episode_0026

“Cough! Cough!”

I lifted the mirror, which was the true form of Ainsel, and gazed at the vivid red handprint still marked on my neck. Seeing the dark red handprint on my pale neck sent shivers down my spine.

“You said you didn’t want to kill…” If I had hesitated a little longer to call for help, I would have truly died. Still feeling as if my throat were constricted, I touched my neck and then rose from the floor to look at Ainsel.

“Are you okay, dear?”

“…Thank you, I survived because of you.”

“Hehe, I promised to help without asking for anything in return once. I’m just keeping my promise.”

Ainsel, perched lightly on my shoulder, smiled brightly. In that hazy state of mind, I couldn’t recall the promise Ainsel had made to me… To dispel unsettling thoughts, I shook my head and stopped thinking. I got up and looked around the room, which was in chaos due to the wind, but there was still no sign of Aurora.

Now I had some idea. Why Vivian’s ritual “failed,” resulting in her death. It was probably because what resided in the body of the First Queen wasn’t the soul of the First Queen, but rather the soul of the king.

So, I began to understand to some extent what Ainsel meant by the “ritual being flawed from the start.” Still feeling as if my throat were constricted, I touched it and looked at the “Your Majesty” sitting in the chair.

“…What should I do now?”

Suddenly, I remembered my previous thought. This room is like Pandora’s box, filled with things I can’t handle. As that thought crossed my mind, I found myself involuntarily smiling wryly.

Could it be true?

“What am I supposed to do here, anyway?”

It was good that the king entered the room after passing away, but in reality, the king was as good as dead. The body lying twisted on the bed was none other than the body of the “king.”

Just that alone felt overwhelming, but within this room, there wasn’t only the “king.” Contrary to what was believed, “First Queen Aurora” who was thought to be dead, was alive, guarding the side of the deceased king, calling herself “the king.”

What might others think when they see this situation?

Did the presumed dead first queen really assassinate the king?

Or was their love so strong that not even death could separate them?

Perhaps it’s the latter.

The story of the first queen and the king acting as if they couldn’t live without each other, a tale of which all citizens of the kingdom were already well aware, even without witnessing the “fairy” themselves.

Regardless of the truth, it seemed inevitable that the story would lean towards the latter. There would be nothing good to come from the rumor spreading that the king was assassinated by the first queen.

If this situation were to be turned into a fairy tale, perhaps the final words would be:

“Their love could not be divided even by death.”

However, reality was not as ideal as the ending phrase of a fairy tale.

I slowly approached “Your Majesty,” who was staring blankly at the canvas from the chair. I knelt down, took her thin hand, and looked up at her. The dilated pupils of her once bright red eyes were now unfocused.

“Your Majesty.”

She still did not respond to my call. Nevertheless, I firmly held the king’s hand and asked her what I had wanted to ask her all along.

“Your Majesty, do you remember the child you bore?”

This was a question directed to both the king and the first queen.

Ironically, the person whose hand I held belonged to the first queen, while the soul belonged to the king. I thought there would be no response, but the king’s hand twitched, and she turned to look at me.

“A child…?”

“Yes, the child you bore with the one you loved.”

At the word ‘child,’ the king let out a wry laugh.

“Oh, talking about the child born amidst the clamor of the council. Why, did the child die? Is that why you’ve come searching for me? To claim your seed?”

“…Born amidst the clamor of the council?”

The king, chuckling, shook her head and began to ramble incoherently. Her cloudy red eyes no longer focused on me. She was merely continuing her “delusion.”

“Indeed, she was a child born under pressure from the Council of Elders to ensure the succession of the royal family. That’s why you didn’t marry Jim, did you? Huh? Why did you marry Jim? Aurora died…? No, Aurora was always by Jim’s side…”

The king turned his head as if searching for something in the room. His eyes widened, breath quickened. And soon, he screamed and collapsed to the floor.

“Ah! Where have you gone leaving Jim again, Aurora! Ah!! Aah!! Aurora!!!!”

He clawed at the scattered drawings on the floor, writhing within Aurora’s portrait. It was like someone screaming for help in an inescapable swamp.

‘…In the end, you all are abandoning that child.’

Thinking it was pointless to say more, I stood up and turned away from him. Then, Seolphi asked me with a hint of concern.

“Is it okay to leave it like this? People revere the king as an authoritative figure… If we leave him be, he will…”

Die.

He seemed truly on the brink, just as Aurora had said. Probably within a day, at most a week, they would surely be found here as lifeless bodies.

Arriving at the door, I glanced back at him, still struggling on the floor. He cradled the drawing of Aurora tightly, curling his body as if embracing a baby.

“It’s alright.”

I reopened the firmly closed door and left without looking back.

“He is not my king.”

Thud, the sound of the door closing firmly once more.

There would undoubtedly be great turmoil in the palace within the week. Turmoil caused by the king’s death.

*

Exiting the chamber where the king lay, I left the unconscious body of Einsel in my room and headed straight to the princess’s chamber. The knights asked if I had entered the king’s chamber.

I explained, “How could I possibly enter a locked room?”

Just, let’s say that the knights, who were shouting and banging on the king’s door in frustration, nodded in agreement and resumed guarding the front of the king’s vacated room.

They don’t even know that the king is already dead. When I arrived at the princess’s door, Ellie, wearing a worried expression, was standing guard outside the princess’s room. Spotting me approaching from the end of the corridor, she hesitated before coming over to me.

“Wow, Your Majesty… The princess is currently asleep…”

“…I see. I just need to see her for a moment.”

As I entered the room, I saw the darkened space behind the curtain. There, I also saw the princess lying on the bed, completely wrapped up in the blanket as if she were a cocoon.

Watching the princess lying there like a caterpillar, I slowly approached her side. Then, I gently lay down on the bed next to her and looked down at the princess.

“Stop pretending to sleep. Do you think I don’t know your sleeping habits?”

“Oh! Ahaha! I-I’m sorry! Please stop…! Ahaha!”

I tickled the princess’s side while she was still under the blanket. The princess, wriggling like a caterpillar, poked her face out from the bundled-up blanket and looked up at me. Despite laughing due to the tickling, her eyes seemed slightly teary.

“…Were you crying?”

“Oh, no… I wasn’t crying…”

Although the princess shook her head, her reddened eyes and sniffles revealed that she had indeed been crying under the covers.

I slowly lifted the princess, still cocooned in the blanket, and placed her on my lap. She squirmed helplessly in my embrace.

“Princess.”

“Yes, yes…?”

…Could I tell the princess?

No, I couldn’t. Your father, the king, is already dead. Not only the king, but also the first queen, are inside that room.

Those who yearned for love had forgotten your very presence here. They only saw you as an offspring needed for succession. You, a child who has never even received love once.

I couldn’t say anything.

“…Next time, let’s draw on a bigger canvas.”

“B-but…”

“Let’s not present it to Her Majesty this time. How about we keep it just between us? Like last time, we’ll draw the cat, the cake, the princess, me, and even Ancel beside us.”

Holding the princess’s shoulders as she nestled in my arms, I continued the story slowly. Even if they don’t give you love, there are many around you who do.

“I think standing in the flower garden like last time would be nice. Let’s also draw Ellie, and yes, let’s draw Bangsyo too. It must be easier to draw Bangsyo since he doesn’t have any hair.”

At my joke, the princess chuckled. Even the young princess seemed to know that Bangsyo didn’t have any hair.

“And let’s frame it in a large frame and hang it in the hallway this time. It wouldn’t be bad to make it visible to everyone.”

Brushing away the princess’s disheveled hair, I spoke gently to her. The princess looked at me as if she was about to shed tears, then smiled and nodded.

“Feeling a little better now?”

“…Yes. But… there’s one thing I want to ask of Queen Mother…”

The princess hesitated slightly as she continued speaking to me. Then, covering her mouth with both hands, she whispered into my ear, even though there was no one else to hear us here.

“I’m… embarrassed to hang it in the hallway. Can’t I just hang it in my room…?”

Seeing her bashful request, I smiled and looked down at the princess. She tried to return my smile but…

“No. This time, we’re going to hang the princess’s painting in the royal hall where everyone can see it.”

“Oh, ah…!”

Of course, it was just a joke, but the princess’s face began to pale. I chuckled as I watched her, then embraced her right there. The princess squirmed as if she were slightly out of breath, but for just a moment, just a very brief moment, I wanted to hold onto her. If I didn’t do this, it seemed like the princess would notice that I was anxious.

For the first time, I vowed to abandon someone to death. The anxiety from that choice felt like it was tightening around my throat, just like Aurora had done.