episode_0169

“I’m back…”

As Titania and I got off the carriage holding hands, the carriage began to move away from Wangsung as if it had made a promise. The Minister of Education grumbled, “Lilyang is so cold, she didn’t even shake my hand…”

As the carriage moved away, the ministers who came to greet us burst into laughter upon seeing my face. Bangsho, the Minister of War, the Minister of Education… they all laughed so much that it felt almost grotesque.

Oh, no, the Minister of Education was still crying.

Ignoring the weeping Minister of Education, Bangsho approached me and extended his hand as if genuinely pleased to see me. As I took Bangsho’s hand, he spoke to me with a slightly bitter expression.

“Haha, indeed, you are the Queen. I was very, very worried. You didn’t even send a letter saying where you were, so this old man’s heart was pounding.”

“Haha…”

How could I explain that I had been in a difficult situation while away from Wangsung? As I forced a smile, Bangsho burst into laughter.

The reason I hadn’t sent letters to Bangsho or the other ministers while away from Wangsung was partly because I honestly forgot, but also because I didn’t want to reveal my hiding place to Titania at the time. I thought I might be traced through the letters. Considering the current situation, it was a meaningless act. After all, I had returned to Wangsung, by Titania’s side. There was no point in such futile efforts.

I let go of Bangsho’s hand and asked teasingly with a smirk, “More importantly, why do you still address me as ‘Queen’ Minister of Finance? I have relinquished the position of Queen. Moreover, I am now exiled from the ancestral home and not even a noble…”

“Oh, please don’t say such things. How can we, remembering you as the Queen, treat you as a commoner? Besides, you are soon-”

“Soon?”

“Uh, well, it’s nothing. Anyway, you must be tired from coming from afar. It’s cold, so please come inside quickly.”

While speaking, Bancho suddenly shrugged as if nothing had happened and waved his hand. As I tilted my head, Titania hooked her arm through mine and began to lead me vigorously.

It seemed like I had made eye contact with Titania behind me before Bancho spoke… Was it my imagination? When I looked at Titania, she was smiling as if nothing had happened.

“It’s cold, let’s go inside quickly, Mother.”

“…Okay.”

*

Upon entering the mansion, I immediately asked the maids for a dress. I couldn’t keep wearing a scarf indoors. Remembering there was a dress in the dressing room that could cover my neck, I asked the maids to bring it to me.

“I will help you change your clothes.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay! I can do it myself. Okay?”

“But…”

“Oh, is it because I’m not used to receiving guests after a long time? It feels a bit awkward… I can manage by myself. Okay? So just leave the dress here.”

Of course, I asked Titania to help me change. Despite the maids offering to help, I made excuses about feeling awkward due to not having received guests for a long time and dismissed them.

Finally, when I entered the room, I could see the state of my neck in the mirror. One side of my neck was entirely red, like a blooming flower. It was all a mark left by Titania.

“Really, what is she trying to do…”

If I hadn’t had a scarf, it would have been completely noticeable. The neatly tied collar and the red marks sticking out beyond it. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, embarrassment made my ears turn red.

“It’ll take a few days for it to completely disappear…”

As I looked at the marks on my neck in the mirror, the feeling from earlier started vividly coming back. In the confined space of the carriage, the sensation of Titania embracing me and biting my neck.

As I lightly touched my neck, the feeling of raising it. My body flinched with the pain of being bitten, but strangely, the pain wasn’t in my neck but near my chest. It was a kind of pain that felt like it was squeezing my heart.

Tatiana’s figure kept coming to mind, tightly embracing my waist and sucking at my neck with even more force. It was fortunate that it was just her image that came to mind, but the sensation felt so vivid, as if I were experiencing it firsthand.

The pain of Tatiana’s teeth gnawing at my neck and the feeling of her lips sucking at my skin. The sensation of her tongue soothingly licking, and finally, the touch of wet lips against moist skin as they fell away.

All of it came back so vividly, it was truly awkward.

“Ha… Am I crazy, or is my daughter crazy?”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Just help me change clothes.”

Shaking off the creeping sensation that rose up with a tilt of my head, I began to change into the dress prepared by the maids with Tatiana’s help. Even though she offered to help, it was merely a matter of zipping it up…

Even in that brief moment, Tatiana started teasing me.

She ran her finger gently over the mark left on my neck through the opening of the dress. When I lightly slapped her hand away, Tatiana let out a laugh as if she enjoyed it.

“You’re really something!”

“Hahaha. It was too good to cover up.”

“What’s that… Never mind. Just zip it up for me.”

Something… felt like Tatiana’s brakes had failed.

She always stuck to me like glue, but she didn’t usually stick to me in such a sinister way. Surely, she wouldn’t keep sticking to me like this in the future? That would be really awkward…

As I groaned, Tatiana zipped up my back and flashed a broad smile. Looking in the mirror, I saw myself properly dressed for the first time in a while.

…Suddenly, I felt like I had returned to where I belonged.

I felt like I had come full circle after a long journey.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Where was the me who had promised to leave Tatiana’s side, and where was the me who had vowed to make Tatiana independent?

In the mirror, I saw myself pretending to be the queen and Titania, who had become a queen. Really, it seemed as if I had never left and as if nothing had happened between Titania and me.

The mirror seemed to speak so.

*

I was wearing a green dress, and Titania was in a Schumitz dress that she wore instead of pajamas. We changed clothes and were walking through the bustling corridors. I was following her because she said she had something to show me.

I asked Titania why she was dressed in pajamas in broad daylight, but she replied that she didn’t want to wear stuffy clothes today because there was no work to do. It was a reasonable answer, but…

“Well, it’s not like I’m completely in pajamas, so it should be fine.”

Titania, with a red coat draped over her shoulders, took my hand and started heading somewhere. Having lived in the palace for over ten years, I could quickly tell where Titania was going.

“Are we going to my office now?”

“Yes. That’s right. But now, it’s also my office.”

“Huh?”

“I told them to merge our offices a week ago. In the future, if Mother has work to do, she can come here. Look, I even put two desks.”

Saying that, Titania opened the door to the office. As Titania said, the furniture in the office I used had been completely rearranged. No, it would be more accurate to say it had been added to.

Two desks and chairs arranged to face the window. Two large sofas and a low table for guests in the office. The bookshelves were full on the wall. It looked like a typical office.

As I walked into the office and looked around, I couldn’t help but smile at the desk and chair placed on one side. I had kept the desk and chair I had used for over a decade without throwing them away.

“They’re old enough to throw away…”

“I don’t feel like throwing them away just yet. If Mother wants, I’ll change them to new desks and chairs. What should I do?”

“…It’s okay to leave them as they are.”

I quietly sat in my chair and let out a small sigh. Even though it had been a while since I sat down, the familiar sensation made me feel like I could start working right away. It was just as if I had never stopped using my pen.

As I held the pen, lost in memories, Titania approached me and perched on the edge of the desk. Come to think of it, Titania used to come here often when she was young. She used to do her homework and such here.

As I gazed at Titania, she grinned. Really, how did this adorable child grow up to be like this? In the past, she used to hug me tightly and say “Mom, I love you”…

…She still hugs me now.

Even though she says “I love you, Mom,” the meaning has changed a lot…

“Sigh… really, you were so cute back then.”

“And now?”

“Now, you’re mischievous.”

Titania chuckled softly at my response.

As I sighed with affection and lightly poked Titania’s side with my finger, she squirmed from being tickled, causing the pen that had been placed on the desk to roll off and clatter to the floor.

It would have been fine if it had just fallen to the floor, but the round pen didn’t stop there; it continued to roll and disappeared under the desk with a clatter. It seemed to have gone deep inside because even when I bent down, I couldn’t see the pen on the floor.

As I leaned down to search under the desk for the pen, Titania, who had already lowered her head, began to wriggle under the desk ahead of me. The audacity of a queen…

“I’ll pick it up for you.”

“I can do it…”

“Then your dress will get dirty. It’s okay for me in pajamas.”

As Titania went deep under the large desk, she felt around with her hand, searching for the pen that had rolled under. After finding it and gripping it, she handed it to me from under the desk.

I thought she would come out soon after finding the pen, but…

“Doing this reminds me of the old days.”

“…Still not coming out?”

“In the old days, this space felt so vast…”

Titania, lost in memories while ignoring me. As I looked at Titania with a sense of absurdity, she looked up at me with a sly smile. Certainly, it used to be like this often.

“…Yes, you made my desk your secret base. You brought toys and dolls and played here without even considering that I was working.”

“Haha, good memories.”

Well, they are indeed memories. As I looked at Titania laughing under the desk, I found myself smiling unintentionally. Surely, Titania must have thought of such antics in the past, but…

“The difference from the past is being able to see this scene from a slightly different perspective, isn’t it?”

“…? What did you just…?!”

At that moment, Titania took off one of my shoes, lifted my foot, and firmly grasped my ankle. Startled, I struggled, but I couldn’t escape because she had already caught hold of my ankle.

“What are you doing?”

“Haha, it’s a scene from a novel. I wanted to try it at least once.”

“What?! Wait…!”

Before I could protest, Titania pressed her lips against my instep. Thanks to the stocking, her lips didn’t directly touch my skin, but I could still feel the sensation fully.

Moist lips and breath spreading over the stocking. I realized for the first time how sensitive and delicate the instep was. Titania’s gaze as she kissed my instep was solely focused on me.

Even though I didn’t know much about this, I could tell.

This is both solicitation and temptation.

It’s solicitous whispers of love and an aggressively seductive temptation.

“Wait…! It’s dirty there… Ah…!”

The friction echoing from under the desk was painfully provocative. It was difficult to regain composure under Titania’s gaze, filled with sensations from my instep and lustful desire.

No matter how much I pushed her away, Titania continued to solicit me by kissing my instep. With no regard for her dignity as a queen, she knelt under the desk, kissing my instep, soliciting, and tempting me.

Taking advantage of my distracted state, Titania slowly lifted my skirt. By the time I regained my senses, the skirt that had been wrapped around my legs was now rolled up to my thighs.

“You, really…! Stop…!”

I pleaded for her to stop, but it was futile.

Titania grinned mischievously as she lifted my leg into the air and began kissing from the instep, moving up to the ankle, then the calf, behind the knee, and further up the inside of my thigh.

Every time her lips touched my skin, I couldn’t help but shiver uncontrollably. I tried to escape, but I couldn’t. It was a strange sensation that held me in place.

“Ah, mm…”

She kissed in circular motions from the upper thigh to the inside, then Titania locked eyes with me. Her lips parted slightly, then she sucked on the spot she had just kissed, making a sound as she did so.

Reacting to the electrifying sensation rising up my waist, I reflexively tried to close my legs, but Titania, who had already positioned herself between them, didn’t allow it. She strengthened her grip on my thigh and kept my legs apart.

As her lips created a transparent trail while sucking on the inside of my thigh, droplets fell onto my skin like dew, leaving a mark as distinct as the one on my neck, looking so provocative it felt almost sinful.

Looking at the mark, Titania smiled, running her finger over the red mark she had made. Even the chilling sensation of saliva dripping onto my thigh felt unfamiliar and frightening.

“…Why are you doing this today…? Too much…”

“I told you, you can expect it.”

“Ah, mm…”

Interrupting me, Titania chuckled and kissed the mark she had made once again. Once more, feeling the sensation that sent shivers down my spine, I involuntarily twisted my waist.

“From now on, we’ll do this every day.”

“Ev-every day…?”

“Well, maybe not every day. Just as much as I’ve been holding back.”

“How much is that…?”

When I asked, Titania gave a mischievous smile. The moment I looked at that smile, regardless of what words came out of Titania’s mouth, it felt like “every day” was no different. It’s all the same –

“About 12 years?”

“12 years…?”

So, are you going to do this to me every day for 12 years? As I was just pursing my lips, Titania once again kissed my thigh and left a new mark.

As I was forcibly trying to get up from the chair with the thought that I should run away for now-

Knock knock –

“Your Majesty, may I come in for a moment?”

“B-Bangcho…? W-Wait! Don’t come in!”

Bangcho knocked on the study door.