37. Frankenstein (3)
37. Frankenstein (3)
[Chapter 37] - Frankenstein (3)
A few hours had passed since the Princess's "I hate Fran" declaration.
Fran started by saying posture was important, so instead of dancing, she began with posture correction. She trained the Princess using various methods, such as standing on tiptoes and balancing her center of gravity.
As time passed and evening arrived, a maid knocked on the door to announce mealtime.
Just as I was wondering where to hide Fran, she didn't hide at all and opened the door herself to greet the maid. The maid, who came face-to-face with Fran upon opening the door, was startled and flinched.
"Oh my, who...?"
"I am the Queen-nim's personal maid."
"Uh...? Was there someone like you...?"
"There was."
As I rubbed my face, feeling dizzy at Fran's insistence that she was a maid, for some reason, the maid seemed to remember something upon seeing Fran, let out an "Ah~," and welcomed her.
"Ah~ that's right~ I must have forgotten. Oh, but this isn't the time for that. Queen-nim. It is time for your meal. May I escort you to the dining hall?"
"Uh, uh? Ah, yes. I'm planning to eat in the room with the Princess today, so could you bring it here? The Princess doesn't look like she has the strength to go to the dining hall."
The maid looked at the Princess, who was lying limply on the bed, covered her mouth in surprise, nodded, and replied that she would do so. After the maid left, I stared at Fran with wide eyes.
"It's a simple magic that witches use when blending into human society. It's quite useful if you learn it, so I recommend you learn it later."
"Right..."
Is magic really that versatile to begin with? I learned that witches use magic by borrowing the power of fairies, but Fran was casting magic just like that without any such help.
'Well... she is an artificial human, so that must be why. Let's not worry about it for no reason.'
I felt like I'd get a headache if I dug too deep, so I patted the back of the Princess, who was sprawled out next to me. She seemed truly exhausted; even when I stroked her back, she showed no intention of moving.
Unlike me, thinking she should rest because she's tired... Fran mercilessly pushed the Princess. Before I knew it, Fran had put her hands under the Princess's armpits and forcibly pulled her up.
"Princess-nim, you must try a little harder. Can you really sleep with your current skill level?"
In the end, that one sentence pushed the Princess's patience to its limit.
The Princess, who was being held by Fran, raised her hands high up into the sky and pushed Fran's face away as if slapping it with her palm. Then, she screamed at the top of her lungs with a voice I'd never heard before.
"I can't live like this!!!!"
Escaping from Fran's arms, the Princess ran out of my room as if fleeing.
Well... seeing Fran's teaching methods from the side, I had thought that maybe the Princess would run away like this someday...
...but I never imagined that "someday" would be right now.
As I got up from the bed to go find the Princess, Fran reached out both hands to stop me. When I looked up at Fran, her expressionless face looked strangely shadowed and dark.
"...I will go find her."
"...Right, she's probably in the Princess's room... You can find it, right?"
Fran nodded and ran out of the room to find the Princess. Now I finally understood why Fran had introduced herself as a "third-rate human" at the beginning.
'She said she was an artificial human, so she really doesn't understand human emotions well.'
*
Arriving at the Princess's room, Fran gently opened the door to check inside. Upon spotting where the Princess was, Fran flinched and stopped, looking momentarily surprised.
The Princess was under the desk. It was a secret base where she had draped a blanket over the desk, creating curtains that reached the floor, and fixed them in place by piling up books and objects so the blanket wouldn't fall.
Inside, she had decorated with pillows and cushions, and used the remaining books to build a barricade blocking the entrance. The Princess had retreated into her own secret base and was wary of Fran.
"Princess-nim."
When Fran called the Princess, the growling Princess picked up a pillow and guarded herself against Fran. It meant that if she came any closer, she would throw this pillow at her.
Fran hesitated for a moment, then crouched down, looked at the Princess, and bowed her head. The Princess didn't say anything and just stared at Fran, wary.
"...I apologize. If I have done something wrong, could you please tell me?"
"......"
"...As I mentioned, because I am an 'artificial human,' it is difficult for me to understand human emotions. I tried my best in my own way, but it seems I have offended you, Princess-nim."
Had Fran's sincerity reached her to some extent? The Princess put down the pillow she was holding and stared intently at Fran. Fran's expression was still emotionless, but even the Princess could tell this much.
That Fran was genuinely feeling dejected.
Softened by that expression, the Princess remembered hitting Fran's face earlier. She had hit her because she was so angry, but seeing Fran now, the Princess thought she had been too harsh.
The Princess slowly cleared the barricade she had piled up under the desk and patted the cushion next to her. At the Princess's signal to come in, Fran slowly entered the space.
The space under the desk, turned into a secret base, was cramped for two people, but for some reason, it felt cozy and comfortable. The Princess hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fran's face.
Seeing the red palm print on Fran's white face, the Princess didn't know what to do for a moment, then hung her head low and apologized to Fran.
"I'm sorry for hitting you..."
"It is fine. I am the one who offended you, Princess-nim. You are not at fault."
The Princess thought so too.
That no matter how she thought about it, she wasn't at fault.
But, hitting is hitting...
After hitting Fran's face, the Princess had been extremely flustered. No matter how angry she was, she hadn't intended to hit Fran.
"Still, I'm sorry..."
"......"
Silence fell under the desk for a moment. Fran turned her head to look down at the Princess sitting next to her, then gently placed her hand on the Princess's head and began to stroke it.
"As I said, I am a created 'artificial human.' Your palm is nothing to me."
"But... it's red on your face..."
"It is nothing."
Looking at Fran, who calmly said it was nothing, the Princess decided not to worry about it anymore. Just with the feeling of giving up, thinking, 'I guess Fran is just that kind of person.'
The conversation between Fran and the Princess cut off again.
The Princess sat blankly for a moment, then suddenly became curious about what this "artificial human" thing Fran mentioned was. Although she said she was created, no matter how she looked at it, Fran was the same as a normal person.
Aside from spitting out strange lumps of metal, having her wrist detach, or having a peculiar way of speaking, Fran's appearance didn't seem much different from other people. The Princess glanced up and asked Fran.
"Fran, you said you were an artificial human... what is an artificial human?"
"It literally means a human created artificially. In my case, my father, 'Dr. Victor Frankenstein,' created me."
The Princess tilted her head, as if the words were difficult to understand. Fran thought deeply for a moment, then suddenly pulled off her wrist and held it out to the Princess.
And in an instant, ppyong! A bouquet of flowers popped out of the wrist. Startled by the sudden appearance of the flowers, the Princess tried to jump up, but bumped her head slightly on the underside of the desk.
Watching the Princess stroke her bumped head, Fran began to explain about herself again. About the reason she was created, and various parts of her past.
"I was actually one of the ordinary fairies."
"A fairy? Like Silphy?"
Fran nodded.
"Originally a fairy, I admired humans. I envied the way they lived and watched them every day. While living like that, I met my father, 'Victor Frankenstein'."
Fran reattached her wrist and began to tell her story, recalling the past. The Princess listened to the story, looking back and forth between the bouquet in her hands and Fran sitting next to her.
"My father dreamed of a world where 'humans and fairies live in harmony.' He believed that fear stems from ignorance, and that if humans came to know fairies, their fear of fairies would also disappear."
"Humans and fairies... together? I've always lived well with Ainsel, though? Is it different from that?"
"It is not different. However, ordinary people cannot see fairies. That is why my father began research to create me."
Fran patted her chest and pointed to herself. Her body, which was half human and half fairy.
"He said that if a fairy possessed a 'human body,' everyone would get to know each other and begin to coexist."
"Hmm..."
The Princess clutched her head, as if it were still difficult even with Fran's simple explanation. Fran looked at the Princess and stroked her hair a lot, saying it was okay if she found it difficult.
"The first successful result of the research to turn a fairy into a human. That is me, 'Frankenstein.' I firmly believed that after I succeeded, I would have many younger siblings, but-"
Fran paused for a moment and lowered her head. Feeling Fran's expression becoming increasingly dark, the Princess patted Fran's shoulder.
"...Unfortunately, my father passed away in an accident not long after I was born. A fire broke out in the laboratory, and the research that created me was also completely 'lost'."
At the mention of losing her father, the Princess's expression also began to darken. Because it reminded her of her father's funeral, which hadn't been long ago. The Princess hugged her knees tightly and began to listen to Fran's story.
"...I am continuing my father's will, dreaming of harmony between humans and fairies. It is still difficult, but I am living with the hope that it will be achieved someday."
"...I hope it is achieved."
"Actually, I think it has been achieved to some extent."
"Huh?"
The Princess, hugging her knees tightly, rested her head on her knees and looked up at Fran. Fran looked down at the Princess and, for the first time, raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.
"I am originally a fairy, and you are human. Just the fact that we are sitting together and talking like this makes me think that my dream has been achieved to some extent."
"Uh-huh? Is that so?"
What Fran was saying was very difficult for the Princess. The Princess was busy just tilting her head, as if she really didn't know.
Fran looked at the Princess, then, as if the story was over, crawled out of the secret base and held out her hand to the Princess.
"From now on, I will continue the lessons while reflecting your opinions as much as possible. So, will you continue to take my lessons?"
At the mention of lessons, the Princess frowned again, pouted her lips, and glared at Fran.
To be honest, the Princess didn't want to take Fran's harsh lessons. Lessons that were so harsh they didn't even let her rest were tiresome ever since the Marchioness.
While agonizing over it, just as the scale in the Princess's heart tipped further toward "I don't want to take them"...
"If you take my lessons, at least I will make sure you don't show a shameful appearance when you dance with Vivian. No, with your Queen-nim."
At those words, the Princess's ears perked up.
Just as Silphy had suggested, the Princess was planning to ask the 'Queen-nim' to dance at her birthday party, the ball.
So she wanted to show the Queen-nim the results of her efforts perfectly, without making even the slightest mistake.
"...Really? Will you make me like that?"
"...I will try."
The Princess hesitated for a moment at the answer she didn't quite like, then, as if she really didn't want to but had no choice, she took the hand Fran held out.
Fran was a 'person' with a really strange way of speaking and strange behavior, but the dance Fran performed was truly beautiful.
The Princess wanted to learn to follow Fran's dance, even just a little. Just as Fran said...
Because she didn't want to make a mistake or look shameful when dancing in front of the Queen-nim.
*
Time passed, and there was less than a week left until the ball.
I let out a small sigh as I looked at Ainsel, who was still groaning every night and showed no signs of waking up. Fran had said she would open her eyes soon, but...
It had already been two weeks since Fran diagnosed Ainsel, but Ainsel still hadn't regained consciousness. At first, it was enough just to see Ainsel's reflection on the mirror's surface, but...
It would be a lie to say I wasn't worried.
Today, too, just as I was letting out a small sigh while looking at Ainsel before falling asleep-
-Vivian...?
Finally, Ainsel had regained consciousness.