36. Frankenstein (2)
36. Frankenstein (2)
[Chapter 36] - Frankenstein (2)
"Waaaaah!! Waaaaaaah!!!"
Once the crying started, it showed no signs of stopping. As Fran took a step closer, the Princess waved her away, screaming and sobbing as if she were about to faint.
"Aaaack-!! Stay awayyyyy!!!"
"That is strange. The children back home find Fran Jokes to be very entertaining."
Fran tilted her head as if truly puzzled and looked at the Princess, who was held in my arms. She was an artificial human, sure, but who could have imagined that screws and gears would come tumbling out of her mouth?
The Princess, acting as if she had seen something she really shouldn't have, buried her face in my chest and didn't even think about looking up. Fran swayed left and right beside us, as if finding the Princess's reaction strange, but—
"Go awayyyyy!!!"
"I am shocked. How could there be such a reaction..."
Fran trailed off for the first time, saying she was truly shocked. Her expression remained as deadpan as ever, but perhaps she was genuinely dejected, as she turned her back on the Princess and flopped down onto a chair.
The Princess was too busy sobbing in my arms to care whether Fran was dejected or not. The Princess was already startled just by the mention of swallowing needles; seeing something similar in person must have been a huge shock.
I patted the Princess's back and began to soothe her for the time being.
"Princess, shall I tell that person to leave right away?"
"Waa! Waaaa!!"
The Princess nodded vigorously while sobbing. Hearing that she was being kicked out, Fran turned her head, approached to a distance where the Princess wouldn't start sobbing again, and gazed at her intently.
"Princess, look at this."
Fran showed the Princess her thumb and performed the thumb-severing magic trick, covering the "severed" area with her finger. Then, the Princess, who had been glancing at it, snorted.
"I've already seen that! And Her Majesty the Queen is better at it!"
She was right. Even if she showed the finger-severing trick that she had already shown the Princess until she was sick of it, the Princess wouldn't budge.
Then, perhaps because her pride was hurt—
"Is that so? Is cutting off a finger not enough?"
With a pop! sound, Fran pulled off her entire wrist. The detached wrist began to do a finger dance on the palm of Fran's other hand, as if it had a mind of its own.
And the Princess's reaction to seeing that was, as expected—
"That's grossssss!!"
"Incomprehensible. My ace-in-the-hole Fran Joke is not working."
Fran reattached her wrist and clutched her head, as if she couldn't understand it. Come to think of it, it was definitely the kind of prank young boys would like, but...
Such pranks didn't work on the Princess at all. Fran said, "I feel like an artificial human's pride is being crushed," and let her shoulders slump.
I sighed helplessly and asked Fran.
"I'm grateful you treated Ainsel, but... the Princess is a bit... Is there any compensation you need? I'll prepare as much as I can."
She was a benefactor who fixed Ainsel, but since the Princess threw a fit just looking at her face, there was nothing I could do. I thought I should quickly give her the reward and get her out of the royal castle.
"Then, I would like some high-quality oil."
"O-oil...?"
"Just kidding. Fran Joke."
Fran made a V-sign with her fingers and held it out to me. It was hard to tell where the jokes ended and the truth began with this deadpan artificial human.
"I do not need compensation. And I cannot leave right now."
"Nooooo!!!"
At the news that Fran wouldn't leave, the Princess threw a fit and was terrified. It was the first time I'd seen the Princess dislike someone this much, so it was refreshing, but also a bit worrying.
Despite the Princess's angry screams, Fran didn't care and glanced at Ainsel, who was groaning on the desk.
"The patient's treatment is not yet finished. Until Ainsel returns to perfect condition, I have a duty as a doctor to care for the patient."
"U-uh... if that's the case..."
At Fran's words that she had to care for Ainsel, the Princess couldn't say anything. The Princess, who was genuinely worried about Ainsel groaning, glared at Fran as if to say she really hated this but had no choice.
"Are you really treating Ainsel...? Really...? You're not lying this time, are you?"
The Princess glared at Fran with suspicious eyes. Fran looked at the Princess with her usual emotionless expression, but unlike her expression, she gently stroked the Princess's hair.
"Yes, this time it is not a lie. I, Frankenstein, do not lie when it comes to treating fairies."
*
Fran, who said she had to stay by Ainsel's side until she recovered, decided to stay here for the time being. It was amazing enough that she snuck into the heavily guarded royal palace, so when I asked how she would hide and live here—
"You need not worry. As you can see, I am a perfect maid. If you just play along, I will work as your maid for the time being."
"...I think we'll get caught."
"If you just explain it well, we won't get caught. Because I am excellent."
Fran lifted the hem of the maid outfit she was wearing, spun around once, and showed it to me. Come to think of it, it had been a lingering question. Why on earth was she wearing a maid outfit?
As I scrutinized Fran's attire, Fran gracefully spun around once more, showed off her maid outfit, stopped in a disciplined pose, and asked me.
"Are you curious about my attire?"
"A little...?"
"There is no particular reason. It is a simple hobby. I like having hobbies. Ballet, social dancing, and cleaning and laundry are my hobbies. I just enjoy wearing attire suitable for cleaning and laundry."
"It's unique that cleaning and laundry are your hobbies."
Fran, who had struck an 'arabesque' pose, standing straight on one toe with the other leg raised behind her, glanced down at me and the Princess.
The Princess, mesmerized by Fran's beautiful pose, clapped her hands and watched Fran's ballet. As if showing off various tricks every time the Princess clapped, Fran slowly began to dance.
Then, suddenly, this thought occurred to me.
The Princess, who hadn't been showing noticeable growth in dancing lately. Could Fran perhaps help the Princess, who still couldn't escape being a squid and danced a limp waltz?
I watched Fran dancing gracefully and asked.
"Fran, is it possible for you to teach the Princess how to dance, even just for a little while when you have time while you're here? She's learning the waltz right now, but..."
"You mean, teach the Princess how to dance?"
The Princess, who was listening to that from the side, opened her eyes wide as if shocked and looked at me. And she shook her head vigorously, saying she absolutely did not want to learn to dance from Fran.
Fran looked at the Princess, contemplating for a moment, then gently held out her hand as if inviting the Princess to dance. The Princess looked at the hand extended before her and frowned!
"First, I need to check the Princess's skill level."
"...I don't want to. I will learn from Her Majesty the Queen."
I stroked the hair of the Princess, who was pouting and frowning. If we're talking about the Princess's current dancing skills, they are lacking, but she could now dance the waltz.
The Princess, who had worked so hard to learn to dance that her toes bled, had become able to dance the waltz as of yesterday. However, she could just dance the waltz; it wasn't perfect.
She still made plenty of mistakes, and without the sound of my clapping, she couldn't keep the beat on her own and couldn't dance. There was still time, so we could fix it little by little, but...
Is it a parent's heart to want to seize the opportunity if there's a chance to do a little better? I wanted to see the Princess dance the waltz perfectly without making mistakes in front of everyone.
It might be my greed, but it was definitely for the Princess's sake. I put my hands under the Princess's armpits, lifted her up, and placed her on my lap.
Perhaps she didn't like that I told her to learn to dance from Fran, as the Princess's lips were pouting heavily. I gently hugged the Princess and soothed her slowly.
"Won't you try learning from Fran just once? You never know, right? Maybe Fran teaches better than I do."
"I don't want to."
"...It's because I want to see the Princess dancing beautifully at the ball."
"I can do better even now."
The Princess was firm.
I felt like if I urged her any further, she would really get annoyed, so it was hard to ask anymore. Just when I thought I should give up, Silphy, who had flown in from the side, landed on the Princess's shoulder and whispered something.
"Really...?"
-Then, if the Princess asks, Agassi won't refuse either.
"...?"
Whatever Silphy said to her, the Princess lifted her head and stared at me blankly. Then, with a sulky expression, she hopped off my lap and grabbed Fran's hand.
"Silphy? What did you say to the Princess?"
-Hehe, it's nothing special, just motivation. The Princess might ask Agassi to dance at the ball, so Agassi should practice dancing hard too.
The Princess grabbed the hand of Fran, whom she dislikes so much, just because she wants to dance with me?
What a commendable and cute child. I felt an urge to just hug the Princess right then and there.
As I watched the Princess and Fran dance with a satisfied expression, the more they danced, the more cold sweat flowed down Fran's expressionless face, and she began to turn pale.
Her face, which already had pale skin, was turning blue, and by the time the dance with the Princess ended, Fran sighed for the first time.
From my perspective, it looked like they danced quite well, so why is she like that...?
"...This is not dancing."
"?!"
The Princess glared at Fran as if to kill her, with an expression like, 'I danced as hard as I could! How could you say such a harsh thing!', and Fran shook her head and asked me.
"How much time is left until the ball?"
"Hmm... about 3 weeks?"
"There is not much time. We will start right now, from today."
Fran said that and looked down at the Princess, who was holding her hand.
As an unknown, intense heat was felt in Fran's expressionless eyes, the Princess frowned! and shook off the hand Fran was holding, saying:
"I, I hate you..."