Chapter 147
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 147
The zoo exit was right in front of them.
Looking back, he could see the caged tram they had just been riding.
He lifted his head. The sky was burning a brilliant red.
A step too late, Dokyun realized they had seen the entire, sprawling zoo.
In other words, he realized the moment had come to go home.
His lips twitched.
He needed to say the words, “Should we head back now?” but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
…Because going back meant saying goodbye to Eun-ji. It meant he wouldn’t be able to see her anymore. That was why he couldn’t say it.
“…Servant.”
“Yeah.”
Dokyun looked at Eun-ji. She wore the same prim expression as always, her gaze fixed on the exit in the distance.
“The princess is hungry.”
Her voice was a little subdued.
Dokyun watched her stare at the exit, refusing to meet his eyes, then quietly clenched his fists and spoke.
“Then should we eat out before we go back?”
“The princess wants pizza.”
“The same place as last time?”
“I suppose.”
Eun-ji started toward the exit. Dokyun followed.
There was no conversation. Not as they walked, not after they got in the car, not on the way to the city center.
Dokyun drove with his lips pressed tightly together, while Eun-ji simply stared out the window, killing time.
The end of the day was approaching.
The moment of his farewell with Eun-ji was drawing near.
He needed to crack a joke, to lighten the mood, to at least put on a smile, but this damn mouth of his refused to open.
Dokyun’s lips twitched for a long while.
He assembled countless words, only to swallow them back down.
Finally, he managed to force out a single phrase.
“…Did you have fun?”
He wasn’t just asking about today.
He was asking if she had enjoyed her time living as Go Eun-ji, the moments she had finally spent outside the house, with him. That was the real question.
“…It was acceptable. A passing grade.”
A short reply came back.
At her answer, Dokyun forced a smile and replied.
“That’s a relief.”
*
That damn somber mood refused to lift even after they arrived at the pizza place.
The atmosphere was so quiet it was hard to believe he was sharing a meal with Eun-ji.
As the silence stretched on, the sounds from their surroundings began to invade their space.
The laughter of families out for a meal on Children’s Day.
The chatter of couples sitting across from each other.
The boisterous shouts of students.
A cacophony of sounds mixed together and flooded Dokyun’s ears.
Dokyun let out a small laugh at the noise, then passed the hot sauce to Eun-ji and opened his mouth.
“You’re not going to put any on?”
“You do it.”
Eun-ji held out her plate.
Dokyun generously doused it with hot sauce, so much that it dripped over the sides.
“…More.”
“More than this?”
“Does the princess look like a joke to you?”
She said it with a pout. A “pfft” escaped Dokyun’s lips.
“What? Are you laughing at me?”
“Sorry, my mistake.”
“I’ll let it slide, just this once.”
“How gracious of you.”
With that, Dokyun poured another stream of sauce onto the already crimson pizza.
The pizza was now completely smothered in hot sauce, every topping stained red. Eun-ji smiled in satisfaction and picked up her knife.
Scrape, scrape. The sound of the knife cutting the pizza and hitting the plate echoed.
Eun-ji placed a bite-sized piece in her mouth and chewed with a blissful expression.
“This is it.”
Her love for that damn hot sauce was so immense that she devoured the entire sauce-drenched pizza, then proceeded to pour hot sauce all over Dokyun’s slice as well.
“A reward from the princess.”
“This is?”
“Accept it with gratitude.”
Squeeze. His own slice of pizza turned just as crimson as Eun-ji’s under the deluge of hot sauce. Dokyun wrinkled his nose at the rising scent, then looked at Eun-ji, who was smirking at him.
“What are you doing? Eat.”
At her prodding, Dokyun stared at her face for a moment before picking up the pizza and taking a large bite.
It was spicy.
It was so absurdly spicy that the flavor of the pizza was completely masked by the hot sauce. His face couldn’t help but scrunch up.
“It’s good, right?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
Dokyun struggled to smooth out his expression and nodded, letting out a small chuckle.
*
Eun-ji stared at the house they had arrived at.
The house she had once found so suffocating, which now evoked a mix of other emotions.
Lost in thought, she then turned her gaze to Dokyun, who was getting out of the car after closing the garage door.
His expression was dark. His lips were sealed shut.
Her quick-witted servant was so bad at hiding his emotions that his sadness was painfully obvious.
Eun-ji watched Dokyun approach and her lips parted slightly.
“Servant.”
“Yeah.”
“The princess wants some fresh air.”
As she spoke, Eun-ji pointed a finger at the long porch swing. Dokyun’s gaze followed it, and he nodded.
“Alright.”
Walking with slightly slower steps, Eun-ji reached the swing, sat down, and began to rock it back and forth with her feet.
With each sway, the still-cool night air brushed against her cheeks.
As she took in the night air, Eun-ji stole a glance at Dokyun, who had sat down beside her and was looking up at the sky.
“Why the long face, Servant?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Wimp.”
Heh. When Eun-ji said it with a small laugh, a weak sigh escaped Dokyun’s lips.
“…Sorry about that.”
After saying that, Eun-ji looked up at the sky, just as Dokyun was doing.
The sky in her vision was completely black.
When was it…
She remembered the moment she first woke up in this house, so long ago she couldn’t even recall when.
She remembered a time when the only memory that made up her existence was of sitting blankly beside a coffin covered in white flowers, surrounded by dark, staring eyes.
The house she woke up in had cold floors and was utterly silent.
There was a time when she had woken up in that house, filled with nothing but furniture, and had simply curled up into a ball.
There were voices to keep her company, but there was no warmth.
The loneliness was so piercing that she had cried.
But crying changed nothing, so she forced herself to get up.
She roamed the entire house. She went everywhere except for the locked room her sister had forbidden her from entering.
She crawled under beds, squeezed behind sofas, and even curled up inside kitchen cabinets.
It was then that she discovered the study, and the fairytale books within it.
They were fairytale books, filled to the brim with sweet stories.
It must have been from that moment on.
That I started waiting for a handsome prince to come and rescue me from this place.
That I started calling myself a princess.
I thought that if I became a princess from a story, a prince would appear to save me. I thought that if I believed that, I could endure.
I’m sorry, my sister had said. I’m fine, I had replied.
Because one day, a handsome prince would appear. Because I was going to be happy.
After that, I wasn’t sad anymore. I wasn’t lonely, and I wasn’t scared.
The moment I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was anticipation.
What kind of person would my prince be? A handsome knight on a white horse? Or perhaps the master of a castle, a fearsome monster by day who turned into a dazzlingly handsome man by night?
A whole day wasn’t enough just to entertain those thoughts.
Remembering my sister, who had apologized again and again, a smile formed on my lips.
See? I was right.
Look. My prince appeared, just like I said he would.
My gaze shifted to my servant.
…Though he was completely different from what I imagined.
My prince didn’t arrive on a white horse, nor did he turn into a dazzlingly handsome man at night.
He was a pathetic, petty, old guy who only told lame jokes.
I remember him rolling on the floor and crying. I remember how he’d glare at me with bulging eyes whenever I said anything. I remember how he’d sigh deeply whenever I gave him an order.
…Still.
Still, when he held my hand, he shared a warmth greater than anyone else’s. He would find me no matter where I was. And even while making it so obvious he didn’t want to, he would reluctantly do everything I said.
The prince who finally rescued me was a person with the warmest heart in the world.
“Servant.”
I opened my mouth and called to him. His gaze turned to me.
“…Yeah.”
His trembling voice was ridiculous.
Thanks to this servant, I was finally able to leave the house.
I was able to see so many things, and feel so many things.
I learned how much fun it was to play outside.
I learned how different food tasted when you ate it out.
And what about when I met my servant’s family?
I was happy to see their faces smiling at me.
I was warm the entire time I was carried on my servant’s back.
I even made a friend. I learned how joyful it was to hold a friend’s hand and talk.
A smile formed on my lips as I recalled the past.
I looked my servant straight in the eye, and with that smile still on my face, I spoke.
“Thank you.”
Flinch. My servant’s body jolted.
His face, which filled my vision, began to contort in a strange way.
Watching him, I deepened my smile and continued.
“For always listening to the princess, for playing with me, and…”
Ah, my throat tightened.
A sob welled up in my chest. My eyes began to burn for no reason.
This can’t be happening, I have to smile. Even as I thought that, my body wouldn’t listen.
…This is all Eun-ah’s fault.
It was Eun-ah’s fault for having a body that cried so easily.
I’m happy, I should be smiling, but here I am about to cry.
My servant’s face got even uglier. For some reason, I couldn’t stand the sight of it, so I forced the corners of my mouth up and continued.
“…thank you for making me happy.”
My voice came out trembling.
The area around my servant’s eyes turned red.
Pathetic servant.
He’s about to cry again.
I reached out and placed my hand on his cheek.
An intense heat spread through my palm.
As I felt his warmth for a moment, my servant’s face twisted this way and that as he opened his mouth.
“Really…”
He trailed off, his lips twitching.
He only continued after mumbling to himself for a long while.
“…So you’re really going.”
“You foolish servant.”
“A fool…”
“You pathetic servant.”
My servant’s mouth closed. On my fingertips, which were still on his cheek, I felt a damp sensation.
“You’re crying again.”
“…Look who’s talking.”
“The princess is just sleepy.”
I said, wrinkling my nose. The air was cool, but I had no idea why my face was so hot.
“…You have to go, don’t you?”
It was my servant’s question.
Words that shook me once again.
I flinched at his question, then did my best to smooth out my crumpling expression and continued.
“You idiot servant. Why ask when you already know?”
The princess met her prince and became happy, so of course the story has to end. But this servant was such an idiot, he didn’t even know that.
A tear finally fell from my servant’s eye.
I swallowed down another rising sob, forced my lips into a smile, and spoke.
“You moron servant. Crying like that makes it seem like I’m actually dying.”
I’m not dying. I’m only just now getting to be happy.
“The princess is waking up from a long, long sleep. She was put to sleep by a wicked witch’s curse, and she’s only just now waking up. So you should celebrate with me.”
I’m just now preparing to wake from my slumber, to cast off this wretched curse and finally be happy with my prince. But my pathetic servant, who didn’t even understand that, was looking at me with a face so ugly I couldn’t bear to see it.
I summoned all my strength to keep a smile on my face and spoke again.
“The princess will praise you. You are the best servant.”
“…Yeah.”
“You are the one and only servant in the world who made the princess happy.”
“…Yeah.”
“So…”
Again, my throat closed up.
Ah, I can’t hold it back.
My eyes grew hot. Then, something wet trickled down my cheek.
I wasn’t supposed to cry, but in the end, I did.
My servant’s face crumpled.
“I’m not dying, and this isn’t the end, so…”
I took another breath. I had to tell him this.
This isn’t a goodbye. Tomorrow, and the day after, as long as my servant is here, I’ll still be a princess.
We’ll continue to be together.
I’m only just now becoming happy.
“…From now on, please take good care of ‘me’.”
With those words, I leaned forward.
I pressed my lips against my ugly servant’s.
Just like a picture I once saw in a fairytale, I pressed our lips together.
…Now, it was time to wake up.