episode_0155

“…Brr, it’s cold.”

Without realizing it, I huddled up against the chill seeping into my skin. Even though I had wrapped myself tightly in a blanket by the fire, the cold draft sneaking in through the cracks seemed to chill me to the bone.

Before I knew it, late autumn had passed, and winter had arrived in the capital. Every time I spent winter here, I couldn’t help but feel that the cold here was truly difficult to adapt to.

And… despite late autumn passing and winter arriving, there was still no sign of my curse being lifted. Even when kissing Titania, I could only remain an adult for a maximum of two hours.

I knew well, just as Veronica had said, that the reason the curse wasn’t lifting was due to my own emotional issues. However, how to accept those feelings was an entirely different matter. Moreover…

“For some reason, it feels like I’m being forced to acknowledge this feeling in order to lift the curse.”

No one was forcing me, but the situation felt like it was. It felt like I was being pressured to unquestionably accept these vague and tiny emotions in order to lift the curse.

So maybe that’s why I’m unable to lift the curse…

“…There’s still plenty of time.”

Was it because I was staring blankly at the fire?

Somehow, I started to have a lot of random thoughts. Feeling sentimental, I hugged my knees and rested my chin on them, gazing dully at the flickering flames. Then—

“Mother? What are you doing sitting on the floor?”

“Yeah, what are you doing with such a foolish expression, staring at the fire?”

As I sat with my mouth agape, staring blankly at the fire, the terrace door opened, and both Veronica and Titania entered the room at the same time. Lately, they had been going around together, but they hadn’t told me why.

Do they have a story they can’t tell me? Lately, it was a bit frustrating to see them spending time together without me. I pursed my lips and turned my head away from their gazes.

Veronica and Titania then giggled and took seats on either side of me. As if soothing a child, they nestled me in the middle and began to stroke my head.

“These kids really…”

How much were they treating me like a child? Should I return to being an adult at least once a day? When I puffed out my cheeks with a sullen expression, Veronica grinned and asked me,

“Vivian, can you spare some time for me today?”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

At the abrupt request, my eyes widened involuntarily. Since Veronica had never asked for my time before, I momentarily wondered what it meant.

“Yeah, because you look bored. I want to entertain you.”

“Always treating me like a child…”

There was no need for any doubt. As I sighed, Veronica chuckled softly. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to spend a day, would it? I haven’t been out of the room much lately.

“…What do you want to do?”

“Well? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

Somewhere I’d like to go…

Since most of my time was spent indoors, there were always many places I wanted to visit. It would be nice to tour the capital, or perhaps somewhere with a great view. But would there be a suitable place to go on such a cold winter day?

As I gazed at Veronica, the moment she first came to meet me flashed back. The blue sea that appeared when the terrace was opened. The clear sea with the sound of waves and white foam rising.

The sea from that time seemed to overlap around Veronica.

“…The sea.”

“The sea?”

“Yeah, I’d like to go to the sea.”

It would be cold at the seaside in winter, but a winter sea has its own charm.

“We’ll all go to the beach together. It might be chilly with the wind, but if we walk together, it won’t be so cold. Titania on one hand, Veronica on the other. And Einzel clinging to my neck.”

“What about Katarina?”

“Will she come? She definitely won’t come because it’s cold, right? No, she’ll probably just say she doesn’t want to go outside.”

“That’s true.”

Puff, we all laughed foolishly in front of the bonfire. As we imagined going to the sea together, I really wanted to go. I realized we had never traveled together.

As I sighed softly, Veronica stood up and stretched with her arms raised above her head. She made a happy sound and looked down at me with a bright smile.

“Then let’s get ready.”

“Huh? Ready for what?”

“You said you want to go to the sea, right? Then we need to prepare to go there.”

“Now? All of us?”

“Yes, now. But…”

Veronica slightly bent forward and reached out her hand to me.

“Not all of us, just you and me.”

At her words, I turned to look at Titania sitting next to me. I wondered if it was okay for Veronica and me to go alone, but…

“…I’m fine. You two go together.”

Titania just smiled at me. I looked back and forth between Titania and Veronica, realizing that the matter between them had already been settled.

“Just the two of us…?”

*

Ssshhh- Ssshhh-

The pleasant sound of waves tickling my ears and the distant cries of seagulls. When I came to my senses, I had arrived at the sea.

Truly, when I came to my senses, it was the sea.

Just as Veronica suggested going to play by ourselves, as I was about to make my own preparations, Veronica, who had lifted me by my armpits, headed towards the cabin through the terrace.

As soon as we arrived at the cabin, she took off her thick winter dress and forcibly dressed me in a thin, sleeveless summer dress. She even put a wide-brimmed hat on my head. It was a complete summer outfit.

As I was about to ask Veronica what was going on, she lifted me up again and headed outside the cabin. When I came to my senses…

“…It’s the sea.”

I had arrived at the sea.

Moreover, it was a sea where the seasons had changed.

Until just a little while ago, it was a bitterly cold winter, but now it was a scorching summer day with the sun beating down. The heat rising from the sandy beach was astonishingly hot.

I stared blankly at the breaking waves on the shore and without looking at Veronica beside me, I asked, “Where are we?”

“At least it’s not a kingdom.”

I know that too…!

I didn’t want to ask about that; I wanted to know the exact location here. Where in the world is this place that the seasons have flipped?! How far have we flown to get to this cabin?

I looked up at Veronica with a bewildered expression, but then immediately averted my gaze and hung my head low. Why-

“Why are you so embarrassed? Is it your first time seeing someone in a swimsuit?”

“It’s not embarrassment, it’s bewilderment. What kind of sight is this? If there were other people around, I would have made you change immediately! What would they think if they saw us?”

“A close sister and her younger sister?”

It was hard to properly look at Veronica proudly wearing her black bikini. I grabbed the wide brim of my hat and pulled it down. What on earth…

Is it because I’ve rarely been to the sea in my life?

I’ve never seen anyone in a real bikini at the beach, ever. Veronica said, “If you come to the beach, of course you should wear a swimsuit,” as if it were obvious, but…

As a viewer, Veronica’s swimsuit was quite an embarrassing sight. Is it because I’ve been wrapped up in thick clothes for over ten years? It was difficult to directly face Veronica’s black bikini.

“Sigh… Honestly. I said I wanted to come to the beach, but I was content with the winter sea. The winter sea has its own charm.”

“I don’t understand that statement. What charm does the winter sea have? The wind is biting, you can’t even go into the sea, and it’s desolate because it’s cold – that’s charming?”

“…You still don’t understand because you’re young.”

“Forget it, considering the number of times I’ve lived, I’ve lived longer than you, haven’t I?”

“…Yeah, you’re something.”

…Really, not giving an inch.

I let out a small sigh and dipped my bare feet into the spot where the waves crashed, creating white foam. It felt good as the cool sensation swept over the soles of my feet.

As I continued walking, stepping on the rising foam, I could feel the grains of sand slipping between my toes, tickled by the waves. It was so ticklish that I tried to grab the sand between my toes, but it just washed away with the waves. Indeed, as Veronica said, the sea is best experienced by going in.

As I began to fully experience the summer sea, walking along the sandy beach, Veronica, who had been watching me with her arms crossed, slowly approached and asked me.

“You’re not going into the sea? I even borrowed Brownie’s swimsuit for once.”

“…What are you talking about forcing me into? Besides, I can’t swim. I’ve never tried.”

As I turned my head with a huff, Veronica smiled and lifted the corners of her mouth. Then she came up to me and closed her eyes as if concentrating, lightly tapping my nose, earlobe, and the corner of my eye.

The feeling from her fingertips…

“I cast a spell so you can breathe comfortably underwater.”

“A spell?”

Unconsciously, I looked up at Veronica with a smirk. I knew a bit about magic, so that’s why I smirked. Witches need the power of “fairies” to use magic.

It was an unwritten rule for witches to borrow the power of fairies to use magic. Whenever Veronica showed herself using magic, she must have borrowed the dwarves’ power. But now…

“Why are you thinking like that? You can breathe underwater from now on. So what do we do now?”

“Huh, um, okay?”

“Of course, we go into the water. You’ve never experienced walking under the sea, right?”

As if not giving me time to think, Veronica grabbed my hand and started to walk into the sea. When we reached a point where the water reached our chests in an instant, I found myself tightly holding onto Veronica’s hand.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“That… seems difficult.”

I grabbed Veronica’s hand and slowly walked into the sea. As the water reached my chin, a frightening sensation crept in. It felt like I wouldn’t be able to turn back if I went any further.

With the fear rising to my chin like the seawater, I looked up at Veronica. Blue waves crashed against her waist, spewing foam before twinkling and vanishing.

Veronica firmly held my hand, reassuring me, and continued forward. I closed my eyes, holding my breath, and followed her lead.

Eventually, completely submerged, I couldn’t open my eyes due to fear. Was it because I closed my eyes? The terrifying sensation on my skin was not just one or two things.

The seabed was rougher than expected, and with my eyes closed, I kept stumbling. If Veronica hadn’t held my hand, I would have been swept away by the waves long ago.

Finally giving up walking, I floated in the water, unable to control my fear. As I held my breath and curled up, I heard Veronica giggling beside me.

“Vivian, slowly open your eyes. It’s okay.”

Veronica gently gestured and placed her hand on my eyelids, coaxing me to open them. Slowly, softly, as Veronica’s hand rose, I opened my eyes underwater for the first time.

As I opened my eyes, I saw Veronica smiling. Behind her, an amazing sight unfolded, and without realizing it, I found myself looking around with my mouth agape.

The sunlight pouring beneath the surface seemed like curtains made of sunshine. Moreover, when I looked up, I could see small fish swimming within arm’s reach.

“Wow…”

The sight of hundreds of fish swimming past like a dance was truly fantastic. When I reached out to them, the school of fish swayed and then fled.

“How is it? Feeling better now?”

Veronica chuckled and tapped her nose with her finger. She could really breathe and speak underwater, just as she said. Magic is truly amazing.

I looked at Veronica, smiled softly, and took a step forward. Walking underwater felt similar to walking on the moon, slow and heavy, one step at a time.

As we slowly swam, fish approached curiously and then quickly darted away.

Is this what scuba diving feels like? I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so I started to feel excited without even realizing it. As my fear disappeared, I swam a little deeper.

Soon, large fish began to appear one by one. Is it because I’m not afraid anymore? As I realized there was no need to be scared, my appetite started to grow.

“…Wouldn’t they taste delicious if we caught and grilled them?”

Watching the distant blue fish and the large fish passing by, I unconsciously swallowed and murmured. Veronica, hearing my murmur, made a disgusted expression.

“…You’re feeling hungry even after seeing this spectacle?”