episode_0121

[Episode 121] – News too late

It snowed continuously day after day.

Katarina and I, who lived in the forest a little away from the village, were unable to leave the house for several days due to the snow that had piled up day after day. Of course, the store was closed during the last few weeks when it snowed.

White snow covered the forest, blocking the road to the store, and the flow of supplies to the village was also blocked by snow, so let alone opening a store, there was a shortage of firewood to use as firewood.

“Katarina. Katarina!”

“Uh, huh… it’s cold…”

“Putting aside the cold, let’s go to the village. “We’ve run out of firewood, and the food ingredients we’ve stocked up are running low.”

I forcibly took the blanket away from Katarina, who was squirming like a caterpillar on the bed, and sighed. The unemployed witch in the corner of the room had not come out of her room for the past few days, so she was literally in a messy state.

Katarina seems like a completely different person when she makes cookies, but everything else is like this. It’s annoying to wash, it’s annoying to eat, it’s annoying to move. A witch who adds ‘annoying’ to the end of every word.

Katarina was a witch who suffered from such laziness.

“Ha… Then, it’s okay if you don’t follow me, so please at least clear a path outside the house. Shouldn’t we go to town and buy something? “Are you going to starve to death like this?”

“Ugh… Now, wait a minute…”

In the end, Katarina, unable to resist my nagging, moved slowly and began to carefully put on the clothes that were lying on the floor. Really, I felt like I wanted to wear clothes that had already been washed.

Katarina, who was dressed to the point of waddling as if she didn’t like the cold even though it was annoying, waddled after me like a baby penguin. I sighed softly and slowly headed out the door.

Outside the door, it was still snowing and everything was gray. As I walked along the path that had been cleared with a shovel, Katarina cleared the path with magic. The fairies around her slowly shifted their eyes.

Every time Katarina walked, step by step, the snow that was up to her knees moved sideways on its own. I was so amazed at the sight that I took a step back from Katarina’s side and looked at it.

As I was walking like that, I could hear people murmuring in the distance. Katarina, whose ears were perking up, came up behind me and started using me as a shield to block people’s gaze.

At the sight that made me sigh, I kicked the snow with my foot and made my way through the rest of the way to the place where I could hear people’s voices. The first thing I felt upon entering the village was the ‘dark atmosphere’.

Perhaps it was because of the gray sky or because they were tired from the continuous snow falling day after day, but the mood of the villagers seemed somewhat dark. I walked up to the two ladies who were talking around me and spoke to them.

“Hello, ma’am. How have you been?”

“Oh, isn’t it Vivian? “Did you come out here from home?”

“Yes, I came out to buy some things like firewood and ingredients.”

Is it because it has been almost a year since I came here, or is it because the village is small? It was only a matter of time before I became acquainted with the villagers. In the first place, it was easy for rumors to spread about Katarina’s store.

Due to the fact that it was a bakery in the countryside, and the fact that it was set up a little far from the village, the nature of Katarina’s bakery made it an easy place for rumors from rural villagers to focus.

That’s how many villagers came to confirm the rumor, and as we greeted each other every time we met or gave out snacks as a bonus, we were able to become close enough to say hello to the villagers.

“You came out with your daughter? It seems like it’s been a while since you’ve seen your daughter? hi?”

“Ah, ah, hello, hello…”

A lady greeting Katarina, who is hiding behind me. I didn’t say anything about Katarina to the villagers, but for some reason, they thought we were mother and daughter.

I tried to explain something, but I just explained that I had the baby early. It was troublesome to explain, and the village people took care of me because they thought I was a widow who lost her husband at a young age.

It wasn’t that I didn’t explain it because I felt comfortable with the village people who took care of me. Because even if I explain it anyway, they won’t understand. At first, I tried to explain that Katarina and I were not really in that kind of relationship, but…

‘Because you won’t believe me. In times like this, you should use it.’

I sighed briefly. I naturally joined in on the stories of the village women. I ignored Katarina, who was pulling the hem of my clothes behind me, telling me to hurry and go home.

“Is something wrong? “Everyone seems to have a bad expression…”

“Oh, the weather is bad, and the news I’m hearing is also bad, so I’m worried.”

“yes? “Is there any bad news in town?”

When I tilted my head, one of the ladies sighed heavily, put one hand on her cheek, and spoke with a worried expression on her face, as if she was really worried.

“It may not matter to country people like us, but I heard a rumor that the royal family has returned from the capital. “The weather is this bad and the rumors are bad, so your expression is bound to be dark.”

“…? yes? “What is that…?”

At that moment, I felt like my heart was sinking. As my eyes widened, the lady started talking about the rumor. I think Her Majesty the Queen passed away about a month ago.

The reason news of Her Majesty the Queen’s death was delayed was because a lot of snow had piled up and communication with the neighboring village had been cut off. Even after clearing the snow, the road was blocked again after just one day due to the snow that continued to pile up.

That kind of weather has lasted for about a month now. It is said that when the weather warmed up a bit and the road was opened, a merchant from a neighboring village informed the villagers of the death of Her Majesty the Queen Mother.

I heard that Her Majesty the Queen passed away about a month ago.

“Vivian? Are you okay? “Your face is pale…”

“Oh, it’s nothing. “Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I’ve been out of the house, but I feel dizzy…”

“I see. Oh, if you need firewood, don’t buy it. Take it from my house. “Because we still have room.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Her Majesty the Queen passed away.

And that too a month ago.

The guilt of learning of the news of Her Majesty the Queen’s death too late weighed heavily on my heart. The royal funeral is in just over a month, so maybe the funeral isn’t over yet? What if it’s already over?

There was no time to think for a long time. I quickly started to go back home, forgetting why I came out. Even now, I had to go to the royal castle and pay my respects at the cemetery if I was late for the funeral.

Even in this rural area, I thought I would be able to contact you within a week. This snowy weather was a problem. The problem was that the snow was falling so heavily that logistics were cut off, making it impossible to even get to the next village.

“…You said you would live a long time.”

I muttered, looking blankly at the snow-covered sky. It was not that I felt any resentment toward Her Majesty the Queen who passed away early. I was resentful of myself for not having properly heard the news of Her Majesty the Queen’s death.

When I returned home, I took out the funeral invitation I had received from Her Majesty the Queen. The letter bore the Queen Mother’s seal along with one line: ‘Vivian Liliensol is permitted to enter the royal castle.’

Would you say that it is befitting of a queen if only the necessary things are written down? I couldn’t help but chuckle as I wondered if the funeral invitation was too short.

‘…Will Titania be okay?’

Is Titania okay after Her Majesty the Queen’s death? Are Veronica and Ainsel comforting Titania well? I wanted to go and comfort her right away, but I didn’t have the right to do that.

‘…You left the castle to let Titania stand alone. I only left a letter for Titania so she wouldn’t have to rely on me. ‘I have no right to comfort Titania.’

Still, wouldn’t it be okay to just watch from afar? Wouldn’t it be okay to just check on how things are going without meeting each other? As long as you don’t get caught by Titania and just watch from afar…

“Whoa…”

I took out a black dress from the closet, changed into it, and stared at myself in the mirror. She was wearing a plain black dress, like something she would wear at a funeral, and her blonde hair was tied up to hide her noticeable blonde hair.

After getting ready to go see Her Majesty the Queen, I went out of the room and called Katarina. One of the reasons I negotiated with Katarina to work here was for days like today.

If I want, he will use magic for me.

Instead, I also work for Katarina.

That was the ‘contract’ that Katharina and I made.

“Katarina. Are you ready?”

“Yes. I’m ready. “We can leave right now.”

“…Okay, let’s go.”

Katarina, who had opened the fairy road, held out her hand to me. When I saw something like a haze rising beyond the door, I sighed, grabbed Katarina’s hand, and followed her.

“Oh, I’m going to feel dizzy. “Please close your eyes.”

“…okay.”

*

“…princess. Are you okay?”

“……huh. are you okay.”

Three days have already passed since my grandmother’s funeral.

Even after a month of funerals, Titania couldn’t quite feel it all. The entire visible world seemed to be colored in gray, so it felt like I was dreaming.

Just, how great would it be if this was all just a dream? When you wake up, you go back to the happy times as if nothing had happened. To the time when my mother was always by my side and my grandmother was still alive.

However, whenever I woke up and opened my eyes, I felt nauseous from the harsh reality. The moment I woke up from a happy dream and realized reality was so painful that I woke up from bed in tears every day.

Titania, who was staring blankly at the window, looked at her grandmother’s grave at the end of her field of vision. For the time being, Titania wanted to see her grandmother’s grave, so she stayed in a room with a clear view of the grave.

Titania turned her head and looked at Vinchot with wide eyes.

“…What did the other ministers say?”

“First of all, the princess’s coronation ceremony must be brought forward…”

“…okay.”

I wasn’t even interested in the coronation ceremony. Even if she were to become queen in the first place, would she be able to become a normal queen? Titania laughed at the question she asked herself. He said it couldn’t be like that.

Titania turned her head again and looked out the window where the snow was falling. I was annoyed that I couldn’t see my grandmother’s grave properly because of the snowstorm. It felt like everything I wanted was being interrupted.

As I stared blankly at the window-

A ray of golden light appeared in the gray color.

A golden woman wearing black mourning clothes and walking to her grandmother’s grave.

When Titania looked at the woman, goosebumps appeared all over her body.

“…Bang Show, just a moment.”

“princess?!”

For a moment, Titania felt her heart sink and ran out of the room. Although she couldn’t see clearly because of the blizzard and her head was covered, Titania was confident.

Mother!

It must be my mother!

Titania started running down the hallway barefoot and started running like a crazy person.

Even though I twisted my foot and fell down the hallway, I got back up and ran towards my mother. Even though the soles of her feet were torn and her knees were broken when she fell, Titania got up and ran again.

I endured the feeling of blood flowing from my knee and the pain that felt like freezing in the sole of my foot. If I could see my mother, the pain would have been nothing.

“mother…! mom! mom!!”

Please don’t leave me behind!

Please, stay by my side!

Now I will forgive you for leaving me without saying a word! I’ll just forgive you without saying anything! I won’t be greedy from now on! I won’t ask you to love me! I won’t beg you!

Instead, let me ask you this one thing.

I only have you now.

So, please stay by my side.

So please don’t abandon me.

Titania gritted her teeth and ran out of the castle. Once outside, the blizzard began to slice Titania’s skin thin like a razor blade. But Titania didn’t care.

Titania ran toward her mother with all her might, stepping on the snow with her bare feet. Maybe it was because of the tears or the snowstorm, but I couldn’t see clearly. Even if I tripped over a rock and rolled around on the floor or a snowstorm obscured my vision, I ran straight toward my mother.

Run, run.

I saw someone beyond the snowstorm.

A blonde woman wearing mourning clothes.

“Mom…Mom…”

Titania cried like a child and slowly approached the woman.