episode_0028

[Chapter 28] – What Remains in the Box (1)

“Frankenstein…”

Truly, absolutely, a name I never want to encounter.

For some reason, I could picture a man with green skin and numerous scars on his face. Why would Snow White have Frankenstein? It’s way beyond just crossing genres.

However, if he’s the only “doctor” who can fix Ainsel, then maybe it’s okay to meet him once. If he’s truly the kind of guy with screws loose in his head that I imagine, I should run for the hills.

Come to think of it, during the game era, there was once a “different witch from another fairy tale” in “Snow White.” A witch who helps the grown princess. I just thought it was an homage…

Are witches usually like these people? Are they embodying the role of “witch” from other novels or fairy tales? The fact that there are as many as thirteen of them is dizzying, to say the least.

I slowly opened the invitation sent by the white owl. Somehow, feeling scared, I cautiously opened the invitation with half-closed eyes. As I confirmed the contents of the invitation—

“Huh…?”

The contents of the invitation were roughly as follows:

Gather in an unknown location on a night when the full moon shines. That’s all that was written on the invitation. Upon reading it, I couldn’t help but let out a disappointed laugh.

“How am I supposed to go out in the middle of the night when I can’t even leave the royal city?”

I could leave the royal city, but at the very least, I couldn’t go out “alone.” Was I expecting too much from the witches? I thought I could teleport with the help of the fairies, but…

“Well, I have no choice. If I can’t go, they’ll have to call me here.”

I took out a piece of paper from the desk drawer and began to write a letter. Since Ainsel clearly knows that the witches know I’m not “Vivian,” there didn’t seem to be any need to hide it.

I’ve briefly written down the events that have occurred so far, but before I knew it, the letter had exceeded three pages. Once again, as I carefully read the letter I wrote, a smile crept across my face.

To summarize the contents of the letter I wrote:

‘Trouble is brewing here at the royal palace. Please help.’

[The first queen of this kingdom, Aurora, flipped the body of the fairy ‘Riannshi’ and drank her husband, the king’s blood. Not only that, she also possessed the king’s body with her own corpse.

The reason is truly unbelievable. “Because they wanted to become one.” It seems like Aurora was deceived by someone. The king is already dead, and according to Riannshi, Aurora will soon die too.

Meanwhile, my friend Ainsel lost consciousness due to the ‘rebound of the contract.’ We need a ‘fairy doctor’ named ‘Frankenstein’ to help Ainsel. Could you please assist?]

I carefully folded the letter and placed it inside an envelope. Then, I took out the royal seal stamp from the drawer, pressed it firmly onto the red sealing wax, and fanned it several times to ensure the stamp dried properly.

After confirming that the royal seal was properly imprinted on the red sealing wax, I turned my head and gazed at Safi, who was peacefully sleeping on my bed.

Safi was snuggled under the blanket, holding a round magic candy in her arms, sleeping contentedly. I gathered the magic that had fallen to the floor, made three more magic candies, and placed them in front of Safi. Whether it was the sweet scent of magic or not, Safi blinked her eyes open and looked at me.

“Can I ask one last favor?”

Safi rubbed her sleepy eyes and nodded.

“Send this letter to the witch who invited me. Or it’s fine to send it to the witch called ‘Frankenstein.’”

-That’s an easy task. It might take some time, but I’ll be back soon.

With wings fully stretched and a big yawn, Sylphy raised the letter I handed over. The letter, about three times the size of Sylphy, quickly shrank to the size of a fingernail as she carefully folded it.

Sylphy, holding the letter in both hands, fluttered her wings gently and swiftly flew towards the window. Although I had suggested she could sleep for the night, she urged me to open the window with a tilt of her head.

“Candy will take care of the baby, so I’ll be back soon to find you.”

“Be careful on your way back.”

“Hehe, yes, I’ll be careful while you’re without me.”

As I opened the window, Sylphy swiftly soared into the sky like the wind. As she disappeared from view in an instant, I couldn’t help but think that the letter would reach its destination soon.

Gazing at Sylphy vanishing through the star-studded night sky, I let out a worried sigh and closed the window. All I could do now was wait.

Waiting for the discovery of the king’s body and waiting for a response to the letter sent to the witch. Surely, it wouldn’t take long. With that thought in mind, I turned my head to look at Einsel’s still form.

Seeing Einsel still unresponsive, I sighed once more and flopped onto the bed. It seemed late, and I should sleep soon.

There’s much to do tomorrow.

*

Since then, a day had passed.

During this time, there had been no contact from Sylphy, and Einsel remained unconscious. Moreover, no one had yet realized that the king had died.

Bangso, who had been delivering food and art supplies to the front of the room every day, seemed to have finally caught on, as his expression grew increasingly gloomy while looking at the piling and rotting food outside the door.

Watching him, I felt as though I were carrying a time bomb that could go off at any moment. A time bomb that was certain to explode soon.

Ignoring the creeping guilt, I continued with the princess’s lessons today. However, Einsel’s absence, who had been responsible for the princess’s etiquette and other education, weighed heavier on my mind than expected.

On the first day of class without Einsel, I remembered the conversation I had with the princess. She looked slightly worried when she noticed that Einsel, who usually perched on my ear, was absent.

“Your Majesty… about Einsel…?”

“…Einsel is taking a little break because he’s not feeling well. Don’t worry, he’ll get better soon.”

“Then, is it okay if I go visit him at the infirmary…?”

Upon hearing about Einsel’s illness, the princess didn’t know what to do and asked me. I gently stroked her troubled head and lied.

“Einsel went to see the doctor for a while. That’s why he’s not here… really, don’t worry. He’s with a doctor who takes good care of fairies.”

“Um…”

As I put my hand under the princess’s armpit and lifted her up high as she pouted, her sullen face became even more apparent. It was a different expression from one that seemed like she was about to cry, almost as if she was pouting.

Einsel must be the first friend the princess has ever had, so it’s natural for her to be very worried. But there was nothing else I could do. Einsel is still unconscious.

I let out a small sigh and headed to the classroom while embracing the princess. Despite worrying about Einsel, the princess had to worry more about the “birthday party” that was coming up soon.

My job right now is to make this clumsy princess dance the waltz perfectly. I looked at the princess in my arms and smirked.

“Worry about the class before worrying about Einsel. Did you memorize all the steps I taught you last time?”

“Yes, yes…! I practiced with Elli! Elli said I’m perfect now!”

The princess demonstrated one of the movements of the dance called “Yuldong,” raising both arms straight above her head within my embrace. According to Elli, the princess practices this dance every day in her room.

At this rate, I wonder if someday she’ll grow taller than me? Just thinking about that made me smile unknowingly.

“Well then, today let’s learn a different Yuldong. I promised to teach you another one.”

“Yes!”

A new rhythm seemed to excite the princess as she began to sing along to the melody of the dance with a wide smile on her face.

Thus, it had been a day since she was taught the new rhythm. Clap, clap, clap! “One, two, three! One, two, three!” The princess began to step to the waltz, matching her steps to the sound of her own clapping. Though her rhythm remained steadfast and her movements somewhat uncoordinated, she had certainly improved from before.

If she were once a caterpillar, should she now be called an octopus? The princess continued her dance with clumsy steps, still occasionally stumbling and swaying, almost tripping over her skirt every other turn.

“Ah, oops…!” Once again, while twirling around, the princess stumbled over her skirt. I found myself instinctively reaching out to steady her, but she stood tall and continued her steps.

“Is it because there’s no one leading?” The princess still struggled with the spinning turn in place. I wondered who would be the princess’s dance partner, but if nothing went wrong, it was certain that a noble child of her age would be assigned.

Traditionally, the first dance partner for royalty was the king, followed by children of her age for subsequent dances. However, with no king at present…

After the birthday party, the princess would have to enter society, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to form a partnership with a noble child her age and make her debut. Society was said to be like a jungle, with a separate society for young children and another for adults. It worried me whether this fragile princess could survive in such a perilous society.

Lost in these thoughts, I continued to watch the princess’s dance—

Thud!

“Haa, haa…!” Completing the final movement of the waltz, the princess let out a tired sigh, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Still awkward and incomplete, just finishing was undoubtedly a significant improvement.

Upon finishing the dance, the princess looked at me with eyes as doe-like and round as ever, seemingly moved by her own completion. I applauded vigorously and lifted the princess high into the air.

“Just a little more, and we’re done. Shall we end here for today?”

“Yes… my legs are hurting too much…”

Resting in my arms, the princess leaned her head on my shoulder, lightly tapping my knees as if to convey her exhaustion. As I felt her still relatively light weight, just as I was about to seat her on the bed—

Knock knock—

Someone rapped on the classroom door. Inviting them in, Elly entered, her face filled with concern as she trembled and gazed at me.

Seeing her expression, I understood.

“Oh, Your Majesty… momentarily… His Majesty… will soon…”

“…I see. I’ll be there shortly.”

Bangsyo had sensed the king’s passing.