them to wait since I had something to discuss with them later.
“I want the third princess to skip her birthday celebration.”
“What? What are you talking about? If I have to skip my own birthday celebration, I’d rather cancel it.”
When I clearly conveyed the first condition, which was to braid her hair to hide the shorter side, the princess glared at me unhappily.
“No, I will attend in your place, so it’s not really skipping, but I want you to hide.”
“No… There’s no way you can substitute for me. You have a completely different aura, and what about your face?”
“When she mentioned “born with a different kind of aura,” I felt like her gaze was directed towards my chest, but it’s not that different. . .right? Anyway, the question was whether I could pretend to be the princess without revealing my face.
“I will transform with magic, not just disguise. It’s okay.”
Saying that, as if to prove it, I transformed into Princess Dorothea using magic. As the sparkling light danced around, everyone present opened their eyes wide in amazement. Theodore was staring at me with his eyes wide open, as if his Paraiba tourmaline was about to fall off. As for me, my clothes remained the same, but unfortunately, the neckline of the dress was a little tight, causing me to look into the distance with a slightly pained expression.
“. . .You can even use transformation magic?”
“If I could, I would have preferred to live my whole life without using it.”
I had only talked about this transformation magic with my mother and father before. If people knew about it, they would doubt whether the person in front of them was real or not. It would be meaningless as an alibi. Moreover, with the ability to teleport and transform, it was almost like being told to become an assassin.
Of course, the transformation magic was not perfect. It could only reproduce the human body, and the clothes and accessories remained the same before and after transformation. It was fine this time since the princess’s body shape didn’t change much, but if I had transformed into my father, who was like a lump of muscles, the dress would have burst open. Therefore, I had to prepare clothes and accessories that suited the person, making it not easy for anyone to impersonate.
“If that’s the case, why did you bother to transform into me and attend the birthday celebration?”
“If you just wanted to prevent Theodore from becoming my partner, you could have just said so.”
Her confusion, along with her Kol’s head tilted , was understandable. It must have been shocking to hear that she was almost killed, especially by a family member like that old tanuki.
Should I be honest and tell her, or is it better for her to remain ignorant? As I hesitated, Diark spoke up.
“. . .Your uncle intends to kill you.”
“. . .What? What are you talking about?”
“He was trying to frame Esterize for attempted assassination. Apparently, your uncle has no intention of letting it end as an attempt.”
“Ojii-sama, wants to kill me. . .?”
The princess was stunned to the point where even her Kol fell silent. It was not an easy story to accept, especially when it came from a family member who genuinely wished for her death. Diark had experienced it so many times that he had become accustomed to it, but it might not be the case for the princess.
“. . .I don’t like you, but I don’t want you to die either. I don’t hate you enough to let you be killed without saying anything.”
Although they were not particularly close siblings, Diark’s words were sincere. The princess seemed to have understood that, as she let out a long sigh of resignation.
“. . .Anyway, I can’t attend the birthday celebration with this hair. Isn’t that one of the conditions?”
“Is that true?”
“In that case, please! Don’t do anything that would lower my dignity.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
That’s good. If I can attend the birthday celebration disguised as the princess, it will be easier to move around. If things come to a head, I want to reveal the truth and taunt them, showing my real identity and catching them red-handed when they try to kill me… That’s the plan I have in mind.
