Reincarnated Into the Otome Game as the Princess Villainess?! | Book 2

Seven: Smile and wave, smile and wave...

AMARYLLIS' POV

"I wonder where that little chicken is..." I muttered. The little thing had disappeared from my head a day or so ago (probably because it was bored and wanted to explore this new environment) and hadn't appeared since.

Out of nowhere, I heard loud squawks and all of a sudden, there was a loud crash that indicated something slamming against the carriage window. Taking a look over, I immediately noticed that the white fluffball was back.

Speak of the chicken and it shall appear.

Spotting the little thing, I was tempted to leave it out but I decided — with a bit of a nudge from Arty admittedly — that I should let the thing in. Looking to Papa and then back at the chick, he nodded and did whatever magic voodoo that caused the barrier to dissolve (probably pressed some secret button), letting the fluffball inside.

Swooping into the carriage, the chicken made a suicide attempt to dive for my perfect hair but before it could reach, Scorpio reached out a clawed talon and snatched it. She let it dangle from her hand and glared at the thing with narrowed, scary eyes.

"Keep your filthy feathers out of my Mistress' hair or I'll pluck them and hang them up for the world to see." She threatened and the chicken suddenly covered itself with its wings, looking slightly embarrassed. But I guess I would react similarly to the way the chicken did. Her eyes were filled with the intent to kill and her body tense and even one of her claws were pressing against the chick's throat.

It squawked, nodding furiously and still glaring at the bird with narrowed eyes

'Lol. That's entertaining.'

'Arty!' And the god appears once again.

'Yep, I'm back again. Anyways, I only popped in to give a  bit of a warning for when you get back to the castle. Those council bastards are planning something.'

'What is it?' I questioned. It was obviously serious as Arty who was usually all cheerful and light-hearted sounded extremely serious.

'I can't tell you.' He replied and I frowned slightly. 'Sorry, Amar. Just be careful, okay?'

I nodded. 'Mkay, thanks for the warning.'

~~*~~

The trip to the castle took longer than intended since we ended up deciding to visit some of the small towns and villages along the way. The conditions that some of these people were living in were disgusting and when I talked to my father about it, I found out that it was that horrible council's fault. Whenever Papa tried to bring it up and deal with the situation, those bastards would either evade the conversation or tell him everything was being dealt with and as the king, he did not need to worry about some tiny villages.

I'd surely give them a stern talking to when I returned. Even if they didn't particularly respect me as a possible monarch (since Lucian isn't technically a blue blood and my claim ranks above his), they still had to give me public face as princess and daughter of the late queen and current king.

Arriving a few kilometres outside the castle gates, I noticed the crowds of people — both young and old, children to elderly — gathered and waving and cheering as our carriage passed by. Seeing this, I turned to my father and noticed that both he and Lucian had their megawatt smiles on, ones perfected to face crowds. 

"Amar, smile and wave, smile and wave..." Papa spoke softly, his cheery yet polite smile never disappearing.

Nodding, I tried putting on a smile of my own and did as instructed, waving at the people outside. Out of nowhere, Papa made the magic barrier blocking us from them disappear and the sounds of the cheering crowd hit full throttle. Though at first my ears hurt, I quickly adjusted to the sound and continued on smiling and waving.

From somewhere behind us, I heard the faint chant of 'Princess Amaryllis' which soon became louder and louder, travelling towards and beyond us up to the castle gates. I could feel my heart warming up and the smile on my face becoming genuine; my people seemed to love me. Though I had been gone for so long, they still kept their respect and love for me.

Looking at my father, I found he was now staring at me and after catching my eye, nodded as if he knew what I wanted to do. 

And with his permission, I got up from the plush carriage seats and leant my upper body out the window. The cheers around us got louder and the chanting and screaming became more frantic. As I grinned a Cheshire cat-like grin, I even spotted a few people delicately wiping away at their eyes with handkerchiefs.

Noticing that I had leant out the window (or by request of my father — either one) the coachman had slowed down the horses and now, the ride was more stable and secure and there was less of a chance of me toppling out the window.

With our new pace set, I could hear the shouts of the crowd behind us more easily and some of their words made me want to go straight up to the person and hug them. Even some of the poorest and thinnest had words full of hope, something I thought may have disappeared for the more unfortunate under the tyrannical reign of the council.

It took quite a while for us to reach the castle gates but it was completely worth it; I got to interact with the common populace (though admittedly I was riding a protected carriage and they were lining the sides, blocked off by guards) and knew I had their support.

The moment we got inside the castle gates though, the atmosphere changed completely. From the lively and cheerful one outside, it was now quite dark and dreary. I returned back to my seat and Papa placed the barrier back up again.

We pulled up to the main entrance and there lay a blood red carpet, council members and the higher ranks in the staff lining each side with guards crawling through the whole area. The resident snake queen was also standing there confidently, her maids standing by her, one shading her from the afternoon sun and another fanning her. She stood tall and arrogantly, giving off no good vibe by any means. 

There were no smiles or joy, just a feeling of uncertainty and malice lacing the air.

~~*~~

No, Scorpio doesn't have actual talons. She's saying that her nails are long and sharp af (like acrylic but real).

Yeet, next few chapters are gonna be fun~