107. Time to Leave (1)
107. Time to Leave (1)
[Episode 107] - The Time to Leave (1)
Kkiiik-
"What the? Why are you so late? Do you have any idea what time it is-"
As the sound of the terrace door opening echoed, Veronica, who had been lying on the bed, lifted her head with an annoyed expression. She had intended to scold them for being out so late, but she was left speechless when she saw Vivian appearing while leaning on Titania's shoulder.
Vivian was absolutely wasted, her face so red it looked like a ripe apple. Seeing Vivian stumble into the room, completely drunk, Veronica couldn't help but sigh. Even if the festival was fun, she hadn't expected them to go as far as drinking with Titania.
"...Forget it. What's the point of talking to a drunkard?"
"Hehehe..."
Titania looked at the sighing Veronica and gave an awkward laugh. Unlike the frustrated Veronica, Titania's lips twitched as she tried to hold back a smile. After all, she had practically achieved everything she wanted on today's date.
Veronica placed the book she had been reading back on the shelf and asked Titania.
"...Well, looks like you had fun. Did you get your wish?"
Titania nodded with a bashful smile.
A date alone with Mother, holding hands with Mother, and on top of that, a kiss at the end. The kiss was different from what she had imagined... but it was still true that their lips had touched. If the act of lips touching was a kiss, then that was a kiss, too. Titania decided to think of it that way.
"I had something to tell Vivian for a moment... but she's in no state for that right now."
"Hmm?"
"Don't 'hmm' me, just go to sleep. It's not urgent."
Vivian, who had been looking at Veronica with bleary, drunken eyes, slurred her words. Veronica sighed for a moment, then looked at Ainsel's mirror with sharp eyes. The mirror was still reflecting nothing.
She could find Ainsel if she really wanted to, but she didn't want to force her to talk. The fairy was already avoiding her, and she felt that forcing a conversation would only make their already bad relationship worse.
Veronica thought her job was done since both of them had returned, and she prepared to quickly head back to the hut. However, as if she had just remembered something she needed to say, she turned her head to look at Titania.
When she turned, she saw Vivian lying on the bed, using Titania's lap as a pillow. A surge of irritation welled up at the sight of that drunkard, but she sighed and continued briefly.
"Oh, right. I can't come here for a while because I have some business. I should be back before you head to the Academy."
"Is something wrong?"
"Not 'wrong,' just... I got a call from someone I know, so I need to go. Tell Vivian for me. If I tell her now, she'll probably forget by tomorrow."
"...It's nothing bad, right?"
Titania looked up at Veronica with worried eyes. Since Titania had heard all about Veronica's past, she couldn't help but be concerned when she heard she was leaving. She wondered, Could it be that she's going to do that thing where she turns people into fairies again?
Even though she had promised that she didn't have to do that anymore and wouldn't do it again...
Seeing that worried expression, Veronica let out a small laugh.
"It's not what you're thinking. There's someone whose identity I borrowed when I was working outside."
"Like Princess Fiona?"
"Right, someone like Princess Fiona contacted me asking for help again, so I'm going to pay them a visit. I can't use big magic because I have to avoid the Great Witch's gaze, so it'll just take a while. It's also far..."
As she said that, Veronica gently stroked Titania's hair. Two years really was a long time. They had developed to the point where they could share how they were doing. At first, she had been like a wild cat that refused to be touched by human hands...
As she ruffled her hair, Titania puffed out her cheeks slightly. Veronica chuckled at the puffed-up cheeks, took a comb from her pocket, and gently tidied Titania's hair. After finishing, she looked down at Vivian again and sighed.
"So, tell this drunkard for me. Got it?"
"Got it. I'll tell Mother. So..."
Titania looked at Veronica with a bright smile.
"Have a safe trip. I'll be waiting."
At the words to have a safe trip, Veronica gave a bitter smile.
How long had it been since she had heard such sweet words in her repeated lives?
Being here always felt like having a sweet dream. Vivian, who kept treating her like a daughter, and her cute younger sister, Titania. Even though she always denied it with words, there was a part of her heart that considered these two as family.
Veronica parted her lips for a moment, then smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
"...Yeah, I'll be back. Wait for me."
*
After the festival ended, time flowed quickly.
The season arrived where the snow piled up in the garden melted, and early sprouts began to appear one by one beneath it. Every time a sprout broke through, time flowed on indifferently.
The ten years or so that had passed since meeting Titania had gone by in the blink of an eye, and the day she would have to part with Titania also seemed to have arrived in an instant.
"Titania, is this all the luggage? They said the Academy's [Dormitory] isn't that big, so just enough clothes, your uniform, and..."
I looked down at the large suitcase containing Ainsel's main body.
"Right, you packed Ainsel well, too."
-Vivian...
"...Are you really going?"
-...Yes. I've thought about it a lot, but... I really want to be by the Princess's side. The only reason I stayed here was for the Princess..."
In the end, Ainsel chose to follow Titania to the Academy rather than stay at the royal castle with me.
It was disappointing and bitter, but I couldn't hold her back because I thought it would be fine for Ainsel to be by Titania's side.
On the wall where Ainsel had always been, the color had faded into the shape of Ainsel's mirror. Seeing that Ainsel's mirror, which had guarded this spot until the wall's color faded, was gone, I felt truly bitter.
'To think the day would come when Ainsel, who I thought would always be by my side, would finally leave.'
While I was making a bitter expression, Titania was packing her luggage with a sullen face. She sighed after putting one item in her bag, and sighed again after putting another, making it obvious that she didn't want to go to the Academy.
There were still about three days left until the day she would go to the Academy, but she had to start packing now to ensure a smooth departure. They said she would be living in the [Dormitory] for three years and wouldn't need many clothes since she'd be wearing a uniform, but as a girl, there was still a lot to prepare.
'And... there's something I need to talk to Titania about before she goes to the Academy.'
Although the original story had been completely twisted, there was one 'item' I wanted Titania to obtain at the Academy. The event to retrieve the '[Fairy's Egg],' which was the main event of the original story's 'Autumn.'
'Fairies are born from nature with their own concepts, so they aren't born from "eggs," but...'
Anyway, the [Fairy's Egg] was an item that could be used by ordinary people, not just witches. Furthermore, it was a one-time consumable item. The item description read as follows:
[[Fairy's Egg] containing a fairy; it is unknown which fairy is sleeping inside. However, it must not be awakened, and it cannot be awakened through normal means. Existing as a massive lump of magic, there is a superstition that this egg grants the user's 'wish.']
The user's wish.
The wording was ambiguous, but within the game, it was the only item that allowed you to avoid a 'Bad Ending' once. As the game progressed, Vivian's assassination attempts became more frequent, making it easy to fall into a Bad Ending, so you absolutely had to get this at the Academy.
I didn't know how it would work in reality, but if Titania obtained it, it would surely help somehow. It was an item that even non-witches could use.
Unlike the game, I couldn't interfere with the Academy directly, so I had no choice but to tell Titania. To go and find the [Fairy's Egg].
Looking at Titania, who was packing while grumbling, I thought I should tell her while we slept together tonight. There was no point in talking about the Academy now, as it would just go in one ear and out the other. Just as I was sighing at that thought.
"I'm back!"
The terrace door burst open, and Veronica appeared. A strange smile hung on Veronica's face, who had appeared after nearly three months. Moreover, that outfit Veronica was wearing...
"...You come back after all this time and this is what... no, more importantly, what is that outfit?"
"Why? Does it not suit me? I think it suits me."
Titania and I couldn't help but widen our eyes at the outfit Veronica was wearing. It did suit her. No, it was an outfit that couldn't help but suit Veronica's face. After all...
"What I want to ask is... why are you wearing an Academy uniform?"
"? Obviously, I'm wearing it because I'm enrolling in the Academy, aren't I?"
"What?"
As I looked at her, dumbfounded, Veronica grinned and hooked her arm through Titania's, starting to spin around the room as if dancing. Titania, perhaps flustered by Veronica's outfit, could only open and close her mouth, unable to say anything.
"Someone whose identity I used asked me for a favor. They needed an Academy diploma for their reclusive daughter. The request actually came last year, but I forced it to be delayed by a year. So I could enroll with Titania."
"W-with me...?"
"Yeah, with you. It's not just for you, though... I had a reason to go to the Academy anyway. Since I was going, I thought it would be nice to enroll with you. How about it? Surprised?"
"I-I was surprised, but..."
Titania was so surprised that she could only open and close her mouth. She probably hadn't expected Veronica to go to the Academy with her. Honestly, neither had I. I watched the two of them spinning around for a moment, then frowned as I recalled Veronica's words.
'What reason does Veronica have to go to the Academy? Could it be...'
I gestured for Veronica to come closer, and she approached me with a tsk sound. I whispered into Veronica's ear, loud enough that Titania couldn't hear. It couldn't be, right?
"Are you, by any chance... going to the Academy because of the '[Fairy's Egg]'?"
Hearing my whispering voice, Veronica's face crumpled instantly. Because that crumpled face confirmed my suspicion, I couldn't help but frown slightly as well. Of all things, Veronica too...
"How do you even know about that? There's no way you could know that...?"