6. Rosa Wants to Take Down Yuri (3)
“…Eh?”
Bernardo was also taken aback.
“B-but, Uncle, earlier, didn’t she mention that the main purpose of the tea party was to console her female friends…? Therefore, there’d be multiple participants…”
“If it’s truly a party to entertain His Highness Chris’ friends, what’s stopping her from inviting them himself? Why the need for Her Majesty to attend? In other words, those ladies are fiancée candidates. Nevertheless, if you were to show up in a dress tailored by His Highness, you’ll definitely be considered as the most eligible candidate.”
“…No way.”
According to Anton, if she won the selection at the tea party, she’d become a fiancée candidate. Afterwards, following the mediation at the engagement ceremony, she’d officially become his fiancée.
Unbeknownst to her, Rosa was already participating in the first round of the match.
No, let alone participating, considering the queen’s “indebtedness”, along with Rosa’s amicable relationship with Leon and the others, it was quite possible that the queen would take this matter into her own hands.
“Upon meeting him at the tea party, you became the fiancée of His Highness. It’s a romantic cliché! Let alone manners, you’ve never even come across a novel like that!?”
“…I have no words.”
Rosa quickly averted her gaze.
Who would’ve thought that her biased reading history would rear its ugly head in such a situation?
She’d memorized the Bibles, war stories, and myths from all over the continent. For Rosa, who knew how to tie military knots, build ships, and smelt metal, it was an unforeseeable pitfall.
“While the tea party isn’t legally binding, it’s important to aristocrats who respect custom. The participants are supposed to present selected tea leaves to the organizer in advance. At the peak of the ceremony, Her Majesty will brew tea using the tea leaves of the chosen lady. Once that happens, you’d become Prince Leon’s fiancée candidate.”
The tea that the queen brewed herself was called the Queen’s Cup.
Rosa twitched. If she hadn’t known, she might’ve innocently offered rose tea to the queen to promote rottenness, and the queen might’ve chugged it down.
“I-I-I refuse…!”
Rosa went pale as she said that.
“I can’t even imagine myself becoming Prince Leon’s fiancée candidate!”
Wouldn’t that be akin to robbing Bernardo’s husband!?
That was the worst thing someone could do…
She should rightfully resent Chris for inviting her to such a tea party, but decided against it upon considering that Chris had forsaken womanly education. Therefore, Chris probably wasn’t aware of the connotation.
As an older one, she should gently point out Chris’ lack of knowledge and withdraw from participating.
“I’ll go after His Highness Chris right away!”
“No, considering your character, even if you decline, they’ll see you as being modest—”
“Sister.”
But Rosa, who was about to scramble out of the room, was stopped by a firm voice.
“Please go to the tea party.”
It was Bernardo.
After hearing Anton’s explanation, he remained silent for a while, but now had a terrifying smile on his face.
“B-Bernardo?”
“I’m so angry right now… How dare they try to outsmart me like this…”
He said that he was angry because Rosa was unknowingly made a partner in the matchmaking.
However, Rosa took it as, ‘Of course he’s angry, his husband—Leon, is about to be snatched from him.’ And almost cried.
“I-it’s understandable for you to get angry. But there’s absolutely no way I’ll get engaged with His Highness Leon. I’ll go refuse it right now, so please calm down—”
“No. Even if you refuse, it doesn’t mean that a similar situation won’t happen in the future. Therefore, please attend so that I can crush the possibility of an engagement with His Highness Leon once and for all.”
Nevertheless, Bernardo flatly interrupted Rosa, who was about to refuse.
Apparently, instead of avoiding the engagement flag, he wanted to annihilate it.
To her brother, who smiled and made extremely belligerent remarks, Rosa cleared her throat.
I-is this what happens when Bell-tan gets jealous…!?
That not being the case aside, the sight of her jealous younger brother made her heart shudder.
Bernardo’s usual innocence was the best, but his wickedness and irresistible smile were also exceptionally delectable.
Rather, it was a first for Rosa to witness Bernardo express his affection towards Leon.
Bell-tan’s manifestation of love is a sign of good luck…! I want to bake bean bread…!
As the name suggested, bean bread was a bean-filled bread baked by citizens during celebrations.
As his older sister, Rosa vowed to fully support his romance.
“I understand. Leave it to me. If they hand me a cup, I’ll smash it to bits!”
“No, if you were to refuse the Queen’s Cup, it’ll be considered as an offense to the organizer. Not only will you be cut off by the organizer, you’d also be forbidden from entering.”
“Eh?”
At Anton’s calm argument, Rosa stuttered.
Does that mean she’ll be abandoned by the queen?
Rosa, who lived in the detached palace, had no problem whatsoever with being abandoned by the queen. However, it’d be troublesome if she were to be barred from the royal castle itself.
Even if she planned to go to a monastery someday, she’d like to enjoy the BL kaleidoscope by Bernardo’s side for the time being.
“But, then… what should I do…?”
“If you still want to attend the tea party, yet want to decline the proposition, why don’t you give them an impression that you’re unfit to be a royal fiancée? That way, the notoriety will make sure that even if the other lady didn’t receive the cup, such invitations will disappear in the future.”
“...Notoriety, that’s…”
It was quite desperate.
Bernardo furrowed his eyebrows in worry, but Rosa didn’t back down.
“Understood. Then, I shall embody the most somber woman—no, the worst villain in history, enough to plunge the tea party in the crucible of chaos.”
Since it was for Bernardo’s sake, she didn’t care all that much about reputation.
Anyway, she had to prevent the marriage between herself and Leon—and if possible, prevent Leon from getting engaged to other ladies as well.
By acting like an eccentric and throwing the tea party into chaos, she’d surely give an impression that she was a far cry from being a suitable match.
Rosa showed her determination by sticking out her chest to Bernardo.
“That’s why, you have nothing to worry about Bernardo…!”
“…If anything, I feel sorry for my Dear Sister, and more than that, I have this foreboding anxiety…”
However, Bernardo seemed restless for some reason.
“Sister, can you truly make others despise you? Aah, why can’t I attend the tea party?”
“Then, let me watch over the tea party.”
Anton made an offer.
“In terms of my status, I’m also a guest of His Highness Chris. Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange for me to attend the party as Rosa’s plus one. In order to keep Rosa from getting sidetracked, I’ll casually follow up with her, as I’m familiar with aristocratic manners.”
“U-Uncle…!”
Rosa widened her eyes at the unexpected backup. No way, she never expected that he—an enemy—would cooperate for the sake of Bell-tan’s BL.
“I… I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart…”
“No problem. After all, if you end up becoming a crown princess, you’ll be subjected to thorough investigation, and even your relatives will be tracked down and placed under the surveillance of the royal family. If that happens, I, too, will be suspended from managing relief centers in other countries. Worse, I’ll be returned to the royal monastery. I want to avoid that at all cost, so it’s for my own sake.”
As he said that, Anton gently narrowed his eyes.
Rosa began to think, ‘Maybe, he isn’t so bad, after all…’ But at that moment, Anton added:
“You’re still more suited to the day of flirting with Prince Chris rather than the days of nurturing love with Prince Leon—as a man who believes so, it’s nothing but a modest cooperation, so don’t think about it.”
“…”
At first glance, his words could be taken as, “I don’t want a young girl to be married against her will.” But Rosa knew his true intentions.
In other words, he’d rather have Rosa flirt with the beautiful girl, Chris, than to marry the man, Leon.
In the end, it was only for his own gain…
Give me back my excitement…
However, after considering it, she realized that they were very much alike, and gently pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
I wonder why…
Even though she didn’t necessarily agree with his theory, she felt a connection with Anton that went beyond the relationship between an uncle and his niece.
Anyway, I’m grateful for your cooperation. But instead of relying on my uncle, I have to do my best.
Rosa secretly clenched her first.
It was a battle for the prestige of the nobles—
—the battle of Rosa.
That said, although she’d made many efforts to imitate a lady, she’d never researched how to make people despise her.
Since Rosa herself seldom hated anyone, she didn’t even have a role model for an “unpleasant person.”
Uhm, an unpleasant person, an unpleasant person…? Then, my father? I only disdained his lascivious side… How about pretending to be Uncle Anton, who likes lilies? No, that’s just no, absolutely no…
In the end, she decided to support her father who started a new life at the monastery. At the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to hate Anton, who offered to cooperate with her.
While lasciviousness was filthy, when Rosa thought that he might turn into a rose, that side might be beautiful in its own way. Moreover, upon discovering that Lily could also support Rose, she could no longer disdain it.
Should I hurl abusive words…? That’ll only make me a Pundere. If I were to deceive people instead, that’d be black-bellied of me, which is also my favorite trope…
Due to her love for all tropes, she couldn’t think of anything.
On the other hand, she could list about 100 moe points in seconds.
“U, uhm, I’d like you to rest easy, but, let me think for a second…”
In her anguish, Rosa clutched her forehead and began to growl.
Bernardo uneasily stared at his sister.
Thus, neither of them noticed that Anton, too, was staring at Rosa, his eyes waning with languidness behind his glasses.
Previous | Table of Contents | Next
Leave a Reply