Chapter 22

Even if it's called a festival, it's a bloodbath.

The Latyché family has not been reprimanded.

One of the reasons is that they already owe a favor from the past kidnapping incident involving Albert, the origin of this incident was the prince's unilateral and unreasonable decision, and Father is an irreplaceable pillar with a lot of achievements.

Albert just came to meet his childhood friend and his step-brothers. He had already made an appointment with the school. In the first place, he hadn't even talked to Lucas or Renaria, let alone met them...

Well, Lucas and Renaria had been causing problems for a long time. There are other reasons, but I'll omit them to avoid making this too long.

After that, Father, who was in a rage due to the royal family's rudeness, managed to cheer up at a family tea party. Sebastian was on the floor, sobbing, "Miss is an angel descended from heaven..."

I'm sorry for the noisy family.

All I did was stay closer to Father than usual.

The best prescription for a traumatic experience is Father, the strongest guardian. This has been proven in the kidnapping incident. Long live Father therapy.

Father's voice, warmth, and scent are very soothing.

Father, who was looking at his daughter rubbing up against him with a smile, is quite a daughter-lover.

But as Albertina, my first outing without Father left a strong and terrifying memory. What kind of crazy royal family is that? Is that the first prince? It's not just being blind in love. Dragging out a young lady from a carriage and verbally abusing her, ignoring everyone's attempts to stop her, and trying to go home in a carriage—this is not the act of a sane person. Acting without proper investigation and making a grand entrance.

Well, he got a pretty scary message from Father, so let's call it even. I wonder if Prince Lucas is incapacitated?

In the game version, he was supposed to be a much more normal prince. Why did he turn into such a silly prince?

I was able to doze off in the carriage on the way back because Father was with me.

This carriage uses Rose brand cushioning and springs. It doesn't hurt my bottom. The first carriage I rode in was the same, but the exterior and interior were different.

When I got home, Mother Latyché and the maids, who were pale, comforted me, "You must have been scared!" I realized once again how much a hikikomori is loved.

Not long after, worried messages arrived from Kistaria, Julius, Michaelis, and Jibril. It hurt when I was dragged out of the carriage and hit or scraped my knees and hands, but when I woke up, I was already treated and had no bruises, so I replied that I was fine. However, a flood of letters asking for the truth of the incident followed. Please, can someone narrow it down to a representative? It's quite hard to write the same content to four people. The main writing tool in this world is a large white feather pen. There are things like chalk, but there are no ballpoint pens or mechanical pencils.

Make one, or a fountain pen.

I don't think this world has the technology to make replacement or mechanical pen cores. I want better ink and I don't like this scratchy pen! It's also hard to hold and not very durable. Well, it's made by processing a bird's feather. It's light, which is good, but...

At first, I liked it because it looked antique and noble, but after writing many letters, this pen doesn't absorb ink well and is very difficult to use.

Fortunately, there is a precise metalworking technology for making accessories. The handle can be made of wood, but it would also be good to use processed bones, horns, or fangs from saber tigers or serpents, unique to this world, like how seals are made of ivory, crystal, or gold.

What do you think? I asked the Rose Company's designer to make a design, and they were interested. I really want to ask Julius and Sebastian, but they seem busy with the royal family's carnival incident involving Father.

Still, Lady Renaria was quite a strange person, but if someone like her, who could be the next queen, could manipulate Father into a fight, I don't want someone like that to be the next king. Well, depending on the route, it could be the second prince, Leold...

My first meeting with Prince Lucas was the worst, but at least I should have seen the royal seal, the symbol of the royal family, on his right hand.

In the game, it only clearly shows in limited stills. I heard it represents the qualities of a king. I wonder if that prince really has it...

The king has it on his forehead, so it can be confirmed immediately from his portrait. On the other hand, the princes often wear gloves for formal occasions...

That game, was it about a disappointing heroine and a disappointing hero? It was more about the forbidden love between people of different statuses, with the villainous lady trying to tear them apart, and the two of them working hard to overcome the crisis?

It's quite a stretch to force a hikikomori with no real acquaintance into the role of a villainous lady, isn't it? It might have been more believable if she had attended the school.

The lingerie brand project with Mother and Jibril is progressing steadily, and the prototypes are very cute. The prototype was surprisingly quick.

Cute bra and panties. The cups are adorned with delicate lace and frills, and the front has a ribbon. It's a standard design in modern times, but the soft cream yellow color and orange ribbon are very cute. It looks even more so because the previous undergarments were bland.

But the only person I can show this to is Anna.

I tried on the prototype right away. It was embarrassing, but I asked if it suited me, and Anna, with a serious face, said, "Miss, I know you understand, but don't do the same thing with men! Men are wolves!" It was a very serious persuasion.

There's no such man to show it to...

Is there anyone who wants to see it?

They'll probably be turned off by the scar on my back, right?

I don't want to be hurt. Underwear is a hidden fashion.

I didn't know.

That the true appearance of 'Albertina von Latyché,' the noble who was mocked as an ugly girl, a monster's daughter, and a damaged princess in society, was exposed, causing a commotion separate from that incident.

What the knight said about the woman named 'Cristina' and how it would affect me in the future.

That Father, who even the king couldn't stop, was enraged.

That he withdrew once for my sake but would go after the aides and knights who supported Prince Lucas, not just the knights who failed to protect me, and the young lords and ladies would be in Father's hands.

That the fact that Father could be controlled was a shocking revelation.

The story without a villainous lady—how it was starting to progress.

And

"Sir..."

The second prince, who not only couldn't stop the first prince from treating me unjustly but also seemed to support him. Father, who gathered the two factions supporting each and fired all the palace educators for their lack of education, interrogated the selected council and nobility, and even after receiving the king's apology, his anger did not subside. He crushed the disputes with other tribes and border regions, sacrificed monsters, and took harsh and tight verbal commitments from trade partners to secure favorable conditions, but his anger still raged. Sebastian was constantly pressured to either give him stomach medicine or use the ultimate weapon, the "Father's Love" ticket.

Moreover, there was another incident that added to the pressure.

What most enraged Father, who was already in a terrible mood.

It was the large number of marriage proposals sent.

Silently throwing the marriage proposals into the fireplace and burning them one by one, Father, who had lowered my mood to the bottom, was radiating a killing aura while working in the capital.

Sebastian, who was drenched in cold sweat behind Father's back.

The living image of the late Christina.

Albertina is a stunning beauty.

Even if you overlook the scar on her back, she is the legitimate daughter of the Latyché Duke family, a major noble family with vast assets and territories, and a princess with royal blood.

Even if she changes her appearance, changing the color of her eyes and hair, she cannot hide her outstanding figure and well-proportioned face. Her beauty cannot be hidden by a simple disguise.

With that appearance and figure, even a slight flaw—rather, the number of fools who think they can aim for her despite a significant status difference has increased dramatically.

Julius had warned in the past that Albertina's beauty alone could cloud people's judgment. That concern has now become a reality.

At the same time, at the school, Kistaria was being pestered by the young lords to introduce his beautiful step-sister, and was already exhausted by the young ladies who wanted to become her fiancée. The stress of being asked to introduce the person she liked was even greater.

Julius, who was being approached by the young lords with a condescending attitude, trying to win over the servants, and being pestered by the servants of those young lords, was amazed at how they prioritized their desires to ride the lower body and the reverse jade even after being caught up in the terror of the demon king's purge twenty years ago. Many