08. Hoping to Get Closer (1)

[Episode 08] – Hoping to Get Closer (1)

The sunlight was so intense that even with her eyes closed, the princess could feel it pressing against her eyelids, causing her to furrow her brows deeply. Her face grew hot from the blazing sun, and beads of sweat began to form on her white forehead.

Groan.

The sleepy princess didn’t want to move, but just as she thought she needed to escape to the shade soon or her face would ripen like a red apple, she began to squirm.

Rustle rustle-

The sound of footsteps on the grass tickled the princess’s ears. The drowsy princess had no interest in who was approaching her.

Right now, all she could endure was the discomfort of the sunlight shining so brightly it hurt her eyes. Just as the princess groaned and tried to rise to seek shelter in the shade.

Tap.

Something fell onto the grass with a sound, and the blinding sunlight was blocked.

With the tormenting sunlight shaded, a cool summer breeze pleasantly cooled the sweat beads on her forehead.

The sensation was so delightful that the princess’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

She wanted to savor the pleasant breeze and drift back into sleep, but for some reason, she felt a large presence right beside her.

A gaze that seemed to pierce right through her, somehow.

Who could it be?

The princess, who was extremely sleepy, narrowed her eyes thinly and stared at the someone watching her. Her eyes were too narrowly opened, and her hazy vision made it hard to see clearly.

The princess could only vaguely make out that the person in front of her was a woman. Long hair, slender fingers, a woman crouched down, smiling as she looked at her.

‘Mother..?’

How could Mother, who should be with Father, be here?

Had she finally come out of that dark room?

The princess smiled broadly at the thought of seeing Mother after so long. Just as she tried to open her eyes properly to look at Mother’s face-

“Ellie? The princess’s maid-”

That’s not Mother’s voice.

Flicker.

The princess’s eyes widened hugely.

When she turned her head toward the source of the voice, the princess felt her heart drop. Along with a chilling cold spreading through her body, her plummeting heart began to pound.

‘Wh-what..?’

The princess’s pupils shook as if there had been an earthquake. She was so shocked that not even a scream escaped her.

Right now, all she saw was golden hair that looked yellow in the sunlight, and green eyes that appeared darker in the shade.

It was so terrifying that she felt like she could burst into tears at any moment.

*

As the princess looked at Vivian’s face, memories of the funeral hall resurfaced.

She had heard that the scary woman was dead, and since Father wasn’t attending, she herself should go to the funeral, but the princess recoiled and refused.

‘Why should I…’

The princess pouted her lips and kicked her feet in the air from the chair where they didn’t reach the ground. The maid, dressed in funeral attire, gave a wry smile and comforted the princess.

To begin with, the number of times she had met the Second Queen, who had drowned in the lake, was so few that she could count them on one hand without folding all her fingers. For some reason, the Second Queen disliked her.

So the princess had also avoided meeting the Second Queen. Even if they did meet, all she remembered were curses like ‘I hate bratty kids.’ or ‘Don’t let me see you, ugly little brat.’ from the Second Queen.

So even when she heard the Second Queen had died, the princess was a little surprised, but not sad. After all, it was the person who had insulted her. Her feelings were more like pity or regret.

With such indifferent emotions, the princess entered the funeral hall and slowly headed toward the Second Queen’s coffin. The maid who handed her a white lily flower explained that she just needed to place the flower on the coffin and come back.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the princess slowly stepped toward the coffin. As the maid said, she moved with slightly quicker steps than usual, planning to place the flower and return immediately.

Once she reached the front of the coffin, the princess glanced down at the Second Queen. The paper-like pale skin and bloodless white lips were frightening.

‘I need to place it quickly and go…’

It was truly the moment she was about to set down the lily flower.

“Gurgle-! Cough-!”

The moment she reached out to place the flower on the coffin, the Second Queen, who shouldn’t have moved, suddenly opened her bloodshot eyes and looked up at her. Bloodless lips spewed water in surges.

“Urk, uwaaack! Cough! Cough!”

The Second Queen, clawing at her chest and neck as if in agony, abruptly sat up in the coffin and began vomiting water right in front of her. Thin, red-tinged water splashed onto the floor in heaves.

“Hic, heuk…”

Shiver shiver.

The princess’s legs trembled.

It was exactly like the scary ghosts the maids had told her about. Terrifying ghosts and monsters that crawled out of graves to torment people.

‘Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.’

Up to this point, the princess’s rationality was still somewhat intact. Even as all the grown adults screamed ‘Save me.’ and fled, only the princess stood firm in front of the coffin, her legs trembling steadfastly.

Just as she tried to calm her shaking legs and heart by taking deep breaths, the Second Queen’s hand, flailing in pain, brushed against the princess’s wrist with a thud.

“Eek-”

The sensation of corpse-like cold skin traveled up the princess’s spine, and she could no longer hold onto the rationality she had barely clung to, succumbing to fear.

That was the princess’s last memory from that day.

*

“Aaa-!! Aaaah-!!”

“I-it’s okay..! Her Majesty has no intention of harming the princess..! ”

“Aaa-!!”

I could only watch endlessly as the princess hid behind a tree and wailed loudly. If I took even one more step closer, she wouldn’t just cry ‘Waaah’ but scream ‘Aaaah-!!’.

All I could do was keep my distance to make her cry a little less. I hadn’t even imagined that the princess would fear Vivian this much…

Ellie was trying her best to soothe the princess…

With the tree in the middle, when Ellie circled to the left, the princess dodged her and circled too, so they just kept going around the tree and couldn’t meet.

They spun around so much it was dizzying to watch.

“I didn’t know the princess disliked Vivian this much…”

-It’s not just dislike; she’s scared of you. She must have seen something at the funeral…

“…I see.”

Hearing Ainsell’s story brought back memories of the funeral hall. Come to think of it, when I woke up, the princess was right in front of me..?

If she saw that, it’s natural she’d be scared.

I had intended to keep my distance from the princess to begin with, but not like this. Even if she ends up fearing me and we grow apart, I wouldn’t mind…

“M-monster!! Aaa!!!”

“P-princess… But there’s blood on your palm..! Let me just treat the wound..! Yes..?”

“Aaa!!!!!!!”

I grew worried that this might leave a trauma. I heard that traumas from childhood are hard to overcome even in adulthood…

I didn’t want to see the princess still fearing me even as an adult.

“…At least I need to stop her crying.”

-Yes? How? Even getting a little closer makes the princess scream like that..?

“There’s a way.”

I lowered my head and plucked a small wildflower, slipping it onto my finger. It was something I learned as a hobby long ago, but would it still work? I approached the princess up to the point where she wouldn’t scream and met her gaze.

The princess, realizing I was getting closer, tensed up and hid behind the tree. She peeked out, glaring at me as if threatening to burst into tears if I came any closer.

Regardless, I pulled out the freshly plucked flower from my dress sleeve. The princess stared at me silently, and I smiled, thinking it was okay to start.

“Now, watch this carefully.”

I held the flower that the princess was watching in my right hand, gripping it largely. Then I flipped my hand to show the back to the princess and bumped it against my left hand.

“Princess? Where’s the flower?”

“……”

Feeling awkward because the princess said nothing, I turned my gaze and asked Ellie. Ellie was looking at me curiously too.

“…Ellie? Where do you think the flower is?”

“Um… the left hand..?”

Ellie tilted her head and pointed to the left hand.

She must have thought so because I pretended to bump my left hand earlier. I chuckled and held out my left hand in front of Ellie, blowing on it and opening it.

But there was nothing in my hand, let alone the flower.

“Huh? Then it’s still in the right hand…”

I did the same with my right hand, blowing on it and opening it in front of Ellie. But there was no flower in the right hand either.

“Wow!”

Ellie exclaimed in wonder and examined my palms from various angles.

I glanced at the princess upon seeing Ellie’s reaction. Before I knew it, the princess had poked her upper body out from beside the tree, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she looked at me.

“Where did the flower go?”

“Watch closely, see where it is.”

Finally, I brought my right hand to behind Ellie’s ear and pulled out the flower I had tucked between my index and middle fingers. When I gently placed the flower in Ellie’s ear, her face flushed red with amazement.

“How about it? Isn’t it amazing?”

“I-it’s amazing…”

The magic trick I practiced out of boredom during school days received quite the praise. It was more like acting with the flower on my finger than real magic, but the good reaction made me feel happy too.

I plucked another wildflower from the ground and slowly approached the princess.

Unlike before, she didn’t scream ‘Aaa-!’ and cry, but looked up at me with peeks.

Half curiosity, half anxiety.

To the gaze she sent with that feeling, I smiled brightly and performed the same magic trick for the princess. I tucked the plucked flower between my fingers and acted without getting caught.

If there was one difference from the previous trick…

When I tried to pull the flower from behind the princess’s ear at the end, the princess raised her hand first and tapped behind her own ear to check.

She must have thought the flower was definitely there…

“Huh..? It should be here..?”

Is the flower there?

The princess looked up at me with round eyes, as if she couldn’t understand. Finding the sight so cute, I smiled and placed my hand behind the princess’s ear.

“It’s right here, isn’t it?”

When I tucked the flower into the princess’s ear, she looked at me with surprised eyes full of genuine wonder. Having completely forgotten about crying earlier, she now threw a tantrum demanding I do it again.

“One more time! Just once more!”

Before I knew it, the princess’s body had completely left the tree and was clutching the hem of my dress. Unknowingly, I stroked the princess’s head and smiled back at her just as brightly.

“How about it? Not scared anymore?”