17. The King's Mother (2)
17. The King's Mother (2)
[Episode 17] - The King's Mother (2)
The Princess and I followed the Queen Mother-nim, who was walking down the hallway in the lead. Although we kept a certain distance, the Queen Mother-nim looked back to check on the Princess as if to confirm we were following well.
Look back, make eye contact with the Princess, and walk again.
Look back again, make eye contact with the Princess, and walk again.
The Queen Mother-nim acted as if she were worried about whether the Princess was following properly, or perhaps if she might trip. Watching that, I thought that bringing the Princess along was definitely the right choice.
Look at those hands of the Queen Mother-nim, fidgeting and restless. She wants to hold the Princess's hand, but she's likely thinking that given her position, she shouldn't indulge the Princess's childish whims.
The Queen Mother-nim is that kind of person.
Someone who can't express love properly.
People like that are usually the type who, if someone just creates the opportunity, will handle the rest on their own. Just like parents who say, "If you bring a puppy home, I'm throwing it out!" but then love it more than anyone once it's actually there.
I glanced down and looked at the Princess walking beside me. It was obvious that the Princess was still scared of the Queen Mother-nim, walking awkwardly and hesitantly because she was nervous.
'...What should I do.'
A grandmother who is strict on the outside but actually wants to show love right this instant, and a granddaughter who is terrified of such a strict grandmother. In this case, the granddaughter inevitably had to make a slight sacrifice.
To create an opportunity somehow, I tapped the Princess on the back as we walked and lowered my head, whispering in a voice so small that only the Princess could hear.
"Princess, do you see Her Highness's hands over there?"
"Ye, yes... I see them."
The Princess, who had been looking at the Queen Mother-nim's hands as she repeatedly clenched and unclenched them in agitation, nodded softly. I smiled brightly, cupped my cheek with one hand, and whispered as if I were acting.
"Her Highness is like that because her hands are cold. So, I'd love to hold them tight and warm them up, but... it's a big problem because Her Highness dislikes me."
I sighed deeply, as if it were a truly big problem, and glanced at the Princess. At that, the Princess looked up at me as if she didn't know what to do.
"So... wouldn't you like to go and hold Her Highness's hands tight, Princess, since your hands are warmer than mine? Then, surely, the Queen Mother-nim will be happy too."
"Bu, but... Her Highness dislikes me too, doesn't she...?"
"Who said that? That Her Highness dislikes you."
"Uh, uh... Bu, but... whenever I approach, she always makes a scary face..."
I patted the Princess's back, her head drooping, and she was busy bustling about, not knowing what to do. I gently pushed the Princess's back and spoke.
"That's not true at all, so go on. If you get scolded by Her Highness, I'll take the scolding for you."
"Re, really? Are you sure...? Is, is that a promise...?"
I nodded slightly while looking at the anxious Princess's face. Then, perhaps finding a little bit of courage, the Princess clenched both fists and started running toward the Queen Mother-nim.
Pitter-patter, the Princess ran with her large strides and Grab! she held the Queen Mother-nim's hands with both of hers. The Princess couldn't hide her surprised eyes at the sensation of the palms, which were truly as cold and rough as ice.
The Queen Mother-nim frowned and looked down at the Princess who had grabbed her hands. The wrinkled, aged brow was enough to instill fear in the young Princess.
"Princess, what is the meaning of this?"
Hearing the voice, which was as cold as ice, the Princess, terrified, began to make excuses. Feeling the chill from the Queen Mother-nim's hands as if it were seeping into her own body.
"Ah, th, that, the Queen-nim said... that the Queen Mother-nim's hands... would be cold... and that it would be... good to hold them tight... so, that is..."
"The Queen?"
Twitch. The moment she heard those words, the Queen Mother-nim's eyebrows twitched significantly.
The Queen Mother-nim looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, 'What on earth is this nonsense?', but I just waved my hand at her lightly. She wasn't going to refuse my goodwill anyway, so why the intimidation?
"I, I'm sorry... I'll let go right away..."
As the terrified Princess tried to let go, the Queen Mother-nim grabbed the Princess's hands tightly, as if she didn't want them to fall away.
The Princess looked at the Queen Mother-nim, blinking her eyes as if she didn't know what on earth was going on. The Queen Mother-nim kneaded the Princess's hands, which were hot enough to be warm, and glared at me.
"Hmph, since your hands are cold, as the Queen said, I suppose I'll have to borrow yours. I don't want to borrow that witch's hands, after all."
"Oh, yes...?"
"Let's go quickly. The food will get cold."
The Princess was bewildered, being dragged along by the Queen Mother-nim, but I definitely saw it. The corner of the Queen Mother-nim's mouth, which had slightly curled up when she turned her head away from me.
'...I wonder if this counts as giving her a push?'
*
From the moment we arrived at the banquet hall, the Queen Mother-nim acted as if the reins had been taken off. She didn't just seat the Princess in the empty chair next to her; she was even serving her food herself.
The Princess was burdened by the Queen Mother-nim's behavior, but she couldn't refuse and reached a state where she had no choice but to accept. I don't know how much she had eaten, but the Princess's belly had swollen up like a tadpole.
She put down her fork because she didn't want to eat anymore, but there was still a mountain of food piled up on the Princess's plate. It was the Queen Mother-nim's fault for serving more food whenever the plate showed even a little bit of the bottom.
"Ugh..."
"What on earth do they feed you at the main palace for you to be this small? Anyway, I'll have to stop by the main palace and meet the head chef. You need to eat well from a young age to grow tall and stay healthy."
Along with the nagging, the Queen Mother-nim began to pile food on the Princess's plate like a mountain again. The Princess let out an "Ugh-" sound as she looked at the food that had risen to the height of her chest.
Feeling sorry for her, I scooped the food piled on the Princess's plate onto my own, and the Queen Mother-nim glared at me with a fiery gaze. As if telling me to take my hands off the Princess's food.
Unable to watch any longer, I pleaded with the Queen Mother-nim.
"Your Highness, it seems the Princess is very full."
"How much has she eaten for her to be full already?"
"......It certainly looks like she's eaten more than usual."
As I bowed my head, the Queen Mother-nim clicked her tongue, "Tsk," and turned her head away. The Princess was busy stroking her swollen belly, trying her best to digest the food quickly.
Watching the Princess like that, the Queen Mother-nim sighed and waved her hand at the Princess. It meant she could leave the table now.
"Go and rest in the next room for a while. I have something to discuss with the Queen."
"Ye, yes... Tha, thank you for letting me join the dinner banquet today—"
"I heard you, so go on."
Cutting off the Princess's greeting and waving her hand again, the Princess made a sullen face, took the maid's hand, and slipped out of the banquet hall.
As the maid who was assisting with the meal and the lady-in-waiting who was beside the Queen Mother-nim also slipped out of the banquet hall, only I and the Queen Mother-nim were left in this large hall.
As the atmosphere, which had been somewhat bright thanks to the Princess, subsided, it felt as if winter had arrived in the banquet hall.
'First, I should be the one to greet her.'
Before the Queen Mother-nim, who was tapping her fingers on the table, tap, tap, could open her mouth, I bowed my head first to greet her. As I bowed, the Queen Mother-nim looked at me with twitching eyebrows.
"Thank you for inviting me to such a wonderful dinner banquet, Your Highness."
"Hmph, you've refused my banquet invitations so many times that I put a little more effort into this one, so I'm glad you like it."
...Just how many of the Queen Mother-nim's invitations did Vivian refuse for her to loathe them this much? I forced a smile and looked at the Queen Mother-nim.
"...I have no intention of refusing Your Highness's invitations in the future. How could I refuse the call of someone who has been 'helping' me from the shadows?"
As soon as I finished speaking, the Queen Mother-nim frowned and glared at me. Then, she let out a dry laugh as if she were dumbfounded, and looked at me while resting her chin on her hand. As if telling me to keep talking.
"Me? You? When did I ever help you?"
"...At the meeting held at the Royal Household Ministry, you took my side instead of the Marchioness's, didn't you?"
Ha! The Queen Mother-nim let out a laugh mixed with admiration.
The meeting held at the Royal Household Ministry for me to become the Princess's 'person in charge of education.' It was a mystery how Vivian, who had a notorious reputation as a 'witch' from the start, could have won against the Marchioness who had raised the First Queen.
As I calmly recalled the game's knowledge, I was able to think of one thing. That the Minister of the Royal Household, who was in charge of the royal family, was merely a 'puppet.'
And that the 'Queen Mother-nim' who pulls the strings of the royal family was behind it.
The reason I was able to win at the Royal Household Ministry meeting was likely not just because of the Marchioness's rumors, but because the 'Queen Mother-nim's' influence had been exerted at the meeting.
"...Since when did you know? That I have my hands in the Royal Household Ministry."
"The Royal Household Ministry is the administrative department in charge of the 'royal family,' isn't it? It wouldn't be strange for a 'royal family member' to be behind it... I just guessed as much after seeing the results of the meeting."
"Hmm... Is that so."
The Queen Mother-nim, resting her chin on her hand, looked at me with a smile as if it were interesting. I couldn't say I found out while playing a game, so this was the best answer.
"It's an insufficient answer, but for the first time today, I like you."
"...Thank you."
At that answer, I was able to relax, just a little. I felt good because it felt like I had tasted, even if only a little, the fruits of my efforts to reduce Vivian's notoriety.
The Queen Mother-nim smiled brightly and continued the conversation.
"Anyway, the reason I invited you today is that rumors about you have been incessant in the main palace lately, so I called you to verify them. They said you've been acting like a different person since the funeral, and it seems that was true."
"Haha..."
I never imagined that such rumors would have spread even to the Queen Mother-nim's ears.
The reason I thought I should meet the Queen Mother-nim in the first place was that I wanted to express my gratitude for helping me at the Royal Household Ministry meeting. I wondered if something had happened since the Queen Mother-nim called me first, but...
'I guess it was completely unnecessary worry.'
The moment I let my guard down, the Queen Mother-nim began to talk about something else, as if telling me not to relax in front of her. The Queen Mother-nim, who had downed the wine in front of her, looked at me steadily.
"...Today, I watched you and the Princess walking in the garden of the detached palace. You seemed to have become close enough to carry the Princess around."
"Th, that's not to the extent that Your Highness is thinking..."
I had no choice but to turn my head and avoid the Queen Mother-nim's gaze, who was looking at me with an envious look. Then, the Queen Mother-nim looked at the hand that had touched the Princess earlier, as if recalling the memory from before.
"...She was still quite small."
"She is only six years old, after all."
"Yes, she is only six now, but in three months, she will be seven."
The Queen Mother-nim clenched the hand she had been looking at and stared at me. As soon as the topic of the Princess turning seven came up, the Queen Mother-nim's atmosphere began to turn cold, just like before.
"You must know, too. What a child born into the royal family does when they turn seven."
I nodded at the Queen Mother-nim's words.
Spring's 'Main Event.'
Every royal family member holds a grand birthday party in the year they turn seven. You might think it's just a birthday party, but a royal's seventh birthday party had a different meaning.
An event to 'declare' to the kingdom's citizens that this child is the 'future leader who will lead this country.' This was the Spring's 'Main Event,' and the royal's seventh birthday party.
Grind-
The Queen Mother-nim looked at the wine glass in her hand as if annoyed, grinding her teeth. I could understand the Queen Mother-nim's annoyance. After all, the current Princess is...
"The Princess's birthday is coming up, but the person called the Emperor doesn't even come out of his room, and he hasn't even given the Princess a name, so I don't know what on earth my son, the Emperor, is thinking."
Because there is no 'name' to make the 'declaration' with.