Chapter 11 – I discovered the truth
A few days after safely completing the tea party, Mary came over to my place as promised. Amazingly enough, Mary seems to have studied about vegetables for the sake of my field. What a kind child!
Talking with her, I discovered that we were the same age, and that Mary was also a person with magic power, making her easy to understand and get along with. She seemed quite frightened in the beginning, but smiles can finally be seen.
And then, my field was completely resurrected by Mary who came to visit many times over.
“Mary. Really, thank you. Thanks to you, the field has become completely healthy.”
I thanked Mary while looking at the recovered field.
“No, it’s because Katarina-sama has worked very hard.”
Mary said so while smiling. It’s such an adorable beauty’s smile, a heavenly sight to behold.
“Man, I thought they might even wither and die…… As I thought, Mary is really amazing.”
“……No, nothing of the sort.”
Although Mary is being humble, she’s really very good at growing plants, and after coming in contact with Mary’s hands, even plants on the verge of death have been revitalized. Mary’s hands are special. That’s right, about these type of hands, they were called…
“Mary, you have a green thumb!”
“……Green thumb?”
“Yep, a green thumb. It means your hands have a special talent for growing plants!”
“……Special talent……”
“Yeah, Mary’s just overflowing with talent when it comes to growing plants!”
I was squeezing both of her hands as I was saying so. Mary was staring wide-eyed at her clenched hands.
“……My hands are special……”
“Yep, you and your green thumb are an amazing, special existence!”
I said so while smiling, and Mary cracked a faint smile as well. Her smile was as lovely as if flowers were blooming.
“Katarina-sama, the field has returned to a healthy state, but…… if it’s okay with you, is it alright if I come visit again?”
“Of course, you’re more than welcome to come over and play anytime.”
I told the somewhat reserved Mary that she was “very, very welcome,” and laughed happily.
“Having a green thumb is so amazing.”
As I sent off Mary, Keith who had been left alone standing by my side quietly up until now spoke up.
“Indeed, someone like Mary who is so good at growing plants is quite a person.”
“Yes, that’s right. I read a book a long time ago titled “The Girl with the Green Thumb,” has nee-san also read this book?”
“Uh… I don’t think I’ve read that book…… I don’t quite remember how I knew about it.”
For some reason, it just came to mind all of a sudden while watching Mary. I wonder where I knew about it from?
“Well anyways, Mary has become really bright now.”
“That’s right. At first, she was really scared of me.”
“Eh, she was scared of nee-san?”
“……Yeah, it must be the fault of my villainous face.”
I mocked myself slightly to the shocked Keith. I hate this villainous face that I’ve inherited from mother’s genes.
“……Saying it’s a villainous face…… I don’t think any such thing…… Also, I don’t think Mary-sama was only scared of nee-san. It felt that way no matter who she was speaking to.”
“……Eh, was that so?”
“Yeah, she gave off a super nervous feeling with everyone she met…… There must be various circumstances at home that caused her to completely lose her self-confidence.”
“……Various circumstances? Like what?”
I thought it was quite a mystery while Keith looked at me as if I was insane.
“What exactly did nee-san even do at the Hunt family’s tea party? You should have heard about all this at the tea party.”
“……Uh…”
After I finished my greetings, I was busy thinking about how to take the sweets home with me. After I was caught by Keith, I was busy eating the sweets that I wouldn’t be able to take home. As such, I barely even participated in the tea party. Well, at least I didn’t get into any trouble. Rather, it was kind of a strategy of sorts. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Keith who was staring at me seemed to have given up on something and gave a loud sigh. Er, I feel kinda sorry now, my stepbrother.
And then, Keith told me the story he had heard at the tea party.
It seems that, as for the four Hunt sisters, the first three have the same mother, while the youngest child Mary’s mother is the second wife. After his first wife died of all illness, Mary’s mother entered the family as the second wife. However, it seems that Mary’s mother does not have a very high status, so Marquis Hunt’s remarriage was not very welcome. Moreover, even Mary’s mother was married over her objection, and also died of illness when Mary was five. Although the remaining Mary was cherished by her father, it seems that sparks often flew between Mary and her sisters.
As such, it seems that Mary hears mean things like “your blood is low status” or “you have no class” from her sisters every day.
“……So, that’s why, Mary seemed to be so nervous at first.”
Certainly, if you heard your relatives saying bad things about you every day, your self-confidence would disappear. If you think yourself to be useless, then appearing in front of people could very well be frightening.
“But, it seems like she’s changed quite a lot, Mary-sama will surely be alright now.”
Keith said so with a face as if he knew everything for some reason. He looked so self-assured that I wondered if he knew something else he wasn’t telling me. Even though I asked, he seems to be taking me lightly.
My stepbrother that was at first just bouncing around behind me when he first came here, had somehow completely matured in just a few months.
He is desperately working hard in both etiquette and magic lessons, and when I said to my maturing brother that “you don’t have to hurry up and become an adult this fast,” he replied “I want to get as much power as fast as possible in order to protect what’s important to me,” with a very grown-up look. Honestly, I’ve even become a bit lonely. Moreover, he wouldn’t even tell me what it was that he wanted to protect, onee-chan is feeling completely left out here.
“Come to think of it, it’s about time for Mary-sama’s engagement to Prince Alan to be determined.”
“…Oh, really?”
I responded with whatever seemed appropriate while watching Keith. While I was thinking I could have a cute little brother for a bit longer, he’s already becoming an adult…… Moreover, what could he possibly want to protect. It couldn’t be, does he already have someone he likes!? Hey now, first of all, please introduce her properly to onee-chan! I won’t forgive her if she seems too weird……
……Huh? What did Keith say just now?
“……Keith. What did you just say?”
“……Nee-san.”
Keith made a stunned face again. I’m so sorry.
“I was saying, it’s about time for Mary-sama’s engagement to Prince Alan to be determined.”
“……Eh? Mary is getting engaged to who……??”
“It’s Prince Alan. Prince Jared’s younger twin brother, the fourth prince of this country.”
“!?”
“Mary-sama is currently the best candidate to become Prince Alan’s fiancee.”
“……Prince Alan’s fiancee?”
“It hasn’t been decided officially yet, but it should be soon. Marquis Hunt’s family is quite high status and wealthy, and she is the same age as Prince Alan and a good match for him…… Hey, nee-san, where are you going?!”
In the middle of Keith’s explanation, I had already run inside to my room.
Prince Alan, or Alan Stuart, was one of the heroine’s capture targets. I had to review my “Previous life’s game memories” notes as quickly as possible.
I immediately opened up to the section on Prince Alan as soon as I returned to my room.
Alan Stuart. Jared’s younger twin brother, the fourth prince of the country. Until he was five, he was quite sickly, and almost died. Because of that, he was raised over protectively, and became a rather spoiled prince. However, compared to his older twin that can do anything, he’s a bit perverted. He always had a strong sense of rivalry and inferiority towards his older twin, and barely interacted with him at all.
Such an Alan attended school with his twin, viewing his brother as a rival to defeat, and strove to train in magic. During this time, for the results of the first academic tests, Alan was ranked third. In first place was his brother Jared, and second place was the heroine. Not only did he not beat his brother, but since he also lost to a commoner girl, he got involved with her by viewing her as a rival to beat.
Then, while getting himself involved with the bright, optimistic heroine, he fell in love. And, the heroine told him that “it’s fine for Alan to just be Alan,” his strong sense of inferiority gradually faded, and he even began interacting with his brother Jared normally.
By the way, the villainess Katarina Claes does not appear on Alan’s route. She slightly teased the commoner heroine for her good grades, but it was nothing obnoxious like the Jared or Keith routes. There was a different rival that appeared instead. That would be, Prince Alan’s fiancee, Marquis Hunt’s daughter, Mary Hunt.
Mary, who loved Prince Alan from the bottom of her heart, was jealous of the heroine, but…… she didn’t stoop to the level of Katarina’s harassment.
Mary was an obstacle to the heroine in the form of a wonderful lady. Showing the difference between her and a commoner in areas such as etiquette and dance, she was a dignified rival to the heroine.
In contrast to Prince Jared’s utter lack of feelings towards Katarina, although Prince Alan didn’t hold romantic feelings towards Mary, he treated Mary very well and thought of her as a cute sister.
The game’s ending was also completely different from the Katarina endings.
If the heroine captures Alan successfully, and gets the happy end –
Mary will give up Alan over to the heroine, and congratulate them while asking the heroin