[Episode 101] – Titania the ‘Adult’
“Ugh… cold…”
Awakened by the winter wind squeezing through the window gaps, I blinked my sleepy eyes and pulled the blanket all the way up to my chin. Even though it had been nearly ten years since I came here, the winters in this place were still hard to endure.
Even with a brazier burning in the room and layers of blankets piled on, it was far from enough to hold back the cold here. Truly, at times like this, I missed modern luxuries like boilers and electric blankets so much I could hardly stand it.
As I covered my mouth and let out a big yawn, I felt something squirming beneath the blanket. Lifting the covers slightly to peek inside, I saw Titania asleep in my arms, snoring softly.
‘She’s not even a child anymore…’
Seeing fully grown Titania sleeping in my embrace like a little child, a sigh escaped me before I knew it. At fifteen years old, Titania’s appearance could no longer pass for that of a ‘young girl,’ not even as empty flattery.
They say children grow up in the blink of an eye, after all.
Titania, who until just two years ago hadn’t been able to shake off her childishness, had hit her growth spurt; eating and sleeping well, she had filled out nicely and grown to about my height. Her once tiny fingers had somehow grown so long, transforming from chubby, childishly cute digits into long, slender ones that now looked like the hands of an adult.
A youthful air still lingered on her face, so in some ways she looked like a young girl, while in other ways she resembled a mature woman. Though what she showed me was unmistakably the face of a child…
It wasn’t just her looks—Titania was now an ‘adult’ recognized by the kingdom as well. Two days ago, she had successfully held her Debutante Ball hosted by the royal palace.
In other words, Titania had finally graduated from the children’s social circles and debuted into proper society. It was quite ironic to congratulate her on entering a social world that was murky beyond compare, but…
This was a kingdom with a culture where one was not recognized as an adult without holding a debutante ball. By holding hers, Titania was now effectively acknowledged as an ‘adult’ by all the kingdom’s nobility.
Now that she was an adult recognized by the nation as well, I wanted her to act like one, but in front of me she still behaved like a child. Not that I particularly disliked it, but…
‘…Right. There are only a few months left anyway…’
Now that she had even held her debutante ball, I wanted to scold her to act her age, but the fact that I would no longer be able to see her once she entered the Academy left me unable to do anything about her behavior.
Titania used that very fact as leverage; whenever I seemed about to scold her, she would pout her lips and mutter, ‘There are only a few months left…’ When that happened, I had no choice but to overlook her antics yet again.
It was a vicious cycle in the truest sense. I shouldn’t do this. I needed to put some distance between us. But even as I made such resolves, the thought that I would soon be unable to see her left me with no choice but to indulge her cuteness.
‘Sigh… what’s the point of worrying about it now.’
I pushed Titania, who had been sleeping in my arms, away and rolled her up in the blanket like a kimbap roll. Then I got out of bed and wrapped a blanket draped over a chair around my shoulders.
Wondering why it was so cold, I realized the embers in the fireplace set into one wall had begun to die out. Perhaps because it had been snowing lately, moisture had seeped into the room, so I had to check the fire frequently.
After throwing a few logs into the fireplace and poking around inside with a poker, sparks crackled and flew, and soon I could feel a warm heat spreading throughout the room.
Having revived the fire, I sat down near the fireplace. As I stared blankly at the flames, listening to the crackling of burning logs, idle thoughts kept rising up like smoke.
What should I do once Titania goes to the Academy? I should start preparing to leave the royal palace soon. Should I ask Her Majesty the Queen Dowager to set me up with a shop using the money she gives me? But what would I even sell?
‘…I wonder if being a landlord is the best move here too. Should I ask for a few well-located commercial buildings instead of cash? If I collect rent and live off that, I won’t starve for the rest of my life.’
Lost in thought while staring at the flames, my reverie didn’t last long. Titania, who had approached me without my noticing, suddenly played a nasty prank.
“Mother, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Hyiik…!”
An icy palm slid in between my pajamas and swept down my back, making my spine jump instinctively. It felt as though my heart was freezing over, and a proper scream wouldn’t even come out.
I struggled and twisted my body, telling her to stop, but Titania only smiled slyly. She slid both hands in now, stroking my back freely and warming her icy fingers with my body heat.
“Ah, so warm. I always think this, but Mother runs quite hot, doesn’t she?”
“Hieee…! Y-you…! Take them out right now!”
Despite my snapping, Titania nonchalantly warmed her cold hands completely before finally pulling them out. Then she sat down beside me and leaned her head against me as if nothing had happened—utterly exasperating.
Thanks to Titania’s malicious prank, I was now wide awake. Letting out a deep sigh, I turned my head to look at Titania resting against my shoulder. Play a prank, and it had to be this kind…!
I glared at her as if she were truly detestable, but Titania didn’t budge and merely shrugged. Then she smiled mischievously and asked,
“So, what were you thinking about so hard that you didn’t even notice me approaching?”
“…That you’re still very much a child.”
At my answer, Titania’s lips pouted out, apparently displeased that I still treated her like a child even after her Debutante Ball.
Lately she had been insisting she was an adult now and asking me to treat her as such, but what good was a grown body when her actions were still so childishly cute?
I let out a deep sigh and fiddled with the fireplace using the poker beside me.
“If you want to be treated like an adult so badly, you should start by not sleeping with me. Adults don’t sleep with their parents. And they don’t play pranks like putting cold hands on their parents’ backs.”
When I turned my head to glance at Titania, her plump lips pouted out even further. Her sullen expression—puffing out her cheeks and pushing out her lips—was still the face of a child.
I pinched Titania’s protruding lips and snickered.
“Besides, adults don’t stick out their lips like a duck when they’re sulking.”
*
“…That’s what she said?! Isn’t that too much?! I even held my Debutante Ball! I’m fifteen years old now! I’m at an age where I can even get married in this country! How long is she going to treat me like a child?!”
“…Will you stop talking about Vivian in front of me? How many times have I told you I’m not interested in your relationship?”
“But you know you’re the only person I can talk to about this. Ainsel would somehow tell Mother, I just know it. I’m sure she’d keep it a secret if I asked, but if Mother pressured her, she’d spill everything for sure.”
“That much is true.”
Veronica, resting her chin on her hand with a listless expression, sighed in exasperation. Lately, every time they met, it was Vivian this and Vivian that—she was sick to death of hearing it.
“Now I’m even around the same height as Mother! I’m at an age where I know everything there is to know as an adult! But Mother just keeps treating me like a child forever!”
These days, Titania’s worry was Vivian’s attitude of treating her like a child no matter what. She could understand wanting to be treated as an adult now that she had held her Debutante Ball, but Veronica wondered if she wasn’t being too impatient.
Titania was not properly fifteen—she was merely fifteen. Veronica let out a deep sigh, soothed her parched throat with tea, and gave Titania some advice.
“From what I hear, the problem is that you still haven’t graduated from Vivian. Why don’t you start using separate rooms soon? No young lady your age would still share a room with her parent.”
“Th-that’s, but… I’m going to the Academy soon anyway, so…”
“You know that’s an excuse you’ve been using since last year, right? You wield the Academy like a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything. It’s getting old by now. I’m sure Vivian thinks so too.”
“Nugh…”
Once Titania was at a loss for words like this, the conversation was over. Veronica knew all too well that Titania had no intention of changing despite all this earnest advice, so she didn’t press further.
Titania’s depressed expression as she stared into her teacup looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. No wonder Vivian still treated her like a child…
“Anyway, let’s drop this subject… You know ‘that day’ is coming soon, right?”
At the words ‘that day,’ Titania’s eyes sparkled. Her gloomy expression from moments ago vanished without a trace, and she was soon nodding with an expectant look as she gazed at Veronica.
“Really, you’ll grant it?”
“I promised, so I have to.”
Veronica smirked and gestured for Titania to stand up. Then she approached the risen Titania, close enough for their noses to nearly touch, and compared their heights.
For now, Veronica was slightly taller, but the difference was minute. With both of them having hair long enough to reach their lower backs, anyone who saw them would surely mistake them for twins.
“Hm, this should be good enough.”
At Veronica’s assurance, color returned to Titania’s face. She was so happy she wanted to jump up and down on the spot, but she barely restrained herself, only twitching her lips.
“This year’s ‘Snowflower Festival’ is next week, right? Go with Vivian then. Ketsy will disguise herself to fill Vivian’s absence, so no one will notice.”
“Uheheheh.”
Seeing Titania’s completely relaxed face giggling ‘uheheheh,’ Veronica also burst into giggles. Honestly, Titania had thought she wouldn’t be able to go to the festival with her mother this year.
She had to prepare to enter the Academy soon, and Veronica hadn’t said a word about this wish until now. She had assumed Veronica had completely forgotten.
Unable to contain the joy welling up from deep in her chest, Titania hugged the Veronica standing before her tightly. Veronica pushed her in surprise, telling her to let go, but it was no use.
“Uheheheh, thank you! Veronica Unni!”
“You only call me Unni at times like this, don’t you? Anyway, let go quickly and go get Vivian’s permission! If Vivian doesn’t allow it, I can’t do it either!”