episode_0053

[Episode 53] – A disturbance that is not a run away from home (3)

Titania, who was led by Brownie’s hand to the table, sat down at the table and looked around. What kind of situation is this right now? Should this be considered a kidnapping?

However, it was too sloppy to be called a kidnapping. He was not tied up, imprisoned, and there was no one watching him. The only thing there was a young ‘fairy’ who was about his age.

Brownie, who was running around at a busy pace, started preparing food on the table as if she was really enjoying it. Soup was made from a large pot and warm bread was placed on the table.

-Hehe, I’m in a hurry to prepare, so I don’t have anything else to give you other than this. Come and try it!

Titania looked down at the steaming soup and looked at Brownie sitting across from her, not knowing what to do. Is it okay to eat it? However, food given by strangers…

I was taught not to accept food given to me by strangers, but the soup in front of me looked so delicious. Titania’s body twisted as she smelled the scent rising from the meat-rich soup.

Growling – The sound resounding from Titania’s stomach filled the cabin. Titania quickly wrapped her arms around the ship, but there was no way that could hide the roaring sound.

Grow again, louder! As the sound filled the cabin, Titania blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment. Now that I think about it, I haven’t eaten anything since the tea party…

“Ugh.”

-Ehehe, it’s okay to eat it. The brownie was homemade. Brownies don’t add anything poisonous to food, so don’t worry too much!

Brownie put his arms around his waist and proudly declared that he doesn’t play with his food. Titania glared at Brownie with suspicious eyes, but Brownie just laughed.

As he swallowed his mouth and played a tug of war with patience in front of the bowl, Ainsel glanced at the soup and brownies, sighed softly, and whispered to Titania.

-It’s okay to eat food made by ‘brownies’, house elves. Those kids are really good fairies. It’s a ‘fairy’ that sometimes plays pranks, but doesn’t do bad pranks.

“really…?”

-Yes, I, a fellow fairy, will guarantee it. So don’t worry too much and it’s okay to eat it.

Titania nodded at Ainsel’s words, picked up a wooden spoon, scooped up the soup filled with meat in front of her, and placed the meat on the spoon. Then he put a big mouthful in his mouth and swallowed it.

The fatty, tender meat cut into bite-sized pieces melted in my mouth. The feeling of potatoes soaked in the rich taste of soup falling apart in your mouth.

The aroma of savory butter and the taste of sweet onions melted into the soup and I swallowed it like soft meat. It couldn’t have been more delicious. Although Titania lived only by eating all kinds of delicacies…

“It’s the most delicious soup I’ve ever had…”

-Hehe, there are still a lot! If you want more, let me know!

Titania gulped down the soup in her mouth and glanced up at the brownie. A girl of the same age who looks similar to herself. They say she’s a fairy, but why is she here alone?

As I was pondering while swallowing the soup, Ainsel spoke to Brownie.

-Brownie, thank you very much for preparing food for the princess. But can you now tell us why we are here? When I suddenly open my eyes, I see a cabin like this… I honestly don’t understand. Where on earth are we?

-This is the ‘hut’ where Brownie and other fairies live together. The reason you came here… is because ‘Havetrot’ brought you…? Brownie doesn’t know the details either. The ‘Princess’ asked us to welcome a guest today.

-…Have Trot?

As far as Ainsel knew, Havetrot was the ‘spinning wheel fairy.’ And Brownie is a ‘house elf’. Originally, it was almost impossible for different fairies to live together.

Normally, fairies rarely leave the place they were born. Since the ‘meaning’ of their existence lies where they were born, there was no reason to escape from the place where they were born.

Well, except for two reasons.

The first was a case where the place where one lived disappeared with the passage of time and one became a wanderer. Before meeting Vivian, Ainsel also remembers being a wandering fairy and traveling around various regions under the guidance of humans.

The second is…

-Are you… a witch’s ‘familiar’?

-yes! that’s right! Brownie is the witch’s ‘familiar’!

Brownie puffed out his nose proudly and puffed out his chest as if he was proud. ‘A witch’s familiar.’ Fairies who make a contract with a witch to lend their power to the witch and receive magical power from the witch in return.

Ainsel, who was convinced that the ‘princess’ Brownie had mentioned was a witch, narrowed his eyes and looked at Brownie. Who does princess mean? As far as Ainsel knew, there was no witch who was a ‘princess’ in ‘Kirven’.

-…What kind of witch? Must be one of Kirven’s witches, right?

-Eh, well, that’s…

As Brownie hesitated and couldn’t forget what he was saying, Ainsel felt anxiety envelop his entire body. It didn’t matter if the Kirven witch had brought the princess here.

They are just playful and don’t hurt people or anything like that. If it were the Kirven witch’s actions to bring the princess here without a word, it could easily be regarded as a ‘prank’.

But what if you’re not a Kirven witch? Aside from the Kirven witch, Ainsel knew ‘one’ witch who is currently active. A witch who turned Aurora into a ‘fairy’ and stole her body.

A criminal who is also being searched for in Kirven. Ainsel had to be wary of the existence of a ‘witch’ who turns people into fairies. Was Brownie too relaxed to be considered a ‘good fairy’?

Ainsel widened his eyes and threatened Brownie.

-Speak quickly. Whose familiar is this? A cookie witch who lives with twins? Mermaid witch? Or a witch who is imprisoning her daughter in a tower? It doesn’t matter who it is. If you’re a Kirven witch.

-Oh, you mean, brownie…?

Brownie’s eyes caused earthquakes in all directions. The moment suspicion turns into certainty, as Brownie’s ‘owner’ must be the ‘witch’ that Ainsel suspects –

rattle-

The sound of the cabin door opening was heard, and a ‘woman’ with a familiar face approached Titania. The woman looked at Titania, who was taking a big mouthful of soup, and smiled.

“You’re really bold. “When I opened my eyes, I would have been in an unknown place. Aren’t you scared?”

“Bloom, Gengju.”

“Swallow everything in your mouth before speaking.”

Princess Fiona looked at Titania in bewilderment and laughed. At Princess Fiona’s words, Titania busily pursed her small lips.

After munching hard, the neck muscles moved, he swallowed the soup, licked the remainder around his lips with his small tongue, and then swallowed it. Then the princess looked at Princess Fiona with her eyes wide open as if in surprise.

“Why are you here?”

“…Is that all you have to say to me? Is there anything else you’d like to ask? Aren’t you curious about where you are and why you are here? “No, aren’t you scared of suddenly coming to an unknown place?”

Titania tilted her head at Princess Fiona’s absurd question. Then, he took another large mouthful of soup, put it in his mouth, swallowed it, puffed out his cheeks, and answered Princess Fiona.

“I’m not scared… but what’s there to be scared of? It wasn’t a scary person catching me, the soup was delicious, and I didn’t feel anything bad, so I felt comfortable. Ah, now that I think about it, the way you speak suddenly changed? “Are you mad at me?”

“…Okay, that’s all I’m curious about.”

Princess Fiona sighed heavily and sat down next to the chair where Brownie was sitting. Then he rested his chin on the table and looked at Titania, acting rudely.

“This is my original way of speaking. “Don’t worry, I’m not saying this because I’m angry at you.”

“…is it so?”

Princess Fiona sighed as Titania looked at her with suspicion. Princess Fiona was almost dizzy when she saw Titania scooping up soup, perhaps because she was bold or fearless.

As Titania waited until she finished eating the soup, the angel hanging around her neck glared at Princess Fiona as if she were going to kill her. Yes, this reaction would have been normal.

-What on earth were you thinking of bringing the princess here…?

“…Yeah, I was a little curious about you too. Why is Vivian’s ‘familiar’ going around with the princess and not Vivian? “Did Vivian take you with her to keep an eye on the princess?”

-My question comes first. First, tell me why you brought the princess here. What was the reason for kidnapping the princess?

Princess Fiona shrugged her shoulders after seeing the growling Ainsel. Then he asked Brownie sitting next to him to bring him some tea and looked at Ainsel with a grin.

“It’s not good to hear about kidnapping. I was planning on sending it back today anyway. If they were really planning on kidnapping them, they would have sent them to a slave market or something, rather than a cabin, right? Also, you say you’re a fairy and you don’t even know where this is? Oh, the body is a mirror, so you’ve never been here before?”

-What is that…?

“This is the ‘Fairy Path’. Even there, only I know about me and the ‘Dwarfs’ Hut’. “It’s a side road among side roads that not even the Witch of Avalon can find.”

-This is the fairy road…? So, the body…

Ainsel, who finally realized why he couldn’t go to the main body, opened his eyes wide. The fairy side road is like the other side of the world. So it was natural that it could not be connected to the main body.

“I brought you here on a whim…yeah. I just wanted to see Vivian’s true feelings. Because I don’t understand how that woman would raise her child with love. “I thought you would show your true feelings once the princess disappeared.”

-…Didn’t I tell you? Vivian is different now.

“How can you believe that? There’s no way you wouldn’t know that woman’s personality? “Weren’t you also tricked by that woman into signing a contract as a ‘familiar’?”

-Well, how do you do that…?

Princess Fiona giggled and looked at Ainsel as if she were pitiful. Ainsel glared at Princess Fiona as if she were going to kill him, but Princess Fiona just sighed and continued speaking.

“Anyway, answer me. Did Vivian hang you around the princess’s neck for surveillance purposes? Are you wearing a leash so you know where you are at all times? “With that woman’s personality, it’s only natural-”

“It’s not like that. “Heinsel is my friend, so he’s with me.”

“…friend?”

After finishing her soup and dabbing her lips with a handkerchief, Titania lifted her eyes and looked at Princess Fiona. Then he sighed softly, crossed his legs, and continued speaking haughtily.

“This necklace is a ‘gift’ given to me by Ainsel. Also, you keep insulting my mother, didn’t I tell you earlier? “Never insult your mother again.”

Princess Fiona laughed as Titania glared at her as if she were going to kill her. The moment I thought that the brainwashing had gone too far and I was about to open my mouth, I started to feel a tingling sensation in the cheek where I had been hit earlier.

And after slapping her cheek, Vivian’s face, shedding tears, flashed before my eyes. A disgusting sight, genuinely angry at himself and genuinely worried about the princess.

‘…What on earth is the difference between you and me? Did you change her? Or, has it been because that woman has changed that ‘I’ have also changed to become this bolder?’

Princess Fiona let out a deep sigh and just looked at Titania without saying anything. Originally, I had no intention of making it this big.

The reason I came here was just to ‘confirm’.

I made my mother ‘Aurora’ into ‘Lyanansi’ and came to visit me wearing the mask of ‘Princess Fiona’ to ‘check’ how I was living as a child after my father died along with my mother.

Obviously, according to my thoughts, the young me at this time had to grow up as a ‘witch’, being abused and bullied by Vivian. I just came here to give a little help to my young self…

However, completely different from what I expected, Vivian truly loved me as a child, and I, as a child, also truly believed in Vivian, followed her, and grew up receiving her affection.

Unlike me.

Seeing that, I unconsciously became ‘jealous’ and ‘envious’. This was such a ridiculous ‘play’. I thought that if my younger self ran away from home and got upset, I would definitely be able to find out Vivian’s true feelings.

Princess Fiona clearly thought that her concern for her was a lie, that the smile she gave herself was a fake smile, that her love for herself was a fake.

However, completely different from what I thought, Vivian genuinely cared about me as if she were her daughter. He was so angry that his eyes were red because I ran away from home.

That sight was extremely disgusting.

I really hated that sight.

That woman was showing my younger self a face that she had never shown to me. ‘I’ was so broken because of that woman, but why do ‘you’ look happy thanks to that woman?

These questions kept ringing in my head.

Shouldn’t you be unhappy like me? Why do you look happy? Are you a ‘me’ just like me? I’m having a hard time like this, shouldn’t you be having a hard time too? you…

Why are you different from me?

Princess Fiona gritted her teeth and looked at Titania with a bitter smile. The princess is still glaring at herself with a bold expression. He was telling me with his eyes that he should apologize for insulting his mother.

With that gaze, I no longer wanted to pay attention to this child. Since he was different from me anyway and he was happy here, I thought that I didn’t need to worry about helping him.

Instead, I tried to help, but I ended up laughing at the situation where I was only being scolded by people’s gazes. Princess Fiona couldn’t figure out where everything went wrong.

“…That’s enough, go back. If you open the cabin door and go out, you will arrive at a corner room in the palace. “It’s already dawn over there… so you won’t be scolded too much.”

“yes? Are you getting scolded? “Why am I scolding you?”

“I wrote a note in your handwriting saying, ‘Please don’t look for me.’ Over there, you are now running away from home. Everyone is trying their best to find you who ran away from home. “Especially Vivian.”

“yes?!?! “What on earth have you done?!”

Princess Fiona giggled at the sight of Titania getting angry with her mouth wide open, saying she was dumbfounded. Titania jumped off the chair in a huff and ran to the door, making a loud crashing sound.

As I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and was about to go out, Princess Fiona crossed her arms and called Titania to stop her. Titania was already halfway out the door.

“Princess Titania, when you go out, are you going to tell Vivian what happened here?”

“It will come! “I’m going to tell my mother and ask her to scold you!”

Princess Fiona, who was laughing, looked at Titania with a grin. Then, he looked at Titania and gently waved her goodbye.

“I’m sorry, but if you go out, all your memories of being here will disappear. Because this is ‘that kind of place’. “You just become a ‘runaway girl’ found in a corner room.”

“Yes, yes?!”

Titania, who had already escaped with only her head left, looked at Princess Fiona in astonishment, but it was no use. My body was falling further and further out of the door, as if I was falling into a bottomless swamp.

“W-Where is that?! “It’s really, really scary when my mother gets angry!!”

“I know.”

Titania was struggling and waved for her life, but Princess Fiona just gently waved her hand. At that sight, Titania puffed out her cheeks and burst out laughing! I screamed.

“I hate you!!!”

With those final words, Titania’s figure disappeared from the cabin. When the noisy cabin became quiet, the brownie hesitantly approached Princess Fiona’s side. And, another ‘fairy’.

A ‘fairy’ in the shape of a young girl with petal-pink hair approached Princess Fiona. Then the pink girl looked up and asked Princess Fiona.

-are you okay?

“yes I’m fine.”

Princess Fiona, who was gently stroking the heads of the pink-haired girl and the brownie, sighed softly and looked at the door that swallowed Titania. I felt like it was time to admit it.

That child is different from me who was unhappy.

Princess Fiona glanced down, looked at the pink girl, and asked the girl. The girl who was looking at Princess Fiona with blank eyes yawned loudly and answered.

“Who is the next test subject?”

-A blonde woman hiding in the tower. I heard that a witch is preventing us from going outside. Right now, my mind is going back and forth with a man who came close to me. It will definitely make a good test subject.

“…okay. “Once the mission work is over, let’s go right away.”

At the same time as she said that, Princess Fiona wiped her face. Then, the shape of the face began to gradually change. The skin turned as white as pure snow, and the obsidian-like eyes became increasingly red.

As I brushed up my hair, the light brown hair that could have been mistaken for blonde gradually darkened, turning into hair as black as ebony. Then, Princess Fiona took out a red ribbon from her pocket.

Princess Fiona, with her hair tied up with a red ribbon, sighed comfortably and looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. Princess Fiona, whose face was identical to that of ‘Titania’, smiled brightly.

“It’s a face I don’t like every time I see it. “You look so much like your mother.”