episode_0183

[Episode 179] – What I Received from You (2)

Vivian Snow White.

Not Vivian Lirienne Sol, but Vivian Snow White. It felt strange to hear my name with the new ‘surname’ of Snow White attached, even though it was just a change in name.

It was still an unfamiliar and awkward name, but after repeating it to myself several times, I started to feel strangely good, so much so that I had to cover my mouth to hide the corners of my lips that naturally lifted.

“I’ve suffered all this time for not having this ‘surname’… ”

It felt like the mental anguish I had endured all this time was being rewarded by simply changing my surname. When I thought about why I felt this way, I realized that I had thought I had given up a long time ago, but unknowingly, there seemed to be some lingering regret.

I thought I had compromised and accepted it, saying that it’s inevitable that I couldn’t gain the king’s favor, that it’s the law of the royal family, and that I had no choice but to give up and stay here.

Just because I couldn’t receive the mere title of the royal family, just because I couldn’t receive the mere ‘favor’, it was more heartbreaking than I had anticipated to realize that I had to be driven out from here. Really, it was more heartbreaking than I had expected.

“But realizing this now… ”

Even if I realize that I was unfairly treated now, it’s all in the past, it’s over. However the process went, I returned to the royal castle where I was once driven out, and in the end, I could even obtain the title of the royal family.

Yes, however the process went.

The process until I came to this position is a bit… hard to put into words…? And my relationship with Titania has become a bit… strange…? Well, ultimately, when you look at the results…?

…Well, good things are good, aren’t they?

I don’t think negatively of this situation either. As I raise a small whirl in the glass in my hand and reminisce, a familiar voice reached me from behind after a long time.

“Lady Vivian Snow White, the queen, is here to see you.”

“? Oh, Lady Serena! It’s been a while!”

When I turned to the familiar voice, I saw Lady Serena for the first time in years. Since I left the royal family, I had been worried about how she was doing, but it seemed she was doing well with a healthy complexion.

Approaching Lady Serena with slightly tipsy steps, I smiled at her, and she returned the smile looking at me. It was a sunny smile as we asked about each other’s well-being.

“Have you been well all this time?”

“I’ve always been fine. And you? Anything unusual with the Viscount and your daughter?”

“No, everything is as usual for us.”

Lady Serena and I continued our conversation, asking about each other’s well-being. She expressed regret for not receiving any letters during that time and how surprised she was by my sudden disappearance. Mostly, it was stories of me getting scolded.

Still, it felt good to see a familiar face after so long. As our conversation was progressing, Lady Serena, glancing around for a moment, approached me, covering her mouth with a fan, and whispered in my ear.

“Your Majesty, um… I might be speaking out of turn, but…”

“…? What’s all this about suddenly?”

“Well… you see…”

Lady Serena hesitated to speak, then closed her lips tightly. After looking at me as if wondering why I was reacting that way, she struggled to speak.

“I wonder if… Your Majesty’s ‘title’ might be incorrect…”

“Title?”

“Yes, since the princess has become the queen, shouldn’t we address you as Her Majesty the Queen Mother instead of just the Queen? It seems a bit odd to call Vivian ‘Your Majesty’ when there is a reigning queen…”

“…? Huh?”

Listening to her, it was true. Why was I still being called ‘Your Majesty’? Titania is no longer a princess but now a queen of a country. With such a queen, it’s a bit odd for me to be called a queen…

“Mother, there you are. We were looking for you everywhere after you disappeared so suddenly.”

As Lady Serena pondered her words, Titania called out to me from behind in a calm voice. She said she urgently searched for me, yet her expression and voice were serene.

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I met Lady Serena…”

“I see. It has been a while indeed. Lady Serena. Did Viola not attend the New Year’s celebration?”

“I had an audience with Her Majesty. Viola said she wasn’t feeling well and went to the rest area…”

In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere between Lady Serena and me turned chilly due to Titania suddenly intervening. Even though Titania had never interrupted our conversation before, I couldn’t help but wonder why she was doing so now.

“Surely she’s not jealous that I’m talking to Lady Serena…?”

As I glanced suspiciously at Titania, she briefly ended her conversation with Lady Serena and looked at me with a sly smile. In that very suspicious smile, as I tilted my head in confusion…

-♩♪♫

The familiar prelude began to echo in my ears. How could I not recognize this song? It was a waltz we had practiced together countless times, a song I had heard dozens, even hundreds of times.

As if signaling the beginning of the dance, the waltz that adorned mine and Titania’s first dance began to resonate throughout the ballroom, played by the orchestra. It truly felt like reliving that day over and over again.

Lost in the prelude, Titania gently took my hand, tilting her head down, lightly kissing the back of my hand, and smiling at me with her eyes as she touched my fingertips.

Ah.

Once again, that gaze sent shivers down my spine.

The surrounding sounds faded away, leaving a sensation as if Titania and I were the only ones left in this grand ballroom. No other sound reached my ears, only Titania’s voice echoing in them.

“Would you honor me with the privilege of dancing with you, Your Majesty?”

“……”

I remembered those words clearly.

The words I had spoken when I asked Titania for our first dance. Did Titania remember all the memories from that day? Even though it had been over 10 years. Memories from when you were seven years old.

…As I brushed Titania’s fingertips with my thumb, I found myself smiling without realizing it. Time is truly frightening. That small, young child has grown larger than me, and now, she even sends me such ‘looks’.

Normally, I would never allow it, but I’m in a good mood right now. I tightly held Titania’s hand and gracefully bowed with a smile, slightly bending my knee to greet her.

“Of course, Your Majesty. However…”

I lowered my head and whispered so softly that only Titania could hear. Very quietly, and very spitefully. I teased Titania with a sly smile as I whispered.

“I hope that today, in place of the clumsy queen, I won’t have to take on the male part.”

Titania chuckled at my provocative remark, then lifted her head and slowly led me onto the stage. As I stepped onto the stage to dance after a long time, a mix of tension and longing overwhelmed me.

The familiar ballroom, the familiar waltz music, the familiar dance. It felt like I was back to that day 13 years ago, and the complex emotions surged as Titania, now an adult after 13 years, stood before me.

“Why did it have to turn out like this?”

As I took the stage, the music momentarily stopped.

While preparing to dance, I began to question why things had turned out this way. It wasn’t a question born from ill feelings. It was just that the image of the stepmother from the original Snow White story came to mind.

“…Why did it have to turn out like this?”

As the music started again, I placed my hand on Titania’s waist and followed her lead. Even as we danced, the question continued to linger in my mind.

In fairy tales, games, and the original stories, the fate of the stepmother was always the same. Wearing red-hot iron shoes at the ball, dancing wildly, and meeting her end at the hands of Snow White.

The disparity between that ending and the current situation raised a small question. If today is the “end,” then even so, I am facing a conclusion that is vastly different from the original, no matter what.

Surely, I must be the stepmother of Snow White as well.

Clack, clack. The shoes that made a cheerful sound as they hit the marble in time with the waltz music were not iron shoes burned in fire, but beautiful azure glass slippers.

They were not dancing in agony, screaming in pain, or writhing in torment, but dancing with genuine joy bubbling up from deep within, smiling with true happiness.

The gazes around me were not mocking or sneering; they were warm smiles watching two happy dancers.

This place was not an execution ground, but a ballroom filled with song. Cruelty, brutality, screams, iron-burned shoes, or mocking sneers were far removed from this scene.

Why are they so different?

I lifted my head and looked at Titania, who was leading me diligently. She still seemed a bit offbeat, but her effort was admirable.

Perhaps she sensed my gaze because she looked at me and smiled softly, and I found myself smiling too. Truly, a bright smile.

Why are they so different? The answer danced with me. She met my eyes, smiled, took my hand, and began to lead me.

Surely, everything has changed because of this child. My daughter, my Snow White, who loves and cherishes me as her stepmother.

Truly, why has she grown up like this? A Snow White who loves her stepmother, even as a lover.

I smiled slyly and looked up at Titania.

Still gazing at me, Titania’s eyes dripping with affection seemed to tell me just how much she loved me.

You really do love me. Not as a parent, not as a mother, but as a woman. You truly love me. Why on earth have you grown up like this?

Titania must have grown up like this because…

She was raised by a stepmother, Snow White.

Because I raised Snow White.