My Daughters Are Regressors

"My, there are so many beautiful women this year.""Indeed. Especially that pink-haired woman over there, isn't she magnificent? I hear she's a princess from the Marduk Empire. Doesn't she look like a blooming pink rose?"

Salome was speaking fluently in front of people.Her voice was sometimes passionate and sometimes delicate like a wildflower.With her beautiful appearance and a somewhat dangerous aura like thorns, she quickly gained popularity among the crowd, almost becoming the star of the day.Of course, even Salome had a rival.

"I think that woman over there is also wonderful. Look at that exotic woman with black hair. Doesn't she look incredibly stunning in her dress?"

Someone pointed to a corner of the banquet hall.There was quite a crowd gathered there, and in the center was a black-haired woman in a dress, fidgeting nervously.

It was Cariote.

"......"

Cariote stumbled like a cat frozen in midwinter. People approached and spoke to her a lot, but all Cariote could say were exclamations like "I see" or "Indeed."But it couldn't be helped.Right now, Cariote was struggling in a corset and dress she had never worn in her life.

Swoosh—I pushed through the crowd.Cariote spotted me and kept trying to express something with her eyes and gestures.Probably asking for help for a moment.

"Excuse me."

I escorted Cariote like that and stepped out onto the balcony.Bang— Poppoppop—Only on the balcony, where fireworks were brilliantly exploding and decorating the sky, did Cariote finally let out a deep sigh as if exhaling her held breath.

"How can they wear such uncomfortable clothes every day? The nobles are even stranger than I imagined. I must look strange too."

"It suits you well, actually."

I complimented her honestly.Cariote dressed femininely looked quite good.Being tall and slender, she'd probably look good in anything.

I asked.

"Are you really going to compete with Salome in some kind of vote?"

"Yes. Cecily and Hina must be arguing with each other in the annex too."

Cariote snorted.

Would Cecily and Hina be fighting each other in an invisible social arena?No, that didn't seem likely.In my opinion, those two would have already made up.Or maybe not.

"But it's impossible for Hina or Cecily to be chosen as this year's little princess, right? Wasn't it predetermined that Princess Neva would be selected this year?"

Cariote asked.I nodded appropriately because I had picked up some information while wandering around the party.

"That's what I heard. Apparently, there's a high chance that Princess Neva of the Valuntari royal family will become the adopted daughter of Princess Ordor? The Ordor Kingdom has no heir other than Princess Ordor."

Princess Ordor was too frail to move around freely.So she couldn't get married and had no children, so she decided to adopt?It was a story put out by Princess Ordor herself.She said she would adopt the child with the most votes among the little princesses or little princes chosen at the children's party.

"I hear there's a strong possibility that the princess from the neighboring Valuntari Kingdom will be adopted."

From the start, the Ordor royal family and the Valuntari royal family were cousins, so it made sense for Princess Neva to be adopted.No one would oppose it.So naturally, everyone would try to manipulate the votes.Of course, children like Naru, Hina, and Cecily probably wouldn't care about such things.

"Still, it was Cecily who sang about wanting to debut in high society. Cecily should handle that on her own. So, how do you feel, Cariote, as Cecily's mother?"

"...I still prefer the outdoors to places like this. My little sister always used to whine about wanting to debut in high society, but...."

Cariote seemed to be thinking about her little sister.Come to think of it, there was information that Astarosa had been spotted in the Ordor Kingdom.I had a feeling she might be near this social gathering.I asked.

"What will you do if you meet your little sister? From what I've heard, it seems your little sister made a big mistake towards you. Are you planning to eliminate her if you meet?"

"No, I want to reconcile. After all, we're family. No matter what she's become, that fact doesn't change. Of course, I didn't want to admit that before, but..."

Cariote had made considerable efforts to return her little sister to her original form. But now, Cariote was in the process of accepting her even if she had a demonic appearance.

"Cariote, you can go if you want to.""What?""Actually, you'd rather go look for your little sister than be surrounded by men with greased hair in a place like this, right?""...But the competition with Salome...""That's just one of the excuses for not going to your little sister. Both Cecily and you, her mother, have parts that aren't honest. Just go where your heart leads you.""......"

Cariote's black eyes looked at me.She seemed to be moving her lips as if she had a lot she wanted to say.Then, after letting out a sigh, she smiled like a feather.

"My mother once told me something. Most young ladies have fiancés from a young age, but those who don't sometimes find their lovers in these social gatherings. She said it's a place where love blossoms.""Is that so?"

It was as Cariote said.The sight of young men and women intertwining, talking, dancing, and hiding their smiling mouths with fans was quite the essence of youth.

"But, to me, they all still look like boring men.""Anyone would look that way compared to me."

I shrugged my shoulders arrogantly.Then Cariote added one more thing.

"I think I understand a little why my mother was attracted to my father, who was an outlaw and barbarian, rather than the princes of high society."

Pop—With those words, Cariote jumped off the balcony.And quickly disappeared into the darkness.

"In the end, that one forfeited."

When I turned my head, Salome had approached behind me.Salome snorted, looking in the direction where Cariote had disappeared.

"Of course, even if she hadn't forfeited, she would have lost to me."

That was true.Honestly, Cariote couldn't have beaten Salome in this kind of popularity vote. Not that Cariote's looks or charm were inferior to Salome's.It was simply that Salome was better at handling people's hearts.

"So, if you had voted, who would you have chosen? Me? Cariote?"

Swoosh—Salome linked her arm with mine.The dizzying scent of peaches was quite nice.

"It doesn't matter how many votes I get from others. Since you, Judas, will be my husband, only your vote matters. Tell me honestly. Who were you going to choose?""Well—""No, never mind. I don't want to hear it. It's obvious I'll have the highest number of votes anyway. I've won."

Salome frowned deeply.Then she looked around as if trying to find Brigitte.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen that magician for a while."

#             #              #

Brigitte headed towards the annex.The annex would be full of children holding their own social gathering.It was an unspoken rule that adults shouldn't enter the children's party, but Brigitte was worried about Naru.She hadn't taught Naru anything about social gatherings.

How to dance, how to show courtesy, how to introduce oneself - she hadn't taught any of it.'Naru will surely be out of place at the social gathering. Children can be mercilessly cruel to such outsiders. Naru will definitely be ostracized.'Brigitte thought about her own childhood.Brigitte herself had first shown her face at a social gathering around the age of 6, but she had never learned how to dance, show courtesy, or introduce herself, so she had been greatly embarrassed.

"......"

Even now, thinking about that time made her want to kick her blankets in frustration, so she had pushed it deep into her memories.That's why she couldn't even recall that she should have taught such things to Naru until now.

"...High society is a battlefield."

Thinking that Naru might experience the same fate as her younger self, Brigitte started to worry and couldn't sit still, which eventually led her to move towards the annex.She had arrived at the annex before she knew it.She was about to enter through the main entrance, but feeling a bit embarrassed about boldly interfering in the children's party, she quietly went around to the window side.

'To think I'm peeking through the window like a thief.'

Was she becoming more like Judas?With such thoughts, she peeked through the window.And she saw an amazing sight.

"Molumolu, fire blast!"

—Meow

Whoosh—

"Ugh, how did you figure out that my Molumolu-Chikorita is a grass type?! Hang in there, Chikorita!"

"Ah, Miss Naru's Molumolu is fiercely pushing back Young Master Maximus's Molumolu-Chikorita! If this continues, Miss Naru's Molumolu will achieve 5 consecutive wins!"

"Naru's Molumolu is especially strong! How on earth can it learn such powerful techniques with training? It should be the same Molumolu as mine! What's the secret!?"

"I heard they use something called an evolution stone? If you feed a special stone to Molumolu, it can learn unique skills."

"Naru! Battle with me next! My Molumolu, Boostie, will be very strong! The first Molumolu champion will be me and my Molumolu, the one and only king Boostie!"

—Meow

Strange things were happening.

"What is this?"

Where had the social gathering Brigitte knew gone, and why were colorful Molumolus having battles?The sight of numerous children holding their Molumolus in their arms, lining up to have matches with Naru, felt surreal.

"This isn't the social gathering I knew."

Just as she was frowning, wondering how this had happened.

"It's fun, isn't it? Apparently, they have the Molumolus residing in the children battle like that. It's the most popular game among children these days."

"Y-You startled me!"

Brigitte let out a yelp.She hadn't expected anyone to speak behind her.When she turned her head, she saw a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes beautifully reflecting the moonlight and fireworks. There were small wrinkles at the corners of her mouth, but they only made her look more alluring.

"Could it be that you're the Princess of Ordor!?"

"That's right."

"How are you outside... More importantly, how did you sneak up behind me?"

"I had the opportunity to learn about stealth from a great teacher. People think I've never left the palace, but that's not true."

It was surprising news.At the same time, it was slightly worrying.

"Shouldn't you be at the banquet hall, Princess? It's your birthday party today."

"You've also left the banquet hall, haven't you? It's not really fun, is it? Even if you gather people from all over the world, it's still a boring and tedious festival in the end. Don't you think so?"

Brigitte didn't know how to respond to the Ordor Princess's words.Then the Ordor Princess said:

"Perhaps the winner of that Molumolu tournament will become my adopted daughter. I originally planned to adopt the little princess chosen by vote, but doesn't it seem like the situation has changed in many ways?"

"Adopted daughter..."

Brigitte looked through the window at Naru's performance.If Naru becomes the Molumolu champion, does that mean she'll become the Ordor Princess's adopted daughter?Does that mean Naru might one day become the queen of the Ordor Kingdom?It was an unbelievable story!