episode_0003

“Hiccup! Hiccup!”

Some time passed, and the mirror, now taking on the appearance of Vivian, lay on the floor, curling up like a bean bug, doing everything it could to avoid meeting my gaze.

Despite looking terrifying and venomous as Vivian, its actions were nothing short of childish. How much had Vivian tormented it to provoke such a reaction with just a few words?

“Sigh… Mirror? Your Majesty? I’m not sure what to call you… Could you at least listen to my story?”

“…Well, I didn’t summon you with the intention of being judged by your appearance. I couldn’t think of any other way to address you, so that’s why I said that.”

“…Really?”

Finally, the ‘mirror,’ hunched over, lifted its head and met my eyes. Seizing the moment, I spoke to the mirror in the gentlest tone possible.

“Yes, I called you because I need help. Unlike ‘that woman’ who only used you for appearances, I genuinely need your help.”

“You know what has happened to me, don’t you? Honestly, I’m so confused right now. I woke up thinking it was a funeral parlor… then I came to my senses and found myself inside this woman…”

Upon further reflection, it was even more confusing. I had resolved to accept this reality, but I still hadn’t fully embraced it. If I had Vivian’s memories, I would have accepted it much more easily, but there were no traces of Vivian’s memories left in this body.

All I remembered was the fact that this world was a “child-rearing simulation game.” However, that alone was insufficient to live in Vivian’s body.

So, I needed something to fill the void left by those memories. For instance… someone who had been with Vivian for a long time and knew all about her daily life.

“Please, could you help me?”

I earnestly pleaded with the mirror.

Right now, the only one I can trust and rely on is this mirror.

I wonder how much of my sincerity got through. The mirror, which had been crouching on the floor, now pulled me up onto its lap and looked at me. However, it still didn’t abandon its suspicious gaze.

-…Ainsel.

“Yes?”

-My name isn’t Mirror, it’s Ainsel. I’m the unparalleled familiar of Vivian, the witch of Coven, and also a fairy of the mirror.

Fairy.

Upon hearing the word “fairy,” I could truly feel that I had been possessed in this world. Should I call it spirit faith? In this world, there were various fairies and spirits.

Fairies are beings that tempt humans with sweet words to play pranks or occasionally help humans they like. That’s how they were described in the game.

The “Seven Dwarfs” who later helped Snow White were also in this category. When I thought of dwarfs, I imagined rough and tough creatures, but these dwarfs were small and cute, perhaps because they were fairies.

“I wonder if the day will come when I meet them…?”

Beings who make contracts with and handle such fairies and spirits are called “witches.” Ordinary people feared the existence of witches who controlled fairies because they couldn’t see them.

In the game, there was another witch besides Vivian. Well, you only meet her towards the end with the princess.

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

I smiled at Ainsel and reached out my hand towards the mirror as if to shake hands. I couldn’t actually shake hands with the mirror, but it seemed like my intention was conveyed properly.

“Please take care of me, Ainsel.”

-…You don’t have to use honorifics with me. It gives me goosebumps to see your face using polite language.

“…I’ll be counting on you, Ainsel.”

Ugh-

Once again, Ainsel retched as if finding it truly repulsive to see Vivian using honorifics. What kind of relationship did Ainsel and Vivian have to elicit this reaction from Ainsel?

-But you’re not particularly surprised, are you? Perhaps you already knew that I am a fairy?

Hm.

I felt a sudden jolt in my shoulders.

Einsel tilted her head as if she found it fascinating and asked me, “What should I do? Should I tell them that I already knew?”

Should I tell them that I knew this world was a game? That’s why I know about fairies and can predict some of the future?

I closed my eyes tightly.

After letting out a small sigh, I responded to Einsel’s question.

“…It felt like something I saw in a dream. Hearing the story, it vaguely came to mind. Maybe… Could this be Vivian’s memory..?”

– Hmm? It’s the first time I’ve seen a case like yours, so I can’t give an accurate answer.

After quickly considering, I decided there was no need to scratch at the topic. Later, if they asked, “How did you know?” I could just say, “I saw it in a dream.”

“Oh, anyway…! It’s really awkward because the memories don’t come back perfectly. I have no idea how Vivian, as a queen, usually lived or who her friends were.”

– Vivian has no friends?

“…She might have had at least one, right..?”

-No, Vivian has no friends.

Einsel’s firm words made me feel a little sad and bitter. Even in the game, Vivian, known for her downfall, didn’t even have friends…

While I felt bitter, Einsel, on the other hand, continued to spread rumors about Vivian without losing her smile. She looked at me with a triumphant expression, as if she had relieved some pent-up resentment.

“Well, then. I’m worried about things like speech style. Right now, everyone thinks I have ‘amnesia’… but I can’t pretend to have lost my memory forever.”

– Indeed… Vivian wouldn’t use a speech style like yours. She would speak more arrogantly, using a tone that shows she knows more than others and behaves as if she is above everyone else.

Indeed, in the game, Vivian gave off that kind of vibe.

Infinitely arrogant, excessively selfish, more audacious than a king, sly like a snake, and more despicable than anyone else. That was the image of Vivian in my mind.

-Hmm…

Stroking his chin as if pondering something deeply, Einsel soon clenched his fists and gazed at me as if making a resolution.

“Alright, you. Um… It’s a bit awkward to call you by name, so I’ll just call you Vivian from now on. Anyway, since I have things to do here too, I’ll help you until my task is done.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Fairies don’t lie.”

Relieved to receive a definite answer of assistance, my worries dissipated. It was a conditional offer with a set timeframe, but still, the fact that he would help was a relief. I sighed and collapsed onto the bed, feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders.

“Now I can finally ask what I’ve been wanting to know.”

Springing up from the bed to face Einsel, I asked him what I had wanted to know from the beginning: what had happened to Vivian’s body, and why I was here.

“Will you tell me? What exactly happened to Vivian, and how did you recognize me so easily?”

“Well, naturally…”

Einsel narrowed his eyes as if contemplating how to speak, then lowered his gaze for a moment before looking back at me directly.

“I saw Vivian die, very clearly.”

“What?”

Involuntarily, I furrowed my brow at his response. Einsel let out a small sigh and continued.

“Vivian was a very jealous person. Selfish and full of greed. She was the kind of person who felt she should have anything she desired, no matter what it took to satisfy her desires.”

For the first time, Einsel recalled Vivian with a bitter expression. Whenever he spoke of her before, he would either frown or click his tongue, but now he wore a truly mournful expression.

“In a way, she was quite remarkable. It was solely due to her jealousy and greed that she rose to become the queen of a country. However, in the end, no one truly regarded her as a queen.”

“…”

“Anyway… Vivian’s excessive greed eventually led her to covet something she could never possess. What do you think that might be?”

I was lost in thought at the sudden question.

In the game, the object of Vivian’s jealousy was “Snow White.” Vivian envied and resented everything about the princess: her appearance, her personality, her face.

Eventually, Vivian concluded that if she couldn’t possess it, she had to eliminate it from her sight. This was the reason the princess kept dying in the game, and why a parenting simulation game turned into a rogue-like game.

Come to think of it, during the nurturing event—

“Could it be… the one I was jealous of…?”

At my hesitant response, Ainsel let out a bitter laugh, as if that was the correct answer.

-Yes, the one Vivian was jealous of was the very person herself. She envied everything about the other person: their appearance, their voice, and even their entire life.

“……”

Indeed, it was an event that occurred in the game as well.

Vivian, who envied Snow White, performed a ritual using a curse to swap bodies with her. However, there was no need to stop Vivian in this event. After all, it was an event where Vivian self-destructed, like a lottery. With odds so abysmal that in over 340 nurturing sessions, this event occurred fewer than five times, it was an event that, if seen alone, would make the game so easy that a happy ending could naturally be expected.

“So… Vivian envied the princess, tried to switch bodies with her, and when the ritual failed, I possessed her body… is that what you’re saying?”

-What? The princess, you say?

Ainsel widened his eyes in surprise at my words, then waved his hands as if to deny it.

The person Vivian was jealous of wasn’t Snow White…?

“The person Vivian was jealous of is the first queen.”

“The first queen?”

-Yes, Vivian envied and resented the first queen, who was loved by the king. Eventually, she performed a ‘body-switching ritual’ akin to a curse, which ended in failure. That’s why Vivian died. Perhaps… the reason you entered Vivian’s body is because of this.

Having heard the entirety of Ainsel’s story, I fell into deep contemplation, my mouth agape. It was a tale somewhat different from what I knew.

“First Queen…? Could that be possible…?”

The reason Vivian could become the second queen in the first place was due to the death of the first queen. When the compassionate king declared he would not bring in a new queen after the previous one’s passing, the council vehemently opposed him and implored him.

“Please! Bring in a new queen!”

With only one princess in line for the throne, there was a need for a queen who could bear a prince. Vivian ascended to the position of the second queen by exploiting this gap, surpassing numerous competitors.

So, Ainsel’s story was quite different from what I knew. The one who harbored jealousy, the one who felt conscious, was not the first queen but her daughter, “Snow White.”

“No way… Did the first queen not die? If the first queen is alive, how could Vivian ascend to the position of queen? What is the king’s current state?”

Knock, knock.

As I pondered so intensely that it felt like my head might explode, I heard the sound of someone knocking on the large door. Without even saying “come in,” a maid entered and opened her mouth almost as if giving a notice.

“His Majesty requests an audience with Her Majesty, the Queen.”

“His Majesty?”

Why would His Majesty suddenly…?