Chapter 16 The Princess’ Ambush

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Duke Fall.”

Serena, the Second Princess of the country, smiled elegantly at me. She was royalty and I was merely a noble so… in the interests of being courteous, I smiled back politely, not yet truly understanding her intentions.

“The pleasure is all mine, Serena-sama. I understand that you were here today to have a tea party with my Laurier, however… what brings you here?”

“Oh my? Isn’t it boorish to question a Lady about why she wishes to visit upon a gentleman?”

“…You call yourself a Lady, but I don’t know many ladies who enter a man’s room without his consent?”

That’s right, I was currently working at the desk in my own study. I don’t typically allow others in here since there were a lot of documents sensitive to the running of my fief, but… even if she somehow slipped by all my household servants and guards to get here, I still felt that I had to protest somehow.

She brushed off my words with a laugh, though.

“And I even came all this way to see you… Well, so be it. The reason I’m here is simple. You have memories of a world other than this, do you not?”

“…The way you’re phrasing that, it doesn’t really sound like you’re asking at this point?”

“I’m merely confirming. Consider what you’ve been doing… if anyone who knew of how you acted before suddenly learned about how good your relationship with your family was now after hitting your head, suspicions are bound to arise.”

Well, I guess…

“If you’re saying this, then does that mean you also have memories of a previous life?”

“Fufu… I don’t mind a gentleman who isn’t too tight-lipped. If you ever find yourself single, I wouldn’t mind becoming your wife.”

“That’s absolutely impossible to even consider. My wife will always have one hundred per cent of my love as a man, there’s no room in my heart for anyone else.”

I’d never want to see anyone other than Sasha. Actually, I wonder how cute Sasha’s face would be if she were jealous… but, well, it was impossible for me in the first place to love a woman other than her. That’s just how amazingly charming my wife is. As expected of my wife! Ah, not the time or the place. Calm down, calm down…

“And, so? I assume you didn’t sneak past everyone to get here just to confirm things?”

“Fufu… Well, confirming was part of it. The father of the villainess with knowledge of a previous life… I’ve never heard of something like that before, and I can’t help but find something that interesting of interest to me, no?”

“So you even know about the plot of the otome game…?”

She did call me the ‘father of the villainess’, after all. And taking into consideration her knowledge of the other world… there was only one conclusion I could reach.

As if convinced by something in my answer, she nodded and then posed me a question.

“I only considered the possibility, but… you also know about it, don’t you? I didn’t think men were interested in those kinds of games, but… by any chance, were you a girl in your previous life?”

“Sorry, but I am as pure a man as you’ll ever find. I don’t really understand myself why I remember the details of an otome game…”

“Fufu… you rotten boy…” [1]

“Wrong.”

I didn’t want that particular title, so as I immediately rejected it, she gave me a half smile.

“Well, I was only kidding… but, I see now. Since you know about the game, you must also know about Miss Laurier’s personality. From what I recall of the game, she was always arrogant and high-handed, even in her childhood.”

That… was probably because Laurier was left under the violent tutelage of that old hag, with parents who barely cared to see her face. That high handed attitude was probably only a front… I’m sure it was a mask that she would unknowingly wear, to protect herself when no one else would.

When I think about it that way, the game character known as Laurier becomes even more of a tragic figure… but make no mistake, my Laurier is and will continue to be an angel.

“Those sweets of yours we were served at the tea party were unlike anything you can find in this world… and Laurier also mentioned how you had completely changed like you were another person; a better person.”

Laurier… were you thinking about something like that? Papa is happy to hear it… Well, putting the tugging at my heartstrings aside…

“And so? Like I said, are you really just here to confirm that?”

“Yes. Well… It’s nice to see that you truly do seem to be in love with your wife and daughter… and also, I came to say thank you as well.”

“Thank you?”

When I stared at her, puzzled, she seemed stunned for a moment.

“You’re telling me you haven’t noticed yet?”

“Noticed…? I’m not sure what you mean…”

“About my younger brother.”

Younger brother…? The Princess’? So, a Prince? The only thing I could think of was…

“The boy that you talked to in the garden last week.”

“The garden… that blond boy?”

“Yes. My younger brother, the Second Prince, Celeu… and the main capture target from the game.”

[1] She literally calls him a Fudanshi, the male equivalent of a Fujoshi.