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[Prologue] – Story of 13 Years Later.

Bang! Bang!

Currently, inside the dark room where I am, in stark contrast to that, outside the window, dozens of fireworks were shooting up. The fireworks were beautiful, each with its own unique shape and color.

Outside the window, green fireworks soared into the sky and burst with a bang, scattering like stars in the black night sky. It was so beautiful that I involuntarily turned my head to admire the sight.

Just like fireworks celebrating a royal coronation, each and every one of the fireworks was grand and dazzling. Below the castle, faint sounds of celebration parties and soft singing began to drift up.

If possible, I would have liked to go to the window and watch the fireworks, but it was completely impossible in the current situation. I lowered my head and looked at the chair I was sitting on.

“How did it come to this..?”

My upper body, seated in the chair, was bound by ropes. My hands and feet were tied, rendering me unable to even stand up from the chair. Perhaps it was fortunate that my mouth wasn’t gagged?

Every time I struggled to break free from the restraints, the wooden chair that held me made an unpleasant scraping noise against the marble floor. I sighed and turned my head to look out the window again.

13 years.

It has been almost 13 years since I was reincarnated into this “child-rearing simulation game,” ‘Snow White.’ During this time, I thought I had raised ‘Snow White’ well in my own way, but…

Was it a mistake to be reincarnated as the stepmother, the ‘Witch’..?

Whether in the game world or the original fairy tale, Snow White’s stepmother met a tragic end. Dancing in red-hot iron shoes or… such a dreadful death.

At first, I took care of “Snow White” just to avoid a mediocre ending, but as time passed, the princess and I became so close that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call us mother and daughter.

So, I thought I wouldn’t die like in a game or the original story, but…

Crack—

As if recalling a torch, I pondered over my memories until the door opened, flooding the dark room with bright light. The sudden glare made me instinctively shut my eyes.

Thud— Thud—

The sharp sound of heels on the marble floor echoed through the room. Startled by the approaching sound, I held my breath and slowly opened my eyes.

A woman entered through the open door, accompanied by the bright light. Her face was incredibly familiar, yet today, for some reason, it felt strangely unfamiliar to gaze upon that face.

Black hair as dark as ebony, and skin as white as snow. Her crimson irises, as if they had shed blood, stared directly into my eyes.

The last time I saw her was two years ago…

The princess, who had turned twenty, was now a full-fledged adult. The slightly immature face exuded a mature aura, and her height, which had been slightly shorter than mine, now seemed slightly taller.

Thud—

The princess, who had suddenly approached me, viciously grabbed my chin. In response to her sharp, angry gaze, I involuntarily averted my eyes.

Even though I looked away, her intense stare felt piercing. As she gripped my chin fiercely, her hand gradually exerted more force, almost as if she were enraged.

“So, you are truly the witch who left me without a word.”

“I-I only did it because of a ‘promise’…”

Crack—

As I attempted to explain myself, the princess tightened her grip even more, as if she couldn’t bear to hear my excuses. Her grasp forced my cheeks back, making my mouth involuntarily gape.

“Oh, so the ‘promise’ we made can be ignored, but you must keep promises with others?”

“…….”

I couldn’t refute the princess’s words. It was me who had broken the promise with the princess and escaped from the palace.

The hand that gripped my chin as if to crush it trembled as if it would break, then fell away along with the princess’s sigh. Then she began to stare at my face again.

“Alright, it’s over now. However the process went, the fact that you’ve returned here ultimately holds meaning.”

“Why on earth…”

Unintentionally, my voice quivered. I knew I was wrong for not keeping the promise, but I couldn’t understand why the princess was going to such lengths. Was I so detestable as to be tied up like this?

Upon hearing my quavering voice, the princess let out a hollow laugh as if amused. Then, unlike before, she delicately lifted my chin.

“Why?”

The princess’s thumb swept across my lips as if smoothing them out. As our eyes met, her gem-like crimson irises seemed to brighten her expression.

“Because you don’t know, I have no choice but to act this way.”

Her eyes, soft and gentle like a crescent moon, revealed no hint of malice. They seemed to say, “This is just how things are,” even as she had kidnapped me.

“If you try to escape from me one more time, I will put a noose around your neck. Remember that.”

“Sob… Huk…”

“Do you understand? Witch? No—”

The hand that had swept my lips now descended to feel my throat. A chill ran down my spine as the cold fingers traced my neck.

“Mother?”

Her chilly fingers felt like a noose around my neck.

How did it come to this?

Since possessing the body of ‘Vivian,’ the stepmother of ‘Snow White,’ thirteen years ago, I can truly claim that I haven’t done anything bad to the princess. I don’t have a hobby of tormenting children, nor did I want to die following the original story.

I simply worked hard to raise ‘Snow White’ from the perspective of her stepmother.

Ever since the day I possessed the body of Snow White’s stepmother, Vivian, thirteen years ago.