I think it's Riina and the hair color is there to confuse you. Theresse would've had more spunk standing up to those guys and wouldn't have been afraid to talk to "Noel". She'd also remember getting attacked by a bunch of guys over a fox and being saved, but she doesn't remember anything.
While in the normal series bait and Switch would be terrible writing, Itsuki not winning in this doujin would be terrible writing.
I say this as a Yotsuba fan.
@Kryspy_Kreme similar, though Shirayuki didn't have her self-esteem crushed for 2 years. Though, on the flip side, Carol doesn't have an ongoing subplot of people scheming to see if the curtains match the carpets.
@Nehona I think they hinted that the Cloyan royals weren't exactly good people either. I don't know if they poisoned the Eastern princess (or why they'd do such a provocative thing against a far stronger neighbor), but we at least know from their treatment of Morina that they weren't all loving...
Western Emperor is on to her now. He'll be looking for an opportunity to prove it.
Now he's probably thinking Crown Prince is purposefully hiding her as a maid.
So how did the West get the intelligence that the princess was serving as a maid in the East's Imperial palace but the East didn't know this?
Also lol on the Western Emperor thinking "I'll know her by sight", literally crashes into a gorgeous maid, and doesn't think "oh that might be her"...
@Pen3 then yeah, he's starting from scratch. I guess his assumption would be some rebels or loyalists or something are hiding her. He has no reason to assume that of all places she'd be hiding in the imperial palace. Of course one she heals him he'll be very suspicious.
@Pen3 the crown prince has already noticed her gaze isn't normal for a maid and he suspected her of writing the music. So intuition is already at play. Once they dig into her background they'll see some gaps. She'd better have a good back story for herself.
If not for that, then yes, they'd...
@gum_rummy
Kanzaki (the homeroom teacher) is just super-strict and hard on Momoko.
Asakura acts cool on the surface, but he's the actual predator. And he senses weakness in Momoko - he suspects the kid she's keeping might be the one he told Wakaba to kill. And/or he might have his sights set...
Yeah, she'll get the doctor cheat and save not only this guy, but the sick emperor too. Then they'll look into her background, find the gaps, and she'll be exposed.
The prince has already noticed her gaze isn't that of a normal maid.