87. An Unexpected Guest (2)
87. An Unexpected Guest (2)
[Episode 87] - Unexpected Guest (2)
Hair and eyelashes as white as a snowfield covered in freshly fallen snow. Beneath those eyelashes, eyes with a blue tint like an icy river gazed intently down at Ainsel and Titania. Looking up at the woman, Titania thought that if winter were to take human form, this is what it would look like.
As she stared at the woman in a daze—
-Why the hell are you here, Great Witch of the Coven!!
Ainsel, huffing with anger, pointed a finger at the Great Witch and demanded an explanation. Why on earth was the Great Witch here, and for what reason had she come to find the Princess?
The Great Witch, listening to Ainsel's interrogation, stroked her chin as if in deep thought, then rolled her eyes to glance down at Titania and Ainsel.
"I should be the one asking you that, Ainsel. Why are you with that criminal?"
"W-what...? Me...?"
-What? What are you talking about right now... You say the Princess is a criminal? You suddenly show up and say that, what is—?
Suddenly labeled a criminal, Titania didn't know what to do and looked back and forth between Ainsel and the Great Witch. Ainsel, unable to understand a word the Great Witch was saying, just gasped, her lips moving without sound.
A 'human' who usually never stepped a foot out of the Fairy Realm had suddenly appeared, and she was calling the Princess a criminal? As Ainsel groaned in confusion at the incomprehensible situation, something crossed her mind.
The Princess from another world who had been disguised as Princess Fiona.
'Could it be, is the Great Witch mistaking Princess Titania for the Princess from the other world?'
It was clear that the Great Witch was confusing the 'Princess from the other world' with 'Princess Titania.' After all, their faces were identical.
The reason Ainsel could be so sure was because of the expression the Great Witch was wearing.
The corners of the Great Witch's mouth were stretched up to her ears, as if she thought she had already solved the case.
Even though that person held the title of Great Witch of the Coven, in reality, she was a bit of an airhead.
She was definitely thinking to herself right now, 'Hehehe, the great Great Witch has perfectly solved another case.'
And, Ainsel's prediction was spot on.
'Hehehehe, Hahahaha! This great Great Witch has solved another one!'
The corners of the Great Witch's mouth soared high into the sky.
She had only dragged herself out of the Fairy Realm because everyone around her kept pestering her to catch the culprit, but she hadn't expected the job to be finished so easily. The Great Witch burst into a chuckle.
Ainsel sighed as she watched that foolish laughter. For starters, the situation was just too chaotic.
Even if she was a bit of an airhead, the human in front of her was the Great Witch.
The Great Witch who had lived in the Fairy Realm, Avalon, for thousands of years.
Morgan le Fay.
A witch of the Round Table, and a being who was half-fairy, she was someone who wouldn't move unless she was absolutely certain according to her own standards.
To put it nicely, she was very cautious; to put it bluntly, she was a slacker who found everything troublesome and wouldn't move unless she was sure. She hated doing things twice.
In other words, the fact that the Great Witch Morgan, the embodiment of laziness, had moved personally meant that she was certain the culprit behind the 'incident of turning humans into fairies' was the 'Princess from another world.'
So, in other words...
'That means my suspicion about that Princess was actually true... Why on earth would the Princess from another world do that to her biological mother, Auroa...? No, why on earth did she go around turning other humans into fairies...?'
As Ainsel made a sullen face, Morgan waved her hands dismissively, telling her to move aside. Her expression and gestures seemed to say that she wanted to get the troublesome business over with quickly, which made Ainsel glare at Morgan with a choked-up expression.
"Ainsel, move aside. I must take the criminal to Avalon and judge her according to fairy law. Normally, I would have to interrogate you too, since you are with the criminal, but—"
-Augh...! You're mistaken right now!! The Princess is not the criminal you're looking for!!
"What?"
-In the first place, I didn't even participate in any crime...! I've been with the Princess for about 7 years! Fran and Vivian can prove that! And, what on earth made you so sure the Princess is the criminal?!
At Ainsel's shouting, Morgan instinctively took a step back.
-And!! Fran clearly said you started the investigation 7 years ago!! So why are you still looking for the culprit?! No!! What have you been doing until now?!
"The time that has passed is not what's meaningful. The fact that I have started to act is what is meaningful."
-You... you just forgot, didn't you?
Wince.
Morgan's shoulders twitched. Why was she getting angry? Wasn't it enough that she had moved now? And surely, she must have checked thoroughly before coming? There shouldn't have been any mistakes?
Flustered, Morgan hesitated for a moment, then, as if something had just occurred to her, her eyes widened, and she pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from her dress pocket.
"A-anyway! Are you saying this Great Witch is wrong? L-look! Do you think I would have accused that child of being a criminal for no reason? I have evidence! Evidence!"
On the crumpled parchment was a drawing of a face that looked just like Titania's. Next to it, the description 'eyes red like blood droplets and hair black as ebony' was written precisely.
-...Is this the evidence?
"Hmm!"
At Morgan's expression, smiling with the corners of her mouth lifted as if proud, Ainsel felt as if something had snapped in her head.
A piece of paper with drawings of criminals' faces.
What Morgan had presented was nothing other than a composite sketch.
"How is it? It looks just like that child, doesn't it? It's a composite sketch that Fran drew based on the witness's statement. Isn't it well drawn? As expected of a young child, she draws well and learns very quickly. Oh, that's right. Fran came to visit the other day and had tea with me. What on earth are the other witches doing... not even coming to ask how I am... and I've been so good to you all..."
-You're the Great Witch!! Where did you sell your magic!!
Screech! Ainsel pointed at Morgan and shouted. She couldn't hold it in when a human who was a Great Witch brought a composite sketch and presented it as evidence.
Startled by Ainsel's shouting, Morgan jumped in place, then folded the composite sketch neatly and cleared her throat. Ahem.
"T-this isn't the only thing! You should listen to a person until they finish speaking! There were faint traces of the suspected witch's magic power where the mermaid princess died! If there is someone who looks exactly like the composite sketch where that magic power is felt, doesn't that mean that witch is the culprit?!"
-...You can feel that culprit's magic power here?
"Y-yes! It's wafting all over this ballroom! Therefore, through clear evidence and deduction, I am certain that this child is the culprit...!"
Twitch. In the middle of speaking—
Morgan looked down at Titania as if something was strange. Then, she approached slowly, buried her nose in Titania's neck, and sniffed. Titania's hand rose instinctively at Morgan's creepy perverted act, but she gritted her teeth and held back from hitting her.
"The scent of the magic is different...? How can that be...? Are you saying my deduction is wrong...?"
"Ainsel... is this person a pervert...?"
-Sigh. She's not a pervert, but she's close to one.
Ainsel, who let out a deep sigh, looked at Morgan as if she were absurd.
Morgan, making broken sounds like 'Eh? Ueh?' saying she couldn't understand it at all. Watching Morgan, who was clutching her head with both hands and had question marks floating above her, Ainsel continued.
-As you can see now, the Princess is not the culprit you are looking for. In the first place, the Princess cannot use proper magic. You can tell that immediately with your Great Witch's eyes, right?
"U-um... I see. Now that I look, she has magic power and talent, but there are no signs of her having learned magic... What a waste..."
-Anyway... I'll bring Vivian. She's nearby.
At the mention of the name Vivian, Morgan's eyes widened for a moment, then she immediately made a pitiful expression. Titania didn't know what that expression meant, so she just quietly listened to the conversation between Ainsel and Morgan.
"I see, has the child been okay since then? I heard about what happened..."
-......I have nothing to say. See for yourself with your own two eyes.
"Yes, I shall do that."
-And, the Princess you accused is Vivian's daughter.
"What??"
While Morgan was flustered, Ainsel, having said only what she needed to say, slipped away to call Vivian.
Once Ainsel disappeared, an unbearable silence settled in the lounge. Morgan, rolling her eyes here and there, cleared her throat and bowed her head to Titania.
"A-ahem... I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I was certain that I was right..."
"O-oh, no... I'm just glad the misunderstanding is cleared... up."
Silence again.
Because of the heavy silence where 1 second felt like 1 hour, Titania and Morgan were busy fidgeting. Lost in thought about what to say, Morgan tilted her head and asked Titania.
"Vivian's daughter... you say?"
"Yes. She is an adopted daughter with no blood relation... but Mother treats me like her own daughter."
"I see... Vivian's daughter... Actually, Vivian was like a daughter to me as well. No, all witches are like daughters to me."
"I-I see..."
"So... if you are Vivian's daughter, that means you are practically my granddaughter."
"What?"
Titania could not hide her bewilderment at the sudden miraculous logic. She felt she now understood exactly what Ainsel meant by 'not a pervert, but close to one.' After all...
"Hehe... I'm happy to have more family. Now, hurry up and call me Grandma."
"T-that's a bit much for a first meeting..."
Because she was asking to be called Grandma by someone she met for the first time. From Titania's perspective, Morgan seemed like a significantly crazy person. Were all witches just like this?
*
The moment I returned to the ballroom to receive the drink to hand to Titania, I was instantly surrounded by young ladies and couldn't do anything.
Asking where the Princess went, asking what I talked about with the Princess—I had become a hot potato among the young ladies, and I was busy being dragged around by them, unable to do anything.
Just as I was agonizing over what to do—
A certain person caught my eye.
It was a young lady in an ordinary disguise.
An ordinary dress, an ordinary mask.
For some reason, this ordinary young lady, who seemed to have blended into the background, caught my eye. No, I couldn't ignore this young lady. Even if everyone else saw her as part of the background, I had no choice but to notice her existence.
I slowly forced my way out of the group of young ladies and quietly approached that ordinary young lady.
A young lady who was piling a plate full of cake and food and shoveling it into her mouth, as if she didn't care about the gazes of others.
I had never seen a young lady so serious about food at a ballroom. Everyone else was too busy playing at the ball to even pay attention to the food.
However, this ordinary young lady was different. She was eating so deliciously that even I was starting to salivate just watching her. As I strode up to her, the young lady must have noticed my presence, as she glanced up and glared at me.
I couldn't tell if she hadn't noticed me, or if there was some special magic cast on her that made people not notice her.
She just stared directly at me, munching and chewing as she stuffed food into her mouth. Anyone who saw her would think she had been starving for days.
When I arrived at a distance where only the other could be reflected in each other's gaze, I quietly asked the young lady.
"Doesn't Brownie cook for you?"
"Cough, hack! Cough! Cough!"
As I spoke to her, the ordinary young lady, surprised, began to choke and spit out her food. No, even if she looked like an ordinary young lady to others' eyes, she looked different to mine.
I patted the back of the choking young lady and handed her the drink I was holding. As soon as she received the drink, she gulped it down.
Through the gap in the mask that opened as she tilted her head back to drink, I saw red eyes and hair as black as ebony.
And, the same face as Titania.
No... it was the same, but a slightly sharper face.
"Wh-what. Who are you?"
The young lady with the same face as Titania asked me.
"You really don't know?"
I grinned and, so that only she could see, I slightly lifted my mask to show her my face. The face that had been flushed red from choking began to turn pale white as she looked at my face.
I looked at that Snow White and chuckled.
"Nice to see you, Princess. Has it been 3 years?"