The Reincarnated Count's Daughter Is the Strongest as She Is Loved by the Spirits, Though She Is Only Wishing for Regular Romance!

The royal siblings were escorted back by Kohaku, while Ruri took us siblings and Patty to the Belisario dormitory. Given that a spirit king suddenly appeared and took her daughter away, Patty’s family must have been worried. We first sent one of the faster students ahead to inform Patty's family that she had returned. Then, the three of us escorted Patty to Duke Goodfellow’s dormitory.

At Duke Goodfellow’s dormitory, the duchess and the eldest son, the heir, were waiting worriedly, and they welcomed us warmly. When Chris-oniisama mentioned that the spirit kings were delighted to meet a close friend of mine, Patty's status likely rose significantly. Although we were invited to dinner, we declined, explaining that we needed to report to our own family. They understood, assuming our parents were worried, but in Belisario, such events are common and we’re quite used to them. Thanks to Elton and Mia, our dormitory ran smoothly even in our absence. Everyone reacted as if we were just called by the spirit kings again.

“Is Duchess Goodfellow in the same faction as Marquess of Norland’s wife?”

By the time we returned to the dorm, most students had finished dinner, and the dining hall was nearly empty. The three of us sat apart from others, enjoying a slightly late dinner. The spirit beasts, having gorged on the dense magical energy at Kohaku's residence, were in a mellow mood, each lounging comfortably. Just watching them was soothing.

“Is that right? I thought the duchess had her own faction... But she is friendly with Mother. Mia will likely align with Mother’s faction even as Duchess Rampling...”

“Oh, come on, do we really have to talk about factions during dinner?”

Thanks to Duke Powell disbanding the male political factions, there are no overt male factions, but the women's factions are very much intact. This is not something to be underestimated. Women have always been the power behind the scenes, influencing events and history.

“Didn’t you suggest that Duke Rampling’s dorm should host a tea party? Wasn’t that essentially a declaration of allegiance to the same faction?”

“Nii-sama, Diadora isn’t thinking that far ahead. She’s just worried about Mia’s ability to establish herself as a duchess. It’s more of a show of support, to say, ‘I’ve got your back.’”

I can't deny that, but it's not about exerting pressure. I just want to support Mia and help her elevate her new home.

“Is that all? You’re not planning to form your own faction in the future?”

“I've said it before, I don’t think ahead like you, Chris-oniisama. I can’t engage in such complex maneuvering.”

“Oh, right. You did host that dinner with those seven girls just to make friends...”

Chris-oniisama tends to overthink and see ulterior motives in everything. He admired how I organized a dinner with future central figures of the country, thereby ensuring their allegiance. But the truth is, I was merely following Mother’s advice to host tea parties and dinners, inviting peers and slightly older girls to learn about the academy.

“Speaking of which, Diadora, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Chris-oniisama's serious tone made me swallow the piece of meat I was eating in a hurry.

“What is it?”

“You mentioned looking for a potential crown princess from the provinces, right?”

“Yes, but that’s no longer viable. Ethel consulted Earl Myler, but with his upcoming elevation to a marquis at the New Year’s ceremony, it would seem opportunistic to recommend a crown princess candidate right after his promotion. He kindly declined, stating he didn’t want to get involved in such matters.”

It was a very polite letter. He also sent a luxurious fabric to show his consideration, which I hadn’t anticipated. I felt so bad for putting him in an awkward position that I sent a bunch of gifts to his dormitory to make amends. Now, I'll have a dress made from that fabric and wear it to a tea party to advertise it.

“I figured as much. Currently, no one wants to draw the attention of the marquises. You had considered choosing one of the unselected candidates for yourself, right, Chris-oniisama?”

“That’s right. I wanted your opinion. Both candidates are related to the marquises. Choosing one would undoubtedly upset the other.”

“That’s true, but wasn’t there a talk about not marrying between marquises in our generation?”

“What? What talk?”

“Isn’t it the one about Marquess Corquette suggesting not to marry into either marquis family to maintain balance?”

What? The Corquette family doesn’t even have a boy around my age. So, it was a direct prohibition against a marriage between Jude and me?

“Oh, right. Marquess Norland wasn’t that close to Belisario back then, so they didn’t want to risk having the fairy princess in their castle.”

Wow. I’m learning a lot of new things today. This must have been around the time when I was six, visiting the marquises’ territories. They were worried about a child taking over? That’s quite something.

“After the talk in the academy’s forest where the spirits had vanished, they’d naturally be cautious after hearing about Diadora’s feats as a baby.”

“Don’t exaggerate. What did I even do?!”

“Should I list it all?”

“No, thank you. But back to the topic at hand.”

“Oh, she’s avoiding reality.”

“Alan, let’s leave her be.”

Are you really my doting brothers? Or just rare species enthusiasts?

“So, Chris-oniisama, does it mean you’re okay with either candidate, not preferring one over the other?”

“I’ve met and talked to both. They’re good girls and friends of yours.”

“But neither is special to you, right?”

I must admit, I no longer believe that noble marriages are mostly love matches. Compatibility of status, magical power, and benefits to each family come first. Personality and attraction come later. If you choose yourself, it’s a love marriage. If parents choose, it’s a political marriage.

I accept that. Even on dating sites or arranged meetings, you first consider compatibility. But when it’s about my friends or brothers, I feel uneasy. It’s not my business, but it bothers me.

‘Nadia’s here.’

‘No calling Mother by her name.’

‘Nadia said it’s okay.’

‘Not fair.’

The spirit beasts seem to take turns keeping watch. Each of our respective spirit beasts lifted their heads to alert us that Mother had arrived.

“Why is Mother here?”

“It’s probably about Marquis Johannes.”

Our dormitory is too chaotic! Mother came to the dormitory right after being at the castle yesterday. 

“We can’t meet her here. Let’s greet her and take her to a guest room.”

“Dinner...”

“Have it delivered to the room.”

Alan-oniisama gave me an exasperated look. You two eat too fast. How do you eat so much more than me and still finish faster?

I had the remainder of my dinner brought to a small parlor, planning to eat while listening to the family talk. Mother seemed to have seen Marquis Johannes’s letter and was quite upset, worried that I might be down.

“We had a visit from the spirit kings and went to Kohaku’s residence.”

“What? Was the tea party with the Crown Prince canceled?”

While exchanging information, I could finish my meal. Noticing that Alan-oniisama, who had already eaten, was sneakily enjoying dessert, I couldn’t help but wonder how he doesn’t gain weight! Does he have a parasite or something?

“So, the Crown Prince and the second prince had a conversation alone?”

“Yes. It was brief, but thanks to Kohaku-sama’s mediation, they seemed much closer by the end.”

“Kohaku-sama is wonderful, worrying about them despite the inconvenience. I’ve been concerned about the two princes as well, but Belisario intervening wouldn’t have been appropriate, right?”

We should avoid being seen as the ones who reconciled them. I don’t want any more attention.

“I’m relieved to hear that. Now, about Marquis Johannes’s letter—you three haven’t read it, have you?”

We shook our heads in unison. Seeing Mother’s change in expression, I guessed the contents were problematic.

“I heard his hospitality skills were top-notch, being successful in tourism.”

With a sigh, she rested her cheek on her hand. She’s beautiful, but somehow intimidating. If I’m scary, it’s undoubtedly inherited from Mother.

“It was like a letter to a close friend. He implied you’d take care of Carla’s situation. How can he expect you to clean up his mess?”

“M-Mother, please calm down.”

“No matter how mature you are, you’re still ten. What is he thinking? He loves his daughter, but I love you too.”

“Mother, calm down. Thanks to the spirit kings, we’re well-regarded, and the Crown Prince appears close to them. When we delivered Patty to Duke Goodfellow’s dormitory, the duchess was very grateful.”

Seeing that we were fine and hearing Chris-oniisama’s words, Mother relaxed a bit, though she looked slightly troubled.

“True, they missed their chance to visit the spirit king. But I was so angry I sent a letter to the Marchioness of Johannes.”

“What did you say?”

“I apologized for mistakenly inviting them to Chris’s coming-of-age ball, saying it was for close friends of Diadora, and since they had no adult children, Carla could attend a tea party instead.”

That’s basically telling them to cut ties, isn’t it? The Marchioness of Johannes is the daughter of Marquess Norland. If

 her daughter’s husband insults the Crown Prince and gets on Belisario’s bad side, won’t that anger her?

“I also showed Marquess Norland Johannes’s letter.”

Wow. Such a lovely smile, yet causing so much trouble. This is becoming a big deal.

“Excuse me.”

Father’s secretary entered the room.

“Marquess Norland’s wife urgently requests to meet Lady Nadia, but the marquess declined, citing an important discussion with the children. Please take your time.”

Quick actions! Why did the Marchioness of Norland act so swiftly?

“Oh, maybe she was worried about Carla.”

“No, she likely heard from the Crown Prince or Duke Goodfellow’s family about the spirit kings moving easily.”

“Moving? What do you mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. They relocate within their territories whenever they feel like it.”

“So?”

“Diadora has moments of sharpness and moments of oblivion.”

“Mostly oblivion.”

Even if they move, it doesn’t matter. Hisui uses a teleportation circle, Suou is setting up his current location, Kohaku’s place is in a different dimension, and Ruri lives underwater. The key is the points of connection between this world and the spirit kings’ residences, which are important due to high magical power and numerous spirits.

“Have you forgotten? We decided on the representatives who would meet the spirits. More precisely, Diadora did. The spirit kings didn’t.”

“That’s right...”

“If Diadora were to have a falling out with one of the marquises and refused to visit their territories?”

“...”

“She’d move to another territory.”

Even though I didn’t want to answer, Alan-oniisama did so mercilessly.

“Oh, that would be concerning. If a spirit king moves to a non-marquis territory, the local lord would meet the spirit king, changing the power dynamics.”

Mother, don’t say that so calmly.

“Aaaaaaah!”

I held my cheeks with both hands, mimicking Munch’s painting. My soul feels like it’s about to escape. Please, don’t increase my influence any further!

“Diadora, that face is terrible.”

Chris-oniisama commented with a troubled expression while Alan-oniisama burst out laughing. Why is everyone so calm? I’m a ticking time bomb! Oh, wait, really?

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Author Notes:

  Thank you for reading.

  I appreciate the typo reports.

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