52. A Runaway Incident That Wasn't Really a Runaway (2)
52. A Runaway Incident That Wasn't Really a Runaway (2)
[Episode 52] - A Runaway Incident That Isn't a Runaway (2)
-Princess...! Princess! Wake up! Princess!
Titania, who had been wandering through her dreams while curled up tight, tried to cover her ears in her sleep at the sound of someone calling her, but she eventually fluttered her eyes open at Ainsel's persistent shouting.
"Just a little more..."
-Princess... This is no time for that! Hurry up and wake up and look around!!
"What on earth is it..."
She was certain she had gone to sleep with the blanket pulled up to the top of her head, but when she opened her eyes and sat up, an unfamiliar wooden ceiling came into view. Titania blinked blankly in her sleepiness before turning her head to look around.
"...? What is this?"
Titania, whose brain wasn't functioning properly due to drowsiness, scratched her head and looked around once more. It was a small house that looked like it was made entirely of wood. The small house was filled with a subtle scent of herbs.
On the floor was a carpet made of some unknown animal's hide, and the walls were covered with hanging bundles of dried things that might have been herbs or just grass.
Seeing the crude furniture, which also looked like it was made only of wood, occupying the not-so-large space next to where she was lying, a thought suddenly struck Titania.
'It's like the hut in the forest from a picture book.'
Just as she was blankly observing the house in her sleepy state, the sound of humming came from through the slightly open door. Titania, having gotten up from her spot, peeked her head through the gap in the door.
She saw something bubbling in a pot on the fireplace, and a little girl wiggling her bottom in front of it while humming. The little girl was cooking, stirring the pot with a ladle.
After gulping down a spoonful of whatever was in the pot, the girl hopped in place and began to move busily. She was diligently preparing something, repeating to herself, "Busy, busy."
As she watched that sight blankly, Titania's brain, which had begun to wake up, started spinning rapidly. It felt just like she had entered a picture book, and she had thought this was all a dream, but it wasn't a dream.
"Huh? Where... where is this...? A hut? I was definitely sleeping in my room..."
-I don't know either... I'm trying to move to another mirror to inform Vivian of this situation, but I can't... This is extremely rare...
Titania, who patted Ainsel to calm her down as she was at a loss, looked out the window to figure out where she was. No matter which window she looked out of, she could only see a forest shrouded in thick, hazy fog.
She couldn't pinpoint the exact location. Titania could only tell that this place was a 'Hut' in the middle of a fog-covered forest. A small hut with only an unknown little girl inside.
Should she open the window and run away? No, the ten-year-old Titania knew very well that going into that forest alone was tantamount to suicide.
As Titania was pacing around the room, not knowing what to do, the wooden door burst open with a bang! and the 'little girl' kicked the door open with force.
As their eyes met, the little girl blinked, then approached Titania with a wide smile. A little girl with earth-brown hair and green eyes that looked like sprouts growing on top of it.
She circled around Titania, scanning her up and down as if observing her, sniffed her, and then smiled brightly, grabbing both of Titania's hands tightly.
Titania was startled and tried to pull her hands away, but the little girl just giggled and refused to let go. As she stood there flustered and at a loss, the little girl introduced herself with a smile.
-Welcome to our 'Hut'! Princess! I am Brownie!
"Br, Brownie?"
-Yes! I am Brownie, the House Fairy who manages this 'Hut'!
*
As the sun began to set.
The faces of all the soldiers and maids who still hadn't found Titania began to turn pale. They had opened and searched every room in the royal palace, but there was still no news that the princess had been found.
They had searched the rooms they had already checked multiple times, but as expected, the princess was nowhere to be seen. Anxiety began to show on the faces of everyone who had thought they would surely find her by evening.
As opinions began to leak out that she might have been kidnapped, Vin Chaud and the other ministers countered those opinions in unison. They argued that 'kidnapping' was impossible within the royal palace, which had the tightest security.
Telling them to find the princess instead of spouting such nonsense, everyone pooled their efforts to search for the princess. They even searched the delegation's rooms and dusted off the palace areas that hadn't been used.
However, even as the sun set and the night deepened, there was no news that the princess had been found. Throughout the night, the voices of everyone searching for 'Princess Titania' echoed throughout the royal palace.
As the night grew deeper, Vivian became increasingly anxious and didn't know what to do. Unlike everyone else, the thought that Titania might have actually been kidnapped began to burrow into Vivian's mind.
Because unlike the others, Vivian knew of the existence of a 'Witch'.
What if a fairy or a witch had intervened and kidnapped Titania? If that 'Witch' who turned Aurora into a 'Fairy' was now targeting Titania? If that was the reason why Ainsel couldn't be reached?
Vivian's complexion turned deathly pale, and as dark blue fear engulfed her entire body in an instant, her breathing began to grow shallow. As fear wrapped around her, Vivian fingered the 'Invitation' she held in her hand.
Should she call Fran even now and ask her to find Titania? She thought that if it were Fran, she would definitely be a great help in finding Titania. Just as she was about to tear open the 'Invitation'—
Knock, knock-
"...Who is it?"
"Queen Vivian-nim, it is Princess Fiona Silverword. I was worried about you, so I came to talk for a moment. May I come in?"
Crinkle.
Vivian's expression crumpled severely.
Even without this, in such an urgent situation, she had no leeway to look kind to Princess Fiona. The moment she opened her mouth to tell her to come back tomorrow, the door swung open, and Princess Fiona peeked her head in.
"May I?"
"......Come in."
Vivian gritted her teeth and forced a smile as she told Princess Fiona to come in. What could she do? She was asking to be let in before she could even refuse.
'If she weren't a princess from another country, I would have cursed her to get lost immediately...'
Vivian, who let out a sigh between her lips so Princess Fiona wouldn't hear, asked Princess Fiona with a bright smile. Why on earth did she come at this late hour?
"What is it, Princess Fiona? As you know, I am in a very busy situation right now."
"I just wanted to talk with Queen Vivian-nim for a moment."
"...Is that really all?"
Vivian looked at Princess Fiona with an absurd expression, as if she couldn't believe it. Princess Fiona just smiled brightly at that expression. Vivian, who sighed in annoyance, crossed her arms and replied.
"...I am curious what you want to talk about, so let's hear it."
"It's nothing special. It's just..."
Princess Fiona, who smiled brightly, said to Vivian.
"You looked like you were struggling so much to pretend to be sad, so I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to do that in front of me, Your Majesty. Even acting gets tiring after a while, doesn't it?"
"What?"
Vivian asked back, wondering if she had misheard. She was so dumbfounded by what she had just heard that she couldn't give a proper answer. The moment she was about to think she had misheard, Princess Fiona drove the nail in.
"I know you well. You're not the type to be sad just because a child you're not even blood-related to ran away, are you? Are you pretending to be sad in front of others to manage your image as Queen?"
"...Princess Fiona, have you lost your mind?"
"...I told you, you don't need to act in front of me? You're not that kind of person, are you? Since I am the one who knows your true intentions, I am giving you advice to help you?"
Crinkle, crinkle.
Vivian's expression began to crumple even more. As an expression of disgust, beyond absurdity, began to show on her face, Princess Fiona shrugged her shoulders and asked Vivian as if she didn't understand.
"I know your past. What you did to other young ladies to marry the King. You, who drove people to suicide by digging up all sorts of weaknesses, suddenly have maternal love? For the child of the woman you hate? Huhu, there's a limit to jokes."
Vivian, who was listening to the story, thought quietly. 'Ah, Princess Fiona is someone who knows the 'Vivian' of the past.' And she hated the old Vivian as if she wanted to kill her.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for her to lash out so sharply. For a princess of another country, a princess participating in a delegation, to say this much to a 'Queen' of a country was impossible unless it was extreme 'hatred'.
Vivian finally realized the identity of the sense of incongruity she felt every time she saw Princess Fiona. She had instinctively felt uncomfortable with Princess Fiona, who smiled while giving off an unsettling vibe.
Vivian let out a small sigh and glanced up at Princess Fiona. She could feel the twisted emotions pouring out at her from Princess Fiona, who was still smiling brightly with the corners of her mouth raised.
"...Please, don't tell disgusting jokes. I told you, I know your true feelings? Right now, aren't you the happiest that that child has disappeared?"
"...What did you say?"
"The child who resembles 'that woman' you hated has disappeared from before your eyes on her own, hasn't she? If that's not a happy thing, then what is? Ah, did you say 'I hate you' to that child because you wanted this to happen? Really, how meticulous—"
Jja-ak—!!!
With the sound of something tearing, Vivian's palm struck Princess Fiona's face. Princess Fiona, whose head turned to the side, opened her eyes wide and turned her head to look at Vivian.
Drip, drip. Tears that didn't suit Vivian's face began to flow. Princess Fiona, who was watching those flowing tears, narrowed her eyes and crumpled her expression. As if she really didn't want to see it.
'Pathetic.'
It was so pathetic it was suffocating. Was this woman even capable of making such an expression? Was this woman capable of treating people with such emotions? If this woman was someone who could do this.
'Why to me? Why did you treat me like that?'
I cannot believe that you, who 'accidentally' killed my father and raised me as a 'Witch', were someone capable of this. No, I don't believe it. Did you think I wouldn't know your true colors?
"...Princess Fiona."
Vivian, who jumped up from her seat, frowned deeply and looked at Princess Fiona. Princess Fiona looked at Vivian with a smile, as if that expression was familiar, as if nothing was wrong.
"I will forgive the rudeness you have committed against me up until now with this. However, there will not be a second time. It would be best if you remembered that properly with your lacking brain."
"......"
"Until the delegation leaves, do not let me see you, stay quiet as a mouse, and return home silently."
Bang!
With those words as the last, Vivian exited the room. Princess Fiona, who was left alone in the room, leaned her back against the sofa and chuckled while stroking her slapped cheek.
"Haha... It hurts."
She said that, but it didn't hurt that much. Thanks to the consideration put into the hand, she had lost strength in her hand before hitting, so it didn't hurt. The fact that her lips weren't split and there was no taste of blood in her mouth was proof of that.
"Even though you're the type who would normally hit until my lips split and the inside of my mouth was raw..."
Princess Fiona, who covered her eyes with her arm, chuckled. After chuckling once, then twice, Princess Fiona stopped laughing and muttered to herself in a cold voice.
"...Disgusting."