Chapter 47 – His Majesty the King
They are lead to a room a little far from the party venue.
The large palace structure was intentionally made to be hard to remember and easy to get lost in. It would be hard for them to reach the room and go back to the party venue if the man didn’t guide them.
“His Majesty will arrive shortly, so please wait a moment.”
The guide made a perfect bow and left the room.
Sighs leak out unconsciously when it’s just the three siblings in the room.
“I-I was so nervous…”
“He is more precise than the etiquette teacher.”
“Working in the royal castle… is impossible for us.”
Those who can work at the royal castle are high-ranking aristocrats and people who have superior grades at the academy. Those proper-looking people rarely seen in Palace, who they passed by many times while being guided to the room.
・・・
“Ah, Joshua’s jacket… I came still wearing it.”
They parted with Joshua at the party venue as His Majesty only called the three siblings, but Emma still borrowed his jacket as it was.
To Emma, who was born in the south, the royal capital is still cold even though it’s now early spring.
Emma’s dress keeps the exposure as low as possible, but the young ladies wearing fashionable dresses feel colder, right. Emma is idly thinking, “Let’s develop dresses that can keep out the cold for next winter.”
She understands now why back then Joshua said that one-horned rabbits are sought-after in the royal capital. One-horned rabbit’s fur is probably warmer than their previous life’s down jacket.
‘In the first place, I wish I could spend the winter wrapped in Koumei-san while doing Rose-chan’s dress designs or researching insects with a cup of fresh cream hot cocoa in one hand without attending any party.‘
It seems it doesn’t go as she planned.
Mother has said that tea party invitations arrive almost every day since they came to the royal capital.
Emma, whose hands are full with the cats, insects, monster karuta, and sericulture, feigned illness to decline them all, but it seems that the tea party’s purpose was to find friends to take the same class or exchange information about which class the boy they like chose.
Emma thought that classes should be decided based on what she wanted to take. But ‘did doing things together is what the girls do even from our previous world?’ Emma traces her memories.
In middle school, everyone went to the toilet together like it’s an obvious thing to do.
She had thought that she wanted to at least decide her peeing time herself, but she just went with the flow that time and believed that not standing out was the best way to avoid danger.
She has felt that it was fun in its way, but herself, who’s not Minato anymore and has become Emma, won’t do things like before again… more like she can’t.
Even with Minato’s memory, Emma is Emma. Emma is Emma; however, there’s also Minato.
Anyhow, the situation can’t be exactly like before because she has reincarnated in another world.
While Emma, who looked absent-minded from the outside, was pondering, there was a rattling sound of the door opening.
…where’s the knock!?
The three siblings bow reflexively, but there’s a sign of someone coming without minding it.
“Emma-chan!”
Something soft and bouncy is pressed against Emma’s face, and she is hugged tightly.
This wonderful elasticity… there’s only one who has it.
*Haah* Emma lifts her head as if escaping from the softness and answers.
“Ro-chan! Long time no see!”
She can see the blindingly beautiful Rose Alicia Royal’s smile even through the veil.
“Emma-chan~!”
In succession, Princess Jadwiga comes and hugs Emma.
“Long time no see, Princess!”
Jadwiga, who has grown slightly, grins.
William, near Emma, spreads his arms slightly and waits for Jadwiga to hug him, but he was ignored.
“Emma-chan! We finally meet!”
Rose strokes the veil Emma’s wearing with a worried gesture.
“The letter said that you have completely recovered, but how’s the wound? Does it still hurt sometimes?”
George and William at both sides of Emma flinch at Rose’s words.
She is really alright with no problems at all, but these two seem to feel hurt every time they meet people who wince when they see her scars.
George feels that he couldn’t protect Emma, William thinks he couldn’t do anything, and all on their own accord feel responsible.
This past year, they have been needlessly kind to her and indulging her with excessive care to the point she feels bad for it.
Emma’s wounds are caused by slimes. The Stuart family, who understands the slime’s menace well, also didn’t blame them.
But perhaps it would have been easier for them if they are blamed and scolded.
Even though Emma has said that her wounds are self-inflicted and she even kind of like it, George and William’s attitudes didn’t change. She is actually wearing a veil to hide the scars for the two’s sake.
Even so, she feels all tingly and can’t stand the princess treatment forever.
Emma lifts her veil and exposes her wounds.
She wants to boast her deep purple wound to Rose without hiding anything. This stylish spider web is really her favorite.
“Yes, there are no problems during everyday life… It’s just…”
While answering Rose, she comes up with an underhanded… no, a clever idea.
She quietly lands her eyesight to her right arm and lifts the corner of her mouth like making a forced smile.
“Things like dancing… is impossible to do…”
George and William instantly look at Emma.
‘This girl has gone and done it! What a sly move! You’re super healthy, ain’tcha!’ They don’t say it out loud, but it’s written all over their face.
“Ahh, so it’s like that… That’s why you were on the balcony, not dancing. George-kun and William-kun are so kind.”
‘Worried about Emma, who is unable to dance, they spent their time together in the balcony where they couldn’t see the ball,’ Rose has misunderstood them.
“K-kind you say… It’s just what is expected of me…”
“Y-yes. We will not leave nee-sama alone.”
While being faltered, both of them jump on Rose’s misunderstanding.
Here, the three siblings’ No-Dancing Alliance is born.
Emma will just keep silent about being left alone as soon as they entered the venue.
If Emma doesn’t use her scars cleverly without restraint like this, maybe the two will go back to their previous attitude.
It’s also about time Emma grows tired of being preciously treated.
Rose wrinkles her beautiful eyebrows and strokes Emma’s right cheek.
It doesn’t feel as smooth as when she touched it in the hot spring, but because the inflamed skin has regenerated, she doesn’t need to be scared touching it.
“Ro-chan! These scars, doesn’t it look like a spider web?”
When Emma laughs proudly, Rose looks at the scars like just noticing them.
“It’s true. And the color is the Stuart family’s purple.”
Purple has different shades, but the purple in Emma’s scars is similar to the color of her father and brother’s eyes.
The eye color that only Emma doesn’t inherit is unexpectedly tattooed on Emma’s right cheek. ‘As expected of Rose-sama, she sees things differently!’ Emma thought.
George and William make a ‘you just realize it now?’ face.
*knock knock* A moderate knock on the door is heard.
“I wonder if it is His Majesty and Edward?”
The three siblings hurriedly bow at Rose’s words.
Next to Emma, Rose bows relaxedly and elegantly at the same time the door is opened.
“The Stuarts siblings here in your presence.”
As Rose introduced them, they stated their names starting from George.
“I am the eldest son, George Stuart.”
“The second son, William Stuart.”
“The eldest daughter, Emma Stuart.”
A hand suddenly holds Emma’s chin and softly lifts her bowed head.
The face of a muscular man appears before her eyes.
Still holding Emma’s chin, he looks at her carefully.
“…um …Your Majesty?”
When she can’t stand it and talks to him, the man laughs heartily.
“Emma Stuart! How cute, if I were 10 years younger, I would make a move on you.”
“Y-Your Majesty!! What are you saying!”
Prince Edward, behind His Majesty the King, calls out in a fluster.
“Well, because it will be fun if I become my son’s rival in lov…”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
At the sight of the always calm Second Prince he doesn’t often see, the King makes a joke amusedly.
The King dismisses their bows and also calls out to George and William.
Emma gazes at all of that in a daze.
“E-Emma! Please forget what His Majesty said earlie…, Emma?”
The Prince hurriedly says, but at that, he saw the scars for the first time.
It’s a deep purple scar that would let you think, ‘It must’ve hurt.’ Even so, he didn’t expect that that time scars could heal so beautifully like this.
“Emma, …?”
The Prince thought it would be rude of him to continue staring, but he realized there’s no response from Emma. She keeps gazing at His Majesty.
“………so cool……”
The small whisper Emma said absent-mindedly, only the Prince heard it clearly.
Author’s note: I’m sorry for the lack appearance of the King even though the title is ‘His Majesty the King.’
