Winter had come.
Just as the sun’s rays began to weaken, changes were taking place in my life as well.
"Alraune, did something unpleasant happen?"
The little witch patted my head consolingly, as if she were worried about me.
She was so kind.
Even though I was technically older, I felt like the younger sister whenever she did that.
Well, I was definitely the big sister, though.
"Just a bit of... interpersonal drama, I suppose..."
"I hate dealing with people too. They’re the worst."
Actually, little witch...
Truth be told, my secret is out.
And of all people, it was exposed to a disciple from my days as Saint Iris!
The shame I felt was different from when Nina found out.
Nina had been my direct junior back then; I had known for a long time that she adored me.
Besides, when we reunited, Nina had misunderstood the situation and nearly killed me, so revealing my identity had been a necessary part of clearing the air.
However, the person who found out this time was Imperial Princess Freundliche.
Even if she was my former student, having my true identity discovered by a foreign princess was incredibly embarrassing.
Furthermore, despite my best efforts to keep it hidden, she had seen right through me with ease.
My pride as a master lay in ruins.
Well, I couldn't exactly tell the little witch all that.
Still, I wondered if I should tell her eventually.
That said, it wasn't something I could reveal lightly, and I didn't quite have the courage for it yet.
"By the way, I heard the Lord went to the Royal Capital with that princess. Apparently, they're going to ask the King for permission to marry."
"Oh, is that so..."
I knew about that, too.
And I also knew that Princess Freundliche... Frie, was quite the tactician!
She was a woman of action when the situation called for it.
In a very short amount of time, she had apparently sent a letter to her father, the Emperor, asking him to approve her marriage to Manfred-san.
The Emperor doted on Frie so much that he had been willing to dispatch an army to another country just for her sake.
He must have realized that his daughter's life was being targeted by the Third Consort.
It seemed he had consented to Frie marrying into foreign nobility to ensure her safety.
In this way, Frie's exile was a success.
All that remained was for her to go to the Royal Capital with Manfred-san, present the Emperor's letter to His Majesty the King, and receive official approval for the marriage.
I wasn't privy to the finer details, but I was certain Frie would manage to see it through.
She really was an exceptionally talented princess.
But why had such a girl seen through my identity?
When I asked, she had told me this:
"When we first met on the plains, you addressed me as ‘Imperial Princess,’ did you not? I never once used that title in front of my master. So, how would a mere Alraune know such a specific honorific?"
I had been so careful not to say her name until she introduced herself, and I’d made sure not to call her "Frie" like I used to, but I had completely slipped up in that one area.
Aside from that, she mentioned that our faces were identical, my small gestures were similar, and my reaction when she called me "Master" was exactly the same as it had been in the past. There were several suspicious elements, it seemed.
I had known it would be difficult to play the stranger with someone who knew me intimately during my time as Saint Iris, but I never imagined I would be caught quite this easily.
Or rather, I hadn't realized Frie possessed such sharp intuition.
The Imperial Princess had been putting on a mask.
While she gave the impression of being a happy-go-lucky, naive girl, it had all been a fabrication...
As expected of someone who had survived the imperial court's assassination plots since childhood.
I had been completely played.
From what she told me, the whole business about the "love potion" was a joke she’d made on purpose after realizing who I was.
She was just teasing me.
As for Barometz-san, while she did truly like her, she had also cleverly used that affection to bolster her "naive princess" persona.
Royalty really was terrifying.
I had been deceived and killed by a prince—the Hero—but to think I was also being led around by the nose by an Imperial Princess.
Even though I was a Duke's Daughter with royal blood in my veins, why was there such a gap between us...?
Could it be that because I lived my life as a Saint from my earliest memories, I had completely missed out on the proper education of a noble lady...?
Was I actually the one who was the naive princess all along—?
No, no, that couldn't be right.
I was supposed to be a proper former noblewoman.
Even if I was an Alraune now!
Frie did, however, promise to keep my identity a secret.
Even if she married into another country, Frie still carried the Emperor's blood.
The reach of the Third Consort's malice hadn't vanished entirely.
"My pawns are few. Therefore, while I am in the Kingdom of Gardenia, I will have Master Iris protect me. That is my condition for keeping your secret."
That was the ultimatum Frie had given me.
And so, we formed a pact.
In exchange for me protecting Frie, she would keep the fact that I was Iris a secret.
It was always better to have more trustworthy collaborators.
So, I decided to look on the bright side!
Still, using information as a weapon to manipulate me... Frie really was a strategist.
And yet, she never asked why I had become an Alraune.
Regarding her silence, Frie had said, "The idea of Master Iris, who is supposed to be dead, turning into an Alraune is so incomprehensible that there must be something incredibly dark behind it. I don't want my life targeted any more than it already is, so it's safer for me not to know."
When it came to people who would be troubled to find out I was alive, the Hero and that Shitty Junior were the first two names that came to mind.
Since I would likely be hunted by those two—who sat at the very heart of the Kingdom of Gardenia—Frie's stance was logical.
Given the circumstances, it was for the best that as few people as possible knew the truth.
My peaceful life in the forest would be destroyed if the Shitty Junior and her lot found out.
Thinking about it that way, selling the shampoo on such a large scale might have been a mistake.
It was apparently a massive hit in the Royal Capital, and there was a chance the Shitty Junior’s attention would be drawn to this city.
If that happened, word might eventually reach her that there was an Alraune who looked exactly like Saint Iris.
Please, I thought, let Zelma not take a liking to that shampoo...!
"Alraune, Kiri and the others are here."
The little witch, who was still trying to comfort me with head pats, pointed toward the forest.
I had already noticed them, of course.
I kept track of everyone moving through the forest via my roots.
The one approaching was my "younger sister," the Amazoness Treant.
Kiri, perched atop her head, waved her hand and shouted.
"Rufe, we have a guest!"
It seemed her business was with the little witch, not me.
Apparently, she had come to announce that a food shipment for the little witch had arrived from the city.
"Well then, I'm off," the little witch said, heading toward the tree house with the others.
Thanks to the profits from my nectar and shampoo, she was able to eat her fill of human food.
It was a huge relief that she no longer collapsed from malnutrition like she did in the old days.
"Now then... what should I do...?"
I had known for a while that a group from Tower City was transporting food toward the tree house.
But the problem was that, entirely separate from them, a suspicious individual had been moving through the forest alone for some time.
If it were someone coming to see me, people like Franz-san, Drink Bar-san, or Yasmin-san from the Adventurer Guild came to mind.
But if it were them, they would have arrived with the food transport group.
That meant there was a high probability that this lone person approaching me was a stranger.
Could it be an enemy?
But their gait was far too bold for an assassin; they weren't exactly trying to be stealthy.
I wondered who on earth it could be.
"So you're the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune."
The man appeared before me shortly after.
He was tall with golden hair.
I didn't recognize his face at all.
My first impression was that the man looked incredibly flashy—a total flirt.
He was exactly the type of person I didn't handle well.
Furthermore, the fact that his hair was gold didn't help.
I had a bit of a complex regarding blond men.
After all, the Hero who betrayed and killed me was a blond man...
It would have been fine if he were a child like Young Armin, but an adult man with golden hair was a bit frightening.
This man's gold was much deeper than the Hero's, so they didn't really look alike, but still.
Even ignoring that, I’d been bad with flashy guys since my previous life.
So, my immediate first impression was "I'm probably not going to like this guy." I felt a little bad about it, but it couldn't be helped.
"The rumors were right; you really are a beauty. If it weren't for those roots, I'd be tempted to take you home with me right now."
I certainly wasn't going to be flattered by a line from a playboy like him!
Wait, he was a total stranger, right?
"Nice to... meet you. Who... are you?"
"Huh? You haven't heard about me?"
What was he talking about?!
Was he an acquaintance of someone I knew?
Or was I forgetting something important...?
"Well, whatever. You can just call me Kyle."
It most certainly wasn't "whatever"!
I wanted details!!
Judging by his tone, had someone introduced him?
Was he here about the shampoo drama, or did he just want my nectar...?
Either way, this was our first meeting.
Besides, despite his flashy looks, he seemed quite powerful.
I had to stay on my guard.
"Do you have... business with me?"
"It's not really 'business.' I just wanted to come see this famous beauty for myself."
So there was no specific reason?
What was wrong with this man?!
"I'm planning to be in this city's care for a while, so consider this my formal introduction. It’s only polite to give a proper greeting, after all."
He was surprisingly methodical for such a flashy guy.
I supposed he’d heard the rumors and decided to come sightsee because he was moving to Tower City.
I wasn't exactly a tourist attraction, though.
Honestly, he was quite the handful.
"Besides, I hear my big bro has been in your care. Anyway, looking forward to it!"
"Wait! Please, hold on!"
Ignoring my attempt to stop him, the flashy guy just waved his hand and walked away, tossing a "See ya" over his shoulder.
—What was with that guy?!
I really disliked people who didn't listen.
Maybe I really was just incompatible with blond men.
But more importantly, he said his "big bro" was in my care... did that mean I knew his older brother?
In other words, this Kyle fellow was the younger brother of someone I knew.
When I thought of blond men, the first one to come to mind was the Hero.
But the Hero didn't have a younger brother.
He had an eccentric older brother, but that was it.
If that was the case, who was Kyle's brother?
Manfred-san didn't have a younger brother.
Then, could it be Franz-san, even though he wasn't blond?
Or maybe Drink Bar-san?
Could it even be the Master Carpenter...?
I didn't have a clue.
I didn't know any other prominent blond families.
So, who on earth was that flashy guy?
Hey, Mr. Kyle, come back and tell me!
Just who is your older brother?!
Next time: The Lost Demon Maid’s Receptionist Work Chronicle.