42. My Child's Birthday Party (4)
42. My Child's Birthday Party (4)
[Episode 42] - My Child's Birthday Party (4)
Originally, it is customary for royals to perform the first dance at parties or balls hosted directly by the royal family. Usually, at such balls, the royals dance with their 'fiancé' whom they have known since childhood...
Or, it is customary to dance with unmarried relatives, but today's 'Royal Seventh Birthday' was different. It is for the 'parent' of the princess or prince to dance with the 'child' who has reached their seventh birthday.
That is said to be the custom of the 'Royal Seventh Birthday'.
In other words, by ignoring all those customs and stepping onto the dance floor in the very center of the party hall with the princess, I had essentially declared this to every noble present here:
That I am the princess's parent.
Naturally, the gazes directed at the princess and me as we stepped onto the dance floor were not very kind. In particular, the gazes directed at me felt as stinging as if they were pricking me with needles.
I couldn't hear the murmurs of the nobles looking at me clearly, but I could roughly guess what kind of things they were saying. Probably...
That it was crossing the line, and crossing it by a lot, for the Second Queen, who shares no blood with the princess and doesn't even carry the royal family's surname, to claim to be the princess's parent—
Or that on such an important day, not following the royal family's customs and dancing a social dance between women, which would normally be absolutely unheard of, in front of everyone—
It was undoubtedly the nagging of stuffy, cliché old fogies.
Ignoring such nonsense that would only be a waste of time to listen to, I took the princess's hand and headed to the center of the dance floor. The princess seemed to find the gazes of others burdensome, as she moved her body ppigeok-ppigeok.
Like an awkward wooden puppet whose arms and legs were moving at the same time, the princess took stiff steps with her tense body and arrived at the center of the dance floor with me.
Seeing the princess clenching and unclenching her hands to warm them up from the coldness caused by tension, trying to relax, a chuckle escaped me before I knew it.
"Titania, don't be too nervous."
"Ye, yes...!"
Her words were spirited and cute, but her actions were anything but. Even though she had come to the center of the dance floor, the princess, whose mind had gone blank from nervousness, hesitated, not knowing what to do next.
'You don't have to be that nervous...'
Perhaps it was because she had messed up her first greeting earlier, and she was gripped by the thought that she must not make any more mistakes, but the princess looked as if she was putting so much strength into her body that she might collapse from exhaustion at any moment.
"Titania, your hand."
When I reached out my hand to the princess to start the dance, the highly nervous princess grabbed my hand with a wrak! And even an awkward, ugly forced smile. She looked so excessively nervous that it was pitiful to watch.
I squeezed the princess's cold hand and whispered softly.
"You don't have to be too nervous. Let's just do it the way we practiced with Fran."
"Prac, practice..."
As I held the princess's hand, music began to flow slowly through the party hall. The waltz song, which I had practiced with the princess dozens, hundreds of times, gradually spread, signaling the start of the dance to everyone.
However, even though the music had started, the princess, trembling like a frightened baby rabbit, didn't seem to have any intention of dancing. I squeezed the princess's hand tightly and slowly began to lead her.
And, amidst the music, I spoke to the anxious princess in a very small voice, as if whispering, so that only she could hear. Telling her not to be too nervous.
"Titania, today is your birthday. It's your seventh birthday, not anyone else's. No matter what others say, today is a day where it's enough if only you are happy and enjoying yourself."
At my soft whisper, I felt the trembling in the princess's hand, which was touching mine, begin to stop. The princess, who began to take steps slowly in time with my lead, looked up at me blankly.
I, too, smiled as I looked at such a princess.
"So let's enjoy it together. Dancing is meant to be enjoyed."
At my words, the princess nodded slightly.
I no longer felt any trembling in the princess's hand. Although she still had a nervous expression, she wasn't dancing while shaking as much as before. As we continued to dance like that...
A smile began to spread on the face of the princess, who was taking steps led by my hand. As if she really found dancing enjoyable, her tense expression gradually turned into a smile, and the princess began to dance to the song.
One, two, one, two.
The princess, dancing to my lead, was no longer nervous. Smiling brightly like a flower in full bloom, the princess had suddenly begun to dance perfectly the dance she had learned from Fran.
Suddenly, seeing the princess dancing happily reminded me of when Fran came to find me last time. Fran, who is usually expressionless, had made a V-sign with both hands and boasted to me that the princess could finally dance a proper dance.
Moved by the growth of the princess, who was dancing in front of me after learning to dance from Fran, whom she used to dislike so much, I put my hands under the princess's armpits at the climax of the song, lifted her high into the air, and spun around once.
"Kyaa!"
A pleasant, kyareureu sound of laughter spilled from the lips of the princess, who had flown high into the sky. I grabbed the princess's waist again, lifted her high into the air, and spun around once.
The princess, enjoying herself, went kyaa again.
There was no longer the image of the princess being nervous and stiff. There was only the image of her dancing lightly to the music and enjoying herself. The princess was truly happy and enjoying dancing with me.
Of course, I was the same.
As we were dancing so happily, the last note of the waltz rang out long in the hall. It was hard to call it a refined waltz, and it was just the result of us dancing happily together, but the reaction from the surroundings was quite good.
As if they had been waiting for the music to end, applause erupted loudly from all around as soon as the dance finished. Only after hearing the loud applause could the princess smile and look at the nobles around her.
Bow-
The princess, who gave a graceful bow to the nobles who were applauding, took my hand and slowly came down from the dance floor. Perhaps because the heat of the dance still remained in her body, the princess began to walk with a chong-chong, poljjak gait, letting out heung-heung humming sounds.
And, the princess, who discovered Fran standing in the distance, ran to Fran with a poljjak gait, put both hands on her waist, puffed out her chest, and looked up at Fran.
The princess, who looked at Fran with an expression full of confidence, as if saying, 'How about that, I did really well this time, right?', had hoped to finally be acknowledged by Fran regarding her dancing, but...
"Princess, at the very least, you were not a squid today."
Fran said flatly, as if it were out of the question. The princess, who had a pak! frown on her face at the praise that was saltier than salt, shouted beoreok! at Fran.
"Why can't you praise me better than that?! I did well!!"
"This is the highest praise I can currently offer you, Princess."
Fran's expression didn't change at all, and she just evaluated the princess coldly. Well, that's Fran being Fran... I looked at the faint smile hanging on the corner of Fran's mouth and chuckled.
Looking at the artificial human who had become a little more human.
*
After that, the princess's seventh birthday party ended successfully.
The birthday party with the nobles was over, but there was still an after-party left.
Me and the princess. And Ainsel and Fran.
A simple after-party with the four of us together.
For the princess, who had been hungry all day without being able to eat anything, we decided to gather in my room and hold a simple after-party by bringing some of the remaining food from the party hall.
Although it was party food that had gone cold, the princess must have been really hungry, as she was busy stuffing food into her mouth without even savoring the taste. Only after swallowing the food she had stuffed in wagu-wagu did the princess let out a deep sigh, as if she were finally alive.
I watched that scene and chuckled.
"Were you that hungry?"
"Yes... I haven't been able to eat anything since the morning... I was just so hungry..."
Perhaps embarrassed that she had eaten the food so ravenously, the princess gently covered her mouth with both hands and smiled bashfully.
I wiped the sauce that was all over the princess's mouth with a handkerchief, took out Ainsel, who was hanging on my ear, and held her out to the princess. The princess tilted her head and took the Ainsel I held out.
"Ainsel wants to give you a birthday present."
"Really?"
At the mention of a birthday present, the princess's eyes sparkled brightly.
-The gift I'm giving you is my 'clone'. Since you're still too young to wear this mirror earring on your ear, you can put a string on the earring and use it like a necklace.
Following Ainsel's words, I put a gold string I had prepared in advance onto the earring, making it like a necklace. When I put the necklace made that way around the princess's neck, the mirror hanging on her chest twinkled and reflected Ainsel.
-You can talk to me anytime by tapping the mirror twice. This is all I can give you... I'm sorry. If you don't like it...
The princess lifted the Ainsel hanging around her neck, shook her head vigorously, and looked at Ainsel. Then, she smiled bashfully as if she were truly happy and hugged Ainsel tightly.
"No! I really like it! It's a gift from the first friend I've ever made, right? And... if I have this, we can talk at night from now on too, right? Right? I was always sad because I couldn't talk to Ainsel except during lessons..."
At the princess's words, Ainsel, who burst into tears, flailed her arms inside the mirror and pretended to hug the princess. The princess, watching that gesture, also hugged the small Ainsel to her chest and held her tight.
Seeing the princess hugging the small mirror tightly, I couldn't help but laugh for some reason, even though it was a touching scene. The princess, who had Ainsel hanging around her neck, looked at Fran this time.
Ainsel had given her a gift, so she glanced at Fran, hoping for something, as if asking if Fran had nothing to give her, but Fran looked at such a princess and shook her head.
"I apologize. Since I came here in a hurry, I have nothing suitable to give you as a gift, Princess."
"Ugh..."
The princess, who had slumped her shoulders as if disappointed, nodded her head. Just as she was about to give up early, thinking that if there wasn't one, it couldn't be helped, Fran took something out of her pocket and held it out to the princess.
The princess tilted her head at the paper envelope in the form of a letter and accepted what Fran had handed over. The princess looked at Fran, tilting her head as if asking what this was.
"It is an invitation to the Coven, the gathering of witches."
At the mention of the Coven's Invitation, I frowned slightly and looked at Fran. Even if she had nothing to give as a gift, even so, a 'Coven's Invitation' for the princess?
"Coven's Invitation? Why that to Titania?"