Slow Prison Life Chapter 19

The Girl Plans Ahead

At a small n.o.ble house in a suburban area at the city's edge, a simple black carriage had returned.
The light clopping of the horses' hooves beating against the stone street echoed in the air as they pulled the carriage along and through the slid open gates of the small mansion.
Hearing the loud neighs of the horses, the mistress and a maid appeared at the front door to greet their arrival.

One of Baron Poisson's daughters who had been at the royal palace had finally come home.

The person who was inside the carriage wanted the door opened faster than the two coachmen could meet up with her though.

“Come on!”

The twin-tailed beautiful girl forcefully pushed open the door hard enough to almost break it from the inside,
“Toh!”
and faster than the coachman could bring out the stepping stool, she jumped out of the carriage to the ground and landed bowlegged. At the same time without moving she decided to strike a pose to mark her grand entrance.

One man, “Perfection……..,” uneasily praised her while the other elderly servant thought to himself, “I'm just going to stay quiet (LOL),” and carefully removed the unused stepping stool.

“My Lady, you could end up hurting yourself, so please stop it.”

Even when the coachman does tell her to be careful, ‘My Lady' doesn't listen. The Baron's daughter Margaret Poisson laughs at the concerns of her servants.

“It's fine~! A great human being wouldn't get hurt even if they were to fall from a high place!”

The two coachmen both tilted their heads to the side, drawing a large (?) as they tried to pull out any recollection of such an idiom being true……….but they decided to give up on pointing out the flaws.
It's pointless for anyone a.s.sociated with this Lady to respond with, “That's somehow,”………above all, she's bursting with energy and probably just means that it's fine even if she falls from a great height because she'd still be beautiful.

The Mother called out to her daughter who had returned home full of energy.

“Welcome home, Margaret.”
“I'm home Mama!”

Margaret and the Baron's wife, Anita Poisson, hugged each other. It's unclear how this energetic girl came from such a fragile, ephemeral beauty.
The Lady continued on, doing away with the common mannerisms and loudly greeted the maid as well.

“My Lady~, welcome back~!”
“I'm home Bennett~”

The maid with a physique similar to Margaret gave her a high five.

“Alright!”

Their warcries synchronized. It seems that these two are somehow related.
Without any territory, the Poisson Barony is a lower cla.s.s n.o.ble house with few members that relies on the stipend they receive from being a baron house. There are four people here right now, and if you add the Lord of the house you get five.
The second that someone returns home, a cozy atmosphere envelops you as even the servants feel like family here. The Baron would secretly boast to others about his cozy home.

With the usual unsuited-for-n.o.ble greetings finished, the girl handed over her baggage to the maid and started looking around.

“Papa is?”

As she asked Margaret peeked behind the curtains next to the sideboard. Of course a Baron wouldn't normally be in such a place to begin with.
The Madam of the house made a small smile looking a little troubled.

“Milord has not yet returned from the office yet.”
“Muu. I wanted to tell him about how Elliott was praising me.”
“My my. Then how about you tell Mother first then? You could try practicing telling your story before you talk to Papa?”
“Okay!”

With the sun setting at her back, Margaret walked into her house while casually talking with the Baron's wife. Meanwhile the carriage driver began preparations to put the carriage away as the maid closed the mansion's gate. In this small home of a baron, the peaceful air of a close family was everywhere.

Returning home after finishing all of his work, Baron Poisson asked the maid who met him at the door about his wife and daughter.

“Bennett, how are Anita and Margaret?”

The maid who was the same age as his daughter took the Baron's bags while giving him a military-like salute.

“The Madam and Lady are having a lively discussion together in the living room.”
“Right………”

The Baron wanted to say something about the pose and overabundant respect that the maid showed him, but he wanted to see the faces of his wife and child even more than that.
The Baron peeked into the living room where his lovely wife and daughter were excitedly talking to each other.

“I see…….so pestering Elliott for a bracelet was a bad move after all!”
“That's right Margaret, you shouldn't do that anymore. You'll draw His Highness's ire even if he does favor you. His favor could easily wear away, and you might get a bad reputation as someone who is only after his wallet.”
“I don't want that!”

The Mother gave a warm smile as her daughter nodded her head.

“That's right, you have to be smarter. You need to make his heart tremble a little when he sees you looking at it unhappily, but when His Highness asks if you want him to buy it for you, you have to give him an immediate rejection!”
“Really!?”
“Your mouth has to say no, but the expression on your face will clearly show what you really want……..that way, His Highness will see you as lovable and won't be able hold himself back from buying it for you as a present. You have to let the man sell you his favor! He pays tribute to you without you even having to ask, that's a first cla.s.s technique!”
“I see! I will study more!”

Somehow, I feel like my wife and daughter are having a slightly scary conversation……….

Feeling uneasy about joining in with them, the Baron was hesitating at the living room entrance.
…….then, Madam Anita noticed his gaze.

“Well Milord, if you had come home then it would have been nice if you had said something!”
“R, right”
“I thoughtlessly got wrapped up in my conversation with Margaret and was unable to meet you at the door……..”
“N, no, that's perfectly alright.”

Standing up right away, the loving wife quickly made to start the cooking.

“Papa, welcome home~!”
“Mm. Welcome home Margaret.”
“Listen listen, today I was at the royal palace!”

Acting unlike how a girl probably should in her later teens, the cute girl's eyes started sparkling as she began recounting the events of the day.

“Now Margaret, isn't Milord still wearing his outdoor wear? You can tell him all about your day after we've had something to eat.”
“But, I want him to hear about it right away.”

A situation where your lovely wife and adorable daughter are arguing over you.

Right. That conversation I overheard must have been something else, a mistake in my hearing since I'm getting older.

“Now now you two, my stomach's already grumbling. Let's start eating early today.”

The Baron had met his wife in a slightly weird place, but she was a good woman who fit in well as a n.o.blewoman, and the daughter from a previous marriage that she had brought with her was a lovely girl who loved him deeply.
…….This type of happy family was more than a dull, small-time Baron could wish for.
What doubts could he possibly have? Isn't this the picture of a happy home?

The Baron continued to convince himself so, and he pushed the backs of his Wife and Daughter towards the dining room.

After finishing dinner Margaret headed upstairs, opened her window, and stared out at the descending darkness. There weren't many streetlamps in this area, so the scenery wasn't that great, but the faint breeze that blew past her face felt pleasant.
This was the place where she could be the most relaxed, and while staring into the night sky, she was finally able to ponder about that thing.

“……….I never knew Rachel was such a crazy woman.”

Originally she had gone down in Prince Elliott's dungeon in order to convince his former fiancée to surrender, but she had never thought that that woman would force her out in such a way.

……..no, it's possible that she's just pouring on the vilification, and antic.i.p.ated that I'd leave after slapping me once……..in what world does the daughter of a duke knee kick someone before even thinking about talking to them?

“Moreover, the person in my head isn't so dangerous…….”

She had talked and talked, but it was impossible to follow along with what Rachel had been talking about.
It was impossible for Margaret to follow along with what Rachel was thinking.

“That woman, I wonder what…….in the first place, I can't understand the idea of putting yourself in jail all alone.”

This was probably what everyone would think.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Margaret had almost zero acquaintanceship with Rachel Ferguson, but as expected, the other party was the fiancée of the Prince. Even a lower n.o.ble like Margaret would know her face.

Well, all of the previous impressions Rachel gave off were, She's like a doll.

During a ceremony Rachel had stood diagonally behind Elliott, and while he smiled and waved to the cheering crowd, she was……..just standing there not doing anything.
In the first place Elliott had never really even acknowledged her presence there, making her seem like she was just a part of the background.
Love means moving together, but instead they were actively acting on their own.
As she tried to get closer and become more familiar with Elliott, Margaret realized that the Prince's impression were the same as her own.

Although……Rachel's presence may be thin causing her to seem like just a background character, but she was still the daughter of a top n.o.ble family and the Prince's fiancée.
There were a lot of girls other than Margaret who were aiming for the glittering Prince Elliott, but it was clear to see that their family, career, and education couldn't compare to Rachel's.
Without the strength to go on the attack and the status of being at least a marquis, earl, or maybe even a princess, you wouldn't be able to brush Rachel aside.
If you're trying to appeal to Elliott, then simply trying to replace Rachel who is superior in every way is just impossible.
What's more, Margaret was at the bottom of n.o.ble society, a baron's daughter. When compared to the other girls with a decent pedigree, her handicap is ma.s.sive, and it's only the starting line.

But after pushing forward with a spirt forged from being a downtown grown girl(physically), she was able to successfully Elliott's eye.

What's more is that those other n.o.ble girls who don't know how the world works and lacked that ‘service spirit', an edge which allowed Margaret to increase her favorability, making her look like excellent stock and pull ahead from her rivals……but that was it.

With the sole exception of love, Rachel had an overwhelmingly high score with a base that couldn't be shaken, and there's no point in fighting over second place.

So………what's there left to do from here?

Margaret was confident that Elliott loved her more than Rachel.
If the Prince could choose who he wanted to marry, then Margaret would definitely be his queen.
Or so Margaret thought at least.

“…….If Elliott had a good reason to end the engagement with Rachel, then wouldn't everything be fine?”

If you can't overtake someone, then you should trip them up.
If you can't beat a person fairly in a compet.i.tion, then you just need to take them out of the compet.i.tion entirely.
That way Rachel doesn't even have the option of getting back up and overtaking her again.

So, that's why
Margaret took all of the hara.s.sment she had been subject to from all of her rivals, and she gave a detailed report to Elliott claiming it was all Rachel's doing.
Well, having grown up as a commoner, all the secret hara.s.sment from a bunch of n.o.ble girls left her dripping wet, but it wasn't anything unbearable…….but Margaret was able to effectively use these incidents by claiming they were no big deal with tears in her eyes, and the results were outstanding.
Elliott and all his aids were enraged over the sneaky abuse being laid on Margaret, and they felt sympathy for her.

We have the cute Margaret, and the un-cute Rachel is jealous of her.

What naturally followed was a resounding roar for how Rachel was an unsuitable match for Elliott.
Meanwhile words of support for Elliott taking Margaret instead gradually grew.
………The natural conclusion drawn was that the next queen should be the angelic Margaret.

And those terrible that were confirmed from Elliott and George's investigations were to be revealed that night during the evening party……….but then………

“No, what is that woman really thinking…….”

Even thinking about it calmly, there's no way that girl is like that.
Even though she should have been suddenly thrown in jail, there was already food and other daily necessities inside, and she's now standing her ground inside her cell, refusing to leave, and making the Prince look like a fool………

“………In the first place Rachel, if you knew about the plot to throw you in prison in advance, why wouldn't you stop it?”

The very idea went against Margaret's common sense, and her head tilted to the side unable to understand.

“And it really seems like she can't remember my face……..”

Even though she had been sticking to the Prince's side for over half a year now, she hadn't remembered Margaret's name, and there was no sign of recognition in her eyes when she had seen Margaret's face…….
Disinterested, no, it was like Rachel had been completely indifferent to her. Just because Margaret had been hanging around the Prince apparently meant that Rachel felt there was no need to remember her face.

Not knowing such a Rachel's heart……after thinking about it for a while, Margaret was able to see a truth when she looked at it from another angle.

“…….perhaps Rachel, maybe there really is just something wrong with her head?”

There were a mound of issues besides her memory. Mainly in how she thinks.

Margaret, bit her nail while watching the cityscape sink into darkness.

“Anyways, I won't hand my position next to Elliott over to that woman.”

That woman might actually be hiding herself away while mocking Elliott and the others to make Elliott obsessed with her and eventually turn the tables thinking all Margaret could do was watch. It was misdirection at its best.

“I don't think Elliott would ever change his mind about Rachel though…….hmm, well I also don't know about any lingering affection on Rachel's part that might drip out………because Elliott looks so cool!”

Margaret demonstrated her extremely poor eyesight.

“Well, the super cool Prince is crazy about me…….Uoh~! I just can't bear it~!”

The sixteen year old Margaret began acting completely Deredere, her body wriggling around in a way that it probably shouldn't when it's the body of a beautiful adolescent girl.

“Ufufu, Elliott is so handsome, so tall, and acts just slightly pompously…….yet he always acts so kind to me!
Ah~, just thinking about Elliott's sweet smile makes my nose run.”

For Margaret, young handsome men were greater than gold.

Having accidentally entered her own world on that line of thinking, Margaret clenched her fist and got back to what she had been thinking before.

“Well it's fine. Rachel's like that, and it's too late to change how things are moving now. Elliott and I are the best couple in the royal palace! This is the common sense of the world! By the time the King returns, I will have made our relationship a solidified fact!”

The King may believe that Rachel would be better, but all the surroundings will believe that Elliott and Margaret work together well, and that the previous engagement shouldn't be restored. That was the culmination of Margaret and Elliott's plan.

“Rachel might try once again, but she'll find there's nothing she can do. That woman is in prison. She might think she can pull some maneuvering in court, but good luck doing that from inside a cell.”

But then, Margaret began to think.
In Rachel's cell where she should be locked up and unable to move, why does it sound like there is an increasing amount of furniture?
It must have all come from the mountain of supplies in the back whose contents remained unknown, an idea with a problem that Margaret couldn't understand.

Not noticing the hole in her theory, the twin-tailed girl only thought so far before her face suddenly became loose.

“In addition, Elliott is only looking at me…….no matter what hand Rachel has, she's already lost the round one.”

The belief that there was no way Elliott would go after Rachel. The strength of this belief might be Margaret's greatest strength……..but it was also a weak-point.

“What, Elliot would never go for that woman. Because……..!”

Turning her head up towards the cloudy night sky, Margaret proudly laughed,

“Because Elliott has me! Because there is the super beautiful girl Margaret by his side, he doesn't need to ask for anyone else! Should I admit that she does have a slightly good face? But there is no way there will be a round two! Ahahahahahaha!”

Margaret's laughter resounded in the night sky, overlapped by only the loud *BANG!* of a window being wildly thrown open.

“Noisy! Is it the Poisson's stupid daughter again!? Do you have any idea what time it is!?”

“Sorryyyy!!”

Thrust back into the ‘Human world', Margaret began furiously apologizing to her neighbors, and lowered voice after shutting her window…………once again vowing victory.

“……fufufu, Elliott should be making me his own any time now! To ensure that, how should I go about making Rachel say, ‘I'm beaten,' before Elliott's Papa returns home?”

Elliott had tried out various different hara.s.sments against Rachel until now, but it seems like they weren't enough.
Maybe because the Prince hasn't been subject to this kind of abuse, he keeps choosing methods that are ineffective against Rachel?

“Fufu, it looks like the time has come for me to make use of my technique forged from my time growing up downtown.”

She wasn't proud of this………..she really wasn't proud of this. In the Elliott Wars her handle was Born in the Ghettos Margaret, but she was also able to make the most out of her talents. She had the know-how to crush the hearts of those other ‘n.o.ble girls', and triumphed in winning over Elliott and all those other young masters.

“Just you wait Rachel…….I'll have you eat my attack, and you'll never see it coming!”

Margaret began laughing once again……but suddenly threw her hands over her mouth and started worryingly looking around her neighborhood out her window.

“Hey Mama. Last night I made just a little noise and the neighbors got angry……..I didn't wake Mama and Papa up right?”
“Oh, is that so.  Milord and I slept very well though.”
“Were you that tired? Although Papa and Mama seemed fine in the evening.”
“Let me see…..I guess Papa and Mama were fine then. But afterwards the two of us were busy trying to make Margaret a younger brother, so we went to bed quite tired.”
“Huh? What do you mean ‘make' a younger brother?”

Margaret is actually surprisingly innocent to the world.