CH 223

After returning from the royal castle, I relax in my room. For some reason, I feel more comfortable in the Carruthers Residence in the royal capital than in my room in Caanburg… I don’t intend to make myself a permanent fixture in the royal capital, but it’s probably a matter of the length of stay.

Manor Caan in Caanburg had been remodeled without permission, so it looked different from when I originally used it. It was no surprise that I felt so unsettled because I felt like I was in a new house I didn’t know. Compared to that, the Carruthers Residence in the royal capital was where I had been living since I moved to attend school. It’s a natural result considering that I’ve been using it for longer.

I think about various things while relaxing in my room. First of all, Helmut came back earlier than me. He’s really a herbivore among herbivores. In that state, there would have been no progress with Christa. Christa is cute, she has a good personality, and she has a good pedigree even though her House is on the verge of collapse now. I’m sure there will be a lot of men who will come to her, and if he’s too inactive, he won’t know if someone will come to steal her.

Then there is Margarete. I thought Margarete had a stronger personality, but apparently, that’s not the case. She is rather a shy and quiet young lady. It would be difficult for her to grab Ludwig’s attention.

Margarete is also a beautiful woman full of dignity, like a daughter of a high-ranking aristocrat. She is like that, but she is too quiet and she has a cynical side because she lacks self-confidence. I love girls like the traditional Japanese noble lady, the Yamato Nadeshiko, and I want to marry her, but she might not be popular in this world.

There are certainly some ladies like Christa and Alexandra who are close to that standard, but they are still a bit different from Margarete. It’s not that Margarete isn’t graceful, it’s just that she’s… too quiet, she’s not confident…

I want to protect such a girl! Such feelings will come out. If you’re the type who wants that desire to protect, I think you’d fancy her. But Ludwig may not be that type of guy. Some people might like Margarete, but not Ludwig, it seems.

In my mind, it is already certain that Ludwig and Margarete will be put together. If Ludwig falls in love with Margarete and they get married, everything will be fine. Happy endings for everyone all around.

However, Margarete’s personality cannot make Ludwig turn his head to look at her. At first, I wanted to cooperate with Margarete to make Ludwig more captivated with Margarete, but it would be impossible at this rate. First of all, if Margarete doesn’t change, we won’t even get to desk theory strategies.

I have to somehow make Margarete aggressive and have her make the first move with Ludwig… it would be better to call Katharina and others and discuss various things. After all, I don’t know much about ladies myself. That’s why I asked the 5 wives for their cooperation.

Margarete was supposed to come to my house today, 3 days after she promised that she was unexpectedly free. Normally, I don’t think you can come so soon after making an appointment, but she’s usually just hanging out at the royal castle, so maybe she was indeed free.

There’s also my still being on vacation from school. I think Margarete prioritized me because the troubles would only increase once school resumed.

The day I visited the royal castle hadn’t been decided yet, but the next day I received a letter, and since I had time today, I decided to hang out today. When I was waiting at the mansion, I got a sense something was up, so I went out to the entrance and waited for Margarete.

I’m a country noble lady from the borderlands and Margarete is a duke’s daughter, so normally I’m supposed to go to her. However, since we’re purposely inviting the other party, it can be said that it’s polite to greet them here regardless of our social status. Some of them have an arrogant attitude and aren’t even willing to say hello, but I don’t think that’s the case here.

In an aristocratic society, that might be the way to go, but my feeling is that no matter who is above or below, they would not have that kind of attitude when welcoming or being welcomed as guests. It’s just my personal opinion, so I’m not going to say anything about someone with that kind of attitude, but it goes without saying that I’ll start thinking lower of that person.

“Welcome to my home, Lady Margarete,” I said as she got off her carriage.

“Lady Flora… ah…” Margarete started.

“Ms. Puddin’!”

“-!?”

And then Eleonore suddenly jumps out of it while I was talking to Margarete. I panic and catch her mid-air. That was dangerous……. if I dropped her and she gets hurt, it’d be a crisis… even if she did something foolish and got injured by her fault if it turns out that the princess was injured in my home, we could be dragged around the city to be humiliated before finally being decapitated.

You may think it’s overkill, but it’s a realistic story. 1It would be a big deal if the invited guest got injured or even died at someone else’s home. When it comes to the princess who the reigning king dotes on, you can understand how much of a big deal it is. Anyway…. back to it:

“Lady Margarete?” I said.

“Umm… Princess Eleonore was constantly saying that she wanted to come with, too…”

Do you think it’s okay to so easily take out the princess of a country just because she asked? In the end, Margarete seems to need education, too.

“Ah! Ah!” Margarete gasped. “I’ve properly received permission from His Majesty Wilhelm, you see? I said that if we’re going to Ms. Pudding’s… no, wait, Lady Flora’s home, he said it would be fine.”

WILHELM….! This should be exactly when you’re supposed to stop them! Why is it okay if it’s my place?! If you say that, I should formally take Eleonore as mine already!

No, it’s not meant to be sexual, you know? I’m neither a lolicon nor a pedophile… but I love cute things. Eleonore is a little bit of a troublemaker but cute. Cuteness is justice!

“Haa…” I sighed. “It can’t be helped if she’s already here… well then, Princess Eleonore, Lady Margarete, welcome to my home.”

Having already resigned myself halfway through, I guided them into the mansion.

At first, I invited them for a bit of tea, but having a chat over drinks wasn’t my goal. I have a lot to do today.

“Lady Margarete, please take a bath first,” I said.

“………… Huh?” Margarete asked.

After a bit of tea and idle chatter, I immediately got down to business. Today we will activate the first round of the Margarete Remodeling Plan. And that first step is to take a bath.

“Come on, now! Let’s go!” I said.

“Hey, hey…” Margarete said.

I head to the bathroom with Margarete, who has not yet understood the situation. Come on! Naked skinship with Margarete! Mufufu!

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Margarete likes Ludwig and I’m thinking of putting them together. But putting that aside, let me see Margarete’s bare skin before Ludwig.

There’s nothing wrong with this. Margarete is the daughter of a duke, so her family and maids will see her naked skin on a daily basis. They should have helped her change clothes and take a bath, and the young lady would be fine even if someone unexpectedly sees her naked. She lives like that on a daily basis, so she doesn’t think anything of it when someone else sees her naked.

“Come on! Let’s take a bath together…” I said.

“Lady Margarete, I will explain how to use the bath and what to be careful about. I will help you if you need it. Miss Flora, please return to your seat and wait with Princess Eleonore.”

KATHARINAAAAA! You can’t do this to me! I thought I would be able to see Margarete naked…

“Miss Flora…” Katharina said, glaring at me with a terrifying expression.

“Yes!” I said. “I’ll come back right away! Well, then, Lady Margarete, please feel free to ask Katharina about anything!”

I fled the bathroom in a hurry and went back to Eleonore.

Margarete came back after a while while I waited and passed the time by playing with Eleonore. She smells faintly good. She’s still slightly wet and she looks glossy. Fuck…. damn it, Ludwig. You didn’t even realize that your attractive childhood friend likes you. He’s got potatoes for brains. He’s way too naive.

“Um… it was a wonderful bath, but what was the point of it?” Margarete asked, looking confused. “And why was I getting my measurements taken…?”

I didn’t just give Margarete a bath. Your skin will only become beautiful when it is polished. That’s why I made her do a lot of things to clean her skin and take care of it.

If Katharina had followed my instructions, she would have used the products developed by Anneliese, who has been researching and developing various cosmetics and skin care products. The bath isn’t just hot water, it’s something involving those things called “bath salts,” and instead of just washing with regular soap, I’ve instructed them to use a special soap that has skin-beautifying and moisturizing effects.

After that, they should have taken measurements of her whole body. In order to grasp Margarete’s body shape and prepare underwear and clothes that match her, they measured corner to corner.

Damn it… if I hadn’t been kicked out by Katharina, I should have been able to see Margarete being massaged and having her skin treated in the bath… and even though I should have known all the measurements of her body…

“Miss Flora…” Katharina said, glaring at me.

“Ah, ummm…” I said quickly to cover up, “Lady Margarete, you may have heard this while taking a bath or during the measurements, but women’s skin has to be cared for in this way. In order to shine more brightly, it is necessary to go far above simple cleaning. We also had your measurements taken to make underwear and dresses that will bring out more of your charm, Lady Margarete.”

I said that to try and make it seem like nothing was wrong. Something about Katharina today is terrifying…

“And from now on, let’s practice putting on a little makeup,” I said. “It’s not good to overdo it, but if you wear it in moderation, your charm should be even more powerful and attractive.”

The makeup that is popular right now is still at a level like painting. It’s as if you’re treating the face as a canvas, something that I, as a modern person, believe is a terrible state of affairs. Of course, people in this world don’t think it’s beautiful or nice when they see it. People who don’t have very attractive faces or who are older apply paint on their faces to deceive others.

However, if the make-up is modern and natural without being too heavy, a good woman will stand out even more from a quality foundation like the one Margarete has. At first, Margarete had a slightly doubtful expression when we told her we’d be putting make-up on her, but as Katarina and our maids applied it on her, she stared at herself with a surprised face.

“This is… makeup?”

“Yes,” I said. “The makeup that’s popular nowadays is a bit questionable… but if you use the same makeup and change the way you apply it, we can bring out yet more of your charm.”

Her cheeks are also done to a natural finish and lightly shaded to make them look healthy and attractive by adding some shine and changing the color. Add a little eyeliner or eyeshadow, or apply lipstick… It’s not like the makeup that is popular in this world which is meant to be painted on in layers, but it’s light, natural, and emphasizes or weakens slightly than overpowering the natural features.

“Is this… me?”

Margarete was surprised to see herself in the mirror. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. Even without makeup, Margarete’s face was so well-proportioned and beautiful that I wouldn’t have been surprised to find her working as an idol in modern times.

“Margarete pretty!” Eleonore cried.

“Princess Eleonore… Thank you very much,” Margarete said.

I wonder if Eleonore has a feminine side, after all. Even though she’s still small, she wants to put on makeup, or she’s excited to see Margarete wearing makeup.

“Be sure to remove your makeup before going to bed,” I said. “If you sleep like that, it can cause skin irritation. You should never forget to take care of your skin.”

“Huh…” Margarete said, impressed. “So you’re always so beautiful because you take the time and effort into all these things…”

But wait a minute. That’s not true.

“You do know I don’t really wear make-up or go through all these routines myself, right?” I said.

I’m a man, so there’s no way I’m going to go out with make-up or a skincare routine before and after taking a bath or before going to bed. Occasionally, the wives put makeup on me as a prank, but I’ve never gone out wearing makeup.

“………… And all of a sudden I’ve lost all confidence in this,” Margarete said.

“Huh? What?” I asked.

Until a little while ago, Margarete was surprised and looking happy, but her excitement suddenly dropped. Why? What happened?