110. The Last Day
110. The Last Day
[Chapter 110] - The Last Day
One day before entering the Academy.
As the time to leave the royal castle approached, Titania's mood seemed extremely foul. She spent the whole day with a sulky expression, making it painfully obvious that she didn't want to go to the Academy.
Furthermore, that uncomfortable mood continued even during the meal with the ministers. Unable to watch Titania with her lips poked out any longer, the Minister of Foreign Affairs tried to change the atmosphere in the dining room with an awkward laugh.
"Haha, to think the day has come for the Princess to enter the Academy... Time has already flown by so fast. It feels like just yesterday when you were playing in the garden making flower crowns."
"......"
Titania didn't even want to answer, merely picking at her food and putting it into her mouth. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs didn't give up despite Titania's reaction and continued speaking.
"Ahem, Princess. If you happen to see any embezzlement or immoral behavior by the teachers after you go to the Academy, please write to me without fail. Without fail, to me first."
Then, the Minister of Education, who was listening from the side, flared up and stepped in. As the meal, which might be the last one with Titania, turned into a mess, the Queen Mother and I couldn't help but sigh.
"What?! There's no way such things exist at the Academy where I am the principal! Besides, if such things happen, you must tell me, the principal! Not the Minister of Foreign Affairs!"
"External reporting is the most important thing for these matters. If handled internally, it only results in a slap on the wrist. If you tell me, I will have the Minister of Education removed from the principal position-"
Thwack!
Unable to listen to the two ministers' childish fighting any longer, Titania finally slammed the fork she was holding onto the table with a thwack! sound. Then, she glared sharply at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Education in turns.
"...Halmeoni, Eomeoni. I apologize. I'm not feeling well, so I will excuse myself first."
"...Very well, you may go."
As soon as the Queen Mother's permission was given, Titania left the dining room without even looking back. Seeing Titania's sharp demeanor, the Queen Mother clicked her tongue and glared at the two ministers.
"Ah, no, we were just... the Princess's mood..."
"You fools. Do you think Titania's mood will improve because you two are fighting? Even I feel so frustrated watching you that I feel like dying. No, I should just die. To think such idiots are ministers..."
"Y-Your Majesty, how can you say such things..."
At the Queen Mother's berating, the two ministers hung their heads, whimpering (kkae-gaeng). I felt irritated watching it too, so how annoyed must Titania have been? I could only sigh at the two ministers' foolish behavior.
"That aside... there isn't much time left until the promise, Queen."
"Yes? Ah, yes..."
At the mention of the promise, the ministers also stopped moving their cutlery and began to listen to the conversation between the Queen Mother and me. Hearing the word 'promise' in a setting like this, it finally started to feel real.
"So, Queen, what do you plan to do after Titania enters the Academy?"
"Uh, well, that is..."
"That is?"
"I haven't really decided on anything..."
At my answer, a heavy silence instantly descended upon the dining room. I chose my words carefully, even taking a beat to pause, but I couldn't find the right thing to say. After all, I really hadn't decided on anything regarding what to do.
I had planned to decide how to live in the future within the 3 years I could stay at the royal castle. There were still 3 years left! So, even if asked suddenly, there was no way I could give a proper answer.
In the end, at my unplanned words, the Queen Mother's eyes narrowed. Under that sharp gaze, I couldn't do anything and ended up bowing my head so low it was almost buried in my plate.
"...I'm not rushing you to leave, but I would like you to make a plan quickly. That way, the royal castle can prepare something for you as well."
"Yes... I will decide as soon as possible..."
"And..."
The Queen Mother cleared her throat, ahem, and glanced at me. As I tilted my head at the sudden silence, the Queen Mother gulped down the glass in her hand, perhaps because her throat was parched.
"...Do not think that you have that much time left."
"...? Yes, I will keep that in mind..."
*
"Titania, shall I turn off the light?"
"....."
Eventually, night came, and even though it was time to sleep, Titania still had a sulky expression. My heart ached to see her lying with her back to me, as if she was still sulking.
I know Titania isn't angry at me. It's just that she doesn't want to go to the Academy, she doesn't want to be separated from me, and she's unhappy about being forced to go to the Academy.
I blew out the candle with a whoosh and quickly settled into the spot next to Titania. I approached Titania, who was still lying with her back to me, and gently poked her in the side.
When I poked her side, Titania's body flinched! And then, she quickly turned around and glared at me. There was no hatred or malice in the gaze she directed at me.
Just full of dissatisfaction with this situation.
I giggled, hugged Titania, and patted her back.
"You really don't want to go that much?"
"...Yes. I don't understand why I can't come out of there for 3 years. Shouldn't they at least let me come back once or twice? That place isn't an Academy, it's a prison."
Titania, nestled in my arms, began to whine and make crying sounds. Certainly, the Academy has no vacations, and students cannot leave the Academy grounds for 3 years.
However, that didn't mean the Academy was small. The Academy boasted a size as large as a small city. Inside the Academy, there were shops and various amenities.
In other words, the Academy was no different from a small city. The students of the Academy simply couldn't leave that small city until they completed their years to graduate or dropped out on their own.
Titania, who was squirming in my arms, lifted her head and looked at me.
"Can I come visit here sometimes? If I ask Veronica-eonni..."
"...Veronica told you, didn't she? Since she has to avoid the gaze of the Great Witch, she can't use proper magic at the Academy. Naturally, she can't connect to here either..."
"Ah..."
Titania eventually buried her face in my chest and sniffled, as if she had given up. I was worried about whether this spoiled child could endure the Academy, but since Veronica and Ainsel are with her, she'll surely be fine.
"When I become Queen, the first thing I will do is order the Minister of Education to create vacations at the Academy. So that students can return home during the vacations."
"Your juniors will be happy."
To think her first goal as Queen would be something so cute.
I chuckled and patted Titania's back. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell Titania was crying because I could hear her sniffling in my arms.
I hugged Titania a little tighter and slowly stroked her back. Because being like this is the last time for today. So, it meant to stay by my side until she was satisfied for today.
"I don't want to go..."
I felt the tears Titania shed touching my chest.
Her tearful voice made my heart ache as if it were cold. If it were only up to my heart, I would have told her not to go, but I couldn't say that, so I just tried to smile calmly.
For Titania, who was sniffling and crying in my arms, all I could do was hug her even tighter. The more she was held, the more Titania didn't want to leave my side.
Like that, Titania and I didn't separate until we fell asleep. Hoping that this hug would be at least a little bit of comfort to Titania, I just hugged her and stroked her back.
In my fading consciousness, I fell asleep while listening to Titania's heartbeat. There was no tension that this day had finally arrived. I was just depressed at the thought of separating this child from my side.
*
Late at dawn, when everyone was asleep.
Titania, unable to sleep, slipped out of the blanket and looked down at the soundly sleeping Vivian.
'Lovely Eomeoni.'
Titania took her time to carefully engrave Vivian's face into her eyes.
Since it was a face she wouldn't be able to see for the next 3 years, it was a greedy desire to engrave her mother's face into her eyes even a little more. Titania carefully reached out and gently tidied up Vivian's messy hair.
'What should I do? She's so lovely.'
Titania carefully tucked her own hair that had fallen down behind her ear. Because it would be troublesome if her mother woke up because her hair touched her. Titania held her breath and stared at Vivian's face.
A snow-white face receiving the moonlight pouring through the window gap, and golden hair sparkling like stars embroidered in the sky. The bright red lips located under the straight nose were slightly parted.
As she took a deep breath, the familiar scent of her mother tickled the tip of her nose. Titania inhaled and exhaled the scent that calmed her heart yet made her chest flutter over and over again.
Truly lovely.
To think such a lovely person is my mother.
To think I love such a lovely person.
As she thought that, her chest fluttered.
Her heart ached, and her chest tightened.
She was happy just looking at her mother's face. Titania was so happy in this moment that she wished it would last forever, and she wished that only her mother and herself were in this world.
As she continued to keep her mother's face in her eyes, her gaze kept drifting to her mother's slightly parted lips. Titania swallowed dryly without realizing it and couldn't take her eyes off the lips.
'Just a little...'
Titania moved her finger and tapped Vivian's lips, tok. Her mother must have been sleeping deeply, as there was no reaction. The sensation of the lips touching her fingertips couldn't have been more dizzying and stimulating.
Then, a bad thought occurred to her.
She was going to be separated for 3 years, so it was too regrettable to part with her mother like this. She wanted to get a little closer, and she needed something to remember her mother by a little more.
Yes, if possible, a kiss or something...
Gulp, Titania swallowed dryly and licked her lips with her tongue.
She began to agonize, looking down at Vivian intently with a face that looked as if she were drooling. Would it be okay to do it? Her mother was sleeping deeply, and once she fell asleep, she didn't wake up until morning.
'So, even if I kiss her lips now, Mother won't wake up.'
The mysterious courage given by the dawn was terrifying. It must have been because emotion took precedence over reason, but Titania decided to be honest with her heart. If not now, the next time they meet would be in 3 years.
Titania eventually stroked Vivian's cheek, lowered her head, and shyly pressed her lips against the small, red lips. Chu, her heart trembled to the point of pain at the kiss that didn't even make a sound.
Only then did it feel real.
The realization that she had crossed the line.
The realization that she could never go back to before.
She had kissed her mother's lips many times, but she had never once kissed her mother's lips directly on her own. There might have been a few times when she was young, but this was the first time she had kissed her mother's lips with such desperate feelings.
Her mother, still asleep, was still fast asleep, not even knowing her lips had been stolen. The parted lips, unaware of the fact that her daughter had stolen her mother's lips with such feelings, seemed to be tempting her, saying she wouldn't be caught if she did it one more time.
'Wouldn't it be okay to do it one more time?'
Titania's lips fluttered, but she soon let out a quiet sigh and burrowed into the blanket. Saying she should be satisfied with this for today. Saying she would promise the next time for 3 years later, she burrowed into her mother's arms.
'When we meet next time, will she treat me like an adult?'
What does treating someone like an adult even mean in the first place?
What do I want to do to Mother?
She knew exactly what the feeling creeping up from deep inside her heart was, but Titania decided to bury it for now. Because that wasn't a feeling she should have yet.
After taking such a short sleep, the dawn began to break.
The dawn of the day heading to the Academy broke.