74. For Mom! (2)
74. For Mom! (2)
[Episode 74] - For Omma! (2)
When I woke up, I realized Titania wasn't by my side.
Wondering where on earth she had gone, I asked the maids who entered the room to attend to me. The maids just looked at each other, giggled, and gave vague answers about Titania's whereabouts.
"I woke up and Titania wasn't there... Do you know where she went?"
"The Princess seemed a bit busy. She'll probably be back soon. Hehe."
"That's right. The Princess will be back soon, so would you like to wash your face first? Or perhaps some tea?"
"Let's wash my face first."
Seeing the maids' playful smiles as they looked at me, I figured nothing bad had happened. I washed my face with the lukewarm water they brought and was helped with dressing.
After finishing my wash and changing clothes, I spent time sipping the tea the maid had poured until breakfast time. As I was drinking tea and thinking about what was on today's schedule, there was a knock at the door.
"Your Majesty the Queen. May I come in? I've brought breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
It was a man's voice I hadn't heard before. Usually, unless I asked to eat in my room, meals were always taken in the dining room. But suddenly, breakfast in the room?
"Yes, come in."
Since it didn't make much difference whether I ate in the dining room or the room, I didn't pay much mind and ordered the man to enter. When the door opened, I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
Titania was struggling to carry a large tray containing a meal for two people, grunting as she entered the room. Surprised by the unfamiliar scene, I opened my eyes wide and looked at the man dressed as a chef next to her; he also had other plates of food in both his hands.
Titania set the food down on the table in front of me. Looking at the food on the plates, I could vaguely guess what Titania had been doing and where she had been. After all, the plates Titania brought were piled high with lumpy mashed potatoes.
Mashed potatoes were piled in heaps, taking up even the space where other food should have been. The potatoes, which were mashed so poorly that they were still chunky, told me exactly who had made this dish.
I wondered what the man dressed as a chef was holding, and it turned out to be more mashed potatoes. I looked around to see if there was any other food, but every single plate had nothing but mashed potatoes.
The moment I checked all the plates on the table, the smile on my face slowly began to fade. Whether he saw my expression or not, the man dressed as a chef cleared his throat and continued with his explanation.
"Ahem, Your Majesty the Queen. Today's breakfast is mashed potatoes 'personally' made by Princess Titania. We boiled the potatoes, but the rest of the process—mashing the potatoes and seasoning them—was all done 'directly' by the Princess."
"...I see. Did Titania make all of this?"
Titania nodded with a shy smile.
I glanced down and looked again at the mashed potatoes piled like mountains on the plates. If all the plates were the same, I would have just left one and sent the rest back, but annoyingly, the mashed potatoes on every plate were subtly different.
Some plates had bacon mixed in, others had cheese. Another one had a slightly yellow tint, perhaps from mixing in sweet potatoes. As I let out a dry laugh at the dizzying mashed potato festival before my eyes...
"That... I've been avoiding Omma lately... so I felt sorry..."
Seeing Titania blush as if embarrassed made my heart ache and swell with emotion. I had been slightly worried because Titania had been avoiding me lately, so it was a huge relief to know that it wasn't because she disliked me.
Besides, to think she made this homemade food just for me...
"They said if you make homemade food, you get closer..."
Having said that, Titania tapped Ainsel, who was hanging around her neck. At that, Ainsel made a "Ahem!" sound and struck a confident pose. Right, the idea of making homemade food was fine. But why on earth...
"Thank you, really, thank you so much... But why... is it only mashed potatoes...?"
"I will explain that."
The man in the chef's uniform standing next to her bowed his head and continued the explanation. Looking closely, this person was the royal 'Head Chef' I had seen from afar before.
"The Princess said she wanted to serve Your Majesty a dish she made herself, so I pondered the menu for a while. Even without that, the kitchen is a very dangerous place for a young princess. Sharp blades are scattered everywhere, and the kitchen fire never goes out."
"I see... So?"
"So, I thought of a menu that wouldn't be dangerous even if the Princess cooked it. This was the only dish that was suitable for breakfast and safe for the Princess."
Couldn't she have made sandwiches if it was a no-fire dish...?
The words came up to my throat, but I swallowed them along with a dry gulp and held my tongue. Well, maybe there were no ingredients, or the prep work took too long, or something like that. Even if it's the royal kitchen, that could happen...
"And... we really did our best. The Princess did her best too... and we... really did our best. Your Majesty. I hope you understand..."
As the chef continued to speak as if making excuses, I felt like I knew what these mashed potatoes tasted like. Seeing the chef go this far, I wondered what on earth had happened.
I forced a smile and looked down at the mountain of mashed potatoes in front of me. If it were just my heart, I would want to eat it all since it was food Titania made herself, but realistically, it was absolutely impossible.
Besides, to be honest, I didn't really like mashed potatoes...
'Still, for now... I should eat as much as I can...'
I scooped a large spoonful of the mashed potatoes on the plate and put it in my mouth; the under-mashed, lumpy boiled potatoes rolled around in my mouth. When the clumpy salt, which seemed to be unevenly mixed, touched my tongue, I found myself looking for water without realizing it.
One side was insanely salty, and the other side had absolutely no taste at all.
The sharp, stinging taste of salt and the bland taste of unseasoned potatoes were running wild in my mouth, but I forced a smile and looked at Titania. When I smiled, Titania's expression brightened up immensely.
"Titania... aren't you eating?"
"This is all food made for Omma...! And I'm full because I ate the food the chefs prepared in the kitchen! Oh, and putting this bacon and cheese in was the Head Chef's idea!"
"I see... Is that so..."
Something... I felt like I knew.
I could clearly picture Titania eating in the kitchen, feeling full, not tasting the food, and the Head Chef and the cooks trying their best to salvage the dish, only for it to end in failure.
The Head Chef must have tried to teach her properly, but since it was a homemade dish, he couldn't interfere completely. Or perhaps when the Head Chef tried to step in, Titania said, "I'm going to make it!"
When I glanced at the Head Chef, he bowed his head with a solemn expression. It was as if he was saying with his expression, "I am truly sorry I couldn't stop the Princess."
Could these various types of mashed potatoes be the result of the Head Chef and the cooks' efforts to somehow save the dish? I ended up gulping down water because of the salty taste of the salt.
When I glanced up, Titania was looking at me with sparkling eyes. In a situation where I couldn't say it tasted bad, but I couldn't not eat it either, I just smiled bitterly.
"Is it because you made it yourself? It, it's really delicious..."
"Hehe! There's plenty, so please eat a lot!"
Really... what on earth happened in the kitchen...
*
I couldn't eat it all, but in the end, I managed to eat a spoonful of every single mashed potato. The first mashed potato was serious, but maybe thanks to the Head Chef's efforts? The others were just passable.
After finishing the meal and sitting there, Titania kept glancing at me. When I chuckled and patted my lap, Titania, having caught my signal, trotted over to my side.
Titania hopped onto my lap and settled in. I wrapped my arms around Titania's waist, leaned back against the chair, and let out a weary sigh, feeling full. Thinking it was time to talk, I poked Titania's cheek to make her look at me.
"Aren't you going to tell me now?"
"W, what?"
"Why have you been avoiding me for the past few days? Did I do something wrong to you? It doesn't seem like that, given that you even made me food like this..."
When I asked for the reason, Titania's face flushed red, and her shoulders tensed up. Not knowing what kind of reaction this was, I tilted my head, and Titania mumbled in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling.
"......b...e...cause..."
"What?"
"O, Omma... kissed my lips without asking... The book said you shouldn't do that without asking..."
"...What?"
At Titania's reaction, who looked like she was about to cry, I didn't know what to do and was busy just stroking Titania's hair. So, you mean you hate it so much that you'd cry because I kissed your lips? What is this...
Come to think of it, that was when Titania started avoiding me. The day after I got drunk and kissed Titania's lips. I had completely forgotten about it because my head was complicated due to Snow White lately...
"I, I'm sorry... I didn't know you would hate it that much..."
When I apologized, Titania, perhaps feeling very aggrieved, trembled while holding back tears. I tried my best to soothe Titania with a mix of shock and worry, but Titania's sorrow didn't seem to stop.
"T, the book said it was precious...! It said not to give it to anyone unless it's someone you love...! O, Omma...!"
"Y, yes, yes. I stole your precious first kiss. How on earth should I apologize... First, can you stop crying? Hmm?"
-What on earth are you two doing...?
Ignoring Ainsel, who asked as if she really didn't know, I hugged Titania and comforted her diligently. Perhaps because the sorrow, once unleashed, wouldn't stop, Titania cried, "Waaah, waaah." Hearing that crying sound, I wanted to cry, too.
"O, Omma stole my pu, purity... sob!"
"N, no, you don't have to call it purity just because of a first kiss... And how on earth do you even know the word purity..."
A child's growth is always a happy thing, but this kind of growth was more embarrassing than happy. Was it my fault for putting off sex education? Titania, who misunderstood the meaning of purity, burst into tears at the shock of having her purity stolen by me? This innocent appearance was cute, but...
'What should I do...'
I needed to instill proper sexual knowledge in Titania here, but soothing her was the priority for now. And it was also funny and cute to see a child crying her eyes out while talking about purity.
Later, when Titania is all grown up, I'll have to tease her with this story. I'll tease her by asking if she remembers crying her eyes out in my arms when she was little, saying, "Omma stole my purity~."
I giggled secretly while Titania was crying and continued to soothe her. I felt proud that Titania had already grown this much, and also a little bitter. Soon, she won't sleep with me anymore.
...Although there are exactly 8 years left until I leave the royal castle, I only have about 5 years left to be with Titania.
Because when she turns 15, Titania will enter the academy dormitory and live there. I planned to use the 3 years without Titania to lay the foundation for living outside the royal castle.
It would be nice to live by clinging to another witch, or it would be fine to live the life of a landlord by buying a building with the money I received from the royal castle. I have Ainsel, so I won't be lonely either.
Thinking about the future made me feel a little lonely. Then, for no reason, I became worried about what would happen to Snow White... that child. What would happen if she were caught by other witches...
Thinking that if Titania grew up in unhappiness, she would have become like Snow White, I couldn't help but feel pity even if I didn't want to. It was an unavoidable compassion.
'...It's 5 years from now.'
I hugged Titania, who was crying in my arms out of sorrow, tightly. A time that is long if you call it long, and a fleeting moment if you call it short. I couldn't think of anything else but that I should make Titania a little happier in that long yet short time.
I had intended to attach the dwarves to her so she wouldn't be lonely without me... but since Snow White took all the dwarves, unfortunately, I had to give up on the dwarves as Snow White said.
'...Can Snow White, who grows up with a stepmother without meeting the dwarves, be called Snow White?'
At the question that suddenly popped into my head, I lowered my head and looked at Titania. When she made eye contact with me, Titania started crying even more sorrowfully. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her crying sorrowfully because I stole her first kiss.
'What does it matter whether this child is Snow White or not?'
Even if she isn't Snow White, Titania is my daughter and my princess. The most precious princess in my life.
My own princess.
I patted the princess and engraved this moment of happiness deep in my heart. So that even if I am left alone someday, I can recall this memory and smile.
*
Seasons came and went several times.
The autumn of her 10th year passed, and winter came. Winter passed, and spring came. Spring passed, and summer came. Summer passed, and autumn came again.
By the time that had repeated about three times, Titania, who used to come up to Vivian's waist, had grown up rapidly and was now as tall as Vivian's shoulders.
Her short arms and legs had lengthened, and having grown, Titania, who had shed the traces of a young child, had finally become a "girl." She had become a girl to the point where no one could treat Titania as a young child anymore.
Thus, summer, the season of turbulence where buds sprout and flowers bloom to cover the whole world. It was not just the seasons that brought turbulence.
On a summer day hotter than usual.
13-year-old Titania learns about first love.
