episode_0024

Thud, a sound of something snapping inside me was heard. And I immediately knew that it was the sound of my patience snapping. Did I ask too much from a beast rather than a human?

No, even a mere beast doesn’t abandon its offspring. Then how should I describe the creature inside here? It was certain that it was less than a beast.

Now, regardless of the king’s state or whether the first queen was alive, I had no interest at all. It had become unbearable to just sit in the corner and watch that wretched thing causing harm to others.

“Take the princess to her room. And ensure that not even an ant comes near this place until I leave.”

“B-but…”

One of the knights who was looking after the princess glanced at me with an anxious expression, as if anticipating what might happen if he left his post. However, I had no intention of stepping back.

As I glared fiercely at the knight, another one bowed apologetically and escorted the princess out of the room. Vivian’s notoriety seemed to be useful at times like this.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to endure the insolence of a recluse. It seemed that grabbing the hair of that wretch, worse than the creature inside the room, and dragging them out would relieve my frustration.

Despite the knights’ worried objections, I approached the door behind which the king had sequestered himself, firmly grasped the handle, and turned it. However, the firmly locked door showed no sign of opening.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

The locking mechanism on the inside seemed determined not to yield from the outside. Each time the handle in my palm went down, only my wrist hurt.

Kwaaang!

Driven by the mounting irritation that felt as though it would drive me mad, I kicked the locked door. Though I wanted to kick it with all my might, only my toes hurt.

“Oh… my toe.”

The pain rising from my toes made my head feel a little cooler, so I let out a long sigh and looked up at the tightly closed door. Despite the forceful pounding, not a single scratch marred its surface.

As I struggled to catch my breath, Eincel’s trembling voice reached my ears. It seemed as though she was in shock, her words tumbling out as if she had just seen a princess and burst into tears.

“Ah, I… I’m sorry… If I hadn’t ‘contracted’ with you… or if I had at least talked to them first… then this wouldn’t have happened…”

“……”

“It was the first time you drew me… the picture you worked so hard on for the princess…”

Frustrated as I was, I couldn’t blame Eincel. She was a victim of forced silence. There must have been a reason she couldn’t speak.

Eincel wept as she gazed at the scattered pieces of the drawing on the floor. I remembered how happy she had been when the princess drew her yesterday.

I took off my earring and placed Eincel on my palm. In the reflection of the mirror, she wiped away her tears with both hands, cursing herself, calling herself a fool and stupid.

I let out a small sigh of frustration and pretended to stroke Eincel’s hair with my finger. Surprisingly, it seemed to work, as Eincel slowly began to calm her tears.

“…It’s not your fault.”

“…No, it is. If I had talked to ‘them’ first, at least… this wouldn’t have happened. So… that’s why…”

After her tears subsided, Eincel looked at me with a determined expression, as if she had made a decision. She clenched her fists firmly, declaring that she wouldn’t run away anymore.

“I have to take responsibility.”

“How?”

In response to my question, Eincel looked at me intently and gestured that she could only say it once. I drew closer and began to listen to Eincel’s story.

The “contract” imposed on me is a contract to ‘prevent harm to the first queen.’ Of course, this contract also includes maintaining secrecy about the first queen.

“So you couldn’t say anything about the first queen.”

Yes, that’s right. I was forced into this contract. My ‘original self’ was taken by someone.

“Original self?”

At the mention of “original self,” Ainsel nodded slightly.

Yes, in fact, if it’s an area as vast as this palace, I can turn all the mirrors in the palace into my ‘doppelgangers.’ The mirrors turned into doppelgangers become a ‘path’ for me to come and go as I please. Using that ‘path,’ Vivian gathered all the information in the palace to herself. That was one of the reasons why Vivian could become the second queen with only me.

So, Ainsel possessing the original self meant that she could turn the mirrors into CCTV cameras. And not just any CCTV cameras, but ones that wouldn’t be noticed by others. Did Vivian use that to uncover the vulgar secrets of the nobles?

“But I had my original self taken away, and only two ‘doppelgangers’ remain. The earring I’m wearing now and the ‘replica’ in your room are my last remaining doppelgangers.”

“…Then where is the original self now?”

Ainsel let out a small sigh and glanced at the tightly closed door in front of us. As I looked at the door, Ainsel continued as if it were the correct answer.

“My ‘original self’ is inside me right now. So I know who is inside me right now. Until now, I was too afraid of the ‘contract’ to do anything, but…”

Ainsel smiled mischievously and looked at me.

“I told you, didn’t I? I will take responsibility.”

At that moment, a sharp sound started emanating from the small earring, as if it did not tolerate any further conversation. The mirror was making a sharp sound as it began to shatter.

“…Are you really okay?”

“…Yes, I’m fine. And I have you, don’t I?”

The corner of the mirror began to gradually transform into a sandy dust. As I looked at Ainsel, unsure of what to do, she smiled at me while turning into sand.

“I will open the door with magic from inside. If we sacrifice the doppelganger, we might be able to avoid the ‘contract’ leading to the original body.”

Crack, thud.

Small pieces of the mirror started to break off and fall as fragments. The pieces that fell onto my palm instantly turned into sand and scattered.

Lastly, Ainsel looked at me and said, “I’ll wait inside, Vivian.”

Click!

Simultaneously with the mirror on my palm turning into sand, the sound of the locked door mechanism being released echoed. Then, with a creaking sound, the room’s door slowly began to open.

The door, barely ajar, seemed to whisper for me to come in quickly. I slowly reached for the doorknob and pushed myself inside.

Upon entering the room, I was overwhelmed by a disgustingly foul smell. The scent of something decaying mixed with the acrid odor of paint permeated the room.

The floor was covered with countless paintings, leaving no space to step. With each step, the sound of stepping on paper reverberated throughout the room. I furrowed my brow and raised my head.

The room was completely dark, making it difficult to see, but I noticed a figure in the corner of the room, seemingly drawing something on a canvas. Surely, that person must be the recluse ‘Your Highness.’

“Your Highness,” I spoke softly to the humanoid figure. However, they remained silent, simply gazing at something and continuing to draw.

I lowered my head again and looked at the piled-up paintings on the floor. They were all portraits of a woman with black hair and crimson eyes, expressing various emotions such as laughter, tears, and anger.

The floor, the walls, and even the ceiling were filled with paintings. I realized that compared to the paintings here, those in the satellite palace and main palace were nothing.

“Your Highness.”

As soon as I tore my gaze away from the painting that had captivated me, I turned my head and addressed the figure presumed to be the king. However, there was still no response.

The room was so dark that it was difficult to make out anything beyond the light streaming in from the window. As time passed, my eyes began to adjust to the darkness enough to discern the figure as a person.

Slowly, I approached the figure.

Hair grown long from two years of neglect, bony hands and feet, a hunched back, and protruding thigh bones. Although I couldn’t see the face clearly, it felt as if I were looking at a mirage.

At that moment, I was overcome with a rush of emotions.

Could it be even a tiny bit of the affection once directed towards the first queen that couldn’t be aimed at the princess? Did she hate the princess so much as to tear apart the painting the princess had drawn?

“Your Highness…!”

I reached out to the person drawing on the canvas. When his coarse black hair brushed against my hand, it sent shivers down my spine, but I didn’t stop; I grabbed his shoulders.

“Please! Stop it..!”

As I grabbed his clothes and lifted him from the chair, he opened his eyes wide in surprise. He was too light, even for a slim person. He felt unbelievably weightless.

I grabbed his collar with both hands and tried to lift him forcibly, but his thin legs seemed unable to support him.

When I pulled aside the blackout curtain darkening the room, sunlight streamed in, allowing me to finally see his face clearly. I peered down at him, confirming whether he was truly alive.

Disheveled black hair down to his waist.

Lifeless crimson irises.

And… the curves of a woman’s chest.

“…Who are you?”

I know this person’s face.

I’ve seen this face in countless portraits in the palace, hundreds, maybe even thousands of times. I shook him by the collar, demanding an explanation for this incomprehensible situation.

“What are you?!”

At my outcry, he hesitantly rolled his eyes and looked at me. When he grabbed my wrist with his skeletal hand, the chill I felt from his touch sent shivers down my spine. This was not just a simple corpse, was it?

“Who… are you?” His voice was severely cracked.

“The second queen, do you already forget who I am?”

“What…?” He grabbed my chin and, with a sinister grin, introduced himself.

“I am Edric Snow White, whom you call ‘Jim’.”

The “woman” who referred to herself as Jim flashed a maniacal smile.

“Aren’t I your husband?”